Devious Journal Entry - Maine Sunset

[feren]

Maine Sunset by *panfah on deviantART

This was taken from the porch of roho's parents' house, the evening he got married to genet. This was taken right after a storm blew through and rained out the reception.

Commentary on the picture:
Another photograph from the depths of my archives, circa September 2006 -- a year or so before I bought my beloved dSLR. This was taken using my girlfriend's (lady_curmudgeon) point-and-shoot camera, a Canon PowerShot A300. The camera only has 3.2 megapixels, yet this sunset view of the bay is probably one of my favorite pictures of all time.

I use this picture to humbly remind myself that it's not the megapixels that count, it's how you use them.

Make: Canon
Model: Canon PowerShot A300
Shutter Speed: 1/8 second
F Number: F/3.6
Focal Length: 5 mm
Date Picture Taken: Sep 9, 2006, 5:54:06 AM [THE TIME IS A LIE]

Comments

[asetwoman.livejournal.com]

It's a beautiful shot, but it's also begging for a despair.com style caption.

[feren.livejournal.com]

If you can do it (clever caption + get it on the image, since I completely fail at understanding how to make it look authentic) then I'm game for posting it.

[asetwoman.livejournal.com]

Hm, it might need to be 'shopped to include someone doing something stupid, but let me see what I can come up with.

As for authentic, since it's despair.com style, it mostly just has to be a caption underneath. And the right font.

Or maybe it's already sort of been done.

[midwestcougar.livejournal.com]

Huh. I took something similar in 2001 in Deep Portage, MN on a school trip.

http://tinyurl.com/3tqu62

PS- Quality sucks, I know... it was taken with a disposable camera.

[feren.livejournal.com]

Actually I think the quality is quite fine. I like the balance the treeline provides between the upper half and the lower half, even with the treeline reflecting in the lake. The darks of the water? Very dark, which I think is awesome because it gives a sense of being serene and brooding at the same time. It could be a still from a thriller/mystery movie!

Not everything has to be bright colours, I like pictures that are powerful without being all over the color pallete just as much. :)

[asetwoman.livejournal.com]

Okay. Now, don't in any way take this as commentary on your photo, which is still gorgeous.



I came up with the pollution idea, and my friend elmegil showed me the http://diy.despair.com/motivator.php URL and came up with the sulfur dioxide idea.

[wolfbrotherjoe.livejournal.com]

That is a gorgeous view. Thank you for sharing it with us.

[feren.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the kind words!

[rainingmeat.livejournal.com]

A very nice shot. It works visually because you did a great job framing the colors with the trees and capturing the subtle reflective tones on the water.

I strongly agree with your comment regarding megapixels. That ugly concept should never be part of a discussion on the aesthetic quality of a photographic composition because it's irrelevant. Aesthetically weak high-resolution photographs are never redeemed by the number of pixels they have or the optical quality of the lens that was used to shoot them--though some great photographs have been limited by these factors.

Feren, you have a good eye for photography and composition. Speaking as a person who got sidetracked over 25 years ago by worshipping camera equipment at the expense of working on visualization and the joy of capturing and composing images, you have the right idea. I am glad I was able to get myself back on track. I try to encourage people who are doing good work to develop their technique rather than contemplate the contents of their camera bags.

One final editorial comment: Avoid buying or subscribing to the large cesspool of photography magazines on the market. Most of these magazines are written for people who have equipment fetishes. Continue to do what you are doing. Take pictures, seek constructive criticism and analyze the work of others. Observe what works and what doesn't. That's it.