How is your artistic bubble?
Are you struggling with this new norm? Or are you finding your rhythm and enjoying the change in pace? Or are you working in essential services and finding it far more intense than ever before? Whatever your personal situation I am sure it's hugely different and I wish you the strength and resilience required to get through. Sing out to a near neighbour or write something in the comments on how you are going. On that note photography is a great medium that can help. It can slow you down, help your observational skills and identify ways you can be grateful during this challenging time. While you are considering your plight in the world have a think about this definition and how it might apply to you as a photographer.
What is Photography?
By definition, photography is the art, science, and practice of creating pictures by recording light on a light-sensitive medium, such as a photographic film or electronic image sensors. The word photography is based on the Greek φῶς (photos) ‘light’ and γραφή (graphé) ‘representation by means of lines’ or ‘drawing’. Together they mean ‘drawing with light’.
Source: Photographic Institute Readings, 2020.
This morning I finished a spin class and then we headed out on a very misty morning, cloud draped like a heavy wet blanket over our hills, sitting slightly above the harbour not sure which way to go - up or down cloaking the world we see. It was an eery atmosphere, which thankfully offers you as an artist-photographer some wonderful opportunities to capture some interesting images. All three images on this blog are quite different, and I used the transition of morning dark to dull light to find them.
Cover Image:
Panasonic, G9, f/13, 2sec, 30mm = 60mm, ISO-200 - 'Dandelion Clock'
I reversed the tripod to get low, so the subject had the sky as the background. Also, I used a macro lens to get close. To illuminate the subject I used a soft light from a cube to highlight the dandelion.
Panasonic, G9, f/8, 6sec, 15mm = 35mm, ISO-100 'Decision'
Straight out onto the street and it was heavy mist. The eery atmosphere caught my attention, so I popped the camera on the road on self-timer. The two lights flanked my position and I used the white road marker as a leading line to guide the viewer to the human (me) as the subject. This is where a decision is being made on which way to go by myself.
Panasonic, G9, f/22, 1sec, 132mm = 248mm, ISO-100 'Yacht Sketch'
This image in RAW looked very average. When I took it I didn't think much of it. So I played with it in post-production. This where some purists might get their feathers ruffled about photography. However, consider the definition above and do your own interpretation of this image.
To achieve this I used the curves in Photoshop to push the highlights. I added a border in camera raw.
Andy`s Photography Tip: 'Be an Artist'
Photography is art! Did you use to take your film to the chemist and get it processed? Well, now you are the chemist, except you have a more artistic license in what you produce. All negatives need processing and if you are shooting in RAW (which I recommend) these all require some sort of processing. The danger is to not over-process the images. There is a level of subtlety that is required in processing so be gentle.
To be an artist consider these four broad rules around photography when you are composing an image;
1. Have a clearly defined subject and background,
2. A sense of balance,
3. A degree of simplicity,
4. A point of view.
Also if you shoot in jpeg the processing is done in your camera - you just have less control if you want to change the resulting image, so getting to know how your camera works is important.
Please put a comment or emoji below. If you have any questions pop them in the comments box below or send me a video with your questions via Facebook - keep taking photos and get out there!
Andy Thompson