Hold The Eye Images

The Ipad and Photography

Nate Donovan and I discuss the pros and cons of using an Ipad in your photography. The highlights, the top reason to use an Ipad is for a portable portfolio. The images look great, much better than a printed portfolio, its light, and the images can be added to Keynote for slideshows. There are several other apps that we have discovered that make life easier for a photographer and we cover those in the podcast. On another subject, Unified Color is coming out next week with a new version of their HDR software entitled HDR Expose, introductory price $99.00 but its a free upgrade for those of you who purchased the initial version. So here is the podcast entitled Episode 7, The Ipad and Photography, which is also permanently available in the sidebar of this blog. Hope you enjoy, we certainly had fun making it.

Episode 7, The Ipad and Photography

What's in David Burnett's bag is interesting, but what's in his head is inspiring!

In The Bag with photographer David Burnett from PhotoShelter.com on Vimeo.

Don't Forget To Go Over The Edge In Your Photography

Images are everywhere, even when climbing around. That's especially true on the coast where plants enjoy the ocean sea breeze, moisture, climate and bedding. Remember when you least expect it, a terrific image pops up, so always have a camera at the ready. That may be a point and shoot, the new iphone, or a DSLR. All will work great, my suggestion for a point and shoot, the new Lumix G series with the ability to use different lenses on a 4/3rd's sensor. I don't own one but a shooting buddy does and the images are top notch. As an added benefit, Panasonic(maker of Lumix) is coming out with a video camera on the 4/3rd's sensor that will accept all the Lumix G series lenses. The point here, think through your purchase, may serve multiple purposes.

The day is not far away when the line between still photography and video will blur on the equipment level and traditional photographers will be using video to enhance their offering. Many already do this either for clients or marketing themselves on venues like youtube.......websites........and blogs. I was talking to a Brooks student the other night and he will be fully video capable when he leaves school, which means video capture, editing, and marketing. So take the plunge, check out using video, you won't fall, but you definitely will not come back.

 

Photography is not Just Iconic Images of Sharpness and Detail

I have been exploring this notion that images are all around us if we only take time to look. Here is an example of today's images, something you don't see everyday from an iconic location. I will tell you where in another blog.

"A Forest can Bite You even in the Daytime"

 

"Small Wonders"

 

"Supports"

 

"Wisps of summer"

   

More to come from today's shoot with John Green from Washington, D.C.

New Directions in My Photography

This is not as dramatic as the title sounds, think of it as new limbs on a growing tree. The new limb is DSLR video. Why you ask? First of all the quality of DSLR is amazing comparable to anything being done with any video camera. One of the reasons is the sensor size, DSLR's have gigantic sensors for the video field, which accounts for the beauty of the output. Downside, the length of a shot is limited, at least for this round of cameras. A bigger downside is my lack of knowledge of video. The sum total of my experience is with 8mm/some video, all of my sons, when they were growing up. Calling me an amateur video guy is giving me more credit than I deserve. I'm no more a video amateur than I'm a race car driver for having a driver's license. So the limb is just budding, no length or leaves, a beginning. But a beginning with some cool tools. I put a 300mm/2.8 lens on my Nikon D90 and the video was wonderful. Next step, add a fixed video to the podcast, create a fixed video series, all of this means a camera on a tripod, linear show flow, nothing fancy.  I will mask the camera audio, use the digital recorders that are now used for the podcast, and add the sound in editing. I will not be doing the editing, Nate Donovan who has recently become a co-host on Hold The Eye Images Podcasting, will be the video editor. Where this is going , I have no idea. It will be integrated with what we are now doing with workshops, classes, etc. The advantages, the arsenal of very high quality lenses we already have, plus the relatively light weight of the gear makes the whole thing very portable. The struggle, the learning curve. We have some help from some video professionals but in the end, we have to understand it, get creative, and do work worthy of our still photography. So, I diving in a rat hole, hope it works out, stay tuned.

Every Photographer's Challenge

You are driving into Yosemite Valley, Yellowstone National Park, or your local favorite spot, and your struggle is finding a different point of view, something visually important, pleasing that has not been done many, many times. That is especially difficult if you are photographing something for the first time. Those iconic images are the most impressive, by definition, and it is just plain hard not to copy, when the visual is so powerful. But being led by the past does not develop your own photographic eye, it's OK to be impressed by the past, use the past as a knowledge point, but the journey for improving your personal eye requires a new route filled with failure, growth and success. It's built on good technical skills, and understanding of your destination, and an openness to new visual interpretation. A simpler way of saying, stop, look around, invest in observation before you use the camera. Try something new, maybe lots of things, new, angles, perspectives, subjects, and above all don't judge yourself or allow others to discourage you. Think about it, if the outcome were easy, everyone would be constantly coming up with new visual interpretations. That's simply not true, what is true is that iconic images are iconic but tiresome no matter how well done. They awe the unseen, but bore the experienced. I'm not saying if you want to capture an image that has been done a thousand times, don't do it, don't let it be the final output of your effort, to copy what many have seen and admired. Let me make an analogy, if I'm a great painter, my ability to copy the Mona Lisa says a great deal about my technical skills, but the real genius was creating the original image, conception of the image makes the painter great, the technical skill to create  is important but the minds eye is the triumph. So with your photographic journey, technical skill will take you so far but the triumph is seeing the world differently, developing an interpretive style, making people think, drawing emotion from your images.

The wonderful part of this journey albeit filled with mistakes and failures, it is exciting, fulfilling, creates an energy all its own which propels growth and reward. The growth is in the development of your observation skills which have application in everything you do in life, the reward is in seeing and knowing you are making progress on a very, very difficult journey. The journey takes you out of the ordinary into the magical, creates new maps, new destinations with progress markers that you recognize and cherish. Our world is interpreted by our senses, to focus on their development will enhance our minds ability to function and improve our sense of direction, and ultimately make us feel better about ourselves through an improved lens on our environment. The word environment conjures up many images by itself, in this context I simply mean the world around you, your garden, studio, neighborhood, or the focus of your work.

Now comes the bad news, there is no prescription for this, no textbook, course, degree, or person who can lead this journey. Many things can help, but you have to lead your own journey, much like the frightening notion of walking off into the woods with only the help of your senses as your compass. This is where it begins,  using your imagination, being open to new things, leaving your judgmental default mode behind. Hiking in the metaphor of unknown woods, meeting others on a similar journey, getting discouraged, making small progress, developing a style, learning to appreciate your own style, being able to adjust are all way points. And just maybe, your destination will change, keeping you on this journey forever, a trip with purpose but without end, becoming a vagabond with an image legacy that you can look back upon and simply simile.

In my journey, I simply want to be able to smile.

Scouting tomorrow, of all places, Point Lobos

What? Didn't I just go there? Yes, but did not take Nate Donovan, so I'm helping him out for his Point Lobos workshop. I wasn't thinking a group, how to set up, split up, discuss shooting, etc. I was in the zone, taking in the wonderful light, capturing images. If I had walked off a cliff, likely would not have realized until I hit something. This is a different trip, not for me but for a group of mixed experience, some novices, some advanced, with all sorts of equipment. For example, the lone cypress I posted a few days ago requires at least 400mm to frame properly, so not a location for 24mm wide angle shot. So we are going down the road, maybe check out the Otter families on the way, take some notes, maybe do a podcast from Point Lobos, enjoy the sun/surf and some good Mexican food at a coastal hangout. This preparation stuff is tuff.

Here are a couple more images that you can easily get if you take Nate's Point Lobos workshop when it's posted on Donovanphotography.net.

   

And another

   

I desaturated this last image a bit, giving it a sepia, late light look. As you can tell if you follow this blog, I prefer black and white(personal taste) and drama. If the image doesn't have drama, make you feel something, I'm not as interested. Now, I take have lots of images that I post that don't fit this category, but not everything I post I like. I'm like everyone else, I take the images, see what I have then make the best out of it. Some you know are going to be killers, others you hope, and the rest you pray something works. Most of my prayers are answered with the same response: Plan Better. So that's what I'm doing.

It's after Midnight and I'm back from Elkhorn Slough and Point Lobos

A long day with at least 24gigs of images, and not all downloaded by any means, I'm exhausted. From pouring rain, to wonderful animals, to a beautiful setting sun in Point Lobos, great day of shooting. So, I will tease you with a few of today's sights. Let's start with "Do you know the difference between Seals and Sea Lions?", lots of people ask that question, and you could answer by saying, Sea Lions can walk on land, Seals have no ears, and you could go on and on. However, I was lucky today, and I do mean lucky, and found two pups together, one sea lion and one harbor seal. So check this out, and they are so cute and curious. The Sea Lion is on the left, the one with the feet, the harbor seal is on the right no ears.

   

Next question, " What do sea otters eat?" Well if you were with me today, you would have seen this Otter, use his rock from his pouch to crack a clam. Yes, they do carry a rock in a pouch, for the sole purpose of cracking clams, smart, smart, smart. After they have cracked the clam, they chow down, tearing strips with their teeth. Reminds me of humans eating clam strips. So, as proof, here is my buddy, chowing down on his own clam strips. Ah, don't those clam strips look yummy!

   

And finally, for the killer shot of the day(for this blog, wait until later for more), nothing warms my heart like the love of a mother. Especially a mother that has the cutest little pup you have ever seen. And the great part, they stopped what they were doing and posed for the camera. A wonderful moment had by all.

   

Now I have shared the little one with mummy holding on tight. As though she wanted me to see just how cute her little one was. Oh well, I'm now shot, time for bed. Great HDR's coming and I will tell you where you can get images just like this. Stay tuned, goodnight.

Channeling Edward Weston, the artistic nude

Following up on my last posting about Nudes, I started thinking about Edward Weston  and Charis Wilson and how they collaborated to create these moody images that have conflicted meaning. They are by no measure cheesecake nor are they explicit nudes. They have an innocence, albeit guilty feeling about them. You don't quite know what to make of the image. This conflict makes the image interesting, causes a second look, the viewer is interested. There are few subjects that create this reaction on a regular basis like nudes. We have such preconceived notions that when one is ambiguous, it causes us to stop and think.  

Charis Wilson died in November 2009, Edward long before. A documentary the Eloquent Nude was made to describe their creative life together. It is a very moving piece, and includes narration in her voice. There are several youtube links to this documentary, here is one with the voice of Charis:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0qlcnV1qLc. This was truly an amazing collaboration, she the writer, and muse for the images, he the older man, wonderful photographer, both doing things that broke new ground. Her comments at the end are precious, seeing a 90+ year old woman talking about how she was more sexually experienced than Edward is as shocking as the images of their day. The Eloquent Nude is worth tracking down, it was on cable a week or so ago so it is out there. I purchased mine from the Photography West Gallery in Carmel California but they no longer have any copies. Another source of inspiration if you are interested is the book: "The Daybooks of Edward Weston" his daily diary which he kept. This is a rare piece of work since it represents daily insights into the thinking of one of photography's great masters. This book is also difficult to find but well worth the effort. I bought mine on Amazon as a used copy but waited forever to find it.

So that is where this nude comes from. Watch the youtube link in the previous paragraph, it will hook you on finding out more about Charis and Edward. You should always be on the look out for a muse, and I don't mean a woman but someone, anyone, who causes you to think differently, look at the world from a different angle, helps motivate you to be better at what you love. And, surprisingly, these people do not have to become friends, they are simply change agents for the way you think. In the case of Charis and Edward, it was magic, not something often understood, or even seem from the outside. A special case for which we all are better off for having the privilege of seeing and understanding.

   

This was done in the studio with a single Profoto Head and a 1X4 strip soft box. I like strip lighting for nudes and usually use a grid in the box. I always collaborate with the model and in this case she created the pose and it was perfect for what I was trying to do. If you talk through what you want, a collaborative effort will bring much better results.

Yosemite Magic

I know I write about Yosemite all the time, for obvious reasons. I have said this before but want to repeat, weather in Yosemite is what makes magic for photography. I'm going to show you three snapshots, yes snapshots not elaborate photographs but snapshots I took last week. The weather was amazing so guess what, the photography falls in the same category. The first is from across the street at Yosemite Lodge, just off the sidewalk, I had to wait for people walking but this is shot on a tripod straight at Yosemite Falls. You could should this from a bus.

   

 The second one is of Gates of the Valley, the last pull off as you exit the Valley floor on the left. Again, I have photographed many times and weather is always important as this photograph illustrates.

   

Finally my traveling companions, Ryan my oldest son and his girlfriend Steph. We camped at the North Pines on the Merced River, did a little fly fishing, had a big camp fire, cooked some burger/hotdogs and otherwise enjoyed the splendor of the valley. I did have to buy a pair of longjohns for the evening since the temperature dropped into the 20's a bit cold for these old bones.