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.