🟢 Persistence

Persistence

noun. the quality of persisting; tenacity. the act of persisting; continued effort or existence. the continuance of an effect after the cause of it has stopped persistence of vision. Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins

I have never taken a picture for any other reason than that at that moment it made me happy to do so. — Jacques-Henri Lartigue, Master Photographers – The World’s Great Photographers on their Art and Technique , Page: 147

When you see something while you’re in a place. Sometimes you just know that it’s special. So we now walk around and changing our positions to try to get different perspectives of it.

While we were in Florence a few years back I would go out every morning to try my hand at capturing Sunrise of this one area. I would wait for the light to change as well as different angles.

I could also call this Florence, Italy a Study of Moods..

Sunrise over the Arno River.

Sunrise over the Arno River.

Then from the mood I would go and edit the image to recreate what I had in my minds eye at the moment of capture.

For the record I used a P&S for this adventure. My large heavy DSLR is getting old and from the brochure we would be traveling by many different means. I couldn’t see my Camera getting banged up or even falling overboard. So I picked up a P&S that fit my needs.

Have a Great Weekend everyone!

Phew!

Friday Night Photography Quote:

I’m no part time dilettante photographer, unlike the bartenders, shoe salesmen, floorwalkers, plumbers, barbers, grocery clerks and chiropractors whose great hobby is their camera. All their friends rave about what wonderful pictures they take. If they’re so good, why don’t they take pictures full—time, for a living, and make floor walking, chiropractics, etc., their hobby? But everyone wants to play it safe. They’re afraid to give up their pay checks and their security that they might miss a meal. — Weegee

 

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What ever happened to Honor and Respect?
This past week alone I’ve seen mentioned in the News Media about Not One but Two that’s 2 Oil Spills from Shell Corporation.
Several people doing what ever they want because they feel Entitled!
Major Stupidity in Yellowstone..
One woman decided to Pet a Bison. Now this isn’t your average House Pet. It’s Not even a Farm Animal. It might be a Cousin to the Cow but Palease! Walking up to a Full grown Adult Bison to pet it?
Then there is a Gentleman who decided to Walk Off the Path at Hot Springs. Duh
He did what everyone who works at the First American Park tells you NOT To Do!
He found a thin crust like walking on thin Ice on a Lake. He went down and it was announced today Thursday June 9th that they are suspending recovery and No Longer looking for his body.

In response Yellowstone published a few Videos of bad situations that can and Will happen. In one short Video a Bison charges a crowd at a parking lot. In other a man gets a little bit too close to a Bison. Well the Bison didn’t like it and attacked the Man and sent him Airborne into a nearby Tree! I’m going to try to Link over to this one. I thought it was pretty funny. You people ever Hear about the Darwin Awards?
They list the situations of Stupid People doing Stupid Things and Dying in the Process. You Are Soo Stupid your Taking Yourself out of the Gene Pool…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNvTHOrTf_Y

Now that I vented for a little bit. You got it, as much as I want to. The Political Climate Nonsense is being discussed, debated and argued enough over on Social Media that I will NOT do it here.

Back to Photography……
Seems another famous Image is being argued about. The wonderful Image of the Afghan Girl with the most Haunting Beautiful eyes! Everyone is going on about Photo Editing like it’s a Bad Thing. I want to get something Out. The process of Photography Starts in the Creative Eye. Transfers over to the Camera and captures a scene. Then the Image is worked in one of the many Digital Darkroom/Editing Programs. This IS the Normal Process. Was the Normal Process even in the “Old Wet Film Days”!
This is an Artistic Process that differentiates those that have Artistic Talent from the Everyday Shooter. We can All go to the Exact Same Place. With the Exact Same Camera and Take the Exact Same Image! If there are 5 people doing this. Do you think ALL 5 People will come up with the Exact Same Image? Nope!
I’m starting to get the feeling that those people who are arguing against the Editing Process might be feeling Inferior and making excuses so they don’t either have to learn or spend the Big Money on better Equipment, Training and Time we have devoted to Learning Our Craft.
Just go to any of the amazing Images from Ansel Adams. Adams would spend Months working and editing the same image to create and make it the way he had it in his Minds Eye upon pressing the Shutter Release. He was Not Satisfied with an Image that was Straight Out of the Camera. We now call this SOOC for simplification. Seems someone who was a witness to the shoot I mentioned above about the “Afghan Girl”. Claims the Image is a fake. That it was Staged and Edited and looks nothing like the way that they saw it at that time!! Really??  LOL Think about it. Think about any Event or Affair you were at?? If I’m shooting lets say a party. First Off I go through All the Images and look for those I think are bad. Bad Lighting. Maybe my Light Didn’t go off. Maybe I messed up on my exposure. Maybe someone had their Eyes Closed. Maybe someone Photobombed the image. Or a distracting stray hand or something. We pull these out. Never to be seen upon again. We now edit those that we feel are workable. We Crop out and create better composition. Crop out distracting things. Increase Contrast. Improve Color. We might clean up the image a bit by editing out blemishes and dust. Edit Out that stray hair or interfering Branch from a Plant or a tree. Sometimes we might even make the Background go Dark to help keep the Main Subject more prominent in the Image. This Is Normal. This is Basic Editing. This Is Art! I will Never Ever Show a SOOC Image Unless it’s either on the back of my camera or shot from my Phone. Even my IPad has some basic Editors to enhance the Image.

I know several people who are very proud of the Images they shoot. They are Very Nice Images. Images that they should be Proud of. But are they Photographers? Are they Artists? Are they Creating the Image that they shot into the Image that was seen in their Minds Eye at that Magic Moment of Capture? Are they Creating an Image or just Taking a Snapshot? Are they thinking of Sharpness? In their mind are they thinking of the Correct Exposure for that Scene? Are they looking out for the Lighting and Color of the Scene? Are they going through the Idea of Composition at that Precise Moment of Capture to “Make That Image Better”?

Now I Will walk up to a person and ask them to turn this way. Move your hand slightly or lift your chin or tilt your head. Maybe I’ll move them a few steps to remove something from the background I don’t like but was fast enough to see “Before I Press my Shutter Button”. Is this Wrong? Not at All. It’s just something else that will Separate those that Know from Someone who can’t be Bothered!
I actually saw a Post from someone who made a Statement that IT’s Not Photojournalism? That it’s Corrupting a Scene and Not a True SituatSion? I say it’s Always been done. If you think it’s Not Being Done then Your Too nieve or just making excuses.

If your happy with  your images then fine. But don’t put people down for the Skill, Time and Money they have devoted to Photography because Our Images Are Art?
In this day and age when everyone has a Camera. I’m talking about Cell Phone Cameras. IPad Cameras. Even Point and Shoot Cameras. If your Shooting using Full Auto Mode of your Camera and Your Happy then Fine. You think your a Photographer shooting on Full Auto fine. Do I Ever Shoot in Full Auto? Does Any Photographer Ever Shoot in Full Auto? I Don’t! I can shoot normally in Aperture Priority Mode which is actually a Semi-Auto Mode or I will shoot in Full Manual Mode.

When I’m showing you one of my Images are They Ever shown without some kind of Editing? Never! Even if I Crop slightly. That is Editing. If you are shooting in JPG in your Camera. The Program that saves this Image on your Memory Card is actually editing your Image without you knowing about it. Do you also have your Camera set for Increase Color? Maybe an Increase of Sharpness as well? Guess What?
That is Editing done Automatically by the Camera on your Image…

See to me I don’t Like what’s Done by someone else that Sits in a Factory somewhere and Does Not Fully Understand what I’m Looking at or have in Mind for something that I “See”. I want Complete Control on how my Image will Look when I’m done! This is Why I Edit My Images. It’s My Creation! My Expression of what I have in my minds Eye! We call that “PreVisualization”. Walking around I see something and then upon Capture I make my Camera do what I want. When I want it so I can Edit the Image Later to make it Look Like What I Saw At that Moment when I was At That Exact Spot!

Have a Good Weekend! Before You go this Is What I’m Talking about. This was Captured with my Point Shoot at Sunrise when we were in Florence Italy.
Enjoy!

Shooting Sunrise in Florence Italy.

_ Art Photography again _

Friday Night Photography Quote:

All sizes of negatives and printing papers are arbitary, and determined by the manufacturer. The real shape is the circular image by the lens. I have to compose within that circle. Therefore, the problem is square versus rectangle does not disturb me. It is easy to compose a horizontal or vertical image within a circle. It is possible to compose this either when taking the picture or later in the darkroom. Many times my final picture are square. I do not allow the proportions of the paper to dictate my composition. I change the proportions if they do not fit my idea of what the picture should be.

— Philippe Halsman, The Best of Popular

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Last week we were up to the point of being able to control the Camera and All it’s settings. The Rule of thumb is try to get thee best Image and Exposure you can in the Camera. This way there will be less things to worry about when your editing and trying to bring out “The Vision” at the moment of capture! Also the Google Nik Collection is a great set of Plug-Ins that will add a Lot of capability to the editing process. Don’t forget now! The Nik Collection has been made “Free” to download!

My normal workflow is to attempt to get the best exposure and Image I can that can closely capture what I have inside my head by looking at the scene in front of me. Bringing this image to life using one of the advanced Photo Editors like Adobe LightRoom and Adobe Photoshop will help in the Digital Darkroom. There are other programs but these are the two programs I use at the moment. You see even at an early age when I first built my own Black & White Darkroom. I learned that pressing the Shutter is only the beginning of the process. Bringing that vision from inside my head to the final product a Photographic Image is where the real magic is. I still don’t understand those that say anything you do to an image corrupts it. This doesn’t make sense to me. Look at the process that takes place within the camera immediately after the shutter is depressed.

• The Image is scanned and anything you have set within the JPG rules in the Camera are added to the image. Like increasing the Saturation and Sharpness.
• The image is searched for details for anything that repeats like the pixels in a Sky. At capture these extra details are be discarded. Here is one of the turning points to me. Over 83% of these Details of your Image are discarded!
• Upon Saving Said Image to the Memory Card this Image is Now Compressed.

Who makes the decision of what Details get thrown out? Some Techie sitting in a Lab wearing a White Lab Coat? Sorry!! I want every bit of Details that my Camera Captures. So thinking about what I just said the Image is actually already Worked/Edited inside the Camera before that “Realist” actually does anything.

For me to continue Controlling the situation I Try to Shoot in a different File Format than JPG. I shoot in maybe 99% of the Time in Raw with my Digital SLR Camera. For my little Panasonic P&S that depends on the subject and what I’m looking at for me to determine how to proceed with capturing the scene.
For me once this image is saved onto the Memory Card then I consider it Open Season! I will edit it to try and match what was going on inside my head at that time.. But the whole concept of being a “Realist” and not manipulating the Image is Nonsense! Let me Clarify. Nonsense to Me!

I also try to keep the Editing as minimal as possible. Sometimes I do get carried away but usually not. I find myself wanting to Show a Before and After editing image again, so you can see an example. I had glanced over my Archive for our Trip to Italy two summers ago. This was shot at Sunrise at St Mark’s Square or Piazza San Marco at Venice, Italy.

Original Unedited version.

I used three of the Nik Plug-Ins. Define for the noise removal. Color Efex Pro to help me in bringing out the details and some of the beautiful colors. As well as the Sharpener.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I prefer to do my Own Editing. Even on my P&S I very rarely have any of the Image Enhancement choices added in. For my DSLR shooting in the Raw File Format even if you have the choices set to the On position. They don’t Affect the Raw Image.

The image enhancement choices are OK I guess. Maybe they will work OK in a pinch. But I have always liked Full Control. Between these two images. The Edited version was done in a short time. I increased the contrast. Brought out the details and made it slightly darker. The Contrast and Detail Extractor had made the image slightly too Light and I didn’t like the look.

Train Yourself! The Only way to “See” the World around you is to go out with your camera’s and practice! The More you Practice the more you will be able to “See” something that Nobody Else does..

Like Always all C&C is accepted. Drop a comment to let me know what you think of my article.
Thanks,
Mark

Emotional Week!

Friday Nite Photography Quote:

Up to and including the moment of exposure, the photographer is working in an undeniably subjective way. By his choice of technical approach, by the selection of the subject matter…and by his decision as to the exact cinematic instant of exposure, he is blending the variables of interpretation into an emotional whole.
— W. Eugene Smith

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This was an Emotional Week

Traveling through Europe is normally a wonderful experience. We’ve been to both France and Belgium. Even though we never made it to Brussels, we’ve been to Brugge.
What happened this past week was an affront to all modern Civilization by these Barbarians!

I am dedicating  this weeks post to All those Affected by the tragic events. To those that were lost. To those that were wounded. To those that Lost Friends and Family.
Our Deepest Thoughts and Prayers!

Here are some of my images while traveling through Brugge, Belgium.

Education is the Topic

Greetings Everyone!

The hunger for knowledge is what drives us. Everywhere on the Photography Forums we see people asking for C&C. Which is to us comments and criticism. Others are asking “What would you have done differently”? The true students of Photography are always looking to improve on what they did yesterday.

Granted it’s our mindset but as the Artist it Is what goes on behind the “Tool” that does the creating. It’s the Use of That Tool which enables us to do what we do. When we are asked “Oh you must have a Nice Camera”. Or “your Camera takes beautiful pictures”!
It’s telling a Chef you have great Pots or a writer you have a good word processor….. They just don’t get it.

To create another issue is technology has given everyone the possibility to create either a Photograph or a Video. I’ve heard and have seen things like at a Wedding people jumping in front of the “Paid Photographer” to grab Video or a Shot of the Bride and Groom.
Yes!!!! I’ve seen some beautiful work using a Phone or a Tablet. I’ve also heard a situation where someone had mentioned that they could shoot a Wedding with there Tablet and it would be just as good as your Outdated Professional Photography Equipment. Really??

The real problem here is that technology is Dumbing Down Societies ability to appreciate Photography as Art. “Art” and “Photography as Art” has always had a Mystic about it. Difficult to accomplish. Painstaking time effort and money to Learn the Craft. As I’m writing this there is a Photography Show at the Javitz Center in Manhattan.
The people who think they are creating a half way piece of Art should go to the Photo Expo at the Javitz Center to witness what the rest of us have to go through.

The average image Shared on Social Media bares witness to those that not only doesn’t know. But also doesn’t care. Comparing and asking “Isn’t that a Beautiful Picture”? When it’s Dark and/or Out of Focus. When the person you had taken a picture of is soo dark you can’t tell who it is because the camera saw the Bright Sun in the back of them and exposed for that.

My question is “How Do We the Knowledgeable explain and teach those that are satisfied with what they have”?

Seems that the Old Standby of Showing Example of the Quality and the Art on the Net is being completely ignored.
What or how to do is the real question when someone asks what can I buy so I can make an Image as beautiful as Yours? When we all understand “It’s Not the Pen that creates the Beautiful Stories.  It’s the Author.

Shooting Sunrise in Florence Italy.

© MarkG Photography
All Rights Reserved

Have a Great Weekend Everyone.

Mark

Happy October People!

Photography, as a powerful medium of expression and communications, offers an infinite variety of perception, interpretation and execution.
— Ansel Adams

First I’d Like to Announce that I am extremely Happy to say that due to popular demand I am now Opening up Fridays in both October and November for Mini Portrait Sessions.  Go here for more details:  MarkG-Photography.com/wordpress

 

What I find extremely funny is I’ve been approached again by someone asking me about purchasing a New Camera. The question was what camera can I recommend that they can then take beautiful pictures like me? I am very Flattered People but the Camera is Like a Pen, Pencil or Word processor. It’s Not the Weapon of choice it’s the person behind the camera that makes the beautiful Art!
The response is that they don’t want to bother with having to learn anything like that. They just want to make beautiful pictures!
Well Duh!! It’s taken me a Lifetime of Study Practice and Education to be able to do the Things I can with a Camera.  You see the Camera is a Paintbrush. I am able to learn how to use a Camera to push it to it’s Limits to be able to do the things I can. Do I know All Cameras? No! Of course Not. I am Not a Camera Salesman who works in one of the many Photography Stores.

If you want to Create Beautiful Art then I’m sorry.  Your going to have to Learn how to use that Camera.  Proper Exposure, Proper Lighting and of course you Must Learn Composition.  Go a head!  Pick up a Pen and try to Write a Beautiful Story? Or a Pot and Pan. Try to cook something that you’ve never made before without reading the recipe or at least watch the Cooking Channel or a Video from Youtube.

Here is One I am Posting from the Summer of 2014 in Florence, Italy
© MarkG-Photography
All Rights Reserved
Not to be Used Cropped Edited or Copied without Written Permission.

Sunrise over the Arno River.

I also must Add that My Art can be Purchased.  You can contact me here.  My web site that I Posted above or email me for further Information.  email:  Info@MarkG-Photography.com
Have a great Week!

Mark