Jan 4, 2013 | Field Reports
“Amazing,” Incredible,” Beautiful!” “Love it,” the accolades that can be heaped on an image posted on the web can give you that, ooooooie warm feeling all down under. I wonder, does that really help our photography though? I wonder this in part looking at images that sometimes get posted. You know the ones, you look at them, you look around the room, you look back and them and you simply shake your head. There are simply some images that definitely fit the, “In the eyes of the beholder” category. But with that addictive accolade drug if you hit it right waiting out there, many take the risk when they shouldn’t.
One of the hardest things to do in photography is be our own best critic. Ever wonder why that is? Ever wonder why a year after you look at your favorite image it is often not you favorite so much anymore? They are all wrapped up in the same issue, our own emotions! Yeap, we have an emotional investment with our photography and that’s how it’s supposed to be. We are supposed to put our passion in each pixel to the point it reaches out and grabs the hearts of others. In that process though, something at times goes wrong. Our emotional tie to our photograph causes the blinders to come on.
Picking the images to share and those not to share is a hard learned lesson. It’s one that takes a whole bunch of time to master, if mastering is even possible. What was for such a long time referred to as editing images, the term editing is now more often thought of as post processing, rather than selecting those images that best tell a story, grab the heart. But editing is what a lot of posters need to learn.
Where do you learn this? Now we’re getting down to the $64mil question. While we love our families, they are not the best judge of a good photograph. Many put images into contests, which might be some valid measure but having been a judge in a few contests, I have my doubts. Having your images critiqued has always been a very popular method of getting feedback. That’s only if you can put away the hurt feelings, really hear what’s being said and then remember to act on what you’ve learned. So you might be asking then if these aren’t so hot, what is a good way to get feedback you need about your images?
I have two suggestions and I’m here to tell you that following them means grabbing the bull by the horns and going for one helluva a ride (hence my bull moose photos with the blog). Both of these methods require time, money and a real open mind. They require being honest with yourself, parking your emotional investment in the photo (not to be confused with the passion you put into the photo) and really listening to the reactions your photos bring.
The first way I’d recommend is a simple gallery showing. I’m not talking about trying to get your images in a gallery, but rather getting them on the wall at a restaurant, bakery, library or airport. Spend the time and money on getting that wall space, picking the images, getting the prints, getting them framed and then, and this is the important part, sit in the corner and watch the viewer’s reaction to your images! Ya, with pencil and paper watch the reactions or, lack or reactions to your photographs. And with both, figure out what is getting reaction and what isn’t. This is hard, I did it for years and while it taught me some things, I’m still learning.
The best way as far as I’m concern can really hurt the most, but it pays the biggest dividends. And that’s putting your images in front of those masters of visual communicating. The editorial photo editors are the best teachers when it comes to images that reach out and grab viewers. And they are the best, though at times very brutal, to tell you why your images don’t work. And that’s where the lessons lie, some of the very best in the world. Of course, this means you have to learn how to get your images to those folks in the first place and that is a whole other story for another day, or week.
Don’t get me wrong, I want to encourage you to keep sharing your photography and if that means you do it on the web, that’s killer! What I want to encourage you though is to share those special images, go with the quality over quantity approach. An editor told me long ago, “You’re only as good as your last published image,” a quote I always think about when putting out images. It’s a natural way to keep raising your own bar to put your best foot forward.
Dec 31, 2012 | Field Reports
The past few days has seen some GREAT images posted to the Share the Season photo contest (Grand prize Brand New Nikon D600). The international scope of the contest is just so cool! Here’s some highlights and their story. Enjoy!
(c) Joe Hudspeth
My friend and I wanted to go out to Black Butte Ranch here in Central Oregon and ride the Christmas Wagon all the while photographing the spectacular wintry scenery and probably capturing that one shot that makes it all worthwhile. However, upon arriving in a blizzard and riding during that blizzard, we couldn’t keep the camera’s steady enough to get a good picture. We decided to park down the road and try to capture the next group coming through. Wading through about 18 inches of snow we arrived at the spot just in time. I wanted to convey a sense of motion along with the blowing snow so I set my D7000 to 1/80 second at F 4.5 and my 18-200mm Nikon to 31mm. The folks on board were singing Christmas Carols and waving to us as we shot away. Couldn’t have been any better!
(c) Stefan Hargus
And sometimes it’s own little cristmas ornaments. Nikon D7000, 105mm macro, 1/250s, f/3.2 ISO 100
(c) Stacy Niedzwiecki
The first day of Winter 2012 came in with a mighty roar (via “Winter Storm Draco”) at the St. Joseph Lighthouse in Benton Harbor, Michigan. The winds reached 60-70mph gusts on Lake Michigan, with waves 22ft in height. After spending time out here, my face was nicely exfoliated from the flying beach sand.
Canon EOS 7D, f/8, 1/800 sec, ISO 640, Canon 70-200 lens at 200mm, handheld (it was too crazy to even use a tripod – I had to squat down into a spot in the dune and brace myself against a small tree)
(c) Craig Bogden
I finished shoveling fresh fluffy snow and just stood in the yard enjoying the calm. Decided to grab the camera and take a few shots. I was focusing in on the Black Capped Chickadee when the Downy Woodpecker just popped into the frame. Amazing. I had to post this here. They were sharing the fresh suet my wife had put out earlier. Canon S3 IS. 44mm, f3.5, 1/500, fill flash.
(c) Erin Dell
My Christmas present this year was a Canon 5D Mark ii. As I was playing with the new camera, I caught a cute picture of my son admiring the Christmas tree. Taken on Christmas Day, with a 200mm F/2.8, ISO 160 at 1/5 sec. in Minnesota.
Dec 24, 2012 | Field Reports
When the 70-200f4 VR3 was announced, I was excited to read the specs. While I have the 70-200f/2.8 VR2, its MFD and f/22 max aperture were two aspects of the lens the new 70-200VR3 improves on. I wanted the 2′ MFD of the 70-200VR3 for photographing nesting birds. I wanted the f/32 for my air to air work. The fact the VR3 model is lighter (by nearly a pound!) and smaller in diameter wasn’t as important, just those two features. Well I’ve had the lens a couple of weeks now, shot a bunch with it and as far as I’m concerned, it’s a sweet lens! It’sharp across the plane, doesn’t have any vignetting, AF is nice and fast. It’s nice its shade is flat so I can go back to setting it down without it falling over. I’m not thrilled it doesn’t come with a tripod collar. And the “carbon” barrel next to the body doesn’t excite the senses but it doesn’t effect operation at all. And you might be asking why I’m not saying anything about the new VR3 technology. Using proper handholding works the best for me. For the task I wanted the tool for, I more than highly recommend it!
What you see here is really a pretty simple click, one I’ve wanted for quite some time (and I’m not done yet). Out our kitchen window is one of our many bird feeders. It is really popular with our Mountain Chickadees. The feeder is no more than perhaps 9″ from the side window/side of the house. The icicles that form are perhaps 2′ from the house and when they form and don’t get too big in diameter, the Chickadees use them as a perch prior to coming into the feeder. In the past, I’ve had to stand in the middle of the kitchen to shoot. That’s really not a good place to be working in any household. The 70-200 VR3 attached to the D4 though worked perfectly! The VR3 was at 200mm and at its MFD and was spot on for shooting right at the window frame! A single SB-900 w/Lumiquest was on a Justin Clamp attached to a post on the outside of the house providing the lighting. A Pocket Wizard was used to control the flash and a Pocket Wizard used to fire the camera (stayed warm by the fire as it snowed outside). So as I sat by the fire writing, I simply watched the icicle and when the Chickadee landed, I pushed the button on the Pocket Wizard. And that’s really the point of having the right tools, making photography not only successful, but fun!
