Remember the constitution was written for the people and by the people. A Great social experiment of the 18th century. Our right to bear arms was added by the first congress when they passed a group of amendments to the constitution as a way of making sure that the oppression of the Kind that had been suffered would never happen again. Our right to bear arms was at a time when a musket ball was round, and you made it yourself. Heck you probably made the powder yourself too. And your gun took Months for a smith to create. And when you shot somebody, you took them down, most likely not out. If you didn't go back to kill them they would die from blood loss, or infection over time. NOT quickly. Those were different times. What has remained the same is the society in which we live. A Great Melting Pot. All cultures accepted, all peoples allowed. At least in theory and on paper, "All Men (and women) are created equal"
The Dr Rev Martin Luther King Jr hit the nail on the head when he had a dream. In his Dream he Realized! this notion that ALL people are created equal. And while this equality continues to change, it has never been equal. Now we have a president unlike any other, Born in the states, Born in Hawaii, of African American descent. Equality has been reached for yet another group of people, but not for ALL.
As much as being a Democracy, we are also a Capitalist state. This didn't happen over night. Once a great nation of farmers, we are now a great nation of technology and manufacturing driven on a conquest of capital gain. To that end, we have excelled far beyond what our founding fathers would have ever imagined. As Americans, we have excelled in that area. Our desire for capital gain, seems to be our undoing. As we navigated through our economy from the farming economy to and through the industrial revolution, our notion of equality changed, and our laws followed suit. The child labor so prevalent in the industrial revolution outraged the population we passed laws to make it illegal to use young children as a work force. Education laws put in place to ensure the quality education of every child. And finally labor laws allowing labor unions to fight for equality for every worker. Cobra laws to make sure that people won't be denied immediate medical treatment in an emergency. Inroads for equality, but equal we have never been. These laws have not been put in place by just one party, but both parties. These are not democrat or republican issues. Not conservative or liberal issues, but American issues, and by the framers of the constitution these are "ALL men are created equal" Not one group or another, but ALL (hu)mens.
It seems to me that no matter what issue it has been, there is an underlying current of equality. Of those who have, and those who don't have. This equality, this sense Fairness and equity comes straight from our founding fathers, and their desire not just for equality, but just as much about a voice in what that equality is. Our equality continues to change, Though our migration from other lands and cultures. Through our ages, our genders, the color of our skin, our heritage, our traditions, the way we work and play for how long and how hard, Who has health care, and who doesn't. Each has battled fought and won equality. It seems to me now we are at the edge of another point of inequality. A point of inequality that will ultimately call into question all the other inequities in our society. In the past, if there was an inequality, it was easy enough to keep that inequality secret. Today as our technology and the information revolution forms and develops around us, that is being called into question.
I am a member of BOTH groups. A devout Non Conformist. A free thinker. A radical. A Tea Partyist! And a 1% er. Yep, both. why both? because they both want the same damn thing. A return of the government of the people for the people and by the people. They are So damn close they just can't see it and the reason why is inequality.
Socialism and Capitalism JUST don't work! Great societies of forced equality is forcing failure. NOT because it is not a good idea, for both are good ideas, but rather because we are just Human. The desire, no the NEED to Conquer to battle to win is so ingrained we shut down without it. Without tapping into that primal drive, we just flounder, loiter, and fester as pustules of humanity. Ick. And not everybody can be treated the same, there are some who are turned up on high, and others who are turned down very low. Conformity and equality are never going to be the same for every person, but it is clear we have missed something, well I think we have missed lots.
"The Golden Rule" shows up in one form or another in all the major religions of the world. To treat others as you wish to be treated, yet we live in a culture that does not really hold us to that, even as we work towards that end. Our laws push to a notion of equality, Our courthouses seemingly want to hold us to a higher standard placing 'In God we trust' within the reliefs and frescoes and even on our bills, yet we just can't be held to that standard. We don't have the will or the reason to make that a reality. We are stuck. We are stuck pointing fingers at others, we are stuck looking for answers where there are none, we are stuck wanting what we have created to be perfect when it just can't be as we are not perfect. We are just stuck.
Untill we accept the words on the preamble of our constitution that All men are created equil... Untill we accept the Golden Rule as the one and only LAW...Until we LOVE one another as perfectly as we are able and understand that equality among men is not the same as treating everybody the same.
We NEED to offer every person the same basic human rights, and provide for every basic human need as well as we are able. We need to feed the hungry, heal the sick, House the homeless, befriend the friendless, educate the uneducated, Give opportunity to those without opportunity. We need to Love the unloved. We need to Love each other the way we want to be loved, and how do we want to be loved? If my best friend was hungry, i would take them out for a meal, If they were homeless, they would stay at my house, IF sick I would find them medical care, if they felt friendless, I would be there friend, IF they needed knowledge, I would teach them, if they needed an opportunity, I would try to find one that suited them, because I love my friends. Wouldn't you? Really wouldn't you do that for your friend?
Now couldn't you extend your circle of friends? Couldn't you? Could you make it the town in which you live? Could you make it everybody in that town? If you and your friends made it your mission to make everybody your friend could you? Now if you made everybody in your new circle of friends in the town could you?
My friends at TIGER, the brainchild of Dr Trish Lindberg one of my personal hero's sing a song describing friendship. the song starts to describe the ways two boys are different, then he realizes as the list grows that there are more ways they are the same. " Really that odd kid is more like me, Like me. I told my Dads. He is more like me." We are way more similar than different, and it is those differences that make us who we are. the similarity make us friends, the differences make us interesting.
His Holiness the Dali Lama reminds us that Love is the acceptance of others without judgement. Jesus commands us to Love each other the way we love ourselves.
IF we are able to consider everybody a friend, Meet their needs, NOT their wants, but their basic needs, and to SHOW not to litigate, not to create laws demanding it to be so, but to do it as one human to another we will NO longer have the crazies who shoot people in schools.
Crazies need help. they are sick, if we tend to the sick... GUN laws won't help! Gun laws won't stop the violence! But the power to stop it is in our hands, the peoples hands. People help. Love helps. Education helps. Friends help. Friends Help! if one of your friends heard you talking of going postal in a school would he let you? Would any of your friends let you? NO! The one thing these people have is the lack of friends, the lack of being Loved. We can change that."
I DARE you! to give a hug, be a friend, listen to the words, of somebody who you wouldn't call a friend, and make him one. Lets change the world together for together we can. If we lave it up-to the elected officials we will fail. IF we take it upon ourselves to change the one person we can change, Make a bold out of the comfort zone statement and be a friend to everybody and LOVE our neighbors not only can we but we will change the world.
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Panoramas are inherently difficult to view. We just can't see that much all at once. a 360° field of view where you can see what is behind you is just NOT possible without turning around for us humans. Fly's are a different subject, but we just can't see behind us, so when you have a field of view that encompasses a full circle, we inherently are confused. The curved lines in the area above and below us necessary to move the view from behind us to in front of us is really distracting, and confusing! Changing the view so the view is looking straight up and you see the panorama as a circle. you can still see the same information, but just in a different way. I would really love to do one as an immerseave panorama space that you can climb into. At least put your upper body into and look around. A Hanging Globe that is printed as a globe on the inside so you can experience the panorama as if you were there. The funny part about doing that is you once again can't see the entire circle of view at one time! It is limited by how you see.
I have had an amazing amount of support from some unusual places, I am excited to add to my collection, and look forward to your feedback! Let me know what you think. Good or bad, it all helps!
Bridges are as important as can be found. Over the planks we transport the fruits of our toils. Over the planks, Our hard work is manifest in goods and services finds a home. Over the planks, we reveal and share our knowledge and beliefs. Over the planks we create our culture and our heritage. The planks, bear witness to travel of the heart, the soul, the desires, and the needs of our culture.
Nothing could possibly be more important than bridges. Spanning the gap between sinner and salvation. Spanning the chasm between Mother and daughter, father and son. Closing the space between neighbors. Transporting Water to the thirsty, Food to the hungry, shelter to the homeless, medicine to the sick, and the lonely to their families. It seems only fitting that bridges become the object of our obsessions.
Roadways, and communities have been built strictly on the fact that there needs to be no bridge built. Days of labor are required to span even a small stream with a short stone and earthen bridge. Moving the heavy materials, preparing footings to support the weight of the arch necessary for the spaces underneath. It is no surprise when a large bridge over a river became a necessity, that our early American counterparts made structures out of local materials, and covered them for their protection and for a long service life.
It was an old bridge in Plymouth that first inspired my curiosity. "70 Years of Service" the name of a photograph I made when 'the green bridge' that spanned the Pemi' River between Holderness and Plymouth was ready to come down. The green bridge a large steel Through Arch Bridge built before WWII for it was joined with rivets, and not welded in place like steel was after the war. The bridge deck laid between large green arches, with a pin truss support for the deck to span the river below. It was beautiful for its engineering, steel work an the work it did connecting the two communities, and the University that spanned the river. But it had a few flaws, it had been built a bit lower than it should have, and flooded from time to time. And the road leading to the town was at a funny angle for the bridge, So it became just one of the bridges in a long line of structures that spanned the river, as a new stronger and 'better' bridge was put in its place.
I was equally impressed with the temporary structure put together with pre-fabricated sections and huge pins. It moved LOTS as traffic went over it, but held fast during the two years it was in service. The new bridge is a marvelous piece of civil engineering. Straight and true, Compact and strong, But it seems to me that something is missing. The lights installed harken back to a previous era, the ornamentation in the concrete a throwback to bridges of yesteryear, but honestly these design details leave me wanting. Created by the hand of man, and with the tolerance of fractions of an inch, it is truly a marvel of modern engineering and construction methods. What is missing is the fine craftsmanship. We are missing something from our modern buildings. The flair of finely crafted workmanship where the craftsman puts himself into the work, not as a job, but as an extension of himself. The little details put into the ordinary things in the lives of yesteryear. Details put into buildings, bridges, cars, doors, chairs, you name it, are just remarkable. In a time when we had so little, we spent so much making everything not just functional, but visually interesting and tying that into our lives, making everything an integrated part of our existence. We gave up so much more of our time to enrich our world through the embelishment of finish and detail. That is what our bridge is missing.
Our covered bridges are a look back to that time. A time when it wasn't just about crossing a span between the two sides of a river. A time when it wasn't just about covering the deck so the structure would last longer. A time when community was as important as family. A time when travel was measured in days, not in miles. A time when every structure was a landmark. A time when a romantic vision of travel went hand in hand with the utility of the connections the bridges made. "Over the river and through the woods to grandmothers house we go. The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh through the white and drifting snow" And how could it not be a romantic vision. Snow covered, Bundled together against the cold, and the warmth of the hearth at grandmothers were the embers of love burning within the travelers. The covered bridge, the embodiment of Love for community, for family a safe place to take refuge if even for a brief minute. The incredible amount of toil of man and beast over countless hours, days even years, to create not just a link between two sides of a river, but a link through history. A beacon along a journey not just to grandma's but through time.
Over the planks, life has come and gone, Too and Fro, Back and forth, here and there. Over the planks Life has happened because Over the planks Love has stood the test of time, through the men and their toils that put them there.
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It is early. I can't sleep, had my 7 hours so I am up. The sun isn't but I am. It is cold, so cold out, but my easy chair is warm. The burning candle smells better than the plastic tree we can keep on most of the time. If the sky was a bit nicer I would have gone out shooting photos looking up at the sky, but the sky is grey with a thick overcast of clouds. And I have a Christmas song stuck in my head.
I am sitting, all is quiet, all is calm, and I have a reminder of the nature of this HolyDay season in my mind. The Love of "I AM" The nature of being it seems to me is to love, to call all of the beings to their nature. The reminder of the love of the holy one to enter into this world not through fanfare, not through a grand entrance, but to enter the world through the most common of ways in the most common of days through the most common of people. There is lots of magic, real magic in the story of the birth of G-D, but the real magic I think comes in the acceptance, the acceptance of the common by the divine. And not just acceptance of birth as common, but the insistence of life and the experience of all of creations existence through the experience of the one common man.
I wonder however if the Life of the Christ Child could really be called common. There were not three wise men around my crib. Well there were, wise men, but none that read about it in the papers and brought gifts from foreign lands at least. Not common. Not many were chased out of town as an infant through a dream into a foreign land, just to return after the king died. Not common. Not too many can keep the party going after the wine runs out. Not Common. But what might be common are The trials the struggle, the getting past when things don't go right the drama that pops up in each of our lives that we have no control over. An ordained Sufi friend taught me to be thankful for my troubles, and I try to be, but certainly I wouldn't have wanted Mary and Josephs troubles raising such a child, for even the son of God had to learn to walk. We all seem to have certain gifts, and I am sure it was testing of all of the gifts God gave to Joseph and Mary in order to bring up Jesus.
For me The Magic of Christmas is in the story and the acceptance of the creator. And while we are so far removed from the Jew that Jesus was raised to be, he still had the experiences we have today. We are born we grow up, we struggle, we get sick, we share in Joy and Hope and Love in life and through life, and in the end we die. And while we surround ourselves with different things, and different drama in our lives and in our world, I don't know that it is all that different. Certainly Life is the best experience that Life can give, It isn't the stuff, Not the things, the jobs, the places, the tools, clothes, governments, technologies, even the individuals that makes life special, But it is Life that makes Life special. And ours has been shared by our creator, and if that isn't the best act of Love I don't know what is.
Here I sit in front of our plastic tree, lit by lights with lots of colorful gifts under it. I am in awe, not of the things that are under it, but of the Life and the Love it represents. I still have a song running through my head. "I Believe".
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Thanksgiving has passed, I gained my 2 pounds I now need to work off (ug) and it is the time for parties, yummie treats, and rich foods. What ever shall I do!
This website is now one year old, and I am just about to pay for a second year of Zenfolio and feel it is a great deal. Over 8000 photos now reside on this site. over 2200 people have come to visit, and a handful have actually purchased directly on this site! Always a great thing. A place for my blog, direct access of my images from anywhere and an attractive interface what is not to love. The online world has changed so much since my first online offerings almost 16 years ago. No longer limited by slow dial up band with, or being connected via a cable. I am now free to roam store and access my work via the internet and online storage. But all this connectivity doesn't diminish the need to continue to put my work into the realm of the real, not the virtual. The road ahead, in a new world of Virtual image making, is not an easy one, constantly looking for the opportunity to show the work in a grand scale on the walls of real spaces, not the virtual ones.
The new year brings new challenges. Space to show my work, being the focus and goal for 2014. New display spaces, a gallery, shows and lecture/talks all in the works. I am excited for what is in store in 2014.
It should be a Very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!
]]>The leaves have fallen, the trees are bare, lawn raked, and set for winter. This weekend is the prep for winter weekend, as we have just last week turned on the heat. That means that my tramping through the woods takes on a different set of objectives. Now I start looking for cool Ice!
As I look back, I have had a great year. I did what I set out to do in December. and while I don't yet have the kind of representation I am wanting, I have a body of work that can go to a gallery. Both black and white and color. I had a great summer, my residency was a life changing event. I learned quite a bit about all kinds of things, and it opened my eyes to considerations I had never pondered.
As I look forward, I will jury into "the League" The League of New Hampshire Craftsman is the oldest crafters league in the country and one of the most respected. While I have gone through the jury process before, they are very specific on what they want to see, the 'Craft' is the important part, and i have a large enough body of work to show now that has been hand crafted including all the frames being hand crafted from rough cut lumber.
Of course I will enjoy continuing my work with the National Forest, providing different learning experiences in the woods in the following year. I have also been itching to finish a project of panoramas of the covered bridges in New Hampshire. My covered bridge photography to be both 360° panoramas and high dynamic range so all the detail of the structure is easily seen. My hope it to create a book, so I will need to do some research on publishing and do a kickstarter to raise the funds necessary. Watch for it!
Of course I will need to continue to take photos of some of these bridges. Some of them in snow will be fun, but what a pain to get there to capture in the snow. Inside and outside, including details and views. So it will be a larger book, perhaps a really long volume, or perhaps the panoramas spread across the gutter, but I'd rather not do that.
So while I am not really excited about the current crop of weather, I am looking forward to what the new year brings, Snow and Ice and adventure. The continued development of my artwork, and new experiences. I have lots to be thankful for, and your reading this is just one of them!
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I was challenged to redefine art, and the artist as being one who pours themselves into something they create. So I have been challenged both in the terms of my own art, and in how I go about working with young artists. Pouring myself into my own work is something I am very familiar with. drawing that from somebody else has been a growing challenge. This was recognized by the group, the growing challenge to move away from what we have created in our society. We have built a system that squelches creative thinking, in favor of simply giving the answers to the test. Getting away from that means bringing creative though back into our classrooms.
Now lets see If I can be even MORE random, Open ideas and lines of though. Reflect on what has happened, and learn to make a more interesting tomorrow!
Thinking about how a Mouse and a Refrigerator are similar, and realize that they are perhaps more similar than they are different, Both have inspired me to continue.
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I have officially ended my 'residency' in the White Mountain National Forest. Not that this journey is over, it is just a fork in the road. I have been to Many places, Taken countless Thousands of photographs, Exposed over 20 rolls of film, and quite a few sheets of film as well. The results of this labor is on this website in several galleries, and I have more to put up. Most of the film has now been processed and In process of scanning so I can determine which to print. Here is a list of some of the places I have been in the WMNF:
Arethusa Falls
Artist Bluff
Bald Face Mountain
Bear Notch
Beaver Brook
Blueberry Mountain
Campton Pond
Crawford Notch
Dolly Copp
Dry River
Fletcher's Cascade Trail
Hastings Bridge
Holkers Trail up Madison
Lost City of South Landalf
Hubbard Brook
Jackson Trail
Kancamangus
Lincoln Woods Trail
Mt Cabot
Noon Peak
Pond of Safety
Sabbaday Falls
Star King Trail
Three Ponds
Tripple Falls
Wild River
I found some amazing spaces that don't have a name, at least not one I could find along the Kanc, Rt 113 and Sandwich Notch Road. And as I look back, some of the things that I was taken by the most, I am not able to show on a 2D page. There is something lost no matter how large I make my prints. The green isn't as full of life, the light not as bright with the promise of a new day. The power of the water lost on the page, the grand space lost in the finite borders placed around it. The limits of the media.
I made it my intention to find those places that were NOT often traveled, and frequently I saw no body on my journeys, or saw few. Asking many people where the interesting, not often seen, and hidden places were. I stayed away from the well traveled trails, journeyed around into the wilderness areas outside the reach of my cell phone, but not outside the reach of civilization. Traveling well into the woods, and out of the view of the city lights was not enough to keep away of the noise of our world, as much as I tried, I could hear, or see the mechanized world in which we live.
I was NOT looking for the view from the mountain top. The 'view' so many people want at the top of the mountain is so limited. I was asked if there was a good view from the summit of Mt Cabot and I said it was amazing, for, it was. 5:30am and watching the clouds in the valley like a river. 9PM and watching the clouds catch the light of the setting sun and glow with the colors of God's Promise. How could you not call that a view. But sadly Mt Cabot doesn't have a 'view', at least not what most people call a view. But I am looking for what is hidden. And finding a view where there is 'none' is exactly what i set out to do.
I was struck by the tenaciousness of Life, Of the circle of that existence and of how small we are. The amazing things that sprout from, within and around a fallen tree. The green of the forest is greenest around the fallen. The monstrous trees clinging to rocks that don't look like they should be able to support their wight, On cliffs, in cracks withing stone walls. The foliage just doesn't know when to stop. I had an interesting chat late at night with another star gazer Sarah who worked at the Dry River campground about the stars and our place in the universe as we watched the Milky way Galaxy cross the Southern sky.
Chasing the light meant I was up before anybody else, and often up after everybody else. I found I was a bit sleep deprived when I returned home. But the light was worth the effort. The color, the quality, the sounds of the earth at that hour.
So I also sought to show the intense numbers of people that use this land. And while I found more secluded areas of the forest and mountains, It is easy to find the countless visitors. The overlooks, the swimming holes along the scenic byways. The wonder of some people in these very public spaces was fun to watch. Children who have never seen the kind of magic that The Creator of these spaces placed in front of them.
While my residency is NOT over, I have just come back to my 'normal' life I have lots left to do, Lots left to find, develop, print, show, talk about, learn, explore, listen, watch, and take photographs of. I hope you enjoy the journey through these images, and can find a place of wonder, hope and the promise of life.
Find Galleries of the Photos, Time Lapse, Panoramas and Infra Red
In the short term, come visit at the
Informal exhibit. talk & reception
Saturday, September 7, 5 to 7 pm
Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery
69 Maple St., Center Sandwich
I will also have a piece at the reception for the PSU Faculty show oppening on the 10th and at the art show for the recital for Sally Jensen on Saturday at 4.
Columbus weekend at Waterville Estates
and always looking for more places to show.
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It seems NO matter how many times I read that 'Leave NO Trace' sheet up on the trail head map board, I still find Trash! and lot of it. Trash everywhere! Junk, bottles, cigarette buts, clearly left behind and intentionally so. Sometimes I will find something dropped and non recoverable. Having lost an item or two like that, it is understandable, but my empty bottles, wrappers, boxes, bags and junk all go in a bag back into my pack to pack back out! This 'Secret' place was a dump, literally, a dump of the remains of a party, Red solo cup, they filled you up and had a party, and they left you behind. poor Solo cup, and Poor me! Honestly what is the sense of keeping a place secret if people are going to go in and leave a mess.
Same day, hours later, I went up to Baldface Mountain. I was really nervous as the parking lot was so full, the cars on the road lined up for a good long way. The opposite of a secret spot, Baldface was a favorite for many. the views from the summit are spectacular! I stayed in the shelter for the night so I could not only see the sunset, but also experience the sunrise. Amazing, and also amazing that this is a practical Highway! So many pass through and by every day, yet the amount of trash which is still there was Much Much less. Even the composting toilet had little trash around it.
So why keep it a secret, That just invited those looking to get away with something. Make it well known and I think the enjoyment can be spread around more, and the level of enjoyment might actually go up! I must say I am so fed up with the Junk people toss aside. empty water bottles are a frequent addition to the landscape which to me is a real tragedy.
Leave ONLY foot prints
Take ONLY photographs,
Bring out what you brought in, in order to Leave NO trace.
And Leave NO trace so You and your children can enjoy the space for generations to come, Unless you really enjoy the dump, but then you wouldn't have to travel as far I suppose.
I think that in another 50 years, this video won't be able to be made. There is an intrusion of light pollution, Light pollution travels for SO many miles. The little towns are not the problem, but the sprawl of the urban areas will one day light up this section of the sky as well. This was just about 5 days after the full moon, so there is a short time with NO moon, then the partial moon lights up both the sky, but the landscape as well. Beautiful! Look and see if you can see the shooting stars, they are faint, and numerous, but only last for one frame, the planes last for several.
]]>NO panoramas today, but I stopped and took photos here and there and before you knew it, It was time to head back down the mountain. Hmm, never saw the summit. But that is fine. I found some interesting places, Moss lined forest floor, Pine forest with two levels, 4 foot pine and 40 foot pine, Nothing in the middle. Odd. I had trees talkin to me, and snakes slithering away from my feet. In all a cool day. I am enjoying playing with the Infrared and false color. Using slightly more visible light (red) and the infrared and getting a bit of color separation. Living stuff is lighter than the dead stuff, so there is a color contrast in the files, it is just up to me to pull it out. Blue sky and yellow foliage seems most reasonable. Magenta and green is just weird.
Today, Wednesday I drove my tired knees down to 'Tripple Falls' and packed in my big camera. Beautiful! Makes me think of the Flume Gorge. Deep cavern with a trickle of water running through. A GREAT place for a panorama. Tough to get into, but what a great spot. In the early morning light, the exposures are long, and the water looks marvelous. Only slipped twice on the rocks getting out there! My collection of bruises is growing.
Tomorrow, looking to get to the 'Pond of Safety' what a great story about what happened there. Ill let you know!
Hiking up, and this goes UP, some 2500 feet in 2.5 miles means it is all up all the time. actually it wasn't bad, a nice even pitch. Not too much rolling, just a nice even climb. at some point about 2/3 of the way up the mountain it changes from hardwood to softwood. Changes from wide and more mud than rock to narrow to more rock than mud. from leaf litter to fern. And I am struck, not by what is there, but by what is not. NO huge old growth trees, But lots of fallen old fallen blow down. I wonder if this is the remains from the ice storm in 1998 So much downed and downed a long time ago trees. Of course there are newer blown down trees, but there seemed to be SO many old trees, covered in Green Mosses and Lichen, Little fungus and chipmunks living underneath, and I am sure Lots of BUGS, but I didn't see many of those. And what I came to ponder amongst the pondering of Lichen, is how vastly important the dead stuff is to the living stuff. IF there wasn't the fallen trees, the mosses wouldn't have proper place to grow, full of whatever it is that they need. And that stuff is what the bigger stuff needs to anchor its roots in place so that the bigger stuff still has a place to grow and flourish. All the wile being consumed, trees being turned back into trees, or moss or ferns, or what not, and yes, even trees. The decomposers doing their job, and I think this wet summer they are in overdrive with all the mushroom caps all over the place in the forest. It strikes me that these dead trees are at Least as important to the health and life of the forest as the ones standing, and the lichen. Trees, Moss, Grass, Fern, Rock, and fungus....... all just as important, and all worthy of the same study. Today I will only study with my vision, using my eyes to see through what is there to an understanding that I am just as important part of this collection, but only if I don't take more than I need, and let the rest do what they need to do to be. Be it studied and understood makes no difference to the forest, It will just keep on overcoming whatever comes along, be it Mother Nature and her storms, or Man and his desires for what he doesn't have.
Leaving Lots of footprints, and taking Lots of photos. And the forest leaves a mark, deep and open now within my consciousness, what it fills with depends not on my will, but it seems upon that of the creator of all things.
From the top of Star King Mountain. Look at the Lichen flowing off of the branches like seaweed in the ocean.
I watched yesterday families enjoying the welcome center at the Pemi overlook on the Kanc. One woman played with my camera twice in the course of an hour as it recorded a timelapse. I still like the resulting timelapse. It is fun to watch all the people come out with cameras and cell phones and take photos and panoramas. I have a timelapse of a stream of cars passing into the WMNF as well, they should make for fun sequence in a time lapse video of the whites.
and I really love the panorama I created yesterday at Fletchers Cascade even if the water wasn't flowing as hard as it might. just a 1.7 mile hike into the woods and into the Sandwich wilderness area. Looking for more opportunity to get into the wilderness areas.
Who knows what the next week will bring!
]]>My guide and Forest Service Ranger Jana was great. She knew right where the trail was supposed to be, and was working at determining where it would go. Leading us over the tricky parts and searching out the new location for the trail that will be as safe as the old one, but probably not as easy. We watched as one group tried to take on the closed trail and it took them half an hour to transverse the 500 foot span that had been washed away.
I was amazed by some of the parts of the trail, an easy hike like the Lincoln Woods trail, nice and even. But other parts are on sheer sides of the mountain and over cascading waterfalls. Other sections through mud and yuck not too far from the edge of going over the side. It seems that when the trail gets tough, it also gets stunningly beautiful. Wanting to stop and take photos, but not on this trip. Jana needed to finish her surveying of where the new trail will be. Tough work to say the least.
I enjoyed some of the visuals The overhangs caused by the river and the vast see of boulders. I think I need to work on some of these HDR Panoramas a bit more, but here they are. parts of the missing trails.
Met a wonderful state worker, Sarah, and we had some fun conversation as we watched for shooting stars, and the Milky Way wandering by in the sky. The timelapse looks fantastic! the Milky Way rolling to the west to set.
It was fun to catch the Milky way with the other camera as well with the Crawford Notch Visitors Center in the foreground.
And of course The falls. There are some I haven't worked on yet, a panorama of a lower part of the falls, I was more struck with the rock than the water actually
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While the wind blew and blew during the night, it blew itself out, and the morning was nice and clear and cold with a beautiful sunrise in the east. I got up in time to change the camera over to the valley below, and captured the sunrise and the change of color and the fog in the valley moving around in the valley. Both quality is a bit eeh. A shorter lens for the sky would have been nice, and longer for the valley. But that is what I had. Ill do more again next trip. The Panoramas however I love. The evening sun from the porch of the cabin is my favorite. The sky is amazing. and the valley below the trees is cleanly detailed. The porch and the setting of the cabin is well placed and I even like my reflection in the window, and I LOVE the color. I am glad I shot at the right time to record the range of tones perfectly. any earlier and the sky would have been too bright to do without doing HDR work as well and that never looks quite right. I am impressed with the smaller L bracket and rotating indexer for the panoramas, They work perfect and weigh almost nothing. Time to sell my Giant Manfrotto set up :-)
The morning warmed up quickly and after some photography at the summit in the warm morning light I took off, pausing a couple times to capture the trail. There are few good trail shots. But my leggs hurt, and I was happy to see my car at the end. Check out the photos and time lapse in the online album!
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My Hair has been chopped in preperation for Monday's Hike up the Northernmost White Mountain 4000 foot peak, Mt Cabot to a little cabin at the summit. I am hoping to get the Milky Way moving along the sky. Of course Ill post what I find.
Wish me luck!
What a great day on the trail. I followed Bailey up the trail, by quite a distance. I weighed my cameras, I have 25-30 pounds of camera gear in the bag, PLUS food, water emergency gear and the bag itself, so it hits almost 50 pounds. My new pack is hurting my shoulders, I wonder if I have it set up right, or if I just need to adjust my back :-) not used to carrying such a heavy load everyplace. So I am looking to save weight in the gear. Carbon tripod saves over 2 pounds! different lens set will save a couple pounds too...every little bit helps.
The trail crew today was installing rock steps. What a chore! Each step was to be dug out underneath so the stone would only hit at 3 points and wouldn't move when jumped on, NOT a little itty bitty bit! so it was roll the stone in, jump, roll the stone out, excavate, roll the stone in and repeat until it didn't move any more. Six-Four (trail name, and height) worked all day on a stone. IF done properly the stones won't move for decades if ever. The trail work manual doesn't exist other than with the men and women that work making the trails. Young men and women dedicated to the physical labor, each enjoyed the work some have been doing this for more than one season.
Watch one day's work from 9 till 3 on just a few steps!
I was impressed with their grit, and their determination! I found some great things to photograph other than the work, the number of Mushrooms! and they stunk like rotting animals. EEEWWW. But they were Great to look at. And Clover flowers, I have been noticing them all summer, and hadn't realized what they were, Little white flowers with pink details. They don't look like other clover flower I have seen, but that was the only green around, so when I got back to the stuio I looked it up. Some are other colors too, yellow and pink.
I am sore from the hike back out, I fell on my but! Ill be fine, with a few aspirin :-)
]]>Well, in the torrential rain, I raced to set the camera for a timelapse, but I bumped the focus and threw it out of wack bad enough it won't look like much :-( But I did get several photos that look nice, including a good panorama.
Wilderness Photography Overnight Trek & Workshop: As a prelude to his residency on the White Mountain National Forest, photographer John Anderson is inviting outdoor photography enthusiasts to join him on a hike on the Flat Mountain Pond Trail next Monday, July 15. The overnight trip will be led by Lauren Estabrook, an experienced guide. It will begin Monday morning at the Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery in Center Sandwich with a discussion of wilderness areas and an introductory talk & slide show about photographing in them (finding the best light in the forest, composition, etc.). For details, call the Arts Alliance at 603-323-7302 or email [email protected]. Advance registration will be requested for the hike -- everyone welcome at the talk.
I will chat for a bit about some photo reltated stuff, then somebody will chat about Wilderness area related stuff, then we head off into the woods to Flat Mountain Pond for an overnight, chasing the light of dusk and dawn and overnight in order to make some memorable images. come to the talk, or come and hike with us. We are goin rain or shine!
It is my hope to start with a talk about photographing the WMNF, then have somebody from the US Forest Service talk about the Wilderness areas before a group (8 people tops) head into the woods to chase the light and stay overnight. I will update here when this gets flushed out. July 15 was my first choice of days because a former student who does this kind of expedition leading is available then. but that is too short notice...bumma!
Kurt and I went into the woods yesterday, He didn't want a long hike or an overnight even though that is what I am working towards. He will be Boy Scout camping so he is not wanting any more. So we did a short hike on the Fletcher's Cascades Trail. Less than 2 miles to these amazing cascades with a little pool, nice waterfalls and great viewing spots. IT is in the Pemi wilderness area, so we could go there for our expedition. Being in the woods like it is, and not having the scenic vistas, We wouldn't have some of the technical problems of matching the sky brightness to the mountain brightness. and we could be there at almost any time of day, not worrying about chasing the light, although I bet an evening dusk time would make the waterfalls glow due to the west exposure.
I had with my my Infra Red camera, not having the time to use or do much photography because I was hiking with Kurt. and I got some great shots of the Cascades and some of the amazing green that was taking over everything in the woods.
I will need to go back with the Panorama camera and my big Black and White camera. Amazing spot in the Pemi Wilderness Area
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FIRST! What a deal, a the govt has a competition for photos from the Wilderness area. Here is a link.
http://blogs.usda.gov/2013/06/13/your-wilderness-photo-could-be-displayed-at-a-special-smithsonian-exhibition/#more-46081
So I am trying to plan a visit into the wilderness area, offer a couple classes before hand. So my proposal is then to have a seminar on Monday the 15th of July, then trek into one of the natural areas to spend a night coming out the next day.
Looking at the map, the Flat Mountain Pond trail looks to be fairly reasonable grade, and has the Flat Mountain Shelter along it, and is in the wilderness part of the forest. I have never been there, It looks (on a map) to be an easy grade, has a shelter, water, should have great view of Tripyramid Mts. to Mt White face.
Other tramping into the woods I plan
Starting on Rt 113, Emerald Pool, Chandler Gorge, Baldface Circle Trail, Stay at South Baldface Shelter, Meader Ridge Trail, Basin Rim Trail, Stay at Blue Brooke Tent site, Basin Trail and out to Rt 113
302 Kedron Flume Trail, Ethan Pond Trail, Mt Wiley, Mt Field, Mt Tom. East views with Mt Washington. Stay in woods with no campsite
Rt 112 Sawyer Pond TrailSawyer Pond Campsite. OOps, this is closed at least for now, might not happen.
Tripoli Rd, Mt Osceola Trail.
Where else?
]]>I went the wrong direction at first, the trail makes a big loop around Bald Mountain. I wanted to get to the bluff first to set my camera for a time lapse, and then explore. I was struck by the HUGE glacier erratic boulders that spot the trail on the way up. This is one steep climb, even though it might be short, it is a good workout with a full pack of camera gear and water. A quick stop at the bluff, I set my camera looking through two of the boulders and up through the notch showing both Cannon and Lafayette mountains and the clouds. You can see the tram moving on the right side of the time lapse which is fun to watch.
I had the camera tucked into a corner in the bushes with a bag weighing it down so it wouldn't move and it was barely noticed by the guests to the lookout area. It is surprising to me how many people came and went in the two hour time slot the camera was there. leaving the camera, I finished my trip to the top of the hill. I was struck by the ground cover a couple times, but didn't take the pack of my back until I found a large boulder that had ferns, and moss growing on the top. Some cool flat peeling lichen on the sides and a small trail where people had walked along the top of it. and trees growing close enough that they are scared by growing up against the big rock.
The change of growth by level and the interesting patterns they made drew my attention as did how some of the plants grew up along the cracks and in the moss. The lichen was crazy some of them looking like plates with the edges curled up or swirled around the center. The way the roots out of the soil cover the ground and rocks in places make it look almost horror movie like. The dense growth of trees keeps most of the light out, and it was dark with just a few spots of sunlight hitting the ground. I think these might be some interesting subjects to point the camera at for a time lapse on sunny days.
I found the rock at the top, and stood with the Infrared camera to capture some images and my PHONE slid out of my pack and down the rock, then the slope in front of the rock! Seeing where it went, I climbed down after it to find it was a DUMP for water bottles. Do disheartening. to see so many water, soda and beer bottles in the leaf litter at the base of that boulder.
Hanging out at the Bluff, I took photos for a panorama. I am still not certain what I think of these collage panoramas. I love the panorama head I have, and making the 360° panos, this spot might be a good spot for one, but the head is SO heavy it adds over 10 pounds just for that one piece of equipment, it has been a struggle getting it into the woods.
I will need to search out another piece of equpment light enough to tag along and allowing me to rotate around the nodal point. Ug.
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I took 2 hours of shooting at the summit to capture enough frames for the timelapse. I still need a couple things for making this a few steps better, a lighter tripod for one. I enjoy the framed view from the summit with the trees and bush waving in the wind. the clouds were really moving.
New digital for IR was fun. I thoroughly enjoy the trail, the black sky and the bright foliage
Glad to get going back down. I didn't stop to capture the great light after 5. lighting up the forest in great dramatic light!
On Wednesday, I had my hands on an Emmy Award. No kidding, took my photo with an Emmy. While it was not for anything I had done, the Woman's Name on the award, Dr Trish Lindberg acknowledged the work I had done contributed towards the effort that made it happen. An Emmy, the highest honor in Television given to TIGER, that is Theater Integrating Guidance Education and Responsibility for their premier program on public television.
As I look back, it is not the first time I have been part of such an award. Working with a collage friend, he won a Chrysalis Award, the highest accolade for a remodeler, That work was on TV as well, The Home channel. No only did Joe win the award that year, but the quality of the submission we created together was so high, it forced the governing body to rewrite the rules for the submissions.
I have had political figures, governors, national Senators, nationally renowned artists and their artwork and Business people all in front of my camera. I have been inside machines large enough to have meetings in, Photographed national disasters, Documented lives and have been a part of family gatherings more numerous to count. I have been published in national magazines, and my artwork is far better traveled than am I.
About 10 years ago, I helped start, with many other people the Artistic Roots, a community gallery and art space. I work hard keeping the arts in our community, and have for over a decade, and I give as much time and talent to my local school as possible. recently Sarah and I gave our time and talent helped raise a large sum of money for our 8th graders senior class with our photo booth.
My photography is my greatest gift. This year I made a commitment to myself to advance my artwork. It is my turn to find the spotlight for my own work, to forge a new path as the artist I was trained as, and use my gifts more fully. My work has been awarded the first Artist in Residency in the White Mountain National Forest to a resident of New Hampshire. I am excited not only to be the creative artist in the WMNF, but also to be a part of the WMNF rich heritage, giving back as I work at exploring the WMNF more completely.
Because there is no money for artists supplies as part of this residency award, and because photography supplies are so darn expensive, I need your help. I have a Kickstarter to raise the funds necessary to have the best artists residency. Please take a moment to look at his Kickstarter. As a reward for any pledge I has discounted my art by half. Not only can you get a piece of my art for cheep! you can help a great artist continue to create. Please consider pledging even just $25 to help him continue to make Amazing Art. If helping a friend who deserves it isn't enough of a reason, getting artwork for half its value certainly should be.
Find the Kickstart here:
I will keep photos from his residency here (just some working images at this time):
You can find a previous body of work done on Flora:
And an exciting series I have started and continue to work on, panoramas of the covered bridges in New Hampshire here:
Keep watching the website, a good portion of it requires me to offer classes, lectures, nature walks, etc to participate with the public. so there will be a posting of dates and events for this project.
Thank you for your time and consideration
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The Light was beautiful through the trees. The path narrow and overgrown. Sarah was enjoying the size of the birch trees. I enjoyed the shadows cast on this birch. The shaddows fading and moving with the light through the canopy. The next tree shedding its outer bark in little curls and some subtle but amazing color for being a white birch.
I was under the impression that the Trillium was all over for the year, Seeing the Trillium on our Hike early in the month up Choroua. Seeing all the blossoms along the trail was amazing. Red on one side of the trail, white on the other. at the pond, we found tons of them, Trying to capture them with their surroundings.
Watching the clouds roll by, I wish I had a way to catch a time lapse. I see the clouds rolling by in the reflection off the lake through the trees.
Watching the water cascade over the rocks on the way down, I thought I would use the ability to capture 10 frames a second to not speed up, but slow down the speed of the water. Photoshop can put them together as a Moving GIF, Should have used a tripod, Next time.
Excited to get my NEX that has been modified to see infrared in the mail tomorrow. Next week, Ill post some infrared photos!
Monday Sarah and I went to the top of Chocorua, the first hike of the summer and it reinforced several things. 1, I need to condition my legs a bit better :-) they still hurt today, Thursday. 2, I need to stay at the summit, or near it to get the images I want. What a beautiful landscape, but in order to capture its amazingness, I really need to be up there at dawn and at dusk, chasing the light. 3, there are more opportunities than I thought, I am excited! to go out with just my camera. 4, How the devil am I supposed to get all my gear with me if I need to carry all that non essential stuff like food and water? 5, I can't even keep my cell powered up for a day, how am I going to keep it powered up for a few? and then power a camera for a time lapse.
Hmmm I may just have to try something different.
Some of the technical stuff I should have straightened out in short order, now I need to work on where I will be and when for those AIR community outreach events, talks, makin' art with others, and the like. Stay tuned, Ill let you know when and where.
]]>It means, Oh My God! I have been selected to be the Artist in Residence for the White Mountain National Forest and the Northern New Hampshire Arts Alliance. This is a once in a lifetime experience and I am so excited. This residency program will allow me to live, and work as an artist in the White Mountain National forest for the Month of August. I will not only be working in the forest, but will be working with the public, sharing art learning experiences through hands on art experiences, lectures, nature walks, and the like. And for me it means I get to immerse myself in my own artwork which I have not been able to do in over 20 years. What a treasure, and opportunity.
What lies hidden will be what I focus on, makes sense, that is often the question I ask when I go to take photographs. I have plans on doing some time lapse, some panoramas, using infrared film, large format film, my digital of course and plenty of 35mm black and white film.
Watch this blog space as I explore this opportunity.
]]>I find way too many posts on the news feeds about cameras with small sensors and how 'horrible' they are because the owners can't control depth of field, and therefore can't throw backgrounds out of focus. Photoshop has some really groovey (the old cool perhaps) new tools that allow you to throw parts of an image out of focus. I picked up an awesome piece of software for portraits that makes parts of the image easily go out of focus. The reason for all this work is so we can focus a viewers attention on the parts that are important, throwing the unimportant parts out of focus is one tool a photographer has to control their composition.
The Green Screen defeats that.
The green screen is a really cool tool for your weatherman, allowing him to put an interactive map behind him. And It allows Hollywood to create all those fantastic special effects. But is it really the right thing for our school portraits?
Is it important for our school children's school portraits to be on a background of the Eiffel tower? Do we really need to see our school kids seated in the middle of an Irish glade? Or against a brick wall covered with graffiti tags? When did our school portraits need to start being 'cool' and stop being about our children? are our portraits no longer about making a record of the progress of our children's growth? Shouldn't our kids be the important part of the portrait? and not what 'art scape' we decide to put behind them? They don't even have the standard old 'blue backdrop' you know the one? It is what we had our portraits against. Unless of course you had yours done against the black to do those fancy double exposures with your face and a profile, done In the camera! Wow, now That was cool, AND it helped do exactly what photography is meant to do, communicate, It would show two amazing views of the same kid at the same slice of time in their life. Fantastic!
So perhaps this is a rant. Perhaps I am just getting old and no longer cool. But if so why do pro's and amateurs alike spend MORE money to make backgrounds irrelevant? And yet, our school portraits they need to work harder to make them more relevant. What do the school picture companies know that I don't? I tell you this, They don't get lots of peoples money because the plain old blue background is just no longer offered, and isn't that really what those photos are for?
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The expression of passion towards a subject being the first important part to taking great photographs. Without this passion we are left without the internal motivation for personal expression. Rockwell describes this accurately as 'feel', The F in FART. The second part is both the most difficult, and the most important, the notion of internal exploration as to the reasons behind the feeling. It is this part that makes us buy the camera gear, that makes us get the new lens or the next piece of equipment. Sometimes we don't realize it, but it is there. For the professional, this can be the feeling to feed ones family, but there is a personal need about it that keeps us looking to make more photographs.
While the Feel part is important, as it helps us understand what we will point our camera at, it is the 'ART' part that helps us understand what our photos will look like. I think Rockwell has a great idea, but really it should be Feel ART instead of FART.
ART starts with the 'ASK' part. Asking oneself what, and why we have that passion. While this may seem trivial, this inward exploration is not only important, it is crucial. Without asking and answering this question, we can't offer the best expression of our subject. Essentially, we are visual communicators. We communicate, not in word, or song, or poem, but in the visual. without understanding what we want to communicate, we can't. Just as in the written or spoken word, if we don't know what to say, whatever we say, just won't make sense. The ASK part is where we decide what is important to include, and just as importantly what is important to exclude. This is the visualize part where you get to decide how you will communicate your feeling. This is by far the most difficult part of any creative endeavor. This is where the concept starts to take shape, and the definition of how the image will look starts to become real.
As a processional, I ask my customer what is important for me to convey. What is the outcome of my work? What do they want to show? to say? to reveal, sell, motivate or move the viewer. Sometimes it is obvious, I am never asked to photograph a wedding to show how much of a 'bridezilla' the bride is :-) but I could.
The R in ART is Refine, Revise or Recompose. Refine the idea, getting rid of what doesn't belong, adding the missing element. Refining the definitions and the expectations to whatever answers you came up to when you asked yourself that what and why and how. Often we find that our gut was wrong, that our ideas are not working in the way we had hoped and this gives us the opportunity to revisit and modify our ideas. Barnbaum calls this the visualization. how is what we envision coming out, what will it look like on the page, will it convey our message or ideas. He askses us to 'compost' or to put together our composition which gives us the freedom to revise as needed.
professionally, If I have done my job, it should show. If I am supposed to make a portrait of a banker that makes him look warm and inviting like he wants to be your best friend, and I make him look like the all powerful have your life in my hands no nonsense type of guy than I need to rethink, refine and revise what i am doing.
T is simply Take, Hit that shutter button, Make the exposure. Commit to our vision. But it doesn't end there. any good art is never really finished, just abandoned, and we as photographers are lucky enough, we can make variations as easily or easier than any other art. It is time to go back to A. Ask, and this time ask ourselves if our vision has been completed. Have we expressed what we need to, have we captured the moment, have we fulfilled our desire. How could it be better, what more do we need to say, what have we missed. Those answers allow us to Revise and Take more continuing the process of ART.
While l love the smile I get when i ask how the 'farting' went, I enjoy the thought of Feel ART much better, because any good art gets felt, no matter what kind of art, if it is good, it should give us a rise to action at least to our emotions.
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Digital however is NOT film, it poses its own technical troubles, and its own abilities. The SLR form factor was convent not because it is or was the best, but rather because it was convent as the old technology was fairly well developed and just needed to be adapted for the new recording media. Just because that is what we now have, does not mean that it is the best form that a digital camera should take. There have been some interesting developments in digital cameras in the last few years. Olympus with their Micro 4/3 camera formats have done away with their reflex mirror. Sony going another step further and keeping the mirror in order to deal with the shortcomings of the micro 4/3 format. The mirror allowing the advanced phase detect auto focus system to be kept which is a huge advancement over the contrast detect system of other mirror less systems. Nikon's advanced system adds some of those phase detect sensors right along side the image capture sensors on its image capture sensor. This seems to be the best idea. the AF system is all contained on one sensor, Not among several which can go out of precise calibration from one another. Add to phase detect Auto Focus a system that can identify faces and you can precisely focus on people. Add eye detect AF, and where you look at the frame is where the camera will focus.
I think that the SLR has run its course. No longer do we need a mirror that flips up and down to see where the camera is focusing. We have amazing Speed now in our digital cameras as well as unprecedented sensitivity at the sensor, unparalleled resolution, computing power and small bright and detailed displays. We have shrunk the system components to the level that they are very compact, and very energy efficient. Today's digital cameras are an amazing technical engineering achievement, and unthinkable from just 10 years ago. In fact the mirror is now a problem, the required tolerances are beyond what we can accurately repeat. The weight and complexity of the mirror system is holding back the size and weight and efficiency of the new systems. The industry continues to change, and so will the tools we use, but rest assured that the mirror has its days numbered.
Let me list some advantages:
Digital SLR's
Auto focus speed (Phase detect), Bright viewfinder with zero lag, and stunning clarity, accurate viewfinder, accurate metering for both flash and available light, Larger camera bodies to accommodate the mirror and sensors.
Mirrorless
Auto focus accuracy (using the imaging sensor for AF has its advantages), Auto focus available on the entire frame, Viewfinder 100% accuracy, viewfinder able to show the exposure that WILL be taken, with live histogram, Viewfinder brightness NOT dependent on available light OR aperture of the lens. Camera MUCH smaller, Form not dependent on a mirror box or viewfinder, Lens design are less compromised due to limitations due to mirror distance. Frame Rate higher without mirror.
I have both in my bag, what will I be using in 5 years, only time will tell
]]>It seems to me that perhaps I have the wrong label. Having had the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts bestowed upon me by the Chansolors of the Rhode Island School of Design, I feel strongly that I am an artist. Photographer, however is how I am introduced. In fact I am refered to as a professional photographer which is not untrue. Why is it that my profession needs to have professional in it, isn't that redundant? I don't refer to my attorney as a professional lawyer, but she indeed is. My mechanic is just as professional, yet he is my Mechanic, not my professional mechanic. The Professional Doctor I go to is one of the best! Good think he is a professional :-). I tell you what, you can learn lots at the university of Google!
Perhaps it is the lack of understanding on how to define a photographer. It occurs to me that Ansel Adams was a professional photographer. He was also an artist educator, in addition he was a fine art photographer, He also was a concert pianist. Perhaps I should refer to myself as a 'photographic artist'. I have so many hats. Artist, photographer, Artist Educator, Professor, It seems to me that they are all related and all one in the same, the artist.
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Again today I was asked what camera i recommend. Specifically what DSLR. The answer of course in my simplistic way is 'whatever camera works best for you' but I think it should really be whatever camera you will use.
I ran into somebody taking photos a year or so ago who had just purchased a new Nikon D3000. Ohhh Ahhh, a new fancy camera from Nikon, so I asked how he liked it to which he replied "It Sucks!" Hmm not the answer I was expecting, and I didn't investigate why. My guess is that he was frustrated that it didn't take photos all by itself. It seems to me that many peoples expectation that Just because it says "Nikon" on the front, that every photo out of it will be an award winning image. I sure wish that were true, but it isn't. It is after all just a tool, and if you don't know how to use a tool, it won't work well for you. Just Sayin'! Any good crafts person won't blame his tools for their work, and any good photographer worth their salt will take a cheap point and shoot and make some amazing photographs. Using the camera within its limitations.
A camera in Automatic, is just programed to be pointed at an average scene, an average distance at an average subject with average lighting. That works for the average situation, but people expect more. We expect the camera to make amazing images when our subject is not average, when our lighting is poor, our subject is really close or really far, and it just can't, wasn't designed to do so, and if it was, it would be priced out of our reach. Autofocus won't work when the light is really low. The flash won't fill a room the size of a large living room with light never mind ta sports stadium, Taking sports action shots indoors becomes an excercise in blurry photos. Who wouldn't be frustrated with that?
The Promise isn't being fulfilled! "You click the shutter, We do the rest" Rubbish! Ok, I admit under 'average' conditions absolutely! works like a charm. But if you make the situation challanging, the deal is OFF! Low light, flat uncontrasty subject, fast subject, small or large spaces uncooperative subjects all throw a monkey wrench into the 'average' camera settings. Have you ever noticed that the camera ads on TV are always depicted in great lighting outdoors? Easy picking! The more light, the easier the job of the camera.
So it begs the question how do you work around the shortcomings? The best way is to read the manual, and take lots and lots of photos sharing and asking questions. Learning to read light, understanding how the camera sees light and color, and the limitations of your equipment all make that equipment the best! Really the best tool you have is observation. We are bombarded all the time by photographs in the newspaper, TV Print ads, Social Media. Take a moment to ask yourself if the quality is there, if so, observe how it was lit, and framed.
To get back to the question. All of the current DSLR's will take amazing photographs. All will outresolve the kit lenses that are now sold with them. All will if used well give a photograph suitable to print at HUGE dimensions for your living room wall. All will auto focus in reasonable room light quickly and accurately and give enough flash power within 10 to 12 feet, and do it for less than $1000, and even as low as $500. Why chose one over the other? Legacy lenses, size, weight, feel in the hand, a specific feature, a brand loyalty, but really, they all do the same thing well, take photos (and video)
Good luck and happy hunting!
]]>In order to have any viable product there needs to be a market. Kodak was the producer of the best film products. I took a look at the Kodak website and was very sad! Under professional film, only three products showed up. all large format and all black and white. Hmmm While that would seem to make my happy, as that is what I shoot when I shoot with film (4x5 black and white) I don't want it to be gone! I want to keep it. So I went looking for some 4x5 chrome film for large transparencies so I can scan the resulting slides to these HUGE data files. But Kodak has stopped making even Ektachrome for me. No Kodachrome but that was several years ago. Steve McCurry got the last roll, and made some amazing photos with it. but Ektachrome :-( went over to look at Fuji, Velvia has been the stronghold for landscape photographers for a long time. So there is one Velvia and one Provia left. My choices are very limited i guess. Provia it is :-) a box of 20 sheets for my trip to Arizona in January.
Is color film in its last throws? with Nikon/Canon not making film cameras, the cameras being made are for us Artists. Funny thing is, Black and white film and paper there is NO shortage of! New black and white films are being introduced. Used cameras both large and small are being sold in good quantities and for good prices. Small manufacturers are making small batches of cool film! MACO a German manufacturer is selling film under Agfa and Rollei names. Perhaps I should try some of that.
I think it is sad, loosing a look a way of working, a style and quality. I hope we can keep some of the best films for those of us who really enjoy the media.
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In the new year, new beginnings, and conclusions of some older projects, and beginning of some new ones.
I see the writing on the wall. I get more calls to train photographers than to be the photographer, so where that leads me, I am not completely sure. What I am sure of is that the Portrait and wedding photography business I once did won't come back in the short term. The market has changed due to economic conditions I have no control over. In addition, the newfangled technology of digital photography as easy as it seems at time does require a bit more knowladge to do well than the film counterparts of yesteryear.
What is certain is that whatever happens this year, it will be documented, discovered and enjoyed on these pages. And ask any questions, I will answer whatever I can, just part of the discovery i guess.
Welcome and Enjoy!
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