Just Smoke
Restless now on the edge of consciousness
I lay awake, thoughts running through my head
You sleep sound beside me now
The steadiness of your breath calming and slow
I see you in these moments between night and day
Knowing the truth that lies behind your closed eyes
But that doesn't help me, not even at all
For my mind is full of thoughts
Snaking tendrils crawling around
Before dissipating into the dark like smoke
Abandoning a fire that's burnt through
So now I reach out to clasp your hand in mine
Close my eyes
And drift away
The tide was going out for this photo, so it was a challenge to capture some good flow rolling down this natural channel in the rocks. Never one to shy away, I stood waist-deep in water waiting for the right wave to come crashing through.
I used a graduated neutral density filter to cut down on light - and also opened up the aperture to f/16 - to ensure my shutter speed was slow enough to capture movement, but not long enough to remove the texture in the water.
And this is the final result.
I love the wispiness and motion of the water in this image. It feels ethereal, like smoke, and it's reaching out, charging, hungry to grab you and wrap you in its ghostly embrace.
The details for this image are:
- Nikon D750 with Nikon 16-35mm f/4 VR
- NiSi Filters GND 16
- Sirui W-1204 tripod with K-20x Ball Head
- 1/3s
- f/16
- ISO50