Food for Digital Thought: You know you got it child, if it makes you feel good
My favorite sunrise, clear with a chill in the air.
What do you do if you know you’ve just taken a great photo…a keeper…an OMG shot???? Do you do react differently when you’re alone verses when you’re shooting with someone else?
Is it a series of fist pumps, hootin’ and a hollering, jumping up and down? An end zone really stupid dance? Maybe you’re the discreet or quiet type of photographer that just whispers “yes’ under his or her breath…or just maybe an ear to ear smile to a small smirk with one raised eyebrow.
Here’s how it often happens to me: After a conversation with yourself in the mirror, you’ve decided to set your alarm clock at an ungodly hour so you can get to a location at sunrise that you’ve always wanted to shoot. You load your equipment in the trunk, and after a quick stop at a convenience for a cup of black coffee, your off. As you’re driving, you’re head is halfway out the window looking up at the slightly brightening sky, hoping and praying to see some color and stars towards the area of the horizon where the sun will be coming up; an hour or two later.
You arrive at your destination and everything so far looks good. You still have a couple of minutes before the start of the Blue Hour. This is a great time to work on silhouettes, and I for one love this time of the morning, especially when there’s a little nip in the air.
Now the sun is coming up and the Blue Hour has turned into the Golden Hour. For the next thirty to forty minutes (depending on the time of year and your location) you’re shooting everything and anything that has this beautiful light falling on it. You see an opportunity to shoot something that has caught your attention out of the corner of your eye. Bracketing to make sure you’ve captured a good exposure, it’s now forever embedded in your mind and more importantly on your card. There’s a sensation that comes over you because you know you got it, and it makes you feel really good.
During the drive back home your mind flirts with visions of all the beautiful and different shots you took, but that one, that keeper keeps coming back and all you can do is just smile.
So next time you’re on holiday, set the alarm clock the night before with all the best intentions of getting up and going shooting, don’t roll over with the pillow on your head because it’s dark outside and there’s a chill in the air. Get up while the others are sleeping, get dressed grab your equipment and tiptoe out; you just never know when something will make you feel really good.
– BPSOP Instructor: Joe Baraban
Joe Teaches:
