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 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 15, 2010 | Color, Photographic Philosophy
Reflections of Sunrise, Lake Lowell
Arising early to revel in the beauty at sunrise is a wonderful experience. To be able to capture that experience in a photograph is even more incredible. I love returning to my feelings often, and my photographs help me do that.
Lake Lowell has become a favorite place for me to spend the mornings. I have been photographing at the lake now for several years just when I think that there is nothing else to photograph I find something. The light changes. My attitude changes. The water level changes. The only thing constant is change, and that is what makes it possible to continue this project indefinitely. I will continue to photograph the lake probably for years to come. I will continue to enjoy my mornings of walking, pondering and photographing. I will continue to show new photographs of an old subject. It creates an excitement in me. I will continue until I lose that excitement.
by tmoffett | Nov 9, 2010 | Color, Photo tips, Photographic Philosophy
Sand and Stone
Overcast skies create a wonderful quality of light for photographing details. This image was shot between rainstorms on a recent trip to the Oregon Coast. The shadows are full of detail and the colors are rendered rich and vibrant.
Many times getting out in conditions that would seem less than ideal end up being the best days for photographing. I have learned that the best time to create images is the present. It matters not what the weather is, if I have an open mind and feel my environment, I will be successful. The key is feeling. Feeling the light. Feeling the moment. Feeling your surroundings. Internalizing those feeling and then capturing them visually is the process that makes successful images. Without the feeling, I am only able to find snapshots.
by tmoffett | Nov 2, 2010 | Color, Composition, Landscape, Photographic Philosophy, Ramblings
Warming Trends
I grew up, photographically speaking, on black and white. Numerous hours were spent in the darkroom honing my craft. I have become a better photographer due to my printing my own work. The darkroom hours helped me to develop my vision. Not only did I search for images while with my camera, but I spent many hours with the enlarger searching my images for the real photographs. I wish all new photographers could have those experiences. They changed the way that I view the world… in a good way.
I began photographing in color only after starting to photograph digitally. I still use my black and white mentality when working in the field, but often when I return to my digital darkroom (office and computer) I find the color to be a very important part of the images. So I started leaving the color in. It has been a fun and rewarding journey that has led me to explore avenues that I think I may not have tried before. I now see more than tones, I see the warm and cool hues that work together with the tones in an image to create mood and feeling. My life has been enhanced through the use of color.
My use of color has led me in recent months to explore abstract color photography as a means of expression. I guess that should not surprise me as I have always loved abstract art. I love the work of Piet Mondrian as well as that of Jackson Pollock. In my photographs I see more than just abstract design, I see feelings and relationships. I see warmth as the sun breaks through the clouds and and warms the sand as the cool water recedes. The water and sand mix and blend along the shoreline, just as humans mix and blend their lives throughout the days and years of their existence. There is meaning in everything, we must just search to find it. My Shorelines and Horizons series of photographs have been just that, an outward expression of innermost feelings and passions. They have become more than just photographs, they are pieces of me.
by tmoffett | Nov 1, 2010 | Color, Landscape, Photographic Philosophy
Clouds
Last week I discussed photographing ordinary subjects. I love what Edward Weston had to say about the subject. “Anything that excites me for any reason, I will photograph; not searching for unusual subject matter, but making the commonplace unusual.” He also said, “I see no reason for recording the obvious.” The obvious is a snapshot, the unusual, a photograph. Recognizing the difference is the beginning of an incredible journey!
So often the unusual is right in our own backyard. It is at our fingertips and we are not observant enough to recognize it. We want to go somewhere exotic, thinking that we will find something more exciting there, when, if we would really explore where we are now we would find exciting images all around just waiting for us. The more we learn about our own surroundings and learn to become aware and observant, the more success we will find in our photography. It isn’t about where we go or with what piece of equipment we use, it is about how and what we see. Because I have learned to see I believe that my life is richer. I see things that are beautiful and inspiring when others complain about where we are. I only hope that sharing my vision will help another to see as I see, a world full of beauty, everywhere, all the time. It is there, we must just open our vision to let it in.
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