• Photography

    I Lost It?

    November 3, 2010
    Park Bench

    I lost it. I felt the anger and resentment well up inside of me, making me physically unhealthy. My back and neck were tight and the aching was more than annoying me. I did not like where I was. My mind kept playing out scenes which did not need to be imagined. Life was not what I wanted and I was not accepting it. I prayed for relarese from these unwelcomed thoughts and feelings.

    I settled into some quiet hoping to settle the restless spirit within me. I then grabbed my journal and began to write with the hope of putting my thoughts down in black and white would help them subside. Since the rain had stopped and the sun was peaking out between the rolling clouds and offering glimpses of bright blue skies, a restlessness was beckoning me to get up and move. With camera over my shoulder I walked within close proximity of my hotel. I whispered prayers and opened myself to the muse hoping it would point my photographers eye to the unseen images around me. Once back in my room it felt good to stretch out on my bed and relax. As I laid there I noticed the tension, anger, resentment and the unhealthy focusing on my “self” had slipped away. Was it the writing, the prayer, the quiet time, the walk or pressing the shutter on my camera? Hopefully it was all of them. I lost them.

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  • Art,  Photography,  quotes

    Ray’s Right

    October 2, 2010
    20100916-_DSC5410.jpg
    After a Rain

    “Photographic technique is no secret and – provided the interest is there – easily assimilated. But inspiration comes from the soul and when the Muse isn’t around even the best exposure meter is very little help. In their biographies, artists like Michelangelo, da Vinci and Bach said that their most valuable technique was their ability to inspire themselves. This is true of all artists; the moment there is something to say, there becomes a way to say it.” – Ralph Gibson

    Last June there was a comment left by Ray Ketchum on a posting by Sabrina Henry that really got me to thinking. Ray suggests we don’t lack for inspirations and in fact are inundated with them, but we lack “the execution of said influences or the interest in completing them.” He suggests we “tap that energy and we will make something worth the effort.” His words have been rambling around in my head every since.

    As a young man I would lay on the couch or in the yard dreaming. I would dream of scoring the winning touchdown, be the most popular boy in school, be a hell-and-damnation preacher and change the world (way over that dream),  be a rock star (over that one, too), travel the world and of course a photographer. Those dreams were wonderful to experience, but since they were just dreams there was never any risk or effort involved. So, I lived on my couch in a fantasy world for many years. The goals I did reach were associated with everyday life such as: graduating from high school, four years in the military, a college degree (one I really didn’t want), getting a job to support my family. These goals were not my dreams but the expectations of society. The dreams to be creative and take risks were always suppressed. Even at this age in my life I still find times when I dream on the couch and times when I move forward. It is always more rewarding to move forward.

    Once I started getting up off the couch some of these inspired dreams have come to bare fruit. So, when we get off the couch we will find our muse has followed bringing along even more inspiration. How often do we have inspirational dreams and just lay on the couch and how many times do we get up off the couch and take the necessary steps to fulfill those inspirations? Ya, know, Ray’s right.

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  • Photography,  quotes

    Showing My Photographs

    September 21, 2010
    Sunrise and Dew

    “We are judged, not by the photographs we take, but by the photographs we show.” – Ted Grant

    I took my first steps into photography when I was 10 or 12 years old. Yet, it was not until I was 50 before I printed and matted my first print. And, what took me so long to take that step? I’ll suggest it was my belief system. At that time, I believed I was not a good  photographer, at least when I compared my images to those I considered photographers. I now believe in my abilities as a developing photographer and I’m accepting myself.  Both of those factors are nurtured by having this photoblog/website. I’m more comfortable with showing my images and in fact enjoy showing images that I know do not have as much power as others may. I’ll even put up snapshots, like yesterday. So, I’m much more comfortable showing my photographs.

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  • Photography,  quotes

    Making Cheese

    September 20, 2010
    Cheese and Other Goodies

    “Photography is like making cheese. It takes a hell of a lot of milk to make a small amount of cheese just like it takes a hell of a lot of photos to get a good one.” – Robert Gillis

    I won’t call this a good one, but… at least it’s the best one of the session. I made a lot of attempts at this image just to come up with what I have. I played with the light, moving the flash all around, played with the perspective, and sporadically would eat a piece of the cheese then needed to cut another slice. Each time I tried something new I presented myself with the opportunity to learn. In this case I learned more about my wireless flash: such as standby mode does not work in wireless (see page 73 of the SB-800 manual.) I also enjoyed nibbling on the subjects during and afterwards. 🙂

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  • Camera Equipment,  Photography

    Lightroom 3 Metadata

    September 19, 2010
    At Inniswood Gardens

    Every so often my mind goes off and attempts to convince me into purchasing some new equipment, such as a camera bag, lens, tripod, when I don’t really need to. “Psssst, Hey Monte! Did you ever think of this?” This whispering voice tells me I don’t use that lens enough, so sell it and buy this one. Or maybe it’s suggesting I don’t need that fast a lens and this slower lens would be just fine or just the opposite, buy the fast lens. I’ve even heard it tell me the lens is getting old, knowing that after five years it works just fine. The latest whispering has been to look at the Nikon 85mm f3.5 VR macro lens. I already have a Nikon 85mm f1.8 and a Sigma 105mm f2.8 macro. The whispering is suggesting I could use this one lens in place of two. Do you hear a whisper?

    And then, I remembered that in Lightroom 3 we can filter images by metadata so I decided to see what I could find. What lens do I use the most? What focal length is my most used? What aperture do I gravitate towards? Not sure if anyone has used the metadata filtering before but I found some very interesting information about my lens choices.

    • I bought the 35mm f1.8 in early 2009. It has become my go-to lens with 50% of my images taken with it since I purchase it. It has been used almost exclusively for street work and on my travels due to it’s smaller size.
    • The 85mm f1.8 lens was purchased for portraits about four years ago. Out of 25,000 images in my archives I have 91 images using that lens. So, that asks the question, do I need it? So, I could sell it and use the money to attend a workshop and maybe improve on the photographers skills? 🙂
    • I’ve had the Sigma 105mm f2.8 macro for several years now. I find it focuses slow and has a tendency to wander, so I use it almost exclusively in manual focus. I’m pleased with the images taken with it and have not regretted purchasing it. But the interesting fact I discovered about my use of this lens is that I seldom use it at it’s fastest aperture, only 13% are in the range of f2.8 to f3.5. So, maybe the new Nikon is not such a bad idea. 🙂
    • I’ve owned my Nikon 18-200mm f4.0-5.6 VR lens for at least four years. It has been my primary lens prior to purchasing the 35mm which I use almost exclusively. I’ve discovered 10% of my images were shot at 18mm and about 14% at 200mm. The rest of the focal range usage was spread evenly between 35-120mm with the largest number between 50-105mm. My aperture of choice, and also due to the limitations of the lens, was between f5.6 to f8.0. I consistently shot between 1/60 to 1/160 of a second with this lens. This data scared me because of the new Nikon 24-120mm f4.0 VR lens Nikon just announced. There’s that whisper again, “Pssst, Monte, let’s talk.”

    So, what are my conclusions? Well, Lightroom 3 is awesome. It allows me to see so much information about my photography equipment and how I use it. I was only guessing at how I used my equipment but with Lightroom and metadata I now know  more about how I use my lenses. Anyway it was an interesting exercise, so I bought a lotto ticket. 🙂

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  • Photography,  quotes

    On the Way

    September 12, 2010
    On the Way

    “I pray I may keep my feet on the way.”

    I often fail to keep my feet on “the way”, in fact sometimes I feel I’m not any “any way.” It’s a recurring theme in my life to take my shoes off, or not even putting them on, and therefore not venturing along a path. Laying on my couch, propping my feet up will not get me very far. I can sure dream about walking along some wonderful path but the motivation to move fails me. It reminds me of the lyrics from the song in the move Madagascar, “Move it, move it, move it.” I need to “move it” more.

    I’m aware of something within me that discourages me from moving forward and sometimes paralyses me. Steven Pressfeild labels it resistance, a force to stop us from accomplishing things in life. I’ve also heard it referred to as our “lizard brain” by Jeff Godin. There is a voice whispering the fear of my failures and successes, or it reminds me of the required effort on my part, or that I will have to learn something new. No matter what it’s called or what it says, the challenge is to know it exists and then to put on our shoes and walk. There are so many paths for us to find, and each is our own. No one else will have the same journey as me. No one else will have the same doors to open. Even though somedays I struggle with my progress, I’m know I’m on my way.

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