Sunday, March 17, 2013

Leave the Ego at the door, please

My new-to-me light meter

I find the photography community absolutely amazing.  There is an incredible wealth of information provided by well known photographers, experts in their respective fields, distributed free of charge or for a very small investment.  This information exists in blog form, social community sites, and/or online classes/presentations.

I've been blown away by the willingness to help those less experienced, the eagerness to offer critiques and the overall ego-less community as a whole.

As an architect, I'm not used to that.  I think we tend to treat our intellectual property as gold, protecting it at all costs from prying eyes.  We mock those who are less skilled and less published.  We turn away from those asking for guidance and instead look for the next stepping stone that will increase our standing on the ladder of greatness.

And to what purpose?  Are we really afraid that our own credibility will be diminished if we lend a helping hand?  What could possibly happen if we share some of our own thought process, some of our own insight into how we see and do what we do.  Is what we do really so sacred we need to keep it mothballed from the rest of our profession?

I don't think so and a big 'thank you' needs to go out to everyone who has decided to engage so actively with the rest of us, whether we're hobbyists, amateurs, semi-pros, etc.  The photo above is the Minolta Light Meter IV I recently acquired from EBay after being inspired by +Don Giannatti 's free Udemy class on using and understanding light meters.

Thanks Don, and to everyone else, for leaving the ego behind...


Saturday, March 9, 2013

Fond (and not so fond) memories of being photographed as a kid

Me with my first camera, 1987, with my mom on the right
and her sister on the left (the one that recently sent me this photo).
I remember as a kid I always disliked having my picture taken.  It wasn’t that I tried to avoid being in front of the lens, but it always seemed to feel uncomfortable and unnatural.  I suppose a lot of it has to do with the common misconception in my family that the best photos had to be taken outside in direct sunlight during the hottest time of the day.  Oh, and we always, ALWAYS, had to be facing directly into the sun.  And if your family is anything like mine, especially during family gatherings, one person pulling out a camera turned into an epidemic.  Every time.  

As an added bonus these were the days of film and one photo simply wouldn’t do.  No, different exposures and different orientations had to be performed.  By each person with a camera.  Every time.  And every photo came out looking the same – blown out highlights, cheesy smiles, and squinty eyes.  I never felt those images captured a moment, but tried to insist on the fabrication of something that wasn’t quite real and it had a lasting effect on me.  

When I was older, my family could never seem to comprehend my aversion to taking staged or posed family photographs, especially when we vacationed together.  If I were to include people in my photographs at all (remember I’m an architect by training, so I generally found buildings more engaging) I would go for the candid shots as these felt real to me.  This of course annoyed my mother greatly as I think she believes the only good photograph is one with the person looking directly at the camera prepared with a big smile (no offense Mom!).  Eventually I focused solely on interesting buildings and unusual details.  

But recently I’ve been very interested in ‘people photography’ whether it be portraits, fashion, or images of my own wife and daughter.  I think there are some amazing photographers out there that are able to capture the intangible, even within a studio setting.  This new preoccupation of mine stems from my desire and intent to document my daughter's upcoming life.  I’m attempting to capture who she is on her own schedule.  I’ve learned that I can’t force something out of her, but under the right conditions and attitudes I can lay the groundwork for those special moments to occur.  Well sometimes; she’s only 18 months after all.  



I think there might be an important lesson there.  Sometimes it has nothing to do with photographic skills and everything to do with a person’s ability to connect with others and their willingness to let things happen as they may.  And of course 'anticipation'.  I’m certainly not the first to point this out; follow any good photographer and you’ll probably hear the same thing, but said in a more profound way I’m sure.



To this day I wonder the status of all those photos taken from my childhood.  Every now and then I’ll get an old photo of myself in the mail from my aunt and uncle (yes, my uncle was one of those always whipping out his camera).  Initially I’m taken back to that point in time but then my thoughts drift and I wonder why I’m always staring straight into the sun with an expression on my face that borders pain.  But I suppose that’s the purpose of snapshots, for most people, anyway.  They’re brief reminders of the past, of the places we’ve been, and the people that surrounded us.  They capture our family members in various stages of their lives and they carry a certain intrinsic value for the people tied to that photograph.  So in that sense, I’m no longer entirely afraid of snapshots and I happily snap away during vacations and family visits.  Sometimes it's enough to just be 'dad'.  I just make an effort to avoid the harsh sun…

Callah with her Great Grandfather, 2012

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Current Read: Google+ for Photographers



As I continue back into the world that is photography I've decided not to just blow dust off the camera, but to actually improve my skills.  And while these skills obviously encompass the usual such as technique, lighting and post-processing, it also entails putting my work out there to be seen.

Part of this is amassing a collection of photographs worthy to be put into an online portfolio on a soon to be developed website.  The other part is spreading work through the various social media channels and engaging with other like-minded individuals.

I must admit, I have very little experience with social media; in fact, other than a very basic profile on LinkedIn, I don't have much of a web presence at all.  Certainly no Facebook or Twitter accounts.  But I decided that Google+ may be a perfect opportunity to enter into the unkown, at least for me.

I'm the type of person that likes to get his hands on as much information as possible regarding any subject that I may find even remotely interesting.  So I picked up a copy of Google+ for Photographers by +Colby Brown figuring it would be a great starting point.  I'm only about half way through but so far it hasn't disappointed.

It is not a book intended to be a 'follow me' type of recipe for social media success, but it does provide the necessary insight into the mechanics of the service (and it does it well) so that the reader can make educated decisions on how to format the specific settings to best suit their needs.  Even more so, Colby discusses building a presence dedicated to quantity over quality, and talks of the importance of social branding and consistency among posts.

The book is broken down into chapters that take you from setting up an account and getting started, to understanding circles, publishing photographs and other media and most importantly how to interact with others already using the service.

I appreciate the fact that I'm not just being told to do this or that, but rather given the necessary information to understand why I may or may not want to do this or that.  The emphasis is on defining our focus for establishing an online presence so that the most can be obtained from the service. It's a straightforward practical approach with an aim to keep us photographers from wandering aimlessly through the abyss that is the web.