There’s a fungus among us…
Almost every time I go out with a camera I learn something new, either about photography or the world around me.
While on my first geocaching trip, I learned that mushrooms reflect a lot of infrared light. In hindsight, I probably should not have been surprised by this.
Taken 27 June 2011 in at Marlene & Wilbur Trieble Passive Recreation Park in Ballston Spa, NY with a Fuji IS-1 and 093 opaque filter. Visible light spectrum is blocked.
On the Road…
This past Monday, I went geocaching for the first time. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, the short explanation is that geocaching is using a multi-million dollar satellite system to find things scavenger-hunt style. It’s a lot of fun, and it’s a great way to learn about the area around you.
I’ve mentioned before that I haven’t been getting out enough to take pictures just for fun. Geocaching is a fantastic way to find places that that you might otherwise overlook. I can’t wait to go again!
Taken 27 June 2011 with a Fuji IS-1 and 093 filter in Saratoga County, NY. Visible light spectrum is blocked, photo sepia-toned in Photoshop.
On the Road Again
Sometimes I just go for a drive, stopping to take a picture (or ten) when I see something that piques my interest.
This photo is from my last outing, four months ago. I’m posting it as a reminder to get off my butt, get outside, and shoot stuff.
Taken 20 February 2011 in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey with a Fuji IS-1 and 093 (87C) filter. Visible light spectrum is blocked.
Cape Cod
It’s one of my favorite places on earth. The people are lovely, and there’s a postcard waiting to happen everywhere you look. My favorite times of year up there are the early spring (late March) and fall (mid-October through the end of November).
Don’t get me wrong, Cape Cod is gorgeous in the summer, but I prefer to be there when there are fewer people around to hurry me along as I stop to take a photo or ten.
Taken with a Fuji IS-1 on 22 March 2009; light spectrum below 650nm is blocked. This is somewhere near Chatham, but I don’t remember exactly where. We pulled off the road because I wanted to take some pictures.
Statue of Liberty
If you ever come to New York City, take a ride on the Staten Island Ferry. Make sure you sit outside…and that you have a camera.
It’s free, and it’s the best view of the Statue of Liberty to be had.
Taken September 2010 with a Fuji IS-1. Visible light spectrum blocked below 720nm. Post-processed in Adobe Photoshop.
Looking forward; looking back; collecting images.
Things I am a sucker for: the smell of darkroom chemicals, black and white images, empty roads and gates in fields.
Living in a rental apartment with lots of windows, white walls I can’t paint, and limited space means that having a darkroom is out. This was a huge adjustment, as I grew up having a darkroom in the basement of my house. I got my first camera when I was three, and I started working unsupervised in the darkroom when I was 10 or 11. I grew up on the fumes, and I associate the smell with my best memories of childhood.
As for black and white, in the world of digital photography, we get so obsessed with brighter, more vivid colors that we forget photography is, at the core, about light and dark. Color is a fairly recent development.
Great color can save an otherwise boring image. An image can be all about great color. There is nothing wrong with color. I use it; I love it. My true love, however, is black and white: I love the way the shadows and the light create shape and depth; I love the moods that can be evoked with a simple exposure shift; I love how the grain becomes a vital part of the scene…I could go on and on…
As for empty roads and gates in fields? I have no idea where that comes from. Is it the feeling of being alone in the world? Is it the idea of looking down the road less traveled? Is it simple curiosity?
I collect empty roads and gates in fields the way some people collect coins. Why do people collect anything?
Is taking pictures any different than collecting figurines or stamps?
Taken with a Fuji IS-1, using a 093 opaque filter. What this means: This image is pretty much pure infrared. All light below 800nm is blocked, and >88% of light above 900nm is passed through (I used a 093 IR filter, aka an 87C). The human eye can see ~390-750nm, so this filter effectively blocks the entire visible spectrum.
Why this camera is special: most digital cameras have hot mirror filters protecting the CCD. The IS-1 has clear glass. This means the sensor is more sensitive to IR light than most digital cameras, which means I can handhold it for IR exposures and use a lower effective ISO.
Taken in the New Jersey Pine Barrens on 20 February 2010