Saturday, October 31, 2020

Always learning/close to home

Regarding Covid-19. Our trauma center is asking people to stay at home as much as possible. The doctors have asked that family indoor gatherings be avoided. 

Our own county is trying to recommend that also.

I don't mind so much because I am one of the lucky ones that can stay home and I have acres and acres of woodland surrounding us to explore. However, I miss my trips to places for hiking and photography. 

I thought I'd go back through my archives and look at what has changed for me in photography.

Here is a photo I shot in August 2016 at Eau Claire Dells. At that time I was into using the longest exposure I could when photographing fast moving water. The one below is a 15 second exposure. And although pretty neat, it is also pretty dull.


Most of the time I take several shots of the same scene with different exposures and at the time I really liked the smooth look of the water.

Now? Meh. I liked some more 'action' to be seen. I found the following shot exposed at just less than a second.


This shot has a lot more umph to it. The water has a sense of flowing and reflects the colors of the trees on the opposite bank. It isn't dull looking.

What changed? My taste for different exposures and sitting and learning editing techniques. 
There is a huge argument by some against edits. And as an old user of film, I was against edits for a long time. Do it right the first time was my motto.

So I decided to work with the old 15 second photo and see if I'd learned anything. I know when I sat on the rocks in the middle of the river, I had a 'vision' of roaring water, bright leaves, and an awe of Mother Nature all bouncing around in my mind.

I was seeing this in my head:



A warm August afternoon. 
And yes, I can still hear the roaring in my mind!

There will always be that argument regarding editing. But in truth, I feel I've had the debate myself and have decided that if it is my vision, the edit works. Photography becomes more of an art form than a recording of events.

Though there sure is a reason to record events!
Think street photography, or like one of my photography classmates does...news photography. 

Or like this... the deer that wandered into the yard last night and the moon later on...




An interesting technique that I haven't tried yet is one where you blend different exposures together.
Uffdah. That requires some heavy lifting from a software program like Adobe Creative Suite or Adobe Creative Cloud. I can't afford to pay monthly fees so I stay away from the program.

There are so many programs out there! Wow!

Anyway. Last shot and then I am taking my little pocket camera and going hiking. The morning light is fantastic.

From yesterday's morning walk with Charlie.




Have a safe weekend. 

The rest of this week is going to be work, work, work. Clearing dead and living Buckthorn Trees from one section of the pasture. 
Lots of fun!

4 comments:

  1. In my humble opinion if everyone would cooperate for 14 days and stay home we could get a handle on the virus. 14 days is nothing compared to all these months.
    I take photos that either document something or make me smile:) I like your second photo of the slow water...and the last two early morning light is wonderful! Keep staying safe:)

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    1. I would love to see the virus slowed down. I had a long discussion with a Flickr pal in Alabama today, we talked about being 'isolated' and the usefulness of a lockdown and the thought of just letting things be.
      There is no easy answer.
      Thanks on the nice comments.
      I aspire to be an artist in a way with photography, it is the one thing aside from abstract work in fractals that keeps me and my mind engaged and well oiled.

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  2. You are an incredible photographer. I don't think anything really matches our eyes. I sometimes enhance and often crop, but don't know how to do anything else to pictures. As long as they match what I see more or less, I'm content. I don't know where you are, but many states are having horrible spikes. Lack of masks, pandemic fatigue(like all of us!), not distancing, going out too much--who knows? I am very discouraged about what's happening and frustrated by some people's attitudes.

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    Replies
    1. I live in the state of Wisconsin. I play with photography and study it to keep my mind occupied while caring for my husband.
      Thank you for the lovely compliment.

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