Summerfest Photo Contest

I had a dream a few months ago. I this dream I was making pictures, and tonight we made those pictures I imagined in my dream. Seriously, the best time making pictures I may have ever had--right up there with my first foray into photon control. 

That first time taking control of light was so fun because it felt like magic was happening right before my eyes. I pressed some buttons, moved around a flash with an umbrella, rolled into position on the ground, and magic happened on that little LCD. Besides leaving a $200 flash strapped to a dumpster and driving away, it was non-stop fun (flash was later retrieved without difficulty--whew!).

Tonight was also non-stop fun, but for different reasons. Tonight, the results that looked just I imagined them were a result not of mysterious functions and little gnomes living inside my camera (I evicted them months ago). Nope, tonight it was like science--like the second semester of Chemistry when you perform lab work and get some incredible results, but you expected it and it happened because the formula was just right. Tonight I knew what would happen when I adjusted my shutter speed and ISO settings to balance ambient light with the flash. I knew that even though the truck was moving, the pictures would look sharp because i was using rear sync with the flash! It was premeditated and perfectly predictable.

My next chore is to get bigger dreams! Now I can turn my mind to techniques I don't know, and maybe find some more opportunities to refine this one.

Actually, my next Chore is to get my favorite ready for the SummerFest Photo Contest and turn it in by Wednesday at noon! This is one of my favorites, but it's not the one I'm going to enter. Gotta go!

Nikon D700, 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens @ 90mm, f/7.1, 1/10s, ISO 1600.

Special Thanks to Heather from Aya Photography for her assistance on this shoot.