It’s About Time
July 1, 2009 by Jen
Filed under Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of..., Photography
The You Capture challenge this week was “photographer’s choice” … wide open. Oh my word.
I spent a bunch of time thinking about this one night when I couldn’t sleep and then, through the miracle of RSS, I got inspired!
A couple of weeks ago, Stephen the Novel Doctor posted a writing contest and Robin tweeted that she’d been working on an entry. Writing contests interest me a lot so I went to check it out! The contest involved writing a scene where a wristwatch played a key role. Interesting.
I’ve been following the results of the contest and reading the entries – some of which are very good, by the way. [The aforementioned Robin was in the top 10! You should go check out the results and read the scenes!!]
Then, it hit me! Wristwatches = time. I don’t have enough of that particular commodity right now. It’s fleeting. My challenge this week should be about capturing time.
And so it was.
I started out complicated (which is insane given that whole lack-of-time thing I just mentioned). I planned a series of progressions over time. None of them came out as I had envisioned, but this one certainly shows that all daylight is not the same when it comes to photography.
All four pictures in this “progression” were taken at different times of the day, in natural light, and using the same camera settings. They are straight from the camera with regard to “touch up” … I only pieced them together.
8am ... 11am ... 2pm ...4pm
When complicated got, well, complicated, I decided to punt. I carried my camera around for a couple of days and took shots of things that I ran into as I raced around.
I just loved the sun and shadow on our fireplace one night this week. It was catching the light just right. Not a huge fan of the UGLY red pot sitting there, but meh.
6pm
When I took my eye from the viewfinder and looked up, I saw the moon against the blue sky. I’m a sucker for the moon against a blue sky! It’s kind of hard to believe that these two shots were taken at the same time of day by the same person standing in the same spot!
6pm
One morning on the way to work, I spent a few minutes watching them work the ground for a new tire shop (ironic, right?). The earth mover was right up by the road. I couldn’t resist. We’re quite smitten with really big earth-moving and construction equipment in our family!
8am
The earth mover got stuck while I was snapping shots. I couldn’t imagine that it would actually get stuck, but it appeared to be! [The guys on the job looked extremely pleased that I was capturing it on film. Oy, the looks!]
8am
The thing I like about this shot is that, after a little touch up, it looks like something I’d expect to see in a 1970s CAT catalog. It’s not what I intended … it’s a happy little accident!
And there it is. Time well spent?
I'll be hoppin' along now ...
I really like your time-lapse shot! Cool to see the same area throughout the day. I think I’ll try that at my house!
Saj´s last blog ..You Capture: Photographer’s Choice
Your time shot turned out great! I also love to see the moon in a blue sky, great job.
LOVE your pictures!! The first one is great…what a unique idea! And thanks for the link on the writing contests…always on the lookout for it.
Kathleen´s last blog ..Tying Up Loose Ends
I love you light experiment and the cool light angles on your fireplace (oh, OK, I just love the fireplace too).
Have a great weekend!
animators wife´s last blog ..Rainbow Market
Thanks! The fireplace is one of Husband’s “splurges” on the house/yard. A friend designed it for him and they just did a great job!!!
Have a fantastic 4th!
Great shots. That first one was fun! The moon is awesome. And my guys would LOVE those last shots.
Andrea aka Prairie Lady´s last blog ..You Capture/Photographers Choice
So would my Little Man! It’s one of the reasons I had to stop and take the pictures. They started all of this the day he and BK flew to Gram’s for a couple of weeks! He’s going to miss the whole thing! *sigh*
Great shots! I can never get the moon to show up well in my photos. I guess I’ll just keep playing till I get it right.
Vanessa … I can’t either! It’s usually this white blob floating around. Not exactly sure how I did it this time.
I’m going to try a night shot next. We’ll see how it goes!
I absolutely love the time lapse of your deck. So cool!
Thea @ I’m a Drama Mama´s last blog ..You Capture – My Choice
Thanks, Thea! I’m going to try it again on a tripod I think … this was a huge live and learn for me!
Great captures! The moon one is my favorite!
Allison´s last blog ..You Capture – Photographer’s Choice
Great captures! I love the time progression!
Great pictures, I love the time progression pictures, and the moon, and tractor. I can only imagine what those workers were thinking.
Jenna @ Newlyweds´s last blog ..Meet the Newlyweds – Mr. and Mrs. Newlywed
Jenna … they were pretty twitchy. I can’t decide if they thought I was an angry citizen or what, but I think they thought I was collecting evidence! It was kind of funny, actually!
the moon is wonderful…great captures!