Author: Hitzeman Photography (Page 14 of 15)

What are we busy about?

April 11, 2010 / Hitzeman Photography

“It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?”

— Henry David Thoreau

This past week has been very busy.

Sunday I worked on getting 3 images ready to submit in the April competition of the Mayslake Nature Study and Photography Club.

Monday I attended the club competition meeting and took notes on the judges’ comments on my entries as well as a friend’s, whom I had encouraged to join and also to submit photos. He won an Honorable Mention, and I won an award for the image below titled “Lake Powell Sunset”.

“Lake Powell Sunset”, near Page, Arizona,

One of the other images I submitted that I really like (and so did Hank Erdmann, one of the judges) is below, titled “Owens Lake”. This scene impressed me with the patience of the sage brush plants in waiting for rain water to make it over the Sierra Nevada mountains. I like the pastel foreground and sky, split by the sharp detail of the snow in the peaks.

“Owens Lake”, near Lone Pine, California,

Wednesday I studied the amazing moving images created for The Clash of the Titans (I’ll spare you my Kraken jokes!).

Thursday I completed building 4 DIY Plamps to hold plants steady in the field when I’m photographing them.

Friday I attended Photoshop for Digital Photographers, a live day-long workshop presented by Scott Kelby, and also enrolled in a two-year membership to the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP). I learned a lot of stuff I didn’t know that I didn’t know, and will be studying more over this year (and beyond). Whereas 2009 was the Year of Learning How to Capture the Image Data, 2010 will be the Year of Learning How to Enhance the Image Data. (Ansel, we’re not in Kansas anymore!) I also learned that my friend Jen bought herself a new camera for her birthday because she was inspired by how much FUN I was having!

Saturday I went on an outing with 8 other photography club members to the Morton Arboretum here in Dupage County, getting down in the mud to shoot wildflowers.

And today, Sunday, I installed my new Dell 24-inch monitor, which shows great color, much better than my old one.

Whew!! Sometimes I can feel a tad overwhelmed with so much to learn, so much equipment to buy, so many years of work to go to get as good as I want to be. But that’s just a thought that doesn’t feel good, and wears me down. To get back to a state of calm, measured excitement, I like to remember these closing words from Desiderata:

You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him [or Her or It] to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

— Desiderata

So. Go ahead. Gaze at the stars. Hug a tree. Create and appreciate beauty.

And … be happy!

“Spring Wildflower”, Morton Arboretum, Illinois

Antelope Canyon

March 29, 2010 / Hitzeman Photography

I am grateful to the Chicago Area Camera Clubs Association (CACCA) for awarding my image named “Entry” with an Acceptance Ribbon in its 2010 Annual Spring Salon Competition.

CACCA was founded in 1936, and is a progressive photographic organization composed of about forty clubs in the Chicago area. Over 1000 members are actively engaged in every phase of photography.

“Entry”, Antelope Canyon, Navajolands, Arizona

An Acceptance Award is granted to the highest scoring one-third of submissions, and means that the image will be included in a promotional DVD. It scored a 24 (average of 8 from each of 3 judges) with the highest possible score being a 27 (9 from each of 3 judges).

From the CACCA Judges Handbook:

An image that scores an 8 is a very strong image. Such an image is technically correct and much more. The elements of the image must work together. If there are flaws, they are minor and hard to find. Obvious flaws must be compensated by other elements in the image. Images that score an 8 may break the “rules”. When the rules are broken, they are broken for impact. Technical excellence is expected to a high degree in an image scoring 8. Difficult exposures, effective use of selective focusing and depth of field, as well as other advanced photographic techniques are commonly found in such an image. The image exhibits SEVERAL elements towards which those who are working at polishing their craft should be striving.

Garfield Park Conservatory :: Composition in Nature

March 15, 2010 / Hitzeman Photography

“To consult the rules of composition before making a picture is a little like consulting the law of gravity before going for a walk. Such rules and laws are deduced from the accomplished fact; they are the product of reflection.”

— Edward Weston

Reflections in Green – Garfield Park Conservatory, Chicago, IL

Composition in photography is a big topic.

Just what is “good” composition? Can it be defined by a set of rules? If it could, a camera company will put a program and some sensors into your camera and you won’t need to think about it anymore. We already have automatic exposure and automatic focusing . Just add automatic pointing and automatic zooming and automatic shooting and automatic developing (correcting color and contrast) and soon you can just send your camera out on its own and look at the pictures it posts on Facebook.

We think we like to have rules so we know if we are “doing it right”. What’s more important in creating art is how it “feels”. How do I feel when I look at a scene? How can I frame it and expose it and focus it, so that when I see it later on a monitor or in print, it still makes my soul breathe deeply. And what sweet added joy to know that someone else (such as, my wife!) may cry with joy when she sees the symbolism of the arrangement of all these captured and tweaked pixels, my vision in light of life.

In a class at the Morton Arboretum in DuPage County, Illinois called “Composition in Nature”, taught by Willard Clay, we discussed several rules that can be used in creating a composition in nature. These rules are more aptly called “tools” because it is always the artist’s decision and vision that determines when and what tools will or won’t be used in creating a composition.

The biggest rule — in art and in life — is to create what you love. The rules in composition are about creating an image in a two-dimensional rectangular pattern of pixels of colors and lights and shadows that results in lifting the soul of the viewer to experience beauty (or some other emotion). The rule in life is to breathe deeply in the beauty around us.

Side by Side, Garfield Park Conservatory, Chicago, Illinois

Masterclass :: Obtaining the Best Image

February 28, 2010 / Hitzeman Photography

Assignment: Urban Nature

“Search for juxtaposition of natural forms against man-made structures and try to record them with the very best quality. You can work with general views of the environment or in close-up to focus on details that are usually overlooked.”

— from Digital Photography Masterclass by Tom Ang

Result

I have always enjoyed looking at the moon, and as a fine art landscape photographer, I am always looking for ways to create a dramatic photograph with the moon in it. There are some places where you can shoot the moon setting over a mountain. Here in Chicago, tall buildings are our mountains.

So this morning I had a strategy all laid out for getting a shot of the full moon (nature) in the sky next to Chicago’s John Hancock Building (man-made form). Using a great program called The Photographer’s Ephemeris, I had calculated that the best time and place to get this shot would be from Olive Park on Chicago’s lakefront, at about 5:00 AM this morning.

This was to be a true “alignment of the planets”. The several “planets” involved were — the moon, the earth, the John Hancock Building, Olive Park, my camera, and me — all lined up at 5:00 AM to get this shot!

Houston, we have a problem: there’s a blanket of clouds between the moon and the Hancock, and, oh, Olive Park doesn’t open until 7:00 AM.

But it was fun being part of a “moon landing” even though my name isn’t Neil Armstrong. I still got some nice shots of the Hancock in pre-dawn light, and some other pretty sights along the lakefront.

With nature and landscape photography, make the most of what’s in front of you!

Sierra Gold — Sierra Nevada mountains through arch in the Alabama Hills in Owens Valley, near Lone Pine, California.

Masterclass :: Tonality and Contrast

February 21, 2010 / Hitzeman Photography

Assignment: High Dynamic Range

“Photograph a scene that offers a high dynamic range, exploiting the fact that either the high values will be too white or the shadows too dark. Compose to work with areas of blackness or whiteness against which the mid-tones can shine. Don’t make any attempt to control high dynamic range with image manipulation.”

— from Digital Photography Masterclass by Tom Ang

Result

Sierra Nevada mountains through arch in the Alabama Hills in Owens Valley, near Lone Pine, California.

Before the Peak Moment

This is the straight out of camera, unedited image of the Sierra Nevada mountains looking west at sunrise, just as the first rays of direct sunlight are hitting the snow-capped peaks. Exposure at ISO 100, shutter speed 1/80s, aperture f/8 ensures that the highlights of the mountain whites are not over-exposed or blown out. When unedited, this image leaves some areas of the arch in almost total black darkness. Just 30 seconds later, the arch was bathed in the morning glow, showing more light and detail in the formerly dark arch. (View more images of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.)

Commentary / Learnings

This assignment from Tutorial 3 :: Mastering Your Camera :: Tonality and Contrast, was a challenge in that, as a fine art landscape photographer, I normally want to get the entire scene in detail, and avoid areas of total black or total white. These areas are called “blowouts” where there is zero data to work with during the editing process, leaving areas of the image or print either totally white or totally black . As part of the routine of capturing the image, I always adjust ISO and shutter speed and aperture to expose for the areas of important detail, and often compose the scene to exclude the sky from the frame because of its great brightness.

The learning here for me is that composing the scene and selecting camera settings affecting exposure are all choices, not necessarily absolutes. What to include or exclude in the composed frame and what exposure choices to use depend on the artist’s vision for the finished print. Yes, a scene can be “technically” exposed to “correctly” capture the most detail data from dark to light, or it can be exposed for an effect or mood the photographer as artist wants to convey, or to capture detail of the part of the scene of primary importance, and let other parts go to black or white.

My choice has been to capture the clearest image with the most detail possible with the equipment available, and later to make editing choices to create the print that I want to present as an artist.

Now, I am open to also allowing exposures with deep shadows and bright highlights if there’s an artistic reason.

Author: Hitzeman Photography (Page 14 of 15)

What are we busy about?

Antelope Canyon

Garfield Park Conservatory :: Composition in Nature

Masterclass :: Obtaining the Best Image

Masterclass :: Tonality and Contrast

Assignment: High Dynamic Range

Result

Commentary / Learnings

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