Welcome to Spotts On……a resource of photographic ideas and how-to tips:
For the past couple of years I've been studying the motion of the sea through my camera. The sea itself is an ever-changing body of water. Colors reflect the sky and light at various times of day. Depending upon weather/tidal systems, the waves can be calm and tranquil one day, while dynamic and dangerous the next. The focus of much of my recent work has been on the "inside of a wave"; as such, the images tend to take on an abstract, painterly feel. In fact, some observers of my work do not know whether the prints are photographs or paintings (a comment I find intriguing and love to hear).
My images are shot in any type of light (backlight, reflected light, diffused light) at a shutter speed ranging from very fast (1/1200th to freeze the action) to relatively slow (1/30th to 1/60th to show motion). A tripod is an absolute necessity. I try to minimize any distractions in the frame (ie. boats, rocks, people) unless they are part of the subject. Below is an example of a piece, "The Color of Water" that won two first place ribbons in the 2008 Orange County Fair Professional Photography division. This was shot in Southern California in an area where light is reflected back into the wave from a nearby cliff. This pushes the light into spots that would normally remain pretty dark and without detail. The top of the wave is also being lit from behind (backlight). Another important aspect of this shot is that it is shot in a cove and the waves follow the bend of the cove, thus allowing me to look right down the center of the tube. This makes for some really great compositions.
Displaying these images has been really fun. I've been printing them on canvas (up to 44" by 64"), wrapping the canvas around the edge of a wooden inner frame (called gallery wrapping), and painting an acrylic gel medium over the work. In this way, the piece is protected from UV rays even though it is not behind glass, and a beautiful texture of brush strokes is added to the piece, giving it a "painterly feel". If you would like to see more wave shots, please look through the images on my website.
|
Spotts On... Archive:
|
|