Lines and Cow

Drive just a few miles outside of Kissimmee and the sea of hotels, gift shops, questionable restaurants and theme park-related tourist traps disappear. These obstructions give way to Central Florida’s natural beauty, cypress swamps and pastures. This is by far the Florida I prefer. It is the Florida that surrounded me growing up, before “Disneyfication” completely turned the place upside down. In childhood, I often walked through the pastures and cypress swamps near our home with my friends. Those adventures revealed so many little marvels of nature; marvels that seemed to me then and still do now to be revelations of Divine planning and intent. It saddens me that my favorite childhood swamp is now a parking lot and apartment building. I suppose they live on, in a sense, having given life to the fascination I have today with observing and photographing the order from which our chaos is derived.

From a technical standpoint, today’s photo is about composition and using lines to draw and direct the viewer’s eye. I hope you like it.

“Lines and Cow”, Nikon D800, ISO 400, f/22 at 1/125 sec., 116mm
Click on the image for an enlarged view.

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Sandhill Bokeh

This Florida Sandhill crane wasn’t too concerned about the guy crouched in the bush aiming a camera at it. The time of day and the sunlight caused the red crest to glimmer and appears over-saturated in the photo. In truth, I decreased the saturation to bring in blown out detail. What I liked best about this photo was the contrast of the crane against the browns and greens of the nice bokeh backdrop (if you just met a new word, “bokeh” is the term for the fuzzy visual quality of the out of focus areas). I wish the feathers along the crane’s neck were sharper, but that’s my own fault for using a large aperture to get the bokeh effect. I intentionally left the image a bit dark, as it more closely reflects the actual setting. I might change my mind about that and brighten it up when I come back and look at it again later. The green cast under the beak is whatever it is that grows plentifully on the surface of the body of water it was eating from. I offered it a clean paper towel I had in my camera bag, but it declined, turned and walked away. Yep. It’s definitely from around here.

“Sandhill Bokeh”, Nikon D800, ISO 200, f/5.6 at 1/60 sec., 300mm
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earlharrisphotography
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Sunrise Dream

The biggest cliche in photography is sunrise and sunset.
— Catherine Opie

“Sunrise Dream” [Click the image to enlarge/reduce its size.] Nikon D300, ISO 320, f/22at 1/60 sec., 200mm
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Look No Farther

The wording on the door sign at “Images by Fisher” in Holly Hill promises that one need “look no farther” for a unique gift. As I studied and framed this scene, it was the unique grammar that caught my attention. I have often looked no further, though I don’t recall a time when I have looked no farther. So, what’s the difference and is one of these words incorrect for use in this phrase?

In my mind, I think of “farther” as implying a distance not yet traversed, while “further” seems to most often have a place already reached attached to it, as in, “I shall travel no further than this today” vs. “I plan to go farther.”

What are your thoughts, dear reader? In any case, you need “look no further” than the bottom of this post to leave your opinion and comments about this matter or today’s photo.

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“Look No Farther” [Click the image to enlarge/reduce its size.] Nikon D800, ISO 100, f/3.5 at 1/400 sec., 85 mm

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Curbed Ambition

A youthful mind is seldom totally free from ambition; to curb that is the first step to contentment, since to diminish expectation is to increase enjoyment.
         — Frances Burney

Taking advantage of the D800’s exceptional ability to handle high ISO captures, I went out to Kissimmee’s Old Town a couple of evenings ago with the goal of doing some natural light night photography. Crossing a street, I noticed an interesting contrast of light and shadow within the scene before me. I quickly dropped down on one knee and snagged this shot before the opportunity was gone. You have to take a shot when you see it; otherwise, that moment – that exact image – will be forever lost.

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“Curbed Ambition” [Click the image to enlarge/reduce its size.] Nikon D800, ISO 4000, f/4.0 at 1/60 sec., 85 mm

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Find me (and a lot of cat pics) on Instagram at @EarlHarrisPhoto, where I am posting photos captured and edited solely on my iPhone. #instagramcats #herekittykitty

A Public Bath

“Let me guess, dearie. You’re looking for a husband.”
— Foghorn Leghorn

“A Public Bath” [Click the image to enlarge/reduce its size.] Nikon D300, ISO 200, f/13 at 1/125 sec., 200 mm

 

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Street Portraiture: Faces of Kissimmee, #20

I was heading back to the car to go home when I spotted Mark sitting outside Quokka Coffee on Broadway. To be fair, it was Mark’s glasses that I noticed first; I thought the frames were really nice. I commented as I walked past him, “Cool glasses.” He replied with a big, bright smile. I got two steps further when an alarm went off in my head: “HEY! YOU MISSED A PHOTO OP! YOU MISSED A PHOTO OP! STOP!”

Heeding that alarm, I turned back and introduced myself and my “Faces of Kissimmee” project. Mark didn’t hesitate to grant me permission to take his photo. Cool glasses and a great smile, right?

“Mark B” [Click image to enlarge or reduce its size.] Nikon D300, ISO 1250, f/3.3 at 1/4000 sec., 85 mm

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Street Portraiture: Faces of Kissimmee, #19

Charles and Samantha were sitting at an outdoor table at Joanie’s Diner. Samantha was in Charles’ lap, and they were sharing what appeared to be a glass of iced tea. Samantha occasionally lapped her portion from the bottom of a small take-out container that served as a bowl. It was obvious these two loved each other very much, and seeing them interact put a smile on my face. I couldn’t help myself; I had to interrupt them and ask for a photo. I was quite happy when they both agreed.

“Charles and Samantha” [Click image to enlarge or reduce its size.] Nikon D300, ISO 320, f/4.0 at 1/250 sec., 85 mm

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Street Portraiture: Faces of Kissimmee, #5

“A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.”
– William Arthur Ward

Had the above quote been mine, it would read, “A warm smile and/or a great cup of coffee is the universal language of kindness.” Shaina (pron. “shy-ana”) delivered both of these. Her smile seemed to light up the darkened room, and I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to capture it through the lens. When I asked to take her photo, she was a little hesitant at first – as though a perfect stranger asking to take her photo isn’t something that happens to her every day. I find that hard to believe.

Shiana [Click image to toggle size.] Nikon D300, ISO 1600, f/1.8 at 1/125 sec., 85 mm

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Cycle of Tides (Free Wallpaper!)

“To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist moving over a great salt marsh, to watch the flight of shore birds that have swept up and down the surf lines of the continents for untold thousands of years, to see the running of the old eels and the young shad to the sea, is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be.”
– Rachel Carson

[Click image to view larger size] Nikon D300, ISO 320, f/9.5 at 1/60 sec., 200mm
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