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.
ABANDONED PHOTOGRAPHY...... STAGING OR NOT
I am a firm believer in making an image and if you stage a shot then OK. Make it your own something unique. I remember making a comment on someone's photo about nice photo but I would have thought about removing a chair that just didn't fit. They replied they never move anything and just shoot what they find. I replied so did the person who staged that shot and everyone else that came upon it. Then they told me how they looked at it and it made sense for them. That's why I try not to comment on anyone's work other than when I like it and all I say is LIKE. I found the above table and paperwork and a sign outside that said engineer room. I thought how it speaks just that. I know they didn't close this place and just lock the doors so someone was involved in this photo. I have been places that closed suddenly and shot what I found. I would call this documentary photography. I like the challenge to make something that is more art in the abandoned photography. I believe that doing the abandoned photography has made me a better photographer. Below is a photo that I found the broom and dustpan somewhere else and took that photo. I found the pile of dirt and went back and moved the pan. The light was really nice and soft in that spot. Natural light from a window made the shot. I usually put things back or somewhere else to make an image that hopefully is the only one. I can tell you that doesn't always work either. Sometimes the staged item is just meant to be there. I found an old wheelchair in a hallway. I moved it to several locations and left it where the final shot was taken. I told my friend where the chair was and when I returned it was sitting right where I had moved it from. I had already took that photo when I first found it. Why was that chair there and why did he place it back? The light was perfect just where it was.
The next time you are out photographing think about making an image instead of taking a snapshot and I think you will become a better photographer even if you are already good. The whole thought process will make you see things differently.
STAGED AT A SILO CITY WORKSHOP
GROUP PHOTOGRAPHY IS MORE THAN A SHUTTER CLICK
Taking people photos is definitely not my thing but sometimes you just have to. When I do it will be family or friends because I can say what I want and not worry about what they are thinking. I am not comfortable when asking people to pose especially larger groups. Doing group shots for me is all about location. You can do studio photography but a great location just adds something you can't make in the shop. If you have a great location inspiration will follow. This shoot happened to be family and I got a request to take some location shots. I'm in Pa and they are in Buffalo and as many times as I have visited I am not familiar there as I would be near home. The first thought was to go to the falls. I know Niagara Falls can't miss and I've been there many times. Draw backs are the number of people there taking photos too. There is a passport issue and I didn't want to get caught up in something that may or may not have happened so I didn't want to use the falls for this shoot. Then I thought about Letchworth Park and there are some waterfalls. I have been there so I had an idea what to expect. Unfortunately someone in the family wasn't feeling as well as could be and Letchworth is a fairly long drive. Nix that idea. My family has lived in Buffalo area for ever, raised some sons and now grandchildren. You would think one of them could think of a place. I have done some family photos before at a local park with a waterfall. I had a lot of photoshopping afterwards due to fencing. Since then someone planted trees right where the sweet spot was and being a weekend I thought packed with people. On the table there was a local magazine with the cover of what to do in Buffalo. My sister looked through it and layed it back on the table not finding anything useable. I picked it up a little later and seen this bridge and read the article. I looked at the location of the park and asked where the location was to her house. A couple of miles. Perfect for many reasons. I love bridges of this type. They give you leading lines, things to do with hands, and the structure helps with those who feel they could loose a few pounds. Water makes for interesting things like reflections, flowers or other plants with color. The photo showed pink Lilies on the water. All we needed to add was some great sky. We got there and there was no water because of low rainfall. The flowers were there pretty much on a mud bed. I could hear some grumbling behind me the pictures might not be as good. I ran into a walker and asked about the bridge and he told me which path to take. It was a short distance from where we parked. Again perfect as we had some young children and they may not want to go along with the plan if we had to walk a long way.
There was the bridge and as we approached I could hear the same comments about maybe there would be a better place. What I saw was a great bridge, color, good sky and happy there was little water to help me stand where I wanted to stand. Lack of water was really working for me. If it had been deeper It would have been softer to walk, get wet or have to shoot from a different angle. Cameras have this funny thing called depth of field and if you have to shoot people at an angle you need to shoot at a high F stop and risk distortion of some of the group. So far I saw nothing but good but then that is what experience teaches us, why you need to practice. The shoot went fairly smooth and back to the homestead we went. After I got home and processed the photos I had the one at the top of the page printed on metal and sent it to my sister. Posted some on line for them and waited for comment. I heard nothing about the terrible location and would the photos be good. It was a big hit.
Practicing for better photography, learning your gear, doing research will make you stand out if that is what you want. This is natural light but it can be done by adding light when needed. Lighting will take some time to learn but well worth it
On a side note the little ones loved the place and you never know what may come out of this, a love of the outdoors?
DEFINING A PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP
SILO CITY OLD FAN
Went Silo City for the third time. Found myself doing some guiding to the other photographers so they could find places. The chief photographer and founder of the Silo City workshop Mark Maio ratcheted up the game. I have to say I miss some of the after hours things since I don't stay at the hotel with the main group but they do offer getting together to discuss the day and helping with processing or other questions that arise during the shop. With all the benefits of going to this place not to mention opportunity to photograph, Mark had a web meeting for those who can attend to showcase and discuss the photos taken during the workshop. He holds the web meeting several weeks later. It gives people time to digest the trip and sort through their treasures. Then you get to hear their thoughts on the images and make comments or ask questions. He shares the web meeting with the attendees of the workshop whether or not you participated or not. I took time to review the recording. Well done by all. I will have to look at some of my photos based on comments made by Mark. I still can't believe I didn't see some of the things showed in the video. I had to chuckle to myself from some of the comments about finding things different when they returned another time. GUILTY. After staging a photo I usually don't let it that way. This time I left several to see how many noticed and took that photograph. Some did. I still found a lot of new things I missed thanks to some of the attendees and a fellow named Mike Broomfield. He took light painted to a level I may not have even considered had I not seen him work. He takes many photos painting parts of the scene and put it together. Sometimes he is painting just the tip of a fan blade. When you consider you need a flashlight to get around some of the areas you would never know in Mike's photos how dark it was. MIKES PHOTOS I could never get that photo the way I do it now. The method he used has me thinking hard about my current equipment and changing to wifi method. The people who run this workshop seem to make each trip better. Weather didn't cooperate as always in Buffalo but it is Buffalo and that is where the Silos are.
I will have to watch the video again.
WHY ABANDONED PLACES MAKE GOOD PHOTOGRAPHY
ONE MAN ELEVATOR SILO CITY GRAIN ELEVATOR BUFFALO NY
Deep in the silos there are these long belts that travel from bottom to top on different floors in the buildings. These belts have at intervals a step and hand hold for the workers to use as a one man elevator traveling through the floor to the level they want to be. I can't imagine doing this and there is no way to make this type of elevator today with OSHA and labor laws. So how would you ever see this? In Abandoned Places standing still just as they were when the work stopped. These places once provided jobs in the local areas where the workers raised families. Abandoned Photography is about exploring as much as photographing things. Finding this and trying to imagine how this worked gives an appreciation to how much better things are today or maybe not. How many people traveled along this belt hanging on as they are moving through the air above the machinery they worked with. The holes a little larger than a manhole would not allow for large people. It sure would have been faster to get around these buildings as I found there were no clear ways to get around the floor layout. Huge wheels, tubing, belts, sprockets, lifts and other machinery needed to be where it was to make the Silos work. I like to set my camera down and walk around looking things over however, I suggest you don't go far enough you loose site of you gear. A place as large and complex as Silo City you can get turned around and have to look for your gear. Silo City is near the area where the workers lived. This area 1st Ward is an interesting place. Small houses in nice neighborhoods have color and style. As I drove to the silos early in the morning I noticed some interesting buildings that need to be photographed and since I travel to Buffalo on a regular basis I intend to check this out and see what I find. And I'll stop in McCarthy's for a little lunch.
TRYING TO GET IT RIGHT, ABANDONED PLACES
I know now that I am going to visit abandoned places at least twice if I can. Silo City, I have been there three times and planning for a future trip. I noticed some time ago that when I look at the photos from the last trip I think of all the things I could have done differently. Photos are not in focus is the main reason. Low light is hard for auto focus if not impossible and manual you still need to see the subject. Silo City is so large that after 3 trips I still find things that I missed. Just too much stuff to overwhelm you especially once. The first visit I ran though the place trying to get everything and ending up with nothing. This time I found myself spending most of the day on one floor and going back the next day. Abandoned places can be dark. Dark enough to cause you to dismiss a room altogether missing opportunities like the one above. Tucked in a wall, room dark enough to need a flashlight to see where to walk nothing else there to get your attention was this fan. I spend about an hour trying different lighting techniques to try and capture something I liked. This final image kind of happened. I lighted it with flashlight, spotlight and a hand held Roto LED trying to make an even cast. The one I liked I held a small flashlight a little to long in one place casting the shadow of the grate. For this trip I bought a tilt shift 24 mm Nikon lens. There were shots I would not have gotten without it. However, HUGE learning curve. The lens moves and needs locked down or I forgot to reset before the next photo. I went back and redid a lot of the photos with the trusty 14 to 24. More practice needed.
I think the lesson learned is plan to go back in the first place and take more time instead of rushing.