Photo Tips 1

Here are two quotes from a photo hero of mine (and many, many others) Henri Cartier-Bresson:

• Photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again.
• To take a photograph is to align the head, the eye and the heart. It's a way of life.

A simple thing that people often do not look at is what time of day they are taking a shot. If you can, try to take shots within 1 hour of sunrise or sunset (before or after).

As with life itself, the beginnings and the ends of the day are in many ways its more striking and most fleeting parts. The light is softer, warmer, more dramatic. Hence, all the subjects upon which the light shines benefit greatly in the shots that are taken. The inconvenience of being up so early, or breaking away in the late afternoon or dusk are well worth what you capture.

Location Certainly Helps

One common observation about the great cities of the world - - more often than not they are located in some notable place, or have made greatness out of that place. San Francisco. Hong Kong. NYC. Paris. London.

And Chicago.

The shoreline of Lake Michigan is one of the many mesmerizing parts of this grand metropolis. As example: Montrose Harbor, with its dreamy southern view of the skyline - literally miles of towering residential buildings marching off until they meet up with the downtown skyline. Go there on a slightly rainy, foggy evening and it will take your breath away. That is in part why I proposed to Molly at this fine location.

Here's Paul and Susie Auntie just relaxing and letting the serenity of Montrose harbor steep into their constitutions.


Pondering the Expanse...
Abe Pachikara, Copyright 2008 (click for larger image)


Buddies...
Abe Pachikara, Copyright 2008 (click for larger image)