During a marathon day of shooting 25 rural land real estate properties for Hemingway Land Company in the desert off of Highway 60 in Socorro County, New Mexico, at one point along the open desert road I stopped my Jeep to look at the view. The desert Road seemed to go on together until it merely became a vanishing point at the base of a distant mountain. From time to time you will find on Jason Collin Photography I write about the Road in poetic terms. Usually it is paved. However, if one wants to really, really take the Road less traveled, then these tracks through the New Mexico desert can take you down a path with an unknown ending, which is the best kind.
I long dreamt of Malibu, in particular its miles of coastline offering near infinite sunset views over the vast Pacific Ocean. In December 2017 I got to fulfill that dream, but just for one sunset. At least it was a great one and though it is a rare thing in life, expectations long daydreamed about were met and surpassed. Some day I will get to see more sunsets in Malibu, perhaps even from my own back door.
I have already shown you what it is like to fly right under the Bixby Bridge in Big Sur, California. And what the view looks like from beside it. This, now, is a view from only what a drone can see hovering out over the Pacific Ocean. I find it a lonelier view without the Sea as the background to the bridge. Is this what the Sea feels when it looks toward land? Is the Sea, sad?
The Asilomar Beach area of Pacific Grove in California is a place I have daydreamed about for over 7 years. I had never been there, never known anyone who had gone there. This entire daydreaming took place far away from there in Florida. I just somehow knew, that if I could wish myself to be any place on Earth, this was it. From my first step there, I knew all I had daydreamed was verified.
A regular building gate made into a mystical tunnel with photography knowledge - Nikon D300 Nikkor 50mm @ f/3.2 ISO 200 1/125thSometimes I like to make photos that offer an impression or a feeling or a dream, rather than producing as realistic a representation of a subject as possible. The above shot features a metal gate half-opened leading to an open air hallway through a building. I thought if I focused on the gate using my 50mm lens at a large aperture, the bokeh that composition and settings would produce would make for a very abstract "light at the end of the tunnel" kind of shot. If I had made this shot look as it did to my eyes, it would have been pretty boring. Instead, using a few simple photography shooting skills, a more interesting shot was produced that will make any viewer stop and wonder what is in the light at the end of this tunnel?
KIT: Nikon D300, Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm F2.8D lens @ f/2.8, natural light
I specialize in candid photography because I like to make portraits like the one above. Yes this is a model on an actual photo shoot, but this was during one of her moments not to be "on." She was just relaxing between poses staring out at the Gulf of Mexico. When I look at this photograph I wonder what she is thinking of, or who she is thinking of? Let me know what you think in the comments below.
If you would like your candid portrait made in this style, you can make a reservation with this form. Pricing can be found on the portrait gallery page.
