Jim Brandenburg Movie

My favorite photograph out of all ninety is probably (although it is almost impossible to choose out of so many beautiful and moving photos) the shot of the wolf chasing after the ravens. I love that it is so full of energy; it is charged with a playful, vibrant spirit. This emphasis on the energy of life is elevated by the simplicity of the shapes - the ravens are fuzzy silhouettes, and the wolf is sharper but still softened. Brandenburg used a fast shutter speed to capture the motion of the wolf and ravens, and a slightly wide aperture to make the wolf the center of the focus. The wolf is also about a third from the edge of the frame.

I think he chose to limit himself to one photograph every day because it would force him to appreciate everything. When he could only choose one subject and he had twenty-four hours to find it, he had to look at everything - because what if he took the photo too soon, and then saw the perfect shot moments later? It was a reflective, almost meditative experience. It led him to be more observant and more patient, and more connected with the pace of the natural world.

Personal Critique

This is one of my favorite earlier prints - I think the contrast is just about right, and the focus isn't too sharp or too blurry. I like the way everything fades the farther away you get from the bridge. The white paint stands out very boldly, and I think the lines give it just the right shape and direction.





 This photo is certainly full of lines, but it's a little too crowded for my taste. If I were going to take it again, I'd get much closer, focus sharply on the broken tree, and use a shallow depth of field. Then I'd dodge and burn so that the log stood out clearly against the darker background.

I found this photo particularly beautiful because of the intersecting lines of the straight trees and the rays of sunshine.








These cattails are basically a collage of lines, and I think the mix of colors and the contrasting brightness makes them stand out even more.



The rows in this supermarket create interesting diagonal lines, highlighted by the repetitive shapes of the food items.




This row of turtles is a softer, more natural line, but it still creates a path that the eye is drawn to follow.



The carefree branched lines of the tree, the geometric lines of the spiderweb, and the indistinct lines in the background allow this image to radiate from its central point in a subtle way.

Personal Critique

I'm glad that the mailbox is the only element of the photograph in sharp focus, but now I wish there was a more interesting and complex background to show more blurring. I think the angle would have been better if I'd moved a bit up and to the right. Also, if I were to print it again, I'd dodge the mailbox a bit to make it less dark and uninviting to the eye.

 

I like this photograph well enough, but I feel that it lacks creativity and could use some spicing up, perhaps with a slightly different crop and a filter to add contrast. I do like the shadows of the trees falling across the road, and I would want to emphasize them even more. I was pleased with the sharp focus on all layers of the image.

Depth of Field

Shallow Depth of Field



Tabby Kitten - Estimated Aperture: F2.8 This photograph is closely focused on the kitten; the shallow depth of field is primarily due to the closeness of the camera to the subject and the wide aperture.



Monarch Butterfly - Estimated Aperture: F2.8 In this image, too, the camera was brought close the the butterfly (note how the focus is sharp on the wings, but even the flowers close by are slightly blurry).
















Kitten and Flowers - Estimated Aperture: F2.8 The camera has been brought fairly close to the kitten, and the sunflowers in the background appear to be some distance away; however, the wide aperture was necessary to remove all detail and turn them into a blur of color.

Far Depth of Field



Valley Landscape - Estimated Aperture: F8 In this photo, the entire scene is sharply focused. All of the elements are distant from the camera, and all are clear and easily separated by the viewer's eye. The smaller aperture lends greater depth to the image.



Stone Arch - Estimated Aperture: F11 Here everything from the scrub trees to the stone formation to the clouds are sharp and well defined, the result of a very small aperture.



Blue Ridge Mountains - Estimated Aperture: F11 Like the photograph before it, this shot from the Blue Ridge Mountains captures every layer in almost full detail, all the way to the horizon (the haze there seems to be more humidity than lack of focus).

Personal Critique

Blurred Motion

I like the softened gray tone of the background, and the way the grass appears more like brushstrokes than a photograph. The dog is positioned nicely to one side of the frame, adhering to the rule of thirds. I am, overall, pleased with the effect; if I were to change anything, I might dodge the dog slightly so that the white fur appeared brighter. I would also dust the negative more carefully to avoid imperfections on the print surface.

This was a difficult photograph to work with because the sun in the background caused the dog to be shadowed and almost solidly black, and the entire lower right portion of the image is darker. If I were printing this again, I would increase the contrast, decrease the exposure time during printing, crop more closely around the dog, and dodge him slightly do give him sharper quality.

Variations in Shutter Speed

Slow Shutter Speed:



1) Cheetah - The shutter speed of this photograph is fairly slow (although not as slow as it could be), allowing the movement of the cheetah's legs to be caught in a blur while the background slips by in a whirl. This artfully conveys the incredible speed at which the cheetah plunges across the field in pursuit of its prey. Note that the technique of panning was applied to keep the cheetah relatively in focus. (Estimated shutter speed: 1/30)



2) Volcano and electrical storm - A long exposure was necessary to capture the lightning in this image (which is unpredictable and not necessarily frequent). While the lightning looks fairly sharp, the sporadic trails of the embers from the volcano trace across the dark parts of the ash clouds, indicating that several seconds (if not minutes) passed while the photograph was taken. However, the cloud appears solid and sharply formed, which means that not too much time passed; otherwise, the gray ash would be smeared and blurred. (Estimated shutter speed: several seconds (bulb setting?))



3) Wildfire near the city - This photograph too was subject to a long exposure time, possibly even an hour or so long, as is evident by the trail created by the cars lights and taillights on the highway. The indistinct red-orange glow indicates the fickle nature of the flame, which does not rest in one place but leaps about in an unrestricted, undefined area. (Estimated shutter speed: bulb exposure)

Fast Shutter Speed:



1) Hummingbird - A human eye can only see a hummingbird's wings as a metallic blur; however, this image employs fast shutter speed to freeze the tiny creature in motion, outlining its wings in near perfect detail. (Estimated shutter speed: 1/500)



2) Hawk - Birds in flight are constantly making tiny adjustments to their wings, shifting their feathers, or changing position and angling, which makes it necessary to use a fast shutter speed to freeze them against the sky. This hawk appears to be poised on the brink of a dive, but its features are clear and sharp. (Estimated shutter speed: 1/1000)



3) Raptor - This bird of prey is similarly in mid-wingbeat, lifting powerfully up from the ground after grasping its catch firmly in its claws. That power is perfectly captured with the fast shutter speed, holding it in a single moment before the raptor flies off. (Estimated shutter speed: 1/1000)

Photos courtesy of National Geographic

Yosemite National Park, 1983 (Ray McSavaney)

Neighborhood Map

After the Blitz, London, early summer 1941