Into the Light

Fruit Road
Photograph by Tom Atwood

It begins humbly enough as a winding exit off Old Route 66 north of Edwardsville, Illinois, but then Fruit Road cuts straight east across Madison County, miles of unbending blacktop plunging directly into the sunrise. The problem (not for Fruit Road but for me) is how to photograph it so you see both the road and the sunrise? The short answer is, not without some help. This photo was adjusted, using a processing feature called "fill light" in Lightroom 2. It fills in the details of the road, grass and houses that would normally be black, because the light of the dawn is so bright. The result above is an unnatural photograph, one that is manipulated, and yet one that more closely resembles what I actually saw yesterday morning standing in the middle of Fruit Road. Shutter: 1/3 sec; Aperture: f/13; ISO: 100; Focal length: 135 mm.

Dawn's early light

Near Marine, Illinois
Photograph by Tom Atwood

There is a moment before sunrise--my photographer friend Matt Granz calls it the "blue hour"-- when the only light you can see is at the horizon. For poor Matt, who lives in the mountainous area around San Francisco, the horizon is often obscured by those pesky, scenic hills. But here in the Midwest, in Madison County, Illinois, the horizon is able to show off during the blue hour. In all its glory.  Shutter: 17 seconds; Aperture: f/5.6; ISO: 200; Focal length: 18 mm.

Do you see an angel?

Pin Oak Road
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Thanks to an old friend of mine, Alan McIntire, who sent me a message yesterday about this photograph I took during a cloudy sunset along Pin Oak Road near Edwardsville, Illinois. "Have you ever noticed the cloud formation," Alan asked, "that is approximately one-third of the way down from the top of the picture and close to the center...sort of looks like an angel?" I have to admit, I had to look long and hard to see anything resembling an angel, but I think I do. Do you? Shutter: 1/50; Aperture: f/4.5; ISO: 200; Focal length: 28 mm. Hint: the angel I (think) I see is small...and dark.

Extreme Close ups II

 

Gateway Arch
Photograph by Tom Atwood

The most predictable--and probably the most practical--way to shoot a massive object like the St. Louis Gateway Arch is from afar. Back away and shoot wide. But on this morning I got as close to the stainless, but scratched up, steel as possible. I was interested in photographing the tiny beads of metal clinging to the seams of the monument. What are they? I don't know. And why would anyone scratch the Arch? Shutter: 1/125; Exposure: f/5.6; ISO: 110; Focal length: 40 mm.

Extreme Close ups

Taylor Hodge
Senior pictures shoot
Photograph by Tom Atwood

How close is too close? I guess that depends on whose picture you're taking. In the case of Taylor Hodge, it's almost impossible for a close up to be too close. In fact, often it is an extreme angle, or an extremely close shot like this one, that can make for the most interesting portrait.  (To be fair, though, this is not one of the shots that Taylor chose as a favorite for her senior portraits. So, maybe for her, it was too close.)  Shutter: 1/60; Aperture: f/2.5; ISO: 100; Focal length: 50 mm.

Accidents Happen

Hazel Road near Edwardsville, Illinois
Photograph by Tom Atwood

The most unusual and interesting part of this photograph is actually a mistake. During the almost nine-minute time exposure I abandoned my camera and went inside the van parked behind it along Hazel Road. It was cold (1 degree above zero) and I wanted to get warm. I turned on the engine, the tail lights came on, turning the snow bright red. I didn't realize it until I looked at the image and thought, "You ruined the picture." But the longer I looked at it, the glowing red snow, the more I realized I had not ruined it: I had accidentally made it better. Shutter: 512 seconds; Aperture: f/3.5; ISO: 100; Focal length: 18 mm.

Timing

Pin Oak Road
October 24, 2010
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Timing is everything. I heard the storm coming last night, but waited too long to go out and shoot it. By the time I got set up, the storm was on top of Pin Oak Road, and the rain began. I did get this one shot before the washout. Shutter: 20 seconds; Aperture: f/7.1; ISO: 100; Focal Length: 35 mm.

Wind

Chytia, Heather, Wind
Photographs by Tom Atwood

Shooting portraits outside you can't control the weather. You can choose the time of day (late afternoon), but even if things look good, a storm can blow up quickly anytime, like it did on this summer day in 

St. Louis. Chytia and Heather had hoped to get a picture together. They got one--just not what they were expecting. However, sometimes the wind can create interesting or unusual portraits, like the photograph below of Heather, as she faced the coming storm, one of my favorite portraits.

Shutter: 1/80; Aperture: f/2.2; ISO: 800; Focal length: 25 mm

Low Angle

Regional Cross Country Meet
Granite City, Illinois
Photograph by Tom Atwood

I was not looking through the viewfinder when this picture was taken. The camera was literally at ground level, shooting up. So to see what I was shooting I would have had to lie down on the ground. Instead, I pointed in the general direction of Garrett Sweatt and Connor Ryan and got lucky. This photo tells the story of today's regional in Granite City: Sweatt won the race individually, but O'Fallon won the meet as a team. Shutter: 1/320; Aperture: f/8; ISO: 800; Focal length: 18 mm.

Preparation

Lilly
Photograph by Tom Atwood

During photo shoots, some clients are more high maintenance than others. Lilly, a Great Dane, agreed to be part of Taylor Hodge's senior photos, but required a lot of attention. And a lot of room. But in the end (see photo below) everything worked out, and Lilly even agreed to have a profile made with Taylor. (Unlike the family's other Great Dane, Truman, who was "too excited" to even sit for a picture. Too bad. It might have been a good one!) 

Shutter: 1/1000; Aperture: f/3.2; ISO: 100; Focal length: 35 mm

Scattered Light

Gilomen Road near Marine, Illinois
Photograph by Tom Atwood

This photo is deceiving. It looks like it was taken at dawn or dusk, as if the glow at the horizon is caused by the sun. But the shot, an 8 minute time exposure, was actually taken near midnight (on a very cold night). The sky is blue partly because of the long exposure, but mainly because there was so much scattered light in the area. The light is concentrated near the horizon--street lights, farm lights, billboards, cars, etc. This ambient light, what some call "light pollution," gives the horizon its dawn-like glow. It also has caused a magnificent, natural sight that people have enjoyed for thousands of years to vanish: the starry night. Shutter: 8 minutes; Aperture: f/5; ISO: 200; Focal length: 18 mm.

Color or B & W?

The Lollars in Black & White
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Using digital photography, any color photograph can also be processed in black & white, sepia, or a thousand other finishes. How to decide? With a family like the Lollars, it's hard to go wrong. In this photo, taken in the woods during the fall, it's tempting to play up the colors. But for some reason (maybe the dark sweaters they're all wearing), black and white seems more striking, and in the image above the faces become the main focus, instead of the colorful woods. (Although I like the color photo, too.)
Shutter: 1/60; Aperture: f/2.5; ISO: 100; Focal length: 35 mm

The Lollars in Color
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Location

Noah Horsley
Photograph by Tom Atwood

I am old enough to remember when people had portraits made in a photographer's studio. Some still do. But today, the best--and most interesting--portraits are often taken outside. The world becomes a studio. But choosing exactly where to shoot portraits and when (what time of day) can make all the difference. This senior picture of Noah Horsley was taken during late afternoon in what I would describe as a funky location--a bridge over Silver Creek on Pin Oak Road. What I like about this bridge are the bright colors, and also that it is never the same. The bridge is a favorite spot for graffiti artists who repaint it almost every day (or every night). Shutter: 1/125; Aperture: f/2.2; ISO: 100; Focal length: 35 mm.

Digital Dilemma

Tree on Strasen Lane near Marine, Illinois
Photograph by Tom Atwood

For me, this photograph symbolizes the difference between film and digital photography. I found this tree in the fog at dawn on Strasen Lane. As the sun came up, the light kept changing, and I kept taking pictures. I ended up with 161 photos of the tree. For 35 years, shooting film, I never took 161 photos of anything. But now, with a digital camera, I just keep shooting. Then when I get home I have to sort through dozens of pictures that will never see the light of day, unlike this tree. Shutter: 1/800; Aperture: f/8.0; ISO: 100; Focal length: 26 mm.

Wildey

Wildey Theatre
October 17, 2010
Photograph by Tom Atwood

A photo of a historic building like the Wildey Theatre deserves a historic finish, or at least an antique finish. So, this is not exactly a "true" photo. It was manipulated with Adobe Lightroom® software that offers several antique finishes. The Wildey (in Edwardsville) is struggling to make a comeback after being closed in 1984. It was built in 1909 as an opera house. The Oddfellows also met on the 2nd floor. The photo was taken this morning at dawn. Shutter: 6 seconds; Aperture: f/22; ISO: 100; Focal length: 18 mm.

Exhibit at ArtEAST

Arch Shadows
Photograph by Tom Atwood

This photo is part of the ArtEAST exhibit in Edwardsville, Illinois this weekend. It will be shown along with other photos of mine at the Main Street Art Gallery. Some people find the picture confusing, wondering if it is Photoshopped or altered in some way? It is actually an unretouched photograph of the Gateway Arch as low clouds pass just above the top. The shadows on the clouds are caused by the 44 floodlights installed at the base of the arch to light it up at night like a Christmas tree. Shutter: 13 secs; Aperture: f/3.5; ISO: 100; Focal length: 18 mm.

Our dining room

Ellen by Candlelight
Photograph by Tom Atwood

A magician never reveals his secrets, but here's how I took this photo of my daughter Ellen in our dining room last year. First, I asked her to sit very still and look at the camera, which was mounted on a tripod and triggered using a timer. It was set for a 25-second exposure.  I had a candle in my hand, and once the exposure began, I walked around Ellen holding the candle just beneath her face. I also walked toward the painting on the wall behind her, a self-portrait of my Aunt Thelma, painted when she was a teenager in the 1920s. You can't see me, because I am moving (although you can sort of see my shadow when I paused near Aunt Thelma's painting). Ellen did a remarkable job of not only sitting motionless, but also looking directly at the lens, and not blinking or moving her eyes. She looks fairly normal, even though nothing around her is. Exposure: 25 secs; Aperture: f/6.3; ISO: 400; Focal length: 18 mm.

Star Trails

Moraine Valley
Rocky Mountain National Park
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Star trails in long exposure photographs like this one are caused by the Earth's rotation. I have found the trails begin to form after the camera's shutter has been open for more than 30 seconds. In photos of 30 seconds or less, the stars look like stars. In this photo, a one minute and 20 second shot, you can see how the stars begin to streak. At midnight, the full moon is rising behind the camera, lighting the very highest peaks of the Rockies and making the sky almost blue. The moonlight has not yet lit the valley, where one of my favorite rivers in the world, the Big Thompson, flows through it. Shutter: 80 seconds; Aperture: f/1.8; ISO: 100; Focal length: 35 mm.

Depth of Field

Alex Crews
Photograph by Tom Atwood

In most senior portraits the senior is in focus. But for this picture Alex Crews, a baseball player in O'Fallon, Missouri, agreed to let the baseball be the star. The key for me was using a fast enough film speed and shutter speed to freeze the ball so you can see the stitches. The hardest part for Alex was to simultaneously smile and toss the ball--as close to the camera lens as possible without hitting it. Shutter: 1/500; Aperture: f/4.5; ISO: 800; Focal length: 18 mm.

Bridges of Madison County

I-270 Bridge over Chain of Rocks Canal
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Ninety percent of good photography is just being there. At least, that's my theory. In this case, good photography was mainly a matter of getting out of bed in the fog on a Saturday morning to take pictures. There is nothing special about the camera, the lens, or the photographer. What is special is the fog moving along the Chain of Rocks Canal and the early morning sun shining through it. Shutter: 1/640; Aperture: f/11; ISO: 100; Focal length: 18 mm.

Incoming

Pelicans near Alton, Illinois
Photograph by Tom Atwood

I'd like to thank these American White Pelicans for lining up so nicely. Apparently they were out for some early morning maneuvers along the Mississippi River. Shutter: 1/1000; Aperture: f/5.6; ISO: 200; Focal length: 200 mm.

Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary

Near West Alton, Missouri
October 9, 2010
Photograph by Tom Atwood

This was a lucky shot on a misty morning near the Mississippi River. It was taken yesterday from the Two Pecans trail in the Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary near West Alton. I was photographing Great Egrets, using a 200 mm lens, when several deer literally wandered into the picture. The fog makes this unretouched image seem  slightly unreal. Shutter: 1/250; Aperture: f/7.1; ISO: 100; Focal length: 200mm.

Good Luck Jamie!

Jamie Alexander Brown
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Today Jamie Brown is competing in the Miss Soulard Oktoberfest Pageant in St. Louis. She asked me to take this portrait that is actually part of the competition. A portion of Jamie's overall score is determined by how photogenic judges decide she is, based on this photo. So, in a way, both of us are competing today (and Tom Atwood Media is also Jamie's sponsor). Wish us luck!

Polaris

Hazel Road
Photograph by Tom Atwood

It's always helpful to know where the North Star is when taking long exposure photographs of the sky at night. The star trails, caused by the rotation of the Earth, always circle around Polaris. So, pointing the camera toward Polaris results in the circular pattern you see in this photo. Polaris is located just above and to the right of the silo. The washed out white area near the horizon is caused by scattered light (light pollution) from the closest town, Edwardsville. This is a very long exposure, almost 10 minutes.
Shutter: 584 seconds; Aperture: f/5; ISO: 1600; Focal length: 18mm.

Old Carpenter Road

Old Carpenter Road
October 6, 2010
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Landscape photographers like to get up early. It's the best time to take pictures. The light at dawn can make even a long, flat stretch of blacktop interesting, especially when you add some patchy, dense ground fog. This picture was taken at exactly 6:09 a.m. Shutter: 1/40 sec; Aperture: f/5.6; ISO: 200; Focal length: 175mm.

Madison County Meet

Open Race, Madison County XC Meet
October 5, 2010
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Sometimes you can save a bad picture by affecting it. In this case, the photo above was over-exposed in the camera. Way too bright--so much that the faces and sky were washed out. In processing, using software known as Lightroom, I added an "edge effect" that gives the photo a kind of painted quality. It also helps correct the original photo's over-exposure. The result is an interesting, although slightly unrealistic image.
Shutter: 1/500; Aperture: f/9; ISO: 800; Focal length: 200mm.

Pelicans at Sunrise

Mississippi River at Alton, Illinois
October 4, 2010
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Every fall hundreds of American White Pelicans spend a few weeks along the Mississippi River at Alton on their annual migration south. These birds are both awkward and graceful. (Awkward walking, graceful flying.) For some reason they don't get as much publicity as bald eagles do when they arrive in winter. Not sure why. Maybe the pelicans need better marketing? Or maybe they should learn to fish while flying like eagles do; instead, the white pelicans feed while swimming. Boring! This photo was challenging because of the low light conditions. Shutter: 1/200; Aperture: f/5.6; ISO: 200; Focal length: 200mm. (The pelicans will be around until late October.)

Water tower

Water tower near Macon, Missouri
October 3, 2010
Photograph by Tom Atwood

I have what my wife thinks is a strange preoccupation with water towers. Cell phone towers, too, for that matter. The towers are visually striking but sometimes in a horrifically ugly way. Cell towers are like scars on the landscape. Some water towers I actually like, including this one in Missouri that is one of my favorites. From a distance it looks like Sputnik. Shutter: 1/100; Aperture: f/8.0; ISO: 100; Focal length: 18mm (a polarizing lens filter was also used in this photo).

ARTEast

Weber Road
Photograph by Tom Atwood

This is one of six photographs of mine that will be on display at ARTEast in Edwardsville this month. The photos will be shown at Main Street Art Gallery starting this Friday.

Tubing

Wisconsin River, 2010
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Here's the secret to a great photograph: take lots of pictures. One of them is likely to be good. (Shh! Don't tell anyone!) The photo here of my niece Kelsey and daughter Ellen is just one of hundreds I took that afternoon on the Wisconsin River. The shot is pure luck, but the odds were with me. Shutter: 1/1250; Aperture: f/8; ISO: 800; Focal length: 125mm.

Riverfront This Morning

Riverfront 10.1.10 - Photograph by Tom Atwood

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was lured to the riverfront this morning by a forecast of fog on the Mississippi River. But there was no fog, so I had to make the best of it. Usually I try to avoid anything blocking the skyline, but was struck by these giant pylons standing in the river at East St. Louis. The photo was taken at dawn. Shutter: 30 seconds; Aperture: f/16; ISO: 100; Focal length: 18mm.