Do you shoot a lot? Do you stay in practice? Is it still fun?

I was up early this morning.  I was on location setting up at 7:45 am and we were shooting images by 8:30 am.  When I got back to the studio I put two batteries on the charger, downloaded the day's images, backed them up on a second drive and then got ready to go out for a little recreation.  From 4:30 pm til 9:15 pm I took some personal time to do what I love to do second most......take photographs.  That's Ben above.  The first image is from a backstroke race.  I like the frozen water and the deep blue.  That's not processed.  Not even sharpened.  The second image is of Ben wearing caution tape and waiting to swim the anchor slot of the freestyle relay.  They won.  By several body lengths.

The only time I put the cameras down was to swim second on the parents versus coaches freestyle relay. With a motley assemblage of former college swimmers and a former NCAA All American we did out touch our younger team of coaches.

But I digress.  The important thing is how much I anticipated going out and making more images.  I shot 400 images this morning for work.  I shot another 633 this evening for fun.  And the post processing will be even more fun.  This is the kind of passion you need to feel for your craft and your profession if you want to do this as a profession.

And every now and then it all clicks.  If you practice.  And you carry that camera with you everywhere....

image processed in LR3 using "Old Polar" preset.  Love the effect of the contrast and saturation. Love the swimmer kids.  They're the best.  


Wrapping up the day at 10:46 and ready for some fun projects tomorrow.  Keep your batteries charged and your cards formatted.  You never know what you'll see if you take a new path.

Out shooting some high tech gear but I wanted to remind the Austinites....

Taking advantage of the D7's fast frame rate.

That I'll be signing my books over at Precision Camera (3810 N. Lamar Blvd) from noon til 2pm on Saturday.  I'd love to see people.  I'd love to see you if you have time to drop by.  I won't care if you buy a book or not.

On another note, it looks like the economy is showing signs of life.  The phone is ringing again and people are talking about the nuts and bolts of new projects instead of immediately defaulting to the lowest possible budget.  I'm booked on a technical shoot tomorrow.  When I wrap up for the day I get to head over to my pool to shoot the mighty Rollingwood Waves on their last home meet of the season.  My new hobby is to get "dive sequences" of the kids.  The Canon 7D's fast shutter advance (8 fps?) makes it pretty easy.  All I have to worry about is exposure and focus timing and framing.

Next week I'll be in Ft. Worth and Dallas shooting projects and when I return I start on ads for two medical practices.  With the assorted headshot thrown in and a few projects for Zach Scott wedged in around the edges it's starting to feel more like 2000 than 2009.

I've been writing bids and contracts most of the week, and sitting in planning meetings.  I was reminded of Ronald Reagan's saying, "Trust but verify".  He was thinking of the Russian military's atomic stockpile but I was thinking about the army of lawyers brought to bear by most big corporations.  I kinda feel that they're hoping we're the kind of photographers who do work on a handshake or a quick e-mail.

I don't think so.  Even the long term clients really need to get a contract that outlines everyone's expectations and remedies.  That way everyone involved is using the same measuring stick.  The only push back I got this week was a request to pay in 15 days instead of on delivery.  I checked their credit.

We don't talk too much about the nuts and bolts of business on this blog and perhaps we should.  Most artists just want to be artists but I want to be an artist who gets paid.  On time.  So I write binding agreements and contracts and I make sure my clients understand my proposals and bids.  But the one magic bullet I want to share with you is the need to accept credit cards.  If a fee of 2% of your total invoice is too big a chunk I think your margins are too low.  I think all commercial photographers should not only accept credit cards but they should be the preferred way of accepting payment.  The transfer of money can happen in just a few days.  You get an instant approval.  The client gets to delay payment so they are more likely to be optimistic about their future profits and are more likely to either approve or even escalate the project with the rationale that, when the bill comes due the cash will be there to cover it.  It's the easiest tool with which to get a quick deposit. In short, credit cards are wonderful for merchants.  And in the selling situation we need to change from our art hat to our merchant hat.  Art brain might make the content but merchant brain provides a framework to make money from the artful content.  Not to be underestimated.

It's late, it's hot, we had a long dinner with many friends and many bottles of wine downtown and it's an early call time.  Hope you had a great weekend and you have great (photographic?) plans for the weekend.

Don't forget the booksigning.  I won't.......

         

Street shooting outside in the Summer? Do yourself a couple favors....

I know I'm probably being bitchy but the first thing to do if you want to have fun street shooting and you want to spend less time thinking and strategizing and logisticizing, just choose one camera and one lens and leave all the other crap at home.  This is me.  This is all I take.  One camera and one lens.  Why?  Because my brain works in mysterious ways and I'm going to guess yours does too.  If I bring two lenses my brain is constantly evaluating possible shooting scenarios and trying to wedge them into one lens profile or the other.  Wide? Long? In between?  How long?  How wide?  How in between?

If you have one lens on one body you certainly get to know that lens.  Especially if you are a "prolific" shooter.   Do it enough and the scenes appear like magic, ready made for the focal length you just happened to bring.  You know the old saw that goes, "When you have a hammer everything looks like a nail?"  Well when you have a 50mm lens on your camera everything looks like a normal lens shot.  Your mind likes formalist restrictions as much as kids love boundaries.  Wanna hedge your bets because you're a bit scared?  Bring a zoom as your one lens and then you'll have it covered.

But don't do what countless legions of rank hobbyists do.  They load up a Tamrac or Tenba bag originally designed to hold microwave ovens and assorted furniture, with every piece of camera gear they can find.  In goes the wide angle zoom.....because you never know.  In goes the mandatory 70-200mm f2.8 zoom (just the right aperture and weight combo for mid day street shooting).  And, just because people have an irrational need to "cover" all the in between focal lengths, in goes the 24-70mm f2.8 zoom.  But of course none of these is a  real macro lens so that's the next thing to go into the bag.  And having read someone's gear site recently, all the filters go in the bag.  Polarizers, "protection" filters, gradient filters,  and wild filters that I don't understand.  We're talking bags that tip the scales at a good 15 to 20 pounds.  Good news for chiropractors but bad news for photographers.  Adding weight to your shoulder is like adding bags of concrete to the trunk of a Prius.  All of a sudden the gas mileage goes down dramatically.  By the same token your imaging productivity also drops through the floor.  You'll want to rest more and leave sooner.  None of which is conducive to being there and making images.

I know all about the "Strobist" thing.  Love the little flashes.  Love the SB-900's and the 580ex2's and the fl50r's, but let's just go ahead and agree to leave them at home.  If you're fly fishing you don't generally dynamite the stream.  Let's use the same logic when shooting real life.  Just bring your rod and reel and some waders and go looking for images that fit.  Flashes work best when you have a photo in mind and you have the time to set it up and recreate your alternate reality.  Using flash for documentary or street photography is like "bringing a handgun to the opera."  (Credit to Henri Cartier Bresson for that one....).   

Tripods are only acceptable for street shooting at night or with view cameras.  That's all I'll say about that.  If you are hauling a 4x5 or 8x10 out and around your city you already know what you need and you probably don't want any advice from me.  

Next up.  Let's dress for success.  You won't be interfacing with clients so you can leave the pressed chinos, button down,  and dress shoes at home.  But you do need the willing complicity of various people you meet so you'll have to look a bit respectable.  If it's 95 degrees and the humidity is in the 90% range you need to dress right or you'll drop quick.  Let's start at the top.  If you don't mind looking like the kind of guy who still wears a calculator on his belt and makes his own trail mix at home you should go ahead and opt for the bucket hat.  It'll protect your head and the tops of your ears.  And you'll feel fine, fashion wise, about wearing it to Sea World or one of the fabulous water parks.  If this isn't you then let's go with a light weight and light colored baseball cap.  Black ball caps look cooler but they get a lot hotter and that pretty much defeats why you're wearing it in the first place.  The visor will keep the sun off your face while the rest of the cap covers the rest of your head.  Toss some sunscreen on those ears or your dermatologist will yell at you down the road.

Next up, let's talk about sunglasses.  My best advice here is to not wear polarized or colored lenses.  A pity too since I have a beautiful pair of Revos I bought in the airport on the way home from the 2000 Democratic Convention (I covered it for a newspaper) in LA.  But the glasses strike out on both counts.  Too much color tint and very polarized (are there degrees of polarization?).  Too bad because when I wear them everything in the world looks better.  But that's the point, your eyes should be calibrated to your camera.  Who cares if the screen looks sexy if it bears no relationship to the images you're capturing?  Same thing with the sunglasses.  It's like having a really great preview with no way to get there in the end.

I've got an old pair of RayBan Wayfarers that fit the bill.  They're neutral, non-polarized and they save me from squinting and getting those little lines in the corners of my eyes.

Next we're into controversial fashion statements.  I like shirts with collars.  They protect more of your neck and they look better.  So, if you are overcome with heat and exhaustion and you just happen to be down the block from the Four Seasons Hotel you'll feel better about flopping down in the Lobby Bar and sucking down a Margarita while you wait for your energy to return.  And the staff will feel more comfortable too.  Living in Texas and working outside a lot for the last twenty years I've discovered that time and research have largely made the cotton T-shirt obsolete.  Cotton sticks to your skin, is heavier and wick moisture much more slowly than some of the new, super lightweight nylon blends being used in what are being called, "technical shirts".  

I've gone both ways on successive 105 degree days and I'm here to testify that the synth stuff is miles ahead when it comes to breathability,  moisture wicking (and its attendant evaporative cooling powers) and general comfort.  I'm wearing a Columbia shirt in the photo but I don't like the styling all that much.  The sleeves are too long and I don't need two big pockets.  The medium sized shirts are also cut too fat.  Do the manufacturers really believe that everyone now is five foot eight with a 40 inch waist?

I've narrowed it down to one brand and one shirt.  My current shirt of preference is the Ex Officio Trip'r.  It's a short sleeve, blocks UV radiation, has a vent in the back and one sleek pocket on the front.  I just bought out their current stock on Amazon in white mediums.  It's wonderfully comfortable and I could put it under a navy blazer and go into a restaurant without a moment's hesitation.  It is also the coolest (termperature-wise) shirt I own.  I get white.  It reflects the most heat.  If I were heading to the desert I'd get the long sleeve version for more protection.  The pocket's not too big but will hold an extra CF card and your driver's license and Amex card.  Now you're all prepared.  Except for the bottom half......

Golfers know a bit about comfortable.  I wear thin, nicely tailored Alan Flusser golf shorts made out of cotton.  Somehow they're  just right.  The shorts variant I abhor are the ubiquitous "Cargo Shorts" which would even make a buff, 23 year old model look like crap.  Cargo shorts are sometimes given out as punishment in more enlightened societies.  Try not to be caught dead in them.  They scream, "I bought these at Costco/Sams/Sears/Old Navy because they are loose and hide my bulk, and I can bring a big fat wallet and all my batteries and my iPhone and my iPad and a box of matches and a flint and a flask and a screwdriver set and........"  They do serve one important purpose.  They keep stylish young woman from breeding with geeks.  Sometimes.  Just because we are photographers doesn't mean we need to look bad.  

Amazing thing is that decent short pants cost about the same as monstrous short pants with hundred of pockets.  The Swiss Army knife comparison does not apply to all things.  Your pockets really only need a credit card, a small bit of paper cash and,  if you live in a police state, your ID card.  With current cameras you're good with one battery in the camera and a nice 8 or 16 gig card nestled in the right slot. Don't make walking a chore by loading up your britches.

I won't even mention go into the folly of wearing "photographic" vests, especially in the Summer and especially over a nice, Ex Officio shirt.....just don't do it.  Not for street photography.  Save it for the Outward Bound adventure or the software engineering team building exercises.

What should your assistant wear when you are out shooting in the street?  I don't know.  I guess it depends on how she'll be spending her day because she shouldn't be traipsing around with you if you are out shooting your art.  As Elliott Erwitt, Lee Friedlander, and Garry Winogrand would all tell you, shooting art is a solo gig.  (Guess Gregory Crewdson didn't get the memo...).  Maybe the assistant has gone to a career fair.  And you sure don't want to bring along your spouse or your kids......

Now we've come to the shoes.  This part is tricky for me.  I'm a sandal wearing southerner who loves to feel the hot breezes on my feet.  Also kinda goes with the rest of  the outfit but feet are infinitely varied and somewhat fragile so I'm willing to compromise and sanction the wearing of running shoes or cross training shoes with short, appropriate socks.  Nothing over reaching.  Whatever you wear on your feet should be comfy and discreet.

I know that artists as a rule hate to hear this, and photographers wedded to their dark, cool caves, even more but;  shooting great images in the streets means moving around alot,  paying attention and being ready physically.  Not only ready to carry gear and pounce but ready to be socially conversant.  And all of this means you should be in good shape so you're not panting and sweating buckets while asking polite permission to invade someone's space and steal their soul with your magic box.  If you are wavering from the heat there's no way to nail a great shot.

Even though I'm a swimmer and stay in pretty good aerobic shape, when the thermometer heads skyward and the grass starts to turn brown I add two or three days a week of three to five mile walks to my exercise schedule.  I do it during the hot times.  I always carry a camera.  I want to be in good enough shape to spend time in the heat looking for people and stuff I want to photograph.  That way the physical stuff goes to autopilot and the looking and shooting are unfettered by discomfort.

Now, admittedly, this is my personal take on shooting in the Austin Summer.  Everyone will have their own fashion point of view and, as long as I don't have to stand next to you, I really don't care what you wear.  The stuff I've picked works for me on a wide ranging social level as well as a survival level so I'll stick with it.  Funny that this particular blog got started when a famous photographer e-mailed to let me know he'd passed through Austin on a plane change.  He was amazed that it was 95 degrees with very high humidity.  He mentioned that murders rise the closer you get to the equator.  I think we could cut down on the hot weather murder rate just by changing people's shirts.  But as you no doubt know by now I'm pretty opinionated and you have to take everything I say with a grain of salt.

The Fed Ex man was here earlier today delivering two more white shirts.  Just in the nick of time.  I'm photographing a swim meet that starts on Friday afternoon and goes till sunset.  Should be in the mid 90's with enough water in the air to fill a pool.  Might have to break out the soaked bucket hat for this one.  That way I'm sure my kid won't want to come up and ask me for money for junk food.

Marketing Note:  If I survive the swim meet I'll be meeting people and signing books over at Precision Camera in Austin on Saturday, from noon til 2pm.  Bring a cold drink and drop by for a chat.  I'll be the guy with the nice tan.........

Be sure to drink some water and save the beer for the end.

   

What's in a lens?

In an article I wrote several weeks ago I talked about 85mm focal lengths.   I love this focal length.  Just look what it does for the background.  I've owned lenses in this range from most camera systems and I'm going to let you in on a secret.  But first the list:  I've owned the Canon 1.1.2 (version one), the Canon 85mm 1.8 FD,  The Nikon AIS versions of the f2, the f1.4 and the f1.8,  Both versions of the Nikon AF 85's.  The Zeiss 85 2.0 for Contax and even the 80mm Summilux for Leica R.  Now I own the Canon AF 1.8.  I've shot tons of stuff with all these and there's only one that's just "good".  The rest are astoundingly good, regardless of brand or hype.  The one "only good" lens was the old, manual focus Nikon 85 f2.  And people snapped them up in the past because, wide open, they took the hard edge off portraits of women.

I'd feel comfortable using any of them.  I also chuckle when I read the DXO tests or the other definitive tests and I see that they've cautioned people about the mediocre performance wide open.  Maybe in the supercomputer but not on the prints.

People have just kinda gone nuts in the digital age.  It's sharpness at any cost, for any use.  Well that's okay.  All the lenses above will do wide open sharpness just fine.  But then we always have to go back and smooth out the skin tone.  One step forward..........

Program Note:  Just a reminder that I'm doing a book signing at Precision Camera in Austin, Texas this Saturday from noon to 2 pm.  Well be talking photography, maybe looking at prints, definitely drinking hot beverages and so forth.  I hope to see you there if you live in the area.