MarkJ left a comment on yesterday's blog asking why it's sometimes posted at o'dark thirty and sometimes not until noon. Good question. Part of the answer, of course, is that I sometimes sleep in late. I can do that. I'm no longer a productive member of society.
Breaking News! I'll be 62 in September and I applied for social security benefits yesterday! YAY!
Back to the story.
As you regular readers know, I've been getting serious about my photography, and if you're going to go cruising one day, I suggest you do too. At Pam's insistence, I bought myself a nice basic DSLR camera, a Nikon D3100. I've been snapping pics like crazy. Most of them are junk, but some have come out pretty good, I think. I've been accepted as a photographer on depositphotos.com and they've accepted eight of my photos so far.
I've been participating in digital-photography-school.com's weekly assignments and learning quite a bit. This week's assignment is "Backlighting". Ordinarily, when shooting you want the sun in front of the subject to highlight it. This week, we need to photograph something with the light coming from behind the subject.
Yesterday was potluck dinner at Isle of Hope Marina here in Georgia. The sun was setting, and I brought my camera along to photograph people with the light coming from behind them. I took lots of shots, looking for facial expressions and illuminated hair that might make a good shot. I downloaded them to my laptop, and when I got up at o'dark thirty I edited the photos instead of writing this blog.
This is what I've come up with so far. I can only submit one for the assignment. If you folks would comment and let me know which one is your favorite, I'd appreciate it. Or, I suppose, if you don't like any of them, let me know that too.
Breaking News! I'll be 62 in September and I applied for social security benefits yesterday! YAY!
Back to the story.
As you regular readers know, I've been getting serious about my photography, and if you're going to go cruising one day, I suggest you do too. At Pam's insistence, I bought myself a nice basic DSLR camera, a Nikon D3100. I've been snapping pics like crazy. Most of them are junk, but some have come out pretty good, I think. I've been accepted as a photographer on depositphotos.com and they've accepted eight of my photos so far.
I've been participating in digital-photography-school.com's weekly assignments and learning quite a bit. This week's assignment is "Backlighting". Ordinarily, when shooting you want the sun in front of the subject to highlight it. This week, we need to photograph something with the light coming from behind the subject.
Yesterday was potluck dinner at Isle of Hope Marina here in Georgia. The sun was setting, and I brought my camera along to photograph people with the light coming from behind them. I took lots of shots, looking for facial expressions and illuminated hair that might make a good shot. I downloaded them to my laptop, and when I got up at o'dark thirty I edited the photos instead of writing this blog.
This is what I've come up with so far. I can only submit one for the assignment. If you folks would comment and let me know which one is your favorite, I'd appreciate it. Or, I suppose, if you don't like any of them, let me know that too.
Dan #1
Dan #2
Dan #3
Diane #1
Diane #2
Pamela
Gertie #1
Gertie #2 (same pic, black and white)
Yeah, I know this is a liveaboard/cruising lifestyle blog, but I think photography is a big part of it. Just look at all the blogs there are, and those without photos are usually pretty bland. Photos help bring the reader into the experience. Snapshot photos are OK, but good photographs add more.
You might wonder why some of these are black and white. I'm still struggling with that too. According to one source, "Portraits done in black and white add an additional layer of complexity to their subject. The choice to appear void of color says something about the person, though what it says varies greatly between people." Yeah. That's real clear.
So, if you can, pick one. If you can tell me why, it would be helpful. If not, that's OK too.
You might wonder why some of these are black and white. I'm still struggling with that too. According to one source, "Portraits done in black and white add an additional layer of complexity to their subject. The choice to appear void of color says something about the person, though what it says varies greatly between people." Yeah. That's real clear.
So, if you can, pick one. If you can tell me why, it would be helpful. If not, that's OK too.
As usual Dave the wait was worth it! Some great photos there but Dan #1 is terrific!!!
ReplyDeleteYou can never go wrong with a picture your Wife "Per Her Approval"--
ReplyDeleteI disagree with the thought that black and white photos add a degree of complexity. I believe they reduce the photograph, taking away layers of complexity. Leaving us with a more stark representation of what is there.
ReplyDeleteA perfect example of this is demonstrated by your shots of Dan above. All three shots of Dan have very distinct and noticeable reflections in his glasses. In the color shot however, the bright red nature of the reflection draws your eye to the reflection, demanding your attention.
IMO, it makes a lesser portrait because of the distraction. A distraction that is not even considered a distraction in the other two shots. In fact, the reflections in the other two shots suck you into the shot after you have considered and pondered the face.
The same is true of the shot of Pam. In color, my first thought was, "Oh poor dear, she's getting too much sun." In black and white, we wouldn't even know she is sunburned.
That being said, Diane #1 is the most technically well done shot for several reasons.
Cheers.
But, you couldn't go wrong with submitting a BW version of the Pam shot. I will bet that is a compelling shot in BW. And it never hurts to store up some suck-up points... LOL
ReplyDeletehttps://dl.dropbox.com/u/12605240/Pamela_1457.JPG
ReplyDeleteDan 3 and gertie 2
ReplyDelete