Service

Week 25

Service
June 24, 2010

In theory, we all like the idea of it. Serving, that is. There are people out there that are down on their luck. A few because of poor decisions they've made, but mostly through no fault of their own, millions (if not billions) of people around the world could use a helping hand. You might say "The needs out there are so great, how could I possibly make a positive difference?" Well one thing is for sure, doing nothing will not make a positive difference.

I was asked to shoot a work-day for an organization that believes in doing something. Housing Industry Foundation, or HIF for short, is made up of a group of executives from the apartment management and related industries who work to provide assistance to people with a housing-related need. From grants for rent or a security deposit, to work-projects to improve housing for a family shelter and many things in between, the sole purpose of this organization is to help others.

I chose the photograph above from this shoot because I appreciate the movement and lines in the image. The powerlines above, the rakelines in the dirt, the motion as he pulls the rake across.. all interesting to me. Plus, the image illustrates this week's topic well, I think.

There are many other groups and movements small and large, ranging from food banks to the Red Cross, to Beautiful Day and local efforts geared to helping out a neighbor. I hope you will think of a way, big or small to pitch in and serve. I encourage you to make that transition from "good idea" to "where do I sign up?". Go ahead, it's good for ya... and you'll be surprised at the difference it makes. In your life as well as those you help....


image taken with Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 4L lens, 1/125 @ f11, ISO 400

Textured

Week 24

Textured #1
June 19, 2010

I recently started a commissioned series on texture. This is the first image in the series, and one that I really like. Taken of a piece of milled wood being used as a fence panel, this image to me isn't just a visual experience. You can almost feel it. Like a smell that triggers strong memories, I think we can be transported to an environment in some ways just by being stimulated visually.

Another reason I enjoy abstract texture images is that like most abstract work, it can speak to you as an individual. Sure, this is a picture of a piece of milled wood that shows grain and the remnants of a knot or branch within it. But to one person it could remind them of their childhood experiences at a family cabin. Another could see an eye poking out from behind the grain, lending personality and a story to this particular piece of wood, still another could see this as a sort of natural Rorschach, projecting what is in their mind's eye, and so on and so on.

Whatever the image does for you, I hope you enjoy it :). And feel free to let me know! I'd love to hear from you....



image taken with Canon 5D, 24-105 4L lens, 1/125 sec @ f/16, ISO 400

The In-Between

Week 23

The In-Between
June 7, 2010

To me, some of the best shots come from the times in-between what you are supposed to be shooting. Take the image above, for example. I think it captures my friend Joshua's personality, and says something different than the headshots we took that he will use to place on publications, executive profiles, and dossiers for his professional life. Nothing wrong with the headshots, mind you - they came out great, and will serve him well. That's not the point. I just find myself looking for opportunities during my sessions to get those unscripted moments, the ones that let you peek into the person a little deeper. Like the image above that tells you Joshua has joy in his life and loves to laugh, those candid shots are the ones you hang onto even if they weren't what you were there to shoot.



image taken with Canon 5D Mark II, 24-105 4L lens, 1/400 @ f4.0, ISO 400

4th & U

Week 22

4th & U
June 2, 2010

On June 2nd, I had a great assignment to shoot a property for Essex Property Trust, Inc, a California REIT. Essex recently opened this community on 4th Street called Fourth & U, not far from the well known University of California, Berkeley.

I was looking forward to the shoot for several reasons. One, it was a great opportunity to work with Essex, one that I look forward to developing into an ongoing, healthy business relationship. I also had not spent much time in Berkeley, and so this gave me the perfect reason to go up and explore a bit. From a photography standpoint, I just enjoy architectural images. The wide angle perspectives and use of lines and shapes can create so much for the eye to take in. You can take your time with the subject, get to know it a little, and find nooks and features you may not have noticed walking by, even hundreds of times. I like how the right image can give a viewer not just information on what a place looks like, but what it feels like to be there.

Thank you to the team at Fourth & U, and to my friends at Essex.



image taken with Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 16-35 2.8L II lens, @ 2.5sec, f8.0 100 ISO

Snails Pace

Week 21

Snail's Pace
May 25, 2010

I know it wasn't looking at me, but I couldn't help but feel like I was interrupting this guy's day. Those little antennae-eyes pointed right at me.... Maybe it was looking at me, saying "can't a snail hang out with some snail-bros without some papparazzo gettin' all up in my face?" Ok, snails have brains akin to houseplants, but that's what I was thinking as I discovered these guys just off the back porch, a bunch of them just hanging out, eating I assume and having a little snail-party.

The first photos I took straight down on top of the snails, but started to shoot at ground level and got the best shots (including the image above). Amazing what you can capture just by changing your point of view. Things look different when you take a different angle, a different approach. Sometimes you even find that you were looking at your subject wrong all along, and you wouldn't have known it without taking the opportunity to shift perspectives. A lot of similarities between life and photography, I suppose.

image taken with Canon 5D, 24-105 f4L IS lens, at 1/200 f/4.0, ISO 800

Studio Work

Week 20

Studio
May 19, 2010

The last couple of weeks I've delved a little more into the studio. To now, I've not done a tremendous amount of studio work, preferring instead to shoot outside, or otherwise with natural lighting. This is partly because I have been shooting a fair amount of family portraits and weddings. Brides are pretty resistant to having their weddings held in a photo-studio, and while you can do family portraits with studio lighting, I MUCH prefer to keep it outside, where it seems personalities come out, and real "life" is captured.

The other reason I haven't done a lot of studio work is that I don't have a studio :). Not a regular one, at least. My good friend and very talented artist has been kind enough to share her studio when I've had the need, for which I am very grateful.

Now, having said all I just did, I don't want you to have the impression that I don't enjoy studio work. I actually do. There are some very, very cool things you can do with studio lighting and a controlled environment that just aren't possible (or are extremely difficult) anywhere else. The image above is not one of those difficult shots, but I like it all the same. Steven - fellow photographer and model for the shot above and I spent some time in the studio, shooting with some fairly basic lighting and got some great shots. I like the above shot for its lines, light & simplicity. We pulled my two low-wattage (750W) soft boxes around to camera right and played up the sunrise-oncoming train-"oh-no, a nuclear blast" thing a bit, an what you see above is one of the many results.

Hope you enjoy.

image taken by a Canon XSi, 24-70 2.8L lens, at 1/125 sec at f/5.6. ISO 400

Walden

Week 19

Walden

May 16, 2010

There is an astonishing amount of talent, creativity and innovation in the world bubbling to the surface in the children of our culture. I was reminded of this at a Composers' Forum hosted by The Walden School. As described on the organization's website, Walden " is a summer music school and festival [held in Dublin, New Hampshire] offering programs that emphasize creative application, specifically through music improvisation and composition." This particular event featured alumni, current students and faculty at the school, with 5 composers' work being performed, and then discussed between the audience and composer with the help of moderators.

I believe we often make the mistake of thinking that truly brilliant, complex and creative work is the realm of adults. Children can be clever and smart, but ultimately are relegated to the kids table of the creative arts. At this performance and forum, I witnessed the performances of music by a 17 year old and an 11 year old with profound, thoughtful lyrics and complex, intuitively elegant composition.

Ancient wisdom of living for the now, and not worrying about a future that hasn't happened was represented in the lyrics of the 11 year old. Even if she has heard the idea, to be able to internalize, comprehend and express the idea in a new way signifies an intellectual maturity beyond many adults I know. She's pictured above giving direction to the pianist about to play her piece, (himself a Walden alumnus).

Children aren't bound by what "can't be done" because they don't know it can't be done. Imagination is commonplace among our children because being silly is ok. Creativity is nourished because they are praised for it and told how iventive they are. I wonder what would happen if that never stopped. Not just in pockets of industry where it's encouraged because it's a "creative job", not just in entertainment or marketing or the arts, but in engineering. In retail. In professional work and trades.... even *gasp*... government.

I suppose if nothing else, this is a nod of appreciation to organizations like Walden that foster creativity and take kids seriously...because they have seriously creative minds. It's also an encouragement to all of you out there... find a way to be creative. Be a kid again. Pick up that paint brush, that guitar, that invention you've got drawings stashed away for and never took the time to do anything about. Creative isn't limited to the arts. You can be a creative toll booth worker, or a creative receptionist, or mechanic or custodian... or doctor or lawyer. I firmly believe we were all created to be creative :).

Until next week....


image taken with a Canon, 24-70 2.8L @ 1/50sec, f/4.0, ISO 800