Sometimes you just gotta let go…

October 25, 2011 • Leave a Comment

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.

: The camera did it’s job!

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.

However, being an eternal optimist, I set the camera to aperture priority, opened it up wide, and took the shot. Being handheld at about a quarter of a second, it turned out to be not quite pin sharp, but I really enjoy this photo anyway. The camera caught some great color, and the blackness in the background really sets it off well.

You never know what you’ll catch if you don’t try.

With this next shot, I was out on the local “Crop Walk” in support of Church World Service, and I of course had a camera with me.

: BUCC Silhouette!

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!

: A good day in VT!

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.

Hah! Those boats move a lot faster than I thought. You toss in the fact that the launch is being tossed up and down, the vibration of the outboard motor, the stranger angles from being at that level…let’s just say I didn’t get as many good shots as I’d have liked.

Still, I kept framing the scene, and hitting the shutter, and was rewarded with this one. The background’s a bit distracting, but on the other hand it gives you the sense that this was not a solitary boat. In any event, my sticking with it gave me one of my favorite shots of Dan.

With this last photo, I was at an outdoor concert, and kept pushing the camera to do more with less light as the light of the early evening faded until it disappeared completely. The only light left was on the stage. Once again, without using added light you need to decide on the compromise between shutter speed and aperture size. Too slow a shutter speed and you have nothing but blur. Too fast a speed and you don’t have enough information for the camera’s sensor.

: Guitar player for “The Fools”

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.

(I really should take out that microphone, though!)

Keep using your camera! Keep hitting that shutter! You may not always get what you want, but if you don’t try…

I’m out…Peace!

Keywords: photography, aperture, crew, exposure time, shutter speed, try

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