Todays Friday Photo Tip is something from my friend and mentor David Alan Harvey.
“When the perfect picture situation happens, you may not have time to worry about perfect exposure and f-stop. Just take the picture. Don’t be afraid to experiment — especially in dark locations where you cannot use a tripod or flash. Brace your elbows on a table, lean against a telephone pole, or rest the camera on a fence post or a Coke bottle.”
Jessica in very low light.
But, as my friend Bob Black told me, “Inaction is poetry.” And that’s beautiful.
Surfer at Stinson Beach, California.
Separation. Balance. A sense of ease.
I never set out to find it, but every now and then it reveals itself. I’ll walk around for hours, just watching; being an observer. Shooting a little here and there. Feeling things out.
If I find an interesting scene I’ll stop and take a look through the view finder. I don’t start shooting right away, either. Patience, I tell myself. Let the scene sink in. Try to grasp what’s there; what belongs, what doesn’t. If I shift myself or the camera a few inches an OK composition can morph into a good composition.
And you don’t so much see it as you do feel it. When everything falls into place there is a great sense of relief. Even exhilaration. That’s when you shoot.
Be patient. Look at the scene. Really look at it. There’s a good composition in there somewhere.
The forecast calls for rain? Very good. Now go out there and shoot.
An atmosphere of gloom. A sense of sullenness… but in a good way! This is what comes with lousy weather. No matter if it’s sleet, rain, snow or fog. There are shots to be made, moods to capture.
Yes, keep your camera as clean and dry as you can — that shower cap from the hotel’s bathroom makes an excellent rain coat for the camera… or maybe shoot from under an awning or from the car window — but do get out there and make some photographs. They’re everywhere.
A foggy morning on Mount Tamalpais in northern California.
A couple takes a walk on the beach in the rain. Stinson Beach, California.
This is a wonderful, timeless lesson. That high school photography teacher (who also happened to be the basketball coach) really knew his stuff.
I mean, really, think about it. With the sun behind you everything in front of you is so fully and flatly lit. You can see it all. No annoying shadows adding drama or depth. No highlights in the model’s hair. And with family portraits you get the added benefit of squinting eyes! What’s not to love?
And don’t even get me started on silhouettes or soft window light!
Window light #1
Window light #2
I followed the hunter around all morning. It was cold and wet. We’d walk for a short distance, stop, and then listen. Hear nothing and start over. This went on. Walk. Stop. Listen. Walk. Stop. Listen.
Coming over a low rise the hunter held up his hand. I froze. He slowly and gracefully knelt. He rested his left elbow on his knee and raised the rifle’s scope to his eye. A brief moment. I could feel my heart beating.
The blast from the gun reverberated throughout my body. I’d never felt such a force in my life. It’s funny, I don’t remember the sound. Only how the shock wave felt.
We walked down the hill to where the deer lay. My hands trembled as I worked the camera. I laughed that nervous laugh you have after a major adrenaline rush. As he began field-dressing the deer, the hunter laughed, too. I could tell he was proud.
It took him about fifteen minutes to finish the job. All that was left was to get the carcass up the hill and back to the truck.
The long, damp morning was a success … for the hunter. Not so much the deer.
The hunter and his trophy.
I’m very proud to present, after many years of documentation and exploration, the Potomac River Gorge book. A real, actual, physical book to sit comfortably on your couch with while gently paging through the imagery of one of the gems of our National Park Service.
You can click on the link below to see a preview. Then click on the second link to go to the Blurb Bookstore and pick one up for yourself… or for someone you love. Or both!
Many thanks and have a happy holiday season!
Cheers.
Nothing like a rejuvenating week on the northern California coast. After a long, crazy, stressful year, a little refresh was critical.
Weather was typical. Rain, wind, fog, sun, dry, wet, warm, chilly… pretty much the works. Photographically, every day… hell, every hour a new, more dramatic scene was unveiled. Couldn’t ask for more.
Ready for 2013. Let’s go!
Surfer dude, Stinson Beach, CA.
“If you want it, you get nothing. Just be receptive and it happens.” Henri Cartier-Bresson
I was just watching a documentary on the old man and this is the line that stood out. I have felt this for sure, but never tried to express it. And yes, it’s true. Going out with a preconceived idea of a photograph almost never works. No matter if I’m hiking in the wilds or strolling city streets.
It happens, most of the time, when I’m not looking for anything. Call it serendipity, call it luck. I call it keeping my eyes, mind and heart open. Being an intuitive observer. It’s almost unconscious. You feel it when it’s happening. And you begin shooting. Really shooting… like mad. Because at that point there’s no other way to shoot. It is a kind of madness. An instinctive, visceral condition with little control. And man it feels good.
iPhone photograph. Waitress in Washington DC tavern.
Washington National Cathedral visitor. Shot with iPhone.
And, by the way, Cartier-Bresson would love the iPhone. (or any other smart phone with a good camera inside)
Sometimes blur is good. In fact, oftentimes blur is good. You can have a blurred subject and a sharp background or a sharp subject and blurred background. There are even times — if you’re feeling impressionistic — you may want everything in the frame blurred. Sometimes you want to stop the action, and sometimes you don’t.
Let’s say your young daughter and her friends are running all over the place having themselves a blast. This is the time to pick up the camera and start shooting. Choose one child at a time and pan with them as they run past, clicking the shutter all the while. Practice it with as many of the kids as possible. Every few kids, check the back of the camera to see how you’re doing. Next, set yourself up in one spot and without moving the camera take the shot as they run through the frame. It’s even cooler when you’ve got one of the kids standing still and another blurred in the same picture.
Too many people with cameras don’t give any consideration to the concept of motion. Commuters on a busy street, cars passing by, children playing games. Everybody is moving. So why is everyone in that box of family photos standing perfectly still? Even the family pet is posed! Photographs of people arm in arm with big smiles are great. Sure. But those people were moving right before that shot, and they began moving again right after it. Try catching them in the before and after.
Getting a good motion-blur shot isn’t easy. There will be a lot more misses than hits in the beginning, but keep at it.
The world is in constant motion. Show it.
A moderately slow shutter speed (1/40th sec) allowed the
kayaker to blur, but kept the video guy and the rest of the scene sharp.