You often end up with deliberately blurry photos.
I had a photographic epiphany yesterday.
The Spouse and I went down to the river for a bit of a fish and it was bloody freezing. The wind coming off the water was icy and I spent most of the time hiding in the car messing about with my camera.
I was using my standard 18-200mm lens on the camera. The lens was was set to auto focus, I had zoomed the lens all the way out, whilst I was sitting in the drivers seat and focusing on the rear view mirror. I had been messing about with a series of semi obscured self portraits when I took this photo and I was immediately struck by how interesting The Spouse looked in the background of the shot.
So I took another photo through the windscreen of the car. I extended the lens all the way and focused on the floor of the car, I then reduced the zoom a bit and took the shot. When I saw this image I nearly wet myself with excitement. I love this image. It reminds me of something but I cant remember what it is.
I spent the next hour happily experimenting with how far I could reduce the zoom before the lens clicked into focus, I also accidentally took quite a few photos of the carpet on the floor of the car. I ended up with some beautiful images that I am really really pleased with.
Once I came home and saw that the images looked as good on the computer as they did in camera, I emailed the images to my daughter and Veronica as pragmatic as ever said, Mum, “if you set your lens to manual focus you can do the same thing.” I then felt a bit silly and thought, “of course I could have done it that way, why didnt I think of that.” *doh*
But whichever way I captured the images, the images have captured me.
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The last one almost has a watercolour painting feel to it. Love it. Hope The Spouse caught some fish for tea. xxx
Thanks Kakka, he was just catch and release fishing.
I love the top one, it’s got overtures (see how fancy schmancy I can sound? *snort*) of an Impressionist painting style.
el oh el
silly Kimmy… it is winter and you can see Antarctica from your house OF COURSE IT WAS COLD!
*doh* I was wondering what those pointy white things were, they must be icebergs. No wonder it is cold.
Hi Kim. Check out Clarice Beckett. Aust. painter from early-mid last century.
Thanks Glen, I will.
I love the photos. it’s so fun messing about like that, I used to do it too, before our good camera got broken. That’s exactly what I would do though, you know, find some way of achieving something only to be told by Beefy that I could have done it x way in a second. Whatever, same end result. x
Exactly Missy, exactly. Glad I am not the only one.
These are scrummy… love the 2nd and last. 🙂 X
Thanks Marylin, and how are your photos going?
I’ve not been out with my camera much lately… just not had the time! Looking forward to the boys going back to school and nursery so I can get back to it. 😉
So, there was me, reading along, absorbed in your words and those beautiful images. And then I got to the bit about the manual focus and nearly sprayed tea all over the keyboard!
I love them. The bottom one is my favourite.
Thanks Barb, Glad you saved the keyboard 🙂
Very misty … they remind me of “on the threshhold of a dream”, something from the Moody Blues in the 70’s. I don’t know why. And it’s a little like ice fishing.
Hi Janet.
‘On the threshold’ is a lovely description of your response to Kim’s images. Dunno if you’ve come across the word, ‘liminal’ before. It means, ‘On the threshold of perception’. Anything below liminal is necessarily beyond perception hence the word ‘sub-liminal’. I think Kim is playing with the liminal aspects of image making. What a hoot! Kim, I’ll now stop using your blog as a concept development class. ;-).
hehe You’re fine Glen, I value your contribution to the discussion. Janet meet Glen, Glen meet Janet.
Janet is my friend from Cape Cod, hence the reference to ice fishing.
Glen is my teacher this year, drawing, sculpture, and video editing and sound design.
Thanks for the intro, Kim. It’s been hot here, so your cold weather sounds rather refreshing. Jess is an art student this week down in Provincetown, at a summer seminar called the Art of the Book. She is thoroughly enjoying it!
Thanks, Glen. I haven’t been a student for a long while, and I still love to learn.
I love the last shot, and thanks for the inspirations! I was getting a bit bored of the usual holiday type snaps I’ve been doing this week, now I’m going to go for a walk and play with focus 🙂
You did amazing work with your camera, experimenting through windscreen of the car. I quite like the last pic…in which a man is standing treating his eyes with the spectacular view of the sea and town in front of him.
I was thinking ‘contemporary Vermeer feel – with his glasses off’ – which means I LIKE IT!