There are times that I plan out the shot I want, and there are others where I just let it happen.
Sometimes the photos where I just let the camera do the work turn out to be quite spectacular, even if they’re not what I expected to see.
Take this shot, for example. I was walking along a recreational trail, when I spied some leaves in shadow that looked interesting. Quite honestly, I didn’t think there was any way that I’d get anything useful out of this attempt. I didn’t think there would be nearly enough available light to get adequate information into the camera.
Approaching the center of town from an unfamiliar angle, the changing weather gave me this shot.
Now I could work on this photo for a while, and bring out more detail here and there. I could possibly turn it into a black and white photo that has a bit more impact. Hey, these days, there are just so many options for changing the original photo that don’t take a ton of computing power that I could come up with dozens of variations on this.
But I like it as is. It’s got just enough color in it to keep me looking at the trees and the sky, and it’s dark and brooding enough that it brings out emotions relating to that.
Now this one was interesting!
I was in Vermont to watch Dan (my son) row. I had been taking photos of the crew team’s races for a couple of years, and posting them on a shutterfly site (www.uvmcrewpics.shutterfly) for them, so I was relatively well known by the team and coach. I was still surprosed though, when the coach asked me if I wanted to get out on the water in their launch, and follow a race or two. I of course said yes, and set the camera to what I thought would be appropriate settings.
Just keep in mind that digital photgraphy is cheap, once you own the camera. It costs you nothing to hit the shutter, and photos that are no good are easily deleted, either right on the camera, or from the computer once you’ve got them there. This may not be the best, but I really like the stage light behind him, and the flow of light from the right.