Four Quartets
This enigmatic blog title is from T.S.Eliots’s poem of the same name. It has always resonated for me since I am committed to the dynamic nature of the way life presents itself; namely, in a series of apparent contradictions in an attempt to show us the sheer complexity of itself.
Enough of philosophy, though, and on with photography. Oh, but by the way, an encapsulated meaning of the poem (not doing it real justice) is, as Eliot states, “What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning.”
I am using this reference to describe my current state in trying to become a photographer worthy of that name, and not simply someone that lucks out in taking photos, i.e.hit or miss. That current state is, unfortunately, one of unsuccessful attempts to acquire a thoroughgoing process of conceptualizing, actually taking, then processing, and finally printing the photograph I had in mind when I stood in front of the scene before me with my camera. After several years of trying to acquire skills through reading, attending workshops, and then experimenting with different techniques, I am left unfulfilled and inchoate.
But fate has smiled on me, since I recently discovered an artist and teacher worthy of those titles. His name is Vincent Versace. After reading an interview of him and also an articled on processing black and while photos, I purchased his book, Welcome to Oz 2.0. It is the second revision of his original work, Welcome to Oz, but I would have to say that he has so much information and pearls of wisdom in this book that I feel that I have found a gold mine.
After recently hitting the nadir of photographic growth I believe that I have been saved by whatever guardian there is of photographers that watches over us.
I am posting a photo of no consequence subject-wise, but one I feel challenged me to use some of the ideas that Vincent Versace expressed. I used a gradient map to make a black and white photo of a misty morning. I chose this scene since it seemed to challenge me to understand and bring out the tonality that was before me. These are very simple concepts to the accomplished photographer but not to me, who was trained to think verbally, not visually.
The photo was taken in full color with a Canon 5 Ds, using a 16-35mm lens, f/2.8, @35mm, f/11, 1/250, iso 250. Conversion to BW done in Photoshop, Gradient Map, and denoised in DxO, and stylized in On1 Photo 10.
Valley of Darkness
It has been a struggle recently to engage in photographic creations. I must be going through a transformation of schemata in what I want or want to see in the world around me. Since the range of these schemata or modes or ways of visualizing what is before me is infinite, I must rely on my deepest intuitions to non verbally grasp them and bring them into the light of conscious thought.
The tactic I have chosen to accomplish this, at least at this particular time, is to review my most recent photo shoots, and try to pull from them elements that I find attractive. In other words, I find the living moment of actually taking a photograph to be too challenging to focus on exactly what I want. If I may impose an analogy it would be that of a football quarterback who is a rookie versus a quarterback of pro standing. For the rookie time moves too quickly, for the pro time moves slowly. So, only on reflection can I acquire what I want; the lived moment is too fading to control.
That being said, I am still at a loss as to what my spirit or photographic eye really sees. It appears that I am drawn to the shadows. If shadows do not exist, I want to create them.
Also, I found that on my Chappaquiddick photo shoot that I had to compensate again in post processing what was lacking in optimal conditions while on the island. It was very windy and lighting was unpredictable.
I found that my long exposure shots were salvageable, especially of subjects as coastlines, sky and water. One shot drew me to often revisit it simply because of the grass. It seemed the long exposure of the grass in the particular light created an oil-paint-pallet. I stayed with the grass with that paint-like effect and kept the water more contrasted and the sky even more so in On1 Photo 10 software program. The final posted photo is of Katama Bay. The camera was a Canon 5 Ds with a Canon EF 16-35mm f2.8L lens @ 16mm, with settings of f/16 and speed of 36 seconds, ISO 100.
Extremes
I am adding to the theme developed in recent blog posts of shooting in difficult or variable elemental conditions. This was a constant challenge while in Yellowstone Park. There were so many contrasts but where to start or where to shoot created a quandary. By choosing one or two elements to compensate for one was eliminating the other equally desirable contrasts.
One such area of shooting was the many geysers, fumeroles, or simply hot springs. There was a lot of mist, haze, and steam in the air, all with mineral content. Protecting one’s camera was a concern. Also, shooting to avoid the many groups of people constantly viewing the scenes was a challenge. Added to all of this was how and what to capture since it was a fluid landscape, either in the foreground or background. The added hard to accept fact was the realization that of the surrounding foliage and countryside was muted in colors, beautiful, but nonetheless muted.
This has led to doing more post-processing than I am usually used to, but again am open to try to understand different avenues of approach to the varying elements 
of the photograph. Consequently, I offer this blog post photo as an example. The first photo is unaltered as taken in situ at the Porcelain Basin which lies within the larger Norris Geyser Basin within Yellowston National Park. It is what the camera captured (f/13.0, 1/80, ISO 100, Canon 24-105mm/4L IS USM @ 24mm). The second photo has been processed through Adobe Camera Raw, denoised and tonally corrected (as well as corrected for haze using Clear View) thru DxO Optics Pro, and finally finished stylizing with OnOne Perfect Photo Suite 8. Within OnOne PPS 8 the sky’s contrast was increased (as well as the geysers’ steam plumes) using the Adjustment Brush, while using the same Adjustment Brush to warm up the background (Warm Filter), and cool the blue spring pool (Cool Filter). Finally, within Photoshop I darkened (actually blackened) the lower right corner using the Adjustment Level’s Threshhold.
Vision Melding
The blog post title is a take off on the words, mind meld, suggesting a sharing of two autonomous entities. Since taking Maxfield Parrish as my guiding spirit on this photo journey, I’ve been attempting to share visions with him.
The current photo composition is from Parrish’s illustration in Italian Gardens; the background being that of the Turquoise Pool in Yellowstone Park. It is an attempt to learn the subtleties of his style and apply what may be compatible to my ongoing work.
Mixed Metaphor
“When opportunity knocks, make lemonade.” This is my mixed metaphor for dealing with how I habitually shoot. For the most part I do not plan shots. I do not get up early or stay late to get that “golden hour” masterpiece. Instead I try to make the most of the opportunities afforded me (rather passive, in a sense) rather than making my ow opportunities. And when circumstances give me lemons, I make lemonade. That, in a nutshell, is my mixed metaphor explained.
Such was the state of affairs on an early October visit to central Vermont. Apart from the fact that the colors this year were not bright or brilliant (even tho it was supposedly in the peak), it was rather breezy. In other words, the chances of capturing sharp subject matter were remote. But, the countryside presented so many interesting scenes/objects, that this impelled me to shoot despite the odds of not getting any salvageable photos.
There were dozens of places to take long exposures of water. The photo above is of the Ottauquechee River. The water was captured as I desired but the trees and clouds all were blurry making the shot less than good. Then my mixed metaphor kicked in saving the shot. To obviate the blur, I used the Glow filter in Perfect Photo Suit 8. And to capture the fall-ish sense of multicolor, I enhanced the Vibrance using their Adjustment Brush. Violá
Seeing Light
- At November 01, 2014
- By Firstmate
- In Photographic Style, Vermont
0
Over the last several months much has been occurring within my photographic mind. A concerted effort has been made to get control of how I see reality and how this reality is portrayed in my photography.
One of my main goals over the last year was to get sharper photos. This I was somewhat successful in by simply increasing my ISO. Obviously, there are pluses and minuses in this approach, but I decided to concentrate on the pluses part. That being achieved I then concentrated on the tonality of my photos, This forced me to try to understand the actual techniques of taking “proper” exposures. I read about Ansel Adams’ “zone system.” Then, I augmented this information by studying Tim Cooper’s adaptation of the zone system to digital photography, i.e., Perfect Exposure for Digital Photography (The Zone System of Metering & Shooting) on a CD format (via Photoshop Café media).
In addition to the above points of concentration I continued to use all the features of the Canon 5D Mark II, i..e., manual mode, aperture mode, and shutter mode while also continuing to bracket certain shots. While this seems simple enough to do, for me it was a harder step to make it part of my routine and discipline in shooting. After all, with digital cameras one can shoot ad infinitum and most tomes get a good shot. I guess what I finally wanted was more than just a good shot; I wanted a great shot.
The above being said, this should bring the blog up to general par as far as documenting the development of my photographic style. What I will resume doing is detailing this journey.
The photo in this blog post was taken on the Marsh-Billings-Rockerfeller National Historic Park just outside of Woodstock, Vt. The pond sits at the end of a carriage trail on top of one of the hills. There were considerable clouds but these created a shifting medley of light and shadow due to upper level winds. Taking shots was a challenge due to the variable and rapidly changing lighting conditions. Bu this apparent negative also provided some interesting contrasts in the landscape.
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