I went to Knight's Ferry to play with my camera last week. I enjoyed the quiet. I enjoyed the drive. The photography portion, however, was frustrating. I know this frustration is inevitable in the learning process-- at it seems the learning is at hand even now! I cannot get these pics to post at the XLarge size without being blurry, which is crazy because they are saved in the highest resolution possible. I wanted room on my memory card so Friday afternoon I had my pictures put on a photo CD at RiteAid. I was initially excited that the cost was the same as Costco ($2.99). I learned that the RiteAid CDs hold much less information so they wanted to use six CDs to empty my card!!! My camera was set to save each picture in RAW format and JPEG. I decided to only burn the RAW format, knowing that my Photoshop could convert the RAW file. I got home, tried the CD, saw the picture, and then deleted the images off of my camera. Now, I can't get thumbnails of the pics and something isn't right as I cannot blow these images up on the blog! Grrr......
So anyway, part of my frustration with Knight's Ferry was this bridge. In the top photo you can see the interior of the covered bridge. In the bottom photo you can see the exterior. Something about that arched exit with the sharpness of the white fence against the trees is what was drawing me to this scene. I could totally see this as a cover of a book about a journey- fiction or nonfiction. What I was after, though, was a combination of both-- slightly able to see the awesome wood interior of the bridge but still have the sharpness in the exit with the fence and road. I couldn't get it! The inside was either underexposed, or the outside overexposed. I wish I could find out if it is possible to do both. I am going to play with it a bit on Photoshop to see if that gives me what I want.
Additionally, I tried experimenting with my exposure compensation button. I think I am getting the idea of how and when to use that. I found some more wheat stuff and tried shooting into the sun to practice that effect I am after. I couldn't get the individual pieces to come into focus like I want-- the puzzle is what frustrates me. My mind is trying to solve all these puzzles with limited information, all the while, not knowing if it is able to be solved with the equipment I have. For example, did I need a macro lens to be able to get close enough to that wheat without blur? I just wanted it to fill the screen.
I saw a lot that I liked at Knight's Ferry. I was interested in how the rocks looked beneath the water in the river but couldn't get close enough. Being responsible seemed to be forefront (thankfully) in my mind. It would be dumb to be up there, alone, and fall in the water for a picture learning experience! I thought it would be fun to sit still long enough right along the river to try to capture a jumping fish.
My goals for the day were to try to complete my "Travel Photography" assignment and to practice the exposure compensation. I was tempted to try to get some good shots of the rafting group that was gathering but they took FOREVER to get assembled. It would be fun to get some good shots for the rafting company. Doubts held me back though-- I figured I would probably do something illegal and get sued.
Still trying to salvage my trip, I drove through Historic Knight's Ferry thinking I would document the place with photos as outlined in my assignment. However, it was odd.. usually I would love the quaint, old-fashioned buildings on the main street but I just wasn't feeling it! Isn't that funny?? It sounds so dumb to me as I type it- But, as I drove through town it just seemed so touristy and staged rather than authentic. I wasn't inspired to photograph it! I am seriously wondering if it was just my mood at that point?? Who knows?!
No comments:
Post a Comment