by tmoffett | Jun 23, 2010 | Color, Landscape, Photo tips
Sunset Silhouette
As a landscape photographer I am always watching the sky. An interesting sky can really add to an image. Sometimes it is the image. Such is the case here.
Something I have learned through the years is to always be prepared. If you don’t have your camera, you can’t make the photograph. I was on vacation, staying at my brother-in-laws house when I stepped out on the balcony and saw this incredible sky. Fortunately I had learned to keep a camera with me. I quickly set up and captured this scene.
When photographing the sunset, one tip is to make sure to not overexpose the image. Your in camera meter will ofttimes tell you to do just that. You must be in control and tell the camera what to do! To get really rich colors, I will often reduce my exposure by one to two full stops. That will also create the silhouette in the foreground which helps to simplify the composition. I am often asked if I manipulated the color in this photo, and the answer is no. It was all done in camera. Shooting the scene correctly will allow you to print larger and higher quality prints. The more you manipulate an image in Photoshop, the more degradation that occurs to the image, thus reducing the overall quality of the finished print. That is why it is so important to master your camera before learning Photoshop.
by tmoffett | Jun 22, 2010 | Color, Composition, Landscape, Uncategorized
Sunbathing Allowed
A crisp Saturday morning at sunrise brought calm and empty waters at Lake Lowell. Just an hour later and the lake would be bustling with watercraft and fishermen. And little later than that and this dock would be filled with swimmers and sunbathers of all ages. I just happen to catch the calm before the storm!
While walking along the shoreline near the boat ramp I found this view of the dock. The blue sky at dawn reflecting on the water seemed to give a cool feeling to the whole scene. What really makes the image for me, though are the string of orange buoys leading from the dock to the trees on the left. They provide just enough pattern and complimentary color to break up the smooth cool tones throughout the photograph. I love the feel, the texture and color. It all works together for the good of the image.
by tmoffett | Jun 21, 2010 | Color, Landscape, Photo tips
Washed Ashore
I began photographing this log that had washed ashore as an example of an assignment I give some of my classes. I have the students find a subject and make at least 30 completely different images of hat subject. I want them to look at different angles and lighting. High, low, left, right, front lighting, back lighting, early morning, afternoon, etc. After about 20 images I really started having fun looking for new angles. I ended up with about 50 shots to pick from. I had close-ups of the water dripping from the decayed wood near the base, images of the 10 foot log that is hidden on the backside of this end, shots from eye level that show this in its true size (it is actually less than 3 feet tall), wide shots that de-emphasize the log and many other options.
This is a great exercise in vision. It helps develop vision in the beginner as well as keep the seasoned pro sharp. Any time I start feeling a little flat in my work, this exercise helps to get me out of the rut. It is even more effective when you do this exercise with another photographer and then critique each others images. Learning to see and developing your personal vision is vital to becoming a successful photographer. There is so much technical stuff in photography that we can easily get caught up in that we forget to let our feelings and instinct get involved in the process. If we can’t get to that point-letting feelings into our image making, then our photos will be lifeless. I really saw that happen in the series of photos that led up to this one. I was at first thinking about getting 30 images that I was thinking too hard. After about 20 shots I began to just go with the flow, whatever I felt I shot. That is when the “good stuff” began happening. I was no longer thinking about the technical things, they were taking care of themselves (comes from many rears of shooting!). I was having fun composing in the viewfinder, watching the waves and timing them as I waited at beach level to shoot another shot, moving around the log and looking from different directions, watching how the clouds moved and framed the log as I moved positions,…
This is what photography is all about. Having fun and sharing my vision of the world with others.
by tmoffett | Jun 20, 2010 | Architecture, Color
Boise LDS Temple
I do not shoot a lot of architecture, but on occasion get an itch to do something different than the natural landscape that I am so involved with currently. The Boise LDS Temple is one building that I have wanted to shoot for a long time. I have seen a lot of images that I think do not do it justice. I have felt that I could create a better image. I guess you could say it was a personal challenge to do this one. One evening when I needed to get out and photograph I decided I would give it a try.
One of the keys to successful architecture photography is to make sure that the light on the building and the lighting on the landscape that it is in are balanced. If the sky and surroundings are too bright, then they will take away the focus on the building. I arrived about 45 minutes before sunset in order to be able to set up and be ready as the sun dropped below the horizon. I had figured that just as the sun set the light would be in near perfect balance. On this evening I was lucky to have some color in the sky, which reflected off of the windows and trim on the front of the temple, giving some extra color contrast to the image.
After making this exposure, I wanted to try something different. I loved the tulips in front of the temple and decided to emphasize them. To do that, I dropped down a bit and moved in tight. I chose a small aperture in order to get everything in focus. These images cannot be done with a hand-held camera, you must be on a tripod. This is what I got.
Boise Temple and Tulips
I am not sure which one is my favorite. There are things about both that I like. I like how the spires line up perfectly with the corners of the roof on the second image. The color in the tulips is nice as well. If you have an opinion, I would live the feedback.
by tmoffett | Jun 17, 2010 | Color, Composition, Landscape
Aspens, Jackson Hole, WY
Not everything that I photograph is water. I love nature and spend a lot of time in the outdoors. I have learned that wherever you are images can be made. If the light is right then you can find a composition that will be nice.
I was in Jackson Hole, Wyoming a while back for some meetings and found some time to go our photographing. We (Christeena and I) had been out photographing some barns and other old structures when it started raining, I mean really raining. We found shelter in the car and decided to wait out the storm. As the rain slowed, the sun peeked through the clouds and its diffused light fell on this small aspen grove that was right in front of where we had parked the car. I got out, composed and shot. It doesn’t happen that easy very often.
The dappled, soft light falling on the aspens and wet grass create and almost painterly look here that is wonderful. The soft color, the repetition of the trees, and all of the elements in play here add to the beauty in nature that we often find right after a rainstorm. Everything feels and smells so fresh. It was that feeling of freshness that I was trying to capture.
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by tmoffett | Jun 16, 2010 | Color, Composition, Landscape, Photo tips
Aqua Wave
Not all of my images of water are motion blurred. Sometimes it is more effective to stop the action. While I was shooting on the ocean, I was drawn in to the color of the water. It was most apparent when a wave would break and there was a little light coming through the backside. The wave would become nearly transluscent and the aqua color very dominant. It was as though the color changed from blue to green for just that instant. Capturing that color was only possible by stopping the motion in the image. Timing had to be perfect as well or the whitewater overpowered the aqua color. I followed wave after wave until this one broke in just the right location to capture the color I was after.
Even thought the motion has been stopped here, the curl of the water and the strong diagonal composition still leave you with a sense of motion. Also the shallow depth of field help to isolate the wave against the background, something that with a longer depth would just not happen. The background would become a distraction instead of an enhancer that it is here. I like the feeling that the wave is right on top of you, like it is going to jump out of the frame and get you wet.
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