The Right Tool for the Right Job

Friday August 6, 2021

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When I photograph, I always look for people who are absorbed in something. — Susie Fitzhugh

The Right Equipment for the Right Job!

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We are always seeing those who are determined to find out how an image was created. Several Groups have Rules that tell us we need to share the shooting information with every post. What Gear did you use?

Why? Why is it important for every image to have listed what Shutter Speed, Aperture and ISO? Why is it that everyone know what Brand Camera was used in that particular image?

While walking around a Museum do you hear anyone asking “What Paintbrush did he use”? Or “Where did Vermeer get his Canvas from”? Ha, “What Paintbrush did Rembrandt use to create that”? What Brush did Vermeer Use to Paint “Girl With Pearl Earring”?

Early Photography Magazine’s in the 1960’s started this. I don’t want to say Trend! But it since has become a way of life in the Photography Community. An article was published showing a wonderful landscape. Letters started coming in asking how the artist shot that scene. What lens did you use? What camera body? What Film?

So the Editors quickly picked up the idea that having those questions answered might intrigue the Equipment Manufacturers to spending more money in that Magazine. So now they had an over abundance of Ads coming into the Magazine where everyone was pushing there favorite piece of equipment.

After a while these Magazines became very Popular with wonderful articles of shooting under difficult situations. Listing what and how the Photographer shot that scene. The Manufacturer’s Advertising Agency’s went absolutely crazy trying to fill up the Magazines with Ads.

After a few years there were less room for articles since the Mags were so full of just Advertising!

You don’t believe me? Try going to your Local Library and browse the Magazine sections. Look for any of the Photography Mags to see how much advertising space there is compared to actual informative articles?

So what did I first say all the way back to the top? OK I had to actually peak… Haha

The Right Equipment for the Right Job! Once we get to a certain level of understanding and education. It becomes obvious that “Most” Cameras can do the same thing. Oh then the Megapixel Wars comes to mind. Also driven again by the advertising department’s.

You’re trying to capture a fast moving child or pet? How about a Wild Animal moving along and your getting frustrated because everything you try using your Phones Camera isn’t getting the results you want?

Maybe it’s just me and I’m Not using the camera correctly on my Phone. Well guess what? That person now doesn’t have any usable images to show.

Don’t get me wrong! A cellphone camera can take great images. Keep in mind that there are certain situations that a Cellphone Camera will be limited in its capacity to handle situations. I’m also talking about the Single Shot aspect. Or even the very dark situation a Sensor might have problems with.

A Memory Popped up on my Facebook page the other day. One of my images was featured in “Shutterbug Magazine” over 8 years ago.

While we were walking around a wonderful Museum Park in Northern Ireland called “Ulster American Folk Park” my wife and I strolled into the Blacksmith Shop.

It was dark! To the point of having your eyes needing time to adjust to the darkness. The Smith was at his hearth kicking up a fire. So I leaned back and it was way too dark to even try to focus using the auto focusing feature of my camera.

Needing more light a slow shutter speed and wide aperture will be needed. (Can your Cellphone do that?) Next I’m thinking a wide shot to get the complete surroundings inside.

All of a sudden the smoke from the hearth plummeted up and it was too difficult to see. So, I took the shot!! Understand that in the darkness I never noticed the tool rack on the far wall on our left! I braced myself and tried to steady my camera.

The cameras sensor captured more details in the darkness than our own eyes were able to see!

If I didn’t have have my real camera with me I never would have gotten this shot! My P&S can’t go wider that f:/5.6…. Would the Sensor in my P&S work in this extreme low light? Probably Not! Couldn’t focus in the extreme darkness. All I saw was the light on top sneaking in from the roof and the smoke was filling up the room. We were barely able to make out the Smith. This is what a long exposure can do for us.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Mark

Difficult Things . . .

Friday March 5th, 2021

Daylight is too easy. What I want is difficult – the atmosphere of lamps and moonlight. — Edgar Degas

I’m still thinking about what I find difficult to shoot. Lately people on Social Media are sharing images of there pets.

Ours? A mother and daughter both black. The baby, well our baby was extremely difficult to photograph. Her dark fur swallowed up the light and made showing details rough.

This is probably the Only clean detailed shot I have of her. She was impossible to take a picture of. Here I bounced a flash off of the ceiling.

If we find something difficult I say jump right in and force your way ahead. Hey, you never know! You could be hired to shoot a job, and when you get there…. that one thing you can’t do is staring at you in the face….. it Will Happen! Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow! A few photo shoots down the road, and it will yell “Surprise”!

Storm

V. NABOKOV

Without fantasy there is no science. Without fact there is no art. ——- V. Nabokov – Popular Photography, 1/1980

Friday December 18, 2020

We had our first major snow storm yesterday and the report says Central Park received 10 Inches of snow. I did a little cleanup and it looks like we got a drop more.

Usually we get a few small snow storms as a training exercise so those who shovel and plow can get a feel of what’s happening. Bodies out of practice, testing equipment and making sure the shovels don’t need to be replaced. Not this time! Hydraulic Parts on the plow usually need tweaking or replacing.

I’m soo glad I’m retired from this. I probably would have slept over at work to take my “Normal” position behind the wheel of the company truck to plow. This about closes out my second year of retirement and only the second heavy snowfall. There was a major storm the next day after I retired! I felt cheated last year that nothing but smaller storms made me thankful that my body said enough.

At first I was having a difficult time. I felt similar to not being needed but it was my choice. Now?? Last night I went out and took this with my cell. I felt glad that I made the decision to leave. My time doing this is done. Let the younger have there shot!

Those are my prints in the snow. Maintenance plow the street but it was quickly covered up.

Retrospective

Friday July 3rd, 2020

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!

Learn Your Subject!

While there is perhaps a province in which the photograph can tell us nothing more than what we see with our own eyes, there is another in which it proves to us how little our eyes permit us to see.

— Dorothea Lange

Friday June 26th, 2020

101st Day of Captivity

I’ve seen a lot of arguments lately about using and the actual affective capabilities of wearing the Mask. I simply don’t understand why this pushback? People are making every kind of an excuse to rationalize it. What is the most scary part of this whole thing? Most people can’t accept that our Lives are forever changed!

The Virus hasn’t Magically Disappeared! The Virus isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Businesses are Opening Up to try to Save the Economy Not because it’s actually Safe for Us! Just look around you? I saw a post late last night that puts it in a nutshell. I can’t remember who said it but it’s been stuck inside my head and I can’t forget it. COVID-19 took 3 Months for 1 Million Confirmed cases. Now in a week it managed another Million! True or Not the bottom line is this thing is a Lot Worse than we are being told! Turning this into a Political argument is just distracting us from the Truth! “What are they Not Telling Us”?

This week’s entry I titled Learn Your Subject and this goes to the core of what Photography can be. A way to preserve the essence of your subject for all to see! Now what truly is the essence? It’s the emotional mood of your subject! Is your subject a Person? We need to connect with the persons emotions. Is the subject another life form? I’m being funny on purpose here. For another life form does a cat or dog have emotions? A bird? How bout a flower or even a Landscape?

Emotional Mood of the Landscape! Are you paying attention? How can a Landscape show emotions? Does it smile? Does it laugh? It’s actually Not the subject’s Mood completely we are trying to capture. Even though that’s what we try to say to ourselves. How do You the Artist feel about your Subject? What emotional baggage are you carrying that you want to leave home when you walk out that door to go on Your Journey or Quest? See where I’m going with this? You want to clear your heads of your thoughts and emotions to let your mind go! Feel your subject/s! The awe and wonder of what’s in front of your face. The beauty of your subjects need to be captured! Uh Huh! Did you see what I did there? I said Beauty didn’t I? At that moment I was typing Beauty I was picturing a Dramatic Sky during a storm over a house on hill! What’s Beauty to you? There is Beauty in All things. Show the Ugliness around you? Ah now! Anger, Frustration and how about Sadness? All these things we can feel but how do we express or show this or these in a Picture?

We Need to go to the next level of understanding in photography. It’s above composition really but sometimes I feel it’s also a part “B” of the Understanding of Composition. I’m talking about “Understanding Light”!

Light Shadows the softness of the light. The harshness of the light and what it can do. Shade of light being cast by something casts a Blue Color! Look at images of people in the shadows of buildings or trees. What color are you “Seeing”? Being able to compensate for the color shifts will help you later during the editing process. Or how bout “The Golden Hour”? One hour after Sunrise or the One Hour before Sunset. When the light from the Sun changes to an almost Golden Color being Cast on everything. Then we also have “Blue Hour”! It’s the strange time when it’s maybe just past dusk when it’s Not fully dark but our eyes are having a difficult time adjusting. Are you thinking of how do we compensate for that? We Don’t! We try to exaggerate it to show off it’s magical beauty!

Blue Hour

Grand Canal,
Venice, Italy

Grand Casino
Monaco

If you’ve gotten this far I am proud of you! You just Leveled Up and started down your next path of Education and Understanding! I can point you but I can’t lead or travel with you. This is like a Walkabout! You must travel this adventure alone and I point out for you to read books by Joe McNally and Scott Kelby.

Any thoughts? Like or Not I would appreciate any feedback on this. Be well and stay safe. In the US it’s been reported that we have passed over 125,000 Deaths from the Virus!

Portraits . . .

Morning Thoughts:

A photographic portrait is a picture of someone who knows he is being photographed.

– Richard Avedon

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He’s right you know. I was never impressed with him. His persona or his work!
It Is OUR Job as the Artist to make Our Subject/Client feel relaxed to be able to have a “Look” that conveys a part of their Personality.

That’s the Trick really. In the early days of Photography when the Current Technology was usually an Hour or Hour and Half for exposure time.
You had to get into a comfortable position and Not move. If you look closely at some of the images from those days. You can just barely make out that those chairs had braces to support the person’s head and arms.

In todays technology everyone has a camera in one form or another!
Whether it be a Phone Camera, a Mirror-less or a DSLR as Long as the
Image conveys “The Look”. The person’s personality that is good as well.
But!! If one doesn’t possess the “Skill” or even some of the skill of “Portraiture”.
Then making an attempt using a Phone Camera is Not Going to get Good Results. Are there good results from a Phone Camera? Yeah of course. But the average person results are all over the Internet and Social Media. What do YOU think?

It’s Much more than taking a “Click”. That’s why if you would Like something to Use on a Web Site. A Business Card or Publication. You Can Contact someone who has that Skill. Who has that Training to get the Job Done that you can be proud to show off.

That is a Portrait Artist.

Off Camera Flash

Friday Night Photography Quote:

..the thing that is magnificent about photography is that it can produce images that incite emotion based on the subject matter alone.
— Brassai

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A lot of talk about using Off Camera Flash going on in the Photo Groups on Facebook lately. If you’re not used to or haven’t tried it yet you should! It’s an important tool for us to use when the situation might arise.

First up and this is Important!
Natural Light is the Best Light!

Let me repeat myself. Natural Light is the Best Light! Sometimes it does need a little bit of Help! This is where the External Flash fits into the scheme of things.

We will need a few things to make this happen though:
Flash
Stand: A method of supporting the Flash whether it be a Flash Bracket or
Light Stand
Trigger: Something to Trigger the Flash to make it fire.
Light Modifiers: Modifiers can be anything from Umbrellas to Diffusers.
A Softbox to a Color Gel

The first and most important thing about all this is “Cost”!
You/We Don’t Have to spend a whole Lot of money for this.
There are several places on the Net that is there to Help!
One is that a Lot of things can be hand made to do the same things that store bought can!
Because this whole Off Camera Flash mentality has become so very Popular. A lot of camera stores now have a Strobist Dept. What is Strobist? Strobist is a place that has become Number 1 when it comes to using Flash Off Camera. Tutorials and learning challenges. Directions on where to go and what to look for. In acquiring the needed equipment for a reasonable price!
Go here and check out the Strobist pages:
http://strobist.blogspot.in/2006/02/welcome-to-strobist.html

Next up is a great store that I can honestly recommend is dependable and trustworthy. I’ve purchased from them a few times and have been very pleased with my purchase. It’s called Midwest Photo Exchange: They even have a Strobist Lighting Dept.
https://mpex.com

The Strobist Department is here:
https://mpex.com/strobist.html

Now what do we do with all of this? We practice! We Create! We Study and Practice some more.

One of the places on the Net that has wonderful Ideas and Tutorials besides rating the equipment is Neil’s place. He calls it Tangents and if your truly interested in learning the Ins and Outs of Lighting. He is the Man!
http://neilvn.com/tangents/

Neil van Neikirk also has several books out and you can check them out over at Amazon. I’m going to link to one book that specializes in Off Camera Flash. But Neil has several other books as well.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1608952789?ie=UTF8&tag=planeneilphot-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1608952789

In closing. Let me share an Image from my archives of Off Camera Flash in use as an example: I used a Nikon SB900 in a Silver Umbrella mounted on a light stand.
This is Only using the One Light. Which is slightly high and to Camera Right.

Have a Great Weekend Everybody!
Like always. If you have a comment your free to post. You have a question you can either post it here. Or contact me through the link.

New Signature File Created

Friday Nite Photography Quote:

You’ve got to deal with how photographs look, what’s there, not how they’re made.

– Garry Winogrand

 

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Well I just received my New Sig File from the people over at Photologo.
If you’ve never heard of them. They are a bunch of Artists/Calligraphers
that will create beautiful Sig Files for all of your Artwork.
Link here: https://www.photologo.co

I created mine with a few fonts years ago but it always bothered me that it wasn’t fancy enough.
My professionally made signature does look better but it doesn’t make me jump up and down. I guess it has to grow on me.. Hmm Maybe??

It’s Not that I’m Not happy with it. It’s just I don’t know… You tell me.
I made a sample of what I normally add to my art and the new Paid Artists rendition.
It comes in both white and black and Low Res and High Res of each. There is another file that is with it but I can’t figure out what I can do with that one yet???

Now since they are true Calligraphers and Artists I placed in the order my middle initial of P
Also at the very last minute I did Not include the copyright symbol. I thought it would cheapen the look…

Any and All Comments please for your Ideas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Here are two images. One on the left is with my old sig that I created. One on the right I just edited with my Brand New Artist made Signature on it. Please what do you think about this?

Old Sig that I had made

New Sig from the Artists over at PhotoLogo

Something to make you Go Hmmm!!!

Friday Nite Photography Quote:
HENRI CARTIER-BRESSON
[1908 – 2004] A French photographer. He is considered to be the father of modern photojournalism.

To photograph is to hold one’s breath, when all faculties converge to capture fleeting reality. It’s at that precise moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy. – Henri Cartier-Bresson – From the book: “The Mind’s Eye: Writings on Photography and Photographers by
–Henri Cartier-Bresson

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In one of the higher Level Photography Groups on Facebook. There was a very heated/angry discussion on: Owning an Expensive Camera doesn’t make one a Photographer.

It does take a major time frame, meaning several years of learning.
Learning proper exposure, composition and processing. By processing I’m speaking about Editing in the Darkroom. In today’s technology the Digital Darkroom. The several examples that were given compared buying a Hammer doesn’t make one a Carpenter. As also buying a Pencil doesn’t automatically doesn’t make one a Great Author. Or how bout buying a set of Pots and Pans doesn’t make a Great Chef! See the comparison? It takes years of study. Learning to control these expensive High Tech Camera’s and take them “Off of Full Auto”!!!

Ever see the current wave of Images being Posted on Social Media or the Net in General? Out of Focus, Underexposed, Overexposed or just plane way too dark almost like a silhouette for Anyone to even be recognizable? If you’ve looked at the comments of these Images we See: Oh that’s a wonderful Image. You should be a “Pro”! Yes! I’m taking Offense at this!

I’ve Studied for years! I was an Apprentice for a Portrait Studio for a couple of years when I was a kid in my early twenties. I was a color printer, I ran the B&W Darkroom and I was also the Lightman. Long hard hours!

Getting back into Photography after putting my camera down for several years gave me the experience and insight to pick the Digital Photography up pretty quickly. I still had to master the exposure triangle which now includes the white balance. White Balance is the special changes of Light that we take for granted that’s all around us. From the Harsh Mid Day Sun to the Blue Cloud Cover. The slightest change in Daylight will Affect Our Cameras White Balance. In todays modern Computer Technology Marvel the Digital Camera the Auto White Balance is very close. Enough to be impressive! But if you look closely there is a Major Problem with this. That’s if your shooting lets say your Portrait Subject/Model. The Camera is going to see any Change in the Cloud Cover, the different changes in the color of the light in the shade and so on. So lets say you have maybe 20 images. Your going to have images of many different White Balance Settings that will make your whole run of images way different from each other. Very Inconsistent. Which looking to your Client/Subject or just Viewer is Way Unprofessional.

Now to put everything in proper perspective I’m Trying to Not Be a Snob!
There are extremely Beautiful Images being made by P&S or Phone Cameras.
I use a P&S when Traveling. It’s the People/Person that takes lets say Inexperienced Images and tries to pass them Off as High Quality and the audience goes for it. We meaning those that are seriously studying the Art of Photography and the creation of Beautiful Images take Offense to those that don’t care or don’t want to learn the true Art of Photography and pass off the garbage. That Is Called “The Dumbing Down of Photography”.

There is also another category of repulsive behavior. The Guy With Camera. This is the person that shows some kind of a mid range priced camera and passes themselves Off as a “Pro” but in actuality is trying to have exposure or even a Date with a “Pro Model”! On the Meetup Pages where Models and Photographers on All levels try to hook up to Shoot some fantastic Art. Either for Portfolios, Job Applications or just head shots. Everyone has a different reason. Usually it’s for some kind of a Trade. Maybe a Photographer needs to add the the Portfolio? Maybe a Model is just starting out and needs some Images for the Portfolio? It takes all kinds of needs that are met with the Social Meetup Places.

As someone who in the past was a “Pro Photographer” for many years. I know first hand that no matter how much I know. There is still more to Learn. Learning to do something New keeps me alive. Gives me Inspiration to do more. The Fact the discussion of Owning a Camera does Not Make One a Photographer annoyed way too many people in this Group. To the point of people were complaining that some of those in this thread were Snobs and Egotistical.

I just simply do Not Understand. I don’t understand how somehow someone can ask Me to do a Portrait or a Party for Free? You just push a Button! How hard is it to take a picture? Tell You what. If you think it’s Soo Easy then why Not Do It Yourself with whatever you have? If it’s Soo Easy why are you bothering Me?

You want to become a Golf Pro? You get yourself a Good Set of Clubs. You take Lessons and go to Classes. You first have to Pass several Sanctioned Tests from the Golf World to at least get you through the Door to Go Pro. Licensing, Certifications and so on.

In Photography we have Lighting Classes, Posing Classes and the ever basic Photography Class Learning how to take your Camera Out of Full Auto Mode! Years of reading and studying. Then it’s learning how to edit our Images. You think this is Cheap? Camera’s, Lenses, Memory Cards. Then we have Filters and Filter Holders. Major Lights, Light Modifiers like Softboxes and Umbrellas, the Light Stands. Tripods, Exposure Meters. Computers for Editing. External Hard Drives to Store the Thousands of Images. The Workshops and Classes are Not Free! If I go to a Camera Store do you think they will give me a Lens for Free? Extra Batteries? Power Packs to drive the Camera?

After doing All This! Someone has a Poor Image Quality and they are comparing that Image to an Image that someone on My Level has taken?
A Beginner? We All Understand someone has to start somewhere. We know the Normal Flaws that will Show Up. When we are asked to Comment on these Horrible Images how are we to respond? Oh that’s Great? Really?? Be realistic. We started out Not Knowing how to. We Understood that it will take Us a while to Understand and Deal with how to make a Beautiful Image. We Knew it wasn’t going to take us a Few Minutes. We Knew Then that it was going to take Us a Lifetime to Learn how to Create an Image that will Knock Your Socks Off!!

I’m going to post two Images to this discussion. One a Portrait I did with using a Higher Level Camera. The other a Landscape from when we were in Italy. That Landscape was shot with my P&S!
It’s Not the Tool. It’s Not the Paint Brush that creates the Art. It’s the person behind the Camera!

Everything that I’ve Said above. Keep that in mind:
If someone goes to a Paid Shoot with any Kind of Equipment except a
“Pro Level Top of the Line” what is the Client going to think of Your Ability?

 

Shooting Sunrise in Florence Italy.

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.