Photographer Clay

Category: Uncategorized

  • Photography is easier nowadays

    Photography is easier nowadays

    Digital photography has made photography easier today than in the past. White balance can be set to auto or a number of presets and it can be changed multiple times per session using the same card. Film speed can be adjusted from photograph to photograph. In the past, using film we had very limited choices of white balance and film speeds and they couldn’t be changed on the same roll typically. I know we could push a film speed and we could add different filters to the lens to affect color temperatures. When I began photography it was unthinkable that I would be able to take a photograph with an ISO setting of 12,800. In fact, it was very difficult for me to even find film faster than 800. I know we don’t really have film speeds or white balances in digital it is all a program that makes some adjustments. While that may be true, it functions the same way in practice as the old film speeds and white balance.

    Today, we can also store hundreds or thousands of photographs on a single card rather than be limited to 36 or so exposures. We can also quickly see our work through a screen on the back of the camera rather than wait until we got the film developed and prints made. Modern digital cameras will even “develop” my photograph and the image be completely usable straight out of the camera. While I may not instantly have a physical print in hand I can have portable devices that could make a print at the click of a button.

    I can also take my images and process them in ways that were well beyond most photographers in the past using programs such as Photoshop and the myriad of similar programs and applications available, some for free.

    I suspect this is why some “old-timers” in photography or those who want to be like an “old-timer” thumb their noses at modern digital photography. I love the look of photographic film. It is different than digital. I love that there are those who want to keep film alive, albeit I believe film will eventually die except for a few very niche photographers. Because of all these things we can spend more time on composition, content, creativity, and people who may have never ventured into photography. I’ve come to a point where I don’t to discount anyone’s choice of medium to do their photography because I may just learn something new or be inspired by their creativity.

  • Do you really need a photography workshop?

    Do you really need a photography workshop?

    Photography workshops, do you really need one or do you just need a guide? It has started to appear as if the workshops being offered are really just guided photography trips. To me, a workshop is an event that provides training. Merriam-Webster defines a workshop as; “a usually brief intensive educational program for a relatively small group of people that focuses especially on techniques and skills in a particular field.”

    Years ago, I went on a photography trip that was billed as a workshop. While the guys who were the workshop hosts were nice guys and had scouted the locations well I didn’t believe either one was a much better photographer than I. The problem I often found was there were about 12 of us who paid for the workshop and in many of the shots I wanted to take there often appeared to be a photographer standing somewhere in the frame. The other problem I found was there were so many of us that when we all, or at least several of us, found a composition we liked we lined up like we were at the firing line of a shooting range. When we traveled between locations it was a convoy of vehicles. I’m almost certain that most of us all came away with a number of nearly identical images.

    A few months ago, a friend and I went on another photography trip. It was just two of us. We had, as best as we could, scouted out locations virtually. We could also decide on the fly to try a location. We still got a decent number of photographs and this time we weren’t in each other’s way. At one time I saw there was a service that you could sign up to be or hire a local photographer to be a guide. You could offer your services as a guide to your area and if you were traveling to another area you could search for a guide. Maybe we need more guides and fewer group trips billed as a workshop.

  • It’s a bad day for photography

    It’s a bad day for photography

    I’ve heard this so many times and it has been from people with cameras. You often hear this when the weather doesn’t meet their expectation. Too many clouds, flat grey clouds, no clouds, raining, snowing, etcetera. In reality, there is no bad day for photography. Just because the weather doesn’t meet my expectation or provide the conditions I wanted to photograph doesn’t mean it is a bad day for photography. The true sign of photographic artists is that they are able to adjust to the conditions. A photographic artist can visualize the art. Is the weather not doing what you hoped? Take a moment or two, study your scene and subject and adapt.

    Some of the most compelling photographs I have been under what many of those “it’s a bad day for photography” people would say it’s a bad day. Under some weather conditions, it may be necessary to use precautions because it’s dangerous, and I may have to wait a bit but, to me, it’s still not a bad day. Embrace what nature gives us to photograph you may actually be surprised and able to get one of the best photographs you’ve ever taken.

  • Fine art photography and beyond

    Fine art photography and beyond

    Yesterday, I wrote about photography as an art. Today, I want to talk about photography as fine art. There are many genres of photography and of all those genres the vast majority can be fine art. Fine art is often defined as work that is purely created to be aesthetically pleasing. Wow! Based on that definition most of what I and likely you create is fine art! Isn’t that awesome!

    I used to dislike the terms, art is subjective and my photography, my art. The more I have thought about it, these terms are true regardless of whether or not I like or dislike them. Have you ever walked around a museum of art? I have many times. There are all sorts of art inside. Have you ever had a small child draw a picture for you? Was that art? And many of these works were created purely to be aesthetically pleasing. Of course, it was. See where I’m going with this? Art is in the eye of the beholder.

    We are many times fine artists. We create works to be pleasing to the eye. Don’t let others define you, we have already done so. Go create my friend, you are truly a fine artist.

  • Photography as art

    Photography as art

    It has been debated and it is still somewhat of a debate whether or not photography is an art form. To me, it is definitely an art form, but many others claim it is not the same as painting and sculpture. Those who claim photography isn’t art often cite things like it isn’t creative, it doesn’t take skill, anyone can do it, blah blah blah. Much the same could be said for any art form. Anyone can splash paint on a canvas, anyone can create a sculpture. Given the trends in the traditional art forms with abstract art forms, ready-mades, etc.

    Those of us who are photographers know none of those comments are true. Photography done properly is creative and takes a lot of skill. Photography is different than painting just as painting is different from sculpting which is different than dance. Will this end the debate? I doubt it. It won’t end because there are those who believe their art form is above and beyond that of other forms of art. I don’t care what those naysayers believe, not in the least. All I can do is to do my photographic art and promote it as best as I can. Let’s get out there and create some photographic art.

  • Five simple tips to great photography

    Five simple tips to great photography

    Five simple tips to take great photographs. I see these types of headlines, or something very similar to the every single day. Then you get into the article and they say the same things every other article says about photography. Learn exposure, get closer, blah, blah blah. Simple right? Well maybe but maybe not. I’ve taught people just beginning photography. When I teach a beginner, I go out with them to help guide them. What sounds simple isn’t always so simple. I read a lot of these articles, or watch online videos that are similar, just to see if they have some “magic” technique. I haven’t found one yet. To me, this is becoming the problem I see with photography. This has become the way to learn photography and what we’re getting is everyone is taking the same photographs. They all look like everyone else’s photographs.

    When I have taught beginner photography the first thing I mention is that I don’t want to make them a copy of me. I want them to find their own style(s). I’ll teach the concepts and let them explore. Online instruction is fine in some cases, but to depend upon a video to teach as the only source often leads to confusion and failure. What if you have a question? You don’t have an instructor, if you send an email or post a comment you may, eventually, get an answer.

    If you really want to get better at photography find a real class or mentor that you can have real interactions with and help guide you personally. I feel like today we are losing personal interactions in hopes of fast and easy. Fast and easy is rarely good and far more often not even close the great.

  • Vision vs sight

    Vision vs sight

    To most people the two words are synonymous but to an artist, the two terms are very different. I know we hear photographers and artists talk about visualizing a work. A photographic artist can see a subject or scene and visualize a final piece of work. New photographers often struggle with this concept especially those who were not trained in art. Experienced photographers who can visualize a piece from a subject or scene often have difficulty explaining how to achieve the ability to visualize. I get it. Being able to teach someone how to use their mind and eyes to create a view of a work of art is at best a fuzzy concept. My photography school wasn’t particularly good at teaching this concept either.

    One way I was able to teach myself how to visualize was through experimentation in post-processing and in using my camera and photography tools in manual mode. In the beginning, there were some horrible results. I won’t call them failures because it was a matter of learning. Another technique I used was watching movies, particularly old black and white classics. Many of the old directors of photography and gaffers were masters of lighting. Lighting effects had to be created at the time and not through the use of special effects. Today, we see many movies made that employ the use of color grading, one of my favorite techniques.

    The entire point of this post is to get us to consider experimentation with our gear and software. Even if the experiment results in a horrible failure, it isn’t a failure. When we work with our digital assets we can work with copies and we can always start again. Don’t look at a horrible experiment as a failure but as part of a learning process. Take it further than you normally do you just may surprise yourself with your art.

  • Sometimes less is more

    Sometimes less is more

    I see this more often with wedding and portrait photographers but it exists in all genres where we or our clients believe the photographer must take hundreds or thousands of photographs during a session. Once those hundreds or thousands are taken the vast majority must be great. I have tried to understand when, why, and how this trend began. At the same time, I photographers say to go back to film to learn to be a better photographer because you’re limited in the number of photographs you can take, yet many of these same photographers provide massive numbers of photographs for their sessions.

    I used to loath the term, less is more. I have always thought to deliver a finished product that is better than expected but I have come to better understand what often the expression means, at least to me. It’s not always the quantity of delivering more but delivering less of a higher quality. When we attempt to pack too much into a session, we often become sloppy and careless. This can include any photography we are doing. By setting a goal of coming away with hundreds or thousands of photographs maybe we would be better served by slowing down, limiting our numbers, working to obtain the best exposure, best composition, best subject. As an artist, we shouldn’t be concerned with mass production but quality art.

  • If you could have anything

    If you could have anything

    Photo by Eva Elijas on Pexels.com

    I heard this question posed in a podcast I listen to a week or so ago and I have been thinking about it ever since. The question that was posed was, “If I could grant you anything you wanted for your photography what would it be? Would you want a new camera? A new lens? To travel more?” The podcaster went on to say nothing was out of the question. But, this was a three-part question. The next question was, “why did you choose that?” and the third was, “what have you done to achieve that?” I’ve thought about those three questions since I have heard this podcast and decided it was time to talk about it.

    While I began writing this I was able to answer those questions. My answer to the first question is, I want more artistic motivation. I let my motivation falter in the winter of 2020. The world camera came under attack by a global virus. One that, at the time, there was no cure for, no known treatment, or vaccination. It became easy to sit inside and watch the world go by. Just like an exercise program the more you skip the workout the easier it becomes to skip. Motivation, once lost, is difficult to bring back as I am finding out. I still see fantastic scenes, subjects, and light. I still have creative ideas I want to work on. It’s just getting it flowing again. I suspect many of you have had a similar experience. I can even answer the third question today. I started writing this blog about my thoughts and ramblings. I recently started taking a camera with me wherever I go. The artistic motivation is coming back, slowly but it is getting there.

    Spend some time to think of what it is that you want to further your photography. Then, answer the final two questions, why did you choose that thing and what have you done to accomplish it. Let’s further our artistic journey together!

  • The beauty of the ordinary

    The beauty of the ordinary

    So many times we look for exotic locations or spectacular subjects when we can easily find beauty in ordinary things if we just look. We don’t just have to limit it to nature but we can include people and man-made objects. Beauty surrounds us every day we just often pass it by as ordinary and uninteresting. Spend time looking at the world around you rather than thinking you have to travel to far-off exotic locations or find supermodels.

    I think back to some of the exercises I did from my photography school, such as 10 different photographs of one subject. This doesn’t sound like much until you start doing the exercise. The first few you can get done quickly but as you approach the last few you may find yourself really thinking about angles, composition, light, perspective. When I performed this exercise I often found the photographs I took towards the end were the most compelling.

    Look for the beauty of the world around you and photograph it to share with the rest of the world.