Yes, I know; I’ve been absent. Between getting ready for Savannah, processing images from there, preparing for our spring and summer workshops, I was snowed under. No different from anyone else, of course, but I had to let the blog rest for a couple of weeks.

Making Photographs

It is interesting in photography that we often use adversarial terms such as shoot, take photographs, capture an image, to name a few.  I prefer to use the term making photographs.  After all, isn’t that really what we want to do as serious photographers?  Have an idea, execute it, and bring it to its final state in post processing?

Some of you who have been in our workshops or who have read our blog, know that we are big on previsualization.

To make a successful photograph, we must each have an idea of what it will look like in the final form. Will it be an ethereal, high-key photograph, or will it be dark and moody? Will it be soft and romantic, or bold and industrial? Will it be a portrait of a person in a setting, or a setting with people?

Too many time, we see evidence of people “shooting” and hoping that there’s a photograph in there somewhere. I can’t speak for others, of course, but I would rather spend my time outside making a photograph than inside at the computer editing out a lot of ho-hum photographs that will have the clarity of your cell phone photo when found and enlarged.

As Arnie says, “The fastest way to turn your expensive DSLR camera into a cell phone one is to waste all those pixels available to you.”

I say, “Remember all those wonderful, expensive little pixels you paid for? Don’t waste them!”

Two different ways of saying the same thing.

As we all know, there are those out there who think that if they buy a big, fancy, expensive, latest-and-greatest, DSLR camera, they will be a photographer. What many of them don’t understand is that it ain’t so!

People often ask us at the beginning of our workshops or in our seminars and speaking engagements, “What camera do you use?” Without even the merest hamster hiccup, I reply, “It’s not the camera, it’s the head, the eye, and the passion” while pointing respectively to my head, eyes, and heart. There are family photographs I made with my first Brownie Hawkeye camera at age eight that stand up today. Would I do them better today? Yes, of course, but even way back then, I had a vision of what I wanted and how I was going to compose the photograph.

We were just in Savannah with a great group. And as always, we scouted out our locations to make sure nothing had changed since the last time we were there.

There is a famous fountain in Forsyth Park. Arnie had made a great photograph of a girl in an aqua skirt on the fence by the fountain, but this time, he wanted to do a dusk shot of the fountain when the lights came on, playing a different set of colors off one another.

He also wanted to treat the fountain differently than we mostly see done by experimenting with looking through water. Really looking through water. Since he loves the magic of light, he wanted the water backlit.

In both cases, he had a vision. He knew exactly what he wanted to achieve, and he made the photographs with those in mind.

I have always loved the stately Live Oaks of the south. There is something special about them, and to me, they have always been attached to my vision of “The South.” Think of Tara in Gone with the Wind! How to give the Live Oaks a different look, however, is always challenging. So often, people stand in the middle of the road and do the shot. Not I (said the little red hen)!

When we were out scouting, I saw what I wanted — shafts of early morning light coming through the trees. It was magical. I also wanted to give a sense of season, so I looked for the right vantage point. It took a while, but I found just what I wanted.
Wrought iron is something I’ve always loved. It probably stems from my childhood at my grandmother’s house with all sorts of family pieces that go back many generations. I have some of those pieces and have added others to my collection. The textures are great, and the iron comes in so many forms.

I knew I wanted to make a photograph of some aspect of wrought iron in Savannah where it is so popular. So often, though, it gets lost in the background of a photograph. I knew just what I wanted; I just had to find it.

Ta-daaa, there it was. The problem was getting into the unladylike position that would put the camera in the right position. Graceful, it wasn’t! The position, that is! But for me, it was worth it, since I had found my perfect background.

So, scout, seek inspiration from your surroundings, have a vision, be fussy, and execute it! And have fun doing so!

Upcoming Workshops

Meanwhile, we are really looking forward to our Springtime on the Outer Banks photo workshop. We always get such great images from there. Four of our alumni are returning (one for his fourth workshop), so that will extra fun! If you are interested, there are a few spaces left.

While you’re at the website, check out our other offerings. If you are considering joining us, do as others have already done … make your room reservations. Rooms go quickly at all our locations, but particularly for Canyon de Chelly & Navajoland, where there are few hotels and New England Fall Foliage, because of reunions, leaf peepers, and football games. Remember, you can always cancel later if necessary and not pay any penalty! If “our” inn or hotel is full, or if you prefer to stay elsewhere, we always have linked to other choices.

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Alumni Wish List

Some of our alumni have expressed interested in our putting together workshops both in Spain and at Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks. If we get enough interest, we will add one or both to our schedule.

Monthly (ish) Newsletter

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