Kirk, Author at Cape Ann Photo Tours

Planning your Moon shots

May 27, 2020 by Kirk

supermoon-1

I try to not miss an opportunity to photograph a “Super Moon” near a local lighthouse when the sunset and moonrise times line up. Back in March, when the “Buck Moon” came up right at sunset, it was the perfect time to get the shot. I used an app called “Photo Pills” to see which lighthouse on Cape Ann it lined up with. I also use a newer app called “TPE” which has less features to it. As it turned out the Straightsmouth Island light in Rockport, MA lined up perfectly with the rising moon. I used the Fujifilm XF 100-400 as it is a long reach from the Headlands in Rockport to Straightsmouth Island. Using this app I was able to figure out very closely where I needed to stand. If I had gone any lower near the water the lighthouse would have broken the horizon and it would not have looked as nice. It’s still a little close for me but I could not get any higher to lower the top of the lighthouse below the horizon. If I had been at water level the moon would have come up right behind the lighthouse which would have been pretty cool but the haze would have made it less visible.

supermoon-2

This particular day in March was quite warm (around 70 degrees F) which heated the land up quite a bit and as the sun went down an atmospheric shimmer appeared as the warmed land let off it’s heat. Using such a long lens compressed this heat and gave the images a slightly off sharp look. I was worried all day about the haze that was building on the horizon but the moon came through quite well. The top image is just as it broke through the haze. As the moon got higher in the sky it became clearer to see.

supermoon-3

I only managed to get the lighthouse light in a few shots just not in the ones I wanted. It was a good thing a sea gull flew through to make this last image more interesting. I also made a YouTube video of this photo shoot which I have embedded below.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pynzXhJVemM&w=560&h=315]

Working the composition

November 22, 2019 by Kirk

One of the things that I teach in my workshops is to work the composition. What this means is to not just make one image. When you see something that catches your eye, make the shot that initially pulled you in then look for other angles moving the camera position around and trying new shots. This morning I found some great looking window boxes out in front of the Rockport Art Association. I was pulled in by this initial scene below.

fall window box — Fall window box at the Rockport Art Association

It’s not bad, but in post I did nothing to make it better, like cropping in from the left a little more. Instead I worked the scene a little more with the following images.

These images are ok, but as I looked around I noticed that the window box next to it had what I was looking for. I placed the cabbage in the lower right corner leading up to the bright orange mini pumpkins in the left corner. I decided to have the cabbage (or whatever you call it) in sharp focus and the pumpkins a little out which helps your eye start out right in the middle of the cabbage. At this close distance f8 will still render the background out of focus which is what I was aiming for.

I love the way the flower here is in sharp focus and the veins of the leaf pull you up to the pumpkins and then the red berries pull you back around to the plant in the foreground again. So the viewers eye keeps moving around the image. Then as I was about to leave another composition pulled me in from the same window box but to the right of this.

The vine with the red berries pulls you up to the pumpkin then out to the left of the frame and then circles back in again. I love it when things come together.

Foggy Morning Walk

November 19, 2019 by Kirk

Unless the weather is really lousy out I try to take about an hour walk around Rockport or Gloucester looking for interesting images. Last week I decided to also film it for my weekly vlog on YouTube. It was a fun experience and more like what I like to do photographically. I’m not really much of a tripod guy but I do try and get out for some stick landscape work once in a while. This particular morning the light was find of flat and it was kind of foggy but I enjoyed it just the same. I used a fun Fuji rig for this shoot the Fuji X-T30 and the XF 16-80.

Here are some of the images from the shoot.

Colorful work dinghy's sit idle at the Rockport town wharf — Colorful work dinghy’s sit idle at the Rockport town wharf.

Dinghy triangles — Dinghy’s waiting at the Rockport Town Wharf form interesting triangles.

Lobster traps and buoys wait to be used behind Bearskin Neck in Rockport.

Lobster buoys and nets — A potted plant dies away with old lobster buoy’s and fish netting behind Bearskin Neck.

Old wooden lobster trap and buoys. — Old wooden lobster trap and buoys behind Bearskin Neck in Rockport.

Bailers and buckets — Cut off Chorox bottles and a pale sit inside a row boat filled with water.

Here is the YouTube video on my Foggy Morning Shoot