by successfulbob | Lumix FZ 1000, Lumix Lounge, photography, wildlife photography
GO BIG OR GO HOME!
Oh wait. I’m a little carried away there… But, one technique for making an interesting photograph is to take a very small subject and fill the frame with it. This flower is about the size of a fingernail. Using the Lumix FZ-1000 I was able to bring this tiny subject forward. While I don’t often recommend bulls-eye composition I think it works in this case because of the bud in the lower left corner and the leaf in the upper right hand corner. The flower dominates but the additional subjects in the frame give you eye something else to look at and turns it into more modified diagonal composition.
The bud is barely the size of my pinky fingernail & the flower is just a bit bigger than my thumb. Settings 432mm Exposure 1/5000 sec to help freeze the flower in the breeze, f5.6, ISO 800
Constantly working and playing when not on a commissioned job. Without practice and really knowing your gear it’s difficult to grow as a photographer. Golfers are constantly trying to ‘find the groove’ and practice is a huge part of their ability to succeed.
When is the last time you tired something new?
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
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 | photography education, photography marketing
Photography Marketing. There are lots of ways to be in your client’s face. (but gently)
Here’s one of the articles I wrote for the Villager in the Village of Oak Creek, Sedona. It’s a basic photography How-To for beginner photographers. This article featured information on how black and white conversions could change the look of an image depending on techniques and color filtration.
You can offer to do this for your local newspapers. There’s no pay but keeping you name in front of potential clients will hopefully cover the time to write and produce image examples.
Villager article on how color filters change the look of black and white image.
Don’t make the mistake that I did in this article of not including my bio/contact information. This isn’t a paid gig and is to help people understand photography and remind folks I’m still around and know what I’m talking about.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | Lumix FZ 1000, Lumix Lounge, marketing, photography education, photography marketing
Sedona has had a very wet (for us) spring and the result has been lots of flowers flourishing, in the wild and in the gardens. As you may remember I write a column for the local monthly paper, The Villager, to help keep my name out there. It’s called Photographer’s Corner and I offer tips on making better images. Usually the tips are pretty simple from a pro’s point of view but they are appreciated by the general public.
It was nice while on my Meals on Wheels route to have the Lumix FZ 1000 on hand to grab some flower photos as I saw them. Being able to zoom to 400mm made it possible to shoot from the car through an open window during the rain. (make sure you turn the car off to cut down the vibration) Here’s one of an Iris standing tall on an overcast day which gave good detail.
Straight capture for the article illustrating the concept of ‘Filling the Frame’. Camera settings 1/320 sec F4.0 ISO 160
Once I had the image in the computer I had to play just to see what I could see…
Here’s another version. Always try something new when I have time.
The images were created blending a photo of a wall of small leaves and a photo of some dead leaves raked into a pile. Textures can come from a myriad of places and subjects. Thought I’d keep these textures organic in keeping with the flower.
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
