Worth a Second Look - 8

Yesterday's photo reminded me of another photo I posted a year earlier, in 2010, entitled "Curiosity". This photo was taken at the Harbour Ferry stop in the Inner Harbour. The two boys were excitedly peering at the anemones and other undersea plants/animals that grow on the underwater parts of the dock while their parents were sitting placidly on the bench behind them. Here is the caption I attached to the photo at the time:

Though we never really lose our curiosity completely it does seem to be one of those characteristics that fades as we mature. I suspect it has to do with the growth of confidence and decisiveness. You can't act with confidence unless you feel sure that you have a firm grip on the nature of reality. There is no place for wonder in such a state of mind. Yet curiosity is what enables us to explore the world, meet new people and learn new things, a process that should never end.

Worth a Second Look 7

Here's another of my favorite photos, from August 2011. I think my original remarks on this photo are still the best caption:

As adults we often forget that "play" can be deeply serious and satisfying. It's not only running and jumping and giggling, important though those are. Play may involve deep concentration that is a kind of practice for the most important work we will do later in our lives. One of the most fascinating aspects of beach-watching is to see how often this environment induces this profound level of contemplation and purposeful activity in children.

Worth a Second Look 6

Here's a couple of photos from the summer 2011 when, in case you haven't noticed, I discovered HDR processing and, like many of its early practitioners, pushed it to the max. I still like these photos (the top one actually won a prize in a local photo contest) but I'm happy that I now have learned to use HDR with a little more restraint. The top photo is of a friend's vintage restored truck and the photo below was taken on a trip to the beautiful nearby city of Seattle, Washington, in the USA.

Worth a Second Look 5

This from Victoria's Victoria Day Parade in 2011. I photograph this parade every year and of all the dozens (or hundreds) of photos I've taken of the parade this is my favorite. I think it's pretty hard to go wrong with a bunch of bare legged teen girls leaping with such energy, but the black-suited marchers in front of them make a nice contrast and the low angle in this photo also contributes to the sensation of bursting upwards into the blue spring sky. I've tried a crop that cuts out a lot of the right side of this photo but I ended up not cropping it since I like the way the relatively empty space on the right makes the photo feel less crowded. Those little girls sitting on the pavement are also sharing this low point of view so I like to have them there too.

Worth a Second Look - 4

I've taken many photos of these huge floating hotels while they are moored at Ogden Point or entering or leaving the harbor but I think this is my favorite. I took it in May 2011. There was lots of snow on the Olympic Peninsula mountains that year. I like the contrast between the bright mountains in the background and the dark rocks of Work Point in the foreground and the way these two features frame the huge ship.

Worth a Second Look 3

I took this photo in April 2016. Droplets on a spiderweb have been photographed by many photographers before me but what I think makes this photo worth a second look are the several ways the delicate web contrasts with the muscular cables.

Worth a Second Look 3

I posted the photo above back in February of this year but the original (below) is from June 2015. I liked the original enough to post it. It's got a nice lines that run across the photo and up and down that make a dynamic opposition to the diagonal line of the skater's body. But after I had thought about it for awhile I realized that the color in the photo was distracting from those dynamic lines. I tried a few monochrome versions before I arrived at the above. As well as the composition I like how it exemplifies the kind of natural grace many kids have. This boy's stance, his one legged balance, couldn't be more perfect if he'd been trained in classical ballet.

Worth a Second Look 2

Here's a photo I don't think I've posted on this blog though it's been on my wall for a couple of years. It's a street scene taken on Douglas Street in downtown Victoria in 2014. I think if you look closely you'll soon see why I like this photo.

Worth a Second Look

Posting a daily photo blog is really challenging for a photographer. It's hard to come up with a new photo every day. And I'll go so far as to say that it's impossible for even the best photographer to come up with a great photo every day. I figure I take about 3 or 4 photos every year that I am genuinely satisfied with. The remaining 400 or so that I post are adequate but generally not worth a second look. So, from time to time from now on I plan to take a second look at photos I am pleased with. I'll try to write a bit about why I think they are worth "a second look."

The above photo of a Falun Gong Drummer was taken during the Victoria Day Parade in May 2016. For me there's a lot to like in this photo. First, the drummer is having a good time. Second, I like the bright, vibrant colors. Third, it's got dynamic lines running diagonally across the photo in both directions that make you feel the movement. And finally, the subject is in sharp focus and the rest is nicely blurred. Comments are very welcome.