by successfulbob | architectural photography, black & white, Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge, photography education
Now this is Graffiti I can get into….
Keep havin a good day! Image made with Lumix GX7 and 12-35mm f2.8 Lumix Vario lens.
Impressive Art setting pushed to black and white to get the graphic feel.
Found this on my wanderings around Chicago after the Out of Chicago Conference this past week while working my way through the streets toward the Art Institute of Chicago.
I can only wish you the sentiment expressed on the streetlight. What could be better? “Happy 4th of July!!
Yours in Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | architectural photography, black & white, Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge, photography education, photography seminar
While roaming the streets of Chicago during the Out of Chicago conference I was led to a place to capture a ‘Batman’ image. One of the organizers was on our photo walk and had found this great spot to play with the architecture and come up with this…
Check out the blue sky for the batman logo formed by the buildings.
Had to experiment for a different look.
Using the Lumix GX7 with the 7-14 f4 Aspherical Vario lens (a sweet and sharp lens with no distortion) in Illustrative Art mode set to Black & White and under-exposed by about a stop led to this more graphic rendition on the same scene. Totally different feel don’t you think? Don’t be afraid to get in there and play with the camera presets, especially since you can tweak them Remember to shoot in RAW plus jpeg so you get the arty image as a jpeg but also get all the information present at the time of capture so you can tweak away in post for a totally different look.
How do you find it? Just go down the streets looking up everywhere you go – you’ll eventually find it! Actually you can head out on a photo tour with Teresa Peek of Tour Through a Lens. She was the one who hooked us up with this spot giving very specific instructions on where to stand and what to look for. I promised I wouldn’t tell so you can wander around looking for it on your own or check out her photo tours.
Yours in Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | photography education, photography seminar
A big salute to Chris Smith for putting on the Out Of Chicago Conference. Well attended and enjoyed by the participants. I’ve only heard good feedback and as long as he is going to go through the pain of putting on an event (if you’ve ever done it, you know what I’m talking about) I would highly recommend looking for this and signing up next year. In the meantime I recommend following Chris on his web site! http://outofchicago.com
Here are a few images from the photo walks…
Working and sharing camera settings and compositions near the ‘Bean’. (photo Lisa Sly)
Here are the attendees getting last minute instruction before heading out to the
streets of Chicago for the photo walk.
Hitting the streets with with a semi-posed fun shot before we started spreading out.
Always keep getting out to shoot, share and get more education with fellow photographers. It will help you become a much better photographer. And it’s fun!
Yours in Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | architectural photography, black & white, graphic design, Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge, photography education
Had great time in Chicago at the Out of Chicago Conference put on by Chris Smith. What an incredibly successful event with over 160 people registered in it’s first year. You’ve missed it for this year but I suggest keeping an eye out for next year’s dates and get them on your calendar.
While out and about on one of the photo walks I moved to the Illustrative Art Mode on the Lumix GX7 and tweaked it to Black and White. This gives a very high contrast look with a bit of a glow. I enjoy this look for architecture with a graphic twist. But I had to try something just a bit different on top of that. Capturing images in RAW plus jpeg allows me to get to the full color information presented to the camera and I’m starting to play with mixing them and adding a gradient on a mask to blend them together.
Splitting the photo into Black and White and color. Bottom to top.
Reversed the gradient for this photo.
Tried the split on this one and it lost it’s ‘Cartier Bresson Decisive Moment’ feel so I took away the color.
Experimentation is key to growing your photography. Does the split color work? For some images maybe but as I play with it some more I may find the perfect place to use this technique. Let me know what you think!
Yours in Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | photography, photography - art quote
I’m at the airport in Chicago after presenting at the Out of Chicago Conference so this Photo/Art Quote is getting published a wee bit late. Thanks for bearing with me! Here we go…
Let’s head to the funny papers for some inspiration this week. Ever read the cartoon Dilbert? Scott Adams is the author and I found a quote by him about creativity that we can use. It actually contains two ideas strung together that I believe wholeheartedly.
“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” – Scott Adams
Creating art can be accelerated by experimentation. Trying new things and giving yourself permission to fail is key. There is a tendency to keep recreating things with which we have had success. We set lights in the same place most of the time, or worse, lock them down without thought of who the subject is and what changes could really highlight the best features of our subject.
Or when we work with our manipulation programs like Adobe Photoshop we repeatedly use the same settings. I encourage you to take some chances. Play with Photoshop. Try new things. Play some more! By the way if you haven’t upgraded to Photoshop CC yet know that they have the $9.99 a month rate for getting the Lightroom & Photoshop bundle. Learn more here.
Get on you computer and mash down some buttons you’ve never tried before. Use new blend modes. don’t worry if it doesn’t work out perfect. You can always try again!
Yours in Photography, Bob
