Every now and then I leave the house, camera in hand, and think to myself I’m going to get a good photograph today. I just know it. And almost every time that situation arises, I get exactly what I set out for: a good photo. The thing is, though, it’s usually not due to any special situation or circumstance; the results are usually directly related to something a bit more personal, or perhaps, esoteric: my own mindset. I’ve had plenty of occasions to head out the door with the intention of taking an interesting picture and, like the first dove sent by Noah, returned empty-handed. Nothing strikes my eyes as particularly photo-worthy, I don’t have the gear to capture what I had in mind, or I just don’t feel any inspiration.
On the other hand, I’ve encountered numerous times when I went out not necessarily with anything particular in mind, other than the desire to take a picture, and things just sort of click. Nothing is different from a situational standpoint: same location, same gear, same time of day, etc. But by changing my mindset I end up seeing things differently somehow, and finding photos that I wouldn’t normally see in the places where I might not expect.
This week’s image is an example of just such a phenomenon. I brought my Nikon D750 and 105mm macro lens with me to work as I often do, and as I left my car I had a on the way across campus to my building I told myself that I was going to get a picture. I didn’t know what, or where, or how, but I knew I would get something. I took the same route, along the same paths and sidewalks, that I do every day and, as sure as I live and breathe, I began to see things differently. I noticed the sun cresting the horizon, the shadows dancing across familiar brickwork, the clouds floating lazily above me as the sky turned from gray to blue, and greens, blues, reds, and yellows showing up on plants and trees all around me. Normally I just kind of walk past all this and don’t give these kinds of things a second thought, even with my camera in hand, but with my mind in a different place and my heart set on taking a picture, I was able to see everyday sights in an entirely different way.
As soon as I came across this scene I knew it would make an interesting photograph, and immediately set to work. I hoisted my camera up to my eye, set an f/11 aperture, and took a few shots. They were fine, but with the flower properly exposed the background was entirely blown out and, as a result, unrecoverable by bringing down the highlights in Lightroom. Not good. So I dialed in -2EV exposure compensation, and thought to myself Now we’re getting somewhere. Examining the image on the rear LCD screen confirmed another suspicion: I had a bit more wiggle room with depth of field, so I opened the aperture up a little to f/8.
That did the job. I now had the flower in focus as well as just a bit of the leaves immediately surrounding it, but everything else was beautifully blurry. Bingo. I only had about 2 or 3 minutes until the sun was fully above the horizon so I took a couple more shots from alternate angles, and then, satisfied, I stowed my gear and went to work–on time too, I might add :)
Editing this was pretty simple: adjust the shadows, bring down the highlights, add a bit of sharpening, and tweak the white balance just a hair. It all came together to produce a final image that, while not particularly outstanding, is still exactly what I set out to get: a good photo. Nothing I would want to print and frame on my wall, but at the same time, not bad either. And I had fun in the process, which is always a good thing too :)
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