Escher
Originally uploaded by will.duquette.
This picture of reflections in a still fountain does some really nasty things with perspective. It doesn’t work as a picture, but it’s still interesting to look at. You’ll probably need to look at the largest size to get the full effect.
Sundial 2
Originally uploaded by will.duquette.
Here’s another shot of the same sundial. I like the previous composition better, but at least in this one the sundial’s…adornments…are less obvious.
Sundial 1
Originally uploaded by will.duquette.
I’ve seen this sundial every time I’ve been over to Descanso Gardens this past month; today the light was right, and I took a bunch of pictures. I took care with the composition, and worked to get a nice, colorful background… but it turns out that the most careful composition can be ruined by an overlooked dollop of pigeon poop.
Shadow Chair
Originally uploaded by will.duquette.
The Test Lead points out that this really needs a bit cropped off of the left hand side and along the bottom. Still, it’s a nifty picture.
This is the book that explains how to do the things that Brenda Tharp takes for granted in Creative Nature & Outdoor Photography. Peterson covers generally the same range of topics here as he does in Understanding Digital Photography, but he goes into considerably more detail; I now understand the process of metering the light far better than I did beforehand, for example. Peterson writes clearly and engagingly, and as always his enthusiasm is infectious. Best of all, the book is filled with delightful images–and for each he explains in detail just how he set up, metered, and exposed each shot. This is definitely a book I’m going to come back to again and again.
If you’ve got a digital camera, and you’ve any curiousity at all what you can do with it, by all means get a copy of Understanding Digital Photography. If you’re like me, reading it will inspire you to go out and take all sorts of truly wretched pictures, and probably some very good ones. Then, if you’re still having fun, get this book and keep shooting; it will take you to the next level.
Orange Flowers
Originally uploaded by will.duquette.
I’ve been spending a ridiculous amount of time taking pictures at Descanso Gardens recently–so much time that when one of my boys suggested that I go for my daily walk at Descanso today, because maybe the train would be running, I didn’t really plan on taking many pictures. I brought my camera anyway, just because I always take it with me on my walks; I figured I’d take a few pictures of my kids. Seventy-some pictures and almost an hour later we left the gardens…and on the way out, just after I’d put my camera away, these flowers caught my eye. “One shot,” I said. “I have time for one shot.” I snapped this as quickly as I could, and ran off to join the kids.
Cherry Blossom Time
Originally uploaded by will.duquette.
I took this at the Japanese Tea House at Descanso Gardens last Friday afternoon. I’m not sure what kind of plant the flowers are blooming on; I suspect that it’s a lilac tree. I was looking for patterns of lines, and the blooms making an interesting frame for the columns in the background.
The difficulty in reviewing non-fiction books like this one is to know how to describe the content more pithily than the title does. With Tharp’s book I must concede defeat; it really is about creative nature and outdoor photography. Contrarily, books on photography are easier to judge than most, as they are generally filled with the author’s own photographs; her credentials are evident on every page. By that measure, Tharp writes whereof she knows.
The book is, I confess, a little too advanced for me. She writes for users of the traditional film SLR camera, and assumes they are familiar not only with basic photographic technique but also with the more esoteric features of their cameras–as a result, this should not be your first book about photography. On the other hand, she has a great deal to say about composition and the use of light that applies equally well to film and digital photography, and on that front I might have learned a thing or two. It’s a book I’ll want to come back to when I’ve a little more experience.
In the meantime, I still recommend Bryan Peterson’s Understanding Digital Photography, and also his Understanding Exposure which I’ve been reading simultaneously with this one. It covers some of the same ground, and goes into much more detail about how to use your camera.
(Side note: I’ve been lucky in my choice of books–there are a lot of duds out there, and somehow I’ve managed to spot some of the better ones. A little research pays off.)
Fish Fountain, Morning
Originally uploaded by will.duquette.
All of the photography books say to visit locations at different times of day, to see how the light differs. This morning, consequently, I toddled off to Descanso Gardens; and while there I shot another picture of the Fish Fountain. This is the same scene and composition I posted yesterday; but the difference between the two is striking. Yesterday’s is peaceful and lovely, as you’ll see if you scroll down a bit. This one, on the other hand, is just dull.
Fish Fountain
Originally uploaded by will.duquette.
I’d seen these bronze fish every time I’d visited the Gardens over the last few weeks, and I’d kind of mentally been saying, “Not yet, not yet.” Today my son James suggested I take a picture of them as we were walking past. I glanced over, and said “Now.”
The photography books I’ve been reading have said over and over again that frontlight is dull. When the light is coming from behind you and fully illuminating the front of the subject, all of the shadows are erased and the picture has no depth. Here, the light is coming from behind and to the left, and gosh, the picture has all kinds of depth. I’d like to say that I set it up that way on purpose, but I didn’t; I just got lucky. Still, it’s neat to see these things working in my own photos.
The View from the Foothills 