7 minutes at tunnels
aloha.
today i'd like to briefly look at the changes that can take place during one photo shoot. we'll look at 35 minutes through five photos taken at 7 minute intervals. in photography, 7 minutes is a really long time! new worlds, colors, and emotions form and fade in just seconds, and as a photographer i think it is important to be aware of the changes and be prepared to adapt to them--- you'll need to be willing to change your perspective, subject, and settings quickly. it's also important to realize that it all changes so don't give up on a shot too soon and don't be too rigid in your ideas.
i often say that photography is all about compromise-- how much light do you accept? how much movement? how much depth do you wish to sacrifice for clarity? how much color for light? the list goes on and on, and it's all of these compromises that make up much of the technical challenges of photography. and of course you also have to compose the shot, but before all of that you have to choose the subject.
this series of photographs were all taken in one shoot at tunnels beach. when i arrived, i had an idea of what i wanted to shoot-- tunnels beach with setting sun and mount makana. but i was unsure of exactly how i was going to frame the shot. so i arrived early and played around with it.
here's the first shot in the series-- 6.40pm. as you can see the sun is just now beginning to approach the horizon line of ocean and sky. and as far as the subject goes, i have a lot of the mountain and beach in the frame.
now the second photo, 6.47pm, shows a shift in perspective and mood.
i think the change, along with the softer light of the lower sun, brings the viewer closer to the image. i tried to bring a hint of intimacy to the subject by inviting the viewer into the image. in a sense, i've invited the viewer to become a participant in the scene. notice how the waves come much closer in this shot as compared to the one before with the long, straight beach scene. i like this change better, and i stick with it for the rest of the shoot.
in the 7 minutes between the two shots, the subject changed-- really it changed completely. the subject went from a distant beach and mountain to the impressions of the potential viewer. now i just needed to wait and see what colors would come.
6.54pm gave me this...
cool. a nice scene. softer waves. less light available so i am able to give the show the movement of the waves, which makes them appear softer. all of which plays on the emotions and allows the viewer to take more of an active role in the image. it's almost as if they can step into the image. or better yet, it's as if the image is beginning to pull the viewer in. and this is when you know you've got a good picture-- it literally pulls you in. it makes you a part of the scene. and when that happens, the mind finds a myriad of connections to the place, image, scenery, memory of it all.
and i think the image taken at 7.01 pm does it completely with the amazing sky, flower like wave pattern on the beach, and a surfer's footprints slowly being washed away. this shot is the keeper from the entire shoot, and i named it washed away.
i find the scene evocative and rich in color. the mountain is there, but it doesn't over power the scene with its presence. instead the colors of the sky-- the pinks and blues dancing playfully-- become the central element to the shot. the mountain, beach and waves compliment, but the power lies not in the forms depicted, but in the emotions and feelings the create. the yellow hints at the sun shortly set. and the waves lapp at footprints, letting us know that the only constant is change and nature's beauty.
yep, i like this one.
i stayed a few minutes longer and one of the last shots of the night came 7 minutes later at 7.08, and although a nice shot, the drama is gone.
and so too, the warmth and proximity of the pastel colors-- replaced by a cool blue. and with those gone so is the viewer's intimate relationship with the scene. now, instead of participant the viewer is actually only a bystander with nothing invested. only the sense that something was missed. that's the affect of time. that's the power of color. that's all the difference in the world.
aloha,
lee
washed away is currently on display at the photo gallery, light source, in kapa'a, kauai, hawaii. stop by if you get a chance. mahalo!
as a prayer
"With this sacred pipe you will walk upon the Earth; for the Earth is your Grandmother and Mother, and She is sacred. Every step that is taken upon Her should be as a prayer."
~ Black Elk, Lakota Sioux holy man and spiritual teacher telling of the White Buffalo Cow Woman's Teachings to the Sioux
I am reading The Sacred Pipe now and the above quote is taken from this book on the spiritual rites of the Oglala Sioux. The Sioux are a Native American tribe of the Dakotas and Tetons. Famous Sioux are Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and Black Elk. Famous places of the Sioux are the Black Hills, Little Big Horn, and Pine Ridge Reservation.
The Sacred Pipe is at once a book of profound spiritual teachings and an oral history of a way that is certainly better than the current one. The first teaching of the book is that of the Earth as Grandmother and Mother, as protecter and one that should be protected.
It tells us that the Earth, as Grandmother and Mother, is both fecund and vulnerable and that she should be loved.
The teaching is simple in it's logic and breadth-- that each step should be as a prayer, that each step should be a word of gratitude for the nourishment and gift of life. That each step upon the Earth should be made with care and awareness.
It is a beautiful teaching of gracious words for the Earth and for our soul.
✴✴✴
Up until yesterday, the picture above was called Walking on Mars after the trippy skies and reddish landscape of Haleakala. But now, after reading Black Elk's teachings, I have chosen to rename it as a reminder that the steps that we take upon the Earth should be as sacred As a Prayer.
Thank you, Black Elk, for the inspiration and for the teaching. I will now try to live by your example.
Aloha,
lee
✴the photograph As a Prayer may be viewed in the gallery Travels
✴✴For those interested in reading more about Black Elk and the Lakaota Sioux way of life and spiritual teachings I encourage you to read the highly poetic history Black Elk Speaks by John Neihardt.
day one
Aloha. I am writing on day two about day one of being a full time photographer. On Saturday, I resigned my position as a Butler at the St. Regis Princeville to concentrate on my photography and my yoga full time. And to celebrate, I went out to shoot Sunday morning and evening. Now that I am a pro I'm free to work, and I better work.
Unfortunatley, the morning shoot wasn't that great. I went out to Haena Beach Park and walked along the beach, heading north to Ke'e. Although I encountered rainbows for days, I didn't come back with anything that spectacular. With the exception of the photo below-- Haena Rainbow-- I just didn't find anything, or perhaps, create anything that, at the moment, really stands out to me. But a conversation that I had did.
While I was taking a series of shots of beach and rainbow (one of them became Haena Rainbow) a stranger, who was walking with his wife, daughter and granddaughter, stopped to chat. He asked me, "Is this better than photographing polar bears and penguins in the arctic?" I laughed and said, "Yes. It's probably easier on my fingers, too!" We shared a laugh together and talked story for a bit longer, and when we parted he told me to "enjoy the rest of your life." Wonderful advice for Day One.
That evening's session was more productive-- on the shooting end of things. I was able to get a couple of shots that I really liked. I even have that luxurious problem of choosing the "best one." You know when you have a couple of shots of a similar subject and you just can't decide which one you like best. Well, here are the two that I am currently considering. The first one is called, Maha Deva.
The second one is Tiger Stripes and Phoenix Wings.
I'm not sure which one I prefer. I like the suspended movement in Tiger Stripes, but the sun in Maha Deva reminds me strongly of Shiva and my upcoming trip to India.
Sometimes I think a picture, through light and color, should remind you of a place, a person, a belief and then impress upon you the many feelings that they bring to the heart; the thoughts they bring to the mind; and the little shifts of movement they cause on the soul.
And for those reasons, this one is my favorite one of the day-- The Time of Change.
Aloha,
lee
✴the photographs Haena Rainbow and The Time of Change may be viewed in the gallery Full Time