Another rainy night in Georgia

T

he rain has been falling for a few days non-stop now. I love the beauty of rain—the muted colors of the scenery as the rain falls, the soft and even lighting as the sun’s light is diffused through the storm, the sound of the rain hitting the leaves and the grass. It’s really quite beautiful.

But rain also seems to bring with it some sadness and melancholia.

I changed my blog header today to mimic the weather I see through the glass wall of my office. The sky outside is gray. And all the other objects I can see have muted colors, softened by the falling rain.

But I had to adjust the picture I used because it wasn’t really raining when I took that picture. Here is the original photograph:

Savannah, Georgia - August 22, 2012 - 11:39 AM
Canon EOS 7D camera, EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM lens
24mm focal length
ISO 100, 1/100th @ f/14

Storm clouds were rolling in over the port. And it was a somewhat dark day. But there was no rain. I took the picture primarily because I loved the cloud formations. But because I am currently looking out of a glass wall that is covered with rain drops, condensation fog, and little rivulets of water running down the length of the glass, I decided to change this picture to look the same way—as if I am looking out of a glass wall during a rain storm, but with this beautiful view rather than my current view of high rise office buildings, roads, and construction areas. I miss Savannah.

Come ... dream along with me.

The blue hour

M

y son is an outstanding photographer. I guess that’s what happens when you grow up with a mother who is a professional photographer and a father who is an avid photography enthusiast. He’s quite comfortable with the camera—from either side.

My son, the photographer

David learned early on to try out unique angles and to get in close to his photography subjects. Once he saw that looking at things from a unique perspective greatly improves photographs and makes them stand out from other people’s snapshots, he quickly gravitated to extreme angles and macro photography. When all the other tourists at Mt. Vernon were photographing the vegetable garden through the gate in the 10-foot-high wooden fence, David climbed that fence to capture the garden from a very high angle. He came back, not with a photograph of the garden but with a close-up macro shot of the little round painted wooden ball at the top of the fence post. The paint was peeling and the angle of the sun cast wonderful shadows showing the texture of that peeling paint and emphasizing the grain of the wood underneath. He then walked into the garden and laid down on the dirt to get close-up shots from ground level of the tops of the turnips sticking up out of the ground. Later that day he waded through the crowd of tourists who were taking pictures of the historic kitchen and stepped inside the fireplace to take a picture up through the chimney. They were all beautiful shots and no one else got pictures anything like them because no one else decided to climb the fence, lie down in the dirt, or step inside the fireplace behind the tour guide.

Photographs that capture our attention tend to be these types of photographs. They are the photographs taken where and when most other people wouldn’t consider taking them.

Most photography hobbyists take their pictures when the sun is high in the sky, providing bright lighting that makes colors nice and brilliant. And they tend to put their cameras away when it’s foggy or rainy or snowing. They also put their cameras away at twilight because it’s hard to hold the camera still enough in that dim lighting to capture a crisp picture.

Savannah, Georgia - August 21, 2012 - 7:36 PM
Canon EOS 7D camera, EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM lens
24mm focal length
ISO 1600, 1/13th @ f/2.8

And so... it is one of my favorite times to take pictures. Twilight is the time of day, every morning and evening, when it is not full daylight and it is not complete darkness. The sun is below the horizon, but is still lighting the sky. This time period is known as “the blue hour.” And the lighting conditions during this time have been known to photographers as “sweet light” for years. The light is very blue and casts a bluish tint on everything around. The low light level allows for the sky to be rich and deeply saturated rather than overexposed, as it is in most daylight pictures. It is a wonderful time to take pictures.

Savannah, Georgia - August 21, 2012 - 7:23 PM
Canon EOS 7D camera, EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM lens
28mm focal length
ISO 800, 1/25th @ f/3.5

Savannah, Georgia - August 21, 2012 - 7:18 PM
Canon EOS 7D camera, EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM lens
30mm focal length
ISO 800, 1/50th @ f/4.0

Savannah, Georgia - August, 2012 - 7:24 PM
Canon EOS 7D camera, EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM lens
24mm focal length
ISO 800, 1/25th @ f/2.8

On the outside looking in

S

ometimes in life we feel a bit out of sorts. That feeling seems to be occurring more and more frequently for me. And I always thought we would grow into ourselves as we matured. Maybe I’m not doing it right, because I often feel like I’m on the outside looking in, and all the action is happening inside.

But then, the creative arts have always been intended to reach an emotional inner-point of human existence. Perhaps that’s why I have always been drawn to pictures that show the action happening inside... while the viewer of this action is obviously standing outside and just observing. NOT STALKING, mind you... observing!

Savannah waterfront - August 21, 2012 - 7:33 pm

Canon EOS 7D, EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM lens
24mm focal length
ISO 1600, 1/4th @ f/2.8

Everything old is new again

B

lack & white photography captures my fancy. As much as I love brilliant, vibrant color, black & white photography has a special way of communicating that color photography can’t match.

Black & white photography also requires the photographer to look at the scene in a very different way. For me, it has always made me consider shading and light values much more carefully. And that is really what photography is all about. After all, the word photography comes from two Latin words that mean, in essence, writing with light. Reducing a color scene to levels of black and white seems to me to be a pure form of writing with light and I really love working that way.

I took this photo of the dogwood tree in my backyard the summer before last. The flowers had some direct sunlight shining on them, but everything else in the scene was in shadow cast by the upper portion of the tree. The result is a striking contrast between light and dark.

Canon EOS 7D, EF85mm f/1.8 USM lens
85mm fixed focal length
ISO 200, 1/400th @ f/7.1

I took this next picture under one of the piers at Clearwater Beach, Florida. (By the way, it’s the same pier as the one pictured at the top of this blog—at least right now.) I love this beach. It is absolutely beautiful. But even more than the beach’s natural beauty, I love the people there. Every time I have visited this beach I have come away with a wealth of pictures of happy people who are obviously enjoying themselves immensely. There’s just something about Clearwater Beach that seems to lift the spirits.

This couple was actually posing for another photographer. But when the wind began whipping the girl’s hair around, the couple began laughing. I had to quickly raise my camera and grab the picture before the scene changed. I actually took three rapid-fire shots. The two others were worthless because the girl’s hair was covering her face. But this one was perfect.

Canon EOS 7D, EF70-200mm f/2.8 IS USM lens
70mm focal length
ISO 100, 1/60th @ f/9.0

And while we’re on the topic of candid people photography, I also love taking pictures of people on buses. For some reason, people become very animated and expressive on buses. Maybe it’s because the noise level is so high that it makes it hard to hear so being more expressive helps the communication. Whatever the reason, it makes for some fun photographic situations. This girl, in a Disney transport bus, was responding to some playful ribbing by her younger brother. I loved the expression as she tried to ignore him by looking out the window. He wasn’t buying it either.

Canon EOS 7D, EF70-200mm f/2.8 IS USM lens
73mm focal length
ISO 800, 1/60th @ f/8.0

Although this post is about black & white photography, I have to honor St. Patrick’s Day with a little bit of green. So... here is my wife’s necklace to provide the needed color splash.

Canon EOS 7D, EF28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens
56mm focal length
ISO 800, 1/60th @ f/8.0

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Why I love photography

I

have often wondered why I arrived at this place—a photographer who is employed as a designer. But truly... a photographer. I love photography. I think I love every aspect of photography... without reservation.

But... photography is not how I make my living. Although it is a small portion of my job, I am actually a page layout designer by trade. I have been a paid photographer for almost 30 years, but, sadly, photography is not the way I earn my living.

How I wish it were.

Canon EOS 7D, EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM lens
45mm focal length
ISO 400, 1/60th @ f/4.0

But early in this post, I’m already getting off-track. I guess that’s what happens when I think of photography.

Canon EOS 7D, EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM lens
59mm focal length
ISO 400, 1/60th @ f/4.0

Today, my family and I drove to the home of one of my employees. This woman has come to be one of the leaders on my team and just seems to have an innate understanding of how she should do pretty much everything.

... even though she’s leaving me... to go on parental leave.

My family and I traveled to her home today. She and her husband opened their home to us and made us feel like honored guests.

We visited her because she is going to give birth very soon. And we were taking a “baby shower-in-a-box” to her. Our local staff wanted to throw a baby shower, but she works remotely and... well... we had to do it this way.

All the better for me - and for my family.

Canon EOS 7D, EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM lens
70mm focal length
ISO 400, 1/60th @ f/4.0

Our visit with my coworker and friend and with her incredible family was thoroughly enjoyable. This is what family is all about.

Congratulations! We can’t wait to meet the new addition to your family.

Canon EOS 7D, EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM lens
70mm focal length
ISO 400, 1/60th @ f/4.0

My son in Williamsburg

I love history. I especially like “living” history. In other words, as much as I love books, even history books, I particularly enjoy visiting historic places and watching the actors dressed in period costumes and listening to their presentations. It really makes me feel like a have a much better understanding of those places and times.

Historic Williamsburg, Virginia, is one of my family’s favorite historic places. While all our friends get excited about traveling to Williamsburg to visit the Pottery Factory or the Big Wolf Lodge, we plan our visits around the historical sights.

My wife is a genealogy hobbyist and has discovered some amazing things about our ancestors—including the fact that one of her ancesters fought in the War for Independence under General George Washington. He became very depressed after the war was over and was eventually admitted to the first insane asylum in the United States... in Williamsburg. We had walked past that building many times before, but the last time we visited Williamsburg we decided to go inside that building where her ancestor had been treated.

The building has been made into a small museum where you can see the tools they used for their “therapy” and the rooms the patients would have stayed in. They had a few different rooms set up according to the time periods during which those rooms would have been used. None of them were very nice. We were able to determine what my wife’s ancestor’s room would have looked like. It was interesting... and a bit chilling.

Just last summer I took this picture of my son in front of that building.

My adopted son has had severe difficulties every since he was a very young boy. We took him home with us the day after he was born and as soon as all the legal steps had been accomplished, we adopted him. But he has had tremendous trouble trying to overcome the issues left by the recreational drugs his birth parents were taking. Some of his issues are somewhat common, although they exhibit themselves in a severe way with my son. But some of his other issues are not common at all, and they are, again, quite severe.

I am so thankful that the medical community has come so far in recognizing neurological illnesses. My wife’s ancestor was quite likely suffering from what we now know as PTSD. But back in those days, they saw only severe depression and they admitted him to a terrible place that used pain reinforcement, fear, and intimidation as their only methods of “therapy.” My son, in spite of all his issues, is a great kid. And we have received a lot of help from the medical community. I’m glad he has never had to stay in a place like this hospital in Williamsburg.

And this picture has nothing whatsoever to do with what I’ve written so far, but it’s the Governor’s mansion in Colonial Williamsburg—complete with one of those living history costumed folks I mentioned. I took this one two years ago.

Where, oh where is spring?

T

his has been an incredibly cold winter. But they say all things must come to an end. I’m not quite sure who “they” are, but I think they may be wrong about this one. Winter just doesn’t seem to want to let go—kind of like the White Queen in Narnia. It feel as though it will be “always winter, but no Christmas.”

So today’s picture is of a warm scene—a romantic couple strolling along the beach in St. Petersburgh, Florida.

Oh please bring back springtime!

Madeira Beach, St. Petersburgh, FL
August 23, 2012 7:00 pm

Canon EOS 7D, EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM lens
50mm focal length
1/100 @ f/7.1, ISO 100

Skyline Fog

I

live about three miles from the northern entrance to Skyline Drive. Known as “a road to nowhere,” Skyline Drive is the most traveled scenic highway in the world. With a top speed limit of 35 mph, it takes quite a while to tavel the full 105 miles of the drive—especially because it is very hard to pass the scenic overlooks without stopping to drink in the intense beauty of God’s creation here in the Shenandoah Mountains.

But it isn’t always about the view.

Living this close to the drive, I have the opportunity to notice weather patterns and take a quick drive up into the mountains of Skyline Drive to photograph things that many people will never see in their lifetime. It is a tremendous blessing.

I love Virginia!

Skyline Drive in the fog

Gorgeous bright flowers with fog coming over the mountain

Canon EOS 7D, EF24-70mm f/2.8 L USM lens
24mm focal length
ISO 200, 1/25th @ f/22

Front Royal Ranger Station engulfed – Front Royal, Virginia

Canon EOS 7D, EF24-70mm f/2.8 L USM lens
45mm focal length
ISO 200, 1/15th @ f/16

Photo of the day - a new direction

When I started this blog I was just jumping into the wild blogosphere that everyone was enamored with at the time. I had very little worth saying... although, I sure tried to sound intelligent on my blog. I talked of politics. I talked about theology. I talked... and talked... and talked... and bored my readers almost to death.

And lost my readers.

But I’m not really a writer—as much as I enjoy writing. I am a designer. But far more importantly, I am a photographer. So I am making a change in my blog, and I hope it will result in more people enjoying it. But if not, that’s okay. I will enjoy it.

As of today, my blog will be primarily a photography blog, because that is what I love. I hope other can find enjoyment and encouragement from my photography.

Today’s picture features a young woman I have never met, but who caught my interest on a recent visit to Historic Williamsburg. She was sitting on the ground waiting for an upcoming “infotainment” production. I think she was looking for a friend who was due to show up and watch the show with her. I loved the way her modern appearance contrasted with the almost 300-year-old surroundings. Even the pebbling on the road shows that contrast.

So today’s picture is from the only place I have donated to for my whole adult life—the Historical Williamsburg Foundation.

Canon EOS 7D, EF28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens
135mm focal length
ISO 200, 1/400th @ f/9.0

It is Well With My Soul

H

oration G. Spafford. That’s all that needs be said...

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