Stop the Car!

Last weekend I was driving through Pennsylvania with friends when these clouds appeared.   Knowing there was an old abandoned industrial site at the next exit, we hoped the clouds would last.  We shot this scene for about 10 minutes before the texture in the sky disappeared and the day went back to being overcast.   But not all was lost,  the weather was perfect for waterfalls and out next destination was Ricketts Glen.  

Quality

Last Saturday I got together with some friends to shoot wildflowers.  Normally we would get up early for such an event, but the weather forecast called for clouds so we figured we would be okay starting later than normal.   The only problem was moments after we starting working, the sky started clearing and the wind picked up making our efforts a bit more difficult and we soon decided to leave. 

Over the last couple of years I have given considerable thought to the concept of quality and quantity.  I have decided that I’m  happy if I get a good picture, after all, this is about my craft and such things should not be rushed or diluted by volume.   In this case I think the picture above was worth the effort.  

Happy Mother's Day!

Start Big

Usually the advice one hears when learning something new is to “start small”.  When it comes to light painting I did just the opposite.  I learned to light paint landscapes first and  then learned to light paint small scenes.   I’m sure the typical advice to start small is good advice, but in my case I don’t think it made a difference.   Light painting is a trial and error process for the most part and it just depends on your ability to visualize a scene and adapt your technique to get the direction of light and exposure you desire.