distraction

We've got a new baby in the house. Totally unplanned. Totally unexpected. And yet, here he is.

As I was thinking about how to express all the things that we are dealing with on a daily basis around here, I just kept thinking of the word distraction. He is quite a distraction on a number of levels. Looking up the word for it's literal meaning led me to perhaps my new most favorite list of words ever.

The definition was far less interesting than the synonyms.

Ready?

Bafflement, bamboozlement, befuddlement, bemusement, bewilderedness, bewilderment, confusedness, discombobulation, confusion, fog, head-scratching, muddle, mystification, perplexity, puzzlement, tangle, whirl.

Absolutely YES to all of the above. This puppy is officially a distraction.

Can you relate? Show us something that distracting you right now. Chances are it's as much as a muse as a distraction.

Get Closer

One of my favorite documentary photographers, Robert Capa, once said "If your pictures aren't good enough, you aren't close enough." It's true. And it's not just about the positioning of your feet or your lens. It's about tightening the distance of your relationship with your subject. The best way to improve your documentary photography skills with people is to focus first (and frequently) on the people closest to you. Watch them move. Study their gestures. Get comfortable creeping in close with a wide angle lens. Be silent. Move your body to craft the composition without disrupting your subject. Wait. Remain alert. Working in this way will teach you how to anticipate action and be quick with your click.

Sequence of Steps Before the Click: I propped my elbows on the bed and used my Nikon D3s with a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens on it's widest 24mm setting and set the aperture to f/4.5 to let in a fair amount of light while retaining enough detail for elements in the field. I fired an external mount flash (Nikon SB900) tilted behind me at a 45 degree angle (and slightly off to the left) to soften the light. To capture the best quality image, I make every effort to shoot on the lowest possible ISO setting (200 in this case). After making an initial image or two with my f/4.5 aperture setting (with the default shutter speed designated by aperture priority mode), I moved to full manual mode and adjusted my shutter speed a bit to compensate for light. This image is one of 33 shot in that sequence. I knew, at some point, she'd lean in close.

sun soaked

Every sunny moment is a gift these days, and we're all soaking up the rays when possible. My cat Roxy especially loves snuggling up in a sun-drenched spot and sleeping the day away. And I have to admit that a bright, sunny day inspires me to pick up my camera and start using all the natural light to my advantage. It's refreshing to set the ISO a bit lower and up the shutter speed without worrying about exposure issues. I'm hoping to continue to utilize these rare sunny days to keep my camera warmed up until spring returns.

Are you focusing on sunny spots too? Share them with us and brighten our day!

Anticipation

   

After all the holiday rush, January is always a let down for me.  The days are short, the air is too cool and everything seems drab and colorless.  Wanting spring and all it's glory to be here now, I find myself searching out color anywhere I can, be it the finches that populate my bare tree or the many spring seed catalogs that arrive in my mailbox on a daily basis.  My anticipation of the new season is palpable and I find it difficult to wait for the colors of spring.

What about you? Are you a spring or winter person? Please make my winter a little bit brighter and share with us your seasonal shots, too. 

happy accidents

As photographers, we often don't have control over our subject matter. Moving targets, such as children and animals don't always give us the liberty to stop and compose an image exactly how we imagine. This sort of unpredictability lends itself to happy accidents. It's always fun to download your images and find that one surprise image that makes you gasp with delight.

This shot of a busy farm cat was one of my recent happy accidents. I love the way he matches that gray and white gravel. Not to mention the few sprigs of grass that coordinate with his bright green eyes. I couldn't have planned it better myself!

Please share your happy accidents with us.