Hold The Eye Images

Finding That Special Moment

Photography is about a lot of things, some technical, some creative, and some simply observation skills. Everything has it's moment, not all of these are prize winning or so dramatic they take your breath but nonetheless there is a moment. And learning to see that moment takes time an interest.  Sometimes it's just an expression. 

Sometimes it's not so sweet but simply something happening that's self explanatory. 

 

Sometimes you grab someone and ask them if you can take their picture but you take several waiting for that look. 

But it all starts with being some place where opportunity exists. Like seeing an enormous line for Georgetown Cupcakes.

Or, at a Blues Jam when someone decides to dance on the sidewalk instead of inside.

Or at a recording when everyone gets excited about the how it's going.

It can be as simple as an expression. Someone who loves to play or admires his wife's voice as she sings.

I look for that moment and most of the time I don't find a great one, simply a little story. But the more I look the better I get at finding one. The downside it makes you a bit antisocial. You can't be engrossed in a conversation and be an observer of happenings at the same time. You generally have to stay out of the mix, more of a fly on the wall. For some people that's impossible or at least harder than it sounds. That's especially true when someone wants to talk with you, I'm polite but short.

Finding that special moment adds another dimension to your camera bag of tricks. You can do it anywhere, just watch........it always happens.

Commentary On " Finding Vivian Maier"

Brian and I watched the documentary separately and talked about our reactions. Brian also had several photo students with him at his viewing.

 

 

Want to know what a Fantasy Wildlife Gear Kit looks like? And Maybe Some Alternatives? Check this Podcast Out.

Brian and I talk about our Fantasy Gear Kit which doesn't take into consideration money. We also talk about some more frugal ideas in our latest Podcast.

 

What's your Fantasy Street Gear Kit? Here's ours!

In our latest podcast, Brian and I compare notes on a fantasy street gear kit where money is no object. We did this for fun, wondering what each other would select. 

 

DEDPXL from Zack Arias Review

I just recently sat down and viewed the entire download which you can find here. I didn't get it for free nor do I get anything if you purchase a copy. For many photographers, flash is either a mystery or even if you understand the concepts of light the little tricks of the trade, gadgets, grips, etc. leave you a bit lost. I'm not speaking about TTL camera sytem controlled flash but off camera flash set to manual or studio flash. I rarely use TTL flash, and I will say learning this from scratch was a bit difficult. Shooting back in the film days was a difficult world without a light meter, using guide numbers, not knowing the outcomes until film was returned. One of the reason medium format cameras were so popular, polaroid backs gave you feedback for camera settings, i.e. exposure. In today's world, it is easier but exposure with flash still stumps lots of photogs especially when you take the flash off the camera, set to manual and  start adding modifiers. 

David Hobby was the first photographer that I found who made sense of flash in the digital age. I probably have read every blog he has ever written, bought his DVD's and learned tons from his experience. So now along comes Zack Arias, a very creative and edgy photographer out of Atlanta. You can check him out with Google, but he does some very interesting work. He recently released a set of videos which I highlighted in the opening sentence of this blog. It's the best set of "how to" videos I have seen on shooting manual flash, off camera or studio. He takes you through the camera, grips, lighting principles, and lots of examples. At $75 it's a bargain if you want to learn how to use flash. The principles is this video apply to studio flash, off camera flash, or any light you want to use in properly exposing your image. After you watch these videos, the next step is practice.

Another Transcend Memory Card Corrupts! Don't Buy

That's right the second card failed and the only cards that I have ever had corrupt on a shoot. Yesterday, the card quit loading images after shooting a bit. I noticed the images were not showing, then my camera a Nikon D4 starting giving me card failure warnings. When I brought the card back to the studio, it simply would not load or read. No matter what card reader I used, it simply was not recognized by my computer, a Mac Pro. I downloaded recovery software but without "seeing" the card, software is useless. 

Next I went to support. They didn't have a number to call or I couldn't find one. They had a series of questions to respond to before you could contact support. I filled out most but couldn't remember when I bought the card, and the ID number wasn't on the card so I could not request help. I wasn't trying to claim warranty issues, I just wanted the images and would gladly pay if necessary. 

All which leads me to the point, if your images matter, don't buy Transcend!

Personal Photography Project Update

So my new personal project is documenting the recordings in a studio called Greaseland. Greaseland is the product of a prodigy musician Chris Andersen from Norway. Chris is a member of a touring bluesband called Rick Estrin and the Nightcats. Chris aka Kid Andersen has turned his house into a recording studio with every room except the bedrooms having a musical purpose. Here are a couple snaps of the kitchen for example. 

Here is the hallway filled with amps.

And here is one of the archive shots showing Wee Willie Walker of Muscle Shoals fame who's being recorded this week, having a bit of fun with musicians in the living room. 

So you can see this house is really turned into a music studio. Just a few shorts years ago this was not possible, you had to go to one of the "established" locations to record. With digital technology, you can replicate studio sound with some modifications almost anywhere. Now, what makes this so special besides the technology, is the guy mixing, controlling the sound and that's where Kid Andersen comes in. I'm no music expert, but folks who are think Kid is really gifted in mixing and putting together music. So much so that many of the long time musicians call him "genius" at this. Personally, I have now way of knowing if this is true or not, but many folks who I know think he is. Add this up, you have a house filled with technology and DIY sound arrangements(on one session, the guitar amp was in the bathroom, which I discovered when using it and someone started playing the guitar), you have a guy at the helm whose gifted, and you have some really great musicians coming by to record their CD's. To add a bit of credentials to Kid, one of his productions was nominated for a Grammy this past year, but didn't win. Here's a look at the heart of the studio the "control room" aka the storage closet. Kid is on guitar playing on Willie Walker's CD while the band is in the other room playing, Willie is in the laundry room with the mike singing. Rick Estrin of blues fame is reading the words as Willie sings helping coach Willie on the voice part. 

Here's Willie singing. 

 

No I'm not crazy, I think this is something special on many levels. Photographically it really pushes me to capture intimate moments. For example Willie recording doesn't look like the picture above but the one below. Musicially I believe this represents the future, and Kid's skill and talent may well propel him to the forefront.

And the living room looks different when everybody is playing like this image. 

Their are special still images all around with this gear like the painting of Lisa, Kid's wife who is also a great musician of American Idol fame. 

So that's where my special project lies at this point. I have documented two recordings so far, will do the first Podcast this Friday interviewing Wee Willie Walker along with Kid as the cohost. This may turn into a regular thing with these interviews, we will see. The photography is challenging but great, the story is terrific, and the podcasting may be just as interesting and challenging. So do you have a personal project? Better find one! More later.