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| ISO 800 | 150mm | f 4.0 | 1/200 sec |
Transportation is rarely instantaneous. Regardless of whether you travel by boat, car, jet, balloon, magic carpet, or flying chair, there will always be a delay in getting from one place to another. Until science develops a means for us to immediately teleport ourselves from one location to the next, we'll have to remain content with the perks (and delays) of modern travel.
Currently one of the greatest challenges facing any traveler today is the distance from one's current position and one's destination. It's the 3,578 miles of bumpy, twisty, often boring and sometimes perilous terrain between Point A and Point B that truly defines a journey. And though we may have the best laid plans and the greatest map in the world, we are still often met with unexpected turns, slow-moving trains, animal crossings, and even some detours. Not all of the trip is pleasant, and some of it may be downright depressing and uncomfortable, but ultimately it's our destination that is important - the road we take is just a means to an end.
Life is like a journey in many ways. As with any road trip there are always bumps in the road, long straight stretches of monotonous highway, dark and ominous tree-covered patches inter-mixed with bright, sun-lit byways that wind their way amongst fields of wild-flowers. And though we all traverse these road, we're all at different stages of our journey. Some of us are ambling through golden fields full of vibrance and color. Others of us are cruising along in the long straight stretches, hoping to discover something new and exciting up ahead. Others of us are trodding through the dark places, discouraged and hungry for a ray of sunshine.
Regardless of where you find yourself on your journey, be encouraged, for this life is just a means to an end. Fix your eyes on your end destination, don't allow the weight of the here-and-now to bog you down and steal your joy. To those of you who are basking in the sun's warmth, take note and don't forget when the discouraging times come that there is a better place and that life does bring its joys as well as its sorrows. To those who are on the straight stretch, persevere and press ahead. The future is full of surprises, adventures, things to look forward to. Don't be frustrated by the monotony, but enjoy the ride while it's smooth and steady. And to those of you who are discouraged, take heart. While it may feel like an eternity, you won't stay here long. Trust in God and what He's doing in your life. The journey's not over. There's light on the other side of the trees...
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Levitation is something I've wanted to experiment with for a while, but I've never had a good excuse to try it before. Though this isn't the best example of levitation photography, I can see that it's definitely a technique I'll be utilizing again sometime soon.
The setup was quite simplistic. Everything was shot in natural light. The image is composed of two shots, one with me sitting in the chair on top of some (very unsteady) buckets (see below), and one shot of the scene itself to act as a backdrop for the composite. Once I had what the images, I simply merged them together in photoshop, made some color adjustments, did some dodging and burning, and added some blur. That was basically it. Simple, but effective.
I'm especially pleased with how the slight tilt in the chair turned out in the image. It really adds a neat dynamic, better emphasizing the fact that the chair is "floating". It would have been even cooler if the chair hadn't tried to tip-over on me while I was taking this shot. Oh well, hazards of the job I suppose. ;-)
More to come...
Labels: Only In My Dreams Project
