Getting Unstuck

I think that anyone who tries to produce something that might, on a good day, risible art gets stuck, or as writers might label it, get writer’s block. I just might be getting photographer’s block!

Over the past six weeks, I have devoted most of my photographic energies to portraits and environmental portraits for hire. Although some of the engagements have had an element of “creativity” to them, most of have not been pushing the envelop. I wonder what someone like Joe McNally does to keep his creative juices flowing. At the McNally seminar that I attended a couple weeks ago, Joe indicated that he tried to “keep pushing at edge of his abilities.” That sounds great, but how do you do that when a client wants you to produce an acceptable product. I do not have an answer to that one.

I do know that when I get in one of these “funks” I will head over to someplace like Jamail Skate Park. Why? Because I do not consider myself a very good photographer of “action” and Jamail Skate Park is all about action.

I recently went by the park and decided to experiment with high-speed synch flash. After watching this young man for about 15 minutes, I introduced myself and told him what I wanted to do. He was game. I got one of his friends to be my VAL. I positioned my VAL to camera right and determined that I wanted to use a shutter speed of 1/1,000 of a second and a f-stop of 5.6. I felt that these setting would give me adequate depth of field and also stop the action. I placed my VAL about six feet from where the subject would be and set my Nikon SU-800 to fire my Nikon SB-800 at 1/4^th power.

The photo is not really very special, but, it did push me in a direction that I normally don’t go, so I guess it is a successful photograph. But, I am not sure that all my play got me “unstuck.”

Enjoy.

Camera settings: Nikon D3, Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 at 100mm with shot at ISO 200, f/5.6 and 1/1,000^th of a second with a Nikon SB-800 in manual mode and set to 1/4^th power at camera right and triggered using Nikon SU-800

Post Processing:

Lightroom—Set white and black points, added mid-tone contrast and cropped image/

Photoshop—used Topaz Adjust Pop present to bring out details within the image.

Fireman—Contemporary and Edgy?

I was recently asked by a few of our local firemen whether was going to do portraits of them again this year for Christmas. Most of our local firemen are volunteers, so how could I say no?

Last night I started looking over a few of the photos that I took last year and ran across this photo. For some reason, I wondered if I could take what I considered a nice portrait of a really cool young man and turn it into some edgy. So, here it is.

I used Topaz Adjust vibrance filter to start and then I think I moved every lever back and forth at least ten times before settling on the final image.

Enjoy.

Camera settings: Nikon D3, Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 at 120mm with shot at ISO 200, f/4.8 and 1/250^th of a second with three Nikon SB-800 shot through a translucent umbrella and triggered by AlienBee radio triggers.

Post Processing:

Lightroom—Set white and black points, added mid-tone contrast.

Photoshop—used Topaz Adjust to give photo a slightly edgy look and then added a dodging and burning layer to lighten and darken various areas of the photograph.

Contemporary and Edgy?

Tuesday night, a representative from The Arts Alliance Center of Clear Lake discussed at the Bay Area Photo Club’s officers meeting an upcoming art show that they will be presenting in the near future. I am not really sure what the theme of the show is, but, I think it has something to do with contemporary and edgy photographs.

For some reason, I started searching my Lightroom catalog for something that I might submit. While searching, I came across this photo. I took this one at Dickens on the Strand last December. I thought the masks were really cool, but I never seemed to get the light and the framing of the image quite right.

This morning, I decided to “push” it towards that edgy look that I think TAACCL is seeking.

Enjoy.

Camera settings: Nikon D3, Nikon 28-70mm f/2.8 at 43mm with shot at ISO 200, f/5.6 and 1/125^th of second.

Post Processing:

Lightroom—Set white and black points, added mid-tone contrast.

Photoshop—used nik Silver Efex Pro tonal contrast filter to add contrast to shadows, mid-tones and highlights of the mask.

Her Eye Never Left the Viewfinder

To make all my Canon friends happy, I thought that I would include this photo as a complement to yesterdays. I should have shot a full length photo because it offered a nice contrast with yesterday’s photo.

This young lady was sitting on a comfortable folding chair, had a coffee thermos and, I think, her house slippers on. Quite a contrast to our Nikon shooter who was down in the gutter trying to get what he wanted.

I think these two shots reminded me of the difference between two photographers who, I think everyone will agree, are great photographers—Joe McNally and David Ziser. In Joe, you have the street kid—pullover top and blue jeans; in David, you have a sharply dressed wedding photographer who never seems to get his jacket wrinkled or dirty. Both produce great photos and both know how to use flash to its full advantage.

What’s the moral of the story? Well, I guess it is: if you want to get down and dirty in photography, buy Nikon; and if you want to have tea and crumpets while you photograph, buy Canon.

I guess that is why so many of my friends have photographs of me laying on the ground trying to get the shot—well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

Enjoy.

Camera settings: Nikon D3, Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 at 130mm with shot at ISO 200, f/2.8 and 1/1,000^th of second with Nikon SB-800 attached to camera by SC-29 cord and fired in high-synch mode.

Post Processing:

Lightroom—Set white and black points, added mid-tone contrast.

Getting the Shot

I happened to be downtown Houston a few weeks ago during one of the many charity runs. I started to photograph some of the runners, but for some reason I became board very quickly. I switched over to my street photography mode.

I came across this EXCELLENT photographer. How do I know he is an excellent photographer? Look at his equipment. How could he not be?

I took about ten shots of this young man, and to be honest, I do not think he ever knew I was there. I wanted this shot to be totally about his concentration on getting the shot.

Enjoy.

Camera settings: Nikon D3, Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 at 70mm with shot at ISO 200, f/5.6 and 1/180^th.

Post Processing:

Lightroom—Set white and black points, added mid-tone contrast.

Photoshop—used nik Silver Efex Pro to convert to black and white.