Quick Quotes: Peter Adams

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

Peter Adams

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

Everything's Been Done

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

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

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

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

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

Experimentation

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

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

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

Lily Abstract
Copyright Howard Grill

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

Quick Quotes: Anthony Barboza

"You are putting on paper, in print, what you sense and feel in your mind"

Anthony Barboza

I have written many times about The Candid Frame podcast. For a short period of time there were no new episodes.....well, that time is over and there is a new podcast available now. The latest interview is with photographer Anthony Barboza, which can be heard here.

The interview really brought out Barboza's personality and thoughts about art and photography. I particularly enjoyed the quote I have reproduced above, as it really puts into words a deep and emotional feeling that I have about the photographic process.

Mill Via Pinhole

I was looking over some of my older images and ran across this one, which is from a time when I was experimenting with pinhole photography using film. I could be wrong, but I don't believe I have posted it before.

McConnell's Mill
Pinhole Photo On Film
Copyright Howard Grill

I did enjoy photographing this way, but it became quite cumbersome to develop the film in my basement and then scan the film even before bringing the image into Photoshop. However, I became quite pleased a year or so ago when I found that I could once again do some pinhole imaging using the new LensBaby with drop in optics!

With the drop in pinhole / zone plate optic one can now do pinhole and zone plate imaging digitally, without film. Some might call this heresy.....but when you have limited time you do what is practical.

We Are Not Alone

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

Daniel Stainer

Every so often you run across someone who seems to be similar to yourself. And so it is with Daniel Stainer. I ran across his blog entitled "Illuminations" and noticed that we share many of the same philosophies and tend to photograph in many similar ways.

I actually e-mailed him and, as it turns out, we only live about an hour or so from each other and had briefly met under non-photographic circumstances eight or nine years ago, though I hadn't initially recalled that. So we decided to go out photographing together and had a great outing at a place called Frew's Mill. The light wasn't all that great by the time we got there, but we still enjoyed the experience of photographing nonetheless. Below is one of Daniel's moody images taken when the lighting was more conducive to making photographs.

Frew's Mill
Copyright Daniel Stainer

So check out his blog and his image gallery as well. There are some inspirational images and writing to be seen and read!

Show Themes

I am a bit befuddled about themes. Most juried art and photography shows have submission themes. Knowing that such themes are usually loosely interpreted, I nonetheless try to have my submissions demonstrate a clear relationship to the requested theme. While some shows seem to stick to the stated topic, there are still many where I am frequently surprised that, at least in my opinion, many of the accepted submissions don't seem even remotely associated with the submission theme, even with what I view as its loosest interpretation.

This leads to me wonder.... how important are statements of show themes? How important is trying to think of a construct wherein your submission would fit into the stated theme? Is it the artists or the judges job to understand how a submission fits into a stated theme?

No answers here. Just some rambling thoughts .......

Pittsburgh Architecture

Those folks who have been following my Facebook page (just click the icon in the sidebar or click here) know that recently I have been doing a bit of urban architectural photography. In fact, I have been shooting in downtown Pittsburgh for the last several weekends along with two friends and have been enjoying it very much.

I find that I approach city shooting in much the same way that I approach nature and landscape photography, which is to say that I find myself attracted to graphic lines and shapes and generally simple compositions. I can easily see this becoming a small project, so I thought I would offer up two recent images from our outing to Union Station, which was built between 1898 and 1903 by Chicago architect Daniel Burnham.

Union Station II
Copyright Howard Grill

Union Station I
Copyright Howard Grill

I will likely post more images of Pittsburgh architecture as I slowly process my favorite shots from these weekend forays.

The Camera With You

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

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

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

"Triangles"
Copyright Howard Grill

"Floating Cloud"
Copyright Howard Grill

Way Off Topic: Smartphones

On some occasions I allow myself to go off topic on this blog.....and this is one of those occasions. I have never owned a 'smartphone' in the past....I never thought I needed one and, frankly, wasn't sure how I would use one. However, my cell phone contract was over last week and I thought I would give a smartphone a go. I was originally planning on an iPhone, but the ATT coverage where I live isn't all that good, at least all I hear is complaints from those that use ATT around where I live. In addition, the iPhone 4 has gotten some bad press and, finally, my family already has 4 cellphones on a Verizon plan. It was time to try out a Droid.

So, last week I got myself the most recent Droid incarnation, the Droid X. I have to say...I love it. After just a few days I can see that it will be very useful and is far more like a computer on which you can make phone calls than a phone on which you can do other things.

The apps are amazing. Sure, a good many of them are just cool or for fun, but many are extremely useful as well. I have to say, I am very pleased with the purchase. My only concern is that it does use up the battery much faster than a regular cellphone. However, my iPhone friends say that the same is true of their device as well.

So how can I make this somewhat relevant to a photography blog? Well, it doss have an 8 megapixel camera...and one that will always be with you and ready to take a picture (see my older post The Best Camera). And there are some very interesting photo apps as well. Here are my four favorite photography apps so far:

Photo Tools :A great set of tools for multiple types of photographic calculations. This app is really a favorite because it can be helpful for photography in general and not just allow you to be creative with the phone's built-in camera like the next three. This app allows you to calculate reciprocal exposure values, tells you sunrise/sunset time based on your GPS coordinates, lets you calculate hyperfocal distance etc.

Vignette: Add all sorts of film and border effects to photos taken with the cameraphone.

FX: More camera effects.

And of course...Photoshop.com Mobile

Book Of Birds

Book of what? Book Of Birds!

Book Of Birds is a British band that is led by musician and songwriter Robert McCracken. Their music has already been intermittently played in the US, but they have not had a formal album release until now.

I will be honest with you......I hadn't heard of them either. But having now heard their music, I am a fan. The style is wide ranging from alternative rock to almost ballad-like. Their first album, which was just released, is now on my iPod.

Well, what does all that have to do with a photography blog, you might ask. I am very pleased that during the summer I was contacted by Rob McCracken to see if I would be interested in selling the non-exclusive rights to my photo "The Burning Bush" for use as the cover art for their first CD release. McCracken felt that the image conveyed the mood of his music and was hoping to be able to use it. So there it is: my 'Burning Bush' image is now the cover art for the 'Book Of Birds' first CD entitled "Luthiern Lullabies".

"The Burning Bush"
Copyright Howard Grill

So, check it out. Here is the band's website with a shot of the CD cover and an option to by the release. Want to listen first.....check out the band's My Space page or Facbook page, both with audio samples. Or, for a more complete sampling, wait until August 2nd, which is when I understand they will be debuting their music on iTunes. So go ahead, why not buy an album :>)

Oh, and I get absolutely no royalties or payment.

EOS Documentation Project

I recently lost the instruction manual for my Canon TC-80N3 Tiner/Remote Controller and could not recall how to use some of the functions. I might have been looking in the wrong place on the Canon USA website, but I could not find a copy of the instruction manual there either. After some Googling, however, I found the EOS Documentation Project, a website that makes available instruction manuals for all things related to Canon EOS. Well, maybe not all things, as the site seems not to have been updated in a while. For instance, there is no information on the 5D MKII, thought the 5D is there. The 1Ds MKIII and 1D MKIII is listed, but not the 1D MKIV.

However, the manuals for newer Canon items can be downloaded from the Canon website. The EOS Documentation Project, on the other hand, seems to be a good resource for older Canon items. It helped me and perhaps it might come in handy for you too. Check it out here.

As to why this post is written in bold text.....blogger seems to have an issue and I can't get it to come out any other way.

Chris Friel

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

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

Copyright Chris Friel
Taken With 24mm Tilt-Shift Lens

Copyright Chris Friel
Long Exposure With Camera Movement

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

photoMICS At Manchester Craftsmen's Guild

I am very pleased to announce that "Two Trees", on of the images from my "Scene In Stone" portfolio, has been juried into an exhibit co-sponsored by the Associated Artist's of Pittsburgh and the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild.

The exhibit entitled "photoMICS" will be displayed in the Guild's Connie Kerr Gallery from July 16-September 3. The theme of the show was to incorporate photographic and/or ceramic elements which convey the bridge between the world's of art and science.

Two Trees
Copyright Howard Grill

This image is an abstract photograph of the cut surface of a slice of stone and was taken using cross-polarized light, which removes all glare and allows one to see the color and texture of the underlying rock surface. And therein lies the science connection.

Deleted Images

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

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

Mischief

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

"Mischievous"
Copyright Howard Grill

Quick Quotes: Andy Warhol

"An artist is someone who produces things that people don't need to have..."

Andy Warhol

This one makes me smile...has that Andy Warhol 'edge' to it!

The War Of Art

I am frequently on the lookout for books about art and creativity and especially for books about art AND creativity. I have previously written a fairly extensive post about the book entitled Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking by Bayles and Orland here, here, and here . In my mind, this is the standard to which all books regarding art, creativity and the harnessing of creative energy should be compared. Art and Fear is a five star book if ever there was one and if you are interested in the arts, or in producing art, you should definitely get a copy.

Recently, I began reading another book dealing with the same type of issues of creativity and the production of artwork entitled The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield. Mr. Pressfield’s thesis is that there are an innumerable number of hindrances that one can find to inhibit the production of their artwork. He lumps them together as so called Resistances. The ability to identify these Resistances is an important first step in overcoming them, and overcoming them we must if we are to live a creative life and produce work that lives up to our inner potential. In fact, we can, by understanding these Resistances, learn to work through the things that would normally keep us from moving forward.

Overall, I feel there are some excellent and thought provoking ideas discussed in the book. At times I feel that Pressfield goes just a bit overboard but, nonetheless, after reading the book I do feel that I have a better understanding of how to get myself to move forward artistically and for that reason alone would recommend the book to anyone interested in these types of issues. Just understand that you might not agree with all Pressman’s ideas and conclusions (ie I found myself disagreeing with the premise that only when doing something professionally can you be fully committed to it). However, I guarantee that you will find many useful insights in this relatively short and quick read.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from Pressfield's little gem of a book:

In regards to self-doubt about one's ability...

"Self-doubt can be an ally. This is because it serves as an indicator of aspiration. It reflects love, love of something we dream of doing, and desire, desire to do it. If you find yourself asking yourself (and your friends), "Am I really a writer? Am I really an artist?" chances are you are.

The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The real one is scared to death."

In regards to fear...

"Are you paralyzed with fear? That's a good sign.

Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do."

In regards to rejection....

"The professional keeps his eye on the doughnut and not on the hole. He reminds himself it's better to be in the arena, getting stomped by the bull, than to be up in the stands or out in the parking lot"

Definitely a worthwhile book....I give it 4/5 stars.

Angel

I've been enjoying the Gargoyle show over at Phipps. The last image I showed from the show was rather grotesque. Here is one that is just a bit more peaceful.

I am continuing to experiment with black and white conversion and sepia toning in this series. The initial gargoyle image was toned in Lightroom. This one is toned in Photoshop using the gradient map technique:

"Angel"
Copyright Howard Grill