Graf Nature Photography | Notes from the woods

Sorry folks for the lull in content around here lately.  I have been quite busy on several fronts and haven’t had much that trilled me in shooting over the past couple of weeks.   A trip I took to Magee Marsh in Ohio for warblers was a total bust.   I have a backup on some orders that require matting and Light Impressions really screwed up on an order I placed with them.   I understand that mistakes are to be made everywhere, but it has always said a lot to me about a company in the way they handle their mistakes.      They were accepting of the mistake, so I will give them credit for that, but why is it so hard for customer service folks to actually call you back when they say they will call you back?  Two times this happened to me in handling this particular issue - with two different people.    Really poor communication, and they have yet to fix a pricing mistake on their website that I have written and talked to them about three times now.   One of my biggest pet peeves is people that don’t do what they say they will do.   If they weren’t the only source for a particular type of mat board I use, this probably would have been my final order.  I am willing to give them a second chance out of necessity, but their customer service leaves a lot to be desired.

In contrast, I contacted some weeks ago a bird feeder company Hiatt Manufacturing - that makes the Stokes Select brand bird feeders.   I had two bird feeders that failed in the exact same welded joint.  I contacted them because I thought it was a manufacturing defect to have it happen twice.   They responded within hours, (a manufacturing company that probably doesn’t deal direct with consumers much) and although stated I was the only complaint they ever had with these feeders, they immediately offered to send replacements and an extra.    They also indicated they would be working to improve the design.

Customer service is such a mixed bag these days, often more towards the lacking than the exceptional.  But when you get really great service, that has quite an impact because it is so rare. 

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I read this article recently about a new algorithm at Google that takes their image search capabilities a huge leap forward by enabling visual recognition.    If you have ever tried to search for images on Google or any other search engine, you know of the huge variety that can come up as results.   From what I understand, this new algorithm can tell the difference say between a dog and a fish without having any text to reference (the way images are found today).

If you have ever seen some requests that go out for images, they can be pretty darn specific - such as “A picture of a moose in a field of purple flowers with mountains in the backdrop on a sunny day.”   Type that into a search engine and see what comes up.    I can imagine the frustration involved in such searches.   One image came close on the first page, only no moose.   The article noted that the new search routine returned 83% less irrelevant images.   That is quite an improvement!

Once a computer can tell the difference between such things, you have to wonder where it will lead - robots with greater visual capabilities - perhaps even cameras that can warn you of compositional distractions like “Are you sure you want that twig poking in the frame?” or “Did you see that Coke can?”    Imagine how it can simplify the laborious task of keywording if you can simply type “Red Trillium in bark” into your own database and have it find them without ever having to keyword the images.

It will be interesting to see how this develops. 

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Perhaps not completely photography related, but I wanted to make a post about a recent experience in seeing the IMAX U2 3D film.   This is concert footage of perhaps one of the most well known bands on the planet.   What made this particular film so unique, so special was that it was actually better than actually going to a live concert.  In fact, I will go out on a limb and say it was much better than having front row tickets.

The film is shown in IMAX theaters, so of course you have a much larger than normal movie screen in front of you, and it is also in 3D.   The 3D aspect of it makes you feel as if you had your own personal magic carpet, able to follow any of the band members around on stage, out into the audience, and views from all around in exceptional detail.   It also gave you the feeling of what it is like to be on a stage in front of thousands of fans or to be so close to lean on Bono’s shoulder.    This film is so well done, it leaves you hoping many of your other favorite musical artists will soon be following in U2’s footsteps.

As photographers, one of the struggles is always trying to recreate the energy and emotion of a moment, trying to get a 2 dimensional image to represent an immersive experience.    Much of the time, the final picture or film falls short in some ways.   Technology like used in this concert film makes you wonder if someday those barriers will be reduced for other mediums.

If you have the opportunity to see this film, I can’t recommend it highly enough.  Even if you aren’t a U2 fan, you will probably become one after the exhilarating experience of this film. 

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Last year, I completely missed the bloom of bloodroot.   While walking my dog this morning, I noticed it was already springing up on the side of “Wildflower Ridge.”  This ridge is a small section of Clinton River Park in Sterling Heights that has an abundance of spring wildflowers.   There is a complete progression from the early risers of Bloodroot and Hepatica, then to Dutchman’s Breeches, Spring Beauties, then Trout Lily, May Apple, and Trillium.   Quite an assortment for a very localized area.   

 Unfortunately, it can be a difficult place to photograph because it is, well - a ridge!   This is not a fall down 1000 ft on sharp rocks- break your neck - poke your eye - and a hundred other bones ridge - but one that is steep enough to make it difficult to photograph on it.   It is also by a popular jogging / bike path - so I have to bet people wonder what the heck that person is doing laying down in the dirt.   Perhaps thinking I broke my neck and poked my eye.

Bloodroot is a wildflower that you can work a lot with because has interesting leaves, and even the unopened flower can yield some possibilities.   Although depth of field can be a bugger because the flower is often quite far away from the leaves, and the leaves have significant curl to them.   While I was walking my dog, I noticed this one particular flower that was backlit - and it immediately gave me an idea for a photograph.   Then she almost stepped on it!    Fortunately I stopped her just in time.

This flower is usually only around for a week before the delicate petals end up falling off.   I was glad I could catch them this year - without losing an eye. 

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