Click here to see a larger version of this photograph.
I was walking around an area near the Yantic Falls in Norwich Connecticut a while back and took a series of incredibly uninspired photographs. You know the typical landscape scene featuring a small waterfall with trees in the background and a partly cloudy sky. The photos were the dime a dozen type. I looked at them on my camera’s LCD and was bored to tears. It made me want to give up shooting that type of photo for the rest of my life. I saw it as a monumental waste of time and a pathetic exercise on my part to capture a run of the mill landscape photo. Why the hell would I put myself through such torture?
Then I saw something and it gave me an idea. It was a whirlpool where water was swirling in a circle down a hole and washing out to the waterfall area. Then it hit. Bingo! An original idea. Time to spring into action!
I set up my tripod and framed the photo I had burned in my mind. I calculated the speed at which the water was moving would look best with a 2 second exposure. This would lend itself to not only the feeling of movement (which was very important in this context) but I also wanted to leave some texture there for added tangible effect. Something for the viewer to grab on to.
The result of my efforts that day are pictured in the above posted photo. The color. The motion. The texture. The way the light danced off the water knocked this sucker out of the park to my eyes. I was thrilled with what I captured. Had I stuck to those excruciatingly dull landscape images I would have been sunk. To think a bit differently and isolate the image here saved the day for me. Simplicity rules in photography. Composition does too.
This brings me to a recommendation that I have for you that I know you will thoroughly enjoy……for years to come. It is a web site called Daily Walks by the gifted and artistically brilliant Diane Varner. I’m not going to go into a long diatribe about why Diane is such a great artist and photographer. I’m not going to try to explain her genius. I’m simply going to give you the gift of the link to her gorgeous web site (which she also designed by the way). That gift can be received by clicking right here.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
WOW man…that whirlpool is scary looking….as a natural born swimmer, those things equate to death if you’re caught in one…you captured it so well here…and many thanks for that link…it gives inpiration to capture an “everyday” scene but with added twists…her processing skills really bring those shots to a new level.
Keith Chastain’s last blog post..Bad news?
Tom, thank you for being such an avid promoter of my work. I am VERY grateful!
I love this creative, artful image. I thought for sure that you had manipulated it in PS rather than doing it “live.” It inspires me to try more creative camera techniques.
PS: I really like this second blog of yours!
Fantastic idea and very well executed. I think it’s a must to walk around with a tripod. It really makes the difference on the quality of your images. I love the texture and tones you got on this one. Nicely done!
Ariel’s last blog post..Waiting for the rain
Excellent and tnx for sharing this
Great work!
I have indeed seen Diane’s blog and she is a really gifted artist and photographer. Your work is no exception Mr. Kaszuba. Oh yeah so I recently started a photography club at UCLA and used your most famous photo with the long-exposure and the lighthouse as the lead slide. I hope you don’t mind… as I looked around through your Flickr and saw how much of a genius you are when it comes to landscape photography as well as street photography. And fascinating post as well. Keep it up Tom!
eric kim’s last blog post..Music brings the people together
Eric,
I am flattered that you used my photo in the slide show at UCLA. Many thanks for the kind words about my images.
I strongly encourage anyone reading this right now to view Eric’s work. His mastery of B&W and Street photography is inspiring: http://www.erickimphotography.com/
Great capture of the whirlpool. Excellent technique on the shutter speed so that we get the sense of movement and motion. Nice job!
Bob Towery’s last blog post..Awesome Macro