Month: July 2010

Lake Michigan Foggy Morning

July 27, 2010
Great Lakes ProjectLake Michigan

Last Sunday I was helping a friend of mine Julie Crawford shoot the YMCA’s Youth Triathlon here in Evanston. It takes place along the lakefront and for the first time in about a month was actually cool outside! Which lead to the fog rolling in well into the morning. As I walked along the lakefront I decided to take a few shots which may or may not end up in a book I am working on titled 20%. It covers the five Great Lakes which hold 20% of the world’s entire fresh water supply. As I looked out into the lake the fog would roll in heavy for a moment and then clear a bit, only to return. Often the horizon was never visible, only a wall where the water meet the sky of solid gray. These flat images seemed to me to be perfect for subject matter. The almost monotone feeling would also make for great black & white images – although they almost look that way in color already.

You never know what images will stick with you through an entire project, maybe these will, maybe they won’t, but they had to be shot! Plus it made me feel like I was progressing on this project! For the last few weeks I’ve been buried with other work n the publishing side and felt I just wanted to get back to shooting my own projects, hop in the camper and take off for a swing around Lake Superior. That won’t happen for awhile, but just shooting these quick simple shots helped!

To see a few additional images use this link: Lake Michigan Fog

Peace,
Richard

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