My New Favorite Photographer

I like the work of many photographers both old ones and new ones. One of my all time favorites is Edward Weston. This has changed a bit. I had to move Weston over and make room for Vivian Maier.

The work of Vivian Maier, a french woman living in Chicago doing incredible street photography, is worthy of being shown in any great museum in the world. Her work to me is similar to Henri Cartier-Bresson, it has the same kind of "divisive moment" feel to it. I also like that the images were shot using an old TLR and they look to be full frame and in a square format.

Here is a prime example of an extremely talented photographer, working in obscurity, and producing an incredible body work over a long period of time coming to light. Her images were recently discovered by by a guy named John Maloof. Her story is on the blog he has created to feature her photographs. I ran across a link to this blog about a week ago and I subscribed to the RSS feed.

So here is the link to the "Vivian Maier-Her Discovered Work" blog http://vivianmaier.blogspot.com/

"The Seduction of Potential"

As I have said in the past I am a fan of Brooks Jensen the publisher of Lenswork. His most recent podcast really hit home for me. I really can't add too much more, so here is a link so you can listen for yourself.

"The Seduction of Potential"

What is the Best Camera?

OK so when someone asks you "what is the best camera?"

How you you answer?

This question is impossible to answer without more information, what are they going to use it for, what is their skill level, how much do they want to spend, and so on.

For me the answer is "The best camera is the one in my hands". I know this is a flip answer and it has been made by many other people, but there's a lot of truth in it.

What good is my $8000 DSLR with the most expensive zoom lens possible, sitting in it's camera bag back at my house doing me? What if all I have is the camera in the cell phone in my pocket and the mother ship from Alpha Centari lands 100 feet in front of me in broad daylight, which is the best camera in that case?

I take a camera with me a lot, and I always have my cell phonecamera. Bringing a camera with you as much as possible insures that you won't have the "boy I sure wish I had my camera" experience less often. I know that even if you have your camera with you can still miss capturing that great image, but without it it's a guarantee that you won't get the shot.

So like American Express says "Don't leave home with out it!".

Saint Ansel and the Myth of the Zone System

I am sure I will be crucified for this one, but here goes.

My friend and shooting buddy Steve refers to Ansel Adams as Saint Ansel. I think there are two reasons he does this, one is he is truly a fan of Adams and the other mainly is to piss me off. At least in a friendly way.

Don't get me wrong I like AA's work and if you were to ask most normal people who he was, they could tell you that he was a great photographer. I'll give odds that they probably have seen only one or two of his photographs. He has become larger than life, a cultural icon, a person of mythological proportions.

There are not many other photographers who have achieved that kind of recognition. I am not trying to take anything away from his accomplishments, but I think there are many other photographers who were his contemporaries that don't get the notice that they deserve.

When you put a group of photographers together especially ones who shoot B&W and the conversation turns to photographers, Ansel is generally the first name thrown out. It's sort of like recognising the Beatles and no one else. Rolling stones anyone?

What happen to people like Minor White, Wynn Bullock or dare I say it, Edward Weston. These guys were much more then just a footnote in photographic history, but Adams is the person that the myth was created about. I find this interesting.

We all have our favorites, but I think we need to expand our horizons. It doesn't hurt to look at the work others even if we are not that big a fan just to broaden our scope a bit. We could gain a new perspective on how we look at things.

Then again I could be full of it............

Who Sez Living in The Country is Boring

This past weekend I ran a lighting workshop at an annual photography summer school, put on by SWMCCC. It's held at Hope College in Holland MI.

I got home about 4 PM, put all my stuff away and I was just getting ready to take a shower.
When I heard a loud crack, like the sound made by a large branch breaking. I looked out the window and saw a car in the ditch in front of my neighbor's house. I had my mother in law call 911 and ran out to see who was in the car and to see if anyone was hurt.


When I got there an older man was climbing out on the passenger side of the car. He said he was all right. The air bags had deployed and he had scraped up his hand but otherwise seemed all right.


He said he thought he had fallen asleep. His car had come across the road into the ditch taking out the power pole in front of my neighbor's house. I spent the next the next 30 or so minutes directing traffic to keep other cars from running into the partially downed power line as emergency people and the power company arrived. Before too long I the road was full of plenty of help and so I went up the house and grabbed my camera.

There is excitement even in the country.

Persistance of Vision

I believe that I have a much better eye now then ever before, and it improves the older I get.

I don't mean that my eyesight has improved; I need glasses to read and for closeup work, what I mean is it's how I look at the subjects that I photograph.

Now I notice things that I am sure that I overlooked as a younger person. Sometimes that makes the difference if I trip the shutter or not.

Subtle nuances in lighting, odd things in the background are some of the things I just automatically notice. Most of the time that is.

I all just comes with experience, the more you shoot the better you see.

Your first step is getting past the learning how to use the equipment part. The next step is learning the photographic technique part of the equation. Then when you feel comfortable with those two parts you can concentrate your efforts on learning what makes a good image.

Like most things this all takes time. The more effort and time you put forth the quicker you will improve your vision.

Sparta Fire Deptment. Waterball Contest

Every year the Village of Sparta holds an event they call "Town and Country Days".

Activities start the middle of the week and wind down on Sunday when the have the fire works

display.

There are so many things going on it's hard to decide what to see and do.

This year I made it a point to shoot the fire department waterball competition.

The idea of waterball is to move the big metal ball down to your opponent's side using a fire hose.

The Sparta fire fighters invite other area fire departments to play in the water with them.

It is a lot of fun.

Dirt and Speed

It looks as if I am turning into an action photographer. This was not intentional, I blame my daughter. If she hadn't started playing soccer..........


















My Friend Steve and I have been talking about trying to shoot Motocross for some time now.

So Sunday we did.

Blues on the Mall

A local radio station has hosted a blues series for the past 18 years. The music is great and there is always an eclectic group of people to photograph.

Here are a few for your enjoyment.


"Sure I'll sign"

"The Photo guy"


"Beaded Hair"

" High Five Kid"

" The Prom Queen and Her Date"

A Sad Day

Well it has finally happened, Kodachrome is no more.

http://www.insideanalogphoto.com/inside-analog-photo-kodak-retires-kodachrome/205

I will miss this great film but things do change.

Waterfalls in the U.P.

Here are a few of the waterfalls I had a chance to photograph on my recent UP trip.

More Images From Da UP Aye

Never Met a Yooper I Didn't Like

Just got back from a four day trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I like very much going there and on this trip I went to a part of the U.P. that I had never been in before. My oldest daughter went with me. I was hoping all three of my girls would go but the other two had other things they were doing so it was just the two of us.


The first night we camped at Baraga State Park. The next day we headed up the Keweenaw Peninsula and did a circle tour and saw and photographed a lot on interesting things.The Day's high point was when we stopped at "The Gay Bar" for a drink. The town of Gay is quite a metropolis. There is a old smoke stack left over from the days when the town was a place copper was smelted, about a dozen houses and of course the bar.

We had an nice conversation with the owner about alien abductions and he told us a few jokes about a Yooper couple taking a cruise. It was extremely funny and he spoke with a heavy Yooper accent which added to the fun.

Here's a couple more images I will post more when I get through them, but here is a taste for now.

The Preacher

I have really gotten into photographing people in crowds the last couple of years. Festival settings and outdoor concerts are great places to grab candid shots of people.

Many times when people take candid photographs of others, especially people they don't know, they tend to use a longer lens and are back away from their subject. I find that getting in closer and using a wider lens, works well for me. I will use a longer lens but if I can get closer I will.

I haven't yet had anyone give me any grief about photographing them this way, plus you can say hello if you like.

One thing if I'm in close generally there isn't anything between me and the subject I'm shooting to get in the way. Plus I seem to blend into the crowd this way.

These are shots I made at a local festival of the arts. I think there were more people in the crowd watching the interaction of this preacher guy with some of the folks in the crowd than were watching the performers on stage. He did have a few people in the crowd quite worked up. But it made for some interesting images.

More Digital Infared

In case anyone is interested, a few more infared images.

Digital Infared

I finally got around to playing with the IR filter I bought the end of last summer. I think I can see a series in this.

What's My Motivation?

What motivates you to pursue the craft of photography? Fame, fortune, insanity or something else.
For me the answer to this question is multifaceted. Because I make my livelihood as a photographer the fortune part comes in to play, although the fortune is a tiny one in my case, but it is also my creative outlet. If I wasn't paid to do it I still would.

There is an interesting thread on the APUG site that I have provided a link to.
http://www.apug.org/forums/forum50/59887-photographs-main-reason-you-photograph.html

This is sort of related to what I am talking about so you maybe interested in what different folks have to say.

Gear Again!!!

OK, so I have an old issue of Outdoor Photographer that has been sitting around that I hadn't got around to reading. I picked it up and looked at the cover to see what was inside.
One of the blurbs on the cover said something to the effect shoot like Ansel Adams with your DSLR.

Now this caught my attention.
Just how in hell can you get the same result as a large format camera/film combination; and like Ansel Adams no less, using a DSLR.? So I went to page 56 and started to read the article. The article was about perspective control lenses. Gear again!!

I am not anti-gear by any means, but so much is written it the photo magazines about gear. I know that many people use the photo magazines to research what they want buy, but it seems like there is a glut of these kinds of stories.

It seems to me there is an inference being made, if you use this gear or that gear you'll get this result or that result. Yes you need to use photographic equipment to do photography.

BUT
Gear doesn't make an image it just takes the picture.

Great equipment in the hands of an inexperienced photographer will not make world class photographs. I have see way too much emphasis put on improving skill level by getting the latest stuff. Just because the guy in the camera store or the author of an article says you need it don't make it so.

You need to learn and master the craft. The more you understand the how and the why the farther ahead you will be creatively.

I am sure that if I won the super lotto jackpot tomorrow I would run right out and buy as much gear as I could carry.

But would it improve my photography?

Arena Racing

I posted some images from the lawn mower races quite a few months back.
Arena racing is a similar sport from the standpoint that just about anyone who wants to participate can afford to do so. Many of the cars are owned by the people driving them.

These cars run around 60 MPH during a race. The track is designed to fit in the space a hockey rink would set. So even though the cars are small there is just enough space to run them two abrest.

Because of the small track space and speed of the cars spinouts and smash ups are a regular part of these events. It is the only racing I have been to where when a car gets fliped over on it's roof two or three track guys come out, check the driver out, and flip the car back on it's wheels so it can be on it's way. (here's a good example http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpgVck6QpvM )

If for some reason a body part like a fender, hood or trunk lid become loose they are re-attached with liberal quanities of duct tape.

Pre race check out.


up on 2 wheels.

Spin in turn 4

This young lady just won her first race. Iwas rooting for her.

Heated words between a drive and race offical.

If you want to find out more http://www.arenaracingusa.com/

or

http://www.arenaracinggr.com/

Lighting The Way

As photographers we concern ourselves with many things while pursuing the craft. What lens to use, camera type, film or digital, do I need a tripod, etc.

But before we ask those questions we need to ask ourselves what about the light. I would dare say the most important component of any photograph is light. Sure other things are important but without the light you have no image.

I know this seems like a very basic statement, but I think you would be surprised just how many people are out there shooting with no regard to the way the light is falling on their subject, and I don't necessarily mean people new to photography.

Learning to see and use light is sort of like learning another language, the more you understand it's subtleties the better you can communicate your thoughts and ideas. The more you study the light and what it's doing the better you photography will become.

Let's say you are out shooting an environmental portrait and light is very hard. You make the decision to move your subject into a shaded area, this helps you with your subject so you take the shot. When you look at it you see that the background is really washed out because it is so much brighter. If you would have studied the scene a bit closer you would have noticed that this was a problem and you could have made a different choice as how to proceed. All this comes with experience. The more you look at the light and learn how it behaves the better you results will be.

So do yourself a favor, study your light a bit closer. You'll be glad that you did.

Shooting with Friends

Last Sunday I left the comfort of a nice warm house to go shooting with a few friends. It was some of the same group of folks who get together every so often to make the great photographic masterpieces of our time.

We decided to go out to the lake shore by Grand Haven MI. The power station in Grand Haven discharges warm water into the channel and the open water attracts eagles who feed there.

I don't have a really long lens, the eagles were far away and Sam wanted to shoot at the pier so I went with him.

He had never been out the the big lake in the winter to shoot before. I think he had a good time. We need to make a return trip on a day with more sunshine.

Sam the artic photographer.

Blowing snow.

Shooting New Year's Day

I went shooting with a group of fellow photographers on new years day.

John

Steve

Sarah

and Sam.