Punk Princess

©David Sorcher 2013

I've been a little lax on posting lately, but you will probably be seeing an uptick in content soon as i am about to travel to one of my favorite photogenic places on earth. In the meantime i'll leave you with this image. I was at DJ Jazzy Jeff on Fountain Square last week. Throngs of people were having a great time reliving the 90s and dancing and jumping to the pulsing beats of the once famous Fresh Prince DJ. But this woman's stillness and composure stood out like a beacon in the crowd. Spiked, dyed, coiffed and tied, she seemed to carry the dignity of some kind of punked out princess. In all the chaos she held her center. I framed and shot. :-) 

Why am i so beautiful...?

©David Sorcher 2013

If you have ever been "fortunate" enough to be out in the countryside during a coincidence of two different cycles of cicada emergences you might answer the title question with a resounding "YOU'RE NOT!" Firstly, the sound is deafening. You have to shout to be heard three feet away. And these lumbering creatures are just the klutziest fliers around, constantly bumping into you and everything else around. But i have been fascinated with these insects since childhood and love finding the remains of their larval stage clinging to the bases of trees, empty ghost shells left behind as the transformed cicadas took wing in order to mate and die. The eerie, high-pitched whine of that mating call has always been the sound of summer to me and simultaneously the sound-track for my youthful imaginary sic-fi alien invasions. I'm sure they are an annoyance for some, especially during large emergences when they truly litter the ground with their spent bodies after fulfilling their obligatory propagating chores and dying. But that's not really a good reason to hate, now is it? I am always told how ugly they are, but i see nothing but beauty here.

©David Sorcher 2013

I have broken my own rules of photography here and my students can rightfully take me to task. I was due at the dentist in 15 minutes when i noticed this guy drying his wings after working himself out of his larval shell. I knew he would not be there when i returned so i quickly grabbed my camera and a 105mm macro and set out trying to capture him. Yes, i really needed a tripod, but i was shooting this on the fly (yes, pun intended) and really didn't have the time for all that. If i wanted the shot i would have to go hand-held. I didn't want to push the ISO too high so in this light i shot ƒ8 @ 1/60 @ ISO 800. With a macro that just doesn't provide enough depth of field. I would have liked a bit more area in focus on both of these shots. But hopefully i at least managed to capture a bit of close-up beauty for all those disbelievers who think cicadas are just the ugliest bugs in the universe....or maybe you still think that. Oh well, i tried.  :-)

Beulah

Beulah ©David Sorcher 2013

My wife reminded me yesterday that i have not posted here in over a week. It's not that i haven't been shooting, but much of the work i was doing just did not seem appropriate for this page. I'm not sure the above image is either, but in the interest of regularity i present Beulah. This classic Ford truck belongs to my friend Cannon and she was being prepped for a road trip to Lexington at the time. She's a beauty even with all her blemishes and i know Cannon really loves her. I suppose this could fit into my Apple Street series or the related, larger Northside series, but for right now it's just for this page and your enjoyment. So enjoy already! I will hopefully be back soon with some new ideas. :-)

Sunday in the Park

©David Sorcher 2013

Sometimes i just need to take up my camera and walk. My wife and i were looking for a place to hike on what had turned out to be a simply beautiful Sunday afternoon. We settled on Sharon Woods, a place i had been to for one reason or other on many occasions, but had never really fully explored.

©David Sorcher 2013

This is a simple, perhaps gimmicky device i have used here simply inverting my frame to give a different perspective on these reflections, but i like the result.

The Fishermen ©David Sorcher 2013

I couldn't help but think of my own dad and childhood memories of our times together. He never did play catch with me, but fishing was an activity we shared often enough.  

©David Sorcher 2013

One of the things i love about shooting in the woods on a sunny day is the selectivity of light fall. Beams of sunshine spotlight key portions of the frame to draw and hold attention. Light and shadow intertwine with one another in interesting, sometimes complex ways. 

©David Sorcher 2013

Dabbled sunlight, shallow focus and lovely bokeh provide the elements of beauty along the hiking path. 

©David Sorcher 2013

I'm not quite sure these are edible (though i think they are), but they are certainly photogenic. The forest canopy provided a nice soft light here allowing the bright whiteness of the fungi to still hold it's texture without obscuring the rest of scene in shadowed darkness. 

©David Sorcher 2013

Again the sun provides theatrical spot lighting as this vine creeps across this weathered stump, raising textures and creating emphasis. 

©David Sorcher 2013

I was drawn by the bold hexagram leaf formation and the deep contrast of light and shadow in this frame. 

©David Sorcher 2013

The light was so delicate and dancing on this wild grass end and the shallow depth of field forces the eye to dance along with it as it grabs hold of points of focus on the shaft. 

©David Sorcher 2013

While mostly lost in the nature of the place i did not forget or ignore that parks are set aside for people and we were far from alone as we walked along the paths of Sharon Woods. I spent a few minutes enjoying the amusement of children and birthday piñatas at one of the picnic areas along the way.  

©David Sorcher 2013

Always apt to go where i do not belong i sidled down the side of the gorge in spite of the sign advising against it to get a better perspective of this lovely, small waterfall. This is a nice spot that i think i would like to visit in various times of the year to note the changes, probably with a tripod so that i can do some nice, long exposures. 

©David Sorcher 2013

While down in the gorge i found an opportunity to capture images for this diptych, noting the leaves caught in this strange, patterned creek foam. 

©David Sorcher 2013

I'll leave you with this one of my dear wife Veronica. I always need to remember to be thankful for such a partner, as long walks in the woods (or anywhere for that matter) with a photographer can be a trying ordeal for some. Fortunately Ver shares my passion for photography and has extreme patience and a keen understanding of concepts like waiting for the light and taking extra time to shoot a particular subject in minute detail. I am convinced that photographers are best off marrying amongst themselves. She also makes a lovely model. :-) 

  

More Trains Please....

Links ©David Sorcher 2010

I really thought i was done with the triptychs from the Halifax train yard shoot, but as i browsed through the files looking for some single image edits the polyptychs just kept presenting themselves to me. I 'm not really sure why i put this day's shoot on the self for so long because i am finding a lot of fun relationships that i really like here.

Assembling polyptychs is like fitting together a jig-saw puzzle and i try to find connecting lines and color relationships that tie the images to one another beyond their common content. 

The Rusty Rail Road ©David Sorcher 2010

I was reading someone else's photo blog just recently that asked the question, "What's your favorite f-stop to shoot and i really didn't know how to answer. I like the shallow depth of field in this piece, the way it isolates the object on the rail and mystifies the background, releases just a bit in the center panel and then pulls the eye back in the last frame for another close and insular inspection. But depth of field will change in my work as i feel appropriate to the content of the piece and i think i probably use deep depth of field as much as shallow. 

Heaven and Hell? ©David Sorcher 2010

This last one might seem a slight departure from my usual approach. In reality though not much has been done to these images to create the contrast of color. This is a train car specifically designed to hold automobiles. I found a large broke piece of a brake light cover lying on the floor of the car and used it as a filter for the two outward panels. The image in the center was already leaning towards a bluish color temperature, so i took it down from the 4500K it was shot at to 3500K for a study in complimentary contrast.