Stock Photography

My stock agency didn't think this image was compelling enough to have any commercial value. They're in the business, so they should know better than I do. Then again. the value of a photograph could be in the eye of the beholder.

Fill the Frame

Sometimes the easiest what to get your point across, or to leave no doubt as to the subject matter of your photograph is by filling the frame.

Here I tried to get most of the Golden Gate Bridge squeezed into my view finder and little else. This bridge is such a well know icon of San Francisco that it doesn't really need anything to provide context for it. My goal was to create an image just a little different than the usual fare.

Whimsical

Sometimes you run across something that brings a smile to your face. 

Why not share?
This chalk art just jumped off the pavement. 

Enjoy!

An Outlet

My day job requires me to sit in a rectangular grey box some call a cubical. There's nothing cubic about it, though it does possess a certain scientific oddity where the passage of time comes to a near standstill.

Sometimes I fancy that I'm in Dr. Who's Tardis, but the only real traveling that I'm doing is in my imagination.

This is where photography comes into play for me. When I'm behind my camera all my concerns vanish. I'm in the moment. As for post processing? Photoshop, take me away. I'm Gone!!!

Expression

What is it that you're trying to say? Do you know, or are you just pressing the shutter?

What I'd like to say with this image is thank you for your sacrifices! You are not forgotten!

Sailboats

I've been photographing sailboats for a long time. It's not as easy as it looks. First off they're moving, so I opt for handheld rather than using a tripod.

I like to isolate as few boats in my images as possible. When you're shooting a race boats tend to be in groups, so a little patience and knowing what to expect is required.

A faster ISO setting may help, but I found that I don't like the associated digital noise. What usually works best for me is an ISO of 200, shooting at F10 or F11 with a shutter speed at around 1/350.

Most sails are white, so you want to try and capture detail in the sails without seriously underexposing the rest of the image.

The last thing to keep in mind is your horizon. Keep it level unless it is your intention not to (for artistic and/or dramatic reasons).

Is this a lot to concentrate on while photographing moving objects? Sure, at first. Practice and it will get easier.

Character

People, objects and scenes all have their own character. Sometimes you can make a photograph with all three. Other times just trying to capture the character of just one conveys a sense of time and place, telling a story all its own.