Hurley's Gold

Photography

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  • Army 1911

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    I think we need a thread on Photography, not just Texas Landscapes. So I hope this thread leads to interesting photos and constructive critiques. Maybe we can all learn something and improve. I have spent 40+ years making money with my cameras. 35mm, Hasselblads, 4x5 inch sheet film cameras. At one time I was a great B&W printer. Some of my prints are in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian. My wife was a photography professor until a car wreck ended her ability to teach and shoot. I gave up photography, closed my studio and moved to Dallas to support my wife through 2+ years of rehab.

    This year I decided to get into digital photography. I have a lot to learn. I am used to instruction books with 40 pages, NOT 300.
    So in the belief that a good way to learn is to give your knowledge, I hope this thread advances all of us.
    Target Sports
     

    Army 1911

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    This photo taught me not to shoot a digital camera in monochrome, but convert color to monochrome. Sky clouds03.bw.jpg
     

    Army 1911

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    This photo is of lens filters left over from my film days. Notice the red, green and blue filters that overlap. That little area where all overlap creates a "RGB Black" which is really a muddy brownish black. I shot this on top of a led work light with several sheets of paper between the light and filters. RGB filters.jpg
     

    Army 1911

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    This next one is a simple composition of a flower. It was shot inn my new backyard studio with natural light. The black background is black posterboard. The black was enhanced in post production. Notice how the diagonal composition leads you to the flower. Diagonals and leading lines are great compositional tools. Flower1.jpg
     

    Army 1911

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    Probably the best way to improve your photography is to use a tripod. I think it is fair to say 90% of the greatest photos were taken using a tripod. Adams, Weston, Brady, Avedon, Cappa, Stieglitz, Robert Frank, Mann Ray, Cunningham, Edward Steichen, Irving Penn, and the list goes on.

    My two favorite quotes are from Edward Weston and W. Eugene Smith.

    Weston Said , "Consulting the rules of composition before making a photograph is like consulting the laws of gravity before going for a walk." This was from his essay "Seeing Photographically."

    Smith is considered the patron saint of "Available Light" photography because during an interview in the 1950s, that is what he said he used. The interviewer did not ask a follow up to that and boom he was Saint Smith.

    I was present when the follw-up question was asked. The question was , what did you mean when you said you used available light? His answer, I mean candles, matches, strobes any damn light that's available."
     
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    Army 1911

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    Excellent thread idea!

    I do like photography, but I am not even an amateur photographer by any stretch of the imagination.


    Doesn't mean you can't contribute to this. If not photos, then your ideas on what s good or can be improved in someone else's photo.

    The idea is to get everyone thinking, learning and doing. Just saying you like something without the reason you like it or don't like it tells us nothing of real value. Nice but not helpful.
     

    Army 1911

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    2400 Custer Rd-4.jpg

    I like this house. The symmetry and corner location make it easy to photograph. This was taken in the evening late enough for the foyer and outside lights to look warm and inviting. Also early enough to show good color and detail overall. An hour before sunset is a good time to do sunset pictures. You can get detail in the foreground and the colors of the sunset. Bracketing the exposure to the underexposure side will insure a good look. Keep shooting until you get one you like. Shoot every ten to 15 minutes until dark.

    The advantage of digital over film is the instant results you see in playback mode. A little later than this wouuld be a good way to shoot Christmas lights.

    Other note on this shot is the mail box is distracting but if I moved to the right, bushes between the two trees blocked the entrance. A wider angle lens would have solved the problem. I shot this with a zoom set at 18mm which has an effective focal length of 27mm on a 35mm film camera.
     

    Mills

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    B~24 bomb bay, looking forward, had to be trim to walk through there.
    My dad was a B-24 bombardier, he said the bomb bay also served as the main exit to bail out, he also said the odds were not very good in making it out.
    9D179B1A-0C56-4822-AA53-2B89CFBD8737.jpeg
     

    Brains

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    I seriously need a good DSLR camera, but that's (once again) out of my budget so I'll have to continue to get by with my cell phone camera and trying to get interesting results through composition.
    There's an old adage in photography. The best camera to own is the one you keep with you.

    Modern cell phones are capable of simply stunning images. Sure, a dSLR opens up a lot of options, but it certainly isn't a requirement to capture some amazing shots.
     

    TreyG-20

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    I own a Nikon D3300 and a Canon T5i Rebel. Its been a few years since I have picked them up, but I do plan to again. Phone cameras have gotten so good over the last few years that dragging around a DSLR sort of became a hassle for me since I never got into the business and it was just a hobby. I always admired slow shutter speed shots.
     

    Army 1911

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    Reflections.jpg

    This shows one problem with shooting architecture. The left side of the building appears to lean back while the right side leans forward. Easily corrected with a view camera and probably Photoshop. I don't know PS that well yet. Also notice how the sky is darker at the top. This happens all the time. It is almost always lighter at the horizon which is the building here.
     

    Army 1911

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    I own a Nikon D3300 and a Canon T5i Rebel. Its been a few years since I have picked them up, but I do plan to again. Phone cameras have gotten so good over the last few years that dragging around a DSLR sort of became a hassle for me since I never got into the business and it was just a hobby. I always admired slow shutter speed shots.

    Trey you are right about phones but they don't give you the control that a camera does. In each not the photos I've posted, they all were shot in manual exposure with adjustments made by me. You can also tell the camera to bracket your exposure if you don't like manual metering.

    Looking at your pics, the last one is a nice abstraction which reminds me of Mann Ray's "Ray-O-Graphs" from the 1930s. It took me a while to figure out the point of interest in the first one. Maybe a wider aperture and slower shutter speed would have mad the spider more dominant. Good idea though.

    Shot 4 is nice. I am a sucker for B&W. I would have tried a little more contrast in post production and maybe cropping a little sky to make the road bed appear more elevated.

    Shot #3 has good composition but the canoes aren't in focus. Ask yourself "what am I selling here." It's the canoes and the trees are just framing.

    #5 has great contrast and the knotted trunk has great texture.
     
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