This past months photo focus competition was  dedicated to rail roads. It could be the real deal, toys, models, signs, close ups, or even long distance perspective. Anything railroad of nature, that you could think of to frame in a photo, but it must be creative in some way. It could look old or modern, slow or fast, day or night, or maybe even still and quiet. Perhaps an abandoned rail road was quite picturesque. Whatever it was that you saw, you were to let your creative juices flow.

A big THANK YOU to all those who participated, and we look forward to you joining in on our September contest.

Here are the winners:

1st Place

by Cocktail_Hour

2nd Place

by Greg - AdventuresofaGoodMan.com

3rd Place

By bgottsab

Honorable Mentions

by LaniKV

by RGM (ineligible)

by Cocktail_Hour

by michelle_vlach

by michelle_vlach

by LaniKV

by bgottsab

by RGM (ineligible)

by michelle_vlach

by mrjaba

by RGM (ineligible)

CJ Schmit

About Rich Maus

Rich Maus is artistically-mechanically-musical and likes to tinker with musical equipment, high voltage, tesla coils, photography, digital print, screen printing, free hand design, and mechanical devices. He is currently working as a copier technician refurbishing Xerox equipment and is inspired by everything around him. He hopes one day to take all of his knowledge and talents, and put them all together in one project to benefit mankind. Quote: “There is always a better way to do something and finding that way can be very rewarding.” You can catch his alter ego Dr. Franken Zap on www.youtube.com/drfrankenzap , catch his photostream on www.flickr.com/photos/rgm-studios , or send him an email at rgmpixs@yahoo.com

A big thank you to those who participated, we hope that more will join in on the fun when we kick off our second contest this Friday.

Submission Guidelines:

Each Month we will post a Monthly Photo Focus (also hash tagged on Twitter as #FYPcontest) on a certain subject, something to spark your creativity. An empty weekend for a photographer, is like an empty canvas, we could always use something to do when we have nothing planned right? So with this in mind we created this series, one that will get you out doing what you love. The premise is simple: snap some photos over the weekend dealing with the weekends focus, and if you send them to us, or Tweet them to us, we will post them for others to see. Having a focus will help us as artists & photographers see things that we might not always see, make us take a shot at something we might otherwise have not. In seeing other photogs chase after the same focus, it can only breed even more creativity in our own work.

At the weekends close, we will follow up our weekend focus, with what we found on the Web (including some of the photos sent from you) that falls in line with our focus. We hope you join in the fun and help us spread the creativity.

example of a tweet to us:

@fuelphotography One more submission for this week’s #FYPcontest New Life & Spring: http://bit.ly/aY1oC7

If you post your photo’s to Flickr, please make them shareable so that we can highlight you, or send us the photo & link to your work directly at:

ron @ fuelyourphotography.com

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WEEKEND PHOTO FOCUS SUBMISSIONS:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rosafrei/4481445289

Other Links:

"Shadows" by haur.

“Shadows” by canalsocan.

“Shadows” by alexkatana.

“Striped shadows” by littlemewhatever.

“Shadows” by djailledie.

“In the shadows” by evil1903.

"Outer shadows" by autumn-ethereal.

"Sinister shadows" by dickm.

"City of Shadows" by angelreich.

How it works:

Weekend Photo Find is a weekly series, each Friday we will post a Weekend Photo Focus (also hash tagged on Twitter as #weekendphotofocus) on a certain subject, something to spark your creativity. An empty weekend for a photographer, is like an empty canvas, we could always use something to do when we have nothing planned right? So with this in mind we created this series, one that will get you out doing what you love. The premise is simple: snap some photos over the weekend dealing with the weekends focus, and if you send them to us, or Tweet them to us, we will post them for others to see. Having a focus will help us as artists & photographers see things that we might not always see, make us take a shot at something we might otherwise have not. In seeing other photogs chase after the same focus, it can only breed even more creativity in our own work.

At the weekends close, we will follow up our weekend focus, with what we found on Flickr (including some of the photos from you) that falls in line with our focus. We hope you join in the fun and help us spread the creativity. If you have any ideas for future Photo Focuses lets us know, we’ll give you credit!

example of a tweet to us:

@fuelphotography One more submission for this week’s #weekendphotofocus, New Life & Spring: http://bit.ly/aY1oC7

*If you have something to share but couldn’t get it to us, feel free to post it in the comments below*

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"SHADOW" by huseyinkara.

"Shadow" by tihku.

"Shadow" by frozenpandaman.

"Shadow and light" by orzz.

"Shadow" by forgottenx.

"Shadows" by 4ndr3y.

"To the shadows" by tenteri.

"Shadows of the soul" by oo-rein-oo.

Each Friday we will post a Weekend Photo Focus (also hash tagged on Twitter as #weekendphotofocus) on a certain subject, something to spark your creativity. An empty weekend for a photographer, is like an empty canvas, we could always use something to do when we have nothing planned right? So with this in mind we created this series, one that will get you out doing what you love. The premise is simple: snap some photos over the weekend dealing with the weekends focus, and if you send them to us, or Tweet them to us, we will post them for others to see. Having a focus will help us as artists & photographers see things that we might not always see, make us take a shot at something we might otherwise have not. In seeing other photogs chase after the same focus, it can only breed even more creativity in our own work.

At the weekends close, we will follow up our weekend focus, with what we found on the Web (including some of the photos sent from you) that falls in line with our focus. We hope you join in the fun and help us spread the creativity.

example of a tweet to us:

@fuelphotography One more submission for this week’s #weekendphotofocus, New Life & Spring: http://bit.ly/aY1oC7

Sponsored by

Advertise on Fuel Brand Network.
Fuel Brand Network 2010 cc (creative commons license)

I would like to thank Michael White from RoryMad Studios and Lani Khong of Lani Khong Photography for their contribution and feedback. I learned a few things from this experience, and I hope those involved did as well.

My first upload was an electrical tower in a corn field, which I was not completely happy with. As I studied the photo, it became clear that it was too “thin” for lack of a better word.

The Tower by Bryan J Zimmerman

I needed something with substance which led to my second upload. I chose a patch of flowers outside my home that were bunched together giving the photo some depth and substance. As someone with a graphic design background, I compared the two photos to typography. To effectively design the headline of a newsletter a heavy bold font is needed for readability purposes.

To analogize further, I can “read” the flowers clearly, they are big and bold, however, the tower makes me squint and reach for my glasses.

Flowers by Bryan J Zimmerman

Bryan used Photomatix for the HDR / Adobe Lightroom 2.7 and  Silver Effects Pro for the black & white treatment

Lani Khong uploaded the next set of photos and made a very important discovery regarding texture. She wrote, “As I looked through other photographers HDR photos I learned that shooting texture adds more interest to the image. This is my first attempt, called Addison Park but for this particular image too much texture looks too busy in black and white.”

Addison Park by Lani Khong

Lani also uploaded two other photos called “Lake” and “Chill” respectively, which are shown below. I think these photos came out decent for someone just learning black & white HDR. Remember, this trip was to “experiment” with different techniques, so perfection was not part of the equation; thoughts and ideas were the goal of these photos.

Lake by Lani Khong

Chill by Lani Khong

Lani used Photomatix to create the HDR and Adobe Photoshop for the black & white treatment.

Michael White uploaded the next photo, which was very impressive, especially since it was hand held. He took five shots at various exposures and processed the images in Photoshop CS5’s new HDR Pro feature. I especially love how the clouds seem to “pop” out of the photo. Michael must have very steady hands!

Beer Can Island by Michael White

There are two goals that I wanted to accomplish with this experiment, the first was to invite a handful of photographers that were new to HDR (black & white HDR to be more specific) to join my Flickr pool so we could share struggles, thoughts, and help each other become better with HDR. I did accomplish this, albeit on a small scale, however, it was accomplished.

My second goal involves the article you are currently reading. I would like critiques on the above photos from readers who have been shooting black & white HDR and consider themselves professionals or extremely enthusiastic hobbyists at the very least.

I would encourage you to share your thoughts on technique, software, preparation, etc. Please try to be as brief as possible, and above all “critique with class.”

To see more from Michael and Lani, whom I think are exceptional photographers, please visit the links below:

Lani Khong

Lani Khong Photography | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook

Michael White

RoryMad Studios | Twitter | Facebook

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Now available for download, the notebooks ‘hit the shelves’ following the launch of Evernote’s Trunk feature – a growing collection of hardware, applications and notebooks to expand upon the basic Evernote app.

In partnership with Evernote, Fuel created the three Notebooks to help ‘inspire Evernote’s users with their creative passions’.  The Notebooks have been compiled by the editors of Fuel Your Writing, Fuel Your Creativity and Fuel Your Photography, with notebooks from other sites across the network coming soon.

You can read our FUEL Brand full release here by Fuel Your Writing’s editor Christopher Jackson.

So what does this mean to you? Well our Photography Notebook will be filled with Top Tips from our awesome writers, we will be adding exclusive content throughout the year to our notebook. In fact, there are 6 never before published articles in our notebook. Plus if you have a passion that is more than just photography, some of the other FUEL Brand Notebooks may be of use and interest to you.

What are you waiting for? Get on over there and check it out and let us know what you think.

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Clip from the movie Pleasantville

I watched Pleasantville (The Movie) last night which I haven’t seen in years, and forgot how much I enjoyed it. To bring those who have not seen the film up to speed, it is about two teenagers (Reese Witherspoon and Tobey Maguire) living in the 1990’s who find themselves in a 1950’s sitcom where their actions profoundly change this parallel world.

If you shoot black and white photography, watch the movie in reverse, it has a much happier ending. That was a joke, however, it will only make sense to those who have seen the movie. But I digress.

The first hour of the movie is completely shot in black and white since the world they get sucked into is your basic 1950’s sitcom ala “Ozzy & Harriet” which was before the advent of color television. As I watched the movie, I began to think about what it would be like to live in a world devoid of color.

Music in my Life by zingruby

My first reaction as a viewer was, “Nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there,” however, as a black and white photographer, I feel it is mandatory that every time we grab our camera and had out for a shoot, we need to head straight to Pleasantville.

John Beardsworth said it best in his book “Advanced Digital Black & White Photography” when he wrote,

“The black-and-white photographer often exposes pictures not for how they appear straight from the camera, but in anticipation of what can be done in the darkroom.”

Or in our case the digital darkroom. He goes on to quote Ansel Adams, which happens to be my favorite photography quote of all time, “The negative is comparable to the composer’s score and the print to its performance. Each performance differs in subtle ways.”

The Ogre's Palace by zcs41

When you shoot with this technique in mind, chances are you are going to set certain preferences before taking the shot like exposure to capture the tones that will work best in a black-and-white photo. Not only will this allow you to spend more time behind the camera instead of behind the computer, it will also make for a better all around photo.

Black and White Study 24 by niclake13

So before heading out on your next shoot, make sure you charge your batteries, clean your lenses, pack some munchies, and I will see you in Pleasantville!

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As I searched, my thoughts tended to go something like this: “Well, there’s a red and white scarf, but no, that’s not waldo. A red hat with a white tassel rests on the ground over there… here’s a pair of blue pants… and oh look! It’s a mermaid helping a sailor from drowning, and there’s an ice cream cone with 15 scoops piled up. Mmmm ice cream. I want some ice cream. Wait! I’m looking for Waldo! Let’s try over here in this corner.”

And thus would the minutes tick away, and I would peruse my way through the book. Upon reaching the end, I would go back and find the extras that I missed completely the first time– a broken wagon wheel, a human pyramid, or a dancing fish… and thus I lost hours of my life to my quest for finding Waldo.

Years later, I am now a photographer. The true gift I love to give people is a glimpse into the way I view the world. The way the light falls on the little bridesmaid’s hair, or the gentle smile of the grandmother looking at her only granddaughter on her wedding day. I try to make my images show the specific thing I see; tell the story I want to share.

So often our photo students will have an image they are in love with because of a certain expression on a child’s face. Yet there is so much going on in the image, that all I see is the broken boxes and telephone pole coming out of his head and the logo on the shirt that is mismatched with the plaid shorts. If the magic they want to show is the expression on the face, that is what should be the first thing I see. The way you expose the photograph, choose setting for lighting, and elements included in the frame should all work towards the end of showing that goal: the expression.

Here’s an example of something I shot of my own kids one Saturday morning during cartoons:

You see my laptop, our kitchen table, christmas tree, coffee table, mug… your eye will be most drawn to the blank floor in the middle. Yet if i take a few steps closer i can create a much different experience for you as the viewer.

You know exactly what to look at; you see what I see. I don’t have to hunt anywhere. I don’t lose my train of thought on the way to figuring out the purpose of the image.

Looking at a successful image, my only thoughts will be something like this, “Wow. I love the way this draws me in. I feel peaceful. Look at the way that wave traces the sand directly leading to their feet. They look like they are having such a good time. I want a picture of me like this.”

Your goal may not be just an expression, but a body position, or a movement or interaction between two people or the shape of a tree in a landscape. But whatever it is, your viewers should be able to know your intent immediately. You can have depth and subtleties that aren’t noticed until further exploration, but the main idea should be immediately visible.

What makes good Where’s Waldo books? Enough distractions from keeping you from finding the focal point. Choose to be bad Where’s Waldo Photographers. Focus on your goal.

Good Photography = Bad Where’s Waldo Books.

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Street Photography: Urban Landscape

When I think of landscape photography, my colleague Jess comes to mind (you should really check out his articles). You might drift off envisioning lush, green forests, surreal sunrises and sunsets, and all the little creatures that inhabit the land and plains.  Yes, it is gorgeous, soul enriching, and deep down there is an intrinsic desire most of us share for the great outdoors and wide open spaces.  However, many of us are not fortunate enough to have an abundance of access to these vistas and views.  Therefore, us city-dwellers work with what we are given, and that means taking it to the streets.  So if your, wildlife means the party crowd on a Friday night and your landscapes have a slightly more angular and “concretey” and you want to make the most of the bright lights of the big city, this next one is for you.

Big and Tall:

Often we head out into the woods and marvel at the trees; their rich foliage, how long it took for them to grow, and the creatures that inhabit them.  When we head into the city, the feeling can be eerily similar yet completely different.  We look up at the buildings that “scrape the sky“, how quickly they seem to pop up, and wonder about the beings that work within.  When going on a photo safari within the urban jungle, the mélange of cement, pavement, steel, and glass presents interesting challenges (although in many cases the cement acts as a great grey card).

Perspective:

When craning your neck to look up and capture that skyscraper, you need to realize that it may not turn out exactly the way you see it.  The top of tall buildings will converge if you are using a standard camera lens. You will want to try and go with a wide angle lens to get as much of the building in as possible. Something in the neighborhood of a 20mm lens is fairly standard for both inside and outside shots. You may also want to look into tilt-shift lenses that can help straighten the lines if you want a more “architectural” feel to your images. Keep in mind, converging lines aren’t a necessarily a bad thing and may add a dramatic feel to your photo. (For an interesting thread on lens selection for architectural photography click here.)

Repetition and Reflection:

Photography in the city can be daunting if you are not paying attention. Depending on the city, there can be a whole lot of grey and the buildings can begin to look the same. If this happens to be the case, use it to your advantage. Switch your photos to black and white in post production (or shoot with black and white film for those of you who have stuck with the original format or are going against the flow). Contrast the vast difference in the greys (light and dark, black and white) with the plainness of the subject. Using repetition can also create a pattern which creates an interest we are automatically drawn to. There are a lot of different things you can look at or focus on if you are feeling bored with buildings, buildings, and more buildings. Reflections are also very interesting as usually there is an excessive amount of glass, mirrors, and fountains available.

Shadows and Lights:

When shooting within the city limits, you will always encounter shadows. It is unavoidable. The buildings reach out to eclipse the sun and drop you into pockets of obscurity. While this may be a little dramatic, an abundance of shadows can play havoc with your camera settings. Shadows can really add to your photograph if there is contrast, but when shooting completely in the shade, colors become muted and if you have no room left to play with your settings, flash may be required. When dealing with lights in the city, remember that they have different temperatures that sunlight and you will have to adjust the white balance; use this chart for a better idea of the temperatures. Without the right white balance your pictures with come out with different tints.

Wildlife; the buildings are the florae and the people are the faunae:

Natural landscape photography sometimes will spill over into the cute woodland creatures that inhabit the area.  Chipmunks, squirrels, and bugs! Oh my! While skunks and raccoons still managed to climb my fire escape to reach the trashcan, the city streets will bring out a different kind of animal.

City folk:

Big cities are a meeting ground for different people whom all have different values, cultures, and beliefs; this will be reflected in their activities, the way they dress, and the activities the partake in.  On one of my frequent photography walks in the downtown core I passed Tibetan monks in the village, streekt punks washing car windows for change, the upper crust dressed to the nines for the opera, tourists snapping pictures of everything in sight, and an unfortunate addict who tried to attack me for walking on “his” street. (I am not making this up)  The city is full of interesting characters doing unique things and there will never be a shortage of people to photograph.

Natural Habitat:

The trick is to catch them in their element (candid).  Getting a photograph of someone in their element, doing what comes naturally to them, is a thing of beauty.  Even something simple as someone going to work, driving a cab , or going shopping, it is an event we can identify with on some level.  At the complete opposite end of the spectrum, there is also something attractive about staring into someone’s eyes as they have given a moment of themselves to the camera and by extension, you.  I have had some great moments talking with the homeless and other individuals when I have walked up and asked them if they wouldn’t mind having their picture taken.  You get as many yes’s as no’s and often the yes’s give you a great story and an opportunity to experience human interaction.

Nocturnal:

Night-time in the city is when things start to get going.  The buildings are now blackened silhouettes against a dark blue sky but the city comes alive.  Revelers are heading out to eat, drink, and be merry.  There is an energy in the air, as people are wearing their best and colorful lights call out to the passerby’s.  (For a more in depth look at night photography, check out this Fuel article by Ameena.)

Lights (white balance settings and ISO):

As with any photo op, light is your friend.  You have to become a Jedi light-meter master; whether you actually have a light meter or you are using your hard-earned experience.  Shooting in really low light conditions becomes even more important.  You will not have the warm 5200K sunlight (head back to the near beginning of this article for the temperature chart) and will have to rely on neon beer signs, car headlights, street lights, and your own flash.  However, get creative with it and play with the available light.  Try changing your focal length in mid-shot, grab a flashlight or sparkler and try some sky-writing.  Do not get frustrated with the lack of light, there are always ways to add more without taking away that magically mysterious feeling of when the sun drops out of sight.

Equipment:

In terms of equipment nothing too special is required. As previously mentioned, a wide angle lens is very helpful as you may want to capture an entire building, room, street, or crowd. If you can afford a variety of lenses, throw them (delicately) into your bag and head out; you never know what type of situation or setting you may encounter and if it will every happen again. However, make sure that you have at least one fast lens. You can throw out any hope of being versatile with your aperture unless you plan on long bulb exposures; an aperture of 2.8 or more is ideal. A tripod is recommended, but don’t feel like all shots must be nailed down. I have found a certain flexibility with your surrounding environment will allow you to get a different take on what might be an average scene. If its part of your arsenal, try a Gorillapod. Adding to the effectiveness of whatever type of tripod you chose, throw in a shutter release cable or get used to the built in self-timer on your camera; you will need every little bit of steadiness available to you.

Night time activities:

While people are heading out to the clubs, clinking glasses (of the beer, shot, wine, or champagne variety), or just driving home, your main activity will be manual focusing.  That’s right, if you haven’t practiced you will be getting your practice in now!  If you leave your camera on the AF setting, you know that it will focus for you simply by holding your trigger halfway.  Your camera’s brain will use it’s built-in focus points and go all that work for you.  While this is quite helpful, it can be particularly frustrating in some circumstances; one circumstance in particular is night time street photography.  Since it is so dark, your camera will not be able to focus for you and will quickly give up.  Another activity you will be doing is ignoring your camera’s recommendations?  Huh?  Really?  Oh yes!  Your camera’s ideal parameters are certainly not low-light situations.  You are trying to create art by manipulating the light to create moods and feelings.  When shooting light in the dark, get a reading for the high light and the low light.  (You camera will pick one or the other depending on where it thinks your focus is.)  Then be prepared to take at least a couple of shots with different settings (look up bracketing)  and look at them, if you are shooting digital.

So get out there, look both ways, stay safe, and have fun.  I think you will be pleasantly surprised with any venture out into the streets whether it be the warmth of the day or the coolness of the night.  When you get those awesome shots, please post them to the FYP Flickr pool and tag them with fypstreet.  Look for mine and I will look for yours!

Photo Credits from top to bottom:

1. © Philipp Klinger

2. © Philipp Klinger

3. © Philipp Klinger

4. © zelnunes

5. © zelnunes

6. © strkyer66

7. © Ben Heine

8. © Photo-Fenix.com

9. © Dreamer 7112

10. © Photo-Fenix.com

11. © Philipp Klinger

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Dancin’ ©thecobrasnake

You have developed the “eye” for photography, but have you developed your voice yet? What is a “Voice” when it comes to photography and what role does it play in your work?

If you recall a recent article from Patrick Onofre titled Opening Your Ears To Hear Your Creative Voice, Patrick talked about evaluating and recognizing what drives the creative side of your photography. One of the points that he was driving home is that you do have an inner creative voice, and identifying what that voice is will help make you a better photographer.

This article is looking to take this one step further. In event photography, you get hired for jobs because people like you and your work. You got it. That is your “Voice”. In marketing terms, your Voice is a significant part of your brand. It is what identifies you to others beyond the references of “… that girl with the good camera.”

How do you identify your voice and make it work for you? Believe it or not, this is the easiest part. Dovetailing with what Patrick noted in his article, your Voice is what you enjoy shooting the most. Be it a specific type of event, or maybe a style of shooting. It is what comes most naturally to you as a creative. It is what drives you, and it is the result that pleases you most. As for making it work for you, this is also easy. It’s hard faking something you don’t like. Imagine back to when you were six years old and trying to force a smile when your favorite grandmother made her world famous liver and onions. Your mom told you to pretend you like it and just eat it. Did you pull that guise off with any great success? Probably not. Same goes for clients. They can tell when you really enjoy what you are doing and how you are doing it. There’s a very positive energy that encapsulates your work and the results show it.

Eric O’Connor is the lead photographer and owner of Allori Photography in Chicago, Illinois. He has developed a voice that is very specific to his successful high end wedding business. First of all, his particular shooting style is specific. He shoots in a photojournalistic style with a compliment of relaxed portraiture. No fancy lighting set ups, no big productions. In fact, if he’s not shooting with available light, he usually uses an unmodified on camera flash. His working style is quick and simple, yet very elegant. The second part of his Voice is that he makes the day fun. He takes pride in being the bride’s best friend on her wedding day. And third, his over ten years experience is invaluable because if it’s gone wrong, he’s not only seen it, he knows the immediate solution removing all stress from the bride and groom.

There is a photographer out of LA that you may have heard of. He goes by the name Cobrasnake. He started by captureing very good images from the LA party and club scene. His photographs became very popular with the club crowd and he began gaining recognition for his work. He would go out to the clubs, take fun images of the hip and edgy crowd, post them on Flickr and casually promote his site. His Voice helped his reputation grow, and allowed his body of work to expand to commercial photography. Recently T-Mobile hired him to shoot an ad campaign. True to his Voice, T-Mobile set up a party and Cobrasnake did his thing, captured images from the “party” and T-Mobile used those images as the foundation of national ad campaign.

In the business side of photography, branding and brand consultants is a sub set that is wildly gaining in popularity. Dane Sanders and Sarah Petty are two photographers who have taken their branding consultancies to the point that some people do not know that they are also talented photographers in their own right. They both have written amazing books and give lectures on marketing your brand. Branding is gaining in popularity as the next “Magic Bullet” in making your photography business thrive. If you take a look at a lot of the “rockstar” photographer’s seminar tours, a vast majority of the discussion is centered upon branding. And what is the most fundamental element of a brand? Your Voice.

What if you are concerned that you may not have found your Voice, or that you like a variety of different shoots? That’s OK. No need to have a panic attack and spend your next three month’s rent money on a brand consultant. There could be a couple of forces in play here. One may be that you haven’t developed your true voice yet. If you are early on in your photography hobby or career, you may still be feeling your way through different shooting styles, and different events to cover. There’s no problem in exploring and figuring out what you like. Again, referring to Patrick’s article, it may just blind side you one day. Another one might be that you are a fantastic contract shooter, a jack of all trades. Your Voice might very well be the ability to shoot any event, any style depending on the needs of the client.

The last thing to remember about Voice is that it can change. Sometimes it might change due to market pressure and trends. Other times the change is more organic as you grow as a photographer. Don’t force your Voice, embrace it. Let it be part of the package that you promote in growing your event photography business.

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A Bit of Background

Can you give us a little peek in on the person behind the camera?

I stay on the reverse side of the camera for that very reason—but today we feel open. I love these things most: God, My Family, Light, Optics (this includes my eyes), Iceland and Arizona. If I weren’t an Image Maker, I would most certainly be a Geologist—or an American Revolution Historian—or an Industrial Designer in Scandinavia. Definitely one of those three things…

Where did you grow up?

Arizona, USA

What influenced you into getting into photography?

That is a loaded question. I was not raised in very creative environment—I think creativity exists quite readily in my family, but it’s always been suppressed by other “obligations,” I think. But growing up in the heart of the Southwest, which has the most beautiful light on earth, and my time living in Denmark as a missionary affected my profoundly, on a subconscious level. Arizona = Light. Denmark = Design.

How did you get started in photography?

I am so proud that my story does not include my getting a camera from my Uncle when I was 11. In actuality, I was 12. Kidding. I was 21, and I needed to fill an elective at a community college—so I took a photography class—and then my life changed forever.

Did you go to school for photography?

Yes—Starting with community college.Then, when I realized that there was no going back, I applied to Brooks, SCAD and to RIT. I was accepted to all of them, but ultimately chose RIT based on an old-fashioned gut feeling. And it was the right choice. l prefer a formal education, because there’s an environment there that facilitates and expedites that learning process.

I want to say that education is essential. The most dangerous thing about a camera is that everybody has one—and everybody loves to take pictures. People tend to think that because they own a camera—and because they love taking pictures—that they are photographers. This mentality attempts to bypass a fundamental and critical learning experience. You don’t have to go to photo school, but you must educate yourself—learn the history of what you’re doing, and learn what’s been done, and how it was done. Anyone can stumble on a great photograph—we call these happy accidents—but it’s consistency that separates Professionals from everyone else. Education and endless research will make the difference between happy accidents and professionalism. If anyone doubts how specialized and complex photography is, then they should read THE NEGATIVE, by Ansel Adams. Ansel was a student of light his whole life. That’s what we need to be, and we need to give the craft of photography all of our dedication if we expect to call ourselves photographers.

The Photographer’s Process

What does your usual work-flow consist of?

I always shoot Raw + Jpeg, because I had a bad experience in the past where my raw files were corrupted. It’s worth it. Then I go straight into bridge and Photoshop. I love Photoshop, but I believe strongly in doing most of the work in-camera, and then augmenting it in post.

What type of equipment are must haves for you at any shoot?

5d Mark II + 5d backup; Profoto Strobes (7b + Compacts) and accessories. For lenses, I often have to work very quickly, so the L Series, 24-70 and 70-200 tend to be my work horses. I have the 24mm Tilt-Shift for architectural work. For personal work and landscapes, I use my Hasselblad and my Linhof Technikardan 4×5.

Name 3 types of equipment you can’t live without besides your camera and why?

I really love Profoto and all their light-shaping tools. Best of the best. Gitzo tripods too.

Are you strictly digital or have you used film in your work? Why?

For clients, 95% digital.In all honesty, digital has come so far that there are very few times when it’s not totally sensible to capture that way. If you’re shooting Raw and you know what you’re doing, you can get all you need out of a digital image.

What are the main components you try to achieve when composing a shot?

That is unique to virtually every image I make, but I can tell you in a general way that I am always interested in honestly portraying the subject, whatever it is. The subject should dictate a major portion of how it is photographed just by its nature. But every photograph is also subjective to the interpretation of the person who makes it, and I won’t deny that I have a very specific effect on the things I shoot.

What are your top 5 sources of inspiration? Why?

First, Light.

Second, Nature.

Third, Family.

Fourth, Humanity.

Fifth, Cinema.

(The why) That really is too hard to explain, but I hope that the words themselves are enough. Those things are my life, and they inspire me most.

If you could photograph anywhere in the world, where would it be?

In my mind, I spend every day in Iceland. I count the minutes till I get back, and plan to spend a lifetime exploring that land. Secondly is the Navajo Nation in AZ. Those are the two most majestic and beautiful places on this earth, in my opinion.

What has been your favorite location to shoot at so far?

See above.

Do you shoot solo, or do you have an assistant?

I was trained to work quickly, efficiently and cheaply, so I worked alone a lot, but assistants can be absolute godsends.

Post-Process and away from the lens

How have you gone about marketing yourself as a photographer and a business?

Livebooks; Photoserve; Word of Mouth. Never underestimate word of mouth—it is by far the most important marketing tool—and the tool is to satisfy the client. One satisfied client becomes two in a hurry.

What is, and/or has been, your greatest challenge as a photographer?

Honesty. Even when everything I’m creating is fiction—Honesty. Your soul should be splattered on your work, and that takes digging deep into it.

When you are not behind the camera, what do you do in your free time?

Spend time with my wife and children; watch films; make films; photograph. I am also playing the piano a lot these days.

Do you run any photography workshops?

I am really considering it, actually.

Outside the box

Finish the sentence – “If I were not a photographer, I would be…”

A Cinematographer, which I am. Then a Geologist, remember.

What would be the 1 piece of advice you would give to photographers just starting out?

Shoot everything. Learn about 2D Design; learn about color theory; study lighting constantly; work on your people skills. Read THE NEGATIVE and study the Masters of the Renaissance. OK, that was 7 pieces.

What are you currently working on?

I am getting my Master’s Degree in Cinematography from the American Film Institute, in Hollywood—graduating next year.

What are your goals 5 years from now?

I am an image maker and a storyteller. Cinematography is my great love, but stills work is a terribly close second. In 5 years, I expect to be shooting a range of motion and stills work from features to music videos, commercials and documentaries.

Editors Notes:

ALL PHOTOS ARE COPYRIGHT WES JOHNSON PHOTOGRAPHY

Wes Johnson Photography can be found at :

Site: http://www.wesjohnsonphoto.com/
Blog: http://wesmanden.blogspot.com/

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The Histogram is probably the greatest advent of modern digital photography in conjunction with the screen on the back of your camera.  The Histogram is a modern day light meter and can instantly tell you how much light is reaching the sensor of you camera from the actual recorded image.  Though it may first appear difficult to understand, it is not.  The histogram is a measure of light reaching the camera across the spectrum from dark to light with dark being on the left hand side and light on the right, the midrange (18% grey)  is of course the middle with 2 other intermediate shades medium-dark and medium-light on either side of the 18% grey in the middle.

The Histogram

Despite progress in technology, human interpretation still very much required.  At times you may see a scene that has a one sided graph either dark (left) or light (right) but as the artist you must assess your scene and see if this is the interpretation of the scene you are shooting that you wish to portray.  For instance shooting a beach scene or sunrise may not have much of the dark element in it and the histogram will either be towards the middle or of a lot of the sky in in the frame even gravitated towards the right of the graph.  On the other hand night photography will not have much of the light element and the histogram will gravitate towards the left.  Now that you know these basics the other important element to know is that, when your histogram displays a flat line at the top of the graph that means you have exceeded the range of the sensor and will have some clipping.

For those of you who use virtually any image processing software (Photoshop, Aperture, Lightroom), you will also see the Histogram in your software package; in some packages on the Histogram and especially adjustment dialog boxes you will notice a range of 0 (zero) to 255. at the bottom of the dialog box. this actually represents the range of exposure similar to the Histogram with zero being on the left and 255 being on the right.  Each of the 5 distinct segments in the graph above represent 55 1/5 increments of difference in its range.  For the purpose of this article I’ve used the histogram from Apple’s Aperture image processing software to accompany the photographs I’ve used to demonstrate range.

You will notice in this picture of a light fixture on a wall that the Histogram is seems to be rather one sided despite the bright splash of color that is shown, those of us who have operated in a black and white darkroom would instantly be clued in on this as the red color, similar to a darkroom safelight, is in a range that although visible to the human eye the red light is of a wavelength that is not super sensitive to photographic mediums, hence the rendering of the graph as it did.  You will also notice in this photograph that along with that the flat line at the top which indicates that you have exceeded the range of the camera, this may happen to you from time to time as you explore the possibilities of shooting with your histogram as an exposure guide.  My intent here was to show the wall totally dark except for the single splash of red light without any bleed from the same.  There is a declining measurement of exposure as the graph moves towards the very light range of the histogram hence it tapers off progressively as it approaches this range.

The histogram of picture of the Peacock appears to be a bit muted because of the predominance of brown in the image but you’ll notice that in actuality the blue is quite brilliant.  This image does not fully fill up the frame because the peacock is not an inanimate object so getting a very quick capture without the iridescence of the flash causing a bounce back of light was tantamount.  As you’ll realize that different colors will show in different spectrum’s of the histogram keep this in mind when you start to use your histogram.

On viewing this image, shot at the Hotel Diva in San Francisco,  you’ll see the subject is wearing a black shirt which causes some register on in the dark spectrum but the image is dominated primarily by 18% grey or something very close to it, this cause the middle of the histogram to peak and be the predominant spectrum registered on the graph.

Shot hand-held in a darkened theater at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, naturally this would be on the dark side of the spectrum even though glimmers of white show up the exposure is dominate by darker areas

Here is an image dominated by the lighter side of the spectrum with the white walls to the point where some clipping does occur, you loose detail in the clipping but my intent was not to capture detail in the wall it was to capture detail of the scene, do take note that their is a sliver of activity in the black representing the jeans and black shirt worn by one of the models.

This picture of an overturned boat was taken at a mountain top lake in the Nature Isle of the Caribbean Dominica.  From the image you’ll notice that you have very dark areas of the image and some light images but nothing that is very light, this is very much reflected in the histogram with peaks in the very darks, the dark and the light areas and very little in the 18% grey area.

What you’ll realize is that there is NO set way that your histogram should look it changes from scene to scene so you should have an idea of what to expect in your histogram even before you shoot your scene.  Knowing all this you’ll realize that the histogram should be used to check exposure while the display of the actual image should be used check composition and also if you are using flash to ensure that you have not created shadows that you did not intend to, however, at no time should it be used to evaluate exposure.  The register of light on your cameras display can vary depending on how brightly you have your monitor set or even ambient light conditions.  If you aren’t going to shoot today take some time to evaluate your past images and view the histograms for them and see if you could have made improvement in their exposure.  I recommend (if you can) downloading the images from your camera but not deleting the card and then view the images histogram in your image editing software while comparing it to the histogram on your camera to ensure that they register similarly.

Happy shooting and remember to check those histograms!!!

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“Lichen my home” by anemms1.

Other Links:

"Leaning tree diptych" cymek.

"The chosen tree." by p0rg.

"Tree of life." by sycamores-and-cedars.

"A forest." by petitescargot.

"Waiting for snow" by ploop26.

"In the deep forest" by leenik.

"Red tree" by nayein.

"Tree of life" by wtamas.

"The pine forest" by pheelfresh.

"Tree" by danielll.

"When the last tree" by woodfaery.

How it works:

Weekend Photo Find is a weekly series, each Friday we will post a Weekend Photo Focus (also hash tagged on Twitter as #weekendphotofocus) on a certain subject, something to spark your creativity. An empty weekend for a photographer, is like an empty canvas, we could always use something to do when we have nothing planned right? So with this in mind we created this series, one that will get you out doing what you love. The premise is simple: snap some photos over the weekend dealing with the weekends focus, and if you send them to us, or Tweet them to us, we will post them for others to see. Having a focus will help us as artists & photographers see things that we might not always see, make us take a shot at something we might otherwise have not. In seeing other photogs chase after the same focus, it can only breed even more creativity in our own work.

At the weekends close, we will follow up our weekend focus, with what we found on Flickr (including some of the photos from you) that falls in line with our focus. We hope you join in the fun and help us spread the creativity. If you have any ideas for future Photo Focuses lets us know, we’ll give you credit!

example of a tweet to us:

@fuelphotography One more submission for this week’s #weekendphotofocus, New Life & Spring: http://bit.ly/aY1oC7

*If you have something to share but couldn’t get it to us, feel free to post it in the comments below*

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by Cuba Gallery.

"Tuscan morning" by dcdead.

"Trees" by kratzi.

"Trees" by psychiatrique.

"Not even the trees" by jyoujo.

"Trees III" by leenik.

"Growing trees on the fog" by mnogueir.

"Into the trees" by weltengang.

"Between the trees chapter III" by petitescargot.

"Trees" by orinu.

Each Friday we will post a Weekend Photo Focus (also hash tagged on Twitter as #weekendphotofocus) on a certain subject, something to spark your creativity. An empty weekend for a photographer, is like an empty canvas, we could always use something to do when we have nothing planned right? So with this in mind we created this series, one that will get you out doing what you love. The premise is simple: snap some photos over the weekend dealing with the weekends focus, and if you send them to us, or Tweet them to us, we will post them for others to see. Having a focus will help us as artists & photographers see things that we might not always see, make us take a shot at something we might otherwise have not. In seeing other photogs chase after the same focus, it can only breed even more creativity in our own work.

At the weekends close, we will follow up our weekend focus, with what we found on the Web (including some of the photos sent from you) that falls in line with our focus. We hope you join in the fun and help us spread the creativity.

example of a tweet to us:

@fuelphotography One more submission for this week’s #weekendphotofocus, New Life & Spring: http://bit.ly/aY1oC7

Sponsored by

Advertise on Fuel Brand Network.
Fuel Brand Network 2010 cc (creative commons license)

You may ask yourself, ‘Am I right? Am I wrong?’
You may say to yourself, ‘My God! What have I done?!’
– Talking Heads, “Once In A Lifetime”

You ever get one of those moments when you’re looking for a sign to figure out what to do next, and then it hits you? Well, I had a ton of them while I was trying to find my way through a pretty rough time when I was in Providence, and practically being homeless was one, to which I was grateful an amazing friend of mine would let me stay at his place while I was trying to buy a house. He’s an unassuming Filipino scenester dude who I met through his girlfriend at the time, whom I worked with. He’s certainly a jack of all trades – he writes music, paints, and shoots photography in his spare time when he’s not working. His name is Richard Inonog, and I didn’t realize it when we met, but he would be the catalyst to why I made a career change and help me discover my creative voice.

It was in that span that he and I became better friends, and I noticed he was working on photos from a shoot he had just done when he and I got into a discussion about photography and art, which lead him to say something that ended up sticking with me. Richard talked about how he never truly felt happy unless he was creating something – whether it was music or his mosaics or photography. As long as he had a creative outlet, he felt at peace. I saw what he was shooting and thought, “I could do that!” I had always had an interest in photography, but up until that moment, didn’t think I was capable of doing it that well. What he said really had an impact, though; I was miserable, and realized it was because I didn’t have an outlet for myself. I’ve played instruments and enjoy music, but didn’t think what I created was any good, and I certainly couldn’t paint, but something about watching him work made me realize how accessible creating art really was. Could this be the sort of creative outlet I needed, too? Maybe I really could do this?

Finding your creative voice is the challenge photographers face every time they pick up a camera, and it’s a never ending search.  Trying to define your style and discover who you are as a photographer is one of the hardest achievements to accomplish.  We, as photographers, find an inner happiness when we’re photographing our subjects – which is why we do it – but trying to take that image nobody else has conceived of is always difficult.  So, how does one do it?  Besides the subject matter, what differentiates Chase Jarvis from Zack Arias and Joe McNally from Todd Owyoung?

You May Ask Yourself, ‘Well, How Did I Get Here?’”

The first place to look is inside yourself.  That sounds like a hippie statement, but you really must find out what you want to shoot and what you want to say through the lens in order to even hear your creative voice.  What inspires you?  What do you enjoy doing?  For me, I love food.  You wouldn’t know it from my skinny physique, but everything about food inspires me, and photographing beautiful food puts a big smile on my face.  When you talk to Jasmine Star, she loves weddings and capturing a couple’s special day to create the first set of memories through images.  Zack Arias and Todd and Chris Owyoung love shooting musicians and capturing their aura, whether it’s band portraits or live concerts.  These people have found what they love to shoot and have gone out to make it happen.  There are people that specifically shoot cars, aircraft, children, landscapes – it’s what they find interesting, so they photograph it.  Once you find something that inspires you, bring your camera along and take a photo or two.

“You May Find Yourself In Another Part of the World…”

The next step is to see what’s out there.  Inundate yourself with the works of other photographers in the field you want to shoot and see what they’re doing, what techniques they’re using, how they’re lighting their subject, etc.  Check out other photographers that inspire you and look at their work.  Then, go out and do it.  The idea is not to merely copy their work – that’s plagiarism – but more as a learning tool to see what they’re doing to achieve their images so you have a better understanding on what techniques they’re using.  And then, don’t.  Don’t copy them.  Once you figure out how they got that image, challenge yourself to find a way to take it one step further.  You’re going to fail at this in the beginning, but as you grow as a photographer, things will start to make better sense and click, and you’ll start taking better images than you thought you ever could.  Before you know it, the creativity and inspiration will be right in your face, and you’ll start to hear the creative voices speaking to you (hopefully, those are the voices speaking to you – otherwise, seek help).

“Letting the Days Go By…”

365 Projects are also a good way to find your creative voice.  By forcing yourself to shoot every day, you start to look at things in a different way and play with your camera to discover new and interesting techniques.  I know of friends that challenge themselves to only use a specific lens or camera setting, which helps them learn their camera and how to shoot under certain conditions.  The important part is to keep shooting.  Always.  If you’re militant about keeping up with this project, it can really help you develop as a photographer.  Fuel Your Photography has a great article that can start you in the right direction, seen here.

“Once In A Lifetime…”

It’s almost been a year since I embarked on becoming a professional photographer, and to see what I’ve done before and where I’m at now, I know that where I want to be is certainly obtainable.  It’s fun to see what Richard shoots and see what I shoot, and how different our styles are.  We continue to push and force each other to take our images to the next level.  Every time I pick up a camera – even if it’s a commercial shoot or something I never imagined I’d ever shoot – I challenge myself to find a way to put my stamp on an image, and as a result, I find I’m overwhelmed with joy. Whether it’s a hobby or a career, make sure you photograph what you love and what makes you happy – the rest will fall into place.

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"Super Sloop" by Cheridan Chard

This month we’re featuring Cheridan Chard.  We were especially attracted to Cheridan’s eye for bold geometry and gorgeous colors.  Her style is well developed, and her entire portfolio is a treat to explore.  We are pleased to introduce:

Cheridan Chard

Cheridan is a 61 year old Australian who hadn’t shot for 23 years before acquiring a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8 digital camera in 2009.  She bought the camera with a view to having a little fun and it turned into a passionate pastime, or maybe we should say “full time.”  She does not possess any accreditations or previous training but she’s always had a strong sense of design, colour, placement and composition,  so a camera in her hands has vented these skills.  She photographs anything and everything.  She doesn’t like to be typecast, but architecture seems to consistently draw her attention.  At this point, she is not sure where this leads her, but she is a high achiever, so the sky’s the limit!

"End Of Day" by Cheridan Chard

"Marina" by Cheridan Chard

"Monday Morning" by Cheridan Chard

"Curvaceous" by Cheridan Chard

"Regent Street" by Cheridan Chard

"Hannel Street Station" by Cheridan Chard

"Autumnal Light" by Cheridan Chard

"Curvature" by Cheridan Chard

"Whoa! Stop...." by Cheridan Chard

"Lost In the Supermarket" by Cheridan Chard

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