You are currently browsing the archives for January, 2011.
The Comfort of Friends
This was taken at Piedras Blancas beach near San Simeo, CA. I had to find the right angle that allowed me to fill the frame with the three seals and then wait for the seal to close her eyes to get the shot.
The image was taken with a Nikon D300 and a Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 lens at 200mm. The exposure was for 1/250 at f2.8 and an ISO of 200.
Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think.
The Devil's Golf Course
This image was taken at The Devil’s Golf Course in Death Valley. It is a close up of one of the salt ridges.
It was taken with a Nikon D300 and a Nikkor 70-200mm, f2.8 lens. The exposure was for 1/320 of a second at f8 and an ISO of 200.
Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think.
Afghan Girl by Steve McCurry
If you want evidence showing the power of photography, you don’t have to look much farther than Steve McCurry’s Afghan Girl.
Taken in a refuge camp in Pakistan in December of 1984 and published on the cover of the June 1985 National Geographic magazine it is probably one of the world’s most famous portraits. I don’t think there is an adult who is not aware of the image.
In my mind, it is one of the most powerful images of modern photography. Tell the truth, when you look at the image, doesn’t it grab you and pull you in It makes you ask who is she, what is her story, and what happened to her. It is an image that makes you come back and view again and again. I never get tired of looking at it and it always sparks pangs of emotion of some sort.
This is the type of image that I aspire to recreate in my photography. I don’t think it needs to be a portrait to evoke these kinds of feelings and emotions. I think you can capture the same power that McCurry captured in his image in almost any type of image. Landscapes, wildlife, weddings, or even still life.
A powerful image will capture the viewers attention and I think that is the goal of every passionate photographer. I know it is mine.
On a side note: McCurry went back to Afghan in 2002 to find out what happened to the girl. He found her and you can read her story at National Geographic – A Life Revealed and see the images at A Life Revealed – Photo Gallery.
Lichen at the Santa Rosa Plateau
The picture above was taken on the Santa Rosa Plateau. I liked the combination of colors and textures.
The image was taken with a Nikon D300 and a 70-200mm f2.8 lens. The exposure was for 1/1000 of a second at f2.8 and an ISO of 200.
Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think.
Here are the posts and sites that I found this week that I think you as a photographer should read. Not all of them are always related to photography, but they are worth looking at and will probably make you think.
POSTS
An Introduction to Outdoor Flash Photography – From Photo Tut.
How to Generate Leads for Your Photography Business – Some good ideas on how to make money from your photos.
How Photographers Can Use Smartphones – 12 ideas about how photographers can improve using their smart move.
Solving Customer Challenges – From Going Pro 201o
5 Great Reasons to Become a Professional Photographer – Reading this should make you feel good about yourself.
SITES
Dan H. Bailey – A good photographer with a good site.
The [b] School – It’s undergoing a whole site revamp, but keep an eye on it.
Bill Atkinson – Great photography.
Dan Coppersmith – Dan has some great images to inspire you.
Joshua Tree National Park – I’m looking to plan a trip there and, as usual, the NPS has a great site.
The Winding Path
While you are out shooting, keep your eyes open for natural lines that steer your eyes toward a point in the scene and try to use them to compose your photograph. A path does this two ways.
First, the path itself leads the eyes toward the horizon and, hopefully, into the frame and scene. Second, by the edges getting becoming closer together as the path recedes into the frame. It takes your eye from the whole bottom edge to a point in the frame.
The above image was shot in the Japanese Tea Gardens in Golden Gate Park in San Fransisco. The path leads your eye into the middle frame. What is in the middle of the frame? The rest of the image; it keeps the viewers eyes on the photo, looking around and examining it.
The trees on the top of the frame also lead your eye to the same point. The ones on the left lean right and the trees on the right lean left. That creates a slight open space in the center that is just a little brighter than the rest of the canopy of trees and that pulls your eyes downward to the same spot that the path leads you toward.
The image was taken with a Nikon D300 and a 18-70mm f35.-4.5 lens. The exposure was 1/50 of a second at f3.5 and an ISO of 200.
Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think.
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This week’s photo was taken at the 2010 Morro Bay Bird Festival. It is a panorama of sand pipers eating as the waves recede.
Sand Pipers Feeding
The image was taken with a Nikon D300 and a 70-200 f2.8 lens and a 2x teleconverter. The exposure was for 1/1250 of a second at f8 and an ISO of 400.
Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think.
Here are the posts and sites that I found this week that I think you as a photographer should read. Not all of them are always related to photography, but they are worth looking at and will probably make you think.
POSTS
How to Tweet and Gain a Large Following – I love Twitter, but only if it is used responsibly.
Pier Photography – Here are some great images of piers around the world.
8 Habits of Highly Effective People – Some great ideas on how to become more productive.
22 Travel Photos – These may or may not make you want to travel.
What Do You See #2 – G Dan Mitchell presents a very good experiment concerning photography. I’m not going to tell you what it is about because that would ruin it, but you will be surprised.
SITES
Black Star Rising – A group photography site with views from many perspectives.
Photography Blog – The title says it all.
The photolariat – Another good, general photography blog.
The Camera Dojo – I’ve linked to this before. Kerry Garrison has done a great job helping photographers in The OC and on the web.
Your Photo Tips – Photography tips brought to you from not just the usual suspects, but from John Q. Public too.
In a weird twisted turn of events, I stumbled on Jeff Wignell’s Photo Tip of the Day blog. Looking through it, I found a link to a The Art of Manliness. Strange website for a photography blog to lead me to, but that wasn’t what brought me there. It was the title of one post, Lessons in Manliness from It’s a Wonderful Life. I love Jimmy Steward and that movie is a holiday classic. Figuring out what you could learn about manliness from it was interesting.
The author breaks it down into seven basic ideas.
All great ideas and life lessons, but how do they relate to photography? OK, not all of them do, but some are great lessons for both life and photography.
Be a hero where you stand – You don’t have to travel far to take great pictures. Sure, Mono Lake is an awesome location and Alaska would be a great place to shoot, but there are great photographs to be taken where you live. Your backyard, the neighborhood park, or a nearby mall can produce some great images if you are creative. On a business point of view, if you have a photo business, don’t try to be the biggest, baddest photographer in the nation or state. Try to be the best in your town.
Facilitate others’ success – Dane Sanders calls them Grumpys. Photographers who don’t/won’t share because they are afraid that by doing so, they will be giving something away. Don’t be a Grumpy. Share ideas, lessons learned, and techniques with others. Don’t worry about the end result, the reward isn’t in the outcome, the reward is in the sharing. When I am on vacation, I love to watch a couple try to take pictures of themselves in front of a landmark. They hand the camera to one of them while the other stands in front of the scene and then they switch places. After they are done, I always go over and offer to use their camera to take the two of them together. In doing so, I make the composition the best I can because I think sometimes it is the only time that they have an image of themselves together while on vacation. I don’t ask for money or anything, I just give. I do the same thing when I see someone struggling with their camera. I offer to help. It is the reason I went out of my way to learn how to use a Canon camera.
Know your faults and correct them – in photography terms, this is easy. Recognize your weakness’ and make them your strength. Mine? Posing and lighting. That is why one of my goals this year is to take a posing lighting workshop. Figure out your weakness and work on it. Maybe yours is macro photography or post production. Whatever it is, don’t shy away from it, embrace the challenge and get better at it.
Live your life with gratitude – this is one that I learned recently. You can be upset that you aren’t shooting in Alaska or on the road to Yellowstone or you could be happy that you get to shoot where you are. You are doing something you love. Enjoy it. Don’t fret about how it could be better, just learn to live in the moment.
There are three others. Treat Women Well and Love Your Family are just good life lessons. But the last, Stand Up For What is Right should be the cornerstone of everyone’s life. It isn’t always easy, but when you do, it always feels good.
Please use the form below to leave a comment and let me know what you think.