Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS lens, 1/125 sec at f/5.0, ISO 100

This is a photograph I created at an iStock event over the summer, and just have finally been able to edit this month while catching up on my back-log of images to process for my portfolio. And, now that I’m mostly caught up I’ll be adding as many photos that I can possibly create to my “images to edit” queue … starting this week! The flow of images to edit never ends … but I think if it did then I would be bored to death and find a new way to make myself busy (a.k.a. run out and find something new to photograph).

I am SOOOO excited this week because November is the start of my “month of amazing travel adventures”, and I’ll be heading off to Vietnam on Friday. I’m traveling from Ho Chi Minh City up to Hanoi in a span of three weeks … and get back Thanksgiving weekend. I planned this trip several months ago, and can’t believe that it’s finally time to fly out. I’m currently in the process of starting to pack and trying to figure out what to bring … and what to sacrifice … so that I’m traveling as light as possible.

If you want to follow along on my adventures I’ll be updating my Google+ page as frequently as possible (depending on how much Internet I have access to throughout the trip). I’ll probably post some updates here on my blog, too, but most of the time I’m posting the “too short for a full blog post but still worth mentioning online” stuff over on my G+ page. Plus, other than the fact that I just want to explore a new country, the entire purpose of my trip is photography so I should have lots to share. :)

Last week I was hanging out in Berkeley, California filming an introductory photography video with Peachpit, and I photographed these sailboats at the Berkeley Marina to show an example of the difference between golden hour light and harsh, mid-day sun. In this example I photographed the boats at sunrise (7:30 AM) and the middle of the day when the sun was pretty high (1:30 PM).

For the sunrise photo (on the left) I got some really great images before the sun was peeking over the horizon, but the best photo (in my opinion) was when the sun was just barely in the sky and back-lit the masts of the boats. Overall the light is really soft and has a lot more subtle color. I also love how glassy the water is … the light reflected off it beautifully.

For the mid-day sun photo (on the right) you can see that the image is much brighter, but the light is jus really flat and the water doesn’t look as pretty. The image isn’t bad, but there’s nothing really very special about it. It’s the light in the first image that really “makes” the photo.

I have to say, this was really fun to do. It’s great seeing the contrasts between the light and scenery at different times of day. If you’re planning to do some landscape or outdoors photography in the near future, try this out for yourself. Photograph one image in the mid-day sun, and then re-photograph the same scene (composed as closely as possible to the first) at sunrise or sunset, or whenever the light is at its best. And then, when you do, link to it here so I can take a look!

Faxon Moulder is kind enough to donate an 8×12 Backlit Box for a giveaway over on Google+! All of the rules are listed on the post HERE.

You’ll need a G+ account in order to enter … here’s a link to sign up for a Google+ account if you still need one: https://plus.google.com

Good luck!

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 50mm f/1.4, 1/125 sec at f/4.0, ISO 800 (both images)

This is the view from the window of my condo. I have an entire wall that is almost completely covered with windows (minus a few feet of drywall at the bottom) so it was pretty easy to spot the gorgeous golden clouds as the sun was rising. I had my camera nearby so I grabbed a few photos, then put my camera down and made coffee.

When I peeked outside five minutes later and noticed that all the color in the clouds was gone. It took only five minutes for the gorgeous, beautiful light to be replaced by boring normal-ness. If you’ve ever photographed landscapes or portraits outdoors you already understand that there is literally just a few minutes of this type of gorgeous light in any given day, the kind of light that glows orange and red and is so soft you would stand in it for hours if you could.

And don’t you just love all of the parallels with light & photography … and life? I titled this “cleverly” to mimic the phrase “life is short” because, well, it is. Why not rush outside with your camera when you see something beautiful to hold on to it for as long as you can? Why not get up at 4:00 am to head out to a gorgeous mountain and capture the sun as it rises?

We should do things every day that are filled with meaning, spend time with people we love and do things just because they feel good … because life is short. We should want to hold on to them as long as possible, really live for each moment … and not pass up on opportunities because we were too lazy, tired or scared. We should take more risks, find balance and be adventurous … the great moments in life pass by as quickly as the golden light of the morning sun, so don’t let them pass by without your camera (… or your heart … but they are kinda one in the same if you ask me). :)