On another note,  it never gets old seeing tangible work whether it be prints or publications.  It gets the satisfaction bubbles flowing.

It reminds me that Ansel Adams had a three book series: The Camera, The Negative, and The Print.  If republished today, Adams would have to rename his books to The Camera, The Digital Negative, and The Internet. Oh how the digital age has torn the photographer away from printing!

Here is my call to action to anyone with a camera:

If you haven’t printed a photograph for yourself in the past month, pick out a favorite (preferably one never printed before) and print it.  It doesn’t matter if it considered fine art, client work, portraits, or just a common family photo; just pick one. Make the print a 16×20 or bigger.  Buy a frame. Hang it in a commonly used space in your living quarters. Enjoy.

Grace and Peace

On a side note, Pat has always been so kind to my fiancée Grace Kettell and I.  She will include a little tip while instructing Grace and I to go on a “hot date.” How can you turn that down?

So everyone please show some love for Patricia Smith by visiting her website at www.patriciathepainter.com

Grace and Peace

-Images used by permission from the artist, copyright is solely of Patricia Smith.  Please do not use images without expressed written consent of Patricia Smith, the artist.

Not really…

I have always been a big propionate of stating that all photography is “manipulated” in some fashion no mater what the era.  The photographer controls the composition, angle, subject matter (including or excluding),  pose, lighting, and mood or conveyance of a scene or person before pressing the shutter button.  When pressing the shutter button the photographers choice of shutter speed, aperture, film speed (ISO),  film type, camera format all influence the final image of the negative or digital file.  This doesn’t account for the “manipulative” tools employed in the darkroom, printing, and retouching, whether it be film or digital.  For example, is HDR photography some new invention from those image manipulation programs?  Think again. The concept runs all the way back to 1850 with Gustave Le Gray using multiple exposures to render seascape pictures.

But hasn’t Photoshop given photographers too much power  in altering the image?  It depends on the context and this is where all photographers have to draw their own lines.  For me, my Shenandoah, nature, and abstract work are processed in Adobe Lightroom 2 and those images stay in there.  By using Lightroom as opposed to Photoshop, I feel that my workflow more closely resembles the enlarger and film darkroom experience.  Now when it comes to client portraits,  almost every image will be processed in Lightroom and Photoshop.  My clients expect and often request for the photos to be retouched.

Photography is the manner in which we as photographers interrupt the world around us.  All photographers have their own vision and style in creating a photograph. It is up to the viewers of the pictures to determine their worth, whether it is partially manipulated or extensively hacked contrived with tools beyond the camera. So if anything, let us not criticize the tools for ruining a photograph but the people who use them poorly.  If we blame Photoshop, then we might as well hold flickr and the Internet accountable for allowing people to upload hideous pictures. Let’s face it, people have been creating bad photography ever since the inception of the first light sensitive tools.

If there is additional interest on the topic, check out these posts by Chase Jarvis and Scott Kelby.

Grace and Peace

3) Would it be more cost effective to rent/barrow for specific occasions, or should this equipment be a mainstay in my arsenal of tools?

We read about sports photographer Bill Frakes owning 29 Nikon D3 bodies and National Geographic photographer Joe McNally lighting the X – 47A Pegasus with 12 Nikon SB-80s. Only if we all could have that many cameras and lights; imagine the variety of images we could produce. But if we are honest with ourselves as photographers, the majority of our photographic endeavors revolve around a small and specific set of equipment. While a product photographers necessary equipment list may be larger then a wedding photographer, each should know their essential equipment list. This list comprises of the tools that, on the average job, will be used 80-90% of the time. As for the 10-20% of the occasions when there are specific equipment requirements, go rent it. How often would you be using 12 Nikon SB-80s (or whatever your equivalent is) anyways?

Fin

This is the end of the series ‘When should I upgrade?’ I hope that I provided some food for thought based off my experiences. If one bit of wisdom could be gained by this series, I wish it to be this: Go photograph something and forget about the technical mumbo-jumbo. Take pictures with your “inferior” camera; by default you will have more and better pictures then the person spending hours not capturing images and fretting over technical specification of the latest equipment.

Grace and Peace

Image from my abstract series.

Some of you may have noticed some changes to my website and for that, you receive a high five.  If you haven’t then you can check it out here.  My website and portfolio have needed face-lifts for some time now and over the next few weeks I will be updating it. So without further ado, I present the current and future modification.

Pennington Studio

Pennington Studio is focused on custom portraits created by artist Grace Kettell, my talented and beautiful fiancée, and myself.  Grace and I have been working together on custom portraits for over a year and a half now and Pennington Studio is a natural step for our businesses.  As for my website, it will become the haven for my personal photography and  I have removed the service and pricing information pages.

Abstract Series

In this series my goal is to immerse myself in shapes, light, and contrast.  The technical aspects of photography are not of concern. I am loose in preconceived execution and strict in playfully developing a feeling. It’s an attempt at deviating from the photography medium into an end product that forges an essence of alternate medium. I will be updating the gallery with more images soon.

Shenandoah Series

Shenandoah National Park is a magical and peaceful locale.  The landscape, Skyline Drive, hiking trails, waterfalls, and wildlife make Shenandoah one of my favorite eastern parks. Over the course of the next couple years, I will indulge myself in the exploration and photographing of Shenandoah National Park. I will be creating a gallery of images  from my previous trips sometime in the near future.

‘Name under construction’ Gallery

As the heading suggests, I have yet to determine a name for these set of images.  Mostly because this gallery is not as specific in subject mater. So until I come up with a title, the gallery’s photographic content will also remain a mystery.

Grace and Peace

2) Will I potentially loose at least 2-3x more if I don’t make this investment?

This can be a “gray” area question, and therefore, needs a bit critical thought.  Potential future profit shouldn’t be confused with present potential loss. There isn’t any money to be lost if it hasn’t been gained.  So this question of loss shouldn’t have correlating thoughts of, “if I don’t buy this camera, then I will loose the $35,000 that I know will be profited this year.  This question pertains more to the present or near future business liability and insurance losses, the “cover your butt” type of losses.  On a basic level this means having backup equipment (bodies, lenses, memory cards,  batteries, etc.) for assignments in case of those unfortunate situations of equipment of failures. Trust me, as I have had more then my share; failures will happen to every photographer on some level. On a more complex level this means maintaining your business and professional reputation.

Dreadful real life example of when I didn’t ask myself this question:
Back in the day, I followed the advice from the pros about backing up my files.  I had a 320 GB primary hard drive and a 250 GB secondary backup hard drive.  A couple days before I had session with a client, the 250 GB capacity maxed out.  I didn’t think much of it other then buying another drive when I had the chance.  The photo shoot arrives, it one of those ‘only get one chance’ type as there wouldn’t be any rescheduling for a re-shoot.    The session went well and I upload the pictures to my 320 GB drive without being able to the backup on full secondary drive.

Fast forward a few days later, I open up Bridge in Photoshop  to continue processing the photos. Photos not there.  Drive not reading.  Heart not beating.  My 320 GB drive died.  So frantically, with unstable emotions and thoughts of my business crumbling,  I scoured Google for hard drive recovery services. After researching and calling several companies, I picked one that I felt most “comfortable” with.  A terrifying week later I receive a call from the recovery disk doctors with great news, 93-96% percent of the drive was recovered (only one file from the shoot was corrupt) and my business wouldn‘t crumble.  Bad news, it would cost two grand worth of labor and service.  Ouch.  Hard lesson in the cost of doing business.

Had I made it a priority and purchased a $100-200 replacement hard drive the day it maxed out, I would have saved myself 10-20x in recovery costs.  It was a hard but important lesson,  I was naïve  with a thoughts of “what could possibly happen in the next couple of days.”  Today, I have 6 hard drives, I don’t fool around.  So do yourself a favor and ask yourself, “will I potentially loose at least 2-3x more if I don’t make this  investment?”

Grace and Peace

In two previous posts I discussed the importance for acquiring knowledge and considering technical limitation in regard to upgrading photography equipment.  In this section I will discuss the role of financial gains in conjunction with equipment purchases.

Financial Gain

During the photographic journey, the potential of profiting with a camera will linger in many of the photography minded. Some photographers will garner those thoughts into a career while others will hustle enough to purchase extra equipment. Either way, this monetary notion will invoke desires to upgrade or add equipment in which to appease the money hawking or grappling clients. So while financial gains on equipment upgrades may not be as romantic or eclectic compared to knowledge or technical limitations,  in my opinion it is the most important aspect when making upgrade decisions. Because of this importance, I recommend  asking  these three questions regarding upgrades:

1)  Will I gain at least 3x more then the original investment?

If you were to purchase this piece of equipment would you directly gain at least 3x more in it’s lifetime?  Remember 3x is the minimum. Ideally, purchasing a piece of equipment would yield much more capital then 3x. Asking this question will also help make critical decisions on what should be purchased first. It also helps justify what may be a need over a want.

Examples:

When to upgrade:
You find that your particular clients purchase bigger prints. Until now, you have resisted up-selling beyond a certain size to maintain print quality, sharpness, and clarity. But you know since customers have asked for it that they would buy bigger prints.  Profit margins on these prints are much higher, but you would need a higher full frame mega-pixel camera.   You upgrade and the additional profit margin with the larger prints will gain  3x more then the original investment.

When not to upgrade:
Wedding photography is your main gig.  Your current camera prints wonderful images for 12×12 albums and you never print above a 16×20.  Technical limitations are not a concern because your camera handles low lighting conditions well and you use several fast lenses .  Upgrading will not directly result in any additional margin and therefore would not gain 3x more capital.

[I will continue the next two questions in parts two and three]

Grace and Peace

Anyways, so I was getting my yahoo fix today when I saw this video with the title:

“Couple sue over nightmare wedding pics”

Ouch!  This photographer (videographer?) creatively re-shooting the couple-less limo was downright silly. But there are a few lessons to learn:

Photographers:

Protect yourself!  Get everything in the contract, what is expected of you and what you will deliver.  Purchase the necessary backup gear.  Have insurance, this covers you in case your gear gets stolen or broken but also if a couple tries to sue you.  If you really botch the wedding photographs, do whatever you can to reimburse the couple. Do a re-shoot or refund some or all the money (depending on how badly you botched it). Yes I know, surrendering all that money seems crazy, but dwell on it for a second.   This photographer is the subject of an international news spotlight because the couple didn’t receive  proper photographic records of a once in a lifetime event. This will do wonders for his business.  So photographers, if you mess up,  do whatever it takes to satisfy the wedding couple, including giving them your left leg.

Wedding Couple:

Pick your photographers carefully!  Interview and get to know them. If you don’t click with the photographers personality, don’t hire them.  Also,  a monkey with a camera can  produce ten masterpiece images out a million photographs,  so ask to view photographs from an all day wedding event (bride getting ready, formals, ceremony, reception, etc.)  This will give you an idea of how a photographer covers the entire wedding and not just the photographers best all-time pictures.  And on that note,  couples, you get what you pay for.  $200 on a photographer =  $200 photographs (and yes, there are exception but don’t risk it.)

Grace and Peace

So here is the leaflet with directions and hours for anyone interested.

Grace and Peace

More expensive, higher mega-pixels, bigger sensor, quicker frames-per-second is always better, right? I will argue that when considering the best photographic “upgrades,” equipment that seems lacking technically may be the most appropriate.

From roughly the 1890’s to about the 1950’s, large and medium format cameras were the mainstay of photographers. Names such as Ansel Adams and Richard Avedon deployed these cameras in and out of the studio. The common 8×10 inches, 4×5 inches, and 120 format films provided an enormous amount of information and detail which allowed for large, occasional life-sized, tack sharp prints. But while these film types and cameras rendered superior quality, they were clumsy, large, heavy, and slow to deploy. These characteristics made for capturing spontaneous and fleeting moments almost impossible to photograph without much forethought and preparation. But during the 1920’s-1930’s, a new line of cameras and a French photographer were dedicated to capturing the “decisive moment.”

Although the 35mm film was in use before the now legendary Leica cameras, it was the Leica that popularized it. While the Leica’s optics and quality made it suitable for professionals, its compact size made it easy to carry and deploy (“point and shoot” if I might say). This quick fire camera was ideal for master photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson who desired to capture the what he called the “decisive moment.” Cartier-Bresson, with his Leica and 50mm lens, has been credited with creating what many photographers refer to today as “street photography.” Prowling and stalking the streets, he would search for interesting moments while maintaining supreme composition. One of his greatest images, “Behind the Gare St. Lazare,” which depicts a Frenchman jumping over/into a large puddle of water, was taken through a gap in the fence. Imagine attempting to capture that spontaneous moment with a large or medium format camera. For Cartier-Bresson, the 35mm Leica with a smaller negative format, made it possible to photograph his many iconic images.

“For us the camera is a tool, the extension of our eye, not a pretty little mechanical toy. It is sufficient that we should feel at ease with the camera best adapted for our purpose. Adjustments of the camera – such as setting the aperture and the speed – should become reflexes, like changing gear in a car. The real problem is one of intelligence and sensitivity.”

-Henri Cartier-Bresson

Now I understand that digital sensors are a newer technology which have quickly evolved, making the “lacking” 3 mega-pixel sensors obsolete. But with the average consumer point and shoot camera floating at 10 mega-pixels, is being able to print solid 4×6 and 5×7 prints a concern? How often does the average photographer print over 5×7 or even print at all? Does even a 10 mega-pixel sensor matter if the pictures are to be uploaded to Flickr at 600×400 pixels (which by the way isn‘t even equivalent to 1 mega-pixel)? So let us forget about mega-pixels and focus on the other technical limitations of the camera.

We need to remember that photographers create photographs. This seems obvious, but often when it come to equipment, we tend to be collectors of “toys“ rather than creators with “tools.” All photography equipment contains weaknesses, so is imperative that we consider the technical limitation of every piece of equipment and choose the most appropriate piece for our purpose just as Henri Cartier-Bresson did with his 35mm Leica and 50mm lens. Sometimes this will mean purchasing relatively less capable equipment that better suit’s a given photographic situation. So as I opened, when considering the best photographic “upgrades,” equipment which seems lacking technically may be the most appropriate. If your current equipment is appropriate and changing settings has become an extension of your arms, then “feel at ease” and don’t upgrade. Go capture those “decisive moments” until that camera breaks, then upgrade.

“Photography has not changed since its origin except in its technical aspects, which for me are not important.”
- Henri Cartier-Bresson

Grace and Peace