Sunday’s Hidden Treasure
Falling Waters.
Camera Body: Canon EOS 1D Mk IIN
Lens: Canon 70-200 f4L non-IS
ISO 400, f11 @ 0.5 seconds.
Original capture date: Oct. 3, 2010
Don’t Forget!
You have until January 5th, 2013 to cast your vote for your favorite JSP image of 2012. You can win print of it too! Details HERE.
Sunday’s Hidden Treasure.
Awaiting The Launch.
Not long after sunrise, large groups of photographers gather for the morning launch of the hot air balloons at the 2010 Pittsfield, NH Hot Air Balloon Festival.
Canon EOS 1D Mk IIN
Canon EF 50mm f1.4
iso 100, 6 seconds @ f11
Sunday’s Hidden Treasure.
Buried treasure, hidden gems, forgotten images.
Beginning today, I’m starting a new weekly series titled, you guessed it, “Sunday’s Hidden Treasure.”
I love to make photographs, and I make a lot of them. That’s not to say I’m a “spray and pray, hope for the best” photographer. I am quite deliberate when I press the shutter. However, I am also big on experimentation, unconventional angles, compositions, when everyone else’s cameras are pointing up, mine will be pointing down, etc., so I shoot a lot.
Usually only one or two favorite photos from a day’s shoot catch my eye. I’ll then enhance them to my liking, to then be shared with the world. The other photos, many of them as good, for whatever reason go forgotten as I move on the next shoot.
This series is dedicated to those images that are overlooked. The “Hidden Treasure” buried deep, lost and forgotten, on my hard drive.
Without further delay, this weeks Hidden Treasure.
This weeks Hidden Treasure is an intimate portrait of Garwin Falls in Wilton, NH. Captured on 9/15/2012
(Click on image for a larger view)
Camera: Canon EOS 7D
Lens: Tamron 17-50 f2.8 with B+W CPL filter
Settings: 23mm, iso 100, 13 seconds@f8
Are there any Hidden Treasures waiting to be rediscovered on your hard drive?
Go on a treasure hunt, you may be surprised at what you might find. I’d love to see what you come up with.
Waist Deep in Water Lilies.
Wading In A Sea Of Pink, White, And Green.
This post is also serving double duty as my entry this week in the Weekly Photo Challenge. This weeks theme is “Inside.” The image below shows the outside of a soon to bloom fragrant water-lily. The image following that one shows the “Inside.” See, pretty sneaky huh?.
The Outside.
To Get Close…
To get close to one of my favorite floral photo subjects almost always requires getting wet. It might be only ankle-deep, but to get to that “perfect” flower, I’ve been known to go over my waist in the wet stuff. “Why not use a canoe or a kayak?” you might ask. One word, waves. In a kayak, no matter how still you think you’re sitting the boat will move creating camera movement along with ripples on the water, ripples that in turn cause subject movement. Add the two together and it gets pretty tough to get a sharp photograph.
…You Need To Get Wet.
So in the water, tripod in hand, I go. Once I’m set up and the image composed in the viewfinder, I simply stand still, it takes but a few seconds for the water to settle down enough to get your shot. The lily pads also help as a natural buffer to the water’s movement.
If you’re a little leery of the muck and any creepy crawlies lurking in the water you can wear waders, but I prefer to wade wet. Usually a pair of shorts and my Vibram Five Fingers is all my water-lily shooting wardrobe consists of.
The Inside.
Special Note: While looking through the viewfinder at the bright yellow stamen, you can actually see them unfolding as the flower opens. Pretty cool.
Surprisingly, one of the hardest things I have to deal with when photographing these beauties isn’t getting to them at all. What makes getting good images of them is the light. These flowers are particularly sun-loving and don’t open up until the sun is well above the horizon and the light is starting to get harsh. A nice overcast day is your friend, but when the sun hits the flower just right they almost seem to glow from within. Wind is another enemy of making a good photograph, as it acts on the flower itself, as well as on the water, which in turn acts on the flower. If there is more than the occasional slight breeze, I go home to return another time.
One last piece of advice for anyone who wants to get wet for their water lilies. Make sure you empty your pockets of any and all valuables that don’t play well with water. Your wallet and cell phone will thank you.
Lastly, be careful, you never know who might be watching your every move.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Dreaming
Dreaming? This is going to be tough.
Images that make me think “Dreaming?” This is going to take some thought. Along with an in-depth search of my Lightroom Library.
Here goes nothing…
A misty morning on my home lake.
My little girl fresh out of the water with a dreamy look on her face.
(I wish I knew where the RAW file for this image is. I have no idea what I did to get the image you see here)
I think this shot through the window of my favorite north country barn has a dreamy quality to it. Maybe not a good dream, but a dream none the less.
(To me, it’s the reflection in the window of the leafless winter trees that lends a creepy feeling to the photo)
A dreamy walk along the pier towards the setting sun.
Sure I might be reaching a bit, taking a little creative license so to speak, but that’s how I like to play.
