Unexpected suprises

Posted by Mark on Sep 23, 2008 in nature photography | 10 comments

Sometimes just goofing around can lead you in some interesting directions. .  I was in my backyard trying to photograph these asters with a Lensbaby 3G and a +10 and +4 macro diopter stacked on it. .  While I was working around the edges of the flower, I noticed one particular angle had this big moon in the background!. .  The Lensbaby was already diffusing the flower quite a bit creating a ethereal glow.  How perfect to have this celestial body become part of the composition. .  Flower by moonlight. .  I became a little concerned because the gravitational pull from this moon being so close was probably going to cause me some issues with subject movement. .  I was a little less concerned about how it may be sucking away some of my neighbor’s houses.

Hmm, when I looked away from my viewfinder I couldn’t see this moon anymore   Was my camera giving me a look into another dimension?.  Perhaps metaphorically – you know the quote – how looking through a lens permits you to see.  The simpler, boring, more literal explanation.. the floodlight on my shed had turned on for the evening and created a nice big ball of light when looked at through the Lensbaby. . . .  I liked the moon story better.

In the zone?

Posted by Mark on Sep 20, 2008 in nature photography | 17 comments

If you listen to a variety of photography podcasts like I do, you will hear some instructors talk about being “in the zone” when you are in the field. .  The period of time where you feel very connected to your environment and the photographs just seem to flow one by one  .  You feel creative and completely at ease.  It isn’t very easy to define, only that you know you are there when you feel it  .  There have been many times I have experienced this, but certainly not every time I go out.

I think there are an incredible amount of factors that can have a negative or positive affect on you getting to this place   I sat down and thought about a few of mine.

• Relaxation:   Being completely relaxed is one of the strongest factors for me   I think there are various degrees of feeling relaxed, and this is one where you feel light as a cloud. . .  One where you feel so comfortable in the space you are in that it almost acts as a shield to anything that may bother you. .  To be this relaxed, I know I have to get to a spot early, long before the light that I want to shoot in takes place. .  It may involve just sitting in my car in the dark near some spot in the woods. .  But it gives me time to collect my thoughts about what I am after, perhaps scout around a little, or simply soak up a little fresh air. .  Scouting an area beforehand is often a good tool because feelings of anxiety that might come with an unfamiliar place only decrease your chances of being in this state. .  Time constraints play a HUGE part on my state of relaxation, and feeling rushed is a bigtime zone killer.
• Preparation for the elements:. .  Bugs or temperature extremes have a pretty serious affect on me because they increase anxiety if I am not prepared for them.  Irritation from swarming mosquitoes or biting flies is a big mood killer, man   I also find I don’t do so well when it gets very hot   I’ll notice this when going out early in the morning.  If it is going to be a very hot summer day, by the time it starts heating up mid-morning, I notice a change in my comfort level and mood ranging from slight to extreme. .  Regardless, it affects that state of being completely relaxed and could change your approach to your subjects.  Perhaps you rush something because you are now tired and hot and just yearn for the AC. .  Cold is another situation.  I can dress pretty warm to be comfortable on a frozen lake and sub-zero wind chills.  Usually the issue that crops up is cold fingers   Even with dual layered mittens / gloves – I like to have some small chemical hand warmers just in case.
• Check your expectations:.  I get as excited as anyone on a dedicated photo trip , visit to some exotic spot. or being presented a great situation   I think you have to be careful and balance your excitement for being there with the possibility that you may not be ‘in the zone.’. .  Perhaps you have experienced this – a situation arises and you are ready – photographing with glee   You get home later, and in reviewing the images, they aren’t quite as wonderful as you felt they would be, or the images simply don’t measure up to the experience. .  Photographers put a tremendous amount of pressure on themselves to succeed, to be productive in any given situation   Not that this is a bad thing, but we have to be willing to accept failure sometimes happens   Once we embrace it, acknowledge it and move on – we can clear our minds to work on what we really want.
• An aesthetics checklist?. .  Brooks Jensen mentioned this in one of his recent podcasts   It isn’t uncommon for us to create gear checklists to make sure we don’t forget some crucial piece of equipment   I try to keep all of my equipment in a single backpack so I know I can just grab it and go. .  But what about the things we don’t physically carry, but are just as important, if not more so?   Are there certain types of images we are after, certain elements of composition or style we want to work on, certain images we have shot before but want to improve?   Writing such things down isn’t a bad idea. Perhaps you have run across some images in a book, magazine, or the internet where you may want to try something similar?.  At the very least, consciously run through these types of items in your head and it will provide some guidance.

These are some items I could think of – I am sure there are others. . .  What are some of the factors that affect you?. .  Do you have a formula or ritual that helps you get ‘in the zone?’

A photograph’s genome?

Posted by Mark on Sep 12, 2008 in nature photography | 13 comments

Apple recently updated their iTunes software to include a new Genius feature. .  This smart playlist maker analyzes your music collection and makes playlists of songs that ‘go together.’. .  It also suggests songs that you don’t have in your library that you may like. .  It is all very similar to one of my favorite music services – Pandora. .  Pandora is based upon the Music Genome Project.®, which breaks down songs to their most basic elements and tries to match them up with similar songs, ultimately leading to other songs you may like. . .  I have discovered a lot of new artists through these types of services, although sometimes I admit to “what the heck were you thinking” moments for particular songs. .  But it seems rather silly to have that argument with a computer program doesn’t it?. .  But overall, I am generally quite amazed at the accuracy of the recommendations.

As with many things in the music world, I always think about parallels when it comes to photography.  The Apple Genius release just got me thinking again about the concept of genome matching and applying it to photographs. .  Aside from the general categories of say macro photography or landscape photography that may attract us, there are usually certain elements in a photograph’s design that make it have a stronger appeal over others.  Perhaps it is a certain color signature, certain elements of composition, or a unique visual style that trigger that part of our brain to say “I like this.”. .  With enough study and analysis of these trends, perhaps it would then be possible, like the genome of a song, to characterize the genome of a photograph.

From there, the possibilities are really endless   Think about the amount of time it takes sifting through images on the internet, books, or a walk through an art show.  Your brain is constantly sorting what you see into categories – I like this, don’t like that, that’s OK, etc   Similarly, it takes a long time to sort through all of the music available to find something you like. .  Should the possibility exist to make these similar genomes of a photograph,.  it could become incredibly valuable to anyone looking for other images they may like   Think about the application to something like interior design, art dealers and consultants, and photo editors. Photographs of a common theme, color palette, or composition may be a few clicks away.

Is there a danger in having our choices preselected for us?.  (Edit note: OK poorly worded – no danger in having recommendations offered to you!).  For as many recommendations I have received in the music along the same lines of what I already have, I have had just as many that led me off on a slightly different path only to discover new and interesting artists. . .  I would have never found them by chance.

Tiger iron abstracts

Posted by Mark on Sep 7, 2008 in nature photography | 11 comments

The closer we look – the more we see   Such is the case with this new rock I have added to my gallery called Tiger Iron   I have seen some macro shots of Tiger Iron in various places, and started keeping my eye out for some. .  Tiger Iron is somewhat of a mixture rock – combining tiger eye, red jasper, and black hematite.  Under diffuse lighting, it really doesn’t look like much. . .  Rather black and bland with a few stripes visible. .  But stick it under some good light and cross-polarized flashes, and the layers come alive. .  I ended up getting a nice slab of it (about 4×4 inches) that is already polished, and boy is it a doosy of patterns and colors. . .  In real close, or backing up a bit, the possibilities seem endless in this single slab.

It is hard not to get lost in these for quite some time. .  They are the type of images that take awhile to soak in, and usually reveal something new with every glance.  One characteristic that probably doesn’t come through well enough is that those gold chatoyant bands actually reflect light like metallic gold   Very difficult to portray in an image.

You have to wonder how many millions of years those layers represent   Imagine what the world was like back when each of those cells and layers were forming   A single rock can not only hold possibly a thousand photographs, but a thousand stories of the Earth’s history as well.