An "Impossible" Photo

Willy Porter and Carmen Nickerson. Copyright 2016, Charles Black and Eye Guess Photography. Photo taken with Olympus
OMD EM1 and 50-200 f2.8-3.5 zoom. ISO 5000, 1/200 at f3.5, 200mm

This photo of Willy Porter and Carmen Nickerson is supposed to be "impossible". It was produced with a micro four thirds camera, the Olympus OMD EM1. According to some people the sensor in my camera is too small to use for concert photography. High ISO images, such as this one shot at ISO 5000, are just too noisy, too lacking in detail to be any good.

At least that's what some "experts" say. The thing is, many of these "experts" are the types who depend very heavily on their cameras to do things they should be using their own minds to do. That is, take the steps necessary to capture images in a way that allows for the final version to look the way they want it to look. What has happened is that some people become fixated on "OOC" images (out of camera) and eschew and criticize any images that they feel have had too much post processing done.

This is actually a pretty ridiculous attitude given that for the entire history of photography the greatest images have often involved extensive "post processing" of some sort. However, this article isn't about the whole "OOC vs PP" argument that continues to rage on various websites and at camera club meetings. It's about how to make sure your chosen photographic tool produces images that may seem "impossible". Whether that photographic tool is a smartphone, compact camera, or top of the line DSLR, the principles behind "impossible" images are the same.

1. Get to know your equipment. Understand what it can do well and what its limitations are. Then understand that it's a stupid, inanimate object and you do the thinking. Study some books, articles or watch videos about photography, not just about gear. Learn basic principles such as exposure, dynamic range (the range of dark and bright areas that retain detail in the photo) and other things that your dumb camera can only adjust based on fixed, programmed parameters.
2. Learn how photographs you admire were created. This will help you understand things such as lighting, composition, posing models, etc. You will find that in very few instances did the photographer depend on the camera by itself to make the image stand out. One thing that makes the best pros the best, and the Masters the Masters, is realizing that a camera is a tool that has to be used in the right way, not the decision maker in the creative process.
3. Get a good editing program, and learn it in depth. I use Adobe Creative Cloud, which consists of Light Room and Adobe CC. I also have a collection of plug ins that do things the basic applications can't, or don't do as well. There are plenty of programs out there, many of them free. If you primarily use your smartphone for photography, I recommend Snapseed or Photoshop Elements for Android. They're free, and allow for a lot of adjustments. There are also some terrific apps specifically for iPhone.Then, learn the real editing part of the software, not just the cool looking effects. Those effects only go so far in making photos truly stand out. Some people call some of my images "amazing" and nearly all of those images have no special effects added: it's just a good combination of my experience and skill in photography in general, the camera and the software.
4. Experiment. One great thing about digital is you can take thousands of images without it costing much to do so. This allows you to capture images of a huge variety of subjects under a wide range of conditions. Take lots of photos with different in camera settings. Then see how those settings related and interact with settings in the editor. 
5. Develop a front to back workflow. The "OOC" folks tend to put almost all their attention on the moment of capture, and how the camera is set for that. They are selling themselves short, in my opinion. Photography has always been about a complete process to create the final image, not just how to set the camera appropriately for the moment of capture. That's where step 4 becomes so helpful: over time, you will find how in camera settings A will work with editor adjustments B to create a certain look to your images that set them apart from the "typical snapshot". What I mean is that know, before you even capture the image, how you want the final image to look, and how what you have the camera set for works with what you will do in post processing to achieve that look.
6. Be your own harshest critic. Probably the area most people hinder themselves in improving their photography is they don't know how to effectively self-critique. What usually happens is emotional involvement with an image makes a person think it's a better photo than it really is. I regularly look at "great photos" people submit to forums and think "Holy Buckets of Cod, why did that person even keep that image?" I know the answer: it's a photo of a child, or pet, or pretty sunset, and they wanted to preserve the memory. That is really what photography is best for. However, it doesn't mean the photographs are good as photographs. It just means they are good as a preserved memory. Learnt to separate emotional assessment of the memory from critical assessment of the technical and aesthetic qualities of the image.

All of this can take some time to put together, but the results are worth it. It's taken me a couple of years to develop the familiarity with both my gear and software, as well as my workflow, to create images which defy the conventional wisdom of how they are expected to look. I'm not alone in this regard. I have seen some images from iPhones and Android phones that are breathtaking, because the photographers took the time to learn their tools, learn the best process, and make it all work for them, whether someone else says it's impossible or not.

Good luck and take lots of photos.

"The Shot": Ellis Paul, Sunday, April 24, 2016

(Danger Will Robinson: Since this blog is primarily about things creative, and I am being so creative in other areas I've been neglectful of being creative with this blog, I'm going to use my other creative endeavors more to be creative here.)

Ellis Paul in Concert. Copyright 2016 Charles Black & Eye Guess Photography. I gave myself permission, to use this photo. All others must ask.

Photographers great and not so great, are always hoping for "The Shot". It's an image that even before you trip the shutter, you realize is going to say something special, or at least look cooler than anything else you do at that time.

For a concert photographer, The Shot can do a few different things. In some cases, it epitomizes the atmosphere of the concert that it might be the only one needed to make people wish they'd been there. Or, it might be one that presents the performer in a way that sums up his or her talent and style in a single image. Then at times it's an image that does the opposite, stripping away the stage persona and revealing a side of the performer not often seen.

This is that sort of shot.

Ellis Paul is a great singer/songwriter who is usually very congenial and outgoing on stage. He connects very well with the audience, and it shows in how much the audience appreciates his performances. Sometimes though, all performers have moments when they sort of disconnect from the show and tap into something the audience can't see, some etherial place where the musician's chosen Muse resides.

When that moment happens, it seems the audience disappears for an instant as the musician connects with the Power that feeds his soul and drives his music. This is Ellis Paul in that moment.

Happy Mothers Day to Adoptive and Foster Mothers

Mothers Day is an odd holiday for adoptees and foster children. We all have a woman who we consider "mom". She may not have birthed us, but she loved us as her own nonetheless. She took the extra steps to love a child that was not of her own flesh, born of her own womb. That's an extra special mother in my eyes.

Then there's our "birth" or "biological" mother. (don't ever call her our "real mother") Sometimes we know who she is, and end up being glad she isn't in the role that we want a mother to be. We have our mothers, and both we, and those dysfunctional women who were at least smart enough to give us up because they knew they couldn't raise a child at that time, are better off not being part of each others' lives.

Then there are the birth mothers who keep in touch, who remain some part of our lives even if circumstances kept them from being or one and only moms. We are blessed with a bittersweet good fortune in this case, having two moms as it were.

But most of the time, our birth mothers are a mystery of varying magnitudes. Depending on the state and the circumstances, we may have complete knowledge of a mother we have never met, or nothing but the idea that someone out there gave birth to us, but left our lives soon after.

For some of us, that mystery can haunt our entire lives. What was her name? When I look in the mirror, how much of what I see is her? Do my daughters look anything like her? Do I have siblings out there somewhere?

Did it rip her heart in pieces to give me up for someone else to be my mother, or was she glad to be rid of me? Does she consider the same questions about me that I consider about her? Do her thoughts dwell on me as often as mine dwell on her? Is she even still alive? Is see searching for me, as I may have searched for her, only to find laws that are meant to keep us apart as long as we live?

Some of us adoptees and foster children find the answers to these questions. Sometimes when we do it's a wonderful, joyful occasion. Other times it results in heartbreak and regret. In my own search for my birth mother, I've read as many horror stories as happy endings.

So here we are, adoptees and fosters, facing a holiday that may remind us of heartache and loss, or joyful fulfillment, or nothing at all. Some in our situation find themselves simply filled with emptiness when it comes to Mothers Day. Their adopted or foster mothers turned out to be as dysfunctional as they imagined their birth mothers might be or actually were. They are children who deserved a good mother as much as anyone else did, but never had such a blessing.

This is my salute to all those adoptive and foster mothers who took us into your lives and did the best job you knew how raising someone else's flesh and blood. We know that with few exceptions, you consider us as much your sons and daughters as if you had bore us from your own wombs.

For that, one day a year isn't nearly enough.