Focus + Scale

I follow a lot of outdoor blogs and photographers. I love the adventure. I love the beauty of nature. I love the grandeur of it all. Truth be told, I wish that I were out there with my family and friends taking pictures of my own, exploring the trees and showing off how awesome the outdoors can be. But, at the moment, I am not.

Nevertheless, as I was sitting with my wife this past weekend, I wanted to take her portrait, but I wanted it to be different. I didn't want the traditional portrait of the face, nor did she want her picture taken. So I asked if I could take a picture of her hands. She obliged me.

This got me thinking some more. I thought about opposites. Black vs White. Wide vs Close. I got to thinking that perhaps I should explore this world from perhaps a different point of view. Not so much from the epic scale of things like I tend to vision, but maybe instead from the parts of things. The smaller parts.. The components.

Lately in my head, I've been struggling with a vision. I'm taking pictures, but I haven't necessarily had an idea with what I wanted the final image to look like. I'd take the picture, and then just mess around with it until I thought it looked good enough to share. This didn't always make the entire picture process fun.

Wanting to experiment a little, I told myself to work with some limitations. Play with shallow focus and black and white. I didn't have the great outdoors, but instead Robin's childhood backyard. Nevertheless, there was plenty to see and shoot.

Anyway, I don't entirely know where I am going with this text, but I do know that I was happy with the pictures I took. I enjoyed giving myself a little project looking through the viewfinder with a different plan in mind.

Andy RiddleJuly 21, 2015Comment