black and white photography

learn photography – 10 – black & white

I’ve had a bit of a problem with my computer so my submission for Raj’s black & white lesson was on the back burner for the past week.  I decided to challenge myself during this lesson by using a 50 mm lens and manual focus during a rain storm.  The outcome of my exploration with various f-stops was hampered by the – sigh – a very limited experience and trust with manual focus.

Nikon D750  f/5.6  1/30s  50mm  200 ISO  manual focus

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Nikon D750  f/5.6  1/30s  50mm 200 ISO  manual focus

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Before the rain, I decided to explore the interactions of the histogram and shutter speed in the Nikon D750 while photographing the arrival of autumn.

f/7.1  1/6s  300mm  ISO 200

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weekend reflections

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Nick Cave and Warren Ellis create film and theatre scores that are elegantly minimal, hauntingly beautiful and instantly recognisable as theirs alone. Full of light and shade, creeping dread and inconsolable yearning, these heavily instrumental sound paintings inject aching humanity into ghostly frontier towns, parched desert vistas and post-apocalyptic war zones. Most are built around the duo’s intertwined piano and violin melodies, with sporadic use of guitar, flute, mandolin, celeste, percussion and other elements. Vocals are rare and sparing. But even without lyrics, they are always lyrical.

the journey begins

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You can learn about the pine only from the pine, or about the bamboo only from bamboo.  When you see an object, you must leave your subjective pre-occupation with yourself; otherwise you impose yourself on the object, and do not learn.  The object and yourself must become one, and from that feeling of oneness issues your poetry.  However well phrased it may be, if your feeling is not natural—if the object and our self are separate—then your poetry is not true poetry but merely your subjective counterfeit.

~ Basho*

Keith Kenniff is an American composer, multi-instrumentalist, and electronic music producer. He composes ambient/electronic music under the moniker Helios and post-classical piano music under Goldmund.

everyman’s artist…consciousness

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He saw that his own mind was present in every phenomenon in the universe. …Our own mind is the source of all phenomena. Form, sound, smell, taste, and tactile perception such as hot and cold, hard and soft – these are all creations of our mind. They do not exist as we usually think they do.  Our consciousness is like an artist, painting every phenomenon into being.

Thich Nhat Hanh, Old Path White Clouds

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no trespassing

Again

I sneak into your garden

to eat arena berries.

(Please keep yourself hidden

until I go away!)

~Ryokan, cited in: K Tanahashi, Sky Above, Great Wind

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During a recent photo walk, I found myself ignoring a “no trespassing” sign while silently rehearsing innocent detail.  If I had not been somewhat oppositional, I would have missed this interesting chair being re-weaved by nature as well as a water lily pond and a kingfisher. Much the same as Ryokan, 190+ years ago, I found myself hoping the homeowners would keep themselves hidden until I went away.

XDrive Photo Session – 7 – frame your subject

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Nikon D750  f/5.6  1/20s  300mm  100 ISO

Within this week’s photo lesson RAJ restates that a successful picture is one where your viewer lingers for a bit.  One way of encouraging a prolonged and concentrated stay is through the use of frames that add depth, bring in the context to the story/object, create mystery, and hide unwanted elements within the image.