Zone Plate

Dreamscape #1
Copyright Howard Grill

In my last post entitled "Process", I wrote about using the LensBaby Optic Swap system with a Zone Plate and mentioned that I would post some photos. This image is the first that I have processed from a series I took about two weeks ago. Some people I have shown it to have found it 'interesting' and some have called it 'creepy'. Personally, I really like the ethereal feel.

I usually title my images, but this series is one that I feel should be left without titles so as not to influence the viewer's interpretation.

Process

Over the years there has been considerable debate on the issue of photographic process and the role it plays in artwork. Most recently this has been exemplified by the now old and very tired question “Is digital photography really photography?”. Several years back this question engendered serious debate….now it is hard to understand why, as nearly every photographer would answer “yes, it is….it is just that some fine art photographers choose to use film and others a digital sensor as their method of ‘capturing the light”.

I recently discovered the new LensBaby Composer with the “Optic Swap System” that allows one to swap different optical components in and out of the basic LensBaby format, which is basically a tilt/shift type of apparatus. One of the very neat swappable components is a ‘lens’ that lets you place a pinhole or zone plate on the camera instead of a glass or plastic lens. I have found experimenting with the zone plate to be quite enthralling.

However, I hesitate to post images made with it on forums that specialize in this sort of imaging. Why? The reason is that the tired debate about digital vs film does not yet seem to be dead when it comes to ‘alternative’ processes such as pinhole and zone plate imaging.

In the past I had written about such processes, which I had found quite intriguing (see here and scroll down to the pinhole posts). However, I have had limited opportunity to pursue pinhole photography because of limitations in time, and time is what is required to process film and scan negatives. However, with the advent of the LensBaby Optic Swap System I see an opportunity to explore this type of imaging. I am particularly intrigued in utilizing the zone plate, as it is something completely new to me, something very fresh.

Personally, I don’t think it should matter if the zone plate image was made on film or a digital sensor. But that’s just me, and a lot of people seem to disagree.

Quick Quotes: Jay Maisel

I was listening to Michael Reichmann interview Jay Maisel in the latest issue of the absolutely superb Luminous Landscape Video Journal (if you have never seen an issue of the video journal, you owe it to yourself to have a look.....see here) and really enjoyed what they had to say. Lots of words of wisdom from Mr. Maisel. Two that struck me are:

"People are more interested in the quality of their pixels than they are in the quality of their picture"

Jay Maisel

When discussing marked digital image manipulation after capture:

"I am not at all interested in showing how clever I am once I take the picture. My cleverness, if it exists at all, is in seeing something that's there and showing it to you"

Jay Maisel

A Bit Of Gift Giving Humor

OK, so this one isn't about photography! But sometimes I see something that I think would be fun to share. I really got a kick out of this little video about what happens when men mess up and give their spouse/girlfriend a gift that lacks thoughtful input......

Check it out here and have a laugh.

A Better Moustrap....The Flowerpod

In a past post, I wrote a brief review about the McClamp, a device used to hold a flower or plant steady when doing macro-photography. At that time, I mentioned that I thought the device was superior to the Plamp, a similar 'gadget' made by another company. Until the McClamp became available, the Plamp, for all its warts, was the device used for macro work while outdoors in the wind.

Well, it is now time for even McClamp to step aside for what I feel is the best aid in doing plant and flower macro work.......Les Saucier's Flowerpod. If you have read some of my posts about the Photography With Heart Workshops, you might recall Less as one of the three primary "With Heart" photographers.

So what exactly is so great about the Flowerpod? Well, Les has looked at all the problems that could occur with these devices as they now stand and, taking them into account, has re-designed clamping gadgets from the ground up. Actually, I hate to call it a gadget, which seems to be trivializing it.....anyone who has done outdoor macro knows how indispensable something like this is. Frankly, it very frequently means the difference between getting a sharp, well-composed image....or not.

So, what are the potential problems with the McClamp? As good as I thought it was, there were still some issues:

1) It had to be 'stuck' in the ground...a problem on rocky terrain

2) If you used the variety that clamps to the tripod (because the ground is rocky) any movement of the tripod while trying to recompose also moves the plant or flower.

3) You are out of luck if the plant is tall...unless you want to go with the clamp to tripod plan, which is very frustrating, as noted above.

3) Despite the soft foam in the clamp, I still would, at times, accidentally damage the stalk of the plant when trying to make fine adjustments to the flower's position. The reason for this is that you generally need to 'overshoot' in the adjustment to get the flower to be where you want it. At least that was my experience.

4) Not sturdy enough to hold a flashlight or, at times, a background.

The Flowerpod addresses and solves all these problems. Fist of all, have a look at it here.

As you can see, all four of the above issues are dealt with by the Flowerpod's carefully thought out design and yet it is still small, light, and very mobile! I could repeat all the information that is on Les' Flowerpod web page, but it would be easiest to simply have a look at it yourself. In addition, the illustrations with photos make the description much clearer than I can with words.

In brief, since I brought up the 4 points above, I will just mention that problems #1 and 2 are solved by having a tripod that holds the flower clamp so that it can be used in any terrain. Problems #3 and 4 are addressed not only with the tripod, but with a specialty clamp that can be easily adjusted in very fine increments.

Why am I going on and on about this? Let me say that I have no financial interest at all in the Flowerpod. I just like seeing a 'better' product that has had a lot of thought and effort put into it. And, as one that enjoys macro-photography and has suffered through some of the frustrations associated with it, I know this is a product that will help me nail more shots. So move over Plamp and McClamp....there is a new 'player' in town....check out the Flowerpod and see what you think.

Reality

I love when I run across a scene in which the camera records a truth that our minds simply can not believe. Such scenes force you to reassess what is real and how our minds are able to change reality. I find this idea fascinating and have previously written about it on Uwe Steinmueller's Digital Outback Photo.

When I first photographed this waterfall, I thought I was just taking a picture of the flowing water. But when I looked at the image on the LCD screen on the back of my camera I was truly surprised at the colors I saw but hadn't recognized in the water. Nonetheless, when I looked carefully at the moving water, there they were! I hadn't seen them because our brains tend to present 'filtered' information to us which is why, for example, a sheet of white paper still looks white to us even when it is next to a brightly colored object. However, when we take a two dimensional photograph of that paper and look at it out of context, our eyes can recognize the color cast on the white sheet.

Canyon Reflections

Copyright Howard Grill

So where is the color coming from in this image? On this particular morning in Zion National Park, the sky was a deep blue which was being reflected in the waterfall. The falls were located right next to a large canyon wall made of the region's famous 'red rock', and it is the light reflecting off of this red rock and striking some areas of the water that imparts the pink coloration.

The other thing that I enjoyed about making this image was the location. I am delighted when I can find something beautiful in a location where I wouldn't expect it. True, this image was made in Zion National Park, but it happened to be located in the unlikely location behind an old maintenance shack where a good portion of the grounds were being used for storage

Zion

This is another image from the recent workshop that I attended in Zion National Park. I think this image has, in one shot, many of the characteristics that are so special about Zion.....the cottonwoods, the canyon walls, and the Virgin River. When I look at this photograph I really get a feel of the 'Zion Experience'. The park is truly a place that everyone should get a chance to visit.

"Zion"
Copyright Howard Grill

In addition, this is another of the type of images that I mentioned in my post entitles "Seeing". Though these exact elements are obviously not present where I live, there are very reasonable replacements...trees, water, rocks......all that I need is the right mindset. That mindset, as opposed to a lot of nice images (though it is nice to get them as well), is the most valuable item that can be brought home from any workshop!

When Is It Done, Revisited

I have previously written about my difficulty in knowing when to stop trying to 'perfect' an image. I ultimately end up reaching a point where I might be continuing to make minor tweaks to an image, but deep inside know that no one besides myself are likely to notice them. Likewise, when making an actual print, I need to limit myself when I reach a certain point lest I continue to try to make better versions ad infinitum.

In regards to this topic, or at least directly applicable to this topic, is a wonderful podcast that I heard today. While I enjoy all the Lenswork podcasts (in fact, I have them all archived on my iPod) I found this one to be of particular interest to me. So check out the Dec 2nd Lenswork podcast called "The Myth Of Tonal Control".

LR/Enfuse For Blending Multiple Exposures

Maybe everyone out there already knows about Timothy Ames' LR/Enfuse, but I sure didn't. For that reason, I thought I would post some information in case anyone else out there is as in the dark as I am. I found out about the Lightroom plug-in when I happen to run across a positive review of it in Photoshop User.

So what does LR/Enfuse do? It is a plug-in for Adobe Lightroom that allows one to blend multiple exposures that were taken of the same image in order to get a final image that preserves both highlight and shadow detail (for when the dynamic range of the scene exceeds that of the camera's sensor). There are various non-HDR techniques to blend images, usually involving one exposure taken for the highlights and another one taken for the shadows. However, LR/Enfuse allows you to blend multiple shots easily.

I downloaded and installed the plug-in yesterday and am very much looking forward to giving it a try. I am not very fond of the "HDR look" myself and so am looking forward to seeing what type of results I might get from the plug-in. As I said, it has gotten great reviews.

Want to give it a try yourself? It can be downloaded here. There is a trial version available for free (limited only in the maximum file export size), but I went for the unrestricted version, which only requires that you make a donation of any size to Mr. Ames to support developing the program.

Adobe Photoshop CS4 Upgrades

There has been some interesting discussion on the Adobe forums as well as on several blogs about the upgrade path to Photoshop CS4. This effects me personally, so I thought I would interrupt my posts about the Zion workshop I attended to write (rant) about the upgrade issue.

When Photoshop CS3 was released, consumers were faced with the option of upgrading to CS3 or the CS3 Extended version. The differences to me were initially a little vague, as I suspect they were to a number of people. The new extended version was to have 3D tools as well as some other image stacking options that I thought were not in the Non-Extended version. The 3D tools were, indeed, unique to CS3, though I believe the stacking options were actually available in the Non-Extended version as well. I decided to go with the brand new Extended version as I wondered if I might find some of the tools useful....if I ultimately found that I didn't need them I thought I would just end up going back to the Non-Extended version with the next Photoshiop release. Even though it was another $100-150 or so I figured I would give the Extended version a try and see what it was all about. Or so I thought.

I ended up never using any of the options or tools that were unique to the Extended version of Photoshop. Out comes Photoshop CS4 and CS4 Extended. My plan was to upgrade back to the Non-Extended version of Photoshop CS4. As it turns out, there is no upgrade path being made available by Adobe back to the Non-Extended version. Apparently, they want the consumer to be 'locked in' to the more expensive Extended version. Once 'Extended' always 'Extended'.

Now, this seems particularly unfair to me. Certainly I wouldn't have made the Extended choice had I known that I would be locked in for another $150 cost with each and every subsequent Photoshop release. I am not the only consumer who feels this is unfair. Apparently some Adobe employees do as well. John Nack, in his blog speaks about the lack of on upgrade path back to the Non-Extended version (I call it an upgrade-downgrade). In his post from the end of September he talks about Adobe preparing an upgrade path from Extended to Non-Extended. Unfortunately, either this has not occured or has occured in a somewhat obscure and rather opaque fashion.

What do I mean by obscure and opaque? Well I (and many others in different posts) asked questions about the whole upgrade route on the Adobe Forum. One responder states that if one calls tech support (but not customer service) they will give you an unlock code to make the upgrade that will work only once and only be active for about an hour. Now, I don't know if that is true or not, and, frankly, I won't be able to find out because I can't make that call in front of my home computer during 9-5 business hours. However, even if it is true, is this, as they say, any way to run a business? What if I buy a new computer and want to reinstall the program? What if the program crashes or gets corrupted and I want to reinstall it? What about putting it on my laptop? What about.....well you get the idea. You can read the forum thread here.

It seems to me that Adobe should allow the upgrade from the Extended to Non-Extended versions (which seems only fair), and allow it as a clearly stated option with a distinct and easy mechanism for anyone to do the upgrade without jumping through all sorts of hoops. I am sure that from a programing standpoint this can not be all that difficult. It is equally hard for me to believe that the Adobe marketing division could not or did not anticipate this sort of problem.

OK, I am done with my rant now!

Seeing

As I mentioned in my last post, I recently returned from a Photography With Heart workshop in Zion National Park. Scanning through some of my favorite images from the park, I noticed something interesting. Though the presence or 'feel' of the park was in them all, when I broke the images down to their basic components they consisted , for the most part, of things that I could find right here in Western Pennsylvania where I live.

Consider this image entitled "Backlit Cottonwoods". At its most basic, it is 'simply' an image of colorfall backlit trees with fall foliage. I was drawn to the scene not only because of the intense color of the backlit trees, but also because I enjoyed composing it with the diagonal lines of the mountains on either side of the trees along with the hazy, distant canyon wall in the background. I felt that the diagonals added something special to the image and that the canyon wall in the background, together with the classic cottonwoods, gives the photograph a decidedly 'Zion' feel.

Backlit Cottonwoods
Copyright Howard Grill

When I go on a workshop I go with a mind that is hopefully open and 'ready' to try to be creative. I think it is quite natural to have that feeling when going away on a trip. But when I think about it, the basic components of the "Backlit Cottonwoods" image are all around me, even now that I am back home. There are plenty of trees with fall foliage here, and one only has to go at the proper time to find them backlit. True, I may not have a canyon wall available to put in the background, but is that really the essence of the image? Wouldn't the image also work well with the terrain that I have available here at home used to frame the trees or provide leading lines? I think it would!

One of the things that I hope I have accomplished at the workshop is to learn to discard the state of mind that says you have to go 'someplace special' to make special images. Sure it is fun to go away, and a change of scene always spurs creativity, but that should only serve as a stimulus to return home and harness that creativity to make images where you spend most of your time living. One of the things that I hope that I have brought home with me from the workshop is an enhanced ability to be open to 'seeing' what surrounds me the 99% of the time that I am home. If one can do that, I think the odds of making meaningful images increases quite dramatically!

Where I've Been

I just returned from another superb workshop week with Nancy Rotenberg, Les Saucier, and Don McGowan (Photography With Heart Workshops). The workshop was in Zion National Park, a place of indescribable beauty. One of the key aspects of the Photography With Heart Workshops is that though the technical is taught, the journey goes beyond this aspect of photographing and well into the much more difficult process of learning how to see.

While I am spending time sorting through the images I took, I thought I would show another recently taken "landscape in stone" from my rock photography project.

Mountain Sunrise
Copyright Howard Grill

Another Rock Abstract

I have been spending a bit more time photographing some of my rocks that I have written about before. I call this image "Mount Sinai", as it evokes in me the idea of 'something' coming down from the heavens to the top of a mountain!

"Mount Sinai"
Copyright Howard Grill

Doing Too Much: A Change In Workflow

Lately, I have been re-examining various aspects of my workflow and have come to the realization that I am doing too much. I am not talking about having too many projects (though that may also be true...I have found that the more you have going on the less you actually accomplish). Rather, I am talking about what I am doing to my individual image files.

In an attempt to reach my view of 'perfection', I find that I end up making many small adjustments to various parts of the image that probably have little effect on the final print as well as deciding after conversion from RAW that I prefer the image with a marked boost in contrast, color temperature, saturation, etc. At that point I may have so many layers that it would become time consuming to go back and rework the RAW file and so I make the adjustments on more layers in Photoshop. To warm or cool the color temperature in a reversable way I end up merging the entire image to a new layer and applying a photo filter, which further bloats the file. Sometimes, by the time I am done in Photoshop, I am now getting the sense that I have pushed the pixels too far in many instances.

I have made a change to my workflow that I hope alleviates this problem. Previously, I was using PhotoKit Sharpener (fantastic product) for both capture sharpening and output sharpening (and creative sharpening, if needed). There was a downside to this (and many upsides). The downside was that despite the ability to open an image coming out of Lightroom or Camera RAW as a smart object, I could not do so because PhotoKit would not work if the background layer was a smart object.

As it turns out, the newer versions of sharpening in Lightroom and Camera RAW were designed with much input from Jeff Schewe and the late Bruce Fraser. This sharpening was actually designed to implement capture sharpening only....and I had not been aware of this. So now I am using the sharpening in Camera RAW or Lightroom to apply my capture sharpening. The downside to this is that it is going to take some further learning and experimentation to implement. Capture sharpening in PhotoKit Sharpener was much easier....you just picked your camera resolution and clicked a button. However, the upside far outweighs this. For one thing, the file sizes are going to be smaller without the capture sharpening layers (one could flatten them into the background layer, but I never did) and, most importantly, if I decide I want a significant change in contrast, exposure, color temperature etc I can simply click the smart object and make the adjustments to the RAW file (and even change the capture sharpening settings) and have them applied to the entire image (assuming I haven't duplicated the entire image onto a separate layer for some reason, which does occasionally happen).

In this way, I can make post-processing changes while leaving the pixels less 'manipulated'. I should mention that I still use PhotoKit Sharpener for my creative and output sharpening. I do think that I am going to be happier with this method of working.

Jennings Environmental Center

Jennings Environmental Center is the only area in Western Pennsylvania in which Liatris spicata, the Blazing Star, grows. It was the first Pennsylvania reserve to protect an individual plant species. The Blazing Star grows on open prairies, frequently in the midwest, and Jennings is a relic prairie ecosystem, which is quite rare in Pennsylvania. The Blazing Star blooms at the end of July and beginning of August, so you will have to wait until next year to see them!

Liatris spicata In Meadow
Copyright Howard Grill

Liatris spicata
Copyright Howard Grill

Of interest, Jennings is also home to the endangered massasauga rattlesnake (I have never seen one there myself...so no photos of those).

Photographer's Rights: Yet Again

I have previously written several posts about photographer's rights in general, as well as occurrences that have happened to me personally. Those posts can be seen here, here, here, and here.

Here is a post from the Photo Attorney blog discussing the TSA statement that people taking pictures of trains can be questioned in certain circumstances. The discussion ends with the suggestion that unless one is trespassing or there is 'reasonable' suspicion of a crime (defining reasonable is always problematic) the 'suspect' need not comply with questioning. Of course, depending on the situation, this might well be difficult!

Very interesting reading! Maybe we all need to get the "I'm a photographer not a terrorist T-shirt".

The Bourne Series

Today, a brief break from photography....hey, I'm allowed to do that.

One of the benefits of having teenage boys with great senses of humor around is that they share with you the things they find funny. Sometimes that can be well....not so funny. But this time, when one of them called me down to watch a YouTube video it was really hilarious. At least I thought so.

To appreciate this you have to be a fan of the Bourne series. You know, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, and the Bourne Ultimatum. I loved the films. So don't bother watching this spoof if you haven't seen the films as you will just shrug and wonder what it's all about. But if you have seen them....prepare to laugh.

See here.

Vincent Laforet's Take On The Closure Of PhotoShelter

As readers of this blog may be aware, I recently decided to discontinue my short-lived microstock experiment in favor of submitting to Alamy and PhotoShelter. After the experience, I questioned why anyone would want to sell their images for $0.25 to $1.50 per download. Unfortunately, PhotoShelter, which I was particularly attracted to because of their active and vocal stand against microstock agencies (70% to the photographer and no images allowed that were also being sold on the micros), has shut their doors.

What really concerns me is that this closure has the feel of microstock 'winning'. There really were only two non-micro stock agencies that I know of that were:

Willing to accept new, unproven photographers purely based on image quality
Willing to accept photographers that have 50 images as well as those with 5000
Not Microstock
Offerings not limited to mainly lifestyle shots

Interestingly, when I posted this on the new Stock Imaging Forum, someone responded that the fact that the older, more classic stock agencies had been unwilling to accept photographers based purely on image quality and not on their being established or having thousand of images may have also played a significant role in the current situation and allowed microstock to rise. There was no place else for people to go. Surely that is not the only precipitant, but it probably didn't help matters any.

At any rate, here is Vincent Lafforet's take on the situation at PhotoShelter.

Canon Teaser

I am not one that necessarily gets excited about the release of every new digital camera or piece of equipment. That said, the hoopla surrounding new releases is always fun to watch, and it is always interesting to see what is the 'latest and greatest'.

With that in mind, for those that have not yet seen it, I present the link to Canon USA's 'teaser' for their upcoming new dSLR release. This release has been widely touted as being the replacement for the 5D. No real information here, but it certainly confirms (beyond unsubstantiated rumors) that something new is coming. With increased competition, it would be nice to see a full frame dSLR with the newest processors at a more reasonable price point.

The Twin Jewels Project: Published

I have previously written several posts about my Twin Jewels Project, a personal project photographing McConnell's Mill and Moraine State Parks, both of which are about an hour's drive from my home. I had several periods of uncertainty during the project, but kept pushing forward. I truly appreciate the comments and encouragement that folks on this blog gave me along the way.

I am pleased that the project has led to the publication of an article and photographs in Nature Photographer magazine. So, if you happen to run across the Fall issue at a bookseller....check out "The Twin Jewels of Western Pennsylvania" on pages 82-85.

In some ways, I would like to think of this as the culmination of Stage I of the project. I am wondering if anyone who has had a project of local interest published has been able to then continue showing it. If so, I would certainly appreciate any ideas. I am thinking along the lines of publishing in other local magazines, local slide shows, local nature or conservation groups etc.. If anyone has done these sort of things I would appreciate any tips as to how to get started, make contact etc.....

I had sent in 20 images to be considered along with my article about the history of these parks, knowing that only a few would be chosen for publication. The following images are the ones that the editors chose:

"Color In Motion"
Copyright Howard Grill

Interestingly, the image above, entitled "Color In Motion", is one that I had a good deal of doubts about as I had expressed in this post. To my surprise, the image was chosen as a full page photograph.

"Foggy Morning"
Copyright Howard Grill

I previously posted about "Foggy Morning" here.

"Icy River"
Copyright Howard Grill

I had posted about "Icy River" here.

"Peeking Out"
Copyright Howard Grill

"Peeking Out", an image from my series of posts about trillium.

"Hells Run Falls"
Copyright Howard Grill

This image of Hell's Run Falls was used as the half-page article opener and is one I almost hadn't submitted because I was uncertain about the composition (I didn't like the thin tree behind the falls) and because I thought the shutter speed was actually too slow, causing loss of definition in the thick 'strip' of water in the center of the falls.

Interestingly, some of what I felt were my better images did not get chosen for the article.

Anyway, I am quite pleased that after several years of photographing the parks I was able to get some portion of the project published for others to see. As I mentioned, any further ideas about how I might use the park images are welcomed and appreciated.