Changing Pace & Seeing the Light

Last week I mentioned I would be heading to the Bay Area for a spontaneous weekend of shooting, but soon after my plans changed.  Saturday,  I was asked to shoot a fundraiser event at Whitney Oaks Golf Course in Rocklin, CA, and so I brought along my girlfriend Vanessa (pictured above). I jokingly introduce her as my assistant because the more she has come with me to these events, the more enjoyable the process has become.  Most of the time I'm using her as a model to get my settings just right, but this time she also got to be my golf cart driver. And keep in mind, this golf cart was tricked out with all the bells and whistles. Basically this shoot involved her driving us up and down the golf course while I snapped shots of the golfers and scenery.  The photos came out great and was a nice mixture of group and scenic shots.  I really enjoy shooting in the outdoors because it gives me a chance to mess with the lighting to get some really crisp and dramatic effects.  Lighting can be your best friend or worst enemy until you learn to embrace it.

Sunday I was on my own and had some time to kill during sunset.  I drove over to Clarksburg and posted up along a river bank not too far from one of the commuter bridges.  Honestly, the Sacramento River is kind of nasty.  It flows with murky water, floats with litter, and it doesn't smell the best.  Nonetheless, I wanted to get some long exposure shots of the area because it contains some of my favorite elements to capture: water, clouds, and architecture.  In the second photo above, you'll see all three of these elements.  I waited on the river bank for about 45 minutes for the sun to go down.  Settings [ISO 100 | 19mm | f/22.0 | 13sec] I sacrificed my legs to some bug bites, but after some quick editing was pleased with the final result.  In the photo, I had to time the cars on the bridge to get some clean light trails and liked the reflection on the water below.  I also liked how the water in the forefront stayed clear while the water in the background has that glazed effect.  Combined, all the elements helped to bring different aspects to the photo.  

The third photo above was facing away from the bridge where the sunlight was more prominent. Settings [ISO 100 | 18mm | f/22.0 | 0.6sec] My main goal was to capture the wake of a boat passing by and get that nice blur effect on the shoreline.  I increased the saturation of the yellows and oranges, and it helped create the warm final product.  I'll be sure to show before and afters and even some of the setups I use to get my shots in future posts.  In both river photos I had forgotten to bring a tripod so I found a nice sturdy rock to place my Canon on, which I don't recommend for obvious reasons.    

All in all, this weekend was great practice and produced some great results.  Whether it was speeding down the front nine of a golf course snapping shots at noon or chilling by a river bank for 45 minutes at sunset, I enjoyed both experiences.  I encourage all of you to keep experimenting and push yourself to create.  Tonight I'll be attending a Sacramento Kings game and will be bringing my Sony a6000.  The Sony a6000 is a small mirror less camera with removable lenses.  I'm not sure if the venue allows for the public to bring removable lens cameras in so the a6000 let's me fly under the radar. 

Until next time...

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