by tmoffett | Sep 12, 2010 | Color, Composition, Landscape
Horizon in Blue
This is one of the first successful images I made using the techniques I have been using for my Horizons series. The abstractness of the water created by the motion of the waves coming ashore while keeping the horizon line sharp creates an interesting feeling and mood that changes according to the color scheme of the image. The series started as an abstract study of color and has developed into a full portfolio that stands on its own. The mood created by the motion and color combination is unlike anything I have I have done in the past.
Horizons, the portfolio, began as an abstract study of color and motion on the sea while on an anniversary trip in Kauai. As I captured the motion of the waves as they came ashore, I became very interested in the feeling that a still image of moving matter created. The reflected colors from the sky in the water added to the emotion of each image as well. With all of the motion going on, the real challenge for me in this series of images is to maintain a crisp horizon line. By maintaining a sharp horizon, a reference point is made that helps to keep each image real, kind of dreamlike, but still grounded in reality. It is a feeling that I have not been able to recreate any other way.
by tmoffett | Sep 9, 2010 | Color, Composition, Landscape
In Search of Bass
Yesterday I posted a little bit about black and white. While I do love black and white, I have been into color a lot more the past couple of years. Much of my color work, however is monochromatic in nature. I just can’t get away from that look. One color, great tones, it just works.
What I like about this image is the fishermen. Everything is green except them. That draws the attention to them and breaks up the color just enough to make it work. Without them, this image just does not work at all. Along with the monochromatic color, repetition is at play here. Again, it is the two fishermen that break up the repetition enough to make it interesting. I was fortunate to be at the right place at the right time to capture the image.
by tmoffett | Sep 8, 2010 | Black and White, Composition, Landscape, Photo tips
Untitled
When working in black and white, there are many factors to consider while making the photograph. Tonal range, local contrast and composition to name a few. Usually the overall tonal range should go from a deep black to bright white while maintaining good detail throughout. If the exposure is off at all, loss of detail on one end of the scale or the other becomes a problem. Light quality is ever important in creating images with a great tonal range. Once the overall tonal range is established, local contrast, the contrast between to adjacent objects in the image, must be controlled. In the darkroom, I control this by using different grades of paper. With digital, I use curves adjustment layers with layer masking. When everything is just right you will end up with a print with rich tones and great detail.
Composition is another whole ball game. In the above image, line, repetition, texture and rule of thirds are all important. They work together to lead the viewers eye from the outside down inside the plant. While traveling down the plant, every prickly point is rendered in rich detail. I begin to feel the image. I know I do not want to touch it. It is sharp and prickly. the eye is led to the lower left quadrant, off center just enough to create interest.
I love black and white. Quality black and white photography is becoming a lost art. Digital cameras have made it too easy that we forget at times to slow down and think before pressing the shutter. Shooting by instinct is great, but first learn technique so that when shooting by instinct or feeling you get the tones and composition right. It will improve your photography, I promise!
by tmoffett | Sep 3, 2010 | Color, Composition, Landscape, Photographic Philosophy
Shoshone Falls
I like using different formats for my photographs. I know some photographers believe that one should always shoot “full frame,” but not me. Why should I let a camera manufacturer dictate the aspect ratio that my photographs should be? I feel that the photographer should be in control of the entire process, including final cropping. When a particular image would be best as a square, then make it square, if rectangle is best, then do that, and sometimes a panoramic format work best. I have shot with a 4×5 view camera quite a bit, but I really don’t like that format full frame. I often will crop the top and bottom 3/4 inch off to make it closer to 3×5. I find that a much more appealing format. I have been photographing that way off and on now for 25 years and I still like it.
One thing that I do believe in is to determine the crop before making the exposure. Previsualization is key. A great photographer will know at the time of exposure what he/she wants the finished piece to look like and knows how to get it. This applies not only to the cropping, but to the final look and feel of the image as well.
Digital photography has changed how I capture images, but it has not changed my vision much. I have had to learn new techniques, but only to the extent of enhancing my vision. The concept of previsualization is a hard one for many of my student to catch on to. With digital cameras offering instant feedback, the new philosophy is to shoot a thousand images and when then when editing, we are sure to find a good one. This thought process destroys the ability to make truly thoughtful art. It is not about creating meaningful images anymore, just pretty pictures. This way of thinking and creating is definitely not for me.
by tmoffett | Aug 31, 2010 | Color, Composition, Landscape
Sunset, Melba, Idaho
A sunset is not just about the sunset. While the color is what pulls us in, there must also be something to hold our attention. I am always searching for that “something.” It can be in the foreground, it could be the horizon line, maybe an interesting silhouette or maybe some birds. Just about anything of interest works.
In this image, there are a couple of things that are going for it. It starts with the faint vertical lines of plowed rows in the field, met by a band of mist rising from the moist soil. The horizon line, not just a straight, flat line, but one with character, rising and falling as you move across it, then met abruptly by a single bush to stop your eye for a brief moment. Without the bush, I think the image is kind of weak, but with it, well, it makes all the difference.
Another lesson on being ready for anything was taught me the evening this was made. Christeena and I were parked along Southside Blvd. waiting for the Melba fireworks display when this scene came to view just across the street. I had to walk just a bit to find the right perspective to shoot from, but I was ready. Instead of just focusing on where the fireworks would be coming from, I kept an open mind to anything that might present itself. I did miss the first few fireworks while working this scene, but I don’t regret that at all. I have learned that if I am ready, many possibilities will present themselves. All I must do is recognize them and be ready to interpret and capture them.
by tmoffett | Aug 27, 2010 | Color, Composition, Landscape
Rock Bottom
I love subtlety in imagery. The soft and delicate tones and color in this image, for me anyway, is what makes it work. This is an image that really needs to be fairly large, as the soft texture in the water begins to really become evident in the enlargement. The ripples on the surface cause a bit of distortion in the rocky bottom of the shallow waters of Lake Lowell. The contrast of the rocks under the water to the crisp and smooth rocks on the shoreline add visual interest as well. Also, the bush that is growing along the shore tends to frame the image, creating a stopping point or resting place for the viewers eye.
While different from the images of power that many of my water images have, this still catches my eye and is very pleasing to look at.
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