In Cars - On Composition

I believe that once you've learned the mechanics of photography - exposure, depth of field, focusing, etc., you can begin to look at the less concrete aspects of making good photographs. However, I think there are some concepts that bridge the gap between purely technical and artistic: lighting and composition, for example.

 

I shot a couple of rolls of Gekko 100 black and white film (donated to me by my good friend Dennis Gallus) last weekend. While doing the embassy row walk in DC, I shot two pictures from the Dumbarton Bridge. Here they are, side by side.

 

Two Compositions, by Reed A. George

Leica CL, Rokkor 40mm f2 Lens, Gekko 100 Film

 

Can you see the difference that the location of the cars in the scene makes? To my eye, the line of cars in the image on the left leads the viewer into and up the entrance ramp on the left. In the image on the right, the line of cars leads the eye in a curve to the right, and back to the bridge in the distance. Other than the placement of the cars, these images are nearly identical.

 

I feel that I have mastered the purely technical aspects of photography. Composition and lighting continue to challenge me, and perhaps always will. That's okay; it's part of the fun. I'm just scratching the surface of the higher "artistic" aspects of photography.

 

Here's a fun car shot, made the same day, from the new Metro Silver Line that runs from Reston, VA into DC.

 

Zoom Zoom, by Reed A. George

Leica CL, Rokkor 40mm f2 Lens, Gekko 100 Film

 

 

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From the Broad Creativity File - Using the Sun (and Magnifying Glass) to Make Art

Image Source: http://www.lostateminor.com/2014/10/10/artist-creates-landscape-artworks-using-magnifying-glass/

 

I love seeing new creative approaches to art. Usually, these come to me from the blog "Lost at E Minor," and this one is no exception.

 

This is Jordan Mang-osan. He makes the large murals by sketching them, then using a magnfying glass to burn the image into wood. Awesome, huh?

 

(Click Here) to read more.

 

I respect people who come up with different ideas like this. Once you see them, it's obvious. How many of us had wood burning kits when we were younger? For those who didn't, they were essentially electric soldering irons, which were used to burn pictures into wood. Using a magnifying glass instead isn't such a stretch. Why didn't I come up with that?

 

And regardless of who thought of it, I also respect people with the patience to put it to work on such a large scale. These pieces of art take Jordan months to complete.

 

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Cole Thompson on Vision

Image Source: http://www.photographyblackwhite.com/finding-vision/

 

I recently read a great post on Cole Thompson's blog, about how he found his own vision. Cole started the journey with a portfolio review where the reviewer simply said that he was copying Ansel Adams. He told Cole that Ansel had already done Ansel, and he was never going to do it better than him.

 

This set Cole on a journey to find and develop his own vision, which he describes in a set of ten steps.

 

(Click Here) to read the whole post on Cole Thompson's blog.

 

A few of the elements of the post I like best are:

 

1. He printed 100 of his most loved images, then sorted out those that he personally loved (not those that others happened to love). Then, he set his mind to pursuing more images like those.
2. A direct quote: "I had to remind myself that this was not a race or a contest, I was not competing against others...I was competing with myself."
3. Cole's vision didn't come to him in a flash, but in a moment of realization: "Vision was simply the sum total of my life experiences that caused me to see the world in a unique way."

I also like Cole's assertion that your vision is not necessarily associated with a particular look or style. You can bring your own vision to anything you set your mind to.

This is a very well-written piece, and one that makes me think more about why and how I pursue photography.

 

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Art for the Sake of Art - From the Broad Creativity Files

Sand drawings. Andres Amador makes them, mostly for his own creative release. And the phrase "sand drawings" really isn't grand enough for what he produces.

 

 

 

Image Source: http://blog.chasejarvis.com/blog/2014/03/the-key-characteristic-shared-by-all-the-most-creative-people-i-know-andres-amador-interview/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ChaseJarvis+%28Chase+Jarvis+Blog%29

 

I read about Andres' artistic pursuits on Chase Jarvis' blog.

 

(Click Here) to read the story and see several great examples on Chase's blog.

 

There are two things that really strike me about this work. First, as Chase emphasizes, the best art is done because the artist simply must do it, as opposed to doing it for money, prestige, etc. Second, this particular expression impresses me because of the inherent impermanence of it. The article mentions that it's somewhat like Tibetan Buddhist mandala sand paintings, where monks spend weeks making intricate paintings from colored sand, and then destroy them.

 

(Click Here) to read more about sand mandalas. I've always wanted to see one of these being made.

 

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From the Broad Creativity Files - Japanese Artists Paint Hotel Rooms

Artist Naoki Takenouchi at the Park Hotel, Shiodome, Tokyo, Japan

Image Source: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/12/02/national/hotel-room-walls-serve-as-canvas-for-takenouchis-contemporary-art/#.UpxvkDS9KSN

 

The Park Hotel in Tokyo is having artists come and spend some time in residence, under its "Artist in Hotel" program. Artist Naoki Takenouchi is painting his interpretations of "Fujin" and "Raijin," gods of wind and thunder, respectively, in a room now entitled "Japanese Paper Garden" for the sumi ink and washi paper used in his portrayals.

 

The hotel already has two other themed art rooms, one entitled "Sumo," the other "Zen."

 

What a cool idea. I'd love to stay in one of these one-of-a-kind rooms.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

From the "Broad Creativity" File - Melting Ceramics

Image Source: http://www.lostateminor.com/2013/10/14/ceramics-melting-like-ice-cream/

Sometimes I like to look outside the confines of photography to broader creative pursuits. Usually, the things I'm interested still fall within the visual arts, as does this really cool project shown on the creative site Lost at E Minor.

Here, artist Livia Marin has converted porcelains into very diffferent works of art. I don't have a clue how she's done it, but I really like the effect. What strikes me is that the patterns are not melted or distorted. I imagine they're Marin's original designs, painted after the flowing background is produced. But, I can't be sure of that.

(Click Here) to read the original post on Lost at E Minor.

A nice diversion for a Monday morning (when I'm writing this).

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Mixed Media - Printing on Brushed-On Emulsion by Andrew Kaineder

 

Image Source:

http://www.lostateminor.com/2013/08/19/andrew-kaineder-professional-doer/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LostAtEMinor+%28Lost+At+E+Minor%29

 

Not so excited with any equipment news recently, I'm once again widening the net in my search for interesting photographic subjects. I found this one on "Lost at E Minor," a broad creativity site.

 

(Click Here) to check out Lost at E Minor.

 

Andrew Kaineder and colleagues paint a liquid emulsion onto a surface, and then expose it, presumably from a negative. In the case above, the emulsion is painted onto paper, yielding one-of-a-kind character to each piece, and plenty of imperfection.

 

I'm not sure how I feel about the concept of making a photographic piece "one-of-a-kind." In some ways, I understand that increasing the value of a print, because no one else can have exactly the same print. However, is it merely a grasping at making photography more like painting, for example? One of the primary characteristics of photography is that it can be reproduced. Digital technology makes this even more true. I remember when digital audio came about and how it affected my friends who were into recording live performances (in their case mostly the Grateful Dead). It was an amazing piece of fortune to be able to duplicate a recording an unlimited number of times without ever losing a drop of sound quality. So, is that a bug or a feature?

 

I can also imagine the texture of Andrew's print. That is a little easier to appreciate for me.

 

I like to challenge and be challenged by new creative ideas like this.

 

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Film Photography Project Report on Shooting B&W Film

 

Photo by Lance King

Image Source: http://filmphotographyproject.com/content/features/2013/05/exploring-engaging-enlarging-black-and-white

 

I fell in love with the picture above when I saw it. It was taken on a recent walking workshop, put on by the Film Photography Project (FPP).

 

(Click Here) to check out FPP. These guys are great. They have a regular podcast that's pretty fun, and their store sells Kodak film for prices equivalent to the big NYC stores. I like to support FPP.

 

In a recent article on the FPP site, Jim Austin writes about black and white photography's important characteristics of austerity, authenticity, and abstraction.

 

By austere, I take Jim to mean that black and white photos offer none of the warmth or comfort of rich colors. It makes me think of the expression "It's right there, in black and white."

 

His point on authenticity is that monochrome images give the impression of being made before the days of photo manipulation. This is not true, of course, as manipulation has been around since the beginning of photography. But, I see his point. Most photos that are manipulated with modern software tools are likely to be color images.

 

The abstraction point is also good, in my opinion. Lack of color immediately takes us away from ust trying to replicate and show exactly what we saw, and hopefully leaves us with what we felt.

The Libyan Sibyl, by Reed A. George

Leica M4-2

 

So, go buy your film at FPP. Let's support the guys (and gals) who are keeping film photography alive!

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 - A Few Creative Control Examples

The Lumix LX7 is quite a little camera. With the small sensor size, which makes it possible to produce an amazingly well-featured camera with great fast optics in a very compact package, I usually shoot raw images, so that I can later control the noise levels in post-processing. Hold that that.

 

The LX7 has a plethora of built-in artistic and creative modes, as is common with many compact cameras. Here's the difference - the LX7 allows you to shoot both raw and jpeg files in these modes (except for the fully-automated iAuto mode). This gives you so much flexibility. Any of the creative control effects will be applied to the jpeg file (only), and the raw file remains untouched and ready for your post-processing as you see fit. So, I can actually use the creative controls on the LX7 without feeling that I may be missing the shot.

 

The jpeg processing on the LX7 is a little harsh in my estimation. Therefore, having the unaffected raw files really means a lot to me.

 

I recently took the LX7 on a trip to California, where I visited Pioneertown, a true town constructed by movie producers to make Westerns. It's quite a funky little place out in the desert.

 

(Click Here) to read about Pioneertown.

 

I tried a few of the creative controls, and really decided that I like "Toy" mode. Here's an example.

 

In a Pear Tree?, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7, Toy Setting

iso 125, f2.8, 1/125 sec

 

You can see that toy camera mode adds significant vignetting (darkening around the edges of the image), muted colors, and I think some loss of sharpness around the edges, while the center remains sharp. Kind of fun.

 

Here's one using the Impressive Art control:

 

Control, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7, "Impressive Art" Setting

iso 160, f1.6, 1/60 sec

Here's another setting, called "Expressive Art."

 

Desert Office, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7, "Expressive Art" Setting

iso 80, f2.8, 1/1600 sec

 

So far, I really like Toy mode best.

 

 

Desert Office 2, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7, "Toy" Setting

iso 125, f2.8, 1/1600 sec

 

All of these images are jpegs, right out of the camera. The final two I decided to shoot in square format, another great setting on the LX7. No adjustments were made to any of these.

 

And, the great thing is, I have the raw files if I want to process them differently! Lots of fun.

 

As promised, I'm nearing completion of my ebook on the LX7. I'll be announcing it soon.

 

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