• sunrise, sunset

    each day the sun rises, the sun sets
    the world turns to create this illusion
    your day may be my night
    my calm, descending orb may be
    your burning, rising fireball
    all the while, the ground we stand solid on
    is actually spinning relentlessly under us
    whatever you “see” is perception driven
    beauty and sadness
    tragedy and joy
    heartache and elation
    all of these things shift forms
    based on what the angle is
    my lens is different than yours
    yours is not the same as
    his and hers and theirs
    even common details
    become blurry, ultimately
    arguing absolutes and opinions, equally pointless
    spend more time accepting
    try harder to be aware and awake
    be ready to receive whatever
    put your energy into love
    open your heart and mind
    prepare to view from a different angle
    try to avoid shame and judgement
    see and feel and embrace all you can
    expand and let in as much light as possible
    before the last revolution completes
    and the shutter closes forever.

     

    each day the sun rises, the sun sets the world turns to create this illusion your day may be my night my calm, descending orb may be your burning, rising fireball all the while, the ground we stand solid on is actually spinning relentlessly under us whatever you “see” is perception driven beauty and sadness tragedy and joy heartache and elation all of these things shift forms based on what the angle is my lens is different than yours yours is not the same as his and hers and theirs even common details become blurry, ultimately arguing absolutes and opinions, equally pointless spend more time accepting try harder to be aware and awake be ready to receive whatever put your energy into love open your heart and mind prepare to view from a different angle try to avoid shame and judgement see and feel and embrace all you can expand and let in as much light as possible before the last revolution completes and the shutter closes forever. ____________________ All Rights Reserved No use allowed without a license. For licensing inquiries, email me directly. thelotuscarroll@gmail.com

  • silhouette of a young boy's head in profile against the setting sun

    how to: silhouette photography / self portraiture

    a couple in stark silhouette against a black and white horizon over beachSometimes you can say just as much, or even more, with the suggestion of a thing as you can with all of its details. This is true of silhouette photography – a genre that can be alarmingly beautiful and expressive. If you’ve never shot silhouettes, you may be wondering how to achieve this look. It’s fairly simple to get the basics down. From there, you can let your creativity run wild.

    The Basics:

    The most important thing to remember is that your subject should not be well lit from the front. In addition, there should be a significant light source in the background.

    The subject is whatever you want forming the silhouette. In the case of self portraiture, this subject is you. We want to reduce lighting from the front because we want to obscure most of the detail – this is what creates an outline, or silhouette.

    There are many ways to obtain this, from studio lighting to sunlight. Sunsets provide an amazing backdrop for silhouettes. They are pure, simple, and beautiful. Play around to see what you can achieve.

    Once you’ve identified a subject and have a backlight, attend to camera settings. Expose the image for the backlight, rather than the subject. This way, your subject will be very dark, creating an outline with little detail from the front.

    Voila! This is the basic formula for silhouette photography.

    How To: Silhouette Photography / Self Portraits, Lotus Carroll
    Sunsets and sunrises make an absolutely excellent, beautiful light source for silhouettes!

    A few things to remember:

    • create distinct, clean shapes with your silhouette subject(s)
    • try to reduce excessive clutter or multiple other confusing shapes in the image unless they add to the “story” you want it to tell
    • avoid foreground lighting
    • identify or set up a significant source of back lighting
    • no one formula for camera settings is perfect. the strength of your light will dictate what you’ll need, so experiment
    • don’t forget to pay careful attention to scene setting and composition, as with all photos, once you get the technique down
    • for self portrait silhouette photography, you will find the following tools incredibly helpful: remote/intervalometer, tripod

    Here are some examples of silhouette self portraits I’ve created, with some basic information you can review.

    silhouette of a person dancing behind a screen
    You don’t have to have advanced lighting tools – for this image, I literally stood in front of my desk with my computer display on a white screen so it glowed strongly behind me in a dark room. My camera was on the other side of this “room divider” screen shooting towards me as I posed.
    up close silhouette of a woman's face in profile
    Diffused sunlight through a curtain into a dark room provided the backlighting for this face silhouette self portrait. To get the most dramatic shapes, make sure things like a face are turned to show all the important outlining features.
    silhouette of a woman's upper body with arms raised and stretched out to either side above her, in front of window blinds
    Again, window lighting in a dark room is the source of the backlighting here. The blinds also fall into silhouette, creating an interesting pattern in the image.

    Of course, rules are meant to be broken, and you can play around with the basic setup and then go beyond it, tweaking things in so many ways to create different kinds of photos.

    Here, there is obviously a lot going on, so the silhouette is clean, and there is “clutter.” But it’s interesting clutter, and adds to the mood:

    reflective silhouette on glass with dark city beyond, lit by city lights
    A doozy: reflection silhouette self portrait, at night, inside the top of the tallest building in Austin, TX. Lights behind me inside are backlighting my image as I shoot into the glass against the dark (but for city lights) night.

    You can also adjust lighting on the subject to create “near-silhouette” images. Some details of the subject are lit and visible, while others are dark, as with the following self portrait.

    near silhouette of woman from behind with her head turned in profile in front of window blinds, black and white
    The back lighting from the window and relative dark behind me creates silhouetting, while light spill from the downturned blinds gently illuminates the side of my face, arm, and hair.

    Go forth, find the light, and create silhouettes.

    To license images or text commercially, please email.

  • In These Quiet Moments Love Speaks Loudest

    a father smiles at his sleeping son
    it is in these quiet moments that love speaks loudest


    My little 3 person family took a few trips to the beach last summer. On one of those trips we drove almost all the way there and then stopped in a hotel for the night before heading out for beach frolicking fun the next morning. This is a candid monochrome from that hotel. John is looking over at Braden, our (then) 6 year old, in the other bed. His expression speaks volumes. I love moments like this. Capturing them feels like being able to work real magic, the kind that will allow you to travel through time later, or the kind that lets you see inside of someone’s heart.

  • Birthday Balloons are the BEST!

    seven years ago
    i saw your face for the first
    time – it was perfect

    in so many ways
    you have changed, grown, and flourished
    but this fact remains

    you will always be
    the best thing that has ever
    happened to your mom

    ***

    This photo is from Braden’s 1 Year Birthday. Today he turns 7.
    The time is flying by, but I cherish everything, and with each passing day, ever more so.

    Birthday Balloons Are The BEST!