My dad is an amateur photographer specializing in landscapes, birds, and flowers. My mother is a portrait photographer and has photographed weddings and funerals. I have had an interest in photography as a young child and enjoy taking mostly nature shots. I have played with light and contrast and backgrounds for the most part. There have been times I looked through the viewfinder for the shot and could just not frame the shot I wanted and so desisted. I’d rather get the right shot than any shot.
For many years, I used a Nikon EM with an 18-55 mm lens (film camera). In the last number of years I toggle between my Canon Rebel XSi with an 18-270 mm lens and my Samsung phone. I sometimes find it difficult to decide which takes the better picture.
One of my favourite Samsung photos is this one of a sunrise in Campbell River.
This photo was taken on the way to work. One thing I really like about is the contrast between light and dark as well as the contrast between the foreground and background. With a sunrise or a sunset, minutes can make a big difference. Two minutes later, the shot was quite different (and not worth taking) as the sunlight was much more diffused.
This is one of my favourite Canon photos; it is a shot taken in the Colosseum in Rome.
Again, it is a series of contrasts, both light/dark and foreground/background. Even though conventional wisdom says that the foreground should be light and the background dark, I like to flip that (dark foreground with a light background). That flip is something found in both these photos. I have used this photo in an Easter sermon as it highlights the cross and the suffering it entail(ed/s).
Photo Safari
(This assignment sounds like it needs a Beach Boys playlist for background music).
Gallery
I decided to take these photos in my (upstairs) office – my dog is the exception. My dog likes to lay down in front of the main door so that she is ready and waiting when somebody decides to go for a walk (eternal optimist). She is often difficult to photograph as she often moves just as the shot has been lined up.
I chose my office as it is a place I tend to spend a lot of time in. However, as I started I realized that there was not a lot here that I would usually want or try to photograph. As stated earlier, I much prefer nature shots, and those were not likely in my office. However, I decided to take up the challenge of attempting to take photographs in my office.
I also realized that most of the photos were taken quickly other than the ones I took of my dog. Those took a long time; long enough that I was 5 minutes over on the time portion. With my dog, I had to wait to see if she would stop moving so that I could take the shot I wanted. As it was, the three of her muzzle were all not what I was hoping for as she moved just as I pressed the shutter.
I know that planning photos and taking photos as they ‘come up’ can both be challenging. For me, I’ve had more difficulty in taking planned photos than I have had in taking ‘spontaneous’ photos. However, I recognize that even spontaneous photos still require framing to get the exact shot desired.