This past year I started to learn how to be comfortable in front the camera. So I put myself in some of my own photos. I took several very interesting and fun self portraits as part of my 365 photogrpahy project. This particular is a result of some of the 22 versions of myself that I created.
It was fun trying to figure out this photo. It took nearly 4 hours, 22 outfits, changing in the park in a tent, and nearly about 2 hours of work in photoshop to create the final image.
There is beauty in simplicity of forms and lines. I have learned that tend to lean to photographs that show off highways and infrastructure in ways that most people don’t see it. As a civil engineer by day, I’m always in search of how to show off the beauty in our roads. Just because we are engineers doesn’t mean we can’t be artistic. It just means we have to think about a little more and consider the “real world” situations. But when all things line up beauty is created and can be appreciated when you look for it.
The first photo of the best of 2014 started out with an adventure of a couple of friends heading out to the mountains to witness what was called a “SPECTACULAR” meteor shower that would bring about 100 meteors per hour. Well that didn’t happen. There was only a handful of shooting stars and or meteors that night. Despite the bad call, it turned out to be one of the coolest adventures that my friends Randy, Garrett, and I experienced. We stayed out in the San Diego mountains until the wee hours of the morning but enjoy being under the stars and with each others company.
A couple of weeks ago there was a partial eclipse that took place and was visually in the United States. In San Diego it was just a partial one however it took place during the day. For me I had to rush home from work to get the gear out and ready. I missed about the first 30 minutes for the event but I was still able to capture the remaining part of the event.
To capture the eclipse on a camera does require a few items so that you don't damage your camera and more importantly your eyes. To captured this eclipse I used a ND filter made by Cokin. The filter number is a P156 which is especially designed for capturing eclipses. The number of stops that this filter has is equivalent to about 15 stops of light. It is so dark that it only allows for the bright of sunlight to pass through.
I photographed the rest of the eclipse for about 1.5 hour before the event was over. It was interesting being out in front of my house photographing the eclipse and most people didn't know it was occurring. But they were pleasantly surprise to see part of the sun was missing when they looked through my camera.
Photographed with:
Canon 5D Mark II
70-300mm at 300mm
Additional Equipment:
Cokin Filter P156
Settings:
ISO 400
f10
1/30
Each photo was taken every 8 minutes.
Edited with:
Lightroom 5.6
Photoshop CC
Here's a secret about photography that a lot of photographers do not discuss,the secret is; it is not always about photography. What I mean about this is that the best lessons are learned when you can go outside the box / realm of photographs. Such as looking to other forms of art for inspiration, thoughts, and ideas. Additionally you might want to visit museums, attend art shows, read books and magazines, be constantly curious about the world around you.
From Seth Godin
It's true you should understand how a photograph is made but you should also understand and know other forms of creative arts in addition to photography. Doing this will make you a better photographer and in general a more well rounded person. Over time you will find that your style of photography will change for the better as you dig deeper into other topics.
I have found that by studying things like botany has help me craft a better photograph and better story. By studying botany I gained a different perspective to plant life. Plants are no longer just plants. I now know where, when, and what kind of plants grow, flower, and change color depending on the conditions. Which in term has helped me know when it is perfect to shoot a photograph in a particular place.
nother great benefit to looking on the outside of photography is that you can gain a different perspective on various subjects. Being around other photographers is good but you tend to get the same opinion on various topics. But surround yourself and hang out with other artists / creatives they may share a differing opinion on a topic that you may have only seen in one way. Also when you discuss with them about your work, they will see your work in another way that you did see or that your photographer cohorts did't see. Having these types of discussions will help set you apart from others because you will be expanding your horizons. For example a lot of landscape photographers will cite Ansel Adams but not many will cite inspiration from Claude Monet, known for he's paintings of water lilies.
Art show by Alexander Barrett. Follow him on Instagram @tuffstuf.
One thing to note is you may experience people questioning and looking you wierd. But that is perfectly okay. Remember you want to stand out among others and not just comform to what is the standard.
