Shooting the duck in your backyard is my biggest pet peeve in photography. Many photogs, excited with the arrival of their $1800 bad-boy zoom lens, go in the backyard, shoot poorly composed, blurry photo of a duck sitting on the lake, and immediately post them online, including online reviews, flickr, etc. Drives me nuts. The other pet peeve is shooting everything on and around their desk/table at home; also drives me nuts.
When you’re shooting with your old trusty equipment, you get rid of the five-year-old factor and focus on potential photograph, and creatively expand beyond their intended limits. New equipment comes about from tireless research and the photo you were sure you couldn’t get without it before; yet this big purchase seems to turn you right back into a mindless snap-shooter. Am I guilty of this? Absolutely. But at least I’ll drive a few miles away to spot I know has good composition, while waiting for a nice time of day to test it out. Also, when adding to my camera bag, I don’t shoot anything huge with it for at least a few weeks, until I’m comfortable with what it can do.
Nothing fancy in my backyard. A very tall fence sits about 15 feet out, with another 20 feet of grass, then a row of trees, then a slender lake, then more grass, then highway 434, then more trees. A typical suburbia Orlando landscape, where everything is planted, everything is fake, and their is always concrete in site.
The Shoot
So comes this Easter Morning, April 4, 2010. I awoke early and wanted to leave the house for coffee, only to see the most beautiful, dense fog; the kind that goes from ground to sky, and keep you from seeing more than 20 feet while driving. Given my times shooting nature, I knew that this wouldn’t last very long, and wasn’t time for anything fance. Grabbed the new carbon tripod, the 5D MKII, and my remote shutter cable, and ran out the door. While I thought about the infrared, I wanted a color option here, and a high resolution option for enlargements. Plus, the digital infrared just doesn’t have the subtle highlight range that I wanted for this shoot. Wow, this all went through my head in 10 seconds at 8:00AM on a Sunday morning.
The fog was extra dense by my house from the lake, which had completely blasted out the ugly highway, just leaving a classic, back-country style landscape with a simple row of trees, some grass, and a strong fog. The fence was as tall as I am, so I put the tripod up to about 7 feet, positions the camera about right, set the exposure bracketing, and used the remote shutter cable to fire away. And the pictures speak for themselves. Unlike my usual style, I may return to a site again and again to perfect the look, or get just the right light. But once and while, you can get a gorgeous shot outside. But rather than only shooting your area when making a purchase, just shoot when the time is right, with equipment you know well and trust, which will help you focus on the shot.
These though bring something else to mind. Life takes many turns, and you may live in many states, in many cities in your lifetime. The best shots I’ve taken in my life were within 50 miles where I lived; the places I knew well. When I lived in Sacramento, California for a short time, I knew people who never made a trip to Yosemite, a place close enough for a day trip. Wherever you live, take the time to explore every crevice, every back-road, at every time of time to document the places you call home – and not just after you swiped your credit card.
One Last Note
For now, you’ll see that I have two versions of this photo on Flickr. A simple, clean, classic elegant black and white style shot, and a more ‘modern-old’ post processed version. While I strongly believe, to my core, that my style involves a simpler approach – especially with black and white – I cannot help but cave every now and then to the typical Photoshop nonsense. More on this concept, especially on my approaching blog entry about the Winter Park Art Festival, where I saw many photogs take this type of photo and apply a digital holga effect, along with overlays; from what I heard, people go ‘wow’ when seeing them, but purchase mine anyway. Especially as time progresses, my classic black and whites are becoming more appreciated in the art work. Perhaps the effects driven photography has grabbed so many, that reverting to simple post processing can keep your look edgy and unique. Plus, simple is often what I do best; and as I’m maturing in photography, I’ve realized that even being good at simple is not so easy. So, here they are, both versions. You be the judge.
