Point & Shoot

4th of July
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Photographing fireworks involves luck and planning. Since I am not a very good planner, it's mostly luck for me. The only planning is really in the camera settings (below):

Shutter: 30 seconds; Aperture: f/20; ISO: 160; Focal Length: 18 mm

The Vanishing Night

Weber Road
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Darkness is a thing of the past. Even on a country road in the Midwest, far from any towns or cities, the sky is lit up at night, not by stars, but by our scattered light. Farmers have yard lights, cars have headlights, billboards have floodlights. The result? The night sky that has inspired people for thousands of years is disappearing before our very eyes. Even on Weber Road.

Shutter: 30 seconds; Aperture: f/3.5; ISO: 400; Focal length: 18 mm

After the Race

State Track Meet
Photograph by Tom Atwood

There's good news and bad news about this behind-the-scenes photo at the Illinois High School Association State Track and Field Meet. The good news is I followed my journalistic instincts and snapped this dramatic, gripping shot. Or, the bad news is I followed my journalistic instincts and intruded on a teenager's moment of personal anguish. Up to you.

Shutter: 1/500; Aperture: f/5.6; ISO: 280; Focal Length (a telling stat): 200 mm

Arch, again

Arch
Photograph by Tom Atwood

I believe it is very difficult to take an original, or even interesting, photo of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Not impossible, just difficult. I have tried different angles, different locations, different times of day. This attempt came early in the morning, just after sunrise, when the Mississippi was high along the banks in East St. Louis, Illinois.

Metadata

Self Portrait, New Years Day
Photograph by Tom Atwood

I ran across this old photo this morning in an online gallery of mine. I had forgotten about it, everything except for how cold it was. So, I checked the metadata embedded in the photo file, an eternal source of information. Turns out this was taken at 11:04 p.m. on New Years Day, 2010. I'm standing on Pin Oak Road, not far from Strasen Lane near Marine, Illinois. The memorable barn behind me has since collapsed completely, and has been cleared away. I am still standing.

Shutter: 25 seconds; Aperture: f/4.5; ISO: 200; Focal Length: 18 mm

Details

Along Interstate 55
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Sometimes you find treats in unexpected places, like this spider web along a frontage road near Interstate 55 in Madison County, Illinois. From a distance, the web is unseen. But once you discover it, up close, in the details, it is magnificent.

Shutter: 1/100 sec; Aperture: f/5.6; ISO: 100; Focal Length: 55 mm

The God Tree

Moon near Marine
Photograph by Tom Atwood

My friend calls this ancient elm the "God Tree." And it does have power at its location in a thin place near Marine, Illinois. I have photographed it many times, on this night as the moon rose above the field.

Shutter: 3/5 sec; Aperture: f/5; ISO: 100; Focal Length: 75 mm

Virgin Farm

Near Emerald Mound
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Olympian Craig Virgin invited me to his parents' farm near Lebanon, Illinois one snowy day. Or did I invite myself? Either way, it was lovely.

Shutter: 1/250; Aperture: f/10; ISO: 100; Focal Length: 18 mm

Light Pollution

44 Halogen Floodlights
Photograph by Tom Atwood

I remember when the Gateway Arch wasn't lit up at night. It stood proudly as a shadow against the St. Louis skyline. Now, 44 halogen floodlights illuminate not only the Arch, but the clouds, passing airplanes, and the rest of night sky, which is increasingly obscured by scattered light.

Shutter: 13 secs; Aperture: f/13; ISO: 100; Focal Length: 18 mm

Ten Seconds

Ten Seconds
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Here's the secret(s) to photographing fireworks: 1) use a tripod 2) use a high aperture, at least f/14, preferably f/18 3) try exposures of between 8 and 25 seconds and 4) make sure you have something interesting, like an arch, below the fireworks. No charge. These tips are on the house. Details for this photo, taken on the 4th of July in East St. Louis:

Shutter: 10 secs; Aperture: f/14; Focal Length: 18 mm; ISO: 100

The Cold Hour

The Blue Hour
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Some photographers call this the "blue hour." I call it the cold hour. I don't remember the temperature when this particular photo was taken. I just recall my fingers were so numb I had trouble adjusting the settings on the camera. The time was 5:56 a.m. The location - a thin place between earth and sky along Strasen Lane near Marine, Illinois.

Shutter: 38 secs; Aperture: f/5.6; Focal Length: 27 mm; ISO: 200