Photography / PotD

Double Exposure: Did You Mean To Do That?

August 2, 2015

Natural Beauty. Model: Destany Harte

When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence. ― Ansel Adams

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]I like quiet Sunday mornings; the kind where I can sit here at the computer and read, drink my coffee, and listen to music in the headphones without being interrupted. I’m only mildly annoyed that we’re not out shooting in this perfect light because I was up way too late last night to have been thinking lucidly early enough to actually take advantage of the situation. I’ve been behind a camera long enough now that I don’t have to have one in my hands every waking second, I don’t have to shoot every day to feel complete, and when I do shoot I’m much more likely to be concerned about the emotion of the image rather than the technical aspects. If I’m not feeling a concept, there’s little use in pushing through and shooting it; there’s little point in taking more bad pictures. We’ve had our fair share of those plus a few.

Not every Sunday morning is quiet, though, and not every bad shot is a waste. I remember, early in my career, getting a phone call at some ungodly hour of a Sunday morning telling me that yet another tornado had ripped through yet another small town in Oklahoma. I pulled on clothes in the dark (the advantage of a monochrome wardrobe), grabbed my camera and a half-dozen packs of film and headed out. One of the dangers of early-morning shooting, especially when the matter’s urgent, is that one tends to not check their camera bag as thoroughly as they should, and I didn’t. I knew I had film and my lenses with a selection of filters for effect. I didn’t bother checking for backup batteries for the film advance.

It seems almost silly now, and is one of those problems that new shooters will never experience, having to manually advance film. The batteries that powered that function were often specialized, expensive, and impossible to find outside a camera store. Finding one on a Sunday would be impossible. So, I kept a couple of spares. On a shelf. And they were still sitting there when I drove off bleary-eyed into the night rain. This was one of those moments when I was second-guessing my profession and spent most the drive thinking about going back to college and working on my masters degree. Being a photographer just seemed like a ridiculous way to try and learning a living. No one ever asked a symphony conductor to be up before dawn.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Arriving in the small town forced me to focus on my job. The tornado had skipped through town obliterating the two-block commercial area before taking out a church building, a handful of homes, and the school gym. There were trees and power lines down everywhere, making the situation a bit dangerous. Highway patrol and electric company officials were already there keeping people away from live electric lines. Miraculously, no one had been seriously hurt this time. I pulled my camera from my bag, slapped in the first roll of film and started shooting. I was about a dozen shots in when I noticed I was hearing the click of the shutter, but not the whir of the film advance. I took the battery out, wiped it on my shirt, and stuck it back in the camera, and it gave me a few more shots before dying completely. That’s when I discovered I’d left the backup batteries at home, some 70 miles away.

I did the best I could,trying to remember to manually advance the film after every shot, but I knew I had missed a few and warned the lab that there would be a few double exposure shots out of the batch. I apologized for the wasted film. Monday morning, the lab called to let me know that there were a couple of those “wasted” shots might be worth keeping. Specifically, the double exposure had placed the rising sun coming up right behind the destroyed church building. The effect was rather striking and totally unique, one of those things one can never reproduce.

Double exposure doesn’t naturally occur with digital cameras, but we can re-create the effect with some careful layer work. There are several different ways of achieving the effect, layering one image over the other, then adjusting the layer blend mode and opacity, then tweaking the levels and curves. One can easily get bogged down in the details, but double exposure really has to do with emotion. If the image doesn’t create an emotional response then it’s a waste of time. So, this week we’re going to look at some specially created double exposure images that we’ve produced along a number of themes for the end of summer. This is different from what we normally share. I hope you’re ready to feel something. [/one_half_last]

Photography / PotD

Varying Intensity

July 14, 2015

Varying Intensity

The time that leads to mastery is dependent on the intensity of our focus. ― Robert Greene, Mastery

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]Varying intensity is how one might describe the storms that plowed their way across the midwest yesterday and last night. The first wave came and went with ferociousness, downing tree limbs and power lines and leaving lakes of water where none normally exists. I went to bed as the second wave approached, sounds of thunder still slightly in the distance. This episode wasn’t so bad, focused more to the North of us, and I was able to get some sleep. I was pleased.

Then, about 2:30 EDT, the third wave hit hard. I was awakened by a loud clap of thunder that I’m pretty sure fried our neighbor’s satellite dish. The light we keep on in the bathroom (ostensibly for the children, but more realistically so we don’t trip over cats), began to flicker. I got up and went to the living room to unplug the electronics, illuminated by lightening the entire way. Returning to bed, I listened to heavy rain mixed with the sound of sirens in the distance. I still had the power outage map up on my phone and decided to check. Sure enough, over 10,000 without power. Again.

Heavy rain came and went for the next hour. I was awake and couldn’t do anything to force myself back asleep. I suppose I could have gotten up and drank enough to do the trick, but that would be a bad solution to the problem and might start a habit I don’t need. I stayed in bed listening to the sound of the rain waxing and waning, almost as if it were playing hide-and-seek with the emergency vehicles. Varying intensity made for a very long and restless night and I cannot say that the end results were positive. Morning’s first light reveals new limbs down in the yard and tomato plants knocked over in the garden.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Varying intensity also describes the Dragan effect applied to today’s photo and, like last night’s storms, there appears to be some damage, though this time the effect is intentional. The process method is named for a Polish physicist-turned-photographer named Andrzej Dragan. In 2003 he developed this extremely intense method of processing photographs, on film at the time, that brought out the features we normally try to minimize, such as wrinkles and skin blemishes.

Applying the Dragan process is supposed to add depth of character to a high micro contrast portrait. By removing some color and shifting midtones a bit darker, we begin to see features such as pores, lines, and freckles. What’s interesting is that, in some cases, the effect can even override some of the blurring frequently used to soften and even skin tone. Varying intensity of the effect, specifically by applying it only to the person and not the surrounding background, makes the picture look more dramatic and serious. However, this dramatic shift also changes the focus and emotion of the picture. We’re no longer looking at a pretty girl in a stream, but someone who is anxious, perhaps even a bit frightened, and she seems to be in a hurry.

We most often see the Dragan effect applied to working-class men, such as coal miners and construction workers. There, the varying intensity works, makes them appear as rugged as they are. On women, though, the effect is not as popular. There’s no gloss, no glitz, no glamour. We see women in a different light and are not sure we like it. But then, maybe that was the whole point. [/one_half_last]

Beauty On The Rocks (2012)

PotD

To Lie Sometimes On The Grass

June 26, 2015

Afield In Summer (2013)

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” ― John Lubbock, The Use Of Life

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]One of the greatest joys of summer is taking the time to just be. Not easy, I know. That whole “work so you can eat” thing keeps interfering. Even with the garden beginning to yield produce, that still takes a considerable amount of time to tend. And there are children that demand attention as well. Boy, do they demand attention. “Can I have a snack?” “I need a drink!” “When are we eating lunch?” That last one usually comes within ten minutes of having finished breakfast. Kids being needy at home during the summer is why so many parents favor year-round school, you know.

When you can find the chance to sneak off for a few moments, even if it’s only for a half hour or so, just being able to take that time to yourself is just as good as a healthy dose of medicine. Unless, of course, you have allergies, in which case you might actually need to take a healthy dose of medicine before enjoying your healthy dose of medicine. I mean, really, who wants to spend all their alone time wiping their own snotty nose? You don’t want to be the one sneezing all over the place, either. All that noise scares off the wildlife and drowns out the babbling brook. If you’re going to spend quiet time out in nature you don’t want to ruin it with your own noise.

There’s nothing quite as peaceful as sitting in the sun, surrounded by tall grass, leaning back, watching the clouds go by. Go ahead and get naked if you want, feel the summer breeze blowing across your skin. Just be sure to use plenty of a high SPF sunscreen while you’re out there. Even if you tan easily like I do, you’re skin only produces a limited amount of melatonin and when it’s gone there’s no replacing it. Cases of skin cancer have been steadily increasing over the past 30 years. My father died from complications due to skin cancer and he never sat naked in a field. You just have to be careful about those things.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Ah, just to have a moment to unplug and dream, to let one’s imagination soar as high as the summer sky. Is there anything as glorious as watching eagles and hawks swooping and gliding overhead? Critters closer to the ground are something for which one has to watch out, though. Especially ants. Man, let me tell you, nothing ruins a quiet moment quite like setting your naked derriere on a mound of ants. You’ll be needing to call the doctor and have him prescribe you some cream for those bites, and good luck getting anyone to actually put it on there for you. Even if you are lucky enough to have a nicely shaped butt, there’s no one who wants to see a mess of ant bites.

Maybe you can find a cool stream to sit beside, kick off your shoes and dabble your toes in the water for a while. You can just feel all your troubles and worries melting away, flowing downstream where they’ll never bother you again. That is, as long as there are no snakes in the area. We are in North America, after all, and even Alaska has snakes this time of year, I think. They’ll sneak up on you, too. They may not be there when you first sit down, but you stick your toes in the water and they look just like ten pretty little fish to a water moccasin. You don’t hear them coming, you know.

Yes, the outdoors in summer sounds like a wonderful place, doesn’t it?

Okay, let’s get real: that shit’s dangerous. You want peace and quiet? Lock yourself in an air conditioned closet and make sure it can’t be unlocked from the outside. Nature will kill you. I swear, it is out to get you and will bite your ass every time. Mosquitoes. Spiders. Suicidal squirrels. They aim for you the moment you step outside. They’ll get you. They’ll get you every time.

I’m kidding, of course. Probably. Go ahead. Try it. Let me know how it works out for you.[/one_half_last]

PotD

Like A Loaded Gun

June 25, 2015

Bikini Boating (2005). Model: Jade Lynn

“A girl in a bikini is like having a loaded gun on your coffee table- There’s nothing wrong with them, but it’s hard to stop thinking about.” ― Garrison Keillor

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]My late parents were amazing. Considering where I grew up, rural Kansas and Oklahoma, and when I grew up, through the 60s and 70s, they did a remarkably wonderful job of making sure we were exposed to important issues such as civil rights, conservation, and the importance of getting a good education. On those issues, they were surprisingly liberal.

On other issues, however, they could be conservative to the point of leaving my brother and I extremely naive. Of course, baby brother had the advantage of coming after me and usually knowing where I kept my stash of adult magazines. Still, there were many areas, especially in regard to sexuality, that were never considered ripe for any level of conversation beyond, “If you think about it, don’t do it; better yet, just don’t think about it.”

Not everything they did was intentional. Mother was almost deathly afraid of water and didn’t learn to swim until she was in her 40s. So, there were no afternoon trips to the pool when we were little. When I took swimming lessons, the instructors were, of course, dressed in conservative one-piece suits and when one is six one isn’t necessarily concerned about the physical qualities of the person promising to catch you if you jump into the pool. On rare occasion, Poppa might take us to a public pool, but when he did he dominated our attention. He was our life raft, our pool toy, our swim instructor, and favorite playmate all rolled into one. We barely noticed anyone else at the pool.

Then, there was the summer I was 14. Being 14 may be the most painfully awkward age for a boy to be, especially in the summer. There was always someone in the group who was more mature looking and talking about “making it” with girls. The rest of us tried to match his banter, but a quick look in the swim trunks revealed we weren’t remotely ready for anything much more intimate than, “hi.” Even if a girl had kissed us, none of us would have had a clue what to do next. I’m pretty sure a couple of the guys might have fainted. Fortunately, no girl ever put us in the position of finding out.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Being 14 meant our parents weren’t afraid of just dropping us off at the city pool and picking us up later. As long as we stayed in the shallow end of the pool, everything stayed nice and appropriately within our parents’ values.

Everything changed the day some kid dared us to jump off the high dive. Two of the guys in our group immediately chickened out because they didn’t know how to swim that well. Randy and I could, though, and Randy wasn’t about to chicken out on a dare … and he made sure I didn’t chicken out either. My heart was pounding as we climbed that twelve-foot ladder that felt every bit like it reached half-way to God. Randy went first and made it look so easy. I stood at the end of the board, thought, “If the fall doesn’t kill me, Mother will,” and jumped.

I hit the water, hands folded just as I’d been taught, and was pleased to feel no pain. I came to the surface, checked to make sure nothing was bleeding and swam for the side. I grabbed hold of the ladder on the side of the pool, looked up, and there she was. Her tan legs were long with water beading deliciously on her skin. Her teenage bottom was covered by her swimsuit and then my brain screamed inside my head, “OH MY GOD I CAN SEE HER BELLY BUTTON!” I looked up a little further and my head screamed again, “OH MY GOD, ARE THOSE REALLY BOOBS?” I was afraid to keep looking. Had she looked back my head just might have exploded.

Feeling something stirring in my swim trunks, I opted to just swim back down to the shallow end. I had, for the first time in my life, just witnessed a girl in a bikini, and it was glorious. Since then, I’ve probably seen tens of thousands of girls in bikinis (or less) and nearly all of them have been absolutely wonderful young women. None, however, was able to induce that same feeling of euphoria mixed with astonishment and sheer fear the way that first girl did more than 40 summers ago. One thing is certain, though: since discovering girls in bikinis, my summers have never been the same.[/one_half_last]

PotD

Skinny Dipping

June 23, 2015

A Morning Dip (2005)

“If it could only be like this always – always summer, always alone, the fruit always ripe and Aloysius in a good temper…” ― Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]One of the joys of growing up in the country was slipping off on our bicycles in the middle of a summer afternoon to the low-water bridge about a mile from our house and going skinny dipping. Not that we ever actually admitted that we were skinny dipping. I’d get my shorts wet anyway so that Mother wouldn’t be suspect. Still, the joy wasn’t just in being in the shallow pool of cool water that flowed over that crumbling slab of concrete; the delight was being naked, au naturale in nature as though, just maybe, the gods had intended for us to be that way all along.

According to Poppa’s sermon, technically, that philosophy was right. While I didn’t have any direct proof that Adam and Eve ever went skinny dipping, if they didn’t have any clothes then they wouldn’t have had much choice, did they? The only other option was that they didn’t bathe at all and that would have just been gross, even if they were, in all likelihood, totally fictional. Even fictional characters should be clean, shouldn’t they? And little boys need to be clean, as mothers are so often fond of reminding them. Going skinny dipping always seemed like the perfect solution, especially if we had spent the earlier part of the day getting absolutely filthy.

Skinny dipping in that tiny little pool made our summers right up to the point when, mid-way through the summer we were 16, someone saw a water moccasin in our pool. I didn’t see it, but the scream of “SNAKE!” was all I needed. We were all out of the water and pulling on our shorts as quickly as possible while simultaneously, every one of us, trying to hold our hands over our family jewels. If there was one place on our body we absolutely could not stand to be snake bit, it was our penises. They had only just recently grown to a point of not being totally embarrassing. We didn’t want to lose them to a damn snake.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]That was the last summer in that little watering hole. We moved the next year and I was far too upset at the lack of attractive girls my age to be terribly interested in skinny dipping. There was that place way back on Turkey Creek that was suitable, but driving all the way out there was a pain and if it had rained in the past couple of days one was likely to get stuck crossing the pasture. I did sneak off a couple of times with that blonde I met at church camp. I’ve often wondered whatever happened to her… if only I could remember her name.

Skinny dipping is a bonus that comes with living in the country in the summer. City dwellers are much more uptight about being naked in their public pools. The model’s boyfriend let us into the pool at their apartment complex before the sun was fully up for us to catch today’s photo. We were early enough we didn’t think anyone would notice. Someone did, of course, and he damn near lost his job over it. City people really get stressed and worked up about these matters. Perhaps, just maybe, if they spent a little more time skinny dipping they might be better able to relax and enjoy their summer. If one can’t kick back and relax a bit when the weather is this lovely, when is it ever possible?

I’ve not been skinny dipping in over 30 years now, I’m sorry to say. It’s not as easy to slip off, not as easy to find a place suitably secluded, and as an adult if one gets caught it tends to result in the police getting called. That’s almost as bad as a snake bite; no one really needs either one. Still, I have some wonderful memories of those carefree days from my youth and even an old man can still fantasize a bit. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll stumble across the perfect little pool of water while no one’s looking. Who’s down to join me?[/one_half_last]

PotD

Summer Rain

June 22, 2015

Reflection in the Rain (2012)

There is more to sex appeal than just measurements. I don’t need a bedroom to prove my womanliness. I can convey just as much sex appeal, picking apples off a tree or standing in the rain. -Audrey Hepburn

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]This summer is getting off to a rather damp start, at least for the middle and Eastern parts of the continent. The West, well, not so much, but we’re not surprised by that. We were warned. But here, there is a river flood warning for some of the places around town that are a little too prone to the White River leaving its banks. And in Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana, anywhere along the Red River is a very dangerous place to be as flooding there has been higher than anyone can remember. While we’ve not had enough rain to set any records, at least none that I’ve seen, it certainly is unusual for use to be entering the heart of summer with the ground soggy, the grass still green, and local authorities talking about a water ban.

What has been frustrating, though, is trying to work around the rain and the fact that weather forecasts have changed several times a day as to whether we’re going to get wet if we venture outside. Most days, I check the forecast when I first get up of the morning and let my aches and pains fill in the blanks. The past couple of weeks, I’ve been checking more along the lines of every hour and finding that rain chances are bouncing up and down like a yo-yo. At one point yesterday the barometric pressure dropped a bit and I was more than ready for a brief but heavy downpour to soak the little urchins setting off fireworks in the neighborhood. Didn’t happen. The one lone storm cell went to our South.

Of course, when we want to take pictures in the rain, it doesn’t happen. At least, not where we need it to happen. Today’s picture was scheduled on a “drop everything and get over here” plan, which was only possible because the model was working evenings and didn’t live too terribly far away. As soon as it was evident that rain was inevitable, we made the call and still had to wait. On another occasion, a male model and I drove all over town trying to get in front of a heavy downpour. We missed it every time. Trying to get the weather to work with your concept plan is rather difficult. The skies just don’t want to listen.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Standing in the rain can be sexy as hell. Wet clothes cling to the body, outlining its curves, and sometimes giving us a hint of what lies beneath. Being wet also makes one appear vulnerable and as humans we respond to that apparent need to be rescued, brought inside and comforted. The romantic rushes to the rescue, towel in hand, hoping that a little kindness shown might lead to thankfulness in the form of intimacy. Unfortunately for the romantic, most people are remarkably independent and self-sufficient, not at all desiring any form of assistance, so not only will they not be needing your towel, the chances of any unplanned intimacy are practically nill. Poor chivalrous romantics never can catch a break, can they?

Playing in the rain is fun and the fact that we’ve seen a resurgence of rubber rainboots as fashion accessories emphasizes that point. There’s a freeing, cleansing, child-like quality to being out splashing in the mud puddles like we did when we were two, but without anyone yelling at us for getting out clothes muddy this time. Playing in the rain is carefree. If the hair style is ruined, so be it; we’re having fun, dammit! We can act grown up later if we must. For now, we just want this brief moment of splashing and frivolity while we can. We would much rather pretend, for a moment, that we haven’t any responsibilities and that there are milk and cookies waiting when we decide to go indoors.

Yes, yes, we must be careful of lightning. There’s nothing sexy at all about being zapped into a coma, or worse, while playing in the rain. Don’t take any chances. If you can hear the thunder you probably need to be inside. While being rain and wind swept can be sexy, especially if one looks like Ms. Hepburn, being dead in a pool of water isn’t quite so attractive and really can ruin one’s summer. Be safe. Have fun. Stay sexy. Enjoy the wetter part of this summer. [/one_half_last]

pop culture / PotD

Officially Summer

June 21, 2015

Cover Up (2012). Model: Danelle French

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.” ― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]Summer is officially here. Sure, it’s felt like summer across most of the Northern Hemisphere for several weeks, but with last night’s solstice we are officially into the season of relaxing and vacation and getting away from it all. At least, that’s the theory. In my mind, summer conjures up images of mowing the lawn, weeding the garden, painting the outside of various buildings, road work interrupting traffic flow, and other sweat-inducing things that also seem to only happen during the summer. Still, there’s baseball, hanging out at the ol’ swimming hole, and going for long walks in the cool of the evening (assuming the evening actually cools). Oh, and girls. Girls in summer are a joy unto themselves and that is exactly where our focus shall be this week.

Girls and summer have had this partnership for centuries. Summer provides the necessary heat and girls respond by shedding a few of the 37 layers under which they were living throughout the winter and most of the spring, reminding us that there really is a beautiful person under all those piles of cotton and wool. And boys? Boys respond by getting into trouble. Everytime. We fall in love with those beautiful girls of summer, and then proceed to do some of the most stupid things imaginable in order to make sure the object of our affection knows just how much we care.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book wouldn’t have been nearly as interesting had it been set any other time of year. He needed that pool as the catalyst for both romance and trouble. He needed the heat and the long days. He needed the impulsiveness, anger, and jealousy that young men feel more strongly in summer. Not that the story would have ended any differently had it been set in, say, autumn. People still fall in love and make stupid mistakes in autumn; they’re just not as interesting then as when we do it in summer.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Most of my favorite childhood memories took place in summer. There were endlessly long days on my bicycle, riding for miles along dusty roads, arriving back home in the evening tired, sweaty, and usually covered in dirt. There were the summer vacations, the two weeks Poppa would hire someone to fill in for him and we would take off on something that probably wasn’t going to be too adventurous but at least got us out of Oklahoma for a few days. Visiting relatives was a big part of the summer, too, as we had a lot of cousins which meant there would be a lot of food and, since it was summer, watermelon. I loved watermelon. I could eat my weight in watermelon. Good thing I was small.

Today’s picture matches the feeling of summer well. Taken three years ago, Indiana was experiencing an unusual heat wave with several successive days reaching temperatures well above 100. Having grown up in Oklahoma, 100+ degree days weren’t uncommon, especially in July and August, but in Indiana folks begin to melt at 85 degrees. 90+ is a danger zone. At 100 degrees, things began to stop. Outdoor work schedules were altered. Special precautions were necessary for the very young and very old. None of that shows in the picture. Granted, we were up at the crack of dawn and even then temps were already into the 80s. But Danelle does a wonderful job of shrugging off the heat and giving us the beauty and emotion of an effortless summer.

Summer is officially here, kicked off by a celebration of fathers who are happy to have one day where, hopefully, no one is asking them to do hot, sweaty chores. The days of beauty, frivolity, and romance are inescapable. Let’s just try to avoid Jay Gatsby’s fate, shall we?Girls in summer are wonderful … and sometimes dangerous.[/one_half_last]

Photography / PotD

Life’s A Blur

June 7, 2015

Watch Me Hoop! (2011)

You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over. -Richard Branson

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]Photography has enough rules to choke a mule. There are rules about exposure. There are rules about depth of field. There are rules about framing and composition. There are rules about color, rules about black and white, and rules about mixing the two. Rules here, rules there, and there will always be that social media troll who wants to argue that you didn’t follow this rule or that, therefore your image is flawed. I have even seen student photographers carry around and religiously consult notebooks full of rules, making sure with each shot that they weren’t breaking any of the important ones. I don’t think any of those students ever actually made it as photographers.

While rules are certainly there for a reason, and the greater majority of the time actually do make sense, photography is not about rules. It can’t be. When photographers set out to only play by the rules, they get photos that may be technically correct but are emotionally lacking in anything resembling passion. Photographs without emotion are pointless. Why capture something that doesn’t make us feel, that doesn’t stir something inside us, that isn’t worth remembering? We take enough flak already from those who say photography is too automated, too reliant on technology, to be an art. If all we are doing is following the rules then we prove our critics right: the results are not art.

So we are devoting a full week of #POTD to breaking all the rules. Well, okay, we won’t have time to break all the rules. After all, there are only seven days in a week and just about any photographer can come up with at least ten rules that govern their specific style of shooting. So, I’ve chosen rules that I, personally, am likely to break most often; the ones where, for me, passion and creativity are more likely to outweigh the need to observe the rules. Young photographers, please note: when I break a rule, I almost always do so intentionally and with a specific purpose in mind. This isn’t arbitrary, except when it is. Totally.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]The obvious error in today’s image is the amount of blur, not just in the hoop, but the little girl as well. We talked about motion blur just a couple of days ago, so click the link and read that piece first if necessary. I won’t repeat much of it here. One can easily argue that the motion blur of the hoop is like the effect of water in a stream: the picture just wouldn’t look right without it. That part isn’t really breaking the rules. The question comes in whether I should have used a slightly faster shutter speed to stop the motion of the little girl. My answer, obviously, is no.

Children are, themselves, a constant blur of motion, especially when they are between the ages of two and three. I love being at the playground with Kat’s little ones and seeing all the motion, and with it an equal dose of emotion, coming from all these tiny creatures who are having the time of their lives. If children are so naturally given to motion, shouldn’t their photos reflect that reality? Sure, we can make them sit still momentarily for a portrait, but when one is trying so very hard to show me, with incredible amounts of pride, just how well she can hoop, just like momma, to not include the motion of her little body would have been absolutely criminal! She was gyrating so fervently as to involve every muscle she has.

So, we break the rules about motion and blur. We still managed to capture that look of determination on her face and all the colorful richness of that early summer morning. She’s framed well and the background isn’t overwhelming. We still have a very good picture. What’s most important, though, is we have a picture her mother cherishes. This little girl just finished kindergarten and is growing, as children tend to do, with more speed than a parent wants. She’s beautiful. She has a little sister now and I’m guessing by this time next year she’ll be trying to teach her how to hoop as well. Capturing the joy of these moments is more important than following a set of rules. [/one_half_last]

PotD / Social Commentary

10 Reasons You Are Going To DIE!

May 26, 2015

When Dreams Die (2010)

“It is said that mourning, by its gradual labour, slowly erases pain; I could not, I cannot believe this; because for me, Time eliminates the emotion of loss (I do not weep), that is all. For the rest, everything has remained motionless. For what I have lost is not a Figure (the Mother), but a being; and not a being, but a quality (a soul): not the indispensable, but the irreplaceable.” ― Roland Barthes, Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]You are not safe. You are going to die. If you don’t believe me, just check any of the clickbait lists on social media expounding upon the many ways in which that just might happen. Everything from e-cigs to orange juice has one problem or another if you ask the right person. The internet has made it possible for bad science, or often no science, to have a voice it really shouldn’t have and the result is fear mongering over issues that really shouldn’t exist. So, here’s a list of all the things that really, seriously, could result in your death.

There’s Someone In Your Life Who Needs The Insurance Money

Sure, you like to think that everyone loves you. Your spouse adores the ground on which you walk. Your parents think you do no wrong. Your siblings aren’t the least be jealous. Your co-workers are proud of your accomplishments. Right. Go ahead and think that. In reality, most murder victims are killed by someone they know, often a family member. The larger your insurance policy, the greater the risk. Be careful with that OJ this morning.

You’re Starving While Searching For Non-GMO Food

I’m still not sure how genetically modified food suddenly went from being the god-send that would end hunger around the planet to the horrible poison that is going to kill us all. There isn’t a substantial amount real science to back up all the fear mongering and political arm-twisting on the subject. Fact is, strawberries as we know and enjoy them wouldn’t even exist without some genetic modification. Same is true for a number of standard foods, which makes it absolutely laughable when one sees them in the organic section of the produce aisle. As the world becomes less hospitable to traditional farming, the choices are likely to be GMO or die. Your call.

When The Polar Ice Cap Melts, You’ll Drown

I recently heard one climate-change denier base his entire argument on the fact that property he owns in Key West isn’t yet under water. The key word there, pardon the pun, is yet. Climate change wasn’t an argument when I was in elementary school. Over 40 years ago we were being taught that as greenhouse gasses increased, the earth’s temperature would warm and the oceans would inevitably rise, eventually dramatically reshaping the continents as we know them now. What has changed is the timetable. Back then, most scientists were estimating that rise would take effect somewhere in the 22nd century. Now, most are saying it could happen in this one. I hope you know how to dog paddle.

You Drive Like A Moron

I no longer drive. What being a passenger the past few years has taught me is that those of you who do drive are nuts. Every day, we encounter so many near-misses that I’m amazed we’re not burying more drivers. The fact that people have actually become proficient at dodging each other should tell us just how bad our driving has become. Driving rules really aren’t that difficult. Stay in your lane. Use your damn turn signal. Slow the fuck down already! Keep your eyes on the road, not your phone. Perhaps most important, though, is that you actually plan your trip so you know where you’re going and know when you need to leave. Traffic is going to suck. Plan on it and maybe you won’t be the reason everyone else is late for work.

The Elevator Cable Broke

I have a habit when I get on elevators. I look for the weight limit and then check the people who are around me. If it appears we might be pushing that weight limit, I get off the damn elevator. I’m not taking that risk. Yes, I know modern elevators have emergency braking systems in case the cable breaks. I don’t trust them. Why? Americans are obese and one place where that creates a real strain is on elevator cables lifting our fat asses from the first floor to the second because we get winded taking the stairs. Breaking cables are inevitable. Go ahead and keep eating like a pig if you must. Just be careful going to your doctor. The cardiac specialist is on the fourteenth floor.

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You Share Needles

Southern Indiana has recently experienced a dramatic increase in HIV/AIDS cases due to one specific problem: needle sharing. Now, while a lot of the political rhetoric centers around the state cutting funding for public health sources, the reality is that if you’re sharing needles you’re just asking to die. Period. I’ll admit that I don’t really understand what drives a person to share needles in the first place; that’s not an addiction that has ever been remotely tempting. I do, however, realize that the problem is ultimately, politics aside, one of your own doing. So, let’s get this straight: if you share needles, you’re going to die and it’s not going to be pretty.

You Weren’t Immunized

Here’s another piece of bad science that has just gotten totally out of control. A recent measles outbreak is evidence of just how stupid some people can be when it comes to the health of their own children. Measles. Really. We had that disease all but licked until a few idiots decided to stop immunizing their kids. Next think you know, children everywhere, especially those who already had some form of immune deficiency, are breaking out with one of the most easily eradicated and totally unnecessary diseases possible. There is no real science behind anti-vaxing, just paranoid stupidity and the end results are lethal. Not immunizing your children is signing their death warrant. The risk is just that real. Stupid.

You Left The Oven On

Haven’t we all been there? We’re driving down the road, 30 minutes or so from home, when we suddenly wonder whether we actually remembered to turn off the oven. Okay, so millennials don’t have this problem because they don’t know how to cook, but older generations understand. There’s always that chance that you left on the oven, which means there could be gas building up inside your own right now, creating an inevitable powder keg. All it needs is the sudden rush of oxygen you’ll make available when you open the door, and boom! You, your house, and possibly even your neighbor’s houses are all going up in smoke. You know it could happen. You’re never really sure. Maybe you should turn around and check now.

Elves

I’m not kidding. They’re out there. We’re not talking about the little guys that help Santa deliver presents on Christmas Eve, either. Elves are evil, mean, and waiting to sabotage your every move, your every plan. You never see the little suckers until it’s too late. They tampered with your break lines. They put sleeping powder in the pilot’s coffee. Elves stretch electrical cords across the floor and then make them invisible until you’ve tripped over one. The water on the floor that cause you to slip and fall? Elves. I tell you, man, their everywhere and they’re out to get you. I swear it.

The Bible Tells Me So

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. Hebrews 9:27 KJV

Sorry, I’m not making this one up. It’s really there. There’s no getting around it. Nothing you do is going to save your ass. You’re done for you’re going to die. The Bible says so. You’re toast.

Are you scared yet? Are you ready to crawl in a hole and hide? Can we get real for a moment? Sure, we’re all going to die, sooner or later, one way or another. I frequently tell the story of my Uncle Fred who died from smoking two and a half packs of cigarettes a day. He was 96. He didn’t stop smoking until he was 94. How, where and when one dies matters much less than how one lives. You have one life. Are you going to spend it worrying about what might kill you or are you going to spend your life actually living? You don’t have to listen to all the doomsayers on the Internet. You’ll probably live longer if you spend less time on the Internet completely. So go ahead. Defy death. Live. [/one_half_last]

Music / PotD

Something To Talk About

May 8, 2015

We’ve been together seven years now. He’s great, but that’s all I can say. You know, [it’s like] the Sippie Wallace song that goes, “Don’t advertise your man.” [Bonnie Raitt interview with Roger Friedman for Parade Magazine, Bonnie Raitt on Taking Control, Staying Sober, and Being Kissed by an Angel April 8, 2012]

[one_half padding=”4px 8px 0 4px”]There’s nothing quite like social media to fuel the rumor mill. All it takes is one tweet or one meme from one person and, like wildfire, the statement takes off around the world on the assumption that it’s true, without anyone actually bothering to check that it is. As a result, we’re told celebrities are dead that aren’t, people said things they didn’t, and hook-ups and break-ups that never happened. We are so eager to find out every last detail, and to be the first to know it, that the truth just sits quietly on the sidelines waiting for someone to notice it.

This Bonnie Raitt song was written before Twitter or Facebook or even the Internet were ever on the scene, but it still captures that bad habit that has likely been around as long as humans started assembling into tribes. There’s even a commandment against gossiping: “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” My late father complained that was the most frequently violated commandment within the church, and even from behind the pulpit. The song’s attitude of defiance reflects how much we’ve come to accept the fact that people are going to talk no matter what we do. No matter how straight-laced and careful one is, there’s always someone else who’s jealous, or perhaps downright mean, or thinks they can somehow improve their own social standing by gossiping about others.

The song was playing in my mind the entire time we were shooting this set. The girls are not actually romantically connected at all, but what if they were? Would you be shocked? Supportive? Disgusted? Happy for them? A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows that 61 percent of Americans would support a gay person running for President and 58 percent are hoping the Supreme Court rules in favor of equal marriage rights. The very concept that one girl might love another isn’t nearly as provocative or surprising as it was even five years ago. Still when a couple kisses in public, or demonstrates any sign of affection, it gets our attention and the rumor mill starts doing its dirty work.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 8px”]Written by Canadian singer-songwriter Shirley Eickhard, the song is actually as much as about shy love as it is gossip. Person A likes Person B, Person B likes Person A, but neither one quite knows how to tell the other. By the second verse, the singer realizes there’s no denying what the rumors have been alleging all this time.

I feel so foolish, I never noticed
You act so nervous, could you be fallin’ for me?
It took the rumor to make me wonder,
Now I’m convinced that I’m goin’ under.
Thinkin’ ’bout you every day,
dreamin’ ’bout you every night.
I’m hopin’ that you feel the same way,
Now that we know it, let’s really show it darlin’.

As we approach the weekend, perhaps this is a good time to let that carefree, rumors-be-damned attitude take over. Certainly, if you love someone, or even think you might have feelings for them, there’s no good reason to not say something. People are going to talk either way, so why not just go ahead and give them something to talk about?

And make it good and steamy while you’re at it.

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Music / PotD

Summertime

May 6, 2015

That “and” is worth a great deal of attention. I would write “Summertime when” but that “and” sets up a tone, a whole poetic tone, not to mention a whole kind of diction that is going to be used in the play; an informal, uneducated diction and a stream of consciousness, as in many of the songs like “My Man’s Gone Now.” It’s the exact right word, and that word is worth its weight in gold. “Summertime when the livin’ is easy” is a boring line compared to “Summertime and.” The choices of “ands” [and] “buts” become almost traumatic as you are writing a lyric–or should, anyway– because each one weighs so much. [Joanne Lesley Gordon, Art Isn’t Easy: The Achievement of Stephen Sondheim, Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale, IL., 1990, p.13]

[one_half padding=”4px 8px 0 4px”]In my opinion, the two great American composers of the twentieth century were Aaron Copeland and George Gershwin. Without casting any aspersions on any of the other wonderful composers of that era, those two managed to find unique ways to take the American experience, both good and bad, and translate it to a tonality that is rich, vibrant, unique, and immediately identifiable. Copeland’s Fanfare for the Common Man and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue may be two of the most distinguishably American compositions of that century. I grew up listening to a heavy mix of both composers, but it was Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess that captured my attention most strongly, particularly the aria Summertime. Of all the songs from this first truly American opera, Summertime captures our deepest longings not only for ourselves, but for our children.

As a child, it was Leontyne Price’s incredible voice I first heard sliding through the lazy melody of the song, the vocal line at times reminiscent of the opening clarinet slide from Rhapsody in Blue. This is a song one doesn’t rush through, its phrasing and emphasis requiring a deceptively difficult level of vocal control and discipline. Do it right, and one can feel the heat of the sun beating down, smell the cotton and the dirt, hear the water gurgling over the rocks. Summertime is a song that catches us not at the beginning of the summer when we are happy to finally be warm, but at its apex, late July or August, when we’ve grown tired of working, when the sweat doesn’t require any effort before soaking our clothes, and grabbing a pole and going fishing may be the most sensical thing a person can do.

I didn’t hear Janis Joplin’s cover of the song in 1968 when it was initially released, or if I did, it didn’t stick. Price’s version was so strong, so dominating, that my classically-sensitized ear was certain no one else could do the song justice. After the Houston Opera’s revival of Porgy and Bess in 1976 restored the full opera as initially written, though, there were a number of comparisons, at least on an intellectual level, between what Gershwin wrote and the incredible emotion Joplin gives the song. It might have taken me to the second verse before falling completely in love with Joplin’s cover that not only modernizes the song with Peter Albin’s mesmerizing guitar but embeds the emotion all the way down to one’s soul.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 8px”]Based on DuBose Heyward’s novel Porgy, the song’s lyrics are based on the spirituals of the 19th century South, and while the first verse sets the stage for how things are, it is the future-leaning words of the second verse that Joplin pushes, giving strength to the phrase “rise up singin'” in a way that even Ms. Price never quite managed to accomplish.

One of these mornings, you’re goin’ to rise up singin’
Then you spread your wings and you’ll take the sky
But ’til that mornin’, there’s nothin’ can harm you
With daddy and mammy standin’ by

Today’s image, in my mind, perfectly captures the end result of Joplin’s version of the song. I could feel the song in my ears even while we were shooting this set (in a public park). Where Gershwin’s original leaves one in the cotton field, Joplin leaves one in the tall grass, lying on your back, looking up at a terminally blue sky, not a care in the world, and confident that whatever comes next is going to be wonderful. One of these days we’re goin’ to rise up singin’, but for now, it’s summertime and living couldn’t be any more easy.

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Advertising / PotD

Sugar Cream Pie

May 2, 2015

7 Billboards You’ll (probably) Never See. Day Seven: Sugar Cream Pie

[one_half padding=”4px 8px 0 4px”]There’s no question that Indiana’s reputation has taken quite a hit in the past month because of all the political gaffes that managed to garner nationwide attention … and embarrassment. By the time all the talking and maneuvering and political posturing was complete, Hoosiers were left wondering who they could trust. Certainly none of the politicians are worthy. Bakeries took a hit. Pizza took a hit. Repair shops took a hit. Corporations threatened to pull out of the state. This was the time for the good people, the reasonable people, of Indiana, the ones who care, the ones who welcome everyone to their state, to do some deep soul searching about where to place their trust and what traditions were really worth keeping.

The answer is simple: Sugar Cream Pie.

Sugar cream pie is to Indiana what apple pie is to the rest of the country. This pie originated here, or at least that’s the story food historians are telling. Amish and Shaker wives of the 1800s would bake this sweet, simple pie during those times of the year when apples weren’t naturally available, such as early Spring. Often they would skim the cream directly off the top of fresh milk to make a pie that is rich, sweet, but uncomplicated in its taste. Ingredients were cheap and readily available year-round, making it a perfect dessert even in the most brutal of winters.

I’ll admit that I had to break my rule about using pictures from the archives for today’s image. I really thought I had a picture of sugar cream pie somewhere in the mix, but if I do it’s stuck someplace where I can’t find it. So, that meant I had to go find, and shoot, a piece of sugar cream pie. Oh horror of horrors, I thought with the deepest of sarcasm. I couldn’t give myself a better assignment. I already knew of a couple of places that made the sweet dessert, but they were both across town and require careful timing to get there before all the pie is gone. I asked around and food writer Jolene Ketzenberger suggested a few places she knew make a good pie. One was directly in the path of other errands we needed to run. Easy.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 8px”]Locally Grown Gardens is one of those places I’ve passed hundreds of times, especially when walking on the Monon Trail, but never actually visited, despite the constant aroma of deliciousness pouring from the place. Chef Ron Harris has created a country-style market most recognizable for its locally grown vegetables that sit out front. I knew they had sandwiches and meats that drew people from all over, but I wasn’t aware they had pie until now.

We arrived late morning, just as the early lunch crowd was showing up. I looked around, and there, behind the counter, sat one last piece of sugar cream pie. There was one person in line before me. I was worried. Glancing around, though, I discovered there were more pies waiting. Chef Harris was prepared. I ordered my pie and took it to the sun room/library to photograph, not really worrying that the other people already in the room might think I was nuts. Once I was certain I had enough pictures, I sat down and promptly devoured the object of my very-short-term affection. The pie was everything it promised to be: warm, sweet, simple, and delicious.

Sugar cream pie isn’t especially difficult to make and recipes are easy enough to find. Recipes, of course, vary and every Hoosier family that has lived here more than a couple of generations seems to have their own version. No matter where you find it, though, you know it’s going to be delicious. Sugar cream pie is a wholesome Hoosier trait more reliable than anything, or anyone, else. Sugar cream pie can be trusted.

This is the last in our series of Billboards You’ll (probably) Never See. I hope you’ve had as much fun with them as we have. Next week we take a look at photographs that remind us of songs. We hope you’ll join us every day. Remember, you can subscribe at the bottom of the page and get an email to let you know the instant we’ve published a new entry![/one_half_last]

Advertising / Mythology / PotD

Popular Mythologies

May 1, 2015

7 Billboards You’ll (probably) Never See. Day Six: Popular Mythologies

[one_half padding=”4px 8px 0 4px”]People have always created gods as they’ve had a need for them. My late father, a Southern Baptist pastor whose views he considered conservative now seem at the very least moderate compared to today’s denomination, frequently explained that the need for God was inherent in man because there was no other way to explain the things their minds could not understand. Prior to Galileo, humans thought the universe revolved around the earth because God had placed it at the center of the universe. Before Sir Issac Newton’s ponderings on why apples fall from trees educated people used God to explain what we now call gravity. Wherever there is a void in understanding, humans have filled the empty intellectual space with deity; sometimes a great number of them. When one looks at the process over time, it really is rather amusing.

Finding the very beginning of religion is difficult because its earliest traditions and stories were strictly oral. If one considers the remnants of ritualistic burial behavior, an almost-certain sign of religious activity, religion was present as early as 250,000 BCE. Those ancient mythologies were polytheistic with the number of deities varying dramatically from tribe to tribe. While tracking ancient Asian and Northern European mythologies is difficult, we know that by 5000 BCE semi-nomadic peoples along the Nile River, what would eventually become Egypt, had a very elaborate set of deities and as that society developed, their leaders, called Pharaohs, were assigned deistic power, beginning a long mythological tradition of god-men.

Around 3000 BCE, once language was largely codified in textual form, the number of recognizable mythologies seems to explode. Actually, most of these are formalized versions of more ancient oral myths, but setting them to print had the effect of universalizing the belief system so that it remained consistent from one location to another and also established a more firm code of discipline for those whose behavior put them outside their mythology. Religion was a critical part of keeping society together in this age and no one even considered questioning what was being handed down from generation to generation. They had no desire, no curiosity, to know about things outside the very dangerous and frequently lethal realities of the here and now.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 8px”]Most of the religions we recognize now had their beginnings between 500 BCE and 500 CE. Everything from Buddhism to Zoroastrianism, Christianity to Islam are all born during or near this period (Islam didn’t actually begin until the seventh century). Religion during this period is cultural with belief systems giving definition to specific people groups. By the time Constantine The Great became emperor in 306 CE, religion’s political influence had grown to the point that it became a part of his government. Expansion of the Roman Empire under Constantine not only meant administrative and financial reform, but saw the first significant spread of a religion outside its base geography. One’s religious beliefs became more of a political statement than a matter of actual faith.

Education and travel led to challenges within the world’s major religions and by the 17th century Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism had all split into a number of different sects or denominations that reflected changes in social attitudes. People of reason, who had been hiding quietly amongst themselves began to loudly question the validity of a first-century god in modern society and fewer of them were being killed for their opposition. The concept of a secular government, as opposed to a religiously dominated one, took hold and fostered significant revolutions most notably in the United States but also in France and Russia, eventually spreading across much of Europe and Asia with the political concepts of socialism and communism.

We continue to morph belief systems to fit our social needs and fill the gaps in our understanding to the point those early founders would likely not recognize their religions today. Reason and dependence on science has developed into its own cult, sparring with more traditional belief systems. Present an idea, give it a snazzy title and a great website, and someone will bite. Today’s billboard isn’t anti-religion but a statement of the obvious. Some people will believe anything, which makes all belief systems suspect and none fit for government.

Maybe today’s billboard isn’t so unrealistic after all.[/one_half_last]

Behind The Scenes / PotD

Watch Your Step

April 21, 2015

Behind The Scenes: Explore Wild Wear (2011). Model: Kathi

We don’t always like to admit that some of our best shots are not the ones we planned, but rather the ones resulting from some error occurring behind the scenes. For all the planning we do, sometimes fate takes over, and fate often comes with a sense of humor.

[one_half padding=”4px 8px 0 2px”]I never intended for Kathi to be inside the dumpster. On it, yes. Hiding behind it, yes. Inside the thing? No. That part was rather unintentional.

We were working on a series of mock ads that used seemingly careless situations to make a point. One had her standing in the middle of an intersection taking a selfie. Another had her walking into a street with a traffic cone on her head. Yet another had her “falling” off a mailbox. These came with tag lines such as, “Following your passion has challenges,” “When protection doesn’t fit, you’re doing it wrong,” and “Some moments are more exciting than others.” Each shot had an element of risk to it that we were able to mitigate through careful planning. At no point was the model in any serious risk of danger.

The shoot took place all over an urban neighborhood, encompassing several hours. This was one of those “you can’t believe what the photographer asked me to do” days and Kathi was a good sport going through multiple wardrobe changes and running from one set to another. We were both quite exhausted by the time we got down to the last concept, one which included a dumpster.

Dumpsters make for tricky props. First, they’re private property and therefore being in or on them technically constitutes trespassing; this is a safety issue to prevent people from sleeping in them and accidentally squished in the back of trash trucks. Second, they move which makes them dangerous and unpredictable. Third, one doesn’t always know what they’re going to find inside. Dumpsters have been known to attract both the disgusting and the bizarre. [/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 2px 0 8px”]Care had been taken to choose a dumpster that had been emptied earlier that day, served a business that wasn’t likely to be throwing away anything potentially hazardous or especially icky, and was facing the correct direction for waning sunlight. My concept originally had Kathi crouching behind the dumpster. Unfortunately, when we tried it the image lacked the punch I wanted. The dumpster was significantly larger than the crouching model, so the ratios appeared totally skewed.

After talking for a moment, considering the risks, Kathi agreed to try climbing on top of the dumpster. She felt certain that she would be able to balance along the side with no problem, something she was able to do long enough for me to drop five or six frames. Then, as she tried to actually stand on the edge of the dumpster, she lost her balance and chose to jump into the dumpster rather than risk falling. The shot of the jump itself wasn’t especially impressive, but this one, the moment she looked down and saw the rotting flowers on which she was standing, was perfect.

When fate intervenes in a photoshoot it often has a better idea. Kathi was a good sport and we ended up making the best of it as can be seen in the shot below. In fact, had she not jumped into the dumpster, I probably would have dropped this concept from the finished project. So, thanks to fate stepping in and gravity for doing its thing and giving us a shot better than what we had planned.[/one_half_last]

Behind The Scenes / Photography / PotD

Hold Your Horses

April 20, 2015

Behind The Scenes: Sunday Morning Ride (2011). Model: Cynthia Schmidt. Horse wrangler: Jewel Emery. Horse: Duke.

Working with horses is a good reminder of why planning photoshoots well in advance is important and why no detail is too small to let go unattended. With sufficient time and care, though, they can take incredible photographs. The same can be said of people on occasion.

[one_half padding=”4px 8px 0 2px”]I like horses. I still remember my first pony ride as a tot. I still remember struggling to try and carry the saddle by myself. I still remember the thrill of jumping gates. Growing up in rural areas, horses were frequently part of our lives and the love and respect I have for them continues. Horses are bright, intelligent, and noble regardless of age or pedigree. Occasionally ornery, they are often great hams in front of a camera and even show jealousy if one gets more lens time than another. They also tend to be great judges of human character and won’t tolerate someone they don’t like.

Having a horse in a photograph almost always makes for a great image, but those pictures don’t just happen by showing up at a ranch one morning and asking to borrow a horse. Most city-raised people don’t know how to ride, or even how to behave around a horse, which can be a bit dangerous. So, when planning to work with horses we have to take plenty of time, choose our models carefully, and take extra precautions such as giving the horse and the model a little time to get to know each other before taking the pictures that count.

Today’s picture is one such bonding moment between Duke and Cynthia. Duke’s owner can just barely be seen on his right side, adjusting the stirrup for Cynthia’s long legs. It was fairly early on a Sunday morning, Cynthia hadn’t ridden in a while, and I’m not sure Duke was all that crazy about having someone on his back at this particular hour. Everything went quite well except for this one tentative moment when Duke moved a little unexpectedly, catching Cynthia by surprise. Very shortly thereafter, they were riding around, getting to know each other, and having a good time.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 2px 0 8px”]We arrived even earlier the next week and fog hugged the pasture as Cynthia mounted Duke and took off. He pranced and trotted beautifully, responding well to her instructions. One of my favorite shots from the day is where Duke appears to be sticking his tongue out at me as he trots my direction. After playing in the field for a while, Cynthia changed clothes and Duke proceeded to stand beautifully still as she laid across his bare back for a number of images. Something tells me that Duke thought he was the focus on the pictures and the girl was just decoration.

I should probably take a moment to insert a cautionary note here. Not every horse is as cooperative as Duke. In fact, when it comes to editorial style photographs, one is almost always better off with an older horse who is accustomed to being ridden by a number of people. Younger, more high-spirited horses are likely to be a bit temperamental about who is on their back; they need strong, experienced riders who know how to take charge and aren’t intimidated by a horse’s dominant personality. Listen carefully to the advice of a horse’s owner and/or wrangler. I’ve never had anyone hurt while taking pictures around horses, but the danger is definitely there.

Pictures circulating in Las Vegas this week show an intimidating Cynthia in her football uniform, promoting that city’s LFL team; she looks as tough and dominating as she is beautiful. So, this seemed like the perfect time to pull out a picture of the one moment, that split second, where she might have been a wee bit anxious. Obviously, her confidence was back by the time we took the pictures below, but we’ll always remember that one moment and the horse that made it possible.[/one_half_last]

Nature / PotD

Urban Greenspace

April 18, 2015

Concert in the Park (2014). Model: Laura (L Modelz) Makeup: Danelle French Hair: Anthony Perez Styling: Nativa Photography assistance: James Thorpe

City planners have long understood the benefit of having large expanses of urban greenspace scattered throughout an urban population. While how that greenspace is used has changed somewhat over the years, a city’s largest parks and outdoor recreation areas are consistently the places where people gather for fun, relaxation, and sometimes meaning.

[one_half padding=”4px 8px 0 2px”]I still remember the first time I set foot in New York’s famed Central Park. I was there for hours and still barely covered a third of the space the park occupies. Coming from rural Oklahoma, I had braced myself for all the concrete and steel of the metropolis, and it wasn’t like I didn’t know Central Park existed. What caught me by surprise was the reality of just how large it is and all the varied ways New Yorkers take advantage of the greenspace, both for good and, sometimes, not.

Central Park was the first such landscaped space in the United States, having reached its current size by 1863. While acquiring that much land in an already immense and densely populated city wasn’t easy, and fraught with political tension, there was little argument that the park was something the city wanted. The greater argument was over who would control it, the city or the state. By 1870, the city won that fight and from there it has possibly become the most famous park in the world, a shining example followed by other burgeoning cities all across the country.

Environmentally, urban greenspace is like gold to a city. The more people that are gathered putting off carbon dioxide, the more we need trees and vegetation to absorb what we produce and provide us with the necessary oxygen to sustain life. While no park totally makes up for the accumulation of millions of people, even small space with a handful of trees has a huge impact. Parks help with flood control, pollution control, stop soil erosion, and help keep down urban temperatures in addition to providing a balanced home for urban wildlife.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 2px 0 8px”]Beyond the ecological benefits, though, urban greenspace provides people with a place to be, a place to relax, to sit under a shade tree and read, to have a picnic with family or friends, to fly a kite, walk a dog, chase a ball, learn to ride a bike, go for a jog, or just enjoy a bit of fresh (more or less) air. While urban living can be exciting and fun, the fact is we miss nature and long deeply to have it around us and to be part of the natural earth. We don’t like being cooped up all day, surrounded by four walls, looking longingly out elevated windows. We need space to get out and roam and explore and stretch.

Many cities have experimented with variations on the greenspace over the years. Some have put in large ponds, streams, or other water attractions. Others have put in playgrounds for children, though most were later removed due to rising insurance costs. Still others provide tennis courts, basketball courts, and little league and softball fields for organized recreation. As soccer has become increasingly popular we’ve seen space reserved for youth and adult league games. Portions of large parks have been converted to major music venues, offering concerts of all varieties in an atmosphere where one doesn’t necessarily need a ticket to listen and enjoy the music.

Benefits of urban greenspace are endless and for photographers especially they provide countless opportunities to capture seasonal natural beauty while also providing a dynamic backdrop for portraits. So, we end this week’s look at the urban outdoors celebrating the great parks around the country. Let’s go now and enjoy![/one_half_last]

Photography / PotD

Concrete, Glass, and Steel

April 17, 2015

Capturing the Night (2008). Model: Sarah

Nature gives us earth, wind, and fire. The urban outdoors responds with concrete, glass, and steel, its own basic elements of which every city is composed. Yet, when photographing a city we must first make the choice of whether our subject is the people or the architecture.

[one_half padding=”4px 8px 0 2px”]I went with another long-exposure night shot for today’s image because it emphasizes, perhaps more than any other image I immediately have available, the choices we must make when shooting in the inner city. Urban architecture and design can make for wonderful photographs. Yet, the heart and soul of any city is its people. Trying to fit both into the same photograph is almost always disappointing, or at best, cliché. Sarah is standing in front of a work of beautiful design, but the landmark wasn’t our subject, she was. To say this is a picture of the landmark would be totally inappropriate.

I am reminded of the time a friend returned from a trip to Paris and arrived back home with boxes of slides under his arm. I realize younger readers may not have ever experienced the mixture of joy and boredom that comes with watching someone else’s vacation pictures projected onto a white sheet in the living room, but this particular experience was especially disappointing at first. I was expecting grand, sweeping images of Parisian landmarks, and upon seeing sleeves marked “Arch de Triomphe” and “Notre Dame” was prepared to be thrilled. Yet, not one such shot existed. No flying buttresses. No stained glass. No arch.

“So, where are the landmarks,” I asked. “I only saw a hint of the Seine and nothing at all of the cathedrals.” I’m sure my disappointment was evident in the tone of my voice.

“I didn’t go to take pictures of tourist attractions,” he responded. “I wanted pictures of Paris, so I took pictures of people who were to be standing around tourist attractions.”

Looking back through the slides, there they were: the painter along the Seine; the street vendor in front of the arch; the woman asking for alms in the shadow of the great cathedral. He had captured the very essence of Paris without a single landscape shot, no hint of Eiffel’s tower, or even the Louvre’s pyramid.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 2px 0 8px”]Cities are easily recognized by its architectural landmarks, to the point that even the silhouette of some skylines, such as those of New York, London, Dubai, and Seattle, are enough to identify the location. Architecture and design that varies from one city to the next help give one a sense of place, uniqueness for a given geography. Architecture is to the urban landscape what mountains, rivers, and trees are to nature’s domain. They make for wonderful images, but require one to step back, to look at the city from a distance. One does not capture the glory of Notre Dame standing on its front steps. To capture this view of the city requires distance to achieve the best perspective.

Yet, if one really wants to capture what makes a city tick, one needs to photograph its people, the ones who live and work in and around those gigantic landmarks; the ones who put life and breath into the concrete, glass, and steel. These pictures require getting close, choosing a more intimate perspective, and perhaps exposing the city in a way that isn’t necessarily glamorous, or what might appear on a tourism brochure. Find the people who haven’t given in to the fashion hegemony of the malls and capture them in their natural element.

Each summer I have to stop myself from interfering with tourist trying to fit a large landmark into the same frame as Aunt Sue. Inevitably, one must choose: is it a picture of the architecture, or Aunt Sue’s quirky grin? Neither is wrong, both capture a piece of the city, but they are different pieces. Know which is your focus before you start.[/one_half_last]

Art / PotD

Art On The Urban Wall

April 16, 2015

D on the Square (2013). Model: Diablo

Graffiti that once was considered the bane of urban existence is now a recognized and sometimes highly sought after art form unique to the inner city. All over America, cities are electing to brighten once-blighted neighborhoods with murals and other forms of street art. The biggest challenge? Finding them.

[one_half padding=”4px 8px 0 2px”]We frequently travel across a little stretch of road that is strictly utilitarian in nature. There’s no reason for its existence other than to connect one part of town with another. The asphalt runs adjacent to a railroad track with a hospital at one end and an industrial area at the other, but there is nothing useful in between, simply overly-littered clumps of weeds and dirt the department of public works tries to clean up occasionally. Then, just last year, the city decided that the area needed some sprucing up. So, they commissioned a large mural to be painted under the stretch of Interstate 65 that dissects the area. The mural is very attractive, very bright, and appropriate in its depiction of the people who live in the area. Hooray for public art!

Yet, the rest of the area, even the right-of-way between the mural and the road, remains a blight. Trash still punctuates the aesthetics of the road, soot still gathers on the girders of the overpass, and none of the mural is visible unless one is stuck on that very short piece of otherwise forgettable road. Might this be a case of expecting art to do more than it is capable of doing on its own? Possibly.

Cities have long had a love/hate relationship with outdoor urban art. While graffiti has been around almost as long as men have been building walls, only recently have we as a society started looking at it as a legitimate art form. Artists with names such as Banksy, Mr. Brainwash, and Retna, Shepard Fairey, and David Choe have become both celebrities and millionaires spraypainting their works on the side of buildings such as Facebook’s headquarters. What once would have gotten a person arrested for vandalism is now welcomed by many urban building owners and often comes with a very hefty price tag.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 2px 0 8px”]For all that popularity, we’re still not always sure what to do with urban wall art. Today’s picture is shot in front of a very large and attractive piece of work in Fountain Square. Yet, you won’t see it as you take a casual drive through the area. The graffiti art is on a wall tucked back in an alley next to a gravel parking lot used primarily by employees of adjacent businesses. If one doesn’t know the work is there and seek it out, it goes completely unnoticed. Sticking Diablo, at the time one of Fountain Square’s better-known residents, in front of the wall might have brought it some attention had we included a map of how to find it. We like urban wall art, but we’re not always sure we want everyone to see it.

One also has to consider the fact that a lot of street art is intentionally temporary. Traditional graffiti artists never expect their work, welcome or not, to be permanent. Even under the best of circumstances, sunlight fades the colors and changing weather eventually chips away at the paint. Many walls where graffiti is welcome get completely repainted two or three times a year. If one visits an area infrequently or is unaware of an art wall’s rotation, one might easily miss a real masterpiece of urban painting.

Wall art is an exciting part of the contemporary urban landscape and photography helps preserve this all-too-temporary art form. Perhaps one day we’ll no longer relegate such creative work to back alleys and the underside of Interstate bridges. Until then, the search-and-discovery process of finding these exciting pieces is an adventure that defines the uniqueness of the urban outdoors. Get out your camera and start looking; they could be anywhere![/one_half_last]

Photography / PotD

Experience The Night

April 15, 2015

In The Garden (2010). Model: Samantha. Body art: Jennifer Baxter

Cities become very different places at night, some good, some bad. A quiet shopping area suddenly becomes alive with club activity. A busy business district takes on a ghostly creepiness. Shooting in the urban outdoors can be dangerous but rewarding.

[one_half padding=”4px 8px 0 2px”]We knew we were taking some risks the night we shot today’s photo. The location was a very popular club area, which meant it would be heavily populated with a lot of lights and activity in the background. All that traffic would give us a certain amount of anonymity for a little while, but not long. Once bystanders, most of whom had already consumed a fair share of alcohol, figured out we essentially had a topless girl standing on the sidewalk, we wouldn’t have long before the scene might potentially grow out of control.

Working in the urban outdoors at night is an experience unlike any other. One never is quite sure whether they are alone, who might be watching or what might be hiding in the shadows. At the same time, the colors and lighting of the urban landscape at night are wholly unique, dramatically different from the long exposure shots taken in more rural areas. Here, there is a beauty and an intrigue that is very different from other forms of photography, but there is also an element of danger.

Over the years, we’ve often taken to the streets at night with tripod in hand, ready to see what the camera might capture that the naked eye didn’t see. Some nights we might only get interesting light flares. Other nights we’ve had rocks thrown at us from unseen sources, frightened those in the act of committing a crime, stumbled across hidden lovers, and possibly crossed paths with a ghost or two if one believes in such things. We’ve attracted the attention of police, but, fortunately, have never needed their services. Armed escorts are a necessary precaution, but we’ve never needed them to draw their weapon.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 2px 0 8px”]This particular night we relied on sheer numbers and our ability to dissolve into a darkened neighborhood as our security method. While the model and I quickly snapped the handful of frames necessary to ensure we’d gotten a good shot, three others, including the body artist, stood nearby looking casual but on alert. By the time someone shouted across the street, “Hey, is that girl naked?” we were done and slipped quietly away from any potential danger.

For shots such as this one, planning and knowledge of the area are critical. We knew we wouldn’t have much time, so we carefully chose our location and discussed posing before we arrived. I also made a solo trip to the area on a previous night so that I wouldn’t need to waste time getting light meter readings. I was very familiar with the street and had a sense of what to expect. None of that quelled my excitement or anxiety as we walked through the shadows of an adjoining neighborhood on our way to the location. We dropped ten frames and were done.

Long exposure night photography is interesting and fun no matter where it is done, but shooting at night in the urban outdoors can be an experience in excitement unlike any other and results in some of the most unique images one is likely to take. While the inherent dangers are not something to be dismissed, a little planning and caution delivers results one can’t achieve anywhere else. Go ahead, experience the night; a whole different world of imagery awaits.[/one_half_last]

Photography / PotD

Urban Seasons

April 14, 2015

On the Fountain (2010) Model: Danelle French

As with nature, urban landscapes go through seasons of their own, just not as quickly or on as precise a schedule. Changes to the urban environment, both subtle and dramatic, keep us going back to the same locations time and time again, always with different results.

[one_half padding=”4px 8px 0 2px”]Today’s photo is almost five years old, which is difficult to believe in some regards. I still remember with rather surprising clarity the morning of this shoot, Danelle trying to balance on the rocks, the looks of curious drivers on their morning commute wondering what we might be doing. If I were to take her back to Fountain Square this morning, though, the picture would be dramatically different. The entire landscape behind her has changed rather dramatically. This particular area of town has changed seasons, going from a sleepy Spring of quiet, modest change, to a Summer of tremendous growth with some rather dramatic additions to the landscape.

Any time we shoot outdoors, nature’s seasons factor into what we’re doing; the four seasons offer distinctly different looks, but sometimes those changes are not as obvious in an urban environment. If there are no trees on a street, we don’t see whether leaves have fallen or are beginning to bud. Snow is a rather obvious clue, but a sunny day with no people on the street to give us a hint might just as easily be July as December. Seasons take on a different feel when one is in the city.

Cities also go through seasons of their own, from growth to stability to decay and rebirth. Typically, we see those changes at the neighborhood level though occasionally, such as with Detroit, whole city transformations can be obvious. No city wants to be labeled as boring and just the natural wear and tear of use, not to mention the coming and going of business as economies fluctuate, factor into visible changes in the urban environment. While those changes rarely happen within a three-month cycle, thank goodness, they do happen with enough frequency to give photographers different and often unique settings that can be fun to capture.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 2px 0 8px”]Granted, capturing urban changes requires paying a little more attention than is necessary with nature, which operates on a slightly more predictable basis. If one is not “plugged in” to a community, particularly at the neighborhood level, one can be caught by surprise. In unique little places such as Fountain Square, the coming and going of mom-and-pop, single proprietor shops has a dramatic impact on the visual impact of an area. Full window displays communicate a totally different season than does empty space or, worse yet, boarded windows. The addition of a coffee shop where a bicycle repair business once stood also gives a street a very different feel. Even things such as repairs to the sidewalk make a significant difference from a visual perspective.

Unfortunately, not every seasonal change to an area is planned or positive. When fire takes out a dominant building the entire neighborhood feels the pain and the results are surprisingly visual. Should crime overtake an area, or should a geographically specific economic program end, a once-thriving community may see itself thrust into an unwanted period of winter. New construction might be seen as the “spring planting” season in the urban environment, but street-level disruption might cause traffic congestion and noise that present a challenge.

This week marks ten years since I first moved to and began exploring Indianapolis. Visual changes in the city are dramatic to the point that pictures I took then are practically obsolete, taking on a strange “vintage” feel to them. Every year I look around and find reasons to re-visit places that I’ve photographed before, knowing that I’ll get very different results. Urban seasons are one of the things that make photographing the inner-city outdoors fun and exciting. Look around you and be amazed at the changes. [/one_half_last]

Fashion / PotD

Runways From Sidewalks

April 13, 2015

Runway on the Canal (2011), Model: Destany Harte. Dress by Beth Bennett

Creative catwalks are big business within the world’s fashion capitols of New York, London, Milan, and Paris, but for smaller markets getting fashion shows noticed by the public is more challenging. Sometimes the best solution is to stage a show right where it can’t be missed.

[one_half padding=”4px 8px 0 2px”]There have been some creative sets for fashion shows over the years. Tommy Hilfiger always creates a set that echos the general theme of his clothes for the season. Marc Jacobs once had models coming up and down on escalators and elevators simultaneously. Sets for Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel shows are elaborate productions costing millions of dollars. Some say the over-the-top sets help set those brands apart. Others say the sets distract from what are otherwise boring collections lacking in originality and creativity. When one remembers the setting for a show more than the clothes shown in it, one has to wonder if the latter isn’t more correct.

Today’s photo is taken from the 2011 Indy Fashion Time presentation on the canal in downtown Indianapolis. Unlike Hilfiger, Jacobs, or Lagerfeld, this presentation showcasing multiple designers wasn’t looking to overshadow the designers, but rather answer the challenge of making sure people notice them. As the Internet has allowed smaller designers to set up shows without having to move to New York or Paris, smaller cities such as Indianapolis have started having fashion weeks and other fashion related events of their own. The challenge: getting anyone to notice without the huge million-dollar budgets of the big cities.

Indy Fashion Time (IFT) founder Dlang Ferguson, a respectable designer in her own right, hit upon a creative solution to the exposure problem when in 2011 she orchestrated a summer-time runway presentation right out where no one could miss it: Indianapolis’ downtown canal. The downtown canal is a leftover from the pre-railroad days in Indiana that has become a popular destination for both tourists and locals, its broad sidewalks, artistic elements, and gondoliers making it attractive to a wide range of people. Drop a fashion show in the middle of that on a warm summer’s evening and people are bound to take notice![/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 2px 0 8px”]Not that such expositions are easily achieved. Ms. Ferguson worked tirelessly with the various government officials months in advance for the necessary permits and permissions to stage the show. Presenting the show outside creates a plethora of logistical challenges, ranging from security to model prep areas to how to provide music without violating noise ordinances. Dlang understood that to put a show in such a public place meant that it had to be a bit extravagant, impossible to miss, and come off without a hitch. No small detail could be overlooked.

Added to all the logistical challenges was the ever-looming spectre of rain. When one has to start planning so very many months in advance, there is no way of predicting at that juncture what the weather might be. Summer in the Midwest, as in much of the United States, is often quite erratic, going from suffocatingly hot and humid one day to pouring down rain and threatening thunderstorms the next with little warning or forecasting to allow one to change plans. Dlang says she had an internal confidence that the weather was going to cooperate, though, and sure enough it couldn’t have been a more pleasant evening.

A couple of seasons ago, Karl Lagerfeld created his own urban street setting indoors because actually using the streets of Paris would have been too dangerous and too expensive. Smaller cities trump the big ones in that regard, giving designers and events such as IFT the chance to bring fashion directly to the people, right smack in the middle of town. While the task is never easy, the urban outdoors is a dynamic fashion set unlike any other. [/one_half_last]

Photography / PotD

Walking The Dog

April 12, 2015

Walking the Dog (2010) Model: Cynthia Schmidt

While being outdoors in nature is a wonderful experience and great place to photograph, the urban outdoors is a far more common and often more complex experience. This week we explore photos that enjoy being outside but in town.

[one_half padding=”4px 8px 0 2px”]It was early on a Sunday morning when we shot today’s picture. Cynthia had contacted me because she had rescued a pup that had been in absolutely horrible condition and now that he was all clean and healthy she wanted pictures with him. Animal pictures aren’t exactly high on my list of things to shoot, though. As cute as they are, they tend to not follow directions too terribly well and shots of them just sitting are rather boring after the second snap.

Looking to put some excitement into the picture, I asked her to take the pictures in her underwear. Granted, that’s not a request I would make of too many people. Only someone with a lot of self-confidence, poise, and the ability to drop anyone who might make an inappropriate move could pull off this look without a large security staff standing by. The fact that Cynthia looked great walking down that street with the tiny little dog was almost secondary.

Timing and location were critical in making this shot happen. While we weren’t even remotely at risk of an indecent exposure charge, there was a real chance we could be cited with disturbing the peace if we chose the wrong neighborhood. After all, it’s not every day that one sees an attractive young blonde walking down the street in her underwear, especially in the Midwest. Her ability to be a distraction meant choosing a street and a time where traffic would be minimal. I had been watching this particular location for a while and knew it was our best chance at not being disruptive.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 2px 0 8px”]Of course, we still attracted a small amount of attention. There is a coffee shop just behind where I was shooting and being early on a Sunday there were, naturally, a handful of caffeine addicts who desperately needed their morning fix. No one complained, though, and when we stopped by the coffee shop later they were quite complimentary. One barista even asked if we might repeat the shoot on a regular basis, thinking it would help them attract early morning traffic.

Such are the type of things one encounters when shooting outdoors in an urban environment. Like shooting out in nature, there are all the benefits and challenges of light and shadow, but here one also has the addition of architecture, which can be incredibly beautiful to the point of being overwhelming, and traffic, which can be incredibly frustrating to the point of making a shot impossible. There are dangers, to be sure, but there are also some very strong benefits that make the urban outdoors an attraction all its own.

Americans are lucky to live in one of the least densely populated countries in the world. Even our largest cities are dotted with green space and urban planners everywhere are aware of the importance of building aesthetic value into a city’s appearance. Even in New York City, where people are seemingly stacked on top of each other there are places and times one can shoot in peace. We are quite fortunate to have the urban scenery we do and there’s no excuse not to capture it in photographs. Here’s to another week outdoors![/one_half_last]

Nature / PotD

Covered In Nature

April 11, 2015

Covered In Nature (2009). Models: Rose & Emily. MUA & Styling: Kelly Oswalt

Celebrating Spring and Nature go hand in hand. Spring is when nature is at its most glorious so it only stands to reason that now is when we are most anxious to get out and immerse ourselves in its glory and grandeur, taking as many pictures as we can along the way.

[one_half padding=”4px 8px 0 2px”]Kelly Oswalt gets the lion’s share of credit for today’s photo; the concept was hers and she did all the makeup and styling. We even shot in her backyard. Kelly’s concepts often involve nature and she makes those natural elements her subject when she is behind the camera herself. Not everyone understands or appreciates how to work with, in, and around nature, but Kelly does it well.

Bonding with nature is one of those concepts with seasonal appeal. This time of year, I’m drawn to Thoreau’s descriptions of living as close to nature as possible. While there have been many others who have perhaps studied nature more deeply or lived more simply for longer, Thoreau’s gift was relating the connection between nature and life.

“The morning, which is the most memorable season of the day, is the awakening hour. Then there is least somnolence in us; and for an hour, at least, some part of us awakes which slumbers all the rest of the day and night… All memorable events, I should say, transpire in morning time and in a morning atmosphere. The Vedas say, “All intelligences awake with the morning.”

and then later he muses:

“A single gentle rain makes the grass many shades greener. So our prospects brighten on the influx of better thoughts. We should be blessed if we lived in the present always, and took advantage of every accident that befell us, like the grass which confesses the influence of the slightest dew that falls on it; and did not spend our time in atoning for the neglect of past opportunities, which we call doing our duty. We loiter in winter while it is already spring.”

[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 2px 0 8px”]While few can afford to do as Thoreau did, building a cabin by a pond and then taking two years to live there and write, Spring ignites in most all of us that urge to “get back to nature,” to be outside, explore, and experience. Our desire to be part of the world, to kick off our shoes, dress down next to nothing, to feel nature as though we were born into it, is instinctive. Human evolution has not lost the primal need to connect with that source from which we originate.

As we’ve seen this week, taking pictures outdoors comes with a host of dangers and challenges. When people are involved, especially, one does not just pick up a camera, shoot leisurely, and expect images of any quality or to not endure some difficulty. Yet, for all the issues that might present themselves, for everything that one might need to consider before going out, just the experience of shooting outdoors in nature is worth whatever trouble might be involved. Even if the pictures don’t turn out as planned, one has spent the time surrounded by and hopefully enjoying all that nature has to give.

Again, from Thoreau:

“If the day and the night are such that you greet them with joy, and life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet-scented herbs, is more elastic, more starry, more immortal- that is your success. All nature is your congratulation, and you have cause momentarily to bless yourself. The greatest gains and values are farthest from being appreciated. We easily come to doubt if they exist. We soon forget them. They are the highest reality. Perhaps the facts most astounding and most real are never communicated by man to man. The true harvest of my daily life is somewhat as intangible and indescribable as the tints of morning or evening. It is a little star-dust caught, a segment of the rainbow which I have clutched.”

[/one_half_last]

outdoors

When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence. ― Ansel Adams

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The time that leads to mastery is dependent on the intensity of our focus. ― Robert Greene, Mastery

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“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” ― John Lubbock, The Use Of Life

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“A girl in a bikini is like having a loaded gun on your coffee table- There’s nothing wrong with them, but it’s hard to stop thinking about.” ― Garrison Keillor

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“If it could only be like this always – always summer, always alone, the fruit always ripe and Aloysius in a good temper…” ― Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited

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There is more to sex appeal than just measurements. I don’t need a bedroom to prove my womanliness. I can convey just as much sex appeal, picking apples off a tree or standing in the rain. -Audrey Hepburn

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“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.” ― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

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You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over. -Richard Branson

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There’s Someone In Your Life Who Needs The Insurance Money

You’re Starving While Searching For Non-GMO Food

When The Polar Ice Cap Melts, You’ll Drown

You Drive Like A Moron

The Elevator Cable Broke

You Share Needles

You Weren’t Immunized

You Left The Oven On

Elves

The Bible Tells Me So

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7 Billboards You’ll (probably) Never See. Day Seven: Sugar Cream Pie

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7 Billboards You’ll (probably) Never See. Day Six: Popular Mythologies

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We don’t always like to admit that some of our best shots are not the ones we planned, but rather the ones resulting from some error occurring behind the scenes. For all the planning we do, sometimes fate takes over, and fate often comes with a sense of humor.

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Working with horses is a good reminder of why planning photoshoots well in advance is important and why no detail is too small to let go unattended. With sufficient time and care, though, they can take incredible photographs. The same can be said of people on occasion.

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Nature gives us earth, wind, and fire. The urban outdoors responds with concrete, glass, and steel, its own basic elements of which every city is composed. Yet, when photographing a city we must first make the choice of whether our subject is the people or the architecture.

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Cities become very different places at night, some good, some bad. A quiet shopping area suddenly becomes alive with club activity. A busy business district takes on a ghostly creepiness. Shooting in the urban outdoors can be dangerous but rewarding.

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As with nature, urban landscapes go through seasons of their own, just not as quickly or on as precise a schedule. Changes to the urban environment, both subtle and dramatic, keep us going back to the same locations time and time again, always with different results.

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Like this:

Creative catwalks are big business within the world’s fashion capitols of New York, London, Milan, and Paris, but for smaller markets getting fashion shows noticed by the public is more challenging. Sometimes the best solution is to stage a show right where it can’t be missed.

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While being outdoors in nature is a wonderful experience and great place to photograph, the urban outdoors is a far more common and often more complex experience. This week we explore photos that enjoy being outside but in town.

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Like this:

Celebrating Spring and Nature go hand in hand. Spring is when nature is at its most glorious so it only stands to reason that now is when we are most anxious to get out and immerse ourselves in its glory and grandeur, taking as many pictures as we can along the way.

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