Good Advice

Jessyel Ty Gonzales wrote a guest post for Scott Kelby's blog that I found chocked full of good advice.
You can read what he wrote here.  It's straight forward advice for anyone contemplating photography as a career or anyone that has already made that decision.  
On a personal note, I started this class absolutely clueless about my camera, unless it was in Auto mode.  Once I learned how to find the proper exposure, I haven't looked back.  I have found an unexpected amount of joy, satisfaction and a curiosity for life during this class.  I am sad to see it end.  
Back to Mr. Gonzalez...
He reiterates much of what I have heard throughout this semester, but he takes bits and pieces I have heard here and there and lumps it all together in a succinct list to keep as a reminder.
I hope you find his advice as helpful as I do.
Here's one of his shots...  Great!

Falling in love...

Yes, I have fallen in love with studio lighting!

We had a quick demo in class a couple of weeks ago.  Absolutely amazing!  

A few of us went in together and set up the equipment on a Saturday and had a great time practicing.
I think this is my favorite shot from the studio that day:



This image captures the playful relationship my husband and daughter have. That is what really shines through to me.

I've been trying to figure out why it is I like the 'atmosphere' or feeling I feel when I see studio shots.  The best I can come up with at this point is all the focus is on the subject, no background distractions.  It's all about them.

Without question, I have a TON to learn about the subject and have been poking around online to learn what I can.  Our professor (Kate) said there are whole semester classes on studio lighting.  That would be heaven!

Until I can take one of those, I will keep learning what I can.  I will be posting links to resources below (and I will keep updating them as I find them).  I do find myself trying to think of where I could set up a permanent studio in our home.  Maybe when we get them all out the door to college!


B & H Photo
Adorama TV 
dpreview 
Digital Photography School 

Julianne Kost

Photoshop has been a scary word for me, but I will soon need to jump into this program.  AHHH!  Yes, an intimidating thought to say the least.  I am feeling some comfort though because I know that Julianne Kost can be right there to help through the tutorials she has made.  I have really benefited from her Lightroom tutorials and am looking forward to learning more from her.
 
Julianne joined Adobe in 1992 and has a BS in Psychology and an AA in Fine Art Photography.  Her tutorials are very easy to follow and take you through, step by step, a specific element of the software that you are trying to understand. 
She also shares a daily Photoshop tip on her blog you can find here.  

Rien van Ritjhoven

In searching architectural photography online, I came across the website of Rien Van Ritjthoven.  
 
I found a nice short biography about him here.  

I find some of his photographs almost look more like architectural renderings.   
The images he has taken inside of buildings have a really interesting composition.  The advice given by our professor, Kate Sanker, this semester can really be seen in his interior images:  fill the edges and the rest of the image will take care of itself.  When I look at these photos, I can almost feel like I could walk in and sit down.  His images seem very clean, light filled and modern.


 
You can see his images on his website, http://www.architecturephotography.org/.

500 px

If you would like to browse a LOT of others photos, you might really enjoy a visit to 500 px.   This website is loaded with photographs that you can look at and 'like' if you choose to.  There is a review of the site you may find helpful here.  It seems a big plus of 500 px is that you are not giving away all your rights to your photographs when you post them.
I have enjoyed looking through photos on this website and trying to learn from others compostions, lighting, etc. 

Joel Sartore

 

I first became aware of Joel Sartore because of The Great Courses (which offers courses on many different subjects).  Mr. Sartore is their expert for the fundamentals of photography (which you can see a listing of here).  This is not a sales ad by the way :)  My Mom purchased the DVD set for me as a gift - on an amazing sale.  So far I have only seen a tiny section of it because I have been way too busy this semester to sit down and watch it, but I will this summer.

 What little of it I have seen has made a lot of sense to me.  Joel Santore has been a National Geographic photographer for many years, as well as other publications such as Time and Life.  You can see his work at his own website, http://www.joelsartore.com/.  His passion for wildlife and nature really shine through in his work.  He has authored several books and seems to have a very full life.

Ever since I can remember, I have been impressed and amazed with pictures I have seen in National Geographic.  My husband and I have watched documentaries showing what the photographers have to go through to capture animals in their natural habitat.  It requires a lot of patience, stamina and good humor.  Mr. Santore's photos are no exception.

He has a great FAQ's page on his blog.  You can find it here.  I look forward to learning even more from him this summer.

Light Painting

I was introduced to light painting during a critique this week in photography class.  My classmate Leslie (you can check out her blog here) made an amazing photograph using a glowstick, tripod and slower shutter speed.  I was really intrigued!
I have learned light painting has been around for a long time.  The closest thing I can think of for this is waving around the sparklers growing up on the Fourth of July and seeing the "after image". 
You can click here for a good explanation from Wikipedia. 

Here are some images I love:

by Brentbat



by Rafoto

I found a basic tutorial on You Tube.  You can find it here.  I am excited to give this a try!

              

Edward S. Curtis

Edward S. Curtis was born in 1868 in Whitewater, Wisconsin.  In 1887 his family moved to Washington state which  put him in proximity to the Native American living on the Seattle waterfront.  He would spend roughly the next 30 years photographing and writing about the lives of different tribes of Native Americans.   One of his most famous photographs is that of Princess Angeline, the daughter of Chief Seattle.  This gave him recognition and led to opportunities to expeditions that gained him access to many tribes.

Princess Angeline

Curtis' contribution to recording the traditions and images of Native American tribes is invaluable to our nation's history.  He published many volumes about Native Americans.  Of Curtis, President Theodore Roosevelt said, "In Mr. Curtis we have both an artist and a trained observer, whose work has far more than mere accuracy, because it is truthful. …because of his extraordinary success in making and using his opportunities, has been able to do what no other man ever has done; what, as far as we can see, no other man could do. Mr. Curtis in publishing this book is rendering a real and great service; a service not only to our own people, but to the world of scholarship everywhere."
 



Geronimo

I am grateful for the images he captured and the dignity he showed to this great people.  To learn more about Edward S. Curtis and his work, please visit here and here.



Crow's Heart:  Mandan

Missouri Conservationist

Missouri Conservationist is a free magazine you can subscribe to if you live in the great state of Missouri.  As I have been on the lookout for great photography this semester, I realized this magazine is something I have been looking to for several years now and admiring the photographs that come in each issue.
You can subscribe by visiting this page and filling in the necessary information.  You can choose whether to receive the magazine by mail or email.
There are two staff photographers for the magazine:  Noppadol Paothong and David Stonner.  You can find information about Noppadol here and David here.
This magazine is very helpful in pointing out places in Missouri that are beautiful and that perhaps I have never known about before.  When thinking about where to photograph it is easy to think you have to travel a long distance to find some beautiful scenery, but this this publication helps me to see there are so many gorgeous locations not very far away.

  

photo by David Stonner

One thing I really like about the magazine is that they often include a description of the settings used to take each photo.  I find this really helpful and sometimes surprising.  It helps me to look at the photograph and see what settings I think I would have used verses what the photographer used.

If you enjoy the outdoors, I highly recommend checking out the Missouri Conservationist.

photo by Noppadol Paothong

Light Stalking

I have found an incredibly helpful website, Light Stalking.  

I'm not sure how I stumbled upon them, but I did sign up to receive their periodic emails with links to the articles they publish each week.  They feature posts on different topics, such as what makes a landscape memorable, lighting techniques, finding your personal style, etc.  They also feature photos from various photographers each week.

I find their tips give me little tweaks to think about while I am out capturing things I like. 

An example of a recent post I found very interesting can be found here.

While the blog is free to look at, they do also offer articles that you can pay to read.  

You should check out this website... I know I will continue to keep reading and learning.

Scott Kelby

Since starting my digital photography class, Scott Kelby is the name I have probably run into the most.  I have purchased tutorial books he has written on both Photoshop and Lightroom and checked his blog numerous times.  I am amazed at all this man has accomplished!  He was born in 1960 - not too far ahead of me.  In addition to capturing inspiring images, constantly adding to his blog, and, well, here are the words from his blog describing what he does...

"Editor and Publisher of Photoshop User Magazine; training director and instructor for the Adobe Photoshop Seminar Tour, President National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP), CEO of Kelby Media Group, author of a string of bestselling technology books. Conference Technical Chair for the Photoshop World Conference & Expo, author of numerous Photoshop training DVDs and online courses, and co-host of PhotoshopTV, and Photoshop Tips-N-Tricks. 10 jobs, little sleep."

Whoa!  I feel lazy just reading this!

  

One thing I love about his blog, found here 

is that he not only show the images he captured, he often shows what was involved to capture them.

   

        

The parts of his books I have read have been very helpful and a an easy ready for a newbie like me.   I look forward to learning more from him in the future.

Galen Rowell

Galen Rowell (1940 - 2002) had a love of climbing from an early age and began to photograph what he saw on his climbs so he could share what he saw with those he loved.  He was not formally trained as a photographer, but you don't have to look at many of his images to see he had a true talent in capturing what he saw.

 

His love of hiking and climbing continued throughout his life and from what I have read, he spent his days doing what he truly loved. His photographs appeared in many publications, including National Geographic.

 Sadly, he died with his wife in a plane crash on their way home from Alaska.  He left behind a legacy that shows his love for the American landscape.

You can learn more about Galen Rowell at the following websites:

http://www.bythom.com/chasing.htm 

http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/locations/north-america/lessons-learned-from-galen-rowell.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galen_Rowell

Peter Henry Emerson

     Born in Cuba to an American father and a British mother,  Peter Henry Emerson (1856 - 1936), started his career as a doctor, but once he discovered photography, he left other interests behind him and pursued photography wholeheartedly.  Emerson embraced a style of photography that was very different for his time.  He felt that photographs should  show things as they really were and not posed or contrived.  This created quite a stir in the photgraphic world.

In 1889 (1889!) Emerson published a book entitled,  Naturalistic Photography for Students of Art.  I am amazed at early photographers and all the work they went through to produce an image.  I would love to see what they could accomplish with a digital camera!

If you would like to learn more about Peter Henry Emerson, you can read about him here

and here. 

Yosef Karsh

Trying to capture someone's personality in one photograph has proved been a challenge to say the least.

One portrait has stood out to me as capturing a personality (or at least perceived personality) more than any other.

This is one of Winston Churchill and Yosef Karsh is the man that captured this image.

You can read the story of how he captured this image here.

As I have read his autobiographical sketch, the thing that struck me the most about his life was his gratitude.  His life was not without early struggles, but I think he always made the most of what he found himself with.  His hard work and studies paid off.  Opportunity presented itself, and he was ready when it did.

He first learned to work with found light in his mentor's studio in Boston and later learned about composing light to work the way he wanted when he became involved with a theater group in Ottawa.

All of the portraits I have seen of his work seem to capture a unique quality about each person.

Of portraits, Karsch said, ""My chief joy is to photograph the great in heart, in mind, and in spirit, whether they be famous or humble."

-http://www.biographybase.com/biography/Karsh_Yousuf.html

It is my goal to study more about him and apply what I learn to taking portraits.

Yosef Karsh lived from 1908 to 2002.

To learn about Yosef Karsh, visit his website:

http://www.karsh.org/#

A good friend introduced me to the work of Brian Matiash.  You can find his blog here.  This man definitely loves what he does!

I have learned a lot about HDR photography reading his blog and looking at the images he has posted along with his explanations.  HDR stands for High Dynamic Range Imaging.  From what I understand so far, the goal of HDR photography is to capture more of what your eye naturally sees, from the darkest detail, to the lightest highlight.  Brian does a good job explaining how to achieve this here.

I know I am baby stepping it right now in photography and learning the software, but I hope at some point to give HDR a try.

Here is a sample of some of Brian's HDR photographs.

The image on the left is before and the one on the right is after.

Wow!!  Look at the detail that shows up!

I think you will enjoy looking at Brian's blog, even if you have no interest in HDR.  

His images are interesting and he always adds some words of wisdom for the photographer with each post.

I am really enjoying this journey of learning and discovery!

I stumbled on this photographer's work the other day.  David Fuller.

His logo grabbed me from the very beginning.  I seem to gravitate towards clean, symmetrical looks.

http://thefullerview.tumblr.com/

I thought this was a clever title for a photography blog... 
and the images are absolutely gorgeous!

The idea for this blog is quite ingenious.  Here is an explanation from the creative site Minding Shop associated with David's photos:

​

 

"Our highly-successful lifestyle blog blends David's photography with images curated across the web. We have become a favorite destination for thousands of daily visitors seeking creative inspiration or a brief escape to their dreams.



With our large base of followers, thefullerview is a marketing partner for brands seeking to accelerate engagement of their visual content.  For clients who share thefullerview's taste and creative values we integrate their content with branded watermarks and embedded links to drive traffic, awareness and revenue." 

The blog consists of images and the occasional quote.
So, not all of the images seen at the fuller view
are captured by David.  I think of this page as a compilation.

To see only David Fuller's work, you can go here
(or click on the 'MY PHOTOS' link at the top of the page at thefullerview.com)  
 

Here some examples of some of David's photos:

These are just a few examples of some really breathtaking images.

As I start this semester and class, I am really looking forward to finding my voice through the images I capture.  
I know 'beautiful' comes in many forms and it is my goal to catch some of the beautiful all around me 
and to go out and seek the beautiful in the world.