Today's Guest Blogger: Dave Ray

Image 1 Hindu Dancers Laughing_00001.jpg

Today's guest blogger, from the other side of the planet (from New York, anyway), is Dave Ray. Take it away Dave.

Major thanks to Rick for granting me this opportunity to guest blog. 

 Like Rick, I don’t strongly specialize in any particular area of photography except that I seldom photograph in my region of origin, and I love capturing images of people. I used to tell people that I’m an ethno-photographer, but about the only person who ever understood what that meant was Lauren Stockbower—picture editor for Nat Geo!

The Power of People Images

As top wedding photographer Bambi Cantrell has emphasized, an image may be somewhat technically flawed, but it will still be compelling if it shows expression!

 Opening Image--Private Laugh, Hindu Dancers, Penang, Malaysia

Being ready to catch the moment when people’s candid expressions erupt is the critical. Typically, I smile & ask people if they mind if I take their picture. Then, I’ve found they usually feel most comfortable if I pull out my take-with-me-everywhere small pocket camera (like the Canon S100 series) to take a few images as they get used to me clicking away.  As the relationship warms up, I’ll pull out my pro DSLR. 

Back in the analog days I learned from an old pro who always got his best images of his kids playing after spending a few minutes pretending to take their photos without ever really pushing the shutter button & wasting film on camera-conscious poses. After they got over him aiming the camera at them & turned their attention back to their friends, he found many opportunities to capture genuine expressions as they played.

Often it’s not much different with adults.

Expression is revealed around the mouth, in a person’s posture and in the hands, but, of course, it’s caught, more than anywhere else, in the eyes. As a great teacher said, “The eye is the lamp of the body.”

Young Hindu, Ahmedabad, India

 I know I’ve captured the right catch light—when I can discern myself in sharp focus in the person’s eye. It’s usually most important and sufficient to achieve that sharp focus in the nearest eye.

Landscapes Plus

You can’t travel the world without also getting passionate about capturing landscape images.  But, even here, I usually prefer to include human figures.

Mamburit kids & boat, Indonesia

Subtle patterns & negative space in nature—supplemented with the powerful visual mass (David DuChemin’s concept) in the human figure—combine to form stronger images.

But what do you do when pesky tourists invade the frame of a great landscape image?  Usually you have to wait for, if not bait them, to leave!  But sometimes even they can help create a delightful image.  Concentrate on building your image from the back forward by choosing first a compelling background, then as the tourists mingle in your foreground, isolate one or two, quickly position yourself to gain a compelling perspective & capture!

Tourists on Borobudur Temple, Indonesia

It’s All About Light

Rick typically ends his blogs, Explore the light!

That jives deeply with how Galen Rowell started his book Mountain Light:  In Search of the Dynamic Landscape.  He opens there saying, “Most amateur photographers think of landscapes simply as objects to be photographed. They tend to forget that they are never photographing any object, but rather light itself . . . .  my thoughts center on light rather than on the landscape. I search for perfect light, then hunt for something earthbound to match it with . . . . When the light is right and everything is working for me, I feel as tense as when making a difficult maneuver high on a mountain.  A minute-and sometimes mere seconds—can make the difference between a superb image and a mundane one” (4, 2nd ed., 1995).

I was thinking of that insight one day as my wife & I were driving along Penang’s north coast & saw amazing light exploding all around us as the low afternoon sun radiated under an incoming storm. I didn’t know what subject I wanted to capture, but there was great light everywhere. So, my camera came out, & there it was—the earthbound subject to match the light. 

So, there it is.  Catch & explore the light!

Malay net fisherman, Malaysia

If you’d like to sharpen your skills in destination world photography, look at Rick’s Workshops page to capture your spot on our upcoming Java-Bali Photo Workshop in 2015.

 

Today's Guest Blogger: Jason Whitman

I would like to thank Rick for asking me to write a post for his blog. I want to share some of my photographs that I consider the strongest, and some tips that might help you to become a more effective photographer.

Rick and I met on social media, Twitter to be exact. I found out he was slated to be the keynote speaker, and lead a workshop, at the Wild West Photo Fest in Casper, Wyoming, which is where I live. I participated in his Creative Visualization workshop, organized by Wyoming Camera Outfitters, here in Casper at the world famous Wonder Bar, and it was a fantastic learning experience to say the least. (Click here to see Rick's post on the event. He will be returning in June, 2015 for another awesome workshop.)

Opening Image: Speaking of creative visualization, the first image I want to highlight is called “Get Off My Land.”  This is an image I took at a workshop with David Stoecklein near his ranch in Mackay, ID. I prefer for all of my images to tell a story. I want the viewer to be involved in the photograph. I directed the models to move to this location and took these images. The composition was very compelling. I then edited the images in Lightroom to create this painterly effect. Gear: Canon 5D Mark II, Canon EF 28-135 f/3.5-5.6L at ISO 800

Above: When I am making photographs of wildlife, I always try to compose the image in such a way as to elicit an emotional response from the viewer. In this photograph of an old bison bull in profile, I was drawn to his facial expression and his eyes, as if he is remembering something from days gone by. I called this image “Remembering the Old Days.” Gear: Canon 5D Mark III, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L w/ 1.4x at ISO 800

Every year, Fort Caspar in Casper, Wyoming commemorates the Battle of Platte Bridge Station where young Lt. Caspar Collins lost his life.

Re-enactors were planning to do cavalry drills, so I found a location from which to shoot where the background was true to the period. Being prepared before the action started allowed me to capture an image in-camera that I was pleased with before I even started editing.

When editing, remember that we are artists. I wanted a picture that would transport the viewer back to the era being represented in this event. I applied a sepia tone and dramatized the lighting and shadows.

This process allowed me to make a photograph, not just take it and hope for the best. Gear: Canon 5D Mark III, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L at ISO 200

When I am shooting, I always position myself in a place where the lighting will help me achieve my goals. This requires visualizing the result you want. Of course, wildlife does not always cooperate, but when they do the results can be quite dramatic. This coyote was engaged in an evening hunt along Pelican Creek in Yellowstone National Park. The lighting created a very interesting mood in this photograph. I’m glad I was prepared. Gear: Canon 5D Mark III, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L w/1.4x at ISO 800

On this cold, August morning in Yellowstone, when we received our first late summer snow of the season, my daughters and I were skipping rocks on the west side of Yellowstone Lake. I realized that this location would make a dramatic black and white photograph, so I grabbed my gear, which I always take everywhere I go, set up my tripod, and took this photograph. I processed it as I envisioned it in black and white.

Another important point about this image is that cropping is your friend. This photograph, as originally shot, had a lot of negative space. I carefully cropped it and made it a significantly stronger image. Don’t be afraid of the crop tool. Gear: Canon 5d Mark III, Canon 24-105mm f/4L at ISO 100

The most important thing when you are making photographs is to have fun! Your enthusiasm will improve your work and your viewers will sense, and appreciate, your passion. I hope these tips will prove useful to you in your photography.

I hope to see you over on my web site.

And Rick and I hope to see you our his 2015 Casper, WY workshop!

Shoot the Sweet Light,
Jason B. Whitman



Today's Guest Blogger: "Sushi Steve" Inglima

Above:  (L) "Sushi Steve" Inglima, (R) Rick "Sushi Sammon" at Yama Sushi in Las Vegas. The photos were taken about a year apart.

This post is actually an expanded email that my friend and fellow sushi lover (and awesome fellow musician) Steve Inglima sent to me after he read this article (screen grab below) about eating sushi.

I took the photos below at Samurai restaurant here in Croton-on-Hudson, NY. Notice the Rick Sammon roll on the menu! What an honor. :-)

Take it away Steve!

• • • • •

As the article says, more Japanese people prefer to eat sushi with chopsticks then their hands! But, the history of sushi does suggest it was meant to be finger food.

What we think of as sushi (Nigiri) was "invented" in the feudal period of Japanese history where the class of warriors (samurai) were very revered and respected mercenaries. They were basically hired swords to protect various wealthy rulers. They wore protective gear, and it was a bit of a nuisance and a security risk at times to remove all of that stuff, so it was a very welcome invention to be able to simply walk up to a counter (Edo, in Japanese) and order some bite sized pieces of fish on rice that they could eat with their hands without the disrobing etc.

It was the original "fast-food". So, its heritage suggests that in fact nigiri style sushi should be eaten with your fingers. In fact, this form of sushi was known in that time as "edo-maii", or "in front of the counter".

However, the deeper behind the scenes creation of sushi was a method of preserving fish prior to the invention of refrigeration. Rice was soaked in vinegar, and then wrapped around fish that was sliced to put it in contact with it, then wrapped in seaweed, and then put in a wooden box and buried in the ground for cool temperature stability.

So, that's the reason that the current sushi rice (knows as "Shari") is seasoned in vinegar, and the rolls are wrapped in seaweed paper. So, when that box was taken out of the ground and the assembly unwrapped, the fish was just sitting on the rice.

Today, you can order sushi somewhat like this, called Chirashi. It's chopped up sushi grade fish just sitting on top of the rice in a box. And THAT is eaten with chopsticks. So, the real origin of sushi is in fact a chopstick utensil meal...

So, when anyone tells you (who thinks they know what they're talking about) that you should eat sushi with your hands, you can tell them "well, yes and no," and then tell them why and then to stuff it in their maki hole :)

• • • • •

Thank you Steve for sharing!

When in Vegas, don't miss out on some of the best sushi ever at Yama.

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. Interested in the business side of sushi? Check out The Sushi Economy.

Interested is learning more about sushi, check out the documentary, Jiro Dreams of Sushi.

 

Creative Visualization is the Key to a Creative Photograph

There is no such thing as taking too much time, because your soul is in that picture. – Ruth Bernhard

Creative visualization - envisioning the end result - is the key to making a good photograph.

Image capture is only part of the process. Unlimited creative, and corrective, possibilities await us in Photoshop, Lightroom and with plug-ins, such as Photomatix, the plug-in I use and recommend for HDR. and Topaz DeNoise, the plug-in I use for reducing noise.

Opening pair of images: On my Iceland workshop with Tim Vollmer last week, when the light was not quite right in this glacier lagoon scene, I envisioned opening up the shadows, toning down the highlights, increasing the saturation, cropping, reducing the noise, and adding a painterly touch to the image. I took the shot with my Canon 5D Mark III and Canon 24-105mm IS lens. (All my gear is listed here.)

When I got back to my hotel room, I got to work in the digital darkroom. Tim and I also sat with the workshop participants and helped them enhance their images on their laptops, which is always a rewarding experience and great fun!

I teach creative visualization, Photoshop and plug-ins on all my workshop. Tim and I hope to see you in Iceland in 2015.

I also teach creative composition and exposure on-line.

Above: Here I envisioned two different end results. Moving just few inches made a big difference in the images.

Need help finding the best light for a creative photograph? My Photo Sundial app can help.

Right now it's available for the iPhone and iPad.

Envision the end result,
Rick