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Have you ever gone to scout out a new location and just gone hog wild with snap-shotty junk? The reasoning behind it (for me) has always been that since I’m not “seriously” trying to get that perfect shot to promote, that the shots don’t really matter. Its just to get a lay of the land, decide where to shoot when you’ve really got your “game on.”

This is was my mindset when heading out to a local park. I didn’t get there early enough for many long-exposure shots, I just did the run-and-shoot through most of it. And then, I packed it up to see what I wanted to come back and shoot later.

Above is a compilation of a shot of the dam at this park.

I went through all of this stuff, and amazingly, had some not-so-bad stuff. Maybe it was because I didn’t really expect anything much, honestly. And I think that is exactly what helped.

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I’ve noticed that many times if I’m trying real hard to get a photograph just perfect when out in the field, I’m much more rigid and uncompromising about how it could be improved in post. I get in my head that I’m not being “honest” to the image. Now, when I’m plopping down to a bunch of images that I frankly just didn’t get attached to when taking them, I don’t have that guarded approach.

I don’t mind changing things around, adding layers, filters, distortions, changing tones, removing a few things. I tihnk this is because I’m not wedded to what I “saw” when taking the exposure, and more “aware” of how I felt when taking the photograph. Well, at least sometimes anyway. Because frankly some weak images really can be turned into something spectacular during post-processing.

Below is a short video of the ways this image changed from original

So, what do you think about the changes? Do you prefer the black and white? The conceptual version? I’d love to hear your feedback on which you prefer (or hate.) And feel free to supply your own thoughts and links to work you’ve added some conceptual effort into.

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In this weeks post I wanted to share with you more creative ways to take pictures in your own backyard. This time its about long exposure.

A few days ago I decided to brave the cold weather we’ve been enjoying in the south and take some pictures. I like taking pictures in my yard, its a place I’m familiar with, never fill rushed to get through and leave and its (of course) close to home.

I’ve been very fortunate to live with a stream nearby, and I like to walk down to it to clear my thoughts or look for interesting photos. We’ve also been having a lot of rain lately which has widened the stream and increased the water flow. I walked down along the stream below some of the larger rocks and spied a great place to try.

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- scroll to the end for a video about this shoot -

I’m sure a lot of you aren’t going to have a creek or stream handy so you can also try out a local park. Here is one I visit all the time.

Because I’m photographing water, long exposure makes sense for this shot. If you don’t know what that is, you basically leave the shutter open longer which causes moving parts of the image to blur and become softer. This how you get that silky look in a lot of water-centric photographs.

Here is one picture from the shoot

Things you would like to have with you for that type of shot are:

• Tripod
• Shutter release or a camera with a timer
• Neutral density filter

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You’re going to need the tripod to have a steady shot. This is because the shutter is going to stay open longer than you can hold the camera still. The shutter release/timer is to also help keep the camera steady. Believe it or not, just pressing the shutter release can shake the camera enough to blur the image. The last thing, the neutral density filter works a lot like a set of sunglasses for your camera. It lets you keep the shutter open longer for a more dramatic effect.

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Here is an exposure I took early in the afternoon. Notice there are some more harsh highlights, and the water isn’t quite as silky due to a shorter exposure.

And this is an exposure around 5:00 PM. Notice there are fewer hotspots. Also, the water is more silky.

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Another tip for landscape photos, look around from inside the viewfinder for things that can make your image cluttered or “trashy.” I sometime will drag wads of leaves, sticks or actual trash out of the frame if I see it. This can save you a lot of time in post cleaning up the shot.

I’d love to hear from you about your creative backyard ideas too! Leave a comment with your thoughts.

The shoot – videoblog

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Happy Holidays everyone! I’ve been shooting some festive photography around the house the past few days. One reason, I like to do it and, its been dang cold down here in the south. So feel free to download any of the images below and use them in your postcards, screensavers, desktops, t-shirts – its up to you.

And check back often, I’ll be adding new stuff all month (I hope.)

Free holiday images [download id="43"]

Image #2 Free holiday image 02 [download id="44"]

Image #3 Free holiday image 03 [download id="45"]

Image #4 Free holiday photography [download id="48"]

Image #5 Festive holiday imagery [download id="47"]

Image #6 Free festive images [download id="46"]