A Walk in the Park

     It was almost sunset when I revisited the riverside where I took pictures of ducks.  I was hoping I'd reshoot them since I wasn't really satisfied with what I got the first time.  I see no ducks, though.  Just some people strolling around.  I might as well take this opportunity.


     I set my camera on the floor with its LCD screen out and on "live view" mode.  Shot after shot, I felt uncomfortable with my position.  I didn't realize I was already lying on the floor looking through my viewfinder.  But that's because I'm starting to like the pictures I'm taking.  Figures.  I was told, "Once you get used to see through the viewfinder there's no turning back."  So true.  Strangely enough, when I was sitting up with the camera on the floor, people stop by and stare at me for a long time.  But when I was lying on the floor with the camera stuck on my face, it only took them a second to realize what I'm doing... taking pictures, of course!

The Couple
"Excuse me, please don't get mad.  I deliberately included you on the picture but I made sure your faces won't be seen."  They nodded with a smile and went on.  From experience, it's better to talk to them first, instead of ignoring them hoping they're okay with it.  If I didn't speak with them, they might have gotten angry (as they almost looked like) and asked me to delete this photo.  One that I actually liked.  Too bad they weren't holding hands.

     But there was one problem.  I've been wondering why I don't see on camera preview, what I see in person.  It felt strange as the colors don't seem to look right.  I laughed when I realized I was still wearing my sun glasses (yellow tint) while taking pictures.  No wonder it looked different.  Then it came to me!  I attached a cheap polarizer on my lens and set my sunglasses in front of it.  Not sure if I'll like the result but it's worth trying, I guess.

Silhouette and Shadow
My first shot using my sun glasses.  I was glad someone came along but I timed the shot wrong.  I wanted the sun peeking over the person's shoulder.  But these things just happen.  It's either I get it right, or miss the moment.  It's a one-time thing.

Wish Granted
The couple I shot a while back came by again, holding each other's hands.  I was glad the polarizer worked, otherwise there'd be too much glare.  I'm glad I got their back exposed a bit more.  A silhouette gets tiring when it's done too many times.

    I took a couple more pictures of the same spot until I realize I'm having another set of repetitious images.  That's a bad thing, it'll be very hard to choose from the same looking pictures, then I'll be upset wasting my precious shutter clicks.  So I walked away from the scene.  It was getting cold anyway.

     Getting my motorcycle ready, I took a last glance at the bridge behind me, and there it was.  Sunset in all its glory.  I had to rush in and take multiple shots.  Not caring much about composition and all that.  I'll deal with it later on post-process.  I had to work fast.  Sunsets don't wait.

Aaahhh!  Flash!
There was a Bryan Peterson tip about exposing the foreground by flash.  It's my first time doing it and I completely failed to execute them well.  Sunrise/sunsets are extremely time constricted.  It demands fast work so experimenting like this without proper planning is just asking for it.

Time Chaser
Sun was about gone as I take the last photo of it.  How I'd love to show off the bridge a bit more.  But I don't know any technique besides using the flash, which isn't possible.  Along with these ugly cable lines that makes the scene hard to work with.  Some things are just too complicated.

     Of course, as I uploaded my pictures to edit, a lot of them are really bad.  But to me, that's a good thing.  I know I'm still rusty.  But I get to take down more notes and see what I can do to improve (especially the sunset part).  I'm happy with some of my pictures.  But I'm happier that I know I can do better.  It's just a matter of coming back to the scene at the right time.