Kitty Kills Time

Lighting on journal pages is sometimes a problem. This is a scanned image and it is a bit better than using the digi but some of the colors still distort. Kitty Kills time is what I came up when I looked at this kitty with a knife in its little paw. Someone please tell me what it stands for. I don't have as much skill as some of our sketchers out there but this is my start. I would like some info on photographing art works.... as in all things photographic, lighting is the key element. In the case of "Kitty" I think there might be too much light and it alters the actual appearance of the layered paint.

Babies with babies

It is really funny how age gives you 20/20 hindsight. I grew up at the tailend of the whole hippie shindig. We broke the barriers of sexual freedom and broke a few wine bottles while we were at it. Unfortunately when it was all over and everbody went onto something else.... I was still a hippie at heart. Hippies became Yuppies, and previous worship of love and peace became a love of amassing goods and aquiring power. I kept the hippie alive and well by failing to fit the new mold. I preferred to persue the art of creative pursuits from writing to dancing.

I decided to live my life stepping over lines while stepping on all sorts of toes while I was at it. One of those lines was having a baby at the young age of 16. My daughter grew up to have her child at 16 and god only knows what her 14 year old daughter will do. I have always had a love of teenagers, perhaps being a time-warped hippie has something to do with that. The "question authority" thing that all teenagers seem to have appeals to me. So alllll that being said, when my girlfriend came to me and asked me to take "Demi Moore" shots of her teenage daugher (with Belly), I went for it. It kind of back fired on me though because artistically it really worked. The photos are really beautiful and the enduring message to the children is that they were welcomed and loved.

The subject in this photo was joking around when she grabbed an old Raggedy Andy of mine, and pretended to nurse her baby. What resulted was a sober moment captured by the camera. Do you think she heard her childhood passing her by?

B&W

Here is my favorite B&W taken on my trusty, dusty ol' manual Canon camera. This is my favorite "Baby in the Belly" shot (left). I cannot seem to get the same depth of fields in my automatic Canon Rebel that I can with that old manual camera. Must be doing something wrong. Time to do spring cleaning I guess and find my old manual camera.

Maternity Shots

This is a shot to the left was taken at that "magic hour" when the sun is just about to go down. I shot this with an old manual 35mm Canon. I loved that camera. It got misplaced when I moved. sigh. Remeber to shoot quickly and perpare for this time because it goes by so quickly.

The Golden Hour

For those that are photo enthuiasts that are just starting out, you have to know that the golden hour to shoot (literally) is 1-2 hours before the sun sets. When the sun hangs low and gets that wonderful golden glow, you can get photos that appear magical. The sun creates a golden halo around the object being shot and the color of the light is a flattering gold. Place the subject with their back to the sun and then shoot the picture. It helps if you have a flash because as the subject faces you they fall in the shadow. Step back a good 10-12 feet from the subject to use your flash or you will light up the subject and cancel out the advantages of the setting sun. Use your Macro to get a closer shot.

Now it is understood that you cannot always get this lighting, I have yet to figure out how to replicate it artficially an make it look just as good. When I figure that on out I will get back to you. There is just nothing that can replace good natural lighting. I have 10 years of shooting experience and although it isn't much I give you the benefit of my limited knowledge. Anybody out there get those Golden Hour photos that I am talking about? Let me know.

Film VS. Digitial

Film or Digital

When I was in college the big buzz in Media was “Which was better; Film or Digital images”?. My education consisted of learning to practice basic photography and processing, while also learning the new digital imaging. HDTV was just beginning to take prominence and I had the unusual position of learning my craft at the handoff of image, from film to digital. There was quite a debate raging and after the last 10 years of that debate, digital has finally become the standard.

BUT
Is digital best? I don’t think so. I believe that each medium has its merits. While it can be argued that film has been relegated to use only in high art, I feel that is still has a purpose and in some ways is quite superior. The pure image comes from film; it is not pixilated and all the edges are touching. We have become so used to looking at a digital image and seeing the artificial crispness, we see that as preferable over the film image. If we look at a film image we see all of the edges touching and that makes us perceive the image as blurry. I believe that the film image is a more organic or natural expression of the image. The soul of the image is found in film.

As a photographer I have defended the use of each medium because there are just too many instances where film is more appropriate. Whenever shooting weddings or any occasion of the heart, using film gives a softer focus and deeper shadows. It is definitely a more romantic version of the image. When I shoot a wedding I use two cameras, one film and one digital. Additionally, many film studios shoot on film and transfer to digital so in some cases film is still the standard. Of course the technology improves itself so quickly that soon the digital image will completely replace film and it will be able to re-create even the subtleties of film. However, it will never replace the thrill of putting photography paper into developer and watching that image appear like magic.

Black and White film has a look that is very distinctive. In Film school it was said by an instructor of mine that "when all the color is taken out of an image all that remains is emotion". I suppose what is being referenced here is the shadowplay that occurs in B&W photos. Recently there has been an effort to solve the problem of B&W processing by making B&W on color film. This really excited me because out-labbing B&W is very costly and time consuming. I have shot a roll of B&W on color film with about 5 weddings. I have found that the image comes out in a tin-type (brown) which appears as though it is old-fashioned but still it is not B&W. Additionally this type of B&W film does not have the sharp look that B&W has, so I will continue to use the expensive, time consuming B&W film when I feel it is necessary for this type of imae

Finally in defense of using both methods of recording image, digital is so immediately gratifying. You shoot the image and in a matter of minutes transfer images to your computer without the hassle of processing. How cool is that? It makes getting an image much less expensive and faster. This makes it possible to use photography virtually anywhere and judging by all the camera phones out there we see clearly that digital is here to stay.

In conclusion, I can make a clear case for merits in both mediums and as a photographer will continue to use both forms to capture image.