OnTaking Assignments #29 - My Favorite Things

Jason Faucera June 16, 2015

When it comes to my favorite things there aren't many that come before baseball. Outside family, friends, and photography baseball is it. For this shoot I was looking to build upon my work with objects and a single light.

I used this green backdrop as a surrogate for a grassy baseball field and worked until I was happy with both the placement of the objects and the quality of light. Looking back on these shots, I feel like the shot of just the ball is the stronger of the two.

I like that the equipment is used as it adds life and character. If you look close enough you will see that the bat is old enough to have a wrapped cord for a hand grip instead of flat leather tape. While these shots may not win any awards they were fun to shoot and definitely representative of my favorite things.

On Taking Assignments

I frequently listen to the On Taking Pictures (OTP) podcast, which I highly recommend to anyone looking for good conversation about creativity, especially as it related to photography. In January 2014 the hosts, Bill Wadman and Jeffery Saddoris, began a new segment of weekly assignments that they gave to listeners. Results of the assignments are posted on the OTP Google Plus group. I decided that I would commit myself to the assignments for a year without interruption, and that I would complete each one before the next assignment was announced on the show each Tuesday morning. My 'On Taking Assignments' blog posts are the culmination of my year-long focus on these assignments.

On Taking Assignments #28 - Jump

Jason Faucera June 11, 2015

"Jump" instantly brought Van Halen to mind when I heard it and I think that I actually went so far as to play their "1984" album in an attempt to get the song out of my head. I am sorry to report that it didn't work and writing about it now has firmly lodged it back in my head.

I thought this shot would be a bit easier than it was. I didn't realize just how long the cords were on a kiteboard rig. Also the wind direction was not favorable to shorten the cord length. The result is that the boarder ended up very small in the shot.

I still enjoyed the shot and the subject stands out in the scene. I would approach this shot differently if I were to shoot it again, but all in all I thought it was successful.

On Taking Assignments

Ideas and Imagery #74

Jason Faucera June 9, 2015

This shot came about during a recent expedition in search of squares. If you have been following my previous posts you know about the On Taking Assignments project in which I took the weekly assignments from the On Taking Pictures podcast on for a year as a personal project.

While I have not shot every assignment since that project ended in January, I have taken the time to participate in some as I have time. For this "Square" assignment I was focused on shooting in square format in addition to looking for square subjects. As a result I had a difficult time getting a shot of this window I liked until I allowed myself to shoot it in the standard aspect ratio of 2:3 on my camera.

I really like how this shot could be mistaken for a black and white shot if the stark red window frame were a different color. I love how the ivy on the wall seems to be taking over the window, slowly threatening to choke the light out completely. The inside lights that line up across the diagonal of the center of the window add a nice symmetry beyond the existing symmetry of the squares.

Overall I thought this was one of my better shots of the day and proof yet again that shots will appear when you least expect them if your eyes are open to what is being offered.

On Taking Assignments #27 - Circles

Jason Faucera June 9, 2015

There were times in the assignment where I just wasn't able to get out of the house to shoot, so I had to get creative. You would think that circles would be easy to find, which they were. The trick is in making them interesting.

I thought of the golf ball while playing with my kiddo on the eve of the deadline. I know , I know, a ball is a sphere, not a circle, and maybe I should have tried to make it two dimensional with different lighting, but I went for more dramatic lighting instead.

I was pleased with this shot, and how the falloff from the flash rendered the dimples on the ball differently based on their position relative to the light source. I like the transition from full light to shadow and how the circles start almost invisible at the top and bottom with them becoming more distinct near the center when they have equal parts light and shadow.

This was a fun assignment and a good exercise in the effects of light position on a subject.

On Taking Assignments

On Taking Assignments #26 - On the Job

Jason Faucera May 22, 2015

I was a bit disappointed by this shot. I rushed myself a bit and as a result I didn't quite present the picture I had in my mind.

While I didn't feel this was a bad shot, you can see by my caption above that I thought it fell short.

I am not generally a street shooter and I prefer candid shots to posed, so I try to remain unseen to the subject. The problem with this is that it makes me look and feel like a bit of a stalker. I'm not exactly inconspicuous with my DSLR and zoom lens either. As a result, I get a bit rushed and generally feel like I could have done better.

I'm not sure what if anything I can do about this issue. I don't plan on shooting street in any vision of the future I have. The ability to shoot in this style is a great skill to have, though, so I will continue to work at it when the opportunity arises and make small improvements as I can.

On Taking Assignments

Ideas and Imagery #73

Jason Faucera May 18, 2015

I still remember the first time I ever really noticed a long exposure photograph. I was in high school and a friend of mine had a poster of Multnomah Falls. The falls had the soft flowing look of moving water that only a long exposure can make. I wondered aloud, "How did they do that?' My friend tried to explain it to me, but I don't think I believed him.

Having only ever shot with a 35mm point and shoot (with which I had no idea what I was doing), I had never even considered that a picture could capture more than a short moment. I think I even assumed that the shutter was just repeating the same motion for the same length of time with each click of the button.

Once I got into photography myself, I got wise and started to experiment a bit with long exposures. It still seems foreign to be able to visualize motion in a still frame. I get mesmerized by the movement even now.

This shot of Downtown Portland during the Rose Festival has several different types of movement, some obvious and some less so. The motion makes the picture feel dynamic and brings the city to life. I love the colors and the lines of motion that give shape to the intangible and help us see what our eyes cannot.

On Taking Assignments #25 - Typography

Jason Faucera May 17, 2015

Typography was a difficult assignment for me. It was hard to find a subject that wasn't just stationary letters. On the last day of the assignment while playing with my kiddo, these shots emerged from our play time together.

As a parent, watching your child learn to write is one of those times that makes you wonder how they got so big so fast. But I will always have these pictures to remind me of the unmistakable script of the transition from toddler to childhood.

On Taking Assignments

Ideas and Imagery #72

Jason Faucera May 15, 2015

Willamette Falls seems to be an underappreciated landmark. I am not sure what the reason is for this, but I think it has something to do with perception of the two mills that stand sentry above anything that passes through the falls.

There is such a rich history at this site, which passes the second largest volume of water after Niagara Falls in the United States. The Falls were the origin of the first long distance electric transmission lines in the US, and supported the families of many Oregonians through industry over the past 150 years.

Some of the lack of interest in the falls stems from lack of access, although efforts are underway to change that. In the meantime I seem to find plenty there from the viewpoints that are available.

Sunsets over the falls are particularly beautiful. The reflection of the sun setting on the water highlights its shape. Logs always line the waterfall's edge, and there is an abundance of birds, fish, and pesky sea lions.

It's truly an amazing place, and I am hopeful that access to the falls will be restored so that people can get close enough to become connected to this historic feature. Until then, I will continue to enjoy the falls from a distance. It truly is a magnificent place.

On Taking Assignments #24 - Symmetry

Jason Faucera May 15, 2015

Symmetry is not too hard of a subject for me. I tend to notice geometry and symmetry pretty regularly in my day to day activities.

For this shot I had to wait a while to find the right combination of similar colored cars in good enough position to keep them symmetrical. I also had to deal with times where there were multiple cars.

I actually was hoping to get a pair of cars lined up both on this side and the other side of the bridge, but I wasn't able to stay more than a few minutes as I was on my lunch break at work.

While not perfectly symmetrical (the road signs and the direction/size of the vehicles are the exceptions) I thought that this was a good interpretation of the assignment.

On Taking Assignments

Ideas and Imagery #71

Jason Faucera May 14, 2015

Trying to take pictures of flowers that are different from most other pictures of flowers is a lot tougher than it would seem.

Flowers are works of art all on their own, so unless you are adding interest to a flower photo, your flower shots might feel a bit bland.

I like this shot I took last year at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival just south of Portland because it wasn't like my typical flower shots. There is more context for these flowers, and you get a sense of what it is like to be in the rows.

I walked away from the festival with four shots that I felt were the strongest of the many I took, and they all had some element to them that was different than my usual shots of flower parts and color combinations.

With this knowledge I am ready for next year!