It would seem that this winter in Harrisburg isn’t going to be much of a winter. Most days the temperature tops off in the 50’s and only dips into the high 30’s at night. We have been greeted with more days of fog than days of snow. As of the writing of this post we haven’t received any calculable snow fall, a fact that I wish weren’t true. There is something about cold snowy winters that make the year feel whole. A year without snow and cold is like a week without sleep. Without a discernible season of retraction, it never really feels like the year ended.
I suppose this is the time we could bring up Nietzsche’s concept of Eternal Recurrence, a notion made popular in the movie Groundhog Day. Boiled down to its essence it simply means, “same shit, different day”, or as I like to phrase it, “same scene, different photo”. And honestly I feel like my posts are just that. They usually start off by me stating how my brother and I headed out to shoot some photos. Which although this post didn’t start like that, was in fact the case. We looked out the window, saw a wall of fog, and headed to our nearest bridge to try and capitalize on the added atmosphere before the falling sun fell.
As you can tell by the first 2 photographs, I have been experimenting with the Split Toning Tool found in Lightroom, Adobe Camera Raw & even in mobile photography apps like the ever popular VSCO. I am well aware the impact color can have on an image, which makes adding it in post that much more difficult, but potentially that much more rewarding.
I like to get as many things right in camera as I can, but I cannot discount the ability of post-production to make good photos great, or if done incorrectly, good photos horrible. We’ve all seen those over saturated, fake HDR photos that just look horrendous.
Personally I like to walk the fine line between expressive and documentary photography.
As you can see below, upon exiting the truck, which was parked under the bridge, I started firing off shots left and right. That day was one of those days when everything looked amazing. The thick atmosphere added an element of moodiness to every photo. Mundane shots of a bridge I drive over almost every day turned out ethereal and pleasing.
Perhaps it is a bit cliché to shoot foggy bridge photographs, but I don’t really care. If I think something looks worthy of a photograph, the photograph gets taken. I’m not worried whether I am the first person to photograph something, or if the shot is tack sharp. I’m not really worried that I may miss a shot. Because to me, more than anything, photography is an exercise in perspective. The photographs themselves are the material representation of my point of view.
I find I produce my best work when my mind is clear of clutter, and fully present in the moment. Having meditated for some years now, I can definitely say photography is akin to mindfulness meditation for me. The difference being, my eyes are open, and I may or may not be talking to the person who may or may not be out shooting with me.
In a life full of distractions it is entirely too easy to lose sight of that which matters.
To overlook the beauty you see everyday; for the sole fact that you see it everyday.
Photography is my reminder.
It is my walking-talking-seeing meditation.
It is an open-ended tally of me in the moment.
It is personal.
It is my perspective.
It is what makes me me.
Heavy, I know.
In a life full of distractions it is entirely too easy to lose sight of that which matters.To overlook the beauty you see everyday; for the sole fact that you see it everyday.Photography is my reminder.It is my walking-talking-seeing meditation.It is an open-ended tally of me in the moment.It is personal.It is my perspective.It is what makes me me.
All that sparked from some cliché photos of a bridge in the fog. And the day’s not over yet! After shooting the bridge to death I was lured upstream by the subtle, muffled honks of a flock of geese.
