Riding The Edge
Blog
“Somewhere between the heart and the head,
between passion and intellect lies a great photograph” - David Patton
This Riding The Edge Blog is where I share my thoughts on black and white and color photography, how I make my photos, and where I am on my photography journey. If that sounds interesting to you then check back often and come along for the ride!
New Seeing Monochrome Zine
It’s been three years since I’ve put out any new printed work. I haven’t published a collection of photos in my Seeing Monochrome zine series in a longtime. A couple of years ago, my family and I went through a profound loss, a loss I still try to come to grips with on a daily basis. At the time, I wasn’t sure I would continue to pursue my passion for photography, but it was the practice of photography that helped me carry on. Having photography projects helped focus my attention on the process of making images.
I’m happy to say that this “In the Company Trees” zine project is finally done. Well… let’s just say, this chapter of what looks like a lifelong tree project is finished. My very first zine was a photography study of trees, and this second installment keeps the tree project moving forward.
I hope you can take some time and preview this project for free. There is an option to purchase this collection, but I always make the entire zine available for preview because I love to share my photography. The purchase option is there for those who want a copy for themselves. It’s for those that feel a connection to my work and want to help support my future artistic endeavors. No matter which you choose, I just want to say “Thanks for coming along for the ride!”
Daily Walk Photo | Burning Through
The sun burns through the early morning fog while on the Daily walk along a quarry pond in Sweet Home, Oregon.
Camera: Sony A7r2 with a Pentax 645 75mm Lens adapted.
5 Frames | Stay Curious
In this 5 Frames episode, I'm adapting medium format lenses from a Pentax 645 film camera system, to a Sony A7R2 digital mirrorless camera for black and white nature photography.
Click below to view the images that appear in this video.
Two Hours of Photography in the Oregon Outback
Come along as I take a quick trip to the wild southeastern Oregon, for some black and white nature photography.
Click thumbnails below to view the images that appear in this video.
5 Frames | Welcome a New Season
In this episode of 5 Frames, I welcome the end of summer and the changing of the season with some black and white nature photography.
Click below to view the images in this episode of 5 Frames.
5 Frames on the Daily Walk
In this 5 Frames episode I’m pushing through a long hot summer with my black and white photography. Summer is usually my least productive season for photography and this year isn’t any different. That being said, it was great to be able to finish another 5 Frames episode. Click below to view the 5 frames in this video.
Wildflowers on the Daily Walk
This morning while on a walk with my sidekick I came across this drift of wildflowers. I love chaos in nature and this is a good example of how I like to use it to compose a chaotic photo. The trick for me is to leave just enough sharp using a shallow depth of field to create depth and drive home that this is a mass of flowers.
Webs and Thistle on the Daily Walk
I have a hard time passing up the opportunity of making a photo of thistle covered in spiderwebs when I come across them while on a walk and this day was no different. Having a clean out of focus background made for a nice clean composition.
Looking Up
The more I do nature photography, the more I’m drawn to the chaos of nature. In this photo I’m looking up, I’m seeing the crossing stems and if I use my imagination, the leaves that remind me of butterflies fluttering around. This is what I see on my daily walk.
Dispatches From the Daily Walk-The Photos
Here is another look at the photos that ran in this Seeing Monochrome video https://youtu.be/OYDtpw6Zhng
Click on the thumbnails below to view the photos
Photography Dispatches From The Daily Walk
In this video I'm sharing the black and white nature photography I've be making on the Daily Walk. Come along with my sidekick Nori and I as we take a camera along to photograph nature when something looks interesting.
Trying T-max 400 in 120 for the First Time
In this video I'm taking out my first roll of Kodak T-Max 400 black and white film, loaded in a Pentax 645n medium format camera. I'm no stranger to T-Max 400, I've used many rolls of this film but only in 35mm. I found the results interesting enough that I will be using this film more often. This was the last video I made for Riding The Edge before I decided to close that channel last week. This video was only up a few days before I pulled it, I think it deserves more time to be seen and it fits well with what I am doing here at Seeing Monochrome.
The Daily Walk Photo - Thistle
On our walks, I’ve been chasing a photo of thistle that had a clean background along with the structure of an interesting thistle plant. This has been harder to find than I thought. After all, the area where we sometimes do our walks is along a quarry pond littered with a bunch of thistle, both old growth as well as new growth. I find the graphic nature of the thistle to be an interesting subject for black and white nature photography.
I think I finally found what I was looking for in this image. This photo feels like a piece of art with all of the elements working together. The backlit subject with the smooth tones of the pond as a backdrop helps to make the plant stand out. It’s probably time to take a break on thistle photos, well… for a while.
I used my trusty Nikon D7100 with a 70-200 f4 lens for this handheld shot.
Black and White Film Photography at the Quarry Pond
In this video I'm headed to the quarry pond with my Pentax 645n medium format film camera loaded with a roll of Kodak T-Max 100 for some black and white nature photograph. This is a re-edited version with more of an emphasis on the photography, hopefully you will find this more to your liking. Click below to view the images from this episode.
The Daily Walk Photo
Rain on Daisy
On this morning’s walk, my dog Nori and I were treated to some much-needed rain here in Oregon. It was a cool, damp walk on our usual path on the hill behind our house. Today, I grabbed my favorite walk-around combo, a Nikon D7100 with an old manual focus 55mm macro 3.5 lens. Well, I guess you could also say the D7100 crop sensor camera is also pretty darn old. For black and white photography, I really like the rendering that this combination of camera and lens outputs for a digital camera. Not too sharp but sharp enough, which is what I want for a soft subject like this rain drop-covered daisy.
This image captured the quiet, peaceful nature of this morning’s walk.
It is a very simple photo, and I can’t think of a better way to start this Daily Walk series.
5 Frames on Film | Tri-x and a New Location
In this episode of 5 Frames, I'm trying out a roll of Kodak Tri-X 400 35mm black and white film, as I explore a new nature photography location.
Consider becoming a member of my Patreon page for exclusive photography content: https://www.patreon.com/ridingtheedgephotography
Photo Breakdown | Emerging Spring
One of my favorite images made this spring came from an ordinary daily walk. I noticed a back lit young tree, with its branches fanning out and its leaves beginning to emerge from the stems. I realized that I could line up the subject tree with a dark, older, and much larger background tree to make it stand out. I love the light and energy of this photo. I think the Kodak T-max 400 black and white film used to make this image adds just the right amount of grain, giving it an organic feel.
Camera: Nikon N80
Lens: 70-200mm F/4 G
5 Frames Episode Three
In episode three of 5 Frames, I'm making intimate landscapes and painterly black and white images in the forests of the Cascade Mountains. For the images in this video I'm using the Pentax 645n medium format film camera and the Nikon n80 35mm film cameras. My film choices are Kodak T-max 100 in 120 and T-max 400 35mm black and white film.
Consider becoming a member of my Patreon page for exclusive photography content: https://www.patreon.com/ridingtheedgephotography
5 Frames Episode Two
In this episode of 5 Frames an old friend, the Pentax 645n comes home for some black and white film photography. These are my five favorite black and white nature photos that I made over the last few weeks. Come along to see what I have found with my cameras.
Consider becoming a member of my Patreon page for exclusive photography content: https://www.patreon.com/ridingtheedgephotography