An effective photograph is worth a lot

An effective photograph ‘speaks’ to us, instantly, in a very quick, guttural way. We feel something when we see those types of  images. The older (pre-language) part of our brain responds to the image and we have an emotional response inside of us. This happens even before we can say why we like the image or why we don’t-This response is part of the goal of ART.

They say a photograph is worth a thousand words. I disagree with that. Some images may be worth only a few words (at best). Some may be worth  much more in the story they tell, or the interest they garner and often leave the viewer with wanting to know more or see more. The latter are the types of images we hope to create and share. They are the images that speak to us.  A journalist may feel the need to label the above image with the who, where and even what… Is it really necessary to say what the two girls are doing? Do we really need to know ALL the details? Part of appreciating art is the conversation  we concoct around the art experience, isn’t it?

So often i see photographers- usually those who are younger or just starting out- who feel its necessary to ‘explain’ each of their photographs when showing them them to others. Why? Why not let the viewer decide and have the experience of processing the pictures shown to them as part of their art experience. As a photographer you have obviously been ‘taken’ or interested in a scene, people or experience enough that got you to click the shutter then thought enough of the image to show it to others. Why not let your viewers form their own opinions?

You know what this is

Sometimes the viewer will want to know who or where..

“Who” and “Where” are often natural questions. Sometimes the answer is implicit in the photograph, such as a picture of a ball player at a stadium. Sometimes its not. Sometimes it really doesn’t matter where its taken because the image is not about the Where- Its about the subject or subjects (expressing) emotion. If you’re a journalist then you are a journalist and the details are part of your ‘story’.. If you’re an artist then, by definition, you are granted artistic license and the only explaining you need to do is how you present your image.

One of the things I enjoy almost as much as visiting art museums and taking in the art though all the relevant senses is watching other patrons of museums taking in the art. Perhaps my art also includes the art of human interaction; Observing others as they see, feel, and take in the exhibit or work of art. Watching other interact is a developmental process- seeing how someone notices, then looks, then absorbs, processes and then digests and finally moves away from the art. Its a fascinating process to be a witness to. Though sometimes the process happens so rapidly its almost like a reflex on the viewers part. They may seem to -almost instantaneously- see, absorb, process and react to the exhibit this usually is most noticeable when the art is objectionable to the viewer..

I’ll post here a number of examples of  ”Arting”.. by the way if you’re wondering if ‘arting’ is a verb, or any part of speech save your time… its not at least not yet. Though, like all art you’ll either get it or you wont.

A few examples of children arting-

Arting at Mass MOCA

Arting in SOHO, NYC

Children Arting

Child Arting

MFA, Boston, MA- Asset appreciation?

Will continue to watch the art community watching the art.. Leave comment if  there is interest in seeing more in the future.-

Photographer Steve

Some graphic thoughts of a recent sojourn to Mass Moca.

Exalting in the Art at Mass MOCA- North Adams, MA

A few more from this aspect of the exhibit:

Art in Space

MORE:

Floor ART at Mass MOCA

When i’m unarmed-without my Nikon- i’m usually packing an iphone. Now while its not my camera of choice for most creative shoots and general photography it does come readily available and is quick and easy to use.

I recently found myself wanting to capture a moment when a friend was with her young daughter. I snapped a few images. While i had the picture in my head i wanted, it just didn’t work out that way using the camera phone. What i wanted was a short depth of field (shallow focus)on the subjects, and the background blurred. Unfortunately, with the camera phone it pretty much is an all or nothing focus at such close distance.  The actual picture is #1.

So, to ‘make’ the picture as i had seen it in my minds eye required a post production workout. First, I took it into PS and got an effect i liked. Why? Why didn’t I leave the color in the picture as taken? Well, because i didn’t feel it (the colors in the original image) really added anything to the feeling tone of the intimate image, so i created a duotone image (primarily two colors and white) Picture #2.

Finally, to more accurately isolate my subjects I created a black layer in PS and proceeded to erase only the area i wanted the viewer to see. In the process of erasing the idea of a heart came to to mind. So, the final image (Picture #3) was born.

Original Iphone photo #1

While this is an acceptable picture. I felt it lacked intimacy by the de facto inclusion of  the other objects present in the picture. So i needed to think about how better isolate the subject within the already captured image. So…

iPhone photo with Duo-tone applied and bump up in black levels

I cropped the image. Good start, though was still distracted by the piece of electronic equipment below the subjects. So, I applied a black mask and ‘earased’ out only the area i wanted to see.

iphone photo with Duo-tone and black mask applied

Newport, RI

Steven Schwartz

Ok, photographers, aspiring photographers and art enthusiasts…

Another day of aerial shooting the nearly famous J-Boat races in Newport, RI today. Lots of really cool shots, today, however i want to show how using various post production techniques (the digital developing and image enhancements)  can effect what you see and the impact a particular image has on the viewer.

Here is a quick lesson in the use of post production photography techniques and how they  can influence what we see and pay attention to…

What do you think…

Below i’m posting three iterations of one image from  Saturdays J- Boat championships. All three images are the same shot except for the ‘lightroom’ work preformed on each image.  The first is the actual image. The second is black and white (yup, obvious), and the third is a technique called split toning. Which image is highest on the ‘wow’ factor? Which images keeps your eyes longer? What do you notice in the color photograph? What do you notice in the Black and White that you may have not in the color one? What do you notice first in the duo tone image? Which image has the most impact? Why?

Click twice on each image TWICE to enlargen it for full impact.. (yes, i know ‘enlargen’ is not…)

Here is the color image:

J-Boat Image Color

2.

Black and White:

J-Boat Black and White

3.

Duo Tone Image:

Black and White then convert to Duo Tone

4.

Finally The same image but cropped to give visual ‘lead in’..

Black and White with Duo Tone and "lead in" cropping

Which image would you hang on your wall (assuming you liked the subject)?

Which image- when you first saw it- got you to say ‘wow’?

Which image would you expect to see as a ‘news’ photograph?

Which image did you spend the most time looking at?

There is, of course, no correct answer for most questions. As a photographer and instructor what i try to get others to see and understand is HOW they see an image. Understanding what really catches your eye (and probably most others as well) is a huge key in constructing your images for the greatest impact.

Constructing images? Framing, cropping, exposure, subject placement, post production techniques are all part of the image ‘construction’ process we will cover in the future.

Do you like what you see? Are you looking for particular tutorials with specific photographic subjects or concepts? If so drop the funtographer a line. Your input will be helpful to the future direction of the funtographer blog.

Lastly, remember; Enjoy photography! Make it a blast learning, shooting and editing. Become a funtographer!

Newport, RI  June 15-19 2011

Steven Schwartz

J boats and Newport, RI… Amazing sailing vessels are these are; Big, Huge sails, and lots of crew members. These J Class Boats are amazing to watch as they slice through water with power and ease.  My images today were taken about the ‘spacious’ Cessna 172. Shooting quick moving images from a fixed wing aircraft has its own set of challenges; having to quickly frame and shoot with the vibration of the aircraft, lighting changes, and restrictions in airspace and how close you can come any object.

Below i’ve posted a few images from one of the races. Whats of particular interest is the multitude of other watercraft that are ‘chasing’ the race boats.. at times they are bold, at times erratic; seemingly getting way to close. These other boats are kinda like ‘Nautical Groupies’ … following their big sailed rock star… FYI…the bridge in the background is the Newport Bridge..  more images to follow in Sunday’s posting.

Click on image for full size

Its a cold January day and its time to get some images done. Todays a ‘home studio’ day so i decided to break in the new light tent and shoot some unusual flowers.  I picked these cool things that i don’t exactly remember the name of though sure one of our readers does…. So, take a look at these images and see what they remind you of. In our next article i’ll show you the whole ‘light tent’ set up and how it works for this type of product photography shooting.

These images are taken with natural light. The vibrance of the actual images are spectacular. They remind me of fireworks.. Fleuric-fireworks..

Notice above how just a slight change in light can yield remarkably different results in images. It pays to pay attention to the quality of the ambient light.

Cousin Flowers

What are your thoughts on this fleur-fest? Which do you prefer the individual shots or the cousin-twin shots?

Next time we’ll show you the set up we used to capture these images.- Steve