Category: Articles

Articles on photography and related topics

Photographic Challenges – the Situation

It was about two years ago that I was making plans for a very special photograph.  The concept was to photograph a bristlecone pine with the full moon rising behind it.  I also wanted the full moon in the earth shadow.  That’s the band of pink that rises in the east as the sun sets in the west.  Above the earth shadow the sky is a light blue.  In the shadow it’s a much darker blue.  And in the band between light and dark is a spectrum of colors, much like what happens in the west but more subtle.

Photographic Situation

Timing was going to be critical.  I needed to pick the right day of the month so that the moon would be in the earth shadow.  Too early and the moon would be too high when the shadow appeared.  Too late and the moon would rise well after the shadow was gone.

bristlecone_moon_2008 Bristlecone Moon (2008)

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Photography Tutorial – Getting the Shot

Last week I published a post in which I presented a photographic situation and solicited input on what decisions might go into getting the shot.  The situation was to photograph the interior of the beautiful Cologne Cathedral in Germany.  Here’s a link to the post.

Getting the Shot – Cologne Cathedral

In this post I’d like to share what was going through my mind as I prepared to push the shutter.  For starters, here’s the final photograph (click the photograph to enlarge it).

_A1P6721-Edit Cologne Cathedral

You may recall from the original post that I spoke of two things that go into every work of art – the artists Creative Vocabulary and the Interpretive Decisions he or she makes.

In this instance, which focused on the technical aspects of getting the shot, the Creative Vocabulary consists of the capabilities of the camera and the knowledge to use them.  The Interpretive Decisions are those decisions made in the moments that lead up to the instant the shutter is pressed.  So let’s step through what was going through my mind as I prepared to capture this image.

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Photography Tutorial – Getting the Shot

I have what I think is a fun idea that can lead to an interesting discussion.  Let me explain.

I often think of art in general and photography in particular as involving two very important elements – creative vocabulary and interpretive decisions.  Creative vocabulary is the knowledge, skills and techniques we use as artists and just like our verbal vocabulary, we use the ‘words’ in our creative vocabulary to express ourselves.  As we grow as artists our creative vocabulary grows and we are able to more fully and richly communicate our thoughts and feelings.

Interpretive decisions recognizes the fact that each of us has a unique world view and a unique thing to say.  When creating a work of art we make numerous decisions, decisions that shape the way we interpret our subject and thereby communicate what it is we have to say about it.

So, this leads to my fun idea.

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Lightroom Tutorial – LR 3

Lightroom 3 came in the mail yesterday (along with CS5) so today I’m trying it out.  There’s not a lot of new functionality like there was when LR2 introduced local adjustments.  But there are some new things I’m really excited about.

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Photography Tutorial – Moving Water

Landscape photographers love to photograph moving water – waterfalls, rapids, even water quietly slipping over a rock.

When photographing moving water the primary exposure consideration is shutter speed.  A very short shutter speed, say 1/500 sec, can produce the ‘ice sculpture’ look’ in which the water is suspended in shiny, crystal clear forms.  This can be very effective and exciting.  As the shutter speed is lengthened, say to 1/15 sec,  the water begins to blur.  First you see little short traces of each of the drops.  Then as the exposure lengthens to a half second or more the traces merge together into the beautiful effects we love.  Really long exposure of 2 or more seconds produce a misty effect in which nearly all texture in the water is replaced with soft clouds of light.

But how do you get the long exposures you need, especially on a bright sunny day.

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Mastering Exposure

This article pulls together several articles on exposure and makes them available in one place.

In my photography workshops and one-on-one training I frequently have people ask me if the workshops are suitable for novices.  They go on to explain that they think they have a good eye but are a bit baffled by their camera, especially when it comes modesto exposure.  They just put their camera’s exposure mode dial on the little green rectangle (the fully automated mode) and shoot away. In other words, the camera makes all the decisions regarding exposure – ISO, f/stop and shutter speed.  But the camera’s built in light meter is often fooled and the exposure is off.

Getting the correct exposure is one of the most essential first steps in getting a great photograph.  I see a lot of photographs that have compelling compositions but are poorly exposed and the potential impact is lost.  So for those individuals who are interested in taking a photography workshop but aren’t at least passingly familiar with the operation of their camera with regards to exposure, I have a number of posts dealing with the topic that I refer them to.  I thought I’d pull them all together in a single post to make them easier to find.

 

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Photography Tutorial – Light Meter

There’s something I’ve been puzzling about for a long time.  So I finally decided to check it out and share the results with you.  I wanted to know the relationship between the camera’s built-in light meter and the histogram.  OK, sounds geeky so what exactly am I talking about and why do I care?

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Photoshop Tutorial – Atmospheric Haze

Haze is an integral part of landscape photography.  Distant mountains are not as clear as close up objects.  They lack contrast, are often lighter and may even appear blue or even purple (purple mountain majesty).  It’s interesting that in the history of Western art, painters didn’t incorporate atmosphere into their paintings with landscapes until the Renaissance.

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On Purchasing a Fine Art Photograph

Most of us aren’t in the habit of purchasing art.  And for some of us the thought may be just a bit intimidating, especially when the work of art is, oh, shall we say “expensive.”  How do you now you’re investing your money wisely?

I can’t speak for other art media such as paintings, sculpture, etc.  But I can offer three suggestions when purchasing fine art photography.  Here are some things you should expect from a fine art photograph.

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Photoshop Tutorial – Black Point

What makes a compelling photograph?  Well, there are quite a number of things and one of them is “Black point”.  But before proceeding, let’s take a quick step backwards.

Photographs look better if they utilize most of not all of the inherent dynamic range of the medium, be that paper, a computer monitor or some other electronic medium.  This is to say that the image has deep shadows, brilliant highlights and the full range of tonalities in between.   It’s the difference between a flat image and an exciting one.  Here’s a nice flat image.

kolob_canyon_flat Kolob Canyon Flat Image

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