Sometimes the subject of a photo can be as simple as a color.
After a week photographing California’s Pacific Coast, I ran out of time and had to head straight home to Seattle. It was back to the world of residential photography. I hit I-5, not looking forward to the relatively boring drive home. Within a few miles of getting on the freeway, I came around a bend and just had to stop.
Spring is a great time for photography with the flowers blooming and trees covered in their new green. I like this photo because it shows the transition from Winter to Spring, bringing with it a hope of new things to come. Even more so because of the beautiful side lighting. Shadows and highlights make a photograph…it’s brings out depth and defines dimension. That really relates to our residential photography, the way we light a room give the same result as the sun as low angle
There wasn’t much thought put into this image, but I still like it. At first I wasn’t all too keen on the tire tracks running up the side of the clearing, then I realized it was something that would allow the viewer to place themselves inside the photo. I think this is just one of those classic “what a great place for a picnic” shots. It’s pretty easy to imagine grabbing a bottle of wine, some snacks, and sitting down at the base of that tree to enjoy the last of the evening suns rays…of course sharing it with someone else.
Nothing too technical here; sometimes a photo just works.
Did I mention I like water?
That I like blurry things? Just like there is a time and place for tack sharp detail, there is also a time and place for blurry, moving stuff. Of all the painters throughout history, Monet is without a doubt the one that really affects me.
For me, Monet’s work can be moody or happy, colorful or not, personal or general. But what it isn’t about, is details…it’s more about shape. Let the viewer fill in the details. Sometime,s we just don’t need them. Art is about impressions.
While hiking Oregon’s Eagle Creek trail, I stopped at a wide spot to rest and dip my feet in the coolness of the creek…a reprieve from the 100+ degree Summer day. As I sat on a rock, I relaxed and allowed myself to be engulfed and mesmerized by the sound of the rushing water. Sitting there, I wondered if I could capture what I was feeling in a photo. I’ve said before that water gives movement to light and that’s what I was looking for. I wanted the water to carry the light from one detail into another, to move across elemental boundaries. So I chose an area with small rapids where the white water could introduce tones to the greens and blues reflected from the surrounding trees, canyon walls and the sky.
Honestly, I don’t remember what my shutter speed
Given the look of the blur in this image I’m thinking it was between 1/2 and 1 second. This was purely an experimental photo and I tried numerous times to get just the right blur. I wanted the look of brushstrokes on canvas in the water; something that rose above the level of a simple photograph and approached a different medium. The resulting image is all about color, shape and direction. As I look at this photo again it makes me want to seek out more opportunities to create impressionistic images.
And, one last thing: This was shot on film…no peaking at the photo on the back of the camera. I had to wait until the photo came back from the processor, requiring a deep understanding of the photography process. How does this relate to residential photography? Simple: Photographers need a intimate understanding of what makes a photo work. How it changes a pretty picture into an image that people will react to. And, getting people to react to our Realtor clients listings is big when it comes to online marketing.
If you’re a real estate agent, Realtor,or Broker, call us at (206) 459-4085. When you have a new listing coming up we’ll get your on our schedule for photography, drone photos, video, social media video, Matterport 3D, or virtual staging. We can even put you in touch with our Social Media Manager to help manage your presence across multiple platforms.
