Saturday, May 20, 2017

Calligraphic weed

Yesterday I spent a few hours just photographing textures. And then I saw the weed. I liked the way the leaves splayed out, looking almost like a Japanese Kanji character. And it looked especially nice against this textured wall.

The photo was taken in color, but I felt that the color took away from what caught my eye to begin with: shape and form.

I turned the photo into a black and white image, but it felt cold. I toned it brown, then dialed back the toning to give it this warm black and white look.

What you do not see is my frustration at leaving my tripod's quick release at home, so my shooting was hand-held. The weed was in a photographically inaccessible place. So I picked it and then looked for a good spot on a wall where it could stand out.

I had one lens with me -- 18mm-55mm. So in this shot I'm holding the weed against the wall with my left hand while (having set the lens at 18mm to get the entire weed), composing and focusing and clicking the shutter with my right hand.

It wasn't easy. But if it were, everyone would be doing it, right?

Answer: No, Carol. Everyone else would have remembered the damned quick release so they could do it properly with a tripod, cable release, and maybe even a reflector. Duh.

©Carol Leigh
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