Now with 20% Less Meat!
I was going to do a little home improvement project and fix a rotten door frame. That turned into a whole new door, and that led to ripping out part of the kitchen floor. A little water got in and that turned into a lot of damage we could only see once we had the door out. My Dad was onsite to assist, and I am very glad he was. All in all, the whole day was shot and spent working on this.
While racking my brain for a photography idea this week, it started to storm so my problem was solved. I have been wanting to get a picture of my Boxster and some lightning for this project, and I ended up getting them both this week. I have taken lightning pictures before that I am very happy with but they are a little boring so I figured adding a car and the road signes would add some color and depth.
I drove out to the unfinished road in our neighborhood armed with the camera bag, a tripod, and an umbrella. I was keeping the gear as dry as possible while neglecting myself so my back was soaked. Earlier, Mari Ann and I washed and waxed the Lincoln and she sprayed me pretty good so I was not in the mood to be wet again but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. It’s funny, I took this shot within the first 5 minutes and spent the next 45 minutes repositioning the car and taking more pictures, sans-lightning.
While the umbrella kept the lens dry, it also nearly ruined this shot. I let it tip forward too far and you can even see it obscuring the lightning a little bit. I cropped out what I could, but that is always going to bug me whenever I see this picture. That’s the thing about creating anything. Whether it be a picture, painting, software program, or even a house remodel, the luxury of ignorance is taken away from the creator. When you have not created something, you see it for its implied function or beauty without any intimate knowledge of the process of its creation. Knowing exactly what went into something intensifies its deficiencies. This can be especially true when you try and fail to correct those deficiencies.
When I don’t know what to shoot, I usually don’t travel far. This Saturday, I went as far as my back yard. It was a clear night and not too hot. I wanted to get a nice long exposure with the house lit up and the stars bright in the sky. This was my result. There are much better examples of this type of photograph but I think I needed 2 more things. A darker sky with less light pollution as well as more distance form the house the get it closer to the same focus as the stars.
My focus was purely estimated based on how far out I figured the camera was and using that figure to dial in the manual focus. I think I was pretty close but not right on the mark. My room was lit up by the flickering of a CRT television.
I attempted to draw some light with my Zippo and a glow stick since I was taking about 20 seconds worth of light in. I was not pleased with my results but may try again.