It’s raining, it’s pouring, the old man is snoring...for some reason lately, I’ve been remembering the words to old songs, nursery rhymes, and the like when I’m photographing - or writing about photography! Don’t know why.
I just finished teaching a very exciting but busy week in Maine - and was ready to jump out there and make my own pictures at the end of the workshop. But Saturday afternoon was extremely hazy, and the sun went down without much fanfare and no sweet light on the land. I accepted that, and still managed to make a decent image of two dinghies moored in a cove. I had hoped to great reflections off the sky but it wasn’t to be. With the colors so flat, I decided to play with Photoshop and converted everything but the green boat and its reflection to black and white. That made me feel better on Saturday night.
But then Sunday morning dawned very gray. I went to a garden to work on macro photography, and no sooner got there and it began to rain hard enough that the flowers were being hit by drops and there was too much movement. Darn! I packed up my stuff, headed for breakfast, and a coffee to cry in. Not fair that this was my time, my chance to get some great photos, and the weather was so poor. After a great cappuccino at Boynton and McKay’s in Camden, I felt better and decided to go down to Rockport Harbor just to have a look. The flat light would be good for shots of dinghies tied up to the dock, if the water surface were quiet and smooth. But on the way, it began to shower, and I pulled in and turned the engine off to wait it out. All of the sudden my eyes began to see the possibilities through the rain spattered window. I got out, ran to the back of the car, and grabbed my Canon 1 DS with a 24-70mm lens. By focusing between the window and the scene out there, I was able to create the effect I wanted. I didn’t want the window sharp, or the droplets and bits of stuff on the window would be too strong. I did want the scene sharp, however, so it would show well through the wet and rippled glass. In the comfort of the car, I made about 16 different frames, varying the aperture, varying the focus, and waiting for the right moment when the flag atop the mast was in a good position. I was really having fun now, and the effect was just like a watercolor to me - without using the watercolor filter in the computer!
The rains never really stopped that day, and although I didn’t get all the images that I was thinking I was going to get, I made a few good ones and that sometimes is all we can hope for when we’re dealing with the environment!
Brenda, you should live on the east coast...you do wonders with the Maine countryside. I need to take another workshop with you in Maine.
Posted by: Wanda Judd | August 18, 2005 at 01:20 PM