Signs, Signs... Telephoto Tuesday!

"Blended Right!"

(1/125 sec.@ F/7.1, ISO 160, 55mm fl, 55-200mm tele zoom VR, late morning light)

Right here in Hamilton I'm surrounded by art. Obviously we have art promoted to the masses, through the AGH or the James North Art Crawl to name a few. But wander down the right street or alley and you're faced with art on a larger scale and with definite purpose. Ads painted on the sides of retro cafes, old factories, and mom & pop shops will always stop me in my tracks. Always. Think about all the design work and branding, the use of color to draw your eye up way above the street, shapes that cause you to slow down to take it in better, and perfect text and wording to make you remember it long after you've moved on. Art at it's most practical, but art none the less.

And sometimes it's tricky to get the right shot of it. Usually the buildings are very close together in the downtown core, lighting is either harsh or almost nonexistent due to all the tall office buildings crowding out the sky, and if you try to shoot from across a city street you've got power lines and stop lights galore. You either find a way to make it work, or you walk away.

This was my dilemma last week when I was out on a walk downtown. I loved this wall. Who wouldn't? Great texture, great color, and aging nicely. But the street is tight, a fence keeps you out of the side alley, and the trees that shade the stores in front keep you from getting the entire sign when you move back. These are the days I wish photoshop applied to real life, cause I'd cut an' paste this sucker into a much easier location to shoot from if given the chance. Maybe there's an app for that?

Anyways, as I stood there trying all sorts of things to get a unique enough shot in the small amount of time I had, people passing me started slowing down to see what I was staring at, and so to avoid the unavoidable, "hey, you wanna take my picture sweetheart?" that always comes from some guy or other sitting on a step having his first drink of the day, I aimed the camera from down at my side having already set my exposure and shot part of the sign at an angle. Looked into my view screen, liked what I saw and moved on. Being female, and often out on my own, I've become very skilled at moving on. Not drawing attention to myself or my gear. Not taking very long to work a shot. Assess the subject, think hard about what I like, and get the shot.

And what do you think? Think it worked okay? I like it. In fact I may do a series, as this is not the first signage I've shot. This shot taken a couple years ago remains one of my best sellers. And I'm very much in city mode lately. Not sure why. But I like it.

So Google, Yahoo, Apple, and the rest of you... wanna get crackin' on that location transportation device app for photographers? Thanks. I know it'll be the next big thing eh.

Thanks for the ramble, and have a great Telephoto Tuesday folks!

The First of Many ~ Mono Monday!

"Convocation Grand"

1/50 sec.@ F/8, ISO 250, 18mm fl, 18-55mm kit zoom, late day overcast light)

Can I just say how much I love downtown Toronto. I spent twelve hours there yesterday, just me and my Nikon. And I was in heaven. Well, as much in heaven as one can be when the skies are flat grey, the humidity was sitting at 86% and I'd inadvertently left my spare battery at home in the charger.

But I digress.

I was in TO for the annual Doors Open Toronto festivities. Doors Open happens all across the province at some point in the year, and it allows the public glimpses into the more private and historical properties for free. It can be a photographer's paradise. You just have to fight to get shots all the other hundreds of photographers are trying to get at the same time. You can almost hear all the creative gears turning as photographers eye each other and their respective gear trying to guess what the others might be seeing that they're not. I've learned over time to tune everyone out, and just enjoy exploring.

And if I can be honest, my first time shooting an area is rarely all that productive. As I wandered up and down University Ave, Yonge St. and Front St. I was looking at it all with new eyes. I've visited the area now and then my whole life but never with the intent to photograph it the way I would now. Basically yesterday was a scouting trip if anything. Deciding which buildings or scenes I'd return to with the intent of shooting it differently, in better or more interesting light, different seasons, better angles, a rented lens or two...

My first time wandering a location feels overwhelming. I almost didn't know where to start aiming the camera. But because I know that the first go 'round feels like that, I simply payed attention to the things that stood out, and made plans to return as soon as possible. Also, the hours of DoTO leave little to be desired, they pick midday hours, the worst time of the day to shoot anything. There's a reason they tell you to return over and over to a subject or location. The more familiar you are with it, the more you can creatively decide what it is you want to photograph, and how you'll go about it. It just can't be done in one visit, realizing of course that there are times you only get one chance at it, and you must always make the best of it.

I've posted a very quick edit today, from yesterdays ramble. I love the University of Toronto's campus architecture. Let me say that again. I LOVE the architecture on the U of T campus. Beautiful, historical buildings where brilliant minds are allowed to flourish. I was enchanted. Above is Simcoe Hall, the office for Convocation and is attached to Convocation Hall proper. As I took this shot there were many recent grads having family pics taken around this important and celebrated building. In other words, I was left aiming upwards, which as you should know by now suits me just fine. I will definitely return in more interesting light to photograph this building. Classic ivy covered architecture from 1924 is always worth a repeat visit.

This shot was towards the end of my visit and was followed by dinner at a wonderful bistro, bustling with people relaxing at tables along the sidewalk, in the company of my own brilliant and talented brother who resides in Toronto and would be the first to agree that TO can be very enchanting. And not to forget the incredible Grilled Chicken Penne I devoured after 8 hours of photography. Mmmm. Yes, this visit will be the first of many.

Thanks Toronto for the fabulous chance to ramble through your streets! I will post more from my day in TO through the coming days on the blog. Have a great day gang!

Limitless ~ Exploration Thursday!

"Locked In"

(1/320 sec.@ F7.1, ISO 250, 100mm fl, 55-200mm zoom vr, bright morning sun)

I love photographing the city. I've said that before. So when the chance came this week to head out with the camera I made a decision to leave my wide angle in the kit, and only use my telephoto. No matter what. Why? Because limiting myself to one lens forces me to look at things differently. That limitation brought me limitless opportunities to be creative. It was energizing!

My wide angle is my go-to lens for so many subjects and scenes, that I sometimes forget I have other lenses in my bag. I get comfy. Or perhaps more accurate is that I get lazy. So once in a while, to break out of the routine I keep placing myself in, I try exercises like this one. I either limit myself to a type of gear, or I limit myself to a central theme. I should know never to be surprised at how fun and varied the results are.

The shot above had all the things I like in a details shot. Rusty, weathered iron gates across a defunct storefront. A big ol' lock that would never turn now for a key, and difficult light adding to the urban decay feel. I pumped the color cast a bit in Nik Effx plug-in Brilliance/Warmth while in PSPx2. Then it was done. And I'm pretty pumped about the other gems I'll have for the coming weeks too.

Put a limit on how you shoot, and force yourself to think more creatively. The possibilities for great shots that express how you see things around you are limitless!

Closing In... Part 2 ~ Wide Angle Wednesday

"From the Earth to Your Table"

Picking up where we left off yesterday... composition matters. Walker Evans was quoted as saying, "Shoot whatever and however you want. Don't listen to anybody else, just go in the direction you've chosen. But you need to look before you see!" How are you choosing to look for subject matter? Are you limiting yourself? Or coming away with images that feel like they contain everything but the kitchen sink?

In the past when I've felt like this, and don't know what to work on fixing first, I've gone back to the Elements and Principles of Design and tried to pick one that seems to be lacking from my images overall. Then I go out on a shoot with that foremost in my mind as I look for a scene or subject that will help me define it. It sounds methodical but it gets the creative juices flowing and helps you target elements so that you naturally start to recognize them over time. And you start to think outside the box.

Today's image isn't a phenomenal work of art by any one's standards, but it helps me close in on the other elements and principles I couldn't cover yesterday without my brain exploding! That, and I like purple. But I digress. Now, there are elements from yesterday's chat in this image to be sure. Can you see them? I hope so. But along with those, I tried to get a shot today that helps give a visual clue as to the other elements to be discussed. They are form, value, and size. This image had some really definitive light considering I took it very late morning. Because the light was slightly to the side, it created shadow and highlight... and they help define a subject as being dimensional as opposed to flat. This is the importance of form, you realize there is depth to the basket and it contains a pile of turnips, nice and round, instead of looking rather 2D and uninteresting as a result. The light this morning also adds the element of value... a range of lights and darks, helping to define your composition further so colors and shapes are left looking stale. And let's not forget the use of size. When looked at closely, there's a variety of sizes that causes you to look around the rest of the image, taking in the few that are different or uneven in appearance.

Isn't it amazing that the brain registers all of this without you asking it to. And you may wonder if we really need to know any of this in the long run, but how else will we be able to recognize when a photograph lacks impact of any kind, or that we've been stuck in a rut? As for the principles shown here, besides a couple from yesterday, there is a very obvious center of interest here. A very tight shot of the turnips, a lot of turnips, leaves no doubt of what the center of interest is. (I'll give you a hint, it rhymes with lurnip...) And color aids in this as well, as they are all uniform in color which draws the eye. Also, there is the way I've used the principle of balance. I've composed do that you know the basket and pile of turnips are round, yet you needn't see all of it in order to come to that conclusion and my asymmetrical composition adds interest instead of centering the entire thing in my lens. Whew... dissecting a shot is harder than it looks! My head hurts.

So there we are. The building blocks that naturally occur within great compositions, and now that we know what to be on the lookout for, great compositions will be a little easier to produce. Thanks so much to all the folks who already know this stuff and are just tuning in to see the shot for the day. And thanks to the few of you i heard from that have enjoyed learning more about how design influences composition. At least how it does subconsciously somewhere in my own noggin as I frame up a shot. Scary huh.

Thanks for the lengthy ramble gang! Have a good one!

Closing In On Design ~ Telephoto Tuesday!

"The Single Rental"

(1/320 sec.@ F/13, ISO 400, 200mm fl, Exp.Compensation -0.7, late day sun)

Whew. Where to start today? 'Cause I've been challenged to take on a big topic! Composition. Now, I wasn't exactly double-dog dared or anything quite that serious, but when I say I'll do something, I like to follow through on it. So here we are, on my 100th post no less attempting to share my thought process when I'm considering composition. This might be one wild ride. Here we go.

Because of my art background, Elements and Principles of good design have been lodged in my brain from an early age. And you should become familiar with them at some point, you'll see your images improve. I tend to lean towards looking for good line, shape, texture, and color automatically as I look around me for subject matter or interesting scenes. These are the elements that people are most familiar with whether they know it or not. The other elements (to be broached tomorrow) are size, value, and form. The image today has the first four elements prominently used here. Repetitive shape immediately gets your attention, then you'll notice lots of lines taking your eyes up, down, and across respectively. Those lines on the roof allude to smooth cool textural details, and we also see texture in the wire over each dove cote, not to mention the single cote with the texture of the only nest inside in the bottom right corner. Wow, those elements are really hard at work already... and this is why. Combined, they contribute to principles of design needed to make your composition work on a new level.

You mean to say there's Principles of Design too? I warned you this could get wild, *wink*. Look again at today's image. When you really look hard do you also see balance, contrast, harmony, and rhythm? If so, that means that the combination of lines, shapes, colors and textures have worked together to utilize principles of design. Didn't see that one coming did you? You did? I knew you would.

The pattern created by the rows of dove cotes, each one the same color yellow against the slate blue/grey, gives the composition a sense of harmony and rhythm. Not to mention balance since I chose to emphasize the symmetry of the roof top, every dove cote evenly spaced. The image pops with contrast because of the shapes dotted out across the composition, and the black of the mesh fronts against the yellow. The yellow also contrasts enough against the blue roof. And the textures also contrast nicely, the roof looking smooth and cool, and the cotes textures looking more rough and warmer in hue. Tomorrow we'll try to include the other two primary principles - center of interest, and movement.

Still with me? Gosh I hope so. All of that was to say this; most of these things your eye can pick out every time you assess a scene in front of you. Why, because these are things the human brain desires and uses so it can make sense of whatever you look at. When I looked up at the roof of Dundurn Castle's tower, my brain registered that this was the prominent feature for very practical reasons... and the artistic side of my brain took over, assessing if it was aesthetically pleasing to look at over and over. Certain things began to assert themselves and I was careful to compose around them in the best way I could. Of course, you don't have to concretely think these things every time you raise your camera... after a while, from shooting and composing long enough, this all becomes second nature. The more you look around you, the better you'll see engaging compositions no matter what the subject matter or where you are.

I recommend always taking time to look through your picture files. Single out the images that stand out as being stellar compositions or just seem to have a wow factor. Compare what elements worked together well. Decide which principles had to be used to make the composition come together too or best portrayed your personal vision for that photograph. It's your personal vision that brings it all together and makes it meaningful by the way. In the end, perfect composition can only do so much. There needs to be some soul poured into each image too... perhaps more important than all the rest.

Hey, we did it! Day one on composition is done, with day two to come! Thanks for the very specific ramble gang! Hope I didn't let ya down! Have an awesome day folks... now get out there and think about seeing great compositions wherever you are.