by tmoffett | Nov 23, 2010 | Color, Landscape, Ramblings
Reflections, Lake Cascade
This happens to be one of my favorite images from Lake Cascade. There are a lot of things I like about the image, but my mind is drawing a blank as to what to write today. It is my first real experience with writers block. I have experienced something like this photographically, however. On occasion I just don’t feel like making photographs. “Where should I go?” “What should I photograph?” “I really am not feeling it.” These and other comments and questions enter my mind. How do I get over them? I photograph. I force myself to get out my camera and I go looking for images. Sometimes days like this lead me to my best photographs. Laziness breeds mediocrity. Perseverance leads to success. Times when I don’t feel like working or creating are the times when I MUST create. If I do, I grow more as an artist and reap greater rewards, both artistically and personally.
I have heard many times others saying, “I wish I could photograph like you.” You can! However, it takes work. I read. I study hard. I look at photographs of those who inspire me. I am out at the crack of dawn on cold winter mornings packing my camera and tripod, even on mornings when I don’t think I feel like it. I work hard at what I do, learning to feel the image. Trying to create what I feel inside. And then it happens. I let go of my doubts and begin to see. The image on the ground glass or in the viewfinder matches the one in my heart and mind! Success. It makes the work all worth it.
by tmoffett | Nov 22, 2010 | Color, Photographic Philosophy
Shoreline, 804 Trail
There is something that I love about photographs made with long shutter speeds. In the evening, my favorite time to photograph, long shutter speeds are a necessity, but even during the day I will use a neutral density filter in order to slow down the shutter. There is a feeling that comes with long shutter speeds that just is not present in photographs made with fast speeds. Things in motion are rendered in motion, and that creates a fluidity that is just not possible any other way.
In the evening, or even after the sun has set, leaving the shutter open for extreme amounts of time, often will create a sense of mystery or eeriness, a definite mood. When viewing the image it creates a sense of actually being there. This is what much of my landscape photography is about. I really want a feeling, and emotion to be stirred. I hope the viewer can enjoy the work, and feel something close to the feeling I get when creating it.
by tmoffett | Nov 19, 2010 | Color, Landscape, Photo tips
Mushroom
On an overcast afternoon last month I was strolling the 804 trail with my camera and photographing the ocean waves and the shoreline. It was a wonderful experience, as the tide was coming in and the waves raging from the unsettled weather. After some time, the sun decided to show itself and I decided that I was through photographing, as the high sun was way too harsh for my liking. On the way back to the hotel, I decided to step into the woods and look around. I found several interesting mushrooms growing, so I decided to photograph them.
While the light on the ocean at noon is not good, when getting back in the shade of the trees the light became soft and rich. It reflected off of the mushroom so soft and nice, it almost looked like it was glowing. I felt like I was on a treasure hunt, searching for mushrooms! I learned that they come in lots of varieties, some very interesting. It was also reinforced in my mind that the subject of a photograph can be just about anything. If the light is right, anything can look good. I keep telling my students that if they can find the light, then the subject will appear, they just have to be observant. If I could just get them to believe in themselves and in this philosophy they would start making interesting photographs.
by tmoffett | Nov 17, 2010 | Color, Photographic Philosophy
Taming the Sea
Long exposures are amazing! I use them all the time in my landscape photography. I find that long exposures help create mood and feeling in images. Due to the fact that I shoot a lot of my photographs before sunrise or after sunset I am forced to use long exposures. The image shown here is a 15 second exposure. While the sea was rough and wild that morning, the long exposure smoothed out the scene and calmed the troubled waters. It created an almost mist-like looking photograph. Instead of a snapshot looking image where you see every drop of water and the rough waves, a long exposure seemed to calm the sea.
by tmoffett | Nov 16, 2010 | Color, Composition, Landscape
Framed
Hiking through Ecola State Park near Cannon Beach with Christeena and my camera was a great way to spend an evening. We had no timetable. No place to be. Just enjoy the company and the scenery. We all need a break now and then, and this one proved to be just what I needed to refresh my spirit. I love being with my family, but that is not always a vacation! However, when it is just the two of us it is very much that needed vacation.
This image I found while descending a trail in the park just before sunset. The back lit leaves made a perfect frame for the haze filled mountainside. The haze cut the contrast to just manageable and created the illusion of depth in the image.I don’t usually photograph with the subject dead center in the frame, but this time it worked. It is those situations that are different like this that I am always on the lookout for. Breaking the rules with a purpose. That is what makes photographing exciting for me.
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