man & nature # 244 ~ yesterday's light

Rainbow over Vermont ~ Lake Champlain, NY • click to embiggen

civilized ku # 207 ~ see spot run

War Memorial ~ Bolton Landing, NY • click to embiggenSo I'm in the car the other day and I tune in to a local NPR variant which lands me in the middle of an interview with a Vermont photographer. The interviewer was, of course, gushing with praise for his wonderful pictures as well as asking some rather inane questions. It was a rather trying time for me, sitting in my car and screaming at the radio as I was doing - the photog was dispensing some of the worst picturing advice that I ever heard.

Such as - I like cliches. Cliches are good. If I see a clich-picture that I like, I go out and try to imitate it.

The rationale behind that little ditsy was that if a picture of a location that is made in a specific manner has been viewed (and imitated) ad infinitum, it means that it is very popular and therefore very profitable to whomever made it (the picture being imitated). So, get out there and imitate it.

Good f***ing grief.

But the one that got to me the most was his variation on the ever-popular simplify theme - he tells his students (academic? workshop?) to determine what the one and only one element that caught their attention in a scene is and then focus, to the exclusion of all other elements (obviously, as much as possible), on that single thing.

In other words, isolate the thing from its environment, from its very place in the world, from any connection it may have to the rest of the planet and life in general, so that the simpletons in the crowd can "get it".

No thinking required. No discernment. No ambiguity. No complexity.

Duh. See spot run.

ku # 628 ~ more autumn color

Thick and wet Autumn mist ~ along the West Branch of the Au Sable River • click to embiggenIn response to yesterday's entry, man & nature # 243 ~ different strokes for different folks, Breandan Dezendorf commented:

I salute the way you capture the subtle tones of nature.

I call your attention to this comment not so much for the kudos-factor (nevertheless, thanks Breandan) as for the opportunity to state that I owe it all to the PS H&S slider. Well, not all, but the fact remains that, when I use the H&S slider, it is most often to reduce saturation rather than increase it.

At times the saturation reduction is global but more often than not it is used to reduce a specific individual color. In my experience, I find that all cameras have color biases of one sort or another that require correction if one is seeking to present "real" - as real as the medium and its tools allow - color.

I have also found that these biases are not necessarily consistent across all color balance settings in any given camera so what it all comes down to is getting to know your camera's biases (or, obviously, your film's biases) and working around them to get the results you want.

still life # 11 ~ simple and direct

More signs and colors of Autumn • click to embiggenIn response to yesterday's still life # 10 entry Anil Rao commented:

... in most still life photographs that I have come across, the backgrounds are very bright or very dark, and seamless, with little to no detail and the emphasis lies on the main elements that make up the composition ... [A]s a result, no matter how beautiful the subject, how perfect/suitable the light and how creative the setup, I cannot bring myself to get over the sterile studio like environment that these photographs remind me of. Still life paintings, on the other hand, often show very natural settings (like the interior of a real home for example) which allows me to really enjoy the work ...

my response: When it comes to still life pictures, I swing both ways photography-wise. As is evidenced by my decay series, I like to include "natural settings" in my still life pictures when the intent of the picture(s) calls for it. On the other hand, my emerging gourds pictures - wherein I want to illustrate the natural beauty of the gourds and just the gourds - a plain draw-no-attention-to-itself background and soft all-enveloping light seem best suited to the intent at hand.

FYI, I am not suggesting that this is the only way to do the deed. It's just the way that I see it.

still life # 10 ~ making the light

Signs and colors of Autumn • click to embiggenI have mentioned my desire to paint gourds and I intend to pursue it (at least that's the plan) but the entire endeavor is given pause by the fact that I wonder if anyone can "paint" a gourd better than nature itself?

That said, there are times when still life picturing casts quite a spell over me. As I believe I have mentioned previously, the idea of making arrangements is quite appealing to me. In addition to that aspect of making still life pictures, the idea of "making" the light is also a somewhat heady challenge.

Back in my commercial picturing heyday, I was considered as a go-to guy when a subject needed to be bathed in a "perfect" light. The range of subjects was nearly limitless - things / products, faces - both "glam" and "real", food, were just a few of the things that I was called upon to picture with "perfect" light.

Dependent upon the "thing" to be pictured and the feeling that was intended to be conveyed y the picture, there was quite a range of lighting techniques that could be applied. I always loved the challenge of getting it "right" and that is a big part of what I like about still life picturing.

man & nature # 243 ~ different strokes for different folks

At the turn ~ The Sagamore - Bolton Landing (on Lake George), NY • click to embiggenHave you ever given any thought to the idea of making pictures on a golf course?

Of course, there are golf courses and then there are golf courses. Here in the Adirondacks, the area is home to numerous courses - virtually all of them, in fact - that are very "mature" which is to say that they are in the neighborhood of 100 years old. Most are a few years either side of that number.

What this means is that they were carved out of the landscape without the use of modern earth moving equipment. What that means is that the landscape, the natural nature of the terrain, is most prominent in the look and feel of the place. The courses take on the appearance of a finely crafted park. Add to that the fact that they are situated in a forever-wild wilderness, most of the views on these course are rather spectacular.

All of that said, the characteristic that I most appreciate about these golf courses is that, in a very real way, they are the embodiment of the character of the Adirondacks themselves - man & nature co-existing in a harmonious and sustainable relationship.

As an example, golf-wise, virtually every course in the Adirondacks has numerous protected mini nature preserves spread throughout their confines. These mini-preserves, as well as the golf courses in their entirety, are sanctuaries / homes to an incredibly diverse population of flora and fauna. Many a round of golf, especially late in the day when I prefer to play, includes wildlife sightings of bear, deer, fox, coyote, raptors of all kinds, ducks, geese, an incredible array of aviary species, to name just a few of the possibilities.

I don't know it's like in your part of the world, but in mine, golf is rarely "a good walk, spoiled". ~ Mark Twain

man & nature # 242 ~ the quest for the perfect pumpkin and gourds

Signs of Autumn in the NE ~ Peru, NY • click to embiggenI'm going to be taking a swipe at painting gourds. Maybe if I like it, I'll sell all my picturing gear .....

civilized ku # 206 ~ academic requirements

St. Denis Grocery ~ Plattsburgh, NY • click to embiggenSt. Denis Grocery is perfectly situated, academic requirement-wise, in a neighborhood adjacent to the SUNY Plattsburgh campus and a hub of off-campus student housing. This "grocery" meets the nutritional needs of most students - an ATM, beer - by the keg, ice, and, mostly likely, an incredible variety of chips. And, I am reasonably certain that, for the proprietor, it meets all of the requirements needed to have a license to print money.