by successfulbob | art books, photography, photography - art quote, photography education
Sunday Photo/Art Quote is from Peter Gowland
Peter Gowland was a glamour portrait photographer and author who left us in 2010. He was credited with creating over a thousand magazine covers ranging from Rolling Stone to Modern Photography. In addition, Peter made his own photo gear. The quote that brings him to the pages of Successful-Photographer is one that has to do with light. We often talk about ‘Painting with Light’ in photography and here are some descriptive words I feel we should think upon.
“Light is an interpretive tool in the hands of a photographer. He can make it harsh or soft, revealing or concealing, flattering or libellous. The more he knows about the versatility of light, the easier it is to cope with any picture-taking situation he encounters.”—Peter Gowland
The language of light is one That requires study. After twenty-plus years as a photographer, I’m still finding new ways to express my thoughts on lighting. As I read these words the ones that captured my attention the most were the descrptors, flattering or libellous. I’m finding that being able to think with a deeper vocabulary makes it possible, no more probable, to create lighting situations that I would like to enhance the subjects before my camera.
Maybe I’m a slow learner, but I find as I study photography, light and color more in-depth there is so much more to learn. It is why photography has held my interest and attention over all this time. I believe that I will never totally master photography. The day that I feel I know it all it will be time for the next adventure.
How about you?
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | Lumix GH4, Lumix Lounge, photography, photography education, photography lighting resources
Lessons from a Personal Photo Project – Strawberry Lesson
“You can’t always get what you want, But if you try sometimes, you get what you need!” Rolling Stones
I am always trying new things for art, for practice or just to see if I can do it to add to my photo skill set. Yesterday I found (what I thought was) a beautiful looking strawberry and decided to see if I could create some art with it.
I was not successful in creating art.
I learned several things, so I consider the shoot a success!
Strawberry image after a little play in Adobe Photoshop to clean up some of the bruises that presented themselves as the shoot progressed.
Image created with Lumix GH4 and the 45mm Macro Elmerit Lens
I placed the light behind and camera left which created the highlight. The camera right side of the strawberry was lit with a reflection of my hand curved into a cup to wrap the light around the top of the fruit. (note the slightly warmer color because of the skin tone)
• When photographing food with a macro lens any, and I mean any imperfections will be revealed. Lesson learned for future – when photographing food, especially perishables examination of the object should be carried out with a magnifying glass. Even if you think you have the hero make sure there is plenty of other possibilities cause as the set heats up with lights the fruit will reveal more and more imperfections from picking, packaging and handling.
• In a low light situation, I learned that my hand could be used as a shaped reflector.
• Playing with the white balance on the camera and the Fiilex P100 (AKA the Brick) color adjustable LED light can lead to some very interesting different rendering of the subject.
I now have more information about photographing food in case that comes my way.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – As I was writing this post I think I may have found a way to process this strawberry into some art… Back to Photoshop for some more PLAY!
by successfulbob | fine art photography, fine art portrait, photography creativity, tuesday painterly photo art
Photo Art Tuesday – Thom Rouse – M.Photog, MEI, CR, CPP, F-ASP
Tuesday’s on Successful-Photographer, now dedicated to the art of converting images beyond that of a photograph and converting the image in a more Painterly/Artistic direction. We’ll be taking to look at the artist/photographers who are forging their way forward in creating a new art form with photography at its base.
Thom is one of my heroes!
I have been a fan of Thom’s work ever since seeing the first image in a PPA Loan Collection Book. Thom has a fresh and unique style that is unlike any other photo/art work I have seen. Every chance I get to see Thom share his thoughts through a program I’m right down there in the front row.
Interested in seeing or hearing more from Thom? Thom Rouse lectures and teaches regularly at PPA affiliates and schools. He also holds private small group workshops around the country. Email [email protected] or through his website: thomrouse.com
Here are a few of his works of art.
Gravity’s Consent
Lilith
Symbol Tree
Andromeda
I asked Thom to share some ideas about creating art. Here are some words that are as poignant as his images.
“Art has its own DNA. We don’t create art in a vacuum; we create art based on 40.000 years of human creativity that has preceded us. The same themes and visual concepts bounce around not only decades but centuries and millennia. The more visual experience we gather from viewing art, the better informed and inspired our creations will be. Inspiration provides the fuel for our creative engines. We need to steal the color palette of one artist, the composition of another, the subject and themes from others and transmute them and make them our own. We need to take inspiration from everyone and compare ourselves to no one. We need to both meet the expectations of our viewers and simultaneously subvert them. Art works best when it’s something that you know and something you don’t know.” – Thom Rouse
Rouse’s book ‘After the Camera’ is scheduled for release on June seventh on Amazon. I’ve already ordered my copy and can’t wait until I can immerse myself in his words and imagery.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – All images in this post are © Thom Rouse – All Rights Reserved. Used with permission.
by successfulbob | inspiration, photography, photography - art quote, photography education
Sunday Photo/Art Quote from Sir Herkomer on Magic & Light
I’m always on the lookout for creative photography quotes & this week’s selection comes courtesy of Michael Colin Campbell. He’s a fabulous photographer and maintains an excellent photography FaceBook Group called On Photography. (check out On Photography here) Michael is a historian of photography as well, and I get great enjoyment from following his posts there. I recommend you drop by and check it out and become part of the conversation.
“It is by the management of light that we touch the true magic of our art.” Sir Hubert von Herkomer
This quote grabbed me because of its simplicity as most wonderful quotes do. It brought to mind that what we as photographers do when we do it well, is capture magic. While Herkomer is a painter, I feel many other arts inform our photography if we are open to it. When an image is created with well-executed lighting, it can bring out strong emotion in the viewer. Which leads me to the craft of what we do. Have you attempted to master your lighting skills? Do you practice and experiment pushing the boundaries of your knowledge of light? Or, are you a ‘Natural Light Photographer’?
Please don’t get me wrong. I can appreciate being able to find and see the fabulous light in any situation. But I believe we need to be able to use ‘available light’. And by that, I mean any and all lighting that is available which includes light from whatever source we can get our hands on to create the proper shadows that will make our images sing.
As if by Magic…
Here is an example of the stunning light and depth Herkomer has created.
Eventide: A Scene in the Westminster Union (workhouse), 1878
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – I’ve been at this as a pro for over twenty years. Maybe I’m a slow learner, but I’m still working on learning and experimenting with light. I don’t think I’ll ever master photography & lighting, but I sure enjoy trying!
by successfulbob | Lumix GH4, Lumix Lounge, people photography, photography, photography education, photography lighting resources
Find Solid Lighting for Your Photography Portraits
To find a beautiful natural light for your portrait subjects I recommend looking for shadows. Shadows are the hallmark of depth and dimension in two-dimensional renditions of our subject.
First, look for porches or overhangs that will remove the overhead light. Ideally, you’ll have a bright surface like concrete or sand or bright building reflecting the overhead light into the shadowed area. This situation works well because the larger the light source, the softer the shadow edge transitions will be. There is a magical place just under the portico that will yield very flattering light patterns. One way to discover the right spot is to hold up and examine the back of your hand and examine the shadows as you move your hand through the scene. This method allows you to see how the shadow-edge transitions will play out. If you have beautiful smooth hands with no ridges and alternative is to bend the middle finger down and watch the shadow as it falls on your palm.
Fondly referred to as the reverse salute, the middle finger can show you how the shadows will look.
Once you have decided on the proper place for your subject, you then have the opportunity to set the lighting pattern by changing her angle to the light. By rotating your subject you have the ability to create the most flattering light whether that be broad light, split light or short light. Most times I will opt for short lighting as I feel that adds the most depth and interest to a portrait.
Note The light on camera right side is less wide than the shadow camera left
Note the light and shadow are just about even in this image
In this image, most of the mask of the face is lit with just a soft shadow camera left. Note the slight ‘kicker light’ on her face on the camera left side.
This particular space was a bonus in that it was more of a tunnel with an opening on the other side which added a subtle separation light which adds more dimension to the photograph.
I was photographing this session as part of a job for the Sedona Meditation Center, which is now under the guidance of Ichibuko Todd (my fabulous model!) who has relocated here from Hawaii.
Images captured with the Lumix GH4 with 35-100mm f2.8 Vario Lens. Settings ISO 200 1/400th sec. f3.5 47mm (94mm in 35mm)
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – If you want to have higher contrast with harder shadow edge transitions move your subject further away from the main light source.
