Hold The Eye Images

New Website up and running at HoldtheEyeImages.com

For a long time my photography has been spread over several locations. I have a blog, podcast, video channel, portfolio, and studio with these activities constantly overlapping but not in one location. I have placed all these activities under one roof, "HoldtheEyeImages.com". 

One new piece of this website is the "Prints for Sale" drop down. I print gallery quality in my studio with an Epson 9900. but printing 8x10's for your favorite band is not something I wanted to do in the studio. Added to that, I wanted the price to be affordable for the musicians. So I created this opportunity at a low cost option for single images. This does not allow use of the images in any other forum or for commercial purposes. I have sold images for commercial use, and the pricing is appropriate and significantly higher than a single image.                                                                   

The next addition is Priceless Footage a video service being offered to allow people to talk about their life, create a small documentary including friends and family. We use Super 35mm video, and professional sound to make this a special gift for family and friends. More and more, people want to talk about their own life, pass on lessons learned, and give advice and remembrance for a generation yet to be born or grandchildren in their early years. We are very proud of this product and know it will become priceless as time goes on.

I'm sure there will be more additions to the website, but in the meantime, at least it lives under one roof. Progress in small steps is nonetheless progress.

 

New Website up and running at HoldtheEyeImages.com

For a long time my photography has been spread over several locations. I have a blog, podcast, video channel, portfolio, and studio with these activities constantly overlapping but not in one location. I have placed all these activities under one roof, "HoldtheEyeImages.com". 

One new piece of this website is the "Prints for Sale" drop down. I print gallery quality in my studio with an Epson 9900. but printing 8x10's for your favorite band is not something I wanted to do in the studio. Added to that, I wanted the price to be affordable for the musicians. So I created this opportunity at a low cost option for single images. This does not allow use of the images in any other forum or for commercial purposes. I have sold images for commercial use, and the pricing is appropriate and significantly higher than a single image.                                                                   

The next addition is Priceless Footage a video service being offered to allow people to talk about their life, create a small documentary including friends and family. We use Super 35mm video, and professional sound to make this a special gift for family and friends. More and more, people want to talk about their own life, pass on lessons learned, and give advice and remembrance for a generation yet to be born or grandchildren in their early years. We are very proud of this product and know it will become priceless as time goes on.

I'm sure there will be more additions to the website, but in the meantime, at least it lives under one roof. Progress in small steps is nonetheless progress.

 

One camera with a 85mm/1.4 lens and a dark Club

That's what I did last night, listened to a band called Tip of the Top. I had no strobes, on or off camera flash, just one camera set to 6400 ISO and a 85mm lens set at f/1.4. Yep, the depth of focus was narrow, the lighting poor, so the images have flaws. But the scene was rich with opportunity and I had what I had. I was out with a party of six, Virginia and Albert of the Family Album, my web guru Chris and his room mate, and Deborah. I started the evening checking out the light with Chris as my unwilling model. Discovered right off the bat, focus was nearly impossible at f/1.4 on manual focus in the dark. But in situations like this, you can't give up.

Tried something different when Chris was working his smart phone, seeing the reflection from the phone.

Hopefully Chris will not hate me and crash my website, but if it disappears, he has struck.

Now for the scene. You have to be  ready for the unexpected. Just as the evening was beginning, who sneaks in but Elvis. Yep, proof positive he is not dead, just a little older and disguised. I was star struck, began to shake which complicated my shot. Later his secret reps contacted me, forced me to give up the photos except for one that really couldn't identify him, proof positive. But I got it and I know Elvis was in the house!

He was not the only interesting person, as a photographer, interesting people are always on your radar.

But let's get back to the band and dance floor. Tip of the Top is a great band, and people have fun!

And as you can see people are dancing, the bands playing and life is good. The photography is tricky because those bright lights throw the metering completely off so I changed to spot metering which caused some areas to  be blown out. Remember one camera, one lens, and no flash to help. You have to be on guard for the special moment when something happens! (which was published on Facebook, no more comments)

But as with all nights, there are the main characters, like a play. The cast is interesting, but the main characters make the night. In a blues club it is normally the band and Tip of the Top lived up to that challenge. But they had some help as this photo should tip you off, something was happening on the dance floor!

What was happening was in a red dress, she could dance, amazingly dressed with a hat, sang with many of the songs, and all with the biggest smile. She had dance floor presence, made everyone smile in a good way and fortunately danced with many people and with a male husband/boyfriend/friend that also enjoyed the fact she was having a great time. First with her man!

And fortunately for us all, Pete was in the house. Pete is a terrific dancer, I have photographed him before, and when "she" entered the dance floor, I knew it would not be long before he asked her to the dance floor. It started off pretty straight forward. I also love the man in the blue shirt who periodically danced by himself on the dance floor, spinning around with his hands in air.

While the above photo looks like she is shy, believe me she is not, nor is she intimidated. She immediately took control.

And she entertained her dance partners, her husband, and the rest of the club as the image of the man standing on a chair using the video in his smart phone.

And, she inspired Pete who as I said earlier, is a great dancer. Could he keep up?

The answer is yes, and others danced, people came and went. People talked, the band played their original songs and I spent time talking with my friends.

A dark room, a single camera, a fixed focal length lens, and lots of fun. I didn't obsess about the photography, just remained ready. It worked for me, try it.

Nikon D3, 85mm f/1/4.

Do you ever get stuck in a photographic rut?

I think the disease is common. Shooting something new is exciting and creative in the beginning, but the 1000th image gets to be boring, so what's the answer? The simple answer there isn't one. If you get good at something, the improvement becomes incremental over time. The limit is your imagination and ability to inject something new, easier to write about than execute. Boredom is also a factor, become bored and your creative juices dry up. So what's a photographer to do?

The first step is to never become satisfied no matter the praise and positive feedback. Keep pushing yourself, even changing up your style to create a new learning curve. While we all love to be praised for our work, praise is the fertilizer for mediocrity and should be viewed with "thanks" but not a signal we can rest. You can always go back, but going forward takes effort which is often lonely. When you "change", you may even get some criticism, but if you are following your own creative road map, the net result will be a learning experience. Let's be clear all creative routes are not successful, doesn't mean they are failures. I have learned in my life that I learn far more from failure than success. That's right when things go right, you don't always understand "why". When things fail or go wrong, you normally see all the errors, understand the carnage, and hopefully learn what not to do. And, learning what not to do is important in not making mistakes for the future. I view learning what not to do equally as important as knowing the right thing. Making mistakes improves the quality of learning.

So let's get back to the topic of getting stuck in a rut. You are not growing, that's why you get bored, you are not changing, taking risks, making an effort. You are seduced by feedback. Everyone falls in this trap, no one escapes, it's part of human nature. It happens in all parts of our life, it's part of life at all levels. It has a cure but it involves losing the fear of failure, possibly enduring some criticism or at a minimum less positive feedback. It's easier with a friend or partner, but in the end, it is personal no matter what crowd you are running with. Of all the inhibitors, fear of failure is likely the most significant. The more you succeed often the less tolerant you become of criticism. Positive feedback makes us all smile and should. Appreciate the complements, be thankful you have reached that level, but keep in mind that repeating success without change will bore you over time. Time plus boredom leads to dissatisfaction in anything we do. Changing does not always mean abandonment of what you are good at. A person can grow without throwing away what they are good at. Growing is not a zero sum game, but you have to make a serious effort to grow, get out of your comfort zone, challenge yourself and don't depend on what you are good at as an excuse.

Once again back to the subject, if you are in a rut, hope you understand more of what's happening. The basic issue is likely "no growth", the cure is to challenge yourself, push out of your comfort zone, try new ways of doing old things. Lack of success is not failure, just an interesting part of the journey. When you look back, the most interesting part of you life's experience will be the journey, not the high's but the hard work, not the success, but the sweat getting there. Treat a rut as a big signal for change, make it happen.

 

Apple continues to lead retail

While I don't often comment on retail stores, my experience today is worthy of comment. I walked into the Apple Store today in Los Gatos CA. I was buying a couple of simple things, and the retail person asked me during the transaction if I knew that I could check myself out? I said no, so she led me through an app download for Apple Store. Now all I have to do is use my iphone to scan the item, check out the reviews, and purchase if I want. No retail person required simply self checkout with my iphone. Pretty cool. I asked about shop lifting, she said "we trust our customers". This self checkout process once again raises the retail bar, who knows what is next, but no doubt in mind, Apple will lead the way.

 

Defining a Portrait, One Light many Subjects

I have been photographing performers at the Grand Dell Saloon next door to my studio for several months. I have always liked the blues, but my motivation was more out of convenience and my personal project which I outlined last year than my interest in the musicians. However over time, I have adjusted that interest to include both. I have used several different lighting configurations, from manual on camera to multiple manual lights hung in different locations. I emphasize manual because in this type of situation, you have to make the lighting decisions not the camera. This nets out to adjusting the f stop constantly because of distance and angle. After a period of experimentation, the adjustments come easily sort of like the days when light meters didn't exist with film. I have locked in on a single light set to 1/4 power, triggered by pocket wizards. I tried Nikon's system but there are too many misfires with moving around. Often, I will see something, and wait for it to occur again if I'm not quick enough to catch on the fly. I start off just observing, watching facial expressions, body movement, etc. Sometimes, I spot something like the writing on Kid Anderson's guitar and plot for the right moment to snap on something like this.

 

The above is one way of defining someone with a more artistic approach but the more common practice is simply to catch a performer at the right moment, including both elements.

Another consideration is the distance. Why not get closer, you don't have to show as much of the scene with someone who is well known. For example, again with Kid Anderson, a closer look.

Enough of the guitar without making it the center of attention. Another tack is to change up again, go black and white and include another artist. In this image Frank DeRose bass player for Tip of the Top is included.

Selecting which one you like is purely a matter of taste as with all photography. I prefer the lone guitar.

Emotion is important in photography and fun to try and catch. It can be subtle or really overt. Here is a photograph where Andy Santana is defining the scene with his expression while Aki Kumar plays the harmonica.

Often it's just the subtle smile and looking the right way that creates the impression/emotion of the moment as with Frank DeRose in this image. The mirror helps make the image interesting but the emotion is defined in Frank's face.

Other times, you catch someone posed against a backdrop that just screams "take my picture". Here is one of those examples, of a guitar player with an old Gibson from the 40's standing beside a picture that appears to be somewhat similar.

I love the above image, pure luck sprinkled with being observant. Occasionally you see the image in the viewfinder after you have just shot, and you fire again. Here is an example of that which I also like, not because it looks really good, but because it is so unusual. I thought I was shooting John Garcia but in fact, he turned into Al Pacino. Too Funny!

You look for moments where people are truly taken by the music on stage, it's not a simple performance.

In the end, this type of photography is more about observation than anything else. Then again, isn't all photography about observation first?

Memphis Stew Saturday night at the Grand Dell Saloon

 

What do you get when you mix a famed blues guitarist, a well known jazz musician, and a funk bass player with a young prodigy? You get Saturday night at the Grand Dell Saloon. And John Garcia, Wally Schnalle, Phillip Benson, and London all showed up and put on a great show of fun and good blues music. Let's start with John Garcia. Here's an image that I like, bet he doesn't because he is more upbeat than the image portrays. But John truly comes from the blues of John Lee Hooker and the likes of that era, where pain and suffering were the origins of the music. So I caught John in a moment that represents that feeling.

London is a cool guy, I talked with him a bit and he comes from many places of music. Like the rest of the band, he plays all sorts of music but loves the blues. Here is an image of London along with a tiny self portrait.

I had to include an image showing the chemistry between John and London. They really enjoyed the stage together, it worked well for those of us in the audience, and it seemed like they were having a ball.

The drummer is jazz man, composer, teacher, Wally Schnalle. Just google his name and you see all the credits. He has played with some greats, is considered a great drummer himself, and adds loads to any band.

Finally, Phillip Benson was in the group. He is a young man of extraordinary talent, when he plays, it's obvious John and the band love to watch him go. He has a feel for the music so I thought about the image that would represent him for the night. He's not just a talented kid, his connection to blues is strong so I thought I would give you a snap shot of that connection.

So there you have the evening of blues at the Grand Dell Saloon. A great blues hangout for folks who love music.

On the photography note, I completely changed up the lighting from previous shoots, tried something totally different and I will do a blog on the two setups along with the differences from a shooters perspective.

Having lived in Memphis for 6 years, the term Memphis Stew came to mean anything where the ingredients were diverse, not really thought of together, but the taste was wonderful. So it goes with the Grand Dell Saloon. I'm off to Little Rock for a few days but my camea is always with me.

Wow, did the Grand Dell Saloon Rock Last Night!

Thursday night is jam night at the Grand Dell. I have written about it in the past, but let me refresh everyone. On Thursday, musicians flock to the Grand Dell Saloon and sign up to play with whatever band happens to be assembled at their rotational time. In the past as many as 55 muscians have signed up and waited their turn. As time has gone on, more and more "named" blues musicans have stopped in to play for fellow musicians. They have fun, and the big beneficiary is the crowd who sits mostly in wonder of the talent. Last night was the same, Aki Kumar, the brain trust of the event, began by singing and playing his harmonica with the first round of the band. Then, one by one, band members switched out, and tried their stuff on the crowd. It's an entertaining evening, band folks play with one another, enjoy each others company and skills while the crowd listens to some great music.

So, last night the main attraction was to be the arrival of Alvon Johnson, former original member of the Hall of Fame band The Coasters, and great blues guitar player and singer. So, we had a line up of great players before the big arrival. But first, Aki reminded everyone of the Tip Jar, and one of my friends deposited the first contribution.

 

The local musicans that show up every week are terrific, but the venue also attracts future bands that plan on playing gigs. For example, these guys just below rocked the house and will be playing the Grand Dell on the 17th of this month. They came to show off their stuff and market themselves. Did a great job of it.

And of course, there are always special moments as Jake Nielsen provided last night. He can play like a guitar god, and sings the blues like he grew up in the Delta. I was left speechless after his sets!

And now for the celebrities that seem to come out on Thursday. Alvon Johnson arrived and really burned the house down with his singing and special guitar. He is definitely in a class with the greats of blues.

and he did play with soul. I was personally stunned because I once worked for a guy that looked like his twin brother and to my knowledge he didn't sing or play.

But Thursday night is always the stage for the unexpected. Last night Terry Hanck, Kid Anderson, and a host of other greats stopped in just to talk and play. As always they join each other on stage.

Early on, Terry joins Alvon and magic is in the air.

Terry is a show in himself, and the music shows all over his face whether he is playing, singing or just enjoying another good musician's work.

After I left, Kid Anderson and a host of others joined in the fun. Seems a gang was recording at Kid Anderson's studio and took a break to stop by the Dell and entertain some blues fans. Yes, the Grand Dell Saloon is a cool, special place where folks that love the blues gather. Maybe next Thursday night, you'll join me at the Grand Dell Saloon.

 

 

 

DSLR Video Workshop Coming!!

Kim Kominich will be teaching a DSLR Video Workshop on video techniques, lighting for video, and audio for video. All three of these are critical for quality video, and who better to do this than a Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist and faculty member at San Jose State. Kim has shot, edited, and produced award winning videos, taught video, editing, lighting in the classroom and will be giving  limited classes at Hold the Eye Images Studio in Campbell CA. On March 24 & 25, Kim will teach video technique, lighting and audio, limiting the class to 10 students. The following weekend, March 31 & April 1, Kim will teach video editing using iMovie and or Final Cut X. Again the class is limited to 10 students.

The pricing is $399/weekend or $650/ for both weekends. It is Mac only and the editing will be taught on iMovie and Final Cut X. For those attendees at weekend one, shooting a video of your own following the first class will allow you to edit in the second class. For those not shooting or attending the first class, video and audio files will be provided for editing.

The registration will be posted shortly at HTEIW.com, so stay tuned and see you there.

 

Never leave home without........what?

Clean underwear, was my mother's requirement. She wasn't a photographer, but that's what she said. So what does a photographer always need regardless of camera, weather, location, or shooting purpose? My "one thing" has nothing to do with gear or anything material. A compass, bubble level, extra memory cards, batteries, rain gear, water, are all important and can be critical, but not my "one thing". Here's my one thing that you should never leave home without.

Whenever I leave with a camera, my "one thing" is to come back with a new image, something out of my comfort zone, that I didn't expect but I'm proud of. That's right it is an image that requires me to be on the lookout for something special. Now it's not something easily for me to see. That would be much to consistent with my personal style. No, it needs to be something totally different, the finding of a new perspective, a learning experience for your photographic eye. Now that seems to create a high bar, but it's simply attitude and curiosity gone wild! You try lots of different things, have some fun, abandon rules, and see what works. It sounds whimsical, but it's a learning process. You will pick up something, maybe an angle, maybe a technique, or perspective. The learning comes from experimentation not from success in capturing a special image. That's right the goal is to learn something and the technique is an attempt to capture a special image outside of your comfort zone that you will be proud of. The technique ensures your full skill set at work.

Photography can be solitary at times, but comparing your images with others is useful. I'm not talking about a photo contest of the "best" image since that's a matter of taste. I'm speaking of seeking the perspective of different eyes, exactly what I have been writing about in the previous paragraph. You can use the eyes of others to help in this quest for something different. Go out with a group, but then look collectively at what was captured. Pick the most unusual images, do they have potential? Talk about what they need.

So there you have the one thing every photographer should take with them on every outing with a camera. The quest for something totally different, the addition of a new skill for your photographic eye. Sounds like a simple idea and it is. But it takes purpose and challenging your existing style of photography, getting out of your comfort zone to accomplish. Now every image I capture is not different, in fact I like my personal style. But I do try to push myself to something different as a way of learning. It's one of my goals on every shoot. I believe it is one technique that helps me improve my skills. I enjoy the seeing other photographic perspectives. I always remember the old management saying "when everyone thinks alike mediocrity always wins".