Tag: art

What You See is Not What You Get

Artistic Ideas, Photography, Tools

I seem to be on a weird and wacky schedule these days – I routinely forget what day of the week or what month it is.  But I am also getting busier, with online clubs and activities now going strong, in-person family visits a regular thing (which means driving) and solo outings wrapping up for the fall (somewhat desperately before the next lockdown comes).  I don’t really feel like I am in control, although in reality, control is exactly what I do have.

Seamless pattern with film and digital photographic or photo cameras on light backgroundBut I digress, so back to photography.  Have you ever stopped to consider the magical process that allows us to go from camera to screen to print?  With all of us staring at screens so much more these days, I started to wonder about the specifics.  I guess I have time on my hands and I am a nerd.  So here’s what I found out…

Continue reading “What You See is Not What You Get” →

Crossroads

Artistic Ideas, Fine Art, Learning, Photography

Well ain’t this grand.  I logged into my WordPress account today to begin to write my next post and found a completely new editor.  I was warned that it was coming, but I ignored it.  Far from being “easy” and “versatile” and “quick”, it requires that I select “blocks” of content types, arrange them on a page, fill in the content of each block and test the layout for views on computers, tablets and phones.  I’ve never been good with puzzle pieces, and I won’t use more than half of the block types available, so the change was a less than stellar one for me.

I didn’t intend this to be the topic of my post, but somehow it is fitting.  Being forced to change my paradigm is a good thing right now.  Everybody needs a restart or a refresh from time to time.  But my first reaction was admittedly “WTF”.  I’ve had more of those moments this week too.

Ok, so the initial shock has worn off and I’m now getting used to selecting and dropping in content blocks.  Even images drop in seamlessly.  But I have to change the way I think about my post.  I typically write the text, then drop in content.  Not any more.  Content placement first, then writing the text.  Getting there.  But on to something more important.

Continue reading “Crossroads” →

On the Hunt for Fine Art

Artistic Ideas, Fine Art, Photography

We tried a new concept in our local camera club this year:  small special interest groups that would do a deep dive into one subject.  The group would decide how, what, where, when and why, and also for how long.  One of the groups I joined is looking at Fine Art, in all its forms, as a key to improving our own photography.

shutterstock_105461507But first we had to decide what the heck is “fine art”?  We’ve had several animated discussions in the past few months, even a field trip to our local art gallery.  In the past, I’ve written about photography as art and thought that experience would help, but no.  For all the “deep diving” on this subject, I’m not really much further ahead.  Why is this so hard? Continue reading “On the Hunt for Fine Art” →

Knowing What To Do (with an Image)

Artistic Ideas, Fine Art, Photography

Lots of articles are written about gear, editing software, and training for both.  Lots more are written about composition – rules and tips.  Lighting, time of day, angle, selecting the subject – all of these receive wide commentary from writers, vloggers and trainers alike.

PuzzlementI can shoot an image, I can even stage a scene.  But more often than I would like, I completely blank out when I bring the raw image onto the computer.  I ask myself – now what?  What’s the final look I want to achieve with this image?  How should I present it?

To those photographers who always know what the result will be, even before they shoot, I applaud you.  I’ve listened to photographers speak of their work in exquisite detail, outlining every capture and adjustment decision and why they made it.  I envy them.

I have friends who deliberately do minimal edits.  I have others who retouch to the point of the original piece serving only as a framework for a piece of art.  Frankly, I rarely like either extreme.  So I guess I’ve made my first decision – establishing a boundary around my edits.

Why is it so hard to know what to do next?  A few random thoughts come to mind. Continue reading “Knowing What To Do (with an Image)” →

Most Bizzare Story Ever

Interesting Stuff, Photography

It’s the stuff of mystery novels, with twists and turns and a very unexpected ending.  A sculptor in the US was recently awarded more than $3M in damages for copyright infringement over misuse of his work.

WAPO StoryThe work:  a replica of the Statue of Liberty, designed for a casino in Las Vegas.  The culprit:  the US Postal Service, who legitimately licensed a copy of an image taken of the replica by a photographer who offered it on Getty Images.

Say what? Continue reading “Most Bizzare Story Ever” →

Black and White or Colour?

Artistic Ideas, Black and White, Fine Art, Photography

The options for manipulating an image after capture are endless today.  Creative edits can include composites, the addition of graphic elements, and the use of finishing treatments such as texture overlays, painterly conversions, grunge and high dynamic range (HDR) effects.  These are just a few possibilities.

AmericanElm_20170627_0007-Edit

But as recently as 1935, the only manipulation available to a photographer was around how much highlight and shadow to reveal in the print and where (a.k.a. dodging and burning).  All film was black and white.  The most creative photographers played with different development processes and printing surfaces, but these were all still monochrome results.  Others tried coloured filters at image capture, or layered emulsions that could produce different colours, but this made the capture and processing much more complex and the results were often poor.

KodachromeIn 1935, Eastman Kodak Company introduced Kodachrome and changed the world forever.  Despite this, colour photography did not become widespread, at least not in the consumer market, until the 1960’s.  So colour image capture has really been in broad use for just 50 years.

Today, all digital cameras capture colour data by default.  Black and white conversion is available both in-camera and through post-processing.  The irony is that the same debates about colour vs. black and white that drove the creation of Kodachrome still exist today.  Here’s my take on the creative debate. Continue reading “Black and White or Colour?” →

Photography as Art

Artistic Ideas, Learning, Photography

ScotiabankApril and May are the traditional kickoff months for photography festivals in this area.  Many photographers, themes and collections are on display.  So many, in fact, that viewing all of their work is impossible, and isolating favourities can be challenging.

In a recent excursion, I participated in a discussion of photography as art.  The premise was that in order to be noticed, you can’t just be a photographer – you need to be an artist.  You need to give your photographs a distinctive look, a distinctive emotional connection to the viewer.  This means going beyond just documenting a subject – it means creating a work of art.  And this isn’t new – all successful photographers have realized and operated on this basis since the days of pinhole cameras.

Featured-ImageThis leaves me wondering.  If photography must be art to be successful, is there a point where a photograph is no longer a photograph?  And where is that line?  The answer isn’t obvious.  Here’s why…

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