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Inspiration is the greatest form of flattery

Daniel j Gregory Carmel Image#1

Sometimes when you stand on the shoulders of those who came before you, you can see farther than you ever thought possible. Standing on Weston Beach at Point Lobos forces you to ask a very big question. Do I want to see the world through my eyes or try to make my eyes see Westons, Adams, Baer, and countless others. You can’t help it. After all you are standing on Weston Beach. Some of the most iconic images from the most iconic photographers in the 20th century were created in and around Carmel. You can smell it in the air when you are down there. You can see the tones, shapes and images when you close your eyes.

So you are given a choice, can you find something of you in a place that inspired such great work or try to find and recreate their work. Can you dig deep to find your inspiration or do you settle for imitation. The work of those great West Coast photographers was inspiration not imitation. They didn’t stand on the rocks and record an exact imitation of what they saw in nature. They were moved and inspired to connect with nature and show something beyond what we see. Sometimes a rock is not a rock and a pepper is not a pepper.

So, I doubt the truth of imitation as the greatest form of flattery–it’s not. Inspiration is. When you look at your images, you should be able to see the difference.  If not, climb back on those shoulders and look off into the horizon and create me the picture only you can see.

May 03, 2012 | Categories: creativity, fine art, inspiration | Leave A Comment »

Sticking with the Friendship Archway

I am continuing to work on my images from a recent trip to Washington D.C. One evening we headed down into Chinatown for some dinner and came to the intersection with the Friendship archway. According to the wonderful community over at wikipedia:

“The colorful, US$1 million work of public art includes seven roofs up to 60 feet high, 7000 tiles, and 272 painted dragons in the style of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.”

It is really quite a beautiful piece of work.

When we first walked up to the archway, I stood on the corner and photographed it much like everyone else was, but then it occurred to me the that I really wanted was the image taken from the middle of the street. So my buddy RC and I jumped out into the middle of the street and set the camera on continuous high and photographed like madmen. We took turns keeping an eye on the countdown for the crosswalk singles and at 3…2…1 we would grab the cameras and head over to the opposite side. This back and forth process continued for several rounds before dinner and a little after dinner.

What amazed me in the process was the excitement that can come from getting your heart racing knowing that DC traffic tolerance for pedestrians in the middle of the street is not exactly high. I am pretty sure that they might flip you off as they run over your body like a annoying speed bump in the parking lot of the local Wal-mart. And at the same time, the more time I spent shooting the more I could see in my head exactly what I wanted to get with my image. I was seeing it as a great black and white.

I’m not crazy so from the second I saw the arch I was planing on doing this great HDR image. This subject just calls out to be done as a bad ass HDR. But as I starred into the image, I knew that I was going to be processing the final image in black and white.  So I opened up an image and did a little work on getting the exposure balanced and ended up with a image that I really like of the archway. I am pretty sure that most people have a real great photo showing off the color, but I think mine really captured my mood and excitement of the light, the traffic and glow of this great work of art.

As for the second image in this post, it is an image that was taken right as I first got to the intersection. It was intended for use in a HDR series, but I just fell in love with the light all over again when I looked at the image in the darkroom. The sun was setting and the archway just lit up and glowed this amazing warm, golden light. While the construction on the left provides a serious distraction, I have included this image for two reasons. The first is that when light is good it really does stop us in our tracks. The golden glow and radiance of this piece of art really is amazing.  The second reason is that in the past, I might have settled for this image. It would have reminded me of my visit to Chinatown, the color and arch are cool, but the image isn’t really me and I would have been disappointed back home. However by continuing to work with a location and subject to find a way to express my experience, I was able to create a photo that still makes me happy for the click.

All images taken on a Nikon D700 with 24-70 F/2.8 on Lexar UDMA media.

Apr 08, 2012 | Categories: inspiration | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Photoshop World Wrap-up East Coast Edition

It is the end of another great Photoshop World (PSW) conference, and I have been thinking over the past few days about what I would write for a show wrap up. The 2012 Spring event was held in Washington DC during the cherry blossom festival–such great timing by the NAPP organization. While this is my fourth time to attend a Photoshop World, it is my  first time to attend the event on the east coast. When you live in Seattle going to the east coast is a long flight, so I have always opted for Las Vegas in the past. With the show in DC this spring, I just couldn’t pass on come out to such a great location.

There are a lot of things to do at PSW, and it reminded me of my first visit to the Smithsonian Museum when I was in 8th grade. On that trip, the tour guide said that you couldn’t see everything the Museums had in their archives even you if you went everyday to the various museums when they were open. They just had too much stuff to see and there wan’t enough time to see everything. PSW is sort of like that. You think that you have a plan and enough time to see everything, but once it is over you realize there just wasn’t enough time for everything. To say that you have full days is an understatement. Between classes, photo walking, catching up with friends, meeting new friends, after hours events like tweet ups and Midnight Madness, you will be busy.

I started off with a pre-con the day before PSW with the amazing Moose Peterson and Joe McNally on their Photo Safari. Moose and team always do a great job of finding great locations and people to photograph. This year was a group of people who are Civil War reenactors. They were generous open and wonderful to photograph. Joe setup a location lighting studio and so we go to work on our McNally portraits. I now have a growing collection of images that Joe setup for us to photograph. While they will never be in a portfolio since it is Joe’s setup, it is great to have these photos and learn from Joe about he and why he sets up the lights the way he does. He really is a master of the language of light.

Moose was great and generous as always. He is willing to answering any question (except those about the D4 which he deferred to his friend Kevin :) ) or share one of his stories from adventures in photography. It helps keep everyone motivated and brainstorming new and better ways to photograph. I have over the years learned so much about photography and finding your passions in what you photograph from Moose that I know I’ll never be able to repay him for the kind words, encouragement and support. I never would have gotten to know Moose if we hadn’t meet over those first few PSW adventures. Reason enough alone to attend a PSW.

Once the conference got rolling, Scott and company treated us to a wonderful election theme for the keynote with negative campaign ads, a Tina Fey worthy Sarah Palin impersonator who could see the White House from her hotel room, to the selection of the Photoshop Parties candidate for President. Then Adobe showed us some of the great new things they have been up to over the past few years. While I am very impressed with some of the changes in Lightroom 4, they have some amazing work they are doing in Photoshop  CS6 on the desktop and Photoshop Touch on the tablet interfaces. The next few years are going to be amazing.

The classes were great as always. With the introduction of Lightroom 4 and Photoshop CS6, even older familiar classes seemed new and fresh. However, for me it is not the topics so much as it is the instructors. While I already talked about the amazing Moose and Joe. Scott Kelby has put together such an amazing collection of instructors for the conference. Learning from Gregory Heisler and Jay Maisel about how light moves us to what it means to be an artist from Joel Grimes to inspiration from Lindsay Adler and the impact of photography from Moose with his wildlife photography, it is hard to find the time to see everyone. I attended classes on techniques and marketing from John Paul Caponigro, RC Conception, Russell Brown, Julieane Kost, Jermey Cowart, Lesa Snider, Matt Kloskowski and a long list of other amazing presenters. As in the past, I found myself at the end of the day hearing about sessions I didn’t get to attend which set the seed for attending the next PSW. And of course there is always Midnight Madness, where they guarantee you won’t learn a thing about Photoshop…and they are right.

I think like many people, my initial attraction to Photoshop World was all about the education–a lot of it really fast. But now, it is less about the classes and more about the open, sharing and giving community that has developed at PSW. I really like that PSW is a chance to see and reconnect with people that I haven’t seen in a while. We get to catch-up, share, laugh, and learn together. Those connections extend though out the year with phone calls, trips to visit and lots of online back and forth. That community keeps me motivated and pushes me to be a better artist everyday.

At my first PSW four years ago, I came down to the event in Las Vegas without knowing anyone. When I came home, I had a few new friends and got a chance to meet many of the photographers whose work I had followed for years. The people where all amazing. The instructors were generous. The staff was absolutely awesome, and the people attending  PSW were fun, supportive and caring people. I knew after that first year that attending again would be a reoccurring event for me. It is one of the ways that I reconnect with old friends, see amazing works and recharge my inspiration. This year was no different. There are just amazing people at PSW across the board.

So in the end DC didn’t disappoint. I was able to say thanks again to all my mentors in person. Got to hang out and shoot with friends like RC, Pete, Ryan, Nicolesy, Brian x2, Julie, Johaness and Gary. There was time to meet new friends like Kathy, Rob, Mike, and lots of others who I’ll continue to connect with online and at the next PSW. So in the end, I had a great time again and am looking forward to Vegas in the fall. If you are attending be sure to look me up when you get into town. If you haven’t ever been you should give it a try. You can find out information about the conference here. Oh and in case you missed my collation of quotes from day 2 you can find those here.

Mar 30, 2012 | Categories: PSW | Tags: , , | Leave A Comment »

Photoshop World 2012 Day 2 quotes

It is sort of a tradition of mine to post out some of my favorite quotes I hear on day two of Photoshop World. You might wonder why I do this for the second day two of a multiple day conference, if not you can skip ahead to the quotes section below. First, the conference’s second day has the most sessions and number of classes which means more chances to interact with more people . Second, one of my favorite events is called the Art of Photography and that happens on the second night. This program is a panel of 10 of the best photographers sharing their work and passion for this great art. There is nothing technical presented in the program, it is to just meant to inspire and motivate each person in the room to go out and make the best work they can. The event is filled with absolutely amazing images and presentations so it is pretty easy to hear some great quotes. And finally, I think day two is when everyone gets in the groove. New friends have been made, and everyone is happy to share what they have learned.  So without any further ado, my favorite quotes from PSW 2012 East Coast edition.

Favorite Quotes from the Day

“It’s taking my photography to new heights” — Joe Glyda in taking about his work in aviation

“This image was taken at 12,800 ISO. Why? Because I didn’t know it was set at 12,800″ — Jay Maisel

“I have redefined in my own mind what I am defined as. I am now defined as an artist” –Joel Grimes

“Social media sites are the fishing nets for your commerce and the way to get them to your house (website/blog)” –RC Concepcion

“Impossible is just an opinion, and no is just a starting point” — Vincent Versace

“I prefer to treat all of nature as a sacred place” – John Paul Caponigro

“Light is the greatest influence on my work” —  Dave Black

“Sometimes four inches in light location can make or break an image” –Joel Grimes

“Listen to your lights” — Joe Glyda

“Love is one weapon that kills all evil” — via Jeremy Cowart from one of his photos taken during his work of Voices of Reconciliation in Rwanda

“The camera only sees what you give it. You can quote me on that.” –Gregory Heisler

“Today we have an opportunity to make a difference” — John Paul Caponigro

Moose Peterson was asked “What king of photography do you do?” his response “The best I can.”

“Light will always, always come forward in your images, but sometimes not.” –Jay Maisel

“Social media is about engagement and conversation. People show up when you do good things” –RC Concepcion

“Color is the enemy of shape and vice-versa.” — Jay Maisel

“We all need a kick in the butt to get out and create.” –Joel Grimes

“Shoot what you can’t help but shoot” –Gregory Heisler

Not a quote so much, but at the Art of Photography, Julieanne Kost showed her new work I loved the titles of her new bodies of work “Moments Given” “Moments Combined” and “Moments Alone”

“Can you tell someone how to be a better photographer. Yeah, move your ass” –Jay Maisel

Maybe it was just how I was listening, but there seemed to be a clear theme that emerged as the day progressed–great work that we connect with comes from people’s passion and not their technique. You can chase technique and trends, but at the end of the day your work has be a reflection of who you are and what matters to you.  Greg Heisler made a geat analogy that style is a like a fingerprint and techniques and trends are like gloves. We can all wear that same gloves, but your fingerprints are unique.  If all you do is wear gloves, you can’t leave any fingerprints.

I hope that you find some of these as inspiring as I do. I tried to select quotes that would mean something even if you weren’t in the work, or I just found them funny.

 

Mar 25, 2012 | Categories: creativity, fine art, inspiration, PSW | 2 Comments »

Two amazing memorials in DC


I got a chance to spend some time with some great friends doing some photography in the various memorials around DC this week. Although my time has been short in front of the computer this week with my conference and the hopping around town, I wanted to post a couple of images from two of my favorite memorials. For me, there is a certain nostalgia for the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials.

When I was a kid and got to come to DC, a few things really stuck in my memory. Getting to see the National Archives, the Air and Space Museum an these two monuments.  I don’t know if it was the lessons learned in history class or the size of the memorials or what, but I do remember that my experiences in those two memorials really had an impact on me at a young age. It wasn’t so many years after my trip that I got to really learn about both presidents and at one point I even memorized the quote from the Declaration of Independence that is on the wall of the Jefferson Memorial. Now over 20 years after memorizing those words, I can still recent them from heart.

I think that is one of the great parts of DC, you never know what part of our history will make its mark on you. This time standing at the Lincoln Memorial I notice the reference to Martin Luther Kings speech and getting to see his monument for the first time. Getting to stand in silence at the Korean, WWII and FDR memorials are things that I will take with me for the rest of my life. I wonder what my next visit to DC will be like. What will be the things that leave the deep lasting impacts that Lincoln and Jefferson did on me so many years ago.
All images taken on Nikon D700 on Lexar Media.

Mar 24, 2012 | Categories: travel | 2 Comments »

Photoshop World Precon Civil War Style

Today was the start of Photoshop World 2012 East Coast edition. As with the past several years, I came in early for a pre-conference with Moose Peterson and Joe McNally and their very fun photo safari. Like conferences past, Joe and Moose took some time to show some of their latest work and answer any questions we might have about photography, life as a photographer or life in general . This year I learned something new that I didn’t know about Joe. Joe knows that HDR really means Hot Dogs and Ribs.

Joe and Moose also had a couple of things that I will keep in mind with my shooting in the coming year. First Joe reminded us that “You are responsible for every pixel in the image.” I think this is is something that will really help remind me to check my corners, spend time with the composition and think for just a second more before creating the shot. Moose reminded us that “When you go click it is not a summary of your photographic experience, but rather your life’s experience” He advised us to keep this in mind as we create new work.

So you might wonder where we were off to this year. Well, they lined up a trip to the Sully Historic site in Virginia with a a troop of Civil War reenactment group. Even a long bus ride out of DC due to construction couldn’t dampen our spirits on they way out. I was one the bus with Joe and he was a gracious as ever sharing insights and tips on how to make the most of our visit.

Once we arrived, we came around a bend in the road and there was setup a group of tents and our models for the days events. The coolest part of our models is that they weren’t really models. They were a group of amazingly warm and wonderful people who  are an actual Civil War reenactment team that was willing to come out and share their experience of what they love to do with us.

Unlike some reenactment troops, our troop were character actors meaning they actually portrayed real people from the Civil War. They knew all about the persons life, events and participation in the Civil War. They dressed to the period and had the most wonderfully amazing costumes. It was like getting a real life history lesson from a person picked out of time.

Everyone we so supportive of our pointing cameras in their face and willing to do pretty much everything we asked them to do. They were great as we learned new ways to light and pose people. I only hope that we provided them a little entertainment as well. I won’t soon forget my trip to Sully and the generosity of Moose, Joe, the troop and my fellow precons. I wonder what Joe and Moose will have in store for the next precon Safari in Veags in September. If you are coming out to PSW in the fall, it would be worth your time to spend an afternoon with some of the best people around.

The images in the post are from the days event. I processed them in black and white and then toned them to look a little like a platinum print. All images were taken on a Nikon D700 with 14-24mm f/2.8 or 70-200mm f/2.8 lens on Lexar media. The interior is from one of the buildings at the historic site.

Mar 24, 2012 | Categories: photoshopworld | 1 Comment »