silhouette

Joshua Tree National Park Color and Black & White

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Joshua Tree National Park Color and Black & White

Named for trees, spectacular for rocks

For me, the phrase joshua tree has always been associated with the famous U2 album from 1987 and its iconic cover art. There is actually no joshua tree in the photo. I finally got a chance to visit Joshua Tree National Park and soon realized that the eponymous trees are not the stars of the park by a long shot. The real attraction are the rock formations. Some tower, some are piles, they are all sitting there challenging you to climb them. This photo story presents a set of black and white photos of a lone climber on a rock face and a series of color photos one of which is made up of silhouettes of me, Jessica, Kiki and Artie!

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UNM Red Rally September 2018

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UNM Red Rally September 2018

Red Rally 2018 with more fire!

This was my second Red Rally on the UNM campus, which is the burning of the Aggie from rival school NMSU before the football game. It is quite the spectacle because it is not every day one sees something 40 feet go up in flames, and this year there seemed to be a lot more flames for a lot longer! The pyrotechnics team must have learned something since the 2017 Red Rally.

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Black & White Silhouettes in North Straub Park St. Petersburg Florida Fine Art Photography

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North Straub Park in downtown St. Petersburg Florida - inquire about purchasing a fine art print of this imagePhotographs I like to look at make me feel something.  They can also make me think of something, either something I see in the photo itself or that gets triggered in my mind from looking at the photo.  One does not need to travel far nor wide to make images that can provoke thought and feeling.  It does not even need to be a new place.  I have been in North Straub Park with my camera hundreds of times over the course of teaching 300+ photography lessons in downtown St. Petersburg, yet I could still make an image of the park that I liked and wanted to share.  I recommend going out this weekend and looking more carefully at a place you commonly go and see if you cannot make an image for yourself that makes you think and feel.

Photography Tip - shoot slowly after you push the shutter exhale and follow through

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Wait to do this until you have at least finished pushing the shutter!

I have noticed when people are beginning to formally learn photography they can be impatient with seeing how their shot came out.  I see this behavior when they are shooting.  It seems almost before they have even finished pushing the shutter they are already looking at the back of their camera to see how bad the shot came out.  I always discourage this behavior and encourage taking your time.  Pushing the shutter on your DSLR, and thus starting the action of making a photograph, is a lot like a swinging motion.  The follow-through is important too.  

So when you push the shutter, push it and follow through by holding the shot, by exhaling, letting thoughts flow through your mind about what you just did, and then review your shot on the back of your camera.  If you are so hastily looking at your shot after you take it then you were not ready in the first place to even push the shutter.  Prepare more before pushing the shutter so you know what to expect after you do.  

St. Petersburg Florida Silhouette Dusk Twilight Fine Art Landscape Cityscape Waterfront

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The downtown St. Petersburg Florida waterfront in Silhouette at vivd dusk - Nikon D300 Nikkor 50mm @ f/4 ISO 200 1/200th handheld

This was an image I made quickly while taking Kiki for an extended walk around the downtown St. Petersburg waterfront on a recent Saturday evening.  I was traveling light, just my Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D lens on my Nikon D300, but even with that lens on was still looking for a possible landscape shot.  With Kiki always in constant motion and having no tripod, I knew my best bet of getting a usable shot was to go for a silhouette of the skyline, which is done by using a fast shutter speed I could easily handhold, even with Kiki always trying to sniff something just out of reach.  The fast shutter speed exposed the bright sky well, but put the foreground buildings and boat into silhouette.  

Photography Tip - take the camera back out of the bag

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Madeira Beach twilight sunset - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/4 ISO 800 1/60th handheld

  • use this image on your business website or decorate your office with a print -- contact for pricing 

I had just finished an hour-long portrait session on Madeira Beach and already packed up my camera and all photography gear.  My hand was on the back hatch of the Lexus to close it shut.  Yet I could see through the windshield a beautiful twilight sunset . . . but I was tired.  All my camera was already back in its bag.  I just had to close the hatch and get in the comfortable driver's seat and head home to shower and dinner.  Then I told myself in my mind what anyone who thinks themselves a photographer should think: 

  • Don't be lazy, a REAL photographer would make the effort to get the shot 

I took my hand off the back hatch, pulled my camera bag to the edge, opened it, took out my Nikon D300, took the lens cap off and was now once again ready to shoot.  You may note one lingering laziness, I did not use my tripod.  I handheld the above shot, but at 1/60th a second that is not hard to do if using proper DSLR holding technique.  

After taking about a dozen shots of various composition, I felt satisfied that I had both not been lazy and got the shot I wanted.  The portrait session was for my client and my business, the last sunset silhouette shots were just for me.  Even if you have already put your camera back in your bag, do not hesitate to take it back out and get a shot if you see one.  That's what a real photographer does.