Thomas Hawk

What inspires you? 

Thomas Hawk is not your average gifted photographer.  He envisions his art as an “obsessive compulsive view on photography”.  He describes himself as a “photography factory”.  His goal is to reach one million photographs in his lifetime. Yes, you do the math!  At his actual rate (he currently uploads more than 50 pictures a day) it would take him 50 years to reach his goal. 

Anyone taking pictures out there may be baffled by Hawk’s goal. I certainly am.  This is no easy task!  I don’t even think I can look at all 50.000+ pictures he already has on Flickr.  I’ve been haunted by his images, he has an incredible eye to abstract reality, an amazing sensibility for patterns.  Not only his images are riveting but his titles are for the most part fun and creative.   

We have similar age so I hope to be around when he achieves the milestone.  What inspires me the most, beyond his images and titles, is his conviction and self-knowledge.  Understanding his compulsion and using it as a driving force for his art. That is inspiration!

 Today was Supermoon day!  So I decided to give it a try and practice some moon shots.  I goggled how to do it, and it didn’t seem too complicated.

Camera: check, Tripod: check, Long zoom: check, check

Well, when you have a 3-year-old the whole idea of planning for a shoot goes down the drain. We made it late for dinner and by the time we got home the moon was past its biggest size.  Then, it’s been so long since I’ve used my Manfrotto that now I remember why I haven’t used it more often. Same thing with the remote cable Yeap, I was not prepared.

So my shots were way over exposed (I forgot to read the whole line with the basic formula:  ISO 100, f 11, 1/125).  Still, it was fun to play with my camera.  Even on digital, long exposures bring interesting possibilities.  Oh well,  I have plenty time to prepare for Nov. 14, 2016.