Expectations vs Creativity

Submitted by Keith Bridgman 

There were few expectations that day a few years ago. Hopeful but unsure. Just a sixth sense that maybe the light was going be there. Other than hoping what could happen would actually play out, I was not sure if nature was going to present herself in a spectacular way or as so often is the case, in a ho-hum way. As it turned out, she decided to explode across the sky with a play of light so powerful, I was barely able to comprehend how important this moment of light was to become. 

When the light reached it's crescendo, my creative resolve kicked in and I captured perhaps one of the most iconic photographs I've ever made. The Burning Tree still moves my soul when I find time to relive that day. The perfect nature of the timing of that event taught me a powerful lesson about creativity vs expectations as a photographer. 

Over the next few weeks, we are going to take a journey and explore the nature of those two not necessarily mutually exclusive concepts. We will look at Expectations vs Creativity in this article. Expectations vs Instinct in the next one and finish up looking at Expectations vs Passion. I hope you will take this journey with me as we dive into some of the finer points of the artistic nature of Photography.

So what does Expectation have to do with photography and how does it influence Creativity? I would suppose that most photographers possess a certain amount of expectations every time they pick up their camera and venture out to capture something. There is probably always an element of that concept floating around in the back of conscious efforts. There are many times I head out with an idea of what I want to accomplish. Most of the time the moment fails to live up to those expectations. That in itself can create a sense of...well...failure. I didn't accomplish what I set out to do. However, without an element of expectation, it would be quite easy to fall into the trap of haphazard mediocracy. Simple random shooting can result in a lot of random photographs most of which fall well outside the realm of quality we all want to accomplish. 

Even so, recognizing what makes a great photograph should be the criteria used to develop your expectations before you head out. Knowing what to look for, knowing potential places to find it, then having the technical skill to capture the moment are the driving elements of Expectations. There should be a focus to your efforts in that what presents itself may indeed be a random event, but when you are looking for a specific kind of event, your expectations become more locked in to what is actually there. Being flexible enough to adapt to the changing situation is another key to allowing your original expectations to guide you through a moment that just might turn out to be iconic. 

All artists possess a creative instinct and that includes photographers. Creativity includes personal distinctions such as style. I can recognize a photograph taken by most of my photographer friends simply because I recognize their style and subject matter upon which they tend to focus.  A photographer's style is their own unique way of expression. Style is the personification of Creativity and creativity is boundless where as expectations are limited to a particular moment. A creative mind will find a way to see what is there when others fail to see. They have a unique ability to look beyond the ordinary to capture the extraordinary. They are not afraid to step away from the normal expectations to discover something new. One of the most destructive traits a photographer can have is to lock themselves into believing they must capture the world photographically exactly the way they see it visually. Instead, see the visual world as a giant pallet of color, texture, form, and movement then use your creative desires to create an image that moves the soul.

So you see, expectations sets the stage, creativity then explores and captures the possibilities. Never rely simply on one or the other exclusively, they both tend help the photographer align themselves with the powerful inner drive that propels us on our daily photographic journeys.

Using White Balance to Achieve Different Photographic Effects

Submitted by Keith Bridgman

White Balance as it relates to a digital photograph can often be a bit confusing to a novice or beginner photographer...and quite possibly even those who are relatively experienced. However, using White Balance (WB) in creative ways can generate some amazing results. While this article is not intended to be an in depth overview of the nature of White Balance, let's take a quick look.

First of all, what is White Balance? Simply stated, WB is the temperature of the light. Not all sources of light are created equal. What might appear as white light to the eye will not necessarily appear white to a digital camera. For instance, noon day sunlight is considered normal light, while incandescent light is quite warm in nature and florescent light is quite cool in appearance. Same applies to cloudy skies and sunsets. Different types and sources of light carry difference ranges of Kelvin Temperatures, from about 1000 to 10000 degrees in range. Oddly enough, the lower the number, the warmer the light. Here is a common scale often employed.

A digital camera must be able to discern the correct WB in order to capture an image correctly. Most cameras use a preset scale something like this one. For most situations AUTO WB works quite well, however understanding the effects generated by using the other kinds of WB presets can help you render some amazing results.

• Auto (A) – Default WB setting and what I use all the time when I shoot RAW. The camera automatically guesses the WB depending on ambient light and use of flash. Some cameras have more than one auto setting for different environments / lighting situations.
• Incandenscent (Light Bulb) – Use it strictly under tungsten light bulbs or the image will look very blue.
• Fluorescent (Glowing Tube) – Use if photos look too green or when under fluorescent lights. Since there are many different types of fluorescent bulbs, some cameras provide several different selections for this setting.
• Direct Sunlight (Sun) – Used when shooting outdoors with the sun shining on the subject.
• Flash (Lightning Bolt) – Used when utilizing on-camera flash.
• Cloudy (Cloud) – Used in cloudy days or in shades. Will yield warmer images than sunlight.
• Shade (House with a Shadow) – Warmer than cloudy, adding orange colors to the photograph. Good for sunsets and shades.
• Choose Color Temperature (K) – Lets you manually change the Kelvin value (typically from 2,500 to 10,000).
• Preset (PRE) – Used for color matching with a white balance card.

Take for instance this photograph. The day was quite cold with a solid layer of ice and snow covering the ground. Taken near sundown, using AUTO or Daylight White Balance would render a more typical golden sunset sky causing the image to retain a warmer feel to it. While this is very acceptable and beautiful in its own right, I wanted to capture the chilled atmosphere of the moment, so I switched the WB to Tungsten causing the camera to shift the color temperature toward a more seasonably responsive bluish tint which captured the moment as it was felt physically and emotionally.

So, the idea here is to think outside the camera for a moment and don't be afraid to experiment with the tools your camera provides to you. You don't always have to accept or settle for what the camera wants to give you. You can control the outcome and effect of your images. Capture what you feel, express the emotion of the moment, share the energy of your outing by simply playing with the White Balance.

The Athletic Body Photo Shoot

Submitted by Keith Bridgman 

The human body is by far the most fascinating subject for a photographer. There are so many expressive ways the body can be captured it is almost like possessing a never ending array of opportunities. Capturing the athletic body can be one of the most expressive and challenging techniques for a photographer. Recently, myself and Jason were given an opportunity to photograph two extremely fit athletes inside of a gym location. Here's my take on how I pulled it off.

We used two model talents, Toy, a lovely young lady who competes in Strong Man contests, and Terrell, a former athlete who still maintains a superb fitness level. The goal was to capture their physiques using dramatic lighting in such a way as to accent their form and athleticism.  

The gym was poorly lit with harsh florescent lighting. To offset this, I set up a simple black background, a black bed sheet hung between two light stands. Four Godox speed lights were employed. The first light was a bare light on a stand that stood behind the model. This was powered down to about 1/16th power to provide a hint of rim light helping to separate the model from the background. Two homemade striplights were set up to either side of the model allowing about two feet or so of space between each shoulder and the lights. These were powered to about 1/4th power and provided plenty of side light to help define the shape of the body. A fourth light was positioned inside an octobox and hung overhead on a boom shooting pretty much straight down.

 This served to add muscle and depth defining shadows. All lights were fired and controlled remotely from the camera using a remote trigger. 

Neither of the models had done much if any posing, so we had to work with them some to bring out their personalities. 

Because of the harsh florescent lighting, I shot everything in a manual mode setting the base exposure to kill all of the ambient light so the photo taken without the speed lights was completely black. In this case, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/100 of a second did the trick.

I used my Sony A65 with a Minolta 35 - 105mm lens varying the focal length depending on the shot. 

Once the base exposure was reduced to killing the ambient light, I engaged the speed lights to illuminate each model.

We had a great time as both subjects performed brilliantly. Thanx to Toy and Terrell for helping us out and to Workout Anytime for allowing access to the facilities.

A Tip for Long Exposures

 Submitted by Sheila Reeves

You are standing in front of a beautiful scene with rippling water, moving colorful clouds and a great composition of hills and trees. You think to yourself, “This would make a great long exposure.” You attach an ND filter (maybe a 6 stop or 10 stop) to reduce the light entering your camera. You dial in a low ISO to avoid a noisy image. You think you will need about a 2 minute exposure, so you put your camera on bulb mode and take the picture keeping the shutter open for 2 minutes. Oh no! You calculated the exposure time wrong. The image is way too dark or way to light!

Well here is a tip to determine if you calculation is correct without having to wait those 2 minutes.

Change your ISO by 6 stops. If you are shooting at ISO 100, change it to 6400. That is six stops. If you are shooting at ISO 64, change is to 4000. 

Then substitute seconds for minutes of exposure time: 2 seconds for 2 minutes, 3 seconds for 3 minutes, 4.5 seconds for 4.5 minutes, etc. If that gives you a good exposure, reset your ISO and take the shot for the original exposure time. If it does not, you can adjust the time up or down to get a good exposure without having to wait minutes between attempts.