Cold Front on the Horizon

When I heard there was a cold front coming through, once of my first thoughts was the imaging potential. Although I don't always get out when there is good light, it is the atmospheric changes that always provide the lighting for your photos. So, a storm or a cold front certainly hold potential for some dramatically lit scenes.

I guess this post is actually concerned with photography planning. Regardless of how much time has gone into planning a photo, it is great to be aware if there is something dramatic happening. At the very least, this means you might take the camera out more often. Photographers always say to take the camera everywhere you go. However, for some of us this is simply not the reality; so, it sometimes requires a little more motivation for keeping the camera handy.

Below is the satellite image from this afternoon's BOM website which I find to be a great resource. As you can see, there's a whole lot of cloud coming in from the west here in Perth which will hopefully bring with it some great photographic opportunities.

I recently stumbled across another planning resource used extensively by photographers across the world is the Photographer's Ephemeris which is essentially a pictorial, map-oriented version of rise and set azimuths of celestial bodies. This is certainly something that I will be quite excited to try out as I have arrived on location numerous times to find the sun setting at just the wrong point. With this tool, it should make the precise azimuths much more predictable. Although long-term weather predictions are quite unreliable, it is certainly helpful to know the climatic conditions of your shooting location.

Key Tip: Be aware of what's happening or going to happen to future light conditions!

The Old and The New

An interesting exercise is to review some old photos and revisit them with some improved skills and photographic thoughts. My apologies in advance for the fluffiness of the post - it is unashamedly a little arty farty. 

The photo below was from a while back and I re-did it the other day. Interestingly enough, I don't think I would have done anything differently at the time of photographing for this one as it's got a certain style that I enjoy.

I suppose it is this style that hopefully remains in any image. Looking back at older photos, I am less than impressed with many of the technical aspects of my photography. However, it is some of those photos that hold some style which I am more happy to revisit. Maybe it's just an odd perspective, an unusual feeling, or a strange sense of reality. The much more recent photo below was taken of a joey  relaxing with its mother and has some similar attributes. Although I would love the larger kangaroo to also have her head down, there is just something about the photo which appeals to my own imagination; this may not appeal to the imagination of another. 

Moral of the story here is this: an ideology that I believe perfuses my photographic drive strips a photo away from it's technical aspects. If photography was purely about technique and image quality, the person with the biggest camera, most gear, and most money would be the winner. However, from this perspective, EVERYBODY can enjoy being part of a creative process. In doing so, they can also communicate something good for themselves and their viewers. Ideally, what someone communicates in their photography is also common to man and can be appreciated by all who see it. 

Takeaway Tip: Enjoy your own artform and practise seeing the good in that of others. 

Black & White Crush

Over the past couple of years, I have developed a strong passion for distinctive black and white images. I think this could be partially attributed to the fact that there are millions of over-saturated and poorly constructed colour photographs. So, as much as I enjoy a great colour photo, I'm always keeping an eye out for scenes that would make good monochrome conversions. Most times, these turn out best if they are pre-planned rather than an afterthought; however, there is always the occasional exception to the rule.

Some fantastic black and white photographers include those earlier people such as Max Dupain (Aus), Frank Hurley (Aus), and the renowned Ansel Adams (US). 

Max Dupain

Ansel Adams

Frank Hurley

                                                                           

I suppose these men did not have the same access to colour that we now have. They were forced to utilise the tools that were available to them which I believe accentuated their ability to use monochrome to its full potential. After taking away the colour, it draws the eye then to the other photographic elements, primarily composition and texture. Correct exposure is critical.

The image above is in some ways a little peek at my next possible exhibition; a compilation of a few portions of most images. Some time ago now, I spoke about the possibility of putting together an exhibition; mostly due to baby circumstances, it didn't come to fruition at that time. I am happy to say that I currently have twelve un-exhibited  black and white images selected. Most of the images have, however, been presented on my blog at some point over the past twelve months or so and it will roughly follow a Southwest WA theme. 

Post-Processing Extremes

When people write or talk about post-processing in photography, they are simply referring to the work they did (generally on a computer these days) after taking the initial frames in camera. It is an inevitable part of every photographers work regardless of exactly what they let on. It is also rare to find an explanation of this side of things outside a good magazine or workshop. For this reason, I thought it would be helpful to present some of what a photographer does off camera.

There is clearly an editing spectrum along which every digital photo can be placed. Here, I will display two from rather opposite ends.

The first is pictured below and sits on the less-edited side. Pictures taken on camera should always aim to have ideal exposure, focus, and composition prior to pushing the shutter. Although I'm not quite 100% satisfied with the composition here (I would like to have included the entire shadow of the man), it is a great example of where things have worked well in the field. From memory, it was taken in one frame, cropped, and minimally tweaked in post-processing.

Compare this with the one below which is closer to the other end of the spectrum. At the time of shooting, I was quite limited by a number of things: extremely limited shooting time, deteriorating camera quality, very low battery level, and quickly changing light conditions. Unfortunately, this resulted in frames requiring greater work in post-processing. I have made a number of editing attempts at this one with yesterday's result being the most satisfactory to date. The quality has been reasonably maintained whilst still getting the image and look that I was after.

Photoshop's in-house stitching function is now quite suitable for most stitching jobs. The image is comprised of a five-frame stitch in order to encompass the desired scene.

The next steps aimed to bring out the details and colours in the shadows below the skyline. This is where pixel count, sensor size (and quality), tripod quality, and file format (JPEG or RAW) become important. I was able to pull out all the detail I wanted. Regardless of the above-mentioned factors, all post-processing such as this always reduces the overall image quality (even if you are working from a medium and large format cameras).

Although the image does not have maximal quality, it has still sufficient quality to use in a reasonably large print. Considering the impossibility of returning to precisely the exact scene for a reshoot, I am pretty happy with the result.

Key Tips:

1. If possible, get high quality images in camera prior to shutter release.
2. Shoot in RAW (or highest possible quality on your camera) to preserve pixel exposures.
3. Remember that every photograph requires some level of post-processing (even if only a slight crop).
4. Get practising and attempt your own edits!

For more detailed tutorials on some photoshop techniques, www.ephotozine.com looks like it has a number of good ones including curve tool, horizons, and dodge & burn. Another place to go for detailed photoshop tutorials is www.smashingmagazine.com some great info on masking, colour correction, and  sharpening. 

Smoke and Fog

Glad to be back with the camera again after a reasonably long time off with baby.

Something I have been wanting to photograph for quite some time now is a good fog scene. After gettting down to -5 C in Wandering the other day, I was provided with just an opportunity. There is a small billabong I have been waiting to photograph seemed just the spot. The morning of the shot gave me a chance to get both in the one image. After getting down to the location, I quickly set up my gear and got shooting. As I was taking 20-second exposures, it was fortunate that my batteries lasted as my charger was left at home. I am personally quite pleased with the result and there is fortunately not much that I would change if I were to retake the image.

4 Key Pointers:

- Imagine the photo before taking the shot
- Plan a specific time and place (for this it was 5:30 AM)
- If photographing before sunrise, think about how you will focus your camera in the dark
- Ensure you have plenty of battery power ready to go before your shoot

A second photo I have long been hoping to get is pictured below. For this photo, there it was very important to keep in mind how exactly I wanted the picture to appear once I was finished. I used a handheld flash here with long exposures and photographed the scene using about 7 separate frames. Because of the darkness, I was able to isolate virtually all the aspects of the image without too much trouble. A small amount of light-engineering was needed for the shot in order to maintain a natural/realistic looking lighting environment. This clearly needs to be done prior to pushing the shutter. Apart from stitching the resulting images, very little was required in post-processing. With only one minor exception, I am quite happy with how it has turned out (I would incorporate a sky/treeline if I ever do a reshoot).

2 Key Pointers:

- Consider lighting angles and intensity before completing the shoot
- Especially during hours of darkness remember to check exposure charts during shoot

Have fun!!

Baby Boy

Time is virtually run out to be taking newborn shots of our little boy. Although he could still possibly pass as an infant, he is quickly becoming a fat, chubby baby. 

However, we have a few shots before getting too big. 

This is one example. Pretty simple set up with black sheet and cushions. Also, tried a few set-up shots with a basket and some leaves which looked quite nice. I can hear him awake now, so he probably is hungry. Slowly starting to think about photography again, so I will be looking forward to taking a few more photos over the holidays!

Something I didn't take into account here was how fast a baby can go from happy to grumpy! He didn't last too long with the flash popping, so shoots can't last for very long. So, trick must be to get the little blighters while they're fast asleep and before they can wake up. 

There are still a few baby shots I can still get, so I'll be getting on to them soon methinks. 

TIPS for Baby Shots:

1. Get them early while they're still tiny - they don't stay tiny for long

2. Get them while they're very sleepy if possible

3. Just do it.