The Market

I've been pretty absent lately - not been shooting much and really miss it. I can make some decent excuses though: I've been sick for a couple weeks, I've moved and the weather's been $hit...all excuses so I'm not happy with them or myself for not getting off my ass and shooting. Its weird, I can feel myself moving backwards, and by all measures, that bothers me. We all work hard at the various things we do in life, and it really makes me feel guilty whenever I have this feeling of regression. All is not lost however! ...I'm feeling the winds of motivation :)

On Saturday, I spent the day with my girlfriend and we made our way to the market in Seattle to pick up a few things for dinner. I had brought my camera up for the weekend as we had a busy schedule with many friends so I lugged my camera bag with me.

Although I wasn't able to get any solid time to shoot with my friends and work on my people work, I was able to take a few random snaps as we wandered around the market and enjoyed a little dry time between rain storms.

Many of the shots taken during the day were from the hip, literally. It makes me want to start working on a whole set of 'street' work that is all shot without looking through the viewfinder and just guessing on composition. The results are pretty encouraging so far and will show up here in the future.

A few words on the fist shot below -
I have a general interest in a photo journalistic style however I feel my skills in this department are VERY lacking and I feel this REALLY detracts from the wedding work that I do. This really bothers me and I feel an obligation to myself and clients to hone this skill. Cartier Bresson talked about "The Decisive Moment" and I think most would hold him as the master of capturing "The Decisive Moment," which is essentially the critical mass of a moment frozen in a moment in a photograph. I've felt myself really needing to work on this side of my shooting and feel like I'm on the right track with this first shot....the eyes of the man working the news stand. Note the people playing soccer in the intersection of 1st and Pike in the distance.

Bresson if you don't know:
Henri Cartier Bresson

The right song at the right time

Music makes all the difference. In all my infrequent internet ramblings, I don't think I've stopped to talk about the importance of music. I think we all know that exposing music to children at a young age helps to develop their infant brains but that's not what I'm hear (ha!) to talk about.

You're in the car...there's a stretch of open road in front of you despite the fact that you just got off work and its 5pm. Everyone is out, and so is the sun. Its Thursday and the excitement of knowing that tomorrow is Friday has you pretty amped (its the little things in life right?). Naturally your music playing device of choice is on random, cause, well why not on a nice afternoon like this? As the gap in traffic appears just before your favorite stretch of the drive home (the one with the sweeping corners and nowhere for "the man" to hide) THE BEST song comes on. It could be any song, but its your favorite song of the moment, or perhaps an old favorite that the "random man" inside your mp3 player dusted off. Suddenly, your perfect afternoon has just become somehow, more perfect. Oh the power of music, how it compels us. Without it, surely there would be no air guitar, and certainly no air drums. I'm pretty sure that back in the day, there was something called the "air harpsichord (not very rock and roll I admit)." Without music, how else could we embarrass ourselves? I digress... we're in such a good mood now that the odd look from the aging blond (look past the gray roots; she's a so-cal wannabe version of Cruella DeVille) in her Mercedes (its a bit too old, she's just pretending to have money) only makes us feel happier to be in this moment with this song....carry on with the air drums, shift gears, switch to air guitar as appropriate.

So whats the point here? Music keeps us young. What song, or album for that matter, doesn't in some way define a period of our life or perhaps a fleeting moment? Our favorite songs then in some ways, are like familiar smells, drawing out a full buffet of memories and emotions.

For me its hard to imagine not having music with me, especially when I'm out with my camera, or on the computer editing photos or, writing this entry for that matter. From where I sit, music is a critical part of the creative process. Queuing up the right album or favorite internet radio station, can set the mood and be a launch pad for great things.

Recently I did a shoot with a friend of mine who at the time, I hardly knew...friend of a friend of a friend situation. We got on well in social gatherings but never had a one on one. We found ourselves on a hot summer afternoon in the studio sorting out a loose ended shoot to get her started modeling again. We were making our way reasonably well, picking through a suitcase of clothes and discussing friends, the weather...nothing substantial.



She changed as I finished setting up the lights and we began to make our way through the first few shots. I could tell something was missing; something to make her feel more comfortable, more at home. I really wanted her personality to show through and I needed to connect a bit more with who she was and understand her person a bit differently. So I began to ask about music, and suggested we try a different station on Pandora. Queue my Old Skool Hip hop station and BAM! (think Emeril) things began to come alive. You can't not get excited when you hear Rapper's Delight; I'm talking the full version here, not the radio edit. Her eyes lit up and we were on our way, taking turns reciting each verse.



Music levels the playing field and allows people to open up a bit more and be themselves, which is exactly what you want if you're trying to draw out the emotion and personality.

The same goes for when I'm shooting alone or editing photos. With my headphones on, I can zone out and focus on looking at things from a different perspective and absorb the reality that is around me. Focus on the details that perhaps I've not noticed before...sit and stare at my subject and digest what is appealing about it to me and how I want to capture it. What else is around? How is it affecting the subject? Where is the light? Whats the STORY? All these things blend with the music to make the moment and define it through my lens.

So if you don't already, take your music with you when you shoot, and when you're working with people and its appropriate, get the right music going. It makes all the difference in helping to set the mood and the tone while you're shooting.

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The most important lens

I always hear the phrase "the most important camera is the one you have with you." I'm not here to dispute that in any way. This phrase has sold a whole pile of iPhones in the photography community I suspect.

What I would like to discuss is, what is the most important lens for your SLR/Camera?

I'll contend that the most important lens to have in your bag (edit) *ON YOUR BODY* is a 50mm prime lens.

Most importantly its a fixed focal length. Without a zoom, you're forced to THINK (gasp) about your shot and move YOURSELF to achieve the composition you desire. I believe this is a fantastic passive creative mechanism. Anyone can stand in place with a zoom, machine gun and say "aren't I amazing?"

When you are forced to stop and think about your shot, you're much more likely to get it right, and get it the way you want it rather than just ripping off 100 shots of the same thing and hoping for the best. For me, this alone is reason to have a 50mm or 35mm (well any fixed focal length for that matter) lens.




Speed: My 50mm is a 1.8. That's almost an aperture the size of a sewer pipe...ok not really but its BIG. Sure you can get a 1.4 or even a 1.1 but those are 3-4x the price for a 1.4 and like 15x more money for the 1.1 With 1.8 you can shoot at shutter speeds in low light that are fast enough to stop motion without having to crank your ISO speed and loose quality.

Image Quality: Like most things in life, lenses are a give and take between image quality and flexibility. You can have a wide focal range, say 18-200mm (Nikon has a great lens in this range) but the laws of physics and the need for a reasonable (whats that mean anyway?) price make it difficult for a wide focal range AND a super wide, constant aperture across the focal length at a price people will pay. With Nikon's 18-200mm lens, its F5.6 at the long end, thats DRASTICALLY less light than our little prime lens. At a fixed focal length, the construction of the lens is far more simple and provides much better image quality at the prescribed focal length. ...the compromise here is the lack of zoom. But in this instance I'm viewing that as a benefit as well :)

Depth of field: At a very wide aperture you have a VERY narrow depth of field. This creates a great effect (bokeh they call it) where one thing is spot on focused while everything else fades further and further out of focus. The 'sweet spot' of the lens where it gives its best performance is also at a wider F/stop, again, allowing you to shoot faster shutter speeds.



Price: My 50mm 1.8 was less than $100 and is TACK sharp. What else do you want? (I'll argue sharper than the Canon 24-70 2.8...that's fixed focal lengths for you) Sure the AF is archaic, its a plastic mount, certainly doesn't have Image stabilization but that's not the point here ...is it?

I would say without question that a fast prime lens is the best student/beginner lens. Not only is it cheap and sharp, but it really does feed the creativity and force you to put a little thought into your composition...something that will make a MASSIVE difference in your end result.

If you are just starting out, or maybe have been shooting a while and have found yourself in a rut, pick up, or perhaps dust off your prime lens and really experiment with what you see through the viewfinder. Remember - YOU are the zoom!

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Converging Interests

I have been delinquent this week in getting some meaningful content up, so I'll post a small shot in the arm. I wrote the piece a while back when I shot a historic racing event at the local Race track. The piece itself is more about the car than photography, but reading it again made me think a bit about how photography can bring you closer to other hobbies. I know a number of friends who have toyed with the idea of getting into photography but have said "I've already got too many hobbies."

Photography can bring you closer to some of your favorite activities rather than take you away from them. For me, I'm an avid Formula One fan and my love of photography and motor sport have found a fine marriage more than once.



Whats the point here? Evaluate your interests and how they are connected or disconnected...how can you tie them together? Perhaps photography is a new venue into a past love? Miss those basketball games? Maybe start shooting for the local HS or College team, I guarantee you'll not get a better seat. Your daughter on the swim team? Break out your strobist kit and do the team portraits and save the team a bundle in portrait costs.

What about music? I LLLLLLOOOOOVE my music, and I take time whenever I can to shoot a local show for some of my favorite local bands.

How is photography a bridge for you?


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History came alive today in what might seem an odd place, Kent Washington, a strange place indeed for such a piece of automotive history.

The 1971 Formula 1 season was dominated by the team founded by Ken Tyrrell and their chief driver, Sir Jackie Stewart. For me, all I can do is look at old footage, pictures and listen to the stories from nearly 40 years ago. Today however, I could feel the history storming down the front stretch at Pacific Raceways and get close enough to touch the gravel in the big slicks of Jackie Stewart's '71 Tyrrell Ford while it was parked in the pits.



Its an understatement to say the the Tyrrell-Ford team was successful in 1971. Powered by the Cosworth DFV engine, Jackie took this car to no less than 7 wins in the short 11 round season. Not only that, but he found himself on the podium for each of the 11 rounds amassing 62 driver points and contributing heavily to 73 constructor points. It was all competitor and second place constructor BRM could do to muster 36 points that year. It was a stellar season for a stellar car in what was the only Constructors title Tyrrell would secure.

It was by chance today that I happened upon this living piece of history. Many would argue that this car should be stuffed away in a museum as its sister chassis is. It's fitting then that this one is on track at vintage racing events like the Sovren event held at Pacific Raceways in Kent Washington.



The days events were a prelude to the coming annual Sovren vintage race event held at the same location. Today was somewhat of a test and tune and as such, there wasn't much of a crowd. I arrived early in the afternoon not sure what I would find. Walking up I could hear what I later found out to be the famous Ford Cosworth DFV engine that powered many of the cars fielding the 1971 F1 season; Tyrrell, March, Lotus, Mclaren, Surtees, Brabham and a Swiss team Bellasi, all with a DFV powering their championship challenge.

Nearing the fence line I spotted the blue and white streak, with that famous pot belly. Streaming down the main straight the gear changes were spot on leading me to imagine what it might have been like to see the same car charging through Parabolica at Monza, Eau Rouge in Spa Francorchamps or through St. Devote in Monaco.

SIDEBAR - Eau Rouge


Stewart Famously won in Monaco that year and today, the same car lapped the field, albeit its closest competitor was an out matched CanAm car, in less than 20 minutes. For me it stole the show.

Its amazing and special to see pieces of history such as this flying around the track at 10/10ths on a Sunday afternoon with hardly a fan in the stands. I'd like to imagine each lap was a quali lap at Monza or Silverstone. If you squint juuuuust right you can almost imagine it.

Here's to my next run in with history -



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iPhone 3GS Is The Photographer's iPhone

iPhone 3GS Is The Photographer's iPhone

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Pilfered from Chase Jarvis' blog