I Reached the 50,000 viewers mark today.

I guess this is a landmark for me and my photography journal: I reached the 50,000 views mark.

One thing I am quite surprised about is that my more visited blog-pages are those dealing with Iritis. Because I have this eye condition (off and on), and I provide information about it, people flock to my blog seeking help with this painful eye condition.

That being the case, I will continue to add new information about Iritis, and also, of course, Photography.

Thanks for your views!

Nawfal Nur

 

Shooting Rain, v.3, originally uploaded by N. Nur.

“What to photograph in the rain?”

Sometimes I get that question asked; or, sometimes readers search for an answer to that question.

The answer to that question is easy: Anything! Anything you want to photograph when it’s sunny, can essentially be photographed when it’s raining, it will just look different.

However, beware:

You will get your camera wet. That is, unless you use some waterproof housing for your camera. I do not use a housing, but I do use an umbrella and a dry cloth to wipe off any droplets from the camera, if necessary.

Three things, no, there are more like seven (7) things/techniques/settings that I like to use, set, or implement, to capture actual rain-streaks falling, and these include:

1) Wide Angle Lens Setting.

2) Shoot downward (from a standing position).

3) Rain streaks are whitish, so try to shoot rain against a darker background, like you see in the dark green (flooded) grass.

4) Use flash: I just use the internal flash of my camera most of the time.

5) Use a fast shutter speed, perhaps in the range from 1/250 second to 1/500 second, in Manual Exposure Mode.

6) Experiment with your camera settings until you find a setting that works for you.

7) Move around and try various locations, subjects and backgrounds.

With some practice, and CAREFUL HANDLING of your camera, you can get some interesting rain photographs.  If you use these Seven ‘tips’, you may find yourself trying something new, or different from what you have done before.  And, that’s a good thing, right!

I would say, that if you are doing this alone, and you have to hang on to an umbrella in one hand, and a camera in the other, then use a compact camera that is easy to handle with one hand.

Good luck with your rain photography; however, remember that you can dry off, but your camera equipment may drown.

Door Warrior, originally uploaded by Nawfal Nur.

If something catches your attention, then take a photograph of it!

CLOUDS, originally uploaded by Fine-Grain.

Look Up…if you don’t find anything at ground level to photograph.

ABANDONED SHOES, originally uploaded by Fine-Grain.

Keep your Eyes and your Mind Open to the Possibilities of Photographs.

A bunch of shoes sitting on the sidewalk in Georgetown…’how odd’ I thought…but interesting.

‘To Specialize or Not to Specialize’, ah, that is the question. Well, it really isn’t the question, but it is something to ponder…I guess.

National Geographic photographer, James Stanfield said: “Early in my career I made up my mind not to specialize in any particular kind of photography. Some assignments were more appealing than others.” I really like Stanfield’s work, and he is skilled enough to be able to be flexible and shoot many types of subjects with excellence.

I like the idea of being the photographer of “Blah” (you can fill in the specific subject in place of “Blah”). However, when I look through my personal photo archives, I see that I’m not really a “photographer of ‘Blah’”, but rather, a photographer of many subjects…but not all subjects.

Is this good? Is this bad? Is it hard to pinpoint what you do when you DON’T just shoot “Blah”? Could be.

If someone asks you: “Do you shoot X and Y?” You know you shoot Y pretty good, but you don’t have a history of shooting X. Will this damage your chances of getting work when this happens? Or, do you just say “Hell-ya! I shoot X and Y!”; and then, hope for the best. Or, do you say, “I shoot Y, but X…we can experiment!”

For me, that seems, well, not quite right, but it could work.

Portfolio Web Pages…these are good indicators of what a photographer shoots. A potential client can look at your work, see what you have a history of shooting, and then have a good idea of what you photograph. In this case, if a viewer sees that you have pages of Animal and Wildlife subjects, then why bother asking you, “Do you shoot weddings?” Does this method of showing work by way of web portfolios seem logical? I’m guessing that it does, but I could be wrong. There are still times when photographers get “interesting” / “odd” / “ridiculous” questions anyway, even when we attempt to be as clear about things as possible.

Anyway, I have set up a photography journal here at wordpress, entitled ‘photographist’, and this is where I am publishing more specific subject groups of what I have photographed the most. If nothing else, maybe this effort will help me stay focused and organized regarding my work.

Jamilah Bee Eyes, v1, Edit B, fb, originally uploaded by Fine-Grain.

Type of Photography: Cat Portraiture.
Cat Model: Jamilah Bee.
Cat Age: 12-Years this Year.
Date Taken: 2 Aug 09.

Photo Tip: Flash placement should be slightly off center to avoid any ‘deer-in-headlights’ type of glare – the equivalent of the Human Red-Eye issue. It also helps if the ‘model’ is not staring directly at the camera.

Have fun!

LILY BLACK BEE, Asleep, originally uploaded by Fine-Grain.

Kittens….Ah, the joy of being a kitten…crazy lunatic maniacs…this is the only time they are NOT like that!

Purchase a Print: Go here.
http://tiny.cc/LilyBlackBeePhoto

And,

Maybe I’ll ‘Sell My Heart for Stones.’

No, probably not, but this is an awesome composition!

This, being my 210th post, and being in one of ‘them’ moods today, thought I’d give a plug to my favorite group of musicians, NEVERMORE:  They have gone above and beyond.

Old Malay Man seeking alms.

Do you mind if I ramble a little? OK, good, thank you, but I was going to anyway.

How many photos nowadays do you see that actually have A LOT of substance, meat on the bone, full of fiber, sticking to your ribs kind of goodness?

A bunch…a bundle…a gaggle…not many…not so many…?

Sure, everyone and their dog has a digital camera nowadays, and sometimes the dog can even crack off a decent shot, but not too often I suspect.

After being around photography these many years, and seeing all kinds, types, shapes and sizes of photography, there is one thing I know…one thing that is abundantly clear to me…one thing that is ultimately and extremely beyond a shadow of a doubt, without argument, clear…is that a Glamour Shot is a ”Wow” shot (in so many cases):  This type of photography almost always grabs viewer attention and soaks up comments like a sponge.

Even if the photo technicalities in a glamour image are questionable, as long as the model is HOT (Pretty Hot, Reasonably Hot!), then there are bound to be numerous accolades for that image.   Without a single doubt, it is a ‘WOW Photo!”

If you don’t believe it, just pop over to Flickr and see how each and almost every Glamour Photo gets umpteen gillion (always wanted to use that term) – “Wow Hot Babe!” comments.

And, I would agree, I must confess, I LOVE glamour photography too. What’s not to like? You have a beautiful woman, often in skimpy outfits. Period. Boom! Slam-dunk! Instant Hit among the Photo Community.

And, I must confess (more confessions people), that I have given my fair share of “ATTABOYS!”…with thoughtful reflections such as…”Beautimous Model with fine sensuous curves, and I love how the light flows over her natural beauty!” Ah Yes! Like Wind Song the comments fly from my keyboard…

And….while that may be the case, and while glamour photography is highly popular, how many words are glamour photographs really worth?

I can’t speak for anyone else, but I know, for sure, that most glamour photos are worth at least three words:

“Wow - She’s – Hot!”

1-2-3.

Yeap, at least those are typically the first words that come to my mind, but it usually isn’t about the image, it’s a comment about the model. 

And that is OK I think. Isn’t it?

Moving into a totally different direction:  In contrast to glamour photography, on-the-spot Street Photography and Photojournalism MUST TELL A LOT with only a visual. In many cases, the visuals, the photographs sell the story. The photographs in Photojournalism and Street Photography would be total duds if they did not convey quickly 1,000, or 10,000 words about a subject, person, place or thing.

Therefore, I guess, we can love Glamour Photography for the short story it tells – “Wow She’s Hot!” And, we should appreciate just as much, the hard hitting news and street photography for the poignant stories they tell about life, struggles, joy, and often times, death and destruction.

As with everything, there are most assuredly many exceptions to the points I’ve brought up.

And, I’m not sure if this next mention has much to do with this blog entry or not. However, one of my favorite photographers is Douglas Kirkland, and I think that Mr. Kirkland is such a master of photographing the human body, that his images naturally tell stories, they have extreme substance.

http://www.douglaskirkland.com/

Great glamour and human form photography take a lot of talent to create. A great glamour photograph comes about as a collaboration between a photographer who can use skillful techniques, and who can work seamlessly with a gorgeous model who has the power to ”seduce” the lens (so to speak).

A good glamour photograph will usually get the “Wow She’s Hot!” responses.

A GREAT glamour photograph will not only get the, “Wow She’s Hot (but also)…and look at how the photographer did that…and look how she positioned her leg in that way…and how in the hell did the photographer make that shadow there…and on and on the wonders in words and questions spill out of the shot, and opening up a story behind a great photograph.

Maybe a good photo is worth a short phrase.  And, perhaps a great photograph is worth 10,000 words.

So, how many words are photographs worth anyway?

ORANGES, CHILIES & Fork, v.2, originally uploaded by Fine-Grain.

Oranges, Chilies and Silver Cutco Fork, Still Life image.

This is a one-light setup, which is the situation I usually like to work with. I also like to shoot using the modeling light instead of actually having the flash flash.

I can’t say that if I had 10 Electronic Flash units I would use them.

I guess I have just always liked a single light source with a softbox unit or snoot, in conjunction with reflectors.

Although….

I’m open to experimentation if I have access to the equipment.

Light in Hand, originally uploaded by Fine-Grain.

Yes. The lights are just coming back on-line.

After many days, I have Internet service again.

Lightning hit the telephone wire outside the house, which fried our phone line, it fried the modem and it toasted the router! Also, (more fun), my operating system crashed big-&*^-time and it took days to get it working even this good (i.e., only three four blue screens of death today – so far).

Nevertheless, I don’t think I can blame that on the OS totally, I believe I need to ‘flash my bios,’ [why do they call it that - it sounds really wrong! LOLOL] update the bios, and that may help the situation.

The computer may die on it’s own, but maybe not, if my patients runs out (after many, many, many days of work on this thing), I may end up killing it myself.

At least, I’m back on-line at this very moment in time – must try to look at the positives.

“Live in the now for who knows what evil blue screen will pop up next and take it all away!”  {Me:  It was I who just said that.}

Take care,

Nawfal

Flower, 17June2009, originally uploaded by Fine-Grain.

Sometimes, it’s cool to look at the underside of a flower!