Point of View

As most people know and I am beginning to understand, photography is not just as simple as framing up your shot and snapping the picture.  There are so many different techniques that a photographer can and does employ to make a compelling shot that captivates viewers.  From the colors in the scene to the use of focus and blurring to the size of the subject versus the other elements in the scene, these and many more considerations can be made to make the most interesting shot possible.  Photographer Russ Burden, in his article “POV: Point of View Photography,” discusses just one more element/technique that can work to make a powerful photograph.

Burden says that the point of view from which the photograph is made can influence the viewer a lot about how they feel about or relate to the scene.  Making “point of view” shots can draw a viewer in, making him/her feel apart of the scene and the action.  They feel like they are looking at the scene through their own eyes and not through the lens of a camera.

Taking photographs of a scene from the standing position often results in a photograph that doesn’t give viewers a sense that they are actually there for themselves and viewing the scene through their own eyes.  There is more of a disconnect between the viewer and the scene.  To give this sensation and perspective, Burden explains several different methods.  Using wide angle or super wide angle lenses gives a large depth of field and a wide field of view, giving a view like one might see if there for themselves.  Burden also says that being low to the ground also allows viewers to see the scene from a perspective they are not used to and makes the viewer feel more present in the scene.  In nature photography particularly, photographing a subject from below normal line of sight makes the subject more impressive and significant.  It gives the viewer a feeling of insignificance, a feeling that otherwise is only felt when one is experiencing that nature scene first hand.  Photographing from this point of view works to inspire a greater sense of awe in viewers and forces viewers to see a subject like they have never seen it before.  This different perspective is what draws people in to a photograph and holds their attention.  Lastly, Burden also suggests that photographing subjects from a shorter distance will again make the subject seem more significant and awesome.  Getting the camera up close to the subject makes the viewer feel more apart of the scene.

Link to Russ Burden's article: https://www.outdoorphotographer.com/tips-techniques/photo-tip-of-the-week/pov-point-view-photography/

Share 2 & Critique (3)

The colors of the fall leaves are what bring appeal to my first photograph.  Here, the yellow and orange colors of the leaves along with the light versus dark are the two applicable rules of dominance.

In this photograph, the orange, red, and yellow colors of the squirrel are what draw attention to the squirrel.  Taken near sunset, the light on the squirrel's coat also works to keep attention on the subject.  The diagonal lines of the tree branches draw viewers' eyes up to the squirrel.  Additionally, the squirrel is in focus while the background is fairly blurry.  All of these things work together in this image to highlight the squirrel subject.

Black and White Travel Photography

Since in-class work has lately been focused on travel photography, I thought that an article I came across this week about black and white travel photography would be an appropriate topic to blog about.  As may be evidenced by some of my previous blog posts, I am particularly drawn to the more traditional, even old-fashioned, ways of doing photography while still recognizing the great advantages that modern digital photography can and is bringing to this art form.  Black and white photography is just one aspect of this. 

In her article "Traveling the World in B&W" on Outdoor Photographer's website, Ibarionex Perello discusses how she chose to shoot all of her photographs in black and white during one of her recent travels.  As she explains, shooting in black and white can often be so much more powerful and evocative than color images.  Black and white images have a way of making a scene, a photograph so much more personal whether the scene be the interesting architecture, people, or landscapes that one encounters as one travels the world.

Though I am just beginning my photography experience and lack considerable knowledge of the art, I cannot help but agree with Perello concerning the challenge of black and white photography.  With color photography, so often the colors of the scene are what draw viewers' attention and give the image its value.  I think that sometimes great colors act as a cop out for making a great shot, making what would otherwise be a pretty ordinary or even less than ordinary photo a photo that people want to look at.  Black and white photography does not have this luxury and must rely on such things as shadows, highlights, and strong lines, shapes, and patterns.  Additionally, as Perello points out, one has to be particularly conscious of what to keep in or exclude from the scene to draw attention to the scene and captivate the audience.  A photographer of black and white cannot rely on the reds and yellows of a scene to draw viewers in like a color photographer can.  The black and white photographer must rely so much more on the lighting conditions of early morning and later evening to capture a good image as the flat, even light of any other time of day produces relatively dull black and white images.

Both these challenges associated with making a great black and white photograph and the personal, timeless, classic nature of black and white photography are what I think draw me to this particular realm of photography.  With digital software tools such as Lightroom, turning color images to black and white is not too difficult to do.  However, as Perello seems to suggest, this does not mean that every good color photograph can make a good black and white shot.  Being able to think about a scene not as one sees it with their eyes but as it could look in black and white I think is much more of a challenge.  It is a challenge that I would be interested in pursuing if ever given the opportunity to travel the world and capture my own images for myself.

Link to Ibarionex Perello's article: https://www.outdoorphotographer.com/tips-techniques/travel-photography/traveling-the-world-in-b-and-w/

Share 2 & Critique (2)

For this Share and Critique, I have shared the same pictures as my first Share and Critique with some editing.

Platinum Printing

With digital photography technology being so widespread in our modern society, there is virtually no limitations to who can produce their own photographic work.  If you just consider the fact that everyone who owns a smartphone has the ability to take pictures of whatever whenever, you can see that this is true.  Likewise, the technology required to develop/produce physical photographs is also so easily accessible.  All you need is a decent printer.  With the ubiquity of this technology and the ability to easily transform these images into prints, the question becomes How can I make my work stand out?  How is my work different and creative?  While previous posts have addressed this issue in terms of in-the-field and in-camera techniques, there also also ways to express this creativity in the print-making stage of the photography process.  On Outdoor Photographer’s website, photographer Kerik Kouklis explains how he produces platinum prints of digital images, connecting modern photography technology with a piece of film photography tradition.

Platinum printing was first developed in the 1870s by William Willis and was utilized in film development until the beginning of World War I when platinum and palladium were in scarce supply in the United States.  Platinum printing ultimately ended by 1941 when production of platinum papers ceased.  By the time platinum was again available, film photography was relying on other methods for developing images.  As Kouklis explains, platinum printing of digital photos was not really possible until the late 1990s.  This was because printers could not print a digital negative with enough UV density that would enable prints to be made.  This also meant that negatives could not be enlarged to make larger prints.  Kouklis writes that it wasn’t until about the last ten years that printers could print with enough density to produce an acceptable negative and, ultimately, a platinum print.

Today, the process to produce a platinum print of a digital image is relatively simple.  Most photographers who choose to make platinum prints will most often develop their images themselves.  To produce a platinum print, Kouklis says that a digital image is edited just as any other image would be except that at the end of editing, the image needs to be converted to black and white.  Kouklis uses an app called QTR to make digital negatives of these images and prints them onto transparency film.  The negative is then placed in platinum and palladium chemicals.  To expose the image, only UV light is needed so a dark room is unnecessary.  Kouklis suggests making one’s own UV light source, though commercial UV light sources are also available.  Potassium oxalate is used as the developer fluid which occurs very quickly (less than a minute).  The print is then washed and allowed to dry.

For me, the appeal of platinum and palladium printing is that it gives modern digital photographs an old and traditional look and feel.  It bridges the divide between modern digital photography and traditional photography of a long-gone era. In the future if I become really passionate about photography, I think platinum printing would be something that I would be very interested in trying.

Link to Kerik Kouklis' article: https://www.outdoorphotographer.com/tips-techniques/printing-output/platinum-prints-digital-files/