Interpretation

I find it interesting to hear how people interpret pictures. Of course, many, and perhaps most, images are not necessarily open to a tremendous amount of interpretation. For example, a great landscape image will elicit emotion in the viewer, but I think the pure aspect of interpretation is more limited. There may arise interpretive issues such as what the photographer wants the viewer to think (ie is this image urging us to support conservation, protect wild land or wildlife etc) but there are less likely to be issues regarding what the 'deep meaning' of such an image is.

Even though I didn't set out to imbue my Dreamscape series with hidden meaning, I am intrigued by the fact that people have offered to me interpretations of the pictures that are quite disparate from what I thought most people would think .

For example, take the following image, Dreamscapes #3. I 'set up' this self-portrait with the idea of trying to convey a nightmare. I tried to personify the unknown coming out of a blinding light to pull you away. I didn't guess that there was any other way for someone to think about this photo.

Dreamscapes #3
Copyright Howard Grill

But I was wrong. I have had people give me several different interpretations. The most interesting was told to me by someone that purchased the photograph and said that to them it illustrated the idea of "a young person going off to undergo his rite of passage"


And this one, Dreamscapes #6. When I post-processed the image, I was intrigued by the light ghostlike shadow of the smaller child at the right of the photo which was generated by the child's motion during a long exposure. I realized that this left the image open to some interpretation and was intrigued when a friend interpreted it as transmitting a sense of serenity after the loss of a child because, no matter what, the spirit of the child would still be there.

Dreamscapes #6
Copyright Howard Grill

For someone whose photographic 'focus' has been primarily nature and landscapes, it can be difficult to make images such as these. But I find that I enjoy hearing what people think these type of images mean and find it interesting that the interpretations can be very varied and not at all what I had thought about when making the photograph.

Looking All Around

A few days ago, I visited the Andre Kertesz exhibit entitled "On Reading" at The Carnegie Museum Of Art in Pittsburgh. It was a wonderful exhibit of Kertesz photographs, with the theme being people reading.

One of the ideas that caught my attention (besides that Kertesz had a wry sort of humor based on photos like this and this) was that life goes by without our realizing what is around us that is interesting to see. On that note, as I left the museum I found myself really looking all around me to see what was there. That is when I found this....which I took with my cell phone.

Reflections
Copyright Howard Grill

"Digital Analogue" - A Short Film

This is a neat short film I ran across. I hesitate to say that it is 'about' antique cameras, because it really is more of a work of art than a film 'about' anything. It was constructed from over 6000 still images of analogue cameras, and the intriguing soundtrack is made entirely from sounds generated by these 'antique' cameras.

Enjoy "Digital Analogue" by ftjelly!

More Fall Abstracts

Back in October, I wrote about a desire to make some abstract images related to the fall season and posted an example. I did have a chance to pursue this to some extent and scattered throughout the next few weeks thought I would share a few examples. Here is the first of these type of images that I thought was successful.

Fall Impressions II
Copyright Howard Grill

Needless to say, with these abstracts (this one being made by having the camera on a tripod but moving the comera downwards during a long exposure) there is a lot of trial and error until obtaining a photograph that seems 'right' and expresses a feeling that you would like to convey.

Fallen Leaf

This is the first image that I have processed since reading David DuChemin's Lightroom book that I reviewed in my last post. In doing so, I took a lot of his suggestions to heart. For example, in this image I first asked myself what drew my eye to the scene and used that information to help direct me through the image processing.

Leaf And Wooden Door
Copyright Howard Grill

Here, I was drawn to the way the wood of the door as well as the metal of the rusted hinge had an old and deep wrinkled texture that was similar to that of the leaf. In addition, I liked the way the yellow of the old paint on the door echoed the yellow in the leaf and the way the orange of the rusted hinge echoed the red of the leaf. Finally, I was intrigued that the green paint of the door symbolized the color of the leaf before its turning color and that the yellow paint was coming from underneath the green paint. Lots of echoing and symbolism going on here.

So, based on those thoughts, I knew that I wanted to emphasis the texture of the wood, leaf, and rusted metal in post-processing. I also wanted the colors saturated, though not so much that they appeared unnatural and, since the main point for the viewer's eye to be drawn towards was the leaf, I wanted the saturation of the paint to be somewhat less than that of the leaf.

I also used these thoughts to guide my cropping. Given that I wanted to display the leaf in the setting of the old door and for viewers to compare the inanimate to the living, I left enough of the door in the image so that it became a recognizable portion of it and not simply a backdrop onto which the leaf could be displayed.

Going through these thought processes are quite helpful in directing one's self down a specific route or two as opposed to the endless possibilities that exist when first opening a RAW file.

Quick Quotes: Ansel Adams

"There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs"

Ansel Adams

Though it is an 'old' and frequently used quote, this one seems quite timely given my last post about making fall abstract photographs. It can be both enjoyable and productive to break the rules. Of course, first you have to learn the rules so that you know what it is you are breaking. The more you know about what you are breaking the more likely you are to emerge with something interestingly different!

Fall Abstracts

One of the things I would like to try to do this fall season is to make some unusual and abstract fall images along with some of the more straightforward ones. This particular abstract was made by moving the camera back and forth at an angle during the exposure while it was still mounted on the tripod.

"Fall Abstract I"
Copyright Howard Grill

These types of abstracts are really quite easy and fun to make. And with digital you can make tons of images and pick out the one from the many that seems to have come out 'just right'.

Digital Indecision

Generally speaking, the advantages of digital capture are now obvious to most people. Once you have memory cards you can shoot all day, every day, for free (well, lets not count the camera upgrades, computer upgrades, storage drives, software etc.). You can check your exposure via histogram and your composition via LCD and gain immediate feedback. You can work on images, molding them into your vision, without the wet darkroom 'mess'. Once the image has been processed it is easy to output as many identical copies as you want.

But what about the downside? There is one downside that seems to always haunt me, and that is that there can be too many possibilities!

What do I mean by that? Because it is easy to make so many digital photographs, I think I actually make too many of them. When I am out shooting, I now tend to take many more frames of an image than I did when using film. I find myself altering the composition ever so slightly and reshooting, making images where the point of focus is a bit different, shooting with different apertures, and refocusing manually just to make sure I get the sharpest focus possible. At the end of the day I might have so many frames of essentially the same composition that it makes picking the 'best' one to process frustratingly difficult. And the 'fear' of not picking the 'best' frame may well lead to not picking a frame at all, leaving the endeavor to 'later'.

This isn't to say that I don't have a specific vision when making a photograph.....I do. It is just that with digital it can sometimes be too easy to doubt whether that vision might be 'optimal' and to try to examine every possibility. In speaking to some of my photography friends, it turns out that I am not alone with this issue. Maybe I need to trust myself to the original vision I had when first approaching the shot or, alternatively, being happy when I find a frame I took that expresses that vision, as opposed to feeling obligated to examine each and every frame and comparing them to each other in order to find the perfect one to use.

Quick Quotes: Peter Adams

"Great photography is about depth of feeling, not depth of field."

Peter Adams

I thought this quote was particularly pertinent following my last posting "Everything's Been Done". Been done, yes, but with a different depth of feeling applied than the one you will use. Your depth of feeling may not be any 'better' or 'worse'.....just different. And as Andy and Colin pointed out in the comments section of that post, that is what makes each photograph unique, even when the subject has been photographed many times before.

Everything's Been Done

When I was in a bit of a nature photography rut recently, I found myself wondering how many more pictures of waterfalls, flowers, fall foliage, and mountains the world really needed. But as I began to think about it more carefully, I realized that one could ask the same thing of almost any subject. How many more images of abandoned buildings, cityscapes, smiling people from other cultures, and portraits of people we don't know does the world really need?

Interesting questions! But if the answer is none......than what we are left with is to go out and photograph simply because whatever the subject is has not been photographed very much in the past. That might lead to some interesting images, but my guess is that those interesting shots would be lost amidst millions of inane photos with little artistic merit that were taken simply because of the novelty. We have all seen plenty of those already.

My conclusion is that the vast majority of what I am going to photograph in my life has already been photographed before.....and quite frequently. BUT, the issue is not has it been photographed before but has it been portrayed the way I see it? In the end, I realize that one's audience isn't simply interested in your image of a waterfall because they haven't seen a waterfall before but, rather, that IF they are interested in your photograph it is because they want to see the waterfall the way you see it....through your eyes.

I think the answer, for me, always comes back to making photographs of the subjects that I am interested in and have a passion for. If you don't have a real desire to make images of the subject you are photographing it is unlikely that many people will want to see that subject through your eyes.

So, I am going to shoot what I love......but what I love to shoot is open to change from time to time based on interest, but never simply based on novelty!

Experimentation

For the last week, I have been on a family vacation in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. This was a family outing and so the opportunities for serious photography were somewhat limited. Nonetheless, I did get out to photograph early on two or three mornings, before the rest of the family got up. In coming posts I will show some of these images. But today, I wanted to write about experimentation because I think it is one of the most creative and overlooked aspects of photography.... and the digital age makes experimentation easy.

Most people know how to make abstracts by moving the camera during exposures. This, and just about any other 'experiment' with motion, shutter speed, and aperture can be easily accomplished and the results seen immediately on the LCD screen of a digital camera. Although I don't suggest that immediate editing decisions regarding any images be made 'on the spot' (I think more deliberate editing is better done with a larger image on the computer screen), the immediate feedback of digital can help guide you on a course. In the case of camera movement during an exposure, the LCD can give important feedback as to whether the degree and speed of camera motion is giving you the type of results you were hoping for and suggest changes that can then be used to achieve the look you want.

One afternoon, while waiting for my kids to get ready to go out for dinner, I was walking through the garden in back of the condo where we stayed. There was a plethora of orange lilies growing and I had a few minutes to spare, so I got my camera out. I didn't want to spend time taking the types of flower photos that I might typically take at home, so I decided to experiment a bit and took a series of images using camera motion. I was hoping that the resultant abstract blur might express the essence of these beautiful, but common, orange flowers in a different sort of way.

Lily Abstract
Copyright Howard Grill

I can understand how some might say the image is little more than a blurry flower photo, but to me it communicates a bit more....

We Are Not Alone

A bit of a surprise link today....with no clue as to what you get. Suffice it to say that it is reassuring that creative lapses happen to everybody....even the 'greats' . Here it is put into words far better than I could ever have hoped to!

The Camera With You

One more post about my new Droid smartphone. I had mentioned in the past that while many people are able to have a camera with them at all times, I have found working in that way to be very difficult. I have also previously written about Chase Jarvis's The Best Camera Is The One That's With You: iPhone Photography by Chase Jarvis (Voices That Matter) and his website about the same subject called The Best Camera.

Well, I can now attest to the fact that it is fun to have a camera with you all the time....now that it is light and not something that I wouldn't otherwise be carrying. And I find it useful, not so much for trying to make a serious photo, but, rather, to exercise one's vision and to keep in practice.

So I might, from time to time, post some of these spontaneous photographic exercises that I do on the Droid X phone. This one involved trying to make a few creative images from the window of my office, something I never would have lugged my regular photo gear around to try.

"Triangles"
Copyright Howard Grill

"Floating Cloud"
Copyright Howard Grill

Chris Friel

Having recently acquired a Canon tilt-shift lens, I have been avidly trying to learn how to best use it. This includes using the shift mechanism to avoid converging lines for architectural photography as well as using the tilt mechanism for altering the plane of focus to allow front to back sharpness while making landscape images.

But I was also interested in other creative ways in which to use the lens. And that is when I ran across Chris Friel's work.Chris uses the tilt-shift mechanism to create images with selective planes of focus. Rather than utilize tilt to try to bring everything into sharp focus, he often uses it to make most of the image, save a small area, out of focus. In addition to the use of tilt-shift lenses, much of his work is abstract and involves hand holding long exposures (sometimes in conjunction with tilt-shift lenses). His photographs are very powerful, pulling the viewer in and really making them think about the image.

Copyright Chris Friel
Taken With 24mm Tilt-Shift Lens

Copyright Chris Friel
Long Exposure With Camera Movement

Chris's Flickr stream can be found here. His formal website can be found here. Spend some time...these are remarkable images.

Deleted Images

Where do deleted images go? Well, if they are truly deleted they are pretty much gone. But there is an alternative.....a deleted image purgatory, if you will. A place where they are gone from your possession but can still 'live on'. See them here. Some deleted images are actually quite compelling, to others if not to the original photographer. Images like this.

However, some deleted images really do deserve to be deleted :>)

Mischief

These gargoyle images are slowly becoming a collection. I am starting to think that each one can be named as an emotion, similar to the seven dwarfs in Snow White! The expression on this one said "mischievous" to me....like a young child getting caught doing something he shouldn't have been doing.

"Mischievous"
Copyright Howard Grill

Post Processing

People frequently ask about post-processing. When shooting in RAW format, there are really two ways in which post processing is used. The first is to convert the RAW image into what was there, or at least the way we remember it to be. This has to be done in order to convert the sensor data into an image. If you shoot in JPEG, the same thing must happen, only the camera does it for you. The second is to then potentially convert the image into something a bit beyond reality. To give it your own interpretation. This is art, not news documentary.

Often, I use post-processing to make an image appear the way I imagine it to be or to portray it with a certain feeling behind it. As an example, I thought I would use the Gargoyle image I posted a few days ago now that I have done some more work on it.

I wanted to make the viewer focus more fully on the gargoyle, so I darkened the background. In addition, I wanted the gargoyle to look 'scarier' so I brought out more of the detail in the statue and added a bit of toning as well. Subtle changes that I think make the image more effective, though not everyone may agree.

Gargoyle I - Initial Post Processing
Copyright Howard Grill

Gargoyle I - "Interpretive" Post Processing
Copyright Howard Grill

Small Prints

I have generally tended to make large prints of what I consider to be my best images. But, I have come to realize that there is a problem with this method of sharing one's work. For one thing, there is always going to be a limitation in the amount of available wall space in any one location. Secondly, any image that is printed large and framed needs to be a '5 star' image in order to merit that sort of treatment and stand on it's own. Finally, unless one is dealing with a rather large gallery space or display area where multiple large images are hanging, the image itself tends to 'live' in isolation.

I have come to realize that I have many photographs that do not merit this sort of large scale, isolated display but are still one's that I think deserve to be looked at, if not in isolation than as part of a series designed to give an overview of a location or topic. Somehow, an 8 x10 or 11 x 14 image that can be hand-held and appreciated without necessarily being matted, framed, and hung seems to fit the bill and allows one to appreciate this type of artwork, which is to say high quality images that fit together but may not necessarily be part of a 'best of' collection.

As an example, take this image from the workshop I attended in Provincetown, on Cape Cod. Provincetown is an interesting mix of beauty and serenity with a touch of eclectic wildness. Part of the Cape Cod and Provincetown experience is not just the ocean, but also the beauty and quirkiness of the towns themselves. One thing that I was drawn to in Provincetown, believe it or not, was the signs. So many of the signs seemed to be colorful pieces of art in and of themselves. Take this one from the Land's End Inn for example:

Land's End Inn
Copyright Howard Grill

This image would not fare well printed as a 22x28 inch framed photo. There simply isn't enough to it to have it hanging on a wall at that size. And yet it does convey a what I found to be an intriguing part of the Provincetown experience, along with the lighthouses, beaches, and sand dunes.


Of course, this idea is nothing new. Lenswork editor Brooks Jenson has long advocated special treatment for these types of photos and has, in the last year or two, made it a reality by producing the now well-known Lenswork Folio series. For those not familiar with the folio concept, who could explain it better than Brooks Jenson himself, who states the following on the Lenswork website:

"What is a folio? Think of it as a hybrid between an individual print and a book. It’s a collection of unbound prints – book-size rather than wall-size prints. Because they are unbound, they can be handled individually, are meant for viewing by hand, but can be matted and framed if you choose to. The prints in a folio are presented in an embossed and die-cut art paper enclosure, and feel more like a single collection than a random pile of prints. Like a book, they are typically monographs or thematic, and contain a number of prints that explore a photographic theme more deeply than is possible with a single “greatest hits” image."

I have taken an interest in the folio concept because I think it allows one to share their work in a very accessible fashion and have taken some early steps to learn how to make them. I anticipate being able to produce one at some point in the next several months. I hope this will make it easier to share a broader selection of my work with a wider audience both at home and at work.

Accepting Imperfection

When it comes to most things, I tend to be a perfectionist. However, when it comes to photography, this can be a problem. I am not referring to seeking perfection in aspects of photography like composition or exposure, as I think it is wise advice not to show one's mistakes or the shots that were 'almost good if only I had done x, y, or z'. But there are times when an image does hold emotional value and yet is imperfect, but not in a way that could have been easily changed or remedied. It is this type of imperfection that I am trying to get myself to become more accepting of.

This photograph is a good example of what I am referring to. After seeing the image, I wanted to print it as a tinted monochrome with an 'antique' look. However, since the shot was at dusk (and perhaps slightly underexposed as I had planned to portray it as a low light photo) and because I wanted the sky to show a good deal of contrast, when I finished processing it a moderate amount of digital noise could be seen. In the past, this would have led me to abandon the image and it never would have seen 'the light of day'.

Sunset Sail
Copyright Howard Grill

But this photo seemed to have some interesting emotional content, at least to me. So I decided it would be a shame to abandon it simply because of some noise. I was willing to accept the noise because I liked the image, but also started to think about how I might work with the noise a bit, as opposed to fighting it. Part of the need to work with the noise was the fact that my noise reduction software didn't seem to be doing a particularly good job at noise remediation.

With this in mind, I actually added some digital noise to give the noise a more generalized presence and make it appear a bit more like film grain. Overall, even in a large print, I don't find it particularly concerning or distracting.

Interestingly, as I was driving to work today, I was listening to a Lensflare 35 podcast. One of the panelists made a statement that I found very apropos to this image and gave me further reassurance that I had made the right choice in continuing to work on it. He stated that he had learned photography from his father and that he had once asked his father if it was a problem to have film grain in the image......and his father replied that if people really noticed the grain then it was probably a boring image anyway.

What Comprises The Craft Of Photography?

I recently discovered the Lensflare 35 podcast. On Lensflare, Dave Warner interviews renowned photographers within the various photographic 'sub-specialties'. In Episode 42, he interviews nature photographer Tony Sweet, whose work I have greatly admired for a long time.

During that interview, Tony made a statement which serves as an interesting follow up to my last post, which quoted photographer Esther Parada's statement about image manipulation and also mentioned my essay "Photography and Truth". Tony said "We're at a point in photography where getting the image is only 50% of the game and the other half is making it look the way you want it to look (with software)." He went on to say that "The craft now is largely computer skills."

Those statements gave me a lot to think about. At first blush, I felt that the statements were true, but also found myself wishing that they weren't. Then I found myself thinking that 50% was too much to attribute to computer skills, as software can't make a terrible photograph into a good one.

However, the idea of making an image 'look the way we want it to' is really nothing new. Yes, we make the image look the way we want using software, but back in the wet darkroom days one made (and some still do make) the image look the way 'they wanted it to' through the 'magic' of darkroom techniques. Photographers are well aware that the scenes portrayed in Ansel Adam's prints do not exist. Well, the places do, but they didn't look the way he portrayed them, as the photographs were heavily 'manipulated' in the darkroom. Of course, that didn't make them any less beautiful.

It still takes a lot of 'heart and soul' to make an image that is worthy of bringing into the digital darkroom in order to make it look 'the way you want'. So I don't believe it is fair to say that the craft is "largely computer skills"....that may be so for a graphic designer, but not for a photographer. A very important part, yes, but largely seems just a bit too much.

So perhaps not much has really changed at all. Perhaps it has just gotten easier to 'manipulate' images but, I believe, it is still incredibly difficult to get really good, intriguing, different, and meaningful images that 'speak' to an audience!