by tmoffett | Jun 18, 2010 | Black and White, Composition, Landscape
John Day Fossil Beds, Painted Hills Unit
On our way home from the Oregon Coast last week, one of the reasons we nearly ran out of gas was because we stopped at the fossil beds to photograph and by the time we got back on the road and into a town with a gas station they were all closed. I am working on a panoramic image form here that I will post later, but this one I have grown to like as well. It really looks good as a larger print, so I hope you get the effect here.
The sun was setting and skimming across the surface of the hills causing them to really stand out against the brush around them. The diagonals flowing from left to right, top to bottom and then the lighter hills moving in the opposite direction break up the composition just enough to keep it interesting. This is one of those photographs that I was pulled into and started shooting, although I didn’t know exactly why. It was after I started working on it to get ready to print that I began to fall in love with it. It sort of grows on you. The more I look at it, the more I like it. The light, the line, the repetition, the movement of the brush in the foreground due to wind… I’m not sure what I like most. Maybe it is the whole experience.
Technical info: Canon 5D, Canon 24-70 2.8L @ 35mm, f22, 1.3 sec., ISO 100
More images at MoffettGallery.com.
by tmoffett | Jun 14, 2010 | Black and White, Landscape, Photographic Philosophy
Yachats Waves
While traveling down the coast we were nearly always in the midst of stormy weather. The wind was blowing and the waves pounding. It may not have been the perfect weather for vacationing, but as a working vacation for a photographer it was nearly ideal. Even in the storm, there is beauty to be found, we just have to look for it. This same concept applies to life as well.
In Yachats Waves, you can’t see the storm, only the beauty that it brings. These rocks are 10-12 feet above the ocean. The waves are pounding into the rock and washing over the tops, and then the water returns to the sea below. What looks like a stream is really the aftermath of that violent collision of an ocean wave with the rocky shoreline. Making this image was not easy. We climbed out onto the rocky shelf, dodging the water as it washed ashore. Christeena actually was holding an umbrella to protect our gear from the spray of sea water as the waves hit the rocks in front and beside us. We did take risks. We did get wet. We did get the shot. We must pay the price in order to reap the reward.
by tmoffett | Jun 11, 2010 | Black and White, Landscape
Ona Beach
Yesterday brought another day of rain on the Oregon coast. We did get a few breaks, just long enough to get a few images with clouds in the sky. While at Ona Beach, we photographed while watching the storm move in. We were about a 15 minute walk to the truck, and when we thought the storm to be about 15 minutes from land we headed back. We judged wrong. We got wet. Oh well, it was worth it.
This morning we are starting back towards home, not sure if we will go all the way today or not. Kind of depends on what we find along the way. We have had a great trip and photographically, quite productive. It has been a great jump start to my summer break.
by tmoffett | Jun 10, 2010 | Black and White, Landscape, Photo tips
Angry Sea, Yachats, Oregon
Yesterday was a very wet day on the Oregon coast. We had rain and angry seas all day. After a trip to the Marine Science Center in Newport, hoping that it would dry out a bit, we headed to the Bayfront to check out some galleries. Still raining, so went went to Mo’s for lunch. While waiting for our meal, the rain stopped, for a minute. We decided to head south. We stopped at Seal Rock, a very interesting place when the light is right, but not today.
Driving through Yachats, we found a place where the waves were pounding into the rocks and creating quite a scene. The whole day the sea had been rough, and this was a perfect place to illustrate that. I climbed out on the rocks and started photographing, and then the rain came again. Trying to keep the lens dry was a challenge, and I lost a couple of pretty good images due to water on the splashing on the lens. The sky was pretty dull, so I tried to keep it out of the frame. The wave rolling in made a much more interesting background, as you can see here. Timing on this image was a challenge as well. Getting the waves rolling in the background at the same time as the water from the previous wave was washing over the rocks and back into the ocean was tough, but did happen just right on occasion.
This is an example of a time when many would give up because it is wet and cold and miserable. I have seen it many times. I am so glad that I did not give in yesterday. When a challenge arises, conditions maybe not optimum, I have found that if I reach into my heart go out with determination I can still create meaningful photographs. Persistence will always pay off.
More images available at MoffettGallery.com.
by tmoffett | Jun 3, 2010 | Black and White, Composition, Landscape, Photographic Philosophy
Frozen in Time
Years ago I created a set of images in upstate New York. This set of work proved to be very important in my development as a photographer. After completing a 15 print portfolio, I laid all of the photographs out and viewed them at the same time. That was the first time I realized that I really was putting myself in my work. It was exciting and almost scary at the same time. I could see my life, my emotions in the images. I could see where my vision was coming from. My photography was becoming very personal to me. Whether others could see it or not did not matter, To me there was meaning. To be able to express ones feelings in their work, that is art!
Today’s image, Frozen in Time, is one piece from that series of photographs. The deep meaning this image has for me, I am not going to say, however, as you look into the image, what does it say to you? Notice the interesting physical phenomenon going in within its frame. The plates of ice hanging on the tree trunks, the way the light gets brighter as you look deeper into the woods, the strength of the vertical trees within a strong horizontal composition. To me the image speaks. What is it saying to you?
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by tmoffett | May 30, 2010 | Architecture, Black and White, Composition, Photo tips
Rexburg Temple
On a trip to Eastern Idaho, I stopped in Rexburg tor a visit some friends, who ended up not being at home. this turned out to be a good thing, as I had a chance to photograph in an area I had not had the chance before. The whole story I mentioned in an earlier post that you can find here. This image is the one I was capturing when I noticed the clouds moving in the other direction.
When shooting architecture, I always look for interesting angles. In this case, I had shot the standard “whole building” shot, and wasn’t at all happy. It looked like something anyone could and would do. I started looking at what made this temple different. It is narrower and taller than most, so I tried to emphasize those characteristics. I came in close, selected a wide angle lens, made sure to compose with the foliage in the foreground to act as a natural frame and then waited for the clouds to move to a desirable location. The resulting image is both pleasing and different. I then turned and headed across the street to photograph the clouds rolling in.
More images can be seen at MoffettGallery.com.
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