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This blog is intended to showcase my pictures or those of other photographers who have moved beyond the pretty picture and for whom photography is more than entertainment - photography that aims at being true, not at being beautiful because what is true is most often beautiful..

>>>> Comments, commentary and lively discussions, re: my writings or any topic germane to the medium and its apparatus, are vigorously encouraged.

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Entries from August 1, 2010 - August 31, 2010

Tuesday
Aug312010

FYI

In case you haven't noticed, I haven't posted anything over the last few days. That's because I am out of town - originally, that was supposed to be a Saturday - Monday visit in Rochester, NY with my brother for a couple rounds of golf.

However, and unfortunately, my ex-wife's husband passed away on Sunday - not unexpectedly - here in Rochester. So, I'm hanging around lending a bit of support. That and, with The Cinemascapist and my other son (in town from Seattle), I have organized a Hobson guys - my 2 sons, my 2 brothers, and my 1 nephew - dinner for this evening. FYI, other than wives, there are no Hobson girls.

In any event, with a little help from the wife - who is back at home, I may be able to make an entry tomorrow. In the meantime I have some time on my hands so I'm off to the The Eastman House to see what's on display.

Thursday
Aug262010

civilized ku # 648 ~ "density"

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Dried flowers ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
No how-to questions have been forthcoming in the last week or so, I thought I'd answer a previously unanswered one.

Andrew asked / stated:

... one aspect of your work that appeals to me is that the color has density, a density that makes things look like real things. Without underexposing or darkening pictures you achieve this density ... when working in color I prefer a certain density, or weight, to the image ... [T]hough I'm not sure "density" is the right word. How do you achieve that in your work?

I really had to think about this question, in large part due to Andrew's use of the word "density", which even he considered to be a bit suspect relative to what he was trying to express. The best I can determine is that he was referring to one or both of 2 qualities in my pictures ....

1. I have always liked subjects / scenes that contained deep dark shadow areas. Relative to that preference, I have always chosen / used picturing techniques and post-picturing processing techniques (film and digital) that favor shadow detail, which, most definitely, create a rich "density" quality in my prints.

2. Color "purity" - In my decades of experience making color prints - 25+ years of wet darkroom printing and for the last 15 years, digital - I have always striven to make prints that are free of color casts no matter how small. The result is a print with colors that are as true as possible (with the characteristics of the medium) to the real thing.

Of the 2 items listed above, the single most important factor in achieving rich (dense?) color in a print (or its on-screen representation) is removing all color casts from a picture.

In the wet darkroom days, that meant making color corrections (in the printing process) of as little as 025 increments. For those of you without any wet darkroom color printing experience, an 025 correction is tiny indeed - get a hold of a 025 KODAK WRATTEN Gelatin Filter (any color) and see how very very subtle the color of the filter actually is.

However, it is truly amazing how making just a subtle 025 correction change in color balance on a print makes an incredible visual change - it is as if a "veil" had been lifted from the surface of the print. All of the colors seem to "pop" with a vibrancy / purity that is simply beautiful.

That is why, in the digital domain, I continue to make very small/subtle color adjustments / corrections in my pictures. The beauty of the digital domain is that those adjustments / corrections can be made globally and/or selectively (on isolated parts of the picture). In the wet darkroom trying to do selective adjustments / corrections was difficult at best.

And, here's a tip about making color corrections / adjustments in the digital domain - the single most important tool for doing so - perhaps the single most important tool in all of Photoshop - is the Info window set to display RGB values used in conjunction with the Eyedropper tool with the Eyedropper tool set to 3×3 Average Sample Size.

Drag that little gem anywhere in a picture for an accurate read of color. Then you can really go to town fine tuning color*.

*HINT: one of the first steps I make, color correction / adjustment wise, is to be certain that my deepest shadow value and my lightest highlight value are "neutral" - blacks (or near-blacks) should be in the R-10 G-10 B-10 range (+/- a wee bit) ... whites (or near whites) should be in the R-250 G-250 B-250 range (+/- a wee bit). By getting these RGB values by using Curves - keeping the curve lines straight - it is rather amazing how the entire picture starts to look right, color wise.

Wednesday
Aug252010

civilized ku # 647 ~ ball o' bikes

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Trash day ~ NYC, NY • click to embiggen
Hey, Andreas, this one's for you, AKA - The Bike Photographer (as long as we're handing out names).

This Great Urban Bikeball is undoubtedly a kissing cousin / related to The Great Northern Chairball.

Wednesday
Aug252010

civilized ku # 642-46 ~ the last 24 hours

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Heart art ~ Champlain Cardiology Assoc. - Plattsbutrgh, NY • click to embiggen
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Alpenglow ~ Lake Placid Resort GC - Lake Placid, NY • click to embiggen
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Moonrise ~ Lake Placid Resort GC - Lake Placid, NY • click to embiggen
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Campus Corner ~ Plattsburgh, NY • click to embiggen
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Lawn & wild growth ~ Au Sable Forks, NY • click to embiggen
I've said it before but I'll say it again ... military speak wise, I most definitely live in a target-rich environment. Although, I suspect that I'd find much to picture just about anywhere I lived.

That said, in the last 24 hours I played a late-day (yesterday) round of golf in Lake Placid. Got up this AM and went to a cardiology appointment (my heart is back in A-Fib) and then had a late breakfast with the wife. On the way back home I stopped to picture the grassy divide - something I saw on the way to my cardiologist but didn't have the time to stop and picture.

Tuesday
Aug242010

ku # 800-03 ~ the return of the twig photographer

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Twig in a thicket Peru, NY - just inside the NE Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
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A thicket Peru, NY - just inside the NE Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
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A thicket Peru, NY - just inside the NE Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
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A thicket Peru, NY - just inside the NE Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
It has been opined that I am "The Twig Photographer" and, as it applies to me, there is some true to that moniker ...

... in fact, the single most number of pictures that I have made over the last 7 years or so, pictures that would fall under the single heading of, say, pictures of twigs, are those of twigs. Or, as in the case of today's pictures, leafy covered twigs, AKA - twigs-in-waiting. While twigs may not be the only referent in many of those pictures, it is accurate to state that they are, at the very least, featured prominently in those pictures.

What can I say? Twigs, and the complex visual energy they project, appeal to my eye and sensibilities. At least it can not be said that I am a 1-trick/twig pony.

Tuesday
Aug242010

civilized ku # 638-41 ~ Peekskill, NY

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Peekskill Brewery/Brew Pub ~ Peekskill, NY • click to embiggen
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Peekskill Station ~ Peekskill, NY • click to embiggen
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Peekskill sidewalk ~ Peekskill, NY • click to embiggen
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Peekskill tracks ~ Peekskill, NY • click to embiggen
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Peekskill kiosk ~ Peekskill, NY • click to embiggen
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Sue's Hudson Cafe ~ Peekskill, NY • click to embiggen
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Soleman Shoe Repair ~ Peekskill, NY • click to embiggen
At the start of my recent road trip to the South Jersey Shore, I stopped in the village of Peekskill, NY. Peekskill, situated on the Hudson River 41 miles north of NYC, is the home of my friend Metrazur Chef de Cuisine Stefan Bahr.

Conveniently for Stefen, Peekskill is on a commuter train-line to NYC. The train drops him off in Grand Central Station in which the restaurant Metrazur is located.

Sunday
Aug222010

civilized ku # 637 ~ get out the broom and sweep, sweep, sweep ...

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USA Women's National Under-18 Selects ~ 1980 Miracle On Ice Arena - Lake Placid, NY • click to embiggen
Yesterday, USA's 4-3 victory completed a 3-game sweep over the Canadian Woman's U-18 team. That said, I wouldn't want to get in Coach's - that's Don Cherry for those who are not Canadian or don't live within range of Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts - way for the next week or so.

That said, on Friday's civilized ku # 433-36 entry, scott hussey (no link provided) stated: I seem to recall two gold medals at the olympics. What is the issue here?

my response: 2 words - egocentric jingoism

Friday
Aug202010

civilized ku # 633-36 ~ we're kicking their (cute) Canadian asses

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1980 USA Olympic Arena ~ Lake Placid, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
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USA 3 / Canada 2 ~ 1980 Olympic Arena - Lake Placid, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
This week in Lake Placid, the USA Under-18 Women's National Selects hockey camp is being held. The Canadian National Under-18 team has graciously shown up so we can kick their butts in a 3 game series.

The first game score was USA 4 / Canada 1. Yesterday's score (game 2) was USA 3 / Canada 2 - the USA won in overtime. Game 3 is on Saturday during which Canada will attempt to salvage some semblance of national pride.