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Too many sunsets ... ?
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| Huron Horizon |
Researching infrared photography recently, I came across a photographer by the name of A. Cemal Ekin and while perusing his blog I found the post I've linked to in the opening line above (what? wait? that was a link? yup!).
His take on photographing subjects that may have been photographed repeatedly by yourself and/or others many, many times, mirrors my feeling on the topic. I was particularly struck by how he used the example of sunset photos to illustrate his point. Those familiar with my work know that sunsets are a favourite subject for my photographs and each time I photograph one, I strive to capture what I see and feel and each time it's different.
To me, a sunset is not a sunset, is not a sunset. In other words, I find each one unique. Working to capture that uniqueness is the challenge and my goal. As Cemal writes (or as I interpret what writes), it is "reseeing” with a new eye", reseeing each sunset as a unique scene.
I'm sure some viewers might fail to appreciate the uniqueness and "see" just another sunset. In Cemal's words "That’s fine; somebody has not seen it yet".
Here's another of my other compositions from the sunset kayak outing.
Cemal has many informative and intriguing posts on is blog as well as some great photography on his website 'Kept Light Photography'. I'll be visiting regularly to be further inspired.
DJE
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| arching |
In some locations, weather patterns change quickly and what may not look promising at the outset can turn around to provide dramatic or unique scenes.
Such was the case the other evening when it looked as if sunset was going to fizzle out after showing promise earlier. Making the decision to head out in the kayaks proved the point and I was able to get a wide variety of sunset shots as the cloud rapidly changed over no more than 40 minutes.
I usually target evenings with calm waters, allowing me to work with the reflection of the setting sun and cloud on the smooth surface. While not particularly rough, the bay was far from still as I set out. Some may know that I'm not fully at ease on the water, but it's the ability to capture scenes like this that have me working to expand my comfort zone with each and every outing.
Finding a spot off a point of land where the waves off Lake Huron and their reflections from the far shore were creating a sort of dead area, eddy, I set up and worked to manoeuvre the kayak to obtain the composition I wanted. Trying to keep the scene framed in camera while rolling with the waves is a little like having your buddy constantly bumping you in the shoulder as he talks to you while you try and photograph (except you can't punch him back). You just have to persevere and keep shooting until you have something you can work with.
Just to take it to another level though, I thought I'd try a hand held panorama, shooting multiple images that would be stitched together later in post. The sky was showcasing an arch formation of clouds that needed wider than my 24mm (equiv.) to get in the frame and I didn't want to miss it. On the first attempt, I managed 7 images rotating as much as I dared in the seat of the kayak without overturning it.
Not a bad result eh?
DJE
