Day 12 already? Where does the time go? As the rain continues I only had to venture out onto my back deck for todays bit of photographic sanity.
Anyone care to take a guess as to what today’s image is? I’ll post the answer along with tomorrow’s Day 13 image.
Lets see what you’ve been doing for your Isolation Project. Post a link in the comments. It doesn’t have to be a photograph either. If you’ve been baking, catching up on some much needed home improvements, whatever has been keeping you sane during all this may be great inspiration to others, so share away!
You can also follow me on Twitter and share your photos using the hashtag #IsolationPhotoProject.
Which I know to some of you that’s nothing. Some of you have been cooped up for twice that, and more. I sincerely hope all of you are able to find something to do to occupy your time. I have no idea what I’d do if it weren’t for my camera.
One thing’s for sure, some days have been a lot harder to come up with images than others. Yesterday it started raining, today it’s still raining, and based on the forecast you can expect photos of and in the rain pretty much all week. I guess it’s a good thing all of my Fujifilm X-Series cameras and lenses are weather resistant. On the plus side, dreary overcast days are great for the way colors seem so much more saturated.
I hope you enjoyed my image for Day 7. My apologies for it being a day late. Think of it as a rain delay 🙂 (Stay tuned for Day 8!)
Now lets see your Isolation Project images. Post a link you yours in the comments or follow me on Twitter and share your photos using the hashtag #IsolationPhotoProject
I have a feeling that by the end of all this there wont be a leaf, twig, tree branch or rock that I don’t know intimately.
Are you creating your own Isolation Photo Project please post a link in the comments so I can see what you’re all up to! You can also follow me on Twitter and share your photos using the hashtag #IsolationPhotoProject
If you walked up to this scene what photograph would you see? Would you immediately go for your wide angle lens (the wider the better??) in your desire to capture everything, to take it all in?
Or would you go right for the telephoto lens in order to tell a more intimate story?
Maybe zoom in even more?
Does a vertical composition speaks to you?
There’s no right answer here.
Plop 10 photographers down on the same spot, in front of the same view, and the resulting photographs will likely represent 10 unique visions.
The best part about photographing with other photographers is seeing what they see. Admittedly, most of the time I prefer to photograph alone. I can be a real “Chatty Cathy” when I’m with a group, as a result my creativity goes right down the toilet, (probably because I’m not focusing *pun intended* on the task at hand). However, I do thoroughly enjoy photographing with others on occasion, because it never fails to become a learning experience. Whether I’m leading a group on a workshop, or out for the day with camera toting friends, getting to see how others see can be enlightening. So many times as I’ve glanced at the LCD on the backs of their cameras my eyes have been opened to composition and subject possibilities that, upon looking back in hindsight seem so obvious. There have been so many, “How the hell did I not see that?” times. Yet it took seeing through someone else’s eyes before it even occurred to me.
What’s my point? I don’t know, is there one? Maybe I’m just babbling?
Maybe what I’m trying to tell you is to embrace your own vision. There is no right or wrong way to photograph. Be less concerned about how other photographers do it, and pay more attention to how your own eyes tell you to. But also, be aware of the other possibilities.
Prescott Park, located on the waterfront in beautiful Portsmouth, NH is a place I’ve visited and photographed often, really, really often!
I’ve photographed there at night.
(please excuse the overly intrusive watermark)
I’ve photographed there at sunrise.
(again with the giant watermark?)
I’ve even photographed there in the winter.
But ever since picking up my first camera back in 2008, the one time I’ve never been able to photograph there was during cherry blossom time.
Not once, not in 10+ years!
But how you ask, could someone who photographs a place as often as I photograph these beautiful gardens miss one of the most beautiful time to be in the garden? To tell you the truth, I ask myself the same thing each and every year! Each year I’ll see photos of this spectacular event as they’re posted to social media, and each year I tell myself, “next year.” Then next year comes and the bloom occurs mid week when I have my day job to think about.
Another possible reason I keep missing the cherry blossoms is that their bloom just so happens to be around the same time I’m gearing up for waterfalls. This time of year is peak time for waterfalls here in New Hampshire, and those of you who’ve been following along know I do love my waterfalls. Who knows?
All I know it I keep missing it!
But finally…
It Only Took 10 Years! (but who’s counting?)
Finally!
This year, finally, the stars aligned and I was able to make it down to the gardens in time for the cherry blossoms.
With a winter storm bearing down on the Northeast, with as much as 20″ of snow expected in some parts of New Hampshire, Saturday morning looked like it was going to be my only window of opportunity to venture out for a few photographs this past weekend.
So with high hopes I headed to the seacoast.
Unfortunately the departing clouds from the previous days weather front hadn’t finished departing. Looking towards the horizon it seemed I was in for a rather uneventful sunrise.
There was a hint of golden light on the horizon, so maybe I’d get lucky? So I set up my camera and waited. Soon even that would be blocked by the clouds, removing any remaining hope of a spectacular sunrise and fiery skies.
Maybe I should have slept in instead?
All was not lost.
Luckily, even though the sky towards the horizon was nothing to write home about, just a few steps and a turn to the left made it all worthwhile.
Starting January 1st, most of my images will be available for purchase by simply clicking on the image.
A Little Post Holiday Humor to Start The Year Off Right.
First let’s be clear, I’m not talking about photos like the one below where I wasn’t careful enough when leveling my camera on the tripod. For this I should be flogged!
I’m talking about those images where for some unknown reason the photographer chose to tilt the camera at an awkward and extreme angle when taking the shot.
Why?
Is the photographer trying to be “artsy”? Are they trying to rescue an otherwise poorly done photograph, thinking a severe tilt to the horizon might distract viewers from bad light, bad composition, bad subject, all of the above? All I know is that to my eye anyway, a tilted horizon in a land or seascape photo rarely (and by that I mean never) looks right.
I’m not sure when tilted horizons, or the “Dutch Tilt” as it is commonly known, became a “thing” in landscape photography? Or even more importantly, WHY?
But in all seriousness, WHY?
Here’s the non-tilted version. Notice how you no longer feel the need to tilt your head or your monitor to view it? Not the greatest photo I know, but at least you’re not getting a sore neck trying to look at it.
Why is it that the “Dutch Tilt” is so overused by beginners?
( By the way, my sincerest apologies to the Dutch, I know how I’d feel if people started calling it the “Sinon Slant” 😀 )
Are beginners more prone to falling over and accidentally pressing the shutter button on their way down?
Is there a bad batch of cameras out there that have internal levels that are grossly out of calibration?
Who knows?
Let’s start off the New Year right, break out the bubble levels, dust off your protractors and the T-squares, and lets keep those horizons horizontal in 2019.
As Forest Gump might say, “horizon and horizontal go together just like peas and carrots.”
In this, the second in my series of (hopefully) thought provoking questions about landscape photography, I ask, do you think buying a more expensive, higher end camera will make you a better photographer?
Do you feel that in some meaningful way your current camera is holding you back in such a way that you’re unable to create the images you want to make?
After all, both entry level and high-end professional level cameras have the ability to set aperture, shutter speed, and ISO, everything you need for a properly exposed photograph.
For the record, I’m not referring to the technical aspects of “Better,” lower noise due to better high ISO performance, or larger sensor size, etc.
These are all topics I’ll be covering in upcoming posts though.
When I say “Better,” I mean artistically better, beautifully composed, well exposed, images of stunning scenes with amazing light.
Jeff Sinon Photography 