Posted by Brad Mangas on December 22, 2009 at 2:26 AM
I know this is nothing like I usually post.
I was standing at the edge of a local lake waiting for sunset. The sky was clear but the color was doing fine. But there was an issue. The western sky had (if I remember right) 5 contrails in it. 4 going east/west, one going north/south. Hmm, kinda messes up any kind of sunset shot. So as I have learned and sometimes practice, I shoot what is given me, after all I'm here to learn and have fun. I started shooting the contrails in what was a bluish to reddish sunset sky. The contrails themselves almost glowed orange against the darker sky. They actually were very cool to see.
Ok, so I'm looking at them in photoshop wondering, what am I going to do with these? I processed this shot, adjusted the curves to be tight and had a very colorful image. But it was just kinda boring to me. There is a story behind why I ended up with this final look, but I will just skip to what I did (for those of you still reading this and wondering). A black and white adjustment layer with manual adjustments of the reds, yellows and magenta's to darken the sky and brighten the contrail without overdoing it. Then what I think is the best part of this whole picture is, I "added" noise. I was hoping to get a somewhat film type of look. Not real sure if that is what it is, but I think the noise is the best part of this shot. Then just added a standard brushed aluminum frame provided via ps actions.
Why am I telling all this. Not much more then sharing of a picture, but more and more I seem to find myself curious even intrigued with photography for the sake of photography, not just nature and landscape images which will always be the driving force for my photography. I think at times I have found myself in a type of rut and the more I force myself to do the same thing the deeper of a rut I get into. When I try something totally different it seems to lessen the grip of not being able to achieve what I want. In other words, the more I experiment with non-nature type of photography, the easier I seem to see nature again.
I also believe there can be many parts of a photograph that may be interesting and even desired by some. We seem to get very caught up in the perfection of an image, critical sharpness, perfect composition, the sweet light, absence of noise all the desired necessities that we "need" to make a good photograph. Sometimes I can have all that in a shot and it's still lousy. Why is that? It's extremely fun to explore different techniques in the field and in processing if for nothing else but to expand ones skills. You just don't know until you try. Shoot something you usually don't and process it in a way you usually don't. Then if your brave enough let someone else see it. After all we're just here to learn and have fun.
Posted by Merle Cook on December 22, 2009 at 7:53 AM
Hey Brad, Very well put and I couldn't agree with you more.. We have all heard the stories about going to a certain location to shoot one of the "Icons" of photography only to find dozens of others already there to shoot the same thing. When I surf the NPN forums I begin to see the same thing with "local" icons - repetitive shots of the same location and no real exploration of other subjects.
Our photography should be about experimenting with what we can capture in an artistic way and not digging the rut deeper with the same thing as you stated.
Thank you for posting your thoughts and insights.
Merle
Posted by Larry Fischer on December 22, 2009 at 7:56 AM
Brad, you're a philosopher at heart!
I have a client who's into photography. Her theme is people. I guess people are part of nature in a remote sense but she doesn't do anything else. She has some really nice photos but sometimes we all get into "themes" when there is a plethora of "captures" out there.
I'm glad to see you look beyond limitations we sometimes set for ouselves both with the camera and processing.
And that can be true in our personal lives also, eh? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the post.
the fisch
Posted by Wayne Rhodus on December 22, 2009 at 9:26 AM
Very insightful post Brad, I think you hit the nail on the head. I should put your suggestion into action in my own approach and allow myself the freedom to explore without expectations. Great advice!
Posted by Scott Bean on December 22, 2009 at 7:18 PM
Great post Brad! I've been feeling like I'm in a rut and considering some options to help me out of it, I think your post was exactly what I needed to read! Thanks for sharing your experience with this shot!
Discussion
4 repliesI was standing at the edge of a local lake waiting for sunset. The sky was clear but the color was doing fine. But there was an issue. The western sky had (if I remember right) 5 contrails in it. 4 going east/west, one going north/south. Hmm, kinda messes up any kind of sunset shot. So as I have learned and sometimes practice, I shoot what is given me, after all I'm here to learn and have fun. I started shooting the contrails in what was a bluish to reddish sunset sky. The contrails themselves almost glowed orange against the darker sky. They actually were very cool to see.
Ok, so I'm looking at them in photoshop wondering, what am I going to do with these? I processed this shot, adjusted the curves to be tight and had a very colorful image. But it was just kinda boring to me. There is a story behind why I ended up with this final look, but I will just skip to what I did (for those of you still reading this and wondering). A black and white adjustment layer with manual adjustments of the reds, yellows and magenta's to darken the sky and brighten the contrail without overdoing it. Then what I think is the best part of this whole picture is, I "added" noise. I was hoping to get a somewhat film type of look. Not real sure if that is what it is, but I think the noise is the best part of this shot. Then just added a standard brushed aluminum frame provided via ps actions.
Why am I telling all this. Not much more then sharing of a picture, but more and more I seem to find myself curious even intrigued with photography for the sake of photography, not just nature and landscape images which will always be the driving force for my photography. I think at times I have found myself in a type of rut and the more I force myself to do the same thing the deeper of a rut I get into. When I try something totally different it seems to lessen the grip of not being able to achieve what I want. In other words, the more I experiment with non-nature type of photography, the easier I seem to see nature again.
I also believe there can be many parts of a photograph that may be interesting and even desired by some. We seem to get very caught up in the perfection of an image, critical sharpness, perfect composition, the sweet light, absence of noise all the desired necessities that we "need" to make a good photograph. Sometimes I can have all that in a shot and it's still lousy. Why is that? It's extremely fun to explore different techniques in the field and in processing if for nothing else but to expand ones skills. You just don't know until you try. Shoot something you usually don't and process it in a way you usually don't. Then if your brave enough let someone else see it. After all we're just here to learn and have fun.
Our photography should be about experimenting with what we can capture in an artistic way and not digging the rut deeper with the same thing as you stated.
Thank you for posting your thoughts and insights.
Merle
I have a client who's into photography. Her theme is people. I guess people are part of nature in a remote sense but she doesn't do anything else. She has some really nice photos but sometimes we all get into "themes" when there is a plethora of "captures" out there.
I'm glad to see you look beyond limitations we sometimes set for ouselves both with the camera and processing.
And that can be true in our personal lives also, eh? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the post.
the fisch