More on Ponds, Streams and Swamps
Andy Adams shared one of my photos from Ponds, Streams, and Swamps of Long Island on Flak Photo today. I was a bit hesitant to share these photos at first because this series is still so unformed. After taking most of a year off from photography, I began shooting again in the late spring of 2011 and have been working on these images off and on since then. It’s incredible how quickly time passes. Even still, I’ve only got a handful of images and every roll of film I shoot forces me to reevaluate the series as new ideas push their way in.
Tanglewood Preserve
My original goal was to complete this project within one year of starting it. Looking back, that seems completely unrealistic now, considering everything else going on in my life. Still, I feel like I have a little bit of momentum and I’m pleased with my progress, and I have some definite ideas for where I’d like to go next.
Tanglewood Preserve
Sometimes I worry about repeating myself since all of my photos are basically variations on the same theme, but I still feel like I’m making little discoveries all the time.
Ponds, Streams, and Swamps of Long Island
Here’s a peek at some images I’ve been working on over the last few months.
New Year’s Day, 2012
I have a small tradition where I go out to take pictures on the morning of New Year’s Day every year. I don’t stay up late or drink much the night before, so it’s not hard to get up before the sun rises and enjoy some time to think and take a few pictures on one of the quietest days of the year.
New Years Day, 2012, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Last year went by much too quickly for me. I threw myself headfirst into my new business, which has been going better than I ever could have expected, but I think I may have lost some perspective along the way. I definitely didn’t spend enough time on photography last year, and I’ve been out of the loop socially, too. I’m not much for resolutions, but I’d like to finish a substantial photo project in 2012, and I’d like to do a better job of keeping in touch with friends.
Instagram and iPhone tools for photographers
I don’t use Flickr anymore, but if you want to keep up with miscellaneous snapshots I post online, you can find me on Instagram by the username daltonrooney. Unfortunately you can’t sign up for the service unless you have an iPhone, but you can still search for individual users via Instagrid. I hope you like dogs.
One of the features that first interested me in Instagram were the retro filters, but I’m definitely experiencing filter fatigue at this point. Every photo on Instagram looks like every other photo on Instagram. It’s great for casual sharing (see those dog photos, above), but I don’t think it’s what I’m looking for when I’m posting more serious photographs. I recently discovered Process, a simple image editing app for iPhone which gives more control over the application of effects, and I like it a lot. Here’s a recent iPhone photo that I edited with Process before I uploaded it to Instagram:
This doesn’t look too far off from the process I use in Lightroom and Photoshop for my “real” photos.
Speaking of real photos, I often use my iPhone to take test shots while I’m out with a film camera, so a lot of what I’m posting to Instagram these days are outtakes from the new series I’m working on. Another great iPhone tool I use is Viewfinder Pro (here’s a review on Luminous Landscape), which allows me to set up my shots on the phone before getting out the tripod and big camera. Viewfinder Pro is something I’d recommend to anyone using a camera which requires a lot of setup, as it has helped me find shots I might have missed otherwise.
One more bonus iPhone app for film photographers: The Massive Dev Chart. This app has a list of just about every film/developer combination in the universe and takes into account things like temperature and dilution to generate a film development profile for you that you can customize and save. I use this every time I develop a roll of film.
Here are a few more recent outtakes from Instagram:
