CheeseMonkey

The Warrior

Oct, 2014

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Behind The Lens

Location

I took this photo of my daughter at Buttermilk Falls State Park in Ithaca, NY. I'm only beginning my journey as a photographer and have had no training so I'm probably not as discriminating of photo ops as I will be in the future. I'm a bit of a madman with a camera right now; then again, maybe that's a good thing!

Time

Buttermilk Falls is beautiful at any time of day. It's a hikeable gorge that features miles of cascading waterfalls. Each side of the mountain is forested so it's generally cool and shady the length of the trail, with sunny patches scattered throughout. I shot this in the late afternoon of a lovely, crisp fall day on one of the unshaded lookouts.

Lighting

I haven't experimented much with lighting yet and am pretty much doing things au naturel. I'm a big fan of the cinematography in Terrence Malick's movies, which is mostly achieved using natural light, so I guess that's inspired this approach. Whatever the reason, I'm enjoying its challenges and rewards.

Equipment

I believe I once had something resembling a decent camera but I never used it and it went missing years ago. If I remember to bring it with me, as I did the day I took this picture, I use a little Canon PowerShot point-and-shoot. Otherwise, I use an iPhone 4S with a shattered screen! No tripod, no special lens or flash, etc. I've fallen pretty hard for photography though so I'll be investing in some decent equipment in the future (I'm also accepting donations if anyone feels inspired. Come on, how many chances do you get to help a genius master his craft!).

Inspiration

I became absorbed in capturing the many splendors of Buttermilk Falls until my daughter mounted a leaf-throwing attack to snap me out of it. I defended myself for awhile but tired before she did so I got my camera ready while she was reloading and snapped what I hoped would be a fun picture.

Editing

I edited the photo on my shattered-screen phone using a free app I like called Camera+. There's no method to my editing madness. I usually layer a bunch of filters on the pic and do all kinds of tweaking in the "lab." The colossal limitations of my equipment force me to be a creative post-processor if I want to end up with something at least mildly interesting.

In my camera bag

If I had a bag dedicated to my photographic endeavors, in it you'd find a little Canon PowerShot Elph 330 HS. And maybe a lunch.

Feedback

If I can do it, anyone can! All you need is a cheap point-and-shoot, a phone with a shattered screen and a free photo-editing app, a little imagination, and a 2-year-old with a penchant for assaulting her parents with found objects!

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CheeseMonkey

CheeseMonkey

The Warrior

Behind The Lens

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