vision

All posts tagged vision

Photographic Pre-visualization in Post

Posted by scottbourne on October 11, 2011
Posted in: Technique & Tutorials. Tagged: , , , , , .

Copyright Scott Bourne 2011 - All Rights Reserved - Before Post-Processing

As some of you may know, I am a big fan of pre-visualizing your shots. If you can see it in your mind’s eye before you capture the image, you have a better chance of making a significant photograph.

I’ve written about this a bit with my Cranes in the Fire Mist shot. I pre-visualized this shot in camera.

I am not a photo-journalist. Accordingly, the only thing that matters to me is the final image. So for you purists out there who think merely owning a copy of Photoshop is an offense worthy of beheading, read no further. There’s nothing for you to see here.

For the rest, I am of the opinion that ANYTHING you want to do to a photograph to get it where you want it is A-OK! As long as you are not a photo-journalist representing the image as fact, it doesn’t matter to me what you do or don’t do in post.

Sometimes, for me, the vision I have in my mind is either too difficult or simply impossible to get in camera. Sometimes it’s merely extremely inconvenient. Whatever the case, I have no problem pre-visualizing in the field, what I plan to shoot – knowing what I will do in post will “make” the picture.

Copyright Scott Bourne 2011 - All Rights Reserved - After Post-Processing

In the case of the images in this post, I used post-processing to achieve the image I saw in my mind before I even got in the car. I was out scouting the local dry lake bed for the next Vegas SMUG meeting. I didn’t want to waste time so I also decided to make a photograph while on the trip. Knowing generally what the dry lake bed looked like, I decided to take my car out there and place a model, holding a silver material above her head. I was hoping for some sort of etherial vision shot with her and the car. The problem was, I saw this image as being more dramatic, made at dusk, and I was at this place at 9:45 AM. So I made the shot, then took it home, converted the RAW file out of my Nikon D7000 in Aperture, sent the image to Nik Color Efex Pro 4.0 where I used the White Neutralizer filter. Then I moved the image to TOPAZ Adjust 4.0 and applied the “Dark Ghostly” filter. This gave me a final scene that closely matched my original vision.

Note – this is not about which picture here that YOU like better. It’s about having you a vision and being able to execute it either in camera – or in post.

So unless you are a photo-journalist, the next time you go somewhere and see a shot that you can’t make under existing conditions, shoot it anyway and try to work it out in post. You never know, it might come out better than you think.

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Is There One Photographic Subject You’re Done With?

Posted by scottbourne on August 14, 2011
Posted in: Technique & Tutorials. Tagged: , , .

If you could (or had to) banish one subject from your photographs what would it be and why? (Answer on Twitter to @ScottBourne.)

Sometimes we get in a rut. We photograph the same thing over and over and over. That’s not always bad. But it can be.

Would you eat the same thing for dinner every night of the week? Would you watch the same movie every Saturday? (I’m afraid of some of the answers I’ll get here but you get the point.)

It might be worthwhile to change things up. Stop photographing the same thing over and over and over.

The word “ban” might be strong, but you can reduce (or temporarily eliminate or discontinue) something you usually shoot in favor of something you don’t as an experiment. Perhaps you aren’t growing as a photographer because you photograph the same thing day after day? Don’t get me wrong. There can be many advantages in covering one subject very well. But sometimes everyone needs a break. Refreshing your eye is important. In fine restaurants they give you a chance to cleanse your palate. I think photographers need to do that once in a while too.

As for me? I’m not banning them at all, but I am certainly slowing way down on shooting birds for now, and concentrating on cars instead. It’s been a little sad. I miss the birds. But I have 410,000 bird pictures. It might be time to try something else for a while :)

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Photographers – It’s Okay To Root For The Other Guy*

Posted by scottbourne on August 7, 2011
Posted in: Technique & Tutorials. Tagged: , , , .

Copyright Scott Bourne 2009 - All Rights Reserved

(*Root for the other guy is just an expression – substitute gal as appropriate)

I recently had the pleasure, and privilege of spending some quality time with my friend, Pulitzer Prize Winning photographer and filmmaker, Vince LaForet. He spoke at Skip’s Summer School in Vegas and as usual, wowed the crowd with an amazing slide show and talk about creative vision.

But afterwards, when he and I were eating lunch it struck me; One of the reasons we all sat there during his talk – spellbound by his amazing imagery – was because we were all rooting for him. We were OPEN to his greatness. He’s an easy guy to root for. He’s humble, talented, unassuming and always delivers. As I thought about the implications of this for photographers and photography, I realized that the failure to root for the other guy can also have negative consequences.

There is an uncomfortable and unfortunate segment of the industry that seems to have built a cottage industry rooting AGAINST the other guy. I fear for those people. I fear for them because with their hearts so full of hate, they are closed off to real vision and real greatness.

When visual artists like Vince LaForet “see” – they do at a level most of us can only dream about. It takes an open heart to see that well. It’s only natural that when you have an open heart, you root for the other guy too.

There’s no profit in rooting against someone or something. The profit comes when you root FOR someone or something.

If you want to build a career as a professional photographer don’t be consumed by concern for the competition. Think of them as CO-OPetition! Root for them too. Do your best. Open your heart. Root for everyone. Remember it’s about the picture, not about who “wins.”

As I was driving Vince to the airport for his short flight back to Los Angeles he reminded me of something he said during his talk. “Success isn’t something you can just track down and obtain. Stop chasing success.” It’s that misguided concern for success that stops us from being great. Root for the other guy. Root for yourself. Root for everyone. Root for the photo industry. Root for great pictures. Be positive. Open your heart and worry about the picture – not winning. Then maybe, just maybe you’ll start to see things more clearly. That’s when you can start to really see.
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Photography Eye Training – Go To The Ballgame

Posted by scottbourne on July 11, 2011
Posted in: Technique & Tutorials. Tagged: .

Copyright Scott Bourne 2001 - All Rights Reserved

Go to the ballgame. Go to any kind of ballgame. Take your compact camera (not your big honking pro camera with long lens which will make you stand out.)

At the ballgame, you will find all sorts of interesting things to photograph. Look for signage, the game itself and most of all, the interesting people you will see at the game.

The great thing about sporting events is that they are a melting pot. People of all races, colors and creeds, from all sorts of different backgrounds and beliefs attend sporting events. Whether it’s the well-heeled people in the luxury suites or the kids out in the back bleachers, there are all sorts of characters at a ballgame.

Try using your camera to train your eye to find DIFFERENT things at the same place. Or assign yourself a project like photographing only colors, or shapes or signs or smiles or reactions. Whatever you decide to do, going to a ballgame will freshen your eye and your point of view. This might just end up being valuable later when you’re shooting the stuff that counts.

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Even If You Have No Talent For It – Drawing, Sketching & Painting Will Make You A Better Photographer

Posted by scottbourne on July 2, 2011
Posted in: Technique & Tutorials. Tagged: .

A while back I wrote a post called: Seeing The Invisible – A Photographer’s Vision.

In that post I gave you an exercise – to describe a tree to a blind person. The point of that post – and this one – is to improve your visualization skills.

I want you to take that exercise and switch it up a bit. Now I want you to draw, paint or sketch a picture of a tree. I don’t care if you suck – just do it. You don’t have to show the picture to anyone. You won’t be graded on your work. The idea is simply to engage different neurons in your brain and to help you “see” better.

I like to practice this exercise at home – away from visual stimulus. I try to draw the tree from my mind’s eye. What comes of it?

You exercise a different brain muscle than the one you use when making photographs. That might just spur you into a whole new realm of creativity. Beyond that, there are many possibilities. I once tried this exercise and drew a tree while sitting at my house on my couch. When I was done with the drawing, I realized I recognized the tree. I had drawn it from my subconscious. I immediately grabbed my camera and went looking for the tree. I wasn’t exactly sure where it was. That resulted in a bunch of exploration that led me to many more locations I loved. I even eventually found the tree and photographed it.

Lastly – doing this exercise, I was reminded of trees I loved when I was kid. They are gone now or far away. I won’t see them again. But the memory of those trees lives on in me and motivates me to go find more trees, or birds or whatever.

So you see there can be many benefits to this simple little vision exercise. It’s the one time I am okay with you sitting on the couch instead of shooting! Have fun.
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Why I Am Selling Most of my Photography Gear

Posted by scottbourne on June 26, 2011
Posted in: Technique & Tutorials. Tagged: , .

Copyright Scott Bourne 2011 - All Rights Reserved

Fairly or unfairly, I am generally considered a gear head. I do have lots of photo gear. There’s no denying that fact. Some of it I purchased just for review on Photofocus. Some of it was given to me in an attempt to sway me. Some of it was purchased for resale later. Some of it was purchased just to write a book. Some of it was purchased for one or two specific projects (before I found out about Borrowlenses.com).

In any event, my studio is full of stuff. Lots of stuff. So much stuff that I sometimes discover cameras and lenses I didn’t even know I still have!

Even after numerous attempts to “organize” my equipment room and even though we built a second storage room – expanding the studio by about 200 square feet, I still can’t find anything in my own studio. This combined with the fact that I am tripping over my own gear would be reason enough to sell off some gear.

I am also winding down my wildlife photography. I will be making one or two big trips a year from now on – if that. It is just too hard on my old bones to make these big trips and I’ve accomplished pretty much everything I want to in that genre. My interests are changing and I find myself photographing cars just about every day of the week now. I can rent big glass when I need it and save room in my storage vault. So that’s also reason enough to dump gear.

But here is an even better reason…

I just don’t need hardly any of it to make great pictures. In fact, after careful consideration, long talks with some of my colleagues, and lots of research, I think that some of my gear actually gets in the way of making great pictures.

Lately, as in the last year, I’ve been experimenting with the idea that I can take less gear on most shoots. The results have been stunning. I believe that I have not only NOT been hurt by bringing less gear, I believe I have better pictures. It really hit home during my Alaska eagle trip. I took about half the gear I usually would have on such a trip and got amazing results.

Now I’m not just talking about fewer items in my bag. I am talking about bringing the “lesser” cameras and lenses on some jobs as well.

For instance, I have five Nikon D3s bodies. This week, I left them at home and covered the Barrett-Jackson auction with the Nikon D7000. It’s smaller, lighter, easier to use, easier to carry, less obtrusive and very capable. Instead of my complete collection of Nikon glass which includes every Nikkor prime lens and most of the high end zooms, I brought three lenses. The Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S, the Nikon 60mm f/2.8G ED AF-S Micro, and the Nikon 10.5mm f/2.8G ED AF DX Fisheye.

(I also had the Leica M9 with 28mm and 90mm lenses but these were on board for testing and review – not for the actual job I was hired to do.)

So instead of my heavy pack with five or six lenses and two or three of the big bodies, I carried one camera around my neck with a lens on and two lenses in my pocket. It was absolutely freeing. I didn’t struggle with or worry about gear. I concentrated on seeing. The pictures look fantastic and I don’t think I missed a thing because I didn’t have all my “pro” gear with me.

The concept of less is more is not one that most people would associate with me. I am after all, a rather bombastic personality. I like to do things big. But there are different ways to accomplish that last goal. I am convinced that I need about 10% (or less) of the stuff lying around in my studio. Moreover, I am convinced that to some degree, all this STUFF gets in the way of my vision as a photographer.

So I am going to do something radical. I am going to sell most of it and whittle down my gear to what I consider to be bare bones. Now I already realize I’ll be ridiculed for this because my “bare bones” will still be an impressive list. But that’s not the point. The point is that even in my advanced age – perhaps even because of it – I am still able to learn and grow and take on new attitudes.

I plan to limit myself to one or two DSLR bodies total. I plan to limit myself to one point and shoot. I plan to limit myself to a couple of M9 rangefinder bodies with two or three lenses. I’ll keep one or two of my favorite camera bags. Throw in one big studio softbox with hot light, stand and reflectors, a flash, a polarizer and ND filter for each lens, some minor accessories and I’m good.

This v. my current total of more than 15 cameras, 50 lenses and God knows how many bags and other doodads.

Even before I compiled the VISION Ebook I released recently, I’ve been wondering if I couldn’t make do with less gear. I believe the answer is yes. I’m about to find out.

The notion that people like Cartier-Bresson made some of the most famous pictures of all time with one camera and one lens intrigues me. I’ve been told I have it “easy” because I have lots of gear. Maybe that’s true. I find no reason to think that easy is bad. But I think that I will still have it easy – if not easier – by having less gear.

I realize this post will ruffle some feathers. I realize it won’t help me get gear companies to sponsor me. I am okay with that – heck – what else is new?

UPDATE: Of course I should have prepared myself for the 100s of emails that filled my inbox within 10 minutes of posting this – sorry I won’t be “donating” or giving away any of this gear. I’ll be selling it. But I do have a great contest going on if you are looking for something for free.

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Seeing The Invisible – A Photographer’s Vision

Posted by scottbourne on June 13, 2011
Posted in: Technique & Tutorials. Tagged: .

Copyright 2003 Scott Bourne - All Rights Reserved

Jonathan Swift said…

“Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.”

This quote inspires me daily as a photographer. As I walk by a grove of trees, I see things differently than my non-photographer friends. They see a clump of trees. I see the grass beneath the trees, the light streaming through the leaves, the birds in their nests on the branches, the intricate pattern in the bark, the strength of the trunk, the outgrowth of the roots,  the different colors and tonality in the leaves, the way the shadows fall across the wood, the angle of the light as it hits the canopy, the shadow the tree makes on the river below, the line the branch follows from the tree trunk, etc.

When photographers look at the world, they look at it through a special lens – pun intended. It’s a filter of sorts that sifts the importance of one thing or another. This ability to sift and sort, to include and exclude, to drill down into the meat of the scene, that’s what comprises the photographer’s vision. I like to think that we can all use more of that.

Exercise…

Here’s a vision exercise for you that doesn’t require a camera. Try to describe something (like a tree) as if you were describing it to a blind person who had never received the gift of sight. Then go photograph as if that picture would be the only one ever seen of a tree.

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