Thoughts on Photography

Thinking in B&W to Improve My Photography

 
   

I've long suspected that my move from film to digital has come at a price.  Very simply, digital photography, with its full color in-camera previews makes it easy to get in the habit of ''point, shoot, check the histogram then re-shoot if necessary."  This method has created a lazy approach to the fundamental components of photography. 

Back in my film days, 90% of my photographs were shot in b&w.  Over time, I came to think in b&w.  Only now do I realize what a powerful mindset that was.  When you remove the color information, your mind changes.  Think about how your previsualization works when you know that the color you are seeing will not be part of the final image.  You immediately begin to focus on things like texture, contrast, tonal range, shape, and form.  All of the subtle things can turn a good image into a great image.  Heck, I used to actually use the "zone system" to place the shadows or highlights right where I wanted them.  Just thinking about the zone system before pressing the shutter is an exercise in good photography.  It causes you to consider the elements in the photographs as elements and how they should work as part of the whole. 

Digital photography's convenience and free do-overs has made me lazy.  "I can always fix it later in Photoshop," I would think.   Well, as any good photographer will tell you...getting it right in camera is the beginning of a great image. 

An additional benefit of removing color information from a photograph is that it allows the image to be viewed in a new way...one that emphasizes things that can get lost or muted otherwise.  An example is above.

The color image was created five years ago; the b&w version was created yesterday after I came across the image while backing up files. The potential of this image escaped me when I first processed the color version five years ago.  Look at how the contrast, tonal range, and texture really show up in the b&w version.  I finally saw the power of these elements by converting the image to b&w.   

Its time for me to get back to thinking in black and white. 

Missed Opportunities

When did I give up?  Was it on a Monday, or possibly a Wednesday?  Did the thought occur to me one morning on my drive to work, or was it during an episode of insomnia in the quiet hours when all others are sleeping?   When did I finally convince myself that I am no good at photography?  When did I finally admit to myself that I have no true talent for this medium?  When did I decide to accept the idea that the praise of others about my work is false and mere pandering so that I might return the favor?   Does it really matter when it happened?  No, not really. 

What has it cost me?  Joy.  Sounds like a silly word, but that pretty much sums it up.  The joy I used to experience in creating images, talking about images, encouraging others and making connections with like minded photographers. 

It occurred just this month.  It is as easy as not responding to an email or comment from another photographer...a missed connection.  What have I cost myself?....I may never know. 

Life has a funny way of working out though.  By some sequence of events beyond my knowing, I have an opportunity to make a connection that I had chosen to pass up just a short while ago.  Not a believer in fate or destiny, I don't believe "it happened for a reason".  But I do believe that I will take advantage of this 2nd chance.  I will let it serve as a reminder to me that joyful experiences are out there if I choose to participate.  I will now commit to not comparing myself to others in the world of photography but rather endeavor to learn from them and continue to explore my own creative motivations.

Thanks for bringing me back.  I've missed being here. 

Photo Snobs?...I think not

The comments from my last post about Photographic Angst were so darn good that I've decided to pull some of my favorite quotes.  Hard to believe someone actually considers Lost In Focus photographers and visitors to be snobs.  The comments I received were exactly what I would expect from people who are passionate about photography, yet completely clear about our place in the craft.  Here's what you had to say:

Jeff

I do strive to create significant work - I don't think there's anything wrong with that. By "significant" I mean good, interesting, high-quality. What's wrong with that?

Jude

...if one was complacent they would never progress and become even better. I also don't think it's wrong to expect "significant" work from yourself. The key, my friend, is finding work that is significant in your own eyes.

Craig

I'm not sure I agree with the assessment that the internet has caused new photographers to think that they need to always produce significant work...Any pressure one feels is, I think, self-imposed and not an intrinsic quality of the digital/internet photography community.

Kal (himself and quoting others)

...much of that self-imposed pressure may create angst, it is driven less by our need to create significant work as measured by our own standards, but by those of others..."photographs are the dead leaves of life"...after I am gone, they will tell my story.

David

You should be driven by the need to produce original work because you have a unique vision...Great photographs don’t come by that often you’ve just got to be ready when they do.

I consider myself lucky to have found a group of photographers so diverse, yet so passionate about photography.  Better yet...everyone has opinions!   Let me finish with what was my favorite comment from the post.  It is something that I think captures the spirit of the photographers and visitors to Lost In Focus:

Do I think I need more by way of experimentation, etc? hell yeah!

Do I think I need to improve in 100's of ways? um, duh .. of course!

Do I think I own the visual world? are you kidding? it's got my name all over it ;)

- Jude

 

Photographic Angst

angst:

Pronunciation:

      \ˈäŋ(k)st, ˈaŋ(k)st\

Function: noun

a feeling of anxiety, apprehension, or insecurity

I had an interesting exchange with a fellow Pbaser a couple weeks back.  She is a PAD'er as well as a sometime visitor to another community I'm involved with over at lost in focus.  I won't go into the details, but she made an interesting insight about this "lost in focus" group I am a part of.  The group was born out of a desire to have a more legitimate community of photographers willing to provide honest feedback to each other versus the shallow (my words) community predominant on the Pbase website.  This is well trodden ground, so I won't go over it again here. 

Anyway, she made a comment to me about that gave me pause.  Here is what she said:

"... I get the feeling that you and the others in your group think that you need to be "on" all the time; producing exceptional work at every press of the shutter. Conversely, I think that the age we live in and the internet in particular has made it possible for new photographers to think that every work they make should be significant. This is a visual culture and we photographers feel like we own it... or, should own it...."

Anyway, I don't want to go off on a philosophical discussion about whether or not she is right (I happen to think she is).  But it does cause me to consider my own motivations and the lack of joy I seem to have been getting from my photography over the last couple of years.  Could it be that my self-imposed need to create "significant" work has had the effect of sucking the last bit of enjoyment (and maybe even the  creativity) out of my photography?  Should my hobby cause me angst? 

 

Just a thought

I'm just back from a week long business trip in Boston.  It's lunchtime and I'm surfing my favorite photo websites.  I had a thought I figured I should capture.  It was inspired by a photo posted on Luminous Lanscape.  (one of the best photo resources out there).  Anyway, the photo is of a very mediocre, very predictable landscape. 

So I began to wonder...why did they post this photo on the front page?  Someone obviously liked it.  So I figure, maybe I'm just not looking at it appropriately.  Okay, let me try a little harder to like it.  Well, it's got nice wavy lines, and nice color contrast.  The sky has some interesting clouds...but it's just not doing it for me.

Well, then it hits me.  If I have to look for a reason to like something about an image, it's not really that good.  This isn't to take a shot at someone else's photography.  I created a photo just last week that I have to try really hard to like...so in the end I really don't like it that much at all. 

It's that initial reaction of "wow" that I'm going for with an image.  If it doesn't have that...it doesn't have a chance of being a favorite for long.   Given that I've started back up my PAD, I expect to have MANY photos which do not have this "wow" factor...but sometime soon I'll get one.  And that's the fun of it. 

Hmmm, I don't suck at this.

On Monday, I captured a moment of motivation and grabbed my camera bag on the way out the door to walk the dogs.  Along the way, I thought about reasons why I haven't been creating images much lately.  A laundry list of excuses filled my mind: I got married, I am working a lot harder, I'm trying to write a book (not about photography), I'm trying to learn French, I'm just a lazy guy...

What a horribly mediocre way to live; running around with a head full of excuses.  So I spent some time thinking about when I was my most creative with photography.  If I could just put myself back in that place, capture that creative mindset again, I might do some interesting work. 

All of this internal dialog took place within a span of two blocks.  And there I found myself...thinking the unthinkable.  I am going to restart my PAD project on Pbase.   WHAT!?  Yep.  The point at which I was most creative was the point where I was taking my camera out of the bag every day.  I was always looking for photographs, thinking about photographs, or reading about photographs.  Most importantly, I was constantly making photographs. 

So I started my PAD on Monday.  I have given myself a little wiggle room to not necessarily post a photo everyday, but I am thinking seriously about tightening that up.  I will post another photo tonight.  A photo I have not taken yet, or even thought about. 

Just for fun, I went back and compared my very first PAD photo from March of 2005 to the one I created Monday (more than two years later).   And I thought "hmmm, I don't suck at this."

PAD, March 1, 2005 (a bit embarrassing, but this is where is started)

 

PAD, July 23, 2007

Concert Photography - What I learned on My First Try

It was 9:30am on a Wednesday when my plane lurched into the air.  I had two hours of uninterrupted time to think.  The flight from Charlotte to Toronto always surprises me with it's brevity.  OK, time to get down to business.  How the heck am I going to shoot concert photos.  What are my shooting conditions going to be like?

And so that's how my day started, on May the 23rd, as I made my way to see the big CD Release Party for the Year of the Monkey 68 project that my friend Ron had been working on for two years.   I just couldn't miss this party.  Plus, heck, I really wanted to try my hand at shooting concert photos.  Since I was "with the band," I knew this was going to give me a rare opportunity to get right up to the stage and do whatever the heck I wanted. 

As the clouds passed by underneath, I put together a list of challenges that I would have to deal with:

• low-light shooting conditions
• extreme backlighting
• ever-changing lighting conditions
• ever-changing light color
• unpredictable subject movement
• inability to see exposure settings well with crowd and lighting issues
• lack of time to think much about exposure issues after the concert starts

Hmm, this is definitely not an environment I had any experience with.   I was going to have to learn quickly.  It dawned on me that my best chance at getting good photos was to allow myself to be free of exposure concerns and just spend my time finding the best compositions.  To do this meant that I had to automate the exposure as much as possible.  After careful consideration, here were my decisions:

• Set the ISO to 1600.  The 5D has amazing low-light quality and this was one instance where I was going to need it.  To capture a moving subject, I needed a higher shutter speed to avoid motion blur.   A high ISO was my only option.
  
• Set the metering mode to "center-weighted".  This is a great metering mode for backlit subjects.
• Leave the 24-105mm lens in the bag and shoot the whole concert with the 85mm f1.2 lens --  I decided that I wanted to separate the individuals I was shooting from the background on a small stage, and only the way to do this was with the shallow depth-of-field offered by the 85mm lens.  It would also make things simple for me as far as composition, because I would have only one focal length, I would have to move myself around to change the look of the images.  Since I had free reign to do so, I decided this was a good option.
• Set the exposure dial to Aperture Priority mode and try to keep the aperture around f2.2-f3.5.  This will give me sufficient depth of field and terrific sharpness, while softly blurring the background.
• Set the shooting mode to "continuous" so that I could rapid fire images when I needed to. 
• Remove the UV filter.  With all of these lights coming from all these angles, the UV filter would definitely cause a flare or ghosting problem. 
• Put all the extra CF cards and batteries in my jeans pockets, so that I wouldn't have to lug my bag around with me or miss a critical moment because I had to chase down my camera bag and make these changes. 

As my plane touched down in Toronto, I was feeling pretty confident about shooting at the concert that night.  I'd pretty much left myself only a couple of issues that would have to be dealt with on the spot.  These were:

• white balance
• exposure compensation

Well, luck was shining on me this day.  After spending 40 minutes in an alley shooting some portrait photos, I hung out in the club and listened to the band doing their sound check.  The lucky part was that the lighting guys were also doing their thing, so I had a full 30 minute practice session with my camera.  I shot photos of the singers under the same type of lighting conditions I would see later that evening.  This practice was helpful in a number of ways.

First, it confirmed that I would definitely need 1600 ISO to get the shutter speeds I wanted at the f.2.2-f3.5 settings I was after.  Second, I realized (yet again) that nothing looks more beautiful than a portrait style photo with the 85mm lens.  Third, I was amazed at just how well the center-weighted metering handled the backlight.  It wasn't perfect, but was easily corrected with EV adjustments.   Fourth, I realized that the many colored lights were going to make accurate white balance an impossibility.

Lucky for me, there was a 4-camera video crew at the show setting up to create a DVD of the event.  Knowing how friendly Canadians tend to be, I just wandered right over and asked them in my ignorant southern drawl "do y'all have to set white balance for these cameras?"  Minutes later, I had one of them holding up a huge white card blasted with rays from a big tungsten concert light they had brought with them for just this purpose.  Problem solved.  My white balance was set for the evening.  Thank you video crew.

Now I only had two things to think about while shooting.  Composition and EV compensation.  Heck, it's time for a beer, I can do those things with one hand tied behind my back.

So, after a few beers, here's how it all went down.  I wandered from the balcony to right in front of the stage to get multiple angles of each singer as they performed.  I would adjust the EV up or down based on skin color/outfit to make sure the center-weighted metering was accurate.  Other than that, I wasn't having to think much at all about exposure settings.  I spent all of my time thinking about where to take the shots from.  I wanted to isolate the singers as much as possible, but not always.  I came away with a handful of shots that I am happy with.  Here are a couple, with the settings included.   (click on images for full-sized version)

1/250 sec, f3.5, -1/3EV

1/400 sec, f3.2, +-0EV

1/320 sec, f4.0, -2EV

1/125sec, f2.8, -1EV

1/320, f3.5, -1EV

1/160, f2.2, -1 2/3EV

Some of the things I learned from this outing that I would do differently:

• I would include more shots with a crowd in the foreground
• I would try to get more shots of the band members individually
• I would make sure to get multiple angles of every singer and band member

To see more from this photo shoot, you can visit my gallery HERE.  To hear some of the music from the CD visit the Year of the Monkey My Space Site.  To BUY the CD (complete with my photos on the front & back cover!) visit the Official YOTM Site. 

Pay up or put down that camera!

So much for "land of the free"...

Consider this absurdity being considered in NYC according the the NY Times.

For an interesting discussion on today's NY Times article, go HERE. 

I would expect as much from the dictatorship formerly know as Chicago, but NYC?!  What a shame. 

40 Minutes in an Alley Changes Everything

"I don't do people shots."   I've said this so often, it has become a mantra for me.  I have never considered myself to have any skill with portrait photography, so I just avoid it altogether.  Well in a span of 40 minutes last week, that all changed.  Here's the story...

On Wednesday, I flew to Toronto to attend (and shoot photos at) the Year of the Monkey 68 CD Release Party, co-produced by my good friend Ron Lopata.  The CD is a compilation of Canadian artists, some well-established and others up-and-coming.  My photos are on the front and back covers of the CD as well as on the website, so there was no way I was going to miss this party. 

A couple of days before flying up, Ron sent me an email asking if I would mind shooting some portraits of one of the up-and-coming artists he is working with.  He said they needed some shots for use on his website and promotional material.  "There will be some time before the show to shoot some shots at the club" he said.   (The Mod Club for anyone who is familiar with Toronto).   I hesitantly agreed, while silently thinking to myself "I don't do people shots." 

At 3pm, Ron and I pulled into the alley behind the club and began unloading his keyboards and other gear.  I  looked around for possible shooting venues, but quickly realized that the bright sunny day was going to work against me for shooting photos outside.  Maybe inside the club, I thought. 

Saying that the club was a bit dark is like calling the Atlantic ocean a "pond."  Even with my fast prime lens there was little chance of getting any well-lit photos inside the club...now what do I do?   I guess I'll have to find something outside in the shade. 

At 5pm, Mike Eastick and I finally meet.  Through his accommodating demeanor and choice of words, I quickly realize that he has a much higher opinion of my potential to shoot portrait photographs than I have myself.  Ron must have told him I'm good at this, because he is treating me like I'm some kind of pro who knows what he's doing.  OK, I thought, I'll play along and see what happens. 

So off to the alley we go.  Over the next 40 minutes I find every sliver of shade in that short alley that I can.  I've previsualized some potential poses and speak confidently as to what I want Mike to do for each shot.  "Can he tell I don't know what the hell I'm doing?" I think to myself.   He couldn't.  In fact, the more we shot, the more he just did what I asked.  At one point, he even stood on a pile of trash in a doorway reeking of urine, only a few feet from a dead rat covered in flies just because I thought it was a good shot (it turns out it's my favorite shot of the afternoon).  What power I have!

Mike came prepared with a change of clothes and neatly primped his own hair in the side mirror of a nearby car.   I wonder if all potential subjects are so prepared?  This was actually easier and more fun than I had expected. 

At the end of the shoot, I felt pretty sure that I could carve out a few usable images.  It was only after I started to post-process them yesterday that I realized that these were better than anything I ever imagined I was capable of.  A professional could easily find things about the images to improve.  But for a guy like me that prefers shooting abandoned wine bottles to people, I feel pretty good with the outcome. 

In fact, I now find myself looking for more opportunities to explore the world of portrait photography.  I even caught myself flipping though some how-to portrait photography books at the bookstore this weekend.  That 40 minute photo shoot in an alley in Toronto has ignited an interest that I have long denied existed.  I guess that's where the saying "never say never" comes from. 

You can see all the photos from this shoot over on my website.  There you will also find the beginnings of the CD release party gallery.   Below is the image from the doorway I described above. 

The Power of Passion

About 18 months ago, I received an email from a guy who was essentially brand new to photography.  He was interested in some of my processing techniques (at least that's the way I remember it).  Given that much of what I had learned about photography and post-processing had been taught to me by other photographers I'd met online, I gladly repaid my debt and answered his questions in depth. 

After responding to his questions, I decided to take a peek at his online gallery.  To be quite honest, I could tell from his photographs that he was just starting out.  Some of his compositions just seemed too busy and his perspective and subject placement seemed predictable.  Without saying so, I decided that he was destined to become a photographer adept at creating really good snapshot vacation images, but probably would not evolve beyond that. (How judgmental of me!)

To my surprise, this guy just kept coming at me with questions and asking for critiques of his images.  I decided to tell him exactly what I thought.  This led to yet more discussions about every aspect of photography.  We didn't always agree, but from our discussions we both understood more about our own photography.  Very quickly, I began to see elements of his photography start to mature. 

Well, it is 18 months after that first email exchange, and I have to say that I have met someone more valuable to my own development as a photographer than I ever could have imagined.  This guy has a passion for photography like nobody else I have ever met.   I have seen him explore different genres and through trial and error take his photography to a level well beyond what I initially thought he was capable of.  He has long since surpassed my own skills and has become an inspiration for what is possible when you have a genuine passion for something.  For that is something he has had from the first day we exchanged email.  His passion has been there since the beginning, and continues on.  I've benefited by just being around this type of enthusiasm and sincere interest in exploring the bounds of creativity.

Our photographic styles have diverged over the last year, but my respect for what he has accomplished in such a short period of time has only grown.  Most of the visitors to this blog will know of who I speak.  But for fun, let me just link to photos in his galleries based upon the way I saw him develop as a photographer.  I think it might be interesting to see how quickly he has evolved.  (use the "BACK" button to return to this page after clicking on the links below)

One of the first images

Another early image

Yet another early image

The first project

A hint of things to come

Another project

A new genre to explore

Yet another genre

A new idea springs

Further development of the idea

Mastery of the idea

There is no way to give Lawrence Ripsher's photography the attention it deserves on this blog or with these outtakes.  The above links only serve as a testament to the incredible growth he has achieved in such a short period of time.  His sincere passion for the craft of photography has yielded worthy results.  At least for me, the photographer who shot that last linked image is completely different than the photographer who shot the first linked image in this post.  I'm thankful that I have been able to see his growth and hopeful that maybe, just maybe, I have captured an ounce of his passion for my own creative journey.  And I must say, I'm looking forward to seeing just how his work will evolve from here.

UPDATE 5/4/2007:

After revisiting this post today and going through the photos one by one, I realized what a HUGE understatement it is about not being able to give Lawrence's photography the attention it deserves. 

I have not necessarily highlight his best images here, but rather just a sample of his progression as a photographer.  He's too young to have a "greatest hits" collection, but already has more than enough images worthy of filling a gallery.  I think I'll spend some more time over at his galleries today getting inspired. 

My Photographic Purpose: Social Commentary

I finally dialed in on exactly what drives my photography.  I've had a number of tries with it before and never truly felt I had zeroed in on what it was that made me want to pick up my camera and create.  In short, my purpose, and I believe my calling in photography is to create images that communicate a social commentary. 

Over my entire photographic journey, I've tried on a number of different hats.  The list includes:

• Travel photographer
• Abstract photographer
• Urban Landscape photographer
• Minimalist photographer
• Wanna-be stock photographer
• Digital art photographer
• Street photographer
• Pet photographer
• Portrait photographer (this one was very short-lived)

I'm sure I'm missing a few, but the point is that now that I have tried on these different creative perspectives of photography, I find I have arrived at a much clearer view of what defines my motivation. I simply love to create and share images that carry a social commentary.   

I like to create images that say something about our time here as human beings.  The images I create tend to say what I want to say in the way I want to say it.  Or they ask a question I want to ask in the way I want to ask it.  Given this, the true test of whether or not I consider my own images or projects successful is to measure the degree to which they communicate a social commentary as I had envisioned that they could.

Knowing this about myself, also helps me to understand why I can quickly become jaded about other types of photography.   For me to be excited and interested a photograph, I feel like the image has to somehow be adding authentic intellectual value.  If it doesn't, I get cranky, dismissive, abusive and downright cruel in my commentary about it (as the few regular readers of this blog can attest).   This is a personal flaw, not a value judgement.  Ok, I just lied.  It is a value judgement...which is essentially my own strong opinion.  And this is neither right, nor wrong.  It just is.    

SO THERE!

Thoughtless Photography

Just a quick rant, to make myself feel better.  I haven't been shooting much lately, but I have continued to browse my favorite photo sites to view other's images.  One thing that happens to me, time and again after seeing images from the many prolific photographers on these sites is that I get BORED very quickly with their work. 

What I see is that many potentially good photographers waste their talent by creating thoughtless images.  They tend to be more concerned with churning out more and more photos than actually creating compelling photography.  In the end we are all left with a pile of crap that isn't worth wading through to find one or two good images. 

My advice, slow down, think and then create.  You'll become a better photographer and the world will benefit from not having to wallow in your garbage. 

There, I suddenly feel better. 
:)

OK, so now you can start the combative comments about how I don't have to look if I don't want to.  Hey, I'm just trying to make the world a better place.  If that means having to flame a few photographers in the interest of greater society, I'll gladly take my lumps. 

OK, full on laughter now from my end, so this definitely has made me feel better. 

The Creativity Slump

There is a great discussion just starting over on my friend Lawrence Ripsher's Blog about running into a creative slump.  I call it falling into The Slump Pit.  Recently, I involuntarily spent a stretch of time in The Slump Pit.  Interestingly, I saw many friends there.  Some were already there when I got there, some arrived right after me, and some I watched dance around the edge for quite a long time before finally losing their footing and falling in (you know who you are).  The good news for that last group is that there were plenty of us there to break the fall, so it didn't hurt to bad.

Actually, finding yourself in The Slump Pit is really good news for you and your photography.  It just isn't easy to see this when you first fall into the pit.  Upon commiserating with others around you in the pit, you soon discover a common theme.  It is this theme that got you into the pit and it is the knowledge of this theme that will get you out of the pit.

So what then, is the theme?  Well, it goes a little something like this (strum of a guitar and tap of a foot inserted here for effect).  You might be surprised that you brought this slump on all by yourself.  Yep you.   You and your highfalutin photo ideas and standards for excellence.  You, who decided an abstract photo just wasn't cutting it anymore because it looked like 1000 other abstract photos you have already seen or shot.  You, who told yourself deep down inside that you really are destined to be one of the photographic greats, but for some reason didn't establish that with your last photo project.  You who wont even take the time to lift the camera when you know that in the end the potential photo in front of you will be good but not great.  You and your realization that the good photo equipment really didn't make as big of a difference as you had hoped.  You who find yourself shooting the same things in the same ways over and over and over, while secretly hoping that other people will still find them interesting, but you know deep down you are riding your own coattails, and those coattails really aren't challenging you.  You, who are finally FED UP with seeing images that are clever but not interesting.  You, who spent hours arguing that "photography is an art"  against the idea of having to learn more about the technical aspects of the craft. Yep, it's you.   

It's you in denial. And that, my friend, is the best news I can give you when you arrive in The Slump Pit.  Why, you ask?  Simple.  All you have to do, it stop denying. 

• Stop denying that you have raised your standards and expectations of yourself
• Stop denying that you will have to invest more thought to create better images
• Stop denying that you will have to invest more time in the technical aspects of the craft
• Stop denying that your previous work may have only yielded 5 to 10 truly great images out of thousands
• Stop denying that slowing down and thinking is necessary
• Stop denying that shooting 1000 photos to get one good one makes you an editor, not a photographer
• Stop denying that you can't stand on the shoulders of the photographic greats until you have walked in their shoes

We have all arrive in the The Slump Pit with a fair amount of frustration.  The common theme of our frustration is our desire to improve.  The way out of the pit is to stop denying those core issues that are holding us back from improving. 

So rejoice in the arrival of your creative slump.  You are now free to choose to become a better photographer. 

My Pursuit of Excellence

In response to Lawrence's comment/request on my last post, here are my answers to the questions posed in examining my own pursuit of photographic excellence (thanks, Lawrence for making me write this long boring post about myself):

Have I identified what I am trying to achieve with my photography?

I'm interested in photography being an enjoyable and challenging hobby for the rest of my life. More specifically, at the moment, I enjoy creating images that involve a capturing a social commentary.  I particularly want to create images that cause us to examine ourselves, our identities and our purpose (or lack of purpose) in the world. 

To define the scope of my aspiration, I pulled this from the Bio on my website: 
"I am a hobbyist.  I haven't a pure interest in exhibiting or selling images.  For me, this hobby will remain a hobby. For the joy, I find, is in the creation of the images themselves. Each offering a personal creative challenge to communicate a vision or story. My passion is the pursuit of mastery with this craft. Thankfully, a lifetime won't be enough time to get this done. The journey will be a fun one nonetheless."

Do I have a mentor or format for receiving mentoring from photographers better than me?

I am doing two things at the moment.  First, I am taking my ninth on-line photography course.  Second, I'm involved with two small communities of photographers that provide a forum for critiques, feedback, and idea-sharing among the members.  The talent level of these photographers ranges widely, but the ideas shared collectively is much more than I could discover on my own. 

Are there photographers whose work I admire for a specific reason and have I studied them in depth?

Currently you will find around 30 photography books on the shelves in my office.  Much of this collection was acquired within the last two years, since my interest in photography has blossomed. 

My admiration of these photographers and study of their work is material for future blog posts.  But let me give a  very brief synopsis on just one. 

Garry Winogrand is a definite influence for me.  His method of working bordered on obsessive and his reason for making images - "photographing to see what things look like photographed" - gives freedom to experiment beyond the rules.  For me, this has developed into my style of shooting well over 50% of my images without looking through the viewfinder.  It's OK to shoot 1000 frames to get one good one.   Plenty more to discuss in a future post. 

Have I surrounded myself with other photographers who are also committed to excellence?

As previously mentioned, I belong to two organized groups of photographers.  All have different interests and styles, but we also share a common thread - that of wanting to get better.  This is educational and motivational at the same time.  If you only do one thing on this list, this is the one I think will make all the difference.  Make sure, however, that the people you associate with are as committed to growing and learning as you are. 

Have I written specific goals that I want to achieve with my photography?

I have to admit that I fall short on this particular item.  I have two ongoing projects but haven't written down goals beyond that.  I have them in my head and just need to put them on paper.  This is what I will be doing next and sharing in a post over the coming week.  

Do I personally have high standards for what I define as excellence with my work (be very honest yourself here)?

My goal is to produce images worthy of being published.  And by this, I set as a standard the more quality photography magazines like Lenswork.  However, I do not have a goal to actually be published.  It is more of a benchmark for judging my own competence with the craft of photography.

If anything, I've taken this quality standard to the extreme of it becoming a personal fault.  After recently closing my galleries on Pbase, I decided to pull out only my best images and keep them in one gallery.   The result...of over 1800 images, only eight made the final cut.  However, I am very proud of these images.  And I can say, without reservation, that they live up to my personal standard. 

Am I committed to life-long learning (versus deceiving myself that I have "arrived")?

This blog will stand as an ongoing testament to my attitude on this point. 

Have I started a photo journal for capturing my ideas, thoughts, techniques, etc. to reinforce my learning?

Yes, and it's filling up with plenty of ideas for future photo projects.  A useful exercise is seeing something new and creative someone else has done and then considering how I might use that idea for the type of images I prefer to create.  It's not to copy others work as much as to learn new ways of looking at something.   For example, if I see someone using slow shutter speeds with a flash in an interesting way, I'll consider using a variation of that technique in a future project.  

Have I eliminated all of the things that are allowing me to accept mediocrity with my photography?

Yep! And damn it's liberating!  

Pursuing Photographic Excellence

"Excellence breeds excellence"....we've all heard this before in one form or another.  Flip this coin over and examine what is on the other side.  Acceptance of mediocrity guarantees mediocrity. 

Which camp do you find yourself in?   Are you pursuing excellence or are you destined for mediocrity?  For a hint, you can examine few areas of your life for an answer.   Since this is a photography blog, let's explore this question from that point of view.  A few questions you might ask yourself:

• Have I identified what I am trying to achieve with my photography?
• Do I have a mentor or format for receiving mentoring from photographers better than me?
• Are there photographers whose work I admire for a specific reason and have I studied them in depth?
• Have I surrounded myself with other photographers who are also committed to excellence?
• Have I written specific goals that I want to achieve with my photography?
• Do I personally have high standards for what I define as excellence with my work (be very honest yourself here)?
• Am I committed to life-long learning (versus deceiving myself that I have "arrived")?
• Have I started a photo journal for capturing my ideas, thoughts, techniques, etc. to reinforce my learning?
• Have I eliminated all of the things that are allowing me to accept mediocrity with my photography?

For me, that last item is really the most important indication of your commitment to excellence.  Because mediocrity is so pervasive, it's easy to find acceptance and reward there.  This sounds harsh, but it is true - mediocre people don't like excellence.  Excellence is threatening to them;  otherwise, they would be pursuing it themselves.  So even though the mediocre seem sincere, they have absolutely zero interest in encouraging anyone to leave their ranks and enter the world of excellence. 

Until you leave this group behind, you haven't really made a commitment to excellence for yourself.  Excellence is a choice.   And it begins with a complete rejection of all that is mediocre. 

Photo Snobbery

I've recently been accused of being a "photo snob".  This, as a product of a discussion with my fiancé Meg about an upcoming local photo exhibit.  No offense was taken by me, and upon reflection, I actually grew a bit of pride from this new label.  In fact, maybe I should have a t-shirt made, or a vanity license plate. 

OK, so here's the thing....I have a very low tolerance for certain types of photography.   What really sets me off, is when I see an image, or series of images where the photographer attempts to compensate for their lack skill by injecting a shallow bit of 'creativity' into the image. 

You know what I mean...the ubiquitous street images that are shot with the camera off kilter. How edgy!  Or how about the soft-focus glow processing applied to an image of a European cityscape?  If you do this, just go ahead and admit to yourself that you want to be Thomas Kincaid.

Next, we have selective color imagery, using b&w for all but the main subject, which remains in color.  Wow!  Did you really think that would be interesting for more than 2 seconds?  Recently, an entirely new cliché category has been created; that of the really poorly done HDR images.  Can't you tell they look annoyingly fake!?

Let me not overlook the most desperate attempt to cover up one's lack of talent.  This one, I've noticed, is currently just for the women...when all else fails, just take your top off and do a self-portrait.   Wow...you are so complex, deep, mysterious!  Now get in there and make me some dinner!  (The sexist nature of the previous comment is completely intentional.  The audience being the topless photographer afore mentioned.  The satirical nature of the comment is intended to make light of the value this person establishes for themselves by creating these types of images.  It's really a shame I feel compelled to explain that.)

Sometimes the truth hurts.  And whenever asked, I often feel compelled to share the truth.  Why go through life not having an opinion about what's important to you.  To buy into the cliché is to compromise your own photographic integrity.  I refuse to play that game and for that, I am proudly a "photo snob." 

To Publish or Not To Publish

Heartened by the responses received to my post about quitting Pbase, I plan to write more about that in a future blog.  Most interesting to me is the number of photographers that I respect who have contacted me and noted similar feelings.   This is an area for further discussion.

A related discussion about creating images that has come out of this first blog is the question "why are we doing this?"  This is a question that could fill a year full of blogs.  I thought I would start out tackling a question that enters the mind of any serious hobbyist - that of getting one's work published. 

An important distinction needs to be made here.  I am talking here of hobbyist photographers, not professional photographers.  I'm also not referring to photographers who go through formal arts training  (as this groups seems too far caught up in the institutional aspects of the art world to ever consider asking themselves this question). 

So that leaves me, the serious hobbyist and those who might consider themselves in the same camp. Should we publish our work? 

Here's where I have landed on the issue:  BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR.

Let me start with the benefits of being published.  Most obvious is the sense of accomplishment and validation that would come with having our work recognized by others.   It speaks to our internal need for approval, acceptance and belonging.    In addition it builds our credibility in looking for future publishing opportunities.  This can lead to making an income from our photographs, and becoming ever more established in this mode of sharing our photography.

Now let me relate the thinking that is behind my decision to not actively publish my photography.  For one, it moves me away from this being an enjoyable hobby to it now being a demanding new area of stressful aspiration.  For it is never enough to be published just once. After you have decided to go down this path, the only way to satisfy this objective it to continually search for  new opportunities to get published.   

Along this journey, it is expected that people will reject your work for their own personal biases (i.e. "digital photography is not art").  This most definitely would not be an enjoyable experience and could very easily lead to frustration and even anger.   And all of this created out of something you once had loved to do. 

I am fortunate that I do not need to make an income from my hobby to be able to support the expenses it brings.  This also affords me the luxury of not having to care what other people think about what I produce.  Why would I ever want to introduce anything into this mix that would change this situation?   Why would I risk infecting this thoroughly enjoyable hobby of mine with that type of frustration?

Now that I've said all that, I do have, as a personal goal, to produce images worthy of being published.  And by this, I set as a standard the more quality photography magazines like Lenswork.  However, I do not have a goal to actually be published.  It is more of a benchmark for judging my own competence with the craft of photography.   I am nowhere near this level yet, but I'm having fun working towards it.   It'll take another blog or two for me to describe how I would define reaching this level. 

I'm sure there are many who disagree, and I'd like to hear why.  So if you feel so inclined, please comment. 

Also, for those who have seen my work that has been published, I probably need to provide some clarification.  There have been three occasions where I have had my images published.  In each instance, the publisher came to me and asked to use the images.  I appreciated what they were doing with the work and agreed.  I turned down the offer of compensation.  For I understood then, as I do now, that taking money for being published quickly evolves into considering photography as a business and no longer just a hobby.   

Each good hobbyist will arrive at this question someday and make a choice...turn this hobby into a business or keep it as a hobby?  To waffle in the middle, well, I think if you do that, you are in for many wasted years of not really knowing why you got into photography in the first place.  Indecisiveness in this regard is a sure path to frustration. 

Why I Had to Quit Pbase

Lately, I have gone through an internal struggle with this hobby of mine.  A stuggle with its origins in a habit I have developed over the last two years.  The habit of which I speak: posting images to photo sharing websites. 

I have found that, for me, this practice has been a blessing and a curse at the same time.  And finally, the curse won out. 

The blessing was that I have met many great photo enthusiasts who share a passion for creating images beyond the simple snapshot.   Many of these people have shared ideas and techniques with me that have greatly improved my photography. 

The curse was that I had allowed the dynamics of these sharing communities to steal away the joy I had in creating images.  Very simply, the feedback loops in these communities include voting and rating mechanisms that can become addictive at worse and self-deceiving at best.  This may sound like a harsh evaluation, but upon a lengthy evaluation, this is where I have found myself. 

I don't think I need to explain how these rating systems can be addictive, as anyone who has spent a little time on these sites can easily identify those photographers who's primary goal it seems is to gather popularity for themselves rather than actually improve their photographic skills. 

My comment about these systems being self-deceiving probably does deserve a better explanation.  Now I could go on for paragraphs about how helpful it is to be able to share images with photographers all over the world. That is a dynamic that won't change.  But somewhere along the way, this feedback mechanism can have the power to seduce you into creating images based upon how well received you think they will be by others.  And that is a cancer on personal creativity. 

Over time I found myself not enjoying freely creating images as much as I had in the beginning.  My thought process was becoming dominated by a desire to create images I thought would rate well within the photo sharing community.  Putting this power in the hands of an outside force that I couldn't control quickly sapped the incredible passion I had for this hobby at the beginning.  I no longer felt entirely free to create for me. 

What's worse, every day I was getting better at knowing what would rate well on each photo sharing site.  You can see the cycle this creates and it's not a healthy or creative one. 

So I have decided to abandon the photo sharing sites for the moment, and possibly forever.   This is the only way I see to get back to enjoying shooting photos for myself.  The only way to truly regain the passion I have for this hobby.  And most importantly, to create work that is important to me without regard to how popular it may become. 

I intend to continue to comment and stay in touch with the photographers I have met on these photo sharing sites .  For they have shared so much with me and I continue to learn from them.  However, my sharing will only be done through my own dedicated website.  It has no comment or rating features.  It's just a place to post images.  If interested, you can find it here.