I work in the advertising industry. All too often when researching stock photos I run into such “perfect” photography. The subject is polished, pristine, and generally just perfect beyond reality. The subjects become so perfected in the studio that they become almost lost and unrealistic, sometimes far from actually representing what it is. For example while searching for a “Maine blueberries” photo at a stock photography website I was finding photos of such perfectly sculpted blueberries they almost looked plastic. I don’t know about you, but when I think about natural Maine blueberries I want the real thing.

This is a photograph I took at the local Deering Oaks Park Farmers’ Market. As you can see there are still a bit of stems attached and some of the blueberries are dented. This shot is the real deal and strikes the emotion as such. The feel of this photograph is more defined as a candid shot. It’s real and what one would expect to find when looking to find delicious, natural real Maine blueberries. Believe me, these blueberries are just as tasty as they look!

Here I found 300 huge open acres of sand, blazing hot temperatures at 120 degrees (yes really), complete with a sandstorm that gets into your camera equipment, mouth and eyes. It even has a gift shop. The Desert of Maine really is a unique place to visit for a nice change of pace and well worth the stop.

For this landscape photograph I added a dark vignette which I felt worked well to the already aged, dry feel to the photograph’s composition. I really tried to maintain the stark contrast between the sky, treeline and sand while also being careful not to blow out the sand with too much exposure. I feel I accomplished my goal in this piece but am still practicing on my general landscape composition work that still seems a bit ordinary.

Strolling along a tidal pool on a Maine beach a snail crawling among the seaweed and kelp caught my eye.  The focus on this shot is the green seaweed in the foreground, lower right. I felt it led the eye back to explore from the snail’s point of view.

If there is one thing that the Maine coast has in abundance it’s rocky ocean cliffs. Here is an attempt to capture these cliffs, namely the variety of textures they have to offer.

Being my own worse critique I am not fully satisfied with this shot. Although I do feel that the textures were captured the composition of this “landscape” is lacking. I require a bit more practice and patience for these types of shots. As always I am attracted to “macro” and felt that these cliffs offered a similar quality in texture.