About the Image(s)

General Lafayette
I was in Fayetteville, North Carolina to photograph the sunrise as it rose behind the old market house. While I didn’t get the shot I had hoped and planned for (too cloudy and no sunrise) I did find what I thought might be an interesting photo opt for another day. In Lafayette Park there is a statue of General Lafayette, for whom the city is named. In the predawn hours of the previous day I happened to notice that the rising sun first struck the glass wall of the Systel Building and thought this early light might offer some possibilities. I returned the next morning just before daylight when the sky was clear. In the predawn light the glass wall of the Systel Building was a sort of midnight blue. But as the sun rose the dark blue glass became a brighter blue and when the sun finally broke out above the horizon there was a bit of orange that appeared on the lower portion of the glass wall giving the wall a two-toned appearance. This was the first shot I took and is posted here are the Original Image (well, I did take it first) as a reference for my Main Image. I admit the crop is a bit tight on the left but if I include more space on the left there is just a brick wall, so for the sake of balance, I cropped it out. After taking this Original shot, I moved closer to the building and framed up the second shot which is the main image I’m posting this month. I simply waited for the rising sun to paint the entire glass wall with golden hour light and positioned my camera to capture the statue of the general gazing at the orange wall. Neither image is a competition image, but I liked the idea of playing with the light. I will state the image of the general facing the orange wall came out exactly as I intended, and for that I am pleased. Just a bit of light play for a change. After all, photography is ALWAYS ABOUT THE LIGHT.

BLUE IMAGE: NIKON D850, NIKKOR 24-70MM lens at 70mm, ISO 100, f18, 6 seconds. Tripod and Cable release

ORANGE IMAGE: NIKON D850, NIKKOR 24-70MM lens at 70mm, ISO 100, f18, 4 seconds. Tripod and Cable release