Learning All The Time

Seems like every time I go out shooting I learn something new, even without trying.

I wanted to capture the misty effect you can get with long exposures of several seconds or more with waves on the beach.   When I took this shot it was still too bright for a long exposures.  In order to get the longest shutter speed possible I set my ISO as low as possible (100), my aperture as small as possible (f/22), and added a neutral density filter to the front of my lens to cut the light even more.   I further slowed my shutter by making sure I exposed for the sky and not the sea stack.   I was able to get a 15 second exposure even shooting into the sunset.

Sea Stack Sunset

When I looked at the LCD display on the back of my camera I thought I had captured what I was after.  The waves on the beach blurred into a smooth misty surface that reflected the colors of sunset.  Good for me!

When I was working on this photo just now I realized my mistake, the results of which you can see in this close crop of the trees on top of the sea stack.

See the ghost image of the tree tops?  Obviously the camera moved during that 15 seconds when the shutter was open.   Then I remembered.  To get the shot I wanted without the sandy beach I had to set my camera out near the water.  I had my camera on my tripod, which I set down in the sand and composed the shot.  I waited for the waves to be where I wanted them and started the exposure.   What happened next was comical.  The waves did not stop just below my tripod but continued up the beach and around the tripod legs.  Anyone who has stood at the edge of the surf knows what happens.  The wave washed the sand out from under the tripod legs, which then settled into the sand.  The comical part was me with my hiking boots running from the waves while leaving my camera and tripod in the surf.   Some of my photo buddies who were there with me chuckled at my antics.

Lesson learned - make sure the camera is on a solid surface and is not going to move during the exposure.  Beach sand and waves do not make a solid surface to shoot from.

I had fun trying the long exposures and will try again when I get a chance.  I'm sure I'll learn another lesson in the process.

Lost in Port Townsend

On the last day of our 17 day trek across Washington and Northern Oregon we had a full day to enjoy ourselves on the way back to the Seattle - Tacoma airport.  We visited a few places in Olympic National Park that we had missed earlier, checked out some tide pools looking for sea life, and visited the Jardin du Soleil lavender farm in Sequim.   All along we had the airport programmed into the GPS so we knew exactly how long it would take to get to the airport from where ever we were. 

You can click any of the photos to flip through larger versions.

One of our stops along the way was Port Townsend.   They advertise themselves as a victorian seaport with a maritime heritage and a touch of urban chic.  National Geographic calls Port Townsend one of the most sophisticated places west of Seattle   It reminded us of downtown Asheville NC.   We explored the town for a while, ate at The Elevated Ice Cream Shoppe, and wandered the streets.

There were some people set up selling some things (we weren't sure sure what and didn't stick around to find out).   One lady had a bunch of old dirty bottles lined up on a bench.  Behind her was a boat with bicycles arranged on top that were wrapped in Christmas lights.  The bottles were interesting but I guess that bicycle art looks better at night.

There are a number of signs painted on brick walls of the historic old buildings, including an old Bull Durham sign.   I find these old signs to be very interesting and the older the better.

Some the most interesting parts of the old historic buildings are in the details, such as this old door.   Old and weathered I wonder how long it's been there and what has happened in Port Townsend during it's time.

We stopped at an old historic home that is now an Inn. The Ann Starrett Mansion was built in 1889 and is a beautiful Victorian home painted in pastel pink, red, blue and green.   Some stairs going up to a porch caught my eye.  The diagonal line and flower pot repeating pattern make for an interesting composition.

After we left Port Townsend we stopped at Port Gamble then headed for the airport.  A short while later we realized our GPS had routed us to a ferry.   We knew nothing about the ferry, the schedule, or where we would end up so we decided to take a different route.  The GPS then routed us to another ferry!   It took us a while to get back to the main road because we had wandered farther afield than we thought.  Lessons learned - allow plenty of time, don't rely 100% on a GPS and bring a good map as backup.  In the end we had just enough time to get to the airport and catch our flight home.

I hope you enjoy these photos from Port Townsend.

The most important photography investment you can make

Photographers know that there is an seemingly endless list of photography things we can buy.  Just browse on over to Adorama or B&H websites.  You can spend hours just browsing the cameras, lens, filters, tripods, memory cards, lights, back packs, software, computers to process and store photos, and loads of other gizmos.   We tend to contract an infectious disease of that spreads among photographers - GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome).  The manufactures of camera gear don't help when they bring out new versions every months.

We all have a budget we are willing to spend on our photography.  For some it is modest and others it may be pretty high but it's not infinite.   If you were limited to buying one thing that would make your photographs better, what would it be?  What one photography related thing would you spend your money on?

For me it's not something you can buy at Adorama, B&H or the local photography store.   It's that thing behind my eyes and between my ears.   My experience is that money spent learning is a much better investment than the latest gizmo, gadget, or software.   There are many ways to improve photography knowledge and skills.  You can take a class in a classroom or online.  You can read books.   For me the best was to learn is to attend a workshop with top notch leaders and other photographers that are interested in improving their photography.   It's like being immersed in a cloud of photography knowledge that you absorb just by being there. 

Before signing up for a workshop you should do a little research.  What is the objective of the workshop?  Some are more guided trips that get you to interesting places at the right time but don't provide any real instruction.  Make sure the instructors are familiar with the places you will be going.  All outdoor photographers know that the weather influences what you can take and when. 

Chuck in A Fog

You need an instructor who knows the area and can adjust the workshop plans to accommodate the weather.   You should learn if the instructor is a good teacher as well as good photographer.  I know some great photographers who are not strong teachers.  Your leader should be both.

I recently attended a workshop with His Light Workshops led by Bill Fortney.  Bill has a great team of instructors that are there to help and make sure everyone gets the most out of the workshop.   This was my third workshop with His Light Workshops and I have already signed up for another in July.   I've known Bill for a number of years and know he is a great teacher that is passionate about photography and teaching others.   In addition to his staff of instructors, Bill brings in special invited guest instructors.  We were blessed to have Matt Kloskowski on this workshop.  

Don't jump guys!

I've been to other workshops with other instructors and keep coming back to Bill's because he is a strong Christian who attract other strong Christians to his workshops.   It's not unusual to have prayer time before heading out.   It doesn't get much better than being in God's creation with great people who love the Lord.

Here's some more photos from the workshop in Palouse Washington,  Mount Rainier National Park, and Olympic National Park.

Looking for the best spot to shoot Palouse Falls

Workshop participants are all outstanding in a field

Going to the edge for the best shot.

What, me worry?

At the end of the week I had to say goodbye to old friends and new friends.   But I know I'll see them again in a future workshop.

The end of the day

I'm working my way through my photos from the workshop and also the prior week when June and I were in vacationing in the Washington and Oregon coast region.  Watch for other blog posts.