Chasing The Light

You’ve probably heard some variation of this before: No matter how much you know, there’s always more to learn. It’s one of my favorite things about photography. Every new discovery gives way to a new thought or idea, and the cycle continues.

My first DSLR was a used Canon 60D I purchased on eBay. It came with an 18-55mm kit lens. I had no idea how to use it. I didn’t know what aperture, ISO, or shutter speed were, or how they work together to create a certain result. I didn’t know what white balance was. It was very much a matter of trial and error for a long time.

After gaining an understanding of the basic functions of my camera, I started thinking about what new pieces of gear I would acquire. Keep the journey going, right? Reflecting back on what I bought and the order in which I bought it, it’s clear that those choices shaped my learning experience entirely. I started with a telephoto lens so that I could take photos of my cousins water skiing behind their boat. After that, it was a tripod and a fast, wide-angle lens for landscapes and long exposures.

Speed lights, specialty lenses (100mm macro, anyone?), and other gadgets followed, but at a certain point, you start to realize that it really is all about the light. And that realization opens up a whole universe of possibilities when you really start thinking about all the ways you can manipulate shooting conditions.

And I guess you could say that’s my latest endeavor. Available light photography has been my bread and butter for a long time, and it’s still one of my favorite ways to shoot, but the experimentation I’ve been able to do in a controlled, studio setting is currently what has the gears in my head spinning.

And where to next? No idea, but I’m excited!

Timing is Everything

September 30, 2019

This is one of my favorite frames from a session I did in Hollywood a few months ago. Lani and I met up outside of Amoeba Records one evening, scouted a few locations nearby, and went to work.

The sticker- and graffiti-covered stairwells of Amoeba were a must. We found some street art and exposed brick with nice texture around the corner. I captured some great golden hour looks when the time was right, but this bus bench was definitely a late addition. It was one of those, “We got everything we planned for, but what else can we get?” moments.

I went across the street with a telephoto lens, thinking it would be an interesting perspective. Perhaps with some cars in the foreground? To make it more interesting, I set the shutter speed fast enough to capture Lani’s image in focus, but slow enough to also capture the motion of the cars zooming by.

After a few test shots, I could tell I was getting the desired effect, but capturing the motion blur of the car in a spot where it wasn’t going to obscure Lani would definitely be a challenge. With my camera settings dialed in, all I had to do was set the shutter to burst mode and keep my fingers crossed for an exposure at the right moment.

I left the shoot not knowing if I had captured the frame I really wanted. I knew I had made several hundred attempts and would need to sift through the pile when I got home. Luckily, I was excited to find this one single winner amongst a MASSIVE pile of losers. I love the car zooming left, while Lani’s gaze points right, and how her gaze directs you to a mysterious half patch of art in the window behind her. Three or four hundred exposures of this particular composition, and this was the ONLY one worth keeping. Timing is everything!