Category: Expectations

Getting on with your Intentions – in my case Birds at the Pond.

October 18, 2011
Expectationsnew projectsRichard Mack Photography

This morning I had my coffee by my pond – affectionately known as Big Thoughts Pond – as I usually do on a nice morning. All summer I have sat and watched the goldfish and birds as they move around and each time I think – I should get the camera. Well, this morning I had read a post by photographer consultant Carolynn Potts about jotting down notes on what you see each day. I thought why not just shoot it since it had been my intention all summer. I did shoot some of the flowers around the pond this summer, but never took the time to sit and wait for the birds to make their way down the trees to take their drinks or a quick bath. So this morning I sat and watched and clicked the shutter. The morning was overcast and rain was in the air eventually. This gave me the perfect light to shoot in with no shadows.

We should all do this more often, what we intend to do and haven’t found the time for. It clears your head. And for me making photographs is what I love doing and it seems this year have not been able to find as much time as I would like to make images. So I sat and watched the first one come in – a nice big Robin – and watched him look around and scope out whether the dog would bother him before he proceeded on into the water. They always move cautiously and seemingly in the same pattern. From high on the trees around the pond to the lower branches and finally the rocks by the water. Then it’s time for a drink or a bath or both. On some days they wait in the trees circling down like planes bound for an airport – waiting in the pattern for their turn to land.

Next came a Common Grackle, or so I think it is after looking it up. Might be a Brewers Blackbird I really don’t know. I am not a birder who can say for sure. This guy was a bit more stand offish and waited longer and spent less time in the water. Finally a tiny male House Sparrow entered the area and decided it was his turn. He was the only one I semi caught in flight.

I enjoyed spending the time shooting. Catching different looks from each bird. When shooting wildlife of any kind I somehow feel an attachment to them and when as close as I was it seems as though they are looking back at me and giving tacit approval for my shooting them. Clearly not, but it seems like it. By shooting things you find close to home you can test some things you aren’t comfortable with – for me it was Live View in my Canon 1Ds III. I just hadn’t played with it much. And I think I prefer to look through the view finder instead at a screen on the back but I can see why some folks prefer Live View. Once I started to review the 300 or so images in Lightroom I could also see very subtle differences in their bodies as they moved around. One shot their necks might be straighter and the next you can see some slight change in the feathers from the movements.

And near the end I just for fun I shot a few of the pond itself and some of the goldfish below. I was just playing with what came to me in the shapes and forms from where I sat by the pond. How the fish shapes below the surface played with the surface plants, the water fall streaking through the frame, whatever came to mind. To see some underwater shots done last summer search the blog for Underwater Shots.

You can see 75 of the images online at: Birds of Big Thoughts Pond. Enjoy.

If you have any comments or questions – whether about this post or pond building just post them here!

Peace,
Richard

For those interested here are the technical specs:
Camera: Canon 1Ds III
Tripod: Manfroto Carbon Fibre
Lens: Canon 28-300 f5.6 USM with a Canon 2X Convertor making most images shot at 600mm
Predominate Exposure: f.56 1/60 ISO 1600
Color temp: 5500K

Changing Your Pre-Conceived Ideas as Needed

April 18, 2011
ExpectationsGreat Lakes ProjectLake MichiganLighthouse BeachLighthouse Beach PierRichard Mack PhotographyRichard Mack's Blog

Since tonight is another Full Moon yesterday I once again ventured down to my favorite place to shoot this, or try to. As past readers know Lighthouse Beach is about a mile from my house so it is very convenient and has the relics of an old pier to work with. Now I have probably shot there dozens of times, certainly in and around the beach in various seasons. I have never been able to get a shot of the Full Moon rising which I have in my head. And last night I was once again thwarted in my attempt as the clouds moved in as the evening wore on. Yet when confronted with the idea your preconceived image will not be had, or even if it is, the thing I always try to do is look for other images. This may sound simple enough and intuitive – of course you should look for other ideas. But you’d be surprised how many folks just give up. “Oh too bad the sunset isn’t nice.” “Boy I wish the clouds were different.” “Where is the wildlife?” “Boy it is a crappy day out!”

Really? Not sure I’ve ever had a day where you couldn’t get something. Might not be what you were thinking when you started but there is always something. So, struck down in my quest to capture the full moon rising over the old pier yet again, I set about making images in the evening light anyway. I noticed that the lake was not dead calm but almost. What caught my eye this night was how even everything was. The light was flat, the lines of the horizon and the flatness of the water played against the clouds above. I kept the color balance close to 6000K which recorded the scene with a slightly bluer color than what my eyes compensated for. Plus you can always change the color balance when processing the RAW files in Lightroom. 

This night was all about the negative space and the lines which made the images come to life. One of my favorites from the evening was this image of the jetty and water. Very minimal yet it strikes me as a fine image. I also played with selecting just a few of the posts and water. Set against what was left of the evening sunset. 

It is all about letting go of your preconceived notions of what you are after and adapting to the conditions you are given. Something it seems is applicable to more than just photography. I was talking to a class of 7th graders the other day before they started out to investigate their neighborhood with fresh eyes and record it for their journals. I mentioned that part of the process is seeing outside your preconceived notions. Change perspective – don’t just put the camera to your face and snap it. Move up, down, side to side, get in close, step back. Get a different perspective and you may be surprised by the results. I used the water bottle sitting on a desk as an example and told them maybe to get in real tight and shoot just the label, or get in tight but include all the folks behind it. I think they might have thought I was nuts when I said you could make an interesting shot of a water bottle. I wonder if any of them did something like that during their assignment. 

Anyway, back to my point of changing your preconceived notions when needed… just because you go out to capture one image, I have found sometimes the best ones are the ones you never thought of until they were in front of you. Be ready and enjoy the moment!

Peace,
Richard

To View more from this evenings shoot use this link: Sunset at Lighthouse Beach

Postscript: The night to shoot the full moon is the night before it is full as it rises at the same time the sun sets, giving you some daylight to work with in the landscape.

Underwater Shots with a New Camera

July 6, 2010
ExpectationsNew Work

 Gold Fish Big Thoughts Pond

Last week I sat in my backyard by Big Thoughts Pond talking with fellow photographer Julie Crawford about the whole experience of being stuck in a rut when it comes to making images. We talked about things we shoot just to make money versus those we shoot because we want to shoot it – and it’s a great job when the two come together in one project. It also started me thinking about the fact that often we get bogged down in our equipment and loose that freedom of just making images. I have wanted a small point and shoot camera I could use just to make some “fun” shots with and to make me think a bit more outside the box since no longer would I have a lens selection or a polarizing filter or even RAW files to work with and without having to haul out the big Canon 1Ds-III and lenses I usually use. It seemed to me it would also be a very freeing experience. So with a deadline within our family I set out to research what I would buy.

I wanted one soon because my daughter is getting married in 14 months and there will be a lot of things going on between now and then that I want to document for the family. I had one requirement – I wanted it to be able to shoot underwater as well as being nice and small, and an added plus would be if it shot HD video as well. I have the aforementioned pond we built in the backyard and I’ve often sat their wondering what it would look like from under the water looking at the 50 or so gold fish in their own environment. So an underwater camera was a must. Besides I could also justify it by telling myself I just may use it on my next book project – on the Great Lakes. I found it in the Sony DSC-TX5.

These are the first shots underwater I’ve made. And only by leaning over the edge and pointing the camera towards the fish. I could only see shapes moving in the 3” LCD screen on the back – nothing more – and often less. I think for a first attempt they aren’t bad and have a bit of promise for more fun with them in the future.

Here’s a link to more shots online: http://www.mackphoto.com/blog/Fish/

Oh, and the engagement party was fun too! And it was great to be able to just pull a small camera out of my pocket when I wanted to grab a shot quickly. Yes, it is freeing to be able to just point it and shoot…now where is that color balance menu again?

Cheers,
Richard Mack

In nature photography you often get something you didn’t think you set out for…

October 23, 2007
changing lightcloudsExpectationsnature photographystorms

lighthousebeach-0067.jpg

In nature photography you often start out to get one image and end up with something quit different. That happened to me last week. I had received a call from an agency in New York which supplies Fine Art prints to institutions and individuals and they wanted a selection of images of water and sky. Well I originally sent them a selection and they responded that while nice they wanted a more “minimal” image. So, having seen the sky was clear blue at the studio one late afternoon, I set off for Lighthouse Beach on Lake Michigan. When I arrived there were only a few small puffyclouds floating overhead. Perfect I thought. So I shot some variations on these and in the 45 minutes I was there the storms moved in from the southwest!
lighthousebeach-0105.jpglighthousebeach-0226.jpg

All before my eyes the huge thunderhead moved across the sky and the afternoon light illuminated it beautifully! As I moved around the beach capturing different images with this thunderhead it kept moving on past until lightning was coming out the bottom. Unfortunately I did not capture any of this, but did get the storm brewing overhead in a dramatic way. All in all a rather fruitful 45 minutes one late afternoon. And not what I expected on my way out the door of the studio, but even better! These are the times you look to the sky and just say, “Thank you!”

lighthousebeach-0302.jpg

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