Having no previous plans for today, I decided to get up for sunrise to shoot at the reservoir. Once I parked the car and got my gear together, I noticed the clouds were not going to let the sun come through this morning. It had rained the day before and a few times this past week, so the water level was much higher than it has been lately. Unfortunately, the tree stump shown in my post a few days ago is now a few yards into the water. The overcast sky did not work out too well for any landscape ideas I had, so I changed gears to small detail shots. The rain from the day before made fascinating patterns in the sand, uncovering spots of different colored sand. The grass that grew during the summer and early fall is now dying, making for a carpet of brilliant orange color. For much of the morning, I scoured the ground for any potential subjects I could find in the orange grass or red sand. Posted below are two leaves I found: One on this awesome red sand and the other covered in pine needles.
Archive for December, 2007
Manasquan Reservoir: Leaves & Sand Patterns
Saturday, December 22nd, 2007Timbertops “Ghost”
Tuesday, December 18th, 2007At my grandparents house, there is this mirror at the end of the hall upstairs. Every time I walk up the stairs, I see my reflection in the mirror. At first glance, because of the the design of the mirror, it looks like someone looking in the window. It is pretty creepy when going up to the second floor with all the lights off. One of the times I was up there, I decided to try to take a photo that evoked the same feeling. I do not know if I have accomplished it, but I do like the photo. I went for a more spontaneous feel by tilting the camera. For the ghostly silhouette, I used a long exposure and moved my arms around during the exposure. The only light came from the chandelier hanging over the staircase.
Featured: Antelope Canyon
Sunday, December 16th, 2007In 2005, I took an amazing trip with my grandparents and my cousin. This trip was a month spent touring all over the United States. We saw many photographic “hot spots”, including Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Arches National Parks. Another well known location we visited was Antelope Canyon, a beautiful slot canyon near Page, Arizona. You have to take a tour to go inside Upper Antelope Canyon, where this photo was taken, so I was limited in my photography on a time basis and by the crowds of people also visiting.
One unspoken “rule” of shooting in a slot canyon is to not shoot straight up, due to the brightness of the sky comparable to the walls of the canyon. I believe most photographic rules should be learned as guidelines, but they are meant to be broken. I found this rock outcropping that blocked out any extremely bright sky and used multiple exposure blending to increase the dynamic range of the scene. I love the lines, texture, and colors of the walls shown here.



