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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I am in Washington DC for a little vacation and the upcoming Photoshop World conference. Today was sort of a get on east coast time day and wandering around the National Mall kinda of day. The timing of the trip turned out to be great since most of the cherry blossoms are in bloom right now. The downside of this is of course the number of people. The path around the Jefferson Memorial was well…insane. There were people and cameras everywhere.

This sort of let me wondering about the uniqueness of each of the images I would be taking. Standing side-by-side with dozens if not hundreds of other photographers left me wondering, what about my experience can make the work become my own. Then as I stood there looking out over the water at Jefferson’s Memorial thinking about the words from the Declaration of Independence, the cool things in the Smithsonian and the wonder of the White House and the Capitol Building it hit me.

You see DC is one of the those cities that can make you realize just how cool your country is. And as I looked around at all the people gathered on the National Mall to see the memorials and the cherry blossoms, I realized that there is no way to not make a photo that reflects who I am. Just like the people around me, we are all unique and yet we all share in a common ground that is easy to see here in DC. It is this common ground what we walk on together that binds us over our difference. It is what makes us great as a country. We are all unique, we are special and we all have something to offer.

I am getting ready for Photoshop World 2012 in DC and was looking over some notes on the computer and came across a document with a big list of photography quotes. In the past, I have taken notes and posted some of my favorite quotes from the Photoshop World conference, and so I thought I would share a few of these in preparation next week.

“The meaning of quality in photography’s best pictures lies written in the language of vision. That language is learned by chance, not system.” – Walker Evans

The subconscious is a great thing when it come to creativity. The ego doesn’t seem to be able to operate in the subconscious so amazing things happen when it is given some time to play.  So with the ego passing judgement on other things in my life, my subconscious has been at play with something that is starting to look like a new collection of work. Because of all this background processing, I find that at times my creativity sometimes eludes my own understanding of what I am doing. I shoot lots of images that all seem to have no home other than in the to-be-determined-later collection. Then suddenly for no apparent reason, they suddenly start to gravitate towards one another. It is like watching little balls of mercury roll across a table. They have a strange attraction for each other slowing growing as they merge into each other before becoming a single pool. Images from different years, places, subjects start to vibrate around each other and join together.

In looking back, almost all of my projects start off as just background noise waiting to be discovered as something meaningful. Eventually the repetition and pinging of the connections gets to loud to ignore. It reminds me of the great scene in Contact where Jody Foster’s character first hears the sound of the communication from Vega. The sudden shock of being sure that you are hearing something other than just noise; and yet so unsure of what you have found that you get overwhelmed at the pure excitement of what is happening. Then the reality sets in and you know that  you have something real. You explode with energy, excitement and passion.

This tiny little seed of a project is starting to feel a little like that. I am starting to see a pinging that is hitting over and over again. These images that were taken apart in location and time all the sudden have a mutual respect for each other; and in my endeavor to be hella creative all the time, they are pushing me to look with intention at this work to see what develops.

I can’t say  much more about what is will become, because it is still just a distant signal from a far off place. But, it is getting louder. I can’t wait to head out with intention and see what develops.

I was recently asked by a friend of mine about an issue she was having in Lightroom 3 with her workflow. She had made the decision to convert her images to DNG files on import and wanted to use the feature in Lightroom’s import dialog box to make a backup copy of the original file at the same time to a different location. She also was using the rename file feature to make her photo file names more user friendly.

Her issue came about when she noticed that the renaming of the files worked just fine on the DNG files, but was ignored on the backup copy of the original file. The original file kept its original name. This resulted with her not being able to easily match up the original RAW file to DNG file if needed. I am sure that there were some reason for this, but if it was me listening to them all I would hear is blah blah blah. I can’t think of any reason good reason why the file name would need to stay intact to preserve the integrity of the non-converted RAW file.

In Lightroom 3, the workaround is to copy the images into the catalog with the backup and rename options selected. Then after the import is completed, you can convert the imported files to DNG. This will leave you with a DNG file and the backup original file with the same file name.

The good news is that this was fixed in Lightroom 4 and so if you want to import and convert to DNG, backup the original file and have the renaming apply to both files you can make it happen in the import process.

While there are a lot of great new features in Lightroom 4 that I’ll be discussing in the coming months, there are some small things that I have noticed in my first few days of working with the final version that I thought I would pass along. Most of these aren’t significant changes, but I think they will really make a difference in the workflow within Lightroom.

I love my city. There is something about Seattle that makes me happy. Sure the months of November, December, January, February, March, April, and on occasion May, June and July can be a little cloudy, but I love this place. The realization came about as I was asked to photograph some local icons of the city for a project, and it sort of got me thinking back to when I first got here and how exciting that move was for me.

I move to Seattle in 1995. It was on a whim. I really didn’t know much about Seattle at all. I new they had Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden, the Sonics, Seahawks and Mariners. I also new that Microsoft was up hear. And to be perfectly honest, that was about all I knew. I had recently gotten out of a less than healthy relationship and needed a change. So I loaded up in my little Honda Accord and made the long drive up from Texas. I new the second I saw the skyline that this place was going to be home for a long time (of course I might have said the same about Portland too but that is more of a quantum question at this point).

I am not sure what it is about a city that gets under your skin. I know people from NYC and that is the only city for them, and I’ve know people from Cody Wyoming love Cody. In the end, maybe it just comes down to feeling like you are home.

Sure a lot of things changed over the years. Seattle blew up the Kingdom, the Sonics have moved, Nirvana is just a collection of albums on my machine and they finally started building light rail (airport in 36 mins no traffic–SWEET!). Still, when the plane touches down from a trip and there is a light rain in the air. I take a deep breath and think how much I like being home.

This image is taken out of one of the windows in my office. The elevators seem to take a lifetime to get up to our floor so a lot times I just stare out the window looking down on the city. At times I think about my first job in Seattle when I would ride the bus into downtown for my 6:00am shift on the phones for Adobe tech support. There was something so cool about seeing the city all lit up and bright that mirrored my excitement for being there. While both of us have changed a lot over the years, I think we are still a great couple.

Image taken on an Fuji X100 at ISO 1600 12s at f/8 on Sandisk media

Just a quick shot from a recent trip out to a bar with friends. Didn’t have much time to photograph, but the scotch was good and the conversation great. It is hard to to beat hanging out with friends over an 18 year old bottle.

As an aside, I love photographing in bars. The light is aways awesome and the bottles reflect it something crazy. Besides, what better way to spend a night than with some Talisker and a camera.

I was continuing to workon the images from the past weekends trip down to Ilwaco, Wa. Since we were looking for the high surf and wind on this trip, it was no surprise when the rain and hail showed up often and with vigor. So when the rain got a little heavy, we took the quick drive up the Columbia River to the Fort Columbia State Park.

The park was originally built as a defense fort in 1896 as one of three forts used to defend the Columbia River. The fort is located on a little point of land that jets out into the Columbia called Chinook Point. The fort stayed active until the end of World War II when it was retired from active duty. The state of Washington took over the fort and made it into a state park in the 1950s. One of the great things about Fort Columbia is that many of the original barracks are still in working condition and some of the old gun turrets are still onsite that you can check out. However, my favorite part of these old fort parks (Washington has several Casey and Warden to name a few other) is the old concrete bunkers where they would store ammo and hide the turrets.

You are allowed to walk around in the barracks and they are an amazing piece of history and really cool places to photograph. The old metal doors, cracked walls and battered concrete just screams to be photographed. Although we only had about 30 mins on location before heading back for sunset at Cape Disappointment, I was able to get a few shots that I really liked and have put a big pin in the map to return here in the future.

On a tangentially related note, I am so thankful for the people who think about protecting places like this and turning them into parks. I am a huge fan of the parks systems no matter where I am traveling. One of my biggest hopes is that we can continue to understand the need to fund and support our park systems so that they may provide protection, education and fun for years to come.

All images were taken on a D700 with Nikon lens (14-24mm or 24-70mm f/2.8) on Lexar UDMA media and then processed in Lightroom and Nik’s HDR Efex Pro.

my friend Mike and I, just got back from Ilwaco, Wa/Cape Disappointment State Park on a run and go trip. Run and go trips are trips that require you to just go because of time, condition or event that you have to react to rather than plan. In this case, the short notice was because of the weather. For this particular location, we needed bad weather. The worse the better. We wanted big surf so we waited for a high surf advisory. When it was announced that swells were forecasted to be 25-28 feet with high winds for Friday and Saturday we knew where we had to be.

We got to the park just as high tide was rolling in and to the good news of an accurate forecast. The wind was crazy with gust to probably 40mph and the waves were huge. We also had numerous rain showers and light hail that moving overhead every 15 mins or so. Once we got to Waikiki beach, it was clear there was no way out of the rain and wind and those waves were awesome. So, jumping out of the car and grabbing the camera, tripod and rain coat, I headed off to the top of the break to photograph the lighthouse and waves.

There is often better time off day to photograph than mid-afternoon; but when the waves and tide table is what you want, you just have to go for it. As I sat there on the rocks photographing, the waves literally pounded the coast often times ringing out a clap of thunder as they slammed the rocks. This particular image was was taken just as the wave started to hit the rocks. I really like the mirroring of the curve of the wave that matches the cure in the rocks and the height of the wave. This curve only happens for a brief second and then the wave explodes and is consumed back into the ocean.

This is also one of the first images I have posted that was processed solely in Snapspeed on the iPad. Actually, the entire post is being driven from the iPad. While I like having editing on the iPad. I hope that soon we are able to have spot healing as there are some water spots that I would have liked to have removed in the image in Snapspeed or maybe in Photoshop Express. The image was captured on a Nikon D700 with a 70-200mm f/2.8 on Lexar media.

On a recent trip to Texas, I got the chance to revisit the Country Tavern. This might be my favorite place for ribs in the country. The menu is simple. They just need to know if you want 3, 5, or 7. You see the menu is basically ribs, and they just need the count. You add in a side and a cold beer or sweet tea and you are good to go. The place was starting to get really packed when I was there so I didn’t get much space to photograph from, but I did get a clear spot when a large group of people got to their table.

I did however know from the start that I wanted to process these to look like old photos from the past. When you walk int the tavern, it just feels like you are in a timeless bar on a country road. I wanted to try and process these images to match that experience. They are hand held HDR shots processed in Nik’s HDR Efex Pro software and then finished and toned in Photoshop.

As I was working on these images today, it made me a little hungry and I am really looking forward to getting back there next time I am in East Texas. Might have to ask if they will allow an off menu order for 10.

Images taken on Nikon 700 with a 14-24mm F/2.8 on Lexar media.

If you were going to die tomorrow, what would you do to make sure that your life had worth? What would you give away on your last day on earth? Who would you want to talk to and what would you tell them? If you had only one word left what would you want it to be? If you had the chance to make a difference in the world would you jump at the chance? If you had a gift to share that would change the world would you share it? If you had something inside of you that could make a difference and all you had to do was show up and be you, could you be you? Could you be honest? Could you be open? Could you connect? Would you want to?

If for only one day,  could you make a difference in everyone you came in contact with and leave knowing that you are both the better for it? Could you give just because it is the right thing to do? What would that be worth?

Could you talk about the amazing experience that you just had so that everyone would understand? Could you talk about all the amazing people? Can you figure out what really mattered that day and could could inspiration continue to make a difference in your world? Would you be willing to be that honest and open, knowing that your experiences were about giving photos to people, but walking away the richer person because of what others gave without even knowing?

Will those experiences last and have a profound impact on the paths walked every day? Is it possible to repay the honesty and openness that people are willing to give when you look into their eyes? Will everyone realize that good people always look good in photographs (it’s in the eyes and you can’t hide it)? What can a picture do? Can it create self-esteem, hope, joy, value, confidence, family, friendship, smiles, friends, humor, tears, hugs, kisses, cheer, comfort,  delight, ecstasy, elation,  gladness, glee or pride?

What a picture is worth? Everything!

You might be asking about the randomness of thoughts and questions above, and I guess I am just trying to figure out  how to put into words the impact of participating in Help Portrait this past weekend.  As I sat down to write about the experience this weekend, I really got to thinking about the experience and the lasting impact it might have on me. It is often times hard to describe the impact an emotionally charged day has on us when we see the difference we can make in the world. The chance to see the world as it should be when we take care of each other, share our stories and connect with each other.  I was going to tell you about all the amazing people I got to meet that day. The great portraits and stories that were shared, but there are a lot of people who already have told those stories over on Facebook or at the Help Portrait site. I just wanted to share some of the questions that I have to answer for myself. When it comes time to step up and make my gifts as an artist matter, will I make sure to remember all of this? Will I make sure my photos have worth? I hope so. 

*Hep Portrait is an organization founded by Jeremy Cowart that is all about photographers coming together and using their art, skills and love for photography to give back to their communities. On December 10th, thousands of people from around the world found people in need, took their photograph and gave them that photograph. The event is about giving pictures. There is a great video here that really shows what the event is all about.

I had the great fortune to work with an amazing group of people: Henry Lingat who organized the event, Ernie Sapiro who did the photograph and Paul, Erin, Linda, Sheri, Nathan, Stacy and Henry’s mom all came together to support each other and our guest. The result was a day I’ll never forget.

Adobe Lightroom has a number of options for you to manage your workflow. One of the best ways is through the use of collections. I was a folder organizer for a number of years even with Lightroom on my machine, but once I understood the value of collections, collection sets and smart collections I never looked back and my folders for organization. This video covers one way that you can use collections to help keep you organized in Lightroom. The best part of collections is that they are easy to update and mange so  as my workflow evolves so will my use of collections. I really look forward to continuing to learn more about how people are using this feature of Lightroom to keep their work organized and incorporate the best of that into my own workflows.

Note:  This particular workflow has the same collection folders being created over and over again for each shoot or project. Since Lightroom doesn’t have a way to automate the creation of collection folders in a catalog, I created a video that shows how to get around this issue. You can see the video here.

I was on a recent trip to San Francisco and had a few days to wonder the city and spend some time photographing. I was a black and white photographer before I was a color photographer, so often times when I am shooting just for my own interest I tend to see and focus on black and white work. On this trip, I was really looking for two types of black and white images. The first was abstract and graphical images. I think these were mostly inspired because of the time I spent in the San Francisco Musuem of Modern Art early in my visit. The image below is of a park down in the financial district between two building. The second I saw the shadow of this image hitting the ground with the pattern that matched the bench, I knew that I had to create an image. Luckily, I was able to get this image for just a few minutes later the sun had moved behind a building and the shadow was lost for the day.

This first image is a high-key image. I have always loved high-key images for their delicacy and lightness. While most of the time the focus of black and white work is the relationship of the blacks and whites, I personally think that there is a magic that happens in the grays of an image that really make them sing. The subtle contrast between those middle zone grays is hard to beat in my opinion. This particular image I considered cropping out the escalators off to the right, but I really liked how they framed up that side of the image. I also made a conscious choice to cut off the bottom of the escalator to balance the fact that I couldn’t get the top include as well.

Both images were processed in Adobe Lightroom 3.0 The first image was taken with a Nikon 700 with a 24-70mm F/2.8 on Lexar media and the second image is from a Fuji X100 on SanDisk media.

I am currently teaching a Lightroom class and having a great time. Hopefully the other people in class can say the same. Because of the number of features and limited class time,  I agreed that if there was a topic covered in class that any student wanted covered again I would create a video and post it to the web for them to watch. So, this is my first video I have created for the class. The video covers the import options in Lightroom 3. If you have Lightroom 2 the import options are significantly different that you might want to refer to a version 2 video else where. I hope you enjoy and up next will be videos about using collections and collection sets in your workflow.