What's on the horizon?

You can sit and wait to see what happens or you can go out and meet it.

I got peace like a light bulb ...

These things were pretty popular back in the 1970s. Light bulbs that contained symbols, messages, logos, you name it. They didn't give off much light, but that wasn't the purpose. You could have bought one for a couple of bucks back then. They're going for around 20 dollars on eBay these days.

I got hold of a couple of oldies but goodies from a friend to see what I could do with them, photography-wise. This was the first thought off the top of my head. A composite photo. Shot the lit bulb in a lamp fixture, then took a shot of my hand holding the same bulb. Put 'em together in Photoshop.

Speaking of "off the top of my head" ... I have an idea ...

Photograph © 2010 James Jordan.

Occupying a thin slice of time and space

But then again, aren't we all?

A butterfly on a wall fits neatly into the shallow depth of field of a telephoto lens. Peck Road Farm butterfly house, Geneva, Illinois.

Photograph © 2010 James Jordan.

At the zoo

Zoos. Gotta love 'em. Gotta hate 'em. Sometimes I think the last design consideration, if it was made at all, was to photography. Zoos are rotten places to try to get photos of the inhabitants. I kept bumping into the limits of my equipment at the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison Wisconsin. It's not just that particular zoo, I've spent plenty of frustrated moments at zoos all over the country.

Poor light. Even worse color balance of that poor light. Reflective glass. Bars in the way. Argh.

The shot of the tiger was taken through thick, bluish, scratch-covered glass while the big fella paced through the snow near a chain link fence. Most of the time, I try to eliminate all vestiges of captivity when framing up a zoo shot. I watched the big cat pace back and forth and noticed he made a turn at a particular spot in his enclosure. I framed up that spot with a telephoto zoom lens(200mm) through a not so reflective area of the glass and shot several passes of the cat. The best shot had a split exposure -- the part of the tiger below his nose was partially obscured by a reflection in the window. Photoshop to the rescue.

Other times, I try to make it very apparent that the subject is in captivity.



For the most part, I stick a 55-200 zoom on the camera and leave it there. It gives me the ability to be selective with my focus.

This time out, I brought along a flash unit. Fitted it with a wireless trigger and had my wife act as a voice-activated light stand, holding the flash unit off to the side while I shot away indoors. It worked out quite nicely. Those pics to follow.

Photographs © 2010 James Jordan.

Have an original New Year, or What are you going to do with YOUR blank canvas?

For the past several years, my first blog post of the new year generally features optimistic anticipation of the 365 days to come and displays the first meaningful photo I've taken for the year. This year, the thing is, I have yet to take my first meaningful photograph (OK, aside from the quickie I set up to illustrate this post).

Not that I haven't toyed around with some shots, but so far, nothing has emerged that I can look at and say, "That's worth sharing with the world." For the most part, I've spent the last couple of weeks with family, enjoying the holidays and only occasionally taking time to think about photography-related stuff. Then I received a piece of mail on Flickr from someone who has been following my photos both there and here asking for some advice, which got me thinking some more.

So here's what I've thought about. Perhaps you can use some of it to inform your own picture taking, or maybe even apply it to other things in your life.

It's OK if you're not original, but do be yourself about it. It's true that there is nothing new under the sun. There are only about three dozen basic story plots, upon which all of the novels, plays and movies of the world are based. Every innovation of humankind has been or will be achieved by applying one of 40 basic principles. Dozens of hit songs over the years have been based, in whole or in part, on the same four-chord progression.

It doesn't matter what you're setting out to do. Most likely, it's already been done, and done remarkably well by someone else. Or maybe a thousand someone elses. So what to do? Go ahead and do it, but make it your own. Theoretically, there is no one just like you, so whatever you do, imbue it with your distinct personality and outlook on life.

The story is told of a budding photographer who is waiting while famed photojournalist James Natchwey, who has covered every major world conflict since 1981, is reviewing his portfolio. Natchwey silently and quickly flips through page after page of the studen't photos, which represent, up until that time, his life's work. When he reaches the last picture, he looks up at the student, who eagerly awaits the master's critique. "I'm afraid," Natchwey intones, "These pictures tell me nothing about you as a person." End of session.

Do your photos provide a glimpse of you as a person? The things you care about? How you feel about your subjects? If you can do that, then you will have accomplished something -- work that is unlike anyone else's.

And that's a good thing.

Photograph © 2010 James Jordan.

Sophie, the pug-nosed reindeer

My wife and I visited family in Michigan over the weekend. While there, I got a bunch of photos of my brother's pug, Sophie. He suggested that I do something with a set of jackalope antlers he had, so we staged, shot and Photoshopped our own holiday pug-a-lope.

No pugs were harmed in the making of this picture -- pug and antlers were shot separately, then joined on the computer. Interesting challenge photographing a pug -- their little wrinkly black faces just suck up the light. You almost have to overlight in order to get any kind of detail in the face.

I used a shoot-through umbrella on the main light, with the umbrella set about halfway up the shaft. Choking up helped to keep the light more focused and I aimed it slightly in front of the pug so as not to overdo the light on the chair and wall. A second light with a grid put some tight directional light on her head.

Posting here may be a bit light in the run-up to Christmas. Hope you have a great time with your own friends and family.

Photograph © 2009 James Jordan.

This little light of mine

I've been thinking about this shot for a while. Ever since I did the red Christmas ornament shots a week or so ago, I've been pondering what to do next and thought of photographing a candle out in the woods. I've just been waiting for the right time. The right time being either a fresh coating of snow or a foggy winter day.

The foggy winter day came today, so I packed a candle, lighter, camera, boom stand, flash, gels and grid and headed out to a local forest preserve. It was a pretty straightforward shot once the light was set up - the boom allowed me to place the flash directly above the candle to create a ring of light with a grid attached. A double layer of CTO gels allowed me to shift the color balance to incandescent to simulate twilight while maintaining a warm white light on the candle -- this was shot mid-morning.

The setup for the flash is shown below. After that it was just a matter of laying on my side in the melting snow until I framed up a few shots that I liked. Then home to change out of my wet clothes.



Photographs © 2009 James Jordan.

The things that remain

This is the remnant of a pier located at the Wind Point lighthouse north of Racine, Wisconsin. I had gone there hoping to catch the moonrise, but the area was socked in with clouds. So I shot what was there.

Yeah, the processing is severe on this shot, but it was done on purpose to ramp up the surreal feeling I wanted to get across.

We all have things that were once a vital part of our lives that have fallen by the wayside. Although the waves of time continue to wear away at them, they continue to sit below the surface, still influencing, still guiding. And sometimes still tormenting.

I think this shot would make a great cover for a great book on this topic.

Five-image HDR from a single RAW file, exposed to retain highlights. Straight and graduated neutral density filters used to even out tones of water and sky and allow for a long exposure to smooth out the water. Photograph © 2009 James Jordan.

Departure

Leaving the tangled world of the past behind.

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2009 James Jordan.

February thaw 2

Note to self: Valentine's Day is Saturday. Plan accordingly. A nice warm holiday in the middle of a cold month.

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2009 James Jordan.

My year in review

Okay, so I’m a little late in posting this, as year-end reviews are usually posted, well, at the end of the year. But I ran across a quote by Ansel Adams that got me thinking. The dean of American nature photography once said, “Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop.” Of the hundreds of shots he made annually, if St. Ansel managed to capture about one good picture a month, he was a happy man.

I estimate that I easily took more than 3,000 photographs last year, maybe closer to 4,000 (I made the jump to digital photography – I never would have been anywhere near that output with film). So, did I end up with 12 pictures that I could call “significant?” I’m defining “significant” as a photo that breaks new ground in some way, whether it’s a technical, artistic or technological jump.

Herewith is a collection of my significant photos from 2008, beginning with the photo at the top of this post. It's significant in that it was one of the first digital photographs I ever made after more than a decade of shooting film only. Shortly after getting a Fujifilm Finepix s700 for Christmas, my wife and I took a trip to Door County, Wisconsin. I was still getting acquainted with the camera when I shot the Sturgeon Bay Canal Pier Light just before dawn. Plenty of mistakes in the picture, but plenty of potential, too. The composition makes up for some technical problems (focus, noise). A cleaned up version of this photograph will be published in this year's Door County Visitor Guide.

Technical and technological achievement. Capturing a nearly full moon (technical) and inserting it into an existing photo via Photoshop (technological).

Being in the right place at the right time. The odds of that happening increase the more you actually get out and look for pictures. And don't miss a chance to shoot photos when it's foggy.

If the clouds are doing something dramatic, grab your camera and get out there.

Pictures don't have to be complicated.

Right time, right place, dramatic clouds, simplicity all in one picture.

Let the picture evolve. This park sits at the end of a pathway through a wooded area in Fish Creek, Wisconsin. I took photo after photo as visitors came and went, then kept the photo with the most interesting configuration of silhouettes.

Backlighting from a nearby window combined with a sheet of plack foam board with a string of colored lights inserted, Lite Brite style.

Drama in the sky, stillness in the water.

Exploring macro and natural light using a sheet of black foam board as a backdrop. Shot outside in the shade on a sunny day.

Same black backdrop/shade configuration as previous photo. This daylily was one of many growing by a neighbor's garage.

We all walk a path that takes some twists and turns. I had already taken a number of shots of the winding road when a gentleman out for a walk passed by. We exchanged greetings and I waited for him to make his way to the top center of the composition.

These 12 photos represent a whole lot of learning in a year's time. Three of them are award winners, several have been published and together they've garnered more than 30,000 online views.

Click on pictures to enlarge. Photographs © 2008-2009 James Jordan.

Going for it

I'm making the jump from a serious hobbyist photographer who occasionally sells a photo or lands a picture taking gig to hanging out my shingle that I am open for business. My shingle has been hung out in the online marketplace - you can check out my new Web site, which displays photographic samples in various categories.

The nifty Flash interface was built by a friend (who was downsized out of his job at the same time I was - if you need Web design work done, he's your man.)

The web site also features a new blog that covers various aspects of the world of professional photography.

So ... I'm available for assignments in portrait photography, event photography, product photography and stock photography in and around the Chicago suburbs. I'll be featuring those assignments on the new blog and occasionally here. But this place is still home to my personal photography efforts.

We'll see what the new year holds. Onward and forward.

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2008 James Jordan.

What to my wondering eyes should appear ...

I think that we could all probably use some more wonder in our daily diets. A serving of slack-jawed awe. A few more goose bumps. An occasional side dish of pure delight.

I know that I get faded and jaded by the ordinary-ness of life. I skip the AOL story about the never-before-seen sea creature that scientists just discovered and click on the story of baby naming trends in the wake of the presidential election. Sea creature. Big deal. Maybe we can call it the Barack-Osaurus.

For a few minutes, at least, I'd love to see the world as a two-year-old does, where practically everything is new. Where magic is commonplace. Where miracles occur on a regular basis. It's the same stuff that you and I see, but it's seen in a different way.

I'll work on it. December is a good month for doing that kind of thing.

Click on this post's headline for image EXIF data. Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2008 James Jordan.

Things I'm thankful for #3

The bonds of friends and family that remain strong despite the tests and trials of time.

Click on this post's headline for image EXIF data. Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2008 James Jordan.

Achieving balance

Much like the elusive state of balance that many seek in their lives, this picture was a bear to achieve. I had been thinking for some time about doing some table top photos with a stack of stones. I found a small light box that my daughter had purchased for a craft project a few months back, and an idea was born.

The light box was used as the base of support for the stack of stones as well as the main light source for the picture. The stones are free standing - no glue or wires, just physics. Once I got the stones to stay in place, I quickly set up a camera on a tripod and took a couple of shots of the stack itself just in case it collapsed before I could get some hands in the picture. Once I got those safely on the memory card, I set the camera's self timer and reached over and around the camera to get my hands in the picture. Voila.

This photo just seems ideal for a "Depressories" poster:

Click on this post's headline for image EXIF data. Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2008 James Jordan.

At the station

When I made this portrait of myself standing on a local commuter railway platform while a train pulled out of the station, I was just thinking it would be a fun shot to try. And it was – the camera sat on a tripod at eye level on the platform with the self timer ready and a long exposure manually set. I also set the flash to go off just before the shutter closed. When the train started moving, I pressed the shutter button and moved into position while the timer counted down, then stood stock still until the flash went off.

The end result seems to have none of the fun that I intended. The viewer becomes a witness to a lone man in thought as a train moves on. Is he pondering his decision to not board? Did he narrowly miss the train? What is the significance of the backpack he is wearing?

Am I thinking too much?

Taking stock: About a week ago, I filled out an application to become a photo supplier to iStock Photos, one of the leading stock photography sites on the Web. I completed an involved process that includes sitting through an online briefing that runs through the technical and legal issues of supplying stock photos. Before photographers get to the dotted line, they must pass a quiz which includes evaluating a number of sample photos and declaring them acceptable or not and if not, identifying their shortcomings. The final step is to upload three photos of your own for consideration, then wait to hear back from someone as to whether or not your application has been accepted.

The wait is over and I am a new member of the iStock team. All three of my sample photos were evaluated as being of sufficient commercial and technical quality to justify their inclusion in the iStock collection. I can now upload up to 15 photos a week to the site for consideration and hopefully, some sales.

Which three photos did I submit? This one, this one and this one.

Click on this post's headline for image EXIF data. Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2008 James Jordan.

Why I (heart) rock balancing

There is something about seeing a rock balanced on top of another that commands attention. Maybe it’s something about the inner balance that we all crave. Or perhaps the fact that it’s just not … natural … to see something like that in nature. It’s a surprise. Something bigger than the rocks was at work to make them stand.

Rock balancing is a form of relaxation. For those few moments when my fingers place one rock on top of another, analytic thought is replaced by the sense of touch. I feel around for the point of balance, getting closer and closer, the movements of the stone getting smaller and smaller until I hit the sweet spot. Sometimes it takes a few seconds to find it. Sometime I labor for several minutes. Most often I can feel the stone hit its balancing point and I withdraw my hands immediately. Sometimes I tentatively remove one finger at a time until I’m satisfied that the rock will not move.

It’s ephemeral art. As soon as the rock is balanced, it is subjected to forces that threaten to knock it down. Wind. Waves. Time.

Life itself is a complex balancing act of chemicals and processes in perfect balance, battling forces that threaten to tear it down. In our physical life, those forces will eventually win. But until then, we have the opportunity to stand and call attention to something bigger than ourselves.

Click on pictures to enlarge. Photographs © 2008 James Jordan.

Grace notes

I saw a gracefully soaring visual symphony in the simple shapes of a daylily. The stamen appeared as a musical staff, the anthers as notes sitting on that staff and the pistol as a conductor’s baton.

A professional freelance photographer that I hired often in my days as a photo editor/buyer had a tag phrase on his promotional materials: “Simple pictures are best!”

I still agree.

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2008 James Jordan.

Rorschach

There have been some impressive cloud formations over northern Illinois of late as line after line of thunderstorms have moved through. I've been snapping pictures of cumulus clouds for the last couple of weeks with the idea of doing something with them eventually.

Here's one. This photo was taken from the parking lot of a Target store in Lake In The Hills, Illinois. The parking lot full of cars and lampposts was cropped out, the photo was then copied, flipped and pasted under the original picture. A little tweaking of the "reflected" image in Photoshop Elements 6 completed the picture. The whole thing reminded me of a Rorschach ink blot test.

Let me know what you see.

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2008 James Jordan.

Faded glory

Time makes its incessant march into eternity. It will eventually overtake us all. The lesson: Make the most of the time you have today.

Who’s in my blogroll: Kathleen Connally is in love with the people and places in rural Durham Township, Pennsylvania. And it shows in her carefully crafted images – lyrical landscapes, candid portraits of her family and the folks who populate the world of Durham Township. Consistently one of the highest rated photo blogs in the U.S. I had the pleasure of meeting Kathleen a year ago at a Photoblogger's meetup in Chicago. Visit A Walk Through Durham Township.

Photo: Decayed daffodil and faded denim. Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2008 James Jordan.