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!

Flashback: Valley Sky 04.08.11

It was an exciting and tiring day of meeting new students and getting back into the swing of school. After decompressing for a bit I decided to pick a flashback picture for today's post. I wanted something from a "shoot" I had not posted yet. I noticed, after putting all the blog photos on my Facebook page, that I have posted no vertically oriented pictures yet. 

(Side note - I would love to put up a like box for the Facebook page but I don't have enough people who "Like" page, so if you want to check it out  search for "Scattered Horizons Photography" and like the page with the lighthouse as the profile picture :o). There are some other photos I have not shared on here yet and I would love for you to see them!)

Looking through my photo files I noticed that is a theme, either because I am not drawn to the vertical or because the nature of my favorite subjects (the beach and other landscapes) does not call for vertical often. I will definitely be putting vertical shots on my photography bucket list inspired by Click it Up a Notch. After some searching I did find one picture of the sky near my house as the sun was setting behind the trees that was vertical and that I liked. I like the tree line and how the sky colors show through the spindly branches. I certainly think vertical works in this case. 

Flashback #4

Location: Maple Valley, WA

Date: April 8th, 2011

Settings: Shot in Auto - 1/100, f/4

Post Processing: Minor work with color levels, contrast, brightness and sharpening

What I Like: The shapes of the trees and the variety of colors in the sky
What I Think Needs Work: The focal point and what is going on in the bottom of the frame (too much)

"I look out of this window and I think this is a cosmos, this is a huge creation, this is one small corner of it. The trees and birds and everything else and I'm part of it. I didn't ask to be put here, I've been lucky in finding myself here." - Morris West