Street photography is a difficult art. Anticipating and capturing fleeting scenes as they happen before you is an extreme mental exercise and can leave you exhausted. You strip away everything relying only on your intuition and a keen understanding of your camera – it is photography in its purest form.
You get close to the action and sometimes end up staring into the eyes of the very subject you are photographing. You have butterflies in your stomach and get an adrenaline rush – not knowing how someone would react when they see you and your camera very briefly. I am still learning about my camera and how to operate it without even looking at the controls. I however decided not to shoot a photograph without first composing it in my viewfinder. There is something very beautiful about a well composed street photograph that utilizes the entire frame and needs very little cropping. It is a challenge but one that is worth taking.
Thoughts
27
Aug 10
Butterflies in my stomach – Why I like Street Photography
24
Aug 10
Life, Liberty*, and Equal* Rights for All
* Some exceptions may apply.
Found this in my neighborhood (Broad Ripple, Indianapolis, IN). I thought it was an appropriate symbol for some of the rancorous and often xenophobic discussions that are currently taking place in this great country of ours. I mentioned to someone a while ago that we all have rights but they are not equal. He shot back asking for proof that what I said was true. Well I don’t have to show him any proof – it is all around us. Just turn the TV on, or read the news papers and you will see ample evidence that will prove my point. Anyway I don’t want to get into political discussions as they only lead to unnecessary pain and anguish on my part.
17
Aug 10
Is print making dead?
The Indiana State fair is an annual affair like any other state fair. What I did not know until recently is that there is more to the state fair than the usual animal and farming shows. In fact I found an entire section dedicated to photography although it is not well publicized. Anyway so I walk into the area where the photography exhibit was setup and boy was I underwhelmed – not by the quality of the images but by the disservice the print quality and presentation did to them. The photographs were wonderful even though some of them were heavily photoshopped. However the print quality and presentation were just horrible – even in the professional category. There was no breathing room between any of the photographs and they all seemed to blend together. I just don’t understand the need to display every entry that was ever sent to the exhibit. Select a few and do the best job presenting them including the light under which they are displayed. Going back to the original intent of this post – Is print making dead? It definitely felt that way yesterday. Many photographers think that their job ends with capture and some tweaking in Photoshop. Many don’t go beyond these basic steps to do their absolute best to get the most out of their capture and make it ready for output. I guess that’s okay since many are going to just publish their images to the web. However if you are going to make prints please take some time to understand the finer points of print making. There are several excellent resources on the web such as photo.net, Luminous landscape, and Normen Koren to learn and understand the issues around the fine art print. Manufacturers like Epson also publish several useful guides to the print making process. If you are the workshop kind of guy/gal there are several options as well such as the Santa Fe workshop series. Even if you don’t do your own printing it still helps to know the finer points so that you can have an intelligent conversation with your printer and give them the right instructions so that the final print is a reflection of your artistic intent and not a stroke of luck and some random settings.
14
Aug 10
Composites: Some experiments
I usually stumble on to lot of the techniques by accident. I never tried doing composites in Photoshop but yesterday I decided to jump in give it a try. I had an opportunity to attend a workshop/photowalk with Kevin Raber, VP of Marketing for PhaseOne – the digital medium format company. The above image is a composite of three different images that I took during the photowalk. I just find it interesting that this composite makes so much sense in the context of drones and satellite guided weaponry. Soldiers don’t have to be in actual combat. Instead one can sit in an air-conditioned cube and remotely fight a war by pushing a joy stick and punching some buttons. Here is another one that I created from a USA Today newspaper box and a sculpture in the Evan Lurie Gallery:
12
Aug 10
A brief review of Canon AE-1 Program Plus 50mm f1.4 Lens
I did not know anything about Canon Cameras until recently. I have always been a Nikon guy and never owned a Canon until I came across a used Canon AE-1 camera at the local pawn shop. I paid $40.00 for the body plus lens (50mm f1.8 Canon FD lens) and another $10.00 for a Energizer A544 battery to power the metering system and the electronic shutter. The battery is supposed to last for about a year but I managed to completely drain one within a day – just don’t ask me how it is embarrassing. Just turn the switch back to the “L” (Lock) position when not using the camera and you will be safe. It wasn’t soon after that someone was selling another Canon AE-1 (not the Program version), three lenses including a 50mm f1.4, and an unused Canon Flash for $50.00. The lens itself is worth $30 – $50 on eBay and KEH. The 50mm f1.4 lens soon became my favorite combination to use with the AE-1. Although I rarely use the lens at f1.4 because it is a bit soft at that aperture. However it gives me an extra stop in a pinch which is always nice.
For a more detailed description of the camera please visit this LINK.
Here is a portrait of Mira that I took with the AE-1 Program and 50mm f1.4 lens wide open. The film used is Ilford HP5 Plus, developed in Kodak HC110 for 11 minutes at 68ºF, scanned and edited in Photoshop CS3.
The camera is an absolute joy to use and feels really solid in your hands with easy to reach controls. The meter is dead on and the camera itself is very rugged having survived multiple drops from my clumsy hands. The viewfinder is bright and big, the shutter is a bit loud but very smooth, and the film advance is just fabulous. I highly recommend getting one if you can find one for under $50.00 – you won’t regret it.
10
Aug 10
A Conversation with Tom Casalini, Portraitist Extraordinaire [Part 2]
I interviewed Zionsville, IN based photographer and portraitist Tom Casalini a few days ago. In Part 2 of my conversation with him he talks about going digital, advantages of working in a studio instead of on-location, working with families, and selecting the final images and presenting them to the client.
