Tag Archives: long exposure

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.

Abundance

Posted by Mike on

The spring run off has definitely filled the lake. The outcropping of trees is normally a good spot to stand for sunset pictures in the summer.

Abundance Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/2s, 55mm, f/22, ISO 100

Abundance
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/2s, 55mm, f/22, ISO 100

Swirl

Posted by Mike on

I knew it was going to rain eventually today and the forecast was for a 20-30 degree temperature drop so I stopped on the way home from work to walk a section of the barge canal trail. My intention was to capture some images of the dredging equipment. The state is doing some serious cleanup of our section of the canal right now. Those images didn’t turn out so well…

There was some great subtle light coming through the cloud cover and while I walked back toward the car I found a few opportunities to play with some intentional camera movement captures. ICM is another long exposure technique where the camera is moved while the shutter is open (yes, on purpose!). There was a soft breeze creating some gentle movement of the water in the canal. I found a few isolated rocks along the edge where the water and light created interesting patterns.

I must have captured 2-3 dozen images but was only happy with a few of the results. Getting the right balance of movement is not as easy as you would think. I do like the results and think this technique is something I will be exploring more going forward.

My favorite from last evening…

Swirl Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/5s, 55mm, f/13, ISO 100

Swirl
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/5s, 55mm, f/13, ISO 100

Washed Ashore

Posted by Mike on

I know I am addicted to books. I rarely throw a book away or even give it away. I have been known to loan out a book but if I do I will be after you to get it back to me. When I started down this photography journey I immediately turned to books. I wanted to read about this new joy of mine. To learn as much as I could.

And I don’t just borrow them from the library, I buy them. They become part of my collection. Imagine my joy when after receiving one of David duChemin’s books from my kids for Christmas I discovered his Craft & Vision website. I found the eBooks! Admittedly I went a little nuts. I’m still working my way through reading all the ones I downloaded.

I recently finished Andrew Gibson’s book Slow – The Magic of Long-Exposure Photography. I have known about and even attempted some long exposure images but reading this book really opened my eyes to new possibilities. I’m no reviewer so I will defer to Scott Thomas at Views Infinitum who reviewed this book last November.

Here is another image from my night at Delta Lake which is a result of Gibson’s eBook…

Washed Ashore Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 5s, 19mm, f/18, ISO 100

Washed Ashore
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 5s, 19mm, f/18, ISO 100

And the same image in its original color version…

Washed Ashore - Color Version Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 5s, 19mm, f/18, ISO 100

Washed Ashore – Color Version
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 5s, 19mm, f/18, ISO 100