Creativity as a Lifelong Practice
While I’m not a fan of Banksy’s pretense, I am a fan of his work. One image that I love is the girl losing her balloon in the wind. This image of a photographer making an image in the wind hopefully catches some of that essence. It was shot with a Nikon Z7ii, using a Nikkor Z 24-70 f/2.8 lens.
Sometimes indirect photos can suggest a good story.
The Nikon Z7ii is an astounding camera, and is probably the most capable camera body that I have ever used. It produces a 48MP image with image stabilization and very good low light capability. For this shot, I got up early on a foggy morning and ran out to a 18th century mansion, Harriton House, on Philadelphia’s Main Line. There wasn’t a whole lot of light when I shot this, but at 1/10 of a second at a f/14 aperture, I was able to get all of the detail that anyone could reasonably expect to get, plus that wonderful fall of created by the fog.
I used an old lens for this, the f-mount Nikkor VR 16-25 f/4G, and was very happy with the results. Converting to black and white was the best choice for this image.
Back in the 1980’s I started shooting film underwater with a Minolta Maxxum Film Camera sealed in an Ikelite housing. I was terrible at it – mostly because, by the time I had my film processed, I had completely forgotten the camera settings and the reason behind the photo compositions. I wasn’t learning anything, I certainly wasn’t improving, and I quickly lost interest and stopped shooting underwater for twenty years.
In 2003, I started shooting underwater again, but this time with a digital camera in which I could view my results after the shot. Having immediate feedback allowed me to adjust my composition and settings and I was able to learn something with each photograph. I was off to the races.
2020 – In hindsight, was all about a gathering in of energy and creativity. We didn’t know it at the time, but we were actively resetting our social, family, financial and professional worlds – all isolated in our little bubbles – but as an uncoordinated, parallel, world effort. Who we became as a result of this process was, in many ways, unrecognizable from who we were in the past. Some changed for the better – others lost their souls to the crazy to come.
While I did not post between 2020 and early 2022, I continued to shoot photography at a varying pace. I’ll attempt to back fill this photo blog with the shots that make the most sense now, in hindsight.
Stark, cold, and creepy. Winter in the woods has it’s own kind of beauty.
From the Submersive Activity series.
I’ve spent hundreds of hours underwater and to me, the most intriguing part is the boundary layer between the air and water – where the elements, physics and perception blend.
Fills that hole in my heart that only Chirashi can.
Super fast shutter speed, high ISO. #GrainIsGood #NatureGeek
Some guests are begrudgingly welcomed. A family of wild flying squirrel took refuge in our attic and found their way around the house – through the walls. They are tiny, and well-behaved compared to their nasty Gray Squirrel cousins. This one liked taking almonds from my hand. After a month we blocked any entrance they might use and they moved on. Guests are most welcome when they don’t over stay. Fuji XT2 – Fujinon 50mm f/2.0. Redonkulous high ISO. #GrainIsGood. #NatureGeek
