Photos = Memories

I love old photos. I mean I really love old captures. Did you grow up seeing a photo of a time in your life that you should be too young to remember, but through seeing that photo you feel that you have a memory of that particular day? I’ve got a ton of those. Tomorrow I turn 26; young by world standards, but sliding downhill to thirty by my own. Fortunately, my mom and dad took a ridiculous number of photos when I was growing up (proud parents I suppose). The result, are a bunch of (dare I say?) vintage photos that communicate a clear feel for the moment.

My mom has since begun her journey in to digital photography, but I find that I occasionally look back at her photos of my brother and I growing up, and try to re-create that feel with my own twist.  With tomorrow being my birthday, I though it a fitting time to look back and take a photo tour.

My Grandpa and I:

My Christmas photo:

Random photo shoot with mom:

Talk about having an eye for the moment. Way to go mom!

 

-Elldub

Portraits of friends

About a month ago I read Annie Leibovitz’s new book titled “At Work.” It is an amazing autobiographic re-telling of how the world’s most famous portrait photographer got her start. Think of it as if Michael Jordan had written a book that spoke of his origins, philosophies, and a bit about his training regiment. This is that book to photogs.

In “At Work” Leibovitz writes that her friends and family were directly responsible for her photographic successes. They were her first models and they, sometimes begrudgingly (not unlike my friends and family), let her take photos regularly. I had a similiar opportunity over the weekend when my friend Scott flew home from New York for a visit. I was pretty pleased with the results;

 

I was able to capture a variety of styles in a short amount of time, and the place I most love for portrait backdrops was offering some outstanding lighting options. It was a treat to have all of that work out in the middle of a sunny summer day.

The most unique part about this photo shoot, is that Scott (in case you couldn’t tell) is male, whereas the vast majority of my subjects have been female. Forget what you’d think to be the case with women and being photographed, they are much more likely to enjoy a photo shoot than most guys out there. That being said, Scott was very good about being directed and it was those times when he’d slip up and let the personality through that ultimately lead to the best captures… a valuable lesson for me.

Have a great week and come back often~!

 

-Elldub

Grey Rays

Grey Rays
Originally uploaded by lwestcoat

This is getting some serious attention from my fellow Flickr photo fanatics. I took a trip to Golden Gardens in Ballard yesterday right at sunset. It proved to be a great spontanious shoot.

What do you think?

Digging up the past

It’s always fun to go back in to my photo archives and re-touch photos with everything I’ve learned since. I did this recently with a photo shoot dating back just over a year. This was a “just for fun” shoot with two of my friends; Karalee and Kati.

Typically I do this when I see a new photographer’s work that inspires me or I really go too long without a new photo shoot. In the case of the former be sure to check out the blogs of my photog friends in the upper left sidebar. You won’t regret it. In the case of the latter, if you feel that you would like to try being a model, let me know!

Have a great weekend!

The magic of post-production

The response to my uptake of photography has been overwhelmingly favorable, and while I thank everyone for the encouragement I admit, I have a small confession.

I am nothing without Photoshop.

With actual film photography, photogs have so many options for manipulating the final look of their photos. For we digital folk, Photoshop is it… without it photos just wouldn’t be as interesting.

see the below photos. The first is just your average photo. You probably see it and think “that looks like something I would take.” Without changing a whole lot, I can make it pop with a few quick clicks in Photoshop.

 

This image was taken in a dark theater using my crappy built in flash on my Canon Rebel XTi. Pretty girl but a “blah” photo.

 

A wave of the magic Photoshop wand and I enhance the photo’s quality, coloring, and focus. This type of editing could be done with virtually any photo editor.

Now, it is possible to go too far with it. I’ve been known to Photoshop a photo in to something that looks more like a painting. Sometimes it’s okay, but sometimes it’s just too much.

This was the original. Taken outside Buckingham palace you can only vaguely get a sense for the drama of this sculpture

 

 

Whereas in this edited image, the drama is clear and its title “March forth for peace” begins to make sense. The former photo doesn’t really deserve a title, does it? This effect could be done with a small number of photo editors. Most of the baseline software solutions won’t do this, but things like Gimp and Picassa could.

This next example is pretty intense. It was an attempt on my part to make lemonade with lemons. I wasn’t paying attention to my exposure when I was taking this original photo, and I ended up with a series of images that were almost worthless…. almost.

Original (terrible)                     Little color & exposure edit

      

Mix in an old photo that I’ve already re-touched

Final image

So the moral of the story is that you can take some great photos and touch them up slightly with a variety of programs “Picassa,” “Windows Live Photo Gallery,” etc. But to do it all there’s just no substitute for Photoshop. It can be a crutch, but the key is to apply as needed and to not talk about it. (whoops guess I broke that rule).

-Elldub

Hump-day caption contest

Please write in the comments section a caption for the following photo. The captions can be funny, profound, fitting, or ridiculous. They must also be appropriate. So get creative and show me what you’ve got! I will choose the winner before posting tomorrow’s blog.

This is another photo from Anne and Peter’s wedding. 

What type of photo speaks to you?

Since taking up photography (albeit digital) I have had a wide variety of photog opportunities. Landscape, abstract, portraits, reportage, etc. It’s really only a matter of having my camera with me for those times when I say or think to myself “wow, that’d be a great shot.” In the end, I ultimately find that I enjoy the portraits most of all, and the best ones draw the viewer in while forcing them to be interested in what the subject is thinking.

That being said, I’ve noticed that of all my photos, the ones most often requested for printing and framing are the scenic/landscape shots. This has caused me to appeal to you for your opinion. Leave a comment telling me which type you enjoy most. I’ve included samples of each particular style below.

Portrait:

Scenic:

Abstract-ish:

Reportage:
Other:
There you have it. I know there are several other styles that I didn’t call out, so if you feel strongly that it should be represented just say so in the comments.

Greetings Earth!

I have been closely watching all of my photog friends and one thing I’ve noticed is that they each have a blog where they share some of their most captivating images and the stories behind them. I hope to do the same with this blog. So check back regularly and leave comments. Also, if you like what you see and know of someone looking for a photographer, you know who to reach out to.

-Elldub

To whet your palate, here are a few from last weekend’s wedding between Anne and Peter, it was a beautiful day and I was honored to be the only non-family member at the head table… gulp.