Winds of Change
4
11/06/2024 4:34 PM
This day, I woke up and thought my house was haunted. It sounded like the howling of some kind of urban myth. My walls creaked. My window panes seemed to bow in and out. My cats were on high alert.
Only yesterday, the neighborhood was serene and peaceful. Now, the valleys in between all the houses were being tested by Mother Nature. This was no haunting.
1
2
The big news of the day? Donald Trump takes the presidential stand again in 2024. Opening any social media resulted in a digital battleground between the people of the world. I went about my day as normal. On my way to the studio, I noticed the wind shaking the trees. I thought, “look at those trees dancing”.
It struck me then. Weather app says there’s an expected hour of wind left. Normal people might be hunkered down sheltering from the wind. I say let my windbreaker do it’s job for once.
5
7
The daylight was bright, and the wind was letting me walk in italics. More than a few times my tripod was almost blown over. My face felt like if I smiled I might crack my skin.
It felt like a historical day as I was outside. On this vital day for the books of American history, Mother Nature cradles the humans on Earth, and says “brace yourself for the winds of change”.
Tension between humans of the same land rise, and a decision is made.
The trees danced. They shook hands. They shed off dead branches hanging on by a thread. They shook their seeds into the gust that shook the walls and windows.
It felt like an omen for the waters ahead. Or a sticky tab in today’s history.
But what I love most about this series, is how the moving leaves look in all the images as a result of this spontaneous shoot. It looks like paintbrush strokes, and it felt like I painted with my camera. I achieved this look by using an ND filter on my Fujifilm X100V, which has the setting built in. Using that, a slow shutter speed, a tripod, and some patience, I was able to capture most of the branches moving in the wind, and any still parts remain clear.
I cannot wait to print and hang a few of these. If you’re interested in seeing how my prints turn out, support me by buying a small one! If you think one of these fits into your space perfectly, don’t be scared go for the biggest.
