The Alma Hotel, originally known as the Brandt Hotel, was built in 1887. It took 5.5 months to build. The grand opening was on December 12, 1887. The hotel was host to many salesmen, railroad crews, political candidates, and others who came to town on the Rock Island and Santa Fe railroad lines. It was also a meeting place for town organizations. The hotel is currently in the process of being refurbished to be operated as a bed and breakfast. The Alma Hotel is a landmark native stone building in downtown Alma.
Often when I travel to places and create photographs of buildings I enjoy researching the history and creating my vision of what an older photograph would have looked like. I often don’t mind if there are modern vehicles and people in the frame. If this photograph was taken decades ago, the people and vehicles at the time were modern. Decades from now, my photograph would have antique vehicles and people wearing vintage clothing. Every time to take a photograph we record a bit of history.
We can choose to make our modern photograph look like an antique photograph. We can do this either the classic way or we can do the conversion through the use of the software.
To me, the joy is in the creating of capturing history.
I don’t care that others may think my creation is cheesy. The joy is in the creation of my art for my pleasure and if others find joy in it, it’s all the better. Create your capturing of history and have fun doing it.
Do you ever go back? Do you ever go through your catalog of photographs and reprocess them? I do occasionally and many times I look at the previous edit and think, “did you really like this?”
The previous version
They may not appear significantly different but they are, especially when viewed full screen. I took this photograph in 2016 when I was teaching lighting techniques in a studio.
One of the reasons I went back through these was I happened to be reviewing my portfolio. I decided my portfolio needed to be updated especially after seeing my work. I still liked the selection of images but not necessarily the edits and retouching. I spent the next few hours retouching the selection of images.
For me, it is important to go back and re-visit past work and, if necessary, reprocess them.
I know I beat this topic to death, but I’m going to say it again. The ability to post-process and “alter reality” is sometimes necessary for the creation of art. Take a look at the image above. it has been altered and an element removed! Aghast!
This is the original, albeit cropped a bit. Do you see the object that was removed, altering the reality of the scene? I’ll give you a hint. Look at the window on the left side of the image. Do you see the blue bungee cord? It isn’t likely that I would have been able to just go undo and move the bungee cord. This wasn’t my property nor was the property owner nearby where I could ask permission to move it. I could have waited and found the responsible party to get permission to move the cord or I could just do it in Photoshop.
Even in Photoshop it took a bit of work and was somewhat of a challenge due to the intricacy of the ironwork on the window. Aside from me working to decide the best method and a bit in remembering how the work to remove the bungee chord took very little time even with the intricate ironwork.
Want to know the funny thing about the bungee? I never noticed it until recently, as in today. My attention was always focused on Kodi. Today, I was reviewing photos in my Lightroom catalog to prepare for today’s blog post (I had no idea what I was going to write about as with most days) when I saw this photograph, and a bit of blue caught my eye. What is that, I asked myself. I zoom in and see it. It’s a bungee cord! How have I never seen that before? A few quick minutes later in Photoshop and voila! It is gone. This is why I love Photoshop and the ability to post-process my photographs!
In 2005 when I bought my first digital SLR camera I was eager to learn everything I could about the camera and photography. I bought all sorts of books, joined lots of photography forums, and a photography club. One thing I don’t remember doing however is seeking out a mentor. Someone who was more advanced than I and could guide me along my way. As a result, I often wandered aimlessly. I am not sure who I would have sought out, it seems as if there are few people willing to become a mentor.
Fast forward to today, I often wished there was a person I could seek out to keep me focused. I am actually more eager to learn today than I was 17 years ago. I read virtually everything I can find. I seek out groups on social media that I believe are frequented by photographers that are more advanced or, at least, as knowledgeable as I believe I am. I also wonder if I suffer from the Dunning-Kruger effect and think I’m better than I am. I am often disappointed in the resources I’ve found. I’m eager to learn and hone my skills but quickly get disillusioned.
The search for the ultimate mentor and photography guru continues.
During the past number of years, I have seen this cycle play out over and again. A new photographer comes along with their shiny new camera and decides after having their camera for a couple of weeks or perhaps a couple of months they want to be a professional. They’ve read all the photography forums and start off with mini-sessions. charging some ridiculously low price. They then progress into wedding photography. The photographs as okay but they are shot outside in natural sunlight on auto mode. All goes well for about a year or so when they just seem to go away. I’ve had a few of these as students at some point in their venture after they have had some sort of failure. What happened? I know some have come through tough times financially, but what about the others? Even those whom I had as students virtually disappeared from the contact information I had. Could it have been burnout? I’ve often wondered but I haven’t really found the answer.
I tried the professional photographer route once, well sort of. I tried the professional route but it was after I retired from a 32-year career with a pension so it wasn’t like I was going to starve or be homeless if it didn’t work. What I found was I hated marketing. The types of photography that were going to “pay the bills” so to speak, was fun but not really all that exciting, at least to me. Did the others experience the same thing I experienced? Maybe.
Today, I focus more on what I call photographic art. I photograph the things that interest me and occasionally others find the photographic art I produce interesting. I haven’t even listed anything for sale for a while now and that is fine. I may venture down that path again but this time, I will produce the images I want at a pace I want. If you want to be an artist make the art you want. Make the art that moves you and inspires you, that is where I’m going. Join me as artists.
This is the best time to be a photographer. In the past, we had to wait to either develop our film or to get it developed and returned to see if we had achieved what we intended when we took the photograph. Today, we don’t have to wait as long as you are using a digital camera.
In the past, we had to have a separate video camera and a film camera, today the features are combined. Our still cameras, for the most part, have a video feature and the video cameras have a still feature.
We also have the ability to get out of the dark. We don’t have to use a dark room full of chemicals when we are editing or printing our photographs. We also have advanced techniques available to us in our photo editing through modern software.
The best part of all is that if we still want to “do it the old way” with film and the darkroom we can! We have all the best options available based on how we want to take our photographs.
With all the choices we have though, I will never understand the haters. We all have choices and for the most part, no one is forcing us to do our photography one way or another. Yet in many photography forums, there are the haters and the so-called “trolls”. I used to engage them but then I realized that is what they want. I’ve changed my mindset, I’ll engage the non-haters and the non-trolls with my art. Don’t let the haters and trolls force you to change how you want to produce your photographs and art. Do it your way!
I touched on this topic a few days ago ( Has Photoshop Made It Too Easy ), but I really want to touch on this topic again. The topic is, does Photoshop or similar programs make it too easy to be creative?
I recently had a conversation with a friend about the use of editing techniques to change or add to a photograph. My friend is a very talented photographer and enjoys setting up creative sessions. We had discussed the use of Photoshop in some examples she showed me as she is learning how to utilize Photoshop more in post-processing. Later in the day she showed me some images and said she “made me feel like a lazy person not creating photographs”. I can understand that to a point.
Like my friend, I enjoy putting together props, selecting a location, the lighting, and everything else, but there are sometimes I cannot select and control the weather or environmental conditions. I may actually visualize my subjects in a storm, pouring rain, night, sunset, sunrise, or any other of a multitude of environmental conditions. I can wait for such conditions but if I’m using a model or other person will they be available on, often, a moment’s notice? Do I really want to be out during a lightning storm? We may have to wait months for foggy conditions but will it be the right season? What if I envision other elements that may or may not be something that I could find with any regularity?
I don’t believe Photoshop and the use of post-processing makes one lazy. I believe that it actually encourages more creativity. The use of programs like Photoshop creates opportunities. We can still set up the props, the lighting, the locations, and all the other elements and further enhance our vision through editing. Photoshop doesn’t make you lazy it actually creates better creativity.
Does your photography really matter? I don’t necessarily mean to the world or even others but does it even matter to yourself? Do you create the photographs you want or do you create work that others expect?
I know if you’re a photographer who earns your living through your photography you often have to produce the photographs that pay the bills, but is it really the work you want to create? If it is, that is wonderful, if it is not maybe you can create some side projects of the work you want to create.
I don’t make my living through my photography. I’ve made money from my photographs but it isn’t what I do for a living, but I have found myself producing work that others expect to see rather than what I would want to produce. Even as amateur photographers (amateur meaning for the love of it) we can, at times, produce the work others expect. We can also get lost in the creativity arena.
I have, in the past, asked photographers why they took a particular photograph. Most of the time, they will answer with something along the lines of, “I was drawn to the scene by the light” or “I thought it looked interesting” but when questioned further about their “why” most are not able to expand upon the why. They don’t know why of the why. We don’t have to create images that have a deep meaning or hidden message, but if we, as the photographer and artist, don’t understand why we are drawn to particular subjects, light, scenes, and so on, how can we create the photography that matters to us?
Ansel Adams was an environmentalist. He was a lifelong member of the Sierra Club. He had a passion for the environment. It isn’t any wonder why his photographs of natural places like Yosemite are so wonderful. His passion was for the preservation of nature and natural places.
Maybe I should explore my passions outside of our photography and that will allow me to see my photography in a new light and I can create the photographs I want and understand the why of my why.
Has Photoshop and similar programs made photography too easy? What?! Some of you who have followed me for a while may think this is totally opposite of what I’ve written about in the past but bear with me.
I think I have somewhat figured out why the anti-post-processing crowd may believe what they believe, at least some of them. I think they may believe Photoshop has made it too easy. They struggled to learn how to “do it in camera” or some types of photographs were nearly impossible for them to create because their darkroom skills weren’t as advanced. Now comes along Photoshop, Lightroom, and similar programs that have opened the doors to advanced processing of images that were nearly impossible or, at the very least, difficult to achieve. Some of them are the, “I suffered and struggled so you must suffer and struggle as well” crowd.
I’ll be the first to admit that many of the past masters of photography were fabulous photographers. They knew how to use their equipment, but also remember that in those days, they were the very few. The numbers of photographers were a mere fraction of those today. I’ll also admit it has become easier to do some awesome advanced techniques just as masking, sky replacements, element selections, and compositing but to make the images look natural takes practice and honing of skills.
Every advancement in technology has met, at least, some resistance from previous generations. People complained about the advancements in transportation, computers, television, and communications.
No! Photoshop hasn’t made it too easy. Photoshop and similar programs have just changed the technology. I’m older and have been involved in photography for 40+ years. I love the advancements in technology. I also don’t have a problem with keeping the “old ways” alive. There is room for us all. There is enough respect and admiration for us all.
Along with photography, I am a fan of philosophy although I barely passed philosophy as a college student. As I have grown older I have realized that many things we think we know we actually know very little about. We often accept a common belief system without question. One thing many photographers may not know is there is a whole genre of philosophy about art, aesthetics. Aesthetics is the branch of philosophy that deals with the principles of beauty and artistic taste. Some of the first writings on the topic date back to the days of Socrates, although the thoughts of Socrates were written by his students, Plato and Aristotle.
The whole topic of what constitutes art and beauty has existed for nearly 2,500 years and continues today. I suspect that the debate will never cease. As time goes on, views of what is and isn’t art and beauty change. This isn’t a bad thing. In fact, it is a good thing. I believe it is important to remember all the past art movements (a list of past art movements can be found here). Because of the fact that perceptions of what is and isn’t art change, I choose to not worry about following the trends or what is currently popular even though I may participate in such things from time to time.
To me, the most important thing about creating art through my photography is self-expression. I didn’t always think this way. I can participate in any of the past and current art movements from photorealism to surrealism.
The city
In one of the social media forums, I participate in there is a current trend of creating “twirl” art. This has created quite a stir. A few members of the forum have complained this is no longer photography since the original photograph. The complaints, of course, just created more of an interest in creating these works. While this may be a passing fad, the tools available to create these sorts of works in Adobe Photoshop have existed for every version I have used and I began using Adobe Photoshop in 2010.
The philosophy of art is not writing in stone. We can debate what is art ad nauseam but I still find myself participating in such debates. This is why I like photography, art, and philosophy, everything is ambiguous. If we haven’t clearly defined what is art or beauty in 2,500 years it is likely that we may never agree on what is or isn’t art past an often short-lived movement.
Photographer Clay 