Saturday, December 13, 2008

Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Tuna

Success comes in cans, failure in can'ts - Unknown

This afternoon, I went to photograph a new river front lot listing for my website, but got started too late to take decent photos of the lot itself. The .94 acre lot is on the Cape Fear River and includes a boatslip and dock -- a long dock. I walked to the end of the dock as the sun was setting and spent my time taking photos of the water, clouds and sunset. I'm realizing that one of the beauties of a blog is writing as though someone cares, when actually I'm a cult of one. Anyhow, here is one of today's shots.
The tide was low and the water flat. The reflections were wonderful. I took a lot of shots and encourage you to do the same, no matter what the subject. With sunset shots, depending on where you point the camera to take the light reading, you will wind up with different results. Those differing results are not necessarily right or wrong; it just depends on what you are looking for and what you like. You'll find that the quality of the light changes rapidly at sunset and each minute has a particular beauty all its own. I aimed at the darker clouds just above the horizon, pressed the shutter down halfway, then made the exposure. I like this shot; as good a reason as any to put it here. Taking the light meter reading at a different area of the same scene produced slightly different results, but this is my favorite.
I forgot to follow my own advice on keeping the camera level and made several shots with the horizon at an angle. Of course, I can make corrections in the post production software, but if you/I do it right in the camera, you/I won't have the work to do later. For this shot, I added a little contrast after the fact, but this is essentially the scene I saw.
Remember, press the shutter down halfway to set the focus and light meter reading. With your finger still on the shutter, compose your shot, and press the shutter the rest of the way in a smooth, not jerky, motion. Try variations. Take plenty of shots.
As always, e-mail with any questions. I'll do my best to answer. And don't forget, keep an eye out for Bebe, the Art Smart Car. If you see her around town, take a photo and send it to me. I'm not sure what I'll do with it, but I'll think of something.

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