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A Dose of Inspiration

Jason2 Comments

For those that are keeping up via feed reader, you may have noticed some Flickr additions over the weekend.  As the “What’s This?” arc came to completion, I thought it might be fun to compile all the images into their own dedicated set on Flickr for everyone to enjoy.  As it turned out, I had not been keeping up with cross-posting images there as much as I had thought, so it took several visits back and forth between the site files and Flickr to get everything together.  The Flickr images show up as their own feed posts, so there were a few extra feeds over the last few days.  It’s rather fun to see the collected images all in one place, and it also brings a project to completion.  See the complete 22 week collection here:  What’s This?  Flickr Gallery

Seeing projects come to completion can be a motivating force and can drive inspiration, so I’ve also brought myself current with the latest photography magazines.  Most especially relevant for today was the latest issue of Rangefinder magazine.  The web version can be found at www.rangefindermag.com and is enjoyable to be sure, but the print version really shows so much better.  Get your copy off newstands  – this issue is well worth it!  Artists such as Dixie Dixon and Jay Stock give a great dose of inspiration and demonstrate that anyone can be successful if you have the passion and inspiration, no matter if you are new to photography or have been around the block a few times.  Also in this issue is an excellent article on creating your own fine art photography books.  The price tag is high, but the end results seem pretty amazing!

From the blog front:

  • I also would like to take a moment to thank Crash Taylor again for his Thursday Thoughts interview last week.  Some great imagery in there also serve as excellent sources of inspiration, so be sure to stop over at his site and see the latest developments he has to offer.  Thanks Crash!
  • For those of you that have not downloaded the podcast yet, be sure to take some time to give it a listen – you can win the new Streetwalker backpack from Think Tank Photo!  I did my review on the show, and am giving the back to some lucky listener.  Find out how by listening to the show.  It’s a $140 value and you can have it for free!  How’s that for a dose of inspiration?

Feel free to share your images too – remember, at the end of the month, I will be doing a montage of all the images submitted to the “Flat” theme thread over at the Canon Blogger Flickr presence to feature here on the blog, so get in while you can to win fame and fortune!  (Well, maybe not, but it’s always fun to see your images online, right?)

The Show Must Go On…

Jason2 Comments

While the folks at Personal Life Media continue to work behind the scenes at getting the show re-branded, I’ve been encouraged to keep producing podcasts so, this week, the podcast returns.  I have a couple fun segments including a more detailed back story from The Boneyard Beach post earlier this week, the Think Tank Photo Review, and some blog/podcast housekeeping including the inside scoop on how you can win the Streetwalker bag I reviewed!   Be sure to get this week’s episode so you know what to do.   The bag is valued at $140!!!

As you may have noticed if you’re picking up the feed, I am also uploading all the “What’s This” images to the Canon Blogger Flickr Pool.  As that content arc has ended, I thought it might be fun and of interest to see the entire gallery of photos that have gone up on that subject over a period of roughly 23 weeks.  (Almost half a year of images there to rack your brain on!)

As we head into the weekend, be sure to take your camera with you -never know when a photo opportunity will present itself, so as the Boy Scouts always said:  “Be Prepared!”  Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here Monday morning!

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Thursday Thoughts with… Crash Taylor

Jason4 Comments

Welcome back, and a happy Thursday to everyone.  My apologies for the apparent “no blog” post yesterday.  Just when you think all is going well, work goes and serves up a crashed server that sidetracks you completely all day.  Needless to say, it looks like it’s still not back up this morning, but the blog must roll on!  So, today, we’re gonna stick to our regular schedule of the Thursday Thoughts series.  This week, I have the honor of sharing and enjoying the company of the blog with Crash Taylor.  An excellent photographer, and interviewer himself, this is kind of turning the tables, as the interviewer is now being interviewed!  SO, without further ado, here is Crash Taylor!

Q:  Everyone always wants to know some of the basics, so let’s get a few things out of the way at once here…How long have you been a photographer?

A:  Professionally 4 years.

Q:  Canon, Nikon, Sonly, Olympus, Pentax or some other brand?

A:  Canon 5D Mark II’s all the way baby!   It’s the ultimate wedding camera.

Q:  Mac, PC, or Linux?

A:  Mac’s rule!

Q:  Chocolate, Vanilla, or Strawberry?

A:  Vanilla of course.

Q:  Moving into a little more granularity, photographers often enjoy hearing helpful and constructive critiques of their work, as we are aware of how much we can grow from it.  However, we’ve also all had the “nice shot” and “cool” comments when we’ve shared our work.  With that pretext set, what was the singular most useful critique or comment you’ve ever had on work you’ve shared publicly?

A:  My wife is my biggest fan and holds nothing back when critiquing my work. Her favorite phrases are I LOVE IT or I HATE IT.

Q:  Normally, I’d ask next who said it, but that’d be kind of redundant now.  So, let’s skip ahead to the next question.  If someone was asking you for an honest critique of their work, what 3 factors would you look at most (excluding friendships or family relatives, we’re talking professional or fellow photographer-types here)?

A:  LIGHT, COMPOSITION and EMOTION to me are the key elements to creating a stunning still image.

Q:  Got any war stories from field shoots or outings that you can or would be willing to share?

A:  Not yet. I’m sure I will have some by the end of my career though. Ask me then.

Q:  If you had to choose between the gear or the software as the only way to create, which would it be and why?

A:  I definitely need both to create my signature style images.

Q:  If you had to pick three pictures out of your entire portfolio to represent your approach to photography, or your artistic vision, which ones would you pick?

Crash Taylor Gallery

Crash Taylor Gallery

Crash Taylor Gallery

Q:  Any final thoughts you’d like to share about the state of photography or any catch phrases that you keep in mind when shooting?
A:

  1. Move it from the middle, move in close, watch the light, aim for impact and then capture the moment.
  2. Life without passion and photography is unforgivable.

Thanks so much to Crash for taking the time to sit down and participate in the Thursday Thoughts series.  Like his outlook?  Then check out his site – it’s a must see, and can be found on the web here. Got anyone you would like to hear from on the Thursday Thoughts series?  Feel free to share ideas, comments, suggestions in the comments.  Until tomorrow then, happy shooting.

The Boneyard and the Backstory

Jason9 Comments

I realize that photos should stand on their own merit without any back story, but in this case I am making an exception.

This island is called Bull Island, and is most well known for the dead tree trunks on the eastern shore that died from the assault of the Atlantic Ocean. Bleached white by the sun, salt, and sand, the beach area is called the boneyard because they look like bones.

I was organizing a trip to this island off the coast of SC which is only accessible by boat…so to the east of the island is the ocean and to the west is the mainland. We had gone once before during a regularly scheduled transport (10am), so knew the next time we would have to get them to make a special trip if we wanted any light.

Based on our estimated departure time and arrival on the west side of the island (you can’t dock at the ocean side), I suggested to all that they rent bikes in case we cut it close on sunrise…

So, we set off (already 20 minutes behind schedule due to one member tardy – total of 10 of us) in a skiff, because only one of us ended up bringing a bike. About halfway out to the island, the expert tour guide cuts the motor and stops in the murky light and stands up as if to get his bearings. We’re all cold, wrapped in jackets, with probably about $10 grand of gear (not to mention our lives) in this guys hands and he gets lost!

So, he finally gets his bearings, sits back down muttering something like “Sorry, never been out this early before – too dark.” So this has never been done before? Uh oh…
But, we arrive at the west side of the island without any major additional concerns…except light is rapidly gaining on us

As we dock, I realize I have a decision to make – do I stick with the group and probably lose any chance of catching sunrise on the east? Or do I mount my bike and take off like a bat outta hell? Given that this apparently had never been done before (and to my knowledge has not been done since) – this could be a once-in-a-lifetime chance. So, I take the latter and bail on the group.

I make it to the edge of the wooded paths, and have to ditch the bike (no riding on the beach), and start jogging through the heavy sand to reach the shore. As I pull into view of the ocean, I see the sun is already crested. Then, I see where the sun is, and realize it will cross between two “bones” as it rises. So, I set up the tripod to frame that and snap off probably 5-10 different comps before the sun gets too high.

About twenty minutes later the rest of the group shows up and asks “Did you make it in time?” I smiled…

Boneyard Beach

So, does the story help the image?  What about others?  Anyone else have any compelling images they have some backstory for?  Share yours in the comments!  In the meantime, happy shooting, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow with a multimedia filled Wednesday!  Until then, I hope all your shots are good ones!

Podcast Artwork

Jason6 Comments

Did anyone else know this?  In prepping the podcast for the transition to PLM, I am finding myself with a number of things to do, including:

  1. Composing a headshot
  2. Writing a bio
  3. Sending them images to use for the artwork

I guess the first two of these make sense, but having to pick 2 or 3 of my best photos?  Man!  Remember the post about reviewing your work I made a while ago?  It seemed like a good idea at the time, but as it turns out, I’d be dead in the water now if I hadn’t done that.  Since I did 2008, I was able to apply the same criteria to all my images from previous years too, and now I am down to about twelve total from each of the last 3 years.  To see your work culled down into 36 photos is pretty humbling.  It shows that I have made certain strides, but also that I have only scratched the surface.  As I cull those 36 down to 3, here is one that stands out for some reason:

Reflections

I’ll share more as I get this into a more manageable state.  Don’t forget to tune in tomorrow when I’ll have the Think Tank Streetwalker bag review completed along with photos of how it stacks up too.  Any other products you would like reviewed?  Share your thoughts in the comments!  In the meantime, happy shooting, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!

When it rains, it pours!

Jason2 Comments

After my post on Monday, with the Best 8 of 2008, CB saw quite a bit of activity, first from some very generous links back from none other than Scott Kelby and Jeff Revell of Photoshop Insider and Photowalk Pro fame. Then, when I did the piece on Tuesday titled “Is Film Making a Resurgence?” based on several discussions and news events, that also saw a fair number of comments. All this came on the heels of a career switch that has me transitioning from the private to the government sector which means condensing about 6 months of work projects down into two weeks.  This means I missed making a few noteworthy photo-related announcements that are both specific to CB and to the photography community at large.   From a blog visibility perspective, that was totally the worst time to not even make a post for teh day, but there was nothing to be done about it.   I guess the old saying is true:  When it rains, it pours! So, here’s a few announcements and belated photo-related news events to share for the remainder of this week.

From the Canon Blogger news front:

  • Canon Blogger has been picked up by Personal Life Media (the same folks that host Digital Photography Life and Camera Dojo).  This means future podcasts will be uploaded to their service, which will do a number of things for the podcast.  First and foremost, they will optimize the audio quality for the listening audience.  Second, they are also going to fix some podcast feed issues that I didn’t even know I had so that the show comes up better in your favorite feeds like iTunes and the like.  We’re also going to update the graphics to give the CB podcast a little bit of a sexier and professional look.  It’s quite exciting to see that there has been enough interest to warrant this kind of leap forward.  It does mean this week will be the second in succession with no show, but as we flesh out the details and get all the archived content uploaded, we can move forward with new shows!
  • Due in part to the holiday schedule, and to the subsequent flurry of personal and professional activity, the What’s This series and the Thursday Thoughts Series took a brief hiatus this week.  Yesterday was just insane at work, so I didn’t even get a chance to post to the blog saying I wouldn’t have time to post, so Wednesday was both figuratively and literally a No Blog Wednesday!  I should be back to a regular and more predictable schedule with those next week.
  • As you may recall from my last podcast of 2008, I announced that Think Tank had generously donated their new StreetWalker bag to CB for a review.  I have been putting it through its own paces over the last couple weeks and am now working on the finishing touches of my first official product review.  That should be coming out some time next week.

In the rest of the news:

  • Fellow blogger and photographer, Jason D. Moore made a bit of a splash the other day when he announced a new interview series he is doing that is leading off with an impressive list of folks including John Nack, (if you don’t know who John Nack is, welcome to the world photography and Photoshop – he’s the cheif  Product Manager for Adobe Photoshop !),  Larry Becker (of NAPP notariety), Jeff Revell, (Photowalk Pro) and several other notables.
  • Photo-restoration as a craft gets a jolt!  Fellow NAPP members Mitz and Janine both have some excellent posts on what it takes to be effective with photo restoration work.  While I knew from my own amateur efforts that it’s not easy (and definitely a craft that takes time to develop), these two bring awareness to the next level with the thoughts they share on their blogs.  Definitely worth reading when you have time.  Mitz can be found here, and Janine can be found here.

Well, is that enough content for one blog post?  I hope so…sorry if things went on for a while.  More tk!  So, until tomorrow, happy shooting – hope all your shots are good ones!

Is Film making a resurgance?

Jason12 Comments

There’s been a lot of talk lately about film making a resurgence. Ever since Polaroid announced a about a year ago that they were ending production of their film, forums, blogs, and photography communities have been ramping up a widespread discussion over the benefits of film.   More recently, when Polaroid filed for Chapter 11 less than a month ago, the discussion of film vs. digital was taken up yet another notch.  While I am firmly in the digital world of photography, since my roots are founded in the Vivitar 110 I used as a youth, (and subsequently with my brothers Pentax K1000) the subject does hold a certain appeal for me.

So, I’d like to take a moment here on the blog to frame the “debate” from my own perspective. As a digital enthusiast, and at times, an admitted pixel peeper, the benefits of digital technology are not lost on me. At the same time, while technology can benefit us all, in many ways, and across many disciplines, it does have limits. Why? Because of the physics of it. Technologies can only be broken down so far before they reach limits. Data, for instance, can only be broken down into 1’s and 0’s. Likewise with the pixel in photography. Yes, we can advance technologies, and make pixels smaller, but in the end, there is always a limit to what a digital sensor can capture.

This is not to say that we cannot approach film-like quality with digital means. Feathering techniques, plugins, and action scripts can approach film-like characteristics, and many are quite good at it. For some examples of some of the best resources out there, I’d recommend a site called Action Central (www.atncentral.com) that has an impressive array of actions and such. Several plugin sites are also out there that include The Plugin Site, Adobe’s own Plugin pages, among several others.

On a side-by-side comparison though, I tend to be of the belief that film has a degree of smoothness in tonal and color gradations that simply cannot be duplicated by a digital sensor. They are getting very very good, and coming close, but from where I set (like I said, as an admitted pixel peeper at times), a pixel will always have a line that it cannot cross on its own. From that perspective, film will always win. I understand the converse, that when pixel peeping, I am looking at prints much closer than ever were intended for viewing purposes – but that’s just me.

What struck me most about this debate though, was a statement that really hit home, made by my friend, Dave Zarzecki (sorry folks, he does not have a web presence). It was analogy to graphic design and I think perfectly summarizes the difference between film and digital:

Film is to digital as vectoring is to rasterizing

Think about it.  Film is smooth and transitions from one tonal area to another blend very seamlessly,so even when you look at a print very close, it’s hard to tell where one color, tone or shade ends and where the next one begins.  The same holds true with vectoring…you can increase or decrease your viewing distance to HUGE degrees without seeing any pixelization.  By start contrast though, with digital, there will always be lines that the photoreceptors cannot cross for traditional sensors.  Wheter they are CCD, CMOS or other bayer arrays, there are fundamental limits to digital incarnations that cannot be surpassed without help.  The same holds true for rasterized objects.  Lines of demarcation are made, and to cross them, you need help, whether it be in the form of feathering, actions or plugins.

This is not intended to denigrate digital by any means – I love my 40D, and suspect within the next year I will also own a 1st generation 5D.  However, a fondness for the early days of my Vivitar 110 (and my brother’s Pentax K1000) will always be there.

So, what about the listening audience?  Will digital ever surpass film in tonal and color quality?  Has it done so already?  Or is it about to cross that line soon?  Sound off in the comments, I’d love to hear your thoughts!  In the meantime, happy shooting, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!

Flat…

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To kick start the NYR for 2009, here’s my first idea for the theme “Flat”.  I’ve also posted it to the CB Flickr group, and more shots are likely coming, but I probably won’t post all of them here, so be sure to visit there and see not only the theme, but what shots are being tagged in there (anyone is welcome to add their themed pics to the thread or group pool).  As mentioned down one post, I’ll be taking an assorted set of the pics at the end of the month and posting a collage here at CB.

Flathead Screwdrivers

New Years Resolutions…

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We all do it – set some sort of expectation of what we want/need/should do for the upcoming year.  Whether we admit it or not, everybody thinks at some point about doing something new, better, different, or whatever.  What usually happens is some lofty goal or achievement that receives attention for a month or so before petering out.

This year, CB is setting everyone up to succeed…in taking more photos!  Instead of a generic goal, I’ve come up with a way to not only achieve those ends, but also to reward those that do!  Every month, CB will host a new “assignment”.  You can upload your photos to the CB Flickr Group any time you like within that month.  At the end of the month, I will compile a montage of 10 or so images and give accolades here on the blog.  To get things started, I’ve set the themes for the first four months.  Feel free to chime in with your own ideas in that thread, or just start contributing pics!

As always, because Flickr is its own entity, I cannot help protect your images there, so make sure to keep your images at web-friendly resolutions and sizes to protect your copyright (Flickr strips out meta data).