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Porch Rocker

 

porch rocker
Wicker rocking chairs wait to be used at the Sandy Bay Yacht Club. (Leica M-P 240 w/Leica 35mm Summicron ISO 200 1/250s @ f8)

One of my favorite things to do in the spring and fall is to take early morning walks with just my Leica and the 35mm Summicron. The “35” is such a versatile lens and can do everything except take telephoto type shots. For me it has such a comfortable feel to it and when I want to just grab a camera and go, this is the setup I go for.

In the image above the light was just incredible early in the morning and the sky was a lovely blue color and with the yellow of the rocking chairs it just pulled me right in. I knew this was going to be a beautiful B&W right away. When I converted it I used the Adobe 7 B&W profile and changed some of the colors in the mixer to give it the 3D feeling I wanted. I darkened the blue channel and lightened the yellow channel which enhanced the image.

I encourage you all to go out and use one lens not a zoom lens. Move your feet to zoom, you will find you start to understand how your subject needs to be photographed. Something that the zoom can sometimes miss.

In story telling terms what does this image say. To me it says summer is beginning and the summer rockers are out and waiting to be used. But questions come to mind as well. Who uses these rockers? How many folks have used these rockers over the years and are no longer with us?  The best thing about this image is that it gives us pause to ask these questions.

Wet Feet

 

wave wash
Waves wash over rocks along the back shore of Gloucester, MA. Fujinon 10-24 (.3 s @ f14 ISO 100)

Running photo tours along the seacoast can be tricky at times. I am constantly warning participants about the dangers of getting to close to the water as waves can pull you in. The other day I was out shooting in one of my favorite spots which I know quite well but can be dangerous if one is not paying attention. It was well after high tide but the waves were still rolling in as the tide went out. I thought I was well out of the way of any incoming waves and had placed my camera and tripod in a spot down low to catch waves slowly coming in over a rock in front of me. I should have known the best shot would be the one where the wave comes in over the rock and soaks me up to my ankles. A rogue wave came in and blasted over the rock in front of me and got me real good but left the camera dry. Now if I had my “Wellies” on, as the Brits would say, this would not have been a problem. This brings up one of my maxims of shooting water, if you’re not in the water your images will not have any impact. So next time I will remember to bring my boots!

Don’t let lousy weather keep you indoors

During my workshops one of my mantras is practice. Always have a camera with you whether it be your phone, a good point and shoot or your regular camera. There is no excuse for not having one of them with you. Practicing looking for compositions should be something you enjoy doing whether you happen to make an image or not.

This week the weather report was awful – rain for the whole week. I was not looking forward to sitting in the house banging on the computer.

So on Monday with the drizzle and fog I headed out for a morning walk to see what I could find. It turns out I found quite a bit of interesting things to photograph.

 

Practicing hyperfocal distance is an art form. The Fuji system shows you a hperfocal distance scale with a blue bar that shows what’s in focus and what is not at every aperture. Very useful. Everything in this image is tack sharp front to back.

After I walked around the waterfront I managed to find some more great images along the way.

A person waiting in the fog for the bus with blooming jonquils.
A shop window filled with Rockport coffee mugs waiting to be sold.
An finally left over faux Easter flowers hanging out of a mail slot on a door.

When I got home and let my dog “Kodak” out it was still kind of drizzly and when he came back in he was a little soggy looking. I had the camera with me and I immediately thought I could get a great shot of him looking back out the door with some great background separation. B&W is quite often a great option for this type of photo.

Lousy weather is no excuse to not get out there and shoot. It just might be the opportunity you were looking for to capture a great image.