Dec 14, 2011 | Random Thoughts
Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should! This little rant originates from a photographer who insists on sending me really horrible images, I think because he wants to see how many times I can say SUCKS! This photographer insists on shooting everything as HDR, I mean everything (really, a toilet seat?)! What you see here are two of my suckie HDR images to illustrate the point of this rant. Just because you know HDR doesn’t mean it will make a suckie photograph better. Garbage in is still garbage OUT! These two images suck (which means when you see them on G+ you don’t write amazing because you’ll look really silly!) and HDR didn’t make them one bit better!
Whether it’s HDR or flash fill (I see plenty of suckie flash photos too) or Fisheye or any other technique, just because you can apply it successfully doesn’t turn a horrible image into magic, at least not in my book. If I know that, why did I take the two photos you see above? Because I just wanted to shoot and they were available. The light sucked but I didn’t have these two aircraft in my files, in fact a number of the aircraft on the deck of the Intrepid I didn’t have so I shot them all to have a record in my files of them. I shot them all as 5 image HDR because the light sucked and if this photographer had got the message in the 20+ emails that said sucks, you would never see these images. But I need something that sucked and these were fresh in my mind.
More important then they suck is WHY they suck. And that answer is the heart and soul of photography. They suck because the light sucks. Not the number of stops or the direction but the quality of the light. There simply is no LIFE to the light, no drama, no impact, no emotion, no mood, it’s just there and HDR isn’t going to make that better. I wish I had images of the same subjects in good light to show you the difference but in the real world of photography, you don’t have side by side comparisons when you shoot. You just have what’s presented you and from that you make the photographic decision to click or don’t click. I’m trying to encourage you to click only when you see and feel something in the viewfinder.
Now this is NOT an indictment of HDR. Since I just had a double truck published of a P-51C that is a HDR, to say I use it would be an understatement. What I am saying is that just because you own Photomatix Pro doesn’t mean EVERY photograph has to be run through it. This photography thing is not about who owns the most toys but who sees, feels and communicates light. And just because I use HDR as you see in the photo below which is on the “realistic” side and not the “Elvis on Velvet” side, I have no problem with that when it’s done because it was needed. But using a photographing technique just because you can, don’t! You’re a story teller with your photography. Use the techniques that tell your story and you will successful. end of rant
Oct 21, 2011 | Random Thoughts
I just got a new project offered to me this past week and I’m really, very excited about it. It’s another of those kinds of projects that I am particularly good at. It’s in a cold place, very little is known biologically about the critter and there are very few photographs of the critter, the Alaskan Hare. When I get projects like this, I go into a favorite mode, research. I just love looking for, uncovering and learning new knowledge especially when I know it will improve my photography. In this particular case, I have no special insider info, no one expert I can query, I have to hit the books and learn it for myself. That’s a pretty typical MO and not just for me but for most of my peers be it wildlife or landscape or portraits or aviation. There just isn’t a road map, we have to create our own.
This little box on my Firefox toolbar should look a whole lot more warn then it does because I pound this thing. I’ve learned some tricks over the years to be fast at finding the trivia I want, but it seems I’m there all the time. It’s in this search for knowledge I find out things like what lens I might need, not that someone says, “You’re going after the Green-spotted Shank use a 18-200 lens,” but rather gathering the pieces so I can do the math that then tells me this. For a long, long time, research has shown that most when they use Google Search never click on Page 2, they never get past Page 1. Understanding how quickly folks want information, I did the silly thing of creating a website so finding information on the particular subject of wildlife photography might be faster. That’s why there’s over 2500 pages of trivia here and over 100 videos, all here created in my quest for knowledge.
But doing our own research, we found that our Search feature gets used so little, I’m thinking about putting a spider web graphic on it. Here’s my beef. Folks not coming to my site to seek knowledge isn’t the problem. My problem is what seems to be a good portion of photographers don’t seek knowledge, period! I teach a lot of workshops and interface with a helluva of a lot of photographers and the percentage who don’t even understand the workings of their cameras, I’m talking just the setting, boggles my mind! And that’s just the start of the quest of knowledge. Why is that? Just paying for the expensive camera doesn’t mean it will take great photos for you. It’s like you buy a car and then expect it to drive you everywhere while you watch the sites. Taking this one step further, I am just blown away when photographers spend a ton of money on gear then on traveling to some great locale arriving not knowing a thing about how their camera works! Really?! This is the time to learn about how that tool works?
Had a long travel day yesterday, took 26hrs to get home so I had a bunch of time to think. I thought not of the wonderful bunch of students we had this past week at Lake Placid DLWS but rather my peers, those photographers I have great respect and admiration for. I went back in my memory to our many discussions about our trade and came to a realization that we all have one thing very much in common. We are all always in search of knowledge! We all do a ton of research when heading out for a project. We all do a ton of research on our gear and test before we go out on that project and then once on site, we search and search with our camera in telling the story. This does not guarantee success, there is no such guarantee in photography. But what it will do is guarantee you’ll have fun! That’s the main reward in photography that knowledge brings. The satisfaction of doing the research, connecting the dots and then putting that into play with the camera even with failure is fun and it’s that fun that keeps the passion of photography alive!
Jun 16, 2011 | Random Thoughts
Jake and I were just coming off a break and were heading back out to the line. We’d been working the flight line since 07:30, talking with pilots and crews, shooting, drinking coffee and of course, shooting some more. It was an excellent morning and we wanted to get off our feet for a moment. I naturally grabbed the iPad, checked emails and took care of some work. Even though the light had gotten hard, Jake & I know that sitting inside guarantees we’ll make no images. Even in bad light, at least being outside, there is the possibility something good will come along (and it did). We were just heading back out and I saw this photo which so reflected an email I had just read. Basically, a shooter had emailed bemoaning shooting at airshows because they didn’t have unique access to aircraft, the light was hard and there are crowds. So airshows are stupid. There’s no doubt they aren’t for everyone which is why photography is SO amazing, we can all have cameras and point them to so many different things and still enjoy photography together. What I have an issue with is, photography only happens when the lights perfect, the birds sing and music plays in the air. Photos happen where YOU make them happen, period! You wanna go out in the worst light and make great images, YOU can do it! You wanna go out in crowds and make great images, you can do it! The only thing stopping you is you! If shooting in hard light is hard then push yourself and start shooting in it. If you wanna do aviation photography for example, most airshows are during hard light times so if you wanna do aviation, guess what? And until you have those images you can show others that you have talent, you can’t move up the ladder to shooting those better aircraft in better light. It can be a very, long, hard, hot walk walking the line from beginner to professional, from failure to successful but if you don’t start walking now, today, we all know you will never make it to the other end. And if you think you are alone, think again. The only difference in this photography game, some are simply further down the line then the others. But I’ve yet to meet anyone who has made it all the way to the other end!
May 9, 2011 | Random Thoughts
When it comes to showing off your photography, personally I don’t think there is any better medium then the iPad at this time! There is a very good reason why I’ve bought (and still have) four of them, they make me money! I put an iPad into the hand of a client and allow them to flip through the images and I always get a sale, from a single print to photographing bigger projects to wall decor for an entire lodge (which is why I take so much time perfecting my image presentation with the iPad)! So when it comes to reading periodicals and the news, the iPad rocks! Those who have come to DLWS and been part of my presentation on printing know just how important paper is in making our images look great. Newspaper and magazine paper doesn’t even compare to the presentation power of the iPad. So besides wanting to see digital publishing not only flourish and grow for my own business to continue, I simply love seeing great photography at its best. So what you see here are just some of the digital publishing assets out there right now that have subscribed to. I’ve put down hard earned cash and paid to receive the full editions. I realize that times are tight right now but I also realize being an economics major that if I don’t invest now, when times are better, I won’t be in place to take advantage of those better times. I’m often asked about this business side of photography and while it all starts with the click, there is so much involved to close the circle to find its business rewards.
Apr 19, 2011 | Random Thoughts
While we can debate the cause and effect, the bottomline is things are warming up and being on the frontline seeing how this IS effecting our wild heritage, climate change concerns me on a daily basis. Well, trying to get this message out is taking some new forms (I know with this posting the usual emails will come from the usual folks telling me I don’t know what I’m talking about). You can never argue with someone’s logic, but you sure can attack the facts in which they base that logic. Or, better yet, educate. Check this out, might give you something new to think about. And if you wanna make a difference, now, today, simply unplug the power supply to your notebook, iPhone, iPod, iPad whenever you’re not using it. Yeap, making a difference can be that simple!
Apr 12, 2011 | Random Thoughts
Not sure how he has such clear insight, I’m just glad he shares it! This is so true for so many but I think it really applies to photographers. You just might wanna give it a read and answer the question for yourself. I might just improve your photography, at least time spent at it.
