POTW 2025-11-17 ... an Afterward

  

- - -  “too much of a good thing”  - - -

 

On this photographic journey, the idiom “too much of a good thing” often comes to mind. Whether I'm viewing images from other photographers or in the process of conceptualizing, planning, making and later processing my own image.

 

Such was the case when I was selecting an image for the most recent 'Photo of the Week' blog post. I mentioned there that I was still working through images from the first day of shooting on a 4/5 day late fall trip to the eastern shore of Lake Superior. Reviewing captures from the last location of that day, I had many to go through, as I had chosen a location and set up one camera on a tripod for a particular wide angle composition, and then made frequent exposures as the sun dipped lower and lower on the horizon. My objective was to catch a moment where the sun was revealed through the distant clouds. Using a small aperture, I could create a sunburst to catch the viewer's attention. Actually, I not only made frequent exposures, but had set the camera to capture brackets of 3 exposures and process an in camera HDR (cringe), but I wanted to get an idea of blended final results to apply exposure compensation as desired. Add to that, I was adjusting lens aperture between f/11 and f/22 for intensity of 'sunburst effect' and therein lies the thought of “too much of a good thing”.

 

It was not the number of frames I captured (which was considerable), or the number of variations in exposure and aperture, but the result itself ...

 

' superior sunburst '

... though I like the additional light spilling on the foreground in this version, I find the 'sunburst to be a bit much. Viewer opinions will vary and that, as always, is well and good. Ultimately the decision lies with the creator which will be seen, and I chose a less dramatic, my preferred version as Photo of the Week, but this version has some allure as well.

 

"Too much of a good thing" and "less is more" idioms can be applied to may aspects of photography and the final image. Again, the opinions of viewers will vary. They will either enjoy, like, comment or not. Which leads me to thinking about reacting to the creations of others in the context presented here. I find myself more and more ignoring images that are "overcooked" and in particular avoiding anything AI generated  ...   and that sounds like a topic for a future rant ;-)

 

DJE 

Photo of the Week 2025-11-17

 

Back for a month (already) and I'm just getting through shots from the first day of my 2025 Superior-Wawa photography trip. For this week's photo, I have chosen possibly my favourite and one of the last images from the day, as sun appeared through a gap in the distant clouds on the Lake Superior horizon.

 

' Stone Beach Sunset '

I spent a little over an hour working the right side of this crescent beach after arriving well in advance of official sunset. A first stop, earlier in the day had shown this to have potential with the rocky outcrop reaching out into the lake but it was this pool of water inside the rock that caught my eye with reflections from the sky and a small notch that I could align with the setting sun.

 

I made a number of small adjustments as the sun slid down and right in the sky, working to stay out of frame for my photographer companions, yet still get the alignment I wanted. The "sunburst" from selecting an f/11 aperture is subtle enough not to steal the show and the hint of golden light in the extreme foreground sets the composition off nicely I think.

 

DJE 

Photo of the Week 2025-11-10

 

Waiting for sunset, I worked compositions of the shoreline and rock outcrops at water's edge, Stone Beach, Lake Superior, Algoma District, ON

 

' formations '

It often happens after arriving at a location for a planned photo opportunity, there is time available to explore further. Whether waiting for others in the group, for a planned shot to develop, or quickly getting the planned shot, I try to make best use this extra time and opportunity.

The image above was captured during this "extra time", waiting for the sun to set across the vast Superior horizon. 

 

DJE 

Photo of the Week 2025-11-03

 

Working our way through the first full day of shooting for the 2025 Edition of our Superior-Wawa photography adventure, we worked our way back to Chippewa Falls before grabbing an early dinner nearby.

 

The fall colours were not as vibrant looking upstream to the upper reaches of the falls as I hoped. Standing on the rock outcrop to the south side of the lower falls, I liked this composition. 

 

' Chippewa Upper Reaches '

But there was a bit more autumn on display over my shoulder, along the shore, where the river turned and I needed to zoom in to pick it out.

 

' where the river turned '

DJE 

Photo of the Week 2025-10-27

 

I don't use my cell phone for any 'serious' photography. They may be a large community of people using their phones as a primary camera but I prefer the form factor, creative control and quality of results from one of my cameras. That is unless all I have with me is my phone and the scene is so fleeting that heading back to the vehicle to unpack my R5 would make me miss the shot ...

 

' Mirrored on the Michipicoten '

After a full day of shooting on our way from Batchawana Bay to Wawa. We had checked into our accommodations, made a dinner reservation at a highly recommended restaurant and arrived to this scene from their outdoor deck looking over the Michipicoten River. Afraid the scene wouldn't last until I went back to the vehicle to grab my camera, I shot this with my phone.

  

DJE