description-photography

The river stinks this morning, but not the usual steamy and rank smells for this time of year. Like the waves in the river, the odor wafts in. The stench seeps through my clothes and forces my nose to wrinkle in disgust. Just like yin and yang suggests, good equals bad in this situation; my surroundings make up for the fact that I can nearly taste the smell assaulting me. Sunlight heats my face and warms my fingers. The rays peeking from behind clouds and breaking over the horizon sends a signal to every living creature in the park. I hear bigger ones, the smaller ones I view through my camera in hopes of a decent macro shot. Birds awaken, the flutters of their wings shaking off the dew reach my ears. A loud expulsion of air from near the bank has me running; I have to catch the manatee, or hopefully dolphin, that produced that unmistakable sound. The wind dies down and stops whipping my hair about my face. A loud pounding resonates through me, quieting everything else for just a moment; the marine life has had a lot to deal with in this area lately. As if they recognize the sound, and indeed they must, the inhabitants of the park come alive again. The sun glints off the water and causes me to squint before I can turn around. I relax completely and just enjoy everything. Stinky days off have their perks.

comparison-photography

If pictures paint a thousand words, the same comparison should work for photos. I don't have a thousand words to spare, so I'll try to explain this type of comparison without going overboard. A single image can sum up entire events, children's milestones, activities of daily living, the times we live in, and even how we live. Pictures let others see in your life what you can't possibly begin to describe when telling them your tales. The many words we use to describe what we see in just one photo can actually amount to a thousand words. I'm sure many photos require more or less than this amount, but the idea applies to every picture. Look at the photo on the bottom left, you can see how the bird looks tortured and you would describe in words the horror you see. If you click the image for the full size you can then truly see what happened. Don't worry, we saved the bird. In the photo on the bottom right, what words would you use to start in describing what you see? "The sky had many shades of blue." "Waves crashed on the beach." "The girl flies through the air." "The day seems warm." Obviously I could go on and on in this manner. How many words would you use for the top image? I've used up my word limit for today. I just hope I don't sing old Bread songs in my head all day now.

cause and effect-photography

Last Friday I walked the band kids down the field for senior game night. I quickly grabbed my pocketbook and keys without checking my camera; I had just charged my battery and cleared my memory card. I figure I'll have fun taking pictures in the crowd waiting for the actual event; the kids have to prepare a bit earlier so waiting comes with these events. We park and I grab my camera, keys, and money. I shouldn't need anything else, I won’t fill a whole memory card. The kids head into the band room to get their instruments while I pay for my ticket and find a seat in the stands. The band and team are introduced over the loud speaker and then the band files into their section of the bleachers. Already antsy I start wandering around and see great angles for some shots. I hold back so my teen doesn't endure teasing about her crazy mom under the bleachers. Had I tried that one shot, checked my equipment, or brought my backups, I may have had time to rectify the wrong coming. Parents gather in our section and cameras come out! I ask a parent to take our photo. I hand her my camera, we smile, and she frowns. "Memory card missing" scream flashing red words silently. Devastation, embarrassment, and regret set in. I have let my child down, myself down, and not only will I miss capturing this moment, I know better. This has happened before.

advocacy-photography

Creativity and art usually travel hand in hand; nobody would question art as a creative field. Painters can create most anything with their brush strokes. Artists' creations form with every shade of their pencils on the paper. Some artistic types can dream up the most amazing creations and bring them to life through sculptures. All these creative works, all considered as art, and not one mention of photography. Photography as an art just does not come to mind for many people. Photography not being acknowledged and specified as art needs to change; photography should definitely have more recognition as being art. Just as much creativity happens within a simple image as with all the art mentioned above. You can't just press the shutter and create art. Taking good photos involves a lot of work: light, angles, settings, equipment, willing subjects. A person can have a great eye for an image that may have consideration as art, but that doesn't mean that person could take the same image in the same spot and have the same results. Photographs can have a creative flair that can only come from a certain photographer. The way one photographer views subjects will almost never be the same as another; everyone views life differently. Certain photographers might only use the same subjects or settings making them well known for their style of photography. Shouldn't all of this information help the art world recognize that a photograph comes to life through an artist?

narrative-photography

I went out to try to get some shots of NASA's Ares I-X test rocket that shot up this morning, but as usual I got bored and left before launch. The light truly sucked anyway, shooting into the sun has horrible effects on my pictures. Last time a rocket launched I had to work, so I ran outside and shot off a few and hurried in before my manager got sick of my camera stunts. I think to myself it's better to be here and bored than at work wishing I could be here and bored. I try not to leave and take what shots I can while I hold out through each delay. No settings can help this harsh light, I wonder if I should have gone over the bridge instead of Spaceview Park. I can't stand this park for long waits before launches, it's too small and too full of tourists. I did get a little tee hee out of one little kid. I think the first thing that ruined the day for me, other than the sun, may have been the donation jars and space ship memorabilia being sold at the entrance. I'm not sure why. Usually my camera keeps me from being bored; taking pictures of people tickles me and one of my teens. Maybe because I'm alone for a launch I can’t focus on this shoot and really don’t want to be here. Is this how a writer feels with writers block?