photography

wp anniversary … 11 years

The autumn moon

Shining so brightly

So I wrote this ~Sekkei

Upon reflection of the past 11 years with Word Press there have been virtual connections that inspire, moments of anticipation, exchanges of ideas; and most important, a sense of being heard through exchanges of posts.

These various connections feel similar to childhood exchanges with pen pals. As well as letters, sent and received, the umbilical cords that nourished the emotional connection with family and friends despite the separation of miles.

Pen to paper that silently reaffirmed “thinking of you.” The anticipation that accompanied opening the mail box, tossing the envelopes with business return address onto the kitchen table while sitting down with a cup of tea to open letters that were like gifts of validation … of love.

It is amazing to read statistics that tell of the global connections that have been formed through blogging and virtual meetings. The inherent joy that arises through people connecting through the internet.

The WP anniversary invites me to say: thank you for your challenges, positive and inspiring comments, sharing the tidbits of your life, and creative words and photographs. Also, I appreciate the lessening importance of the numbers of followers and “likes” in light of the continuation of shared interests and new acquaintances.

Yet, I’ve found that over the past eleven years and most notably over the past three there is an emptiness that is occurring with the sudden and unexplained absence of posts… Emptiness that becomes filled with grief and loss.

I miss: our exchanges of haiku, you…an amazing writer of life, jokes you posted that I shared with my grandchildren, the diary you shared after being diagnosed with cancer, your abstract sea landscapes, your reflections of aging, your travel photographs, your invitation to edit selected photographs … I miss the connection I formed with each of you over the years.

This journey with old and new friends…priceless.

early morning reading

“Klaas, all really wanted to say is this: we have so much work to do on ourselves that we shouldn’t even be thinking of hating our so-called enemies. We are hurtful enough to one another as it is. And I don’t really know what I mean when I say that there are bullies and bad characters among our own people, for no one is really ‘bad’ deep down. I should have liked to reach out to that man with all his fears, I should have liked to trace the source of his panic, to drive him ever deeper into himself, that is the only thing we can do, Klass, in times like these.

“And you, Klass, give a tired and despondent wave and say, ‘But what you propose to do takes such a long time and we don’t really have all that much time, do we? …

“And I repeat with the same old passion, although I am gradually beginning to think that I am being tiresome, ‘It is the only thing we can do, Klass, I see no alternative, each of us must turn inwards and destroy in himself all that he thinks he ought to destroy in others. And remember that every atom of hate we add to this world makes it still more inhospitable. …'”

cited: The Interrupted Life The Diaries of Etty Hillesum, pp.179-180.

Trans: Arno Pomerans

Quote

a photo study: Ian MacDonald’s creative composition in street photography

aphotostudystreetweb

Nikon D750   f/8   1/8s   300m   100 ISO

“He sought out a background with formal qualities interesting in themselves. Often it was a wall parallel to the place of the image, or a space lending perspective with defined graphic lines. Then he waited for figures to come and find their place in this arrangement of forms, in what he himself called ‘simultaneous coalition.’ His approach to composition was like a little theater with a set and actors. One part of what formed the geometric quality of his images was perfectly controlled: the other–and probably the most important-was the result of chance.” (cited: Aperture Masters of Photography Henri Cartier-Bresson)

This week I would like to introduce you to Ian MacDonald, an Official Fujifilm X  Photographer and educator living in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In his first of a series of street composition blogs, he reviews:

What really matters in a photograph

  • Subject 
  • Moment
  • Light
  • Background

aphotostudystreet-3web

Nikon D750   f/2  1/5s  35m   160 ISO

Setting the stage

aphotostudystreet-4web

Nikon D750   f/8  1/8  135m  100 ISO

Street portraits

aphotostudystreet-1web

Nikon D750   f/5.6  1/160   300m  I00 ISO

Detail Shots

aphotostudystreet-2web

Nikon D750  f/8  1/100  68m  100 ISO

I hope you, also, find this to be interesting and informative. As always, I would love to read your thoughts and see your images.  Let’s tag with #aphotostudy.  Until next week…

via Creative Composition in Street Photography – Part One

wpc: beloved

shapes-42web

Imagine the dimension of time as a vertical line. Place yourself in the present on that line with the past above you and the future below you. Establish yourself in time. See all your ancestors that have come before you. The youngest generation of your ancestors is your parents. All of them are above you on this line of time. Then below you, see all your dependents, your children, your grandchildren, and all their future descendants. If you have no children, your descendants are the people you have touched in your life, and all the people they in turn influence. 

In you are both your blood ancestors and your spiritual ancestors. You touch the presence of your father and mother in each cell of your body. They are truly in you, along with your grandparents and great-grandparents. Doing this, you realize their continuation. You may have thought that your ancestors no longer existed, but even scientist will say that they are present in you, in your genetic heritage, which is in every cell of your body. 

plums

Look into a plum tree. In each plum on the tree there is a pit. That pit contains the plum tree and all previous generations of plum tree. The plum pit contains an eternity of plum trees. Inside the pit is an intelligence and wisdom that knows how to become a plum tree, how to produce branches, leaves, flowers, and plums. It cannot do this on its own. It can only do this because it has received the experience and heritage of so many generations of ancestors. You are the same. ~Thich Nhat Hanh (No Death, No Fear, 137-138)

baseballcaps3

This posting  was created in memory of Dustin, Bob, Elberta, Donna, Chris, Larry, and Margaret who all live on within the lives of my beloved.

a mental image

One of the interesting things about photography is the fact that it’s record of ourselves and our works so often do not correspond to our mental image…  Generally we assume that the difference between our expectation and the camera’s evidence is the result of some kind of photographic aberration.

~Henri Cartier Bresson

citypark2

Nikon D750   f/5.6   1/160s   170 mm   ISO 100

Learning Photography

f5.6_2.5

Nikon D750   f/5.6   2.5s   40mm   ISO 100

 

f8_2.5

Nikon D750   f/8   2.5s   40mm   ISO 100

f11_1.30

Nikon D750   f/11   1.30s   40mm   ISO 100

f6.3_1.3

Nikon D750   f/6.3   1.30s   40mm   ISO 100

After pondering the feedback about the image I submitted for RAJ’s closeup/macro lesson, I realized my understanding of shutter speed was a bit fuzzy and in need of  study.  So with a bean bag for camera support and the Nikon set on auto-focus (I did not want to be impeded by my lack of experience with manual focus), I experimented with 40 various macro images of  peppercorn and Himalayan salt.  Of the four posted above, my preference is f/11 at 1.30 seconds.

The image I submitted for RAJ’s “frame your subject” lesson was revisited to darken the lit rectangle on the left as it was noted to be a distraction.

pc_frameweb

Before

pc-frame2web

After

 

RAJ’s notation about the sunflower image in portrait mode brought to mind a photo article about how, as a camera moves closer, an peanut in a match box transforms from an image of a peanut to one of a piece of sculpture.  In the sunflower image (right) I cropped the image in portrait and followed up with a bit of clean up along the bottom with Photoshop’s content-fill.

Before
After

Jump on over to RAJ’s Photography Lesson to begin a great learning experience.