Ideas and Imagery #112

I really love it when I come across a mirror when I am out shooting.  Mirrors and windows are fantastic for adding incongruous objects together.  This boring wooden framed mirror resting against the wall reflects a much more interesting and hard to decipher scene of a cylindrical roof, translucent corrugated roofing material, and several umbrellas hanging from a wire.

I like that mirrors can change the depth of field significantly, especially if you are focusing on the distant objects in the reflection.  Here the counter and mirror frame are blurred out as they are much closer to the camera than the reflected objects, turning them soft and deemphasizing their impact on the frame.  In essence the scene outside the mirror acts as a frame for the scene inside.

The color in the scene add impact to the shot and with the focus on the umbrellas, they anchor the eye and steal the narrative.  What a fun shot to come across.

Tiles #10

I've written about this photo before as it was one of my "On Taking Assignments" photos for the Leading Lines assignment.  I think the square crop makes this shot work much better as the leading lines comprise over half of the image.

The car is a good anchor for the photo since the leading lines are center lines in the road, connecting them both thematically as well as compositionally.  I also like the color version of this photo, but the baby blue Clipper was too strong of an element to allow the leading lines to become the focal point.

Ideas and Imagery #111

I've learned many lessons over the short course on my photographic history, but maybe the most important lesson I've learned is that you can't take a picture if you don't have your camera.

I was taking pictures of windsurfers in Hood River for a Weekly Assignment project that I was working through and in the course of waiting for the next wave of surfers to pass by, I was watching the beach goers with their dogs.

When a new dog made it's way on the scene it was almost immediate that the rest forgot what they were doing and came straight over to "greet" the new arrival.

I was already set for shooting action with the wind surfers, so as the scrum appeared I was able to get a picture of the pack.  It was a comical scene, and one that I would have missed if I didn't have my camera ready.

Tiles #9

There is something about the texture of this wall to my eye that when I saw this scene, made it look as though the tree was applied to it in two dimensions.

It's an image I really like and come back to often.  I love that the tones of the tree blend with the tones and textures of the wall, and also how there is a color variation in the wall along the bottom of the frame.

Where most of the things I share are dramatically lit or composed, I do take more subtle images such as this.  I don't know how I can really fit an image like this within the work I display on my main website pages as it feels much different than that work.

It's one of the things I enjoy most about having a blog.  It is a way to share work that I really like, without having to post dissimilar images together.  They can stand on their own in the blog and it works great.

Ideas and Imagery #110

In winter Willamette Falls brings a massive amount of water, and with that water comes downed wood.  After really large storms you'll see the remains of many trees scattered across the falls' horseshoe shape.

Once the water begins to recede, the size and amount of wood really starts to reveal itself until the next wave of high water dislodges them and a fresh batch arrives.  This lone log was one of the remaining logs that lasted through the summer and provides a place to rest your eye as you work your way through this shot.

Another feature that help to move you around the frame is the straight line formed by the near side of the falls that bends around and back across itself.  It really interesting how unreflective the water becomes as it moves over the falls compared to the seemingly serene water surrounding it.

the falls aren't very accessible, but over the next decade or so, this area of Oregon City will transform itself and the falls will be less of a mystery for those of us who have only seen it from far away.  I am looking forward to getting to know them much better in the future.

Ideas and Imagery #109

Recently, my photography has included some more esoteric subject matter.  My "Compressions" series photos, which are and extension of the "Tiles" series of photos I have been sharing here on the blog, are more or less the same without the added constraint of a square crop.  The subject matter is more focused on shapes, colors and lines as well.

This photo is a great example of what I am looking for when I am shooting in this series.  In these photos I am trying to take a scene that exists very differently in three dimensional space and flatten it into a strong two dimensional composition.

The scenes aren't always entirely flattened, as evidenced by the presence of cigarette butts and a small stream of water in the low spot on the ground, but they are compressed enough to make it not immediately apparent what is shown.

The opposing red and green walls are what drew my eye down this alley, and after working with the composition for a few minutes, I finally had taken this shot.  It's myriad shapes and opposing colors work as very stark and simple subject matter, and the symmetry of the alley is punctuated by the darker colored lane in the center that leads the eye into the shot.

This has been a fun series to undertake because it is very different than the work I typically shoot.  It provides me a level of abstraction that is a nice departure from the way I have traditionally searched for subject matter, and informs the way I shoot more typical subjects.  In other words it is a new way for my mind to think about subjects regardless of the type of photo I am taking.

Tiles #8

I was in the back yard with my kiddo playing in the grass under this umbrella.  After a few minutes of playing I looked up to realize that it would make a fun background for a photo with her.

I went in to get my camera and snapped a few pictures.  What I didn't think about was the color cast all of these colors would shine on her face.  Needless to say that the picture of her was a bit of a bust.

It didn't change my interest in the umbrella though.  Backlit like it is it made for a fantastic photo that pulls from shapes, colors, and lines to make a simple but fun photograph.

Tiles #7

I really enjoy searching for interesting shapes and lines by flattening three dimensional space.

This tire tucked into the corner grabbed my attention and the simplicity of the scene coupled with the colorful garage door made for a good composition. 

This shot doesn't flatten like some others, mostly due to the tread on the tire and the tire being right in the corner with converging lines. 

In spite of its resistance to 2 dimensions, I still like this shot for its simplicity. 

Ideas and Imagery #108

This church in Eastern Oregon built in 1895 used to be surrounded by locust trees, but due to the frequency of which people stop in, the fire hazard was too great and they cleared all around it as a precaution.

Summer is dry in Oregon, even on the West side of the state.  But the level of dryness in Eastern Oregon combined with fields full of wheat and barley make it especially susceptible to discarded cigarettes.

One benefit of the clearing of the trees is that it reveals much more of the building.  This photo was taken on a largely overcast day, with one small window of sun peaking out from the clouds.

The black and white treatment combined with the somber weather and skeletal trees make this place seem ominous.  I have passed this church more times than I can count, but didn't ever take the time to stop.  It was great to finally do just that.

Ideas and Imagery #107

I drove back from Eastern Oregon on a rainy day, which of course is less likely than the opposite.  There wasn't much sun to speak of early, but toward the afternoon the clouds began to break up a bit and the sun was breaking through.

This canyon with the road winding down was so bright from the rain soaked reflection that it looked light it was lit from below.  It made for a really nice scene.  I got out to shoot, but the wind was blowing strong from the direction I wanted to shoot into and the drizzle that was falling peppered my lens.

I was pretty disappointed when I was shooting as I know that there wasn't really any chance to get a shot without the rain unless I waited it out.  The sun ducked behind the clouds before the rain stopped, so I headed on my way.

When working through the day's shots at home, my suspicions were confirmed and the rain was visible in the shot.  At first I was bothered by it, but as I looked at the perfectly circular points of light I though it added an interesting element that enhanced the top half of the shot.

I generally never delete photos in the field, and this is a large reason why.  The back of the camera's screen is never really a good barometer of the impact or technical merits of a shot.  It always requires a download and at least a better look.  This works for shots you think will be bad as well as shots that you think will be great.  You never know until you get them on the big screen.  In this case it worked out in my favor.