During a recent exchange with a fellow early riser. We shared our appreciation for the pre-dawn moments when one can appreciate a sense of solitude, while enjoying that quickly diminishing moment, when the air feels fresh, as it entices your senses. Whether it was coming home from a night of debauchery or leaving your home for that long commute. Whatever the reason. These moments are to be cherished. Below is a capture taken during my now daily morning walk.
March 1st, 5:50 am Canon R6 Mark II RF 24-105 F4 30.0 f22 ISO 200
I’m finally getting images off the floor, out of the closet, and onto the white walls of our condo. Thoughts arise regarding what goes where and the themes they represent—taking a nod from childhood memories. Two impactful ones immediately come to mind. The coop my Mom raised me in as a child had two bathrooms. The smaller one, just off the kitchen, was always the one that doubled as a bathroom/art gallery. Small, yet functional. The small area was lit by one of those funky colored bulbs and rotating art that varied from nudes and movie posters the company she worked for produced. At the same time, my Father ushered in my love for boxing by installing a heavy bag in his garage and sharing his love for the sport with me. A passion and appreciation that has stuck with me since.
So, when needing one last print for my boxing-themed room. I dug deep into my Lightroom 4 images and found a long-lost gem that perfectly captured my envisioned mood and vibe. Taken ten or more years ago by an actress, model, and stuntwoman I worked with in my small, Hoboken studio. The session this image came from marks the beginning of my love, understanding, and practice of adding shadow, contrast, and mood to my studio lighting.
To your right, is one of the first print/enlargements I’ve made in more than five years and my first with District Cameras Arlington location. Having done business with them numerous times in the past month, I can only say the most positive things when recommending their service.
Working from home is one way of closing yourself off from social interaction. Enduring a dark, rainy day ensures I won’t be going very far. However, today’s combination of both did little to extinguish my desire to attempt anything remotely creative. Thankfully, the rain left its impression on our living space. As drops of rain collected on our windows and doors. Enough to make for a pretty cool idea. In working on using light, shadow, and other aspects to achieve my future goals of using natural light to create mood in my portraits. I find that experimenting with various elements will benefit me in the end.
Imagine yourself sitting at a bar with nothing to drink, no bartender to serve you, and no alcohol to serve. That was me today at Baltimore’s Cross Street Market. Kind of cool. Don’t you think?
As the weather gets warmer I hope to further explore my love for night photography, long exposure and the endless search for light. The image below was taken on Dolly Madison Blvd. at around 8:30 pm. There wasn’t nearly enough back and fourth traffic, but I really enjoyed the moment and the lights coming from the buildings across the blvd. I’m quickly learning that I enjoy things when I’m not worried about mistakes.
I was digging through some old folders with the intention of deleting images and sessions that either have’t held up over the years or never served their original purpose. When I came upon this image, I paused and thinking the old me would’ve immediately deleted it, and how the current me was grateful that I didn’t. Though, in all likelihood, the blur and silhouette were caused by my studio lights not firing correctly. As I found myself revisiting this shoot, I was reminded how some of my mistakes, or hat of my gear, have turned out to be favorites.
When we headed out today, I made sure to bring my camera, tripod and recently surfaced remote. Knowing that running errands has become an all day thing for us. I knew that by the time we arrived home, it would be dark. Me being somewhat obsessed with night time photography and how beautiful capturing the available light in the night sky can be. I asked my wife to stop a few feet from the garage and let me do my thing. Both shots were taken at f22 on a 30″ timer. The top image was taken with a 200 ISO.The second (or bottom) image was shot at 100 ISO.
I can’t begin to tell you how often I’ve wanted to pull the car over to spend an hour or two taking pictures. Knowing what my wife’s reaction will be, I keep my mouth shut and my enthusiasm in check. That said, there are moments and opportunities that I can’t pass on. Knowing how protective my wife has become and my not wanting to be made fun of, due to my obsession. I’ve been forced to try new things.
The other night was a perfect example as we were on the final leg of our trip back to the hotel. The colors and shapes in the sky caused by the setting sun were off the charts. (My favorite time of the day to photograph landscapes.) With no filters or flash and no intention of asking her to pull over. I adjusted my camera settings, leaned forward and took a few images to take home with me. I was somewhat surprised how well the images came out. With no reflection from our dirty windshield. I guess I found a temporary filter without actually looking of paying for one. Not bad. Not bad at all.
“Location, location, location” and “Just look at that view.” are perhaps two of the most repeated terms in real estate history. As someone who often chose location over the view. I’ve had the somewhat common experience to have faced alleyways, brick walls and even have an eye shot of a great big Burger King sign. However, moving to our current home we’ve often turned our attention from the television to either go out on the balcony, up to the roof deck or just saddle up to the windows. It’s true that time often allows us to take even the most beautiful things for granted. However, I can’t recall a day when I didn’t race to the window or balcony to watch the sun go down. The reason for composing this shot was the positioning of the boats and the dramatic manner in which the sun was protruding through the clouds.
I have a habit of overthinking. When I get something in my head or get passionate for something, I go all in. Being that I’ve suddenly decided I wanted to get back to taking pictures, (Not that I ever really stopped.) I’ve been spending a lot of time watching videos about composition, lighting and long exposures. So, as I lay in bed last night, I began to think of that box of matches we have. The ones we use to light candles when our farts are particularly foul. There I was, unable to sleep because I couldn’t stop thinking about how I wanted to capture those matches. So, after I got up this morning, showered and enjoyed my first cup of coffee, I got to work. After a few, less than satisfactory attempts, I finally captured the matches as I had imagined as I lie awake the night before.
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