by tmoffett | Jul 18, 2010 | Color, Family, Photographic Philosophy
Salt Lake LDS Temple
I love the song Photographs and Memories by Jim Croce. This photograph is one that brings back great memories for me. It is where Christeena and I were married over 20 years ago. We have had a great life together and I look forward to an eternity of happiness with her!
Making photographs is one way that we keep memories alive. Not every photo is a masterpiece or a work of art, nor need it be. Often, as a photographer I have a hard time taking “snapshots” because I have it in my head to make every shot count. I slow down and think too much when I should be shooting away, and before I know it the moment is gone. For this reason, Christeena takes most of our snapshots. I need to change. There is a time and a place for the artwork, and a time and a place for snapshots, and I need to learn the difference.
Sometimes a photograph can create great memories and be a piece of art at the same time. This image was created years after our marriage while on a family trip back to the Salt Lake area. While helping the younger kids at a drinking fountain I looked up and saw this image. I had wanted to make a photo of the temple that was different than all of the others I had seen, and this just happen to be the one. Fortunately I had my serious camera with me and I quickly set up and made the image. A 20×30 print hangs in my house as a reminder of that wonderful day more than 20 years ago.
by tmoffett | Jul 11, 2010 | Color, Family, Random images
Bayhorse, Idaho
Just up the road from the kilns that I posted yesterday is the city of Bayhorse. In its day it was a booming mining town. The first miners moved in hoping to find gold, but it was silver that was in abundance here. Now there is nothing left here, but just upstream there is a little lake that has some terrific fishing. That is where we were headed when I stopped to photograph for a while. I love to fish, but if I have to choose between fishing and photographing, the camera nearly always wins out. Just ask my kids! They often get tired waiting for me to get the shot. Instead of hearing “Are we there yet?” on a family trip, it is “Hurry up dad, we’ll never get there at this pace!” This day was no exception.
We still got to the lake in time to catch some fish.
by tmoffett | Jun 15, 2010 | Color, Composition, Family, Landscape, Photographic Philosophy
Wailua Falls, Kauai
The weather in Kauai is incredible! I was there in January with Christeena. We woke up one morning to rain and cool temperatures, so we drove 10 miles and were in sunshine and 80 degrees. The day we went to Wailua Falls was one of those rainy/sunny days. It was sunny when we left the hotel, then began raining as we drove up to the falls, stopped for a few minutes then the rain came down fairly hard, then the sun broke through for a while… any way, you get the picture. We decided to go down to the bottom of the falls, which was an adventure. It is very steep and due to the wet weather, quite slippery. I thank whoever is responsible for the ropes, which made the hike fairly safe.
Once at the bottom, the fun began. Shooting between cloudbursts and trying to get balanced light between the sky above and the falls and the river at the bottom was a challenge. “Hurry up and wait” is my motto. I will often set up and then wait for the light. Once everything falls into place, then I shoot.
The spray was heavy at the bottom of the waterfall, so I had to keep cleaning the lens. I set up on some rocks in the middle of the river in order to get the blue reflection of the sky in the water, as well as to capture some ripples to add some interesting movement to the photograph. After slipping on the rocks and nearly going in the river a couple of times, I was able to capture this image that I am quite pleased with.
by tmoffett | Jun 12, 2010 | Color, Family, Landscape, Photo tips, Photographic Philosophy
Mountain Stream
As great as it is to be away, it is always good to get back home. I haven’t had a chance to even look at what I shot yesterday on our way home, as we got in about 2:00AM and I was too tired to even look at them, so I am posting an earlier image from my archives today. I will be posting more images from this trip in the future, so come back often!
I mentioned that we got home at about 2:00AM, and we almost didn’t even get home at all last night. We came back on Hwy 26 through central Oregon, stopping along the way to photograph. It is a beautiful drive, and I would highly recommend it. We gassed up in Eugene, thinking it would be no problem getting gas along the way. I had no idea how hard it is to find gas in Oregon after 8:00. When the stations are closed, the pumps are disabled so you can’t even purchase gas with a credit card. Anyway, the low fuel warning came on in Vail, and we made it to Ontario on fumes and found a station open there, so thankfully, we didn’t have to spend the night in the truck on the side of the road.
This image, Mountain Stream, is an Idaho photograph, shot some time ago. I have been intrigued with the motion of water for a long time. Water is powerful, however it also has a very delicate side to it. The soft flow as it winds itself down the mountainside in the evening light creates a calm and peaceful feeling. I love black and white, however in this image, I feel that using the green foliage to frame the rocks and stream were really powerful. The color has a purpose here. If there is no purpose for the color, in other words, if it does not add to the image, then I keep it black and white. I am a strong believer that every element in the image should add to the effectiveness of the final piece of art. If it does not, then it should be somehow removed.
To see more of Terrell”s photographs, see MoffettGallery.com.
by tmoffett | May 29, 2010 | Color, Family, Photo tips, Portraits
Simple Life
I’m going to break from the landscape images I have been showcasing lately, and post something completely different today. I was looking back through my files the other day and came across this image that I made when testing a new camera a while back. I know, this is just a snapshot of my daughter when she was 2, but there are some good things that we can learn from it. What is it that makes photographs of people, whether it be a formal portrait or just a snapshot, stand out from the rest? Lighting? Background? Cropping? … All of these are very important, however one thing, in my opinion, that we must watch for is the eyes. If the “eyes are smiling” and they are well lit, then they will overshadow some of the other flaws of the image. The eyes are the windows to the soul, and by having them well lit and looking good, we, the viewers, are drawn in to the image.
by tmoffett | May 3, 2010 | Black and White, Critique, Family, Photo tips, Portraits
Logan
In today’s post, I want to discuss a little bit about my philosophy of portrait photography. While in a fine art piece, I want everything perfect, both in the visual and in the technical aspects. In portraiture, I can give up a little perfection in order to capture a meaningful, emotional portrait, especially when it comes to children. It is all about the feeling, the memory, the inner workings of a child. This image, Logan, is a portrait of my own son, created a couple years ago, so I can discuss it both as a photographer and as a parent.
There are a few technical problems with this image that I know judges would get me for in competition, but frankly, when working with a client I really don’t care what the judges will say. I am concerned about the client. What do they want? What do they see? How can I make an image that will mean something to them? For instance, in this image, the expression is wonderful. This particular son loves to put on his “camera smile” anytime I get him in front of the camera. It is very artificial. I have many photographs of it. This time I was able to put him at ease, let him sit up on the stool and get comfortable. Before he knew it, I had the image. No time to put on the “camera face.” Just a genuine, pleasant, happy expression. I can see in his eyes the pleasant, happy child that he is. In working this way to get the perfect expression, I had neglected something else…his feet. Or had I? Yes, many a competition judge may say, “I don”t like the foot position, it is drawing too much attention.” However, what I see, is a child whose feet have outgrown the body, and now the body needs to catch up. It happens with every child. Also, the first thing to come off when my children enter the house is their shoes. They love to be barefoot. This portrait reminds me of that. Could I have covered the foot with a dark sock or shoe and pleased an audience that knows nothing about this child? Yes. But why, when it would remove some of the meaning for whom it belongs?
No matter what any critic may say, this is still one of my favorite images that I have of Logan in my collection of our family portraits. It shows me who he really is, what he is all about. The peace and joy that he brings to our home. I never tire of looking at images like this. They have meaning to me. I only hope that the portraits I create for my clients bring as much joy to them as this one does to me.
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