Chasing the Light 08.18.11

What a fantastic day of photographing! Today I decided to chase the light all over my front and back yard. One of the catalysts to starting this blog was a show my dad shared with me when I went to visit him recently. It was an episode of Outdoor Idaho called "Chasing the Light."It was all about landscape photographers in Idaho and how they use the light to capture the beauty of the state. Their passion for photography was evident and my dad said that he saw that same passion and drive in me. This was a push that I needed to delve into becoming a better photographer.

Another result of watching the show was becoming more aware of the light. While shooting in my front and back yards today I decided to focus on following the light and shooting to capture it. My goal was to use the light to highlight and enhance what I was shooting. The photos below are my favorites - one looking up into the trees, one of a spider on its web and one of dahlias, my favorite flower.

Settings: ISO 100, 1/10, f/7.1
Post Processing: Very minor work with brightness, contrast and sharpness

Settings: ISO 100, 1/25, f/5.6
Post Processing: White balance, brightness, contrast, green color levels

Settings: ISO 100, 1/20, f/5.6
Post Processing: Very minor work with brightness, contrast and clarity

"A photograph is a portrait painted by the sun." - Unknown

Unexpected Encounter during shooting - At one point during my shooting I turned around and noticed I was being watched by a doe and her two fawns. I stood still and after she checked me out for a moment she went back to eating apples in the neighbors yard. I tried to take a few picture without disturbing them and stealthily followed them to the front yard. They ran away after being scared by a dog. Below are the pictures I was able to get, all of them on auto mode as I was not quick enough at adjusting my settings. What a cool experience!