Photo of the Wek #227

I’ve been a live music photographer for many years. I started by making contacts and getting into a few small shows. It began to snowball a bit once I got going and it led to more shows and eventually, I was shooting some pretty big names, even some heroes that I grew up listening to.

The pandemic happened and changed the world. During the lockdown period when music wasn’t happening, it gave me time to reflect and rethink my perspective. I was using mainly one camera body at the time that was getting a lot of clicks on it. I was literally using my camera up for a job that pays nothing. That’s right, none of the outlets I know of in my area pay a cent. Do others want my work? They sure do, but no one thinks they have to pay for it.

Since we have gone back to having shows, I have found that I just don’t have the interest like I did. I no longer want to spend so much time away from home. It costs me to produce my work and it is a skill that not everyone possesses so I feel I should be compensated for it. Photography has been devalued over time because of the flooding of cameras to the masses and there are now lineups of people who think it’s so cool to see their images used by outlets or bands, they will happily give them away for free.

Steve Earle

Photo of the Week #226

I was asked the other day what the shutter speed was and I had to look it up as I had no idea. I shot this at 1/1000 of a second. This required a higher ISO of course which some try to avoid due to noise issues. I would rather make sure I get the shot than have a blurry one, besides, high ISO isn’t really what causes noise, poor exposure does. Today’s noise removal software works very well nowadays anyway. This particular shot required nothing in the way of noise removal.

This image was chosen in a club competition as first place in November. I’m proud of this accomplishment because Nature isn’t my strong suit. At the end of the year, the photo also was judged as “Photo Of The Year” as well.

Gannet With Food

Photo of the Week # 225

I’m old enough that I have shot film. I remember the days of taking film to the store and having to wait to see my pictures. Back at that time, my pictures were just snapshots but that anticipation of seeing those prints was there just the same. Nowadays, what do we do with photos taken? The vast majority live out their days on a hard drive somewhere and don’t see the light of day. Some get put on Instagram or some other social media to collect likes.

I believe that there is something missing from so many workflows these days……..prints. There is nothing quite like holding a print of your work in your hands, something substantial for your efforts. Lately both my wife and I are taking advantage of our hard work and we have printed out a few of our things to hang in our home. What a feeling of satisfaction comes from that!

Obviously we can’t print out everything we do, we don’t have enough walls, but once in awhile you have that special piece that you just want to see large. Surely you have photos that mean something for various reasons, trips to far off places, family times, or just a special photo that you’re proud of. Why not make up a print and hang it on your wall, or maybe give away as a gift? In my opinion, the print is the final step in the photographic process, don’t just store those images on a hard drive for no one to ever see.

Editing, What Is Crossing The Line?

I recently had something come up that got me thinking about editing. I like editing and believe it is a normal and essential part of the photographic process. This is where you add your artistic vision into your photo. I’m not a believer in letting my camera process my photos, that’s why I shoot in RAW 100% of the time. That said, where do you cross the line? How much is too much?

I had a judge in a competition give me a comment that I should change the sky in the photo below. I always at least consider judge’s recommendations but this is a bit different, that isn’t something I typically do. When I do photography, I do my best to attain images that are appealing but also real representations of what I saw in the field. If I comp in a new sky every time I get a less than perfect one, is that ok? Is that image still a representation of what I saw when I was there? Not exactly.

My take away in this case? Competition judges assess your photos using criteria they have learned and I find they see things rather technically. Just because an image falls short in a competition doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad image. A technically imperfect image can at the same time be an aesthetically pleasing one. Shoot and create for yourself. It’s defeating the whole purpose of photography to try and please others. The image below resides on our wall as a canvas and we both enjoy it greatly, that makes me happy.

Photo of the Week # 224

Learning the art of photography is a daunting task if you want to improve. there are many different views on composition, editing and pretty much everything else. The trouble is that like everything else in art, it is subjective. Personally, I follow several YouTube photographers and that helps to inspire me in my own work. Sometimes I may run across a photographer that makes me second guess myself and what I do. This is a time that I have to remind myself that I have to stick with what I feel is the right approach for me. Since I am creating my work for me first, I have to stay true to myself. If others like it, that’s wonderful, but if not, that’s ok too.