Inner Vision

I just returned from my yearly photography workshop with Nancy Rotenberg, Les Saucier, and Don McGowan. This particular workshop was held in Provincetown, Massachusetts on Cape Cod and, as expected, was another wonderful experience.

Why return to do workshops with the same instructors year after year? Simply put, it is because I don't believe anyone teaches a workshop with the same focus as they do. Sure, you will learn technique, digital processing etc, but that is not the foundation of their workshop experience. Rather, the emphasis is strongly on 'learning to see' , focusing creative energy, and using one's unique inner vision and heart to create images. Now, imagine doing that with 15-20 other terrific people who are also interested in the same thing. I have never been to one of Freeman Patterson's workshops, but imagine that there are a lot of similarities.....I guess it is therefore not surprising that he wrote the forward to Nancy's book "Photography and the Creative Life".

In the next week or two, even though I know it will delay some of my other projects, I plan to edit and post some of the images from this fantastic trip.

Botanical Blends: Rudbeckia I

I have completed the second image in my "Botanical Blends" project and thus have accomplished half of my goal for the month. Of course, the goal does not merely reflect the number of images completed, as the images need to be of the appropriate quality as well. Artistic quality, however, is for the viewer to decide.

This particular image was made with a LensBaby.

Unfortunately, the small image size that Blogger displays makes it difficult to see the underlying blended texture in photographs where the texture is subtle. However, there is not much that I can do about that!

Rudbeckia I
Copyright Howard Grill

Quick Quotes: Harry Callahan

"I guess I've shot about 40,000 negatives and of these I have about 800 pictures that I like."

Harry Callahan

Let's see....that calculates out to a 2% success rate. I usually feel like my success rate is even lower than that. But at least now I feel like I am in good company!

Goals And Deadlines

In my last post, I mentioned that I was going to specifically answer the questions I thought were important to consider when planning a photography project as they relate to my recently initiated "Botanical Blends" series.

However, before I do so I would like to add one more important concept to the planning stage of my project. This is likely important for anyone planning a project, but is particularly apropo for me, as I tend to spend too much time on any one image, making changes that I am sure no viewer will likely notice. This concept has to do with deadlines. I believe it is important to set a reasonable and achievable schedule for producing the project. This schedule will be different for everyone depending on their 'life circumstances' and available time to devote to the project. However, it does need to be achievable while allowing for completion of the project within a reasonable time period.

With that said, here are my personal answers, goals, and deadlines for "Botanical Blends":

Who is the intended audience?

For this project, given the subject matter, I define my audience widely. I believe it would include anyone with an interest in flowers and horticulture as well as nature. In addition, as a secondary audience I would include people that I work with and/or my patients, as I will likely have an opportunity to display prints at work and in my office.

How do I primarily intend to reach that audience?

The primary goal I hope to achieve is to have a display at a local botanical conservatory. Obviously, I can not be sure that the goal will be achieved as the decision to hang prints there is not one that I make. Thus, I need additional viable methods for getting the work seen. For this project, that would include hanging prints at work/office. In terms of other distribution methods for the project, I am considering a pdf publication (though I have not used InDesign or Acrobat before and thus this will have a fairly steep learning curve and will probably not be coincident in time with other distribution methods), as well as possibly making some 'give away' promotional type prints.

Are prints needed? How many? What size?

Since my primary, and at least one of my secondary methods of distributing the work is via display, prints will clearly be needed in larger sizes. My plan is to have prints matted and framed to 20x26 inches. Why that size? As I have made some flower images in the past, this size just looks right for display to me and I already have some frames in this size as well. It is also an efficient size, as it allows me to obtain two mats and backing boards from standard sized 32x40 matboard and foamboard. Given that I hope for a formal display in a conservatory, standard white matting might be best, but I still have not ruled out the possibility of black matting. The frames will be simple and relatively inexpensive standard, thin black metal.

The number of images needed is difficult to be certain of and obviously depends on how many worthy photographs I make. However, as an approximate goal I am contemplating 20-30.

What is my deadline?

This is a difficult question but, knowing myself, a very important one. As I mentioned above, the goal needs to be attainable but the project also needs to be completed in a reasonable period of time. In addition, I anticipate working on some other prints during this time and I suspect there may be some periods when I have very little time to spare because of work constraints.

I have come up with a deadline goal of four finished prints every month. I plan to aim for one print a week, but I know that there will be times when I am unable to work on the project and times when I will be able to devote more time than usual.....so it seems to me that a monthly goal will be more reasonable. If I keep to that deadline, I should have the project well in hand by 6 months.

I should add that I have many, many flower pictures that I have taken and not 'developed'. So the primary focus of project completion will be on the computer as opposed to actually taking the photographs. That said, it does take a good bit of time and experimentation to find a texture that works well with an image. Clearly, the starting point is an excellent botanical photograph, but that alone is not enough for what I am trying to do.

I decided to put this goal in writing in order to help me keep to it, and I will post images and my progress as I go along. Because the next month is going to be quite busy for me at work I am going to give myself a bit of leeway at the start and declare today as the formal start of the project even though I already have 1 1/2 images processed. By September 27th I therefore need to have completed four images.

Project Planning

After my last post entitled "Creative Paths.....Creative Accidents", Mike Mundy made a comment wondering about the final output/usage of the images I was making for my flower project (to which I have given the tentative title "Botanical Blends"). I believe Mike intended that to be more than a simple question, and rightly so! In fact, I had been thinking about writing a post regarding planning the project.

As one thinks about a potential photographic project, I think they need to have in mind a number of important questions:

Who is the intended audience (although sometimes the audience grows, there should still be a primary target group who you think would be interested in the images...this target audience can be defined in either a very broad or narrow way)?

How do you primarily intend to reach that audience? This might be through a show (again, broadly or narrowly defined....from a gallery or museum show to hanging images at a local coffee shop or even at work or in your home),a magazine, book, pdf, or even as give away prints.

What other distribution methods might assist in reaching the target audience as well as making it easier for people that might not be in the primary target audience to see the work if they find it interesting. This might include any of the previously mentioned methods.

Answering these questions before delving into a project is important for some very practical reasons. Knowing the answers can help with some very basic issues such as:

Approximately how many images should one's goal for the project be? The number needed for a gallery showing might be different from that needed to author a magazine article.

What size prints are needed? Again, this will differ based on where the images are being displayed and how they are being used.

Are prints even needed at all? Perhaps not, if the final project is a magazine article, pdf, or your website.

Do the prints need to be framed, and, if so, how? The location of a display might well effect whether one chooses classic white matting or not, how ornate or simple the frame should be, or if some type of display without frames might be possible. In addition, this will give some idea as to the cost (and time) one can expect to be associated with framing.

What other non-photographic skills might be needed? These might include the software skills needed for making a pdf, laying out a book, or making promotional items, as well as framing skills, artist bookbinding skills, calligraphy etc.

How might the project be marketed or advertised?

These are just a few of the more prominent questions that immediately come to mind (and I am sure there are more that can be asked), but which I believe are important to contemplate before proceeding with a project.

Having written a bit more than I had expected, I think I will leave for my next post the specific answers to these questions as they relate to my "Botanical Blends" project.

Creative Paths....Creative Accidents

Just when I had been espousing previsualizing what you want an image to look like in Photoshop, I had a creative accident. As I previously posted, I have been playing with the idea of black and white flower photographs combined with various textures that have also been converted to black and white. After having made two such images, I was having trouble creating a third that resonated with me.

In trying to put together a third photo, I had already converted a flower photograph to black and white and was trying out different texture overlays. None seemed to 'work' well and so I was quickly trying out several more that I thought might go with the picture. I hadn't yet converted the texture I was working with to black and white and went to turn off the texture layer in Photoshop, as it didn't look like it would go well with the picture. Instead of clicking the icon to hide the texture layer I accidentally clicked on the icon to hide the black and white conversion layer targeting the flower.

Tulips I
Copyright Howard Grill

Whoa! The image immediately sprang to life in an unusual way (though the texture is a bit difficult to see in this small blog image). An accident, to be sure.....but that doesn't mean it should be ignored. Trying this effect with several different flower photos and various textures, I found it much easier to generate color combinations that worked....and they seemed to work better than the black and white ones.

So now I find myself revisiting my original concept. When I try to clarify in my mind why I want to make images like this, I think it is because most people don't stop and notice the beauty of flowers in images because we are inundated with them. By changing the standard form with which we are presented flower images I wanted to give viewers the impetus to stop and pay attention. I now find myself questioning whether that goal is better achieved with the toned black and white images or with the color images that I discovered by a happy accident.

Deciding which creative path to take at a fork in the road really makes you examine what it is that you are trying to accomplish. And trying to figure that out seems like a wise thing to do.

Robert Capa's "Falling Soldier"

Sure, the issue as to whether Robert Capa's famous photograph "Falling Soldier" was staged or not is an old one. But that doesn't make the controversy any less interesting.

Copyright Robert Capa / MagnumPhotos

Jose' Manuel Susperregui has some new information and theories that suggest the image was staged. We may never know the answer, but it certainly makes for interesting reading.

Here is the latest from the August 18, 2009 New York Times.

Mural

I have always enjoyed taking pictures of wall murals. However, I have typically photographed only isolated small abstract portions of the murals. Usually these images have no hint of what the mural was actually a painting of and consist only of abstract splotches of paint that denote only color, tone, and shape.

When I was in Montreal about a year ago I saw a mural that I found interesting. However, instead of the usual abstract 'blotches' that I typically would take, I found myself drawn to a portion of the mural that was much larger than usual for me. It reminded me of Alice In Wonderland. A year later I still like it, though I am not quite sure why!

"Alice In Wonderland"
Copyright Howard Grill

Flower Images

In my last post, entitled 'Too Many Choices', I mentioned that I was going to post a recent image that was a result of using experimentation to try to achieve a particular result that I already had in mind.

Rudbeckia I
Copyright Howard Grill

I have enjoyed taking flower photographs for quite some time, but have not printed too many of them as it is hard to do original work when it comes to this subject. For some time, I have been struggling to figure out how to portray the simple form and shape that I see in flowers in a way that I find satisfying.

After thinking about it for some time, I realized that I wanted to emphasize the flower's form and so thought about a pure black and white portrayal. But this didn't seem to instill in the images the sense of life that I was looking for. I decided to try toning the monochrome image, and this moved the final photograph closer to what I was looking for, but it still fell short. Ultimately, I tried experimenting with adding textures to the image and this seemed to bring out what I was looking for.

I am curious as to what people think about this appearance, as I am considering embarking on a series using this approach.

Too Many Choices?

Photographs can be post-processed in a multitude of ways. High-key, low-key, highly saturated, black and white, tinted, duotone, combined with underlying textures.....and the list goes on and on. While the multitude of options certainly opens vast creative opportunities, it can also be daunting. It can be easy to become 'frozen' with indecision, in which case having all those choices actually becomes a hindrance.

As I was thinking about this issue, I realized that there is no 'right way' or 'wrong way' for an image to look. A photo can be successfully processed in any of many different ways and still look great within each different style. The trick is to know how you want it to look and, once that is accomplished, to be able to get the image to that endpoint.

I am not at all advocating that one should give up experimenting with different techniques. Such experimentation will build experience in order to help know what the options are when considering how you want an image to look. In fact, in my next post I plan to show an image that I made using just such experimentation. But I used the experimentation to try to figure out how to get to an end result that I already had in mind. Overall, it just seems to me, that, in order to avoid becoming 'lost' when starting on a creative journey, it is helpful to have at least some idea of what the ultimate destination might be.

Shutterbug Image

OK, I know it's not exactly LensWork, but I do have to mention something when I get a photo published. The last few months I picked up a subscription to Shutterbug to read some of the software reviews etc and noticed their "Picture This!" monthly themed feature. So I sent in images for two months in a row since I happen to have had photos that fit the themes. The first theme for which I submitted an image was "Monochrome". I got my issue yesterday and there it was, along with the others they had chosen. Not the worlds biggest deal, but it is nice to see one's image in print!

Reaching Out
Copyright Howard Grill

Sand Dunes

It does seem like it has been a while since I posted any photographs. This image is one I have been working on from my series of rock abstracts. It was taken using cross-polarized strobe lighting with a 180mm macro plus 1.4x TC.

Sand Dunes I
Copyright Howard Grill

Quick Quotes: Sam Abell

At the end of June I wrote a post about photographer Michael David Murphy's website "Unphotographable", which he calls a ‘catalog of exceptional mistakes. Photos never taken that weren't meant to be forgotten. Opportunities missed. Simple failures. Occasions when I wished I'd taken the picture, or not forgotten the camera, or had been brave enough to click the shutter.’

Sam Abell has some interesting thoughts about being without a camera when what might have been an interesting photograph is seen. He channels the 'anguish' of missing a shot into the energy needed to make yet better photographs.

"Above all, it's hard learning to live with vivid mental images of scenes I cared for and failed to photograph. It is the edgy existence within me of these unmade images that is the only assurance that the best photographs are yet to be made"

Sam Abell

More Thoughts On PDF Distribution

As I have mentioned in prior posts, I am intrigued by the idea of the distribution of photographic images by PDF. I have now finished the instructional DVD by Brooks Jensen, who has really championed this idea. If anyone is considering producing a PDF photography book and does not have experience with digital documents, the DVD is an absolutely essential resource and I highly recommend it! It turns out that for someone that is not well versed in the use of the needed software there is a somewhat steep, but clearly surmountable, learning curve.

While I do think that the digital distribution of images opens a major chapter in the history of photography, I also believe the viewing experience, as it stands today, is lagging behind the production technology. I suspect that this lag has had a significant effect on its adaption.

I myself have purchased several PDF photography books and also downloaded several photography PDFs from various sites. However, I have to say that I have not fully viewed them and certainly not viewed them in the depth that I would read or examine a printed publication. Likewise, I find that I don't look forward to or regularly read on-line magazines the way I read those that I subscribe to and which I can hold.

I am not really sure why, but it is simply a fact that I just don't seem to give such publications the same attention that I do a printed book. I can think of several reasons for this:

1) It is hard to curl up in bed with a computer.

2) It seems harder to 'get into' the mindset of in depth analysis in front of a computer as opposed to a book, at least for me....perhaps this is related to my age of 51.

3) I tend to feel more rushed or in 'working mode' on a computer and tend to feel more relaxed and in 'free time mode' with a book.

Now, before attributing my feelings to being unable to adapt to new technology, realize that you are reading this on my electronic blog. If anything, I tend towards being a somewhat early adapter. For example, as it relates to digital media, I have an Amazon Kindle e-book reader. In fact, I have the most recently released version with enhanced PDF handling. It is magnificent for reading novels. In fact, for the novel reading experience, I prefer it to hard copy books.

But that same preference doesn't carry through for me when it comes to reading PDF photography publications. In fact, while I have the first 40 LensWork issues on my Kindle from a LensWork DVD I bought on e-Bay (great deal...I think it was something like 20 bucks), I don't find reading them this way to be an enjoyable experience and have largely given up doing so. I also subscribe to LensWork Extended and, while it is a marvelous production, I find I don't read/listen to each and every one of them like I do when it comes to reading the hard copy issues.

I suspect a good part of why I don't prefer reading PDF photography publications on the Kindle is that the technology is still not up to snuff for handling such material. It still doesn't display PDFs all that wonderfully and the resolution/tonality is not fully developed. And, of course, there is no color yet (though that is being worked on as well). As I mentioned, I find that reading them on the computer is simply not comfortable or terribly enjoyable.

In essence, I believe that, at this point in time, the technology related to delivery is ahead of the technology related to usage. However, I am heartened by what I read is currently under development......thin sheets of light bendable materials that one can use to 'curl up in bed with' and read digital media and other technologic 'wonders' in development. So, while I currently think that, at least for my usage, the ability to enjoy PDF publications is not quite 'there' yet, I do think that they are coming and will be here fairly soon. I hope that a few years from now I can enjoy digital media in the same way that I can enjoy a book.

I am wondering what others think and have experienced when it comes to interacting with digital photographic publications.

Yet More On Megapixels and Diffraction

In my last post, I referenced a series of articles on the Luminous Landscape (here and here) which supplemented an even earlier post I had written about an article in Photo Techniques about the effects of diffraction when using sensors with high pixel densities.

In the comments section to yesterday's post, it was pointed out that I had missed another quite enlightening article on the subject by Ctein on The Online Photographer entitled "Why 80 Megapixels Just Won't Be Enough", which gives another viewpoint. Given that not everyone that drops by reads the comments, I thought it would be worthwhile to provide a front page link to that article as well. It is definitely worth reading the whole bunch of these, as well as the readers comments and author responses.

More On Diffraction In Digital Imaging

A bit of a short post today, but one that points out some interesting information. On June 12th, I wrote a post about an article that I had read in Photo Techniques Magazine about the role diffraction plays in digital imaging as it related to aperture and depth of field. That post can be read here.

As a supplement to that information, I would like to point out an on-line article written by Ray Maxwell entitled "Why Moore's Law Does Not Apply To Digital Photography", which was published on The Luminous Landscape website. In the article, Maxwell points out that for full frame 35mm sensors we are currently at the highest resolution or pixel density that can realistically be useful because of the diffraction properties of visible light. He also goes on to discuss, as was noted in the Photo Techniques article, that with the pixel size on the Canon 5D MkII sensor, diffraction limitations come into play by f11.

A very interesting and worthwhile read (that also contains some interesting links) and one that supplements and adds to the article I had previously mentioned.

Addenda: Between the time I wrote this post and put it on-line there has already been a rebuttal article written on The Luminous Landscape to the article I have been referencing. That article can be read here. You really have to read these....they provide interesting insights into where we are and where things might be heading.

Your Photo Tips Blog

This blog was recently featured on another photography blog called "Your Photo Tips", which is published by photographer Damien Franco. I hadn't heard of Damian's blog, but found it after Motivation was mentioned in a post of his.

Interesting, the way we come across things we hadn't known about. I was quite intrigued with Damien's blog and its wide variety of interesting topics. It has something for everyone and is one that is certainly worth keeping up with. I plan to read it regularly and added it to my "Favorite Blogs" list. So check it out, I think you will enjoy it!

More On PDF Publishing Resources

In my March 19th, 2009 post regarding PDF publishing of photographic projects, I wrote the following :


"In Brooks Jensen's recent Lenswork podcast, which one can listen to here, he extols the virtues of using pdf format e-books to enable photographers to reach a wider audience, while avoiding the fiscal constraints that are associated with publishing a physical book. I was intrigued by this, though I wonder if the constraints are as strong as implied given the newer methods of self-publishing associated with print-on-demand services available from companies like Blurb.

Nonetheless, I found the idea interesting and tried to search around the internet a bit for information about designing and producing a pdf photography book. However, I found very little out there. Now, I know very little about using Adobe Acrobat and suspect that my inability to locate information on this subject may simply be that what is required is a good general book about how to use Acrobat, as opposed to special information on how to create pdf photography books.

So, I guess I am hoping that perhaps someone out there might be able to provide some good resource books or websites on the topic of how to use Acrobat to publish photographic e-books....or at least some place to start obtaining a bit of background knowledge. Anybody want to make suggestions???? "



Though I did get some helpful responses to my query as to resources, there was still a void as to where to start.....particularly if the aim was not so much to learn InDesign or Acrobat as much as to learn what was necessary in order to focus on the type of publishing that a photographer would do.

Well, Brooks Jensen does it again!! He recognized that there is a relative void of information in this niche and put together a very solid training DVD on where to start and how to proceed. The DVD is a direct extension of the workshop he began giving on this subject.

Knowing the quality of everything that comes out of LensWork, I decided to purchase the DVD. At $79 it is a bit steep, but once one receives it, sees the quality of the information, the extremely coherent presentation, and the uniqueness of the product I can say that it is well worth every cent!!! The DVD can be purchased here.

I haven't yet finished the DVD, but am far along into it. It has exactly the type of information I was looking for and clearly is able to get one started making PDFs without any further training. It is also able to point one in the right direction in regards to where to obtain more focused information, if needed. To be more specific, it is not an InDesign training program but tells you what aspects of InDesign you need to know and provides a nice detailed overview of these parts of the program. Perhaps even more importantly, it carefully reveiews how to structure and design a PDF presentation.

Perhaps I will have more to say once I finish the DVD in its entirety. But I can tell you this.....if you have any desire to consider self publishing a photographic PDF and don't have a strong background in how to get the job done, this is clearly a superb way to start. I couldn't have hoped for a better resource. Thanks Brooks!!!

More Dreamscapes

I recently finished processing and printing the sixth image in my Dreamscapes series. I particularly like the ghostlike image behind the boy (though it may not show up that well in this small image format), which was caused by the child suddenly walking through the scene during the long exposure. I guess you can tell that it isn't a 'real' ghost because it also casts a shadow!

Dreamscapes #6
Copyright Howard Grill

In addition, another image from this series is going to appear in a "Self-Portrait"(yes, that is me at the end of the tunnel) themed show at The Silver Eye Center For Photography. The exhibit celebrates Silver Eye's 30th anniversary.

Dreamscapes #3
Copyright Howard Grill

While having any image shown at The Silver Eye is an honor, I do have to admit that this particular show is non-juried, with all members of the gallery invited to display one image. The show runs from July 8th to September 12th. Given the intriguing theme, it should be a really creative, interesting and enjoyable exhibit.

A Piece Of History

I suspect most people that have a passion for photography have at least a passing interest in the history of the medium and are probably aware of the different types of processes that have been used over time. Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, tintypes, carte-de-viste and many more. But have you ever seen any of these??? I never had.

I decided that it was worth my while (and a very small amount of cash) to own a small piece of history and experience some of these imaging processes for myself. So I took a trip over to e-Bay to see what was available. For about 20 bucks I bought 6 lovely tintypes (uncased), some with hand tinting, and 5 cabinet cards with the photographers name and location on the card as well as a few with the subjects handwritten name. They came in very nice shape and have a very interesting and unique appearance to them. It really is fascinating to hold these artifacts and see what photography looked like in its early years. It is also a bit eerie to see these subjects, now long deceased, staring at you from back in time.

These are not items that are eagerly sought after by high end collectors and this is reflected in their price. But I am very glad that I made these few purchases and plan to bid on a few examples of other historical photographic processes.

If the history of photography interests you, why not pick up a few samples from a bygone era for dirt cheap and take a trip back in time. It really is fascinating!