Another long exposure, my current fad, which I think I might be getting a bit bored of. I'm lacking in inspiration and falling back on an easy shot. I tried a new beach on this day, one I haven't been to in years, but couldn't figure out what to do. I tried a lot of different positions along the beach but in a way it was pretty much the same shot. I also met up with
@aprilstumpff yesterday and talked a lot about editing, and asked her to edit a couple of my RAW files. I must admit I ended up a bit bummed out because her edits were lovely and dare I say it, better, and I realised (again) that I seem to want to really over-crank the colours, and contrast to a point where the scene doesn't seem real. Most of the time, the subject doesn't need that much editing, but I seem to be in a pattern of tweaking my shots like this.
It's funny because many of the photographers I follow on Instagram have a style of editing that is so subtle, and although they look edited and artistic, it is so gentle that it still looks real. I think the trick is to create a shot that looks real and familiar but has the artistic edge to it to make it stand above a simple 'snap' of the scene. I'm not sure if this makes sense but I think I know what I mean.....or am I just going mad..?
One thing I also realised in talking to
@aprilstumpff is that I shoot in a very singular way specifically for 365, and when I am out somewhere I don't just shoot for the enjoyment of it. I tend to shoot until I have a shot and then I stop, rather than just wander with my camera. It really made me think about why I take pictures and what kind of pictures I want to take.
I ended up leaving the RAW file I was focused on, and using this one instead as I (almost :) like what I have done with it. It was very blue because of the ND filter, underexposed too slightly but I like the foreground and the little spot of daylight I have put in over the wooden defences.
3 good things:
1 - Catching up on a backlog of podcasts
2 - Nice to get out to somewhere new
3 - Making homemade Toblerone flavoured fudge that evening...which happens to taste amazing! :)
I've really been enjoying your LE series.
I like the surreal look of your long exposures, they create a mood.
Thank you all very much for your lovely comments and FAVs. I have really thought about all this over the last few days but it's a god thing. I wandered yesterday and tried to find something very simple and not focus on something so big and epic, not every day anyway.
I am glad you guys like the shot :)
I completely forgot to add...the Toblerone fudge was awesome!!!
And so simple...my fudge recipe is the same each time.
400g of chocolate, in this case the large 400g Toblerone bar, with a tin of condensed milk.
You melt the chocolate in a pan slowly, and then add the condensed milk.
I have done it with a bar of dairy milk and added Smarties too for extra texture. Some people say add icing sugar to make it slightly harder but I have always had a good texture that remains gooey but firm.
If you know this already, forgive me for teaching you to suck eggs :)
I am thinking currently that good editing is about complementing the way the light behaved in the captured scene.
The light, and shape created by the pebbles in this shot is lovely. LE has a lovely sense of calm that is appealing.
I would say don't worry too much about editing, you should only need to do one file at a time. And apps like Snapseed would be ok for editing this as you can use it to change the colour temperature and boost shadows etc. You may not even need filters if your camera shoots up to 30 seconds exposures. You just need to wait long enough for the light to be low enough for the camera to need more exposure time which will then give you the silky water/clouds effect. :)
But having said all tis, I think if we continue to question ourselves, even be our own worst critic then ultimately it might help to become better, if that's what we want - which I do. I see other people's work and think "I want to do that" so it's a case of trying to understand why and how those shots look like they do and go and figure out how to do it ourselves.
Maybe :))
I have thought about all this a lot over the last few weeks. I think I was clearly in a very thoughtful place when I took this, considering what it is I do or don't like about photography. And it's easy to get a little bit too obsessed with getting a shot for the day rather than just taking pictures because it's fun to use the camera, and capture something. Having wrote all I did I look at this shot and am really happy with it. It's getting to be along the lines of the 'fine art' type stuff I really like which would go ok on a wall or a postcard. Not quite but getting there :)