Inside my Photography Mind

A few years ago, I attended a presentation by Freeman Patterson, one of Canada’s top nature photographers. It was an honour to hear his story and gain insight in to what inspires him and what Photography has given him. During his talk, he said something that really struck me; “the lens looks both ways.”

The lens looks both ways. Wow! I had never thought of this before. As I reflected on his words, I realized what a profound statement it was. Then I thought, oh my gosh, what have I been sharing through my photography. What does it really say about me? This lens looking both ways.

When I venture out to create a photograph I really have no idea what I will find. My landscape photography is about mood and what strikes me as a pleasing image in that moment. I look for elements that I would like to include in the image and then my creative mind takes over to provide the mood. What shutter speed and depth of field would I like? How much exposure do I need? What angle do I need to shoot from to create the feel that I would like? How am I going to frame this shot? What do I include? What do I exclude? I never once thought; what does this say about me?

Recently, I pulled over to the side of a rural road when something caught my eye. There was a lone tree on the horizon with a bit of an interesting sky above. I ventured into a farmer’s field to capture this tree from the best angle that I could find. As I was doing this I captured a few different views of this same tree. It wasn’t until I was editing the photos that I felt the difference in the images.

Moody Tree; feeling alone in this great big world, filled with uncertainty as the sky shifts around.

The same tree; alone but filled with hope as there is a mood of being watched over and taken care of from above.

I was really struck by the different moods in these two photos. Both taken seconds apart. Yet as I edited them I felt two distinctly separate moods. I can relate with the feelings in both of these photographs. Was it the mood I was feeling in that moment? I’m not sure. I was happy that day, driving listening to my favourite music, heck I even think I was singing along. But that lone tree caught my attention. I guess the lens found something in me that day.

Blue Hour on Anna Maria Island

I have recently returned from a wonderful, relaxing, vacation on Anna Maria Island, Florida, along the Gulf of Mexico.  It was nice to take a break from "regular" life.  However, I could not be in such a beautiful spot without taking a few photographs.  I focused most of my attention on sunrise photos at Anna Maria's City Pier.

I woke up early on three different mornings to experience the sunrise at the Pier.  There is a period of time shortly before sunrise and  shortly after sunset, referred to as the "Blue Hour."  At these times the quality of light is often magical for photography as a blue tone is cast across the landscape.

The last morning was quite unique.  The photo above was taken then and shortly thereafter, I was treated to a special encounter with a Blue Heron.  As I was sitting on the bench along the Pier's boardwalk, looking for other possible photographs to take; a Blue Heron landed on the edge of the Pier about 15 feet away from me.  

My camera was already set up for a 20 second exposure with a wide angle lens, so, I seized the moment and calmly approached this welcomed visitor.    I decided to frame up the photo below as I squatted down on the boardwalk with my tripod set up about 8 feet away from the heron.  I counted the 20 seconds in my head hoping that he would stay still as the shot was being taken.  If he moved at all, he would just be a blur in the frame.  He was kind enough to oblige and then quietly flew away a few seconds later.  I will always treasure this photo for the unlikely, special moment that this heron gave me.  

Blue Heron in the Blue Hour "Blue time Two"  details: 20 seconds, f/22, ISO 100 , 20 mm

Where was that?

I have had several similar questions regarding one of my most recent images.  "Where was that?"  The image titled, Ice Cave Lens Flare, was taken along the shoreline of Lake Huron, in my home town of Bayfield, Ontario.  As the weather warms, the Lake thaws and moves about, it starts to undermine the large ice mountains that have formed along the shore.  These mountains form when the waves crash in and freeze, building layer upon layer during the early winter.  I was walking the beach one afternoon looking for a possible place to take some sunset photos that evening.  I noticed a small opening at the base of one of the mountains.  I crawled down to check it out and knew that this would be the place that I would return to.

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My camera bag and the undermined "mountain" where the Ice Cave Lens Flare image was created

Upon returning I climbed into the opening to realize that my tripod couldn't go low enough to set up for the shot at an angle that I liked.  I ended up laying on the beach to be able to shoot through the cave.  As the sun set, it briefly  shone into the cave.  I had to use a higher ISO setting of 800, to be able to use the small f22 aperture needed to create the starburst from the sun, while having a fast enough shutter speed to handhold the camera.  Shooting directly into the sun also gave me the lens flare that I wanted to achieve.  The sun shone for only a few seconds like this before setting below a bank of clouds on the horizon.  I was so happy to have witnessed and captured this brief moment.  

Below are a few other images from that evening.  The first one shows a shot from my tripod, not a desirable angle in my opinion.  The second image zooms in on the golden glow that occurred just before the sun sank behind the clouds.  Some waves were also rolling in that evening.  The next two images capture some of that wave action.  I had to be careful not to get the lens, camera or myself, splashed too much.  

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Thanks for taking the time to read my behind the scene story.  I hope that you also take time to enjoy whatever happy moments come your way today.  

Take Care, Jane.