I was supposed to be just eating dinner. But then the sun dropped low, just peaking over the tops of the buildings in downtown Burlington. The light was beautiful, warm and enchanting. I couldn’t help myself. My camera was right there and I wanted to experiment to see if I could capture the essence of how the light made me feel. Thank you to my friends for continuing to chat away and enjoy the evening with me, despite having a camera occasionally in your face.
Have you ever tried to capture an experience , taken a snapshot and then when you look at it later on your computer (the new digital world) it’s completely lackluster? Taking photographs that capture the essence of a moment takes work. It takes practice. It takes practice to learn what combination of camera settings will best capture the golden rays of the sun at sunset as you experienced them.
The feel of the light can change depending on the angle of light hitting the subject and your choice to expose for a persons face versus exposing for light in the background.
All of the photos in this post were taken with a short amount of time with similar light but you can see how they subtly change.
I’m experimenting today so that next time my photos will be a little bit better. I’m practicing today so I’m ready to capture the next great life experience, in my own life or in my clients life. I’m practicing so that next time, when I look at the photos I’ve taken on my computer, I can feel that magical spark that made me want to take the photo in the first place.
In case you are wondering who they were all looking at on the left… that would be Nate drinking a coffee and being his usual entertaining self.
For Alexis, Rachel & Eric: Here are a few more photos from the evening