INSPIRATION vs. INTIMIDATION

While some family and friends might provide honest feedback, at some point you will need to leave your comfort zone and seek professional critiques if you hope to grow.

As I was thinking about this blog post I came across a quote in Guy Kawasaki's book APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur-How to Publish a Book. While Kawasaki is talking about writers, I easily substituted photographer and it wrapped up something that I have thought about often over the years.

"Don't let successful writers [photographers] awe you. ...it's OK for you to admire them for the quality of their writing [photography] or their success. However, don't let other authors [photographers] awe you, because this is the first step to envy and self-doubt."

The final two words, self-doubt, really struck home. I was never envious of other photographers, but I have struggled with self-doubt my entire career.

When I decided I wanted to be a professional photographer, I read books by well known photographers, attended National Press Photographers Association Short Courses, looked through magazines and newspapers, paying particular attention to the photo credits and then following those photographer's work.

You might wonder what is wrong with that? Probably nothing for some, however I compared every shot I took with the work I was following or being presented with at conferences and guess what? It didn't come close. While it didn't stop me from becoming a professional, I know that it kept me from becoming a better photographer earlier in my career. Mostly because I was reluctant to widely share my photography and slow to find [photography] mentors.

Look for inspiration: I encourage every photographer to go back and look at the work of those that came before or follow photographer's whose work that they enjoy. There is nothing wrong with that, just be careful not to compare yourself too closely with others, especially if it causes you to put down your camera in frustration. Remember that there is something to learn from both the past and present, but only you can take a photograph that is your vision.

Founder of the Air Force photojournalism program Ken Hackman, right, offers advice during the Visual Media Workshop in Arlington, Va.

Same thing goes when attending workshops, trade shows or conferences. These gatherings can truly offer some inspiration and provide you with ideas or techniques that will help you get better. Challenge yourself to not be overwhelmed and just enjoy the experience of being around lots of creative people. And if you do share, you might be surprised just how many others feel the same way you do.

Beware of intimidation: As you progress and become more confident as a photographer, you will want to share your work outside friends and family. Opening yourself up to that honest critique is hard, nobody wants to hear that they may not be as good as they think they are or that photo you are proudly hanging over the couch is not appreciated by others the same way you enjoy it. As hard as it can be to hear that truth, don't allow yourself to be intimidated by it. Seek out critiques from photographers whose work you admire and that you know will challenge you. Seek out lots of critiques because every one is different too. This how you will grow?

Shane McCoy, a photographer and videographer with the U.S. Marshals Service, provides a critique during the Visual Media Workshop.

I've had critiques early in my career that almost made me walk away from photography and I've had students who came to me in tears and were ready to change majors after receiving a particularly harsh critique. As an instructor it was my role to reassure, but also be honest. I offer that because there is nothing wrong with receiving a harsh critique if along with that you are offered constructive ideas on how to improve. Remember also that sometimes people can just be jerks. That happens and as hard as it is, move on. Sometimes it is because there is not an appreciation for what stage you are at.

I never stop trying to make a better photograph today then I did yesterday. Sometimes you are the only one that likes a particular shot and that is fine. Be proud of your work and don't let the fact that there are numerous "celebrity" photographers all over the web intimidate you or keep you from shooting. Again, if you like the photograph and want to hang it on the wall, then do that.

I recently attended the Visual Media Workshops DC Shootoff and one of the presenters, Lou Jones, who has been taking pictures for decades, looked out at the audience at the conclusion of his talk and said, "I consider every one of you my competition, and I welcome it."

That's a great attitude. Take the pictures that you want to take and realize that not everyone will like or appreciate them, but so what. Just keep shooting and sharing.

WORLDWIDE PINHOLE PHOTOGRAPHY DAY

Pinhole photograph of the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. 

April 28th was Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day and I thought I would let you know what I did that day and then a little more about what I've been up to since I first posted about pinhole photography on this blog last month in a post titled: A PINHOLE OF A PINHOLE.

Since I knew I would be in Pittsburgh for the weekend, I loaded my camera on Thursday night and began to figure out what I would photograph on Sunday the 28th. When the day arrived it was raining and just not very nice out, but I had to make do right? I've been experimenting with exposure times over the last month and in my previous two attempts, 40 seconds was too much in bright sun and two and half minutes was not enough indoors under a mixture of natural and artificial light. I've since come across lots of resources to help solve the exposure problem and look forward to sharing as the pinhole experiments continue.

28mm photograph from same location as pinhole camera which has a focal length of 76mm.

For a location, I decided to photograph the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens located in Schenley Park, one of Pittsburgh's largest greenspaces. Built in 1893, this great steel and glass Victorian greenhouse seemed like the perfect subject for my pinhole photograph.

My pinhole mounted on a bogen tripod placed atop a parking box.

I mounted the pinhole camera to a Bogen table top tripod w/ ball head and placed it atop a parking meter box in order to gain some height.

As I mentioned in my previous post, this particular pinhole camera was built from a kit that I received as a Christmas present about ten years ago. I applied a custom paint job and added a new base made from 5/8" MDF board so that I could attach a 1/4"-20 T-Nut in order to mount to a tripod.

Inside the wood box that makes up my pinhole camera is a paper sleeve that both holds the photographic paper in place and also is where the actual pin hole is located. The hole was produced using a #10 sewing needle which equates to 0.457mm, pretty standard for a pinhole camera. However, poking a needle through the paper sleeve does not produce a very clean hole so I plan on substituting a piece of metal, probably brass, in which I will drill a slightly larger .346mm hole, giving me an f-stop of 220, based on a focal length of 76mm. I'll go into this more in future posts.

Also since my last post, I exhausted the chemicals and paper that came with the kit, so I ordered Ilford rapid fixer, Ilford Multigrade paper developer and Ilford Multigrade IV RC Deluxe 5"x7" paper with a pearl finish from Amazon.com. I cut the paper into 3"x3" sheets and mix the chemicals per directions.

My pinhole photograph from Sunday, along with a description can be found on the www.pinholeday.org website. Even though it is under exposed by about 15 seconds, at least I had something to submit.

Looking forward to writing more about pinhole in the future, possibly spinning off another blog. More to come.

TIME FOR AN UPGRADE? FUJI X10 OR X100S

I purchased my Fujifilm X10, above at right, in November 2012, and wrote about it in what has become my most viewed blog post, INTRODUCING MY X10. Since then I've carried this camera almost daily and six months later I have no regrets. It has been a wonderful little camera and I still like how it looks and feels and continue to be impressed with the quality of the images.

So why have I been thinking about upgrading to the Fujifilm X100S camera? While I am not looking to replace my DSLR and lenses for work assignments, upgrading to this camera could render a second DSLR on assignment useless.

Fuji X100S. Photo provided by Fujifilm.com

Announced in January, the X100S began shipping in March and so far the hands-on reviews have been very positive. If you just read the blog reviews by Zack Arias and David Hobby, you'll want the camera immediately, however, at the time of this post there is a one to two month wait list.

Having such fun and success with my X10, which Fuji recently replaced with the Fujifilm X20, I immediately thought about upgrading. In my original blog post about the X10, I laid out the reasons why I purchased that camera instead of the X100 and cost and focus issues were two of them. Well it seems focus is no longer a concern, but there is still the question of cost. At around $1,300, that clearly puts the X100S in the realm of a pro camera and not a simple point and shoot. Even though many of today's point and shoots, or sub $600 cameras, are capable of taking incredible images, just look at the X20 or what I paid for my X10, as examples.

So should I upgrade or not? To help answer that question, or maybe just convince myself one way or another, I decided to take my X10 and visit the National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center located in Chantilly, Va., in order to take some photos and see if I would be happier if I were carrying the X100S instead.

Fuji X10 at 1/80, f3.6, ISO 400, 40mm equivalent, film simulation set to Velvia.

The lighting in parts of the museum is very dim requiring higher ISOs. Advantage X100S. By all accounts the X100S does remarkably well at high ISOs, even 3200. I rarely push the X10 past 800. The built-in flash on the X10 is not really usable so being able to get usable photos at ISO 3200 is a real bonus. I shot mostly at ISO 400 at the museum which meant I was shooting at very slow shutter speeds, but since I was photographing static objects it was not an issue.

Fuji X10 at 1/13, f2.8, ISO 400, 112mm equivalent, film simulation set to black and white.

While most of the photos I take with the X10 are at 7.1mm or 28mm equivalent on a 35mm lens, I do sometimes find myself using the zoom, as I did often during this shoot. Advantage X10. Would I have been able to get away with just a 35mm point of view? I suppose I should not have used the zoom in order to really test that theory. Zoom with your feet, isn't that what's said.

Did you notice what I did in the previous paragraphs? I both stated one of the big reasons I am considering the X100S and one of the reasons why I am questioning if it really is the camera for me. But honestly, there is more than just ISO and zoom.

Fuji X10 at 1/25, f2.8, ISO 400, 60mm equivalent, film simulation set to standard.

Ever since I purchased my first digital P&S camera I've always insisted on some sort of a viewfinder. The X10 does have a veiwfinder, but the X100S with both an electronic or optical viewfinder, takes it to the next level making the viewfinder incredibly usable. Advantage X100S.

Many of the other features are very similar or the same, although the X100S is a 16MP camera versus 12MP and has a nine blade aperture shutter instead of seven, the X10 does shoot 10 fps continuous versus 6 fps. Advantage on these features favors neither X10 nor the X100S. That is to say they are not part of my decision process.

Finally, after shooting the X10 for seven months, I really don't need to be sold on the look, feel and form of this camera. While I didn't fully appreciate it at the time, I did use a Leica M3 as a second camera for several years in my early Navy career and this does have that same feel. Some of the photos I shot at the museum were taken with the camera set to black and white which made me think I really was transported back 25 years holding that M3 loaded with Tri-X film. Holding these Fuji X cameras  does elicit certain emotions. Is it because I'm a little older? Maybe, but I  believe part of making good images is attitude and how you feel about your gear does play a role in that.

Fuji X10 at 1/10, f2.8, ISO 400, 100mm equivalent, film simulation set to black and white.

I could go on and on about the advantages and disadvantages, but I'm clearly not going to answer my question during this blog post and even now as I look forward to a vacation in Toronto and an upcoming assignment, a video shoot in Hawaii, I'm thinking long and hard if I want to take the DSLR with various lenses or just the X10. Or possibly even the X100S?

One question I will answer is that I do think this would make a perfect second body on any assignment.

The rest of the details and more links below:

Specifications X100S:

Number of effective pixels: 16.3 million
Image sensor: 23.6mm x 15.mm (APS-C)
Lens: 35mm equivalent at f2.0
Dimensions: 5.0 (W) x 2.9 (H) x 2.1 (D) in.
Weight: Approx. 15.7 oz. (including battery and memory card)
Sample images from the Fuji website.

Specifications X10:

Number of effective pixels: 12 million
Image sensor: 2 / 3 inch EXR CMOS
Lens: 28mm to 112mm equivalent at f2.0 and f2.8 respectfully
Dimensions: 4.6(W) x 2.7(H) x 2.2(D) in.
Weight: 12.3 oz. (including battery and memory card)
Sample images from my Flickr X10 set.

David Hobby provides a thorough overview of all the X100S features in a YouTube video. And I even learned something new about my X10 as well by watching this.

And just in case the leap from X10 to X100S is too much, then check out Dan Bailey's full review on the X20.

Get the full X100S specifications available on Fuji's website.

JUST PHOTOGRAPHY BOOKS ON THE SHELF?

I was at the Arlington County library a few weeks back doing research for a book I'm currently writing (not photo related) and found myself in the photography section. I guess I was drawn there by some invisible force.

Anyway, while looking over all the titles and authors the thought hit me that there have been so many incredible photographers over the years and yet for the past couple of years I've only been following current, mostly young, photographers.

In just one small section of one shelf there were books by Mary Ellen Mark, Arnold Newman, Edward Weston, Robert Capa, Man Ray, Annie Leibowitz, Eve Arnold and even a copy of Edward Steichen's The Family Of Man, a personal favorite.

Before I go any farther, this isn't a post about how today's photographers are nothing compared to the pioneers of the past or about how you can't possibly understand the art of photography if you don't study the masters. I suppose what really struck me is just how soon I forgot. Why did I temporarily forget about these photographers.

Unless you are studying photography in college or at a university, is there really a need to look back and see what came before? I've heard and read this question many times, almost as often as whether you can be a true photographer if you never shot film, or for that matter worked in a darkroom.

The first thing I thought as I looked over the titles wasn't just the fact that its been a while since I thought about these photographers, but that's probably because I haven't seen them on Google +, Facebook or Twitter.  For those photographers still with us, do they have a website or blog? You see, more and more that is how I follow photographers and I suspect that is how you follow them too.

The photographer David Douglass Duncan is a personal favorite of mine and in 1995 I built a website featuring his work. The Web was still new and since there was nothing available online, I did my research in the library and copied a variety of Duncan's photographs with my camera. For years after that I would hear from publishers requesting to license those photographs, or for information on contacting Duncan. All this despite a clear disclaimer on the site that I did not represent Mr. Duncan and that this website was produced for a college electronic journalism class. What if Duncan had access to publish his photographs on the Web or participate in Google Hangouts? I suspect as private a person as Duncan was the result would be the same, however I've been surprised by others adoption of technology.

Today's digital cameras and software make it possible for photographers at all levels to take better photographs and then instantly publish and share those images widely, offering new and old photographers alike the chance to grow, improve and even create a nice following. Plus there are a ton of tutorials, many free, to help you along the way, even without a formal education.

So with that I challenge everyone to visit the library and spend some time looking through the stacks where you might be surprised at what you discover. The first surprise you might notice is that not every technique or subject you've viewed on the Web is new. It's only the Web that is new.

So if you find yourself following the same photographers all the time, and are craving something different, I might suggest you start with any book from the photograph at the top of this post.

And keep shooting and sharing.

A PINHOLE OF A PINHOLE

"Topsy-Turvy: A Camera Obscura Installation," was on temporary display in New York's Madison Square Park.

I received a pinhole camera kit for Christmas about ten years ago and remember thinking what a really cool gift it was and that I couldn't wait to build this camera and start taking photographs. However, even before I started building the camera, I couldn't help thinking about what would be the first thing I photographed. And that's where my thoughts stopped.

So the kit was put away in a desk drawer and although I would often come across it during the past decade, I still couldn't imagine taking that first photo.

Then earlier this month I came across a tweet about a camera obscura on display in New York City's Madison Square Park and all of a sudden I realized that I now had the perfect first photograph for my pinhole camera. A pinhole photograph of a pinhole camera. That was it.

Wood pinhole photography kit complete with everything you need to develop your photographs.

Artists Sandra Gibson and Luis Recoder set up this 10x10-foot walk-in camera they dubbed “Topsy-Turvy: A Camera Obscura Installation,” in the Flat Iron district of New York City to educate the public. The exhibit was on display through April 5th.

I retrieved the kit from my desk and started looking through the instructions while at the same time planning my day trip to New York. The kit came with everything I needed to construct the camera, plus everything I needed to develop the paper. I wasn't even deterred when I noticed the developer and fixer had expired in 2008.

The pinhole camera was simple to construct and took about 15 minutes to build. I did make a slight modification to the finished camera by adding a 1/2 inch piece of MDF board to the bottom of the camera so I could insert a 1/4"-20 T-Nut so I could attach my camera to a tripod.

Almost complete pinhole camera. Still need to finish the paint job and make additional modifications to the base.

The last thing I did was dig through the attic and find my old darkroom safelight, a Kodak Model B. The kit does provide a red sheet of plastic that could be placed over a light source in case you don't have access to a safelight.

The night before I left for New York I went into the darkroom/bathroom, plugged in the safelight and loaded a 3x3 inch piece of photographic paper into the camera.

I arrived in New York around 10:30 a.m. the next day and walked the nine blocks to Madison Square Park and quickly located the camera obscura at the south end of the park aimed at the historic Flat Iron Building. A couple was just exiting the camera when I arrived so along with the attendant I stepped inside and after a few minutes my eyes adjusted and the surrounding area came into focus. To me, it is fascinating to realize that this is exactly what it would look like if I could step inside the small pinhole camera I had in my bag.

When I exited the camera I walked around the area for a while thinking about the photograph I was about to take. I literally only had one shot and not having used this camera before I wasn't sure what the focal length would be or how long of an exposure to use. The pamphlet that came with the kit did offer suggested exposure times based on the available light.

My pinhole camera all set to take a 45-second exposure of the camera obscura.

I placed the pinhole camera on a light stand I brought along to act as a tripod, took a deep breath, waited for some park goers to get out of the way and then pushed aside the little door covering the pinhole and started the countdown. The pamphlet recommended a 30-second exposure in bright sunlight. I settled on a 45-second exposure because of some open shade in the park.

After I closed the cover I was done. Seemed anticlimactic. I stuck the box back into my bag and went about the rest of the day taking photos of New York City.

I returned home around 11:45 that night and briefly thought that I should wait until the next day to process the photograph, but soon realized that was not going to happen. So once again I set up my makeshift darkroom and went about mixing the developer and fixer. The last time I was in a darkroom was 1997 but when I smelled the fixer it was like I was there yesterday.

Pinhole #1.

I opened the camera and retrieved the paper negative and placed it in the developer and... Nothing! I started to panic and question whether I had put the paper in camera correctly or perhaps not made a long enough exposure. Then I remembered that the chemicals were five years past the date of best use. So after a couple of minutes of not seeing an image appear I added some additional developer and finally Pinhole #1 revealed itself in the miniature tray.

The Flat Iron Building at left as seen upside down and backward inside the camera obscura.

Just like the image I saw on the wall inside Topsy-Turvy, the image you will get is a negative and reversed. There are two options to correct this. The first is to place the paper with the negative image face down over another sheet of photographic paper, place a piece of glass or plexiglass over both sheets of paper and expose them to white light, then process the paper as before. Remember, everything with the exception of turning on the white light must be done under a safelight in the darkroom.

The second method and the one that I choose is to photograph the pinhole photograph with a digital camera and then using a program such as Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop, flip the tone curve and rotate horizontally to get a corrected image. I explained this process in my blog post about using your digital camera to copy old negatives.

I have some exciting things planned for this pinhole camera and with camera obscuras in the future, so keep reading this blog and be sure to follow me on Twitter.