Abstract

Lately I've entered the bizarre and fascinating world of abstract photography. Last week I found this guy: Ciro Totku, who does some amazing work with minimalist abstract nature photos and his work inspired me to start experimenting. So far it has been a learning experience to say the least. It's making me a lot more aware of my surroundings. I find myself searching for the odd and interesting in the everyday...even more so than usual. A lot of what I shot turned out terrible but there were a few scruffy gems that I liked and have given me encouragement to keep trying. So without further adieu:

 

 

A slight change

This is my friend's cat, Ping Pong:

 He gets sleepy sometimes. But when he's awake, I like to take photos of him. Like this one:

Now I like this photo just fine, but there's something missing... What could it be? Ah! I've got it. It's the eyes. Yes, the eyes just aren't as brilliant as I remember them. If only there were a way to fix them in some way. Oh wait. There is! To Photoshop we go!

The first thing we need to do once we've got our photo open is to duplicate the layer.

Layer -> Duplicate Layer -> Click Ok

Then, head on over to variations so we can make some color adjustments.

Image -> Adjustments-> Variations

Focus on the eyes. Click on which ever color you need until the eyes are the color you wish them to be.

At his point we are ready to start erasing. Select your Eraser tool and start erasing all the color that is not located near the eyes.

Next, we'll want to zoom in and get rid of the rest of the color that is located on the cats face.

Bazow! Those are some nice lookin' eyes. But they still seem a bit unnatural. Take your Eraser tool and set the opacity to about 50%. Hold down the mouse button and brush over both eyes without letting up on the mouse.

Next, open up Curves. Image -> Adjustments -> Curves Adjust the eyes to the desired lightness or darkness and you're done!

Now, lets look at the difference.

Neat.

To flash or not to flash?

One of my biggest peeves is to see someone using a camera flash unnecessarily.

For example.

So you're sitting there on your couch eating chips and having a tasty brew on Super Bowl Sunday, generally enjoying life. Kick off time comes around and what do you see popping off one by one throughout the crowd? Flash bulbs, hundreds of flash bulbs. It's almost become a sort of cliche. I mean, you expect to see those blubs at the start of game time, right? Well the silly truth is that those flashes are doing absolutely nothing for the image itself. The stadiums are usually so well lit that having a flash is pointless, and what's more is that if the light conditions were low enough to warrant a flash, there is no way in h-e-double hockey sticks that the tiny flash on most people's cameras would even reach the subject to make an impact.

Now, this is not to say that camera flash doesn't have it's uses. But please, consider turning it off from time to time. Natural lighting can be a wonderful thing.

New Camera - Funzo

I decided to take my own advice and search for a new camera. I ended up buying a Canon 30D paired with a f1.4 50mm prime lens. So far the results have been interesting. My lens options on my last camera were limited to a 20mm wide angle lens, so making the switch to 50mm has been a bit of a shift in mind set. I've had to stand much further back from my subjects to get the shot I want, and often times it's difficult to fit everything I want into the frame. I guess this is why most photographers carry so many lenses! There are some great benefits, though. The subject focus is quite sharp when the lens is wide open and the bokeh is significantly brilliant compared to what I was used to with my other lens. I recently took a class trip to a blue heron rookery and documented my adventures in the woods. It's a shame that the birds have already migrated to Mexico by this time of the year. My instructor told me it was a good thing, though. Apparently the herons are easily agitated by the presence of humans and tend to spray their...guano and vomit at any unfortunate souls below. Yikes.

Looking for Inspiration?

Well look no further, friend.

The best way I've found to improve my photography is to look at others' work. Whether it's a beautiful sun set or an action shot from a sporting event, I always seem to find something to take away from the photo that helps me improve upon my own work.

Two sites I often frequent are The Atlantic: In Focus and Boston Globe: The Big Picture. Both these sites list recent pictures taken by photo journalists from around the world. The subject matter is usually relevant to what's happening at the time. Sometimes the photos listed on either site are the same, but they have some fantastic pictures that tell the many stories of our time.

Another great place to peruse from time to times is the iconic National Geographic site. I don't think I have to say too much here. Some of the best photographers in the world work from National Geographic and their consistent commitment to quality has shown it self over their 120 years of operation. You can find an interesting article about their fist wildlife photo ever published here.

The last place that I often check is 1x.com. This site is more focused on photography as an art form and offers a wide variety of styles and moods that will surely please any taste.

Step One!

So many choices!

The first step for any aspiring photographer is to purchase a camera. Sounds simple, right? Well.. yes! Yes it is! And no. But first the yes: Yes it is easy to pick up just about any camera and start clicking away. And, with a basic understanding of lighting and composition, anyone can achieve some pleasant results. A photographer absolutely, positively does NOT need a $3,000 SLR to be a great photographer. For example, here is a modest collection of a few well composed photos snapped with ordinary, everyday cellphones. Generally you wouldn't want to shoot with something as limiting as a cellphone, but the point here is that any camera, whether it's a cellphone, point and shoot, or SLR, has the ability to capture stunning images. The best equipment in the world isn't going to turn a poorly composed image into great one.

But with that being said, investing in a modestly priced SLR is going to go a long way in providing the user with a piece of equipment that has the availability of a more complex set of features that will allow him or her to expand horizons as they grow as a photographer. The "automatic" setting might be great for when first starting out, but eventually that setting will show its limitations and things like aperture, shutter speed and ISO will need to be adjusted to get that perfect shot.

I've gotten ahead of myself, though. Lets step back to that "no" I mentioned earlier. The most daunting task that someone will face when searching for a camera is choice. Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Kodak and Sony all have over a 150 models to choose from, with Olympus topping out at 204. Not to mention the various lenses to choose from if you buy a SLR. My best advice here would be to first decide what type of camera to get (point and shoot or SLR), and then settle on a price range. Once that decision is made all I can recommend is to READ. Read books, blogs, personal reviews, professional reviews, tests, specs, statistics, anything and everything that is going to familiarize you with the equipment you're investing in. It's a confusing world at first. With time, though, terms like megapixels, max resolution and ISO will slowly drift into your brain and become a norm. I promise, you'll get there.

Other than that, I would say to ask around. If you have friends, family, or co-workers who own cameras, ask about their experience. The main thing to take away here is that you don't need something super fancy. You should own something that you're comfortable with and that never limits your potential growth as an aspiring photographer.

Here are a couple of website that provide great information that might help in your quest to find the camera that's right for you:

Digital Photography Review

The Digital Picture

Introductions are in order, I believe.

Greetings Internet. This blog, as perhaps evident by the title, will cover the various aspects of the snaptastic world of photography. In the future, you can expect to find here anything and everything under the sun that has to do with photographs, camera equipment, Photoshop tutorials, and maybe even some pictures of cats. The Internet can always use more pictures of cats.

I feel the need to express that I am not a professional photographer and my knowledge is perhaps limited when compared with others. My goal here is to simply share what I know and hopefully spread around some sweet, sweet knowledge to those searching. Enjoy!