HANDHELD SHOTS FROM PUERTO RICO - PART 1
A Break from a Break in Photography
A visit to Puerto Rico recently gave me an opportunity to relax, enough to take out the camera and break my 'photography fast'. As I've shared previously, I'm not interested in forcing photography, it'll happen naturally (or it won't!). That said, I have to admit that it felt really nice to be out there, camera at hand, seeing the landscape "that way"... By which I mean: calmly, observing intently, looking for things that speak to me. I came back with twelve images that I plan on sharing. They were all captured without tripod or detailed planning, and yet I am quite happy with the results. I've grouped them into categories for sharing, starting with these three images of the beach shoreline.
"Shadows on the Shore" (above) was captured while walking the beach in the morning. There was nothing spectacular about the light, but there was the spectacularly calming feeling that comes along with most ocean sunrises. Looking for a particular subject to highlight, it would have been easy to conclude that "there is nothing to shoot"... But I kept my eyes open and, just like that, this composition presented itself. You are seeing the shadows of two palm trees, cast very long by the rising sun over the shoreline. I stood there for a while, framing images as the water danced around, until I captured this soft and clear line of water nicely framed between the shadows. This is such a simple image, and yet an immediate personal favorite.
The two images below, "Breaking Waves 1" and "Breaking Waves 2", were captured while strolling outside the walls of Old San Juan. It was a high sun and there was no cloud cover, but the hard shadows that the water was casting on the sand, as the waves broke, caught my attention. I happened to be walking around with my telephoto lens (as I often do now when bringing just one lens on a hike or walk), so I was ready to zoom in and play with compositions. I like how the top image captures a glow of light through the water. The second image is really all about that shadow!
So, I am very happy to finally have a few images to share. It's been nice to not force myself to do photography, but doing a little bit of it reminded me how much I enjoy doing it, and how soothing it can be when there is no pressure (especially the self-imposed kind) and there are no deadlines. I look forward to sharing the rest of my Puerto Rico images soon(ish)!
Technical Details
These aren't really very "technical" images, so I won't go into the specifics of each... However, I'll share that they were all shot at higher ISOs, between 400 and 640, to assist me in shooting handheld and stopping the motion. I also used a polarizer (which cuts off some light), as I usually do when shooting in bright sun.
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