Slow Photography

" Time is but the stream I go fishing in.  I drink at it, but while I drink I see the sandy bottom  and detect how shallow it is. It's thin current slides away, but eternity remains. "  ~ Henry David Thoreau AFTER JAMESTOWN: 3 Cities, 3 Ships In Virginia, the surging Elizabeth River unites the three cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth and Chesapeake. The area is called Hampton Roads. For decades, the Elizabeth River has guided vessels and settlers in from the Atlantic. Let's go back in time. In 1607, Captain Christopher Newport his three ships into Hampton Roads to find an opening to reach the "Great Indies." He sailed his ships west, up an unknown river. Later, it was named the James River, for the king. Newport's group settled first in Jamestown. We all know what happened there. A lasting settlement along the Elizabeth River came a few years later. Back to the present. . . Norfolk and Portsmouth today are cities with immense s

"Good photography is like making love,  it's best not to go too fast,  and to have a good attitude." Jim Austin, Jimages (Saint Mary's Church, Newport Rhode Island) Photography has always been about speed. Today, speed itself seems to be confused with style. The mantra of today's commercial photography is: faster gear makes better images.  I reject this view. I believe photography and digital art should be slow and thoughtful, liberated from time pressure. Attention and intention, not speed, should define photography.  "Every photograph is a battle of form v ersus content." To expand on this Garry Winogrand quote, when we engage the form-content battle, we need time to prepare, get our mental gears ready, and then engage our spirit. This means paying attention to each part of the flow... Every Read more at: http://www.azquotes.com/author/28233-Garry_Winogrand A photograph is the illusion of a literal description of h

    GOOD NATURE Many year ago, when the people we call Paleo-Indians settled in the Great Smoky Mountains, they enjoyed its natural beauty eons before it became a national park. Although they were hunters, these folks also foraged for wild plants. They knew the area intimately.  Today, we can appreciate the visual gifts of the Smoky Mountains, just as intimately, with Slow Photography. To paraphrase Henry David Thoreau: "It's not what you look at that matters, but how slowly you see." 1. "Pollinator" : A one inch long tiger moth pollinates a flowering plant in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In the dappled shade, the bright white of the flower was luminous. With flowing rivers, green forests and endless hiking paths, the Great Smokie Mountains area is a good-natured place. Gazing at its timeless mountains, we are all reminded to revere nature's gifts. 2. "Luminous Floater" : a petal floats on a pond.  

PRETTIEST TOWN IN THE WORLD On the southwest shore of Nova Scotia, in maritime Canada, there is a town of wooden ships, red buildings, and iron men: Lunenburg. A thriving world heritage site, its tall ships and eye-catching scenery are ideal for slow photography.  Once the busiest shipbuilding town in the world, Lunenburg is “the prettiest town in Canada,” people say. We went to Lunenburg to practice a relaxed, unhurried form of travel photography. I call it Slow Photography. When we try to make interesting travel images, it helps to make images with thought, rather than to rush the process or try to "get everything in." First, find a subject that you want to explore in depth. Then, wait for good light or return to your subject in great light. Next, ask three questions to help you compose, and to find a central idea for your image.   ASK THREE QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU COMPOSE ONE:  “How can I change my approach?”

For over a century, the Bird Rock Cay Lighthouse has guided ships through shallow passages. It defies time, standing tall against blue sky and the relentless power of the sea.   Crooked Island Lighthouse rises 112 feet above Bird Rock Cay. Queen Isabella. Next to the lighthouse, we are standing on the windswept shores of the Bahamian island Columbus named after his sponsor, Isabella the Queen of Spain.     Just a quarter mile from its northwest shore stands Bird Rock Cay Lighthouse, a magnificent complex completed by the British in 1876. Rumors persist that Jimmy Buffet purchased this island after writing about it in his book, A Salty Piece of Land.   Approaching Bird Rock Cay and the lighthouse itself, the fragrance of herbs from Crooked Island fades as one gets closer to the tower complex. A fresh mixture of smells pervades the moist air; the subtle scent of rusting iron underlies the smells of kelp. Both scents are bor

VISUAL PUSHUPS Visual push-ups is a current photography buzzword, yet most of today's thinking about visual push-ups is wrong. The central idea is attention and alertness, not self satisfaction. Two vital reasons exist for daily photography practice. W e become more confident and alert to the world outside us. Beg inning pianists play with one finger, advanced players use all ten. Daily pra ctice stretches all our te ch and art photo skills: exposure, composition , etc. PRACTICE OUT OF SIGHT The idea of pleasing your self, or sharing every day something you shot, has nothing to do with visual push-ups. Shooting daily is not about making keepers. We do photography daily to stay fit, to practice like musicians do, and to make our gear second nature. Perhaps we should aspire to join those concert musicians who practice for days, months and years without sharing their art,  as they wait to share their best efforts to a spellbound audience.    "SPIDER LIG