Light on Water

 Light  12 Responses »
May 282011
 

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With the forecast calling for partly cloudy skies, I decided to visit the Chicago Botanic Garden. Wouldn’t you know,  it turned severely clear instead! So I focused on the assignment “light” from The Practice of Contemplative Photography.

This was photographed in the Sensory Garden, which “celebrates fragrances, sounds, colors, textures, and movement.” Taking pictures was a great excuse to spend a lot of time in those surroundings.

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Nikon D300; f8 @ 1/500 sec, ISO 200 (handheld);
18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 200mm (300mm EFL); focus distance 2.66m

Tattered

 Walks  4 Responses »
May 252011
 

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During my walks through the back alleys of our neighborhood, this wall keeps drawing my eye—especially in soft light. Is it the color, texture, or age? I finally decided to stop thinking about it, and simply capture to share as best I can.

“…to express the inexpressible” is part of a quotation ascribed to the photographer Alvin Langdon Coburn. That may be what we are all trying to do with our photography, and my mistake is in trying to validate the resonance with words.

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Nikon D300; f11 @ 1/180 sec, ISO 500 (handheld);
18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 135mm (202mm EFL); focus distance 33.5m

Simplicity №1

 Patterns  6 Responses »
May 172011
 

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Exploring the idea of simplicity, “…where form and space produce strong contrasts—where the experience of the form is heightened because of the space around it.”

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Nikon D300; f9.5 @ 1/180 sec, ISO 400 (handheld);
18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 112mm (168mm EFL); focus distance 33.5m

Window Blind №6

 Walks  3 Responses »
May 152011
 

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I seem to have a “thing” for blinds…

To block reflections, this was photographed with the lens pressed flat against the window—a trick I learned from a video interview with Jay Maisel.

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Nikon D300; f5.6 @ 1/125 sec, ISO 3200 (handheld);
105mm f/2.8 @ 40mm (60mm EFL); focus distance .71m

Blue Beads

 Walks  2 Responses »
May 092011
 

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Nikon D300; f9.5 @ 1/180 sec, ISO 2000 (handheld);
18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 112mm (168mm EFL); focus distance 1.12m

 

Pussy Willow

 Nature  5 Responses »
May 052011
 

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Backlit, this pussy willow caught my eye while I was running errands the other day. Sunlight glinting off needles and leftover Christmas lights on a hedge in the background created the bokeh with spots of color.

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Nikon D300; f8 @ 1/250 sec, ISO 200 (handheld);
18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 200mm (300mm EFL); focus distance .71m

Urban Spring

 Nature, Walks  2 Responses »
Apr 302011
 

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Photographed on a rainy day with an umbrella in one hand and camera in the other, stabilization is great on the little Lumix!

However, with a wide-open aperture and relatively high ISO, details aren’t as sharp as I’d like. I went back to the same location this morning with the Nikon under overcast skies, but color was nothing like that first day. I’ll have to try again when it’s drizzling, using a rain sleeve to protect the camera—hopefully before the tree leafs out much more.

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Panasonic DMC-FZ40; f3.4 @ 1/15 sec, ISO 400 (handheld);
Focal length: 17.5mm (97mm EFL)

Pull

 Everyday Life  No Responses »
Apr 252011
 

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Panasonic DMC-FZ40; f3.5 @ 1/60 sec, ISO 200 (handheld);
Focal length: 19.7mm (119mm EFL)

This is the second capture of a scene photographed in my office three days earlier. While processing the first (shown to the right), I looked over at the same setting under similar light and thought “Hmmm, this isn’t what that was about.”

For the first, I was using a macro lens and emphasis is placed on the cord pull within its surroundings. For the second, I used my Lumix set to the 16:9 format. Now, emphasis is not so much on the cord pull but rather on the vertical pattern of light and line which originally caught my attention.

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