Quality of Light

The Grand Canyon is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. Besides being mesmerized by the vastness of the landscape, I was in awe of the colors I saw throughout each day of my visit. One thing that struck me when reviewing my pictures was the impact the time of day had on the colors of the canyon. Being primarily a natural light shooter, I am familiar with the importance of quality of light and have spent a great deal of time chasing the elusive golden hour. Seeing the colors of the Grand Canyon at different times of the day really made it clear what quality of light can do for an image. Here are four images I shot showing the impact time of day and quality of light can have on a scene.

Sunrise

Noon

Late Afternoon

After Sunset

Staying Sharp

Photography has taken a back seat to life lately. I recently began working as a freelance writer and just haven't made the time to go out and shoot. According to my Lightroom library, I've only used my DSLR once this month. At times like these, there are a couple things I do to keep myself sharp as a picture maker and to continue with my creative journey.

The first is to constantly remind myself to look for pictures. Even if I'm driving and can't possibly use a camera, I still look for opportunities to make pictures. Sometimes I'll make a mental note to return to a scene or look for a similar subject. Other times, I'll simply make a mental snapshot of what strikes me and imagine what the picture would look like. I've often thought photography is just as much about learning to see as it is about learning to make a good picture. By always paying attention and looking for pictures, I feel I'm improving my ability to see while keeping myself sharp.

The other thing I do is to make it a point to use my iPhone for shooting. When I first started getting more serious about photography, I was so concerned about getting the best possible image that I often didn't bother with a picture if all I had was my iPhone. Looking back, it makes me sad to think of all the opportunities I missed because I didn't give the iPhone camera a chance. The more I use my iPhone as a camera, the more I realize that it's perfectly capable of producing pictures that make me happy. And at the end of the day, that's the thing that truly matters to me. The funny thing is forcing myself to use the iPhone as a camera has brought back some of that joy I use to have before I knew anything about making pictures. It's as if somehow using a camera phone allows me break away from the constraints I use to put on myself while trying to become a photographer. Now I simply walk around content to make pictures that satisfy my desire to create.

Refocusing on My Creative Journey

Two things happened last week that got me thinking about my photography more than usual. I received an interesting remark about my Try it in Black and White post and my friend Lindsey asked about my views on post processing. The comment and Lindsey's question both seemed quite timely as I've been thinking a lot lately about where I am on my creative journey.

I started this blog to document my progress as a photographer but I find that I'm no longer interested in becoming a photographer. At least not in the traditional sense of the term. It's not that I plan to stop making pictures but I'm finding more and more the limits set by myself and others only impede my creative progress.

I'm as guilty as anyone in creating these roadblocks as I've often written about my take on gear and photography in general. While my take on gear has not changed, I plan to stop preaching about it. Instead I plan to concentrate on documenting my own creative journey and the things I'm learning along the way. This may include gear and software I acquire or random creative things about making pictures, but not another word about the role of gear in photography.

This is where my responses to the comment and Lindsey's question come in. As with gear, the importance of post processing is ultimately up to the person holding the camera. If you are a purist and feel photographs should be pre-visualized and executed in camera, by all means work on getting it right in camera. This will greatly improve your photographic skills and allow you to minimize post processing work or eliminate it all together.

I on the other hand, am not a purist. While I did spend a brief period only posting images that were straight out of camera, I no longer choose to work this way. Currently, I find myself taking a more artistic stance on picture making. For me, the picture I capture in camera serves as my canvas. This doesn't mean I take crappy images with the intent of saving them later in post. I still prefer to start with the cleanest and best canvas possible by getting the exposure and composition right in camera. However, my creative juices don't start flowing until I get the image into my editing tool of choice. Whether it's Lightroom and Silver Efex Pro on my computer or Photo fx and Photogene or my iPhone, the creative exploration process kicks in as I start to mold the pixels before me into something that suits my creative vision.

Try it in Black and White

Every so often, I find my images just don't look right when I pull them up on the computer. I'll be  excited about a shot in the field, only to find myself a little disappointed when I get home. The problem for me usually isn't that I don't like the photograph. It's just that it seems a bit off.

I sometimes find that these photographs just need to be seen in a different way. One thing I'll often do is hit "V" in Lightroom to see a grayscale version. This gives me an idea if the image works in black and white and I take it from there.

That is exactly what I did with this shot from a recent trip to Monterey. A little work in Silver Efex Pro and I was able to produce an image more like what I envisioned when I first saw the scene in my viewfinder.

A California Day

During a recent road trip, I was able to capture some beautiful scenic shots along California's Central Coast. I wanted to share three such photographs taken over the course of one day on the road trip where I made my way between Monterey and Morro Bay.

Sunrise in Monterey

Lunch time view of Big Sur

Sunset at Morro Bay