Photographers often obsess about sharpness. The sharpness of the lens, the number of megapixels in the camera's sensor, hand held techniques for stability or investing in quality tripods. This obsession is especially true for landscape photographers but also applies to street, sports and portrait photographers. But photos that freeze the moment sometimes miss that special element. The element that helps to complete the story. The sense of the wind, the flow of water, the movement of dancers, the excitement of participants in a parade. The photo above captures the coordinated movement of flags at a parade giving a sense of the performance while at the same time providing a sharp capture of the performers faces. I think this helps to transport the viewer into the moment more effectively that a freeze frame capture. In the photos below the same principle applies by contrasting movement with sharp image elements:
So the next time you're out thinking of capturing the moment, think about incorporating some movement into your photo, you may be pleasantly surprised. Thought for the Day
"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see." Edgar Degas
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The Gull River near Minden next to the Wildwater Preserve is one of my favourite places to take sports-action photos of kayakers playing in the water. It requires a considerable amount of skill to navigate the upper rapids and lots of opportunities for a skilled kayaker to show off his or her stuff. The white water course is relatively short, with lots of nice locations to drop your tripod with camera and take part in the action. The first five images were taken at high shutter speed of 1/500 sec or faster. This allows you to freeze motion such as water droplets. For a more interpretive photo I also took a number of shots at slower shutters speeds to show the incredible flow of water and spray. These shots were taken at shutter speeds between 1/10 and 1/20 of a second.
One important thing to remember is that your meter can be easily fooled by the extreme contrasts in the scene. This often results in blown out water highlights and water that lacks texture. I usually underexpose by 1/3 or 1/2 stop (or more) to ensure that I haven't lost the details in the water. Thought for the Day “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” Pablo Picasso Dancers and other stage performers are not only fun to watch but also to photograph. We were staying at a hotel that provided nightly entertainment, usually in the form of a local dance or acrobatic troupe. I was taking a lot of traditionally composed shots - performer / dancer placed clearly in the frame like this one: After a while I wanted to try something. Could I still communicate what the performers were doing if I pushed the dancer / performer towards the edge of the frame. Could the images still be visually interesting? Well these are some of the results. Thought for the day
"I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center." Kurt Vonnegut Almost every traveler has experienced an airport layover. Layovers can be frustrating, tiring and boring all at the same time. While waiting what do you do? Do you watch the clock for endless hours or spend time browsing shops for things that you don't need? Well what about doing something different. Think of a layover as an opportunity to take out your camera, look around and observe. Airports provide all types of subject matter from architecture and urban lifestyle to still life and abstract. So at a recent layover I focused on capturing the hustle and bustle of passengers and crew rushing to their destination. Thought for the Day
Luck isn't just about being at the right place at the right time, but also about being open and ready for the opportunities presented to you. One of my favourite ways to photograph a flower is to take two or three exposures exposures - the first in focus, and the 2nd and 3rd progressively less focused and more overexposed (by 1 or 2 stops). You should have your camera mounted on a tripod to minimize movement between shots. If your camera has a multiple exposure setting, then this effect is created in-camera. Alternatively you can also create the effect through post processing by merging the photos into one image using software such as Photoshop. This Orton effect is named after Michael Orton who invented the technique by overlaying two or more slides to create a unique composite image. The Orton technique is also great for Portraits. I use it to soften the image and add atmosphere to the portrait. In the photo below I combined two images using Photoshop, using the "overlay" blend mode to create a warmer, richer composite photo. The photos shown below were used to create the composite, above. Thought for the Day
“To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.” Osho If you have a pet, you have an instant model. They're funny, frustrating, and loving. They're natural born actors. Each pet has it's own unique personality and relationship with you. Opie, captured above, is an energetic french bulldog with a big personality. He's also a very small dog. To capture Opie's personality this photo was taken with a wide angle lens from below. An off camera flash was used to provide modeling light for Opie's dark fur and provide a nice catch light for the eyes. Opie's hero's pose now makes him seem as big as he thinks he is. In this blog we'll discuss some ideas on how to improve your pet portraits using one or more of the following techniques:
Cropping for Impact By cropping your photo you can focus the viewers eye on what's important in the image. In the photo of Champ and Tyson, the tight crop forces the viewers eye to focus on tug of war over the ball. Telephoto vs Wide Angle Wide angle lenses help to provide context and elongate proportions. In the first image below the wide angle lens, combined with a low shooting angle elongates Champ's front legs, makes his toy seem larger, and provides context of where he's sitting. In the second image a long lens compresses space and shortens perspective, isolating Champ in the grass. Shooting from Different Perspectives Why shoot boring photos when you can change your shooting angle and provide a unique perspective. Shoot from below, from above, or up close. Experiment! Off Camera Flash Off camera flash can significantly enhance your photo. In both instances below the flash mimics the feeling of sunshine coming through a window. The flash also provides a nice catch light for the eyes and adds drama to the shot. Capturing Action Fast or slow shutter speed, that is the question. Well each has a purpose. With a slower shutter speed and panning the camera you get a better sense of the animal's movement. Using a fast shutter speed you capture precise moment of the event. Take your pick. Special Moments Special moments can happen at any moment. The question is, will you be ready. If you don't have your camera, you can't take the shot! Thought for the Day
“Such short little lives our pets have to spend with us, and they spend most of it waiting for us to come home each day. It is amazing how much love and laughter they bring into our lives and even how much closer we become with each other because of them.” John Grogan, author of "Marley and Me" Have you ever wanted to make your photos more dynamic? Have you wanted to convey a sense of motion or focus the viewer's attention? One nice way to do this is to use your zoom lens and zoom in (or out) while you're taking the shot. The following photos were taken of a jazz band performing in a night club. Although I like the photos, to me they don't express the energy of the music - the dynamic interplay between band members or the intensity and fluidity of the melody and rhythm. So, I decided to play with the camera to see what I could capture. In these hand-held photos I was zooming the lens in / out while exposing the image. The trick is to get the shutter speed just right. You don't want the shutter speed to be so fast that there's little or no effect or so slow that the entire image is blurry. Ultimately you have to experiment based on the focal length of the lens and the f-stop setting. Note: If you hover over the images below you'll see shot information. Another interesting way to create a sense of movement by using lens zooming is shown in the first photo below. The street was closed to vehicular traffic and this incredible flow of people were walking on St. Clair and the streetcar right of way. By zooming the lens I was able to emphasize the flow of people walking past me. Another way to create visual focus is to rotate the camera. The young woman that's shown in the photo below was deep in thought. By rotating the camera I was able to remove distractions and focus the viewer's attention directly on her. Thought For The Day
"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." Pablo Picasso I've been working on various projects involving cast shadows over the past few years. Some of them have made their way into my paintings. Others have made it into my photo portfolio. These projects allow me to step beyond my comfort zone and look at making imagery in a new way. What I like about photographing (or painting) the shadow cast by an object is that the shadow is very graphical, almost like a drawing. There's not a lot of colour; texture, line and value are key. It's also a process of discovery, a little like the drawing exercise where you pencil in the shapes between things and eventually the objects appear. For me this process of discovery also provides insight into the object, perhaps a more spiritual representation of the object than can traditionally be created with a more representational image. Thought for the day
"The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance." Aristotle I've always been fascinated by construction projects. The creative mess is like an art project, while it's in progress it's chaos. This was the time of the "Battle of St. Clair" with widely differing opinions on the benefit of the project.
The construction project involved multiple phases. These photos were taken during the St. Clair redevelopment from Bathurst to Gunns Road. Although a considerable mess at the time, the rejuvenation of the street has provided some positive benefits with new businesses moving into the area, increased ridership, and new condo developments along St. Clair. Why show these images in monochrome rather than in colour? Although I like the colour photos, I thought the black and white images showed the textures better and rather than distracting the eye helps the viewer to focus on the structure and patterns in the image. Do you agree? Thought for the day Sometimes people think they need to be in a special location to be inspired. I find that going for an extended walk, wherever you may be, can help you get inspired. That's certainly what I found while taking an extended walk along St. Clair during the construction project. |
Eric David
Eric David is a visual artist / fine art photographer that lives and works in Toronto. Archives
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