Opportunity & Transformation

My absence from this personal blog is best captured by the phrase, “Still waters run deep.” The New Year brought another bout with a cold which quickly became bronchitis which lasted until the end of March. If that was not enough, events became more dire with the worldwide pandemic of Covid-19. Luckily, I did not contract it. These several months provided an opportunity of time to reflection, re- reading many things on photography especially skill development.

Naturally, photographic style was always in the back of my mind, for I felt unsettled with what I was producing. From the previous posting in December 2019 I knew I was at the cusp of totally crafting my photos differently. During the winter I did a lot of experimenting in how I actually developed the photograph in post-processing. And, in tandem, how I printed the photographs.

The currently posted photo is a result of my transformative thinking about what I was producing. There is some of the style of John Paul Caponigro in it. The shot was taken at Conimicut Point, RI in late September awaiting the sunrise and a moon shot with a prominent foreground of Conimicut Lighthouse.

The photograph was taken using a Canon 5DS using an EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens @ 135mm, f/8, 1/10″, ISO 200, using a Gitzo tripod, and postprocessing with DxO PhotoLab II, ACR, Photoshop CC.

Moving on from Maine

As I have expressed in recent blog posts, Maine has been quite a fruitful shoot and experience for me. I have spent much time and effort in trying to maximize the photo opportunities that I had had there (past perfect tense) during John Paul Caponigro’s Workshop.

That being said, I believe that I am at the point of moving on. I am moving on for the photos that I took in Maine provided an opportunity to refine my skills, and they pushed me to do this simply because of the material of the shots that I took. The photographs may not have been my best but I learned a lot of critical skills in evaluating them.

The current photo was taken on the second day of shooting in Maine, 2019 at sunrise, near Sandy Beach, Acadia National Park. A Canon 5DS, with an EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens @ 158mm was used, having settings of f/8, 1.8″, 320 ISO, and being post processed with DxO PhotoLab II, ACR, using HDR, and Viveza and Color Efex Pro.

 

Into The Rabbit Hole with JPC…

…that is, John Paul Caponigro. Entering the rabbit hole one discovers CaponigroLand, a wondrous place of photographic discovery. Immediately you fall under the spell of seeing the world around you as you never have before. You are at once liberated and challenged as a photographer. Needless to say it is quite disquieting.

Thus began my photographic workshop in the Autumn of 2019, “Fall Foliage – Acadia.” There were only seven students in all in the workshop; and may I add they were all accomplished in their respective professional fields, only one being related to photography in particular. The other students were avid photographers and were versed in the beauty and history of photography. It was surprising how each participant had particular skills and visions of how to represent what they saw through the lens.

After five days of getting up at 4:30 AM to shoot multiple places in Acadia Park and adjoining areas, one felt stretched physically but also appreciative of the opportunities John Paul provided to get the most of what Maine provided. We hit Maine at the height of the fall foliage and had the unique experience to see the aftermath of a Northeastn’ wind storm. Class time was a great shared learning atmosphere where each student had focused attention not only from John Paul but also other participants.

Time in the rabbit hole still resonates within, and I am still trying to process what I learned. After exiting CaponigroLand I am presented with the challenge to incorporate some of his visions or should I say adapt them to a new style of photography.

The currently posted photo was taken in Acadia National Park early on the first day of shooting. It was taken with a Canon EOS 5DS, EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM @ 28mm, f/16 1/10″, ISO 125. Postprocessing was accomplished with DxO Photo Lab 2, ACR, Photoshop CC 2019 using a gradient map, and Color Efex Pro.