A new chapter in this life journey
Starting tomorrow August 19, 2013, I become part of a U.S.-based advertising agency. The company president invited me to join her team of creative professionals to do work on a full-time basis. The job includes writing online content and designing blogs and websites – things that are right down my alley. I’ll be a remote staff, doing work from home. This post is not about saying goodbye to blogging. Previously I was doing online freelance work so I had more time in my hands, enabling me to do multiple posts a day early on when I started this blog October last year. By tomorrow I may not be able to follow my habit (yes it has become a habit) of daily posting. This blog will continue but not on its frenetic pace, it will slow down a bit. I still have many pictures to share together with experiences, stories and learnings. I thank all of you my blogging peers for making this online activity for the past 10 months very worthwhile, enjoyable and meaningful. But, probably like every one of you, blogging is just one chapter of my life. There are others, and for me a new one starts tomorrow which requires my undivided time and skill. I will have to focus on that. For the meantime this is JJ saying “Take care my friends and keep on clicking!”
Weekend Inspiration 40
Wishing all of you a splendid weekend! Thank you for the visits, likes, follows and comments during our Islands Week. Keep on clicking my friends!
Photo Quotes 171
It seems positively unnatural to travel without taking a camera along…~Susan Sontag
Island dwellers
These are actual island dwellers I’ve encountered during my travels to far-flung provinces. They are fishermen, children, kids – people who live simple lives and enjoy their natural surroundings. They don’t have elegant homes, fashionable clothes, regular work or a lifestyle to speak of. I don’t even think they have cellphones. In the first place there are no signals in these remote places. What do they have? An affinity with nature that we, dwellers of the metropolitan jungle, so obviously lack. And the barest of their needs to live a life are aptly provided for by nature’s resources, right at their doorstep. God bless these island dwellers, these people of the sea.
Island life
With over 600 posts, all of them with pictures, I have quite a number of island images. Some of those images used in this blog as well as those from my collection are featured in Junsjazz Digital Magazine Issue #3. Now here’s where I curate myself, I went over these previous postings and picked some of the best island pictures (which may be familiar to you if you have followed this blog from early on). In keeping with this week’s picture series I present them again. Here are personal picks. Enjoy!
Islands Week
When I posted the above image at a popular photo sharing site, a viewer commented: “Wow! You captured the whole island!” Well, not really, just one area of the island which happens to be its most visible part. It’s because motorboats and their passengers pass along this sea route on their way to the main island some two hours away. I don’t know if other corners of the island are as gorgeous, but I should say the above area looks the part of a tropical Eden, unspoiled and untouched (unlike the famous Boracay Island which is teeming with people).
Imagine yourself in the island above, lying on the beach, feeling the warm caress of white, powdery sand on your skin as the balmy wind tempers the midday sun and sways the lush palms. Then you arise and dive into those tempting waters, practicing your strokes against the incoming tide. Later you retreat to the natural shade and get your fill of ripe, juicy mangoes, papaya, avocado and of course the coconut fruit…this is gastronomic heaven. Your eyes feel heavy and the cool hut beckons…with the sweet singing of birds above and the soothing sound of the surf below, you get to dreamland…fast. This is back-to-basics living, without your smartphone, tablet, laptop, music player or radio or whatever gadget. I can live with that, but not without my camera!
Another week and another picture series. The Philippines as an archipelago has 7,100 of them jutting out like pearls from the sea. Some are world-renowned destinations but we’ll explore those that don’t have hotels, bars and cabanas on the beach. We’ll go to the untrodden places, quiet, peaceful and free, and where time seemingly stands still. Welcome to Islands Week!
Framing elements
Boats in themselves are uninteresting subjects. You may frown in confusion what with a whole series of boat images filling my posts for the whole week. Boats per se are boring. You may notice that with the boat pictures I have posted so far they are always framed with some other elements – people, sunrise, beach, ports, sky, clouds, splash of water, etc. Supporting elements, background and foreground placements and overall composition will provide appeal to an image. Though boats take center stage in this week’s picture series, they may not always be the point of interest. They may take on secondary, supporting roles. The picture above may have the boat as focal point, right smack in the middle of a 16:9 aspect ratio, but what really drives the image are those large brooding clouds that may signal an upcoming thunderstorm. That is a dramatic image that foretells a story – a vessel at sea being chased by a thunderstorm. The photo below may not be high-impact, and this time the fisherman is the main cast. But it also tells a tale – the sun is high and the fisherman decides to “park” his boat in an island and take a rest under the cool shade of coconut trees. Framing elements in a photo may seem to add clutter and distraction from the main subject. But a careful arrangement of these elements simply leads the eye to the point of interest and strengthens the message or story. It’s a technique tested and used time and again. Let me close this piece with something from Annie Leibovitz:
One doesn’t stop seeing. One doesn’t stop framing. It doesn’t turn off and turn on. It’s on all the time.
Go out and shoot
Article Excerpt:
Go Out & Start Shooting
The human brain wants you to find the perfect idea. By going out and shooting whatever random subject matter is there (no matter how dull) can create inspiration within itself. Go out and shoot that fire hydrant, doors, trees and whatever other random, dull, static objects you may find in your line of vision! It may lead you somewhere unexpected.
Find A Color
Go out and shoot one color. Narrowing your subject matter down to one color will make you see photographs you never would have otherwise. Different colors have different moods too. If you are feeling calm and cool, go shoot blue. Do you feel happy? Shoot yellow or orange. There are many internet resources that you can look into to explore the color wheel and emotional interpretation of color.
~Some Thoughts on Photography by Dr. Dennis Woytek
Show your world
Article Excerpt:
The advent of digital photography and today’s prevalence of affordable digital SLR cameras ensures more people have the capability to capture an inspiring photo. The only question is how to gain the creative skills, aptitude and dedication to make it happen. First we need to understand the basics of what makes a great travel or adventure photo.
East Africa-based adventure writer and photographer Nathan Ward reveals travel photography is about finding the image within its natural setting. “Find big scenery and local colour. Ideally something without a westerner in it! The world isn’t about a photo of some blonde person in their new Patagonia gear standing next to Tsaatan reindeer herders. The story is about the reindeer herders. Show the world and all its magic,” he says.
Finding the image within its natural setting is individual and we all differ in our visual perspective, however when it comes to releasing the shutter, the basic ingredients to attention-grabbing pictures has remained the same since the inception of photography; thoughtful composition, creative lighting and an interesting subject.
~Mark Watson from his article Sharp Shooters: Photography Tips
Tropical paradise
I don’t know how you imagine an Eden on earth should look like, but if you ask me it should be something like the above.~JJ
Tune in to nature
Article Excerpt:
Whether you’re photographing wildlife, plants or a wondrous sunset, be aware of your surroundings. Follow these tips to capture the best opportunities for nature photos:
- Be aware of all of your senses: your ear may hear something that your eyes have missed.
- Maintain perspective: when changing locations, check out where you have just been so you know where to travel next to get another amazing shot.
- Pay attention to your surroundings: look up and down, as well as side to side.
- Study your subject’s habits: know how to anticipate an upcoming photo opportunity or when to flee.
~from the article Nature Photography: Tips for Photographing Nature’s Wonders
The colors of nature
Book Excerpt: “Just as light has color, things have color. When light strikes a subject, some of the wavelengths are absorbed and some are reflected. The reflected wavelengths bouncing off the subject produce the colors we see. What’s unique about this quality of light is that it’s subjective. Each of us, and each species of animal, sees color differently. Fortunately, most humans agree on the general hues of common colors. In photography, red, blue, and green are the primary colors; yellow, magenta, and cyan are the secondary colors. How you use these colors, how you mix them in your photographs, can mean the difference between a boring image and a contest winner.”~Ralph A. Clevenger from his book Photographing Nature: A photo workshop from Brooks Institute’s top nature photography instructor
Photo Quotes 116
Composition is about much more than a set of rules. Composition is about how each photographer uses light, color and contrast. It is about how each photographer sees the world and how each photographer wants to represent this world to his or her audience. In short, composition–when approached from an individual perspective– is about your way of seeing the world. It is about your way of sharing what you see with your audience, with those that will look at, study and admire (or criticize) your work.~Alain Briot
Photo Quotes 110
Understanding grows as you allow the landscape to come into you. Passivity, not acquisition, is the key to this. A good photograph is a received photograph, an exchange between you and the landscape, in which – however unlikely this may seem – there is a dialogue between the two of you. It is simply courtesy to allow the landscape to speak.~Charlie Waite
What makes a great image?
Article Excerpt
Great images often:
– are eye catching.
– are strongly composed.
– have relatively few picture elements.
– have no elements surplus to requirements.
– use lighting and or surface reflections to achieve the best possible tonality.
– contain a limited colour palette which either contrasts or complements each other
– have a message, even if that message is only, “gee, isn’t this beautiful (ugly, old, scary etc.)”
– leave you wondering, while at the same time satisfying you that the image is complete – tricky, huh?
– inform by showing the unusual, the unnoticed or interesting juxtapositions.
– tell a story or trigger memories
– give you reasons to come back to the image again and again
– have some extra magical thing about them
The photographer and his story
A picture will always be a story, in a single shot. Without words, without explanations, without definitions, without captions, it is the aim of the photographer to tell the realism of the moment as he saw it, as he interpreted the scene from the time of capture. Unlike film or slideshows and moving pictures which, more or less, convey the gist of the story or a narrative of the story itself in elongated form, a single image tries to encapsulate it all, and attempts to give an account, a chronicle of the instance.
What does it mean for us photographers? It means we have to be definitive and conscious of the images we take. It may not be earth-shattering or headline-grabbing pictures, unless you’re a photojournalist. Images of everyday life, of nature and landscapes, or of common things must represent a visual narration, a chronicle, a record of the moment, a second of time as the photographer captured and envisioned it. It is the heart of the image, the story conveyed in that one shot. One becomes a photographer in the truest sense of the word when he can capture images that are narrations, commentaries and descriptions of themselves. The picture itself tells the story.
Capturing the scale of nature
Article Excerpt: When considering nature images, one finds that most differ by the scale of scene captured. Three loosely defined categories to keep in mind are:
* Grand Scenic – covering large expanses of the landscape
* Intimate – perhaps the most elusive of all – isolating the “scene within a scene” – keeping only what’s important and giving the viewer a sense of being there.
* Close-up and/or macro – enlarging and drawing attention to elements often too small for most casual viewers to notice otherwise
Each of these requires a different way of examining and interpreting a scene. Surprisingly a given scene may yield successful images in any or even all these scales – standing in front of a grand mountain scene, you may discover interesting patterns that can be isolated, or a small flower at your feet.
Do not “lock” your vision to a given scale. At any opportunity, try to think about all possibilities. You may find interesting new and original compositions even in the most familiar places.~Guy Tal from his article Landscape Photography Composition Part 1
Photo Quotes 106
The beauty of nature motivates and inspires my photography. It nourishes my artistic sensibility and restores my spiritual balance…These are landscapes of, and for, my spirit.~William Neill
Be a camera – see what it sees
Book Excerpt: Something else is lost when we make a photograph. When you’re outside taking pictures, all of your senses are working, taking in information and making you feel and respond in a certain, usually positive, way. Not only do you see the scene before you, you hear the wind in the trees, smell the sweet aromas of nature, feel the texture of the land and the breeze on your skin, and taste the air. But when you press the shutter, the camera only records what it sees and four out of the five senses that influence how you respond emotionally to the subject are lost
When you think about it, it’s little wonder that a two-dimensional, single-sense photograph might struggle to live up to the actual experience we had at the time of its taking. The real skill in photography that sets apart the great images from the snapshots is the ability to replace this missing/lost information using purely visual tools, to give the viewer a sense of what you felt by recording the image in such a way that it stimulates the imagination and stirs emotions.
It is a skill that can be learned and the starting point is to get into the habit of seeing what your camera sees.~Chris Weston from his book Photographing Nature
The element of luck
When you’re on a small motor boat cruising along the coastline, you don’t have much room to maneuver. You can not go around and find a vantage point. You have no choice of perspective. The only viewpoint you have is that of a passenger whiling away his time on a three-hour trip by pointing his camera here and there, and just casually snapping the scenery. You try to summon as much of your technical and creative skills in a cramp, immobile situation. Then you wish for luck.
As fate would have it, luck descended on some of my shots (like the one above) given the situation I was in. Though we have no control over it, luck or what photographers fondly call serendipity, is the third element in the triumvirate of arsenals. The other two I have mentioned in the first paragraph are creativity and technical skills. Serendipity is when you are out there in the field after a day of shoot, all packing up and satisfied with the shots you’ve taken, when suddenly a giant bird perched on a nearby tree, or a ray of light fell on the foliage, or a line of tree cast a calm reflection on the riverbank. Serendipity happens as a form of answered prayer, like when I solemnly requested that I get even just one good picture while I was on that small motor boat. I got half a dozen. Serendipity, though you don’t know when it will come, is aided when you are prepared, armed with the skills of how to capture, and ready with your knowledge of what and when to shoot. Serendipity will answer the why.
From sky to earth
Article Excerpt: “Determining the ratio of sky to earth is a key concern in composing dynamic photos. Regardless of whether it’s a sweeping landscape or seascape, or a more intimate scene, the amount of sky you choose to include in the composition can make a huge impact on your photo…Too often, though, photographers automatically split landscape or seascape images into equal halves, with the horizon line or maybe a distant shoreline extending right across the middle of the frame. The viewer, then, is left to decide which half of the scene is most important. But that’s for you – the photographer – to decide when composing your image!”~Kerry Drager from his article Dynamic Photo Composition: How Much Sky – How Little
Transform the ordinary into something remarkable
The ordinary into extraordinary. The usual into unique. The common into exceptional. The familiar into fantastic. I could go on and on but I know you get the gist. Photography gives you the power of transforming ordinary images into something spectacular. Oh, we know how to do it. Say what? Yes, we just like right now forgot how to do it. That is why we need to be reminded and refreshed. And to continue learning. So how do we go about this process of transformation? How do we create extraordinary images from ordinary subjects or situations? Consider the situation I was in – riding on a 20-seater motorboat on a three-hour trip going to an island. The first hour was generally unexciting with almost nothing but the expanse of the deep blue sea. But I noticed movement – the splash of water in the boat’s outrigger, and the currents and ripples in the sea as the boat passed by. And of course the colors, deep and contrasting. I had to assess the elements and decide what to include and exclude in the frame, all in a matter of seconds, and the outcome is the picture above. Dawn Oosterhoff in her article Everyday Images: Making Ordinary Pictures into Extraordinary Photography provides some guides: be observant, become aware of what you are seeing and experiencing, physically and mentally assess your subject, change your perspective, consider what to include and what to exclude, emphasize your subject, choose your moment, and experiment. Seems like we’re familiar with all the aforementioned and even tackled them in previous posts. They are fundamentally still the basics: framing, zeroing in, choosing, emphasizing and experimenting. Read the article to get a better grasp of the writer’s explanations. They aren’t new, but they are things we sometimes miss and fail to consider. No magic formula here, just a return to the essential – the photographer’s vision and the art of “seeing.” (Photo location: Surigao del Norte)
Junsjazz Images & Inspiration 