Critters

Every photographer has a different gameplan. Some spend their whole life photographing a narrow range of subject matter or possibly in a narrow style of processing. Some photographers work through projects - they choose a theme to photograph (a subject or style) over a period of time and devote themselves to that theme.

Some photographers are like myself. Often we go out without a clue what we are going to photograph. Of course during certain times of the year (e.g. the fall) or for certain trips the work is going to fall into a narrow range by default. But often we just grab our camera (usually in the morning or evening when the light will be agreeable) and go out to our favorite spots and start looking. True, there may be a lot of luck involved, but this method also requires a keen eye. Without a pre-determined subject or theme in mind we have to be open to any and all possibilities.

In the past I have not photographed many animals - I spent a lot of time working on scenics. But lately, for whatever reason, I have made quite a number of images of animals big and small (deer, frogs, moths, etc.) There is not a lot of color (besides green) in the summer, so I have been exploring other avenues to keep my technique sharp.

The image below is a recent product of that exploration. It took a little while for me to get the shot I was looking for, and I thank the frog for his patience.

Simplicity

Lately in my photographic work I have been paying attention to keeping the image as simple as it needs to be. In general this usually yields a much more interesting, and often powerful, photograph. When an image is cluttered with too much "stuff", even though at first you might think it adds to the overall scene that was originally there, the main focus of the image becomes diluted and the photo loses its appeal.

This goal can be accomplished in various ways. Framing the original shot is one way (and the most preferred). This can involve many things such as controlling zoom, focus, and camera position. Also when shooting the photographer can manually move clutter out of the way of the image, such as removing trash or temporarily pushing aside live branches or plants.

Also some of this can be accomplished during processing, when either the photographer did not notice the original distracting clutter, or he was not able to remove at shoot time. This can involve further cropping and possibly outright removal using a computer. This last technique is often frowned upon by photographic purists, but when one looks at photography as a form of art the main goal is to create something wonderful, not necessarily represent exactly what appeared at the scene. And when you think about it all of the other tools that photographers use regularly, such as depth-of-field (DOF), filters, computer sharpening and contrast control, all alter the original "scene" to his or her liking.

So remember the old adage KISS: keep it simple stupid.

Fireworks

It only happens once a year, so I like to setup the camera and try to make some unique images of 4th of July fireworks. This involves a couple of key elements:

1) Appropriate camera settings
2) Framing of the image
3) Timing
4) Luck

The camera settings I used are something like: 10-20 second exposure, low ISO, and high aperture. The long exposure captures very nice long lines, and multiple explosions. High ISO is usually not needed, since the light from the explosions is well bright enough. And the high aperture allows for the long exposures without making the lines overexposed and almost pure white.

Framing involves making a nice image of not just the explosions themsleves but possibly the surroundings as well.Timing is obvious: When to open the shutter to capture a nice set of explosions.

Luck is hoping that the set of explosions you capture will ultimately make a nice image. I usually make a lot of exposures during a fireworks show, and hope that something intersting results.

I think the following image is one of my successes. It was taken last night at the fireworks at Peddler's Village, Lahaska, Pa.

Framing

I'm not talking about framing a photographic image. I've had this desire for a long time to craft my own wood frames. In addition to photography I've dabbled in some wordworking projects over the years. I've always had a hard time picking just the right style. So I finally decided to give it a go - the only new tool I had to purchase was a strap clamp, although I also needed a new blade for my compound miter saw. The image below is the current style I am producing:


I am currently using poplar with a Red Oak stain. I am very happy with the look of the wood after staining. The grain is subtle and even. I will be experimenting with other colors in the near future.

The process of creating a frame from scratch is really not that complicated, but the technique is what makes this repeatable without too much waste. Sanding the wood to even out flaws and saw blade indentations. Cutting accurate corners without too much tearout. Applying the stain evenly. Finishing.

I am hoping to add these frames to my offerings in the near future. Keep a look out.

V is for Vignette

I love to shoot scenics - both small-scale (smaller subjects, tighter cropping) and large-scale. In the rural areas of Bucks County (Pennsylvania) there are many, many sources of very nice subject matter for these kinds of shots. But I also drive into the city of Philadelphia a few times a year to try and capture some nice images there. My style is not the B&W, gritty street photography that so many photographers do (and do well, I might add). And although city buildings lend themselves to studies in angles and shapes, I am drawn to a different kind of city photography.

Reading Terminal Market - 2007

The image above is an example of the kind of shot I look for in the city. Cities have lots of buildings and stores and landmarks, but they are also full of living and breathing people. And what I want to record is a vignette of city life, not an in-your-face kind of image, but a more subtle reproduction of a moment in the hustle-bustle daily life of a city-dweller. I think I succeeded in that regard in the above image.

Moonshot

I recently made a photo of a moonrise in Yosemite National Park, and I have received some questions about handling the moon in photographs. Many experienced photographers know how to handle the moon but I'll discuss it a little for those who don't.


The light coming from the moon is approximately as bright as other earthly objects in daylight. So if you were to take a picture of the moon during daytime, which is when the above image occurred, you will typically see the moon with all of its details. But if you attempt to include the moon in a nighttime image, with an extended exposure, the moon becomes over-exposed and becomes a bright ball. Some people don't mind that effect, but some do.

There are various ways to handle this problem:

1. Make your photo with the moon during daytime (like the image above)
2. During night-time use a long exposure if you don't mind the "bright ball" effect
3. Some people make two exposures, one exposed for the scene and one exposed for the moon, and they post-process the images to have the moon show with it's detail
4. Some people simply paste in a copy of the moon in a night-time image (I'm not a big fan of this technique, although photography is art so it is not off-limits)

So there you have it.

Big Question

So what's the most common question I get at art shows. If you guessed "Do you use digital?" then you win a prize (not really ... about the prize part that is). I guess people may be genuinely interested in the answer, but I have a hard time believing that it really makes that much of a difference one way or the other. Art can be created with a multitude of raw materials, and which kind of camera I am using is just one of many variables. No one (or almost no one) asks me "What brand of computer do you use?" or "What kind of paper are the prints made from?" or any number of more interesting and meaningful questions.

Maybe I'm just getting tired of hearing the question. I thought by now that "digital" was so pervasive that nobody thought about it any more - but they do.

On a side note I had one guy approach me at Newtown Welcome Day and ask me this question, and then proceeded to explain why he thought digital was "junk" (to paraphrase him) compared to film. Of course after I got home my wife pointed out the irony that if he had to ask me the question then he couldn't tell if my work was digital or film-based, and thus his argument was pointless.

I'm sure I'll have to weather that question for years to come. Maybe I'll start coming up with novel answers, like "Which do you think it is?" or "Could be either" or "Does it really matter?".

Second Thoughts

Second post .. second thoughts. Even the most established artists go through periods of self-doubt. And I, being quite un-established, have my share. Just last weekend I spent a third of my Memorial Day holiday sitting for hours in a hot tent, mainly watching people walk by with their families and dogs, enjoying the nice day. The sales were hard to come by, although the conversations I have with customers and almost-customers sometimes makes it worthwhile. In the end there were periods of second-thoughts ... I could have spent that day with my own family, by our recently-installed pool.

But I realize that for every really good show I have there will be a poor one to balance it out, and that every show is a learning experience. I was able to meet a few other artists (since they were free to roam the show with the foot traffic tailing off) and get some good information. And I also learned a little bit about the "art" of picking good shows (e.g. demographics do matter).

My First Thoughts

It's been about three years since I made the fateful decision to take my on and off hobby and become much more serious with it. It has been a long road for me since I took a few of my better images at the time and made some prints and offered them for sale. There's a lot of risk involved in such an enterprise - not just the monetary risk, but also the risk of rejection and disappointment. The first year or so was replete with rejection and disappointment, but somehow I barely avoided throwing in the towel. I'll be touching on some of that history in future posts.

I created this blog to allow me to open up a little and present my thoughts about photography, art, business, and life. Hopefully you'll stop by often to see what I've written - and of course you can add my blog to your favorite newsfeed aggregators (e.g. mine is bloglines.com).