Beyond The Snapshot

So what makes a snapshot and what makes a masterpiece? Give up? In my humble opinion is intent among other things. Again a snapshot is a quick photo to mark a moment, a record of time or a place, to record that you were there. Whereas a masterpiece has thought behind it a meaning of where it was shot, how it was exposed and printed. A masterpiece had been planned. All the variables such as weather, time of day, placement of camera and if the film was color or not as planned leaving nothing to chance. Very rarely has a snapshot ended up on the walls of an average collector. And if it did it would have to have been an historic event that was not captured by very few if not just one person.

Let’s relate this to an everyday experience. Since most of us are photographers I would think that at least half of us had put some time in doing portrait work. I started back in 1992 in a studio called Expressly Portraits. I learned and honed my craft to the point I branched out to do weddings. Now most of us would say that the majority of time and effort goes into the portraits of the bride, groom and the rest of the wedding party. I lot myself at least two hours of shooting time to get everyone photographed. Even before I have even shot a frame, the night before at the rehearsal I look over the whole church for lighting and atmosphere to capture the important portraits. And when it comes to the reception most of the shots are quick snaps of the bride, groom and guest enjoying themselves. It would be insane to put the same time and effort into the reception

The other example, for those who don’t do weddings, is the photographs of Half Dome that Ansel Adams had created and the hundreds of thousands of photos everyone else had done. I don’t know the whole story of that photograph but I can surmise what had transpired in the creation of that photograph. In what I know of Ansel He must of watched that rock, studying it to see it’s best time and worst. He thought about the angles, exposure, lens, time of day to get the best portrait of Half Dome he could get. My guess is that he wanted to convey the majesty of the mountain and the way it affects him every time he sees it. Google it and look at all the images that he created and tell me you don’t feel the aw and beauty of that mountain? Tell me you are not the least bit motivated to see that mountain after looking at that portrait?

Now let’s compare it to everyone else’s photo. Compare it to the millions of people who venture out and take a photo of that mountain. 99% of all the photos taken of that mountain are just documenting the fact they were there. To take a picture and place it in an album or on the wall with the other family photos, a keepsake. For the most part the photograph was taken and not created. There was no study of light, angles, exposure or whether it should be color or black and white. Little to no thought was put into this photo, just a quick line up and a push of a button. Unless a UFO or some metrological event happens at the same time the shutter opens, the photo is not unique. It doesn’t have a voice or purpose other than documenting family history.

Don’t take what I say the wrong way I am not a photo snob. I love snapshot and have taken a lot of them of family, friends and my tried to pass it off as my work. But in order for myself and anyone reading this, you must think of intent when it comes to your art. I must put an intent behind my art. I used to do this with my portraits but not in all my art.

Intent is a purpose of what you are trying to convey, right? So here is the assignment; what I plan to do is find something that I believe is ugly create a pretty portrait. I have been thinking about this for a while. I plan to photograph Cedar Lake an ugly little lake surrounded by trains and an interstate but in studying it I have seen some things that make it pretty. So let us divide the assignment up in two parts. First take an photograph of the subject , a snapshot. Then take some time and study the subject and find out when it is at its best. Once you see it create the photograph. Keep notes, notes are good but until the critique is finished, not allowed. After the critique you can write your notes.

In the meantime I am creating the guidelines for a good critique so that as a group we are constructive to each of the member. I will have a post about it soon with the link to the group.

A Photographic Journey

I have been out of college now for more than 15 years. That is 15 years of not analyzing the photographs I and others have created. 15 years of not talking about what is a good photograph or how it has failed. So everything I have learned has not been reinforce and cultivated to make me a better photographer. Now, and back then, with the internet that should not have happened. I should not have let the left side of my brain atrophied so when I do use it, I strain it and fall short of my desired goal. So what is a photographer on their own to do? Review, shoot, and get critiqued.

Up to now I have put my photos out there and I have had a few comments that have been flattering and that is cool. But flattering comments do not improve one’s skill as a photographer. Don’t get me wrong, I like a good stroke of the ego, but a simple stroke is not always enough information or direction for the photographer or artist to learn. What pushes and pulls the learning curve are detailed critiques of the photograph in front of you. What works, what doesn’t, where does the eye go, is there enough or too much, is it better in color or black and white? I like it should be the last thing you say. I find that if you are able to give a true critique of the work then it is easier to validate you’re like or dislike of the piece.

As a photographer I should only give a little to no explanation of the piece. I should have taken the time to create a photograph that should say it all without writing it down. Think about it, have you ever looked at a photograph by Ansel Adams, Edward Weston , Dorthea Lange and not get the message of what they are trying to say? For that matter just look at any top photographer’s work and you should see the message of their work. Isn’t that why we are creating photographs? To say something about what is important to us? As a creator of the photograph we should be crafting the work that makes the viewer think and feel what you feel. Your message whether big or small should be conveyed on the surface of the paper, otherwise it is just a snapshot.

So what has moved me to this stage in my work? I would have to say it is because I was not happy with all that I have created and I needed to change that. I am not consistent, focused or have a clear mission to my work. I just photograph one thing and move on to the next. I don’t always look at how I frame it, what I include or exclude in the frame. Are the lines, shapes, color or contrasts moving the eye around the piece? I have asked myself why am I rarely moved by my images in the same way I am moved by other photographers. I don’t feel bad about what I have or haven’t done, I just need more. I need to have at least my wife say “I want that on my wall.” Tidbit about my wife, she is very particular about photography. She has a background in portrait photography and had earned enough points at our company to be a Master Craftsman. (Points were based similarly to the PPA requirements) So, yes very hard to pass off crap or half crap to her.

Roughly two weeks ago I picked up a book by David DuChemin called “Photographically Speaking.” This book is a great review of all that is important in to what makes a great photograph. So far I have read about have the book and feel I need to start anew with my craft. It has challenged me to look at what I have created and define that work based off the rules of good design.

So I am on a photographic journey to improve my skills as a communicator in photography. I want to refine my skill as a photographer so the messages I send out are easily read by the viewer. I want to create a photograph that moves people to see what I see, feel what I feel, and explore farther or other directions then I had. I have one goal to complete in my life time with my work and I want to complete it. And if I continue to do what I have always done, I will not come anywhere near that goal. I will have failed and pass incomplete. I can’t do that and this is what I plan to do. First keep reading; this book is great and I recommend this to anyone. Second; blog about what I am learning. If you want to strengthen the skill you have learned, teach someone else. Third; create assignments that build on design principles taught in the book; Forth; create a flicker group that has assignments and critiques the work each. Through these steps I hope to get better at what I do as well as help others to do the same.

Keep you posted

A Quick Blind

Because today was a bright sunny day and the birds were bathing in our water feature, I felt the need to take their photos. This was the type of day to set up and learn how to take a good photo of a bird which should be easy, right. All I needed was my burlap, tripod, camera and shutter release cord. I did say burlap. I use this as a simple blind and I mean simple.

I started out by observing where the most activity of the day seemed to be. This happens to be the water feature of our pond. Because it holds some water while spilling the rest, it draws in the birds. They like to bath and drink in it and sometimes fight over it. So I set up my camera on the tripod as close as I could. I only have an 18-135mm lens to use so I need to get close. Because I am close it would be ideal to have a radio remote shutter release but I don’t. I just have a 2 foot long shutter release cord and as close as I am, all I’m going to get is a whole lot of nothing. This is where the camouflage burlap comes in handy.

Last winter I got a camouflage burlap screen in hopes to set up a blind which I didn’t. But this did work out for the better and this is how. After setting up the camera I grabbed a chair and the burlap and placed it over me. I stretched it out so that I have no real shape and because it is rather easy to see through all I had to do is watch and wait.

In a few minutes the birds started to survey the area. They would look hard at the lump and be kind of spooked by it. Eventually one of the birds got brave, went to the water feature and began to drink . Once the bird was drinking I started shooting. The birds did not mind at first but after a few clicks they took off but by then it was too late, I got they’re photo. The birds finally got comfortable enough they did not even pay attention to the click of the shutter. I got a lot of photos but of course most were slightly soft or blured by action. So I made some readjustments and went out shooting again. Got a few more shots and called it a day.

Now most of the birds around the area are sparrows and for the most part they seem to tolerate a lot. I would like to try this out at different times of day because of the different birds that congregate. I am hoping that this set up works for them as well.

So if you’re looking for a quick cheap blind, don’t rule out an inexpensive piece of burlap. If they can see you they don’t know you’re there.

A Project Started

I have recently crested the age of, well old, and with each passing birthday I have taken a hard look at my year past. I measure up what I have accomplished with what is still needed to be done. Well at this time I feel that I have not completed much and it is not for a lack of trying. No my problem is procrastination. I love putting off what I could do today for tomorrow, just ask my wife. However I do believe that I am getting better at completing tasks that I don’t always like but I still have to work at it. The proof is in my long honey do- list that is brought out by my wife from time to time.

With the passing birthday I have set out to to do that one thing I have always wanted to do but felt I was not sure where to start. I have thought about it, people have told me to do it, and now it is time to do it. With pencil to note pad I sketched out a plan to work into a large project like this. It is not easy to start photographing a project this size without a plan...Right? Not having a plan is one of the principle reasons I have not attempted this earlier but now that I have a plan why not try. I can always change and update what I am trying to do and in the end I am creating the images for me with the hope someone else might like them too.

I have admired a lot of different photographers in my life time. I was drawn to the striking black and white images of Ansel Adams, the beautiful color of the prairie captured by Michael Forsburg , the Nebraska Images of Joel Store and Jim Brandenburg’s wolves and ravens. Not to forget the images of Texas that Wyman Meinzer that did .My dad had sent me that link. All those images have all filled my head and moved me to want to in some way recreate that. I can’t, nor do I wish to but instead I would like to accomplish what they have done in the state I live in.

So my goal this year is to start photographing Iowa and capture the images that best reflect the way I am moved by the beauty of this state. I plan to do this in both color as well as black and white. Try to reflect the life and all that goes on. Yup I just might have just bitten off more than I can chew but I have to give it a try. Life is short and that is no more apparent than when you work in a hospital, so I have to try. Otherwise I fear that on my death bed I will be saying, “I should have tried” instead of “I did what I wanted to do.”

So today I started on my quest with a trip to Kepler State Park and walked around with no intention to photograph anything. I just wanted to see the park and get familiar with it. I have always found my best work comes from what I know best. I figured that if I get to know the area in and around the park then I could get some great images. And as time moves on I can radiate out from there until I have covered the state.

The other thing I am trying to reconcile is whether to display my images as I finish them or hold them back for later. The great thing about showing them off on the internet is the immediate feed back but the surprise or freshness of the image is gone at the time of display. I am afraid that I will get caught in the need to shoot more to fill the book or show when I have the photographs already. I guess I will try to meet in the middle somehow.

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The Final Print

Now that most of us are entrenched in the digital age some of us don’t think about our images final print. Instead we place it on the internet in facbook, blogs or our webpage and think no more about it. I have to say I have been guilty of this until recently when a video on platinum printing had caught my eye. This started me thinking about my prints and how I want them displayed. The internet is ok but there is nothing like a print, a great print on the wall

With a project I am starting this video could not have come at a better time. It has made me think beyond my image I took and how it looks in the camera. It is making me think of how I want to print it. The platinum process is not only a beautiful and the most archrival process but it is expensive. So any print that I did in this process would be limited and must be solid.

For the bulk of my prints I would like to find a way of printing them on so that they will display with longevity and brilliance. I want them to draw you in and pop off the wall. I want the viewer to look at them intently over details they did not see before or will again. I want the mundane to become the most interesting. I want all that in a print that I can’t take my eyes off and nether dose the viewer.

Personally I would love to go back to the darkroom and produce a silver gelatin print but most of my work at this moment is in digital form. Not easy to make a print the old fashion way. As it stands now instead of light sensitive paper you now have inkjet and different types of paper to print on. Or maybe print on light sensitive paper that is metallic, glossy, or matte. Or how about canvas? There are options but I almost feel divorced from my print when I can work it myself. There is something about working the paper and slapping it into the trays and creating a print that makes photography an art.

Well as I create my images I will also be looking for ways to print them up. I do want to do some of them in a platinum process, I just got to figure out how.

In the meantime here is the video that caught my attention.

Secrets of Platinum Printing by V. Tony Hauser from PIKTO on Vimeo.

Hunting Butterflies

When I was a kid I use to catch butterflies, kill them, and pin them up so as the corps dried they would be in the perfect display position. Back then there were so many butterflies around. You could not go a day without seeing Monarchs, Tiger Swallows, Cecropia Moths, and more. So capturing a couple for display did not seem to be a big deal, until now.

Now that the climate is going through a change (naturally with a little human push) and habitat is shrinking , butterflies seem to be disappearing form the cityscape. So instead of hunting butterflies with a net I pursue them with my camera. And let me tell you it is not easy. But with a little patience and determination you can capture great butterflies for display without taking a single one out of the environment.

First you need to know your insect. And I am not talking about knowing everything from genius name to the lifecycle of it. What you need to know is when is the best time to photograph them. Some butterflies tend to arrive early in the year and some arrive later in the fall. Thistle feeders like Buckeyes, Painted Ladies, and Red Admirals tend to be late summer and early fall feeders. I remember one year we had numerous Painted Ladies flocking to our Cadim which was in bloom at the time. For the bigger butterflies like the Monarch you will see them in Late May early June after their migration from Mexico. These Monarchs tend to be beaten up because of their long journey. You may wish to wait until the next generation come out in order to capture the idea butterfly.

The time of day can also be key to get a great shot. Butterflies can be jumpy and hard to get the perfect set up for the shot. To better your chances for a great shot go out and hunt in the morning. In the cool air the butterflies tend to be sluggish and cannot react as fast . As the day warms up the butterfly becomes more active and harder to photograph. High noon tends to be the worst time to hunt for butterflies. The butterflies are warmed up, really jumpy, and sometime drunk off of the nectar they had been drinking.

What to bring on the hunt? First bring a fast and good lens that can get good close ups. I use my 24-135mm lens. I can capture a good tight photo without being too close and spooking my subject. Macro lens are good and make sure you bring one on a cool morning, but with macro lens you have to be close to your subject and that will spook the butterfly away more often than none. So the longer zoom lens to help bring in the subject but not scare your subject is idea. And not only will it help keep your distance but the lens will help compress the background and blur it out because of the shallow depth of field.

I will also use a tripod on the shoot. It would seem that a tripod would slow you up. But if you keep the head loose enough you can line up your shot and still have a stable enough platform so there is no blurs caused by camera shakes. Anytime you can use a tripod is a good time to use it. For most of the photos you could be shooting around 60th to 250th shutter speed depending on ISO, light available, and f-stop your using. Those shutter speeds seem fast enough but I can tell you I have blown plenty of great shots do to the slights shake of my hand.

There are two types of ways to capture your subject. One is to actively spot and stalk your pray and the other is to sit and wait. Both have their pros and cons. Stalking the pray is the easy way to find and get your photo. You have to move with caution and have your camera preset to take that first shot, cause that maybe the only shot you get. Sometimes it is easier to just wait at a spot that the butterfly is flying around at the time. Eventually one will arrive and until they do you can get your shot set up for that quick shot. The draw back is that you could be waiting for a long time.

The best method is the combination of the two, stalk and wait. I have had more luck with that method. You get yourself set up around an area the butterflies congregate . Then I find an area, wide area where I can set up my exposure that I want. Then when a little beastie lands in the area you can pickup and move quickly to line up a shot. Because the exposure setting is the same around the area I have picked, I don’t have to worry about adjusting my settings. I can get that shot and maybe tweak the exposure for the next shot. Sometimes I can get three or four more photos before the butterfly takes off. And if they to take off, sometimes you can just stay still they may return.

Now that I have been shooting the butterflies for a while I have been trying to frame them in more of an unconventional way. What I mean is that I don’t want to just take the usually shot from above with the wings open. I am pushing myself to frame the butterfly in such away that the environment is as much a part of the subject as the butterfly. The photo below is a good example of what I am after. The butterfly is important so it remained in focus but I added the two other cone flowers and kept the out of focus. That way the two subjects do not compete for your attention. The butterfly is the main draw and the flowers are secondary.


So now it is your turn to try your hand at photographing butterflies. It is not easy but using the stalk and wait approach and a little patience you will be successful over time. If you want to see more of my photos of butterflies stop by my face book page. If you want post a photo or send me a link to your photo. I would like to see other photographers shots.

An Experiment

Third photo shot black and white

Second photo shot black and white First photo shot in color processed to black and white

I have a Nikon D80 that I got for Christmas back in 2008. Like all new cameras I had not explored it’s possibilities of what it offered, well until now. Last week I had made it my mission to see if shooting in black and white then processing it in Photoshop would look better than shooting in color then processing it to black and white in the same program. First I did not know my camera has a black and white mode but to my excitement I did find it. The path is mode-optimize image-black and white-custom. At this point you can select your tonal compensation and filter effects. I chose 2 tone compression and a red filter. I also changed my type of file shot to RAW which increased my file size by a lot. I could shoot 250 frames not I am down to 150.

Yesterday was a good day to shoot because of the sun was out, a few clouds were there to make the sky interesting. I went out to the back second level of the house and shot off the porch. The subject matter was not of great beauty but there was a large tonal range that was represented there. I had the high key whites to the dark shadows that could go black. This was a good exercise in metering and controlling the exposure to keep get the best results.

I first shot 3 exposures in color. Using the matrix meter reading I shot the first exposure as the meter told me. Then I shot the next exposure so that I can bring the whites down for zone one to zone 3. This would leave them bright but began to pick up detail. Of course this made the shadows move from a zone 7 to a zone 10, black with no detail. This shift in exposure was 2 stops. Then I made exposure the opposite direction, exposing for the shadows and blowing the high lights. Again 2 stops over the first exposure. My intent is to combine these exposure to make one photo perfectly exposed and turn it to black and white.

Now I changed my camera setting to black and white. In the RAW mode it really just a preview mode of black and white. In RAW everything is collected in the exposure including the color. So even though you see the image on the display in black and white, you still have a color file to work with. I think it is cool to have this. Once again I used the matrix meter to give an average exposure for the scene and then exposed for the highlights and shadows. I did add a graduated blue filter for the sky to create dramatic sky.

Once I got the exposures I looked for another area to shoot. I found one that had even a larger range of highlights and shadows. For the highlights there was a white garage and in the shadows were cars both light and dark. Now instead of shooting it landscape I shot it vertical. I metered for the average and shot, then metered for the highlights and shadows and shot each. The interesting thing is that I know I got a better exposure overall when I metered for the highlights.

I pulled the files in and processed them. First it was the color files. Without going into great detail I merged the photos together using layer masks and only using the best exposure of each. Then I converted the color image into black and white again using the layer mask option. I tweaked the image in the channels and committed it to black and white. Then I processed it to make it look warm

Next I did the same process to the black and white versions (display files). I again combined the 3 images to get the highlights and shadows in the right zones. I then turned them into black and white and processed them to sepia and compared. I found that the files shot as black and white to have just a little more tonal range than the color. Each photo has details in the highlights and the shadows. If you look at the parking lot you will notice that you have more detail in the parking lot in the black and white version than the color version. Make since? I have posted each but because each monitor is not calibrated you may or may not see the difference. The print would be the best way to judge this difference. I threw in the garage shot for another example of black and white preview.

I have not drawn any conclusions yet. I believe that it is too soon to be absolutely sure that this is the way I want to shoot my black and white photos. I do think I am on the right path but I will be doing more of these exercises to refine the technique.