Willie Reid

I ran across this photo of Willie Reid from 2004. I have always liked this image. Reid, a Warner Robins High
football star, had broken his leg at Florida State and was working to return to football. He was working
out at McConnell-Talbert Stadium.

I had shot a good bit, and had nothing I really liked. I got down on the ground and shot this as he came out of the blocks. I used fill flash because he was shot against the sky. You can see the intensity in his face, the sweat on his brow, and the tension in his muscles. There is just a tiny bit of blur in his hands that ads to the moment.

The football goalpost in the background ads the final touch. That was a bonus, cause I didn't realize I had it in the picture until I saw the image on the monitor.

I shot a field of Zinnias Tuesday. I amazes me the different photos you can get from things that are all
alike. Even though they are all the same, each is different. Just like people.

You can change your field of view by moving or changing your lens. You can change the perspective
by simple kneeling or moving to a new spot. So much you can do, and should with almost every
photo you shoot. Find that view of a zinnia that no one has ever seen before.

This first photo was shot with a wide angle from down low, almost on the ground. There is a lot
of sky, so you have to compensate for the backlight. Well, it is really sky light, but it is behind the main
subject. Tried to hold some detail in the sky so a shot this a little dark and compensated in Photoshop.
Like the way the leaves photographed, the detail.


The middle shot is with a long lens, my old 500 Mirror lens. Totally isolated against a dark background,
alone in the frame. Realy striking image.



The last one is shot with the 500 as well. The foggy, dreamy look is achieved by making use of the lens
lack of depth of field. It pretty much has none, so anything behind and in front of the immediate point of
focus is blurred.

Really pretty simple but subtle changes.