Christmas came and went this year on fast-forward for me. I shot this picture exactly how I found it on a walk here. To me it is the appropriate conclusion to the difficulties and waste many people go through during the Christmas fever and rush. And how fast it crashes. From the waste to the stress--Christmas has truly lost much of its real meaning. I thank my family for the phone calls, offers to come over, and stopping by to bring me some good food and help. Christmas is not about spending gobs of money and people getting so stressed out they need Zanex or Clonazepam just to get through it. I chose to spend it alone on purpose for the first time. It also worked out best for my family due to snow here. I always wanted to spend it alone to step back from it all and by watching TV learn more about the real story through all those documentaries I have missed every year.
"Small Change"And so the year has changed. Big deal. New years was a Liam fireworks display out here. For the 4th they have two huge shows visible. They don't seem to care much about new years. Just after new years I a new Digital SLR. It has me enabled me to reach a new level of creativity with it's wide format. And it's packed full of power, features and refinements as well as it's flexibility and durability it was worth going for some time without eating if I had to! Na--it was not that bad. I have not been able to afford any more lenses yet but it's a Canon EOS so there are tons of relatively inexpensive choices. The one I got is well-capable of being outfitted with the right system the same way I have shot most of my macro shots on my website. Even better--I can shoot at F36 with this lens --when I can find some insects and spiders they will have more depth of focus due to depth of field. I am counting my many blessings and money this year. In my situation to have an interest like this is a serious blessing. My family and photography saved my life.
Make sure to click on this one to see larger view. I have shot many pictures from this place, but my new wide format camera let me really take it all in. In black and white pictures it is far more easy to get away with bringing up areas that are very dark in contrast to very brightly lit areas. Sometimes it seems that's the only way to present a good picture when the contrast between light and dark subjects in the same image are very difficult to control. White balance factors make the colors very difficult to match well. It is one way without using lots of software to make nice images with such large contrasts very easy. Just use Levels, and possibly Shadows and Highlights in Photoshop (I think in any version)
As an artist I am told not to be excited about my own work openly. But this shot really was a lucky hit and I'm proud of it. I nearly captured the entire Dalles from a fast moving van through the window as a snapshot set at a high shutter speed. I had no time to think and managed to get this image before it got blocked as we drove my homes and trees. I got off just one shot. The Columbia river is obviously what runs through the picture. One side is The Dalles and Oregon (on the left here) and the other is Washington state (Dallesport).
No comments:
Post a Comment