Reflection (on Water)

Assignment #27:  Take a photo of a reflection on water.

I'd like to get smarter about the type of light that makes the best reflections.  It seems like I could do a better job of getting in the right place at the right time for these shots.

Fellerman Ford Bridge
Ripley County, Indiana

Across Fawn Lake
Kokiwanee Nature Preserve, Wabash County, Indiana

Isolate via Negative Space

Assignment #26: Focus attention on a subject by surrounding it with sameness.

I'm partial to a bunch of black but there are a lot of ways to go with this.

Bourbon Barrel
Bardstown, Kentucky

Colter Bay Pelican
Jackson Lake, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Observations at Halfway

It appears that my “readership” is largely bots and phishers but that’s okay.  My primary goal at the outset was to broaden the way I think with a camera in my hand and I believe that that is being accomplished.  Publishing editorial-type posts like this might be a little silly, though.

A quick count suggests that I’ve shared 63 photos in the first 25 posts, split pretty evenly between photos that existed on the first day of this blog and photos taken since then.  I’m still reasonably happy with most of them.

My list of assignments has been fairly firm for a couple of months now, with 50 items.  Some are perhaps too closely related or overlapping but with what’s already been published, it’s too late for any substantial reorganization.  Besides, it’s all in fun anyway, right?  Might as well see if I can finish it out.

Towards that end, I have photos right now for less than half of the remaining assignments so it's certainly possible that I won't be able to keep up with my weekly schedule.  I’m going to treat that as motivation to keep shooting and hope to never compromise whatever standards I may have set thus far.  If I run out of fulfilled assignments, I don’t know what I’ll do.  Of course, the bots and phishers probably won’t care.

Dutch Tilt

Assignment #25:  Tilt your camera for an artistic, unstable look.

While you can certainly overuse this technique, the off-balance, slightly-chaotic effect can sometimes be just what you need.

Escape
Akron, Indiana

Leading Lines

Assignment #25: Use leading lines to direct a viewer's eye towards your subject or through your image.

These never pop out at me as much as I wish they would.

Devil's Gulch
Natural Bridge State Resort Park, Slade, Kentucky

Whitewater Blue
Whitewater Canal and aqueduct, Metamora, Indiana

Candid Portrait (In the Public Eye)

Assignment #24: Use as a subject someone whose job or activity routinely puts them in front of other people.

One step up from taking pictures of friends and family is taking pictures of the large group of people who are out in public every day. A lot of them are probably accustomed to occasionally having a camera pointed at them. Doormen, buskers, flea market vendors, and the like can all make for an interesting photo.

Squeamish about aiming your camera at someone you don't know? Yeah, me too. I appreciate this great write-up by Andrew Kantor, which, while not legal advice, addresses concerns about legality. Very, very briefly, if someone has no expectation of privacy and you're not trying to embarrass them, it's pretty much okay to take (and publish) their picture.

Legality aside, I doubt most of us want to make someone we don't know uncomfortable (or angry). That's where focusing (literally) on those in the "public eye" may help.

Keeneland Bugler
Keeneland Racetrack, Lexington, Kentucky

Exhale
Metamora, Indiana

Walking Paddock
Keeneland Racetrack, Lexington, Kentucky