Let the shape, form and tones come forward… Simplify.
It’s easy to do but not necessarily simple.
Making black and white conversions of our images can give a whole new level of depth to our image making skills. With the ability to touch every single pixel we have more control than ever before. Ansel Adams would have been in Heaven to have this level of control to achieve the image he saw in his mind. That was what the Zone System and his special ways of exposing the scene and processing film not to mention choosing paper, light source and dodging and burning in the darkroom to pull the print he wanted.
Today’s subject is a green bloom from a Gopher Plant. Lots of green tones from light to dark are represented in the capture. By the way I used the Lumix FZ 1000 in Macro mode. When zooming in to 400mm you can fill a frame pretty well with it’s minimum focusing distance of 3.3 feet. If you shoot wider you can focus down to 3 centimeters but without adding supplemental light I find I have too many shadows to deal with so photographing from a distance can be helpful. In this case I was back just a bit with a 27mm equivalent setting.
Original capture.
Different settings and conversions to black and white.
You may or may not like the one I choose which is a combination of some of the settings seen above. The point is through experimentation and using different ways of stripping color from an image you can create many different feelings from the same information. One of my favorite programs for converting to black and white is Google’s NIK Silver FX Pro 2. By the way if you own a license for almost any NIK product Google will hook you up at no charge for the full NIK software suite. If you don’t have a current one you can get the suite for, I believe, $149. This is some solid software with lots of creative possibilities.
The parties move around to a different restaurant each night during the Sedona Film Fest and last night it was Sounds Bites Grill playing hot with a great spread and music by Ralf Illenberger on guitar and Troy Perkins on his handmade bass. Just seeing the work Troy did on his bass guitar shows me he’s a pretty incredible carpenter! (missed the name of the drummer… sorry about that!)
Michele asked me to stop by to create some stock advertising images for future promotion of the restaurant showing how they take care of biz for group events. Here’s a few.
Chef kicking out the Bananas Foster
Capturing the crowd from behind the stage
Looking round from the regular direction, crowd to band photo.
A little slice of the stage with the Sound Bites logo lit on the wall.
Images were captured with the Lumix GH4 and a bit of on camera fill flash. Always try to not make the flash apparent by dragging the shutter (slow shutter speed) to allow the background to register with the ambient light and then a kiss of flash to freeze and fill the foreground.
Imaging Competition… and becoming a better photographer.
“The judges were really hard this year!” “They weren’t there so they can’t see how hard I had to work to get that photo!” “My client loved that image and paid a lot of money, what do those judges know?”
I hear this call from almost every group during and just after the competition. (as a matter of fact, I remember saying these exact same words to myself when I first started competing) It echoes. And repeats as photographers who have not done so well in the scoring commiserate with each other. Until… Those photographers who want to grow speak to the judges one-on-one following the judging to get feedback on why their image did, or didn’t, do so well.
I was in Richmond, Virgina this past weekend working with photographers who are trying to up their game… And, it was a wonderful experience. These photographers heeded the call to improve their work through having peers examine and rate their imaging skills. They followed up and after hearing the comments on what could be improved and what the judges saw in the photo, as presented, the lights started going on with smiles as they realized how they could become better image makers.When giving critiques it’s great to see a makers eyes light up as they find out what the judges felt they did right in the image, and even more important, what they could to improve their photography. Whether it be improving lighting skills, composition, subject matter, color harmony, story-telling, technical excellence, image presentation and more.
If you are looking for some information on how to do better and what judges are looking for you can find more resources on the PPA web site. Pay particular attention to the ’12 Elements of a Merit Image’.
Which brings me to today’s Photo/Art quote…
“I am in no competition with anyone else, I am in competition with my Yester Self, and I am winning.” Anonymous
While it’s great to win awards it’s even greater to realize that they have already won just by being in the game of improvement through participation. It’s never comfortable hearing that your image is not the best in the world.
I can’t wait to see what these photographers will create in the coming years because they cared enough to put their work out there for the world to see in imaging competition.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – FYI. I’ve been entering competition since 1999 at State, District and PPA International. I still do. Why? Because I want to continue to push my imaging skill to a higher level. And, every time my image spins so does my stomach. When that stops happening I’ll probably retire cause it will mean that I no longer wish to improve.
I’m here in Richmond, Virginia at the Four Points Sheraton for the Virginia Professional Photographers Association Annual Convention (VPPA). Thanks to Panasonic and the Lumix Mirrorless line of cameras for sponsoring me to be here. It looks to be a really great turnout. I’ll be speaking tonight (Friday) from 6-8PM and judging with a fine panel tomorrow. If you are in the area you might want to come on by to see my program called Photo-Synthesis on creating painterly artwork using your photographic images.
Lots of other great speakers for the next few days too.
Here’s my speaker badge. First time I’ve seen the new designation M.Artist. in my credentials. Way cool!
A conversation that often appears in forums or where artists or photographers gather is one of is photography art?
From Wikipedia – Fine art photography is photography created in accordance with the vision of the artist as photographer.
I absolutely believe it to be true. Look at different photographers through the generations and you’ll find there are several that stand out in different aspects of photography head and shoulders above the rest of the field.
Why? For some it is the pioneering of new techniques. For others it is the subject matter chosen. For still others it is an ability to see light where others find it not. I know early in my career I was hanging out with another photographer and watched him take a photo. I was not sure what he was seeing. Turns out it was a picture of the ground and some shadows created from multi-colored lights. It was captivating! And I never saw it…
Vision. Technique. Tools. All of these things make it possible to create something. Some can push the limits and make the ordinary extraordinary. That my friends is the art of photography. If you give the same camera, lens and subject to 10 different photographers you will receive 10 different photographs. Will all of them be art? No. Will any of them? Possibly. It depends on the skills of the maker with that particular subject, lighting skills.
“…it does seem to me that Capa has proved beyond all doubt that the camera need not be a cold mechanical device. Like the pen, it is as good as the man who uses it. It can be the extension of mind and heart…” – John Steinbeck.
Is my photography art? Some is… but not all.
That’s why I continue to pursue education, to attend classes and conventions, study images, study the classic painters, photographers and cinematographers, read books and magazines on photography, painting and color, experiment, practice and teach. (cause I learn a ton when I teach – I also love to see the lights go on in someone’s eyes as they begin to understand new concepts)
Let’s check in with other art genres and see what they have to say…
I have discovered photography. Now I can kill myself. I have nothing else to learn. – Pablo Picasso
I have always been very interested in photography. I have looked at far more photographs than I have paintings. Because their reality is stronger than reality itself. – Francis Bacon
What are your thoughts on photography as Fine Art?
OK let’s take a look at the actual video that I pulled the stills from in the previous post. The Lumix FZ 1000 is quite impressive. This video is about 30 seconds short and worth a quick peek and probably tells the story a little better than words alone. Check it out.
Lumix FZ 1000 video captured in Nashville at the Imaging USA Convention
For infrared conversion of my cameras I use LifePixel. Infrared allows you to put an older camera to use and opens up a new time time of day for productive image creation.
Learn Photoshop in a fun environment. Aaron Nace applies the right amount of fun with easy to understand and follow tutorials. Actions and brushes are included with lessons!
Lightning, waterdroplets, sound, time-lapse, HDR sequences, smiles and much more control for your camera!
Cameras Get Smarter -
A High Speed Smart Camera Remote
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Platypod has become a great resource for being creative in getting your camera gear easily into unusual places. As an Platypod Pro I get to work/play with the gear even before it comes out. Head over to Platypod, subscribe to the newsletter and you will get special discounts reserved only for subscribers.
