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Posts Tagged ‘fine art photography’
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
Last week a team of Pacific Northwest photographers, including myself, launched the website for and officially announced our group photography project called Photo Cascadia. The launch of Photo Cascadia was met with excitment and interest from friends, colleagues and the photography enthusiast community in general. If you missed it, you can read my previous post for the basic introduction to the Photo Cascadia team.
The launch of Photo Cascadia also generated some great discussion and several questions about the future plans of the group. Group founder, Adrian Klein, has posted answers to the most common questions about the group that we have recieved to date. Perhaps they are questions that are on your mind as well. Questions include:
- There are few groups out there already that have collaborated on websites and other efforts in relation to Nature Photography. What makes your team different and how was it started?
- Why is the Photo Cascadia team all males? Where are the female photographers?
- Does the Photo Cascadia team have Photo Cascadia specific workshops available?
- How can I buy fine art prints of images I see in the Photo Cascadia galleries?
- When will the Photo Cascadia team have additional products available for purchase such as calendars, books, cards, etc?
Read Adrian’s Q&A for answers to these questions and to submit any other questions you might have about Photo Cascadia.
Tags: fine art photography, Photo Cascadia, Photography Workshops
Posted in Photography Business, Photography Journal, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, January 22nd, 2010
Guanajuato, Mexico is as visually interesting as any city I have photographed. What many visitors might not realize, however, is that to find some of the most surreal parts of town you have to go underground.
The entire city sits atop an extensive subterranean tunnel system. The tunnels were originally dug by mining operations starting in the 16th century to divert the river and keep the town and mines from flooding.
From its beginnings in the mid 1500s the city was built to maximize useable space on the steep hillsides. Houses were stacked on top of one another with only the narrowest of alleys between them. Much of the charm of Guanajuato comes from the fact that it was never intended to accommodate cars.
But cars were inevitable. In a huge engineering project in the 1960’s, as car traffic in the narrow streets became more of a problem, the river was diverted yet again and the tunnels were converted into an underground system of roads. New tunnels have since been added, creating an ever expanding underground even Batman would be envious of. Drivers who know and understand the complex catacombs can quickly get from one part of the city to another. There are many entry and exit points making it possible to dive underground in one neighborhood and surface in another the next valley over.
Most of the tunnels are deep underground, dark and full of car exhaust, but in places they break out to the surface where they are lined with buildings, bridges and arches.
The subterranean channels and tunnels create an entirely different and mysterious dimension to a town that already has so much interesting character. It is a little hard to locate the best parts of the subterranean tunnels at first, and it can also be very disorienting trying to navigate through the tunnels. Often I’ll emerge in a part of town that I have never been in before.
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Tags: fine art photography, Guanajuato, Mexico, night photography, travel photography
Posted in Photography Journal, Photography Travel Journal | No Comments »
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
One of my favorite photography projects in Guanajuato is exploring the callejons (narrow alleys) in search of interesting doors and windows. Many of the home owners in this town take great pride in their houses. Bright colors are popular and particular attention is paid to doors and windows. While some doors are kept carefully, other doors are neglected and have an authentic patina of time.
 
With a rumored two thousand callejons in the city, all lined with buildings, there is no lack of doors and windows. Every door is different. Some are pristine, with carved and crafted hardwood and hand forged metal parts. Others are weathered and full of character. Some are precariously set in crumbling stone and brick and covered with graffiti. Each one tells its own story.
As a photographer, I love the way light is reflected at different times of day in Guanajuato. The alleys are narrow enough that they transmit light in a way similar to a desert slot canyon. Direct sun striking the upper reaches of a deep alley can bounce back and forth off of the buildings, projecting a soft, radiant light deep into the shadows. A fully lit alley wall can also reflect a very strong glow onto the adjacent wall or around corners.
 
The light is constantly changing, so part of my challenge is to find doors and windows that have special character and then return to photograph them when they are illuminated by particularly intriguing lighting conditions.
 
These are just a few of the door and window photos I have taken on this visit so far. I also took a bunch last time I was here and I’ll probably photograph some more before I leave. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with all the door photos. Photographing them is mostly a compulsion. I suppose I’ll publish some of the best ones on greeting cards. I have also had requests for a “Doors of Guanajuato” poster, which I think is a pretty good idea.
 
 
 
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Tags: fine art photography, Guanajuato, light, Mexico, photography technique, travel photography
Posted in Photography Journal | 3 Comments »
Monday, November 16th, 2009
 Peeling the Moon - Cracked desert mud near Escalante, Utah. David Cobb and I came across this cracked, peeling mud layer in a wash while hiking in the desert along Hole in the Wall Rd in Utah. We were drawn, not only to the curled and cracked patterns, but the pock marks that must have been left by a rain shower. Without the cracks it would be hard to tell apart from a high altitude view of the moon’s surface.
There was harsh 10 o’clock light at the time, so I shaded the area with my jacket and noticed a great warm glow on the curled portions which was reflecting from the brightly lit bank of the wash. There was also a very slight blue cast in the flat sections which were reflecting the sky. The RAW file has pretty low contrast, but after working a bit in both RAW conversion and in PS to draw out the histogram and increase the contrast, this is the result. I often look for low contrast scenes to photograph knowing that the effect of enhancing the contrast later will give results that I find visually exciting.
Canon 5DII, 24-105mm f/4L IS, 1/6 sec @ f/22, ISO 100
Tags: desert photography, fine art photography, how to photograph in mid day light, photography in escalante-grand staircase, utah photography
Posted in Featured Photo, Photography Journal | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
While a fine art photographic print is still my favorite way to enjoy great photography, technology is rapidly changing the ways it is possible to view, access and share art. The images that move and excite us no longer have to be confined to a wall or the pages of a book. I love to share my photographs and want people to be able to access them in a way that best suits their needs and purpose. A large fine art print will always be available to those who have the resources and space, but size, cost and location are no longer limiting factors to accessing photography and other visual art.
The iPhone is one of the most innovative pieces of technology to recently come on the scene. It can be very valuable as a tool for communication and storing and accessing information, but it also has great potential in entertainment, education and access to media and imagry, includinig art.
I recently partnered with the folks at Open Door Network in creating an iPhone application of my photography. The application is like a collection of slide shows that allow iPhone users to have a portable art gallery of my photographs right in their pockets. Photographs in the Outdoor Exposure for iEnvision app are organized into three collections including Landscape, Nature and Travel. Landscape includes photos of canyons, deserts, forest, lakes, mountains, oceans, streams and waterfalls. Nature displays abstracts, fall color, flowers, trees and winter. Travel takes you to Hawaii, Mexico and Nepal.
In addition to viewing the gallery shows, the images can also be saved for use as iPhone wallpaper and each image links to the Outdoor Exposure Photography website for more information.
Open Door Network’s flagship iEnvision web image browser, as well as their line of Envi iPhone image applications access and organize images from the Web into fun to view and share slide shows for the iPhone. Other iEnvision “Envi” apps include Art, Earth, Space, Mountain and Yosemite.
Tags: app, Apple, application, fine art photography, iPhone, iPhone slide show, iPhone wall paper app, iTunes Store, outdoor exposure photography, photo, photography, photography on the iPhone, photos, sean bagshaw, slide show, southern oregon photographer
Posted in Events, Photography Business | 4 Comments »
Thursday, November 20th, 2008
Much of my photography is of the greater landscape and I’m often trying to present sweeping vistas with sharp detail. However, I also like to photograph more intimate scenes and abstracts. One of my favorite abstract techniques is motion blur. This can be achieved a few different ways and is a particularly good technique for emphasizing leading lines in a photo while smoothing out distracting elements. The final result can often look more like a painting than a photograph.
I really like to use motion blur with trees that have staight trunks. The technique is more an art than a science, so a lot of experimentation and throw away images are required to get something that I like. I start by setting a relatively slow shutter speed and making a vertical pan (movement) with my camera. I have found that shutter speeds between 1/4 of a second and 1/20 of a second work best. I move the camera up or down, in as straight a line as possible and depress the shutter release as the camera is moving. At slower shutter speeds I pan slower and at faster shutter speeds I pan faster. It is hard to know exactly what will be in the frame so I repeat the process over and over so that I will have many images to select from. Panning the camera while it is on a tripod can help keep the motion steady and smooth, but also limits flexibility.
Physically panning the camera is often all I need to do to achieve the abstract look I’m going for. Other times I selectively add more blur by using the Motion Blur filter in Photoshop (Filter>Blur>Motion Blur). To do this I’ll create a duplicate layer of the background image and blur the duplicate. Then I’ll add a layer mask to the blurred layer and paint with a black brush on the mask to bring through any detail from the original image that I want to keep. This digital blurring technique can also be applied to images that were taken in focus without panning the camera. Digital blurring often takes just as much trial and error as panning the camera.
Several of my favorite photographers have used these techniques to create some wonderful abstract images, including Jesse Spear, Eddie Soloway and William Niel.
Tags: camera panning, Digital Image Editing Tips, digital photography, Digital Photography Tips, Eddie Soloway, fine art photography, Jesse Spear, motion blur, nature photography, photography of trees, photography tip, Photoshop motion blur, shutter speed, William Niel
Posted in Digital Image Editing Tips, Featured Photo, Featured Photographer, Featured Photos | 2 Comments »
Thursday, October 16th, 2008
 The Southern Oregon Photographers Forum, a group that I am a member of, announces its first annual group photography show. Extending from November 7 though December 1, at Studio 5, 258 A Street across from Ace Hardware in Ashland’s Railroad District. The show features the works of 17 local photographers including myself and the renowned David Lorenz Winston. A First Friday reception will be held from 5:00-8:00 p.m. on Friday, November 7. Works in the show include digital and film photography in a variety of genres. 33 photographs will be exhibited. Visitors will have the opportunity to meet the exhibiting photographers and talk with them about their works. In addition, a slide show presentation will feature photographic works by members of SOPF. Refreshments will be served.
SOPF was formed in January 2007 by eight photographers and has grown to a membership of 21. An organization of fine art photographers, SOPF was established to encourage and support individuals in achieving their photographic goals and to promote an appreciation of photography in our community. Members share a love for the medium of photography & the power images have to evoke strong emotional responses.
Tags: David Lorenz Winston, exhibit, fine art photography, gallery, photographer, photography, show
Posted in Photography Journal | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008
 William Neil has been working on a series for the past couple of years he calls “Impressions of Light” or something like that. He is trying to create unusual, impressionistic and intriguing visions of common outdoor photography subjects, something I’m also interested in. He uses a variety of camera techniques, one of which being slow shutter speed panning and/or zooming. A couple months back he had an amazing image in Outdoor Photographer that he took in a Yosemite redwood grove. It really struck a chord with me. This is my own attempt at something similar. It falls far short of Neil’s, but I like how the motion blur smooths out much of the distracting background forest clutter while emphasizing the lines, texture and lighting of the trees themselves. All the blur is in camera. In Photoshop I created several layers that were copies of the background image and then experimented with different combinations of blending modes (multiply, overlay, soft light) to increase color density, contrast and general mood.
Tags: fine art photography, Photography Prints, photography technique, Redwood Forest Photography, Redwood Trees, southern oregon photographer, southern oregon photography, William Neil
Posted in Featured Photo | No Comments »
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