Free Texture Friday - Dark Wavy Light Abtract

This week's free texture is dark wavy light abstract pattern.

You can download the full-res version below.

This photograph was captured in my own backyard in Salem, Oregon.




Download the full res image here.

Free Texture Friday - Forest Trees Abstract

This week's free texture is flaming light abstract pattern.

You can download the full-res version below.

This photograph was captured in Minto-Brown Park in Salem, Oregon.




Download the full res image here.

Free Texture Friday - Flaming Light Abtract

This week's free texture is flaming light abstract pattern.

You can download the full-res version below.

This photograph was captured in my own backyard in Salem, Oregon.




Download the full res image here.

Photography Retreat Part 3

Amy - Camp Staffer

The Salem Digital Photo Group held their first annual photography retreat this fall. The retreat was held on the beautiful Oregon coast at the wonderful Camp Magruder, near Rockaway Beach, Oregon.

To recap, the first day started down on the beach for some beach scenes followed by an amazing sunset. Then late at night we went out to attempt a one hour exposure, which ended in a bust a little before 1:00 AM.

We were up at 6:00 AM on day two and headed down to the lake for some early morning light photography followed by breakfast with the Camp Staff.

The Campers

 After breakfast we posed for a couple of group shots. A motley crew we were, but everyone was in such a good mood following breakfast. It was time for some of us to head into the woods, while a few headed to the beach.







I chose the woods...

Dream

As we headed into the woods a light mist was hanging in the trees allowing for strong sunbeams to creep in through the trees.

I shot a few frames here to capture the image on the left.


Then I moved on, shot a frame or two, moved on again, rinse and repeat.

Enchantment

Beams

Strength

Beach Grass

 As we made our ways through the woods we took time to shoot things other than Sunbeams.

My friend and fellow photographer even let me use his 60mm Macro Lens. This is one of the additional benefits of shooting with friends outside of the wonderful company; sharing equipment.

The world of macros is always ripe with opportunity for you and your camera.

Blade

Pine Cone

Miniature World

Tune in next week for part four of this blog series. It was a beautiful weekend.

Free Texture Friday - Green Crush

Green Crush

This week's free texture is crushing green tones with waves of light.

You can download the full-res version below.

This photograph was captured at Bush Park in Salem, Oregon.





Download the full res image here.

Abstractions

Still Life

What can I say, I love abstracting. I love oil paint-like effects of my style of abstraction.

The image to the left is what I consider my masterpiece, two years in the making, and is actually for sale in my store. The image is a still life and is meant to represent a painting. And to answer everyone's burning questions; there was no "Photoshop" involved and this is not a photo of a painting.

This is an out of camera photograph of bowl of fruits, grains and vegetables.

Below are a few more examples of my abstractions.

Motion is your friend	Lose the Tripod
Pause with a vertical shift	Pure Vertical Shift	Pause with slight diagonal shift

Free Texture Friday - Vertical Patterns

This week's free texture is natural light patterns from camera panning..

You can download the full-res version below.

This photograph was captured at Bush Pasture Park in Salem Oregon.






Download Full Res Version Here:

Genesis - The Importance of Light



Light is Good

 Genesis 1:3-4 says, “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.”


The point of photography is light; Photo-Graphy = Light-Writing or Light-Drawing. So many people seem to have forgotten that basic yet important principle. So many people are focused on post processing, subject matter and composition and thanks to High ISO, Aperture, Shutter and Auto modes seem to be leaving light as an afterthought. Light is life. Don’t ever forget that.

We are human. As humans we are drawn to light, much like an insect. Light compels us. Light attracts us. Light draws us in. Light makes us say, “Awe…” So why is it that we tend to put Light behind the rule of thirds, the golden ratio, gorgeous subjects and noise vs. grain? I don’t know the answer to that question myself, it is more of a hypothetical question for you to answer for yourself. So let me ask it that way; why do you focus on Light last; as an afterthought?

The Bible starts with Genesis 1:1 by stating; “In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep….

So what was God’s second action of choice; second only to creating the heavens and the earth? Anyone? Anyone? I’ll give you a hint; it is the opening quote of this post.



Light is my subject

 That’s right, He said, “Let there be light: and there was light.” According to the bible, God created light before he separated the land from the water. Light was so important that God created light before the creation of the sky (heavens), vegetation, plants, seas and even before creating those little beings that would be meant to worship him; man and woman. Light was so important that God’s fourth action after creating light and separating it from darkness was to add more light in the heavens to shine through the darkness, that’s right stars. Light was more important to him than creating beings to worship him. Light; second only to the heavens and earth.

So as a Light Writer where should my priority be focused? Should my priority be on form? Should my priority be on composition? The bible closes the all of his creations with the words; “God saw that it was good.” Form and composition are good, but without light is void. And a void is empty. A void is dead. You can have the world’s most beautiful subject in front of your lens, but without light the subject is dead. We are not creating the heavens and the earth so light should be our first priority.

Light became my priority over a fluke of purchase I made. I have been blessed and cursed with a camera I purchased several years ago. It is a Canon Digital Rebel DSLR. I believe that it was one of Canon’s first DSLR models. I purchased this as a second body that I was going to convert to an IR camera. I paid $75 for it and Canon EF USM 50mm F/1.4 lens. I call this camera a blessing and a curse because it has been both in the time I have had it.



Light is not an afterthought

 The Curse: When I first purchased it I learned that the camera over exposes by nearly four stops natively and it doesn’t shoot raw. When I place the camera in Aperture or Shutter Priority, ISO 100, I get images of pure white, even indoors. I have tried everything short of sending to Canon to fix the camera. I was never too worried because my other DLSR body functioned fine and the Canon proved to be my low-light-go-to body. The catch was I always had to shoot in manual mode, even when the subject being shot was not the best subject for that mode. I missed hundreds of shots because of this camera. In the beginning, it was a curse.

The Blessing: In the last six months, I have started shooting more and more with this cursed camera. These days, this camera is the camera that goes with me everywhere. Over the last six months I have learned more about light and controlling light than I have with any other experience in my years of interest in photography. This camera has made me a better photographer because it made me learn more about light. It forced me to learn how light works and interacts with the sensor. This learning has spawned a new sense of understanding and interest in light.

I've got light, yes I do! I've got light! how bout you?

If there would be one project I would encourage you to try it would be this: Place your camera in manual mode for thirty days. On the first day, take as many photographs as it requires to get the light right. Keep that number in your head as the next thirty days go by. For the remaining days shoot at least 3 different scenes a day, shooting as many images as it takes to get the light right. On the last day of the project, count how many images it took to get the light right. Was it two or three? Was it half of the number from the first day? Less than half? Regardless, if you improve a little or a lot, improvement mean you have understanding. Understanding means control. Control in photography means results.

With the six months I have been shooting with my over-exposing canon, I can get the light right in 2 frames or less. That is; first adjustment, then first shot, then second adjustment if needed (and the second adjustment is needed less than 30% of the time) then second shot. It is almost second nature for me now. I am not always perfect; by I am definitely tenfold better than I was six months ago.

Where is light in your list of photographic priorities?