by tmoffett | Jan 6, 2011 | Color, Photographic Philosophy
Low Lying Clouds
What is style? In a nutshell, it is you! It is how you see. It is what you are about.
Developing a personal style is a must for successful photographers. It is something that takes time. It will develop when we don’t think about it. Think about it too much and you may hinder its development. There are some things, however that will help in developing your style. The first is to make photographs! Lots of them. Look at and critique your work. Then study other photographers and artists. Look at a lot of images. Shoot some more and critique more. Show other artists your work and discuss it with them. All of this will help, but you must give it time. Possibly years.
I remember the first time I realized that I was developing a style. I had printed a set of work for a gallery showing, and upon completion, I delivered the work to the gallery and as I laid it out and looked at it as a whole, I was taken aback. I could see myself in the images. It was wonderful and scary at the same time.
I have since paid more attention to my work and noticed a thread of continuity. Even my portraits feel similar to the landscapes. Style is what binds the photographs together. My style is what happens when I photograph by instinct. I see, I feel, I photograph. The photograph is me.
by tmoffett | Dec 21, 2010 | Color, Photographic Philosophy
Sunset, Yachats, Oregon
…I keep shooting! I really like the look and feel of landscape photographs made after the sun has set. The long exposure time and the cool light of the evening sky create an interesting feel. It is not the usual colors of the daytime that we are so accustomed to seeing. It is also not something that is easy to photograph. I have had to train my eye to see as the camera sees. Focusing can become an issue as well as it gets dark. Knowing how much to adjust the exposure to brighten the image up just enough to show depth and feeling, but not going too far so as to create a “daylight” kind of look. Then there is the challenge of motion, as the long shutter speeds will record anything that moves as a blur. All of these issues can work together for the good of the image, or just as easily destroy it. Learning to make it work is a challenge that when mastered opens up the door to creativity and self expression in a way unlike any other. It has brought new life and vision to me as a photographic artist.
by tmoffett | Dec 13, 2010 | Architecture, Color, Photographic Philosophy
House By The Sea
Photography is more than just creating Fine Art images. It can be used for many purposes. A camera is a great documentary tool. Snapshots definitely have their purpose. I have and use a point and shoot camera for this purpose. Photographing life as it happens is a great thing to do. I forget too easily what my kids were like just a few months ago, and photographs of them in their activities helps keep those memories alive. I have not posted any of these documentary images in the past, but have been considering doing so in the future. It is part of who I am and what influences my art.
I am not an architectural photographer by any means, however as I was returning to my car after an evening at the ocean I noticed this interesting house, so I took a moment to photograph it. The sun had long since descended below the horizon and the last light was fast departing, so I had to hurry and get what I could get. Maybe someday I will return when the light is perfect and try this again. I can visualize the color of a nice sunset reflecting off the windows. As is, this is a nice documentary image that reminds me of a great evening that I had on the coast this past October.
by tmoffett | Dec 6, 2010 | Color, Landscape, Photographic Philosophy
Snowed In
The other day I was spending some time out at the lake after a snowstorm had passed. It was a beautiful sight. The lake was starting to freeze over and the terrain was covered in a blanket of snow. It was quiet and calm. A perfect day to spend thinking and pondering… and photographing.
While many times I go photographing with others, this day I was alone. Just me and my camera, and the lake. Normally I work quite slow. I see something, I think about it and then photograph it, after I have determined what it is that has drawn me to the subject. When I am alone I work even slower. I really like to soak up the environment and feel my surroundings. Then I attempt to photograph my feelings. On this day, in the bitter cold there was still a warmth in the environment. I love the fresh fallen snow and could feel the warmth exuding from its depths. As I walked the shore of the lake I was drawn to individual, isolated brush and leaves protruding from the depths of the snow along my path. It was this that I chose to photograph. The warm, yellow brush extending beyond the surface of the cool blue of the snow showed a clear visual of exactly what I was feeling. Even though the color in this image is very subtle, it is necessary.
by tmoffett | Nov 26, 2010 | Composition, Landscape, Photographic Philosophy
Wintery Reflections, Payette Lake
I see things simply. Somehow I can find the simple elements that together make utter chaos. We live in a a very fast-paced, even chaotic world, that unless we somehow simplify, will drive even the best of us insane. For some reason I was blessed with the ability to see simply, not just simply see. I admire photographers who can photograph the busy, complicated scene and have it make sense, but for me, I cannot do that. My style is to find the one element within a chaotic scene that shows simplicity, isolate it and render it in a quiet manner. I don’t know how I do it, it just seems to happen.
When looking at things in a simple way, consideration of space becomes crucial. Negative space creates a setting for the main subject, and can either make or break the impact of the image. If the placement is perfect, then large amounts of negative space enhance the visual impact of the photograph, imperfect placement will kill it. Being able to quickly evaluate a scene and make adjustments to maximize the impact before pressing the shutter is critical to the success of a simple image.
I love giving my students the assignment to photograph simplicity and then watch them struggle. Young people today are multi-taskers to the point of not even being able to recognize simple things. They live fast and complicated lives. Yet when the power of simplicity clicks in their minds their whole attitude changes for the better. A whole new world opens up for them to explore. It is a wonderful transformation to witness. Your challenge today is to find something simple and create something wonderful from it!
by tmoffett | Nov 24, 2010 | Color, Composition, Landscape, Photographic Philosophy, Photographic Technique
Autumn Breeze
One of the keys to great photography is to isolate your subject. So many times I see images that have numerous main subjects. They are confusing to look at because I don’t know what I am supposed to look at. It seems that the photographer has “taken” a picture without thinking before pressing the shutter. When creating a photograph (vrs. taking a picture) I am always thinking while I am working. I work slowly so that every detail is considered. The first thing I consider is what the main subject really is. Are there conflicting subjects? If so, how do I resolve the conflict? Would the photograph be better by eliminating part of it? Maybe there are multiple photographs to be made instead of just one.
The second thing that I consider is how to isolate the subject so that there is no question as to what the viewer is to look at. Do I use a wide open aperture so that the background blurs out or is the background an important element of the image? Can I change my camera angle so as to isolate the subject against a non-distracting background? That was the case in the photograph above. The sky was dark enough to not distract yet had some texture in the clouds for interest. The bluish tint in the sky perfectly complimented the golden color of the dry grasses, making it an ideal backdrop for the photograph.
Taking time to think while photographing can make all the difference between just taking a snapshot and really creating something nice! I would much rather return from photographing with one really nice image than a hundred mediocre snapshots.
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