High Five Photo Tips for July-August

High Five Photo Tips for July-August:

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Summer Photography 

1. Photograph the Weather! Often best right before or just after the storm.

   Nor'easter Storm

2. Keep it simple but not too simple.  You do need a point of interest. Slow down, look and think. A tripod often helps - more then just providing a stable platform.   
3. Be creative with Pet photography.  It is always raining cats and dogs, so take advantage. Get Down to their eye level. Create action shots by hold treats such as peanut butter or store bought treats. Horses will perk up there ears if you crinkle paper. Experiment! 
4. Think! Plan and Create.  Forget drive by shooting.  

   Beacon Marine Gold

5. Explore the water and night sky. Summer is the perfect time to get out and expand your horizons. Get out of the box. Think and Dream. Thus, create. 

High Five Photo Tips for March-April 2012

1.Small pupils can create fascinating portraits. To create this effect, move your subject from a very bright area to a dimmer one immediately before making a photo     2. Most of the time we only think of portraits as being of the face, but other parts of the body, especially the hands, can tell more of a story. Experiment with just shooting a part of a person to tell the whole story, such as part of a wranglers outfit: just chaps or the boots with spurs. Western Boots with Spurs   Western Chaps

3. Keep your subject busy while you are composing and shooting, by giving them something to do like using props, which can include another person, such as a child, or you could have them work on a hobby project, such as their garden. These types of props can also offer other things you will need to make a good shot, like a good background, and plenty of room to work in.     4. During the golden hours, the sun is at an angle where it will illuminate mist, fog or dust, giving you a great golden glow when the weather conditions permit it. Morning Stampede 5. In travel photography, try to capture or slow down action to make your images less static. With dances, shoot at a slower shutter speed to blur the movement. At night, with your camera on a tripod, these slow shutter speeds will allow car headlights and taillights to blur, creating wonderful compositions. Pow wow Indian Dancers

High Five Photo Tips for September

High Five Photo Tips for September: 1.Depth of Field is a great creative tool.  Remember,     The most important item to control is the aperture setting. The larger the aperture used, the smaller the depth of field range. A good review at: How to use Depth of Field  Tony at F 2.8 with 70-200 zoom racked out to 200 for bokeh

Tony at 70 mm_same settings Even though set at same wide aperture of f/2.8, better Bokeh racked out ( ie the outer limits of the Zoom; so 200 mm on a 70-200mm zoom lens). Try it out.     2. Remember to MOVE:  Every time you you go out shooting, try different camera setting on the same subject. Move around!  Low high, close up to zoomed out.Change lenses and perspective. Try a tilt.  Or think of the horizon line.  Centered or at 1/3rd. Vary it and see what works.  Be Creative!! Coneflowers from a low perspective

3. Use your Tripod.  It will help you take clear photos all the time whether it is action or close-ups.   A great advantage of having a tripod is you can shoot images hands free. The reason is that you can use a remote release to start the shutter.  People often using telephoto lenses will also find the tripod useful. As having longer lenses normally create more weight to your digital camera, a tripod will keep your device steady. A tripod also slows you down and helps you think and create better images. 4. Black is needed to make an attractive B&W photograph, it says it right in the name, black and white.  If you've grown into the habit of using the histogram in Photoshop or Lightroom to show you the black and white highlighted areas don't adjust the exposure or increase the fill light to the eliminate all the flashing area.  Solid black in some portion of the image is not only acceptable, it's needed.     Searching, Nude Matured Project 5.  A good landscape usually includes an interesting foreground as the focal point that leads you into the rest of the picture.    Pigeon Cove

AIPAD in NYC

Pablo Picasso by Irving Penn

Association of International Photography Art Dealers show in NYC at the Armory is always a favorite of mine.  Classic photography as well as Contemporary and edgy work fill the space.  Happy to see there were sales going on and red dots on some walls. A good sign.  Interesting to see the display and framing options as well.

Wonderfully exuberant was Richard Avedon’s double portrait of the poets Allen Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky, naked and arm in arm, at Eric Franck. More brooding artist work was Robert Mapplethorpe’s 1976 shot of a young Patti Smith (at Contemporary Works/Vintage Works), grasping a radiator as she sits on a bare apartment floor.

Classic 20th-century images by the likes of Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Berenice Abbott and Andre Kertesz were my real reason for seeing the show. The front-and-center booth of Edwynn Houk had a nicely balanced selection that includes Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, Paul Strand and Man Ray, as well as some more recent work by Stephen Shore and Bruce Davidson.

Alec Soth

 How do you decide what to collect?  What you love instantly on first sight, or what you feel will have long term value?  Trends or classics?   Some ideas to help you collect:

1. • 1
     Understand the art photography process. A photographer achieves a compelling shot by shooting an engaging subject using proper lighting in the best environment. The photographer then creates either a photographic print or a digital photographic print.
   • 2
     Establish price guidelines for your collection. Decide whether to collect fewer, more valuable pieces or develop a larger collection of less-expensive pieces. Your interest in subject matter or specific artist may help to set this level. More established artists' work will demand a larger investment.
   • 3
     Choose a style or photographer. Many collectors of fine art photography are drawn to a specific subject or the style of a certain photographer. Once you find a piece that you're interested in, ask the photographer about the photograph. Ask if there's a story behind it, or what connected the artist to the subject at that moment. Sometimes you're fortunate enough to speak with the artist one-on-one. At other times, you'll need to depend on phone calls or e-mails. Knowing more about the piece will give it value to you--both personally and financially.
   • 4
     Choose which piece to invest in, and make the purchase.
   • 5
     Care for your art.  Place your prints in a frame that has museum glass.  Use a acid free mat for protection and to enhance the presentation.
   • 6
     Add more pieces over time at a rate that your budget can tolerate.
     
     

     
     

2.     Go to lots of Art shows, Galleries, local Art Associations, art and photography web portfolios and look at Art - including but not exclusively showing photography.  Define your taste.  Read about photography and keep looking at images.  COLOR and B&W magazines for fine art photography is another good choice for a review of  contemporary photography. Decide if you like color or toned and B&W photography, classic or contemporary. Find a photographer you like and follow her work. AND start collecting.