Mouseover Monday 9 - The Photographer

Mouse over to see the image in color.

I've been watching David duChemin on CreativeLive (a class I bought a while ago and hadn't watched yet - yes, I'm behind), and one of the things he said about quality of light really stuck with me. I admit I like softer light most of the time, especially for portraits. But he mentioned one way of dealing with super contrasty light that I haven't used much (mostly because I just avoid shooting it at all).

The method he espoused is exposing for the highlights and letting the rest fall into deep shadow. Especially if you have a small highlight area this can be very effective and dramatic. So while on a photowalk last week (courtesy of the now-defunct Adobe pop-up store) I decided to implement the strategy.

I found a slice of light, positioned myself and waited for someone to walk through it. It just happened to be this other photographer from the photowalk who came through the light first. And I actually like the hard light on his technical clothing and photography equipment - it feels appropriate.

Don't forget to mouse over the picture to see it in color. I like it in color too, but I like the feel of the black and white better.

Also, do you ever have trouble finishing projects? This article might help.

And these are the best 1 minute videos I've ever seen. You must watch all three.

Purple

 . . . for Melanie.

Mandy and Tony, San Francisco Engagement Photographer

Mandy and Tony are special. And I kind of knew that from the first moment I saw them together. They balance each other out, and there's a quiet give and take that's a real pleasure to watch. We met at the Rose Garden in Golden Gate Park last week. As I may have previously mentioned, San Francisco summer evening weather was out in full force, so it was just a tad cold, but Mandy and Tony didn't complain. In fact, I think I probably complained more than either of them, and I didn't have to wear a dress.

Plus, did I mention that Mandy's a fabulous baker and you can get some of that deliciousness whenever you want? I highly recommend the churro cupcakes. That is all you need to know.

The roses are particularly fine this time of year.

They also brought the third member of their family with them, Oscar. He was a total picture champ, as you'll see.

The two of you are so cute together. It's beautiful to watch.

I know I posted this photo before, but I'm just in love with it.

This one is another favorite. Oscar, if I ever need a dog model, I will definitely give you a call!

Gorgeous. Were we lucky with the light or what?

They brought along a hat to keep Mandy's hair contained. (The San Francisco wind never sleeps.) Apparently the hat was originally Tony's but Mandy stole it. And I can see why. It's the perfect color to go with her dress.

Then again, Tony looks pretty fierce in it too.

We walked over by the de Young and found this great wild pool area. Oscar wanted to jump in and eat the water lilies or something, but we made him pose instead.

I really can't decide. I think this series looks fabulous in color or in black and white.

We finished off the shoot with a trip to some of the columns.

Tony, Mandy, thank you so much for being amazing on the shoot. Your wedding and the rest of your lives together will be something to watch. Oh, and your cupcakes are bomb, too.

Chris Orwig and Visual Poetry

Today I took advantage of Adobe being in town (which, by the way, is super cool) and I saw Chris Orwig speak. Now, you may have heard of Chris before (he's the author of Visual Poetry, published by Peachpit Press who are in Berkeley and publish all sorts of cool photography books).

Anyway, his talk was truly inspiring, and I wrote copious notes. Ever since I got out of school I've discovered that I really love taking notes; organizing someone else's ideas on paper is very satisfying for me.

[Side note: sometimes Evan swears that I am secretly OCD, because I get annoyed when he does things like put my pens out of order (I arrange them by color), and I also get peeved if he puts groceries away in the wrong place. I counter that I am only SELECTIVELY OCD, because in most other things chaos doesn't bother me, and I can leave dirty dishes in the sink overnight. You know, if the dishwasher's full or something. End side note.]

Some of the things he said that really stuck with me:
      -Use your camera to listen. I love this idea. When I'm happiest with my camera, that's what I'm doing.
      -Bring your passions together. Shoot what you're passionate about. This is something I had never really examined in my own shooting before. I think I already do, but maybe not enough. It's something I'm going to work on.
      -Surround and immerse yourself in what you love. I already probably spend too much time reading, thinking, breathing, and practicing photography, but I guess I appreciated someone telling me that it's ok to do that.
      -Reduce, simplify, and deepen.
      -Be engaged, focused, and alive.

As a teacher, I appreciated his lecturing style. Several times he asked us to discuss something with the person sitting next to us. Not only did this spice things up, it also made us more into participants and less into just watchers and listeners. I also came away from the experience knowing my seatmate (hi Terry!) and that's always good. If you can have community building and a lecture, then excellent.

Also, I really loved this question he posed. "How can you shoot basketball so that someone who isn't a basketball fan likes the shot?" The question is perfect for me, because I'm not a basketball fan, and much basketball photography leaves me cold. But some doesn't. What's different about the pictures that bridge the gap?

That, I guess, is the million dollar question.

Points of Interest

Generally, when I compose a photo, I decide where I want the viewer's eye to go, and then I try to minimize all other distractions so that their eyes stay where I want them to. Usually, where I want their eyes to go is my point of interest - a person's face, an intersection, a flower, whatever is the subject of the photo.

In this case, there's nothing like that. I was just drawn to the play of light and shadow on this patch of clover.

So what do you think - is it too busy? Not interesting enough? Have you taken a similar photo, where there was no discernible subject?

Endless Sky