A Photographer's Journey

The first time I remember being ***really*** excited about taking pictures was during a trip to Disney World with my family in 1975. I had a pocket camera that could be personalized with puffy stickers. Of course, I chose the flower sticker.

I impatiently waited for the film to be developed, saving up my allowance money to pay for developing costs. When I'd finally earned enough money to pick up the pictures, my father drove me to the pharmacy to pick up the photos. The clerk apologized to us and explained that most of the film had been ruined during processing. He gave me twice the amount of film, so I could "shoot something else instead." I wanted to ask him for a plane ticket back to Disney World, but bit my tongue. Even though the memories of the trip were still fresh in my mind and I had postcards of the most scenic spots, it just wasn't the same without prints of the images I'd shot. I wanted something that expressed ***my*** perspective of the trip, not Walt Disney's. People often ask me why I don't do wedding / event photography: I guess it's in part because I never want to make someone feel the way I did that day if something went wrong with the shoot or digital files.

I've Been on Both Sides of the Lens

I worked for several years as a magazine art director, commissioning and selecting images for publication. During that time, I began shooting my own pictures as a hobby. Once I started consistently producing work that was as good or better than that of the photographers I was hiring, I began to display and promote my own work. Shortly after that, I began receiving recognition and awards for my photography, which was great incentive to keep shooting, learning, and growing. Because of my background, I still edit my pictures ruthlessly today. (Something which I think is just as necessary as technical skill.) I'm fascinated by the sensuous quality of flowers and return to them again and again as a subject matter, no matter how much I try to branch out in other areas.

In 2009, one of my floral photographs was selected to be displayed in the Smithsonian Castle in Washington, DC. Of course, my husband and I flew down to see it, because we thought it was kind of a big deal. I had high hopes of becoming the Georgia O'Keeffe of photography. A quick Google or Pinterest search shows that I have an awful lot of competition. Today, my goals are different, but jsut as ambitious: create photographs that people are proud to display in their homes and workplaces and which they think bring value and pleasure to their lives.

I've also studied certain types of image-taking that strive to take the photographer out of the picture, so to speak, "to create an immediate sensory experience." While I think this foray was an interesting intellectual exercise, it made me recognize and reaffirm that photography is a conversation between the artist and the viewer. No meaningful dialogue can occur when one party vanishes. It's the interaction that helps brings humanity to one of the most mechanical art forms.

It's All Good

Unlike many other photographers, I don't see the ubiquity of digital cameras and smartphones as a death knoll for photographic artists. Rather, photography is becoming a part of everyday life (as it should be.) It's a medium that's easy to relate to. Also, most people know when it's time to call in the pros: for an important event, for large-scale wall art, etc.

New Work: Beach Glass

"Sea Glass" features an image of light blue-green sea glass and a glass starfish.

Janusian Thinking and the Art of Photographing Fall Foliage

Selected images from my personal project on unconventional fall foliage photographs are being featured on the Janusian Gallery weblog in a brief article on Janusian thinking. Read the entry at http://janusiangallery.blogspot.com/2015/10/janusian-thinking-and-art-of.html

Personal Project: A Different Type of Leaf Peeping

My husband is also my photo assistant. Like many men, he prefers to drive whenever we go anywhere. Yesterday, we drove up north to shoot the spectacular colors of this year's fall foliage. (Or to be more precise, he drove and I warmed the passenger seat.)

I really have to work to shoot images in the autumn. I enjoy shooting flowers and spent years attempting to become a modern day version of Georgia O'Keeffe. (Aim high, right?) However, by this time of year in the Northeast, my favorite flowers are either wilting or dead. Landscapes are especially difficult for me because they're so, well, "large." Again, I prefer detail and closeups. Consequently, I find landscape photography overwhelming: I see thousands upon thousands of unique, imperfect leaves rather than one tree. While I can capture "everyone's shot" of a landscape, I'm not in the business of making images that anyone else can make. I am convinced that a unique voice is one of the things that turns photography from a mere activity / pastime into an art.

To amuse, distract, and entertain myself between destinations, I opened the passenger window and shot slow exposures of the foliage and other landscape that seemed to be whizzing by as my husband drove us from town to town. After reviewing the results and aggressively editing out the weaker shots, I cropped the remaining images and adjusted the contrast in Photoshop. Here are some of my favorites:

I think it's interesting how they seem to be a mix of traditional and contemporary, representational and abstract. While the photos depict motion over time, it's motion on the part of the photographer, not the subject.

The end product is certainly unconventional. I really haven't seen other fall foliage images like this, although I'm sure there must be some out there. The "art" aspect of the process seems to be in the image selection, cropping, and editing process, as there's a lot of serendipity in what ends up on the original exposure. While I may experiment with "photographer motion during exposure" with other subject matters, it's unlikely I'll find anything to shoot as colorful as this.

New Work: Mount Chocurua and More

Near Mount Chocurua (New Hampshire):

"The Big Picture":

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Other Landscapes and Details:

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Reflections:

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Other Fall Pix:

New Work: Early Fall in NH

I typically don't like shooting landscape photography, because it's hard to find an unusual focal point and the resultant pix usually end up looking just like everyone else's (and not in a good way). What I do really like, however, are reflections and sappy movies like "The Notebook" and "What Dreams May Come." I also have a soft spot for pictures containing details I didn't notice at the time I shot them. (See last photo on page.) Below are some images I shot while my husband and I enjoyed an impromptu drive up Route 132 in Sanbornton and Bristol, New Hampshire earlier today.

Above: This reflection reminded me of a woven tapestry.

Above: Can't you just see Noah rowing Allie around in a little boat up here?

Above: Something a little more representational: reeds in the water.

Above: This reflection looks almost "smocked" (or alternatively, like squished-up paint).

Above: More reflections. Did I tell you I also love white birch trees?

Above: I was surprised this image (shot at 1/4 sec.) came out, because I didn't have a tripod with me and instead was leaning the camera against a railing.

Above: The fetus-shaped leaf at the bottom of this image fascinates me.

New Work: Springfield, VT Steampunk Festival

This personal project was particularly difficult to shoot because it rained for half the weekend, many of the activities were held a cement hall, and I was in full costume the whole time. (See last photo.) The resultant pictures were very underwhelming straight from the camera. Fortunately, Photoshop and selective use of an online tutorial on making photos look vintage saved the day. Below are a few of my favorite images:

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Here's a selfie of the photographer and her husband/assistant on the way to the event, without any Photoshop wizardry. (Yes, the dreadlocks are fake. Yes, they're heavy. Yes, they gave me a headache after 14 hours of wear.)

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TAKE-AWAY POINTS: Accept that some shoots simply won't come out the way you hoped. Edit ruthlessly BEFORE you Photoshop. Teach yourself new techniques. Be willing to experiment. And finally, don't spend so much time trying to document the perfect moment that you forget to have fun and enjoy the experience.

New Work: Hopkinton (NH) State Fair

The Hopkinton State Fair is a Labor Day Weekend classic up here in the Granite State. This year, the four-day event celebrates its 100th anniversary. My day at the fairgrounds in Contoocook involved carnival rides, lots of "so bad, it's good" food, new friends, 4H displays, and of course some picture-taking.

When I photograph an event, I always take a photo of the sign. This helps me remember and identify at a later date where the rest of the images in the same folder were taken:

Below are some of my favorite images so far:

I've also been playing around with composition recently. The following two images are very atypical for me, but it's the type of work I'm seeing more and more on photo blogs and photography magazines:

(The Spiderman picture is my favorite image from the whole day. I love how tough the young subject is trying to act. I also think the background photo of the little girl with the ladybug face paint looks a lot like a young "Dayanara Diaz" from "Orange is the New Black.")

How are you spending your long weekend?

Tips for Taking Outstanding Fall Foliage Photographs (2015 update)

Q. Why do trees change color in the autumn?

As the days get shorter, trees slow their production of chlorophyll. When this happens, the dominant green color that we usually see in leaves breaks down and other colors that were actually there all along- such as red, gold, and yellow - are revealed.

This process takes only a few short weeks each year. But while it’s going on, it offers an abundance of “photo ops” for professional photographers, amateurs, and hobbyists alike.

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Q. Whenever I take fall foliage pictures, they never seem to look the way they did in "real life." How can I make them better?

The best images - regardless of their subject matter -- are superior both artistically and technically.

Artistic Considerations:

Here's where concepts like composition and creativity come into play. These are pretty broad terms, so here are some factors to keep in mind:

• color (bright, muted, complementary; saturation)
• contrast
• scale
• texture (hard, soft, rough, smooth)
• angle
• perspective
• lighting
• simplicity v. complexity
• detail (or lack thereof)
• distance from your subject
• minimizing visual clutter/background
• "through the lens" cropping
• motion (of your subject,of the camera)
• exposure time
• communication (what mood, message do you want to show/tell your viewer?);
  and one consideration you'll likely not read elsewhere:
  
• honoring your subject.

(read more here...)

Tips for Photographing Alcatraz

Before venturing out to shoot "the Rock," I Googled how to best shoot it in a sea of tourists. I then "test-drove" the ideas I found and am sharing the best:

• Buy your tickets ahead of time, from the NPS's authorized vendor: Don't show up a the dock and expect to get on the next boat to Alcatraz. Tickets sell out days, if not weeks ahead of time.

• Skip the night tour: At this time of year, Alcatraz is in full-bloom. There is a lot of beauty mixed in with the decay, which you won't see as well at night.
  
• Take the first boat out in the day, preferably on a weekday: Get of the boat, skip the park ranger overview and run (yes, run) up the equivalent of 13 flights of stairs to get to the main cellhouse. Then skip the headset queue and go straight upstairs. You'll then have a few minutes to take photos in relative privacy before the crowds descend. You can always read online just about anything in the audio tour.
  
  
  (For instance, did you know that the water tower is so large because drinking water had to be shipped in from the mainland?)
  
• Yes, you can skip the tripod, if... your camera allows you to adjust ISO for a high setting. The graininess -- in some cases I shot at 6400 ISO! -- adds a vintage feel that works well for the inside shots. Outdoors, ISO 100 or 200 works fine. (Or just use full automatic. But if you don't, then don't forget to change your setting back from the high ISO.)

• The viewfinder is your friend: Look at the info in your viewfinder. Is your shutter speed slow than 1/60 sec. (1/30 sec. if you're ***very*** steady-handed)? Anything longer than that and your images may be blurry. Do your pictures look too light or too dark? Bracket the exposures: take the shot at the setting you think works well, then underexpose a step or two and overexpose a step or two.

• The specialty modes are your friend, too: Taking lots of distance shots? Landscape mode works great. Try out the close-up and portrait modes where appropriate, too.
  
• Who cares if your pictures don't look like postcards?: Postcards are meant to appeal to the widest audience possible. You can always buy postcards in the Alcatraz gift shop for just 50 cents (or less). Instead, spend your time taking the shots that represent your own experience.
  
  
• You're not a reporter, so if you see photos that are evocative of the prison experience, but not period-accurate, shoot anyways. Below is a photo of two contemporary workers in the kitchen area, but they still look like inmates.
  
• Bring a zoom lens and close-up lens: Possible subjects are surprisingly varied, from distant birds to rusty keyholes. You can also experiment with using a wide-angle up close:
  
• Don't forget the iPhone: Selfies are lot easier to shoot and post. My iPhone has also taken decent shots in situations where my DSLR was balking.

• It's OK to delete (but work with copies only): You may want to save your whole unedited shoot on a SanDisk card or thumb drive, but edit only the best shots.

• Turn around and look back! Most people attempt to photograph Alcatraz as the ferry approaches "the Rock". Instead, shoot from the back of the ferry as you depart. It'll be a lot less crowded... and you'll be a lot closer.
  
  

What tips have worked for you? Share them below.