Enjoying the moment, instead of capturing it.

So since fall is among us, I get to do one of my favorite things, and that is go hiking with my wife and kids. We can't really go too far because they are still pretty little but it also gives me an opportunity to bring my camera along and snap some fun photos. Over the years I have found that it can sometimes be a burden to be "On" all the time, meaning I am always looking for photo opps, or if I see something picturesque I have to capture it. Well, after ruining several family outings trying to frame landscape, or almost driving my car off the road looking at the sunset, I have kind of settled down. I take the time now to actually enjoy the moment. One of my photography professors, Carsten Meier, described a scene in Norway when a group of tourists showed up at the Fjords (I think I spelled that right). They got off the bus with their cameras pretty much glued to their eyes and didn't actually look at the scenery once with their actual eyes. The entire experience was recorded to be viewed later. I can relate to these tourists. Whenever we go anywhere, I always have to bring my camera, because I have this internal fear that if I don't photograph it, I will miss it. I don't realize that I can enjoy it as a real, first person experience. Photographs are wonderful and I love them, but every  once in a while, I need to sit back and enjoy the real world, instead of what is recorded on my CMOS chip.

With that caveat, here are some of the images.

 This first one is taken in Hyde Park, UT, just after a nice rainstorm.  If you are nutty about landscapes, some of the best times to take them are right after a storm, with a very active sky.

 This one is along the Mountain Bike trail in Green Canyon, UT. As you can see my wife is ahead of me, and not by me, because I am taking the photograph and not enjoying the moment with her. She's a wonderful woman who accepts my crazy photography habits and still loves me.

 This is my son Lukas, after he lost his shoe in the soft sand. it has been so dry this year that there is a ton of dust and sand along the trails that hasn't been packed in. The dust trails caused by my daughter and her friends created an interesting light trail.

Here's Lukas again running along the bike trail. He lost his shoe again, and then informed me that he had to go potty right after we took this. I think he just likes going in the woods, because he keeps asking me if we can do it again.

Just as the sun was about to set I snapped this little beauty with all the colors of fall. I've never been back east for the fall, but I can't think of anything that can be like Autumn in the Mountains of Utah.

I was waiting for a family to show up for their sitting and so I snapped the next few just to pass the time.

I know some people use the term "Bokeh" for this type of effect, but I do not. It's called Shallow Depth of Field, or just depth of field (Where did Bokeh come from?)

Just another short depth of field shot. You can achieve this be shooting at a very wide aperture (such as F4 or better yet, F2.8). Other things that can affect your depth of field are your focal length (length of your lens) and distance to your subject.







All Images Copyright Andrew Klc photography.