Lady in Blue
When I visited my youngest Daughter at her University, she took me to a nearby swamp. While there I decided to concentrate on photographing space between objec...
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When I visited my youngest Daughter at her University, she took me to a nearby swamp. While there I decided to concentrate on photographing space between objects. This image was made by two cypress trees.
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Mar, 2016Views
543
Likes
Awards
People's Choice in Black & Blue Photo Challenge
Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
Peer Award
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Categories
joycealicesmith
April 25, 2016
Fantastic photo! And I love those drops!! Well done! Congratulations on winning People's Choice!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo at a small swamp in southeast Georgia. While traveling I like to find interesting out-of-the way areas by getting of the main highway and taking small rural (often dirt roads) for at least an hour during a day of traveling. There were no homes nearby and I did not see anyone during the time I was there, hence I can not say if this swamp had a name.Time
I prefer to take photos in the early morning light or late afternoon. However when I travel in areas that I have not visited before or where I do not know the culture, I tend to explore in the early afternoon. So this photo was probably taken around 2-4 PM. I do not have my file on this photo at the moment so it is an educated guess.Lighting
It was a very bright and hot/humid day but the canopy around the swamp was dense and the breeze of the water was cool. The light was filtered through the canopy.Equipment
At the time I took this photo I was using an Olympus E-510 with a 14 - 42 mm wide angle zoom lens.Inspiration
At that point in time I was doing a study of "the space/shape" between objects. In other words, what images are formed by the space between objects? Some folks call it negative space, but I see it more as the area/shape/structure defined or delimited by a dense object or objects. In this case the shape between two swamp cypress reminded me of a woman's shape. The blue water, slight ripples, and the reflection of the trees made me think of a woman wearing a blue dress. Therefore, the title of this image is "the woman in blue".Editing
I do not own a photoshop program or any other similar program with the exception of the iPhoto program that came with my computer. It lets me do simple things like enhancing contrast, exposure, blue/yellow/green/red colors. In this case I enhanced the contrast because I wanted the trees to be dark in order to emphasize the shape of the space. The water was clear but because of the canopy filtered light and shade, it had a slight blue color reflection and I enhanced that also.In my camera bag
I usually hike when I am doing nature photography, hence I try to keep my bag fairly light. Typically I carry one camera body, a wide angle zoom lens and a small telephoto lens plus a light "travel" tripod. If I am traveling by car to a specific place to photograph, I will aadd a telephoto lens and a sturdy tripod that can handle the weight of the telephoto lens.Feedback
As a nature photographer, I am often mesmerized by the beauty of the ecosystem I am in (a river, swamp, mountains, the animals, fungi, plants etc. ) and often take "big view " photos that depict (I hope) the beauty and majesty of nature. However it is important to stop and look at the space, shapes, and shadows that are an integral part of the ecosystem. It is these "hidden" images that provide the unique/abstract essence of nature.
