Black and White Extreme

The photographer is an artist whose paintbrush is the light on his canvas, a light sensitive material that captures the images he or she sees and feels.  Photography is the documentation of our visual senses.   It is about light, shape and time defining what our senses feel and see at a given moment.  When I am out on one of my photo walks I am particularly attracted to the starkness between light and shadow under the harsh light of the mid-day sun.  It is under this light that I find shapes well defined and the shadows they form receding into darkness.  I prefer to present these shapes in black and white rather than in color, which would intrude on the simplicity of this visual experience.  It is the world of stark light and darkness –that I call The Black and White Extreme.

Faces of Exit 270 Part 9

I enjoy capturing the faces of the people I might find on one of my photo walks.  The trick is to be patient, observe, isolate your subject -a head will turn just right or a person will move into the desired position and you have your shot.  Of course, a lot is luck –being in the right place at the right time and being observant of what is happening around you even when your main subject may not be the people.  You need to move and frame the shot quickly, because there is no retake in this type of photography.  It helps of course to have set your camera for the f-stop and speed that will enable you to do all of this in advance.  And that is what this blog is about – it is the places, faces and objects around Exit 270 with a little deviation into the study of light and shapes.

Postcards From Tucson

THE AGAVE

The Agave plant, which was considered by the Aztec as a gift from the gods, is not a particularly exciting plant to look at but a challenge to photograph.

I never can resist photographing this plant when I find it on any of my photo walks.  The key is to move in close and look for the patterns that are created by the light and the bending and twisting of the leaves.  Depending on the time of day – the light creates patterns within the Agave leaves and the same plant’s image can vary accordingly throughout the day. Using selective focus (using f-4.5) you can isolate some of the background leaves while focusing in on a particular interesting leaf shape.  Using a little saturation in post-production can bring these plants to life.  The Agave plant is really about shapes and working with them in your final image.

All of these images were made at the Tucson Botanical Gardens

Ghostly Place

As you walk down the street you find various automobiles from the 50’s parked in front of stores where the driver’s parked and seemingly never returned – you have walked on to a street where time is suspended – you have stumbled on to a ghost town called Lowell.   On this photo walk you have to keep both eye’s open while viewing your shot in the camera view finder to make sure your fellow photographers don’t wander into your shot and ruin the effect.  The inclusion of an old parked car in front of buildings helps to establish a time – because for the most part Lowell is not your usual impression of a ghost town – but yet it is.