Retro//Reflection - Issue #5
I don't get the hype - Just like last year, we start a new one ;-)
Retroreflection is a (give or take) monthly issue that contains a handful of (my) photographs and where I share a bit of insight on them. As an enthusiastic amateur photographer, anything goes.
Maybe you learn something?
Or perhaps it will spark some inspiration?
As this issue is scheduled for publishing on the 2nd of January 2024: all the best for this new year!
Typically, every year I have only one New Year’s resolution: not to have any! So I don’t have a specific list of things I want to accomplish, just because it is the first day of a new month. Don’t get me wrong, I want to do lots of things photography related. But I won’t beat myself up if I don’t get to do them.
One of the things I want to do (keep doing) is writing here on Substack about (my) photography, so let’s not get carried away and just do that: this issue’s “theme” is simply about Fireworks!
This fist one is called “Through The Roof”. I like the way it looks as if the fireworks are shooting straight through the roof of a nearby house (rest assured, it’s an optical illusion).
Next one is “Minimalistic”. I quite like that the fireworks burst out in simple nice long colourful stripes, instead of an all-white glitter like explosion.
5 Seconds At Half Past One is pretty much the opposite: big fireworks captured with a 5-seconds exposure. Captured on New Year's Eve around half past one in the morning, hence the title.
This final photo is a bit of a stretch maybe: sometimes I like to turn my lens all the way out of focus to see what I can come up with - trying to think a little outside the box, if you will. This time on (very) distant fireworks. In post-processing I also played around with the HSL-colourwheel to turn the original red/orange of the fireworks into turquoise.
As you can see, most are firework photos from already a few years ago. I didn’t take any yesterday, so maybe this is something for my to-do-list …
I hope you had a pleasant new year’s eve and -day. Did you take photo’s of fireworks?
Each issue I want to end with mentioning a photographer, a photography-related website or publication, simply to show my appreciation for what they do.
One of the things I would like to do more in 2024 is printing my photos, creating a photobook or a ‘zine’. Apart from his in general interesting views on photography, I think Ted Forbes showing work by (amateur) photographers around the world on his youtube channel is quite inspiring in that aspect!
The amount of books, zines and publications he receives must be enormous ;-)
Also in each Issue I want to mention a photographer here on Substack, since there are quite a few active and they all provide a wealth of inspiration (at least to me) and I think deserve a little attention.
Recently I have also been reading interesting articles here on Substack about making simple photobooks or zines, and one by
- called “Cables” - is one that I think absolutely kinda-looks-like the thing I want to accomplish (albeit with different subjects I guess). Xavi also wrote a cool “making of” article about it, which I’ve bookmarked for future reference.So in this issue a shout out to Xavi’s Substack:
That’s it for this issue.
Thank you for reading until the end :-) Feel free to leave a short comment or message. I appreciate it!
Cheers,
Ronald
ronaldsmeets.info
ps: this article/newsletter/post is free, because I’m not doing this to make a profit. Also, I don’t like subscriptions at all (Tom Pendergast has a great article about not going paid, which I agree with). However, if you do want to show your support, a coffee always helps me writing and posting here ;-)
What amazing fireworks photos!
Oh man, thanks so much for the mention, that's so cool!
I'm glad you're inspired to do a zine at some point, I'm eager to see what you come up with.
Keep up the good work!