Thursday, March 23, 2017

Embrace The Wind

By Cathy


The day is unusually warm as I sit in my swing. The afternoon sun peeking over the tops of the trees is a little too hot for me. I’ve taken off my shoes and my bare toes skim the still cool ground as I push the swing back and forth. My swing hangs from the branch of a large oak tree, but the bare limbs provide no shade. The only thing that keeps me outside is the breeze. It brings much needed coolness as it blows in my face. I love the wind. I love the sound as it rushes through the pine trees.  I laugh at the new green leaves on my Bradford Pear as they perform a wind dance.  I enjoy watching the birds high above as they catch a wind current and glide through the air. I listen to the music created as the wind swirls through my wind chimes; the smaller chimes tinkle, while the large ones play a deeper song. That same breeze that cools me and relaxes me has also been a challenge to my photography this spring. The wind just keeps blowing and blowing and blowing!  Because of the wind, I haven’t taken many pictures of the pretty spring colors.

I realized this week that if I waited for a day with no wind, I wouldn’t take any pictures at all. Much of the early spring blooms are already gone. They didn’t last long this year due to days of rain, high winds, and frosty nights. I decided if I wanted some spring color I’d just have to embrace the wind, so my pictures are different this year. I’m calling my collection of spring pictures Spring Abstracts and ImpressionsI decided to just have fun with it, forget trying to get the perfect tack sharp image, and concentrate on shapes and colors. I went out with the idea of taking blurry pictures. Imagine that! I tried intentional camera motion where I used a slow shutter speed and gently moved the camera in a vertical motion. That picture is the one at the top of the post. Still using the slow shutter speed, I gently zoomed the lens out which created a burst effect.


Using my tripod, I set my camera on a slow shutter speed and just let the wind control the blur. This was harder than I thought. You have to find the best speed to create a pleasant blur, not a she-took-a-blurry-picture blur.


An unexpected surprise happened when I took a picture through the bottom of a clear, small drinking class that I’d placed over a flower. I'll be trying this more often, as I really like it!


Of course, spring is the perfect time for finding beautiful water reflections where blur definitely adds to the picture.


Sometimes a person has to just go with the flow and find beauty in a unique way!
I’m wishing all of you a beautiful, happy spring whether it’s tack-sharp or blurry!

“March brings breezes loud and shrill,
Stirs the dancing daffodil.”
~ Sara Coleridge (1802-1852)
“The Months,” Pretty Lessons In Verse,
For Good Children; With Some Lessons In Latin,
In Easy Rhyme, 1834


6 comments:

heyjudephotography said...

I love these Cathy! I am always practicing, and trying to perfect, intentional camera movement photos. Our own Kim Stevens has attempted to teach me, but I'm not sure I'm the greatest student! Haha. I love the look. I love Monet and other impressionists and I think that's why I'm so drawn to this style of photo. Glad you embraced the wind and just went out and shot!

Carol said...

I just love your creativity and never-give-up attitude! Go with flow! And it's beautiful!

Sarah Huizenga said...

I have never been brave enough to try these, but I love how yours turned out. Such a fun experiment.

Anonymous said...

Love your pictures Cathy. I am going through an abstract phase myself and I really like it. Our spring in New York is very complicated. Last week we had a snow storm and this week it's cold and rainy. Glad you are having fun..

terriporter said...

First of all, your descriptions made me feel like I was right there with you! What a fun way to take advantage of the wind rather than fighting against it. And look what you captured! Like Judy, I love Impressionist art and should really give some of these techniques a try!

Dotti said...

Your words paint such a lovely picture! And your abstracts/blurs are fabulous. You've inspired this gal to give it a go. It's always windy here, too, so what do I have to lose?

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