Vito Paratore Photography » Featured Photographs

Featured: Loch Ness Driftwood

Vito Paratore — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 05:28:58 +0000

This is one of my favorite photos from the Manasquan Reservoir. When I showed this to one of my friends, they mentioned that the largest piece of driftwood looks like the Loch Ness monster. I had not noticed it before then, but I see it every time I look at the photo. It took quite a while after sunrise for the sun to finally burn off the thick fog. I have been hoping for fog this thick again ever since.

Featured: Antelope Canyon

Vito Paratore — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 22:27:54 +0000

In 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.

Featured: Driftwood Stump in Fog

Vito Paratore — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 03:58:59 +0000

Here is the first blog post of my ‘Featured Photographs’ category. This category will include photos that I have grown particularly fond of for one reason or another. The photos could be from the last trip I took or from a few years ago. I will include any special techniques I used in making each featured photograph.

This photo was taken at the Manasquan Reservoir in Howell, New Jersey. This man-made lake has a very interesting landscape. Large numbers of dead trees reach into the water, making for many unique compositions. With little rain over the past few months, the water level has dropped creating a strip of land that reaches out in to the water amongst these trees. The receding water uncovers the stumps and root systems of many of these trees.

The dead trees and fog give this photo a desolate feel. I like the variations in the coloring of the trees and how they fade into the fog. The roots of the foreground tree creates many leading lines, guiding your eye around the photo. I usually do not like a pure white sky, but I think it fits well into the feel of this photo. I hope you enjoy it.