Photography | The Napkin

>You Don't Take A Photograph

by Marty Coleman | Nov 4, 2010 | Ansel Adams, Photography | 0 comments

I am making this day #4 of ‘Photography Week’ at the Napkin Dad Daily

There has been a debate within the photography world ever since the advent of the digital camera and software such as Photoshop that can be used to work on photographs.

The debate is between ‘purists’ those who believe what comes straight out of the camera is the final product and any manipulation of it after the fact is a no no. If one does manipulate the image, then it is an indication of them being an inferior photographer since they should have been able to get it right while taking the photo. This is true for cropping, color, tonal range, hue & saturation and most any other element within the photo.

The other side has the ‘manipulators’. They believe that there is nothing wrong with working on an image in a software program. Any and all things that can be done to a photo is allowed, all that matters is what does it look like in the end. The method by which that end result is achieved isn’t important. The photographer that settles for a boring photograph out of a principle that says it has to stay in it’s ‘natural’ state is missing the point of image making.

So, I can guess you probably realize that I fall on the side of the manipulators. I have good company, by the way. The author of this quote is THE single most famous photographer, EVER. He was a master of the utmost degree. He is so popular that he has become a cliche. And to be honest I disliked his work for many years for that exact reason. All I saw were the cliche, famous images that were so over publicized as to have no visual value to me at all. I thought of him as the easy listening photographer. Boring.

Then I saw two exhibits of his work and read up on him and his efforts over many years. I was utterly and completely blown away by his range of images, his work ethic, his philosophical progression and his character. In my investigation I realized that this person who so many saw as the premier example of ‘the purist’ was actually the master manipulator.

He worked in film, not digital, but his manipulations were no less extensive. His ability to bring out the essence of a scene came not just from his taking the photo at the right time and knowing his technique, but in working within the darkroom, dodging; burning, picking the right developer, the right paper, the right temperature, the right timing.

I am glad to have Ansel Adams beside me in the manipulator camp.

Here are a few of his less well known images.

The Tetons and The Snake River – 1942

Freeway Interchange – 1967

Sand Cove – 1944

The Camera Is An Instrument

by Marty Coleman | Nov 3, 2010 | Dorothea Lange, Photography | 0 comments

I don’t have a photographic memory, but I think this is day #3 of ‘Photography Week’ at the Napkin Dad Daily

One thing I have always tried to teach my students, whether formally when I was a college instructor, or informally in my photo group, is that your eye is the deciding factor in whether you are going to make great images, NOT your technical ability. You have to be able to look beyond the obvious and see what else is available.

Maybe it’s shape, texture, content, patterns, color, emotion. But what you first see is not always what is most important. Perhaps what is next to that main element is actually more important. Maybe the combination of those things will give you the image you want. Maybe the empty space in between the elements are what really tell the best story in that scene.

Taking the most obvious picture will usually yield the most obvious response. The most obvious response usually dissipates very quickly, leaving the viewer feeling a bit cheated. The image becomes like propaganda, the simplest message delivered in the simplest way possible. And unless you are trying to pound someone with a message, it also becomes the most boring way as well.

Here are some of my more interesting landscape photos.

Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo, Texas

Arrow and Indian

Four Circles

Four Shadows / One Wall

Drawing and photographs by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily

Quote by Dorethea Lange, 1895-1965, American photographer

>It Is One Thing

by Marty Coleman | Nov 2, 2010 | Paul Strand, Photography | 1 comment

It’s unexpectedly day #2 of ‘Photography Week’ at The Napkin Dad Daily

I love taking portraits. But it’s very hard for me to do studio work. The lack of background, the lighting, it all lessens the ability to get to the heart of someone. I know there is a place for those types of portraits and I do them, even have a studio to do so, but I prefer natural light, natural environment portraits. I can get into who a person is much easier that way.

Sun

Rust

Open

Drawing and Photographs by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily

Quote by Paul Strand, 1890-1976, American photographer and filmmaker.

The Still Must Tease – Photography

by Marty Coleman | Nov 1, 2010 | Cindy Sherman, Photography | 0 comments

I help run a photo group here in Tulsa. We had our annual Halloween Cemetery shoot this weekend and I gave a presentation the week before about how to get the most out of this sort of shoot. Beyond the technical styles we went over the most important thing was focusing the participants on the idea of telling a story with their images.

This are a few I took during our outing.