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.
Rockport lobster boats wait to go out.
Colorful work dinghy’s sit idle at the Rockport town wharf.
Dinghy’s waiting at the Rockport Town Wharf form interesting triangles.
Colorful reflections Rockport Harbor.
Lobster traps and buoys wait to be used behind Bearskin Neck in Rockport.
A potted plant dies away with old lobster buoy’s and fish netting behind Bearskin Neck.
Old wooden lobster trap and buoys behind Bearskin Neck in Rockport.
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
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.
Lobster buoys, lobster shack and tree. Fuji 55-200 at 55 (in 35mm terms 85mm)
So how often do you find yourself in a photographic rut? Like doing the same thing over and over again! Like sunrises day after day. Or sunsets day after day chasing Instagram or Facebook likes and shares like they were candy on Easter morning.
I have been one of those photographers that does not do that. Photography is not about making images of the pretty postcard scene everyday just to get those shares and likes on social media. Plenty of people do it but does it make them better as a photographer I would say it does not.
I like to walk around looking for interesting every day things shown in a different light. Today was one of those days as the light was peaking out from behind the clouds. I found a scene I and many others have shot more than a few times. But today I chose to use a long lens and shoot against the light.
When you find yourself with photographers block – change it up! With today’s new lens designs everyone has a good short or long zoom and that’s all they walk out the door with. If that is all you have, find a focal length you never use and tape the lens in that position. Shooting with a focal length you never use will help you gain valuable insight into making great photographs. Then experiment with different f-stops. Very few photographers I know and teach like to shoot wide open. It’s an eye opening experience give it a shot.
The image above was shot at 55mm (85mm in 35mm terms) I almost never use this focal length. So I forced myself to shoot at this focal length. I can’t stress enough how important it is to make yourself move around instead of standing in one place with the zoom lens. Using a fixed focal length lens is a great way to do this. I’m not in a rut at the moment but it does happen and this is how I break out of it.
