Two factors thus emerge as requisites of success in the field of creative photography. First, the subject must be photogenic. Second, its re-creation in a photograph must be based upon technical knowledge, guided and supported by artsitic inspiration. —- Andreas Feininger – “Feininger on Photography” by Ziff-Davis, 1949
The last day of April! It’s like we’ve been living in a Fog the past fourteen months. We have to accept that we are living in the new normal. The scary part is there are those whom are still refusing to take precautions. We hear and see it all over the Net that the biggest denials end up catching the plague then are trying to warn others. It’s too late for them. Refusing to be vaccinated or even wearing masks people are being stubborn. OK rant over…
A Photographer and Model Group I am a member of on Facebook has a new Tag for this week. #Fog
I’ve never had the opportunity to take anyone out to try shooting in Fog. This is the closest I have. A Flashback Friday.. from a trip to Ireland several years back.
I am much more interested in photography as a conduit for ideas, reflecting on both itself as a medium and as a document of reality. —- Lisa Barnard
With all the reports of acts of violence I’m surprised there hasn’t been a Women’s Peace March against this hate! Acts of violence against people of Asian Descent. The mass shootings.
My thoughts for the past two weeks we’re trying to showcase the Women’s perspective on what it was like to be a Photographer in a male dominated society. The Photography and Photojournalism itself are run like a Private back room Men’s Club. With any outsiders being brushed aside. If one shows perseverance then the outcome is more duties and overbearing nonsense responsibilities to overburden the individual to make them go running. Is it like this now the way it was back in the mid 1900’s? The struggles are real people!
I would like to take this time to present to you a portrait of a young woman I had created a few years back. My submission to the International Women’s Month of March 2021.
Too bad this young lady is not a photographer or trying to get herself into the art world. Strong, intelligent with determination and more has been molded by situations beyond her control. I am honored and proud to not only know her. I’ve been honored and blessed that this wonderful woman had taken time out to give me the opportunity to create this wonderful portrait!
There is still a misunderstanding on the subject of the straight print, as opposed to the modified print. Some champions of pure photography, as it is called, will even deny that a modified print is a photograph at all. For my part, I believe that if the X deposit forming an image is built up by the action of light, under the shadow of another image, transparent, and also due to light action, the result must be a photograph, whatever modifications the photographer has thought proper to introduce amongst the relative proportions of the deposit. — Robert Demachy – Camera Work 18, 1907. [cited in: Alfred Stieglitz “Camera Work (The Complete Illustrations 1903 – 1917)”
Big difference since that day! New York was under attack… and the collective world held it’s collective breath.
Why? Because New York has always had a reputation for acceptance and is always considered a melting pot of diversity. Every Or Almost Every single Country in the World lost people that fateful day.
Now? It’s just Not New York, the World is under attack by a Virus! In the United States alone I had heard we might have topped over or close to 190,000 Dead?
We All need someone to step forward to take charge to Unite the people and make everyone understand that by not listening and following the Scientific Guidelines this wont go away anytime soon.
End of Rant
It has come to my attention that an Absolutely wonderful place has reopened to the public in Ireland. A park that is dedicated to the diversity and acceptance of The United States as it used to be. The Ulster American Folk Park.
We were there a few years back and on Facebook yesterday they showed an image featuring the Anvil from the Blacksmiths Shop!
My early childhood equipped me really well for my portrait work: The quick encounter, where you are not going to know the subject for very long. These days I am much more comfortable with the fifteen minute relationship, than I am with a life long relationship. — Annie Leibovitz
I am involved in several Photography Groups on Facebook. One Group is specifically for beginners in photography and with those more experienced and more knowledgeable giving a helping hand where needed.
A friend of mine who actually is a member of two other Photography Groups had posted two very lovely images of flowers on her own timeline. Upon request she had given me permission to share these on the beginner group. I automatically gave her photo credit and with the added benefit of my Administrative Powers I was able to turn Comments Off for those particular images. Just in case they would link back to her page I thought it very inappropriate for questions or ideas to be shared. I created two threads to discuss said images.
One person who happens to be very new to the group made some very interesting observations of one particular image. Mentioning about where the image was leading the viewers eye as well as to question a part of the composition where a brighter color was peaking its way into the background.
Keeping in mind that the basic skill set and knowledge starts at proper exposure and knowing what and how all the buttons, knobs and menu choices effect the image. An add on to these basic set of skills is understanding and putting into practice the concepts of Composition.
Beginning photographers have a tendency to get caught up into a particular lesson where they find comfort and settle in so as to Not accept further information or ideas. It then becomes difficult to get them to open their minds for further understanding. As funny as this sounds this Is the one actual situation that will give the instructor or mentor the understanding as to whether this person will succeed to higher levels of artistic abilities. Blah Blah Blah this is probably the reality of a student thinking they have enough knowledge to succeed on they’re own!
I’ve been doing this teaching photography thing soo very long that I can see this situation ahead of time and trying to avoid it becomes problematic to opening up the mind so as to not get caught up in a learning loop. Each student is obviously different and certain situations has a cause and effect. When you listen to an open mind pointing to things and questioning the reason of what the artist decided to do on things on a much higher level than the students comprehension. Is soo humbling as to make one be a witness to a possible one of a kind that one special person. I can’t explain it any better.
What’s the next lesson after all this? Lighting! Using reflectors to bounce natural or added lights to a particular area to help balance the overall subject. Adding Lights to give the darker areas some help in balancing and bringing that dark zone into a more acceptable tier.
Natural Light is the best light. Sometimes this light needs a drop of help when it comes to an artistic photography situation. The artificial methods used in capturing a scene with today’s technology is still way behind the capabilities of the human eye. A Photographer still needs to understand that using extra tools will help make an image better than the current limitations.
The one difficult problem is when is enough enough? During shooting we can be creative in bring all parts of the image within proper levels to fulfill the Exposure Triangle. It’s the Editing part that can either make or break the final results. If a part of the image is overworked the editing becomes obvious. It is way too easy to develop an obsession and become fixated on a certain part of an image if it becomes troublesome. This is when experience kicks in to say enough!
We’ve all heard the stories from a magazine article when a model has been retouched in some way and readers get offended because it’s misrepresenting the product or model in some way? I’ve actually heard people say they are against editing of any kind! Look to each their own but it’s comparable to a baker putting all the ingredients into a pan then Not placing that pan into the Oven! If the average person is soo offended by a slight error in editing wouldn’t it be fun to show them how much a finished image in a magazine is actually changed from the original? Ha
Let’s see which image should I use?
This image was taken during a photo workshop I was part of. This particular image was from when we moved to the buildings roof and I had grabbed this because it just looked good, at the time. There were problems though. An electric cable laying on the floor. Distracting other objects also in the frame. This one image was a good lesson for me to help my editing skill set in image repair.
Have a Great Weekend everyone! Stay Safe! Wear Protective Face Coverings when needed. For those in the States with us Have a Happy 4th of July Celebrations!
“There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.” Ansel Adams
On the craziness that the World is going through. During this time of staying home. My Laptop died. I knew it was bound to happen. It started to act up months ago and I was babying it. Some grinding noises coming from the Hard drive. This means At this current time I cannot access my External Drives to do any work on my images. No access to my old CS4 Photoshop. I had enough awareness to upload some images to the Media Library here on WordPress…
So to see the Light and say we will get past this I am sharing an old image I had shot at Sunrise.
Great Blue on the Hunt
Stay Safe Everyone! Keep your distances and be Healthy…
In my mind’s eye, I visualize how a particular . . . sight and feeling will appear on a print. If it excites me, there is a good chance it will make a good photograph. It is an intuitive sense, an ability that comes from a lot of practice. — Ansel Adams
February 20th was Ansel Adams Birthday. In Honor and to Celebrate his life and accomplishments I am sharing an image that to me was inspired by the talents and ideas he propagated by his inspiration. To understand even a little about him we have to understand that he always strives to be better today than he was yesterday. Always willing to try new things and to push himself to get better quality.
A few years back while my wife and I were on an adventure through Ireland. I made sure to keep the mindset of Ansel Adams dramatic landscapes in the back of my mind. Our tour bus had made a stop in the middle of nowhere so we could get out and stretch. It was on a beautiful beach that we were informed that this scene was used in the movie “Ryan’s Daughter“.
I then knew I was going to attempt to see if I would be able to accomplish my dreams of creating a dramatic landscape from my thoughts and vision of what I dreamed of what had to be done.
The first image I’m going to place here is the Straight out of camera image. The Only thing I did was to convert the image to JPG from the Nikon Raw Format NEF.
SOOC
Taking this image to my older version of Photoshop CS4 and the Nik Collection. I had to increase the contrast and try and make the background portion a drop darker. Paying special attention to the clouds.
Color Edit
The basic training that we try to stress to the students of Photography is to picture the scene the way you want it to look in the final product. This is called “Pre-visualization“. To “See” the image before you so your fingers can make it happen by working the variables on the camera to the correct settings. You will learn that your fingers will do this after the learned skill of proper exposure. My fingers do this out of reflex!
Then taking this image to the next step I have to increase the Blacks and play with the shadows to keep the details. I used the Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 for the B&W Conversion.
B&W Conversion
The advantage of using the Nik Collection is this gives us the ability to selectively modify a certain portion of the scene so as to Not Affect other parts that need to be left alone.
All comments welcome! Have a Great Weekend everyone! Mark
as pertaining to photography I found this explanation a bit better.
Minimalist photography is a form of photography that is distinguished by extreme, austere simplicity.[1] It emphasizes spareness and focuses solely on the smallest number of objects in the composition process.
The term Minimalist in Photography to me is a bit confusing. From what I’m understanding an image has a small main subject within a large negative space. By negative space I’m talking about the background in and around the subject. https://mymodernmet.com/negative-space-definition/
Placing this to a Minimalist perspective the Negative Space is not intrusive and is more than the main idea or subject. The only example I have from my archives is “The Fishermen”. I think to better serve the concept the boat should have been a Lot smaller and farther away when I had taken this image. IMHO I think there is not enough negative space in the overall image. According to other definitions the image can have repeating objects or being monochrome. Which also fits my image roughly…. OK I’m stretching here but look at this image and picture the boat with the fishermen farther away and showing more water. I think that might be a better image to fit into the Minimalist Concept… Maybe?
If I would’ve left more room in the background and the boat with the fishermen should have been a lot smaller do you think it would have been able to be classified as “Minimalist“?
The Fishermen
I would assume the concept must be done upon taking the image to previsualize the idea. After the fact or in post to me doesn’t work very well.. Any thoughts on this? I had shot this a while back on a Travel Vacation to Ireland.
During our Adventures in Ireland, we were brought to Blarney Castle. The construction for the current building on the property started in 1446. I was pretty surprised that every structure on the site was very rundown. It is world renowned famous for the Blarney Stone. Why would they let it just fall apart?
Anyway here I gave my lovely wife my Nikon D700 with instructions to make sure she gets the Castle in the picture with me. She did a wonderful job capturing the Keep and Tower. (reminds me of the Tower of Joy).
The best pictures differentiate themselves by nuances…a tiny relationship – either a harmony or a disharmony – that creates a picture. — Ernst Haas More Joy of Photography by Eastman Kodak (Editor)
In Honor of St Patrick’s Day…
Last week I published “Mare and Fowl” to show the full beauty of nature in all it’s glory. We arrived at this wonderful location as a rest stop for the night on our adventures through Ireland. My wife and I really like the tour buses. We have a driver and a guide who know the lay of the land and all it’s nuances. So we pull up late in the day and look around before we get settled in for dinner. We notice a paddock across a small road from the hotel where the Mare and her fowl were grazing. A few people from our group started to take pictures but to me the horses were a bit too far and the late afternoon light was a bit harsh. I made a mental note to come out at sunrise to see what I could do.
Setting my alarm on my IPad for about sunrise is normal for me. Up showered and dressed and grab my gear that I set up the night before. Making sure to charge at least 2 batteries for the next day. Now mind you I’m on a time limit. We have to be down for breakfast and on the bus by a certain time to continue the day. I have to run up to wake my wife to let her do her thing to get dressed so we can go down for breakfast and then onto the bus. I knew it was going to be chilly. But I was definitely not dressed for the chill that was already going through my bones…. So here I am standing next to the wooden gate/fence that disappears into the horizon. I’m taking in the scene with rolling hills and trees in the distance. At first I don’t see the horses while looking around, but then I see movement. They are hiding in the shadows waiting for the sun to light up the area. I’m waiting and pull out my cell phone to check the time. I have patience but I’m getting bored. Checking my exposure settings to make sure I’m in the ball park so as to have it set to when they come out into the light I’m at least close………..
I’m starting to talk to myself at this point… Please come out! I’ve been good!! The Sun is starting to peak out over the horizon to my left. They are Not Moving!! LOL I’m looking around to see what’s happening. I’m the Only one out at this time of the morning at least outside anyways.. Nothing doing! The horses aren’t moving.. but I keep my eyes moving around me. Out of habit I am fully aware to keep my senses just in case……. See your focusing on whats in front of you. But what’s happening to the light behind you? Or to your sides……….. Oh would you look at that?? A Rainbow is starting to show itself off to my right. I glance at the horses and they are still hanging out under that dark tree. But the light is starting to change! I check the time and it’s getting closer to where I have to leave. Looking to my right and the rainbow is starting to get fully bright. Can’t miss this.. Changing my settings I turn just in time to see a nice glow from the bottom of the rainbow just at the horizon line. Oh this is going to be good. I take a shot! Hmmm Not happy! I need to concentrate on the composition using the fence as leading lines. The Colors of a Rainbow are always difficult for capture. We have to be careful to make sure about proper exposure to be able to play in the darkroom later.
Glancing back at the horses and nothing yet. Glance at the time and I’m still good… Turn to the Rainbow and take another shot. Man I’m Not happy. Still doesn’t look right.. I look down and the grass is wet with morning dew.. I’ve always stressed in these pages about changing your perspective. I need to get low for a better angle. I get down on one knee and it’s cold and wet……….. I double check my exposure and take a shot. OK that looks good. I now turn back to the horses and they are starting to move…. I now glance at my phone and I have to leave… NOW! Nutz… I check my settings and adjust them for the difference in light. Taking a few shots of them grazing and I’m very pleased with the side light. I now say thank you and leave.
The first image is the original position of me standing while shooting the Rainbow. Can you see where and why I’m not exactly happy with this?
my perspective is off!
Now I get down on one knee and I lean against the fence to get a better perspective of the lines.
much better perspective
So now I’m home looking at that image and edit and I’m thinking I want more detail. Not really an HDR image but an enhanced mood I guess. So back in I go and start to play in the Nik Collection. Or more precisely Color Efex Pro…
Fire in the Sky
Before I go I want to just say changing your perspective can be the difference between an OK image and one that people will take notice of. I thought about climbing that fence to get a higher glance to see how that would work. But I thought if I’m being watched this is Private Property and I didn’t want to piss off anyone. So I didn’t!!! Respect others!! Honor and Respect goes a long way!
To complete the discussion I am including an image of the horses to show my place in things.. Have a Great Week and Happy St Patrick’s Day Everyone!
Not4wood's Photography Blog 