Ideas and Imagery #24

One of the things I love about macro work is that the world is not immediately recognizable at a small scale.  Sometimes it takes a little effort to decipher what it is you are seeing.

This photo has proven to be a bit inaccessible when I have shown it.  It takes a while for viewers to figure out what they are seeing  Once they recognize what they are looking at, their reaction becomes either one of delight or one of disgust.

I found this cluster of baby spiders on the bed of our red pickup.  What a fun subject to shoot!

Ideas and Imagery #23

Sometimes you love an image and you're not sure why.  A case in point is this photo, which was taken as a result of a sideway glance off the bridge I was trying to shoot.  I was waiting for cars to clear off the bridge and as my eyes were wandering I noticed this scene.  I fired off a few pictures and continued to my intended task of shooting the bridge.

When I arrived home and started to edit my shots, I came across this one again and enjoyed it as much as any other shot from the day .  I love the curve of this pier and will be going back sometime to explore it in more detail.

Ideas and Imagery #22

This was a shot near Mosier where I was driving through and stopped off at a state park to check out the view.  It was a relatively clear day and I didn't expect much in the way of interest because of the light, which wasn't all that special.

Regardless of my low expectations, I had my camera and began my walk around the park.  When I arrived at this overlook, I could see these four bicyclists making their way up the road.  They were slow to work their way up the steep incline, giving me plenty of time to set up for a few shots.

I was happy to get this and a few others.  This was my favorite shot because it showed the elevation change and the great view these bicyclists were enjoying as the fruits of their labor.

Ideas and Imagery #21

I like my photos to generate an emotional response.  I like to feel a photo as much as I like to see it.

This photo of Willamette Falls is underexposed by a fair amount.  For me this adds a richness to the colors and takes away the busyness of the falls.

Exposed to reveal the shadow detail or even the mid-tones, this photo loses some of its drama and pull.  With this photo underexposed, the shadows have melted into the black and what is left is the shape of the falls, the white water, and the sunset reflection on the water.

I love the combination of the blue of the water and the salmon colored reflection, and the shadowy logs and rock give the photo some structure.

It's funny, I've spent a good portion of my adult life trying to avoid drama only to crave it in my photographs. 

Ideas and Imagery #20

Taken up on Mt. Hood, this photo had a great shelf of clouds for a floor.  I was on my way up the mountain while these folks were on their way down.  As we ascended, I frequently looked down at the mountain because looking out over the clouds made me feel like I was slowly falling through the air.

This crop of my original photo took out the opposite cable (the one we were attached to) and an empty lift chair and stripped this photo down to what it felt like floating above the mountain.  It makes my stomach drop a bit looking at it.

Ideas and Imagery #19

On a photo hunt downtown I spotted a crane reflected in the building windows.  I love the way the base fits precisely within two columns of windows and that the angle of the crane takes up the entire building.  Lastly I like how the foreground roofline directs the eye back into the center of the crane.

Photos like these are so unexpected.  I was looking for things that would catch my eye at street level, and when I saw this I stopped dead in my tracks.

Ideas and Imagery #18

Fireworks shots can be a dime a dozen, or they can be really interesting.  To me what makes a good firework shot is the combination of engaging subjects supporting a clean configuration of fireworks.

What makes this so difficult to pull off is the randomness of the fireworks themselves.  You can compose a fantastic backdrop, and  can guess the timing and proximity of when and how the fireworks will explode with little issue, but getting a pleasing pattern of fireworks is mostly out of your control.

I would estimate that I took 70 separate shots of fireworks during the show with three different compositions.  Of those 70, I kept about 17 photos.  Of those 17 photos, I would only actually consider 5 of them interesting.  This is the one standout shot from those five.

I was pleased with this shot, and while I didn't get much else, it made the effort worthwhile for me.

Ideas and Imagery #17

I caught this little brown bird on the way out to lunch.  He was perched on the edge of the pipe for a few seconds before he decided that I was up to no good.

Ideas and Imagery #16

I like pictures that behave almost as graphics.  In this photo, I deliberately underexposed the image to take the shadows down to black.  This effectively renders the barn as a shape instead of an object.

Every detail doesn't always need to be shown for a photo to be effective.  When I first started processing my images, I instinctively wanted to open up the shadows to show more detail.  I still do that in many cases, but in a scene where I want to focus on shapes or lines, making detail disappear in the shadows is a great way to generate that focus.

Ideas and Imagery #15

There's just something about abandoned things that I love to photograph.  There is so much character and story in these old cars.  This photo was from a defunct personal car museum that had upwards of 50 of the same type of old cars lined along the property.

It made me wonder what the motive for collecting all the same type of car was.  Were they bought in this shape, or were they prized possessions?  Did the owner have some kind of personal bond with this type of car or did he just need parts from these in order to build one really great vehicle?

I will likely never know the answer, but in the meantime I will admire them and make up my own story.