Parker Park

Yesterday I went down to the beach for sunrise. It isn't that I always shoot sunrises although I know it can sound like it since every day I say I'm going out for sunrise. I am often asked just how many sunrises I need to take pictures of before I get it right. If you have ever sat all the way through a sunrise and tried to shoot it you know that not only is each one vastly different from another but within a single morning the sunrise changes from second to second. A sunrise has life and movement and is an amazing thing to behold.
However one of my favorite parts of a sunrise is the time just after, when the light is perfect for taking pictures. Everything has an incredibly warm rich light bathing it, bringing out details and colours that you wont see at any other time of day. This light, if it happens only last for about a minute, and is the perfect time to shoot things other than the horizon.
Got side tracked there sorry, anyway I went down to the beach and while trying to pearch myself in the perfect spot I slipped and fell down a concrete ramp and into the water. I am still having some trouble walking properly and am quite sore, but after making sure all my equipment was ok I found a spot and shot for a couple hours. Those pics aren't up yet, I haven't even looked at them but I wanted to share it with you. I think to someone who doesn't know what it's like to hunt for light it would seem stupid to sit on a rock covered in sea water while the February wind freezes you to the bone just to snap pictures knowing the sun is going to rise again tomorrow just like it has for millions of years. But for a photographer, (or maybe it's just me and I'm crazy) after realizing that falling hard with hands in the air trying to save expensive gear worked and all was dry other than clothes and skin, it made no difference at all and sitting shiverring on a rock all morning was all worth it no matter how the pictures turned out.
Back on track again haha. This morning I went to Parker Park to catch sunrise. The clouds were way to thick and it didn't look like there would be anything to shoot. But I climbed out of bed and into the 3 layers of clothing I had laid out the night before. There must have been a storm way out at sea or something because it was very peacefull without any wind but the waves were pounding right up around me and I had to be pearched up atop a rock wall to avoid getting wet. Even had to shoot for a while with camera on legs, and umbrella in hand. I think it was worth it. Who doesn't love to blur waves? I think it looks so cool and is a great suprise when the sutter closes and you see what you shot. You can see in the top couple shots I took after the waves had died down and tide went out a bit, everything was wonderfully washed over with a warm rich light. Even a picture of a rock can be amazing at this time of day.
Anyway I hope you like these even a tenth of how much I enjoyed shooting them. As always I welcome all forms of comments to help me on my journey. Don't forget all of my images are yours for a price, I can be contacted at listerheb@hotmail.com.

Summit Park

Went up to Summit Park which Jason told me had some interesting trees. It's great there, so many narled up branches. I'll definately go there when it's not freezing out and I have my kids with me. haha.

Still got a few interesting shots. Very little thinking or planning went into these but let me know what you think.

Photo assignments

I'm taking a class again, and I have to submit photos of all different types. Some are graded assignments and others are to demonstrate understanding of the different rules that make eye catching photos.

This will be my first post with photos so I'll throw several up that I took over the last week. Most are showing the rule of leadin lines, the idea being that you can lead the viewers eye to the subject in an interesting way.

The rule of thirds is a way of avoiding having the subject right in the middle of the picture surrounded by wasted space. Funny thing, after I started looking back at pictures I once thought were good because they were correctly exposed I noticed that I had been consistantly placing the eyes of people right in the middle of the picture making the overall photo uninteresting.

There are also examples of framing, and rythem up there.

Please comment on my photos and let me know what you think, I want nothing more than to get better and the only way is to understand how people view pictures and what is or isn't appealing.