by successfulbob | commercial photography, fine art musician portrait, Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge, photography, photography education
Sound Bites Grill brought in the Steph Johnson Trio to entertain last week on Sunday night. Wow! It was wonderful. Steph has a really low smoky sounding voice and plays a silky smooth jazz guitar. Rob Thorsen was on upright bass and he was making beautiful sounds that I had never heard a bass make before. On drums Fernando Gomez showed skills mastered because he started drumming before the age of ten. All in all lots of good sounds. The Steph Johnson Trio will be right at home on the ‘Sound Bites Grill Wall of Fame’. I created a single image of Steph and one for the Trio. I used the *Lumix GX7. I’ve found this camera to have a great dynamic range which is extremely helpful in capturing the variety of mixed color stage lighting.
Steph Johnson live on stage at Sound Bites Grill.
See below for some ideas on the techniques used to create this look.
The technique I am using is one I call ‘Photo-Synthesis’. It starts with a base image, or in this case multiple images of the band members. They are all cut out, even if they are going to stay in the same position and placed on their own layer. After the musicians have been put together into the composition texture layers are added by placing images of metal, rock, walls or grasses or – you get the idea – almost anything will give a different look and feel as the various blend modes of each layer are adjusted. The blend modes allow the layers to interact with the layers below in different mathematical ways. The old ‘if this, then that will happen’. Shuffling layers, changing blend modes, and adding masks tweak the look. Where the individuals were placed on their own layers makes it possible to add drop shadows and lighting effects to enhance the depth selectively.
The Steph Johnson Trio at Sound Bites Grill in Sedona, Arizona by Bob Coates Photogrpahy
One last tip is adding the autograph messages from the band. Because it would be difficult to track down the individuals after the photographic art work is completed I have the musicians sign a blank white piece of paper with a black Sharpie marker just as if they were signing their autograph. This is scanned and brought into the final composition as a layer. The image is inverted turning black to white. Blend mode is set to screen and the signature magically blends into the image with no muss no fuss.
If you would like to learn more about how I work with Adobe Photoshop in creating this type of imagery I am available for personal coaching or if you have a photo group I can present a program. As a *Panasonic Lumix Luminary I could be sponsored for your event. Give me a shout to get details.
by successfulbob | fine art photography, photography - art quote, photography education
Providing these quotes to you every Sunday is actually becoming a gift to myself. As I search for quotes that I feel would be of interest I run across many more that give me food for thought. Even more thinking through my reactions and sharing the ideas with you makes me give pause and understand my own thinking on this process of creating art from photography.
I thank you. And, without further ado here’s this Sunday’s art quote.
“Creativity takes courage.” Henri Matisse
Three short words. Maximum impact from Matisse.
I can’t tell you how many times I have walked away from a piece of art because I ‘THOUGHT’ it may not be received well and I might get ridiculed or told that something isn’t the norm. Most of the fear is generated from within and has absolutely no basis in fact. It is important to override the self-doubt of the inner voice that holds you back. And after you have broken through the inner doubt be ready to counter any beginning negativity you ‘MAY’ hear from other. Think about the ridicule and grief the Impressionist Painters were subject to when they first began to unveil this new way of showing the world to itself. Now there entire museums around the world dedicated to the display of this art.
“Why talk about this Bob?” you might ask. “I’m a photographer not a painter.” I say, if we take this career seriously and are beyond just pushing the camera button on P or A or S and taking what our camera gives us we are creating images of artistic intent. What subject and how do they pose or are they framed in the viewfinder. What lens, angle of view. Light and shadow – take what’s there or craft it by adding or subtracting? this doesn’t even begin to think about how the set is staged. What extras do you add or take away? How about post processing? Some? A little? A lot? Adding multiple images?
I ran into a budding photographer on the trail the other day and he said he didn’t want to “cheat” by adding filters or making multiple exposures to record the scene or do extra work in post. Reminds me of myself when I first started. I said the exact same thing until I learned that the camera does not see as the eye does and in order to show the scene as the eye sees it there must be adjustments made. And for sure the camera doesn’t see the way my mind sees. All the additions and adjustments, multiple exposures and post production bring forth what my minds eye sees. And, less and less do I worry about what others may think. I may have finally found the courage that Matisse has spoken of….
by successfulbob | architectural photography, fine art photography, photography
From the Tuscan region of Italy. An aged brick wall with vines artwork.
This was created from a wall the Italian town of Radi. This brick wall was full of texture and vines and growth. I enhanced the color, added more texture and selectively blurred and sharpened different areas of the image to create the final piece using Adobe Photoshop as my main editing tool. This is hanging in my home because my wife saw it on the monitor and said, “I want one of those for the house!” you know the expression Happy wife equals happy life. This is also hanging at the restaurant Dans Bistro in Sedona, Arizona to help give the decor a European flavor.
You can see more of my fine art work on my art web site. I am available for commissions. Pick the subject, size, color palette, material to print on and I’ll create custom art for you. You can even send me a picture of where you would like the piece to hang and I can show you what the image would look like before we get it printed. That way you wouldn’t end up with a piece of fine art that was either too large or too small for the space. As always all work is guaranteed to please or you get your money back. Interior designers give me a shout let’s see what we can create for your clients,
by successfulbob | architectural photography, commercial photography, photography
It’s always good to have a second set of eyes checking over your work… My friend Ron Jackson who does a lot of real estate photography saw my Creekside Inn image and made a couple suggestions to give it a little more pop. And he was right. Cleaned and brightened the trim. Changed the color balance a little bit and a few minor changes led to this…
The changes are small but add a bit more pop to the image. See the original here.
Check out the previous image and let me know what you think. I love this industry where other photographers have your back and are willing to take time to give their feedback on work you’ve done. Did I take all the suggestions? Nope, but I certainly appreciated all of them.
by successfulbob | commercial photography, Lumix GH3, Lumix Lounge, photography, photography education
Every business needs an image that steps out beyond the norm and grabs attention. These are often referred to as the ‘HERO’ shots. The idea is to create something that grabs attention because it goes above and beyond the norm either in composition or lighting or a blend of the two.
Creekside Inn Sedona, Arizona beauty image. (a great place to stay by the way…)
In order to accomplish this look for people who are trying to promote their properties I make a time based image. What do I mean by that? I create a series of images over a period of time from just before sunset until after the sun has sunk below the horizon. This allows me to show the best features of a property by blending them together. Photos taken before the sun goes down allow me to show detail in the building. Images taken after the sun starts to go down allow the sky to record as the cobalt blue and images made after the sun has disappeared show off the lighting and allow the warm glow to come from the windows.
In this particular image I needed a high angle to show off the deck so the camera was placed on top of a light stand about 12 feet off the ground and wasn’t the most stable platform to shoot from. Because of that I didn’t want to touch the camera to get exposures so I used two features on the Lumix GH3 * that helped immensely. The first was a 7 stop bracket setting to grab a number of exposures from each time I fired the camera. The other was the on-board WIFI in the camera that allowed me to control the camera using my I-pad. The 7-14mm f4 lens really kept the lines straight on the verticals. To say I’m happy with the micro 4/3rds cameras would be an understatement!
After the images are captured then it’s off to the computer to assemble the finished piece.
Here’s a reminder that I am available for one on one or group Adobe Photoshop classes to help you get the ‘HERO’ images for your clients. As I am also a Panasonic Lumix Luminary you can contact me to see if I can be brought in to speak before your photography group paid for by Panasonic. Drop me an email with your contact information and request or give me a call to start the process.
* Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3K 16.05 MP Digital Single Lens Mirrorless Camera with 3-Inch OLED – Body Only (Black)
by successfulbob | Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge, photography
Created a moving photography self portrait in the middle of Oak Creek in Sedona, Arizona. This area is known as Red Rock Crossing at Crescent Moon State Park. I set up my Lumix GX7 camera on a tripod. Asked a passerby to hold down the shutter for a burst of images and uploaded the images to Google Plus to use Auto Awesome to create an animated Gif file to show the motion of the creek but leave most of the rest of the image alone. Then I downloaded the Motion Gif to my computer downsized the image and used the Adobe Photoshop Save for Web feature for the image you see below.
Fun stuff and easier to do than ever…
Self portrait by Bob in Oak Creek – Sedona, Arizona.
