Imagination in Isolation

Icarus's Ghost

The above photograph almost made it into the book.   When I framed it, I wanted the lines of the sand to lead the eye to the cloud formation.  I imagine many things while I'm out, especially when I view cloud formations.  This particular formation made me think of Icarus leaving the bounds of the Earth and heading toward his sunny destiny.  With his arms pushed back, knees bent, head toward the sky with only one goal in mind.  That's what I saw when I pressed the shutter button.  When I finally showed this piece to a few people, they didn't see much more than lines and a few clouds.  

I'm not easily influenced by what others think about my work, but this time I had to listen.  The book is more about making a connection to the viewer through the photographs and stories.  Each of the photographs intended for the book were selected based on a number of questions.  When an image passed, it was considered for the next round of cuts.  Icarus's Ghost made it all the way to the end, but fell short on the final cut.  I still find reasons to enjoy this image.  Others may find they enjoy the image as well, but it just doesn't fit the goal of the INVISIBLE project. 

Lens Play

I'm a huge fan of wide angle lenses.  During the last few months of photographing for the INVISIBLE project my Sigma 10-20mm lens hardly left the body of my camera.  It's a versatile lens throughout the short range.  The perspective can change quite a bit from one end of the range to the other.  Here's an image I made at 20mm while I walking through the Ludington state park.

20mm

Not a bad frame, but I hadn't fallen into my groove yet.  I decided to make one more image from the 10mm range  I moved a little bit forward, dropped the zoom and made the following image.

10mm

I moved closer to the stump, lost the sticks on the beach, but also gave the image some depth.  Most notably, the cluster of trees in the distance.  This helped me to decide how I wanted to frame the image for the final image.  I will say this.  I ended up framing it vertically and from another position.  It made a huge difference for the final photograph that will be in the book.

A Sneak Peek

I thought I put a little sneak peak at one of the photographs from the INVISIBLE book.  This is one of Rebecca's favorites.  

Broken 

I don't want to say much about this yet, you'll just have to wait for the book.

Seeing the Unseen

Every now and again, I like to show a before and after image.  This is a straight out of camera infrared image and the final finished photograph ready for print.  It takes a lot of seeing and coaxing to tease out the details for a final photograph.  It doesn't always turn out the way I want, but it really helps when I can envision what I want and what I'm willing to do before I press the shutter button.  

The above photograph is about lines and textures.  In the infrared image the lines and textures are hiding out.  With the right amount of patience and Photoshop skills the lifeless is given life. 

It's been an adventure in seeing, but I'm a stronger photographer because of it. 

My Birthday Wish

Today is my birthday and so far it's going just the way I wanted.  I woke up to plenty of fresh bleach white powdery snow (nearly 2 feet).  It's cold, well below freezing.  There's the promise of sunshine and a decent amount of clouds.  It all adds up to perfect conditions to get get out and make some new work.  My bag is packed, my gear and winter wear is hanging in wait and now I play the waiting game like a kid waiting for everyone else to wake Christmas morning (I had a hard time waiting as a kid, but that's another story for another day).

My goal today is head out to one of my favorite places.  

I'm not getting any younger.  I could use a good hike in the cold.  It clears my head.  I plan to do a little color photography, but for the most part, today is going to be an infrared kind of day.  So here's to turning another year older and doing something I love just one more day.

This Way Home

This Way Home II Textured Ed.

While the majority of the photographs for the INVISIBLE project are monochrome,  I am also working on color treatments and textured photographs.  All the works were made using my infrared camera, but some just call out for different treatment in the digital darkroom.

The day I stumbled on this scene, it was overcast and rather dull.  I had been wandering making some interesting frames, but as I walked closer to this tree stump, I stopped.  I started to look at it and I realized it was pointing in the direction of the entrance to the park.  I thought about it for a moment and wondered if someone bent the piece of wood as a sign of where to go if they lost their way.  I made several frames, but it wasn't until later that I realized the longing of the image.  That's why I added the textures.  To me it needed a little more story, more of a sense of losing oneself, but leaving hope for those to follow in my footsteps.