End of Year Image
May all your trails be artistically curved, your shadows long and may the sun shine ever softly over your shoulder.
The Early Signs of Genius
Tis the season to look back and cringe and wince and groan at all the excesses and travails that we each have suffered this past year. Those added pounds, those accumulating images we haven’t deleted, the pictures we didn’t get, the horrible ones we did. So much for which to be thankful! For me, tis the season to look back really really far and admire the budding genius that I was in 5th grade- a time when my creative juices ran freely and permanently stained whatever they touched. Oh, those were truly the wonder years when I was free to explore my growing creative calling unrestrained by effort, knowledge or talent. As evidence of my budding genius let me share with you Exhibit 1, The Life of a Deer, a report I did when I was in 5th grade. I actually have no memory of this report, thank God, but my mother, who like all mothers saves everything ever made by their children, found this in a pile of debris when she was moving to a new place to live. Why it had been saved and not properly burned I’ll never know. Ah, the fickle fury of the fates. Please note the compelling cover art and the design that I am sure I spent seconds completing. I am guessing that the ‘artistic’ lines were doodles done while the teacher was saying something important that I of course missed. And also note the three punch holes on both sides of the page. This innovative technique allows the report to be read by those of us who read instead from right to left. Was there no bounds to my genius? You will be mercifully spared the contents of this gripping tale. Trust me when I say that in reading it there is no evidence what so ever that 40 years hence I would be able to produce a coherent sentence. But even then I knew that words alone couldn’t carry such an epic story. No, no, I relied on heart throbbing graphics and gut wrenching images to fully tell this tale. Apparently, the impact of the above was lost due less than acceptable presentation. I am happy to report today though due to years of diligent effort and several years spent abroad mastering this art that my pasting skills have improved dramatically. Rarely now does an editor comment on my pasting abilities when presented with a book proposal. And so what were the results of this Herculean effort; this my first attempt to gain recognition and the easy dollars of a published author? Eh, not so hot. Mrs. Crouchbottom was the first in a long line of manuscript reviewers who have all said just about the same thing to me over the years- “Interesting idea” “Good try” “Your grammar sucks.” So how have I managed to get 14 books published? Got me. I think the secret might be that I don’t actually pay any attention to what others say about my work. This approach held me in good stead as I plowed through my 18 years schooling (and that was only for the first 12 grades!). My eye was ever unwavering, my resolve like steel, my heart hand in hand with my lofty ambition as I strove to be barely above average. But I sure had fun! Maybe I knew then that ultimately the person I had to please was myself first and everyone else last. I might have paid a little bit of attention, (I am a far better paster after all) if I respected the opinions of the person trying to help me. But if they weren’t trying to help me or if I thought the person was just a schmo being negative I didn’t and still don’t pay any attention to them. There is too much senseless negativity in this world. Those of us who are trying to be brave and creative and rise above the morass must stand firm with blinders on and three hole binders in hand. And what was that comment about me grammar, Crouchbottom? There might be a lesson in here somewhere, you tell me, I’m still mesmerized by my cover design.
A Holiday Assignment
My sister is doing a self published engagement calendar combining some of her minister’s prayers and some of my photos. I am glad to support her in this and she is free to plunder my pile of images for the few that match the imagery of her chosen prayers. There is very little I actually have to do, which, just in case you’re interested, is my favorite kind of project. All is good except when a prayer comes up that my sister feels needs imagery that I don’t have. As with the last book she did, my lack of adequate imagery usually involves Christmas. I don’t know about you but I never take Christmasy pictures- why would I? I love to take wintery pictures, I like pictures with red and green colors but actual Christmasy pictures- sorry can’t help you. Ah, but there is a slight problem with this. My sister doesn’t take “sorry, can’t help you” for an answer. Her response is, “So go get some!” Going ‘on assignment’ like this is a fun thing to do and I have blogged about the advantages and fun of photographing with a purpose. Instead of going out and just looking for the prettiest picture try going out with an assignment in your head. “I’m going to shoot the doors of old New Orleans” or ” I’m going to look for reflections” or ” I’m going to photograph the things that seems ‘over looked’.” Doing this adds a nice sense of purpose and adventure to your photography and it can be a good way to stimulate yourself into seeing different things and thinking about your photography differently. That is why I found myself wandering the gayly decorated streets of Vail, Colorado with my camera in hand and my eye out for photos that scream Christmas. I was smart enough to wait for a fresh snowfall and smart enough to wait until after 3pm when the parking garage is free but I wasn’t smart enough to bring a tripod and I certainly wasn’t smart enough to scout out the area before the conditions were right. That’s okay, I can live with 2 out of 4. I found lots of Christmasy things to photograph but not as many pictures to take. The problem was the lack of tripod. When you are hand holding your camera you are limited by several factors. This is especially true in low light. When hand holding it is very difficult to get very much depth of field because you need to shoot with a wide open aperture to get the most shutter speed. the lower the light the more important this is. You can try to pick a higher ISO and this helps to a point but eventually my experience tells me that much more than f8 is not going to be possible. This means you have to look for f8 compositions. What is an f8 composition? F8 doesn’t have much depth of field if you are shooting subjects that are close to you so an f8 composition is one that doesn’t have much inherent depth of field. This means that you have to either look for mostly flat subjects to photograph if you want most things in your image to be in focus or subjects that are flat enough for them to be in focus and the background is out of focus. The red ribbon is flat enough for it all to be in focus and the lamppost and wreath are flat enough (in the same focus plane) for them to be in focus while the background isn’t. The one thing I forgot to do is wait for it to be dark enough for the Christmas tree lights to glow but not so dark for the tree to be lost in blackness. This time of day is called twilight and it is the perfect time to be shooting the glowing first lights of a darkening evening. I’ll have to go back and try again, my sister is only going to be happy with my best images. And, come to think of it, so am I.
The Not So Obvious Composition
Most of the time composition is a pretty simple thing- it is a matter one short question and a few more easy rules (firm suggestions). The question is “what specifically do I like about what I am seeing” and the rules are 1. Answer the question with a phrase (no using the word ‘and’), keep your subject out of the center of the picture, try not to merge objects, watch your edges for bright spots, fill up your frame, don’t cut off feet, ears or hands and keep your background from being distracting. Do these simple things and your photos will usually be pretty darn good. Composition is especially straight forward when there is one main, obvious subject. Find a pretty flower, a sailboat, a bird, an urchin put it at the old one third intersection, be aware of your edges and background and press the shutter. Viola, a pretty picture! But there are lots of time when we are out photographing when we come upon a subject that really captures our eye but there no obvious singular strong subject or point of interest. Think of a pile of bright autumn leaves, or a field of flowers or a stack of colorful vegetables at a farmer’s market. Our eye catches on the bright colors or neat textures or strong lines and we want to fill the entire frame with the subjects but…how? Where is the best composition? We can’t just pick any portion of the pile or field or whatever and blast away. Well, we can but its not the best solution. Have you ever found a neat something and been excited about the picture you took and then when it gets to your computer been disappointed by the result? Most of the time when this happens it is the composition that leaves you flat not the subject. Compelling subject + no clue to the composition = dull photo. What is a photographer to do? Sometimes if you look closely there is a subject to base your composition around. It might be subtle but that is okay: an unusual little texture, a brighter than others color, a subtle line cursing through can all be used as your main compositional subject. And even when there is no small detail you can a shadow or a cluster of light or even an odd wrinkle or an unexpected smooth area or out of place color. Remember, the more subtle the composition the more you have to fill the frame with it to make it more obvious to your viewer. One of my teaching colleagues, Brenda Berry teaches about using ‘soft eyes’ to find subtle compositions and another, Jeff Wendorff, talks about ‘getting a feel for your picture’ when nothing is obvious. I simply say, ‘pay attention’ to all the less than obvious parts of your photo. It may take a bit longer to study and take your shot but your results will be much much better.
And While We Are At It
I had a nice surprise yesterday, one that many photographers get prickly over but that I find to be complimentary. A friend, Tracy, showed me a painting she had done of one of my pictures. Tracy is new to painting, been at it only for a few months and she was looking for some subjects for her canvas. She asked me this summer if I would mind her doing some painting of my photographs and I said of course not, please help yourself. Now to many photographers allowing someone to do a painting of one of your images is wrong unless you get some compensation from the painter. They consider it to be a copyright violation and therefore heinous in nature and vile in thought. This is what I have to say about that: Really? Get over yourselves! Sure by the strictest letter of the law it is a copyright violation if the painter doesn’t ask but really, who cares? How does a painter in any way infringe on the photographer? What, the painter stole your composition? Grow up! Unless the photographer was also planning to do a painting of the same photograph I don’t see any impact at all on the photographer. Copyright is designed to protect the creator of the object from any unfair use or reproduction by others. In this case from what am I being protected? And this applies to any painter, weaver, potter, etc. of any stature who wants to do a painting of one of my photographs- go right ahead with all my blessings. And I don’t care how much is being charged. Their work in no way effects my ability to earn money or to continue being a professional photographer. So stop being so self-important and take it as a compliment that another creative soul liked your effort and wants to use it for their creative effort. Its a compliment! C’mon Man!!!
Fast Track Light
When I was out in Death Valley National Park I spent some time before the workshop started out in the Mesquite Dunes at dawn. By the way, dawn is the best time to photograph dunes because you have the potential for wind to erase any footprints during the night before. Out in the dunes it is possible to photograph 20 minutes or so before direct sunlight arrives but I think the prettiest light is just when the sun first kisses the sand. But you better be quick- the light changes from subtle to slap in the face in minutes. Let me demonstrate… Here is a shot taken at 6:37 with light just hitting the tops of the mountains. Now it is 6:42 and the mountains are fully lit and there is more diffused light on the dunes. 20 seconds later… 10 seconds later… Another 20 seconds… Another 15 seconds… Another 30 seconds… Another 25 seconds… The lesson? Plan ahead, get ready before the light comes up, get your composition and then be patient for the light you want. After you get your shot jump quickly to your next shot that you have already thought out while you were waiting for the light to come up. If you are quick and have planned ahead you will be able to get several shots in the pretty, first few minutes of light. You can still shoot and get some good shots but your best shots will be just as the sun comes up. The first kiss- always the best one!
Mother Nature’s Closet
This is why I love living in New England- there is an ever-changing palette of colors. Over the last 60 days here in Vermont the landscape has gone form intensely green to vividly yellow and orange to warmly brown and gray to now all white with the first snow of the year. I am not talking about parts of the landscape, I am talking about the entire landscape- green in September, yellow/orange in October, gray/brown in early November to all white today and for the days to come. The entire world here changes color schemes. What was once green is suddenly yellow then brown then white. Blink and the world is freshly painted. Blink again and suddenly a decorator has been by, blink once more and the world is bare naked and blink blink blink the world is soft and white. It is like Moms Nature is going through her closet trying on outfits for an elegant night out. How do people live in a one color landscape? It seems awfully dull. Uniformity is not all it is cracked up to be- predictability is just so…predictable. Give me change and chaos any day. And while you are at it, give me the solace of the turning seasons. As far as I am concerned, Moms Nature can rummage around in her closet all she wants.
(once again) A New Camera!
Yes, I have done it again, I have bought a new camera in my everlasting quest for the perfect little camera. this time I think I have found the best little Nikon camera for serious photographers- the p7800. The 7800 is a brand new camera that Nikon brought out about 6 weeks ago. I have had mine for about a month now and I couldn’t be happier. What I like about it is that it is set up like a serious DSLR but it less than half the size. It has a lens the equivalent to a 28-200, I get very good results up to ISO 1250, the dials are easy to find, it takes 24fps HD video and the important controls are not buried in the menu. It has good heft so it feels good in the hand, it is quick to autofocus and it has a articulating LCD screen that allows me to put the camera into positions I don’t want to be in. If you want the actual specs go to the Nikon website. If you want a lot of hot air and worthless opinions go to Amazon. Anyway, I really, really like my p7800. It is no my go to camera for when I don’t want to carry my big Nikon D4 around. Here are some sample images. Most were taken between ISO 320 and ISO 640. Enjoy!
Composition by Abe
Abe is my 11 year old black lab and he is my best buddy. He has been around my photography from day one and he knows what is a good shot and what is a great shot. A couple of weeks ago I was photographing my little pond playing with the reflection and Abe decided that he could help me with the composition. He has done this in the past- wagging his tail against a flower or milkweed pod he rightly deemed unworthy, walking through a landscape he thought dull, barking to keep exploring when he though the possibilities stunk and dropping a stick in my foreground when he thought I should move in closer. Everyone needs an editor! This time he thought that my fall reflection image could use a little more interest visually. So he jumped into the water and swam around until the ripples he made invaded my shot making my ordinary composition quite extraordinary. Thank you Abe! (Click on the picture to make it bigger to fully appreciate Abe’s pawdiwork) (He now thinks that grungy old tennis balls are worthy of my photographic attention. I probably shouldn’t argue.)
Dunes!!!
I love dunes!! No, really. I really, really love dunes!! there is so much to photograph- the abstract ripples, the incredible leading lines, the ever changing light, the fascinating little details- beetle tracks, dead wood, blowing sand- and the sensuous forms- the dips, hollows, curves, bulges- WOW! It would be fun to do just a dunes workshop- 4 days of photographing the big and little of the dune environment. Something to think about. There will be more on the dunes in the coming posts- lots to write about, lots to share. For now please enjoy this small gallery of my favorite dunes images shot in the day before and after my recent workshop in Death Valley.