justThorne, Noticing

finally in print: Yet to Scale

Aiming each week to release at least one brand new print, and at least one "extra treat."  Here's this week's bonus. 

  

Yet to Scale.  30"x7.5" fotoflot print

Robin in Lexington, with the 10D and 24mm lens, 1/500th at f/3.2 and ISO 200. 

This was from the third day of our four-day shooting marathon in July of 2004.  (Will tell that story soon when an exciting new result pops out from our first day's work.)

A draft of this one has been seen at OMP or in my dA webcam over the years, but it wasn't until last year that I finessed it into shape to be a 30" fotoflot print.  (In particular, my earlier versions had color profile problems that were a hassle to bring up to date, from back when I knew enough to be dangerous.)  

Honestly, I don't take this one too seriously.  It feels more one-dimensional to me than I prefer my work, and the pixel clarity isn't there (in her face) for a truly sizable print.  

The height is not merely a gimmick, though.  There's so much wall filling the original shot that it required all this space to open up the composition.  (It's four times taller than wide now, because even three times didn't do the job.)  Otherwise, Robin looked all cramped within the limited headroom.  And you can see from this print detail that cropping much of the wall is really a loss, compared to the expansive full version.

But anyway, I do like its new title, and hope it has a certain charm.  

 

new print: Youth & Consequences

  

  

Shot December 2007 in Doha, with the 10D and 50mm f1.4 lens, 1/125th at f/2.8 and ISO 100.  24" print, developed August 2008 and tweaked this week.  

 

Various animal shots will be the third plank of my new balance between scenery and model work.  

Gotta love this guy - or is she a dame?  Didn't get close enough to find out.  Honestly, I don't remember getting this close to begin with, but it's only 50mm.  Didn't have my 100mm yet.

This one is flipped.  Rare for me, but I knew what it meant, and looking leftward into his own past wasn't it.  That would have been more obvious, but less dimensional, to my mind.

 

new print: History of Men

  

  

Shot August 2009 in Lexington, with the 400D and 24mm TSE lens, polarized, 1/1000th at f/4 and ISO 100.  30" print, developed last week.

 

A significant fraction of people are strongly put off by the titles in my compositions, and I may write at some length this week about it, because I'm conflicted over the issue myself.  But in my internal debate, it always boils down to, "if the title can increase the resonance of an image by an order of magnitude, then how on earth can I not include it?"  That is, I would consider this image to be Exhibit A for doing exactly what I do.

However, by now you've surely noticed that I've compromised by making them less intrusive than I used to.  A friend of mine was squinting at one a couple of weeks ago and said, "They're like hieroglyphics if you're not looking right at them," and I said, "Yes, that is exactly what I'm trying to do."

So, what do you think?  I feel surely that this image could stand proudly on its own, but could it possibly resonate as strongly, without the title to bring it into the crisper focus of what I have in mind?  This is especially important for me as I branch out from models into scenery and architecture, and really feel they'll need the extra "help," not to be impressive, but to be meaningful.  

And, for different fun, do you see that you almost certainly could not take this picture with your camera?  I rented a truly awesome piece of gear for a month this summer, and have been drooling ever since to buy my own.  

 

new print: Right About Everything

  

  

Katelyn, shot August 2009 in Lexington, with the 400D and 50mm f1.4 lens, polarized, 1/350th at f/2.8 and ISO 200.  30" print, developed last week.

 

In July, I walked out of the optometrist with my new polarized sunglasses.  I looked at the world, the clouds, the leaves, the sidewalks, and thought, "I have got to get this for all my lenses."  And placed a $600 order for circular polarizers as soon as I got home.  Couldn't ever go back, I think.  And I love my shades (either pair) when I wear them.  It's just a different world, a more shapely and living world, when it's polarized.  

Meanwhile, this is Katelyn, my lovely discovery of the summer.  Had never modeled before and did a wonderful job.  We did two very fruitful shoots together - this is from the first one.  

Massive thanks to Jessie.  She pointed out something cool about the image that I hadn't registered myself (because, you know, I was there), and also saw a draft and pointed out one major way to improve it.  Spent that extra hour last night and so glad I did - she was right.  

Did I mention that it's a thirty inch print?  

Another one coming tomorrow, with a completely different impact.

 

new print: Lives at Stake

Finally found my mojo again last August and drafted several new works that will roll out in the next few weeks.  Broke this one back out and made the best of it over the last couple of days.  Thought it would be the best for welcoming all my old friends from deviantART.

  

  

Shot November 2006 in al-Khobar, with the 10D and 24mm f2.8 lens, 1/2000th at f/4 and ISO 100.  24" print, developed last summer and finalized this week. 

Obviously, the size really matters since the "story" is so small.  Try to imagine two feet tall, and here's some print detail to help.  

  

  

Ironically, I was out shooting some portraits of my taxi driver when I looked over and saw this.  What luck!

Unfortunately, the last great challenge for my development methods are cluttery skies just like these, even when the shot is RAW, and this one was a JPG.  So it was a bear to beat into shape (even after running it through NoiseNinja).  For some unknown reason (and Margulis doesn't know either), digital sensors just don't do well with skies like this.  

And I've shot a lot of them that I want to share.

 

new print: All That Way for This

  

  

Shot April 2008 in Doha, with the 10D and 100mm Macro lens, 1/1250th at f/2.8 and ISO 100.  24" print, developed last August and finalized this week.

Title swiped from the Oyster Band (before they started calling themselves Oysterband).  As usual/common, I see at least two quite distinct interpretations of this image, and as usual/common/necessary, the title encompasses them both.  

Too tired to write much about this one (despite having something to say about a trend and goal in my upcoming works).  Will just say that it was this particular shoot in Doha where I got the hang of manually focusing my new (at that time) macro lens.  Had been shooting architecture since 2 a.m., and then stumbled into an area of lovely bushes after the sun came up.  At least one more shot from there is definitely in the pipe.  It's a sweet one, literally.

By the way, all the images posted this weekend have been from the backlog that's built up over the last year, but next weekend will bring at least two brand new ones from my return to America this summer.  And there'll be one other treat from the archives mid-week too.  

Oh, and funny thing.  I had planned to upload Yesteryear tonight, but then I realized it would be three in a row that would be blue and tan, so I regrouped to finalize this one for print instead.  But ack, I'm entirely too prone to blue and tan/gold.  What is up with that??

 

new print: Back in the Saddle

  

  

Laura, shot August 2005 in Lexington, with the 10D and 24mm f2.8 lens, 1/4000th at f/5.6 and ISO 200.  24" print, developed April 2008.  

Now, to be clear, this certainly isn't my proudest work of art.  To my mind, it far too strongly resembles Eye on the Prize - similar angularity and, of course, the same outfit from the same shoot - but it's clearly a runty little cousin compared to one of my greatest works.  If I were a recording artist, this one would be included on an outtakes album.  

But is this one of my proudest-ever technical accomplishments?  You bet your shapely ass it is!

Wait until you see the original.

new print: Vitamins & Minerals

  

  

Shot March 2007 in al-Hassa, with the 10D and 50mm f1.4 lens, 1/1600th at f/4 and ISO 100.  24" print.  

Actually drafted this in Summer 2007 and shared with a few people as my first "gift" from the Arabian peninsula, but then revised and redeveloped from the ground up in August 2008.  

As (I hope) you can see, I'm keen to try some new "lighter-hearted" works from time to time.

Two more coming this weekend.  (No, not camels.)

 

new print: Critical Juncture

Have been determined to get this one done before "going public again," so it's finished with some sense of relief.  After struggling on and off with it for years.  

  

  

Shot April 2006 in Lexington, with the 10D and 24mm f2.8 lens, 1/1600th at f/4 and ISO 100.  24" print.  

Obviously, the size really matters since the "action" is so small.  Try to imagine two feet tall, and here's some print detail to help.  

  

  

Some in-depth thoughts about reading time in composition and minor processing notes behind the fold...  

  

new print: Same Old Song

Normally, I'd sit on this one a while before "issuing" it, but I'm rather psyched about the turnaround time.  You know I'm not known for fast.  

Start to finish in less than twelve hours, and there was a long break in the middle.  About an hour to prep, two hours to develop, and then three or four to chase pesky details (including a last minute panic attack at a problem I hadn't spotted).  Haven't ever turned around anything so fast (except From This Day Forward, which was only two or three).  

Inspiration struck, I suppose.  (Even the title bubbled up quickly.)  Been trying not to work on model shots lately, but this one grabbed me and ran away with itself.  

  

  

Lan Ahn, photographed June 2008 in al-Raka, with the 10D and 50mm f1.4 lens, 1/15th at f/2.8 and ISO 100.  24" print.  

  

As always, please take care to imagine the size of it.  This work isn't done for your screen, it's made for our walls.

Some tangential thoughts (navel-gazing?) about my model work behind the fold.  

  

first of the Frontispiece series

You've probably already seen this shot below, but it intends to be the first of many.  

I am constantly torn by the difference between my "fine art" and "just photography."  It's ridiculously important to me to keep from muddling them together.  But I don't entirely trust my own reservations.  Hmm, should write a post on that topic next.  

But for now, the point is that the frontispiece images for my home page intend deliberately to challenge me into the middle ground, with an emphasis on "striking" and a secondary role for "meaning."  (In this one's case, I "know what it means," so if the right title ever occurs to me, I'll formalize it as "fine art."  But it wasn't tackled with that in mind.)  

Also, since I tend to favor vertical images that don't present as well on the web, these images will be deliberate explorations of the landscape orientation.  It's not like I don't shoot plenty of them, and upon review, I've been surprised just how many shots will lend themselves to this role.

Expect a new one about once a month.  

  

Myth in the Making, 2008.  Manama, shot June 2008, with the 10D, 50mm at f/5.6 and 100 ISO.  Blended exposures of 1/2, 1, 2, 4, 8, and 15 seconds, developed in January, then remastered last night.  

Substantially cropped, which is rare for me, but my 100mm shots didn't pan out.  (Too much movement in the water to blend them together.)  So only an 18" print.  Darn.

I've uploaded a 29-slide detailed process study - it's conceptual rather than technical, but still not for the faint of heart.  If you engage the slideshow, hit the Pause button right away to arrow through manually, and make sure to turn the captions on with the little icon lower right.  

Probably won't do many process studies at this level, so check it out if you're interested.  It intends to reflect the care that I put into all of my work, though this one was especially challenging because the haze in the air was so bad, but didn't want to demolish the sense of distance by bringing everything into unrealistic clarity.  

Also:  shooting city lights at night has become one of my favorite subjects, so a) multiple exposures have become autopilot for me, but b) this one benefits from a new method for blending them, that seems far superior to anything HDR-related.  Actually completely drafted this one in January and then started over with the improved method last night.  

Oh!, also:  let me know if the size on my home page seems right to you.  I'll appreciate the feedback before I post more of them.  I wish I could rig them to scale cleanly for your own browser widths.  Any ideas?

 

new print: Your New Highness

It's actually not my intention to do a lot of new model work in the near term (not until Fall, anyway?), but I am proud of this one.  And as I start posting brand new work and visual sentiments soon, it's a useful window on my previous style of work.  

Also:  It's nearly anguish to post these on the web, so I need you to help ease the pain.  (Especially with these vertical images,) please try to imagine the scale.  This is a 24" (60 cm) print.  

Lan Ahn, photographed June 2008 in al-Rakah, with the 10D and 100mm Macro lens, 1/500th at f/5.6 and ISO 100.  This "candy-colored" version was developed in November and completed for January 20, 2009.

24" Print / Process Overview / Backstory

Above is the "candy colored" version, which some of you have heard me nickname the "fireworks for Obama" image.  However, that's a misleading nickname.  The working title when I started on it in November was "Ding Dong, The Queen Is Dead."  If you see what I mean.  

Below is the (nearly) monochrome version.  Am equally proud of both (or I wouldn't share them both), but the color version is the "primary" one exactly because it's more exuberant.  (Whereas I think the "colorless" version will be more intense, especially at full size.)  Read more about the tech and decision-making in the process slideshow linked above, or more background of the shot itself beneath the fold.  

 

"Not quite monochrome" version, January 20, 2009.  24" print.