Photography Confessions

Photography has always held a certain appeal for me. Influenced by a mother who always had a camera in her hand, I saw the value in trying to capture the moments in our lives that mean more to us in retrospect. As the cameras became better and I became more adept, I learned to see with a 'camera eye'.

A camera lens copies what it sees, not what our human eye ignores. A 'camera eye' discerns what is going to result in a better photograph at the moment the image is taken. The clutter, the poor lighting and the details we may ignore will be there unless we consider composition, lighting and framing. Whether the object is human or not, clutter distracts from the object we are trying to highlight.

Clutter can be excess people, distracting light reflections, or just too much irrelevant 'stuff' in an image. Some clutter you can eliminate, some you cannot, but by changing your position relative to the object, you can often get a better result. And, sometimes, you just need to enjoy the surprising results. 

Repairs to Fort Jefferson, The Dry Tortugas, by DG Hudson

In the image above, Fort Jefferson, on the Dry Tortugas is a fort being restored after suffering the effects of many storms and age.  This image utilizing perspective shows the repaired sections of different colors and the moat surrounding part of the fort. When taking the image, I wanted to show the repair - a slow and tedious job performed by workers who stay on the island for a period of time, 70 miles away from the mainland.

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Pont Neuf, Paris, France by DG Hudson

In this image of the Pont Neuf in Paris, the buildings almost appear to be on the bridge itself rather than in the distance.  I liked the effect which is only marred by the vehicles which were on the bridge at the time.  I was focusing on the bridge construction and noticed the effect afterwards. This is one of my favorite bridges and the oldest in Paris.


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The Eiffel Tower, Paris, by DG Hudson

In the ants-eye view of the Eiffel Tower, you can see the parallel wings of the Trocadero in the distance and a distorted view from beneath the icon of Paris. I wanted to capture the effect of being underneath the structure. The blue building on the left is the entrance to the elevator tram which takes you up to the first level.


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Charlemagne Sculpture, Notre Dame Square, Paris by DG Hudson

Charlemagne and his men in the image above are joined by pigeons who also wanted to be in the photograph. Did I notice the pigeons when taking the image? Not really, I wanted to capture the sculpture in Notre Dame Square. It is a natural image, however, as pigeons hang out here to get a few crumbs from the many visitors who stop for a quick snack and short rest.

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Do you study your images when you upload them? Have you had surprises, capturing effects you weren't aware of?

Please share in the comments, and let me know you dropped by! Thanks for visiting, I'll respond.  I apologize for the lack of frequent posts, but I'm checking in when I can.

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