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Photo Gauntlet

Gauntlet: Photographic Surprises Keep Viewer Entertained

Fri, 02/03/2012 - 05:37

 

By Gary Fong
Click Photo to Enlarge
 
 Figure 1
 
When shooting, unexpected technical elements of a photo can be a delightful surprise for the reader. More than likely, it’s something the reader didn’t expect to see, which keeps him or her on the page.
 
Shooters see the world through the viewfinder.  Every once in awhile, unexpected happenings land in front of the lens.  It could be the subject responding uncharacteristically, a visual element coming into frame, or stray light that crosses the focus axis. Whatever it is, it’s an element we didn’t anticipate.
 
 
Now for the Nit Picking
 
Shooting into the sun often produces an internal lens reflection that shows up as a beam of diminishing hexagonal light in the form of a column across the frame. Some people call it a starburst.  The more glass elements in the lens, the more hexagon reflections appear in the starburst.
 
The hexagon shape is due to the iris opening of the aperture.  On occasion, a circular reflection appears, rather than a hexagon.  The “ring” of light lends a different connotation. It doesn’t feel like a starburst, but the circle of life or the wonders of the new age.
 
Whatever it means, it means something different to different people….and for those people, it’s usually a delightful surprise.
 
But let’s backup a moment to a word of caution.  When shooting the sun, one must be very careful not to look directly into the brightness. It’s like looking at the sun through a telescope, which enhances the light…and could damage your optic nerve, not to mention your eyeball.  
 
When looking at the sun through the viewfinder, compose as usually.  There’s not going to any question about where the sun is in the frame.  It’s the brightest thing in the sky…and that’s no surprise.
 

Gauntlet: Graceful Eye Movement

Wed, 01/25/2012 - 06:30

by Gary Fong
Photographer: Seong Joon Cho
Click photo to enlarge

 

 Korean River

 
Composition is all about eye movement through frame. The desire of the artist/photographer is to move the viewer’s eye, gracefully around the frame, picking up the details of the image, to convey the story. The most successful photos accomplish the exchange in an instant.
 
Seong Joon Cho is a young photographer in South Korea, starting his career photographing for travel magazines and business news….not to mention starting a new life with his new wife. He’s not conventional about the way he sees pictures…but more traditional…perhaps more traditionally Asian.
 
 

Now for the Nit Picking

 
Seong’s winding sea at low tide in Suncheonman Bay, South Korea, reminds me of the Snake River in Yosemite National Park. It has a traditional “S” shape through the frame that moves the eye gracefully to the details. It’s wonderful.
 
However one Item that bothers me is the boat making its way through the river. It almost cries out to be faster, or higher in frame. It may have been a youthful moment of impatience or the timing of the sun coming or going behind the mountains, but the boat feels in the wrong place.
 
Yes…I know…it’s easy for me to say….because I don’t have to paddle the boat faster for young Mr. Cho’s picture… And yes….I can hear a few of our readers saying “PhotoShop it!” But one will have to appreciate the greater wonderment if the integrity of the image is maintained as a genuine photo.
 
Pictures are not made by the skill of our PhotoShopping, but by the discovery of our senses. That’s part of the secret joy of photography…the discovery.
 

Gauntlet: Of Wax and Softboxes

Wed, 01/18/2012 - 10:04
By Gary Fong
Photographer: Roy Niswanger, http://www.flickr.com/photos/motleypixel
 
Figure 1
 
Antique cars and photography seem to be a good fit for each other.  Cameras need to find something to photograph…and old cars need to be admired.
 
Roy Niswanger, noted photographer gone equipment wild, because his collection of cameras and lenses are something he enjoys talking about…not to mention reverse engineering a Minolta lens for a Canon body.
 
 
Now for the Nit Picking
 
Shooting classic cars is all about showing the detailed work and appreciating the hundreds of man-hours making the car come alive. To make the wax glisten in a photograph, one needs to control the light.
 
Sometimes direct sunlight creates unwanted specular highlights over the details and car body. But indirect light can illuminate the detail, bringing out the contours of the body.  
 
A large overhead studio softbox is generally used to highlight the soft contours in a static indoor environment.  However, take the car on the open road…and it’s different set of dynamics that could get even more dynamic if the wind should gust the wrong way.
 
Waiting for the right time of day, Roy let the overcast sky create the “biggest softbox” in the world, slow the shutter speed down to 1/30 and drive like crazy.
 
Speaking of driving like crazy, who’s driving on the wrong side of the road?  One could say, the antique car…but what if he were driving on a road in England? Photography is a matter of perspective….so is driving to some photographers.