Have you ever wondered what it means to be a photographer?
In a way, photographs allow us to be time travelers! I want you to take a minute and think about that concept. Capturing an image is really only a speck in time yet the results defy time. What do I mean?
I have spent the last 30+ years of my life capturing those oh so brief moments in time. When I look back at any of them, I am immediately transported to that time and place where I can almost physically remember the smell of the air, the taste of the food, and even the palpable joy or sorrow of the moment. What other occupation can say that? This is conceptually a heavy burden and is why I continually work to perfect my craft. Even a mediocre picture, when that is all that is left, can have that power. You may scoff at that idea, but I want you you sit back and consider how many times you looked at an image and were teleported back to that exact moment.
I don’t normally photograph people but I did when my sons were growing up. I usually try to do everything I can to keep people out of my images. It was Pura’s nudging that compelled me take images during our travels with the boys and my parents. Even at home she chided me to take images at family events. Today, I am forever grateful that she did. I have a digital picture frames playing all the time on a loop in my house of many of those images and I consider it one of my most priceless possession. It takes me back to those moments, even after my father has passed. What other craft has that ability?
My wildlife photography generally lasts just a fraction of a second in most cases. My most famous image, of the Wildebeest crossing the Mara River, immediately gets my heart pumping when I see it hanging in my house! That image allow me to recall not only where I was but also whom I was with fulfilled a childhood dream!!!
I wake up every morning to these images of my sons (this is an iPhone pic)… from Sears of all places, close to their first birthday, hanging in custom frames I made. In this image, their huge smiles are definitely deceiving. They weren’t actually happy… as a matter of fact they were really cranky! The simple infant game of peek a boo with their dad brought the smiles to their faces as an exasperated Pura and photographer did their absolute best to capture that moment. The power of that image, even though not mine, is very palpable and puts me in that moment.
Now imagine a world without those images. Our minds will eventually fade as we age, so photographs are most likely the only thing that will allows us to reliably go back in time and we must do everything we can to preserve them. When I am long gone, I can rest easy knowing that my images will allow my children, family, friends, and future generations to time travel with me. Next time you press that shutter, remember what you are actually capturing. That is the real power of a photograph.
I have been photographing for about 30 years now and I just can’t help but think that I have been chasing the sun for just as long. The image above is around 20 years old (slide) and was probably the first to really drive the point home of when I needed to be out in the field, even if I skipped the rest of the day. I am constantly drawn to that pre-dawn and after sunset light that just makes landscapes magical, so I have put together two new programs: one to debut on Monday at the B&H Optic 2017 event and the other to debut at the NECCC annual conference later in July. I hope you can come and see these programs where I will share with you my first love, landscape photography, and my how my passion for it has not diminished and continues to feed my soul.
Whether it is a dramatic sunrise/sunset or a beautiful red flower, the color red is a challenging color to photograph. Why? In today’s digital photography world, most pros have taught you to push your histogram to the right edge without touching it and using your highlight alert indicator to show that you have no/very few blown highlights (aka blinkies). I teach this all the time on my workshops but did you ever take a picture with a lot of red, orange, or yellow in it and the color looked horrible even though your combined histogram looked perfect? We all have… and I really don’t have the answer as to why but I do have the solution for you. When photographing very vivid reds, oranges, and yellows, make sure you activate and check your RGB histogram. You will often see in these situations that your combined histogram looks perfect but the red (or sometimes the green) channel is clipped. Solution….underexpose until the channel is not clipping. Someone once tried to explain to me why this happens to the combined histogram but all I heard was the whah, whah, whah, whah, whah, whah Charlie Brown adult talk, In my opinion that shouldn’t happen but at least now you know the solution!
Many elements have an effect on the success of an image including color, composition, and subject, but it needs to have an immediate impact if it is to be truly successful and the most overlooked aspect of composition is composing vertically. It is by far my favorite element and combined with an ultra wide-angle lens and great clouds, makes the difference between average and spectacular. Compare these two images from my just concluded workshop to Iceland. The image below is from a higher vantage point at the falls of Mt. Kirkjufell with my new Sigma 12-24mm f/4 Art that shows the curve of the foreground and the entire scene with a pretty awesome sky I may add. I really like it but prefer the vertical image up top with the closer view of the falls and the sweeping sky! Why? To me the vertical emphasizes the form of the falls as well as the sky with both images at nearly the same focal length (the horizontal at 12mm and the vert at 13mm).
You should always consider shooting vertical out in the field and given that you have nothing to lose in the world of digital photography…. just take both versions and decide which you like best when you get home!
PS Magazine covers are vert!!!
Maybe it is that I am leaving once again to lead one of my tours…….maybe it’s just me getting a bit more sentimental as I get older….. but it just occurred to me that I would be away on March 4th. I hope you will indulge me as I share with you why this is perhaps the most important day in my life!
The specific date is March 4th, 1983. March 4th doesn’t appear to be a special date on the surface. I remember the cartoons in the papers used to have a little boy marching forth but I was never sure why but just for a play of words. To me, that date is much more significant because that day, I had my first date with Pura! The movie we went to see that night was 48 hours starring Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte. It is hard to believe that 29 years have passed since that first date!
Over the years, she has been the foundation of my family and friends yet has never sought or received any glory. She did give me my first camera one Christmas and from then on has hung on, with both hands, to the roller coaster ride that I have taken her on……always making sure that I was the one who landed on my feet. She has given me my two greatest treasures in my sons; Gregory and Ian. Every morning that I wake up I count my blessings for all of them and realize just how lucky I am to have her beside me! March 4th will always be her day…….so let the spotlight shine on you this day my love!
Pura, you have not only earned the spotlight, but deserve it more than me. You have never given up on me…..even when I had my doubts. You are the only reason for my success professionally and also as a husband, father, and son. When I get home, I’ll make some popcorn and rent 48 Hours…….because it is always March 4th in my heart with you. Thanks for always being there for me and making me shine and I just wanted to let the world know the real reason behind my success!
