aows #9

photographing the unseen

Feb 09, 2021

How can photograph what can’t be seen?

We are experiencing a cold snap this week, temperatures have dropped substantially. As such, I’d been wondering how to capture what can't be seen: how can the cold be captured in an image?

I'm still figuring it out, but I thought a good start would be to find some ice. So yesterday I went on a little road trip to St Joseph, Michigan. I was looking for ice, and I found plenty of it. The landscape was magical, an otherworldly place like few I’ve seen before.

The image that I think represents the cold best is the one above, a photograph of the lighthouse in the snowstorm, while a woman watches the scene in the distance.

I rarely use people in my images. It's not that I don't like including humans, it's that I find it very hard to find one in the right place at the right time. Yesterday was one of those rare moments.

That woman makes this image feel cold, at least to my eyes. It should make us wonder what she's feeling, and in return feel it ourselves, if only a little bit.

Maybe that's the key to photographing the unseen: humans. After all, if it can't be seen, it can only be felt. By including someone in the image, we can empathize with them and feel what they might be feeling in return. Thus seeing the unseen.

I don't know, just a random though on this cold Monday night. Please feel free to share your thoughts on this by replying to this email.

new images

new videos

As you can tell, we’ve been getting quite a bit of snow around here. That’s why I decided to make a video with tips of how to use the snow to make better images.

Photography makes us feel alive, even when it’s miserable out there. Let me correct that, especially when it’s miserable out there. It’s in those conditions that one feels connected to the world and sees how beautiful it is.

Layering up

I think I’ve learned my lesson: these days, I’m not leaving the house with anything less than 5 layers on top, double pants and socks, and of course my gloves, hats and facemask.

While I’m doing much better, my gear is not. One of my lenses, the Rokinon / Samyang 35mm f/1.4, is having a hard time on this weather. Yesterday, it completely gave up on me after shooting for half an hour in 5F / -15C temperatures. It was snowing quite heavily, so switching to another lens was a hassle.

I wonder if I should layer the lens up as well!

That’s all for today, I hope you all have a great week!

Adrian