Bored one afternoon this spring, I pulled out my 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR that I haven’t used since I first bought it 5+ (?!) years ago to test it out. I thought, erroneously, that it would only be good when out scouting birds or taking tourist type shots that I could zoom up onto monuments and so forth. And that is precisely why I hadn’t been using it, focusing instead on my prime lens to capture a nice bokeh and shallow DOF for my translucent light studies. I have had a lot of micromovements in some of my throwaways, so I decided to play with the VR by standing 7-10 feet away. These are the shots I came up with:
Tag Archives: photo
MEMES
I’ve tried my hand recently are creating internet memes. I often post images on Facebook with inspirational thoughts. So, I thought why not put the text on the images and share it about!
As I see it…
I was perusing some older images in my pictures folder with a friend this week and talking about my photography style. We agreed it was different and not necessarily the sort of images that people gravitate towards. She said it was great that I was able to see the unseen. I love to shoot the things that most of us just walk by without a second thought because those moments of light are beautiful. Much of my shooting is haphazardly unplanned: I go out with my camera and explore to find moments of beauty. These images of the lines on the wall are the perfect example. The sunlight streamed in through the shutters at this angle for but a moment before sliding onto the floor in a blurred distortion. I like the layers of different lines on top of each other.
I find our world to be amazing and interesting. I walk about with a sense of wonder all the time. And those who walk with me often see me crouching, squatting, and otherwise contorting with a camera in my hand because I saw something that caught my eye. It is a constant visual unrest, but a gift nonetheless.
Don’t forget, I have a collection of moments of beauty in my exhibit this June: SUMMER STREETS!
Delmarva on View
I was in Starbucks this week and got super excited when I saw a flier on the community bulletin board for a local photography contest. It’s called Delmarva on View: Delaware, Maryland & Virginia in Photographs. Proceeds benefit the Lewes Public Library in Lewes, DE. If you live in the tri-state area I suggest you check it out!
What I think is really cool is the professional and amateur entry levels, and the wide range of entry categories like Growing Delmarva: Agriculture & Farming and The Good, The Bad, The Nor’Easter: Four Seasons. I have selected three images from the past 12 months for the seasonal entries covering autumn, winter, and spring. You’ll have to wait until after June 18th when the judging is complete so I can show you the images I selected. I didn’t choose any summer images I like will be part of my exhibit at the Newark Arts Alliance for Summer Streets.
I’d love to hear what you think of the photo contest and the take on themes! Comment below!
Crystal Vision
Crystal Vision © 2013 NATE METZ
Winter has finally relaxed its tight grip. Most mornings I’d find my car frozen over with frost, so I used the few moments waiting for the defroster to capture these Crystal Visions.
UPWARDS
Spring is not quite yet upon us. Looking to the ground I see small signs of the burgeoning life forces. Green still are the pines against the pale blue skies of late winter. With cabin fever and a temperature near 50F, away I went with my Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 to walk a new forest trail.
Around frame 24, I decided to make a left and hike further into the Pemberton Preserve. I’m really glad that I did because I started to capture better images. The landscape changed, bringing more than the faithful pines that predominated my views. In addition to upwards I went onwards. Alone with the trees I was sun-bound.
My total trip was about 5 mi hiking that lasted 4 hours with 300 shutter actions. These are 56 of my favorites:
UPWARDS © 2013 NATE METZ
BLOG CIRCLE: Photo Display
I expressed interest in joining the blog circle because I display pieces of my work in my house that hold great importance to me. They are photographs, paintings, and collage that reflect my spiritual journey as an artist. This work is found on the walls of my bedroom and at my altar where I meditate. The initial call for entry that I saw on the Delaware Photographers Network asked for us to share how we showcase our work in our homes. Today I realized that I had joined a circle of photographers specializing in Family Portraits! So, while we coo over everyone’s beautiful families and friends today, I share with you some displays of a different kind of family. I cherish my work as offspring from my intuition and inspiration. I hope you enjoy:
The next blog on your journey belongs to Theresa and will take you to Southwestern USA. She specializes in natural light family photography. Check out Creative Flair Photography here:
http://www.creativeflairphotography.com/blog/
And, thank you Erin for organizing the circle!
Biltmore Conservatory
A month ago I toured the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. I brought my full kit (4 lenses, camera, and external flash) so that I could get some pictures, but was surprised upon walking in the front door that all photography was prohibited inside the main house, including cell phone cameras! I claim no expertise on historical preservation, but I’m pretty sure flash-less photography does not harm the subject in any way. My guess is that the Estate wants the tourists to purchase the official and professional photographs from the gift shops. While I may have taken a few of those style to document the trip, I’m more interested in colors, shapes, and textures and other more abstract pictures. I clearly disagree with the ban because I feel as though they misunderstood the type of photography that I wanted to do! So, I had to rebel just a little bit. I took this photograph in the basement with my cell phone:
I’s © 2013 NATE METZ
By the time the house tour was over, I caught a break in the rain and decided to check out the conservatory. I have been to Longwood Gardens several times and really enjoy taking pictures of the flora because of the soft lighting and near-perfect subjects. The conservatory at Biltmore is much smaller and had much less variety, I was able to take several interesting photographs. These all remain untitled for now. As I select a few favorites for prints, frames, entries, and so forth cleaner edits and titles will emerge! For now, enjoy an early look of spring:
Pomegranate Afternoon
I took these photos one afternoon as the sun glimpsed through an open door. The refractions and shadows drifted slowly across the wall for a few fleeting minutes before disappearing. I love capturing these transient moments.
DAMN GOOD ADVICE – TEN
It’s not very often that text, copy, or any sort of word makes a statement in my photography. Alphanumerics tend to be incidentals.
Behind the work is a different story, though. My favorite brainstorming is mind-mapping: connecting words and phrases in a correlative spiderweb of an idea. Most recently, my idea is translucency. While looking at my photographs in that body of work, the word comes to mind in a subtle way. This use of words is different that the advertising described by George Lois.
The idea that really stands out to me in reflecting on Lois’ first commandment in relation to my own work is the interplay between words and images as a form of communication. Even if my photographs do not include words, when we view them we think in words. There is a translation that occurs when viewing art. Because to say, write, or otherwise express our reaction and feelings about one of my photographs we use words. Furthermore, anytime I submit a body of work I am asked to include an artist statement: words that describe the visual image. At first, I dread writing down the words that would appear to seal the fate of the associated photographs. As I work through my writing process, I try very hard to maintain a sense of open-endedness. My interpretation in the artist statement is never designed to me the final comment.
So yes, the word does indeed come first.
WORD © 2013 NATE METZ
