by successfulbob | photography, photography - art quote, photography education
“Look for the light!” is often shouted from the rooftops when telling new, and experienced, photographers how to create great images.
Today’s quote is from Trent Parke, an Australian photographer. He’s created photography books; won numerous national and international awards including four World Press Photo Awards; and his photographs are held in numerous public and private collections according to Wikipedia.
“I am forever chasing light. Light turns the ordinary to the magical.” Trent Parke
I have seen absolutely horrendous photographs of fabulous rock formations and exquisite images if mundane subjects.
What is the difference??
Light. And shadow.
I’ll give you a hint about finding that sweet light that makes images come alive with depth and dimension. Look for the the shadows that define the light. It is a change of mindset that I believe helped take my image making skills to a higher level. Think about shadow edge transition. It defines the light.
Deciding on the shadow can help set a mood. Soft shadow edge transitions help give shape and form and 3 dimensionality to your subject. Harsh shadow edge transitions can give an edgy harsh feel to an image, think sunlight at noon or a strong light source in a very low light situation.
I’ve found watching for the shadows makes it easier to find the ‘right’ light.
Go create some magic of your own…
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | black & white, photography, photography - art quote, photography education
A symphony of sound awakened me this morning as the birds around my home greeted the new day.
Bird song ebbed and swelled in concert as the different species shouted love songs to their mates – or ran off invaders. There was so much going on it was hard to tell exactly…
But I digress.
The avian songs were the inspiration for today’s Sunday Photo/Art Quote as I was reminded that music informs the art of photography. I have been trying to get more ‘notes’ AKA nuances into my images. We have the musicality of notes in the form of light and shadow. The staff that we write upon consists of shadows. The bones of an image so to speak. These bones are overlaid by color in different hues and saturation. Accents can be added by dodging, burning and selectively sharpening areas of an image. Some images have such good bones they can sing their song without the color added as shown by Ansel Adams who gives us today’s quote.
“The negative is the equivalent of the composer’s score, and the print the performance.” Ansel Adams
Ultimately as the birds inspired the subject and some of the words for today’s Photo Art Quote they also woke me up and I found myself moved to see what yonder light brings. I slipped on my boots and jeans, grabbed my camera and tripod along with a few accessories to see if there was music waiting to be shared.
And now it’s off to the digital darkroom to see if I can come up with a decent performance from the score I created this morning.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
|
Ansel Adams in 1930 had been training to become a concert pianist while considering a career as a photographer. He decided, after seeing the photographs by Paul Strand, that “the camera, not the piano, would shape [his] destiny.” His mother and aunt both pleaded, “Do not give up the piano! The camera cannot express the human soul!” To which Adams replied, “The camera cannot, but the photographer can.”
|
by successfulbob | photography - art quote, photography education
What excites you?
Have you made, or at least tried, to make an image from it?
Today’s Photo/Art quote comes from Edward Weston…
“Anything that excites me for any reason, I will photograph; not searching for unusual subject matter, but making the commonplace unusual.” Edward Weston
Even more important can you make the commonplace unusual? Who knew a green pepper could look so sexy?
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | fine art photography, photography - art quote, photography education
When I first started photography I never put a filter on my lens cause I thought it would be ‘cheating’.
When I started using a darkroom it was to create ‘realistic’ photos.
Enter Photoshop and it was just another way to get ‘real’ photos.
Now that I’ve been photographing for thirty-plus years with twenty-plus of them as a pro I listen in wonderment as some photographers belittle newer cameras or Photoshop techniques when creating images as ‘cheating’.
All of the things mentioned here are just tools. The tools help a photographer attain his or her vision to put a final image on a receptor for show. Whether that receptor is a print or a screen doesn’t matter. It is the final image not the journey to it that matters.
Many folks trot our Ansel Adams as the quintessential ‘straight photographer’. He couldn’t have been further from it than the distance between here and the moon. The Zone System, changing exposure, development times, ISO ratings, paper grade choices, enlarger bulb choices and many more techniques went into the final images created by Adams.
Today’s quote is from Pete Turner a wonderful photographer known for his rich ‘in your face’ color images.
“I am steadily surprised that there are so many photographers that reject manipulating reality, as if that was wrong. Change reality! if you don’t find it, invent it!” Pete Turner
Turner used all the tools available to push his images to an art realm. Pushing color to it’s limits. Sharp focus? Not necessarily! Check out his work for some inspiration to be freer with your camera captures and how you see and share your world through photography.
Front page from Pete’s web page of images. © Pete Turner
Nowadays I don’t give a rats butt about how I get the image. Camera, Photoshop, computer are all tools I use. Working hard to share the vision that only I have.
What’s in your head that you’ve been afraid, or unable, to let the world see because you didn’t use the tools available to their full capabilities?
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | photography - art quote, photography education
One of the most sincere, talented, giving and wonderful photographers I know is the author of today’s photo/art quote.
Woody Walters.
Woody does a weekly ‘Photoshop Tip of the Week’. You can check it out here…
“If sight is the function of the eyes then vision is the response of the heart.” Woody Walters
Woody is a visionary who has shared his techniques in Photoshop and has been an inspiration to me over the years.
Vision is way different than seeing.
Here’s some of Woody’s work… © Woody Walters These are samples of Lightening & Smoke Brushes he created. His set of smoke brushes are, “How should I say?” Smokin!
I wish for you the ability to see beyond what your eyes see and to respond to what is in your heart…
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – If you want to upgrade from Woody’s free Photoshop Tip of the Week you can use the code ‘Coates15’ to save 15% off the bi-monthly subscription price which gives you access to new longer tutorials and access to download some of Woody’s brushes.
by successfulbob | photography - art quote, photography education
It’s been a busy weekend of teaching, Gave a lighting class to Arizona Professional Photographers Association, and presenting a Keynote for the Sedona PhotoFest and I’m getting ready for a two day Workshop today and tomorrow so this Sunday Photo/Art quote is a day behind. My apologies… and have a happy Monday.
Today’s quote fits right in with a lot of the things I have been teaching this weekend. I suggest that practice and playing are two of the main ingredients for successful image creation. If we don’t play we won’t discover new things that I like to call ‘happy accidents’. Without ‘happy accidents’ we are basically repeating what we KNOW will be OK with our clients. And consistent and constant practice allows us to master our skills so that the technical side doesn’t get in the way of our creativity.
If you don’t do it, you don’t know what might happen.” Harry Callahan
To recap. Play! when you have your camera out or are messing about in Photoshop say to yourself, “What if i pushed this button instead of that one?” Then do it. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. If you are not making mistakes you are not stretching to your full creative capabilities.
I’m reminded of this side quote, “There’s a very fine line between a groove and a rut; a fine line between eccentrics and people who are just plain nuts.” Christine Lavin
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – I like to think that I fall on the eccentric side vs just plain nuts but I’ll leave that for you to decide!
