Favorite Photographs of 2014

At the end of every year I endeavor to choose some of my favorite photographs.  They end up on this list for varying reasons and it is never very easy to narrow it down, not because I think they are so wonderful but because they are significant for one reason or another to me.  Detaching the emotion and reasoning behind the photographs makes it a but less fun. I think the oddest part of this year is that I don't have even one portrait in this mix, there wasn't even one in the running.  That has to be a first for me.  In the album, they are posted by date so you can see the progression through the year.  Living in Florida has it's pluses, especially the glorious sunsets.

For now though, I will put them in an order that has to do with my preferences.

Simplicity, color, evocative, using the elements and principles of art more specifically in their framing and the processing and appealing more fully to my artistic side are these: 

The Line is Drawn

This photograph was one of my first paintings once my supplies were back in my hands.  The painting, in oils is 15 x 36 inches.

The only photograph I converted to black and white; it is really something I only use when it adheres to the thought process and enhances the photograph and its content.

Keep it Simple

Besides the beach my "Monet Pond" was a constant source of inspiration for my photography and my art.  In the dead of Winter and the first photograph of the year remains a fascinating reminder of Winter in Florida and a cold reminder so opposite of others taken throughout the other seasons of the year.

In the Still of Winter

The sunsets on the beach have been the other source of inspiration, their color, the beauty.  Framing them so they become an inspiration to others is the most challenging.

On the Edge of a Dream

 The bayou at Eden's State Park was the inspiration here, a beautiful day of blue skies and a blue bayou.

Blue Bayou

 While at Eden's State Park it was a floral inspiration, the roses and the azaleas were beautiful!

Love's Embrace

 The sands of the beach were just as inspiring as the water and sunsets and pier.

Who Will Come and Dream With Me?

 When all the elements of the beach come together to create something wonderful you just have to make it happen!

Walking Toward the Dream

And the sunsets.  Have I mentioned the inspirational sunsets?  They are never-ending and I have many in this first cut as well as the second cut album I will share with you.  The textures, the colors, within the frame the embracing the evocative nature of that hour is nothing short of spectacular.

Texture, color, space, light, shapes and forms, values or tones, lines, balance, movement, emphasis, composition, each of the following makes me sigh when I think of one or more of these.

Sunset of Clarity

Lavender Sunset

That Inner Glow

Touching Lives

Beyond Every Dream

The next one is special because it helped inspire a visit from my youngest sister this year.  YAY!!

Purple Sands 

Drawing inspiration and awe from nature this Fall as I watched the stingray jump repeatedly out of the waters of the Gulf almost made me forget to snap the shutter it was so fascinating, especially at sunset. It made me realize that reaching beyond what is reasonably expected can bring something special your way.

Reaching Beyond Expectation

 Sometimes we feel alone but we really aren't.

You Are Not Alone

A year of photography would just never be complete without some flowers.

And the Rain Will Fall

Purple Orchids-My Birthday Bouquet

  And the Monet Pond. *sigh*  This year I hope to bring my easel and art supplies, at least more than colored pencils!

The Water Lily

Monet Pond Colored Pencil Sketch

Monet Pond Colored Pencil Sketch

Eden State Park in the Spring when the roses and azaleas are in bloom is a wonderful exploration all its own.

The Garden of Eden

 This was taken at Mexico Beach, FL and the still, alien-like, surreal feel of this is what was so appealing to me.  Feeling cold, almost frozen yet it seems like those little tufts of weeds could get up and walk away.

When Hope Seems Lost

Those are the choices which made the first cut.  The full resolution photographs can be found on my website in an album 2014 Best, the first cut here.  The second cut can be found in the album 2014 Best, the second cut here.
I hope you enjoyed the trek through last year's photograph and art adventures, this year will bring more and hopefully some gallery shows to boot!

Best of 2013 #bestof2013 #photography

Choosing the "Best of" is always so subjective and I have such a difficult time whittling down the massive amounts of photographs I take in one year to just 10 or so photographs.  Needless to say, it is a monumental task and these are my choices for this year and some of the reasoning behind having chosen them. If you'd like to just view the photographs you can find the entire album here:

Best of 2013

You will find additional photographs of portraits that I love in a second album on my website, just some extras that are always a struggle for me to add or not to my best of, even though each one has a very special meaning to me personally.  Also my pastels from this year can be found on my website, it's been a good year!

The Stairway

When my eyes caught the light in this stairwell I literally exclaimed, "look at that!" It was so inviting; the warmth of the color coupled with the light just seemed to bid a welcome, like I would want to feel when I arrived home. Unusual for me with the geometrical aspects of this photograph that it is included here, but its warmth just draws me in so fully that it had to be included.

It's all about the perspective.

Life, it's all about perspective.  Every. single. bit. of life.  Sometimes escaping to the great outdoors helps us to gain some new perspective.  When you see it like this, it is easier to keep things in perspective.  Taken on the Gulf in Panama City Beach, FL.

Alone and Feeling Blue

This photograph encompasses a mood where it is altogether quite "blue" and freeing all at once.  There is something special about walking the beach early in the morning on a crisp Fall day that allows for some thinking and individual contemplation.

Sunset at the Pier

One of my favorite photographs from the year, if there could be one is this one.  The color is just so lovely.  The small variances in color with the orange light on an otherwise drab and worn pier and the light on the incoming wave offers so much to me in what is the sheer pleasures in life.  The beauty that surrounds us and if we are willing to look, things that are drab and dark and worn become beautiful.

Walkin' on Water

I can't add anything more to this photograph than when I posted this on G+ and it ran on the back cover of VIVAcini, an online magazine: 
Have you ever felt like you have wings to fly and could walk on water?  Well, that may be pushing the idea a bit, but have you just been that happy?  that full?  that elated?  that much in love?  Perhaps life is just that full, that marvelous, that wonderful.  If not, prepare to fly, because one day you will!!

Freedom

Free as a bird flying high above the seas, into the sunset is quite the feeling of freedom and optimism about the day and life in general.  This reminded me a little of the book Jonathan Livingston Seagull. “Don’t believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding. Find out what you already know and you will see the way to fly.”
― Richard Bach, Jonathan Livingston Seagull
 

Tree Line Reflections

These next three photographs were part of an adventure in discovering Monet, trying to regain perspective and inspiration for my pastels and photography, business and life in general.  Was it successful?  Wait and see, a coming blog post is in the works.  Monet was all about the changing light and as a photographer and artist I can appreciate him more and more.  Fall comes late here in Florida, this photograph with colorful leaves was taken on December 3rd when everyone north of us were already in the throws of Winter. Reflections.  Think about things and see what you see...

Reminiscent of Monet

This was one of many photographs over the span of a year (and it continues) at a pond near where I live that I have been visiting frequently to see and watch the changing light.  It is a wonderful experience to breathe in the color and light that becomes so profound when you let it.  Our world is truly beautiful and it is important we pause to really look and enjoy the colors and the changes that make it so.  A bit like life really.

He found her waiting.

What or who are you waiting for?  I often feel like life is a waiting game, even when you are actively pursuing something your heart is leading you toward. Make it beautiful every step of the way, it is worth it in the end when you look back and contemplate the beauty in your life.

All I ever do is dream...

Do you dream?  Do you follow your heart? Wishes.  Dreams.  Spring.  Summer.  Fall.  Winter.  Oh what dreams may come.  Who?  What?  Where?  When?  Oh what dreams may come. Desire.  Hope.  Oh what dreams may come.
What are you doing to make them come true?  Because all I ever do is dream...

String of Pearls

Are you caught in more illusions or more reality?  Are you a dreamer or are you a realist?  Have you found the string of pearls to follow or is that just some illusive entity or fiction for you?  Is your dream for the future real?  Are you following it?  Is it some elusive and futile vision?  Does it have the means to be a pearl, precious and worthy?  What are you chasing?  Is it a string of pearls or is it just an illusion?

Survival's Simplicity

Have you ever thought about the analogies we can draw from a dandelion?  It is always bright and cheery, despite its almost always fatal fate.  Its bright and yellow and looks to the sun, the bees scurry about gathering its nectar and it dresses so well.  Some people think it is irritating, those pesky little yellow weeds, but nothing seems to keep them down, they always manage to rise again despite all the odds.  Then when the time is right they change their dress and become delightful wispy wishes alight on the wind carried into a world of dreams for them to scatter and plant themselves and to grow again.  They have learned to survive, even in the most trying of experiences.  I think I can learn a lot from a dandelion.

Pretty in Pink

What girl doesn't like pink?  --especially little girls?  Like a princess adorned for a ball, these tiny white flowers become the belle of the ball with their bright pink dresses.  Butterflies and bees all flock to greet her and court her.  Her dance card is full and she beams with beauty and grace and a welcoming smile.  Summer dances are the best!

Spring Understated

Spring in muted tones.  Sometimes new things don't come boldly, but subtly.  And we have to watch and keep alert to what surrounds us or we may miss the very thing that will bring relief from difficult or dark days.   Sometimes the subtle things are easy to pass, to ignore, to dismiss.  Or they are right under our noses, so close we don't notice.  Take a moment and smile at the subtle wonder that surrounds you today.

The Golden Days

 As I get older, the days, the years, seem more golden and precious, just like the leaves on trees as Fall approaches.  Colorful, beautiful, wonderful and necessary. I watch my children form their future and their lives, their struggles and their triumphs.  I watch my grandchildren in delight and realize how special it is to have them near and surrounding me. I enjoy giving them the love and joy that simply comes because they are, and they are special to me.  I sit back and watch the simple joys of childhood make way to the responsibilities of adulthood and merge as the years combine with age.  I think it was meant to be this way and why they are often called the "golden years."  Enjoy every. single. day.

So there you have it!  If you stuck through all my rantings, you deserve applause!  

As always keep up to date with new photographs by following me on FaceBook and GooglePlus and my website, Dru Stefan Stone.

Photographing Smoke for the first time. #photog #technics

Life- It's not all smoke and mirrors

So, it was night.  Dark and foreboding.  I have never attempted photographing smoke, strictly as smoke, but I did believe it would be best if I photographed it in the dark and used a light source to highlight it to bring out the variances found in the transparency and drift that is produced.   Because of the low light I also knew that I would need my tripod, and to use a timer or a remote shutter to help reduce camera shake.  So I gathered everything that I needed:

One regular flashlight , two of the energizer light on demand sticks (I can’t find the exact type of light this is but it is a very white light-I’m thinking it is halogen,)  one votive candle, one long wooden match stick, my Canon 5D Mark II and my 100mm f/2.8 macro lens on my tripod.    I cleared the table and set it against a plain wall so there was no background noise.

It Must Be Angel's Wings

I put my camera on my tripod and on either side of the votive candle I put one of the light sticks and kept the third light in my hand lower than the table and pointing upward toward the ceiling /smoke.  “Was this going to work?” I wondered.  It was time to light the candle and I tried to focus; this part was not very easy actually.   The smoke moves so fast and is so transparent.  So I tried to focus midway to my set- up to keep the smoke in focus.  I concentrated on the wick first in manual focus and it seemed to work fairly well, although my smoke source was the wooden match, not the candle.  The aperture chosen by the camera was 2.8, which is always fine by me, so I stayed with shutter priority and a 0.5-.6 second shutter seemed to work the best to catch the smoke with all its twists and turns before it dissipated.  I set my camera to the 10 second timer and did bracketing exposure of -1/3 to +1/3 (on the timer it allowed for three quick shots making catching the smoke in three different forms much easier.)  

Petals of Smoke

The candle was lit, bringing in a quiet light; flashlights in position and turned on and I touched the long wooden match to the fire to get it burning, then dropped it lower than the candle so the candlelight would also be a light source.  I would press the shutter then point the third light upward,  and with practice blew out the flame of the match at just the right moment for the shutter to click and catch the smoke.   This took practice and I missed as often as I hit it just right at the beginning, it got better the more I practiced. Shooting straight on to the rising column of smoke also proved to be the best way to catch the smoke, although I did try to shoot it upward from below and it wasn’t very successful.  You can begin to swirl the match or do other things with it to produce various effects with the smoke.  It became great fun when it all came together and started to work. 

 

I found pre-planning this shoot was as important as actually shooting the smoke.  Once you understand all the things that come into play, it becomes much easier, not only for planning but for shooting.  It is worth the experience in every way and I just may find reasons to shoot it again!

As always, for me though, it is about how the photograph makes you feel.  When the colors are good, especially subtle color variances, it is even better.  So which ones touch your soul?  And how do they make you feel?

 

11 from '11

I have many photographs that mean a lot to me because of places I have been or people whom I know but the eleven photographs that I have chosen are ones that evoke something inside of me, they have stirred up emotions or feelings; they represent an up or a down or a contemplative aspect for me and represent how I interact with my world and the special meaning that is derived from interacting with it.

Foreverland

Waiting for the Wind

The Definition of Beautiful Wishes

Translucent Happiness

Simply Pink

Reaching the Dream

Sakura Delight

Revealing All But the Secret Parts

Inner Beauty

Embracing the Fall

 Just Like Magic

I am looking forward to 2012 and raise my hopes for a more prosperous and forward looking year.  I am starting my year in a new part of the country and believe it will bring new inspiration along with its challenges.  My wish for you is a happy and prosperous year filled with clear vision and blessings.