Rejuvination!

I was feeling very bogged down and concerned that my photography was getting a bit repetitive.....and thus took a break, delving into Holga/Diana and pinhole imaging. It was time well taken. Making images with those cameras is truly an enjoyable experience, and I plan to continue photographing with them. But, most of all, it has allowed me to feel quite rejuvenated. So I am once again turning attention to my 'Twin Jewels Project'. As I think about my progress with this project, I realize that it has slowed for many reasons....and I found it useful to think about and enumerate them as part of a photographic process of 'self discovery', if it can be termed that.

After self-examination, I can recognize the following reasons for delay:

1) Concern (? fear) that the images are just not good enough. Concern that I would have put in a great deal of time/effort/expense and, in the end, it would have not been a worthwhile or successful endeavor.

2) Concern that by working on making the prints for this project (it takes me a while to make a print I am happy with) I am spending time that I otherwise could use to make prints from my multitude of backlogged images from past workshops, which, as individual prints, would likely be more powerful than any single print from this project. The corollary is fear that by showing the project I might get judged by criteria which assumes that this is my best work, as opposed to my best work from this one particular location (ie, a variant of the 'project vs greatest hits' issue).

3) Concern (?fear) that, once completed, there would be no venue to show the work.

4) Revisiting work. After I have completed a print, I will frequently return to it and decide that it would look better a bit warmer toned, a bit cooler toned, a bit more/less saturated....you get the idea.

5) Desire to go back on location and improve on particular shots (shooting close to home can, I guess, be a detriment as well as a benefit).

6) Desire to shoot specific locations within the parks that I have not yet had the chance to go to.

I have taken time to think these issues over, revisit some thoughts generated by reading the superb book 'Art and Fear', and have even spent some time (re)listening to some of the Brooks Jensen LensWork podcasts on the subject, which I find quite motivational.

The time thus spent has been quite helpful, and I have come to some conclusions and decisions.

First of all, I must produce a finished version of this project. If it ends up having no venue for presentation, so be it (though as part of the thinking process I have some ideas which I think could come to fruition in this regard). However, unless I finish it I will never know how it might have turned out and never feel comfortable, or perhaps even confident enough, to move on to the next project. Whether it is successful, of course, depends on the yardstick used for measure, and independent of it's success there is no question in my mind that the endeavor will be worthwhile.

Secondly, I must 'let go' of the artwork. While my 'revisitation' of the images and the improvements that I might make to them could well prove beneficial to any one given image, they are clearly, by significantly impeding progress, detrimental to the project as a whole . Once I consider an image finished, it is not to be revisited until all the images are completed and efforts are being made to obtain a venue to show them.

Thirdly, I will not go back to purposefully reshoot images that have already been made, though it seems reasonable to try to capture them in a different season etc. There are also one or two more locations that I would like to try to capture.

Finally, I will need to give up at least some of the time that I would spend out photographing in order to work on the prints.

I have some ideas for different projects, but will not even think about working on those images until this project is complete. I am, however, going on a workshop to the Smokies in October and will take a break for that.

As a result, I have taken the bull by the horn, so to speak. I have, literally, close to a thousand images from the parks (granted some of them are bracketing, different focus and apertures etc...I tend to take a lot of images from one spot) and, prior to this, had been picking out images for printing one at a time. Since my last post, I have gathered them all together in Lightroom and 'brutally' edited them down to probably 60 or so that I think might be included. Are they all wonderful stand alone images....no, but I think they do nicely depict the personality of these parks as part of a themed project. I probably have 10 or so completed previously and would like to end up with 40-45 images in the project. I have started to work on them in earnest.

In the coming days/weeks I will post other images that I have completed or am completing as part of the project. I am also giving thought to an "Artist's Statement" to help pull it all together.

It turns out to have been quite helpful to really sit down and be brutally honest with myself about where I am going with this and how it is progressing. There are probably multiple times throughout everyone's artistic career that a session like this can be helpful!

Fixing Photoshop CS3 Crashes When Saving Files

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a quick 'trick' I had discovered on the internet that would allow Photoshop CS3 to be installed under Windows XP SP1 (CS3 will normally abort the installation unless SP2 is in place) using a registry hack. I initially thought that CS3 was working perfectly, but ultimately found a few unexpected problems of the large variety.

First, I found that Bridge CS3 would stall and get sluggish....but that didn't worry me too much as Adobe, on their own website, has official knowledge base papers reporting the problems with Bridge CS3 and very large files, such as the ones I tend to have. I just used Bridge CS2, which has never given me a problem generating thumbnails from large files. Again, I was sure this had nothing to do with the aforementioned 'trick' installation, as the problem was reported on the internet as well as receiving official Adobe mention.

However, I soon discovered that Photoshop CS3 would freeze and crash the system whenever I attempted to save a file, even though it would function perfectly normally in every other way. I would have reported this as a blog post to 'rebut' the installation trick, except that it made absolutely no sense that the problem should be related to the installation and, additionally, I had received messages from others that had used the registry hack to successfully install CS3 under XP SP1 and were having no problems.

After wasting a good bit of time trying to figure out what was wrong, I initially uninstalled CS3. However, after spending another good bit of time Googling the problem, I discovered that I was far from the only person with this rather 'fatal' problem.....and those other folks had not done the installation hack. This was a reported problem under both Windows and Mac for some people.

But the fix was so simple that just thinking about the time previously spent was maddening. I reinstalled CS3, did the 1 second fix......and......it works perfectly. No more problem with saving files.

So what is the fix? Apparently there can be problems on both Windows and Mac with the new form of Version Cue. If you want to use Version Cue to allow multiple workgroups to work on a file, I did find a somewhat complicated fix, which can be found here. However, unless you use Version Cue (which few people seemingly do), the easy fix is simply to disable Version Cue in the Photoshop CS3 Preferences dialogue.

Yup, that's it. I simply unchecked the 'Enable Version Cue' option in the preferences and no more problems whatsoever! I don't know if anyone reading this will also have this problem, but I thought that posting the fix somewhere searchable, such as this blog, was worthwhile if it helped someone else resolve what is truly a very frustrating problem.

Different Techniques; Different Aesthetics

The other day, I was showing a close friend of mine one of my pinhole camera images that I had recently taken. As I was doing so, he asked me an interesting question. He was interested in why, if I want to produce and show my best work, would I bother making images with a lensless camera which were clearly not going to be as sharp and free of distortion as images made with my expensive digital SLR? Indeed, a very interesting question.

There is no doubt that the pinhole images are not tack sharp (though the depth of field is infinite). They definitely ‘suffer’ from distortion and light falloff at the edges of the frame. With no viewfinder, composition tends to not be as perfect as one might like. And on top of it all, it takes time and expense to develop the film and scan the shots that one wants to keep. Why go to all that trouble? To be honest, I am not entirely sure why I do it.

Nonetheless, I do know several reasons why I am attracted to the modality, though, from a logical standpoint, I am not sure they completely ‘justify’ the time commitment. In the end, and as in most endeavors such as this, considerable weight has to be given to the fact that I just find it enjoyable.

So what do I like about it?

There are always two sides to the same coin. While a pinhole image is not tack sharp, there is a beauty to the gentle softness that is inherent to this type of photograph. While the image does have distortion and light falloff at the edges, there is a uniqueness and timeless quality to that look that I find attractive.

Perhaps most importantly, pinhole photography is a medium unto itself and therefore can not and should not be compared to lens camera photography. It has its own unique look and aesthetic. Trying to compare sharpness and distortion between pinhole and lens cameras is akin, I think, to asking why one would paint with watercolors instead of the enhanced reality attainable with oils. They are different and each have their own aesthetic. An exceptional watercolor portrays a different ‘reality’ than an exceptional oil painting; neither can be deemed ‘better’ than the other.

Finally, when I started dabbling with pinhole imaging, I was feeling a bit ‘burnt out’ from the creative standpoint. After getting a bit involved with both pinhole and toy camera photography, I felt rather rejuvenated and once again excited about digital. So now, when I go out shooting, I often go both high and low tech, as the added weight of the pinhole camera and a few rolls of film is negligible.

As to the image that I had been showing my friend……it is a shot of Ohiopyle Falls in Ohiopyle State Park, which I have previously written about in my post entitled ‘Western Pennsylvania’s Secrets’.

The Power Of Ohiopyle Falls
Copyright Howard Grill

In this particular instance I far prefer the above pinhole image to the shot taken with my digital camera:

Copyright Howard Grill

By the way, if anyone should get the itch to try this type of imaging there are two wonderful and incredibly receptive on-line communities dedicated to ‘lo-fi photography’. They can be found at f295 and at the toycamera.com forums.

Addenda: Here is an interesting thread I ran across on the f295 forum entitled 'Why Pinhole? Why You? Why Now?' that deals with some of the issues I noted above.

Shooting Locally

In my post entitled 'Western Pennsylvania's Secrets', I mentioned the benefits of photographing in one's own area and the advantages that one has as a 'native', as opposed to a visiting, photographer. Specifically, when one lives in an area, the locale can be photographed throughout all the seasons, in many different weather conditions, and at various times of the day. As I was looking through some photos I had taken and was considering for inclusion in my 'Twin Jewels Project', I ran across one that I thought really exemplified this advantage.

This particular location is usually quite non-descript and very ordinary appearing. It is on the edge of a small body of water that is out in the open and which, on most days, is illuminated by very harsh light and is, overall, not particularly appealing. Nonetheless, every time I would drive by it I kept having the nagging feeling that it should be appealing. It just never seemed to reach what I thought it had the potential to be, at least from a photographic standpoint.

I was out photographing quite early on one foggy morning and wondered what the fog might do for the location and decided to drive by and take a quick peek. Not only was there fog, but the whole area was warmed by filtered light from the rising sun giving it a nice warm, yet contrasty feel.....so I pulled out the camera and tripod and gave it a whirl.

Foggy Morning
Copyright Howard Grill

For the adventurous, it can be difficult to return to the same location many times over. But it can be worth it.

Quick Quotes: Robert Frank

"When people look at my pictures, I want them to feel the way they do when they want to read a line of a poem twice."

Robert Frank, 1951

Simple and direct. A perfect description. I don't think it could be stated more eloquently.

Western Pennsylvania's Secrets

Western Pennsylvania has many beautiful natural areas that are known locally, but, surprisingly, do not seem to have much recognition outside the state. I suspect that part of the reason is that these locations tend to be relatively small in size and are not 'national' parks. In addition, the beauty in this area of the country is generally of a 'quiet' kind. We have mountains, but they are not vast and towering ranges. We have rivers, but generally not massive and powerful ones. We have canyons that are grand but not Grand.

The interesting thing is that this is probably true of, well, almost anywhere! Which is why it is a good idea to spend time exploring, as they say, "right outside your front door". Areas close by are easy to get to again and again, and the more often one goes, the more experience and knowledge can be had with a location under many weather conditions and seasons. That is an advantage that a 'native' has when photographing an area, as compared to a visitor.

So, without further ado, here is just one of Western Pennsylvania's 'secrets'.....Ohiopyle State Park.

Cucumber Falls
Ohiopyle State Park

Cucumber Falls
Ohiopyle State Park

Rock Abstract
Ohiopyle State Park

Images All Copyright Howard Grill

Classic Tales

So far, all of my posts have been purely about photography which, of course, seems entirely reasonable given that this is a photography blog. However, on occasion, I do run across something non-photographic that I think would be of interest to people who take some of their precious time to read this blog. I don't mean that at all facetiously......time is a very valuable and limited commodity and I am honored that people would take some of what little they have to spare to come my way and read what I have to say and look at what I have to show.

At any rate, over the last few weeks I have come across something that is art related (but not the photographic arts) and which I have enjoyed very much. Perhaps you might like it as well. I am referring to The Classic Tales Podcast. This podcast can be subscribed to via i-Tunes, but I will give you the link to the primary website as well as to the podcast episode download site. For this podcast, BJ Harrison regularly reads an unabridged classic short story that runs anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes in length. Mr. Harrison is an artist; a sculptor, a painter, an actor and, as it turns out, quite an accomplished storyteller as well. He uses his voice to play all the parts in any given story and is an absolute joy to listen to.

In addition to the free podcasts, Mr. Harrison has just come out with his first audiobook, reading Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island" in its unabridged, seven hour entirety. Sounds like a long time doesn't it? While I had initially purchased the $9.99 audiobook to listen to (via my i-Pod) during the frequent one hour rides I have to take to Ohio for work, I soon found that I couldn't stop listening and also had it on for every five or ten minute ride I needed to take around my neighborhood. Seven hours never went by so fast, and I honestly wished it went on much longer. He gives such life and personality to the characters that you feel you know each and every one (not, of course, to take anything away from Robert Louis Stevenson). He does the greatest Long John Silver you could ever imagine.

I have no connection in any way with Mr. Harrison, I just very much enjoy what he has done. Give the podcast a shot (I particularly like 'The Lost Phoebe' by Theodore Dreiser). Tell me what you think. If you like it you will certainly also enjoy "Treasure Island", which I think is even better than any of the podcast readings.

Hope nobody minded the brief departure from photography!

Pinhole Imaging: Motion And Softness

There is something very elemental about pinhole imaging. Nothing between the light and the film itself. I am finding that composition using a camera with no viewfinder and a wide angle of view isn't as easy as one might think. I had some shots from an overlook that kept including a portion of the safety railing. In this shot, I had one tripod leg over the railing and resting on a rock, while the other two legs (and myself) were behind the railing.

The two aspects of pinhole that seem inherent are the infinite depth of field with an associated softness to the image, both related to the pinhole, and the portrayal of motion related to the long exposure times. I think that finding subject matter that plays into and benefits from these qualities are going to be important in producing good images with the pinhole camera.

Pinhole Image
Copyright Howard Grill

Experimenting With Long Shutter Speeds

I went out to photograph a bit this morning with an aim towards experimenting. I wanted to try out a new 'gadget' that I just purchased (though, given the {over}price, I hardly think it could be called a mere gadget).

I am speaking of the Singh-Ray Vari ND Variable Neutral Density Filter. This rather unique filter lets you 'dial in' a neutral density 'strength' of up to 8 stops. Today, I gave it a whirl with flowing water. This image is shot at f16 with a 1 minute exposure using the filter dialed up pretty near to its max:

Copyright Howard Grill

This, of course, was a quick first time out and a very obvious use for nature imaging. If you think about it, lots of possible ideas come to mind: water with swirling autumn leaves, snow, rain, imprssionistic blowing flowers, urban images with ghostlike moving people, cars, trains etc, smeared out clouds, surf ...the more I think the more ideas I come up with.

As I use it I will post some more examples.....I just think it is going to turn out to be a device that one can use to get some really creative effects.

Look Ma.........No Lens

The childlike playfulness of this post's title was chosen with just that feeling in mind. Because that was what it was like to watch my first pinhole images come off the developing reel ...... and even more so getting the first glimpse of the positive images after the rapid prescan.

A sort of amazement that it could actually work.....pictures with no lens, who are you kidding.? Sure, I know the physics of it and had seen other pinhole shots, but they seemed so foreign compared to anything else that I had done. So when making various exposures with my Zero Image pinhole camera, I half expected nothing to be there when I developed the film. But lo and behold, when I pulled that filmstrip off the reel there it was:

Boardwalk
Copyright Howard Grill

Sure it required a bit of contrast adjustment etc. after scanning, but the information was all there. Now, I am not saying this is necessarily the most dynamic image in the world; it was meant as a 'proof of concept', at least to me. So, yes, it really does work! And, yes, it really was fun! Go ahead and give it a try, you might like it. My prior post lists lots of pinhole resources.

Pinhole Photography Resources

Pinhole photography also fits into what might be considered the 'alternative camera' niche, albeit a different niche than the plastic lensed 'toy cameras'. Having developed some interest in toy cameras, I felt compelled to look into pinhole photography as well. If I found the idea of taking pictures with a cheap plastic lens interesting, what could be more interesting than no lens at all? Talk about going back to the origins of the medium!

I have not tried pinhole photography just yet (though I have a camera) but am looking forward to giving it a whirl. If only there were time to experiment with everything I might like to.

First off, here is a very nice article about the history of pinhole photography and then some. A very nice Pinhole FAQ is also available on-line.

Here is a link to "Pinhole Resource Online", a really excellent source of information by well-known pinhole photographer Eric Renner.




It is also the source of the now defunct Pinhole Journal (back issues still available....I just bought a few but haven't yet received them).





Mr. Renner has also authored one of the classic books on pinhole photography entitled "Pinhole Photography: Rediscovering A Historic Technique", which is available from Amazon or from the Pinhole Resource website itself.

There is a website called Pinhole Visions that will keep you up to date on pinhole photography events.

By the way, I have recently discovered that one of the premier pinhole photography groups, f295, was born right here in Pittsburgh and has a yearly symposium that I am going to try to attend. The next one is scheduled for May 29 - June 1, 2008. Their website has a pinhole discussion forum.

So where do you go to get a pinhole camera? If you Google pinhole camera or buy any of the previously mentioned books you will get umpteen plans for how to make one yourself. However, for me, the process of making a camera was not as important as the making of images, so I went and bought one. There are lots of places to purchase them, with film sizes ranging from 35mm all the way up to 8x10 sheet film.

I personally bought mine from Zero Image (I purchased the 6x9 multi format version). Though it was shipped from Hong Kong, it reached me in only about three days....VERY impressive! The camera itself is literally a work of art with very impressive craftsmanship. I am very much looking forward to using it.

By the way, Randy of Holgamods, which I mentioned in my post about Holga resources, also sells pinhole lenscaps to fit Holgas and many digital cameras as well.

There is plenty of time, by the way, to get 'pinhole educated' in time for Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day, which is held each year on the last Sunday in April.

Finally, even though this is a pinhole resource post, I will end it with another Holga image I recently took.

Copyright Howard Grill

First Holga Shots

Since I have been posting about Holga and alternative camera images, I though I should probably post an image or two of my own. I am just learning about the Holga's idiosyncrasies and the aesthetic, so I need to say that I don't think these are particularly accomplished or dynamic Holga images, as they are from my first few rolls of film that I have put through the camera. I present them merely as an example of the type of results that the Holga gives. I hope to have some better examples in the future.

I have to say, I think the camera / film imparts a very 1940's look to the images and that urban type images will benefit from this particular 'retro' type of appearance.

"Cityscape"

"Wiener World"
Images Copyright Howard Grill

With the next post I will delve into some pinhole photography resources and then back to 'regular' photography for awhile.

Holga Resources

I previously mentioned that I would like to have a post or two devoted to resources for Holga and toy cameras, as well as for pinhole photography.

Lets start with Holga and toy cameras.



Despite the fact that it was just published in 2006, Michelle Bates' book "Plastic Cameras Toying With Creativity" has become the bible of toy camera information. If you have any interest in this type of photography at all, don't even waste time thinking about it, simply get this book. Here is a link to Michelle Bates' website that has multiple sources for purchasing the book.

Here is a great interview with Michelle. Here we have another, though I haven't quite had the time to listen to this second one yet.




Here is another book that looks quite interesting. I purchased it, but can't say much about it yet, as I have not yet received it. It looks like it will be quite good and I'm looking forward to reading it. More information about its contents and how to purchase it can be found here.

Freestyle Photographic Supplies also put out a very nice Holga manual available for free download.

In addition, Toycamera.com is a great resource for toy cameras including forums, articles and galleries. The folks that run that website also put out a terrific magazine (and I am not sure there are any others out there) devoted solely to toy and alternative cameras called Light Leaks. I recently subscribed and received my first issue and was really blown away by the quality. If I were to try to make a comparison, I would say it is like the JPG Magazine of toy cameras. Definitely worth a subscription if this type of imaging appeals to you.

OK, so let's say you are interested....where do you go to buy your Holga. There is always e-bay. Another alternative is Freestyle Photographic Supplies who, I believe, may be the actual importers of Holgas into the USA (I think I remember reading that, but can't remember where, so I am not entirely certain it is true).

However, those would be second choices for me. I can, without any hesitation whatsoever, suggest that you should purchase your Holga from Randy at Holgamods.com. Randy can, at an extremely reasonable price, sell you a brand new Holga which has been modified in any number of different ways, including the ability to have two functional apertures, velcro to make sure the back stays on etc....all really useful stuff (see more at his website). More importantly, he provides customer service unlike anything I have seen before. I only purchased two Holgas from him, so it isn't like I am a megacustomer. I had a few questions and e-mailed him and in all instances he responded within minutes. Not only that, on two occasions I e-mailed him questions and he said the answer required some explanation and asked if it would be OK to call....needless to say, after sending him my number, I received a call within minutes providing a detailed answer to my question. You just can't find service like that anywhere else.

Anyway, I hope this is a good starting point for resources about toy cameras for anyone that might be interested. Though they are called 'toy cameras', they have a very appealing aesthetic all their own with many artists choosing to work with them exclusively, so don't be put off by the word 'toy'. There have been entire shows devoted to work done only with these types of cameras. Recently, there has been absolutely wonderful work done by Perry Dilbeck that was shot entirely with a Holga and was published not too long ago in LensWork. That work has recently been released in a book entitled "The Last Harvest: Truck Farmers In The Deep South", seen here, and available on Amazon.com or directly from the photographer:



For my next post, I will talk about some resources for pinhole camera photography.

Hi Tech / Lo Tech

Lately, it has been a bit difficult to get excited about going out to take photos. I think it is a combination of factors. I mostly take nature photographs and this is a time of year that things appear, well, just a bit stagnant.....lots of green.....and the 'good' light tends to be gone fairly early in the morning making a VERY early rise necessary if you need to drive an hour or so to get to where you want to take photographs. I don't mean to insinuate that you can't make great photos this time of year, it is just that at times I get the urge to do something just a bit different in the summer.

In 'poking around' the internet, one of the things that I have found that has really intrigued me is the aesthetic of toy camera and pinhole photography. This is definitely something very different from the attempt at perfectly composed image with critical sharpness and controlled depth of field and exposure that I have aimed for with my 1Ds MkII. The toy camera and pinhole images have a very 'dreamy' and ethereal quality to them that is really something special. Not necessarily better, just different.

When I show examples of such images that I have found on the internet to people (I don't have my own images scanned yet), the response seems to be very interesting. People either 'get it' or they don't. 'Gettting it' doesn't even necessitate liking it, it is just understanding that there is a special aesthetic to the images. I am not implying there is something wrong with not 'getting it', but I do find the clear demarcation between people interesting.

To see what I mean, just go to photo.net and search the site for Holga discussions. It is clear that some folks like the aesthetic, some don't....and some don't get it at all. They just interject into the discussion the question of why, if someone wanted to try medium format, they wouldn't buy a 'real medium format camera' that can be had cheaply on e-bay and learn on a quality camera; they can't understand why someone would want to embrace the softness and the vignetting that are among the marks of images made with these cameras. Really, reading the threads is quite interesting.

In addition to adding a Holga toy camera and a pinhole camera to my kit, I have even bought the basic developing tools for black and white film and have started developing the negatives in my basement; just like I did in high-school. The next step will be to scan some images and see what I come up with in terms of producing prints.

By the way, I would like to thank Billie Mercer and Joe Reifer for their words of encouragement and advice by e-mail. Billie also has her own wonderful Holga image galleries, of which this is one.

Over the next several posts I would like to develop a short list of resources so that anyone interested can get a little background information about the whole toy camera and pinhole camera mystique.

Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix - 2007

I had the opportunity to attend the annual Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix this weekend. For those unfamiliar with the event, it is an outdoor car festival extraordinaire. We are talking acres of historic and rare cars as well as contemporary offerings. In addition, the vintage race cars actually compete on a course that winds through Schenley Park. It really is a fantastic event, even for someone like me, who is not a 'car person'.

It is said that one can learn a lot about their interests and 'style' by looking over their images as a whole. When I look over the shots I took this weekend I recognize that my focus at the show was not the races or even whole cars, but, rather, abstract images composed of the lines and shapes of the cars. I am not at all sure what that says about me, but it seems fairly consistent over the years I have attended this event.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of the weekend was watching my two youngest children set up their lemonade stand, as we live only a few blocks from the Grand Prix and there is a good deal of foot traffic leading to the event. Suffice it to say that no one could walk past our house without being urged by the kids to buy lemonade. The funniest part was when I returned to find the seven year old out manning the stand by herself. When I asked her where her older brother was she said sarcastically (while making little quote signs with the second and third fingers of each hand) "He said I should keep selling while he goes on 'TV break' ".

Here are some offerings from this years Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix:

Eyes

Stingray

Front Grill

Hood Painting

Body Abstract
Images Copyright Howard Grill

Capture The Moment

Back in March, I wrote a blog post entitled "The Power Of The Still Frame". In that piece, I talked about the emotional impact of an individual photograph and its ability to freeze time, convey a message, and make a lasting impression. As part of that post, I included four photographs as examples of what I was referring to. Oddly enough, this past weekend I was able to view three out of these four images. Not only that, I was able to view every Pulitzer Prize winning photograph from 1942 (the year of the award's inception) to the present. "How?", you ask. By attending a magnificent exhibit at The Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, PA entitled "Capture The Moment: The Pulitzer Prize Photographs". The exhibit is a traveling one, so it may well also be coming to a city somewhere near you.

Imagine seeing wall size photographs that take you through history along with information about each and every image. I am not talking about technical information, but, rather, a description of what was going on, a description of the photographers feelings, a description of how the photo came to be......mostly in the photographers own words. I don't believe there could be a better way to understand and connect with each image. And, like it or not, you will connect, and it's not all pleasant. In fact, most of it is unpleasant, to say the least. Remember, these are journaistic images.

Executions, accidents, war......you will be reminded of just how terribly violent a species we can be. You will be brought back to events from your youth and, once rechallenged with these events, think about their meaning again and again. Prepare to have your emotions dragged around. You can't walk through the exhibit without getting tearful several times. It is perhaps futile for me to try to describe the feeling of viewing photo after photo of the events that have shaped our culture, our history and our lives. Multiple reviews in newspapers and on-line will undoubtedly do this better than I possibly could.

Besides the intense experience of viewing the photos and trying to digest it all, there was another message that came through to me from a purely photographic viewpoint.......and by stating it I by no means want to detract from the emotional experience of the exhibit. It is just that everyone attending will understand the emotion, but perhaps not everyone attending will think about this: many of the images are less than technically perfect. Some lack perfect focus, some have suboptimal depth of field, some would have been better presented with longer focal lengths so that the subject would not have to be circled to draw your attention.......but they all captured more than just a mere moment or event; in a fraction of a second they captured the very essence of events that have defined who we were, who we are, and where we seem to be heading.

If you live in Western Pennsylvania, or if the exhibit comes to a city near wherever you might be, you really owe it to yourself to take the time to have a look.

Triptych

Triptych - noun: Fine Arts. A set of three panels or compartments side by side, bearing pictures, carvings, or the like.

I am a fan of the triptych presentation. There seems to be something that just feels "right" with the presentation of three pieces of art that have some degree of association with each other. Three images seem to be just enough to bring out a relationship without overstating a point or overwhelming the observer. Even within single images, the presentation of three objects is most often felt to be more soothing and complementary than two.

I have at least two walls of perfect size in my home to allow the display of a triptych, and it is always fun to try and put together a grouping for these locations (I sometimes rotate them) that work well together. I currently have one grouping of abstract images that I made during an Antelope Canyon workshop and another grouping of waterfall images on display.

I recently posted an image of a tree that I had gone back to photograph after having driven by it on the road. I found that the more I looked at the image, the more I liked it. I liked the serene feel of the foggy day, I liked the pastoral setting and I liked the graphic shape the tree made. As I was 'playing' with it, I started to get the idea that it would make a nice triptych. However, the grouping that I had in mind was different than anything I had done before. My idea was to present the exact same image processed in three different ways. I converted that original image, seen here, to black and white and then toned it with three different tints, all of which I thought worked well individually, as well as grouped together. This type of grouping is a new approach for me, though clearly it has been done before by others.

Here is what I came up with (though, obviously, in the triptych they will be presented horizontally instead of vertically):

"Reaching Out"
Copyright Howard Grill

I think they work together reasonably well together.

Quick Quotes: John Szarkowski

"To quote out of context is the essence of the photographer's craft."

John Szarkowski


I was going to post some photographs today when I ran across this quote from John Szarkowski which I couldn't get out of my mind, so the photos will have to wait. The reason these words struck me was because of the way the thought relates to prior posts I have written entitled "Photography And Truth" and "Photoshop And The Creative Process".

What one doesn't see which lies outside the frame has the potential to change the entire meaning of what it is that we are presented with in the frame. All may not be what it seems.

Incidentally, I read the quote in Szarkowski's book "The Photographer's Eye", which was originally printed in the early 1960's and has just been reprinted. It is now, again, easily available and well worth adding to one's photographic library.

Installing Photoshop CS3 With Windows XP SP1

As most readers of this blog know, I rarely write about technical issues choosing, instead, to focus on the more creative aspects of photography. However, on occasion, I find something that is technical but has proven extremely helpful to me and will take the time to write about it. As you might have guessed, today is one of those days.

I recently purchased the upgrade to Photoshop CS3. Upgrades like this sometimes go smoothly but also have the potential to be painful. Needless to say, there are the issues with plug-ins...will the ones I have be compatible with CS3? There is resetting preferences. There is learning about new features (granted, that is why I am upgrading, but the learning is still time consuming). And then there are the dreaded installation issues.

Well, I went to do the install and was stopped dead in my tracks. I got a response back from the CS3 installer stating that I was running Windows XP with SP1 and that Adobe Photoshop will not install unless one is running SP2 or Vista. Well, with other programs, I had run into the "we don't support the software on XP with SP1 before" but the program always installed and then you were on your own. And it always worked because, to the best of my knowledge, there really shouldn't be anything in SP2 that would keeps most programs from running compared with SP1. But, for whatever reason, Adobe did not go with this route.....they just made Photoshop CS3 uninstallable unless you have SP2.

Anyone else out there with this situation thinking about getting CS3? If there are, you have probably heard the stories about the complications that can occur when trying to upgrade from SP1 to Sp2 'midstream'. I simply won't do it!

Then I ran across this...see comment #10. By making one change in the registry you get the OS to only think it is running SP2 even though it really isn't. I know, fooling with the registry freaks me out as well, but it really was easy to do (back it up first). One quick change and CS3 installed with no problem and seems to run perfectly normally, as do all the other programs I have.

Of course, I have to issue a disclaimer and say that your mileage may vary and I can take no responsibility for your computer. There is hazard, I suppose, with other programs that are on the computer or that might be installed later. And I wouldn't use windows updater at this point either....so there are real and potential downsides. I haven't had the nerve to hack the registry back to indicate it is SP1 now that CS3 has safely installed. But I can say that for me it worked like a charm. So if you wanted CS3 and are running XP with SP1 you can either forget CS3, risk upgrading to SP2, or try this trick.........let me know how it goes!

Also, as an aside, I am not sure if anyone out there has tried to reverse the hack after the install, but if you have please let me know.

Going Back

When I am out driving I will often see something interesting that I think would make a nice photo. Sadly, though, I have to admit that it tends to occur when I am in a goal oriented situation....have to get to work, have to be on time etc.....and, in these situations, I rarely stop to take the shot, even if I happen to have a camera available.

On one particular occasion a few months ago, it was a foggy morning and I was driving my son to a fencing competition in Harrisburg, PA, which is a fairly rural community. As we were looking for the high school where the competition was to be held, we passed a farmhouse with a large old tree in a field out in front of it. As we were driving by I remember thinking that the tree would really make a nice image in the fog. I did have my camera with me, as I was planning to take some pictures of my son fencing, but I was, again, being very goal oriented and wasn't planning to stop for fear of being late to the competition.

The scene looked eerie enough that it even attracted my son's attention, who, as a teen-ager, is not typically excited by scenery. He said "Dad, that looks really cool, you should get a picture of it". With that said, who could resist? I asked him if he would mind if I dropped him off at the venue, which was about a half-mile away, and let him check in by himself while I came back to take some photographs. "No problem."

So I went back. I didn't have a tripod, so I just took the pictures handheld. As I took the shots, I had in my mind the idea of trying to give the images an 'old fashioned' feel.

Farmhouse Tree
Copyright Howard Grill

I guess this teaches me that there is something satisfying about stopping to take a shot of something that grabs your attention, even if it does sidetrack you for a few minutes. It isn't necessarily always easy....but I am going to try to do it more often.

One thing that often keeps me from being spontaneous is that I frequently notice scenes that would make interesting photographs while driving on the highway, where it would be dangerous to stop to take pctures. In addition, it is often difficult to be certain about out how to get off the main highway and back to the location on smaller roads.

I am curious as to how people that may be reading this deal with seeing something that they feel is worth photographing when they are on the road. Do you typically stop or not? If you do, do you get off the main road or shoot from the shoulder? How much time will you spend when stopping? If the scene would make a better shot closer up do you ever knock on someone's door to ask permission to go on their property? Do these type of unplanned shots that grabbed your attention tend to become 'keepers', or were they just interesting for the moment?

Men Like Me

I like Bill Jay's work and have written about him before. I like his writing, I like listening to him, and I like his photographs. Combine his images together with his writing and you have a book you can sit down with and really enjoy. I am referring to his most recent book entitled "Men Like Me", which I recently purchased from Photo-Eye.




In his adopted beach town, Jay finds a kinship with a relatively unlikely group of people; those that are homeless and down on their luck. The treatment of his subjects is unique in that it is not his goal to make any type of statement about homelessness, rather, he wishes to depict who these people are on a personal level because he senses that he is very much like them. His portraits and anecdotes depict a deep respect for people that truly became his friends and seemingly came to understand him as much as he grew to know them. As he says in his introduction,

"Perhaps it is necessary to state that this is not a documentary project in the sense of 'concerned photography'. I know next to nothing about the homeless; I have not conducted any research or gathered any statistics; I do not interview the men about the reasons for their circumstances; I have no idea whether or not the men I encountered were typical. This is a personal not a political project. I am not advocating anything, nor shedding light on a social ill nor making any social statement. For me, this project had a more important purpose and result: the discovery that these really were men like me.

The book is a relatively short read. But during that timespan you will both want to laugh as well as cry.

These days, many portraits are heavily retouched to give skin and facial features a perfect, sometimes ghostly look. Not so in these portraits. They are sharp, even to the point of exaggerating the human flaws in skin and hair. These are real people.

At the end of the introduction Jay states, "I want them to believe that the images were taken with respect and often with affection. I hope it shows."

Indeed, it does.

What The Duck

Laughter is good for the soul! And what could possibly be funnier than photographic humor? "Sounds great", you say, "but where can one go to get photography related humor? It isn't exactly available as a daily dose on the internet, you know."

Ah, but you see, you would be wrong about that. Well, almost wrong........it is only available on weekdays (everyone deserves a break, right?).

"Where?", you say.

Not where......what!

"Huh?"

It's 'What The Duck'. That's right, the daily (well, almost) cartoon by Aaron Johnson about the world's most famous duck photographer. I could explain what I mean, but wouldn't it be easier for you to just check it out?

"Like I said, where?"

OK, here.

And, by the way, one of my favorite recent episodes can be found here, in the archives. Just click on WTD 233 at the bottom of the page.

Readers even get to submit possible titles for each day's strip, one of which gets chosen as the official title that goes down in What The Duck history.

Don't laugh too hard, you might hurt yourself.

Chihuly!

Last night, I had the opportunity to go to the Chihuly glass sculpture exhibit at Phipps Conservatory, right here in Pittsburgh. It was simply breathtaking. I write this post not as a review (many have done it much better than I possibly could) nor as a display of my photos (they are simply snapshots I took walking the exhibit with my seven year old daughter), but, rather, to give folks a small taste of what was there and to urge anyone that is able to attend the traveling exhibit to do so! You won't regret it.

Even my daughter, who is not yet into visiting formal art displays, loved it and wants to go back. By the way, she was having a great time taking pictures with a point 'n shoot digital herself.

A taste of the Chihuly exhibit at Phipps:

Images Copyright Howard Grill

How Long, Why, And Would I?

Remember the experiment that was done to calculate how long the casual observer spends looking at a photograph? I can't recall which photographer did it....but please chime in by writing a comment if you happen to remember who it was. At any rate, he took his students to a photography gallery where they stood outside and surreptitiously timed how long each person who entered the gallery spent inside before leaving. That time was then divided by the number of images on display in order to determine how long each person spent looking at an individual photograph. Clearly, there was apt to be some error as theoretically the patron might not have attempted to view each and every image on display. Nonetheless, the results were quite revealing........viewers spent mere seconds on each image. This is certainly significantly less than the 30 minutes that Minor White suggested one should spend viewing in order to truly appreciate just a single image!


It really is rather amazing that someone would go to a gallery exhibit and spend only moments to try to take in and appreciate a photo. But then again, what else might one expect in the Bumper Sticker Depth society in which we live (phrase coined by Brooks Jensen in a recent podcast to which the title is linked)?

Now, I am not claiming that I spend 30 minutes with each image. Far from it. On the other hand, I certainly hope that I spend more than a few moments with each photograph in an exhibit. However, when I do find an image that moves me in some way or, for that matter, an image that I don't understand (independent of whether I actually like the image or not) I do often spend ten or fifteen minutes with it to try to appreciate all it's nuances. There are always a multitude of aspects of an image that simply can't be absorbed by osmosis with just a few seconds of viewing; it can take time and effort to tease them out. Time to appreciate subtle aspects of the tonality, time to appreciate details in the image that were initially unnoticed, and time to just 'wrap yourself around' an image to try and understand it, revel in it, and just take it all in.

There is also another aspect of viewing an image that I find myself doing, usually after I have spent the time to try and appreciate it, and particularly if I have found the image to be one that moves me in some way. I find myself trying to go beyond the appreciation stage in order to learn from the photograph; to use the experience of spending time with the image to help me to try and become a better photographer. This aspect of viewing usually starts with the 'Why ?' questions and ends with the 'Would I ?' questions.

Examples of 'Why?'

Why did the photographer frame the image the way they did?
Why include/exclude a specific object/person?
Why focus on a particular component of the image and not another?
Why choose to blur a particular component of the image and not another?
Why expose/print the image with certain tonalities?

And what I find to generally be the most important 'why' question:

Why did the photographer make this image; what was he/she trying to convey?

I find this an important question to ask of images that 'speak to me' and perhaps an even more important question to ask myself for images that I just 'don't get'.


Would I?

These questions take the 'why' one step further. Simply substitute the 'why' with 'would I have'.

Would I have framed the image the same way had I taken the photograph?
Would I have included/excluded a specific object/person had I taken the photograph?
Would I have focused on that particular component of the image?
Would I have used a similar depth of field?
Would I have exposed/printed the image with the same tonalities?

You can be totally honest when you answer....no one else is listening in :>)

Would the way I would have taken the shot made it better or worse, helped or hindered the ability of the image to convey a feeling ? Either way, what can I learn from what I would have done as compared to the way the photographer did it.

No question about it. There is a lot to be said for and a lot to be had from spending time with an image that 'speaks to you'.

The Twin Jewels Project: Icy River

Today, another image from those being considered for inclusion in my so-called Twin Jewels Project. More information on the project itself can be found here.

Before talking about this particular photograph, I did want to say that I do recognize, as has been brought up in prior comments, the importance of a formal artist's statement regarding the project....it just hasn't been written yet (ah, if only there were more time). I do have some ideas about it floating around in my head, but they still need to be put to paper.


The image I am considering is entitled 'Icy River', and is one of the relatively few that I have taken during the dead of winter. I have to say, much as I have difficulty getting myself out to make photographs in the cold, I always come back glad that I did.

So, on to the image:

Icy River
Copyright Howard Grill

There were several issues that presented themselves in either the photographing or printing stages of making this image.


1) Composition

I liked the "S" shaped curve made by the ice on the right side of the river as it receded from front to back. There were several compositions that I made when taking this picture. In this shot, the focal length of the lens accentuated the favorable "S" shape. It also allowed me to frame the image with ice along the bottom edge of the image which, to me, seemed to give it a 'contained' feel.

However, by making the "S" shape that I liked more prominent, I believe I lost something as well. In some ways I think the focal length is too long when viewing the left side of the river. In the best of all possible worlds, I think the solid portion of the ice on the left bank should have been included all the way down to nearly the bottom of the image, similar to the way it is included on the right. The fact that there is so much more floating ice on the left side of the river compared to the right seems to balance this out to a reasonable extent, but I still wish the solid ice extended further to the bottom of the frame. As mentioned, I would have had to use a shorter focal length to do so and would then lose some of the prominence of the "S" shape, so I am not sure how the tradeoff would have worked out.

I should add that I was standing on an overlook and thus there was no option to move closer in or further out.

2) Color Cast

In the image, as it came out of the camera, there was a fairly strong green color cast in the ice and water on the river as a result of the evergreen tree reflections. Though it was 'real', I did not find that it enhanced the image. However, I did not want to simply desaturaute the green as that would have also destaurated the green trees. So I masked out the trees and removed the cast from the water but then found that there was then a stark and unnatural appearance to the monochrome appearing water and ice compared to the background. I therefore re-introduced a touch of blue-green coloration to the dark areas of the water in order to give the image a more natural feel. I then intensified the green/yellow saturation in the trees a bit.

In regards to color, I also like the way the color in the rocks seem to somewhat echo the color in the distant orange trees.

3) Three Dimensional Effect

I wanted the image to pull the viewer in with a three dimensional effect. Obviously, the use of a relatively short focal length sets the stage. This is also the first image on which I have used the Akvis Enhancer plug-in, and I must say that I am very pleased with the result. By enhancing the subtle differences in shades of green, it really allowed the trees take on much more depth. This effect is not so evident with the small image as seen here...however, I have recently discovered a neat new blogger trick. Simple click on the image and a new window with a larger version will appear.

By the way, the same enlarging trick can be used for the Color In Motion image. In the comments section to that post, there was some discussion about how the image might look if seen larger. Now it seems pretty easy to obtain the enlarged view.

So, in short, I think the image conveys the feel of this location in winter very well. However, I think the composition has some trade offs. I would be interested in hearing what others think about how the composition works (or doesn't).


By the way, if anyone is interested, my prior blog essay entitled "Photography and Truth" has been published on Uwe and Bettina Steinmueller's Digital Outback Photo. Though the text is the same as had been posted in this blog, this new version also has photographic illustrations which the original version did not. The illustrated version can be seen here.

Quick Quotes: Albert Einstein

Every so often, I run across interesting quotes that relate to photography or nature in some way and I thought it might be interesting to share them from time to time.

The first quote in this very intermittent series comes from Albert Einstein. We all know a great deal about him, but here is a quote that reveals something of his philosophy that I had not previously realized.



"A human being is part of the whole, called by us the universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty"

Albert Einstein


There is a tremendous amount to think about in that statement. I particularly like the idea of the 'optical delusion of conciousness' and how this delusion effects and influences our actions. What a different place the world would (could) be........

Man-Made Objects

When it comes to nature photography, some people have very strong opinions regarding the inclusion of man-made objects in an image. Personally, although I never used to be as vehement as those that would claim that the inclusion of any man-made object no longer allows the photo to be classified as an image of nature, I did always tend to exclude 'man-mades' from my photographs. Recently, however, I have loosened up in this regard. In fact, I have found that, at times, the inclusion of man-made objects can enhance the message or the effectiveness of an image.

Take, for example, this photo:

Loneliness

Copyright Howard Grill

I was photographing in a small city park and became interested in a field of snow with trees in the background and felt that the scene conveyed a feeling of loneliness. I also found myself intrigued by the fact that there was snow on the ground and yet the trees were still holding on to many of their autumn leaves, which seemed to contrast the seasons. Try as I might, I just couldn't compose a 'nature photograph' that I thought was effective. However, when I allowed myself to include the park bench, I began to come up with compositions that I felt were much more expressive and effective at conveying the feeling of loneliness that I was after.

Some might well say that I haven't 'proven' anything regarding the inclusion or exclusion of man-made objects in nature photographs. In fact, they might say that all I have done is taken a photograph that attempts to convey a certain feeling......but it's not a nature photograph.

Fair enough. But my response is 'who cares'. I believe that, at times, we might be best served by not trying to rigidly classify images or photographic genres. In the past, because I was trying to do 'nature photography', I might have not taken this shot, which I rather like.

Perhaps when going out to photograph nature one would be well served by keeping an open mind about what he or she might be willing to include in a photograph.

Window Shopping

In prior posts, I have mentioned that I find looking for compositions during urban photographing quite similar to composing while doing nature photography. At that time, I was speaking about looking for graphic lines and shapes when making abstract images. Those posts can be seen here and here.

I think other similarities exist as well. One of these similarities is the importance of looking for and being aware of the smaller details; akin to 'the intimate landscape'. For example, as I was walking around town, I began to notice that some of the department store window displays were quite interesting looking and I began taking shots of those that appealed to me. When photographing windows like this, it is a bit of a challenge to get an angle that avoids glare and reflections off the glass, yet still allows for an interesting composition.

I thought this particular display had a rather 'hip' feel to it.

"Summer"
Copyright Howard Grill

So, when walking around town, it's nice to have a camera handy and important to keep an eye on the small stuff as well as the skyscrapers!

Slideshow

Today, I have a bit of a personal note. I will be giving a slideshow presentation on Wednesday, June 6 at the REI store on Pittsburgh's South Side. The topic is nature photography in and around the Pittsburgh area and is sponsored by REI and Venture Outdoors, a great group whose mission statement can be seen here. In association with the talk, I am also taking a group out Sunday, January 10th to Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve for a nature photography field session. Though the program is aimed at beginners, anyone out there who is in the area is certainly welcome to attend.

This is my first attempt at any type of photographic teaching, so I am really looking forward to it. I tend not too be 'big' on public speaking, but am excited about doing this. I just hope that I am able to convey, in some small way, how much I enjoy photographing and how it can really open up a deeper appreciation for and understanding of nature. I hope it goes well, as I think that it might be something that I would really be interested in doing more of.

I'll let everyone know how it goes in a future post!

The Importance Of Unplanning

I recently started reading and enjoying a new photography blog that I ran across entitled "Photographer's Journey" by Christopher Scholl. Recently, Chris had an interesting post entitled 'New Places. New Photographs', in which he discussed carefully planned out vs. spontaneous photography. Chris tends to be spontaneous. I personally fall somewhere in-between the two, generally planning ahead what park or area of the city I might go to, but not commonly planning to the degree of deciding ahead of time exactly where in the park I will go or what building I will photograph. Thinking about that post, I began to ponder the importance of being able to 'unplan'........or, to paraphrase, being able to accept the 'zen of photography'.

What do I man by this? As important as it can be to plan ahead and be at the proper location for sunrise, sunset, low tide etc, it is also important to have a freeness of spirit that will allow for plans to change, if need be. What if one's plan was to make sharp photographs of wildflowers but the wind was blowing, or if the plan was to photograph a waterfall and the day turned out to be bright and sunny etc, etc. You could battle with nature all the way, waiting for the wind to momentarily die down in order to get a sharp wildflower shot or waiting for that single cloud in the sky to pass in front of the sun and tone down the highlights and reflections off of the waterfall......and you might eventually get what you were after. Or you could accept what nature has dealt and be willing to go along with her without putting up a fight. You could decide that the windy day might just be the perfect time to capture impressionistic images of wildflowers in motion. You might decide to photograph shadows on that bright day instead of waiting and waiting for a few overcast moments during which the waterfall could be photographed well.

"Sand Patterns"
When It's Too Bright To Shoot The Beach, Shoot The Sand
Copyright Howard Grill

"Tough Tree"
Taken On A Bright Day With Terrible Light
Copyright Howard Grill

I think the best images are likely to be made when you are going with the flow instead of against it; when you accept what is, appreciate what is, and work along with it instead of fighting. Once you are working with the flow it becomes easier to be a part of what you are trying to photograph and less of an outside observer.

I am certain that it can be just as important to unplan as it is to plan!