——>>>>> I’VE MOVED <<<<<———
I’m retiring this site … the new site (actually the old site) is here –
Today, my wife and I visited a used book store in nearby Quakertown. From the first whiff of stale paper I was in love. It was intoxicating. Or it was dust mite allergies … I’m not sure which.
This image is a perfect example of the dilemma I face these days. Being a relative newbie (in a middle-bie body), I struggle with very basic issues right now and this image demonstrates my clear lack of tokens for the clue bus heading to …
Ok, I’m infatuated again. This time with a woman named Kathleen Connally … or rather … her photography, that is.
A couple of posts ago I wrote my opinions on the difference between good photography and great photography and about how great photography won’t let you go. It’s borders are secure and, once inside, you don’t want to leave. Captivating … taken captive … captured
Well … I’ve been captured and, if you dare, go here. But remember that you were warned.
So what is it about her work?
1. Light – She likes to shoot on overcast or foggy days
2. Light – She likes diffuse light for the most part
3. Light – She likes the subject to glow
4. Sharp – she has a very steady hand indeed!
5. Almost 3D quality – I think it is her beautiful 85mm f/1.2 and her Canon 5D that have an almost magic quality. So much so, that I’ve begun reconsidering my Nikon friends! But she is by no means limited to that 85mm lens! Graciously, she describes each photograph and the lens and processing she uses. I have scheduled much study time :))
6. Wonderful choice of models and subjects – Her children, her family, her pets, her farm … all are adorable and captivating subjects. In fact, she has dedicated her blog to her township and she calls it … “A Walk Through Durham Township”.
7. Gentleness – For the most part, her images are very understated. Desaturated more than saturated but perfectly so. You know that spot where the colors pop even though they have been pulled down? It’s that ‘magic spot’ where the image comes to life. This is her gift. Finding that spot.
Please, you must go visit. But promise to come back … even though you won’t want to!!
Peace and blessings,
Glen
I almost called this post ‘Out of time’ but that would be about 1.6 inches of exaggeration… since I HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD! Only my mom and my wife even know I’m rehosting (hi mom:) and my wife thinks that means we’re gonna have another dinner party.
But in case some bored surfer (or is that surf boreder … sic) happens on this post on their way to TOP or David DuChemin’s or something … well … my condolences. But here it is anyway.
My faithful readers know (hi mom;) that, after reading David’s post on blogging, I started to get the bug to rehost Stinky Fish on a more professional site. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’ve had a great experience with Blogger so far. In fact, what they offer FOR FREE is quite amazing really! I have only a few complaints and I think one of them is actually reasonable …
1. Limited set of templates
2. Domain name includes ‘blogspot’ … (omg … run for shelter!!)
3. Commenting support seems to only work intermittently. Debra Treaner tells me that she can never post comments on this site. I’ve reset the scripts several times but no luck. A google search shows that I’m not the only one with that issue.
4.
Ok … now the REALLY BIG NEWS! I’m also thinking of renaming the site. I chose Stinky Fish because every other name that occurred to me seemed pretentious and self-indulgent (as Simon would say). I wanted something with whimsy and humor to encourage a spirit of fun and adventure in photography. I actually have some friends who think that Stinky Fish is too self-deprecating (love that word).
What I think they mean is that it is hard enough to be taken seriously as an artist with out deprecating all over yourself 🙂 But I’ve always been someone who feels that the work should speak for itself. If it is good … or even great … no title or name or silly blog posts can change that. It will be self evident.
Now, the reason I’m considering the change … is the COMMERCIAL aspect. Would anyone hire a wedding photographer from Stinky Fish Photography? Would you like that on your wedding album? hmmm … maybe they are EXACTLY the people I want to shoot for … decisions, decisions
If anyone does read this … please leave me a comment (if it lets you) on your opinion of the name 🙂 Thanks!
Peace out,
Glen
As a relatively new photographer, I continually ask myself what makes a great photo? Then, being the over-thinker and hyper-knothead that I often am, I wonder if the act of even recognizing a great photo is artistry in itself … I mean … it implies that you know and understand the ingredients of a great photo.
Then I see one.
My jaw goes slack … my heart skips … my eyes glaze over … I kick whatever lies near my feet (because none of mine look like that) … but most of all … I stare. I step inside the photo. I walk through the portal. Like Alice, I climb every tree and lift every rock. I sigh with every turn of color and light. Each twist of form or substance tickles me as I play among them. I spy the whimsy and grimace at the grotesque.
And the difference between a good photo or a great one …
Is that I finally lose interest in the good one. I move on. It’s borders can’t contain me. I get restless. I wander away.
But the great one … that one becomes my refuge. My place to go when I need somewhere to go. My hiding place.
Make no mistake, the image above is not great. It is not a place that I need to visit often. But we know those places when we see them. And that is the first step toward making them … it is loving them.
Peace and blessings,
Glen
If I take a flawless picture of a Cezanne still life, and the resulting image is exquisite … is that art? Or is it just good craftsmanship? The image might be supreme! But it would be so because of the genius of Cezanne, not me. You might say – yes, Glen, but it takes a high level of artistry to capture and represent all that beauty in the photographic medium. Really!?! Does it?
I ask myself the same question from time time when I shoot flowers. Is it my artistry that makes the image beautiful or am I merely a technician recording the inherent beauty of the scene in the photographic medium? Am I the scribe or the author? These dogwood flowers, for example – they are exquisite all by themselves.
Of course, I know the answer. It’s both. The subject may be inherently beautiful but the photographic artist does not just reveal the beauty but enhances the beauty. Or, many would argue, the photographic artist finds and reveals the beauty that is not evident to anyone and brings the viewers attention to it by framing and illuminating it in such a way that it can be seen anew … fresh … differently. And, in many cases, the photographic artist makes that which is NOT inherently beautiful to be beautiful by altering our perspective and even distorting the natural interpretation into a new, more beautiful interpretation. Are they then releasing it, creating it or revealing it?
Anyone who has attempted to make a beautiful photograph knows that there is no hard link between the natural beauty of the subject and the resulting beauty of the photograph. It takes a true artist to make that happen. Just as a painter brings canvas, brush and paint together in just the right way, a photographer brings subject, camera, light, perspective … yes, even paintbrush … together in just the right way. More on this later.
Wow, that was a long winded way of saying that these dogwoods didn’t need any help. And I didn’t really give them any. I’m just sharing what I see. Hope you like them. More to come.
Love and peace,
Glen
I was wandering through some old shots and spotted this reject. But this time, I saw the background first and I was like … oh … that’s sortof nice actually. The foreground sucks but it’s like cooking chili. You need some peppers for a sharp little pop to cut through the smooth fatty flavors. Or maybe like tilapia and capers. Those wildflowers at least add a little sharp something for your eye to hold on to.
I think it is the rich and complex colors that appeal to me in this. Smoky greens, golds, lavendars …. even blues (can you see them?). Like good chili – rich, smoky, complex and … oh sooo hot! Yummmmm
This image isn’t particulary good but, like a good bowl of chili, it satisfies for a little while 🙂
Joy and peace,
Glen
Hmmm … where to start? Ok, let me pull out an old photo from my Philadelphia set. What? It’s blurry? Oh frisco! Ok, let’s go with it. I mean, let’s grunge it up so that you hardly notice.
First, make the color pop a little and adjust white-balance. Of course you can do that in either Lightroom or PS. In this case, I just went straight to PS and used the eyedropper tool under color balance. That stinking eye-dropper is way too cool!
Next, let’s layer on a texture to give it that dark and scratchy look. I had to go through a bunch of different textures from my inventory. This one is courtesy of Ghostbones, I think. I tend to get a lot of my textures from Flickr users who give them away rights-free. I try not to use any that come from folks who want to keep their rights to them because then, when I make a composite work, I have to remember all the derivative rights acknowledgements. What a PAIN!
When I’m trying out textures, I open the texture and then copy it on my project as a layer. Thank heaven for CTL-T! Then I experiment with the layer type to find the one most suited. I think I landed on ‘multiply’ for this one. I had to tone it down to about 60% or so. As I look at it now, I wonder if that had been too aggressive a blending mode? ‘Overlay’ might be better. I’ll go try that again later.
This particular texture has a natural vignette to it so that helped focus the viewer on the sign and the headlights of the car. It also hid that fact that, at 6400 ISO, there was notable noise in the skyline.
The texture has a yellowish tint. I didn’t bother to correct that since with grunge … well … anything goes really! That’s what makes it fun.
Anyhow, voila, here’s the result. Did I get that late-night, grunge-band kind of vibe with this? Is it too over-the-top?
Peace,
Glen
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