Chasing Angles and Consistency

Angles, Silhouettes, Angels, and Chicken Ramen

PHOTO JOURNAL 2026

James Bradley

2/12/20264 min read

Chasing Angles and Consistency

Week 7

Welcome to week 7. I find myself continuing, or maybe just trying to figure out angles, silhouettes, wildlife (Chicken Ramen), my daughter's other cat, and landscapes. I thought I was going to step away from indoor lighting, but I couldn’t resist the shot of the black cat, because why not torture myself with more indoor lighting, right?

I am starting to realize that taking a photo every day is turning into more than just finding something to point the camera at and “pull the trigger”. I think the proper photography term is release the shutter…kind of like “Release the Hounds…’ or not. I find myself beginning to look for different angles, changing light, and shadows. I’m only in a bit over a month and a half, and I am seeing things (photo opportunities) differently every day. I may even be seeing hints of something that looks like composition. I am not saying I know what I’m doing yet, because I absolutely do not, but I’m at least starting to recognize that there is more to this than pushing the button and hoping for the best.

This week I have little bit of everything again. I have some close-up shots of a tank, a sunset, a drone photo, a landscape with the temple, a shot under the John’s Hole Bridge, and of course another cat picture because apparently cats were going to be part of this journey whether they wanted to be or not.

I feel like the tank photos were probably where I was trying the hardest to do something different. I like the idea of getting close to the tracks. I’m not sure why, but maybe I was seeing something new. Did I know that was what I was doing at the time? Probably not. I was mostly just crawling around looking for something that seemed interesting. But looking back now, I can see that I was starting to think more about perspective, and we all know how everyone could use a new perspective right? But I digress, let’s get back to the photos.

I’m kind of torn on which is my favorite photo this week. Is it the close-up of the tank track or the silhouette? I like the rough texture, the rust, and the way the track leads through the frame. It feels like one of the first shots where I was not just photographing the object but trying to find a piece of it that told a better story. The silhouette, on the other hand, is a bit more dramatic with the sunset behind it. It is also one where I think there may be some issues with the very dark foreground.

My least favorite is probably the drone shot. I like the idea of it, and I like the fact that I was trying to include Susan in the landscape, but the focus and overall feel are not quite there because of the distance and clarity. I think it’s one of those shots where the idea was better than the final product. That seems to be a pretty common thing for me at this stage, but I guess that is how you learn, right?

I’ll give Chicken Ramen an honorable mention too. It is not a perfect picture, but the eyes stand out and the lighting gives it a little bit of attitude. I actually did a bit of editing on this photo. Using Affinity Photo 2 I did some sharpening and added a simple vignette. As one of my very first edits I was happy with it, considering my vast knowledge on the editing front. As it turns out, photographing a black animal indoors is apparently not as simple as just pointing the camera and hoping for magic. Who knew?

I was starting to see that the same subject can feel totally different depending on where the light is, where I am standing, and how much of the scene I choose to include.

So, Week 7 is done. I am still flailing around, still learning and growing. I am starting to see lines, shapes, shadows, and moments instead of just subjects. Let the adventures in editing begin. Time to look into some editing classes. Bring on Udemy. It feels like I am making progress, even if I am still making a pretty good mess along the way.

I would love to get some feedback from you all about the photography learning process. Please feel free to shoot me an email through my contact page.

Thanks for reading!