Mountain Puffs
Sony A7 with Leica Summicron-C 40/2
Ketchikan, AK
Felix Wong © 2015
It's been a while since I last blogged!
Between then and now, I've gone on a solo road-trip (to be blogged soon), picked up on a couple of personal projects, scored a paid out-of-town photography gig and worked some insane overtime at the shipyard.
Speaking of shipyard work... we were rushing hard and fast, yet meticulously for the electrical crew that I'm in, to finish repairs and upgrades for an Alaskan state ferry. Today was the day we were ready to have the ship sail on its own power for sea trials, where they tested all the engines and systems that make the ferry function and made sure all emergency systems are fully operational.
I had the chance to be on board to help oversee the work of the electrical crew and help iron out some minor issues that were not directly related nor detrimental to the main drive system. That meant plenty of walking up, down, in, out and around the boat.
Of course, I made it a point to be walking around with the camera on a couple of occasions which allowed me to capture moments like in the picture above.
Miles and Miles
Sony A7 with Leica Summicron-C 40/2
Ketchikan, AK
Felix Wong © 2015
I love post-processing images like these in black and white because it takes away potentially distracting color and forces myself and viewers to observe and make a connection between textures, shapes and patterns in the image.
Like in both images, the lower portion of the image contains highly detailed, high frequency information, while the upper portion has smoother and "poofier" detail. Without color, tonality variations can be made out and even patterned out; example, starting from the top-right corner in the second image, we start out with a dark corner which then turns into a strip of light area going diagonally down to the horizon, then dark again and so on. The pattern in which the light areas streak across the top half of the image makes it almost look like there's a single starting point to the right edge of the image.
I think it is rather useful to practice harnessing this kind of perspective as these elements could possibly be used as powerful leading lines that direct the viewer to the point of interest in the image!
Now that we're on the topic of being out at sea, I think it's pretty amazing how being in the middle of the ocean, miles and miles away from nearest help made a profound impact on me; you could be hours or even days away from any competent help, it is up to you to watch out for your buddy and make sure he/she gets to go home in the same condition he showed up in, or better! That means no backstabbing, no "not my problem" attitude, everyone is in it together so it is best to be as amicable and helpful as you can (the way we really should be as human beings, not animals).
Finally, I've been making prints and am hopelessly addicted to having hard copies of my own images in my hands. I think I should make an order for one of these two images.
Which shall it be? :)
Until next time, keep creating art and don't give it up for anything!
Felix Wong