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Visual Story Telling

Wet Feet

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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

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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.

Ditty Bag Making – A photo story

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A well used ditty bag sits as an example of how it’s done during the Ditty Bag Workshop held at the Waterline Center of the Essex Shipbuilding Museum in Essex on Sunday morning. KIRK R. WILLIAMSON/ photo. 3/31/19

This past weekend I had the chance to photograph people making ditty bags to hold their sailing tools. I wish I had been able to stick around for the end but it was still fun talking with people and learning why they were making these canvas bags meant for holding tools used by sailors for eons.

The Ditty Bag Workshop held at the Waterline Center of the Essex Shipbuilding Museum in Essex on Sunday morning was a big hit as a large group of participants joined in to make their own ditty bags. KIRK R. WILLIAMSON/ photo. 3/31/19

I’m always looking for an interesting angle to give an overall and this was it. The Waterline Center at the Essex Shipbuilding Museum is a great place with all sorts of cool things, like boats hanging from the ceiling.

Susannah Winder directed the Ditty Bag Workshop held at the Waterline Center of the Essex Shipbuilding Museum in Essex on Sunday morning. KIRK R. WILLIAMSON/ photo. 3/31/19

Susannah was doing a great job of helping everyone out and in the photo above was talking about how the ditty bag is stitched together.

Steve Jones works on his sewing skills during the Ditty Bag Workshop held at the Waterline Center of the Essex Shipbuilding Museum in Essex on Sunday morning. KIRK R. WILLIAMSON/ photo. 3/31/19

Steve and his friends were making do sewing for canvas for the first time and having a great time doing it.

Caitland Peterson, age 12, left and her mom Bethany Peterson work on sewing a seam during the Ditty Bag Workshop held at the Waterline Center of the Essex Shipbuilding Museum in Essex on Sunday morning. KIRK R. WILLIAMSON/ photo. 3/31/19

Caitland and her mom Bethany were going through the sewing process together and having a ball doing it.

Christopher Campbell, left, and Janelle Bannon work on seeing their ditty bags during the Ditty Bag Workshop held at the Waterline Center of the Essex Shipbuilding Museum in Essex on Sunday morning. KIRK R. WILLIAMSON/ photo. 3/31/19

Varying between wide angle and tele long shots breaks up the perspective and gives the viewer a different look at virtually the same thing. I wish I could have stuck around to see the finished product to really end this story.