Author Archives: Mike

Movement

Posted by Mike on

How do you capture the wind?

I sat in the chair in the living room on Sunday reading a book as the wind whipped the trees outside. It was a pretty nice day with intermittent sun and a wonderful cloud cover. There was a few sprinkles occurring every now and then but nothing really too drastic to fully ruin the day. It was the wind that had my attention.

From where I was sitting I could see various trees out the window and watching the effect of the wind was quite mesmerizing. And then the sun poked through the clouds. The added benefit of spotted highlights really had me thinking I needed to capture this movement. My first few attempts with the trees just didn’t work out. I went around back and tried with the lilac bush. Success!

The lighting wasn’t as dramatic as the trees from my window but the effect of the wind is definitely visible. My method of capturing the wind is to capture what it does…

Movement #1 Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/10s, 28mm, f/22, ISO 100

Movement #1
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/10s, 28mm, f/22, ISO 100

Movement #2 Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/10s, 28mm, f/25, ISO 100

Movement #2
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/10s, 28mm, f/25, ISO 100

Movement #3 Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/8s, 35mm, f/25, ISO 100

Movement #3
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/8s, 35mm, f/25, ISO 100

Purple Field

Posted by Mike on

Late in the day yesterday the wind finally subsided enough for me to venture out with the camera. I thought about going a few times over the weekend (actually, the next post is about movement) but being primarily a landscape/detail kind of guy I didn’t see where I would come home with anything useful. I was also consumed by Dan Brown’s latest novel which contributed to my lethargy.

I pass this field across from the town park numerous times a day. These purple flowers have held my attention lately so I made a concerted effort to stop and capture a few images. This is the best I came away with. I think there is still a better image in that field. I’ll have to give it a go again soon.

Purple Field Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/40s, 38mm, f/16, ISO 100

Purple Field
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/40s, 38mm, f/16, ISO 100

Scott’s Assignment 25: Your Photography Passion

Posted by Mike on

This is the big 25 for Scott Thomas‘s photography assignments. He really took it in a different direction and is looking for our photography passion. I delayed as long as I could on this and even as I write this I’m not completely positive the direction I will go.

I’m not confident I am far enough along in my journey to identify or even understand what my passion is. I do know I love being out with the camera. I carry the thing with me everywhere I go. I will stop along the road and chase after a view I spotted. I’ll get up early and stay out late just to catch the light at the bookends of the day. Even tonight, I was getting ready to do the dishes after dinner and I spotted an illuminated solitary dandelion under the pine tree in the back yard. I dropped everything, grabbed the camera and tripod to headed outside. I’m not sure anything will come of the image but I had to try and capture what I saw.

Scott kindly provided a few links about photography passion in a separate post and I am going to borrow a few lines from one of them.  In a post on the Psychology for Photographers website this passage caught my attention:

Passions are often confused with hobbies, but there is a critical difference. A hobby is “a pursuit outside one’s regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation.”

Passions, on the other hand, are not relaxing. Passions don’t leave you alone. Passions insert themselves into your life whether you have time for them or not. Passions soothe you and drive you crazy at the same time.

We think of a passion as something we love, an overwhelming feeling of devotion and obsession. But in older English, ‘passion’ also meant ‘suffering‘. And even now, passions will exact a high price from us – but one we never seem to mind paying.

By that definition I know I can identify a few passions in my life. One is Disney. As any reader of this blog might have concluded by now I am a huge fan of Disney. I’m not just talking about the theme parks but more about the man and what he built. I know it isn’t perfect, what is, but I enjoy it immensely. I travel to Walt Disney World numerous times a year. I enjoy reading about Walt, the company, the theme parks and just about anything I can get my hands on. I troll eBay for used books I can’t get new any more. I have close to 75 books on this subject alone.

The second passion in my life, although it has been on the back burner lately, is video games. I grew up when the whole culture was just beginning. I never had any of those early systems myself but would spends hours playing on anything I could when at friends houses. And then I grew up and could afford my own stuff. I’m writing this in a room that has an entertainment system in one corner with just about every modern video game system there is. Don’t look in the other corners… there are shelves full of Disney memorabilia. LOL

My third definite passion is photography. My only problem is I can’t identify what my photography passion is. I like to capture landscapes. I’m pining over a macro lens so I can get better close up images. I’ve recently discovered I really enjoy long exposure and intentional camera movement photography. And I have found I want to create images that do more than capture the scene. I want to try and capture the feeling or mood. I want the image to evoke an emotion. I’m not always successful and not every image has to bring that emotion forward. Sometimes, an image is just a pretty picture.

So for now, to answer to Scott’s question: my photography passion is photography. I’m passionate about learning everyday. I try new things, make mistakes, turn and try something different. I’m passionate about using the camera to let this unknown creative side come out. A side I think I forgot I had. And I’m passionate to share what I have created. The feeling I get when someone comments about an image is fantastic. I’m not sure if this is what Scott was looking for in this current assignment but I will say it had me thinking.

The dandelion under the pine tree…

Illumination Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/320s, 200mm, f/5.6, ISO 200

Illumination
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/320s, 200mm, f/5.6, ISO 200

You can view an assortment of my favorite types of images by following these links: landscapes, long exposure, intentional camera movement and Disney.