This is one of those images I photographed many times with the iPad. Mainly because I wanted to get just the right positioning in relation to the tree and horizon. I also had the DSL are and took some shots with that as well. Apparently this is the summer residence of the Czar (Peter) at Peterhof. Well, this is his verandah. The summer house which is not in view is a single story effort. Not that impressive but I’m sure it’s very comfortable inside.
Fit for purpose
If you had of told me a few years ago that I’ll be walking around using an iPad for photography I wouldn’t have believed you. In reality most photography if we are real about it doesn’t find its way onto the walls of a gallery. Most photography is done, intentionally or not for the web. And it makes sense because that’s where the biggest audiences are. I’m not completely won over by the use of the iPad as a walk around camera mainly because I end up with JPEGs that I can’t do very much with in terms of colour balance. But on balance taking photos with this tool makes its functionality and acceptable compromise in certain situations.
While I was travelling in India I never wanted to convert my images to black-and-white just because it has such richness of colour. However in other places where colour isn’t that much of an influential factor and where street photography is the main consideration then black-and-white makes perfect sense. So then it doesn’t matter so much how accurate your colours are as a JPEG.
Having said all that, just for the sake of having flexibility in the final output I still want to have raw files. I have intended for a year or two now to downsize my Quitman and equipment and I’m interested in the camera that has reasonable quality and IBIS and is compact. The new Olympus EM5 MKIII when it comes out may well be the ideal choice.
Blown highlights are not pretty
And I would never commit an image to print that had them. However, more important in this instance then my photography skills being demonstrated is the telling of the story to show the skills and the quality of art work. It’s a bit like spelling mistakes when you’re communicating an important idea – they don’t seem so significant or detract from the idea. The question arises though – later will I want to commit an image to print ie. will it be used in other media or have a standalone application. Meaning, will it have to tell it’s own story?
Sometimes simple is good
I have to say that so far on this trip I have valued the convenience of the iPad with which all these i photos were taken. At the time of taking the images I had a backpack with the 5D Mark II and three lenses but I found that due to shortage of time it was much easier to move around and take as many shots as needed with the iPad. I may yet regret this decision as in the past I’ve always wanted a larger hi-res image to use as required - in fact I left my little Olympus at home which probably could’ve done the job with a 24 to 70 lens equivalent. Yes I do make larger size images and canvases and prints but I also considered the subject matter. For me the main use will be web and I may publish a small book. I am interested to see how the images work in print. It’s just so convenient I’ll have to see the results and make a decision.
Imagine if…
You had to walk through an art gallery every day to get to work. Art Gallery actually describes the nature of Moscow underground Metro system. The variety is amazing Its reminiscent of some of the temples in India and some of the cathedrals in Europe combined with paintings and mosaics by great artists.
Moscow musings and photos
I’m hoping to put up a number of images while traveling. This is my last day in Moscow where I covered the underground train system (metro). Not exhaustively but with the time I had available. It was an eye opening experience. There are many ideas to express but I’m starting out with a sample image. A little more organisation is required before uploading more from the project.
Moscow metro station
Spring snow
Narrow Neck, Blue Mountains
I’ve often mentioned to friends and other visitors to the mountains that spring time is the worst season due to unstable and fluctuating weather and temperatures. One day 22 degrees and the next -1 and snowing. Well this time I’m grateful. An early morning fall and a beautiful transformation of the landscape. This might be called a light dusting in Siberia but just the right amount to create an excellent photographic op. Not too much white but great contrast. Hoping for more by the end of the year.
Wynne's Rocks (Blue Mountains region)
A beautiful misty morning Near Mt Wilson recently.
Portrait
I haven’t done many portraits recently but I took this photo of a friend (she’s a DJ) last night. I like the B&W version. A flash was used - bounced off a ceiling about 20ft high. The lighting combined with converstion provides a satisfying result.Just the right amount of contour.
Style and content
Reflecting on my own work…in particular the abstract images I’ve been working on for the past months. I’ve been observing how the images have been forming. In particular, the relationship between the aspect of visual appeal and any meaning or symbolism that develops as layers are added. I’ve posted some thoughts already about when a piece of artwork can be considered as finished. From my own perspective as the artist, when I clearly ‘see’ or recognize some symbolism or idea that reflects back to me a message, or, the elements within the image show strong enough relationship to one another (in the case of an abstract), I then pay attention to other visual aspects in the same way as I might with a single photographic image. Things like tone, contrast, colour etc.
Religio botanicus marinata
…my working title. I've given it a latin based name (massively pretentious and long?) because of its natural feel, some 'hidden' iconography and watery context. If you can come up with a better title, I'm listening! A particularly satisfying mix of organic elements. This is definitely one of my favourites especially as the print is almost identical to the screen version. Curiously, as I may have previously mentioned, some images refuse to print as expected for no obvious reason. Several of them contain a very similar colour palette this image.
Talk at the Light and Shadow Gallery
I was given an opportunity today to speak at the Light & Shadow Gallery at Leura. The theme was Reflections on Fine Art Photography. More particularly, I was asked to describe how I arrive at the images which are multi layered from the current series Elemental Fantasy.
Len Metcalf, an excellent Blue Mountains photographer, specializing in sepia toned nature images (but also including nudes) gave his insights on his photographic processes. He spoke about his choice of square format for his images and his preference for warm tones. A fine example ihangs the wall behind me. Otherwise he gave his personal experience of how his own psychology plays an important part in his photographic life.
A big thank you goes to Peter White for organising the afternoon and giving us both the chance to share our work.
Len Metcalf introducing his work
Determining factor
That our psyche plays a huge part in the appreciation or interpretation of art I think noone would dispute. In the creation of an image once a distinctive character has been developed, its very difficult to see beyond it and the completion of the image is now governed by how it can be enhanced (if it needs to be) or not. There’s not a lot more that can be done because there is no other prevailing interpretation no space in the mind, nor any other compelling reason to create anything new. I have a very clear vision about this image and I can’t see it any other way now. But I’m happy with that.
So far, unnamed..
I temporarily misplaced the SD card with photos from the recent trip to Tasmania. I admit, there was a little concern as there were many images I liked on the card. Fortunately a more intensive hunt turned up the missing card and I’ve started on another series of images from the Elemental Fantasy set. Something I haven’t done recently which can add dimension to the artwork is to include a B & W with the colour. Maybe the next one.
One-eyed smoking alien
More of an abstract than some of the others which have a more landscape-y aspect. I'm not sure what's the maximum amount of hidden faces allowed in an image but I think I'm getting close.
Dancing tree
Reminds me of the Dancing form of Shiva called Nataraj. Taken on the north west coast of Tasmania.
Peacocks and monkeys...
the question could be - what animal looks as beautiful from behind as it does from the front? Well close to it anyway. Beautiful deep tones and feather formation from the peacocks wandering around near Cataract Gorge in Launceston. In the city itself, Macaque monkeys donated By Japan. you can see them in photographs of Japan sitting in hot spring baths in the snow. I’d rather see them in the wild myself. They kept themselves entertained but no substitute for a natural environment.
Cradle mountain in the snow
You don’t expect snow in the last month of spring. I’ve photographed at Cradle Mountain, Tasmania many times, even in winter but this is the first time it snowed here. Pretty lucky for a 3 week window at this time of year. There were 2 straight days but it didn’t settle on the first though the weather was dramatic - windy, rainy, sleety, snowy. From photography viewpoint I love the mixture of monochrome and colour in the same shot. This region also has beautiful, deep yellows and browns that stand out nicely against the snow. I haven’t uploaded and portrait oriented shots due to the software distorting them. Nevertheless, there’s a good selection for the moment.
Around the coast of Tasmania
I’ve been lucky enough over the past few years to travel around Tasmania. The coast has been a source of many productive photo ops. A geologist’s dream you could say. When viewed in passing from the roadside it doesn’t look like much ad so a lot of places can easily remain unvisited by photographers unless you know what to look for. Anyway, here’s another batch of images from the north and west coast taken this year.
View from ‘home’
Well, home away from home anyway. About 5 kms from Mt Roland as the crow flies. From here you can observe a multitude of moods as the weather changes, which it does here a lot. A few days back we were treated to a decent snow fall at Cradle Mountain, about 40 kms from here. A circuit of Dove lake there took 5 hours. If we weren’t so absorbed in photography it would be close to 2 hours. Snow in November is not usual, so it was quite a treat witnessing the transformation of the landscape. Tasmania has plenty of places worth visiting and with relatively easy accessibility given the small size of the island. Mountainous regions, rainforests, lakes and a beautiful coastline packed with features.
Late afternoon - Mt Roland
I should mention something about the camera’s performance in the wet. I only brought one camera on this trip - the Olympus em5 MKII. For most of the shots I used the 12-40mm f2.8 lens. Longer shots were taken with the 40-150mm f2.8 with a 1.4x extender. I had the camera out the whiole time for the 5 hr walk. For the first day ( we went twice for approx the same time each day), it snowed and rained of and on. I shot hundreds of images in these conditions without much concern. Only on the last part of the walk on day two did I start to worry about the effects of the weather. The small lens began to fog up. I tried drying it with the car a/c with seemed to work but through the viewfinder the image was not clear. After an overnight session by the fire, the next day it was back to normal and no problems since then. Given the amount of moisture it had to endure I’m pretty happy with its performance and I kind of expect it from any half decent camera these days. The images also are first class and I expect to print several 1 metre canvases on return.