Train Stop from Newark to New York

        The crisp, saturated quality of this image is the result of long exposure. I believe this was a 15 second shot. This is how the image came out of the camera. No editing. Notice that it is focused from the foreground to the back.

Photo Theory

A little bit on my developing photo theory:

        Photography is all about light values, and the way those different values relate to each other. If you can recognize that and bring it out in the shooting and editing process then you are on the right track. The essence of photography is to make a record of light. Photo-graph, a "light record". Never loose sight of that.

        Concepts, metaphors, messages, symbols, etc. can all be put on the back burner. The beautiful characteristics of light is a sufficient concept to portray. Light relationships speak to the heart more than intellectualism. And you can say as much, or even more, with the beauty of light as with conceptualism.

New York City Sky-scraper

        Here we have a photo looking up at a sky-scraper in New York City, with some nice wispy clouds above. I love how the lines in the image all converge in that bright, etherial cloud formation. 

        This picture was recorded during my 2nd stay in New York. My first visit to New York was overwhelming. I was with my brother, and it was his first time as well. During that trip I mostly stayed in Central Park and read. Kinda felt like being in an airport all day. The second time around was quite different. A family friend who knew the city well showed me around. Suffice it to say it felt more grounded. This picture came out of that trip. Below I have posted the original image, and below that I have written a little about my editing process and photo philosophy. 

        Not nearly as satisfying huh? It only took a minute or two to come up with the enhanced image at the top of this post. I simply adjusted the brightness, contrast, and levels until I was happy with the result. 

        Don't take your photo for what it is! It can ALWAYS be better with a little tweaking here and there. For me this is where the art of photography comes to life.

Gray Jay eating from hand, BC Canada

        I was hiking with a group in Canada, when we discovered that the Jays in this particular area are quite comfortable with people. If you hold food out for them they will perch on your hand, grab it and fly off. I have never experienced that anywhere else. Jays are known for having very shrewd, opportunistic  characteristics. Someone told me of a Jay that watched a squirrel hide it's nuts, and then dug them up for himself. That same squirrel then buried more nuts in the same places, and the Jay dug them again!