John Ballantine
June came and went before I had time to blink, and here we are in July. I've just returned from a couple of days of being beside Lake Bonaparte, and I was constantly mesmerized by the water. I've come home to rain, so it felt like our July theme should be water!
Water lives in so many disguises: flowing rivers, steam, ice, rain, and beyond. Recording the visual experience of water is an interesting challenge, as water is so much more than just a wet substance. It is light and shadow, flow and movement, pattern and shape. Begin viewing water more mindfully and you will see more than an expression of "wet".
To catch the movement of water use a fast shutter speed. To slow down the movement of water so it looks like a stream of silk, put your camera on a tripod and slow down your shutter speed. Photograph the ocean, the rain, water in a glass, water running out of a tap, children running under a garden sprinkler - see how many ways you can record the many disguises of water.
Continue this exercise into the winter months when water turns to ice and snow.
