Photographs aren’t always about an instant frozen in time. You can also use the camera to show us a succession of instants by choosing a slower shutter speed, and mounting the camera on a tripod, as I did here at the Indiana State Fair. I shot this in that magic few minutes where the natural light balances the artificial, just after sundown.

Looking for color part II. This pale blue flower was nice in the greenhouse sun, but when I moved to put the red lilypads behind it, it really popped. Always look at your background.

The Blue Angels executing a formation loop at an airshow. I used a 70-300mm telephoto lens to isolate the airplanes and the smoke trail from the huge expanse of sky. Also important was to make sure of the location of the sun relative to the angle I was shooting from- too close and the sky washes out and you lose that wonderful deep blue.

Get low to the ground with a wide angle lens and watch your perspective change.

Look for color. This pale yellow Chevy started looking really good against the blue sky in the afternoon sun. I composed to put the hood ornament in the upper right rule-of-thirds node, and shot.

Corvette Museum, Kentucky USA

Bold color and geometric shapes can lead to arresting photos. I knew I wanted to get right up next to this section of the National Corvette Museum, and do it when the sunlight was close to 90 degrees from the side. Why 90 degrees? Two reasons: One, it would provide a little modeling for the curved surfaces of the Museum, and two, it would put the maximum effect of the Circular Polarizing filter I wanted to use to cut down the glare from the sky right behind the Museum, deepening the sky and closing down the dynamic range.

Natural light is ofter the best way to shoot an interior- especially one with the rich tones and textures of the old Indianapolis Union Station main hall. There were glass doors across the end I was shooting from; since I didn’t have a tripod with me, I removed the lens hood and used the doors as a stabilizing device for the necessarily long shutter speed. You can almost always improvise to get the shot, so don’t let a lack of equipment be an excuse.

This shot won the People’s Choice Award in the CaptureIndy competition in 2009.

The new Indianapolis Public Library.

Reflections can be either your bane or your best friend- here, the latter. For this shot, I got up close with a wide angle lens, and let my composition wander over the frame until my spidey-sense tingled and I said “That’s It.” This is just about exactly what came from the camera.

Downers Grove, IL USA

I was trying to get a moody shot of a commuter train in the early morning, but nothing really came out as I planned until this deliberately blurred shot, taken as the train began pulling out of the station. It works because the angular displacement of the train near the camera over the half-second exposure is far more than that at the far end of the train, which is so small that it might as well be stationary.

Steak and Shake restaurant, Indianapolis, IN

Can you spot the trick in this image? Even prosaic experiences can offer interesting photo opportunities if you keep your eyes open. I was waiting for an early morning takeout when I noticed this repetitive pattern all over the restaurant. Every light fixture was reflecting the neon around the store! The secondary lesson here is always have a camera handy- even on a 3 AM food run!