Old Storage Structure in the Fog

On my way home I saw this just sitting in a lot off the side of the road. Inside was pretty barren save for some overgrowth, but the outside visual was really eye-catching against the fog.

Bridge in the Fog

I wanted to try to make this a high contrast b&w picture using my Red25 filter, but the lens fogged up a bit on this already foggy day, so I rolled with it and I got this instead.

The gray overcast here really gives it an eerie feeling, and honestly I like how this turned out a lot more than the initial idea I had in my head lol

Frozen Reservoir

The reservoir's surface still had a sheet of ice over it, which made for some striking contrast.

Even in color, it's pretty neat to see.

The bridge crossing over the frozen water also made for a mildly interesting subject.

Prettyboy Dam

 Went to a dam today, I wanted to go down a trail to the front of the damn and get a picture of the dam head-on, but the trail was still a bit icy in places and slick with mud in others and I didn't feel safe, but so I had to settle on just these.

I don't think this picture is that interesting, but it does give me a bit of vertigo so I'm sharing it anyway.

This graffiti really made me laugh. Same little monster cyclops thing, same.

A high contrast black and white photo of the dam. I tried to orient the framing to draw the eye towards the human aspect of it, rather than it being just a big thing made by humans if that makes sense. The idea was to contrast the next photo.

In the previous photo I wanted to highlight the human aspect to ground the dam and center it around the tourist aspect. For this photo I tried to show through a photo how enormous the dam is. I know it's obviously big, but making a big thing FEEL big was what I was trying to do here.

Turkey Vultures

While I was out I drove past this old dilapidated barn, I didn't see any "No Trespassing" signs so I let myself in (had to squeeze through that crack in the doors you see there) and was greeted by a handful of pretty chill turkey vultures.

I was fortunate that the turkey vultures chose to stick around instead of fucking off when I invaded their space. Got two of my favorite shots of the day because of that.

Old Graves

Went to a cemetery today. The newest headstone I saw was mid 1900s, between that and how surprised the person in the church was when I asked if I could walk around I'm guessing they don't get many visitors.

Also yes, I did get permission to take a few pictures after they said it was okay to walk around. 

Two sisters, Mary (34) and Rebecca (18) laid to rest next to each other in the mid-to-late 1800s.

I don't have anything to say, I just thought it was both tragic and sweet. Especially since Mary was only about 10 when Rebecca died. 

I can't imagine what their parents must have gone through ...

This one just made me sad. No clue how the headstone could have broken, but it didn't look fresh.

The piece with the years of his life/ his age at death was face down and a bit overgrown, and I was worried about breaking it more trying to pry it up. The name "Henry King" is all I know. 

Rest in peace Henry King, whoever you were.

Bougainvillea

 Just a shot of some bougainvillea, playing with depth of field.

Goose on the Water

Forgot to post this one yesterday. Same all encompassing fog. To me, this shows it's quiet, but not dead. The odd bird gently swimming across the void of fog makes me smile.

Squirrel

Hey check out this neat squirrel I saw.

Stillness on the Dock

 
This is probably the most striking photo I took today with the fog. What struck me was between the fog blurring out how much I can see, and what I could see being pretty calm, there was an ethereal stillness. Something equally real as it was ephemeral. 

It's hard to describe, but standing on this dock was like standing on the edge of nothing, but still able to hear everything - the birds, the wind, some traffic in the distance. But that's the thing, it was all distant here. 

After taking this photo I just sat on the bench looking out at the fog that swallowed the sea and sky for a few minutes, it was one of the most tranquil moments I've had to myself in what feels like a long time. That stillness is nice, I forget that sometimes.

Seagull on the Beach

 

Got a few shots of this little guy, but this one playing with the angle of the shoreline was my favorite.

I think what I really want is to explore negative spaces in my compositions. I should get on that.

Dilapidated Dock

 

They had a perfectly usable dock just to the side, but I find it fascinating they chose to just leave this Dock up. Maybe it wasn't worth the trouble, but if that's the case I can't help but think how frequently it must have been used before it became not even worth the trouble to take down. 

And now here it sits, unused amid a backdrop of pale nothingness, just waiting for the day it wears enough to fall into the water entirely.

Foggy Horizon

 

Went down to the waterfront to try and take a few photos of the horizon, fully expecting the fog to clear by the time I got there, but it didn't and I'm glad for it. 

It was honestly surreal being on the waterfront with a heavy fog. I was only able to differentiate where the sea became the sky when a big tug boat moving gravel crossed in the distance.

Man Going On His Way

I obviously don't know this man, but everything about him feels very familiar to me. Maybe I just appreciate the comfy fit & crocs, or maybe it's the head tilted vaguely downward as he's just trying to get where he's going...

I'm note sure, but I wish him well.

A Small Test of Lighting

 Some more B&W photography from that same outing. This is the same set of stairs, but I liked getting different vibes just from the framing and the use of lighting. The first photo looks warm and inviting to me, while the second one feels like I'm about to look up and see a maniac in a hockey mask at the top of the steps.

Mountain Laurel (feat. a bee)

I was taking a few photos of Mountain Laurel as part of dipping my toes into high contrast b&w photography when a little bee flew up.

Welcome!

About me and This Blog:

I’m a hobby photographer, and I mostly use photography as an excuse to get outside and be more active, hence the title of this blog: Exposure Therapy. It’s a pun!

I love the artistry of photography, even though I understand it barely half as well as I'd like to. I want to explore all kinds of photography: landscape, natural, street, whatever! I’m just excited to be creative in this space.

I love the artistry of photography, though understand it very little, and want to explore all kinds of photography, from landscape photography to street photography. I'm just excited to be creative.

I’m learning as I go, reading books and studying the work of established masters. I intend to use this blog first and foremost as a way to build a formal collection of the photos I’m most proud of, and maybe somewhere along the way someone else will start to care about the photos I take; or maybe not. I don’t really mind either way, but if you’ve found this little blog and you happen to enjoy anything I’ve done here, I am glad for it.

High Contrast B&W Trail

This was my first real attempt trying to do a black & white photo on purpose. I know it's kinda basic or whatever but I really like the symmetry of it, which is aided by the angle the light from the sun is coming in.

What I like about this is how much it just feels familiar to me, as someone who spent a lot of time as a kid wandering in around in the woods near my house, even if this was the first and only time I went to this particular spot, it feels so inviting yet distant- much like my days wandering around in the woods. 

It's also a little bit foreboding, but I like a bit of danger.

Setting Sun over Nature

Took some time to find a good spot while racing the losing light, but snagged this picture at my local estuary. I kept going back and forth for what to keep in focus, ended up wanting to keep the plants in front of me and let the tree line get absorbed in the blackness because I thought it felt more grounded, so to speak.

Blue-bellied Roller

Cheating a little bit, but took this at a zoo. It's a Blue-bellied Roller, the learning plaque said it's a very social African bird- I'm no bird scientist so I'll take their word for it, but I do know that it's a very beautiful creature.

Simple Beauty

I took this picture with my phone because I didn't have my camera on me at the time, but I just really loved how the green foliage enveloped the rider in the lift to the point of nearly choking out the blue sky. 

I have to do a study in color at some point.

Isolation

 Something about standstill traffic makes me sad. We're all so close, all going through the same annoying thing, but still isolated in our own respective bubbles. I mean I get it, and I have no solution. It just is one of the more quietly colder things about modern life.

Sunset over Jamaica

 I don't have anything to say here, this was just beautiful and I wanted to share.

Sailboat at Sunset

 I've always thought that if things happened differently I would have loved spending my days at sea like this. But I'm far too ensnared by technology for that kind of life.

Sunny Day in the Panama Canal

 

My favorite thing about this picture is how clearly you can see the blueshift in the distance.