Blue Planet Photography

This year at the fair was interesting.

On Aug 21, I held my bi-monthly PhotoCrawl at the fair, in the evening. Around 9:15pm a powerful microburst struck the fairgrounds with 70 mph winds, knocking over ticket booths, breaking tree branches, tearing up canvas tent awnings and vendor canopies. The fair was shut down at around 10:15pm and everyone was evacuated because there were still high winds blowing stuff around. Reports of 70 - 80 minor injuries (scrapes and bruises) and 4 people taken to the hospital (one person apparently the victim of a fallen branch). Around the area there were grass fires sparked by exploded transformers, massive power outages (40,000 people without power), a car fire, car accident, even a domestic shooting, all in the same relative area at the same time. It was a busy night for fire, rescue and police.

I shot some iPhone video that ended up on the local news and a request to upload to CNN: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRS2JwWYdQc

I went back again on the following Tuesday to shoot some things I wasn’t able to get on Saturday, and came up with an idea. So, I went back again last Saturday to finish up. I created a slideshow (http://www.vimeo.com/14560155) using 534 photos from those 3 days (many are time-lapse style). This show is probably a first draft; the photos (except for one) are processed very minimally.

I judged the Youth Photo Entries this year and there were a lot of really good photos. The judging was made even more difficult because the bakery good judging was going on right behind me and I was constantly smelling ginger snaps, oatmeal cookies, snickerdoodles, and chocolate chip cookies.

I also picked up 2 2nd place and 1 3d place ribbon from my photo entries. As usual, I have some issues with the judging, but that’s the way it usually goes.

Artist Vik Muniz describes his creative progression using various “found” materials.

Last weekend I lead a workshop to Bruneau Dunes State Park in the Owyhee Desert of southwest Idaho. About 20 miles south of Mountain Home and 80 miles from Boise, it’s a location easily reached for a day or weekend getaway. Spring and fall are the best times for color (other than brown) and temperature (other than scorching hot), but really any time of year is good. The main dune is the tallest single dune in the U.S. at over 400 feet. Several smaller dunes and dune fields are found in this unusual catchment basin for sand. Two small lakes are adjacent to the dunes and an astronomical observatory provides exploration of the night sky spring to fall. Tent pads, RV and trailer spaces, and a couple small cabins await the weekend or weekday warrior. The wind blows almost constantly, sometimes very briskly, so protection of camera equipment is important since sand gets into everything.

Ducks, geese, jackrabbits, osprey, great horned owls, kangaroo rats, lizards, snakes, songbirds, coyotes, insects, wildflowers, clouds, sky, and people.

We had a fun time exploring and learning.

For a couple years now, but recently in just the past several months, the pressure for still photographers to enter into video production has been increasing in step with the addition of high definition video capability to digital SLR bodies like the Canon 5D. A big question for still photographers is, “Should I get into video production now?” While a competent still photographer has the basic technical and artistic skills to transition to video, it’s not just a matter of turning on the video feature and shooting away. Transitioning (or adding) video production to your repertoire is a costly endeavor (remember, you can’t shoot video with strobes) requiring expensive new lighting equipment, movement dollies, tracks, stabilization, gimbles, platforms, etc. and a large crew. Video (quality video) is not something you can do by yourself or with a single assistant. For reference, read recent issues of PDN Magazine for overviews of video production and comments about the pitfalls, costs, and pressure from clients to shoot video in conjunction with a stills shoot (for the same rate even). It’s going to be a bit of a messy transition period until the industry gets this bastard child sorted out. Vincent LeForet & Chase Jarvis are the well-knowns (or most prominent in the video-sphere) jumping full force into the video genre, but they’ve got the cash, notoriety, and resources to do it relatively painlessly (I’m sure they might have some words to say about that, but compared to the rest of us I think that assessment is accurate). The still photography industry is entering another trying time while it’s still trying to deal with the flood of digital technology, ease of entry into the market by anyone, pricing issues, over-supply and under-demand, etc.

Anyway, take a look at this video showing how Canon 5D’s are used to create second unit driving plates for the TV series 24. Very interesting behind the scenes kind of stuff:

Shooting Driving Plates for 24 from Stargate Studios on Vimeo.

Vision is not a passive exercise. It is a dynamic combination of physical activity and conscious and unconscious mental processing. The foundation of vision is survival and self-preservation. Our eyes developed for us to be aware of food, shelter, mates, and danger and to assist our brain and the rest of our body to acquire, take advantage of, and escape these things that remain a priority to us today. However, improvements in our affluent way of life have allowed the processing of our vision to become dulled even to the point of becoming a passive exercise. We are less aware of our surroundings because, today, vision is less important for our survival. We live in relative safety, our food doesn’t need to be hunted and chased down, our homes are generally where we left them last, but we do still use our eyes (for the most part) for mate selection. Visually, many of us are in our own world of self-imposed tunnel vision and limited awareness. We follow relatively the same routine in our daily lives and our subjective (selective) vision ignores the commonplace elements around us; people, buildings, cars, colors, shapes, shadows. Our children watch movies in the car rather than look out the window at the passing landscape. Unless a particular visual element stands out by being food, shelter, danger, or a potential mate, we tend to not “see” it. Luckily, the processes involved in photography help restore a more global awareness of what’s going on around us.

Looking: We only see what we look at, and to look at something is an act of choice. Our senses work together and, usually, when we hear, smell, or feel something we turn our head and/or body to look for the source. When something catches our eye, a bright color, a movement, a change in contrast, we turn to look. But we never look at just one thing. Our eyes capture the entire scene, we look at the relationships between the things we see and ourselves; size, distance, direction, shape, color. Our vision is continually active and in motion, identifying those elements around us that make up our immediate environment. We can’t look at something not in our field of vision.

As we look at a scene, we tend to isolate and group elements based on proximity. Elements close together are interpreted to have some sort of relationship; books stacked on a table, two people standing near one another. Things separated by a distance are generally perceived to be non-related. More detailed analysis by our brain, through seeing, makes us aware of more information we can add to our understanding.

Seeing: By closer scrutiny, recognizing and identifying the elements in our field of view, seeing is how we experience, examine, and understand the things we look at. We look at and recognize things before we’re able to speak. Seeing establishes our place in the visible world and the way we see is affected by what we know and what we believe.

As photographers, we look at a meadow and the relationship of the expanse of grass to the trees bordering the edge, mountains to one side, and a blue sky with puffy clouds above. But we see a single tree, its height and girth, the leaves - their color, shape, and the light shining through them, the rough bark, the shape and tonality of the tree’s shadow on the ground, the bird nesting in its branches, the branches moving in the wind, the moss-covered rock at the base of the tree, the pattern and shape of the grass….

A good practice to get into is re-training your vision to See more while you’re Looking. You and your photography will benefit.

Classes that are coming up in the next couple months:

Photo I
This 8-hour class (meets for 2 hours over 4 weeks)lays the foundation from which to build a successful hobby or career in photography. Covered are the fundamentals of light and camera operation from the light meter to the histogram, how all these components work together to create the photographic image, and how you are in control of the results. Weekly assignments and reviews help you to practice the principles and techniques learned. Held in Caldwell, Idaho, Nampa, Idaho, or other location. When weather permits, we will shoot outside during the class. $195
1/4 - 1/25
1/14 - 2/4
2/1 - 2/22
2/4 - 2/25
Go here to register

Before You Buy
This 2-hour seminar is for people thinking about purchasing their first digital camera. We will cover the pros and cons of digital photography, explore the models and brands available, their features, costs, accessories, and try to fit a selection of camera recommendations to your personal shooting style and expectations. There are no sales pitches during this class. I do not sell photo equipment, so you will not be pressured to buy anything. You will, however, be better prepared when you are shopping at the store or online, knowing what you want, what’s available, and less likely to get talked into spending more than you intend or to buy something you don’t want or need.

If you would like to schedule a different date please select “open date” to register and I will contact you after registration to arrange a date and time.
1/7
2/3
3/10
Go here to register

HDR Photography
HDR photography is one of the most popular tools in digital photography to increase the dynamic range in your photographs (the ability of your image to represent detail in the darkest shadows and the brightest highlights). In this 7-hour workshop you will learn what conditions and subjects are best for HDR photography, how to bracket exposures for HDR, using Photoshop and Photomatix Pro to create HDR images (realistic and illustrative looks), create pseudo HDR images from a single RAW file, and more. We’ll spend part of the day in class covering the background and application details, go out for some photographing, then return to the classroom for hands-on processing. You will need a camera that allows you to manually change the esposure, a laptop computer with at least 1 GB of RAM, a means to download your files from your camera/memory card to the computer, a tripod, Photoshop, and Photomatix Pro (free trials are available for both applications).

If you would like to schedule a different workshop date for a group, please contact me to arrange a date and time.
1/23
3/13
Go here to register

Creating Art: Why you do it and what’s holding you back?
This 12-hour workshop (over 6 weeks) will help you discover your reasons and background for creating art, inspire you to explore and experiment, explore the barriers preventing you from creating your art, find the solutions to breaking those barriers, and assist you in getting your art out into the world for people to see and appreciate. Based on the books Art & Fear by David Bayles & Ted Orland, and The View From The Studio Door, by Ted Orland, we will work through exercises and discussions to get you on the right track of creating satisfying and successful art. Both books (signed by the authors) and a workbook are included in the workshop fee.

If you would like to schedule this workshop for your group, please contact me to arrange a date and time.

2/2 - 3/9
Go here to register

Critical Feedback for Photographers
Many photographers and other artists dread both receiving and giving criticism, believing (wrongly) that crtique is a negative process, only pointing out failures. While criticism can be judgmental, the purpose of giving and receiving feedback is positive and, if in the spirit of helpfulness, is one of the most useful tools available to you for improving your work. Criticism can be defined as “informed discourse about art to increase understanding and appreciation of art”. During this 4-hour class I will describe the three main processes of critique (Description, Interpretation, and Evaluation) and work through these steps using our own work and examples from other sources. This is an interactive class and at the conclusion you should be more comfortable with receiving feedback, know how to use the feedback you receive, be able to provide useful feedback to others when requested, and be able to apply this process to the evaluation of art forms other than photography.

This is a good class for camera clubs and other art groups. Contact me for group rates. If you’d like to schedule a workshop on a different date than is listed, please select “Open Date” in the drop down list and I will contact you after registration to arrange a date and time.
1/16
3/20
Go here to register

photo © Nick Brandt. Portrait of Lion Standing in Wind, Masai Mara 2006

Great work from a photographer promoting wildlife and environmental conservation. His work is beautiful and thought-provoking, with the feeling of 1800s era exploration and the wonder (and probable fear) felt by those early encounters with new, unusual and dangerous animals. However, this is the 21st Century and these animals and their habitat are under continuous pressure and encroachment, directly and indirectly by humans.

From my wildlife biologist’s perspective, Nick Brandt’s photographs capture an essence of the animal in its environment in a way we, as photographers, dream of. It’s obvious from the deliberate and careful treatment of each photograph that this is a photographer who “gets it”. Through knowledge of his subjects and time spent in the field, his eye has captured the subtle gesture of each animal defining its tie to the environment in which it lives. These photographs simply and powerfully illustrate the majesty, drama, and struggle all nature’s creatures (including humans) must participate in for survival.

As a photographer, I can fully appreciate the passion, dedication, preparation, and time required to produce such excellent work. His passion for African wildlife is openly visible in his portraits which tell their story in the simplest and most captivating way. We get a sense of the animal and its place, feel the wind, the weight and power resting on the earth, speed, delicacy, intelligence, and grace, the intimate connection animals have with their environment (that many of us seem to lack), and a bit of implied sorrow or tiredness caused by the unceasing drive to survive compounded by relentless pressure on their habitat.

Arriving on the scene with his “On This Earth” series in 2005, he has continued photographing African wildlife in “A Shadow Falls”. He has published two books of each portfolio series. View his portfolios on his website at www.nickbrandt.com.

From John Sexton’s newsletter:

ANSEL ADAMS MOON AND HALF DOME ENCORE NOVEMBER 28, 2009

I suspect that many readers of this newsletter are already aware of this news, but in case you are not I wanted to share with you that, on Saturday, November 28th, at 4:04 PM PST a celestial encore of Ansel’s iconic Moon and Half Dome image will occur in Yosemite. The moon will be a fraction of a degree north of where it was on December 28th, 1960 when Ansel made his well-known image.

Texas State University Astronomer, Donald W. Olson, and his team have studied a number of Ansel’s famous moon photographs, and worked out the exact dates the negatives were made. On November 28th the sun will be about 1.5 degrees off of its 1960 position, so the shadows, as well as the position of the moon, will be very similar… that is if the weather cooperates and the sun is out at that time! The Ansel Adams Gallery is presenting a special program focused on the making and printing of Moon and Half Dome on the afternoon of the 28th. You can check out the Ansel Adams Gallery web site for more information or call them at 209-372-4413. Here is a link to the page about the special program:
http://theanseladamsgallery.blogspot.com/2009/11/moon-and-half-dome-encore-november-28.html

I imagine if the weather is good there will be quite a crowd in the Ahwahnee Meadow. Since the moon is a tiny bit to the north of where it was when Ansel made his photograph, it will be necessary for photographers to position themselves a short distance to the south of Ansel’s 1960 camera position. In addition, it will be necessary for photographers to back up a bit further west from Half Dome, because trees have grown up and partly blocked the view from the precise spot where Ansel placed his tripod so many years ago. I think the best photograph will likely be of the crowd of photographers and tripods attempting to emulate Ansel’s photograph. I hope a few photographers are successful in making images that interpret this event with new and different eyes.

If you’re worried about where to set up your tripod, you can go to Donald Olson’s Texas State University web site and check out the aerial photograph with a suggested tripod location diagram. Amazing!! http://uweb.txstate.edu/%7Edo01/moonandhalfdomeencore.htm

For those that won’t be able to attend the event (like us), but want to experience some of the excitement, try checking out the Yosemite Association’s Ahwahnee Meadow web cam. If the weather cooperates, it should be an excellent view… complete with photographers! Here’s the link: http://www.yosemite.org/129/Web-Cam-View.htm

As an added bonus, the Gallery in Yosemite will host an opening reception for Alan Ross from 5:00 to 6:30 PM. This would be a great time to meet Alan and see his beautiful photographs, which are on display at the Gallery through January 3, 2010.