Long Exposure Photography

Long Exposure photography is a method of taking pictures that shows the amazing and beautiful things that can now be captured on camera. In this form of photography the shutter of the camera is held open for an extended period of time. This allows stationary elements to captured as well as moving objects, which are captured as blurs.

This image captures rushing water among stationary rocks and scenery. Keeping the shutter open can capture seconds of rushing water, giving it a surreal foggy looking effect.

My favorite kind of long exposure is with light. Keeping the shutter open can also capture the paths of moving light sources.

In this image, the camera is being held one a tripod and pointed at the trail and the sky. The trail is stationary, but as the earth rotates, it appears as if the stars are the ones moving. The camera can then capture their path of light.

Another way of capturing light sources is to use handheld lights, such as flashlights, lasers, or sparklers. This method leaves room for much more creativity. Using a handheld light, you can draw a picture out of light, with the air as your canvas.



In the first two images, art is being created and painted using light. The last captures headlights and taillights of cars driving down a winding road.

In long exposure photography the camera must be completely stead, or the entire image will be blurry. The use of a tripod is essential to a successful photograph. Many cameras have a manual open and close for a shutter. Others have a digital setting where the allotted "open" time is set. If done right, long exposure photography can be a truly amazing masterpiece.

“To photograph is to hold one's breath, when all faculties converge to capture fleeting reality. It's at that precise moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy.” 
― Henri Cartier-Bresson

Challenge

I have recently found a way to challenge myself in photography. Simply put: A Photo Challenge. This is where you are given a topic and a time frame, and are prompted to take a photo of the topic within the allotted time, and post it online. This forces a photographer to think creatively. If the subject was simply a bird, would you scour the woods looking for one perching in a tree? Or drive down the road spotting some on a power line? Or would you get more creative? Find a painting of a bird, a halloween costume, a Pontiac Firebird. Photography is all about thinking outside the box. Pushing the limits and creating an image that will shock or inspire.

There are many kinds of photo challenges, mostly online. There are the more simplistic ones, such as challenges created on Facebook or Instagram, that are spelled out and pressure the users to be simple for sake of social media. The kind of photo challenge I am interested in is a more advanced group of aspiring photographers. This way I can get inspiration from others and hopefully inspire them with my work. 

A challenge can also be a private endeavor. There isn't a reason a photo has to be posted for the world to view. It can easily be done for the contentment of the photographer or maybe just a inspiration for an upcoming gala. There are no limits to what challenging yourself can unleash.

I urge other photographers to take this challenge too. It will stretch the imagination and push the mind to new limits of creativity.

“Good photographs are taken not with the camera. Good photographs are taken with Mind, Soul, Eyes, and Imagination where Eyes like a shutter, Mind like a lens, Imagination like an object and Soul like a canvas.” 
― Parveen Sharma

Not All Fun and Games

During a mini photoshoot with my older sister and her three year old daughter, I had encountered a problem; Three year old girls often don't like to sit still and cooperate. Sitting in front of a camera for an hour or two isn't that fun for a kid that would rather be running around and playing with our pet chickens. I had gotten a few good shots, but it all went downhill from there. She changed out of her cute boots into an ugly pair of crocs halfway through. To fend of crying, we let her keep the crocs on. This meant extra attention to keeping those beat up, dirty shoes out of the shoot. She was uneasy, unsmiling, and of course, unhappy. So, this lead to less photos than we had hoped, and less selection.

Cooperative

Losing Patience

In order to get good photos of your client(s), they need to be happy. For a photographer, life isn't always easy as "point, shoot, done." There are many challenges that photographers face from leaving the lens cap on to having an uncooperative client.

Uncooperative clients are just one of many challenges a photographer must over come. Many people aren't comfortable in front of a camera and may try to rush the photographer or repeatedly ask, "Are we done yet?" Rushing will only lead to sloppy work. A way to fix this is to make it fun for the people in the pictures. If they're having fun, the happiness will show in the pictures. 

Another challenge can be not having the right settings. The cameras settings can either make or break a picture. They can make a picture too bright, dark, sharp, or blurry. Many of these things can be fixed with computer programs, but without a good photo foundation the pictures can't be saved. 

Over editing can be a problem for a photographer. We always want to make our photos better, so we cover up this, add that, blur those, brighten these. I am guilty of this and when I get to the "finished" product, I have to start all over because it looks fake. We want to maintain our originality, and not lose authenticity. 

“There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.” 
― Ansel Adams

Living on a Photo

There are many ways to turn a hobby into a career. You first have to be good at it, there has to be a demand, and of course there is always the funding. Photography is no different. And for a career in photography, you have a lot of leeway. There are many different varieties of jobs for a photographer.

Perhaps the most common, is the freelance photographer. This career entails taking pictures for all kinds of events and people, such as weddings, school events, senior pictures, family photos. To become a successful freelance photographer you'd need a good area where you could be well known with lots of contacts. Many freelance photographers must also be savvy with digital manipulation such as photoshop in order to make the photos as beautiful as possible.

Another type of career would be an advertising photographer. These can be on a small local scale or for a multimillion dollar company. These photos can be in the newspaper or in a high fashion magazine. The goal of an advertising photographer is to sell something with their pictures. They need to make the product look desirable and to inspire the onlooker.

Sports and Celebrity photography is another well paying career. A part of this is fashion photography, where a photo shoot is set up for the celebrity. Another way to get pictures of celebrities is the paparazzi, who take pictures of celebrities going about their daily lives, or at an event. Sports photography would be a bit more challenging. Their goal is to get the perfect action shot of an athlete during a game.

The last photography career I will describe is the one I am most interested in; Fine Art Photography. This career allows photographers to have a great sense of freedom. They generally take photos of nature scenes, city skylines, wildlife and so forth. Theses photographers sell their work to galleries, interior designers, architects, libraries, etc.

There are many more forms of photography and a lot of freedom when choosing a career. A photographer must first find what they are best at and how much money it will take to get started in any of these careers.

Natural Inspiration

“You don't make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.” 
― Ansel Adams

There are many sources of media to get inspiration from nowadays; television, advertisements, magazines, billboards. Photography is everywhere. It is hard to find a piece of advertisement in todays world that hasn't used the advantage of a camera to create a certain look or feel to their brand. Photographs can be used to sell, promote, explain, or tell a story. The most influential form to me has been in the pages of the acclaimed National Geographic Magazine. 

As a child, I would sit at my grandparents' house flipping through the pages of this iconic magazine. I would never read those long confusing articles, but would gaze at the beautiful pictures that spanned the pages. My favorites would be those of beautiful landscapes, decrepit cities, the close ups of nature, and of course the portraits of people from places my young mind couldn't fathom the idea of living in. 

Numerous famous photographers have had the privilege of displaying their work in National Geographic. Many have made their start by capturing an amazing picture and being featured among the text. These photos capture something that not everyone can see. Some photographers can see the world from a different perspective. This creates amazing surreal photos that can take the observer to a time and place they may not have known exists. 

That is what I want to be able to do with my  photography. Just like an artist wants to accomplish with his art, my goal is to have the witness be in awe. I want to invoke that feeling of admiration that I had while looking through those magazines as a child. I want them to be curious and disbelieving that things like this can be captured through a lense.