Conditioning

Never did I think that photography would be so demanding, at least if you wanted to take more than just a snapshot, but rather a special moment that immediately grabs and holds one’s vision. In other words, an “Ah” moment. The moment which is special and captures the essence of the vision before you.

One truly must get into physical shape as well as visual (i.e., the art of seeing) shape and technical shape (knowing one’s tools of the trade). It has been a most deplorably wet spring here in New England this year. Instead of being outside and shooting, I have been inside and studying photography. Both are obviously needed, but being outside and shooting is more fun.

I have been preparing for my photo shoot on the Big Island of Hawaii at the end of this month, anticipating what I would need for certain situations, namely, night shooting of the Milky Way with possible inclusions of Mt. Kilauea lava flows, high contrast shots of the oceans and waves, sunrises and sunsets on ocean panoramas,  rain forests and tropical gardens with shadows and probable glare, and last but not least surfers and denizens of the Hawaiian paradise. In this regard, I am bringing along rain gear for me and my camera, and a host of various filters to assist in getting the best shot. I wish I did not need to bring along my MacBook Air, simply because I like to travel light. But I guess there is a price to pay for the perfect shot(s).

The currently posted photo is of white irises around our house. They are abundant this spring and have looked the best they ever have due to the rainy spring. The photo was taken with a Canon 5DS, EF16-35mm f/2.8L USM @ 35mm, f/8.0, 1/50, ISO 100, processed with DxO Optics Pro 11, Adobe Camera Raw, using a Photoshop gradient map, and Color Efex Pro.