Euan Semple was recently on holiday in Wales, posting a single photo on his return. I asked for more photos since my maternal grandfather is Welsh, and Euan came through with some wonderful photos. Thank you Euan.
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Category: Photography
Recovered from the Wayback Machine.
The timing for Today’s Photos couldn’t be better because the NY Times came out with an article on photo weblogs, and the new genre called “Fotologs”. Featured is a site devoted specifically to photos, Fotolog, where one can upload photos with captions for people to review. Unlike word-based weblogs, these fotologs are pictorial, primarily — though the photos can tell a story if one wishes.
What I particularly liked is the international flavor of the fotologs — more so than weblogs, which do tend to be US centric. And since all the sites are photography based, not knowing the language is not a problem. I, of course, had to try it out, and my new fotolog is here.
Will this take off? I’m sure it will — rather than going to all the trouble of writing about what one has for lunch, one can take a snap of it and post it online. Cut through all that wordy crap, put aside the spell checker, not have to worry about finding the right adjectives.
However, the effects of the fotologs can become a bit numbing after a bit, as the Times reporter found:
After a while all this intimacy got a little alienating. I needed some fresh air, air that hadn’t been photographed and posted.
What a wonderful way of looking at too much online intimacy, not just in fotologging, but also in weblogging — we can literally smother our readers with unedited, unconcealed, unrestrained, and uncontained intimacy. Another lesson to the book in exploring our digital selves.
I am reminded of a Galloping Gourmet episode I saw long ago. Graham Kerr was making a very rich desert with tons of cream and sugar and expensive sherry. Before he poured the custard like sauce in a serving glass, he placed a slice of apple in the glass first. He said that the apple was to help cut the richness of the desert — too much richness and rather than be pleasing, the effect becomes overwhelming.
One could say the same about weblogs, and now fotologs.
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Day of photos
I spent most of the day at Shaw’s Nature Reserve yesterday, walking about, sitting in the sun, thinking, thinking, and also playing around with the camera.
Shaw’s is a popular place for photographer’s in the region and I noticed one man with his tripod taking careful closeup photos of the individual flowers as another man carried his tripod about getting larger more scenic shots. And then there was me, digital camera in hand and nothing else, just wondering about. If one does not have the accoutrement of the serious photographer, can one be a serious photographer? If one is loaded down by the accoutrement of the photographer, is one serious?
Rather than trying to pick out one or two photos, as usual, I decided to create a new photo weblog called Today’s Photos. When I spend a day taking photographs, I’ll pick out specific ones, grouping them into five weblog posts. Accompanying the photos will be anecdotes about the picture, including any background information about the experience of taking the photo, what I was attempting to capture, why, and what I like or don’t like about each picture.
By doing this, I can show more photos without increasing the bandwidth use for this weblog — something I’m sure you modem users will appreciate. I’ll still post photos here as I have in the past, including my poetry/photography pairs. However, the new site allows me to have a little more fun with the photos.
When I do post a day’s effort at the new weblog, I’ll include a posting here for the day with thumbnails to each individual entry. I’m using Allan Moult’s technique of using a slice of a regular photo as thumbnail, rather than using a smaller picture. We’ll see how it does.
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Zig-Zag patterns
I hadn’t noticed before, but I sometimes favor a zig-zag pattern to my photographs, shooting across the plane of the picture and using natural formations and shadows to complete the effect. I wonder if this is a normal tendency on the part of all photographers?
I do know that it tends to draw the eye into the picture, at least from my perspective. But then, I took the picture. From another’s perspective, it might be an annoying tendency of mine, one in which they hope I’ll soon outgrow as I learn to take photos with the grain of the shot rather than across it. Somewhat like petting a cat with the fur rather than against the fur.
I saw this fence and thought to myself, “Of course I have to take this picture”, but people kept coming up the path next to the fence. I didn’t want them to think I was trying to take the picture, and force them to cut short their enjoyment of the flowers along the way, so I’d look anywhere but at the fence.
I must have looked like an idiot, standing next to the fence, swiviling my head around and not looking at anything.
I took this with my fisheye lens because I wanted to accentuate the “V” formation in the field. The problem with the fisheye though is that my shadow kept ending up in the shot. I had to hold the camera just so and far away from my body. Again, I must have looked an idiot. I like the shot, but I’m not happy with the lighting.
This is a case where the shadows of the tree formed the ‘zag’ part of the zig-zag, breaking up the ground between the house and the fence. It’s an okay shot, but nothing to write home about.
Of course, this is a weblog — one can always write in a weblog.
This tree was literally growing sideways. I’m not sure I captured it at the right angle — forgive the pun! — but I’ll be back, and will try other shots. It might be better as a color shot, but the sky was too white and too bland. Next time I’ll try with bright blue sky, see what happens.
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Vertical Reflections
In these three photographs, there were a couple of patterns that emerged — the reflections of the water and the vertical nature of the plants surrounding the water. Both aspects added to the shots and these were some of my favorite photos from the day.
I really liked this photo. I liked the vertical trees on both sides of the pond, which seem to blend one into each other. I like the lighting — very dark in the forest, very bright on the pond, creating a sense of mystery.
If I don’t like anything about the picture, it’s the darkness of the foreground.
I liked the foreground/background effect of the weeds in the front and the trees on the other side of the lake. This just accentuated the reflection of the trees in the water, which is something I’ll never tire of.
You’ll probably tire of it though. If I do too many reflection pictures, please feel free to make a note of it. I’ll ignore the note, but you’ll feel better having made it.
Not the best of photos, as the overhanding branches make the picture ‘messy’ in my opinion. but I liked the base of the tree being wrapped in water. I would have taken more photos, but I was disturbing a nesting goose.