The Playful Side of Photography

The photography community has been taking itself a little too seriously lately, so I thought it might be fun to explore the more playful side of my work.

I took a vase outside to photograph it against the trees in the front yard with the morning sun shining through them. I made this image with a screw-mount 35mm f/2.8 lens, and the bokeh, the characteristics of the out-of-focus areas in this image, has a ring-like appearance that I think expresses the idea of shimmering.
I took a vase outside to photograph it against the trees in the front yard with the morning sun shining through them. I made this image with a screw-mount 35mm f/2.8 lens, and the bokeh, the characteristics of the out-of-focus areas in this image, has a ring-like appearance that I think expresses the idea of shimmering.
I then photographed the same scene with a 50mm f/1.4 lens, and, as you can see, the bokeh is softer and rounder, expressing to the viewer a different idea about how the morning light looks and feels.
I then photographed the same scene with a 50mm f/1.4 lens, and, as you can see, the bokeh is softer and rounder, expressing to the viewer a different idea about how the morning light looks and feels.

One thing us nerdish-leaning photographers do is pull out old lenses and explore their “bokeh,” which is a term used to describe the quality of the out-of-focus areas in an image. It’s not only fun, it can teach us how to use tricks and techniques like this more effectively in the future.

I love to photograph the outdoors where I live. My home is in Byng, on a nice patch of green. I love photographing my dogs. I love photographing mornings and evenings.

One thing I love to photograph that stands above these other things is the light itself. I love it when it takes on colors and and shapes and textures. I love it when light plays tricks, or shines through otherwise normal objects to make them striking or beautiful.

Photography is literally recording light, and I am reinventing my ideas about how to record light all the time. What will you do today to reinvent how you make pictures?

As my morning progressed, I had need of a toothpick. This container had just the right number of toothpicks in it that they fell into this interesting, colorful configuration.
As my morning progressed, I had need of a toothpick. This container had just the right number of toothpicks in it that they fell into this interesting, colorful configuration.