…Then I found them again, buried in the clutter at the end of my Florida room. A little bowl of beautiful glass marbles that I saved thinking they would come handy one day. They will now be the subject matter for a little photographic experiment. Read on and view galleries here: Marble Journey Day and Marble Journey Night.
I have been wanting to get more into macro photography, but beyond the paltry reaches of 0.25x magnification provided by my zoom lenses. My diopter adapter filters, even stacked together, only provide about 7 diopters. I also didn't want to drop some serious cash on a dedicated macro lens, especially since it would be just for occasional fun, so I started looking for alternatives. I read how you can get an adaptor that allows you to reverse and mount any lens, thus achieving the power of macro. The problem with this approach is that modern lenses are totally automated, and once removed from the camera are by default usually stopped down to their smallest aperture. The suggested workarounds I found I wasn't too keen on, like jamming the little aperture lever open with sticky tack.
Than I had a eureka moment. I remembered that somewhere within the black hole of my storage area, I had a box of old film camera equipment, including a nice collection of old Canon FD and Pentax K lenses, all of which were endowed with nice manual aperture rings. BINGO! The articles I read indicated that prime lenses work the best, 50mm being a great option but an even better choice would be wide angle lenses. A 24mm lens provides around 40+ diopters magnification! I ended up using a Pentax SMC Takumar 28mm, f2.8 lens with 49mm reverse adaptor by FOTODIOX. See the gallery of my results.
A few technical notes: Of course you will have to shoot manually, using the shutter speed and iso for exposure control, along with the aperture ring on the lens if available. It goes without saying, you will have to experiment. Focusing is a little tricky, especially stopped down. Also, with the adaptor, the camera thinks there is no lens attached and won't release the shutter, which you can override in your menu settings of most dslr's.
So, if you have old lenses stored somewhere, give them new life!
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Butterflies are likely the most photographed of all insects, having a built-in "WOW" factor. But just because they already make an attractive subject as they are, it doesn't mean we shouldn't try to get creative with them.
Whenever I photograph butterflies I try to portray them in unusual ways, whether it's the angle I use or the lighting. Backlighting, for instance, might not be ideal in terms perfect lighting on the butterfly itself, but it offers unique opportunities to create an unusual image, emphasizing the silhouette and the transparency of the wings. Samples here and here. Another technique I often try is slowing down the shutter speed to get nice blurring of the wings in motion.
Creating an interesting composition is another element to pay attention to. Don't just be satisfied by placing the insect always right in the middle of the frame, but try off-center placement. Exploit other elements in the your view, like plants, twigs or color areas, such as shadows or parts of the sky. See sample here.
Technically, the good news is that you don't need a dedicated macro lens for this type of photography, in fact, a good zoom lens with macro capabilities is better suited, because you can place yourself at a comfortable distance from the insects without scaring them away.
Happy clicking!
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This week's Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily post at wordpress.com is "Changing Seasons"
I'm in the mood for another "poetic" response, so I decided to look at changing seasons as it relates to our life.
When we look at our life in terms of Changing Seasons, we refer to old age as the Winter of our life. That's unfortunate, because winter connotes chilling, withering and dying. Looking at it that way does not account for a life-time of enrichment and success in survival, only focusing on the inevitable outcome. That's not a respectful way to celebrate our grand achievements.
So instead, I choose to look at old age as the season of Spring. When we arrive at a grand old age, all the thoughts and actions planted in younger days begin to sprout and thrive, nourished by flowing wisdom. The world finally begins to come into focus with the clarity of a spring day. Eventually the old roots may descend into the soil but they leave behind new verdant life. This is the season in which our hopes flower in the young faces around us. This is the time of our life when our toils finally bring fruit.
Ultimately, when we reach the Spring of our life, we can finally lift our burdens and regain the wonderment of a child. And every child knows that magical lands are really real. On that day, let's close our eyes and see the castles on hills covered with multi-colored flowers and the puffy white clouds in pink skies…
This week's Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily post at wordpress.com is "Reflections"
This challenge has gotten me quite reflective. About the many years of looking through the lens… A spectator to the world around me but also a director, choosing what to highlight, what to put front and center, and what to say about it. But this challenge is not about reflections of the mental kind but the real physical ones.
Reflections hold a special place in my photography. I am always eagerly looking for them to incorporate into my compositions because they are a great device to reinforce images, adding ambiguity, and enriching layers of meaning.
Every so often something strange happens when I look at a reflective surface. All the sudden I become aware of myself and I am always startled by it, as if in a mini out-of-body experience. There I am, staring back at myself holding a camera. My reflected self wants to photograph me, I become self-conscious and I feel like turning away and hiding. It is as if the immersive act of photography had me blindfolded to the reality of being physically there.
After the disconcerting feeling starts to fade, I take hold of myself and think for a second. Why not? Why not record the recorder? Why not immortalize the artist that is in me? I slowly lift my head, reveal my face, and click. A cameo appearance...
This week's Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily post at wordpress.com is "Thankful"
With the price of gas nowadays, I am glad I can have a tank full of gas. That means freedom to get away, to go and explore…
Now that my tank is full, I have a general location in mind that might be good to photograph. To add to the excitement, I plan to get lost at least once, which is a great way of making discoveries. When I prepare my camera equipment for my little excursions, I usually pack light: one camera, and a lens or two. I don't believe in weighing myself down, so an all-in-one zoom does the trick for me, like my trusty 18-200mm, which covers all the focal lengths I might need. Mobility is paramount, so when I go exploring, I usually bring my smaller DSLR. I prefer to be as inconspicuous as possible, since some of the most exciting areas to photograph might not be the ones I feel comfortable walking around in while carrying an expensive camera.
To round off my kit, I bring a few filters, plenty of extra memory and very important, extra batteries. I usually skip the tripod because it's a pain to carry and it slows me down. Besides, I aesthetically prefer softer images with lots of blurs and motion. Technical notes: The image above was shot at 1/15th of a second. My plan was to have more sharpness on the hand and steering wheel, while having the outside blurred. However I discovered that taking photos with one hand while travelling at 50mph is not easy. You need to have objects close to the outside of the car, in this case the trees, in order to get some nice streaking blurs. My image is not perfect but the light and the overall feel is nice enough.
Off I go to explore. I am very thankful to have the time and the freedom to get lost with my camera.
Disclaimer: Photographing while driving is dangerous and should only be performed by trained professionals.
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This week's Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily post at wordpress.com is "Green"
Green is a color with obvious meaning: Nature, life, fertility. So to represent it in pictures the obvious choice is natural organic forms of the leafy kind. The first series of images I chose (below) is my easy take on the subject.
But then I decided to push it a bit more and see where I could go with this challenge. What else does green symbolize? I read that green is the color of balance, learning and harmony. Green also embodies growth and desire to expand, increase and transform. I looked around in my collection and found the photo above which captures the drama of a little spider caught in a droplet of condensation against a window. At first I was attracted by the luminous green hue of this image.
I looked at this picture for a while to see how it could relate to the growth and transformation qualities of green. It finally occurred to me that as we expand and grow, our baggage becomes heavier. We accumulate things, knowledge and opinions. But in turn those things we surround ourselves with cause our needs to grow further, until we become bogged down by the weight of our life. As we can see, the little spider drags more and more little droplets of water as he moves forth leaving a distinct path of his passage. Eventually the burden becomes overwhelming and he comes to a standstill, risking to drown. The only hope now is a ray of sunlight to evaporate all the water.
A time in our lives might come when we need to stop, look up and let the light in. We will realize with relief that all material things around us are meaningless and are trapping our spirit, keeping it from the natural growth it seeks.
This week's Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily post at wordpress.com is "Renewal"
Here we are, standing in line waiting for something to happen. We wait and wait to see what everyone will do. Is it our turn yet? Somebody surely will decide to go first, right? We look around again, unsure on what to do. In tougher times, with darkness on the horizon, we are even more afraid to make a move. Safety in numbers...
But here's what I propose: Take flight, and don't be afraid. Be the first and others will follow. You will find that action brings renewal.
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This week's Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily post at wordpress.com is "Geometry"
Picking an image for this week's challenge wasn't easy since I have an entire section of my website dedicated to geometric and architectural compositions of structures, objects and spaces. I call it my SIGNATURE collection.
I decided to go with the two images on this page because they reflect one of my favorite ways to work with geometric and architectural imagery. I am always trying to include reflective and transparent surfaces in my compositions because It's a great way to add richness, complexity and ambiguity to an image.
Even if Geometry is not the main subject of an image, it is present in every photograph you see. Visible and invisible lines, angles, areas, points, are the structures that make a composition come together, or not. You may already know this if you studied traditional arts or you may know this instinctually, but when we compose a photo, it's important to recognize the elements that create your composition and how they interact. This is the skill we call having "an eye" for composition. Some have it naturally, but everyone can learn. Knowing your "photographic geometry" really makes the difference between creating just good images and stunning images.
Remember, everything you put in your photograph counts and what you leave out, even more.
This week's Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily post at wordpress.com is "Foreign" Here is my second take on the theme.
I have always been a foreigner, even when I was a child in Italy. I was unable to speak the Neapolitan dialect and for that reason other kids regarded me as an item of curiosity. It was as if my destiny of "Trans-culture" was already written. As a teenager I was whisked away to America by my mother who re-married an american officer in the Air force. I didn't fit in then and rather than trying to blend and assimilate, I stubbornly rejected the culture. It was then I discovered how to be Italian. Later on, I lived in Europe for a while, England and Germany, and it was then I discovered how to be American. When I returned to America, I finally realized what it was to be a European.
Although it might seem unsettling and certainly lonely at times, I gained an invaluable perspective from those experiences. As someone always looking in from the outside, I learned to really see things as they are, rather than through the cultural blinders that most natives of any country seem to have. Not fitting in has many advantages. You certainly get a lot of attention and curiosity, some good, some bad, but mostly good. By shedding my national affiliation I gained something much greater: Understanding and empathy. I am a true citizens of the world now, a proud foreigner everywhere I go. But rather than bringing baggage, I come empty handed, ready to receive and learn.
Pictured above are two elderly gentlemen from two different cultures. They weren't together but just sat quietly next to each other. This photo was taken in Venice, Italy.
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This week's Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily post at wordpress.com is "Foreign"
You could be traveling anywhere in the world, and even if you don't understand the language, the signs around you follow similar conventions. Looking for familiar cues, you can more or less guess the information presented to you.
But than you turn a corner, go down a less traveled street and suddenly you are in a different world. You look up, and scribbled on the walls you see a visual language that is indecipherable. There is no travel or translation guide that can help to understand. Those will be the times you will feel really foreign, even in your own town. More graffiti here. Pictured above, graffiti in Florence, Italy and below, in Santa Fé, New Mexico.
This week's Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily post at wordpress.com is "Silhouette."
Chiaroscuro is an italian artistic term that means literally light-dark. The term originated in the Renaissance and refers to a technique used in painting that uses strong contrast between dark and light areas to emphasize the modeling of forms.
Walking through the streets of Florence you can witness this term come to life. On a bright sunny day, in the late afternoon, sunlight filters down through the ancient buildings creating ever-new forms with the old sculptures. Mythical figures, old rulers, war and love dramas are replayed each day as the light appears, shifts and disappears. More photographs of Florence here.
This week's Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily post at wordpress.com is "Big" and here's my second take on the theme.
As we point toward the future and march on, we will leave tracks of our passing. What size footprint we will leave is our choice. Big footprints should be left where we can leave a positive mark and make things better. Small and few should be our footprints in the places of beauty, the fragile places that benefit from our absence.
The best footprints are those left in the wet sand by our naked feet. Our dance with the incoming waves at the edge of the ocean teaches us a humbling lesson: We are a small, part of a much greater whole. But as our marks are washed away, we are also reminded that tomorrow we will have another opportunity to leave brand new marks, and start anew.
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This week's Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily post at wordpress.com is "Big"
Isn't whether something is big or small all matter of perspective? How we look at it? And from what angle?
We can view anything as being so big as to be unknowable, undoable and insurmountable. If we find ourselves leaning on viewing things that way, maybe we need to straighten up and stand tall so our landscape no longer towers over us. It might just be that the solution to a lot of problems could be better posture, better perspective and a better attitude.
On the flip side we can decide that a lot of things we come across are quite small, and dismiss them as insignificant. If we race through life like that, we risk missing the small details that make all the difference. We could end up overlooking something of someone that holds the key to truths. If we are repeat abusers of this kind of perspective, we need to learn to slow down, get off our horse and stop to look around, paying close attention. Who knows how much we could gain if we decide to get out of the race.
Armed with this knowledge of the dangers of a faulty perspective, we should go out today and re-evaluate what's in front of us and make it JUST THE RIGHT SIZE.
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This week's Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily post at wordpress.com is "Happy"
Ice cream is a source of happiness I enjoy which I believe to be universal. I have NEVER met anyone who didn't like ice cream, I don't care the age or ethnicity. Even my asian friends who are not very fond of dairy products in general, will become giddy at the mention of italian style gelato. And what other sweet dessert comes with a time challenge? The melting aspect adds so much to the enjoyment :)
As you can see from my little study, young and old have their own characteristic approach. Young kids have a more immersive, the-devil-may-care style. They attack the frozen treat with a lot of abandonment and enthusiasm. Older folk have more of an healthy respect for the cone, keeping it at an arm's length, weary of both the blood sugar hit and the drippy mess potential. Go ahead, treat yourself!
This week's Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily post at wordpress.com is "Happy"
Wow, the great challenges keep on coming. Here we have another soul-searching one. This challenge makes me "happy" because I get to talk about one of my favorite subjects: My daughter.
Finding what makes me happy was easy, picking was hard. There are lot's of little things that make me happy, day to day, hour to hour, but I wanted to pick a more substantial, less fleeting happy.
As we wonder into adulthood we soon realize that happiness is something we have to choose. It rarely arrives on it's own. And when we choose it, it's scheduled and compartmentalized. After it's over, we go back to worrying about life's stuff, and start planning for the next happy fix.
Children don't have that problem because they have an ingredient in their happiness that we adults lack: Carefree. So when I want more fulfilling, longer-lasting happiness I enter my daughters' world. That's not hard to do because her world is an ever-expanding, chatter-filled, happy little place. I spend as much time as I can with her and I really listen to what she has to say. I participate in her interests and I create new ones. I pass on my love for certain activities and through her they get renewed. I teach her life, she teaches me how to see…
Happiness: Watching my daughter grow and blossom. There is no greater joy I could ever want...
The theme of this week's Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily post at wordpress.com is "Mine"
Welcome to my world.
"Me, I want what's coming to me." "Oh, well... what's coming to you?" "The world, Chico, and everything in it." It had to happen sooner or later, I couldn't resist. I HAD to use my favorite Al Pacino quote from the movie Scarface.
Yes, the world is mine, with everything in it. It's my planet, since I landed here. Well, at any rate I "arrived" here, after the creative wish of my parents. You're probably thinking that I am joking. How can the whole world be mine? Of course I am not talking about the physical rock three planets away from the sun. The "world" I mean is the world of possibilities and potentials, both physical and mental which I envision and portray. It's the world I see when I close my eyes and daydream, or when I click my camera. Or draw. Or write.
Yes, my world is uniquely mine, and in comes more into focus with every thought and every action. My world is a place where the past, present and future coexist and it's a beautiful world, but not without a fair share of blemishes. But no matter: I readily paint them out with my mental spot-healing brush. Fake people I don't like? select, shift-click, gone!
My world is well taken care of, breezy, healthy, bright, and always properly exposed because I always see light even in darkness. When I compose my world, I only zoom in on the beauty of strenght and conviction, which is everywhere, if you look closely. No matter how common the subject, bold lines, strong elements and revealing light must be captured. And to contrast the strength, I try to reveal the vulnerability hidden within.
Well, this turned out to be another motivational post. I love to motivate, starting with myself. The message here is simple. The world is really yours, make the most of it and share the results :)
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This week's Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily post at wordpress.com is "Mine"
While thinking about what I should consider as mine, no material thing came to mind. No object or place. Surrounded by so much stuff, not one thing I can see feels permanent or unique to me. That was a dead end, so I decided to turn to more lofty ideas. What about feelings or emotions? Well, if I was going to wander in such a cliché mine field, why not go for the big enchilada? Love...
But which love to tackle? There are a million interpretations out there, all worn out by now. Which love is mine? So I looked for the love around me and it became clearer. My observation is that when love is associated with something or someone, it is impermanent by nature. Our relationships and attachments to people fluctuate, and our love for things can wane and fade. That kind of love is based more on receiving than giving, so it won't be ours for very long.
But the Love I speak of is in the essence of who we are if we are true lovers. A lover for me is someone who has a deep sense of appreciation and insight in the nature and the mystery of being alive and feels a compelling desire to share that with everyone who will listen. Artists are the true lovers of this world. Their vision is a revelation, and they have an unquenchable desire to share it. The creators of images, objects and words, no matter how talented, give their heart and soul because they feel they are a conduit, an expression of something greater than themselves. The true lover believes that if you're not busy creating, than you are busy destroying.
I feel fortunate that creativity is the central focus of my life, so I can I feel love everyday. Love that is mine to give…
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Here's my last post for the "Solitary" challenge of the Daily post on wordpress.com. In my previous posts I explained how I purposefully create a feeling of solitude and isolation in some of my photos. But for this last post I wanted to share real solitude I encountered and photographed.
There seems to be no greater solitude than old age. Eventually all those you know slowly disappear and even their thoughts and memories eventually vanish. If it is true that we measure ourselves through others, does this mean that as our age progresses, we also lose who we are?
I observed this old man, bent over with the weight of his age, as he clutched his wristwatch in his hand, and I had to wonder what was the meaning of time for him at that point in his life. His hat slipping away from his ancient hand was the last vestige of his former self. Was he ready to leave? Was he eager to arrive? Looking at him I saw what age does to the physical body, but I couldn't guess about his mind. Perhaps it's a secret you will only find when you get there. Only if you earn it, that is. When I finally stand in his shoes, I hope I will have no regrets.
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Here's my second post for the "Solitary" challenge of the Daily post on wordpress.com.
To the casual observer and the occasional snapshot shooter, photography could be seen as a passive activity. You take your camera along and when you run across something interesting, you frame it in the middle of the viewfinder and click. You're just documenting what's happening in front of you. So many comments you hear reinforce this widely held belief. How often have you heard something like this?: "Wow, that was a lucky shot!" Sure, sometimes luck plays a part in capturing a great shot, but for the most part, the really successful photographer separates him or herself by knowing where to be and when.
But more importantly, there is a lot more planning that goes into good photography than just picking a good spot and standing by waiting. When I go shooting I already have a number of themes I want to shoot for. One of my favorites is singling out individuals and juxtaposing them against interesting backdrops and spaces.
The photo above is a good example. This was actually a crowded venue and I wasn't having the easiest time singling out and isoloating interesting individuals. Then I saw the red wall and the business person standing against it, but rather than focusing on him, I decided to push him all the way to the edge of the frame. As I hunted around for an interesting composition, I saw the back of a stage with lots of angles and the padlock... Bingo! There is my composition and the elements for my narrative: Business person isolated, busy reading on one side and lock on the other. I created tension by forcing a visual relationship that wasn't there.
My goal with this exercise is to create thought-provoking images. What conclusions you come up with looking at this? I would love some feedback!
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Here's a tip on how to achieve the look of motion with a static object: First of all, you need to use a zoom lens that can be manually zoomed and a camera that allows you to set your flash to "slow synch" or "rear synch." DSLR's have this kind of functionality.
A brief explanation: Usually cameras have a set synch speed for the flash, typically 125th or 250th of a second. In most DSLR's an additional "slow-synch" setting is provided which allows the use of slower synch speeds. This is useful in order to capture ambient light in low light situations, like sunsets and city lights. Rear synch or "Rear curtain synch" is a type of slow synch in which the flash is fired just before the shutter closes. This creates those characteristic blurry motion trails.
The image above was achieved by setting the flash to rear synch and the exposure mode to shutter priority for 1.3 seconds. The other settings: f22, ISO100 and an exposure bias of -2/3 EV. Here is the main trick to get the magical motion lines: During capture I quickly zoomed the lens. Of course a lot of experimentation is required. Play around by bracketing speed, aperture, amount of zoom and camera movement in order to get the look you want.
I hope my explanation wasn't too confusing. To help, dig up your camera manual and check out your flash synching options. This is definitively a fun technique, so try it!
Here's another challenge of the Daily post on wordpress.com that's too good to pass up. This week the theme is "solitary" and it's tailor-made for me, since this is a theme that figures heavily in my work. I even have a series of galleries devoted to it called "People in Spaces."
The picture above sums up what I look for when I compose my "people in spaces". I usually single out a person going about their business and juxtapose them against an interesting backdrop. In this instance the man on the phone is just a small element dwarfed by the huge numbers, creating an interesting narrative. You can use your imagination: Think how one man's conversation can turn the wheels, effecting large shifts in resources, money, time, positively or negatively. Stay tuned, more to come!
This week's challenge on the Daily post on wordpress.com asks us how we interpret and photograph "Everyday life." Here is my second take on that task.
While waiting for just the right person to photograph on the escalator from an underground Metro Station in Washington, D.C., I began noticing two types of people: Those who walked up and those who let the escalator do the work for them. I was tempted to make all kinds of assumptions: Athletic vs. lazy? Take-charge go-getters vs. compliant? Hurried vs. mellow? As usual, the truth is always much more complex than appearance reveals.
Well, I was there to try to get an interesting photograph, not study sociology, so I decided to draw my own conclusion and fit it into my philosophy: In our everyday life we can choose to go with the flow and do just what is necessary to achieve our goals, or we can take charge and attack our tasks going beyond what is required. Both approaches have their pros and cons, however, looking at my own life, I have never achieved anything by taking the path of least resistance and just riding along. This conclusion helped me to opt for the lone walker in composing the photograph above.
By the way, I almost always walk up the escalator...
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This week's challenge on the Daily post on wordpress.com asks us how we interpret and photograph "Everyday life." My approach is to look at how photography actually CHANGES everyday life.
If you have a regular job and a family, everyday life is often the realm of the mundane and repetitive, composed of a series of tasks and routines blending time into a gray shade of sameness. But it doesn't have to be that way! This is where photography comes in.
Just having your camera with you, even with the lens cap on, makes you feel like an explorer. It makes you feel all tingly and excited and ready for discovery. It allows you to pause, stop time and really look around. Things that you usually don't notice, start glowing with possibilities. Meaning starts to take shape all around you. You go from being a passive participant of life, to a director, a creator. And when you finally take the lens cap off, the hunt is on!
This activity can have a transformative effect on your subjects as well. When you start focusing on them (with a smile and a kind word, of course), people feel noticed and that makes them look at themselves differently. To illustrate my entry I chose one of my favorite mother and daughter portraits. Indeed, a smile can glamorize everyday life!
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The reason I love photography challenges is because they really push you to think about your work. The "near and far" challenge on the Daily post on wordpress.com is a great example. After searching through my galleries to see what could apply for that theme, I was surprised to find just how often I rely on the technique described in the challenge, which is the use of perspective, diagonal lines, and extremes between near and far objects in the composition.
Getting low and close to the heavy tracks in the foreground on this beach in Louisiana created an unusual perspective, provided strong contrast and allowed me to tell a story. I rarely ever shoot from a normal standing position and always look for a more unusual angle to frame my scenes.
More from the US southern coasts
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The "near and far" challenge on the Daily post on wordpress.com touches upon yet another great technique to add interest to a composition. This is a technique I use often because it's a powerful way to contrast elements and to give a strong sense of depth and scale in a scene. As the post mentions, this is particularly useful in landscape photography. The photograph above is of a secluded beach on Union Island, part of the St. Vincent and the Granadines Islands in the Caribbean.
On arriving I was immediately drawn to the rock outcrop and decided to use it a device to give the scene a sense of secludedness. But taking a large part of the frame with it I wanted to illustrate a sense of discovery, like when you come around a corner and discover a beautiful place. I decided to focus upon the wave edge just ahead of me because that's were the eyes go first, leading down the beach, and than back to the rock formation in the foreground. The challenge was to find an fstop that would also keep the distance relatively in focus as well as the very edge of the rocks.
This weeks "free spirit" challenge on the Daily Post at Wordpress.com gave me an opportunity to explore one of my favorite techniques for infusing images with drama and life. More and more, I search for ways to "damage" and alter the pristine but static and artificial images produced by today's digital sensors.
Coming from film, I miss the organic look and surprises you would get upon development. Don't get me wrong, I would never want to go back to the inherent limitations of film speed and limited exposures available (and the cost!) Fortunately there are plenty of ways to reintroduce randomness and that organic look, both with pre and post processing techniques.
In the image above I took advantage of a wet car window and by picking the right angle, I was able to let the strong sunlight seep in the lens, causing a colorful shower of artifacts and reflections.
Happy to have found and processed just the perfect image for the "free spirit" challenge. It uses the technique as described, which is shooting against the sun light and allowing the glare in. This is something I often do to add mystery and drama to my photographs. It is a little risky, though, because you can go blind! Just kidding, but it definitely requires experimentation.
On another level, this is a a portrait of the most free-spirited person I know: My daughter... Her charm, joyfulness and spirit are blinding!
I grew up in a crowded, chaotic, loud Italian city, so when I think "urban", I think of rivers of people flowing briskly through the streets, competing for space with vehicles of all sorts, and looking very stylish while doing that. The image above was shot in Florence.
Another "Merge" challenge entry. Wild youth on rocks, somewhere in Normandy, France. This shot depicted people merging with a natural setting in an unexpected way.
This scene really caught my eye. Those two young people squatting on rocks, because of their clothes and their mannerism, seemed like wild animals in their natural environment. This shot was taken with a 500mm mirror lens, which gave that extreme foreshortening seen in a lot of wildlife photography.
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For the "Merge" challenge I decided to tap into one of my favorite themes: Man vs. Nature. In the series above I juxtaposed various trees against the Washington Monument on the Mall in Washinton, D.C.
Both subjects reach for the sky, one the product of man's creativity, the other, a growth of natural world. Both, I feel, are powerful expressions of the need to say "I exist."
A few more in this series here.
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There is no right or wrong when it comes to art, but we all have an opinion.
Wondering through an exhibition I came across this man as he gazed intently at an installation of whimsical Post-Modern art. He periodically shook his head as if puzzled by the meaning of what was in front of him.
Maybe he wasn't thinking about the meaning of modern art after all, but by composing this photo the way I did, I certainly created the possibility of that interpretation.
From the series Human Nature
I came across this young gypsy girl sleeping in the street in Naples, Italy, and what I found particularly poignant in this scene are the posters on the wall. One is advertising enrollment in dance classes, the other, enrollment in a computer school. I couldn't help thinking about the unrealized potential in that beautiful child. It was like watching a flower wilt. What could she do if given a chance?
Letting a child sleep in the streets is wrong. Not caring and looking the other way is wrong.
From the series Human Nature
For the weekly photo challenge on "growth" I first thought of the usual suspects, like images of vegetation, or kids, but I decided to go with something a little different. I shot the image above at a trade show in Verona, Italy. In the foreground is a photo mural and beyond you can see a telecommunication tower.
This images makes me think of the growth of an idea, how it is recorded and then communicated to the world.
From the series "Deconding Life"
If red could dance it would be a sensual, passionate dance like tango. Blue, the color of inspiration, sincerity and spirituality, would dance an uplifting, introspective modern dance.
The dancers above, bathed in purple light, dance a classical interpretation of "Spartacus." Spartacus was a leader of slaves in an uprising against the Roman Republic, and has been thought to represent a great example of oppressed people fighting for their freedom against the slave-owing ruler class.
View the gallery of Boca Ballet dancers performing Spartacus.
South Florida is at the frontier, meteorologically speaking. Continental air masses collide against Caribbean trade winds infused with Saharan dust. All this turmoil produces some pretty incredible skies. In the one portrayed above I witnessed the most awesome colors I had ever seen. Deep reds, oranges, and blues churning and mixing as if in a blender, produced a purple that seemed almost liquid...
More amazing Florida skies here.
There is something awesome and bizarre about large crowds of people. No other species behaves like this. Whether it's wildebeest, schools of fish, or ants, when members of a species assemble in large groups, it is for a common purpose. It's to carry out a function, to promote the grater good, to ensure survival.
But here we are, flowing along a busy street crammed together, competing for space, all going about our business, often with competing and contrasting desires... Will we survive?
Which color do butterflies prefer? I'm sure there's scientific research out there, however, I will go with my informal observation: Purple!
View all my butterflies here and here.
Sometimes walking with your head down pays off... The trash left behind by people always tells as story, and on the busy streets of a city there are lots of stories everywhere.
I came across this little story above on a street near Dupont Circle, in Washington, D.C. Right by the curb I saw some flower petals and near them, a card by Nadia Ali. Now, I don't know who she is, if that's her real name or a stage name, however her guarded pose and her stare made me imagine of a love affair that has faded away. The broken flower petals also speak of unrequited love and a sense of loss. To convey this story, I decided to frame the elements tightly and uncomfortably close, and to use strong diagonal lines to increase the uneasy feeling.
Of course I don't know if the exact narrative I described will come to mind to every one who view this photo, but that's not important. What's important is to create a narrative or a script for ourselves when photographing. It really helps us understand and analyze why we photograph the way we do, and what we really want to say.
When I was kid, I dreamt the world was burning...
I spent the first six years of my life living in Bellavista, right at the bottom of Mt. Vesuvius (Near Naples, Italy) and I could see the volcano right from my window. I figure the stories I was told about the eruption that wiped out Pompeii must have made an impression, because I had quite a few cataclysmic dreams. One of those dreams still remains with me vividly today. In it I saw huge smoldering pumice rocks hurtling from the sky as I sat on a swing.
The image above reminds me of all those dreams. This is part of a series depicting kids with fireworks on a 4th of July. I achieved these effects by using long exposures from one to five seconds, and setting the flash to rear synch.
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Ah, that special and immediate bond between kids and pets. Here my daughter instantly fell in love with this puppy in a Pet Store window. The doggy seemed to reciprocate the love. Isn't it so rewarding when you can capture moments like this? The trick was getting in the right position, low and close, to portray the intimacy, plus I had to get the dog in the shadow of the child in order to see through the reflection on the glass. I was able to only get two good images before the moment passed...
Junkanoo is a street parade with music, originating in the Bahamas. This one was shot in Delray Beach, South Florida. I had a lot of fun running along to keep up with the fast moving dancers and musicians. I used my flash set to rear synch in order to freeze the action, while using long exposures to create the blurs and light streaks.
View the whole series here.
Movement in photography can be portrayed in many ways. It can be illustrated by blurring your subject with a slow shutter speed or it can be represented by arranging and composing your subjects in a dynamic way within the frame. The blurring approach is a little more tricky because you need to dial in just the right amount of blur plus keep enough sharp elements to anchor the image. It goes without saying that a lot of experimentation is needed, but when you nail it, it's very rewarding. With this approach you can achieve really exciting images which can look cinematic, dreamy and surreal.
Here is a post explaining my technique.
View all my dancers here.
In the spectrum of the human condition, alienation and loneliness are a theme I am very interested in, and try often to illustrate.
When the above scene presented itself to me while walking through Florence, I immediately recognized the rich potential. It was like staring at a painting. All I had to do was to compose properly and shoot. The lighting was just right: Stark, directional afternoon light with long shadows. Instinctively I pushed the street vendor to the corner of the frame. The pose he had was perfect, looking down rather demoralized and looking away from the crowds. Yes, this scene of alienation occurred in a rather crowded street! I gave the metal barriers a large role in the composition because that's the real subject in mind. The obstacles to survival for an immigrant, in this case a middle-eastern man in Italy. Even the graffiti adds meaning. For me it speaks of the challenges with communication in a foreign land. Finally the central point, the painting, depicting an idealized view, stark and bright in the overall darkness of the composition.
This explanation lays out what basically happened instantaneously in my mind a millisecond before I clicked the shutter. But this is what happens after years and years of practicing making art. Eventually we understand what we want to say and we spend the rest of our lives looking for it's manifestations around us. When we see it, we instinctually recognize it.
Being in the right place at the right time doesn't necessarily involve luck. It requires us figuring out how and when to put ourself in the right place.
We all have the tendency to assume we know our surroundings pretty well.
Every 4th of July I know all I have to do is step outside my front door, look down the main street and I will see fireworks. Florida Atlantic University puts on a show for the city of Boca Raton and does a pretty nice job. Since it's only a couple of miles away, I get a pretty good view. Not a great view, or exiting enough to photograph. The problem is the view is obscured by trees and houses. Since the whole show is only about 20 minutes, I didn't have time to drive around looking for a better location. Finally this year I decided to use my brain. It occurred to me that just two streets down from me there is a canal. What if...
Here is the whole series. Moral of the story: Don't take your turf close by for granted. Look beyond the obvious. Even if you think you know a place really well, there are always new ways to look at it!
This is the wall in the entrance to Juliet's courtyard in Verona, Italy. Seeing all those love notes and wishes affixed to this wall made me wonder about the transformative power of my photography. In many ways every photograph I take and process is a love note to the world. A note of appreciation and thanks for the richness and beauty that's all around me.
I believe that those who have chosen photography as a hobby or profession are blessed with the ability to truly see and appreciate the world. It's an activity that allows you to take a little and give back a lot.
More from Verona here.
Often "real" wildlife photographers look at images of zoo animals with disdain. While I understand their pride for the effort and risks they take to capture wildlife in their natural habitat, I would argue that animals in captivity represent an entirely different reality that is still worthwhile documenting. Few of us are in the position to be able to purse animal photography in nature, since the costs involved for both travel and equipment are prohibitive. Those of us who love animals and still want to portray the world's beautiful exotic creatures have to embrace any opportunities that are available.
Animals in captivity represent a big challenge to photograph, since this is a photographic genre that is fraught with clichés. What it often lacking from zoo photography is a dynamic, lively quality. Yes, zoo animals tend to sit around a lot. But this not much different if you observe them in their wild state. If you go on safari in Africa you will see lions lounging around during the day. Unless you can arrange for an excursion at night, you will probably not see much action.
I would have to write a very long article to describe all the tricks I employ to obtain interesting images at a zoo, but here are a couple of obvious ones: Unless central to telling the story about the particular animal, I try to eliminate any part of the cage or enclosure. The most important tip I would give is to avoid mid day. The light is terrible and animals move around the least. Go early, stay late.
What I did in the image above was to emphasize the rapid movement of the tiger with a slow exposure, while at the same time keeping the eye in focus with panning. Having blurred vegetation in front gives the animal a sense of stealth and secrecy with makes this shot more exciting and real. When you see this image you don't think zoo immediately.
Taking the shot above won't get me a job at National Geographic, nor was it as exciting as traveling to India would be, but for a saturday afternoon and the modest investment of $20, this was great fun. Happy shooting!
The series Tiger motion showcases a variety of approaches I used to "transport" the tiger away from the zoo.
As seen from the gorilla's point of view: Those little funny hairless apes, so animated, so curious. Do they want to be fed? Or groomed? From my point of view this was an amazing photographic moment and turned out to be one of my favorite series.
Wondering in the night with my camera. It's not the safest thing. It's not the most comfortable thing. But again and again I discover that in order to find satisfaction in my photographic work I am required to step well away from my comfort zone. I typically don't carry a tripod at night because it slows me down, so I had to take this shot with ISO 400, and 1/13th sec.
Most people visualize a photographer taking photos as being very still which makes sense since it's obviously required to get sharp images. That might be true in most cases but in dance photography I find myself moving a lot to follow the motion in order to achieve simultaneous sharpness and blur, which give the images a very dynamic feel. I try to capture sharpness in the core of the image which is usually the head and the upper body, while the limbs will have motion blur.
It's not panning like you would use in trying to capture a runner or a vehicle. It's actually harder, because with panning you can still remain fairly stable by rotating at your waist while keeping the camera level. To follow the motion of dance performers requires sudden motions that generate at your shoulders and are fine tuned by your wrists and could go in any direction, up, down or sideways. In order to be more stable I usually lean against a surface, in this case I used the edge of the stage. There is no way to do this with a tripod (at least for me), and get dynamic movement and compositions. This method also requires a ton of quick manual bracketing of shutter speeds and pushing the ISO to high values (800 to 1600).
I got a workout shooting this event. I felt like I was dancing too, and at the end I was soaked in sweat just like the dancers.
Kids are an endless, awesome source of photographic opportunities. By photographing my daughter I learned that there is no shame in using Program Auto mode once in a while. I also learned that whenever I didn't carry my camera, a priceless moment would happen. The greatest benefit to my photography skills gained from photographing children, though, has to be the development of lightning-quick reflexes in framing and capturing.
I think this image is just right for my Skywatch Friday post!
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If this image could only convey the haunting sound coming from this man's bagpipe. He provided the perfect soundtrack for this gloomy view of the ocean in the late afternoon.
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End of the world. Or the beginning? Instant sci-fi. I love how fog turns any scene into a surreal landscape. So when most people are hesitant to go out due to poor visibility, I grab my camera and go... Here is a view from a steamboat on the Mississippi.
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This is a different take on a popular theme: Finding an interesting setting and waiting for someone to walk in front of it before taking the shot. In this case the graffiti on glass created a lot of visual ambiguity, making the juxtaposition with the pedestrian walking by behind it very interesting. Is this art? Yeah, sure, I think so...
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The river Arno moves calmly through Florence, offering this wonderful opportunity to get a mirror reflection of the ancient buildings on it's banks. Here in this photo the river nears Ponte Vecchio. Shot in late afternoon with ISO 100, 1/60th sec. More from this series in my Florence gallery.
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On seeing these flamingoes leaning against each other, I had a nice little meditation on the connection of everything in nature. Interconnectedness is a theme I search for in everything I photograph, both in the meaning of a scene and the actual elements in my compositions. I can't exactly define it clearly every time I click, as in the case of this photograph, but I usually feel it when everything in front of me lines up and connects properly.
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The greatest photograph in the world could be around the corner, at the end of this road, beyond the bridge. This is what we tell ourselves. We keep looking, and hoping that the situation will change and magically we will be empowered to take better photographs. Every photographer has a crutch, even the best. For some, if they could only get x or y lens or camera. For others, like me, if I could only afford to travel to some amazing place...
Stop making excuses. Stop obsessing over other people's work. Stop being demoralized by whatever limitation you think you might have. Go out there, even if think you know your surroundings well. Drag yourself out there even if what you see does not inspire you. It's all there, just waiting for you to change the way you see.
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Update July 24, 2012
I chose this image for the Weekly Photo Challenge: Inside, because it really makes me wonder what's inside this old, presumably abandoned store. Is there life inside? You can hardly see beyond the mangled cardboard boxes. The life magazines hanging are a mystery. Than there is that fastidious tape job on the window. Is it to keep together pieces of a shattered life?
May 18, 2012
This image reminds me why I love photography. The stories, the mystery, the drama one can create in a single moment with tight framing. Shot with slide film years ago, this scene still challenges me. It survives as a single artifact in my portfolio. I wish I had taken more captures of this, but in the days of film I always shot very carefully. Maybe on that day I felt I had captured the only meaning and composition this scene could give...
A dance recital seems like a perfect setting to get interesting studies of the human form in motion. You have beautiful dancers performing their art under creative lighting. What more could you want? Unfortunately this is a very difficult setting for photography, especially if you are a spectator. Assuming that you are sitting close enough and you have good view of the stage, most likely you won't be able to set up a tripod without disturbing others. And in order to get interesting framing and composition, you will need to use a fairly long telephoto, which means that you will be pushing the very limits of your camera. The only choice you have is a high ISO setting. In this situation I actually tried something I never done before, which is to push the ISO setting to 1600. My alpha 700 might have been able to handle that but I had my alpha 100 with me and I knew I was going to get horrible sensor noise. To photograph or not to photograph... Well, I did, and yes the noise was very heavy, but through some artful processing in Lightroom I was able to turn a liability into an asset. The lesson I learned is to photograph anyway, even under difficult situations. You never know what you will get. In this case I am glad I did.
See the whole series here: Dance recital
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Capturing motion is all matter of experimentation and some luck. Working in shutter priority mode, I usually find the appropriate shutter speed fairly quickly and bracket from there. The rest is panning with the motion, trying to get enough definition and sharpness in the right places so that the image is not just a big messy blur. In this case I exposed for 0.3s at f6.3, ISO 800. The challenge during indoor events is that I have to use ambient light and long focal lenghts so I am forced to use high ISO speeds which produce lots of noise. I try to turn that drawback into an advantage, utilizing the noise for a stylistic treatment during processing. My tool of choice is Lightroom. See the whole series here: Rhythm & Hues
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Cry 32k. Seems so appropriate for such a tableau of automotive sadness and neglect. I love finding scenes that scream a story such as this. Shot with slide film in my pre-digital prehistory...
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At night, in low light, everything is more dramatic. Street lights create mystery, partially revealing forms and casting doubt on what you think is familiar during the day. This is a shot I had no time to set up for. I recognized the interesting setting and composition at the same time as the two passersby approached. I fired at a slow 1/25th sec., ISO 400, handheld, trying to be as steady as possible. Apparently the "steadyshot" feature on my camera works pretty well, all considered.
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Portraiture is my most beloved discipline in photography, and there is nothing more rewarding than when all the elements come together in a portrait: Subject matter, expression, light and composition. Naturally, natural light is the best way to go when portraying people. I photographed this young girl in Barrouallie, St. Vincent Island (lower caribbean). Shot with Ektachrome slide film. Here are more pictures of St. Vincent.
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Get on your bicycle and go get some yogurt. It's the healthy thing to do! I am always looking for graffiti and love to see how it interacts with the environment. On this occasion I was walking down a side street in Florence and I came upon this scene. I stopped in my tracks, stunned by this awesome narrative. When you're searching for metaphors and juxtapositions, this is pure gold. From my series Decoding life.
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Photographic events and performances such as this one from Boca Ballet are always very challenging to photograph. If you're sitting in an audience most likely you won't be able to set up a tripod and hand-held captures with long focal lengths won't work. Also, the frontal perspective could produce rather dull compositions. In this instance I decided to be more adventurous in order to gain a better vantage point. Since this was an outdoor amphitheater with informal sitting I was able to work my way discretely up to the stage from the side. There were lots of children dancing around in the grass under the stage drawing attention away from me as I propped my camera on the actual stage. This way I found enough stability to take hand-held shots. I was able to play around with the length of exposures in order to achieve very fluid blurring with enough areas of focus to cement the images. In this image the exposure was 0.5sec at f22. From my series Dancers.
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Your DSLR lens are very sharp nowadays, especially when you drop in the neighborhood of a 1000 bucks for them. Sharp is great. Most of the time. But that's not how our eyes see. Sometimes you want to soften your images and get a dreamy, organic feel, but without resorting to post effects or filters. In the old days we used softening "portrait" filters but those produce generally uniform effects. Another more creative way was to smear vaseline or some kind of oil on a regular filter. That's just too messy for me. What I like to use now is a plastic bag wrapped around the lens with a rubber band. By bunching it up in different amounts you can get all kinds of nice effects. The flat part of the plastic will give somewhat sharper areas (like the eye in this photo), while the wrinkly parts will scatter light and create surreal light tendrils. Too cool! Experiment a lot...
From my series Inner Tiger.
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We all have dreams, dreams of a new start somewhere completely new. But the stress to be an unknown in a foreign land is a lot to bare. This middle-eastern man was a street vendor near the Uffizzi Gallery in Florence, Italy. He seemed concerned with a group of tourists hurrying along. Would they stop to look at his wares? He did not notice me squarely in front of him taking his photo. I rarely engage my subjects, as I prefer to capture these moments of humanity that would quickly dissolve if my subject became self-conscious. One of my favorites from my series Human Nature.
A hurried gentleman rushing to an appointment is stopped in his track by a magical woodland fairy. This was shot in Aachen, Germany. Was it a lucky shot? I believe we make our own luck. When I walk around with my camera, I am constantly looking for that magical moment to happen and I keep my finger on the trigger. In this case I knew this was a good spot and I sensed faith about to happen. I leveled my camera, and fired only one shot. From my series Human Nature.
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Weekly photo challenge: Urban. In my previous post on what urban means to me I illustrated the rivers of people out and about in cities. In this post I want to reflect on the multitude of people packed in every nook and cranny of buildings.
In urban life there is so much that goes on behind the scenes. There are people constantly planning, working, plotting and acting in ways that will significantly effect our lives, and often all we see are the end results. This metal and glass walkway in Bolagna, Italy, offered a shadowy glimpse, almost and x-ray of those activities.
From my series People in Spaces.
The music was jamming loudly in the streets, and the dancers spun quickly to the beat. I ran along side of them, dodging the crowd, firing away 1 to 2 seconds long exposures, rear-syched flash, and hoped for the best. This was a Bahamian Jankanoo marching band in Delray. This is what it's all about for me: Movement, colors, blurs and rhythm.
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I wasn't looking for a drink but the A.C. inside sounded nice, as this was a hot day in Key West, Florida. Than again, every day is a hot day here. Anyway, a rooster on the loose by a bar in Key West is the reason why you should always have your camera with you.
I have been to a lot of bars in my life in the days, but this was the only time I have seen a rooster (of the feathered kind) hanging out outside. You couldn't stage this moment because we all know that rooster are proud birds and would never cooperate... This rooster though was either hoping for a food handout, had a drinking problem or was an exhibitionist fowl.
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You're about the make an important decision. Go with what you know and love, or try something new...
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There was no crash... However, photography while driving is even more dangerous than texting. Don't do it! The element of danger in taking this photo added to the satisfaction of capturing the right moment as the speeding train approached me.
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