Jeremy H. Greenberg: Blog

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #136 Shooting “Sports” [Colour]

Sun, 30 Dec 2018 10:02:43 GMT

Blog #136 Shooting “Sports” [Colour]

In the last blog post, I listed recommendations for a successful shoot or event. There were items the need attention relating to gear and to you the photographer. Photography is physical. This is the premise that I started with and it is, indeed, physical.

Preparation for a friend’s birthday party, travel, a theatre event, or just an afternoon of street photography around town with a friend all requires a bit of thought and preparation for proper execution.

Images included in that blog were from a Winter Showcase event hosted by Fierce Fitness and Dance along with a few other pole and hoop dance groups. The event was in Ping Ping 126 bar in Sai Big Pun and made from some difficult shooting conditions. It was a really cramped space and the lighting was straight down (rather than on the subjects) and all over the place.

Nevertheless, when the world gives you lemons, make lemonade. In spite of the dreadful conditions (for image making, I mean, otherwise it was lovely), I was expected to produce high quality images and fast! These girls can move really fast and the event was the photographic equivalent of shooting race cars at night. Your flash is your friend. Know how to use it accordingly.

Last week I included a selection of black and white images of this event. This week, I’ve included some colourful versions just in time for Christmas.

Happy Holidays & Happy New Year! 🎄 ✡️☪️✝️

Please e-mail [email protected] if you would like to be added to my free newsletter mailing list.

The light is always right.

jhg 😎

*Images: © Limelight Limited

Where: Ping Pong 126 Bar, Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong

Subject: Fierce Fitness and Dance Winter Showcase (In Color!)

Gear: Fujifilm X-T3 + Fujifilm 16-55mm f/2.8 XF R WR

*****

National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year 2017 Editor’s Favorite: Galleries: Week 4 Cities & People

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #135 Shooting Events: Gear/Photographer Checklist

Mon, 24 Dec 2018 02:29:22 GMT

Blog #135 Shooting Events: Gear/Photographer Checklist

Photography is physical. The act of making pictures is a whole body experience. You’re on your feet walking the beat, crouching, bending, lifting, moving, and sometimes straining. You’re breaking a sweat and burning calories along with film or batteries while you work. Whatever the genre, a day behind the lens [as fun as that may sound] requires an ounce or more of preparation. So how does one prepare to spend a day or even a few hours behind the camera? I suggest that we use a checklist. The main objective is to make pictures, obviously. Controlling risk and minimising failure is worth the effort. Here’s a sample checklist that you might use to ensure that you return from the day with a batch of decent images.

Gear Checklist

Decide what accessories/camera/lens/film will be required for the given shoot
Clean the camera and lens or lenses
Test the camera and lens or lenses
Chose the proper camera bag that will accommodate all of the gear required
Include backup and redundant systems such as a spare body or alternative lens. Bring more than one extra roll of film incase one gets damaged or lost.
Charge batteries and bring extra charged batteries.
Bring a few SD cards
WIPE your cards before you shoot.
*Important* Bring rain covers incase of rain so that your gear doesn’t get trashed.
RTM! [Read the manual and bring it with]
Practice using the camera and lens at home to familiarise yourself with the controls.
When you get to the location TAKE A TEST SHOT. Check ISO and camera settings to ensure that everything is working.
Keep your gear close and use small lens bags to keep personal items close at hand.

Photographer Checklist

Get enough rest! Sleep deprivation is never good for anything. Fatigue will impact your photography and affect your energy level through the day.
Eat a proper meal or bring snacks with you.
Hydrate!
Dress for the weather. Overheating or stomping around with soaking wet socks is no way to make great art. Show up prepared.
Make a shot list. Go with a plan. Bring one of those handy dandy notebooks to check off the images that you plan to capture on the shoot.
Map out the route to the event and decide how you will get there. Lateness is not an option!
When on the shoot: Take a break. Breaking your shoot into two [or more] parts is well worth the effort. Use the intermission or nature breaks in the activity that you’re shooting to sit down, have a latte or some water.
Keep an eye on your bag and gear. Keep your stuff tidy and safe.

You can customise this list for your own needs. The aim here is to share some food for thought about preparing for your day and minimising risk of error. The old adage rings true:

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Please e-mail to [email protected] if you would like to be added to my free seasonal mailing list.

The light is always right.

jhg 😎

*Images: © Limelight Limited

Where: Ping Pong 126 Bar, Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong

Subject: Fierce Fitness and Dance Winter Showcase

Gear: Fujifilm X-T3 + Fujifilm 16-55mm f/2.8 XF R WR

*****

National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year 2017 Editor’s Favorite: Galleries: Week 4 Cities & People

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #134 Cathay Camera Club Holiday Dinner

Thu, 13 Dec 2018 15:38:11 GMT

Blog #134 Cathay Camera Club Holiday Dinner

Last week I wrote about my experience judging a monthly photo competition from the local Cathay Camera Club for the second time. As a “Thank you” they were kind enough to invite me to dinner and to their last monthly submissions on the topic of “Travel”.

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We viewed and commented on images, enjoy a lovely dinner together, socialize, and of course talk about everything related to cameras, photography, and post-processing as well as prints. The winners of the points accumulated through the monthly contests were gifted some gorgeous framed prints (pictured). The plans are in the works for next year where I expect to participate more regularly. Keep on shooting folks!

My winter newsletter will be sent later this month. Please e-mail to [email protected] if you would like to be added to my free seasonal mailing list.

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Limelight Limited

Where: Iberico Bar & Restaurant, SOHO, Central, Hong Kong

Subject: Cathay Camera Club Holiday Dinner

Gear: iPhone XS

*****

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National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year 2017 Editor’s Favorite: Galleries: Week 4 Cities & People

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #133 Cathay Camera Club

Sat, 08 Dec 2018 13:49:07 GMT

Blog #133 Cathay Camera Club

The premier Camera Club in Hong Kong is the Cathay Camera Club [CCC]. Founded in 1982, its roots date back to the glory days of film when having a built in light meter in your camera body was considered “hi-tech”. The club itself is non profit and is run by photographic amateurs, hobbyists, and a few professionals. Regardless of the skill set, all members have a serious passion for the craft in common and share their adventures and work through monthly meetings. There are competitions, workshops, and a few shows that are held throughout the year.

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It’s really a good group and folks that tend to be encouraging and check their egos at the door. It’s a mature group of 30-50 somethings all there to share in the love of making pictures. I’ve been to three events to date. Twice I have been invited to judge events and once as a workshop host. All of my experiences there have been terrific and a learning experience for me as well.

The quality of the work is very high. All of the images work, essentially, but some more than others. The purpose of the judging and critique session is to describe the images and identify why they work, or in the rare case, do not work. This is how I approach the role of the judge. It’s not about whether or not I like the image. There’s a 1-10 point system and I think that the annual event culminates with recognition of the member who has accumulated the most points throughout the monthly assignment sessions.

The group has invited me to their end of year holiday party next week to say “Thanks” for judging their last event. I’m bring a small 4”x6” print from my online Prints collection, and a 35mm film cassette key chain for each member to thank them for thanking me (mutual admiration is great).

It’s a pleasure and honour to be a part of a talented and generally nice group of adult artists and I would encourage any of my readers to participate in local clubs near you.

Happy Holidays and May the Light Be With You, Always.

My winter newsletter will be sent later this month. Please e-mail to [email protected] if you would like to be added to my free seasonal mailing list.

The light is always right.

jhg 😎

*Images: © Limelight Limited

Where: Theatre

Subject: CentreStage Studios HK Christmas Concert

Gear: Fujifilm X-T3 + 16-55mm f/ 2.8 XF R WR, Fujifilm X-T2 + 55-140mm f/2.8 XF R WR Lenses

*****

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National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year 2017 Editor’s Favorite: Galleries: Week 4 Cities & People

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #132 The Business of Photography

Fri, 30 Nov 2018 12:38:53 GMT

Blog #132 The Business of Photography

So you're thinking of starting a photography company?

First you need to realise that there is a more to owning and operating a photography company than taking great photos. Most of it is pretty boring and requires zero artistic creativity. There is the whole “professionalism” piece that probably takes up 80% of your time. Actual time behind the lens amounts to one of the least time consuming tasks involved.

Although I have only just formally set off on my professional photography company path, the truth is that I’ve been involved in image making on a [part time] professional level for a few years.

I’ll be sharing my journey with you and planning these blog posts from time to time to reflect on that journey.

Nikon D610 There is paperwork to be filed, sorted, events to be documented, e-mails to be responded to [promptly], contracts, invoices, receipts saved, and more.

Step #1 is deciding if you really want to go down this road. Is being a business owner really something that you want to spend your time doing? Will the investment be worth it for you? Will you make enough income to be comfortable and to support yourself and your family [or future family]? Have a plan. You will need to decide if this is something that you want to do and why. Maybe just shooting here and there as an amateur or hobbyist is enough?

How does one make these decisions? You might want to have a fall back gig for the steady income while you grapple with trying to find the answers to the questions above.

Here are a few techniques that might aid your decision making below.

Schedule a one-hour headshot or portrait session with a friend or family member to experience the “feeling” of dedicating yourself to a proper portrait shoot.
Do a Project 365 and shoot everyday for year. This will help you to eliminate the genres within the medium that you don’t want to shoot. This will be equally as important as decided what you do want to shoot. I've blogged on this topic and shared my own Project 365 experience. Hint: It's INTENSE!
Agree to shoot a friend’s wedding or birthday party event. Treat the event as a professional “gig” that means you’ve replaced that cocktail for a camera. See how that feels. Can you hack it?
Volunteer to shoot an event such as a sporting event or dinner party. Edit the photos and return them to the host with one week [I usually return images within 24-48 hours]. Can you get that done?

If these activities are scaring the living daylights out of you then you’re not ready to go pro. Professional photographers are always "ON" and the hustle is part of gig. Only the strong survive. It’s no joke, there is zero room for error. Forgot to charge your battery? SD card fails? Brought the wrong lens? You're fucked and will never be hired by that client again. It's a dog eat world in the professional photography arena. Welcome to THUNDERDOME!

You’ve got to be one time, all of the time, on point, make perfect pictures, edit them, and turn them around all within a narrow window of time.

Perhaps you’re intrigued? Perhaps you LOVE to spend time behind the lens and you love it so much that you’re not sweating the sweaty parts [if you’re not sweating, you’re not doing it right]. Maybe the rush of all of this sounds like you're cup of tea? Better have latte, friend, or three!

I hope that this has provided you with some food for thought.

Are you ready to rumble? Well, regardless of whether this is your year to quit your neurosurgery job or walk away from that eight-figure hedge fund gig to shoot Junior's1st birthday party, keep shooting, share your work, print it, and get it out there. The worst thing that could happen is that you will improve your image making. When the Universe calls for your professional skills behind the camera, will you answer?

The light is always right.

jhg 😎

*Images: © Limelight Limited

Where: Streets of Hong Kong

Subject: Dogs of Hong Kong (2018 is the Year of the Dog)

Gear: Various gear, probably Fujifilm X-Series mirrorless cameras and 24mm-50mm lenses.

*****

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National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year 2017 Editor’s Favorite: Galleries: Week 4 Cities & People

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Fri, 23 Nov 2018 14:30:26 GMT

Blog #131 Limelight Limited

The time has come to double down, put the metal to the metal, burn the candle at both ends. Limelight Limited is my new project. Although I’ve been doing some professional photography work for some now [part time], I felt that I have needed to truly go pro.

Nikon D610

This month, I started a “Limited” company in Hong Kong. As a permanent resident expatriate this is essentially my only option. The benefit of setting up a company as a “Limited” entity is that there is a clear and legal separation between me as person and the company as a company. In other words the liability is limited to the company and just in case the proverbial shit hits the fan, I am untouchable [legally speaking].

Hong Kong makes this process pretty easy. My accountant filed some paperwork, confirmed the name that I wanted to use, I paid a fee to them, and in 2-3 weeks, the company is set up. Company profit “income” tax is 8.25% annually which is actually pretty low. Taxes will need to filed in around 18 months.

Work related expenses [termed itemised deductions] are pretty extensive. Anything that I need to purchase for work related jobs can be deducted from my gross income. These items might include: educational classes, electronics like cameras, lenses, computers, lights, gear, travel expenses, food, even about 30% of my flat rental for office space.

My professional work will go a new direction as a result. Work-wise I’m focusing [pun intended] on a few genres within photography. These include: events, headshots, portraits, food & interiors. At the moment I’m not interested in shooting weddings due to the shear scale of this type of event. It’s ALL DAY LONG like 12+ hours, and sometimes multiple days, resulting in 1000+ images that will take far longer than I’m interested in spending behind a computer. I’m sure there are terrific opportunities available for wedding photographers and the work can be lucrative, but it’s just not for me.

Limelight Limited or simply, Limelight is the name of my photography company. The website address is: www.limelighthk.com. I would appreciate some comments on the site. If you’re reading this and you can carve out 5 minutes to browse the site and leave some comments here, that would be swell.

I tried to keep it focused on the specific genres and services that I am providing. I think that I succeeded. I’ll keep this site live for blogging and personal work as well but all commercial work that I have permission to share may be posted on Limelight.

Everyone at some point in their life needs a professional photographer. When you time comes, call me up for a free estimate! Mention that you heard about our service from my blog and I’ll give you a 20% discount.

Mention this code: JHG852

😎

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Limelight Limited

Where: Central, Victoria Harbour WaterFront, Hong Kong

Subject: Beerfest Event, October, 2018

Gear: Testing the Superwide Fujfilm 16mm XF R WR f/1.4 + Fujfilm X-E3

*****

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National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year 2017 Editor’s Favorite: Galleries: Week 4 Cities & People

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #130 Black + White = Travel

Fri, 16 Nov 2018 11:13:55 GMT

Blog #130 Black + White = Travel

Who doesn’t love to travel? The sites! The food! The culture and people! Indeed, travelling is the cure for racism.

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Travelling, for the photographer, presents special challenges. While we all need to plan for the days away, occasions, and weather, the photographer must go one big step further.

From family vacations to professional shoots, there are many choices that one faces regarding their choice of gear, lenses, accessories, film, and more. Analysis paralysis is real and can interfere with the right choices for the right occasions and hinder the creative process. Which film? What lens? Do I bring this body and that lens or that lens and this lens? Oy!

Of course bring a backup in case of the total failure of your gear (rare but it happens). Travelling with 20+ year old film cameras [especially those containing electronics] is not without risk after all.

So I went on a recent family holiday in October to Guangzhou, China. I shot a few rolls of color film [Ektachrome!] but played a game with myself by shooting only digital images in black and white most of the time. It’s along the lines of putting restrictions on yourself. The result is forced creativity. Try this next time you’re away. Shoot only colour film, or black and white digital, or with your iPhone, or square format, or with only one focal length. It’s a neat little exercise that results in some pretty cool images.

Bon Voyage!

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg

Where: Guangzhou, China

Subject: Animals and street photography

Gear: Fujfilm X-T3 + 18-55mm f/2.8-4 XF R zoom lens XF R + a touch of Lightroom

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National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year 2017 Editor’s Favorite: Galleries: Week 4 Cities & People

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #129 The Freaks Come Out At Night

Fri, 09 Nov 2018 11:09:15 GMT

Blog #129 The Freaks Come Out At Night

Halloween is a special time of year in North America. The weather changes, and the leaves on the trees turn fiery red, pumpkin orange, Compared to the greens of summer, It’s as if mother nature turns up the volume of the color wheel to 11.

The light changes too as the low angle of the sun skims across the sky. Colors become more contrasty, dense, and sharp. Golden hour lasts about twice as long after the autumnal equinox. The nip in the air is a sign of the harsh winter ahead.

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Of course most folks don’t get to experience this transformation of seasons, especially those in the tropics where it’s green all year long and the seasons are either hot or hot and wet. Nevertheless, we expats bring our traditions, no matter how wonky, everywhere we go and dressing up for Halloween is no exception. The “Trick or Treat” that we were accustomed to as children evolves into mixed drinks and potions that walk the link between tricks or treats. It’s a fun time to dress up and feel like a kid again.

It’s a great time to get the camera out and make some portraits to document the occasion and share the images with friends who made the effort dressing in costume. Christine and I have made a bit of a tradition of throwing a Halloween Party and making a photo booth to capture the scary awesomeness that comes with it all.

Check out the photos here for some creative and enjoyable memories of this year’s Halloween…Hong Kong Style.

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg

Where: Home studio & around town

Subject: Friends in halloween costumes

Gear: Fujfilm X-T2 + 16-55mm f/2.8 XF R WR Zoom Lens + a touch of Lightroom

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National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year 2017 Editor’s Favorite: Galleries: Week 4 Cities & People

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #128 Ektachrome E100: THIS IS JUST A TEST

Fri, 02 Nov 2018 11:28:22 GMT

Blog #128 Ektachrome E100: THIS IS JUST A TEST

As a confessed film junkie, I’ve already shot and developed two rolls of the new (re-released) EktaChrome E100 Color Reversal (aka Slide) Film in 35mm. I picked up two rolls almost the day it became available and just before taking the new High Speed Rail train on a weekend jaunt between Hong Kong and Guangzhou.

Using my trusty and fully automatic 35mm Nikon SLR F100 with auto-everything, I was sure to waste zero frames. ISO 100 film needs a healthy dose of photos to work properly. My visit to the third largest city in China was overcast the whole time, making for some risky image making using this type of film. Nevertheless, I was eager to make some snaps and check the results.

The detail in the images is excellent, even with just enough light to make it work. The colours were relatively representative of each scene with a slight punch in the contrast areas. The shadows suffered slightly from the overcast skies. I received the scans from my local lab and when I get the film back I’ll make some slides and run them through my Leica P150 Projector. I suspect that the film will show is true colours literally and figuratively.

I’ll shoot some more of this film in brighter conditions for a comparison under more optimal conditions.

Viva la Film!

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg

Where: Chimelong Safari Park, Guangzhou, China

Subject: Animals and Street Photography

Gear: Nikon F100 + Nikkor 24-85mm f/2.8-4.0 D + Kodak Ektachrome 35mm E100 Color Reversal Film

National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year 2017 Editor’s Favorite: Galleries: Week 4 Cities & People

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #127 Camera Crazy

Fri, 26 Oct 2018 12:29:37 GMT

Blog #127 Camera Crazy

I’m pecking the keys for this blog post on the autumnal equinox. This is the date on the calendar when the new iPhone has been announced, and the camera makers are pushing new models out one after the other. It’s all ahead of the Christmas and holiday season to temp those of us on the road to recovery from a bad case of GAS.

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The much-anticipated mirrorless Nikon Z series has recently been announced and save a dual card slot (shame, shame, Nikon) it checks all of the boxes and promises to be a stellar piece of modern mirrorless magic. Canon has made its offering, as have Fujifilm in its latest iteration of the professional Grade X-Series with the pinch faster and slightly better at everything X-T3. The Pentax K1 has got some sensor magic never before known to mankind like some sort of Machiavellian pixel shift wizardry from summonsed from the underworld. Then comes the iPhone Xs with its double lenses boasting adjustable background blur after the picture has been shot. Seriously? Ok, take my money already you fruity fuckers.

If lighting fast smartphone sensors, highly evolved APS-C numbers, or full frames stuffed into sexy and svelt mirrorless weather-weather-resistant bodies don’t give you inspiration to make two-dimensional image art, then there are the Medium Format offerings from Pentax, Fujifilm, Leica, and of course Hasselblad.

GAS is hitting hard these days. I feel like Lloyd Bridges from Airplane who periodically reports throughout the movie “Maybe I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue” (or some other drug like drinking). Maybe I picked the wrong year to decide to quit buying camera bodies. Well…the year is over and the holidays are around the corner.

In the mean time, I’ll settle for the Fujifilm 16mm f/1.4 wide angle marvel of a lens. What’s on your Santa list? Whatever it is, you better be good for goodness sake.

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg

Where: Beertopia, Central, Hong Kong

Subject: Beertopia Event and Test Shots with the Fujifilm 16mm f/1.4

Gear: Fujifilm X-E3 + Fujifilm 16mm f/1.4 ASPH WR

Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610

National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year 2017 Editor’s Favorite: Galleries: Week 4 Cities & People

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #126 How to use post processing to achieve your vision

Fri, 12 Oct 2018 10:29:49 GMT

Blog #126 How to use post processing to achieve your vision

Post processing images can be a controversial topic. The fact of the matter is that for just about as long as photography has been around (1838) images have received a nip here and a tuck there as a general practice. Once wet plates and the modern day acetate film strip was invented, along with darkroom techniques, images became subject to dodging, burning, and many types of manipulation and color adjustments. Adobe’s Lightroom application is the modern day equivalent to the darkroom but goes way beyond. Photoshop goes further even still by allowing the user to add, subtract, multiply, and divide the composition and subjects within an image. Your imagination is the only limitation quite literally.

These processes have been and will always be controversial. On one side of the argument there is the purest who insists on getting everything right “in camera” and tolerates zero post processing edits or techniques. Then there are those who chose to tell their stories without restraint insofar as post processing is concerned. The rest of us fall somewhere in between these polarised artist positions. Check out @surrealhk for a brilliant illustration of how Photoshop can help you to achieve your vision.

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When you visualise an image the camera rarely spits out exactly what you envisioned the moment that you pressing the shutter release. What you see and feel through the viewfinder [LCD screen] does not translate 100% to jpeg or raw file on your computer screen later than day. It just doesn’t work that way on a regular basis, not for me anyway. The “feeling” or “atmosphere” might not be communicated through the camera and from the final image. This is where post processing can aid you in the expression of your creative vision. Lightroom is your friend.

Perhaps an architectural scene caught your eye due to the lines, shapes and tones but the image was made in color. You feel the need to convert that image into black and white to share that high contrast striking aesthetic and feeling with your audience.

Perhaps an epic scene rolled out in front of you while on a hike and the light was very bright, warm, and moving. The image that your camera spat out later at home seemed to lack the lustre that you remembered. You proceed to push some sliders and Voila! The color pops and you recapture that feeling of the scene with its punchy colors as you remembered it.

Maybe you’re out on a misty, rainy night and capturing figures moving about an urban landscape with all of those gorgeous reflections, umbrellas, and deep shadows. The image that your SD card produces later on just doesn’t match what you remember in your “minds eye”. A little masking around subject to decrease sharpening of the background, flip to black and white, and a touch of vignette and now there’s the scene and mood that you remembered!

These are just a couple of examples but there are many more instances where the camera doesn’t quite capture the light, mood, or scene the way that you remembered it. This is where post processing can be instrumental in elevating the image produced by the camera closer to your artistic vision and taste.

Go ahead, don’t be afraid, push and pull your images to align them with how you remembered the picture. Don’t stop there, push the image further and see it if works or not. Every image is different and will require different amounts of post processing to work. Sometimes a 10% crop is all it takes along with a pinch of sharpening.

In conclusion, there is one caveat, avoid over-processing because it will look obvious or it will be apparent that you “tried to hard” and the image will look forced and unnatural. You know it when you see it.

When it comes to post-processing, do like Frankie says…

Relax.

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg

Where: Hong Kong

Subject: Street Photography

Gear: Olympus 35RD Rangefinder (1971) + Agfa Vista Plus 200 Color Film 35mm

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National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year 2017 Editor’s Favorite: Galleries: Week 4 Cities & People

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #125 Photography is about…

Fri, 05 Oct 2018 11:33:21 GMT

Blog #125 Photography is about…

How would you finish this sentence? Is photography about the camera? gear? personal growth? personal expression? capturing personal moments? freezing time? the moment? the subject? The story? Clearly there is no right answer here. If you ask 10 photographers this question, you will get 10 different answers and that is OK.

Your answer to this question will define your relationship to this art form.

Why should you care about that? Well, I suggest that you the way that you define your relationship to photography will inform how much time and effort you spend on it each week.

What is photography to you, a hobby, an interest, or are you an aspiring professional aiming to make people happy (and some money perhaps) making and sharing your images?

We all have the same 168 hours per week. We must sleep, eat, earn money to live, take care of ourselves, maintain relationships, relax and enjoy life, and somewhere in all of that, we are trying to be an artist. Maybe you’re trying to be a full time artist? That’s terrific! I cant do photography full time since I have other responsibilities as a father and educator but that works for me.

Each of us has our own time constraints and allocation of resources to photography. The percentage of time that each of us spends on improving our work each week ought to be proportional to our career and creative goals. We might be spending too much or too little time doing photography and we should might need an adjustment to align the time with our relationship to the art form in terms of priorities and goals. Gauge your progress using annual goals. This approach works for many. Use this as food for thought for your creative work and keep on keepin’ on!

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg

Where: Hong Kong

Subject: Family & Street Photography

Gear: Olympus 35RD Rangefinder [1971] + Yellow #8 Filter + Ilford Delta 400 35mm Black and White Film

National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year 2017 Editor’s Favorite: Galleries: Week 4 Cities & People

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #124 Magnum’s HOME

Fri, 28 Sep 2018 12:39:48 GMT

Blog #124 Magnum’s HOME

Early September, the Magnum HOME exhibit came to the Hong Kong Arts Centre. Of course I went to see it.

Nikon D610

The story goes something like this. To celebrate Fujifilm’s 50th anniversary, Stanley Sun presented a touring exhibition showcasing a series part-artistic, part- photojournalistic images commissioned from 16 Magnum photographers. Each was given a Fujifilm GFX medium format digital mirrorless camera system. Their task was to shoot a collection of images based on the concept of “home”.

Nikon D610

The exhibition of the work will tour to seven cities around the world starting in March 2018, and be accompanied by a photo book. Known for their wide range of approaches, Magnum Photos members produce documentary photography that encompasses art and photojournalism. Sharing the agency’s legacy for humanistic photography, associated with its founding in 1947, Magnum’s contemporary practitioners are united by a curiosity about the world. This project invited them to explore a universal subject familiar to us all.

"Home" is not only defined as a space for physical living. It holds various other associations that are emotional, biological, cultural and societal. These 16 photographers have been given an open brief to explore the subject through their own individual practices, the resulting work reflecting their personal take on a subject that we all record photographically.

The images that resulted from this project were truly fascinating. The diversity of the interpretation of the theme was quite broad. I am familiar with about half of the 16 photographers included in the show and I could’ve placed the name signs on the collections easily. The styles of the images were all very true to the style of the photographers. All but Alex Webb’s work was easily discernible their own. I would highly encourage you to see this exhibit. It’s absolutely worth the effort. Check if HOME will be coming to your home.

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg

Where: Hong Kong Arts Centre

Subject: MAGNUM HOME EXHIBITION

Gear: Fujifilm X-E3 + Fujinon XF 35mm f/2 & iPhone X

National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year 2017 Editor’s Favorite: Galleries: Week 4 Cities & People

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #123 Social Documentary

Fri, 21 Sep 2018 10:09:48 GMT

Blog #123 Social Documentary

What is social documentary in photography? Is it a thing? I mean isn’t it just high brow speak for street photography? Is it another name for photojournalism, photo projects, or is it something else? Wikipedia offers a definition here.

Nikon D610 Photojournalism has been around for ages. In my research on this topic out of sheer interest in being able to articulate the difference between it and social documentary I learned that latter is essentially telling stories through pictures about some social condition. The social condition tends to be exposé in nature such as city gangs, poverty, sex workers, refugees or some unjust or social imbalance.

Nikon D610

Photojournalism, in contrast, is meant to be a sort of neutral reportage about the way things are, the facts. It seems appropriate to reference French in the definition of each of these genre (another French term) since photography was invented by our friends across the pond after all. Of course the aim of the journalist and photojournalist is also to tell stories using one or more pictures. If there can be any discernible difference it might be found in the publications in which these [slightly] different genres find themselves in terms of bias, political stance, or poetic freedom, so to speak.

Regardless of the academic differences that might exist between these two approaches to photography or genre if they can, in fact, be considered as such, these days we have social media. Need I say more? [that was rhetorical - obviously I need to say more since I’m writing a blog here, but I digress]. Instagram allows anyone and everyone to become their own journalist, photographer, editor, publisher, and ultimately source of news. This is a good thing? Maybe, maybe not. Time will tell. Certainly there are pros and cons. I tend to favour the pros.

Social media platforms and instagram in particular are changing the landscape in which photographers practice their craft and share their work.

The old idiom, A picture is worth a thousand words comes to mind.

Photography in general, and photojournalism ever more so, is a tough and cutthroat business. Enter the collective. Collectives stray from the photographer-as-artistic-genius and master model in favour of a strength in numbers approach.

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After some contemplation over the subject, my take-away is the following. As photographers, we find parts of the world that are interesting or even fascinating to us and so we dive in with camera in one hand [and usually a latte or beer in the other]. We explore every millimetre of that subject until nothing is left, then we share our exploits with the known world.

What we chose to say about the subject is up to us and how we portray that subject is ultimately up to us (or our editors on occasion for publication). At any rate, it’s the thirst for the story that drives us down that creative highway. Whatever that thing is and regardless of what you want to say about it, go get it since it will not come to you.

A few days ago, Typhoon Mangkhut (mangosteen fruit) slammed into Hong Kong and tore the city a new one. 1500+ trees went down, mass transit ground to a halt and the damage to property and buildings not to mention the boating community was massive. On the day of the storm it was Sunday 16 September, and I ventured outside my flat but not to far. The next day, after the storm, I road my motorbike around town to the office to check the damage, camera strapped around my neck and shot two rolls of my last Rollei CR200 slide film that expired one month ago. This stuff is terrific, however, it’s been discontinued and I was saving it for a special occasion. Mangkhut, the strongest typhoon of the year and worst in Hong Kong's 70 year history of documenting storms seemed like the perfect match.

The storm and its aftermath provided the catalyst for me to run outside and document the hell out of this mess. Sometimes its just that simple. The world does what the world does, and we respond. What does your world say to you? Will you be ready to answer its call?

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg

Where: Hong Kong

Subject: Typhoon Mangkhut Destruction

Gear: Nikon F100 + Nikon 24-85mm f/2.8-4 AF + Rollei 35mm CR 200

National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year 2017 Editor’s Favorite: Galleries: Week 4 Cities & People

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #122 What’s Your Hunting Strategy?

Fri, 14 Sep 2018 12:53:47 GMT

Blog #122 What’s Your Hunting Strategy?

In last week’s blog, I shared a number of self-improvement strategies for photographers. The astute reader will note that there was zero mention of cameras or gear. I love cameras and I love gear. However, buying a new piece of kit simply does translate to better image making. It could, however, get you excited to get out there to shoot more and THAT might lead you to making better images. The camera doesn’t make the picture, you do!

Nikon D610

Anyway…When you are behind the camera and making images, what’s your hunting strategy? Your workflow? Do you roam the streets wearing headphones and throw the camera into someone’s face to make a “Street photo”? Do you walk slowly around urban streets keenly aware of your surroundings and ready at a moment’s notice to Cath the perfect snap? Maybe you prepare for days for that six hour hike over the mountains to catch that amazing sunrise or sunset while schlepping a tripod and related gear.

We all have these patterns and workflows. They help us to develop a keen eye for seeing and preparation to make the picture, that “keeper” of an image that makes it all worthwhile. You might be the type to practice pre-visualization. Pre-visualization or visualization is when you think about the image you want to make and sort of “see” the final image before you even make the image inside the camera. This is a technique that is directly application to portraits or landscape images.

Street photography, on the other hand, dictates more of a candid and organic workflow. Are you a trapper or a hunter? Trappers wait for subjects to enter their pre-determined interesting scenes or backdrop and make the photo when the insect enters there proverbial web (frame). Hunters, will move through buildings, parks, and streets ready to pounce, so to speak, with the camera on the unsuspecting subject under the optimal and spontaneous.

Do you set rules or boundaries for yourself? Perhaps you take only one roll of 36 exposure 35mm film, thereby limiting your frames and forcing concentration and a healthy dose of caution before pressing the shutter release. Digital image making is unbound by frame numbers so long as you have the battery and SD-card space. You can shoot 36 pictures or 3600 pictures, it’s up to you.

The point of all of this is to consider how your work flow begins the camera might be helping or hindering the quality of your image making. Maybe you’re shooting to often, or not enough. Maybe you’re making too few or too many images on a given shoot. Maybe you need to take the AirPods out of you ears to aid your sense of seeing instead of being distracted by listening to music.

There are many strategies that work and some are better than others. Think about this as another way to improve your creative diet. With the proper care and feeding, your creative self can only improve.

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg

Where: Tai Kwun, Hollywood Rd., Soho, Hong Kong

Subject: Tai Kwun Centre for Heritage & Arts

Gear: Nikon F100 + Nikon AF-D 24-85mm Zoom Lens + 35mm Black and White Film (Silberra 120 + Double X)

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National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year 2017 Editor’s Favorite: Galleries: Week 4 Cities & People

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #121 What’s You’re Self Improvement Strategy?

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 10:13:50 GMT

Blog #121 What’s You’re Self Improvement Strategy?

Do you consider yourself a lifetime learner, a perpetual student? I most certainly do. I never really left school. I work in an international school, teach classes to a wide range of learners including young children and adults, in many subjects including photography. My home away from home is the classroom so to speak. I enjoy the learning process about as must as the teaching process. Through teaching, we learn.

Nikon D610

I’m typing this week’s blog entry on a late summer, warm but rainy first of September. I’ve got that Back to School feeling once again. There’s an air of possible and of course that new backpack and shoes always makes you feel ready for anything.

It’s always good to look ahead and to reflect on current strategies and work. After a lot of travel and holiday images making over the summer, it’s time for a change. What am I doing to improve my work? Is it working? Do I need to make a change? These are the self-reflective questions I ask myself around this time of year in an effort to push forward. Given the pace of life these days it can be a bit overwhelming to say the least to stop and focus on photography even it’s your full time gig.

Nikon D610

I’m a part-time professional photographer. I work when I get gigs and when it works for me. I shoot almost everyday and continue to work on personal projects regularly. How to fit in those artistic “reps” into my creative diet can be a challenge.

After all, luck favours the prepared said Edna Mode from The Incredibles. Are you reading photography books and blogs? Going to exhibits? Museums? Working on your Project 365, Project 52, or other personal projects? Are you joining Meetups or local Photo Walks? How about joining local professional or hobbyist photography groups or finding an apprenticeship with a professional photographer?

There is a myriad of activities at our finger tips these days. Take a class. Take a workshop. Work on your skills, shoot a lot, share, seek critique. You must work on your craft to move forward. You move one step at a time, but you can only get better.

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg

Where: Tai Kwun Contemporary Art Space

Subject: Tai Kwun Contemporary Art Space

Gear: Nikon F100 + Nikkor 24-85mm Zoom Lens + Agfa Vista Plus 400 Color 35mm film

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National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year 2017 Editor’s Favorite: Galleries: Week 4 Cities & People

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #120 Hybrids

Fri, 31 Aug 2018 13:22:24 GMT

Blog #120 Hybrids

In the last Blog #119 titled Combinations, I presented ten “winning” combinations in terms of gear choices and camera/film/lens pairings that I have enjoyed over the years. In this week’s blog I want to introduce the concept of hybrids. For the longest time, I’ve been sort of a photographic purest in that I would balk at the concept of mating some Japanese Lens to a German Body or visa versa resulting in some FrankenKamera abomination. Eww…It just wasn’t right!

Like 99% of the time, we buy or use a camera body with the same brand of lens. In recent decades, with digital camera bodies having new versions every one to two years there is a tendency to upgrade and replace camera bodies on a fairly regular basis.

Lenses, in contrast, seem to be immune to this gear ADHD. Then, there are those heirloom lens varieties that result in those GAS flare-ups that we all suffer from time to time. You know the ones I mean such as the Canon 50mm f/0.95 , Nikon’s 58mm f/1.2 “Noct”, the Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm f/2.8 mated to the medium format Hasselblad, or the Leica 50mm Summicron-M f/2 considered the sharpest lens ever made. These are rare, expensive as hell, but unmistakably outstanding performers.

There appears to be an upward trend in the concept of mis-matching bodies and lenses. This is evidenced by the virtual myriad of adapters available today. You can just about get any adapter to make any brand of camera work with any brand of lens these days. Digital shooters want to shoot their old heirloom manual lenses on their new DSLR or mirrorless bodies for that blast from the past feeling [in full manual mode of course].

Interested in jumping on the hybrid bandwagon? Usually this entails screwing a manual lens of Brand X to a digital or other film camera of Brand X. You could go the other way around, or across brands but your successes here will vary. First, you will need to consider the following factors:

Will Lens X fit on Body Y? Since around 1959 and the first “F” camera rolled off the assembly line, Nikon has used the famous “F” mount on all SLR and DSLR cameras over the last 60 years! Even the new "Z" mirrorless will have a Z to F adapter [Thanks for that, Nikon, I hope you’re reading this]. While Nikon seems to be the most sane and practical in this design feature, other camera makers seem to change lens mounts every time there is a new Olympic Games.
Assuming that you can find the adapter combination that you need. Is it worth spending the money on that adapter or will you use it once and end up tossing it in that abyss of a bag at the bottom of your closet with random one-off camera knick knacks like that 39.567 mm filter thread that fits some rare Russian range finder that you lost a decade ago?
Go Full Manual or Bust. Assuming that you score the correct adapter that will fit your camera and lens, you would be lucky to have zero light leaks since the quality control on these things seem to be comparable to an old Yugo. Forget autofocus, metering, exif data, or just about any electronic communication between your camera and lens body. If you cross brands, your gear will resist the electronic handshake for sure.

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After all of these considerations, you can still have fun shooting old manual lenses on today’s smaller, lighter, digital camera bodies. I recently mated up a Leica 50mm lens to my Fujifilm X-E3 and it works pretty well. You get that interesting hybrid sensation of using manual focus but with the instant gratification of a modern sensor. I’ll admit the shooting style is strange and it takes some getting use to but you might find it worth the effort. I found the images were sort of Meh.

This is just another type of shooting style or technique to add to your repertoire. It won’t make your images any better but you might have a pinch more fun in the process and that makes it worth a try.

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg

Where: New York City July 2018

Subject: Architectural Photography

Gear: Fujifilm X-E3 + Fujifilm 18mm f/2.0

Nikon D610 _XE30201Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610

National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year 2017 Editor’s Favorite: Galleries: Week 4 Cities & People

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #119 Combinations

Fri, 24 Aug 2018 11:11:14 GMT

Blog #119 Combinations

In thinking about making art, and the tools needed to do so, there are just a few albeit critical decisions that need to be made. First, you will need a camera, a lens, perhaps a tripod, or all of the above plus a roll of film.

Clearly, projects can be built top to bottom, or bottom to top in this regard. In other words, the process or means to the end has no rules, no guidelines. The subject may dictate the gear or visa versa.

After a while, when the photographer inevitably explores multiple genres, bodies, lenses, film types, and everything in between, he or she will inevitably stumble upon some camera+lens+[film] combinations that work well for them, or with a given project. In my experience experimenting over the years I have stumbled across a handful of these winning combinations. Here is a short list of my top 10 in no particular order.

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Jeremy’s Top 10 Winning Combinations

Nikon D5200 + Nikon Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 lens [the cropped sensor makes the nifty fifty behave like an 85mm portrait lens and it makes stunning portraits of people].
Nikon F100 + Nikon 28mm f/2 AF lens + any 35mm film [this is such a powerful, easy to use combination for shooting streets, urban architecture, landscapes, and even portraits. You will want to shoot this all day. The DOF is outstanding. The F100 is a chunk of a camera but the 28mm is small and light and makes for a great package.].
The Leica 28mm f/2.8 + Fujfilm Neopan Acros 100 ISO 35mm black and white film [sadly, this film is being phased out but the natural tones and contrast of this film at 100 ISO works so well with the sharpness and additional contrast from the Leica that the images that result will really make you stop and stare. Use a Yellow #8 filter for that extra punch. French company Bergger’s Berspeed developer for black and white is one of the top developers available and usually results in relatively high contrast with very fine grain structures.].
Any 35mm film SLR from Nikon + 50mm lens + Kodak Portra 400 colour film for making portraits [the colour is just perfect for skin tones with Portra].
Nikon’s AF L35 + flash + night + Kodak Portra 400 [again, Portra is just stunning for making portraits. When your subject is lit properly with fill flash this film comes alive and truly sings].
Fujifilm GA645 medium format film camera + Kodak TMAX 100 [absolutely amazing black and white combination with great tones, and fine grain. Use Berspeed developer and scan at 2400 dpi or higher.
Kodak Ektar 100 film and just about any camera or lens, outside, in a sunny colourful setting [Ektar is bright and punchy but presents very real colours, similar to real life only better, like after a double expresso].
Fujifilm X-T2 + Fujinon XF 16-55mm f/2.8 WR Zoom lens [this is my go-to work horse professional grade event combination. Use the extra battery grip that adds two more batteries for a total of three. Rain? Dust? Dirt? Snow? Cold? Keep on shooting. How many cameras and lenses can do this? Enough said.].
Fujifilm X-T1, X-T2, X-E3, any X-mount body + Fujfilm 85mm f/1.4 [this is the bomb set up for portraits, the colour and sharpness that comes off of the Fujfilm sensor with this lens is extremely high quality and terrific in the most demanding situations and with the most discerning clients.].
Fujifim X-E3 + Fujifilm XF 18-55 f/2.8-4.0 compact zoom lens [for travel this is the best combination I have ever used. It’s small, light and the 28-85mm full frame equivalent does everything from street photography, landscapes, portraits, and even stars. I frequently take only this camera lens and neither has let me down. Just about all of the Fujifilm primes can be substituted from this zoom and still work great such as the 18mm, 23mm, 35mm, all of which I use regularly. They are all great in all honesty and their size and weight as well as image quality leave nothing to complain about.].

So there it is, 10 winning combinations that I have discovered by way of trial and many errors. I find myself coming back to these combos time and time again since they so well for me. What are your winning combo? Whatever it it, use it, exploit its strengths and find that match or pairing with your project and make it work.

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg

Where: New York City

Subject: Architectural Photography

Gear: Fujifilm X-E3 + Fujifilm 18mm f/2.0 (an excellent combination)

Nikon D610 Nikon D610 _XE30061Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 _XE30207Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610

National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year 2017 Editor’s Favorite: Galleries: Week 4 Cities & People

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #118 Catching The Stars

Fri, 17 Aug 2018 10:10:28 GMT

Blog #118 Catching the Stars

I’ve recently returned from an absolutely amazing trip to Kitt Peak National Observatory, in Tuscan, Arizona. There, along with The Harbour School students, and professional astronomer guides, we learned about the sun, the stars, and the telescopes used to capture the light from these and other distant objects. In preparation for the trip, I taught a one week crash course on digital photography to this group of about a dozen middle schoolers prior to leaving from Hong Kong.

Nikon D610

Our mission was to capture the stars in the night sky. This was not going to be just any night sky mind you. Kitt Peak is about one 100 clicks west of Tucson in the middle of the desert on the top of a mountain 6875 feet high, to be exact. The light pollution is close to nil and the 12% relative air humidity makes for minimal light [photon] distortion between your eyes [camera sensor] and the stars emitting those photons.

The settings would be relatively simple but specific for shooting the Milky Way:

Place the camera on a tripod
Aim upwards while keeping a sliver of the horizon in the lower section of the frame [for reference although this is optional and based on your compositional preferences].
Focus to infinity
Set the ISO to 800, 1600, or 3200. 1600 usually works well.
Set the shutter speed to around 20 seconds. At longer shutter speeds, the stars will change from nice circular dots ( ● ) to dashes ( - ) as the rotation of the earth will move the camera [sensor] in relation to the stars. Star trails require longer exposure times [more on that later].
Use the timer or remote shutter release cable to make the picture so that you do not bump or shake the camera for the sharpest image possible.
Check the image, adjust as needed, and repeat.

For Star Trails, there are a few ways to accomplish this and the results are super cool. You can follow the steps above until you get to #5. Instead of making a 20 second exposure time image, you can set the camera to “Bulb” mode and make a continuous image for as long as you like such as one hour or longer. Just leave it and the light from the stars will “burn” into your sensor as they travel around the sky in what looks like a circular “orbit” around Polaris, the North Star.

Another technique is to set the camera to “Continuous” burst mode, and using a remote shutter release [cable] and 30 second exposure time, release the shutter and make around 50 + images. The benefit to this technique is that you can remove a few of the 30 second frames if there is an airplane or cloud that enters your frame. You will need a software program such as StarStax to dump and stack the images into afterwards.

In summary, we had a blast, and the images speak for themselves. If you try this, remember to be safe, use a red light, and dress appropriately for the weather since it’s usually quite chilly, yes, even in the middle of the desert, in June!

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg

Where: The Known Universe, Milky Way Galaxy, viewed from Planet Earth, USA, Kitt Peak National Observatory, Tucson, Arizona

Subject: Milky Way Galaxy, and a slice of the sky containing billions of stars, galaxies, and various planets and other objects such as binary stars, quasars, red giants, super novas, and black holes,

Gear: Fujifilm X-E3 digital mirrorless camera, Fujifilm 18mm f/2.0 XF R WideAngle Lens, Samyang 8mm f/2.8 Fisheye II Lens, 180º Angle of View, Fujifilm RR-90 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Remote Release , MeFoto RoadTrip Air Travel Tripod

National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year 2017 Editor’s Favorite: Galleries: Week 4 Cities & People

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #117 Infrared [IR Photography]

Thu, 16 Aug 2018 11:56:19 GMT

Blog #117 Infrared [IR Photography]

You might have heard of or even tried out infrared (IR) photography. There are three ways in which you can experiment with this technique. I will explain those below. First, I have blogged about or referenced this type of image making in previous blogs: Blog #29 & Blog #103. Let’s go back to Grade Seven Physics class for a moment. Electromagnetic radiation occurs naturally in the universe. The electromagnetic spectrum is measured in wavelengths of photons or light particles. The human eye can only detect a small portion of this spectrum (visible light such as the colours of the rainbow). Shorter wavelengths, not visual to humans (but are visual to some animals such as the mantis shrimp) include Ultraviolet, X-rays, Radio Waves, and Gamma Rays. Longer wavelengths include near and far field infrared light. These measure around 720nm (nanometers) or longer wavelengths. Some film and most camera sensors can see the IR wavelengths. A hot mirror is type of filter placed on your camera sensor that blocks UV & IR wavelengths and allows the visible (to our eyes) wavelengths pass through to hit the R/B/G circuits on the camera’s sensor.

Buy some IR film. Rollei still makes this stuff in various sizes and can be purchased at CameraFilmPhoto. Originally created for surveillance and scientific applications, IR film is sensitive to some of the near field IR light wavelengths. You might need a Red #25 Filter over your lens to help the film work its magic. However, the film will work without it. You will not need a tripod.
Use an IR filter over your normal lens on your DSLR. This will allow the IR light through the hot mirror and will not permanently affect your camera in any way. You will need a tripod since the filter will decrease a couple of stops of light and cause longer exposure times.
Buy or send your camera off to have the hot mirror shaved off. Do not try this yourself. You need speciality equipment that is capable of cutting only 1mm of filter off of your lens after it is removed from the camera. There is a company that sells pre-fab cameras or will modify your camera if you send it in. They also have information about the process. The benefit here is that you can shoot IR images, handheld, and will not need a filter. The images will come out better as well as you will have more shooting options unencumbered by the need fro a tripod.

If you like making black and white images and/or landscapes, you will love IR photography. The images below were made with a small 12mp Lumix converted by Kolarivision on a recent trip to Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tucson, Arizona, USA.

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg

Where: Kitt Peak National Observatory, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Subject: People & Landscapes around Kitt Peak National Observatory

Gear: Panasonic Lumix 12mp Point & Shoot with IR Near Field 720nm sensor conversion.

Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610

National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year 2017 Editor’s Favorite: Galleries: Week 4 Cities & People

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #116 Shoot For Your Health

Fri, 29 Jun 2018 12:01:55 GMT

Blog #116 Shoot For Your Health

Our beloved passion and preferred art form has its risks. The lure and expense of that new body or lens can cause stress and financial hardship. The physical risks of making images in the midst of a busy street in an urban environment should be abundantly clear. Exposure to the great outdoors through adverse weather such as heat stroke or frostbite while pursuing that must-see landscape on that ultra-high mountain peak can literally hurt you. Underwater photography is downright risky business.

Nikon D610

Nevertheless, there are health benefits to regular interaction with making arts when practiced with a certain level of rigour. In a recent article by Jane Brody in Health Times titled Using the Arts to Promote Healthy Aging, the author reports on various mental as well as physical health benefits to the elderly that have been found and reported in recent years.

It’s reassuring to know we may be drawing with light well into old age. While pursuing perfection might not be a reasonable objective, that shouldn’t stop us from the pursuit of what the Japanese call Kaizen (改善).

There are social and creative muscles that we may exercise well into our later years and that “keeper” image might be just around the next corner or in that undeveloped roll of film. So buy that camera, buy that lens, start that project, print that book. Get the work done and know that it’s good for you and will continue to be good for you in the coming years. The benefits of making art are not always apparent or tangible but somehow we feel them, we know that they are there.

We’ve all heard the old adage, An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

How about we update that to, Shoot a roll a day to keep the doctor away?

I don’t know about you, but I’ll start tomorrow and see how it goes. I know one thing, and that is that it couldn’t hurt.

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg

Where: San Diego, CA, USA

Subject: All B&W Travel and Street Photography Images from recent trip to SoCal.

Gear: iPhone & Fujifilm X-E3 Mirrorless Digital Camera [Zoom Lens]

Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 _XE37596Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610

National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year 2017 Editor’s Favorite: Galleries: Week 4 Cities & People

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #115 High Contrast

Fri, 22 Jun 2018 13:14:10 GMT

Blog #115 High Contrast

In this week’s blog post I want to share some thoughts about contrast in image making, namely high contrast.

Nikon D610

There was a time, not long ago, when images were faint and the band of dynamic range across the whites and blacks [tones] was as narrow. Of course it was perfectly legal to smoke indoors around this time as well. Is there a connection here? Perhaps. Somewhere along the way, the smoke cleared and ours eyes developed an insatiable appetite for high contrast. “Crush your blacks” became a desirable aesthetic along with blown highlights, and punchy detail characteristic of high contrast images.

This affect was not restricted to black and white images by any means, color image making was far from impervious to this trend in photography. Colors became saturated and rich. Ah, the days of Kodachrome! By the way, if you haven’t seen the movie by the that name, it’s terrific and stars Ed Harris .

Fast Forward to HDR image making, a trend, or fad more likely that has all but faded into that over-saturated sunset. Black and white and color image making, film, and digital have all seen their days of increasing contrast over the decades.

Now, there is high contrast and there is HIGH contrast. We all have our own tastes, preferences, and styles and thank goodness for it. High contrast need not include only those images from Daido and his Provoke buddies that were ultra high contrast. The images below could be described as high contrast but in a subtle, tasteful, manner as I have attempted to represent. Most presets and filters on image editing aps and software contain at least one high contrast option illustrating our modern day taste for blacker blacks and whiter whites.

Love it or hate it, high contrast is here to stay. Regardless, It’s the content that counts, the emotional connection, and the story or message that you share that really matters. High contrast is simply a tool that you can use to tell your story in the manner in which you want to share it.

Good luck!

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg

Where: Hong Kong & USA

Subject: Various Aerial, Landscape, and Street Photography Images

Gear: iPhone & Fujifilm X-E3 Mirrorless Digital Camera

Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 IMG_3630Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610

National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year 2017 Editor’s Favorite: Galleries: Week 4 Cities & People

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #114 Teaching [Primary] Students to Shoot Film

Sat, 02 Jun 2018 11:11:57 GMT

Blog #114 Teaching [Primary] Students to Shoot Film

Many of us are blessed and lucky to have caring and enthusiastic teachers in our primary years. Their attitudes towards learning and the classroom are infectious.

Nikon D610

I’ve mentioned in previous blogs that I teach photography. I have run workshops for students and adults. In the international school where I work we have a darkroom. The students can sign up for a School Extension Activity or SEA Course that is an hour long after school class for about eight weeks. I host a be of these for students usually middle school or high school aged although we have had students participate who were as young as 10 years old.

We use 35mm fully manual cameras and the students learn exposure, developing, and printing techniques. Aside from the fact that it’s loads of fun, there are benefits to teaching photography for me as well.

Firstly, the information and activities needs to be organised and paced appropriately through the lessons. There is a lot of room for error and we must control for as many of these variables as possible as if we were conducting a formal experiment. The developing chemicals and materials must be purchased and in stock ahead of the class and the darkroom instruments must be in fully working condition before the students begin.

Darkroom techniques can vary and the students need just enough information to get results without having to know all of the underlying processes involved in developing film and making prints.

Here’s the simple lesson plan:

The first class is an introduction to the camera and exposure.
The second we go outside and shoot a roll of film. The students are then sent home with a spool and exposed (wasted) roll of 35mm Film to practice loading the film without looking.
The third class we develop a rolls and hang them to dry. Inset up the chemicals before the students arrive in the darkroom to save time. I usually cut and stuff the negatives into sleeves before the fourth class for them.
Next, we make contact sheets and one or two prints from their first roll.
We spend the remaining four classes shooting, developing, and mostly printing.
The students finish the class with a few good prints that I help them to frame and display in the corridor outside the darkroom designed for this purpose.

It’s a pretty fast paced process and it’s great fun for me and for them. We can graduate to digital at some point and focus on compositional techniques, projects, and series as well in future SEA courses. It’s a true life skill to be able to make decent images. Today, it’s been said that everyone is a photographer. It’s also been said that if you shoot film, you’re a “real” photographer, whereas if you shoot digital, you’re an editor. Either way, preparing students for a lifetime of image making is benefit to them and their families.

If you feel that you have what it takes to teach others, or you think that you might, I encourage you to give yourself the opportunity and see how it goes.

Good luck!

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg

Where: Hong Kong

Subject: THS Students shooting their first roll of 35mm black and white film

Gear: Leica Minilux Point and shoot 35mm film camera + Agfa Vista Plus 400 Color 35mm film and Kodak Tri-X 400 Black and White 35mm film

Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610

National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year 2017 Editor’s Favorite: Galleries: Week 4 Cities & People

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #113 Umbrella [Series]

Tue, 22 May 2018 13:22:12 GMT

Blog #113 Umbrella [Series]

Umbrellas are a common site in Asian cities such as Hong Kong. Umbrellas are used to block the hot rays of the sun, keep the pouring rain off of our heads, and occasionally as defence for cans of tear gas shot from the Police during revolutions. We Hongkongers carry an umbrella in our bag at ALL TIMES!

Nikon D610

In this week’s blog post, I will share a select few of the images that I have been collecting over the years from Hong Kong. One of the images is from China, see if you can guess which one it is.

If you’ve got a “WR” [weather resistant] camera, head out to make some cool images of people in the rain with umbrellas. I really enjoy street photography especially under these types of conditions. I guess that there is an interesting element or gesture that we only get to see when it rains [or is super hot and sunny].

Whatever your reason, bring that umbrella!

Hey, you never know.

Luck Favours The Prepared, Darling! -Edna Mode, The Incredibles, Pixar

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg

Where: Hong Kong

Subject: Umbrella Series from Hong Kong & China

Gear: Various, Mirrorless Fujifilm Digital Cameras & Lenses

Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610

National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year 2017 Editor’s Favorite: Galleries: Week 4 Cities & People

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #112 Wish You Were Here

Sat, 19 May 2018 07:26:18 GMT

Blog #112 Wish You Were Here

The epic Pink Floyd Album and song from 1975 Wish You Were Here leads me to my next point about making pictures [Watch this unplugged version for a real treat]. One of the goals of many photographers is to take the viewer there. Travel, street photography, and landscape images can give the viewer a feel of actually being in the place in which the photograph was made. This is one measure of images that work. These images seem to reach beyond affecting the viewers sense of sight only and somehow come into contact with their senses of feeling, smell, or even hearing or taste. How can this be?

Nikon D610

Images may connect with certain people more than others. What is the mechanism that dictates this connection? Images will connect [or not so much] through their capacity to evoke memories. Hear me out. Memories exist, in the environment. Your brain is involved in the recollection of memories but not in a data-retrieval type of way like a hard drive. Memories are not stored as little zeros and ones in the gray matter between your ears. Memories are effectively constellations of brain activity [electro-chemical activity in your neurotransmitters] that have resulted from different combinations of sensory stimuli. This comes from environment. Your brain is simply along for the ride.

When you view certain images [environment] that have certain qualities these images might trigger, so to speak, experiences from your memory. In this way, the viewer might actually feel that they are in the place that the image was made. This is especially true when we have been to that place or a similar one that is presented in the image. Images contain qualities and variables that will lend themselves to this effect on the viewer.

Variables such as the type of light (i.e. color, direction, intensity or luminance) contrast, shadow, line, shape, texture, and atmosphere in any combination may evoke the experience of a memory in the viewer and give them the feeling that they are physically in the space where the image was made, albeit for a few seconds.

Photographs are extensions of our own visual experience in the same way that reading is an extension of listening and writing an extension of speaker behavior. It’s an amazing thing to consider that a photo is a slice of our own visual experience like a fraction of a second in a given place. Making [and sharing] images that will be viewed in someone else’s future, transcending time, is extraordinary. Time, of course, is an illusion after all. There is no time, per se, but only Spacetime. Read Carol Rovelli’s Reality is Not What it Seems: The Journey To Quantum Gravity for a quick 2000 year summary of what we understand about the universe in a mere 265 pages! I digress.

Anyway, is one of your goals in making and sharing images to take people on your personal visual roller coaster? If so, consider the variables mentioned above like texture and atmosphere and bake those juicy layers into your images. You might strike a nerve with somebody who will go beyond the “👍🏼” and really feel you.

Finally, I agree with Bruce Gilden

If you can smell the street by looking at the photo, it’s a street photograph.

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg

Where: Ruby Bar, Pottinger Street, Central, Hong Kong

Subject: Opening of Ruby Bar

Gear: Various: Mirrorless Fujifilm X-E3 + XF Fujinon 18mm f/2 + On camera Flash

Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #111 Change Your POV

Fri, 18 May 2018 11:48:41 GMT

Blog #111 Change Your POV

Just like pictures on the wall, we are accustomed to viewing images that were made from eye level. This common point of view [POV] is a familiar starting place in which to view the world. Changing POV in our images can lead to some interesting results. Shoot far, shoot near, shoot high, shoot low, point your lens up, point your lens down, and some amazing and fresh perspectives can be achieved.

Nikon D610 Making images from alternative POV can be a a useful exercise in its own right and down right fun as well. Let’s say you’re shooting an event, a holiday, or a sporting event, your top 20 images from a given shoot should likely contain images from various POV or else they will all look the same. Yawn…Boring!

One of the street images that I am most proud of [children with smartphone] was made on a photo walk at night shooting very low to the ground “Worms eye view at night” was the assignment. Here are some homework assignments that can be done at your own pace.

Shoot 100 different images all taken from a very low angle
Shoot 20 images with the lens pointed up and 20 with the lens pointed low.
Shoot all images in a given day lower than your eye level such as crouched down a bit as if you were a child.
For one week, shoot ALL images from any POV other than your own eye level.
Find balconies, bridges, or lofts and make 50 images looking down onto the street.

Nikon D610

Shooting images with a different POV is a simple technique that needs to be practiced and has the benefit of adding a cool twist to your images. Although images with differing POV can be fun they are not necessarily an end unto themselves. These should be incorporated into some project that you are working on and they ought to be appropriate for that project.

Drone photography is all the range these days. Franky, I’m not feeling the airborne bug. Anyway, images ought to have subjects, and compositional techniques that draw the viewers eye to the subject regardless of the POV. Drone images are not impervious to these factors that make certain images work.

Think big, think project-based and then, if appropriate to the given project, include images with varying POV.

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg

Where: Around Town in Hong Kong & Xi’an, China

Subject: Various POV Images

Gear: Various assortment of lightproof boxes including Nikon D610, Mirrorless Fujifilm X-Series, 35mm Film Cameras, and iPhone

Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 DSCF4249Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 XE2S3681Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #110 Bikes [Series]

Sat, 12 May 2018 12:55:10 GMT

Blog #110 Bikes [Series]

In this week’s blog, I will share another series that I’ve been working on. I must admit my admiration for the bicycle as a practical means of transportation, great exercise, and a pretty cool machine that is flat out fun. The bicycle has been around for more than one hundred years and seems to be gaining popularity in cities in Europe and the US. Hong Kong has jumped on the band wagon and has a public ride sharing service recently.

Nikon D610

In developing Asian countries, bicycles are used widely due to their relatively inexpensive cost and reliability. The images here are a few of the bike pictures from my series that spans many years and many cities and countries (see below).

Additionally, I want to mention that LensWork online is a great resource for new or experienced photographers. The podcasts are particularly thought-provoking and cover a wide range of topics pertaining to photography and the creative process. They do a Seeing in Sixes project that results in a published book. It’s really difficult to pick only six images from a series but a terrific practice in editing forcefully.

I made a submission (Due: 15 June 2018) including some from this series.

Always remember to keep the rubber side down.

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg

Where: Hong Kong, Rome, Xi’an, Angkor Wat, Provincetown, Osaka, Nagoya, Manila, Hanoi

Subject: Images from Bicycle Series

Gear: Various Mirrorless Fujifilm X-Series, 35mm Film Cameras, and iPhone

Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 DSCF4973Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 img016-8Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #109 Architectural Photography

Fri, 11 May 2018 10:28:17 GMT

Blog #109 Architectural Photography

Architecture includes any structure made by a person. Buildings are beautiful! Architecture is like photography in that it is a seamless mix of art and science. In this week’s blog post, I will share a few tips that you might want to consider when making pictures of architecture. Remember CAM/O! The same guidelines apply to architectural shots as to all others. The subject should be pretty obvious [save abstract images], highlight he subject through framing and composition techniques, and minimisation or elimination of distractions are critical.

Get High & Wide

Use a wide angle lens like a 35mm, 28mm, 24mm, or ultra wide angle such as 21mm or wider. The wide angle will be helpful to get relatively close while fitting the whole structure into your frame. Architecture has its challenges such as perspective distortion. When you look up at a tall building, the sides seems to converge at the top. Due to the optical limitations of structure of our eyes this is natural, like looking down a long road. Distortion is a nature phenomenon and is not necessarily a bag thing. However, there are many circumstances where you might want to minimise or eliminate distortion in your images such as when when shooting interiors.

Nikon D610

Another inherent challenge in capturing images of buildings is the ship’s peak or crowning effect that your lens will apply to a corner of a building that might be near the camera when pointed upwards. Wide angle lenses are terrific except for the distortion that wide angle lenses apply. The area in the centre patch of the frame will look disproportionally closer to the camera. When this effect is combined with perspective distortion such a shooting up at the corner of a building, your lens will tend to make the corner of the building look like the bow of a ship.

If you want your lines to be straight when shooting structures [this applies to interior and exterior], you have two choices.

You can use a tilt shift lens which is made into two parts and you can adjust the lens plane in relation to the film [sensor] plane to correct the perspective distortion.
The second way to correct this is to simply get high. I’m not suggesting that smoking marijuana will make your images look better but I’m saying that it won’t. Get the camera up higher. If you are on the 10th floor of a building shooting a 20 story building across the street, for example, you can get all of the [vertical] lines very straight right in the camera. For 1-2 story structures such as a house, stand on a ladder, tree stump, or another small object. Raising the camera even a meter or two will correct a significant amount of perspective distortion and keep your vertical lines straight up and down. Simple!

Get Inside

Interiors are a type of architectural image that can be fun and useful to shoot as well. Use a tripod to get the camera around six feet high to keep the lines straight. Light the room appropriately and evenly to accent or emphasise areas of interest in the scene. Remember to tidy up and eliminate distractions.

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Get Close

Architecture frequently contains many interesting albeit small details. Patterns, ornate carvings, details, or textures may make for interesting architectural photographs. Use framing devices like shooting through windows or arches to add interest to your images. You might occasionally include people to represent scale as a useful tool.

So there you have it! Three tips for making the most out of architectural images. Get high and wide, get inside, or get close. Finally, you’ll notice that most of the images in this post are black and white. Buildings might not have particularly interesting colours so the black and white image aids the viewer in focusing on the line, shape, or pattern. Black and white works well in architectural images.

Try to tell a story through your images such as the intently dense apartment living in Hong Kong that is fairly unique to the rest of the world. If you want to use a drone, that’s all fine and good but the “rules” of good composition and general image making apply to all genres within the craft such as macro, aerial, architectural, etc…

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg

Where: Hong Kong, Viet Nam, Shenzhen, Central Japan, Taipei, Seoul, Province Town, USA, Nice, France.

Subject: Architecture and Building Structures

Gear: Fujifilm X-Series Mirrorless Digital Cameras (X-T1, X-T2, X-E3) and 24mm, 28mm or 35mm lenses, 35mm film cameras, iPhone, and whatever else I happen to be wearing that day.

Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 XE2S7033Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #108 Photography Quotes Part 3

Fri, 04 May 2018 10:40:38 GMT

Blog #108 Photography Quotes Part 3

In this week’s blog I will post a small collection of quotations from life and photography that I have collected since the last post of this type “Photography Quotes Part 2”. This will be the third in this particular series of photography related quotations as food for thought. Part 1 was in Blog #31 and Part 2 was in Blog #70 if you’re just catching up with my blog posts. Without further adieu, here it goes:

I went into photography because it seemed like the perfect vehicle for commenting on the madness of today's existence.

Robert Mapplethorpe

If a day goes by without my doing something related to photography, it’s as though I’ve neglected something essential to my existence, as though I had forgotten to wake up. Robert Mapplethorpe

Anybody can be a great photographer if they zoom in enough on what they love.

David Bailey

A Camera can serve as a passport to other lives and cultures but it also paradoxically stands between the photographer and the world. We’re not participating, we’re observing, We’re trying to be inconspicuous; we’re trying to be not there, but there.

So it’s a pretty lonely life.

Wayne Miller

Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever… It remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything. Aaron Siskind

Style is very personal. It has nothing to do with fashion. Fashion is over quickly. Style is forever.

Ralph Lauren

Focus on what you can control.

Being smart is cooler than anything in the world.

Choose people who lift you up.

Find people who will make you better.

Remember who you always were, where you came from, who your parents were, how they raised you.

Success doesn't count unless you earn it fair and square.

Success is only meaningful and enjoyable if it feels like your own.

The one thing people can't take away from you is your education.

There are still many causes worth sacrificing for, so much history yet to be made.

When you're not engaged in the day-to-day struggles that everybody feels, you slowly start losing touch.

Whether you come from a council estate or a country estate, your success will be determined by your own confidence and fortitude.

Michele Obama

Black and White are the colours of photography. To me they symbolise the alternatives of hope and despair to which mankind is forever subjected.

Robert Frank

A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart, and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it; it is in a word, effective.

Irving Penn

Photography is more than a medium for factual communication of ideas.

It’s a creative art.

Ansel Adams

Regard no practice as immutable. Change and be ready to change again. Accept no eternal verity. Experiment.

B.F. Skinner

Color is to the eye what music is to the ear.

Louis Comfort Tiffany

Behavior is a difficult subject matter, not because it is inaccessible, but because it is extremely complex. Since it is a process, rather than a thing, it cannot be easily be held still for observation. It is changing, fluid, evanescent, and for this reason it makes great technical demands upon the ingenuity and energy of the scientist.

B.F. Skinner

The most important thing is to tell a personal story. The most important aspect of any photographer’s work is their connection to the subject. If that connection is a wholesome, positive, exciting one, then work is going to inevitably speak to an audience. So that’s what documentary offers: an incredible opportunity to engage with an audience, to engage with the subject, and for that sense of commitment and excitement to shine through.

Martin Parr

The camera is an excuse to be someplace you otherwise don’t belong. It gives me both a point of connection and a point of separation.

Susan Meiselas

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg

Where: Ap Lei Chau Hong Kong

Subject: The Harbour School Photo Club @THS_PHOTO_CLUB

Gear: Leica Minlux + Agfa Vista Plus 400 35mm Colour Film

Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #107 TAX!

Fri, 27 Apr 2018 13:35:12 GMT

Blog #107 TAX!

Hong Kong is the best city in the world to get around in. Public transportation is excellent. Massive double-decker busses, mini-busses, ferries to the outer islands and across Victoria Harbour, the immaculate and efficient MTR, and of course taxis are inexpensive, fast, safe, frequent, and relatively clean.

Nikon D610

Given that there are 7 million people or more who live in this tiny territory, and only 5% own private cars, the transportation system needs to be spot on and it is! In the last eight years that I’ve lived here, the only time that I really miss having a car is on a Friday morning, in the pouring rain, when there are there are no taxis and I’m trying to get to work. Do you feel my pain? I know, I know, first world problems, I get it.

So the taxi is like your private car in Hong Kong. Red ones travel around Hong Kong Island and Kowloon side, green are in the New Territories far north and blue are on Lantau Island only where the airport is.

Hong Kong uses Toyota Crown Comfort models almost exclusively. It’s a late 1980s semi-boxy no-frills sedan type design. Frankly, I’m convinced that Toyota copied the VW Jetta Mark II (1984-1992) . Anyway the red body and silver topped four-door sedan (saloon) is an icon. It’s impossible not to take photos of Hong Kong taxis. The red colour shows up great on color film as well.

In this week’s blog post, I offer a selection of Hong Kong Taxi images for your visual enjoyment. It’s an Ode To The Taxi that we all know and love, and take for granted. Vroom Vroom…

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg

Where: Hong Kong

Subject: Hong Kong Red Taxi Series

Gear: Mostly Fujifilm X-Series Mirrorless Digital Cameras and 28mm, 35mm, or 50mm lenses

Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 XE2S2529Nikon D610 XE2S2531Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #106 The Shadow Side

Fri, 20 Apr 2018 12:20:41 GMT

Blog #106 The Shadow Side

In my last blog post, I confessed my obsession with series. These are mere collections of images that have the same subject but otherwise vary in all other ways. They may not be tied to a colour, place, style, medium, or anything else for that matter. Film, digital, it doesn’t matter. I just like making pictures of signs as I illustrated in my last post Blog #105.

Nikon D610

There is a method to my madness, as they say. These simple assignments force creativity and a fresh POV. To keep myself interested I make images of the same subject but never in the same way. I vary something, anything, everything, but keep the subject constant. That’s my simple method. It sounds easy but its not so easy in practice.

Shadows are one of my series that I will share a bit here. I love the sharp and high contrast that is characteristic of shadows. Shadows can be of anything such as a tree, a person, a car, a building, or whatever. You just need a strong enough light source and the proper angle to make a shadow. Making images of shadows is a study in line and shape. It’s really a means to an end, rather than a project or end unto itself. Some artists are successful sharing their series as a series or stand-alone work. That can work for some and more power to them.

If you are starting to make series at this point in your photography I suggest having no more than 10. You will inevitably lose interest in a few of these over time and the result will be a core set of about five or so series that you will continue over the course of a year or longer. When you tire of one, file it, and replace it. You might dig up an old series, dust it off, and take a stroll down memory lane or even add an image or two from time to time.

Think of series as your artist sketch book. Who knows maybe some great body of work will emerge someday. All great journeys start with one step said the great Chinese philosopher Lao Zi. Begin yours today!

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg

Where: Hong Kong

Subject: Shadow Series

Gear: A variety of light-proof boxes. Let’s face it, who gives a shit?

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Fri, 20 Apr 2018 11:59:55 GMT

Blog #105 Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign

“Signs, signs, everywhere a sign…”

Nikon D610

went the the song by Canadian group The Five Man Electrical Band in 1971. This song was written in the same year as my birth. Now, before you go doing the math, remember that age is just a number #tongueface.

Urban environments fascinate me. Cities are never just finished. There is constant growth, decay, re-growth, and the cycle repeats. Urban environments are constantly bristling with activity like a human sized bee hive of commotion. This is what makes cities so awesome to make pictures in. There is literally never a dull moment. Dull moments are not dull at all. The absence of activity can be as or more striking than activity in a cityscape due to its rarity.

Signs of all shapes and colours surround us. Walking down the street is like living inside of a kindergarten child’s colouring book. Many of these are brightly coloured to simultaneously grab the attention of drivers and warn them of what's ahead. Form follows function in a simple but elegant construction that functions as communication.

I am a bit of a hoarder, photographically speaking. I collect images that I place in series. These are studies on a theme or subject that I enjoy collecting and collating from time to time. I have about a dozen of these. Birds, shadows, signs, architecture, taxis, and other common objects that you find in and around cities are the subject of my series. Trying to vary the images while staying with one subject can become an exercise in creativity. I will present some of these sets in subsequent blogs.

Here, I will share some images of ordinary road signs. You know the great old master William Eggleston? Well, he had one of the first and most significant photography shows in colour at the MOMA. This dude lived in a pretty simple and boring place called Memphis, Tennessee. However, through Eggleston’s lens, Memphis was anything but boring. He made simple and gorgeous images focusing on common objects, using line, form, and colour in a truly masterful way. He was so influential that is could be said that he launched colour film into the mainstream art community who, prior to his show, mostly rejected colour altogether.

I’m no Eggleston, but I do enjoy the challenge of finding shapes and colours to work with in a cityscape environment. Street signs offer themselves as a great subject in which to work with. Construction sites are especially dense and rich with signs and colours. Geometry shapes and color, what's not to love! It's like living inside of a box of Lucky Charms Cereal.

If you’ve been shooting for a while, you might find that you gravitate towards dogs, or buildings, or reflections, or whatever. Work these subjects and work them long and hard. You might find a new angle, perspective, or point of view [POV] after a while. Work the scene, or work the series. Either way, something wonderful just might be in that next frame.

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg

Where: Hong Kong

Subject: Signs Series, Streets of Hong Kong

Gear: Nikon F100 SLR, Minolta CLE + Leica 28mm lens, Kodak Ektar 100 35mm Color Film, Kodak Portra 400 35mm Color Film, Cinestill 800T 35mm Color Film

Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #104 Night Vision (at 3200 ISO)

Fri, 13 Apr 2018 13:11:55 GMT

Blog #104 Night Vision (at 3200 ISO)

When the sun hangs low and the golden hour has passed, you have about one more hour know as the blue hour before the day is gone. The night provides some challenging but also great opportunities to make images of a different type. It should be obvious that technical settings must change to be able to accommodate the lack of available light. Digital and film photography have slightly different requirements for shooting at night. I will review these briefly here below.

Nikon D610

Exposure is the combination of three variables; ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. Most digital cameras have manual controls for each of these. Digital camera settings have adjustable ISO [sensor sensitivity] settings that you can crank up to 1600, 3200, 6400, or even higher and still produce usable images. Using fast lenses and shooting wide open [low aperture] will facilitate night time shooting as well. Given that we are limited [mostly] to making hand-held images with a 1/60 second or faster we can set the minimum shutter speed to this setting, shoot in aperture priory and let the camera decide what the lowest ISO can be for a given shot. This will work most of the time if you can tolerate some digital noise in your images. A flash used at night will provide obvious advantages but even flashes are limited in their reach and cannot be used in all situations. Most people find them annoying, so use flashes at night sparingly especially when in public places.

Shooting film at night presents its own challenges. Film is produced with a specific ISO sensitivity. Once the film is loaded, you can push the film to a higher than rated ISO but there are limitations to this process and for every stop pushed you will introduce additional grain, degrading the final image quality. Unless you’re trying to emulate the Provoke style from Japan, image quality is something that you are likely trying to preserve.

The shutter speed and aperture factors are similar between digital and film. Film will have less dynamic range and will not respond quite as well to pushing as your digital camera will by adjusting the ISO dial to a higher number. Still, film has a certain quality and atmosphere that can be very appealing, even at night.

Testing this process will teach you what you can do with film at night and learning how to control the light in low or challenging conditions is a valuable skill for all photographers. I recently stuffed a couple of rolls of Ilford Delta 3200 35mm black and white film in the back of my Nikon FE2 and headed out into the night. The film can work well in lower light conditions but falls off pretty quickly in very low light conditions. The exercise was interesting and I would encourage any photographer to experiment with this process.

The light is always right, even at night.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg March 2018

Developed at home with Bergger Berspeed Developer & scanned on Epson Perfection V600 Photo

Where: Hong Kong

Subject: Street Photography at Night

Gear: Nikon FE2 + 28mm f/2.0 lens + Ilford Delta 3200 35mm black and white film

Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #103 Go Take a Hike

Thu, 12 Apr 2018 13:55:20 GMT

Blog #103 Go Take a Hike

There is a practice in Japan known as forest bathing. Essentially, the Japanese have discovered the therapeutic affects of walking in the forest on their bodies and overall health. Being in nature reduces blood pressure, heart rate, improves mood, provides you with fresh air, and any number of additional benefits that we have yet to measure. Given that around 80% of the worlds population live in urban environments where overcrowding, noise, pollution, and stress are rampant, many of us should be taking one from the Japanese playbook of life. They also live longer than most and have the most number of centenarians than any other country.

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In Hong Kong, it’s an extremely dense urban environment will small living quarters and all the stresses of modern life. However, Hongkongers also enjoy about 15 public beaches, and dozens of world class hiking trails.

Photographers, even the uber professionals who strictly make their living behind a camera, thoroughly enjoy the activity of making pictures even when off duty. Many of us consider our time looking through the viewfinder (or at the 3”x3” LCD screen if you prefer) as a type of visual meditation. Meditation of any type can be therapeutic. For those who are not making pictures, commercially, making pictures is a refreshing escape from the normal routine and stresses of their primary occupation.

Why not combine the therapeutic aspects of hiking in the great outdoors and making pictures at the same time? It’s sort of like listening to music and riding a bicycle. Both are fun in their own right, but by combining them we enhance the benefits of each. In the spring or fall time, when the weather is agreeable, grab your default camera perhaps a roll or two of your favourite film and head outside. If family or friends join, the more the merrier.

Back in March, this was exactly what I did and had a blast doing it. The images here were shot on Po Toi Island, my favourite hiking spot in Hong Kong. Accessible only by ferry, the rocks, sky, and ocean views are absolutely stunning. The time to get outside is here with spring and the milder weather. So, as the old saying goes,

Go Take a Hike! [and don’t forget your camera or three].

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg March 2018

Where: Po Toi Island, Hong Kong

Subject: Landscapes, random family members and friends

Gear:

Nikon FE2 + 24mm f/2.8 lens + Red #25 filter with Rollei Infrared 35mm black and white film
Fujifilm GA645 + Rollei CR 200 120 roll Medium format film

Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #102 Film Glorious Film!

Sat, 07 Apr 2018 04:34:32 GMT

Blog #102 Film Glorious Film!

In Charles Dickens epic novel, A Tale of Two Cities (1859) he begins,

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of believe, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way.”

Nikon D610

Strangely, these words could have been written last week and they could easily resonate with us in the same manner. Dickens’ two cities of course were London and Paris and he wrote about them in the years prior to the French Revolution. Let’s hope we don’t go there again, although the recent student protests in the US on gun control are a sort of revolution. Let’s hope that they succeed in their mission.

In terms of photography, it is the best of times and the worst of times for us, too. We are living in an explosively creative age where film still exists in its perfect form and we have the newer technologies of digital at our fingertips with all of the magic of the darkroom and post processing but pushed even further. Digital offers instant developing, almost unlimited picture making, and wider dynamic range. Post processing theses days is way beyond anything that was ever possible in the darkroom.

Still, there has been a resurgence of film and all things analog in the last decade. In David Sax’s The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter (2017), he describes in great detail the increase of vinyl, paper, idea, and of course film. The story of Film Ferrania’s coming back from the dead is included. News of Kodak’s Ektachrome return has been anxiously awaited by die hard film fans. Howver, all of the news is not so rosey.

Agfa Photo’s Vista plus in 200 & 400 speeds has been a gorgeous color film for some time now. It’s days are numbered according to a recent announcement by Agfa [a German & Japanese Cooperative]. Fujifilm, who has produced some of the best film in the market for more than 80 years, announced this week that they are stopping Neopan Acros 100. This is particularly sad since Acros 100 is one of the best low ISO (very fine grain) black and white films available. While they continue to pump out install by the truck load, the old style films seem to be fading.

I guess all good things must come to an end. Besides, we still have many other tools at our disposal. It is not the camera or the film that makes the image, after all. It’s you who make the image. Whatever tool you decide, use all of your creative facets to make the best images that you can. That’s what we need to be focused on and only that. Discussions of gear and film options are fun but tend to distract from the objective of making novel, meaningful images. Keep your eye on the prize.

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg March 2018

Where: Hong Kong

Subject: Gear: Nikon F100 + Nikon AF Nikkor 24-85mm zoom f/ 2.8-4.0

Film Agfa Vista plus 200 [35mm] + Kodak Ektar 100 [35mm]

Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #101 Alexander Rodchenko @ F11 Photo Museum

Fri, 06 Apr 2018 02:44:14 GMT

Blog #101 Alexander Rodchenko @ F11 Photo Museum

Alexander Rodchenko was born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1891. After art school, he got hooked on photography. His work is absolutely amazing! To say that he was ahead of his time would be a understatement. Photography had been invented some 60 years or so before he came to the field. The work that preceded him could be described as simplistic or formal. Compositions and portraits were straight forward in the early days of photography. This was the case mostly due to the limitations of the gear. Cameras were big and heavy along with the glass plates and complicated not to mention unreliable chemistry that was needed. In the 1930s with the 35mm film size and small portable Leica cameras, the world of photography exploded and Rodchenko was there to light the fuse.

Nikon D610

His point of view was ever changing. He got close like really close to his subjects. He got so close that at times he was underneath his subjects aiming straight up at them from their chest or perhaps knees. His careful attention to line and form was clear in his work with architecture and construction of the day. He made images of a great dam that was constructed in Russia that was particularly notable.

Rodchenko had [at least] three unique stylists trademarks that burned his place in photography brilliance for all of eternity. The first was his penchant to tilt the lens and compose from one of the bottom corners of the frame. He used this technique so frequently that it should have resulted in the coming of the term Russian Angle rather than the more commonly termed Dutch Angle that is widely used in film and movie making to this day.

The second interesting and rather unorthodox technique used by Rodchenko was his framing of his printed photos. He used mostly square or rectangular format printing but the image was placed in a refreshing variety of locations within the matting and frame itself. He would mount the image off-center such as in the top or bottom half of the frame, or off to one side of the frame. The image seemed to have come to rest after floating organically within the four corners of the frame but in some random location. This mounting technique was in stark contrast to the simple square mounting style of the day. He was likely one of the first, if not the first to mix things up in this way.

Third, Rodchenko used a single matte colour such as red or blue to accentuate his black and white images. Of course there were only monochrome images back then so he used the matte to set off the colour and make things a bit more lively.

These were wonderfully rendered and presented images in their own right. The artist’s use of tilt, framing, and colour added to the artistic quality of the images that was rather edgy for its time. I attended a recent exhibition at F11 Foto Museum in Happy Valley, Hong Kong that would have made Rodchenko very proud had he been able to view this meticulously curated exhibit. The images here were made at the museum exhibit. I hope that you can have a sense of the work and interesting style that Rodchenko has left us with.

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg March 2018

Where: Hong Kong

Subject: Alexander Rodchenko Exhibit @ F11 Foto Museum, Happy Valley, Hong Kong

Gear: iPhone X

Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #100! #ShootFilmNotBullets

Sat, 31 Mar 2018 14:37:44 GMT

Blog #100! #ShootFilmNotBullets

Wow! I’ve reached 100! If you are reading this then you might have been riding this creative and photographic roller coaster with me for some time now. Blog #1 was 9 July 2015 about two years and eight months ago from today. That works out to be about three posts per month in almost two years, but whose counting?

I have something special for this centennial blog post. It’s a bit more serious than my usual posts. You might consider these words and the following images as social documentary or perhaps photojournalism. I’m writing this on Monday 26 March, 2018. Yesterday, around the US in dozens of cities the #MarchForOurLives anti-gun protests took the country [and world] by storm. Students around the nation organised speeches and walk outs on the very sensitive matter pertaining to gun control. A march in support of our American brothers and sisters was held here in Hong Kong. About 700 or more Americans and others took place. I was there to document this significant event.

Nikon D610

In case you’ve been living under rock for the last decade, there have been a rash of school shootings in the states and we’ve all had about enough of that bullshit. Students are sitting in class one minute and the next they’re lying in a pool of their own innocent blood. This has got to stop. The zeitgeist of the students in the states is definitely one of #EnoughIsEnough with the bloody gun problem. Trumpism is probably helping to mobilize the students since Trump himself and his republican cronies are likely part of the problem rather than the solution. They accept campaign money and other perks from the NRA so they fail to act against them in a classic conflict of interest scenario.

Nikon D610 One day in the not-so-distant past, America basically decided that a few student deaths and school shooting here and there was an acceptable price to pay for the right and privilege to basically be able to walk in to a grocery store, and walk out with a semi-automatic machine gun. WTF? Now I fully understand that there are responsible citizens who love shooting on a range or folks who hunt for sport. To them I say, #ShootFilmNotBullets, #BooksNotBullets, and #EnoughisEnough. Find a new hobby, bro!

Nikon D610

Minimum ages, background checks, annual registration and interviews, mental health exams and zero access to automatic weapons should not even be up for debate here for regular untrained citizens. As an American living abroad, I’m embarrassed that our government has essentially done nothing to chill this situation out. John Paul Stevens, a retired associate justice go the United States Supreme Court advocated recently in a Times Op-Ed piece about repealing the second amendment! Just stop the whole crazy train dead in its tracks. Imagine that!

Now, the issue is complicated and steeped in American tradition, revolutionary war, independence, the Constitution, Second Amendment, and all that jazz. Nevertheless, last year about 10 people died from guns in all of Japan. Hong Kong doesn’t have a gun problem. Other developed nations have minuscule amounts of gun deaths and gun violence, and rarely if ever in schools. America is great at many things but America is not great at everything. It needs to turn its attention to attacking this issue like it did in the 1960s when it decided, as a nation, that it would send a man to moon and bring him back again. Fortunately, the millennials are trying to help those in office these days to do their jobs and clean up this shitty mess already! Only then will America truly be great again. Until then, the lunatics are running the asylum, but not for long.

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg March 2018

Where: Hong Kong

Subject: #MarchForOurLives Hong Kong March and Protest Support Event

Gear: Leica M6 + 35mm f/2 + Yellow #8 Filter + Kodak TRI-X400 + BERSPEED &

Fujfilm X-E3 + Fujinon Super EBC XF 18-55mm 1:2.8-4 R LM OIS

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #18 Criticizing Photographs or Beyond the “like”

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #99 High-Key

Sat, 31 Mar 2018 05:04:31 GMT

Blog #99 High-Key

There are many techniques involved in making images. You can use various films, papers, screens, and even other materials like canvas, metal, or wood. There are also many ways to present the image itself. There is the “properly” exposed image which in itself is debatable although the camera can usually do this by itself when set to auto exposure mode.

During a traditional portrait shoot and lighting, the “Key” or main light is usually placed near the camera or slightly camera left or right. The “fill” is then placed almost 90 degrees to the key or main light to do exactly what you might expect which is to fill up the shadows made from the key light with more light. The fill is usually less than the key but it can be equal to the key for evenly spread light. This type of lighting is common in professional portraits, headshots, advertising, commercial, fashion, and product photography. The subject should be well lit in these types of images.

Nikon D610

Then there is High Key or Low Key for example. Low Key or Film Noir types of images tend to be dark and moody. There is an air of mystery or even a downright eerie feeling to low-key shots. High-Key images have a lack of contrast or low contrast. Shadows are minimal to non-existent. They are light, airy, and tend to have an uplifting mood to them. Portraits tend to have a dreamy or even an angelic quality. Some very high-key images tend to have a penciled or sketched effect to them.

Each [high or low-key] represents a lighter or darker rendition of the properly exposed image to accentuate the mood of the image. Light vs. dark, yin vs. yang, good vs. evil, and on and on.

Although High-Key images can be presented in black and white or colour, black and white is the more common.

Black and white are the colours of photography. To me they symbolise the alternatives of hope and despair to which mankind is forever subjected.

Robert Frank

I agree with Mr. Frank.

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg

Where: Hong Kong

Subject: Various Portrait, Street Photography, and Urban Landscapes

Gear: Fujifilm Mirrorless, Nikon 35mm film cameras

Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #98 You better WORK!

Tue, 27 Mar 2018 13:36:49 GMT

Blog #98 You better WORK!

Last month, I hosted a workshop in collaboration with six members of a local photography walk group Shutter Alliance. The format of the workshop was approximately as follows:

[9:00 - 10:00] Introduction and Keynote presentation on Basic Photography and Composition / Assignment to approach stranger and request making a portrait of that person: Office Meeting Room

[10:00 - 11:30] Walk outside an make interesting street photos that work: Streets around Kennedy Town

[11:30 - 1:30] Each member loads three images into Lightroom for critique: Office Meeting Room

Using a 15” Macboook Pro and Adobe Lightroom software, each member loaded their SD card and selected their best three images for the live group critique. The laptop was connected to a projector and images were displayed one at a time on a proper screen while the group sat around at a couple of round tables in an office setting.

The focus of the workshop was really the critique component. The activity of critiquing images is really about describing. The goal of the exercise was to talk about the different parts of each image, discuss if the image works or did not work and why that might be the case.

The group was very engaged and there was a range of experiences. These were hobbyist or amateurs and to my knowledge none of the participants were professional photographers. Nevertheless, the images produced in this short one hour and a half session were very impressive. There were maybe 2-3 images of the 18 displayed (not counting my own) that did not work. There was promising work displayed and we aimed to use some of the vocabulary from the earlier presentation to use in the critique session.

The group was clearly engaged and benefited from the experience. We ended the workshop on time at around 1:30 and parted ways. One participant joined my later that afternoon at F11 Foto Museum in Happy Valley to see the Alexander Rodchenko exhibit. I will blog on that subject in the coming week or so.

The participants completed a questionnaire where I requested for them to comment on the components of the workshop. I was pleased to have shared beneficial information, my life experience, and a valuable critique with the group.

Interestingly, when asked what topics of interest the group had for future workshops, all wanted to learn how to develop film! Now I’ve got my work cut out for me. Next time film it will be!

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg March 2018

Where: Kennedy Town, Hong Kong

Subject: Street Photography Workshop

Gear: Fujfilm X-E3 + Fujinon XF 18mm f/2

Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #97 Job Description: Photographer

Sat, 24 Mar 2018 09:25:08 GMT

Blog #97 Job Description: Photographer

You have just been hired! You have one job to do. Show up early, make stunning photos and deliver them in a timely manner to the client. That sounds all fine and good but the devil is in the details as they say. Woody Allen famously once said “80 percent of success in life is just showing up”. Obviously you need to show up and show up early. Here, I would like to discuss the remaining 20%.

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You will need to be clear that you have what it takes to get the job done. Your gear [and backup gear] must all be fully functional and working - no excuses! Failure is not an option. Test your gear under various conditions, bring a back up body, lens, and multiple [charged and tested] batteries.

I use a Google Forms questionnaire to understand the clients needs so that I can be confident that I understand what they intend to get out of the shoot and I can give them what they need. I was asked once to make an image of a small group for a promotional brochure. After working with this group one sunny and hot afternoon under time pressures and outdoors, we came up with a few good images after the obligatory two-hours of post processing.

Nikon D610 It was only then that the client said to me “Oh, yeah these are nice but we need a portrait image not a landscape”. Crikey! If I only knew that before! Fortunately they were able to work with one of the horizontal images that had enough on the sides to crop it for the intended usage. The image was sent to the printer before the deadline and the day was saved.

I got lucky there but learned by lesson. My questionnaire gives the opportunity to the client to describe what the images will be used for, if they need black and white, color, both, portrait, landscape orientation, both, images sizes, method of deliver such as online or flash drive, both, and more.

The old adage, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure applies even more so to photographers since we get one chance usually to get it right and that’s it.

We will not nail every shot or every photo shoot but we can decrease the chances of failure. It’s tricky stuff making awesome images for other people. It’s thrilling when you get it right. I’ll leave you with a quote…try to guess who said it

Luck favours the prepared, darling!

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: JHG March 2018

Where: Temple Street, Jordan, Hong Kong

Subject: My two favourite ladies, my dear old mother Sheryl and lovey wife Christine. Gear: Minolta CLE, Leica 28mm f/2 lens and Kodak Ektar 100 Color 35mm film.

Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610 Nikon D610

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #96 What's your :DEFAULT:?

Fri, 23 Mar 2018 11:29:57 GMT

Blog #96 What’s your :DEFAULT: ?

Most photographers whether you are just starting out, a hobbyist, proper amateur, or a professional for many decades have a default. A default is the “usual” or standard of some type in terms of gear. For me, it’s 35mm black and white film. Without a specific project or commercial activity that I am working on in a given day, I will stuff one of my Nikon F-something SLRs or perhaps a Leica rangefinder mated to a 28mm with a roll of Kodak’s TMAX 400 and head out into the world. I will occasionally shoot with a 35mm, 50mm (or zoom lens around the same range) and I do shoot colour film from time to time, but that’s my default. Yes, I’m old school but not all of the time. My default digital is the Fujifilm X-E3 with a 28mm lens.

There is a sense of familiarity and predictability that using my default package affords me. I know where all of the buttons, dials, and focus rings are one the camera bodies, for one. I am intimately familiar with these three focal lengths which are not very different for starters, and I have a good feel for 400 speed black and white film and its capabilities in changing light conditions.

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There are those who will advocate for using the same focal length for one year. If there is such as thing as Photographic ADD I definitely have it. Maybe I’ve gone one whole month with the same lens and same camera…at the most. I used to have a tendency to change lenses fairly often like week to week usually. These days I stick to one focal length for a bit more time. I agree with those single-lens zen photographers that there are many benefits to going steady with one focal length.

For personal projects or just for the hell of it, 35mm black and white film is where its at for me. It’s timeless. It’s what I grew up on and it still looks awesome to me. After a fair period of experimenting with cameras, lenses and films as well as digital versions of the same, I have found my “happy place”, my default.

Experiment and then know your default. Committing to a type of default is a type of restriction that may, in turn, spur on your creativity. This sounds counterintuitive, granted, but it works.

So what’s your default package? Please do share here or on my Facebook page. Maybe a survey is on the horizon? Whatever your default is, enjoy it and exploit it.

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images here are from Hong Kong and made with a Nikon SLR, a 28mm wide angle lens, Kodak 35mm black and white film (probably TMAX 400) and developed at home*

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The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #95 Red

Fri, 16 Mar 2018 12:46:34 GMT

Blog #95 RED

It might seem awkward to blog about a single color but there are some facts about color and specifically the color red that I find fascinating and I hope that you will too. Unless you’re dead set on shooting black and white all of the time forever and ever, eventually you will succumb to work in color.

I absolutely love and prefer black and white photography to color, in general. Ultimately, creating art and telling stories is not about cameras, focal lengths, film, grain, pixels, or color for that matter. Making images that matter is about having an interesting story to tell and using the right medium to tell that story. It’s about using the right tool for the job. My recent Blog #93 on Photographic Technique was about that very subject. You will need to be proficient in using color in your images to tell some of your stories that will need to be communicated through the language of color.

“Color” is word and a language concept that is more or less universal across cultures of the world. Red has some special significance with regards to all of it’s brothers and sisters in the visible light spectrum. Wait, did I just suggest that colours have a gender? Actually, this has been established a long time ago. Latin and romance languages such as Spanish attribute gender to colours. Red or rojo is masculine [strong] unless used to describe a feminine object such as a red rose or rosa roja. It’s common knowledge that roses are female, yes?

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There are some factors and functions of the use of the color red historically, culturally, politically, and socially that may influence how or even if we decide to include this into our images. I’ll expand on these concepts later.

Technically, color is a type of electromagnetic radiation [from the sun] that falls with the visible light spectrum. There are parts of th spectrum of electromagnetic radiation that are not visible to humans such as gamma rays, X rays, ultraviolet rays, microwaves, and radio waves. All of these particles and waves differ by their wavelength and wave frequency that are measured in units called nanometers [nm] or terahertz [THz], respectively. The way in which color hits your eye will affect the spectrum of color on different dimensions such as intensity (brightness), and hue. Color can be defined from a physics point of view as “class of spectra [light] that functions to result in color sensations that are species specific”. The species reference here is used to highlight the fact that different species of animals have differences in the rods and cone structures of the eye that allow for differences in accuracy, distance, night vision, and color interpretation in the brain of the animal.

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Red light is in the longer wavelength range of 700-635 nm and 430-480 THz wave frequency range reacts with the cone cells in you eye which causes an electro-chemical reaction in your brain that gives you the sensation and perception of seeing red although literally, not like the idiom seeing red meaning becoming upset or angry. It would be natural to wonder at this point, Is your red the same as my red? Do all people see red the same? That is a difficult question to answer, definitively, since we cannot measure perception and experience beneath the skin yet. However, we can measure language responses to color as behaviors that can be observed, measured, and compared across people. Therefore, a logical and reasonable response to the inquiry above might be “Yes, they are the same, probably, if viewed under similar or identical environmental conditions.

We learn as children to talk about red and we agree on red. Therefore, your red is my red and my red is your red. Let’s continue.

As mentioned above, there are many ways in which the color red has influenced us culturally, historically, politically, and socially. The list below shows ten examples.

Red is the color of blood, meat, many foods, the sun [flag of Japan] fire, power, life, and death. Stop signs are red to warn of the dangers of failing to stop while driving.
From ancient times, dyes that were used to make the color red were highly sought after, prised, and rare.
Ginger is the name given to people with red hair although red hair only occurs in about 1% of the population. Many cultures have strong beliefs about people with this hair color that vary from ridicule to admiration. Today, stereotypes may continue that red heads have fiery personalities.
Red is used extensively in Chinese culture. Originally used as a bright colour to evoke fear by representing blood or fire, the color red was thought to be able to scare away evil spirits. This is still used in Chinese New Year and other festivals regularly and represents good luck and good fortune.
When Director Steven Spielberg’s filmed Schindler’s List, he chose black and white. There was one striking scene later in the movie when a little girl runs through a concentration camp wearing a bright red coat. The movie is a remarkable story about a man named Schindler who repeatedly risked his life to employ and hide Jews during World War II in Nazi Germany when the Holocaust was happening. The red coat gives the viewer a spark of hope, a sense that the Jews might actually survive the madness and atrocities of the time and the scene represents a very effective cinematic use of selective coloration.
Red (2010 film) and Red 2 (2013 film) were American action comedies based on a DC comic book series by the same name.
During the Cold War, “The Reds” was the nickname given to Communists by the Americans and the West. This may have been a reference to the “Red Coats” name used to describe the enemy soldiers of the Crown of England during America’s Revolutionary War centuries earlier who literally wore red coats most likely with the intention of sticking fear in their enemies. Sorry mates, but we all know who won that one!
Red has been used in many revolutions [i.e. Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, Cuban) and in military insignia. “Red” states are considered those who vote republican [the party of the white wealthy minority] compared to the more popular democratic blue states in America.
The Catholic Church has used red in ceremonial activities such as in the clothing of cardinals. The Crusades, and the flag of England used red.
Many activities of people in modern times are expressed using the color red. Love, Valentine’s Day, passion, happiness, ceremony, celebration, sports [Cincinnati Reds], flags of many nations, anger, aggressive behavior, warning, danger, and sexuality.

Finally, color photography tends to work well when the color or colours that are being included into the image have a defined place and role. Red is a strong stand-alone color. It goes great with green, blue, yellow, and its variations are countless. Have you ever noticed that Red is usually the first color in a box of crayons, or used when teaching kindergarteners the colours of the rainbow [ROY G. BIV].

Ted Forbes from YouTube’s The Art of Photography did a Photo Assignment on Red that is worth viewing for some inspiration on the subject of color and on red, specifically.

The [red] light is always right!

jhg

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*Images here are original shot with Nikon F100 + Sunny 16 35mm Colour Film*

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #94 The Stone That The Builder Refused

Sat, 10 Mar 2018 13:45:42 GMT

Blog #94 The Stone That The Builder Refused

You love photography just like me. You wear a camera. You shoot professionally or for personal projects, or just for the hell of it because it’s fun and exciting, and creative, and magical. After the proverbial day at the races you send your roll off to the lab or you dump those 286 jpegs into your laptop. You might wait four minutes [for the coffee press to be ready] or maybe four weeks until you return from Mars, but eventually you will need to edit your photos. Thus, it begins…

There are three types of photographers when it comes to editing. You might be a runner-up for the show Hoarders and never delete a single image. The risk with this approach is that your hard drive will be sure to implode into a singularity and wipe out everything within 2 kilometres of your apartment. Plus, who the heck wants to edit all of the images when there are three keepers in the whole lot anyway [if you’re lucky]?

You might be the zen photographer who walks around the streets for eight hours at night, making only eight images and you’ll only keep the ONE! One and done? We’ve all heard about the mathematic or musical savant but photographic savants are like dragons…they simply don’t exist.

Most of us fall somewhere on the middle path. We delete the mistakes such as the really blurry or accidental shots…the “oops” I didn’t mean to snap that bird or car bumper image, then we keep and edit the rest. After a few run-throughs there are a few images that work and that you are proud of and feeling that they are share-worthy. Maybe you share them immediately, or maybe next week, or maybe next month. Regardless, there are the forgotten ones that sit for all of eternity on your dusty hard drives and in plastic air-tight bins under your bed stuffed with sleeves and sleeves of film negatives.

Now what? Is there value in looking back and unearthing these heirloom greats from their dusty places of rest? Did you miss something? How could you? You made your list, checked it twice, and found which images were naughty or nice. The ones that didn’t make the cut are dead to you now, gone forever. Right?

One of my current projects is shooting in square format and after doing some research for this project, I recently went back into my image folder archives and started cropping a bunch of images in square format. The exercise was educational at minimum. I was able to find some images that I had forgotten about and was reacquainted with those. It become clear that I had made some really significant improvements over the years.

I was able to identify some themes to my previous work, some images that were better than I had thought they were at the time, and the cropping into square format functioned to revitalise some of the images into half way decent or better.

In Matthew 21:42 it is written “Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: 'The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvellous in our eyes' ?

Corner Stone (By Bob Marley) is a lovely melody based on this writing that reminds us to be cautious when casting things aside. We ought to apply this principal to our image making and editing. You might just find something marvellous.

The light is always right.

jhg

Images here are my own and were made while on a boat in the Victoria Harbour at night using my mirrorless Fujifilm X-E3 and Fujinon 18mm-55mm f/2.8-4.0 Zoom Lens. Hong Kong has arguably the best skyline of any city, anywhere. I tried to capture the light and energy here in these images. I hope that you enjoy them.

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The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #93 Photographic Technique

Fri, 09 Mar 2018 13:11:12 GMT

Blog #93 Photographic Technique

Here’s some food for thought while working on photography projects. Think of the following recommendations as like a wine pairing. Sure, you can have red wine with fish or white wine with steak, but the opposite usually works better, in general.

The old adage that punishment should fit the crime might apply to the photography project here, but in a different (and not so painful) way.

A subject matter will be best represented or presented in a specific type of manner. Images of a certain type tend to work better given that the technique is paired or matched well. For example, here are ten examples to illustrate this point below.

Black and white 35mm film for street photography at night in a small town with little colour of interest on the streets [no neon signs here, boss]
Smartphone color images for a family holiday at the beach
Colour images using motion blur and a DSLR to shoot sports
Old theatre and costume portrait images using medium format film or digital images made to look old with sepia toning done in post processing.
Colour fashion portraits with a Hasselblad medium format film camera and Kodak Portra 400
A music concert or shooting images of a band in a bar at night with a mirrorless digital camera shot in colour then post-processed in black and white
Colour Instax film indoors with a flash on a holiday with family
A hike in scenic mountains with a 35mm camera, a wide angle lens (24mm or wider) and some infrared film.
Touring a new city with a small mirrorless camera a 35mm lens [or zoom] to make color travel images.
DSLR or Mirrorless camera for colour images of food for commercial and promotional usage such as printing.

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So there are 10 suggestions for camera, lens, and film or digital applications. I have personally used combinations like these in my personal and professional life as a photographer. There are simply combos that work well or better than others. Of course you can shoot everything with a smartphone, and any one of the combinations listed above. However, if you prescribe to the Right Tool For The Right Job ethos as I do, you might find these suggestions helpful.

Professional photographers have various gear for this very reason. You sort of need a wide angle lens to shoot landscapes and a telephoto to shoot sports. It just works better. Try some various techniques. Your project idea should come first and then the gear should follow. Of course you could do it the other way around, however, I think that the best results would result from the former approach.

Good luck with you project and gear combo for the occasion.

The light is always right.

jhg

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*Images here are my own and from The Harbour School's performance of Bugsy Malone in The Grove Campus Black Box Theatre*

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #92 Moving Pictures

Sun, 04 Mar 2018 14:39:35 GMT

Blog #92 Moving Pictures

Moving pictures is not a reference to the Canadian rock band RUSH amazing 1981 album. However, this is photography blog so this entry will be about this thing called video. Early on in the 20th century when film was made into longer reels and recorded continuously, there was the birth of the movie, or quite literally, moving pictures. Early silent films were 16 to 24 frames per second (fps). By the 1920s when sound started to be paired with the moving pictures, the industry standard adopted around 24 fps. These days, video streams at 24, 30, 60 fps, or way higher for slow-motion with butter smooth performance. Frame rates of 120 or 240 fps are pretty much baked into every smartphone these days. This is absolutely amazing!

I love to make photos, usually on film cameras. I develop and process the images myself. I do very little post-processing as a rule. Maybe a 10% crop, heal a few spots, adjust the exposure, lift the shadows, punch the contrast, add a touch of vignette, and voila! I’m on to the next one. With Lightroom and Presets at our disposal, we can streamline our workflow to a matter of minutes.

Video for me until recently has been elusive, complicated, and downright scary. I just don’t have the hours and hours necessary to post process the stuff. I was careful to never say never and it’s a good thing I didn’t. Recently, I had the opportunity to shoot a music video for the absolutely fantastic group of talented gentleman Metro Vocal Group (MVG). They were planning to do a special tribute in black-and-white and they really liked my black-and-white work so they invited me to shoot a music video with them. I accepted the challenge. I approached the scenes from a still photography perspective in terms of composition and lighting, which proved to be a good approach, for the most part. Best of all, MVG was going to do all of the post processing. This was going to be really important since the sound was at least as important as the video piece.

Making a music video is hard work! The day of the shoot was like eight hours. All of that will be compressed down to three-a-half-minutes. It was a really terrific experience and I gained a new found appreciation for videographers. I brought three lights and MVG loaned me a Sony full frame mirrorless to play with before the shoot. I am really curious about the result and looking forward to the final cut. Links will be shared later.

I would encourage any film or still photographer to shoot some video, even shorts, to get a new feel for a similar medium. As a visual artist, expanding your horizons us usually a good thing.

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images here were made Behind the Scenes on an iPhone or Nikon FE with black and white film. Thanks to AnnMarie for the photos that I’m in.**

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The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #91 Blah, Blah, Blog.

Thu, 08 Feb 2018 13:03:53 GMT

Blog #91 Blah, Blah, Blog.

WTF? No, I’m not starting this week’s blog with a rant. Rather, as I’m approaching my 100th [triple-digit] post, I’m reflecting on the function or purpose my photography blog. Maybe you’re writing one or thinking about writing a blog yourself. Perhaps reading mine will tilt you in one direction or another. Thank you, by the way, for following me on my creative journey.

A blog is a term that comes from weblog that is basically an informal online [web] discussion about a topic or topics.

What’s The Function of a blog? WTF? There are about five functions that I can identify and will share with you below.

1. DOCUMENT

As I develop my creative self and photography I find it beneficial to write down and share my experiences. The activity of blogging is akin to putting down professional or creative “breadcrumbs”. Reading old blogs, I can see from whence I came and that gives me a sense of accomplishment along my creative journey.

2. ORGANIZE

Blogging can be instrumental in organising my activities, goals, and general approach to photography. The practice of writing for an audience albeit small and reserved, forces me to develop a plan, push forward, and define my focus as a photographer.

3. REFLECTION

Writing for an audience and recording my trials and tribulations inherent in the creative process allows for constant reflection. Reflection can benefit the creative process through avoidance of repetition. We must constantly re-invent ourselves to stay “current”. All artists must struggle with this in their own way.

4. SHARE

I share experiences to inform and inspire. At the risk of sounding cliché, I do get inspired by other photography blogs and therefore I write and share in the hopes that my experiences and words will have a similar influential affect on others. It’s a process of give and take for me, ultimately.

5. BRANDING

Full disclosure, blogging is a way to stay current, keep in the public “conversation” or conscience and to provide a safe and stable platform to share my images on my own terms. Although my professional work is limited to events, portraits, and food I share other types of images here such as travel, street/social documentary, personal projects, and series. I can present a small series of 5-20 images that otherwise might not work elsewhere.

So, there it is! Go Blah, Blah, Blog yourself. Even if you don’t share your blog, you can view the process as a diary of sorts that can be used to avail of most of the five points above. If you do decide to blog, blog often like at least weekly. You’ll be glad that you did.

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images below were made on the beach in the Philippines in December of 2017 with a Nikon FM2, 35mm f/2 lens, a roll of Kodak Trix 400, hand developed at home with Bergger Berspeed and scanned using an Epson Perfection V600 Photo scanner at 2400dpi*

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*****

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #90 Restrictions, Revisited.

Sun, 04 Feb 2018 09:39:10 GMT

Blog #90 Restrictions, Revisited.

So photographer friends Mike & Kirill and I decided to start another one year project as if we have all the time in the world. We’re truly obsessed. Instead of a Project 365, this will be a Project 52. We shoot [constantly] and edit/post/comment once per week for a year. Images are posted on our Project 365 page on Facebook. If you are interested in being invited to this closed group page, message me and I’ll add you.

The interesting byproduct of the exercise was that we all decided to impose rules onto ourselves. I have written about restrictions in a previous blog and how there can be advantages to this [Blog #69].

Mike is doing an airport project, while Kirill is making self-portraits every week for a year. My self-imposed restrictions are to shoot people, in color, with an iPhone in square format. This runs counter to my usual 35mm black and white film sort of “default” photography mode.

We’re excited to be working on this project and I think that the themes should work well. What’s your project this year? Got resolutions? How about taking a class or workshop? Whatever you’re doing to improve your photography, do it well and do it often.

Good luck to you and good luck to us!

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images here are original iPhone shots in square format that were early rejects from my Project 52.*

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The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #89 Branding

Sat, 27 Jan 2018 07:23:10 GMT

Blog #89 Branding

Back in the day, a photographer simply needed to make images, and give them to a newspaper or magazine to get published and to get paid. They ran around with a rock-solid SLR, a few lenses, and of course lots and lots of film.

Social media, the internet, and even Photoshop did not exist [although images were edited frequently in the darkroom]. Life was analogue. Analogue is usually equated with slow-paced, and for good reason.

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Today, to get your work out there, you need to know fundamentals about business, social media, marketing, and branding. In fact, professionals spend most of their time dealing with these activities and shooting will actually be a smaller part of what they do.

Do you want to be a professional photographer? If you love taking pictures, proceed with caution. You can have a full time gig and still shoot, anywhere, anytime, and on your own terms. The stereotype of the pro being flown to exotic locations with a gaggle of assistants, 5-6 digit pay checks, and a Leica for each day of the week is pretty much a pipe dream.

These days, professional photographers need to learn to market their “brand”. A brand is a look or style that a photographer uses when presenting their work. A brand can be viewed as an asset or something unique and valuable to that photographer. Branding “experts” will encourage you to:

Know Your Audience and deliver content to that audience that is consistent.
Define your own brand in the world or the world will define your brand for you.
Be Consistent!
Stay True To Your Brand

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So what does all of this really mean? Well, it depends on your professional goals and aspirations. If you’re expecting to “go pro” then you need to take a deep dive into the rabbit hole of branding. If you’re content shooting here and there, on holiday, and weekends, then so be it. Amateurs do what they do for the pure joy and love of the craft. Whatever you decide, you should enjoy the process. Either way, best of luck in 2018!

The light is always right.

Jhg

**Images in this blog are mine from an original series on Intimicy in the City"**

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The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #88 Photo Contests: To Judge or To Be Judged?

Mon, 22 Jan 2018 14:22:53 GMT

Blog #88 Photo Contests: To Judge or be Judged?

Photography is a funny business. Countless aspiring artists are throwing their work (and hard earned greenbacks) at contest after contest. I’ve fallen victim to this practice in the past myself. Desperate for critique, in the name of self-improvement, the neophyte will do anything to get eyes on their work. But whose eyes? Is all critique equal and valid? I think not. I have been fortunate enough to have an image chosen for a project on National Geographic by an editor so I'm not just being sour grapes. Also, Nat Geo does not charge for their assignments.

Perhaps you’ve read about how “likes” (👍🏼) are actually hurting your creative process. You should not really care if others like your image, per se. What you ultimately need to know is whether or not the image “works” and why. Social media rarely [if ever] provides proper, informed critique.

Friend and photographer Mike and I started a Facebook page titled “Just Critique” to attempt to fill this void of valuable critique with our work. We welcome other photographers to join the page. The rule is simple, post one, critique one.

In February, I will host a free (one-time) workshop with Shutter Alliance . The workshop will be very small to accommodate a critique session component. There will be a one hour presentation (mostly on composition), some time for some street photography, then we’re back indoors to dump images into Lightroom for a critique on your best three. We will discuss, in a public forum, what works, what doesn’t and equally as important why.

People learn through consequences. Critique by informed people aimed at constructive criticism will be a valuable process that most of us don’t get enough of. So we’re judged and then we judge, both judge and jury. Case closed.

The light is always right.

Jhg

**Images below were shot recently with 35mm & medium format (120) film & an iPhone. I was aiming to do some architectural, cityscape images. Shooting anything is good practice, therapeutic, and plain old fun.**

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The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #87 Five Reasons to Love the Fujifilm X-E3

Mon, 15 Jan 2018 14:19:54 GMT

Blog #87 Five Reasons to Love the Fujifilm X-E3

It has been said that there is really nothing new under the sun. While I partially agree with statement, the Fujifilm X-E3 mirrorless rangefinder is something of a marvel. If you have been following my blog posts, you know that I rarely rattle on about gear. In fact a recent blog post, I stated that gear really doesn’t mean much although I used a different word for much. I do believe that to make outstanding images you don’t need a lot. You can make a camera out of a shoe box and it might win you some wall space in the MOMA. This is true. However, there are basically two types of cameras, film or digital. There are many sizes, shapes, colours, and formats for film and the same is true for digital.

The mirrorless digital cameras are all the rage these days and If I have a dollar from every online post that reads “Selling all my Nikon gear, get ready, here I come Fujifilm!” I could buy that vintage Porsche that I’ve been drooling over. I’ve been a Fujifilm fan boy for some now. Basically, these cameras are the only digital ones that I own and are more than suitable for professional work. My Fujifilm progression has been fairly predicable going from the X-T1 to the X-E2s, to the X-T2, to the X-E3. I still have all of these. There are easily more than five reasons to love the new X-E3 (E3) but five is manageable number and no-one cares to read more than that anyway, so here it goes. I will tell you straight away my only complains are the following. It should have a second SD card slot, weather proofing, and a built in flash. Wait, that’s basically an X-T2 without the flash and I have one of those already. Nevermind, just read on.

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Ergonomics

So let’s say you’re shooting an event for a few hours or walking around Rome all day. You want a small, light, capable machine. The E3 can easily be that machine. Twist the 18mm f/2 Fujinon lens (also very small and compact) and you’re ready to roll.

The E3 is an improvement over the E2s as you might expect. Fujifilm removed the built in flash and performed some other black magic to actually stuff a more powerful (APS-C 1.5x cropped size) sensor in the body while making the overall case smaller AND lighter. The nip and tuck has resulted in an already pint sized powerhouse of a camera (E2s) being even smaller and lighter. In fact, an extra grip is a good idea since it gives a bit more to grab onto and prevents the nosediving that usually results from using zoom or larger lenses under hard braking. The joystick is perfect and of course in typical Fujifilm manner, all of the main controls are easy to grab and adjust while shooting. I almost never need to go more than 1-2 clicks into a menu to change a setting. It’s all just so easy peasy. Cameras are tools and each of us has our preference and dare-I-say an emotional attachment to these lightproof boxes. It’s worthy of mention that the E3 takes ALL X-mount lenses in the Fujifilm lineup and with an adapter can be made to work with ALL lenses pretty much ever made. Select the “Shoot without lens” option when using manual lenses or the camera won’t work.

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2. USB Charging

Using the wire that comes with, just plug it in to the connection jack under the side panel and plug and play. No need to deal with taking the battery out, and lugging around the larger battery charger. Just don’t leave the wire in your hotel room. The downside here is that if you bend the connector the entire mother board of the camera will need to be replaced and that will be pricey.

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3. Bracketing

Ok so nerd alert on this item but bracketing has been given a lot of attention on this little gem. There are film simulations that we all know about right? These include multiple black and white, color, and filter looks that the camera will spit out as JPEG images. It does a pretty good job of this but I prefer to shoot RAW and use my own presets in Lightroom for 100% control of the RAW image file data in all of their glory. Yes, I’m a control freak. Anyway, there is a function where you can shoot like one image and the camera will give you that image plus up to three film simulation images in JPEG. Then, you can decide later which one you prefer. How cool is this?

Nikon D610

The other bracketing function is that the exposure compensation dial near your right thumb has five settings and a “C” for custom setting for making images beyond five stops in either direction. This is a really nice function for interior and landscape work where you shoot on a tripod and then combine and layer the images for essentially an HDR (High Dynamic Range) composite image.

Nikon D610

4. Touch Screen & Viewfinder

While the E3 is late to the party insofar as touch screens go, it’s got a 3.0” 1.04m-Dot Touchscreen LCD. That’s a lot of dots! Use the screen to tell the sensor and lens where you want to focus and SNAP! In image view mode, flip back and forth just like a touch screen smartphone like we are all used to doing. It’s intuitive and super convenient. The viewfinder is a 2.36m-Dot electronic type that is so smooth and fast you will forget that you are looking at a screen. It looks and feels like something in between an SLR and the HUD from ROBOCOP . If Steve Jobs were to use this camera, he would happily remark, It just works!.

Nikon D610

5. Sensor and Image Quality

The E3 uses a 24.3MP APS-C X-Trans CMOS III Sensor and X-Processor Pro Image Processor. While nobody other than a holder of a Masters degree in electrical engineering knows what that means, you only need to know that it has deeper pixels and more of them compared to previous generation sensors. You can be sure to count on excellent contrast, sharpness, and brilliant spot-on perfect Fujifilm color that comes from 80 years of film making heritage regarding the images from this sensor. The low light functionality has been improved as well.

The E3 is dynamite little camera perfect for professional work, travelling, and everything in between. I’m loving mine and just about wear it everyday. It’s a classic design with many up to date functions. Images are terrific and reliability and value are awhat you would expect from Fujifilm’s latest offering. It’s a welcome addition to my Fujifilm System and I expect to get some good mileage from this little E3.

Remember, the light is always right.

jhg

*Here are some sample images from the X-E3*

Lenses used in these images were: 18mm f/2, 23mm f/2, 35mm f/2, & 18-55mm f/2.8-4

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The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #86 Cycles

Sat, 06 Jan 2018 13:20:49 GMT

Blog #86 Cycles

Happy New Year!

It’s “that” time of year, again. The holidays are over. New Year’s resolutions have been drafted and we all get back to work with a renewed sense of purpose and energy. We all experience cycles in our daily life. We exist in the “work week”. There are monthly, and of course annual cycles involving events, holidays, and the like.

Your creative and productive life will experience cycles as well. This is inevitable. You cannot be hyper-productive, indefinitely, no matter how much coffee you gulp down. We must all rest and put the camera down from time to time.

Life happens. Personal and life events may support or hinder the creative process. This affects your artistic/photography life. Some creatives may even go through the effort of building in times of rest such as holidays or a summer respite. I encourage you to view these natural cycles as normal. View these times as healthy cycles in the creative process.

The “down times” can be used to catch up on reading lists, paint, or you can try another creative endeavour. Creative “cross-training” might be a good exercise. Over the recent holiday while travelling I bought some paint and brushes and will take a stab at painting. I’ve always wanted to try that out so this year, I’m going to do just that. I expect to gain some insight and experience developing my compositional technique. I’m curious to see how that goes. Wish me luck!

Remember the light is always right.

Jhg

*Images below were made on a family holiday to Taipei, Taiwan*

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The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #85 [CAM/O]

Mon, 04 Dec 2017 15:32:21 GMT

Blog #85 [CAM/O]

For some reason recently I’ve been putting [brackets] on everything such as file names, titles, and folder names. There are three reasons that I think I am doing this.

Brackets remind me of frame lines that are used within most camera viewfinders to give you the approximate edges of the frame. Since I’m totally obsessed with photography, this makes perfect sense and is the most likely cause of this quickly forming habit.
Perhaps I’m reminded of the technique of bracketing or taking multiple images [usually 3 or 5] all at slightly different exposures and then combining those images to make an HDR [High Dynamic Range] image. This is true but not a likely cause of this behavior.
The standard QWERTY keyboard has dedicated keys for the non-curved edition of the bracket, back to back, from your right pinky and the more commonly curved brackets or (parentheses) require the use of the shift key. This is inefficient and utterly nonsense. Who invented this asinine convention? I’m replacing the parentheses with the bracket from now on, who’s with me?

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Actually, the purpose of this blog post was to share the three ingredients that are required to make images that work or images that may even be outstanding. It’s a simple formula, really. To help you remember it, I made up an easy to remember acronym [an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word].

[CAM/O]

Again with the brackets? Get used to it people, they’re here to stay.

So there’s your acronym and formula for making successful images. Here’s what it means.

1. Composition. There are like over a million words on this subject so I’ll be brief. Where will the subject be placed within the image in relation to the other objects? Think, How do I arrange this scene look awesome? This requires some deliberate thought and action albeit it may take a fraction of a second to actually execute in the real world. The term implies some additional effort to draw the attention of the viewer to your subject. Avoid placing the subject in the centre of every photo that you make. Change your point of view [POV]. This can be accomplished through various techniques that I have written about previously [here]. Albert Einstein famously said that “If you can’t explain it simply, then you don’t know it well enough”. Henri Cartier Bresson [arguably one of the best artist/photographers who ever lived] summed up composition in just one word, [Geometry].

2. Action. The subject of the image should have some sort of action going on. Think dynamic over static. A person can be posed or making a gesture that is strong and memorable. Gesture matters big time. Still life images and head shots or landscapes are more difficult to show action but the best ones arguably have this. Look at the sky in most Ansel Adams landscapes or Weston’s peppers. Use lighting in portraits to create action or drama.

3. Move/Out. Remove non-essential objects from the image or story. Watch the corners and check the background. Wait a few seconds for that dude to walk out of your frame, it’s well worth it. What you take out is as important as what you put in. This is best accomplished in the camera [see #1 above]. However, cropping may be necessary. Think less is more. Images may be simple or elaborate but only if required by the story. Alex Webb and Josef Kouldelka were masters of packing their frames with layers of chunky goodness and making delicious images that worked and worked extremely well for their complexity.

It’s easy to remember because it’s half of the words of camera. It’s a mnemonic device and therefore easier to remember [You’re Welcome!]. Camo is also a familiar word that is short for camoflauge and something that you might want to consider when dressing for candid street or event photography. Think all black.

Nikon D610

Let’s review:

You want make awesome images, don’t you? It’s easier said than done but write this on the top of your right hand next time you pick up a camera:

[CAM/O]

Composition = Think, How do I arrange this scene look awesome?
Action = Think, dynamic over static.
Move/Out = Think, less is more.

Remember, the light is always right.

jhg

*Images in this blog post were shot on the streets of Hong Kong one night in November with a Nikon L35 and Cinestill 800 Color 35mm film.*

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The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #84 Art as an Obligation?

Fri, 24 Nov 2017 12:54:57 GMT

Blog #84 Art as an Obligation?

While listening to a popular photography podcast recently, the host shared his perspective of making images [art] as an obligation. We are all individuals and therefore have a unique point of view of our own lives. Therefore, no one can make the art that we make except ourselves, he continued. If we don’t make the art of our own life, no one will. Therefore, he concluded, we must make the art of our own lives or else it will never be made and the world will lose out on something.

Obligation? Responsibility? While we can all comfortably can throw these words around when discussing marriage, parenting, or occupations that deal with life or death situations, like the police, a surgeon, or an airline pilot one does not easily consider the role of an artist as having the same call of duty.

If I told you that you have to make pictures, you owe it to the world, surely you would respond with a sidelong glance. I actually agree with the podcaster’s sentiment that we all need to be making art for ourselves, each other, and the world. Our lives are unique and only we can share art that we see and we make.

I think there is some value in taking on and accepting this point of view. It’s a selfless and altruistic stance and one that can provide us with a modest place in which to begin our creative process. You are unique! Your art is unique! Only you can make your art [photographs]. So you might as well get to it.

Nikon D610

Finally, there are many ways to define a “healthy” life. Work, relationships, sexual connections, financial, spiritual, and physical areas are all generally accepted areas of attention for good health. I suggest that to develop your creative side [and yes we all have one] is to lead a well-balanced and healthy life. All parts of you need to be activated for optimal life heath. Do it for yourself, and others, and the world at large, whatever “it” might be.

Nikon D610

The light is always right.

jhg

**Images in this blog post were made on a Nikon camera, probably a 28mm lens, Kodak Tri-X 400 35mm film and developed at home with Bergger Berspeed somewhere on the streets [and ferry] of Hong Kong**

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The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Blog #69 On Restriction

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #83 What you can learn from other photographers

Sat, 18 Nov 2017 07:21:21 GMT

Blog #83 What you can learn from other photographers

W. H. Davenport was credited for the phrase,

Good artists copy; great artists steal.

While I think that there is certainly a lot that we can learn from our peers in terms of working technique, shooting style, artistic presentation, and more, stealing, according to this phrase was never intended to be taken literally.

The Blue Lotus Gallery in Hong Kong is the leading photography art gallery in Hong Kong and represents Fan Ho and other local talented artist photographers. The gallery also hosts a series of sessions where a photographer will talk about their work and latest book publication. I attended two talks recently, one from Nick Poon and one from KC Kwan.

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Both presented terrific work and to hear them discuss their vision and working style was truly inspiring and a real treat. Nick Poon documented small shop owners in their tiny cramped spaces using an iPhone 4s in a powerful collection titled Confined [受] while KC Kwan showed the dark, gritty underbelly of Hong Kong through sex workers, and junkies using his ultra wide lens in his piece titled Homebound. Kwan’s style is reminiscent of the Are-Bure-Boke style of the late 1960s early 1970s Provoke group from Japan. I was excited to purchase a signed copy of Homebound since I’m a huge fan of the Japanese Provoke style of images. The work was dark, and reflected the artist's tough upbringing as an orphan in inner city Hong Kong. He identified this connection between his style and the way in which he grew up and viewed life. He shared something amazingly insightful that really struck a nerve with me.

Nikon D610

I was also struck by the fact that Nick’s included an entire series of images that resulted in a significant volume of work and book publication was shot on an iPhone 4S. This was clearly not apparent when looking through the book itself or when he shared images on his giant iPad, pinching in to zoom and show detail in the images. We guessed that he had used a 35mm lens of some sort. I was thinking he was using a Sony full frame sensor camera since the lighting in these stalls was all over the place. Boy, was I wrong! I know iPhones and other smartphones can take some decent quality images but I was genuinely surprised that this work was done a phone. This was proof positive that cameras and gear don’t mean shit.

In summary, I learned that:

Gear really doesn’t matter. (I knew this already but sometimes we all need reminding).
Basically we all make images of ourselves. Our work, if successful, reflects us in some way.
It takes a long time to get a project to the finished state. These guys worked for 2-3 years on these projects.

Great stuff! Peers can be amazing teachers for sure!

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images herein were made on a Nikon F100, 35mm lens, and shot on Kodak Ektar 100 and Kodak Portra 400 35mm Color Film and developed at home, using DigiBase C-41 Kit from CameraFilmPhoto.com then scanned on an Epson Perfection V600 Photo Scanner at 2400dpi.

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The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #82 The Purpose of Art

Wed, 15 Nov 2017 10:56:28 GMT

Blog #82 The Purpose of Art

What is the purpose of art? Does life imitate art or does art imitate life? What is the function of art across culture and time? These and similar big picture questions have been asked time and time again across the ages. I find it fascinating to contemplate these as they relate to my personal philosophy or style in making images.

In this week’s blog post, I will share with you a few quotations so that you may think about your own work as an artist [photographer] and perhaps come to some greater understanding or clarification on why you do what you do. Understanding the reason behind your creativity might propel you forward and give food for thought or, er, creativity, for that matter.

Read on…

I went into photography because it seemed like the perfect vehicle for commenting on the madness of today's existence.

Robert Mapplethorpe

If a day goes by without my doing something related to photography, it’s as though I’ve neglected something essential to my existence, as though I had forgotten to wake up.

Robert Mapplethorpe

Anybody can be a great photographer if they zoom in enough on what they love.

David Bailey

An artist is a man who seeks new structures in which to order and simplify his sense of the reality of life.

John Szarkowski 1966

The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.

Pablo Picasso

There is only you and your camera. The limitations in your photography are in yourself, for what we see is what we are.

Ernst Haas

I don’t have a philosophy. I have a camera.

Saul Leiter

One of the ways that I believe people express their appreciation to the rest of humanity is to make something wonderful and put it out there.

Steve Jobs

The light is always right.

jhg

Images in this blog post were made during a charitable event where a group of Harbour School students passed food out to elderly folks in the Sham Shui Po Housing Blocks during Mid-Autumn Festival Oct 2017.

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #81 Talent is Nothing

Fri, 03 Nov 2017 13:27:20 GMT

Blog #81 Talent is Nothing

In this week’s blog post, I would like to address the topic of talent. Every once in a while someone like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart grazes us all with his presence. True genius especially in the creative arts is rare. Nevertheless, there are many talented artists. When we gaze upon the work of Ansel Adams, Henri Cartier-Bresson, or Alex Webb, to name a few, we can’t help but use the word talented to describe these photographers.

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What happens next is that we falsely conclude that these folks were born with some sort of instinctual ability to make gorgeous draw-dropping images with a camera.

“You either got it or you don’t”, we conclude.

Some thing critical is missing from our simple analysis. These folks got to where they are through tons of hard work. Upon seeing a finished work of photography, drawing, painting, sculpture, architecture, or novel we are completely removed from any understanding or appreciation of the years and decades of elbow grease that inevitably came before and resulted in the piece in front of us.

We do not see the thousands of behaviors and long nights that lead the artist to that point in their creative career. It’s all there, you just can’t see it. Therefore, we conclude, incorrectly, that talent is what caused this artist to create good art.

Talent is a null word. It’s the summation of countless hours of literally blood, sweat, and tears. How do Olympic athletes get that way? They work their asses off for it, that’s how. Hard work breeds success. Talent is nothing.

The light is always right.

jhg

*The images below are original and from the September 2017 Distinguished Gentleman's Ride in Hong Kong, a fund raiser event for Men's Health and Prostate Cancer*

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #80 Give it Away, Give it Away, Give it Away, Now

Mon, 23 Oct 2017 14:42:48 GMT

Blog #80 Give it Away, Give it Away, Give it Away, Now

What I've got you've got to give it to your mamma

What I've got you've got to give it to your pappa

What I've got you've got to give it to your daughter

You do a little dance and then you drink a little water

These lyrics were famously penned and performed by none other than the

Red Hot Chilli Peppers in 1991 from their song titled Give it Away Now.

You might have guessed that this week’s blog post is about printing and sharing your images. In Blog #68 titled Photography is a Gift, I advocated for sharing images of friends and family. This can be accomplished through social media outlets of course but is ultimately more effective when images are brought into the real world and printed.

Printing doesn’t have to be a complicated process. I bought new ink jet printer recently in wide format meaning that it takes A3 sized paper [297 x 420 mm, 11.7 x 16.5 in.]. Of course there are bigger [and way more expensive versions] but for a reasonable price, I picked up this baby and dragged her home. This thing is huge but for just shy of $200 USD it’s really pretty cheap. Printers have come a long way and most regular jobs can be done on this machine with photo quality paper. The results have been really good so far. The model is an HP OfficeJet Pro 7740. If you’re in the market for a new printer, let me share this pro tip:

If you ask nicely, the salesman might throw you a pack of A3 photo paper for free as well!

Good luck lugging this thing home it’s about the size of a large microwave oven. Wifi means that anyone on your network can print from any device pretty much, a really useful feature.

Sharing images is a great joy that every photographer should indulge in from time to time. For example, some friends had an awesome beach wedding party recently and I made some pictures that I shared [and will be printing and framing] for the married couple. I view this gift as something special since they cannot buy it or make it themselves.

If you don’t give away your pictures, “You’re a punk!”, says LA street photographer, John Free. I love that guy!

The light is always right.

jhg

Digital Photography Schoo

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #79 Black & White vs. Color, Revisited.

Fri, 20 Oct 2017 12:17:13 GMT

Blog #79 Black & White vs. Color, Revisited.

The subject of black and white or colour has been a lively topic since the start of commercially available film started around the late 1960’s early 1970’s. I’ve blogged about this before in Blog #13 titled B&W or Color? and presented a splash of history of both films and concluded with a verdict of using both rather than an emphasis on either or.

I find myself shooting colour & black and white although mostly colour for commercial work and usually [but not always] black and white for personal work. I think that the world in general, prefers color. Of course the world is in color so it should be presented that was in pictures, yes? Well, sometimes, yes.

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The subject and environment [image itself] should dictate the presentation. A photographer might prefer to shoot in black and white to focus the viewer on the shapes, lines, textures, emotion, gesture, and overall subject of the image. Black and white pictures that work [even paintings or drawings] are very strong when they accomplish this. They are timeless.

In the news recently, two artist’s work in particular are worthy of note, and both are outstanding examples of both types of pictures. Sadly, we lost one of our light-catching brethren, Pete Turner. Check out his absolutely outstanding colour work and give homage to this true master of color.

Thankfully still alive and well is a terrific street photographer named Dotan Saguy’s who presents his black and white work using a Leica M Monochrom.

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Another interesting topic surrounding this issue is one of presentation. Can a portfolio, series, or otherwise collection of images be presented in both black and white or color? Does a collection have to be in all black and white or all color? Many purists would say yes but then again, rules are meant to be broken. One suggestion is to present all of the black and white pictures and then all of the color pictures. That is, if you insist on presenting both within a collection. I have no substantial reason for this suggestion other than it tends to work better.

Lastly, film or digital, black and white or color, wide angle or telephoto, there are so many decisions to distract us from making awesome images. At the end of the day, let the decisions come you rather than forcing them and the results should take care of themselves.

The light is always right.

jhg

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The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #78 How Do You Make Better Pictures?

Sun, 15 Oct 2017 10:26:06 GMT

Blog #78 How Do You Make Better Pictures?

There are many many options out there for those who aim to improve their photography. How do we sort through the information jungle? Learning to make pictures is similar to learning other skills or crafts, except that each image that we make is essentially different. Mastery of skills that are involved with in various occupations such as carpentry, electric work, auto repair, teaching, and others come from simple steps.

The first step is to learn the background of the field, its history. This is not necessary to make good pictures but it is important for comprehensive understanding of the field. Next, we learn about the basics, then the advanced techniques. Knowledge in most fields is cumulative and needs to be delivered in a sequential manner because the basic information is a prerequisite to learning the more advanced. In photography, we don’t teach students about bracketing until they understand basic exposure for this reason. These days, skills such as website design, post-processing, and business marketing including social media are required for success as a professional.

I’ve written in previous blogs about self improvement and living the creative life. Here, I will add to those lessons by including an emphasise on foundation skills and having fluency over your foundation skills before real improvement can be achieved. Foundation skills include but are not limited to:

Getting proper exposure
Nailing good-enough focus
Composition and framing (this is probably the most important).
Reaction time [attention] to the scene in front of you or actually making the picture at the right time (especially in street photography)
People skills (if you are making pictures of people, otherwise, you need hiking or SCUBA diving skills)

Basically, these skills needs to be practiced, over and over. Having an idea of a series or project is also helpful, of course. This list could be expanded to include post-processing (yuk!), editing, marketing, public relations, social media, and other business-related skills but that’s a bit much given the title of this blog post.

These skills need to be fluent and automatic for more complex skills to emerge. This is basically true of learning to do anything. How do we teach these skills to mastery? Good question? I don’t think anyone really does when it comes to making pictures. We read books, take classes, work on projects but we don’t actually drill and practice to a predetermined criterion or level of achievement. What would that even look like?

Goal 1: Make 100 images with perfect exposure using a fully manual camera with a light meter, then without a light meter.

Goal 2: Take 100 pictures in 5 minutes or less all in perfect focus using a manual focus lens, then using autofocus.

Goal 3: Make 20 images using one of 10 different compositional techniques, everyday for one month (i.e. leading lines, rule of thirds, size, blurred background, etc…).

Is this sounding like photography boot-camp? Where do you sign up you ask? I’m not sure that all of that is entirely necessary, albeit it would probably be helpful to master.

Instruction from books or people can be helpful. For more on that, click here. What people need regardless of the source is consequences for the photos that they are making. In short, we all need critique. Critique is basically a process of description. It’s not a question of whether you like the work or not but rather if the work, well, works!

Critique is a process of reviewing, and describing images and stating

“This image works because…”, or

“This image does not work because…”.

Of course we’re all subjective people but some of us have a education in photography and therefore a vocabulary that can be helpful in describing images in this manner.

So, there it is. Practicing component skills and critique be equal improvement. Now go for it.

The light is always right.

jhg

The images herein were made on a rainy day in Hong Kong with a Nikon camera, 35mm lens, Kodak TRI-X 400 ISO 35mm Black and White film pushed one stop to 800 and developed at home in Bergger’s Berspeed developer. They were scanned on an Epson V600.

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #77 Make it Then Break it

Sat, 23 Sep 2017 09:10:59 GMT

Blog #77 Make it Then Break it

I’ve been blogging about creativity, the creative process, education, and many other topics related to photography for over two years now. From time to time, good old fashioned rest can be a welcome respite from the demands of the creative life.

In a strangely counterintuitive way, taking a break from the creative process can allow you to recharge and reinvigorate your creativity. For amateurs, hobbyists, and even the most professional of professionals, no one is consistently creative all of the time. Embracing times of low or no creativity or image making is a part of the natural process.

Making art is hard work. Making good art is really hard work. By definition, it involves making something new that no-one (including yourself) has ever done before. Artists tend to have creative bouts that last weeks, months, or even years. However, we all need and can benefit from a bit of distance from the creative process.

The creative process is like a conversation between the artist and the rest of humanity. Sometimes you listen, and sometimes you speak. Speaking is the making-part of the process while listening is the gathering of information that will, in turn, inform the speaking part.

Another analogy is to think of the creative process like the training program of an athlete. They must alternate between times of great intensity and strength building, and rest, lest they overtrain. Overtraining usually results in injury or a lack of growth, at best. During the rest periods, the muscles heal and regenerate so that the athlete can come back faster, stronger, and more capable of reaching higher levels in their fitness. Artists, too, must also alternative periods of high productivity and rest. Having some distance from images, or image making affords one perspective, insight, and allows the previous work to cure in their conscience.

When the artist photographer rebounds from this down time, their vision will be re-established, re-affirmed, and defined more clearly. How much down time is needed? Everyone is different. Perhaps a week or two, or a month should do the trick. Sometimes life gets in the way and forces you to take a break from the creative projects. Welcome this forced rest rather than fight it.

In short, there is only so much time in a day. Spend it with family, friends, pursuing other work, art, and play. All of these experiences will ultimately inform your art and image making. We are always learning and growing even when not engaged directly in the art of making images. Take a break. Then, come back better and stronger with a more defined vision of the images that you want to create.

Lastly, remember the light is always right.

Feel free to leave comments.

jhg

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #76 Shoot What You Know

Sun, 17 Sep 2017 09:25:38 GMT

Blog #76 Shoot What You Know

Photography blogs and blogs talk a lot about projects and series. In fact, I have written about this some time ago in Blog #6 and Blog #16 on the topic of a Project 365. In most of these tutorials, the message is clear,

“Make a Series, Do a Project, It’s a good for you!”.

Projects and series are helpful because they provide an artist with focus. Projects and series usually have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Some tell stories. We all need closure from time to time. When one project or series is done, we are free [in a manner of speaking] to direct our creative attention elsewhere.

Some projects or series take years and most artists, I would expect are working on more than one at a time. A project or series can be a simple collection of related images but its strength will improve dramatically if you tie it to a story or a theme.

Ask yourself, “What is it that I am trying to say through this project or series?”

As to the content of the project or series, there are infinite possibilities. As a good and possibly safe place to start, you can shoot what you know.

Everyone has a unique history. Maybe you are a car nut, or animal lover, or you enjoy gardening. Did you used to love football when you were younger and have been itching to get back into the sport? Everyone has a hobby or passion. If you do not have at least one, you need one and fast.

Ok, so if you’re reading this you are likely passionate about photography, point taken. What else interests you? cooking? the beach? Find that thing, and make images of it.

Your passion for a subject or activity will give you a unique perspective that most of us will not have. Plus, your natural interest in the subject will motivate you to make pictures until a project or series emerges.

For example, after a long week of work, I like to go out to a bar or club and hear some live DJ music. I enjoy a drink or two [not too much] and talk with friends, some of whom I see from week to week. We catch up on our lives, unwind, and reboot for the coming work week. I have found this experience has allowed me a unique vantage for some fun and interesting image making.

The images here were made around town in bars and clubs like I’m describing here. What are your passions and interests beyond photography?

Comments are welcome.

Remember, the light is always right.

jhg

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #75 Greatness vs. Talent

Thu, 14 Sep 2017 14:35:52 GMT

Blog #75 Greatness vs. Talent

In the last blog I typed about education in photography for the purpose of improvement. This has been a reoccurring theme in my blog that you might have noticed. I make an effort, on a regular basis, to learn something new about photography and I share that process in the hope that it might inspire someone else to pick up a book, take an online course, or otherwise push themselves to fill their head with additional pearls of wisdom. Growth is the point as far as photography is concerned. We need to equip and inform ourselves so that we may become better at image making. When the gap between our vision and our images becomes closer, we grow.

Way back in May of this year there was a very well written piece titled “Great photographers need determination not talent” by Chris Killip from Huck Magazine. In this well-written piece it describes a seven year journey made by a photographer that resulted in determination, resilience, and good old-fashioned grit to finally get the shots that he was looking for. All this was after he picked up a camera and simply got to work with little to no formal instruction in the medium.

True genius is very rare.

I’m reminded of the old adage “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?”

“Practice, practice, practice!”

They say that true mastery of some skill requires around 10,000 hours of work. Those do not come easy, and photography is like anything else in that you get out of it what you put in. There are many roads to success and there is no formula since we are all different. However, practicing skills on a regular basis will likely create the conditions for improvement and personal growth.

Here are a few tips that might work for you:

Work on Projects on a regular basis to completion.
Work on Series on a regular basis to completion.
Edit and Sharing you work.
Learn how to give and receive critique.
Surround yourself with classic and modern resources in photography.

As cliché as it might sound, Greatness or perfection is a journey not a destination.

Try not to be perfect, just try to be better. This we all can achieve.

Remember, the light is always right.

jhg

P.S. The images in this blog post were made with a new brand of 35mm black and white 100 ISO film named Lucky (Made in China) given to me from a friend at CameraFilmPhoto. Check them out for outstanding film, products, and service.

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Blog #68 Photography is a Gift=

Casual Photophile Tip & Techniques No. 001 The Subject is the Subject

Blog #74 Keep on Keepin’ On

Sat, 02 Sep 2017 03:03:22 GMT

Blog #74 Keep on Keepin’ On

Learning is not the goal of life, it IS life, someone very clever once said. A post in a photography Facebook group asked recently if a university degree in photography was necessary. There were over 50 comments that followed. Just about every comment was about a resounding “No!”. However, I wonder how many of those “No” responses were from individuals who actually had gone to school for photography. I work with photographers who have bachelors’ and fine arts degrees in art or photography, and they never seem to have regrets. How can anyone argue that there is no value to pursuing a degree in photography? Higher education is a wonderful experience taught by professors with decades of formal, life, and professional photography experience.

Is formal study in photography necessary to make great work or to be successful (however you might define this) as a professional photographer? Most would agree that is is not. That being said, it couldn't hurt.

When I returned to photography about five years ago, I considered this course of action. I needed a more flexible learning program as I would have limited time to commit to learning photography, although I did want a comprehensive program. So instead of enrolling in a university program, I opted for an online course in professional photography (www.nyip.com). During this time and afterwards, I read everything that I could get my hands on, attended museums and shows, bought books from the greats, and generally took a deep dive using the “self-taught” method. I am still pursuing this. Last month, I completed the MOMA: Seeing Through Photographs from Coursera . You can choose to take this short six-week course for free or pay $50 US as I did to support the program and the MOMA and receive a certificate upon completion.

In the course, there was just the right amount of history presented alongside modern artists to keep things interesting. Instead of submitting a final project that included a photograph that we made, participants needed to submit an image and describe how it related to the units of study in the course. There were two 500 word written assignments that were required in the class as well as a few peer reviews.

I went through the class in a couple of weeks and the materials were very good. I would definitely recommend it to someone interested in photography at any level. They do not pay me to say that, by the way. I got my certificate for completion and it was a nice summer learning project.

The take-away here is that there is no end to the learning, although some effort is required to make it a deliberate process. It’s such a wonderful time to be photographer as there are a plethora of online resources, live workshops, face to face courses, and everything in between. There is really no excuse not participating in some form of improvement program on a regular basis.

Find what works for you, complete it, and repeat. Your vision will improve, your pictures will improve, and you will feel better about your art and yourself in the process.

The light is always right.

jhg

The Inspired Eye Photography Magazine Issue #40 (full interview)

Blog #47 Composition, Composition, and More Composition

Blog #73 S-L-O-W P-H-O-T-O-G-R-A-P-H-Y [SHOOTING THE LEICA G (IIIA)]

Thu, 31 Aug 2017 14:13:12 GMT

Blog #73 S-L-O-W P-H-O-T-O-G-R-A-P-H-Y [SHOOTING THE LEICA G (IIIA)]

Photography [and creativity] runs in families…apparently. About a month ago, my youngest of two brothers, Alex, who lives in Chicago sends me a photo of a Leica III from about 1935. He reports that it was our father’s and that he had it CLA’d recently (that’s cleaned, lubricated, and adjusted for you wanna-be camera geeks out there) although Alex had never shot with it.

“Send it to me”, I said. “I’ll shoot with it”.

Ten days later, I unpack the box and there is it. A stunning and cleverly constructed all metal camera from Oskar Barnack and the Ernst Leitz Group from Wetzler Germany known today simply as Leica.

It was in great condition for an 82 year old machine. It’s small and heavy. Loading film, dialling in proper exposure, focusing using the range finder, and overall making images with this camera is slow, quirky, and down right frustrating at times. It was very easy to completely destroy two rolls of film in the process of getting the thing to work. The first roll was installed backwards (Duh!). The second roll was pretty much shredded as it ran through the camera. Then, it was back to YouTube to watch the film loading tutorials, again. After the film leader gets trimmed, you are supposed to take the lens off the camera, lock up the shutter, and visually inspect the film inside to make sure that it’s in the right place so that it runs through the camera properly, a complicated series of steps compared to more modern machines.

Using an external light meter, you gauge the light conditions, and then dial the aperture ring on the lens, lift and turn the way-to-small and sometimes-stubborn-to-move shutter speed dial, find the focus patch in a tiny and dimly lit view finder with no frame lines, say a short prayer, and press the shutter release button. This process takes a full 10 seconds on average! That’s like an eternity for our modern Snapgramtwitface culture.

After a while you sort of get the hang of it. After all, it’s a Leica, and it’s beautiful and the 50mm f/2 lens is quite capable and makes excellent images. I burned through of couple of rolls of Kodak Tri-X 400 in black and white and then some Portra 400. Sample images are in this blog post so that you can get a sense of what the Leica III with a Summitar 50mm f/2 can do with film.

There are tones of reviewers out there, and I do not intend to add to the existing noise in that department. Nevertheless, if you are looking to get into a Leica system on the cheap, this is the way to do it. You will need a small hand-held light meter as well or just guess and pray. It’s a challenging, fun, and rewarding camera to use. The best part is the channelling of your inner Cartier-Bresson and other great of yesteryear.

So I get some decent images out of this thing after wearing it for a week. Of course I scan them and share them with my family and a few friends. My Uncle Daniel tells me that it was my grandfather Jack’s and that he had a darkroom in their apartment, years ago.

This 1935 Leica was my grandfather’s, then my dad’s, now I have it and it works like a charm. It’s my most special camera now and I will eventually teach Milo, my 10 year old how to use it. He has a Nikon FM2 that he shoots in full manual, but there is a light meter built in to the Nikon, a handy feature indeed.

So there it is, photography runs in families. It’s in my genes. What creative activities have your grandparents been involved with? I’m sure that there are some. At the very minimum, they built families, careers, and they made your parents who, in turn, made you. Creativity is in us all. You just need to know and appreciate that. This is your starting point. The rest is up to you.

The light is always right.

jhg

Blog #52 Marc Levoy’s 18 Lectures on Digital Photography

Blog #42 It’s All in the Details

Blog #40 Shooting for the Sport of It

Blog #72 Living the Creative Life

Sat, 26 Aug 2017 07:44:09 GMT

Blog #72 Living the Creative Life

The creative life is definitely the road less travelled by as might be described by poet Robert Frost. The last line his poem titled The Road Not Taken is “And that has made all the difference.”

Walking the creative path, as it were, it not easy. Some of us are there by choice, by compulsion, or other means. Regardless the reason, like a pious existence, is quite challenging. Staying motivated is the name of the game and we all have our ups and downs as we ride our creative rollercoasters through life.

In last week’s Blog on the topic of working creatively, I feel that there is more to explore and share on this complex and personal topic. Isabella Scott in Artsy shares that our most creative years are often after 60. Really? Why must we wait so damn long? Does anyone else simply hate to wait?

In another piece from Artsy, a project titled Art Oracles: Creative & Life Inspiration from Great Artists was described. In this project, there are 50 cards each of which shows a famous artist and contains some words of wisdom that summarise their artist approach, philosophy of life. These cards are entertaining but were also created to assist with creative block. Like writer’s block photographers and other creatives can get stuck, uninspired, or simple lose their drive to make art.

“Inspiration is for amateurs, the rest of us just show up and get to work”,

said brilliant and successful artist and photographer Chuck Close. Most of his work has been done through his being in a wheel-chair, mind you.

I guess that there is no formula for success since we all have different backgrounds and paths ahead that we must travel. If we must work and create, then we must. If we cannot, then we cannot, or we must wait. Each of us must find our own ways to keep the creativity train on the tracks. Patience, persistence, and the need to create art must all be present for novel work to result.

I hear the echoes of the toy fixer guy from the original Toy Story Movie “You can’t rush ART!”

Fine.

Remember, the light is always right.

jhg

*Images in this blog post are original and made with Film Ferrania P30 Alpha Black and White

35mm Film ISO 80*

Blog #52 Marc Levoy’s 18 Lectures on Digital Photography

Blog #42 It’s All in the Details

Blog #40 Shooting for the Sport of It

Blog #71 Working Creatively

Thu, 17 Aug 2017 13:34:28 GMT

Blog #71 Working Creatively

Ever since I took a black and white film photography class in high school, I loved making pictures. When I came back to photography years later, it was with a renewed passion and love of the medium and the creative process. Photographers may struggle to keep pace, as many other creatives do, while jogging down the path of creativity. How does one stay motivated? How does one stay original?

We are all challenged to find our own style, to find our voice, to make images about things rather than images of things. Sure, projects, assignments, and working on a Project 365 can work to push you forward and practice your craft. What else can we do to keep those creative juices flowing especially in those lean times?

I’ve been listening to a podcast called LensWork that offers some sound advice on the subject.

How to Live a More Creative Life (Artsy) suggests travel, surrounding yourself with creative people, trying new things as well other food for thought on the subject.

The topic of creativity can be quite controversial as many people consider it a trait that you either have [from birth] or you don’t got it. Creatively, in fact, can be taught and measured. In a simple but brilliant experiment using preschool children and block building, psychologists Goetz & Baer (1973) used social praise only when the children produced block formations that differed from the previous ones that they made. The researchers showed in a simple but observable way that you can teach [and measure] creativity. If we were to extrapolate their results to adult picture making, it seems that involving oneself in workshops and seeking critique might be a logical progression.

Indeed, I love how fantasy novelist Ursula K. LeGuin puts it:

“The adult artist is the child who has survived.”

Fight! Survive! Be Creative!

Remember, the light is always right.

jhg

Images in this blog post are original and made with a Nikon SLR, 24mm lens and Rollei 400 Infrared 35mm film and developed at home after a hike with my wife Christine and dog, Pepe.

Blog #52 Marc Levoy’s 18 Lectures on Digital Photography

Blog #42 It’s All in the Details

Blog #70 Photography “Quotations” Part 2

Sun, 13 Aug 2017 14:13:25 GMT

If you’re like me, you read a lot [I read everything!] and you enjoy the random quotation that floats across your field of view from time to time. Some make me stop and think. A really good quotation can be applicable to anything and anyone. They don’t ALL relate to photography, per se. But then again, maybe they do in a profound way. At least to me they seem to be speaking about photography.

If you read below, you will see my most recent list of favourite quotations by random people, most of whom you will have heard of. They all relate to photography in one way or another or at least the creative process. I will not provide reasons or rationale for this connection since it will take to much space and I would rather that you find your own connections to these quotes and how they relate to you and your creative process.

The images below the quotes are original photos that I made using my Fujifilm X-E2S while travelling in the Philippines.

*****

“When you photograph people in color, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in black and white, you photograph their souls!”

- Ted Grant Canadian photojournalist

“Reinforcing contingencies shape the behavior of the individual, and novel contingencies generate novel forms of behavior. Here, if anywhere, originality is to be found.”

From B.F. Skinner’s Science and Human Behavior Chapter 16: Thinking (p. 255)

“Which of my photographs is my favourite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow.”

– Imogen Cunningham

“Education is not preparation for life. Education is life itself.”

- John Dewey

“In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.”

-Coco Chanel

“The best color in the world is the one that looks good on you.”

- Coco Chanel

“. . . as a modern authority has pointed out, it is as difficult to explain how we see a picture in the occipital cortex of the brain as to explain how we see the outside world, which it is said to represent.”

From B.F. Skinner’s About Behaviorism Chapter 5: Perceiving (p. 90)

"Life is what happens to you when your busy making other plans"

-John Lennon

"Man plans and God laughs.”

-Old Jewish Proverb

“Art is what you can get away with.”

-Andy Warhol

“The very meaninglessness of life forces a man to create his own meaning.”

- Stanley Kubrick

“The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent; but if we can come to terms with this indifference and accept the challenges of life within the boundaries of death — however mutable man may be able to make them — our existence as a species can have genuine meaning and fulfilment. However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.

- Stanley Kubrick

“I went into photography because it seemed like the perfect vehicle for commenting on the madness of today's existence.”

-Robert Mapplethorpe

The light is always right.

jhg

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Past Blog Posts

Blog #31 Photography Quotations

Blog #62 Shooting [from] A Plane

Blog #18 PRINT

Blog #10 Self Improvement, Formal Study in Photography Part 2

Blog #69 On Restrictions

Thu, 10 Aug 2017 14:57:42 GMT

Restrictions in creatively can be a good thing that actually facilitates and improves the creative process. But how?

First off, if you are a beginner or hobbyist in photography, there is great value in casting your net widely. In other words, experiment with various formats, film, digital, working with lenses, genres, do a Project 365, work on various projects, portraits, travel, etc… After you master the technical settings of your specific camera(s), the next step is to find your artistic voice. What do you want to say through your images?

Eventually, you can work your way up to story writing, and other creative challenges and projects with images. Thinking of a project can be a bit daunting as there are an infinite number of possibilities out there in the big wide world.

After the initial period of experimentation which will vary from person to person you will likely settle into a small set of cameras, lens, genres, projects, and such. It’s like sanding wood, you move from course to fine, systematically.

At this point in your creative career (or hobby for that matter), it might be helpful to establish some self-imposed restrictions. Interestingly, these can be good in short bursts and actually improve and focus your creative process, image making, and therefor photography.

Some examples of restrictions are as follows:

Use only one focal length lens for a one month or up to one year.
Shoot film only on vacation.
Avoid buying any new gear for a while and stick with what you have.
Only shoot in color (or black and white) for a while day or week, or longer
Make images only of people.
Choose one genre such as macro, landscape, or architectural photography and make only images of those subjects.
Avoid posting anything on social media for a week or month.
Do a project 365.

Although is seems like the task of making images within narrow parameters like these will somehow limit your creative process or result in a boring, homogenous group of images, actually, the opposite happens. It’s really a paradox effect sort of thing. By setting limits, you will somehow start to take a deep dive into the creative process. The results will be well worth it.

The small set of images below were the result of setting the limit (for a day on a family holiday) of only shooting black and white.

What limits will you set for yourself?

Remember, the light is always right!

Sunday 13 August Street Photography Workshop in Hong Kong *
Click here for more information *

See these related Blog posts for more tips and techniques on how to improve your photography:

Blog # 61 On Assignment

Blog # 46 What Makes Art Worthy?

Blog # 42 It’s All in the Details

Blog # 6 Projects

Blog # 16 Special Edition 2016: Project 365 Complete!

Blog #68 Photography is a Gift

Thu, 03 Aug 2017 12:38:46 GMT

Blog #68 Photography is a Gift

I think photography is one of the greatest gifts. The camera is a technological marvel that is really a miracle. Arthur C. Clarke said,

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”.

Indeed, when you expose photosensitive paper in the darkroom under the enlarger for a few seconds, then dunk it into a tray with developer, about eight seconds later an image appears before you. This is science, of course, but it still seems like magic each and every time. Amazing!

Now that we ALL have cameras (including small children) and we collectively upload something to the tune of 2 billion (that’s 1000 million X 2) images daily, we have plenty of pictures to keep us busy for many lifetimes and even earth times. Is it too much? No it is not. I take comfort in this fact since there are an infinite number of image possibilities. From that point of view, we’re barely scratching the surface.

The current SnapGramTwitFace culture that we live in is lightyears from Gutenberg’s printing press from 1440.

Sharing is caring or so it goes.

Images come in many forms and sizes. Share through social media, print a book, print a zine, print on paper, print and frame then give it away. Original art or portraiture is always appreciated when received. Sure there are rules such as don’t post more than one image on Instagram per day. That’s probably a reasonable suggestion. Take into consideration that if someone has one 100 + that they are following and everyone posts one image per day, that’s a tall task to look at 100 images from one single social media site only. You get the picture!

The point here is to share images that are significant with the people in your life. They will appreciate it and you’ll be glad you did. Good photos do nothing sitting in your hard drive as a series of zeros and ones. Bring your art into the real world and the world will be better for it.

Be great, and remember, the light is always right.

jhg

*Check out Upcoming Street Photography Workshop in Hong Kong Sunday 13 August*

Pre-register through email:

[email protected]

Link to Revised Website, Projects, and Images

Blog #7 Self Improvement or How to Make Mind-Blowing Images

Blog #11 Is Photography Art?

Blog #50 *Special Feature* Process Over Product

Blog #61 On Assignment

Blog #62 Shooting [from] A Plane

Japan Camera Hunter Article: Why you should experiment with different film

Blog #67 Risks, Rules, & Restrictions

Sat, 22 Jul 2017 10:30:16 GMT

Blog #67 Risks, Rules, & Restrictions

A formal education in art and design that includes image making will expose one to "rules" that one should master. Mastery of these rules should result in pleasing image making compared to one that is ignorant of such rules. This is the prevailing logic. These rules are derived from an analysis or critique of many great images usually from paintings from hundreds of years ago.

The term "rule" is a bit of misnomer. Guidelines might be a more appropriate term. Most of these rules or guidelines pertain to establishing the subject of the image and placing that subject in the frame (compositionally) in an interesting manner. Images that "work" could be described as having consistency with (or nearly so) the guidelines for what makes a good image.

The counter point to this approach was best stated by the great Ansel Adams.

"The are no rules for good pictures,

only good pictures”.

So where does that leave us? Learn the rules or throw them all out of the window, screw the rules and the text books that wrote them and find your own path as an artist? Well, in short, yes and no.

A formal or informal study of art and what makes good art (critique) is like learning to cook. There are underlying practices and combinations of ingredients that are generally pleasing to most pallets. These are accepted "norms" and found to be present in most dishes that most people appreciate. These ingredients or combinations and cooking techniques have been distilled and extracted from some of the worlds most popular dishes.

For example, spaghetti and tomato sauce can be viewed as a staple dish. It works. It's delicious, and most people would agree. Spaghetti is also one of the first dishes that children learning to prepare their own meals might learn to make and for good reason. It's not that complex and many variations can be derived from its basic components.

However, the world would be pretty boring if we had to eat spaghetti all of the time. Mastery of basic skills and ingredients of cooking or photography is not only a good place to start, it might even a necessary place to start in order to develop a more elaborate repertoire of either creative pursuit. This is true of many creative fields such as music or acting.

More elaborate images including complex compositional layers and control of depth of field, for example, are likely the result of mastery of the basics and the photographers continued application of those guidelines although in more complex and novel ways. There is more than one road to success or improvement for that matter but I have found this road works for me.

In conclusion, learn the basics and practice practice practice them to mastery. Then, intentionally break the rules, blaze a new trail, carve your own niche, and solve the climate change problem while you’re at it.

Take risks. Experiment. Impose limits on you're self like using one focal length only for the day, month, or year. Shoot film. Shoot in black and white only. Only shoot people. Make a plan and most of all have fun and for the love of photography share your work. Give it away for free.

Remember, the light is always right.

Jhg

*View the revised website: Click Here

Blog #36 Creative “Constraint”

Blog #45 Getting Intimate with Your Subject