Breakout

You never know when you'll find a picture. Life is an ongoing surprise and being ready for those unexpected moments provides a photographer the greatest of joys and sources of inspiration.

I had originally gone to this place above the shoreline at Gerringong in NSW, Australia, to photograph the raging storm surf. It was so big and dangerous that I hadn't expected any surfers to paddle out. Yet two had and I had already made a good picture of a lone surfer standing on the edge of the rock shelf while a huge wave broke in the bay. It was getting colder, showers of rain were drifting in from the south and I could have easily walked back to the warmth of the car and headed home.

Looking to the west, though, I could see there was a chance that the sun might break out from behind the clouds at some time before it set. So I waited on the cliff top for an hour or two as nature teased me with the possibility of another picture.




The wait was worth it because the clouds did crack open in just the right place, at just the right time allowing the sun to cast its striking rays through the thick, wet air. While the light show was awesome, unfortunately, the sky remained mostly grey with only a faint and sparse light yellow tint.

Back in the day I would put a yellow filter on the lens and, with about half a stop of under exposure, the Kodachrome would be processed with a orange / yellow cast. These days, Lightroom is my Kodachrome (and Fujichrome) and I was able to realise my vision of a burnt orange sunset while processing the raw files.

Just like photographers all over I had an idea, the time - and timing. Not to mention patience and some protection from the occasional showers. I had pre visualised the picture I wanted to make but knew I still needed to be ready if the sun broke through. Hanging around hoping provided a brilliant bonus.

My advice for finding pictures is based, in part, on Ansel Adams' philosophy:

• Visualise the picture you want to make 
• Get into position before the light arrives and accept that it won't always turn up
• Know your equipment and how to quickly adjust exposure, ISO and focus because if the scene you hoped for doesn't eventuate you need to be ready for the 'surprise'
• and, just as Mr Adams understood and taught, pressing the shutter button is only part of the process - a lot goes on before and after to make a good photograph.

'In my mind's eye, I visualize how a particular... sight and feeling will appear on a print. If it excites me, there is a good chance it will make a good photograph. It is an intuitive sense, an ability that comes from a lot of practice. '
Ansel Adams

Most importantly, though, if you really want to find pictures you must get out there and look. And wait.

Enjoy!

Thank you Linda, this is why I love making pictures.

Recently I received an email from a friend whose daughter, Ruby, I had photographed quite a while ago. With her permission I am sharing some of her words here.

I have known Linda for many years - watched grow from a vibrant, engaging and, perhaps just a little, mischievous teenager into a successful business woman and loving mother. 

Because I had moved away and lost regular contact I was delighted to catch up on how Ruby is growing and discovering all that life has to offer. And very chuffed to read the kind comments.

I’m proud that a few pictures I made over nine years ago have triggered the beautiful memories and observations that Linda's heartfelt words express.

Linda wrote:

“I just looked at the images... 9 years or so ago - just beautiful... they so capture the essence of WHO she really IS!!.

She has not changed too much... she is so funny... makes me laugh every day.

Example - gets an apple from fridge to eat. Sticks the apple sticker on her forehead like a bindi (She calls them Galah apples instead of Gala). She turns, does a bollywood dance (with eyes hands etc wriggling side to side remarkably like a bollywood dance) and then says in an Indian accent. "My name is Galah, I'm an indian dancer!" She then cracks up laughing at herself so hard she ends up on the floor!!!

She is a delightful human being and I can't believe we have been so blessed to have her in our lives.

I'm sure you would like her. She is exactly that girl you caught on film. Thank you.

Linda”

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What do you look like when you close your eyes?

You've probably seen photos of yourself when you've blinked just as the shutter opened. But what about while you are sleeping, daydreaming or just zoning out? Here's a small collection of my friend and longtime muse, Summer, with her eyes closed.

If it's true that the eyes are the window to the soul then perhaps closing them encourages a viewer to imagine your dreams. What do you think?

Click on a picture to purchase a collectable art print

Seeing in Black and White (again)

During my transition to digital I noticed that I was seeing less and less in black and white while out photographing personal work. It eventually got to the stage that I was only really seeing the potential for a black and white print while I scanned through the files after loading them onto the computer. This didn’t seem a problem whenever I was commissioned to provide B&W for a corporate client - I guess my professional eye would just work to the brief.

For a while I wasn't sure why I was seeing less B&W scenes until I went back over how I learnt much of my photography. For many years I only shot 4"x5" or medium format, often exposing a polaroid first. I would have the (almost) instant gratification of seeing a print of the scene in either  B&W or colour. I think this is what helped train my photographic eye to almost instinctively assess a scene in terms of it's colour saturation or monochromatic tonal range. 

Remastered Prints - Images by Paul Foley

Like most photographers I left my LCD screen to display in colour  - even when making black and white images. To help reignite my black and white imagination I began wandering around on self assignments determined to only photograph scenes that would suit a fine art black and white print. So, to re-capture the old process of shooting a B&W polaroid, I  set the camera's LCD to display a monochrome image and tested my ability to ‘see’ in black and white.

Once I had found what I considered a suitable scene then thoughtfully set the framing and exposure, I would open the shutter and check my visualisation against the LCD. Whether using a tripod or hand held I slowed the whole process down to better appreciate the nuances of light, shade and tone.

I even used the mindset I operated under in my learning days: polaroids and large format film were very expensive so I would look carefully at every scene, fine tune the composition and make a lot of spot metering measurements before I made an exposure. Quite often during this process I would decide not to take a picture at all! I know how ridiculous that sounds in these times of free pixels.

So, I think the slowness of my money pinching mindset is also part of the process. As I only ever capture Raw files and even though the camera is making a B&W jpeg to show me on the LCD, I still have all of the information I need to make a fine art print.

This is, in effect, the digital age workflow of how I would make many of my black and white pictures all those years ago. Back then Polaroid made a beautiful Pos Neg film (Type55 I think) which allowed me to get a polaroid print and an excellent negative in the same exposure. The only drawback being the requirement to carry around a small bucket of solution to wash the negatives. Not quite as convenient as checking an LCD - especially when trekking around the bush! 

From time to time I revisit older pictures and apply new techniques and knowledge to the original RAW files. Sometimes the changes / re-workings are minor, other times I see the original completely different to how I saw it at the time of capture. While I would do this back in my B&W darkroom days as well, the immediacy and accuracy of these digital times makes such revisiting original files an important part of my personal photography practise today.

As my digital black and white conversion skills improve and with the help of the technique I  have adapted from the 'old days' I am again ‘seeing’ in B&W. The gallery here has some comparison pictures to show how my interpretations can change with time and skill. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Cathedral Rocks Shoreline, Kiama, East Coast Australia.

February 16th, 2013

I had seen a number of pictures recently of this place and decided to check it out for myself. The aptly named rock formation is very impressive but wasn’t exciting my photography bugs on this particular evening. Instead, I found myself drawn to the slippery, rocky shoreline and the intricate nooks and crannies surrounding it.

The waves were surging in through a narrow u-shaped channel at a regular interval and seemingly of a consistant size. Unlike the conditions I experienced shooting Rainbow Sunset. Despite these benign seas I knew I would still need to be alert. Positioned behind a tall rock shelf, I would not see the approaching waves until they flooded the rocks and channel I decided to shoot.

Occasionally, a heavy thud and a spray of whitewater rising above the far side of the rocks, hinted a larger than usual wave was coming. So, before setting the tripod and camera up, I had spent 30 minutes or so higher up the cliff behind me watching the sets as I tuned into the ocean’s rhythm.

Arriving early is wise for shoreline photography. It leaves time for scouting the best shooting position, a dry spot to leave gear not being used as well as plan an escape route if a rogue wave does turn up. Even with all this prep and respect for the ocean there’s been a plenty of times when I have (very ungracefully) rock hopped to safety while holding the tripod and camera high above a surging wave. 

Today, though, was calm and comfortable with time to appreciate the warm, summer evening and slowly, softening light. Shielded from the direct rays of the sun by the cliff, my cocoon of wet, glistening rocks and foaming waves was bathed in the reflection of the last blueness of late afternoon sky.

Nature’s colours were subtle and muted this evening but I was seeing in black and white. I made some exposures based on where I wanted shadow detail then others to hold the texture of  the highlights all the while visualising how much contrast I would need to properly show the flow and substance of the scene before my tilted lens.

Tomorrow I would lay three or four of these exposures on top of each other and paint in (or out) the tones I wanted to keep (or not). I love the digital ‘light’ room - all the techniques of past learning without the smell and red darkness.

Right now, however, I would enjoy this place - it’s mood and beauty - until the last of the light had soaked into the rocks and washed away on the waves.

8" x 10" Classic Prints at my new Etsy shop

For me, a picture isn't real until I can feel it - run my fingers across the paper, flexing and holding it to the light. It is then, when it is tactile, that the confluence of light, shadow and emotion is fully and properly realised.

Many of these 8 x 10 Classics were originally photographed on film formats ranging from 35mm to 5"x7". The more recent pictures were made using professional digital cameras.
I have re worked and cropped them to the classic 8 x 10 format to fit ready made frames with an 8" x 10" matte opening.
I'll be adding new prints periodically. In the meantime please feel free to visit Collectable Photography and suggest any other images you would like to see as 8 x 10 Classics.

When pictures disappear

My data storage mantra has been ’backup, backup, backup!’! It's something that I religiously follow. Or so I thought until yesterday.

The liquidity of light: Recent work lost then saved 

I have moved location over the last week and when I set up the computers at the new place one of my external hard drives wouldn't mount to my iMac or the G5. Of course, it had to be the only one that hadn't been transferred to a raid setup. Still I wasn't overly concerned because I 'knew' it was being backed up by Time Machine to other mirrored raid drives.

The dud drive contained recent stock raw files as well as exported tif/jpeg versions. These processed files were uploaded to my Photoshelter account so there were copies there but not all of the raw files had been uploaded to PS. While this sloppy housekeeping was not ideal I was relieved that there would be copies of each file on 3 separate hard drives.

That is until I checked the Time Machine drive and saw that the dud disc wasn't being backed up due to a silly, stupid oversight on my part. I can't really explain how it happened but I had thought I had set TM to back up the stock disc when I hadn’t. ’Measure twice, cut once’ is a carpenter’s adage for double checking which is what I hadn't done when adding this drive to Time Machine.

I felt sick, angry with myself, ashamed and embarrassed. Then I got to work on solving the problem which I knew was going to be very expensive.

My first call was to Data Detect a data recovery service here in Sydney. Ernie was understanding and sympathetic as I explained the situation. Their website has some scary recordings of drives gone bad and while the soft ’click’ sound that my drive made wasn't there Ernie didn't help my churning stomach when he asked if I was sitting down! He then explained that fees began at a non refundable $A330.00 just to look at the drive to determine the problem and from there costs could range as high as $A2800.00. Oh, and there were no guarantees that any data would be recoverable.

I was glad to be sitting down. Over the internalised sounds of my anguish and self directed anger I heard him suggest a test that I might be able to do myself to see if it was worthwhile spending the $330.00 in the first place. It was this suggestion that saved my data and saved me lots of money so I thought I'd pass it on.

Before detailing the process Ernie asked if I was 'techy'. 'Sure' I lied. While I know what keys and buttons to press to use my Macs I was banking that my tech savvy sister-in-law, Sam, would understand my translation of Ernie’s nuts and bolts instructions.

Essentially, the drive needed to be connected directly to a computer instead of via the FireWire (or other) cable. It was fairly simple for Sam to remove the Western Digital drive from it’s case and check the connector configuration.

It consisted of two plugs (one larger than the other) attached to cables that lead to the circuit board inside the case. The sockets on the drive matched the plugs in my Mac G5 tower that connected to the internal hards drives. Lucky for me I had set up the G5 with a separate scratch drive which I was able to remove and replace with the faulty Western Digital.

I restarted the computer in safe mode (holding the shift key after the start up chime until the Apple logo appears on the screen) and, incredibly' the ’dud’ drive appeared (it did take some time for the computer to complete its start up process). From there it was a simple matter of copying the data to a new external.

I hope this is a help if you ever find yourself with a dud external drive. While this worked with the G5 I'm not sure about the iMac. It will work with a PC if the cables are compatible.

Of course, I can't make any guarantees but it might be worth a try before you head off to a very expensive data recovery service.

To avoid future angst, my data storage mantra has expanded to ’back up, back up, back up and don't forget to check twice, stupid!’ And to have that extra protection of remote storage I will upload raw files to my Collectable Photography and Lightmoods Photoshelter accounts more regularly.