Mike Noble Photography

Back to the Big Apple

2011-10-24T07:35:00.000-04:00

This past Friday I took a second trip to NYC to spend the day making photographs. This is the second of what I think will become and annual event for me. New York has always had a fascination for photographers. There is so much to photograph. Whether it is the architecture, the people, or the general "hustle and flow" of the city, it all makes for great images.

This year I took along my friend and long time tennis partner, Dave Hemberger. He had just purchased a new prosumer camera, ostensibly for his wife, and was eager to try it out in Manhattan. We hit most of the same areas as last year's trip. We were in and around Times Square and traveled uptown and down, east side and west, as time permitted. We hit most of the attractions in the area including Rockefeller Center, Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Broadway, and the New York Public library among others. And Dave, a musician, got to try out some new trumpets at Sam Ash's store on 48th street.

The weather kept changing. The forecast was for mostly sunny skies but we found that the weather would change from sunny to overcast in a very short time and the temps and wind made it a bit chilly. However, the changing weather also made for many opportunities to shoot in different light. A bit challenging but the results were great.

I was struck by the amount of animated signage that is in and around Times Square. There was a lot last year but it has certainly increased since then. It reminded me a lot of Ridley Scott's classic sci-fi movie, Blade Runner. If it was raining and at night, it would have been hard to distinguish between the movie and reality. I find the amount of these signs to be disorienting. You have giant heads talking to you from fifty above you and whole sides of buildings constantly changing with seemingly never ending advertising. Next year, I think I will head downtown to Greenwich Village, or the financial district.

The best thing to photograph in the city, of course, is the people. And there were a lot of them. The city (Manhattan is always "the city" to New Yorkers) is teeming with people. I felt like asking why they weren't inside at work! Of course, there were a lot of tourists who gravitate to Broadway and the aforementioned attractions nearby. But there was no respite from the flow of humanity moving along the sidewalks. You felt like you were constantly being buffeted and pummeled about. I was born and raised in New York, moving to Pennsylvania in 1974. But I don't remember this much human congestion in Manhattan on a weekday before any holidays.

But more people means more photo opportunities, so I put up with it!

Part of the TV crew for one of the morning talk shows

A very proper bicyclist

Sort of reminiscent of Bruce Willis

Are they paying attention?

Texting while patrolling

Actors being filmed

This guy was great. Walked up and said,"Take my picture."

Going to the Dogs

2011-10-04T09:49:00.001-04:00

A big part of my recent trip to South Dakota and parts west, was to help photograph a national dog show for the Rhodesian Ridgeback breed. The event was held in the Civic Center in Rapid City and there were about 500 dogs in attendance. If you have seen the movie, Best in Show, you have a slight idea as to the goings on at these events. Lots of dog lovers and lots of “show people.”

My job was to organize and print out proofs from the “win” shots. These are basically portraits of the dog, handler and or owner, and the judge for the winning animals in each class. It got hectic occasionally as this was my first time at a dog show and had to learn fast to keep up with volume. I was also shooting “candids” which are shots of the dogs in the ring as they are being judged. It is important to get the dogs in the right position so that the correct confirmation for the breed is shown. It got easier as the show progressed.

My first priority was to get the shots I have described. If I was there on my own, I would be covering the event in a photojouralistic style complete with interviews of the people involved. But that was not to be. Priorities first.

I did get some shots that I liked and have produced them here in B&W. I thought that it fit my vision of the event. Of course, the images I submitted to my employer were all in color. Tom and Sande Weigand of The Winning Image had hired me for this job. They travel around the country in an enormous RV and photograph dog shows all during the year. They were short handed for this show so I was able to fill in.

The Rhodesian Ridgeback is a truly wonderful breed. They were originally bred to hunt lions in South Africa. They are loyal, friendly, and particularly affectionate and caring of children. The breed was a consideration the last time we got a dog, but it needs a bit more exercise and care than we would be able to provide. So it was a Boston Terrier for us.

Go West, Young Man!

2011-10-03T15:59:00.001-04:00

Abandoned Schoolhouse

OK, I'm not that young. But I did get to make a trip out to South Dakota and then down to Boulder, Colorado. I drove through twelve states in two weeks. Nominally I was going out to Rapid City, SD, to help photograph a national dog show. When I was done with that, I got to visit Badlands National Park and then travel to Colorado to visit friends who live just outside Boulder. This was quite a unique opportunity and I brought a good amount (too much, really) camera equipment to meet any contingency. My theory was better to have it and not need than the other way around.

What struck me most about this part of the country was the vastness of it. Oftentimes, driving through South Dakota or Wyoming, I could look to the left and right and see unimpeded to the horizon. And there was very little in the landscape to place yourself in the 21st century. You could easily travel back in time in your mind and visualize buffalo herds, or wagon trains, or Indian scouting parties traveling on the rolling prairie and grasslands. It all has a haunting loveliness to it.

The first chance I got to do some of my own camera work, I headed for Badlands National Park. I made three trips there trying for the best light possible. I didn't always succeed. I wanted to get a beautiful sunrise and traveled to arrive before dawn. However, dawn came with lowering clouds and not much light. So, I came again later in the day to catch the sunset. This worked. It is a beautiful place and, for a photographer, it takes a long time to drive through because there is something to photograph around every turn.

Badlands NP

I then traveled through South Dakota and Wyoming to Colorado. Some of these shots are taken from the road. I found that I wanted to stop often.

While in Boulder, my friends, Lynn and Brendan, took me up into the Flatirons above Boulder and into the Rocky Mountain National Park.

I loved all of it and Lynn and Brendan were very patient with me as I would constantly ask to stop for a photo op.

I also got to see downtown Boulder, Pearl Street in particular. Lots of shops with artwork of all kinds. There were also some very interesting people who just had to be photographed.

Badlands NP

Rocky Mountain NP

I have to say the the Rocky Mountain NP was absolutely spectacular. Beauty and majesty around every curve. Certainly one of God's masterworks.

I also photographed in Boulder at night which was fun. Actually, the whole trip was wonderful and I have hundreds of inages to prove it. Can't wait to return.


Rocky Mountain NP

Street Person in Boulder

Local Eatery in Boulder

Street Person in Boulder

Troubadour

Street Musician in Boulder

Yes, a renaissance faire

2011-09-06T13:21:00.000-04:00

OK, maybe it has become a photographic cliche, but I was looking forward to going to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire in Manheim this past weekend. It has probably been more than ten years since Lesley and I attended. And as we entered the grounds we knew immediately that this event had grown considerably since our last attendance.

But one thing has stayed the same. The actor participants are a lot of fun to photograph and to interact with. As are many of the attendees. It is sort of a Comicon kind of event with many of the attendees in costume and in character. It truly is a photographer's venue and I tried to make the best of it.

In this garish and freewheeling atmosphere it is easy to walk up to anyone and ask for a chance to photograph them. In some cases those in front of the camera are not shy about striking poses and expressing their characters. It is really great fun. You always meet some very interesting people.

Recent Work

2011-08-01T11:11:00.000-04:00

I have had some interesting assignments lately from our county lifestyle magazine. The October issue will feature three senior citizens and their "retirement" activities. The three represent the arts in painting, photography, and singing. As usual, it is always a great experience meeting new people; especially ones that are so talented.

I got some nice images and here are some samples:

Over his life, Fred Bacon has been an artist, an educator, and a world traveler. He is on advisory committees for museums. In his eighties, Fred shows no sign of slowing down. His retirement has become busier than his pre-retirement life. A great person talk to.

Kitty Wise is a self-taught vocalist. She started singing just because she liked it and learned arrangements from recordings she liked. Her husband, Don, and friends and family encouraged her and eventually she put together an act and plays local venues. She has a very faithful following.

Conrad Karlson has had his own photography business as well as an acting career. He has appeared in feature films and television shows. I had met Con before and it was a treat to meet up again and be able to photograph him. All the while talking "photography."

I take my cameras everywhere I go so I don't miss anything. Here are some recent efforts.

The Peconic River in Riverhead, NY. Just after sunset.

A fly fishing expert holding forth at a local cultural event.

A Civil War reenactor.

This jolly guitar player was performing at the Kutztown Folk Festival.

Some cool refreshment at the festival.

Sometime, you just have to get out of the sun and take a rest.

The international headquarters of Penske.

Some training going on at the Pennsylvania Riding Academy.

My brother-in-law's house in Riverhead.

And, again....

By the way, you can click on these images to see a larger version. Hope you enjoy them.

Corporate Portraits

2011-07-21T13:46:00.000-04:00

Just today, I finished an assignment for Berks County Living Magazine. The magazine is doing an article in their September issue on the ten largest employers here in Berks County. My job was to photograph the CEOs, Presidents, Directors, owners, etc. of each of these employers. This was indeed a boon to me as I would be able to get in front of not only the head honchos but the marketing people as well.

I was given the contact information by my editor and I proceeded to make the contacts and arrange to get these photos done. I thought that the best idea would be to take a two-step approach and schedule a scouting visit to select the best location for the shoot and then, schedule the actual shoot. Since many of these VIPs have little time for this sort of thing I wanted to be prepared in advance so I could get them photographed in less than half an hour. In some cases I had only 15 minutes.

In order to work fast and still maintain high quality work, I pared my kit down to a minimum. I used my D700 with a 24-70mm zoom lens and carried a Nikon SB900 speedlight with a 2' x 3' softbox on a lightstand or attached to a monopod (if I had someone to help me). My goal was to blend the speedlight with the existing ambient light. So getting the right settings in advance was crucial. I did several outdoor shots as well using a combination of fill flash, diffusers, reflectors, or just plain natural light.

The preparation worked and the shots look great. Here are a few samples.

The Wild West Way Out East

2011-06-02T13:23:00.001-04:00

You would be hard pressed to find a more American form of entertainment than the rodeo. Professional cowboy athletes participate in the PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association) throughout the country attending events that are put on within the 12 rodeo circuits that exist today. Even in the northeast. The Frontier Circuit handles this part of the country with events in Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.

Probably the premier venue is the Cowtown Rodeo in Salem County, NJ near Woodstown. This is a family owned business that has been in continuous operation (with the exception of the WWII years) since 1929. Four generations of the Harris family have been putting on this weekly event that occurs from Memorial Day through Labor Day each year.

This is down to earth entertainment where you will find the American Flag proudly displayed and the National Anthem sung before each performance. This is family entertainment so there are kids in attendance; most wearing cowboy hats and boots with their jeans and checked shirts and a nice rodeo belt buckle. The rodeo is held outdoors, rain or shine, beginning at 7:30 pm. The fading daylight is augmented with stadium lighting and the event can go on until 11:00.

When I heard about Cowtown, I decided that one of my personal projects in 2011 would be this rodeo. Let's face it, I grew up with John Wayne and, during the '50s, there were as many as 20 westerns on TV. My cousin Arnold, a nice Italian boy from Queens, NY, got interested in rodeo and I believe that he participated at Cowtown riding bulls and bare-back broncs. So I do have a family tie to this place.

Grant Harris, the current patriarch of the Harris Family

On the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, I went down to photograph there for the first time. I had met the current owners the previous week and arranged a pass that got me just about everywhere I needed to be. But I will need to go down again two or three more times to get all the shots I need and portraits of some individual participants. I will be interviewing seven of them to produce a book on Cowtown. Hopefully, I can sell it to a publishing house and use it in my portfolio.

I am looking forward to my next couple of trips so I can complete the photo coverage of this great rodeo. If you can get there, go. You will have a great time.

Personal Project - Dance

2011-05-14T12:05:00.000-04:00

Last year I met several dancers while I was photographing a theatrical production. I loved watching the dancers rehearse and perform. This year I thought I would assign myself a project that would serve as the photojournalism part of my portfolio. Dance in America from the grass roots level came to mind and I have already begun the project. I contacted two of the dancers I met and they were enthusiastic about participating and were able to refer me to others that they thought would help. I plan on doing the photography and the writing and then trying to sell the finished project to a publisher.

The focus will be on young dancers just starting up to professionals who are dancing or teaching for a living. I will also be photographing a number of dance styles from classical ballet to ethnic dancing. Here are some photos that I have taken so far.

This is one of the dancers who I met last year.

A ballet class at the Berks Ballet Theater

A Creative Movement class for youngsters

A class in West African dance

A rehearsal performance by the Berks Ballet Theater

What's dancing without leg warmers?

This project will last most of the year so I am trying to take my time and get the shots I want. There will be rehearsal photos, class photos, and some set piece images that will be set up and lit. Probably some interesting outdoor work. I see ballerinas on rooftops, jazz dancers in the street. I will be cool.

A little "fine art" doesn't hurt

April Fools and All That Jazz

2011-04-08T11:36:00.000-04:00

This April 1st I was in a good place. Had my press pass to the Berks Jazz Fest and was able to photograph Gerald Albright's group from rehearsal and sound checks through the performance. The concert was billed as Gerald Albright and Friends. The friends included trumpeter Rick Braun and trombonist Brian Culbertson. Gerald's daughter, Selina, a really wonderful vocalist, was also in the mix.

I got to the venue at 3:00 pm. The concert didn't start until 7:00 but I wanted to shoot during the sound check. This gives me the opportunity to meet some people and see how the musicians work with one another. The atmosphere is relaxed and you can get some great candid shots. I also knew that my time in front of the band during the performance would be strictly controlled. As it turned out, the photogs had a limit of two songs before we had to leave the front of the stage. Shooting the rehearsals allowed extra time to get good coverage.

Gerald Albright is a real pro. And great with people. He rehearsed carefully and deliberately making sure that phrases were correct and everyone knew their cues. It was obvious that the musicians appreciated his approach. Everyone was relaxed but focused on the job at hand.

Being involved at this stage gives you quite an education about the musicians world. It was interesting watching the sound engineer and lighting technicians work their magic. The stage was crowded with techs running back and forth plugging in cables, adjusting lighting, and checking sound levels from the stage monitors. Through all this commotion the artists worked to polish the act.

I wasn't going to be able to stay for the entire performance so I wanted to make sure that I got some shots of headliners in case I couldn't get them during the first two songs. Selina Albright was not going to be singing until later in the concert but luckily she rehearsed her entire number - a cover of James Brown's "It's a Man's World." She was really great and luckily I was right there to capture the performance.

Once the show got underway, I and about five other photographers were doing our thing at the front of the stage. Crouching down and scuttling like crabs back and forth to get some good angles.

After the first two songs, I took some shots from the side of the auditorium and then went back stage. Earlier on in the day I made sure to introduce myself to the stage manager who was very helpful. He checked with the band manager and told me that as long as I had my pass I could shoot as I pleased. So by the time of the performance my presence backstage and in the wings was established and I had no problem firing away during the performance. Which made for some interesting shots.

The first time Rick Braun played the the Berks Jazz Fest he made quite an impressive entrance down the center isle while playing his trumpet using a wireless mic. I met him during rehearsal and told him how effective I thought that was and he said he was thinking of doing the same thing during this performance. So I was ready for it when he was announced.

All in all, it was a very satisfying gig. Being among very talented people and watching them work is always a rewarding experience. Can't wait for the next performance.

The Funk Band

2011-03-28T11:10:00.001-04:00

This past Friday I was hired to photograph the Dance Hall Docs, a local band, in concert during the Berks Jazz Fest here in Reading, PA. I had photographed them in rehearsal once before and certain members that were part of another group during a performance last year. Always exciting to cover a live performance.

I usually try to get to the venue early for sound checks. This lets me scope the place out and get a feel for camera angles and any problems that might have to be dealt with. If I am lucky, I can also get an idea of what the lighting will be like. The set up for the band was definitely going to pose some problems. All solvable but initially I wasn't sure how!

As you can see from the photo above, there were thirteen members of the band. They were arranged in three tiers. The three singers were up front. Behind them was the horn section (five strong) with the guitar player next to them, stage left. In back of them, was the rhythm section - drums, percussion, and base guitar.

To add to the clutter on stage were music stands and monitors and the drummer and percussionist were surrounded by their gear. The drum set had so many cymbals that it looked like the Fortress of Solitude. Getting photographs of the drummer was important - he was paying me!

Now usually at these events, photographers get the "three songs, no flash" direction from the band. You can shoot up front for the first three selections and then, "Adios, baby!" Luckily, I was basically with the band and I could stay throughout the performance.

The other tricky bit was that the room was set up like a cabaret. Tables instead of row seating. And the place was packed. When you are photographing performances, you want to be as stealthy as possible so as not to be in the way of the audience. That means a lot of crouching and low angle shots from the front, occasionally rising up to get a quick shot. A low angle shot of anything but the front row singers was going to be difficult.

However, I began to see some solutions. There was a dance floor. People would be dancing up front. I could stand and get between the dancers and the stage and get some nice angles. I wouldn't have to worry about the seated audience behind me since the dancers were already in front of them. That worked well.

Also, there was a film crew working and I watched where they positioned themselves during the performance. They were making their way on stage and shooting from the wings. I followed suit. This allowed me to get close to the drummer and percussionist on either side of the stage. It also let me shoot from behind the band which gave me some good images. So all in all the experience was excellent. I shot more than a thousand frames and came up with some shots that I really love.

I processed everything in Lightroom 3.4 with results both in color and monochrome. Here are some examples:

Above is guest singer Brent Carter. He has sung with Tower of Power and one of the three lead singers with the Dance Hall docs on this night.

The toughest people to shoot were the percussionist, the keyboard player (above), and the guitar player. All were at the periphery of the band and were not lit well.

This shot was interesting. The guitar player was close to the edge of the stage (stage left). I got as close to him as I could and, while sitting on the riser to his left, reached around with the camera just below his knees, pointed up, and shot a burst of about four frames. This is the one I liked the best

All in all it was a successful shoot. I was shooting for two hours and the time seemed to fly by. Got home at midnight. Way past my bed time!

Favorite Lens for Favorite Subject

2011-03-21T14:00:00.000-04:00

This past weekend Lesley and I traveled out to see our daughter and her family. That includes our two grandsons. The last trip out, I had taken some photos of our oldest grandson, Jackson, but had not had the opportunity to photographer the younger Mikey. This time I wanted to spend some lens time with the four-year-old.

When I get to select the subject and the venue for a portrait shoot, I usually go to my favorite lens for portraiture - the Nikkor 105mm f2.8. I like to shoot closely framed shots whenever possible and I like to shoot at a wide aperture to throw the background out of focus. This means that I have to be very conscious of my focus point since the depth of field (the width of the field of focus) is very narrow. When photographing a fidgeting four-year-old, this is doubly important.

I didn't need artificial lighting for this project. I knew that in the family's newly added addition, there are very large windows letting in lots of northern light. So I just had to sit Mikey in a comfortable chair next to the window and work from there. It was a swivel chair so I could easily turn the subject toward or away from the light. I did take a reflector along and used it on some of the shots. But mostly the wonderful quality of the light is from that one large source. Nice and diffused.

Mikey was very cooperative during this project. His four-year-old attention span was a bit longer than usual. So I had enough time to create some very nice images.

When I got them home I initially did all the processing in Adobe Lightroom. I am now starting to do some more exacting work in Photoshop. Here are some examples. Oh, I felt that these needed a B &W treatment.

Here is the one Photoshop image I've worked on so far.

And just to show you what the color looked like, here is a sample. I kept the color balance a bit on the warm side.

The Best Camera

2011-03-10T09:32:00.001-05:00

There is no end to the advice given to photographers by other photographers. They can all be taken with a grain of salt since each of us has to develop his own style and approach. However, there are two pieces of advice I have taken to heart.

One: Always carry a camera with you. Two: The best camera is the one (you guessed it) that you have with you. If you don't have a camera with you, you can't take pictures.

So, despite my wife's discomfort, I lug equipment with me on our trips and on little errands around town. You never know what you are going to see.

This past weekend we were out on Long Island and visited my brother-in-law and his family in Riverhead. I like going out there and my brother-in-law, Lindsay, is a great subject. With their three sons living at home there is always an eclectic collection of stuff around that makes for good photographs.

I used a Nikon D700 with the wonderful Nikkor 50mm f1.4 lens. The "normal" lens. I don't use this enough and I reveled in taking some shots with it. Here are some of the results:

Beauty and the Beast

2011-02-03T11:04:00.001-05:00

The incredible storm that pummeled 31 states and affected more than 100,000,000 people clobbered us on the first and second of February. It was a beast. The first part was tolerable with mixed precipitation hitting us on Tuesday - snow, sleet and some freezing rain. Overnight, however, we get a steady deluge of freezing rain that coated everything with significant ice. We here in Berks County, PA did not get the worst of it by far, but we did have touch and go moments. Trees and power lines were knocked down and the roads were treacherous. Lesley and I weren't going anywhere. They didn't do any plowing on Tuesday in our development and on Wednesday the plow didn't get here until late morning and really didn't clear away much of the ice that was blanketing the thoroughfares.

The wind picked up later in the day and the trees on the ridge line across the street were groaning and cracking under the strain of the wind and heavy icing. It was eerie.

That was the bad part. But, as I was out shoveling or taking the dog for a walk (he had fun!), I couldn't help but notice the beauty of such a storm. Every tree and shrub, every branch and bud, were covered in crystalline magnificence. It wasn't long until I got the camera and went out to record the micro part of the storm's deposit. So, I thought I would share some of the images I got. A little bit of God's handiwork in all of the tumult.

An All Weather Sport

2011-01-30T08:50:00.000-05:00

I think that we have probably been programmed in certain ways when it comes to making photographs. We are told that the best light is in the early morning and late afternoon. Why even bother taking the camera out under different conditions? The midday sun is anathema. Harsh shadows, bad light! A sunny day is best. Shun the clouds. Precipitation can be deleterious to your cameras. Stay out of rain and snow. Get your subjects to smile. Even if they look like Dr. Sardonicus. They have to smile.

If we adhered to all this our images would become rather cookie cutter in their "likeness." Really, there are no rules in photography - once you learn the basics of the craft. The object is to create a piece of art. To tell a story from a single moment in time. That moment might be at noon or in a rainstorm. Make the photograph. Tell the story.

A snowstorm is a great time to get out the camera. The big, fat flakes in this photo made the final image look very painterly.

The photo above was taken in Time Square. As I came out of the bus station I noticed that it was raining. This was not in the forecast. But it gave me an added dimension to work with. Colors are more saturated and the wet streets become reflective.

It was 15 degrees out with a stiff wind blowing last January when I was shooting this military reenactment at Fort Indiantown Gap in Pennsylvania. Some wouldn't expose their equipment to these conditions. But I shot for about six hours and got some great images. Well worth the frozen feet!

Some people don't smile naturally. Or they look more natural without a smile. We tried both during the photo session with Mark, above, and I like this shot the best. There is a connection with the subject and the photographer.

A nice candid shot. Unposed. Lindsay was talking with friends and not really aware of the camera. The natural feel of the image and the environment within tells a lot about the subject.

Sometimes you have to take advantage of the immediate situation. I was delivering a print job to a client and he was showing me around his small farm. I was shooting as we went. Then his father walked up and I was introduced. I knew immediately that I had to take a few photos of dad. I asked him to stand in the door way of the barn we were in at the time. I went outside and shot from there. I love this image. No smile but a lot of character.

A Prime Christmas Morning

2010-12-30T14:51:00.001-05:00

Back in the day, when you bought a 35mm single lens reflex (SLR) camera, you not only got the camera body, you got what was called a "normal" lens. It was a 50mm lens with a nice wide open aperture - f1.8 down to f1.2. No zoom lens this. If you needed to get closer to your subject, you had to move your feet. The nice thing about the 50mm lens is that it is great to shoot in low light conditions (because of the wide aperture), and the magnification of the 50mm lens just about matches that of your eyes. So the scene looks very natural.

This past Christmas my wife, Lesley, and I were out visiting our daughter and her family in Somerset County, PA. Our two grandsons are 6 and 4 and still very much into Christmas and Santa Claus. I wanted to photograph the inevitable early morning attack on the presents under the tree. However, I wanted a natural look and did not want to use a flash. It would be too distracting and the results would have been ordinary at best. So, my plan was to use my 50mm f1.4 lens and shoot with available light; room lights and some light coming in from the windows.

I set my D700 to ISO 2500 and the white balance to tungsten and tested the settings. I was shooting at f1.4 at about 1/125 of a second shutter speed. All seemed well. I put the camera on continuous shooting mode and continuous focus in order to catch the focus point. It would be a very narrow depth of field. All I had to do was to follow the kids around as they tore off wrapping paper and opened boxes full of toys. I knew that the results would be in color AND B&W since I wanted to have some shots that were evocative of Christmases back in the '50s when I was a kid.

I had to make some adjustments along the way to aperture settings and had to really concentrate on my focus points. But all went well and the results were great.

A Book Recommendation

2010-11-24T13:10:00.000-05:00

While perusing the racks at Barnes & Noble recently, I came upon a must-have book for photographers. It is The Great Life Photographers, produced by Life and published by Little, Brown and Company. There are hundreds of images packed into a little more than 600 pages. The reproduction is excellent and so many of these photographs are gems.

As a photographer, I never stop looking at others work. It is always instructive to see what your contemporaries are doing, whether the work moves you or not. To be able to see a compendium of work spanning eight decades is an absolute gift. Work from Margaret Bourke-White to Joe McNally is presented in alphabetical order with commentary and background on each photographer. Now the title says, the GREAT Life photographers – implying that there are some that have not been included. The group that is included begs the question, “Are they all equally 'Great'?” Maybe so, maybe not. But the least of them are very, very good.

In order to decide where these photographers fall on an imaginary “greatness” scale you will end up comparing the likes of Phillipe Halsman, Robert Capa, and David Douglas Duncan, to Robert Kelly, Ralph Morse, and Hansel Mieth. They have different styles and different motivations and their subjects differ widely. Can you compare combat photography with “slice of life” Americana? Can you sort out what makes a photo great in one genre as compared to another? A difficult task. And maybe an unnecessary one.

Maybe the best course of action is just to enjoy the book. Over and over again. I have it sitting on our dining room table and each morning, over breakfast, I peruse it again. Personally, I cannot get enough of these images. Some are iconic. Some bring back moments in time that personify a culture or a cultural phenomenon. Some bring to life celebrities who have long passed from the scene or those that remain young and vibrant only in our memories. You can see a very young Mohammed Ali; the painter Jackson Polack at work in his studio; or the Beetles lounging in a hotel pool early in their careers. Combat photos of Duncan and Capa vie with the whimsical “jumping” series of Phillipe Halsman that included Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and Marilyn Monroe.

The Life photographers captured most of the twentieth century on film. All of the momentous events from the '30s on are displayed in this book. I am part of the first year of the baby boomer generation. I was born in December of 1946. My father was in the advertising business (an original Mad Man) and subscribed to all the mainstream magazines. Life, of course, was among them and was my favorite. I think that my love for B&W photography sprang from between the covers of that magazine. There are many images in the book that I remember seeing when they were published in the '50s and '60s. The America in which I grew up is there as well. For those readers that are younger, I can recommend this as a first-hand, visual history of our country and the world. It is a great book to have and one that you will keep for a long time.

Whenever I am out shooting the Life images are always in the back of my mind.

NYC – A Day in the Life

2010-10-19T14:14:00.001-04:00

You would be hard pressed to find a city that is more of an inspiration to photographers than the Big Apple. The ancient charm of European cities notwithstanding, New York has a certain edginess generated by the enormous energy produced by millions of people living and working and creating within the its boundaries. Add to that its ever changing facade; Buildings coming down, buildings going up, buildings being changed. It never stops evolving.

Before moving to Pennsylvania in the spring of 1974, I lived and worked in New York City; lived in Queens, worked in Manhattan. I was a commuter using the bus and subway to get where I wanted to go. Until I joined the military in 1966, I was a New Yorker born and raised. I experienced the first big blackout back in 1965 and I had to walk out of a subway tunnel three times due to power failures. My dad used to bring me into the City when I was a kid to visit at his place of work in mid-town Manhattan. What I miss in the beautiful state of Pennsylvania, is the ability to grab a camera, jump on the subway and emerge in Manhattan only a short time later. I used to do that a lot back in the day.

A short time ago, I decided that it was time to do some photography in “The City.” Even though New York City is made up of the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island, and the Bronx – if you are going into Manhattan, you are going “into The City.” Things have changed quite a bit since I was last in Manhattan and I was looking forward to recording those changes. My plan was to take a bus into the Port Authority Bus Terminal and range north, east, south, and west as far as I could in about six hours. I wanted to focus on the Times Square area first and then work outward - taking advantage of any opportunities that might present themselves.

I arrived in Gotham at 8:00 am and emerged from the bus terminal to an overcast sky and intermittent showers. The forecast had missed this part but it was supposed to clear later on. However, the rain, wet streets, and the umbrellas added a lot of interest to the photos. One thing that I noticed that was new to me was the amount of animated signage in the Times Square area. Whole sides of buildings were now LCD screens displaying advertisements for movies and shows and just about anything else you could think of. With the rain darkening skies, it looked like something out of “Blade Runner” or any other Ridley Scott film you may have seen. There was so much graphic information being directed at the people heading to work that it was almost overwhelming. I suppose that the natives pretty well ignore it but for those of us that are visiting it was mind blowing.

It took me a while to settle in with my camera. At first I was shooting everything that I saw but I did calm down and become more selective. More than anything I wanted to capture the vitality and pulse of the city along with the people that make everything happen. There were more people in constant motion than I remembered. All day long. Not to mention the taxis buses and trucks that choked the streets.

My travels took me uptown to 52^nd and 5^th, which put me in the vicinity of Rockefeller Center and my dad's old office building at 666 Fifth Ave. And farther downtown to 32^nd^th Avenue. In between I took in Saint Patrick's Cathedral (being renovated), the Public Library (being renovated), Bryant Park, Herald Square, Radio City Music Hall, and, of course, Times Square and Broadway. I even did something that I neglected to do in all the years I lived in New York. I went up in the Empire State Building.

I had my lunch planned well before I made the trip. There is one thing that I have not been able to get in PA (my part of PA, anyway) and that is a good hot pastrami sandwich. When lunchtime rolled around, I took out my Droid X, pulled up the map app, and typed “deli” in the search function. It gave me quite a few choices but the closest deli was Ben's Kosher Deli just a few blocks away. I was there in ten minutes and shortly thereafter I was enjoying my pastrami with a nice pickle, coleslaw, and, to drink, Dr. Brown's Cel Ray Tonic. Perfect. I took a picture with the phone and sent it to my wife. She said later that it was torture. Nothing like a good hot pastrami sandwich.

Around two thirty I was getting tired. My back was aching a bit and my feet were complaining. It was time to head home. I hoofed it over to Port Authority and found the gate for my bus (which was NOT easy) and waited a short time for the three o'clock bus back to Reading. Three and a half hours later I was home with close to five hundred images to process. Heaven.

ps: you can see some of my selections at: http://www.pbase.com/mnoble/nyc

Theater Photography: Georgia O'Keeffe - A Woman on Paper

2010-09-21T14:34:00.000-04:00

Well, after almost three months, my photo project documenting the world premier production, “Georgia O'Keeffe – A Woman on Paper,” has ended. I was able to photograph rehearsals and performances with unfettered access. The cast and crew were completely cooperative (I even got releases!) and made the job that much easier.

This was my first time photographing a theater production. The experience I had in photographing live music performances stood me in good stead. I used the same basic techniques for the theater as I did with music groups. The main goal is to get your exposures right. In the theater, that is a little more complicated as the actors may be walking in and out of the lighting schemes and the lighting may change from scene to scene. Not just the intensity, but the light temperature due to use of gels on the spots. And, of course, you can have different colored lighting in one scene.

My testing put me in the right range for all the performances. The cameras' ISO were set for 800 and my aperture ranges were from f2.8 – f4.0 ( down to f1.4 with my 50mm lens) with shutter speeds ranging from 1/50 – 1/160. The more I shot, the quicker I was able to adjust the lighting through the viewfinder on the fly. One tip I might emphasize is to know where your controls are on the camera so you can make those adjustments without taking your eye from the camera. The action on stage does not stop and you can miss that perfect gesture or expression each time you “chimp” or stop to look at the controls.

For both dress rehearsals and the premier performance I shot from the audience's perspective. During the first dress rehearsal, there was no audience. I was actually able to walk around with one camera on a tripod (using the Nikkor 70-200) and the other slung from my shoulder with the Black Rapid sling strap. For the second dress rehearsal, there was a small audience and although I could roam the theater I had to be careful not to block anyone's view. I ditched the tripod and carried both cameras – one in hand and one on the sling.

For the premier, I confined myself to the balcony, shooting from both wings. That worked rather well and gave another perspective to the images. The last performance was a matinee and was sold out. I spent my time during this performance shooting from the wings on either side of the stage. This let me get another perspective to the same scenes that I had already photographed.

All told, between all the rehearsals and performances, I had more than 5,000 frames shot. Most of the processing was done in Adobe Lightroom 3.2 except the early B&W rehearsal shots which were done in Photoshop CS4 with the NIK Silver Efex plug-in. I don't know how many hours were spent in processing but they were considerable. I certainly gained some experience in organizing files for this large a project. And I can credit Lightroom's Library Module with making that organization go more smoothly.

One tip I can pass on has to do with adjusting shadows within the image. With this kind of photography you are concentrating on exposing for the highlights produced by those big spots that follow the actors around the stage. Your shadows are definitely going to be clipped. Given our experience with striving for a complete tonal range you may be tempted to bring out as much detail as you can in the shadows and ¾ tones. Don't. If you do (if you are shooting RAW files, you can get that detail) you are going to bring out a lot of noise. It is inevitable. There is no reason not to leave the blacks alone or just do the minimal necessary to get some detail. Lightroom's noise reduction is excellent but you can still lose some detail when you use it. Just like specular highlights can be acceptable in your images, so the black shadows are OK in this kind of photography. Each play will be lit differently. This one had some scenes where part of the stage and the actors or dancers in them were kept in relative darkness and to get those shots you have to remain flexible and adjust your ISO or get a faster lens.

All in all this was a wonderful experience. I met a lot of really nice people (one of the great perqs of this business) and gained a lot of valuable experience. I got a lot better at handling my equipment and eyeballing exposure adjustments on the fly. And, while I was working in the wings and backstage, I got really good at keeping out of the way as actors streamed on and off the stage. Backstage, everything is on a really tight schedule. I quickly found nooks and crannies wherein I could hide while scenes changed.

I am certainly waiting for my next theater project.

Orchestra Rehearsal

2010-09-08T18:32:00.000-04:00

The beat goes on with the OperaLancaster photo project. (See my earlier post.) A week from today is the world premier. Dress rehearsals are on Monday and Tuesday. Final performances are from Wednesday through Sunday. Very exciting.

Last evening was the first rehearsal with the orchestra. The entire cast met at the Hempfield Senior High School in Landisville, PA using the small, but well equipped auditorium. I loved it. I didn't have to climb three flights of stairs as I did at the regular rehearsal venue and the lighting was great. No worrying about flicker rates and weak light fixtures. The lighting was even and fairly strong. I could shoot at ISO 1600 with ease.

I loved having an orchestra to photograph. This was their first run through and everyone was basically sight reading the score. It was relaxed and a little laid back. From what I heard, I think everyone will be ready for opening night.

I loved being able to shoot close-ups of the musicians and their instruments. I was using two lenses. I started with the Nikkor 24-70 to get establishing shots and then switched to the 70-200 f2.8 to move in close. I was shooting from a tripod which helped a great deal. My shutter speeds were anywhere from 1/80 to 1/200 of a second with a narrow depth of field. The stabilization of the tripod was indispensable.

I should be able to use the tripod through the dress rehearsals. For the performances, I will have to be a bit less obtrusive so I will switch to a monopod. Last night I was able to get very close to the action and the performers were not focusing on me at all which is always a good thing for candid shooting.

This was the first set of images that I processed in color. All the previous rehearsals ended up as B&W. The lighting and the new venue influenced my decision. The auditorium was lit from high intensity fluorescent lights (pretty near daylight balanced) from fixtures on the ceiling (40 feet give or take). As you can see from the images the light was soft and even.

The next challenge will be the stage lighting. I will be checking out the performance venue tomorrow morning and will be talking with the theater's lighting technician. They won't be hanging the lights until Sunday so I may go out then to check what's going on. Monday is the first dress rehearsal and all the lighting will be set. We have two dress rehearsals which should be enough for me to get my camera settings right for the final performances.

By the way, the production (Georgia O'Keeffe - A Woman on Paper) is excellent. Music, lyrics, everything. You can check out the show information at http://www.operalancaster.com/okeeffe/. I am hoping that the production will be good enough to travel on from Lancaster, PA to the Big Apple. I think that it is good enough.

County Fair - One Camera, one lens

2010-08-30T15:26:00.000-04:00

This past weekend we took a trip out to see our daughter and her family in Somerset County, PA. We got there on Friday night in time to get some conversation in and discuss plans for the weekend. We were notified that Saturday was the last day of the Somerset County Fair, held in Myersdale. My first thoughts were, "What a great photo op." I can't help it, it's just the way I think. I asked if we could arrive at about 6 pm while the sun was beginning to get low in the sky and there would be about two hours until the sun started setting. The answer was, "we'll see." I don't think that the rest of the family thinks the same way that I do about events.

The fair presented a couple of challenges. I thought of all the color associated with carnival rides and the many concessions that were bound to be there. Not to mention that beautiful time of day as the sun is setting and the sky becomes a beautiful, saturated blue contrasting with the warmer lights of the carnival.I also thought that this would also be a photo-journalistic event and that B&W photography would also be appropriate for documenting the fair. Fair enough. Not a problem with today's digital cameras.

I also wanted to be as unobtrusive as possible so I decided to use one camera and one lens. I wanted to melt into the crowd. I decided on the Nikon D700 with my 24-70 zoom. If I needed to get closer, I would just have to use my feet. I put the camera on a Rapid Black sling so I could carry it easily and have it instantly at hand. I was ready.

I took a lot of photos of this ferris wheel. This one was taken between 6:30 and 7:00 pm.

This one was taken a bit later. The sun was down and the sky was getting that great color. And the combination of colored lights, powerful spotlights, and concession stand illumination gave each scene a slightly surreal look.

Some of the rides were definitely other-worldly in the evening light. Spaceships landing.

The light lent itself to experimentation with aperture and shutter speed. This shot was panned during the shutter release for a very colorful abstract.

This kind of venue is a good opportunity for candids of people. I experimented with some "hip shooting" as well as conventional framing. When I felt the subjects might be distracted by the camera I went for the more discreet shutter click. As I was going through the images during processing, It was interesting to see how people reacted to me when they realized a camera was pointed in their direction. Some smiled, some frowned. Some showed curiosity and some showed animosity. No one, however, objected.

Because of the crowds, I was able to keep circling the carnival area and take as many pictures as I wanted without attracting attention.

These teenagers were occupied with other things so I was probably invisible to them.

Being a fair, there were also livestock on display and being judged. Pictured here is the largest horse I have ever seen in person. His back was higher than my head. He seemed to be way too large for his stall. Bobby Decker is one big boy.

And what is a County Fair without hogs?

We stayed until about 9:30 and then headed home. But not before I got a shot of my daughter and her two sons. Mikey on the left and Jackson on the right.

All in all a nice evening. The kids loved the rides and the food. (Not exactly haute cuisine.) The adults loved watching the kids. I think that I will have to make a point of going again next year. Maybe watch the demolition derby this time!

The People You Meet

2010-08-25T07:40:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I photographed a sprightly senior citizen who happens to be a world class quilter. The assignment came from Berks County Living Magazine and the subject was Jane Blair, a self-taught quilter with a national reputation.

After finishing a career teaching third graders, Jane, now 84, took up quilting and has been at it more than 30 years. She has lectured and participated in shows all over the country and was invited to have her quilts represent American quilt making in international forums. Jane has works in several permanent and private collections including the Museum of American Folk Art, New York, NY, and the National Quilt Museum, Paducah, KY.

Jane's work is stunning. I think that we may be used to seeing more traditional patterns in quilting and variations of those. Jane's work is original and quite painterly. The detail, use of color, and artistic interpretation, is exceptional.

Jane lives in a retirement community with her husband, Warren, who is an outstanding watercolorist. Their work graciously adorns the walls of the facility in which they live.

One of the top benefits of being a photographer is the opportunity to meet a wide variety of people. And, most of the time, these people enrich your life. That benefit is hard to measure but it is, indeed, a blessing. It makes lugging equipment around and solving the problems that each shoot brings, a whole lot easier.

Thanks, Jane.

Southern Exposure

2010-08-22T12:16:00.000-04:00

Lesley and I live in a beautiful development in Centre Township in Berks County, PA. There are 36 lots in this sub-division and each one is a minimum of two acres. We are the antithesis of the "McMansions" that have sprung up around the country. Instead of an enormous house on a tiny lot, we have a modest house on a large lot. Works out great. Neighbors are close but not too close.

Our house faces due north. From the back of the house, from our modest little deck we have a wonderful view of our development. Since we are at one of the higher points within the development, we can oversee everything to the south of us. We get beautiful sunrises and sunsets; the character of the view changes with the seasons, with the weather, and with the time of day. For a photographer it is a real blessing. There have been many times when I have been moved to grab a camera and go out on the deck to capture beautiful light or a fantastic cloud formation. It goes on and on.

The photo above might be cheating a bit. This is a composite image. The sky came from a different picture. However, both were taken from the same place. There is quite a controversy about altering images either to add something that wasn't there, or remove something that was. For me, this just enhanced the B&W image and gives it a slightly surreal quality. Chacun a son gout.

There was a bit of artistic license take with this image. I was looking for an "old time" color photograph look. Less saturation.

The bright look of a winter's day with snow on the ground. Even the camera has to squint.

This view is looking slightly east from the deck. The cloud formations are often spectacular and completely irresistible to the photographic eye.

I particularly like the pastel colors in this photograph. The lighting is soft and indirect. The low lying fog makes the picture.

Simple Lighting

2010-08-10T15:00:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday I photographed part of the cast of the play I am documenting. The play is about Georgia O'Keeffe and Alfred Steiglitz. There are quite a few photographic images of Georgia and I wanted to recreate a few of them to include in the book I am going to publish about this production. The actors, the director, and the author got together with me to select costume and props for the shots we were going to do. My idea was not to duplicate the shots precisely but rather to create similar images with a new interpretation.

We had a small time window to get these shots done having to take into consideration the actors' availability, the time to use the rehearsal room before the actual rehearsal started and the set up and break down of equipment. For the shots we selected, I chose to use speed lights, reflectors, and an umbrella or two. I wanted to keep the set-up simple (the originals were pretty simple) and easy to adjust. So what we ended up with was one light, a shoot-through umbrella, and a reflector for the main subject. In one shot I needed an extra light to illuminate a cow skull. (It was Georgia O'Keeffe after all).

The shoot went off on schedule and we moved through the different shots efficiently so we were on time. I liked all but one shot. Now these are going to be in B&W just as the originals were. But as I looked at the results in Photoshop, I fell in love with the color versions. The shoot through umbrella with the single Nikon SB900 speed light was great. I positioned the light as close as I could to produce a rich and soft light. Worked like a charm.

I did a bit of retouching in post and the resulting images were much to my liking. You can see both versions below:

It was a really fun shoot. Everyone was into the concept and that made it a lot easier to realize.

A Significant Anniversary

2010-08-05T14:17:00.000-04:00

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Adobe's premier image editing software, Photoshop. It's hard to believe that it has been around that long. I started using it in 1990 as part of my job in the digital pre-press area of commercial printing. I like to say that I have been working with Photoshop since it didn't work. That's a bit of an exaggeration but not far off the mark.

It took a long time for the earliest versions to render an effect. There were no layers. Creating a drop shadow was truly a challenge. But at that time, at the dawn of "Desktop Publishing," Photoshop was quite a miracle. As the years went by, it was the key piece of software for color correcting images for the printing press. We had a technician in our shop that was color blind but still did color correction in Photoshop because he could measure the results and make corrections "by the numbers" in Photoshop.

Photographers themselves didn't get into the mix completely until fairly recently. Even in the early part of this decade, the quality and resolution if the camera processors was not acknowledged to be up to par. But, today, most photographers are using digital and most are using Photoshop to post-process their images. Even some of the old lions who don't go to the computer themselves have hip, young staffers to do that work. There are, of course some who still stick to film. Just like there are those in the audiophile world who prefer vinyl to CDs. But there is no question that the mating of digital photography and Photoshop is a match made in heaven.

Now the knock on Photoshop is that people using the myriad of tools tucked away within the software end up over-processing their images. They use the filters and plug-ins and special effects capabilities because they are there and not because the picture calls for it. Well that's probably right. Maybe there are a bit too many bells and whistles. But, remember, Photoshop is for designers as well as photographers. Nevertheless, most professionals in photography use Photoshop to enhance their work; to get the best image possible from the digital negative.

The older pros probably do the least processing. They are conditioned from many years shooting film to get everything right in camera. So there vision is on the LCD in the field. They have larger budgets, assistants, LOTS of equipment to bring to the job. Folks who are starting out, regardless of how many years they have been shooting, may not be able to bring that to the table. Instead of five speed lights we have two. We may work alone. We can't light every nook and cranny of the shot. So we have to get the best shot we can while being cognizant of what the capabilities are in post. What can I do in the field that will allow me to get the best result in post?

It is a slightly different way of working. But this wonderful piece of software, this "darkroom in a box," gives me a leg up and helps me compete. It is, indeed, a great little invention.

Happy birthday, Photoshop.

When things go terribly wrong.

2010-08-03T10:05:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday, I had to do about twenty head shots for the cast of the play that I am documenting. (See my previous post.) Since it was a small set-up, I planned to use a simple, two light setup with a reflector for fill. Basic stuff. I use Nikon cameras and speed lights so I can control the flashes from the remote SU800 controller mounted on the camera.

Nikon's Creative Lighting System allows you to use three groups of flashes (A,B,C) with more than one flash available in each group. You can control the output of the flashes right from the SU800. Very neat. There was only one problem. I had labeled my cameras incorrectly. Don't know how I mixed that up - they are, of course identical units. So what I thought was unit A was actually unit B. I had B set up as the main light above the subject at camera right and A set up as an accent light coming from behind the subject at camera left. I had a collapsible reflector to the subjects right for fill.

As I was setting the lights, I was feeling like I was working against them rather than working with them. My adjustments didn't seem like they were doing the job. And, of course, they weren't. When I though I was increasing the power on B, I was actually increasing the power on A.

Well I blundered on through the session and managed to get good shots. But it didn't dawn on me until I checked the units at home, what I had done. I felt like an idiot.

Main lesson learned? Always, ALWAYS, check your equipment settings before you go into the field. And while you are at it, always remember to zero your camera settings as well.

On top of that bit of trouble, My 70-200 f2.8 zoom lens was having an incredible amount of trouble focusing. I tried both range settings on the lens and turned up the room lights as well, but it continued to be a problem. Hadn't had trouble before. I ended up having to focus manually. (You remember that, don't you?) Sometime the lens would stop focusing (I thought it had found the focus point) but found out that it hadn't focused on the right point. Very frustrating. But, following Joe McNally's advice of, "Never let 'em see you sweat," I soldiered on and got the shots.

All lessons learned and I will be a better photographer for the next go 'round.

Joe McNally Workshop

2010-07-28T14:43:00.000-04:00

What is it worth to be able to spend some time with a person who is renown in the same field of endeavor - whether avocation or vocation? It's hard to put a value on it. This past Tuesday, I got to spend some time with one of our best commercial photographers. Joe McNally has been working with the likes of Life Magazine, National Geographic, and other clients that have come to appreciate and rely on his expertise for thirty years. He is top of the line.

Besides traveling on jobs, blogging, and filming video tutorials for Scott Kelby Training, Joe takes the time to teach with a series of workshops that he puts on all over the country and overseas. I was able to sign up for one of his workshops on advanced flash lighting. It was held in an old, but still functioning, building in Dobbs Ferry, NY.

There were 15 in the class which is the maximum. Joe's excellent crew took good care of everyone - answering questions, handing out water, helping with setups. They arrive before the class unloading tons of equipment and setting up photo bays in which the attendees get to work. It was like being a kid in the proverbial candy store. There were representatives from Datacolor and Manfrotto as well who showed off their products.

What we did for most of the day was to set up different lighting scenarios and to then follow the decisions made from setting the initial main light to the finished lighting for that particular shot. Joe worked with a tethered Nikon D3X. Each shot in the sequence could be viewed on monitors so we could see the evolution of the lighting set-up. Joe would comment on his decisions and we could then see the results. Joe also took suggestions from the class and incorporated that into his teaching.

We were supplied with four models from a NY modeling agency. And later in the day, we broke up into groups and got to spend two hours picking our own locations within the building and setting up our own lighting schemes. The models ranged from seasoned pros to those just starting out. They were all good and quite helpful. If you haven't worked with professional talent, it is quite an experience.

Having seen Joe on videos and reading his books, having him there in person was a bit of a reality check. I was setting lights in one location and the next thing I was aware of was Joe leaning over my shoulder and asking, "Mike, were is your frame?"

He then proceeded to show me how best to set the main light and why. All with tact and empathy. It was the best part of the day.

The day was ten hours long and went by rather quickly. Hopefully, I will be able to get to another workshop as Joe develops them. You can't stop learning your craft. And it would be hard to find someone better suited to help with that improvement than Joe.

Did I mention that it was his birthday?

Attending a Joe McNally Photo Workshop

2010-07-25T09:46:00.000-04:00

I will be attending JOE MCNALLY'S ONE-DAY ADVANCED LIGHTING WORKSHOP being held this Tuesday in Dobbs Ferry, NY. I have learned a lot from Joe over the last couple of years through his books and video tutorials.

Not only is he a top flight pro (think Life Magazine, National Geographic, etc.) with more than 30 years experience, but he is an excellent teacher with a great sense of humor. The workshop is held in an old warehouse and models are hired to pose and be photographed by the attendees. Joe and his crew will set up the lighting; explaining the what and why as we go along. I fully expect to get more than my money's worth from this event. Maybe I will get Joe to sign one of my books.

I will share the experience here after I get back. Can't wait.

Theatrical Production

2010-07-23T08:47:00.001-04:00

From June through September I am working with OperaLancaster to document their production of Georgia O'Keeffe - A Woman on Paper that will have it's world premier in Lancaster, PA in September. This was an opportunity for me to do some photo-journalistic work and add it to my portfolio. I will be photographing the rehearsals, dress rehearsals, and final performances as well as doing portraits of the cast members.

The rehearsals are being shot in B&W and the performances will be in color. I have shot musicians in performance but have not had the opportunity to photograph actors, dancers, singers, etc. The challenge here is to capture a moment while everything is in motion. Challenging but an awful lot of fun. The cast and crew are wonderful to work with.
Georgia O'Keeffe had a relationship with the photographer Alfred Steiglitz. This play is about that relationship. One of my goals it to recreate some of the photographs that Steiglitz took of O'Keeffe.

I will be publishing a book after all the images have been taken. I am looking forward to that experience.

Reenactment Photography

2010-07-23T08:13:00.000-04:00

Photographing historical reenactments is one of my favorite things to do. You meet the most interesting people and usually end up learning a good bit of history. These events are also a photographer's paradise. There are so many opportunities.

Over the years, I have photographed reenactments of the Civil War, Revolutionary War, and WWII. Additionally, I try to get to historical sites like Mystic Seaport in Connecticut or Old Bethpage Village on Long Island.

Photographing people is one of the most satisfying and challenging things you can do with a camera. The reenactors at these events are very approachable. I don't think I have ever encountered a shy reenactor. They will share their passion with you and most are extremely knowledgeable about the historic period they represent and much of the minutia that goes into their clothing and equipment.

As I wander around the encampment, I stop to strike up a conversation and ask some questions. Invariably I get responses from all the individuals. I then ask if I can take some photos. I've never been turned down. Most subjects will also take some direction and let you pose them as you like. This can be helpful in getting the light right and emphasizing their strongest features. And, depending on the venue, you can position them to eliminate any anachronisms from the shot. I don't like spending valuable processing time removing Porto-Potties from the background of a photo!

I cover these events as a photojournalist. Getting overall shots, detail shots, and medium views. I try to tell the story of the event. Recently, though, I find that I am concentrating on the people more than equipment, vehicles, etc. To me it's more rewarding.

You don't have to carry a lot of equipment around to get your shots. I usually carry two cameras. One with a wide-angle to telephoto zoom and the other a longer telephoto zoom. Although, I have used a single camera and lens combination.

The folks involved with these events are very friendly and I have been able to sell some images. I carry my business cards with me and hand them out to the folks I photograph.