Photography

Photography of the Italian Eye

Jeff

The Painter Constructs, The Photographer Discloses

Photography is a significant interest of mine and to stay motivated and informed, I follow quite a few photography blogs. Through these blogs, I become aware of other photographers and their work. I am awe struck by the photography talent that is exhibited across the globe.

If you like unique, insightful, intimate and often very beautiful photography, I urge you to visit the site of Danilo Piccioni, The Italian Eye. You Won’t be disappointed!

Guitar player in the bathtub

You don’t have to leave the home page of the website to understand that Danilo is not only talented, but he brings a fresh new perspective to the art form.

It was difficult to pick just a small sample of Mr. Piccioni’s work to demonstrate his breadth and scope, but these are some of the shots I found interesting.

In the picture below, which is the master? Can you feel the bond between these two lives?

Man and Dog Relationship - Love

Two young girls, perhaps sitting together on a train, might be sharing a secret. This is a truly intimate look at friends being deeply connected. I can feel the intensity both in the telling and in the listening.

Best Friends Share Secrets

Danilo certainly understands how to capture female beauty. Without being blatant, the picture expresses sensuality; they eyes, yes the eyes! She is looking at you! The trick here, as in his other photos, is that the picture reveals to the viewer more than is actually shown.

They Eyes of Beauty

Oh…this cat. “What are you looking at?” the cat might be thinking. Don’t you love the lighting and the colors? Where do those stairs lead? Does anybody own this cat?

Marmalade Cat Has Attitude

I want to thank Danilo Piccioni/The Italian Eye for allowing me to use the images for this post. It is a pleasure to be able to learn from so many gifted photographic artists!

If you do nothing else at the website,http://www.theitalianeye.com/, scroll to the bottom of the page until you see:

“Mag-EYE-zine
Here is a magazine format small selection of my work for your enjoyment, click on EXPAND and start flipping thru the pages.”

And click and expand the pictures presented in large format in all their beauty and often juxtaposed thematic presentations. I couldn’t help but be inspired.

A True Artist Is Not One Who Is Inspired, But One Who Inspires Others

All Photographic Rights are reserved by Danilo Piccioni and the Italian Eye

 


JBRish.com originally published this post

The Photographer May Be More Important than the Subject

Jeff

“A photograph is shaped more by the person behind the camera than by what is in front if it.”

Photo-One Man, Six Visions

Those who are professional photographers or serious enthusiasts have probably heard a comment something like the following:


“If I had your equipment, I could also take superb pictures.”

There is a modicum of truth to this and that is, in order to capture certain photographs, specialized equipment may be needed. Having said that, however, I must support the idea that the photographer and not the equipment is the most important ingredient in the creative/artistic equation.

A trained photographer creates a vision of their subject and it is often based upon that particular photographers accumulated skills and past experiences.

The YouTube video below points to the importance of the photographer, their creative vision and the experience they bring to the situation. I don’t want to “spoil” the video so watch it and I am sure you will be able to connect the dots and draw the appropriate conclusion.

In part, here are some of the comments associated with the video on YouTube:

“A photograph is shaped more by the person behind the camera than by what’s in front of it.

To prove this we invited six photographers to a portrait session with a twist. ‘Decoy’ is one of six experiments from The Lab, designed to shift creative thinking behind the lens…

Special thanks to the photographers who participated in this experiment: Chris Meredith, Jin Lim, Lyndal Irons, Kate Disher-Quill, Franky Tsang & Tristan Stefan Edouard.”

If you want to read more about this and the philosophical underpinnings, Pamela Ann Berry wrote a photofocus post about. It is an important lesson to keep in mind.

Hikeographer at the Delicate Arch

Jeff

I guess you could say that I often adopt the role of hikeographer. You might wonder exactly what this is so let me explain. I enjoy photography. I wouldn’t say that it is exactly a passion, but it is a significant interest of mine. I also enjoy hiking and seeing different natural things.

My favorite subjects are scenery, animals (especially birds), flowers and unusual signs. I must admit that I am not one to usually try to time my arrival at a destination to get the best light. I understand that this is one reason I may never be a great photographer and I am willing to accept that limitation.

What I like to do is take my camera with me when hiking and capture the scene at hand to the best of my ability. I apply whatever skills I have learned to render the best picture possible while I am hiking various trails and arriving at remarkable vistas. That is why I refer to myself as a hikeographer. I am a hiker who likes photography.

With that in mind, here are some pictures I took at Arches National Park (ANP),Utah. It is a wonderful place to hike and to photograph. If you enjoy either of these hobbies or both, I highly recommend that you visit ANP.

Most Utah license plates have a drawing of the Delicate Arch on it…so called because it is slowly eroding. If you look at the pictures below, you will note that the left-side leg of the arch is very thin at one point. It won’t be there forever. Several other arches at ANP have already collapsed and are lost to the ages.

If you don’t like to hike, then you can see the Delicate Arch (DA) from a parking lot. Here is a picture taken from the parking lot without a long zoom lens. The arrow points to the DA.

 

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Notice the people walking along the path. This may provide an indication of how far away the arch actually is.

I had a 4x zoom camera so this is the best picture I could get from the parking lot.

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We had hiked all day and the DA was the last planned hike, but we had no idea how difficult this trek would be after such a long day. The incline up to the arch (the trail is from a different area and not shown) is significant so if you are incline-challenged, you may think twice about attempting it.

Once at the arch, however, the scene is spectacular.

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An interesting culture seemed to have evolved at this natural wonder. It is understood, I suppose, that many people would want a picture of the Arch without a person in it and, at the same time, many people want to have their picture taken at the arch. Much to my surprise, people would walk to the arch, have their picture taken and then the next person would wait for ninety seconds (+/-) before moving into place so others can snap away without a person in the scene. This was a very interesting and much appreciated behavior.

Here I am standing near the left pillar of the DA.

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I have some close ups just for the record.

Isn’t this view breathtaking?

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As we began to descend on our return trip to the parking lot, the sun was setting. By the time we arrived at the car, it was dark. This will give you some idea of the slope we needed to climb and as you can see, on the way up it is certainly a HIKE!

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NOTE: These pictures were taken with a Canon A590 IS point-and-shoot camera. It is nowhere near the top of anyone’s line, but as you can see, the pictures are quite nice. It is an 8 MP camera with a 4x lens, but it is quite serviceable. I have since upgraded to a Canon SX50HS; big difference.


JBRish.com originally published this post

Photography: Searching for the Magic Bullet

Jeff

One of the photographers I enjoy following is Karen Hutton because she is different. I have never met her, but I feel that I know her and if you check out her blog, I think you will quickly get an understanding of who she is. Be careful though, she is like a human onion. There are layers upon layers, all interesting, but somewhat hidden until purposely exposed. Oh, did I mention to add a bit of quirkiness?!

Karen Hutton
Photo courtesy of Karen Hutton’s Website

I like to think of Karen Hutton as a photographer-philosopher because almost every post contains both elements. She recently spoke at Photo Plus Expo 2015 in New York City as a Fuji-X Photographer; a designation of honor given by Fuji.

In her most recent post, A Fuji-full Photo Plus Expo 2015!, she issues the following quote:

“…everyone here is seeking that magic bullet. Wants it. Desires that something ‘more’. But do they know what it is? How will they know when they’ve found it? And what will they do once they have it?”

This quote resonated with me because I know so many people who are looking for a “magic bullet.”

As part of her post, Karen shares two picture quotes that she made using her own images. As JBRish readers know, I really like quotes as evidenced by my daily posting of STATUS QUOtes.

Here are the picture quotes she created with her beautiful images. I like the quotes, I like the pictures. I hope you enjoy them as well.

Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.

“Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.” – Rumi

Beauty awakens the soul to act.

“Beauty awakens the soul to act.” – Dante Alighieri

Read more about Karen Hutton and her photography/philosophy.

Video – Photoshop Crop Tool: Not Just for Cropping!

Jeff

I have been following Blake Rudis* and EverydayHDR for a little more than six weeks and I am glad that I did. Let me share one of EverydayHDR’s most recent videos that has enlightened me. Photoshop users know about crop tools and perhaps quite a bit about the Photoshop crop tool, but I did not understand how many options are available for this one tool in Photoshop.

If you use Photoshop, I think you will learn at least one thing, and probably more, about the crop tool after watching this video. Take less than fifteen minutes of your time to check it out.


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*Blake Rudis is creator of the EverydayHDR website which I encourage you to visit. How many experts in a given field do you know who are willing to share their hard-earned knowledge for free? Not many, yet Blake does just that!

While visiting his website, take advantage of the opportunity to subscribe to his newsletter to get new tips and ideas each week. You will be glad that you did!

When I first found Blake’s site, I spent a long looking at the various components and found many that were of interest to me and some that I hope to return to at a later date.

Here are some interesting places to visit on the EverydayHDR website:

EverydayHDR website

EverydayHDR blog (I don’t miss one post)

Subscribe to Blake Rudis’s Newsletter (scroll down until you see the red arrows and the green Sign Me Up! button.)

Free Photoshop (and other) Tutorials (scroll down to select the videos you would like to watch)

To Photograph like a Pro, Learn from a Pro

Jeff

15 Things You Should Think About Every Time You Take a Photo

Jeff Cable is a professional photographer and all around nice guy. He gives workshops on behalf of B&H photo which are top notch. While this is aimed at a professional audience, everyone will learn a great deal from the presentation below.

The video is a little more than an hour in length, but Jeff will give you plenty to think about. He explains what he tries to find in each photograph he shoots. He readily admits that not all of his photos are winners (nobody shoots all winners), but he explains how to stack the deck in your favor by anticipating a variety of factors.

Watch the video below and learn how to see the shot before you press the shutter and how you can improve your image making.

Quoted from the YouTube page hosting the video (emphasis added):

Jeff Cable, who is one of our most popular teachers at B&H, will tell you the things you should think about before hitting that shutter button. It might seem that 15 things is a lot to process before every shot, but Jeff will break it down and make it simple, so that this will become intuitive for you.

For even more tips, hints, pointers and interesting photographs, visit the Jeff Cable Photography website especially the blog.

HDR – Often Misunderstood and Under Appreciated

Jeff

Somehow the HDR, High Dynamic Range, style of photography has gotten a bad reputation in the eyes of some people. Let me explain why I like and use HDR when I can. Now I must admit, I am an HDR novice so I am not speaking from a point of expertise.

Were you ever in the presence of a beautiful scene and you grabbed your camera, adjusted the settings, created a very nice composition and then pressed the shutter release to capture the beauty of what you were witnessing? I think most of us have been there. Have you ever gotten home and looked at that beautiful scene to realize that it doesn’t look as wonderful in the picture as it did in reality? I think many of us can identify with that as well.

One of the reasons for this is that our eyes are capable of capturing a far larger dynamic range of color and detail than a camera is able to record and therefore some of the beauty is lost to the technology. That is where High Dynamic Range helps me. By taking several exposures; one at the correct exposure, one at two F-stops over and one at two F-stops under, and then combining them, we are able to help the camera “see” what we see once the images are combined. We add highlights in the dark elements of the pictures as well as in the brightest parts of the picture. That is what HDR is to me.

Just like everything else, there are those who like to carry things to the extreme and they may over-process a picture and it may look gaudy to us, but that is their vision and that is what makes photography a creative medium. If you don’t like it, that is your prerogative, but let’s not paint all of HDR with the same brush.

Now…let me refer you to Blake Rudis who is considered and HDR expert because of his body of work. He just released a video (also embedded below), Are you an HDR Photography Hypocrite?, explaining the difference between HDR and Tone Mapping and what the relationship is to one another. He addresses those among our peers who might be HDR Hypocrites. I encourage you to watch this short video to understand this point of view and to see how HDR can help capture a scene as it appeared to the photographer.



As the video points out, if you do any processing on your images after they are captured, you are probably using some aspect of HDR even if you don’t think so!

If you liked the video and/or you would like to learn more about HDR photography Blake has created a worthy introduction course that he offers free to subscribers. You can check this out at his website:

Everyday HDR Thanks Blake!

Trey Ratcliff’s Drone Photography in London – Seven Dials

Jeff

T. Ratcliff Drone Shot of Seven Dials-London

 

The picture above was a screen shot taken from Trey Ratcliff’s video below. It is of an area in London referred to as Seven Dials. Here is what Wikipedia reports about the area:

“Seven Dials is a small road junction in Covent Garden in the West End of London where seven streets converge. At the centre of the roughly circular space is a pillar bearing six sundials, a result of the pillar being commissioned before a late stage alteration of the plans from an original six roads.”

If you are interested in how Trey uses a drone to get some amazing pictures, the video below shows his team in action in London. Drones, of course, are not always popular and have gotten some negative press of late, but no one can deny the awesome views they enable.