Friday, July 22, 2011

Foto Friday - Changing Perspective



Frustration, after having a minor temper tantrum can go from the potential prevention of a satisfying
activity to the realization of a beautiful thing.
My frustration came from not being able to capture the detail in the close-ups I desired in the low light
of the setting sun without creating a blurry photo.
So, I diverted to my 50 mm lens which allows me to create images in low light because of its large aperture (lens opening), which also gives a narrow depth of field creating a lot of bokeh love or intentional background blur. The more wide open the lens, the more
bokeh there will be creating a dreamy and somewhat dramatic abstract photo and in some cases almost completely dissolving your subject and replacing it with colors and shapes.

My goal, especially for the first set of images is to share with you a recognizable subject in a way that you may not have viewed it before.
Something we may think of as ordinary can suddenly be seen as extraordinary just by changing our perspective.







So, you know you weren't going to get away without some interesting facts, right?
Spiders can create a variety of different silks that have different purposes and functions.
(Which is why they don't stick to their own webs)





They release their silk from spinnerets in their abdomen, and oddly enough it is actually liquid in form until it's released and it immediately takes a solid form as soon as it is exposed to air!




This happens to be an orchard spider, which is an orb weaver.












An example of how just slightly changing my position can change the affect of the image.





This one reminds me of Christmas lights. . .




With the increase of rain, I have started to see a slight increase in dragonflies but I'm sure as the mosquito
population increases so will they.





When using the 50 mm lens wide open there will usually be a sweet spot of focus as everything else blurs.





This photo made the top five for fabulous friday!






In the one below, you can see that the focus was on the dragonflies head . . .



And then in the same position, the focus was moved to its tail . . .


So what I discovered was that my frustration became an instrument in the creating of something entirely different than I had originally envisioned.
I love that I can use my camera as a tool for my
personal expression of the way I view the world - as if by chance a painting were to meet a photograph
in the middle.
And so it goes, I now have a renewed fondness for my 50 mm/f1.8 lens.

My hope is that you felt at least a little bit of the essence of what I was trying to capture
(even though insects may not be your thing)!

 I would love to hear what you see, if you change your perspective . . .
Have a great weekend everyone!

Love, Kim
XO

P.S. for more Photo Friday fun check out the hollie rogue

and here:


Give me your best shot at Better in BulkPhotoStory Friday
Hosted by Cecily and Lolli


29 comments:

SKCPhotos said...

OH my these are awesome. The spider web ones are amazing.

TesoriTrovati said...

GASP!
Those are just stunning, Miss Kim! I would love to have a whole kit of lenses that would allow me to capture things like this. I love bokeh and closeups and that spider never looked more beautiful. A true Charlotte.

Thank you so much for sharing this. I am inspired to start saving for some lenses and things to do this too!

Enjoy the day!
Erin

Ellen said...

I love your spiders, Kim! And I'm happy to see you had some creative fun with your 50mm. I love the shot that you said reminds you of Christmas lights. They kind of look like beads to me! I thought of you this past week in Missouri, as when it got dark, you could hear the buzzing of bugs and of course the flying things came out, but also, huge spiders came and got ready to catch their dinner, weaving their webs everywhere. I didn't find an easy way to get photos though. The light was just not there; it was almost dark. It was neat to watch though. You've caused me to have a new appreciation for spiders!

One Photo said...

The decision you took to experiment with your 50mm wide open for the spider shots was pure brilliance. These are amazing photos - I've never seen anything quite like them and I love them. I also like the dragonfly shots too - you make the very limited focal point work very well. Great photography.

Linda said...

Beautiful shots!! Have a great weekend!! :)

andi {the hollie rogue} said...

holy conollies! that last web pictures is magnificent! i want to frame that and i HATE spiders with all my heart~ thanks for linking up and sharing great insight into using the 50 mm with 1.8 f stop. great tips!---hey i just had a fantastic idea...do you want to guest post for photo friday sometime? if you're interested, email me!

andi

Tara said...

Wow, these are awesome. I love the experimentation and all the different persepctives. The web is so neat!

Kathryn Dyche said...

Great captures, don't you love experimenting.

Shirley said...

For those of us who can only aspire to this kind of skill, thank you. For each frustration for you in your profession, and sharing your discoveries, is a priceless nugget of talent and information for us. Thank you for such beautiful pictures. :)

Unknown said...

These are all just stunning!

Andrea said...

has accomplished some amazing photos

Diane said...

Such beautiful pictures Kim! The bokeh is simply gorgeous....especially the one you says looks like Christmas lights~it really does.... xo

urban muser said...

these photos are truly wonderful!!

Christina, Sweden said...

fantastic, the spiderwebs especially!!

thanks for your comment

Pradeepa said...

Oh my, these are amazing shots.

One said...

Wow!!! You have some very amazing photos!!! Love the bokeh, spider web, and dragonfly...

Dianne said...

Delightful photos - captured beautifully!

K Soucy said...

Wow, how beautiful! I think I have that lens and I have been ignoring it lately. Thanks for the inspiration.

Gretchen said...

The spider web shots are most amazing! Experiment on... =)

EMily said...

Very cool shots. I like how creative you made all the shots.

Kim Stevens said...

Wow! Thank you everyone - I'm just really blown away by all your wonderful comments!! : )

scrapinbabygal said...

hi. what amazing photos with such stunning quality and detail!!!

Life-n-Reflection said...

Wow,your nature macros are amazing!

Unknown said...

Gosh and wow. I love the first and the second one. They are to me so beautiful, soft colors in the bokeh and the net is just a hint. LOVEEEEE

Laughter & Love Notes Photography | Blog said...

I love the spiderweb photo that you said looked like Christmas lights! And the dragonfly! How did you ever get close enough to capture the detail on his wings like that? Every time that I try to photograph one they take off. Great job!

Jennifer said...

These are beautiful Kim! You made the top five for Fabulous Friday. Congrats!

Rena said...

Fantastic spider and web photos! You deserve to win the favorite photo contest, for sure.
Congratulations on such fine photography.

Kim Stevens said...

Thanks again to everyone!

Leslie Todd said...

Wow! Your macros are awesome. The spider and web pictures are wonderful. I love the way you experimented with the angle.

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