I will start this week slowly by showcasing some photographs I took last night. These photographs hammer home the point made by Darwin Wiggett in his guest article on this blog: you don’t have to go to Yosemite or Banff to be a photographer.

Now don’t get me wrong, I initially set out to travel a couple of 100 clicks to a location outside of the city to catch the sunset that was shaping up. However, unforeseen events forced me to stay home (translated: long nap, completely zonked). A quick peak  outside of my window allowed me to spot some sweet reddish light hitting the nearby trees. So, instead of sulking at the missed opportunity, I grabbed my camera and 70-300 lens and go out, literally around the corner.

In the picture above, the budding leaves were glowing golden in the sunset light, perfectly contrasting against the dark clouds in the sky above. I intentionally underexposed by a stop to completely silhouette the tree branch and use it a strong canvas on which my composition laid.

A 180 degree turn, led me back to the trees I had actually come out to photograph. I really always marvel at how good light can transform the mundane into stunning. I positioned myself at a 90 degree angle from the sun so as to be able to not only catch the sunlight, but also to be able to contrast it against the heavy shadows on the trees.

Taking a few steps back allowed me to take in more of the scene to give you a bit more context. I also liked the diagonals formed by the branch and the color complementarity between the red bark and green leaves.

Now, these may not be earth-shattering, mind-boggling photographs (though, you can lie to me and say they are; I am badly in need of some ego-boost )., but they certainly beat no photo at all!

If you want to take a look at some fantastic imagery and equally fabulous story-telling, I strongly urge you to take a look at this post by Gavin Gough. Terrific piece on humanity, dignity and kindness.