April 28, 2013

A Lens-Focused Field Trip (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Digital original
Of the five fundamental photographic questions, "What lens do I use?" is one of the most straight-forward to answer, but by the same measure, it is also one that many photographers do no make consciously. For most, I suspect the lens that is used is more related to what is on their camera at the time, as opposed to what would best  suit the desired image.

This field trip focused on that question.
Digital original
Since I first started seriously working with wide lenses in 1997, which have grown to be my default lens in most situations (the only notable exception is portraiture, where long lenses are the obvious choice). Thus, on this field trip, I tried to focus exclusively on long lenses, working with the 400mm lens almost exclusively.
Digital infrared original
The end of the field trip saw us at the town clock, at the base of citadel hill; after spending the rest of the field trip working with colour and long lenses, I reverted to my favourite modus operendi - super-wide lenses and my infrared camera.

April 16, 2013

A Waterfront Field Trip (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Digital original
The primary focus of this field trip was the question of composition; with each subject, I was asking for four different way to create a successful composition.
Digital original
The most engaging subject of the field trip was a patch of mud we found at the edge of a parking lot; tire tracks swept through it and provided a great element to use compositionally.
Digital original
I suspect I have held field trips along the Halifax Waterfront more than twenty times, and I still find new images to make, often of the things that I have photographed a dozen times before.