Photography is a never ending journey.
There are no one way roads and many exits to explore on your travels. There have been many changes since the first known photo and there will be many more. Be that change.
LEAVE NO TRACKS
SILO CITY OPERATION MANUAL
Since this is normally about doing better photography leave no tracks has nothing to do with things in the wild or your foot steps across the sand. Next time you go shooting with a group take the time to observe some of the photographers especially the new or inexperienced. The better photographers look the subject matter over and decide what to shoot or shoot many photos to capture the views they feel are important. When working they hardly notice others and conversation will be more small talk until they are finished with the subject matter. New photographers will ask a lot of questions. What's your camera settings especially ISO. They will watch others waiting for their turn trying to capture the same shot. I have had some look for the tripod marks and line up on them. I never did that but I did take similar photos others were taking. That's what I knew. I shot what was there when I arrived as I happened on it and then walked away. Better photography is not shooting what everyone else does. It is not viewing others work and making that same image. If the light isn't right I move or move an item to the light or wait till the light moves. I make light when needed. If I set up a shot I try to never leave it that way. I move something I move it back. It is your creativity here. That will not guarantee you the best photo or the only photo taken it will help you be creative instead of just having whatever everyone else did. I shoot things a little darker than I used to. It creates mood. Portraits may be better a little over exposed. There is no right or wrong if you like it. There are many things photographed over and over and that's ok too. Sometimes it is just what it is and you do the best you can to make it your own. These are called Iconic.
Iconic photography is just that. Yosemite half dome for example. You aren't moving it and so many people have taken photos because of people like Ansel Adams as well as others. It just is and if you want that photo take it, print it and hang it to enjoy. You still should try to take it in different light, time of day or hope for a sky no one has seen before. Taking better photography is a quest that should be never ending and even you can take the same photo again and again with different results. Return at different times of the year, change your camera settings, shoot hot or dark and maybe try some HDR.
WANT TO SHOW BETTER PHOTOGRAPHY
Everyone is taking pictures by some device or another. Everyone is posting those photos on a media site. Facebook is a big one and I do use it mostly to share with family and friends. Also to let others know what I am up to. I do post some things from time to time. However, posting a quality photo to the sharing sites may not be the best place if you are trying to show case something. They resize and do some other things and if you spent time processing it the photo will not be as good as when you post it. Another reason I like media sites is reading the groups I belong to. Sometimes I learn what not to do. I often post a link to the photo from my web site in lieu of posting the actual photo because the photo looks so much better at the website than on the media sites. It also allows me to link many photos at once instead of having them posted multiple times. If you post it on Facebook anyone can download it. They can screen print it from any site but the quality of a screen print is not as good as getting a free download. There are many reasons to post the link. It also helps with driving traffic to your website and increase rankings. The higher the rankings the closer to the top of the search engine when someone searches your subject matter. More Traffic more opportunity to sell photography or any other service you want to offer. I don't take photos to sell but I do want to show them at their best. If I do sell something it's a bonus. I used to build and maintain my own site and have since bought into one of the sell your photo sites. You can customize them enough to not look like a stock site. No programing and a shopping cart is available based on the plan you buy into. They can take care of everything from taking payment, printing and shipping wherever you want. I tried Smugmug first but found it difficult to use. It's been awhile and all the sites have made improvements over time and no one site will be perfect. Do your research if you go that way. Most people can't build a website and paying for it can be costly. Also you can't be out doing better photography if you are managing a website. If you want to sell it gets more complicated. I prefer to shoot more.
If you are taking better photography why not take a little more effort and show it at its best. Show only your best. After all isn't that what its all about.
WHY DOES ISO HAVE TO BE SO SCARRY
RICKETS GLEN, PA
ISO seems to be something confusing to most photographers. It did me at first. There is no real meaning to the letters except you are supposed to equate it to film speed. Film speed how many today knows what that is either? I find that when I understand what something means or does I can remember what it is when I need to use it. ISO. if you think about it as a window blind. Want more light open up the shade until you do. As simple as it sounds a camera still has limitations on the use of ISO. It does let more light on the sensor but it also adds some noise. Noise is a grainy effect on the photo. Even some grain can be good or learn some Photoshop to help manage it. ISO does not factor in the creativity of taking better photography but it allows you to push shutter speeds or F stops to stop movement blur or deep depth of field when you need it. Pushing your ISO lets you hand hold a camera longer in low light. Street photographers, moms chasing kids, entertainment venues you might need to push that number to get enough light. The school of thought is to have your shutter speed to match the focal length of your lens. Hand held cameras you still need a minimum shutter. If you are shooting with a 14 MM lens 1/15 of a second off the tripod can result in blurry photos. I shoot a lot of low light sport events and start off with an ISO of 6400 to 12800 on Friday night football games. I shoot at F2 or F2.8. I need no less than 400 shutter speed to prevent the blur of running or throwing during the game. I can't go any lower F stop so now I have to look at the last option ISO. The perfect world you want the lowest number mine is 100. I can tell you I rarely use the lowest number unless I am doing creativity with long shutter speeds. I need shutter to shoot sports, wildlife and even people that are continually moving in the frame. Creativity with smooth creamy backgrounds, catching a raindrop on its way down or a milky waterfall makes great photography but you still have to get the shot. Shooting in extreme low light I push the ISO because I read the longer the shutter is open the noisier the photo can get from over heating of the sensor. Film never had that problem. People who need to get the shot wedding, news and other documentary photographers tend to buy the more expensive cameras to enable the high ISO capabilities. The newer cameras are providing that opportunity with better or high ISO. One time you had to spend $5000.00 to even think about it. So there a few choices in regards to ISO. If you want to always shoot low ISO pick subjects that don't move in low light, always use a tripod or quit shooting when the light fades.
I prefer to open the window shade and let some light in when I need to.
BACK TO SILO CITY HOPING FOR BETTER PHOTOGRAPHY
NO WAY OUT
I found out a long time ago you can't rush and then be totally happy with the results in any endeavor especially if you want better photography. SILO CITY is a large area with many opportunities for any type of photographer. My last trip to the Silos in October 2014 was the same amount of time, the same amount of buildings but the weather was totally different. I made a plan to shoot the spiral staircase that I didn't know existed until the end of the time. I went looking but didn't find it. I can't pass up a great staircase in great light so that was my mission. That is where this type of work shop excels. I needed help finding it. So besides the help with photography you can get help finding things to shoot. Jim the caretaker knows the place better than anyone and if you can describe it he can get you there. Being a big place there may be more than one way and he can tell you the best one. Not that it will be easy anyway you go. The first day I found the stair case and spend a lot of time working my way from the bottom up. The light ever changing because of the window or opening in the missing wall structure. I did not go all the way up but thought I was close. I wasn't. I really wanted to get to the top for a photo op on the rope at the top of the elevator so after a long day I decided to back in the morning and try again.
The next morning I was talking to Jim about it. He told me another way without going up from the bottom. It turns out the last visit I was about 20 feet from the stair case and never saw it. Just a simple right instead of left opened up a new area I had completely missed last trip. This day was different light and a different view and I would like to think it was a better photography day. I made the attempt to go to the top but the cat walks got smaller and smaller and the building opened up with missing side walls. One more flight and I couldn't do it. Not a fan of heights anyway. Going down the stairs was much easier that going up. The perspective of a stair case changes when looking up or looking down so I took a few more photos hoping I get the photo I want.
This workshop had a lot more people which I was concerned about having to wait around for my turn. Not so in fact in 3 days I may have seen 5 others in the same place at the same time. This trip I did not go into two of the buildings at all and a third only to use the stair case to get over to the spiral stair case. I still found two areas I had not seen before and since the weather and light was so much different I reshot a few things from before at different angles and distance. I also had a goal to get some backgrounds for composites. Last trip is was shooting with Cliff Lenderman who was there for that purpose. I just never thought I would want them. How things change. That meant I wanted to get back to Concrete Central for some graffiti. I am not a people person but Mark Maio who runs the workshop ask me if I did portraits and we ended up doing a mini shot with Mark and Liliana Heckler. I kind of like what I shot and maybe I need to think about doing the model workshop offered by Bill Woody and the Silo City workshop.
|
MARK MAIO |
LILIANA HECKLER
MODELS NOT INCLUDED |
Some of the things I took notice that were workshop related; someone went from point and shoot to using an SLR on full manual, several people trying out medium format cameras supplied by Chris Snipes of Capture Integration , there were some with camera and lens rentals and a lot of information sharing. Everyone got along and helped each other. Information flowed. Mark was talking to someone and mentioned he would rather under promise and over deliver. Although I didn't need much help in taking a photo the opportunity to go there I did learn a lot by seeing what others did and listening to how people approached photography in general. Thanks to Jim and hope to stop in and visit next time I'm in Buffalo.
I said it last time and feel even stronger that if you never went to a work shop this one will put the others to the test for how a work shop should be done.
THE SPIRAL STAIR CASE OF SILO CITY
BETTER PHOTOGRAPHY TRY A PROJECT
Many or most photographers take photos in their daily movements of things around them. Some photographers make time to look for things to take photos. And then there are the photographers that see the photo before they take it. Taking that photo may not occur naturally. Sometimes you have to create that shot. This is another level of better photography. People are not my thing. I know I am not good at it and no matter what happens I leave the shoot with way too many things I could have done. For now I have to know the person to give me an incentive. I have been playing with light painting in my abandoned photography and have been fairly happy using a flashlight or speed light trying to get the effect of light on an object. All light is painting the subject whether a natural window or some form of mechanical light. Photography is all about the light and good light or lack of makes better photography. I wanted to make the image above. I had a subject and wanted a theme shoot but I needed lighting. I decided I didn't like anything I found commercially at the time and did not know if I would do it again so I made my own strip lights. The project started on a request from a friend to get a senior photo of her son. You know the classic pose that mom's want on the wall. John is an exceptional athlete and will play Lacrosse in college. I thought I would morph him from a senior into a LAX player. I wanted to control the light so I set up my garage and spent hours shooting myself testing the effects of the light settings and position of each light. My thought was to be ready the second he showed up and get it done as quick as possible to help keep the event as nice for him as possible. For this shoot I used 3 lights. The two strips I made and an octagon light box for fill. I wanted the strips to be the main light to give the edgy look. It also makes it better for composite later. It took forever to get John to show up. About 2 months of setting up the garage and just waiting. I have two windows that I covered to choke off as much ambient light as I could. I ask him to bring all his gear and told him what I wanted to do. He played High School at two different schools so he brought shirts from football, LAX and A Seton Hill shirt. When he showed up he didn't come prepared for the mom shot so we did some sports theme using what we had. He saw a photo similar to the above and started asking about doing something. He didn't know I had that on the list. I also had in mind to do a composite dropping a stadium in the background. The stadium I took earlier in the year at dusk and turned it into a pro look lights and all.
I had issues with the lighting. I used radio triggers a common practice. I bought the PW AC3 controller thinking I could change the light on the fly but I couldn't get it to work the way I wanted. It is much easier and faster if you can work from the camera. Later I found the problem. ME. Read the directions first! Each light was on its own zone so I could turn off a light from the camera. To take this photo I just turned off the box and used just the strips. I kept the shutter speed up to kill the ambient and wanted to keep the gear in focus. I used the 70 to 200 and had just enough room to put my back against the door and get 100 mm focal length. I really like that lens. I like the 200 F2 better but you need some room to shoot at 200mm. So the shoot wasn't perfect and the family liked the photos. I need to try this again and he has a younger brother. He finally came back to finish up but I had to play the mom card. I really wanted to do this as a surprise but I needed the help to get him there.
Settings were, 1/250, F/5, ISO 640 70 to 200 at 102mm. Strips were at 1/8 power speed lights. The fill from the box was 1/8 also.