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OT Sunday: Bill Evans, Alec Soth and MindMapping
Music.
I am a huge Bill Evans fan. Have loved his music from the moment I first heard it. Magical changes, incredible technique, voicings that inspired… and a hot rhythm section that always kept pushing him along.
The first time I heard Bill Evans was late one night after a gig. One of the guys had been telling us about Evans for a while so we headed off to his place to listen. The great Scott LaFaro was playing bass on that album, and we must have listened to it a half dozen times before the sun came up. (Musicians are sort of like vampires… sleep all day and play all night.) The album was “Bill Evans Live at the Village Vanguard” and I still have my album, and the CD as well.
Sunday Jazz: Bill Evans.
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Alec Soth has a fascinating exhibition and project he calls “Broken Manual”. It is about isolation and hermits. It is about discovery and hiding from it at the same time. The dichotomies are amazing, and the work is wonderful. Here are some links to this interesting and important project.
Alec Soth: Website Images, “Broken Manual”.
The book “Broken Manual” comes inside another old book, in a niche hand carved. A very creative and poignant way of ‘hiding’ the element itself.
A Public Broadcasting Interview with Alec Soth about the book and the project.
The gallery where the show took place. Some beautiful views of the venue.
An interview with Soth on what he hoped to accomplish and more information on the project.
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I am quite fascinated by Mind Mapping – both the act and the technology behind it. This is a review of a cool app that may help you discover some ideas that are deep inside.
“Review: MindMaple — Generate Awesome Ideas with a Mind Map”
“Mind mapping has been around for a while, but is just now beginning to grab the attention of the disorganized and overwhelmed. It is a way to organize information in the form of a map. The map is usually created around one core idea or project, and then all of the other information builds off of that center through arrows and lines.”
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“Artistry At Work: Form Following Function”
“This is the idea of artistic intent, and it is the heart and soul of purpose. It doesn’t rain down from the heavens, and no one grants us our purpose…it is chosen. Feeling that our work matters in the grand scheme of things can only come from believing our unique gifts can and will in some small way help those in need of what we do. It is here that our private art gets shared with others, and that private paths meet common ground.
Artistic intent is not a mission to be accomplished or goal to be achieved, but rather a point of departure, a genesis. It is separate and apart from the question of how to pursue a means of livelihood. To achieve business artistry, it is more important to decide what we are uniquely able to contribute than to pursue the question of specific profession or vocation.”
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One more.
a story for tomorrow. from gnarly bay productions, Inc. on Vimeo.
Next Sunday I will be coming to you from Zion National Monument.
Till then…
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“Sea Shell” Improvisation: 1 Hour Challenge
I often say that photography is “Jazz with a camera.” And I say that because I believe it to be absolutely true.
A Jazz performer has to know their instrument so well, that it is second nature for them to simply play it. Jazz requires improvisation (and if it doesn’t, it ain’t jazz…) and photography is all about improvisation. Imagine the mastery it takes to not only play the instrument, but make the music up on the fly with other players accompanying you. Trying new and daring twists and turns while the drummer and bass lay down a sweeeet groove… yeah.
Photographers do the same thing. They get to know their instruments so well, that they can simply start to make stuff up on the fly, while not losing the goal or reason for the photograph. Let’s try this- or that, or change lenses for a different POV. What happens if we get down low and bring a shiny card in from the edge here…? Choices flying by and we have to be able to choose them quickly to keep time.
See – a jazz player is playing a couple of bars ahead in their minds, and they can keep the chord structures and the ‘changes’ fluid. They hear the music to come before it is played. All the while being totally aware of the other musicians and what they are doing.
A photographer does the same thing visually. A photographer ‘sees’ the image as a it will be seen from their camera and lens combination even before they put it together. They begin to ‘play’ the images by composing elements, trying this and trying that. Knowing the final image (or close) before tripping the shutter.
Improvisation.
Jazz, baby.
This is something I used to do a lot. And I mean A LOT. We used to call it ‘testing’, but now it is called “creative”. Shooting creative is like working that axe in the woodshed. Woodshed’n makes you play better because it keeps your mind and instrument in tune.
“Creative” shooting keeps your vision tuned up as well. There is no substitute for shooting… ABS, as Nick Onken says: Always Be Shooting.
So this is my first of the year improvisation. It will not be the last. I plan on doing these at least once per week (next week is a fork… a single fork).
My rule to myself is to not shoot more than one hour, and to shoot within a single set or area. Working the shot out and making as many variations as possible. Hopefully we can keep the setup included in that hour. As a jazz musician too, I expect I will break said rules and do whatever the hell I want – but, we gotta start somewhere.
Today I went outside and noticed my daughters shell collection. She collects them as she visits different beaches when we are on vacation. I think they each have a name… or did when she was younger.
One was filled with gunk and water and it caught my eye.
I decided right then to make those shells the subject of my improv. I set up on the front porch area and decided to use the sun as my source. A 5-in-one reflector kit scrim was the single modifier, and a piece of white fome core was my surface. Clean and graphic. I spent 45 minutes from setup to tear down.
Here are the shots:
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- Retro look applied to this image with a soft warmth and a bit of texture
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- Playing with spatial placement and design.
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- Detail of two shells.
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- Shell Edges and muted colors.
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- A cluster of shells – this is how I placed them as I was getting ready to clean up and they looked pretty good.
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- Shell in shell. Texture and color, light and shadow.
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- Shell filled with irrigation water
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- A vertical composition to test spatial relationships
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- Small shells with texture
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- Vertical Light Panel creates more shadow to the front of the shells as the light is not seen from that position.
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- With the scrim over the top, more light comes to the front part of the shells and eliminates the shadows in front.
I used two basic lighting setups: One with the scrim vertical in back of the set to create more shadow in front of the shells. And one with the scrim over the top of the shells for a broad, soft source. The sun was my main light source today.
Vertical Light Panel creates more shadow to the front of the shells as the light is not seen from that position.
You can see in this shot that the light is not covering the front of the shells, so it creates more shadow.
With the scrim over the top, more light comes to the front part of the shells and eliminates the shadows in front.
The top scrim brings the light to the front of the shells. The sun was fairly high in the south sky and we had moderately scattered clouds. I had to work with the sun, not the clouds ad it made the light too flat. Having a bright, powerful source behind the scrim made the light a bit more punchy.
Thanks for coming out today.
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Rick Gayle, Photographer: Phoenix, AZ
I have known Rick for a long, long time. I did not know that he had a blog until this morning.
Funny how stuff like that goes around.
Rick’s blog is full of images and stories and shows a level of creativity that is rare indeed these days.
I will contact Rick for a sit-down interview later this Spring, but for now – take a look at his blog, read about how finding some apple cores leads to a brilliant photograph and take in his tasty lighting.
Rick Gayle Photography
Photograph by Rick Gayle
Photograph by Rick Gayle
If you are interested in shooting food and still life, Rick provides a ton of wonderful behind the scenes shots, styling tips and lighting info.
Posts to jump to immediately:
Beautiful work, Rick.
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Miami and Key Biscayne Workshop in a Month…
I am happy to be working with Mayra and the Fotomiles Group in order to come out to Miami/Key Biscayne for a workshop. This will be a very special, limited participation workshop. Only 10 photographers and me. A full on, learn to light and master the concepts workshop.
You can download the Brochure in PDF form here.
All participants receive a copy of my current book as well as some more goodies to be announced.
Twitter / Facebook / Workshops / About.Me / My Book, Lighting Essentials on Amazon
And if you like the articles here, LIKE them on FB or click the little G+ thingy. I appreciate your kindness.
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Hey, Hot Shot! One of My Favorite Competitions is On Now!
I first encountered Jen Bekman’s project the first year it was on. I was knocked out by the level of work and would go and visit the site many times to view the work. Some of it was quite challenging, and I would look at images that were quite out of my ‘zone’ and to see if I could understand them. Others were simply eye candy, fresh and exciting new ways to see. In both cases I found clarity, intrigue and inspiration.
Photography is such a powerful medium, and the more variations we bring into our own senses, the better. I think that the work that is presented at the Hey, Hot Shot shows gives us a wonderful view of artists that would be very difficult to find on our own.
Jen Bekman’s approach of finding new talent, working with new talent, and delivering to our browsers some of the freshest, edgy, exciting work in photography sort of makes her an unsung hero to me.
The Hey, Hot Shot competition is open now, and YOU should be entering your work. The winners get more than just money, although that helps all artists get their work out there, they get their work shown.
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Hey… Where are you going with all that stuff?
Didja ever wonder?
You got the gear. You got the lights. You got that shiny new megapixelbeast of a machine.
You even have one of those latest doohickeys that everyone is drooling over.
You know the one. Yeah… it’s sweet.
But where are you going with all that stuff?
Are you off to make photographs?
Why?
Seriously… why?
Is there a reason for the images you are making? Is there a strong desire to make those images? Is it something you have been thinking about for a long time? Was it a sudden desire to go out and record something on a bunch of pixels or a roll of chemically smeared acetate?
I think most people spend more time thinking about what stuff they have and what to do with it instead of what can be made with it.
A photograph.
A single ‘click’ in the vastness of space and time and the continuum that I have no idea how to describe, but hell it sounds sooo good to say.
Continuum.
A moment frozen forever.
And why did we want to freeze that moment?
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CreativeLIVE – Seattle – April 6, 7, 8, – Well, This Will Be Fun!
Thanks to Charles Tibbs for taking the photo.
Yeah… that’s me lookin’ all serious and cold leaning against the back wall of my studio. Fact is, it was a bit chilly that day.
Unlike today where it is pushing a bit over 70.
But the weather is not the subject here – it is the CreativeLIVE show I am doing in Seattle with the great folks up there in the PNW.
Yep – I will be doing a Creative LIVE show April 6, 7, 8, in Seattle and hope all of you will be watching. I will be blogging and tweeting the entire experience as well, but it is nice to know that some loyal fans are watching and having fun along with me.
Creative LIVE is a free, online, 3 day workshop. You can watch it from anywhere you are with an internet connection. Free…wait, I already said that… but still good to know.
We will of course be discussing… LIGHTING.
And the basics of lighting that I like to refer to as the ESSENTIALS.
So we decided to call it… wait for it… Lighting Essentials.
Pretty cool, eh?
My bud Charles Tibbs and I made a video for the trailer and you can see it here. I decided I looked too serious, so I did another one with my bud Megan, and it is black and white and I don’t look so serious… I dunno. Working on a blooper reel that is running about 2.5 hours now.
(hearing that the piano music is distracting… hmmm. Maybe I will remix it then.)
Now I am not going to go through all the f-stops and shutter speeds and how to take your flash off camera. I would recommend Zach’s great program for all that basic stuff. He covers it really well. I am going to be talking about the way that light interacts with subjects. How we can control that interaction and what it means to us as photographers to be able to light the shots we see in our head.
- I will be covering “Subject Centric Lighting” – something that is near and dear to me, as well as working with talent and light.
- Working on location with light.
- Using light to create a reality that doesn’t exist.
- Creating the most incredible, flattering, soft luscious light you can.
- How light and subject create what we see.
- Emotional light.
- And something I call “What to do when you don’t know what the $%#&^% to do.
It will be an amazing weekend.
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OT- Sunday, #1: Darkness, Cello Madness and Jazz
Sometimes I have an opportunity to discuss other topics than photography. These times are rare, of course, but they do exist.
I thought it may be fun to post some of the other things that are interesting to me on Sunday Mornings.
Welcome to Off Topic Sundays, an excursion into the unknown.
“… and darkness fell across the land…”
First off. I received an email from someone in the business asking me to help create a ‘day of darkness’ by blocking all my content from the people who are stealing us blind.
I have no interest in that sort of thing. Not because I have no interest in IP protection. I most assuredly do.
But going dark for a day means nothing. They simply wait out the day while we go to the corner and hold our breath until we… breathe again.
Symbolically simplistic and professionally silly.
And I wonder how many would participate? We can barely get 2% of the photographers to join a professional organization. CL is full of “I’ll shoot it for beans” photographers. And I know too many photographers who would simply take advantage of the other photographers heartfelt, but misguided moment of ultimate-pouting.
I won’t be going dark.
Cello Madness:
Blending the sublime sound of the cello with the rhythm of the beat box… heh. Clever and well done.
“Appropriating” or “Ripping Off?” – a sure to be interesting interview
What may surely become a very controversial interview is Chase Jarvis and the ReMix King on “mixing” and appropriating art. Don’t miss it.
There’s a saying that you should understand. It’s “TALENT IMITATES. GENIUS STEALS.”
Now before your undies get in a wad, I’m not saying steal work and pretend it’s you’re own. More deeply, I’m asking a question. Do you want to understand and set free your most creative work? Then pay attention here. And mark my words: the REMIX is the single most important artistic concept of our time [Go ahead and read that again. And read all the way to the bottom if you want to win a Polaroid Z340 instant digital camera...]
Interview on Tuesday, February 7.
APE has a wonderful piece: “Still Images In Great Advertising – Jeremy & Claire Weiss”. It is an interview with two very talented photographers. Check it out.
On Sales
“7 Pain Free Sales Tips for Creatives” is a short piece that sort of spells it out, folks. A good read.
Design Matters
For the more geeky among you all, here is a good post on Modal Windows (popups). No, they are not Gregorian Chants version of a popular OS, but rather a contextual way of creating popups that are more interesting to the website user.
Each Sunday I will present some music that I love here. A sort of mini-concert.
Jazz First:
Keith Jarrett “Over the Rainbow” (my personal favorite song)
Don Ellis delights with the great, classically inspired “Pussy Wiggle Stomp” Heh.
One of my favorite drummers, Steve Smith, and his band “Vital Information”
And a Classical moment as well…
A section of Aaron Copland’s wonderful Clarinet Concerto for Strings, Harp and Piano
“Mmmmm… Chimichangas…”
We had our first annual Lighting Essentias (Essentials for Photographers) Picnic and Funfest last weekend. To say we had a blast is a very sad understatement… we had more than a blast – we made new friends and exchanged ideas and ate a lot of Mexican food. Thanks to all who attended – and we had people from every corner of the country – and I look forward to next year’s glorious meetup.
Till next Sunday.
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A Special “Portfolio Building” Workshop, Feb 11, 12: Only 3 Students
This is a special workshop for only three students. It is on short notice, but there is a reason for that – and it will be explained at a later date.
Our focus will be on mastering images across a spectrum of genres. This workshop is for the serious photographer who wants to understand the finesse of light, and how to apply lighting and drama to their portfolio pieces.
We will look at the qualities of light, how to understand the medium, and what we can do with photographic tools to enhance and modify our light to make the shots we see in our head.
This is an intensive workshop and it is totally hands on. We get into theory, sure – but it is theory as it is applied.
Listen. See. Do.
That is how I teach, and I believe it is the best way to learn the intricacies of the photographic medium – lighting.
We will meet at 8AM Saturday for chatting and setting up our gear. We will be shooting in the big studio. You will be using a mixture of big studio strobes, smaller sources like speedlights, and we will do some natural light as well as the day progresses. Sunday will find us outside doing some location portraits, then we go back into the studio for head shots and beauty.
The cost is my regular workshop rate: $550. It includes a copy of my book (signed if you wish) and some more goodies.
There is NO signup form. I need you to email or call (602 814 1468) me to enroll. I only have one spot open, so be brave and get on it ASAP.
Thanks…
Now back to our regularly scheduled photographic discussions.
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Portraits: Four Simple Approaches
I had the chance to do some portraits of some of the talent we had at the LE Weekend Meetup. They were Briana’s dance company and all of them were delightful and beautiful dancers. The folks who came had a blast and I was simply stunned that so many people came so far to hang out with us.
We had photographers from NY / FL / WA / CA / KS / TX and other far flung areas… we covered North America pretty well.
More shots from that weekend coming when I get them all in from the folks… wow, it was fun.
The first portrait was of Briana and done as a demonstration for one of the photographers who wanted to understand the large fill card and main light approach.
(more…)
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Glad you dropped by. This is my love and my muse. We talk about photography here, as well as the folks who make images. I am very focused on commercial and fine art photography, and we don't really spend all that much time on weddings and such. I have written 5 books - two I give away here, and two are for sale at Amazon, and the 5th one is being edited and designed right now! Thanks for visiting, leave a comment or join me the social networks...