Better Elsewhere (Two Photographs)
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At one time or another we all have that feeling that our photography would be better if we were somewhere exotic and different. I can vouch for the fact that travel is a boon for photography. When you walk the same streets everyday and it becomes mundane we don’t see the interesting or changing detail. I have taken to choosing a few neighborhoods and walking them several times in search of something that catches my eye. I also use prime lenses, shoot in black and white, and decide as I process the shots to go with the B&W or color. It may be the act of taking them in black and white that helps, it certainly is interesting, and I do see new things and new approaches.
Street Photography (Two Photographs)
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This could be a public service message about when to and when not to use a smart phone, however the man was crossing on a green light. Street photography is hard to explain and define in my view. It’s often defined as candid photography of people in public places, usually in black and white. On my SmugMug website I have used the term to capture street art, markets etc.; the architecture of the street as well as people. I know it’s a stretch and I may be convinced to change it. It is certainly easier to take street art and storefront reflections than photographs of people you don’t know. I’m getting my courage back and I will see where that takes me.
A Painting of A Cow (Two Photographs)
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This photograph is of the side of an art gallery I took with my Fuji XT-2. I am hard pressed to decide between the two versions. We are often faced with a blown out sky. Sometimes reducing the highlights gets back a hint of blue, maybe not a perfect blue but some blue. The important decision is about what kind of background you like and with some things a white background/white sky is the best option. For mood a more atmospheric background helps. The color version above is in fact a muted one shot HDR.
Peace Tower (Three Photographs)
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This is a piece of art near a major art gallery. The weather was threatening and these three photos show different ways in which I tried to bring the weather into play. The first a straightforward edit I simply reduced the highlights. The second color version was processed in Aurora HDR 2017, to give the weather and the whole picture a bit of a boost. The final B&W was done in Tonality Pro, and in this latter case I was able to exaggerate the weather and get more detail into the picture. I should also add this was taken with a Fuji XT-2, in this case the photo has not been cropped at all.
Street Photography (Three Photographs)
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I have been surprised at how much has been written about street photography over the past few years. It seems to be of growing interest even if the definition is somewhat flexible. Some insist it must include people, others don’t. But I have learned a few things from my reading. The one point that stood out was finding a spot and letting your subjects walk into it, as well as choosing the light and time of day to do this. These photographs are from my second try at this location. I need to find a few more spots like this. But I will be watching this one and perhaps make a series out of it.
The Power of Color (Four Photographs)
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None of these photos would work particularly well in Black and White. Color in circumstances like this has power, but it has the power to overwhelm and become the story. To overcome that increasing contrast and more application of detail extraction than normal help. Both of these techniques were used here. The idea is that if you can get enough detail, then the color while still vibrant does not overwhelm the picture. I have also used some creative cropping to capture the part of the image of most import to me.
Known and Unknown (Four Photographs)
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In my view the best kinds of city photography are those where there is some mystery and intimate detail. It’s always nice to have people in your photos. In some places that can pose legal issues e.g. the province of Quebec whose privacy laws are quite strict. Even when it’s okay not everyone wants his or her picture taken. There are many challenges in photography and it’s a pity that the legal challenges are growing.
