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