Open to Questions

My partnership with photography has been a come as you are and ask as you go sort of thing. Ever since I got my first SLR handed down to me from my step-father to use for my very first (and pretty much only) photo class, I have had the pleasure of magically and mystically finding my way around the medium with minimal prodding or probing.

It wasn’t until I got a job with a photographer that I began to ask questions. But I only asked what I needed to know; small, easy to digest bits of information to get me by as I felt more comfortable using an intuitive, experimental approach to learning. Of course, it took me a while to be able to count on any consistency in what I was doing (because I really didn’t know what I was doing) but that didn’t stop me. That is, until I began to realize my limitations. My inability to recreate what I had created began to frustrate me. And only then did I begin to dig deep.

Not a lot has changed today. There are days, I feel like I’ve got enough dialed in to keep me satiated. Yet there are times when I see something in someone else’s images that I covet…a simple clipping of the corners, a rich border in a texture, a tint or hue that stirs something within me…and I find myself thinking, how do you do that? When I feel limited, I know it’s time to start asking the questions to get me past the hurdles I’m up against.

What about you? Are there ways you feel limited in your photographic work? Do you have any burning questions that you feel might help you crack some kind of code to help you push through some barrier that stands before you? Let’s make a pact and ask those questions, shall we? The Flickr Pool Discussion thread has been a great source for asking and answering. I am so impressed with your willingness to ask and answer. Let’s keep that chatter going. Maybe we can even bring some of those conversations over here. What do you think?

There’s an Omaha Proverb that says, ask questions from the heart and you will be answered from the heart. I think that has a nice ring to it .

a is for aperture

“There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.”  – Ansel Adams

I spent this past Saturday morning in a digital photography workshop lead by shutter brothers Jack, a serious amateur photographer, and Al, a professional sports photographer. Opportunities to connect and learn like this with fellow photographers are rare in my small Southern town, so when I heard that the photographers were coming, I noted the event on my calendar with a big, fat Sharpie.

My approach to photography has been primarily artistic vs. a traditional technical approach, though I consumed a photography class in college with a heavy appetite. And while I did learn the technicalities of F-stops and aperture, and the speeds of shutters way back then, I often leaned on an artistic eye in the dark room to turn an okay image into something special. I rarely remembered the formula for chemical soaks, nor did I take the time to document my pinhole camera exposures to simplify the subsequent shot. Numbers and calculations simply didn’t mix with the art of aesthetics for me. I just sort of “felt” that an image was done when it was done.

Even today with my digital SLR, I lean on my auto settings to quickly capture my compositions because I can’t force myself to reference the manual or fiddle with buttons in the presence of a fleeting moment. As a means of controlling light, I keep my flash turned off at all times and follow the rhythm of natural light, shooting in the morning or early evening, feeling confident that if the lighting or contrast isn’t quite right, I can tweak it on my MacBook. But to really mature into a serious photographer, I’ve come to realize that there’s a delicate balance between firing the right and left sides of the brain…like ah, simultaneously. A balance I intend to cultivate.

So when shutter brother Al suggested that I shoot in Aperture Priority setting – giving me control of the size of the aperture (the hole in the camera regulating the amount of light that comes into the camera) and keeping the camera in control of the shutter speed – I made him turn the dial to the “A”.  Large apertures (low f/-numbers) reduce the depth of field, blurring objects behind and in front of the main subject. Small apertures (high f/-numbers) increase depth of field, bringing out details in the background and foreground. Al then pressed on the +/- button to show me how easy it was to increase and decrease the exposure setting simply by turning a control dial in this A-priority mode. The higher the number > the more light let in.  The lower the number  > the less light let in.  Well, now.  That wasn’t so hard.  So I proceeded to play in A-priority mode for the remainder of the weekend increasing and decreasing my depth of field and exposure settings, and comparing the images quickly to see the difference. Suffice it to say, I now can’t imagine shooting any other way.

What about you? Do you shoot with auto or manual settings?  Share your best-lit images in the comments and your tips/tricks for controlling light.

Lost and Found

All day I wandered through the house searching through little stacks of papers. Of all things, how could I have lost this? My friend had entrusted me with her most important picture--a snapshot of her with her two daughters taken on the day they said good-bye. She didn't know that it would be two years with only this shot to remind her of how hopeful they all were--and must continue to be until they are together again.

And now I have lost one of the only records of their last time together. Great.

"I'll scan it for you," I said. "That way we can keep it safe."

Safe. What was I thinking? In two short days I misplaced the picture and experienced a catastrophic hard drive failure. At least a thousand of my own photographs gone--poof!--never to be seen again. Searching the house, looking for my friend's photo--the key to her most important memories--I was reminded of what a critical role pictures play in telling our story, keeping our history. Without them, I start to lose the very things I vow always to remember. Without them, as in the case of my friend, we hold our children in our heart without knowing how they've grown or how they felt--the last time we said good-bye.

I'm thinking this is an occasion where sisterhood might really make a difference. Let's promise each other right now we'll scan those old photos (and memories) and that we'll back those babies up at least once a week. Leave your tips and tricks for keeping all your photos safe in the comments below along with links to the photo you must never lose.

Thanks to Flickr, I still have the originals of some of my most treasured moments. And thanks, to a flash of memory right before I sat down to type this post, I remembered that special "safe" place where I'd left my friend's photo. You better believe I'll be returning that picture first thing in the morning. I don't ever want to lose something so important ever again!

What do you say, Shutter Sisters? What's the plan to make sure we don't lose all the magic (and memories) we make with our cameras (and our dear ones) everyday? I know for certain, that here is one sister who desperately needs your help!

fun project

I found this tutorial today at www.fototiller.com via photojojo. The kids had so much fun making their "OWN" coloring pages. Thought yours might too. You could even make them into a book here or here, and give them as birthday gifts. Happy Wednesday!  :)

the muse and the marlboro man

photo by HippyHappyHay

Flickr makes my eyes cross.

In a good way, of course. Eye-crossing world-rocking is what feeds music, art, films, literature—creatives influence enthusiasts who become creatives who influence enthusiasts, each imprinting a new twist on the original until you’re not sure where the muse left off and the student begins.

I’m immensely grateful to Pioneer Woman for her most excellent Photoshop tutorials, sitting two inches from the screen breathing with my mouth open all-like OoooohhNOWIGETIT! …But then everywhere you turn we’re all morphing into replicas, following step-by-step like an army of Verne Troyers to Ree’s Dr. Evil, complete with a chorus of mini-maniacal giggling that we all finally got our hands on the recipe for the Marlboro Man style.

It’s soul food for dry spells, and we love her for it.

But this week I was bewitched by HippyHappyHay’s portrait in our fabulous pool, and went on to admire the gorgeous tones and inventive backgrounds found in her photostream. Ethereal and washed out rather than saturated, delicately evocative rather than high-contrast and grainy. So refreshing next to the unrelenting BAM! BAM! BAM! of my intermediate photofinishing routine, the unchallenged 1-2-3 that I apply like a creature of habit.

And now I’m lit up, all hippyhappy. Still grateful for the generosity of the pioneers, but ripe for something new. So don't bust my bubble, 'kay? Don't say "DUH... that's just '#23 Low Contrast/Vintage' from Actions-R-Us..."

Let me bask in this apparent differentness.

(Come to think of it, maybe it's about time I jump on the actions bandwagon. Think so? Do you use actions for instant interestingness? And is it not a contradiction in terms to push a MAKE-IT-UNIQUE! button while everyone else does the same? Isn't adopting the latest popular pizazz like buying a Toyota—don't you then just see Toyotas everywhere? Does originality even matter, or is it all just about prettier pictures?)

I digress. Share with us: who’s taught you a thing or two? And who’s inspired you to turn it all upside-down?