Blog | LomiMonk Photography

Sep

2011

Daily Practice

Submit to a daily practice. Keep knocking and the joy inside will eventually open a window. -Rumi

Things have been busy here in monkdom. I know many of us have busy lives; it is one of the things that tends to define us as Americans, it seems, and I notice it often as a casual yet telling response to a friendly greeting in my parts. “What you been up to?” the greeter asks. “Oh, not much. Busy, busy…”

Not many more details are given and none more are requested, as if to say “well, if you won’t volunteer it, or don’t remember it, then it’s not that important to me.”

Well, here, we’ve been busy, busy. And I’m gonna tell you about it, mostly because I’m enthused about it and also because all this business is separating the wheat from the chaff for me and the role of photography in my life.

The quote above is a quick little ditty that has deep meaning for those spiritually oriented, but it also speaks true of those of us in the quest for that satisfying artistic expression: our voice. “Submit to a daily practice and have faith” that quote seems to say. Work daily, practice daily, be mindful, daily and what you seek or what you need will somehow, somewhere, present itself.

It is a challenging thing to do because submitting to this daily practice is supposed to challenge you. It is supposed to make you question what you are doing and why you are doing it. It is supposed to take you right to the edge of the limits of what you know about your art (and even perhaps yourself) and make you peer, seriously peer, over the edge at “what if?”

For me this has been coming through stress, challenging work, lack of sleep, deadlines, limits, and illness. Life has been full, my responsibilities feeling so vast, that there seemed to not be room for photography in it. I actually asked myself if I should stop for now; if I was trying to do too much.

I haven’t fully answered that question yet but I find myself coming through it all with greater clarity and with a realization that despite all the challenges some wonderful things have taken place throughout it all. I was recently paid to photograph a Baptism and was quite pleased with the result; I’ve had a photographic series published at Rear Curtain (the first and hopefully not the last); I’ve started lightening my gear bag as I wander and travel with wonderful results and more enjoyable trips; I’ve completed a new photobook I am excited about and awaiting the proof with anticipation; I’ve edited down a huge series to 6 images that I think tell a story with greater impact; I’ve begun to expose myself to varying art forms with greater enthusiasm and energy.

This past Saturday I convinced my family to take a drive to Santa Fe and had the chance to visit the Verve Photography Gallery there. It is a wonderful place with a welcome and accommodating staff and some of the most astounding photography gracing the walls. My purpose there was more directed than just taking in the prints displayed. I was after a book, or books, by Norman Mauskopf. Ever since Daniel Milnor (aka. Smogranch) had mentioned Mauskopf in a blog post I’d wanted to see his stuff. Both Milnor and Mauskopf are undertaking or have undertaken projects close to my heart: Milnor is engaged in a lengthy project on New Mexico and Mauskopf has completed fantastic works on horse racing, rodeo, and the Latino descendants of Spanish settlers in Northern New Mexico. All of these projects rank in the “holy crap” level of difficulty.

These two are in the stratosphere of documentary photography and noticing my attraction to their work has made me realize the pull I feel in my photography. What that is exactly still remains to be seen-that will require more practice-but the idea and the way has begun to take form in the fog.

By the way, Mauskopf is teaching a visual storytelling workshop in Santa Fe this October through Santa Fe Photographic Workshops and Daniel Milnor is leading one in Peru.

Aug

2011

El Bautismo: a book preview

Last month I had the privilege of photographing a family friend baptize their daughter. I’d never photographed such an event and it was wonderful to be trusted with documenting this special event. In addition to providing my friend and client with the images of the ceremony and following celebration I thought I might surprise them with a little book.

I made this book using Blurb’s Lightroom to Bookify plugin and I found the process smooth and intuitively easy. I usually make books by using Blurb’s downloadable BookSmart software that allows me to build and edit the entire book on my computer before uploading all the images during the “publish” phase of the process. Blurb’s Bookify option allows the author to upload all the images to Blurb and build the book online. There are advantages and drawbacks to each option. The Lightroom Plugin allows the author to upload the images, choose the book size and style, and choose the cover images directly in Lightroom. The advantage here is that I didn’t have to export the images to my hard disk before uploading them to Blurb; everything was handled from within Lightroom on the front end and then the fine tuning edit happened on Blurb’s website.

What I really enjoyed about the process is that the 7×7 format of the small square book format forced me to consider cropping the images in a square format and I really liked how they looked.

So above is the preview of the entire book and I hope it gives you a feel for the event and the celebration. I would love to hear what you think

Aug

2011

The World Is Your Oyster (or some pitfalls of this wonderful world)

This is a wonderful time! This is a wonderful time to be a photographer! The digital age, with its cameras, Photoshop, Lightroom, plugins, widgets, websites, apps, wordpress, blogs, FaceBook, Twitter, Google+, has allowed us to connect and share faster, with greater accuracy, and with a broader reach than ever before. Lest we take it for granted it would do us some good to remember that this is a wonderful time for photography.

This is also a challenging time. There is so much available to us so quickly that we can be at risk for developing an inability to tolerate disappointment, boredom, or frustration. This ability to tolerate uncomfortable mood states is an important skill that we begin to learn early in life provided we have some good mentoring through attuned caregivers. Parents will recognize this as the tantrum throwing ages of 2 or 3 when each little disappointment becomes a major crisis for a while. Eventually we learn that small disappointments are different from large ones and, hopefully, we stop “losing it” every time something does not go our way.

The challenge, however, is to continue learning this skill in smaller and more subtle ways as we continue our journey through life. Our current “distraction available at every turn” world threatens us gently, time and again, with the reward of distraction from discomfort rather than encouraging the tolerance of it.

And this threatens our art.

That LCD on the back of the camera offers much distraction in the form of chimping or learning our internal camera settings that it just might detract us from developing the patience to watch the light slowly change over a landscape. The computer, that wonderful device that has opened this whole new world, threatens to distract us through Twitter, FaceBook, Google+ing from sitting and focusing on our editing, book-making, working efforts. (I was made vibrantly aware of this just the other evening…and as a result my latest Blurb.com book remains uncompleted.)

All hope is not lost however; we continue to have dominion over our own minds for the time being. Just becoming aware of our tendencies, and the tendencies of our continued connection to Web2.0, can do wonders in making mindful choices to focus on what will actually feed our soul, nurture our creativity, and produce the work that is precious to us and-I would argue-to the world.

How have you found yourself distracted from your goals, projects, or photography? Stay tuned for another blog post on some ideas how to overcome “distraction-itis.”

Aug

2011

Carry Your Crappy Camera

I’ve been thinking about this post for a while. Regular readers here will be aware that I’ve decided to focus on the craft of photography for a while rather than on the gear. The plan is to learn the skills, the vision, the art, the mystery, the feel of making photographs that please me and I’ve found that new or more gear doesn’t always accomplish that for me. And so, I’ve been thinking a lot about how I think about photography.

Thinking about thinking; it is a strange and wondrous exercise.

You see, I love shooting with my Nikon D300. I paid a good sum of money for it. I love the feel of it. I love how I can change settings quickly and intuitively through the myriad of buttons on the outside of the camera body. It feels good in my hands. You know, I’m just into this camera.

Lately though, I’ve taken to shooting with a used Nikon D80 I bought. At first it was just for novelty but I had bought this camera for a couple of reasons: first, I felt I needed a backup camera body; second, I needed something my wife could put on “Auto” and make a nice picture quickly; third, I needed a camera that would keep my interest while shooting on vacation that she could also use easily; fourth, I needed something I didn’t value quite as much as my D300 because I have two little boys who tend to dump sand on me, jump on me, and splash water on me (decidedly non camera-friendly occurrences.) So the D80 entered the stable.

But after a while I noticed something about how I thought about this backup D80 camera: I didn’t care about it as much. Now, normally that would make me want to shoot with it less. But I found myself shooting with it more. Strange. So I started that thinking about thinking thing again. Why?

Well, I’m more willing to take risks with the D80. I’m more willing to get it close to water and I’m more willing to get it down near sand. I’m more willing to use it in precarious situations and I’m more willing to hand it over to someone else.

The image above is an example of what I’m talking about. My extended family and I were walking in a wood in western Maryland while attending a family reunion and my 3 year old son was dragging behind (short legs and all that.) My 18 year old nephew hung back with me and at one point, looking back toward my son he said, “this would make a cool shot, Uncle Brian. The trees above and Sebastian below.” He gestured with his hand that he was visualizing something. I didn’t even look back to see what he was showing me- I just handed him my D80. “You see it; you shoot it.” I told him. And he did.

It turns out it is one of my favorite images from that reunion. And I didn’t take it. But it wouldn’t have been made had I been carrying that D300-I covet it too much and probably wouldn’t have handed it over so freely. And that got me thinking. 🙂

When we travel to foreign countries and are wanting to make portraits of people, wouldn’t it be nice to occasionally hand over the camera and let our subjects make a picture of us? Or have their family member or friend make a picture of us and our kind and generous subject together, to remember the occasion? Maybe we could even send them a copy of the picture or even print one right there with our Pogo printer so they could have a memento and stories to tell? It would be a great way to break the ice; a great way to engage with our subject; a great way to build a bond. Sure, perhaps occasionally a camera could get stolen. That’s what insurance is for. But it also wouldn’t be your D300.

Now, I’m aware that a D80 is not a “crappy” camera to most. But it is my cheaper and older camera-I bought it used, for not a lot of money, so it is more dispensable to me. What is your older camera that you might be willing to take greater risks with? How about breaking it out and carrying it with you and get those photographs you might have been passing up for fear of damaging your gear?

P.S: Stay tuned for a fun little announcement form me within the next few days as well.

Aug

2011

eBook Review: Making Light by Piet van den Eynde

I really enjoyed this ebook, Making Light by Piet Van Den Eynde. It feels to me like just the right ebook for me at the moment and I have torn through it eagerly in both anticipation of writing this review as well as wanting to apply what Piet has to say.

You see, I’m on a “no new gear!” kick these days as I really want to learn the craft of photography better and I’ve been finding that buying new gear has not been effective in satisfying this curiosity. Along these lines I recently thought to myself, “I really need to understand light better, both cognitively and intuitively.” And learning to use off camera flash is a great way to do that. After all, I’ll be fully responsible for the quantity, quality, and direction of the light so any mess-ups will be mine. Rectifying those mess-ups will teach me gobs and gobs about light.

And along comes this book.

Now let me get this straight. This is a gear-heavy book. After all, when we begin talking about taking the flash off the camera we begin talking gear: flash/strobe unit, trigger systems, modifyers, etc. Thankfully, I’ve got most of that stuff or can figure out how to use a bedsheet or translucent curtain to begin to modify things. But despite the emphasis on gear, Piet explains how to go about obtaining and working with a basic lighting setup. In fact, he even shows how he got his whole camera rig and lighting setup onto a bicycle(!) for a trip through Asia, and then shares some beautiful portraits taken on that trip.

That got me humble. That got me enthused and curious!

This book is packed with the information and examples you might need to begin making fantastic photographs using off camera flash. Piet is clearly a master teacher and is clearly creating the foundation with which readers can move forth and use off camera lighting to enhance the photographic craft. I’ve been to classes on this stuff, I’ve taken the Flashbus workshop when it roared through town last year, I’ve practiced and failed and practiced and failed. But now I have a resource that makes sense to me and I will revisit over and over.

Do you get the idea that I really liked this book? I did. Have at it! Don’t restrict yourself to being only an “available light” photographer simply because you don’t yet grasp using a flash well (like me!) Increase your craft and repertoire and join me, won’t you?

For the first five days only, if you use the promotional code LIGHT4 when you checkout, you can have the PDF version of Making Light for only $4 OR use the code LIGHT20 to get 20% off when you buy 5 or more PDF ebooks from the Craft & Vision collection. These codes expire at 11:59pm PST August 21st, 2011.

Aug

2011

Blessed

Last month a friend of the family contacted me and asked to hire me to take pictures at her goddaughter’s baptism. It’s not often I get hired to document an event and though I don’t usually like shooting for money, I made an exception this time because she and her family are close family friends with big warm hearts. I couldn’t say no. And I had made it a goal to shoot a project for someone else this year in order to photograph under some pressure and see what I could learn from it.

I’m going to write about my process of doing this shoot at a later date so for now I would like to simply share a few images from the day. These are a series of portraits I made of different family members with the girl of the day. I just love how these portraits not only depict the moment but also how the people help define the place (New Mexico) for me. I hope you like them.

Aug

2011

Upgrade The Photographer

Also known as “No New Gear For The Rest Of The Year” season.

I’m what I like to call a “retro-grouch.” I’m not really all that grouchy; I think I have an adventurers outlook and I love to try new things, explore possibilities, and learn. It’s just that often the learning, the experiencing, gets all bogged down in all the “stuff” that seemingly goes along with it. I’m reminded of George Carlin’s famous skit about needed a bigger box for all the stuff we accumulate.

Well, photography and specifically the plethora of gear that can go along with this craft is beginning to feel like it is too filled with “stuff” for me. I’m yearning for something simpler. I’m beginning to recognize that my accumulation of more stuff does not necessarily correlate to better, more satisfying images. It doesn’t even necessarily correlate directly to more adventure or more fun either.

Ugh.

I’m not in this for more stuff. I have a house full of stuff. I have cycling gear from my days as a racing cyclist. I have rock climbing gear from my time squeezing rocks for dear life. I have backpacking gear from the time when I carried everything I needed on my back, in one bag. I’ve got lots of stuff and I am recognizing that I’ve experienced this feeling of increasing complexity in the quest for simplicity in each of these previous endeavors. And each time I chose an enforced simplicity and discovered more of what I was seeking.

So, I am beginning by putting a moratorium on new gear acquisition. I need to understand light, composition, exposure, aesthetics better instead. I don’t need another lens (I really want one, but I don’t need one!) This is the time to upgrade the photographer (special thanks to Stuart Sipahigil for the idea and the term “upgrade the photographer.”) This is the time to push my skills, use what I’ve got, and focus on the image, be involved in life, tell the story of my community, fall in love with shooting images rather than the gear used to do it.

So, what is on the docket? Well, simplifying for one. Going light. When I was childless and backpacking a lot I read a book about ultralight backpacking and discovered that camping in this way entails philosophy that completely served my reasons for being in wilderness. I left comforts at home and only took necessities. And you know what? I was more comfortable on the trail and consequently in camp as well. I could move faster, see more, experience more, and still have the energy to dance a giddy jig when I experienced something magical.

I plan on applying this same philosophy to my photography; if I can be less encumbered can I then be more in the moment and better able to make a worthwhile image. Henri Cartier-Bresson did it with a Leica and a 50mm lens. Andrew S. Gibson shot stunning images in the Andes with a Canon Digital Rebel and a kit lens. Why not me?

Secondly I plan on studying. I plan on studying other’s work: Larry Towell, Cartier-Bresson, Norman Mauskopf, Trent Parke, and others. I plan on exposing myself to as many art and cultural opportunities here in New Mexico as I can.

I plan on trying to tell the story of the land where I live. Of starting and completing projects that are of interest to me, about people and cultures that interest me. And to have fun. Somewhere along the line this got all serious. No good. Time for some fun and a return to the excitement and wonder I first started shooting with.

I hope you’ll join me on my little journey. I just know there is something magical in the works.

Aug

2011

New C&V eBook: Andes: Print and Process by Andrew S. Gibson

Andrew S. Gibson is quickly becoming one of my favorite photographers as well as one of my favorite photography writers. I fell in love with his first 2 ebooks, The Magic of Black and White and The Magic of Black and White, Part II soon after he released them. I found they really taught me to “see” in black and white better and produce better overall images as a result, whether in color or monochrome. I return to those titles over and over reminding myself of his tips, suggestions, and direction as well as to receive inspiration from the absolutely stunning images included within.

Yesterday he released another ebook. It is a bit different from his earlier works for the Craft & Vision label in that this is not really an instructional book although the reader will get a pretty clear sense of how Gibson approaches photography philosophically. This ebook: Andes: The Print and Process Series features some of the same images in his earlier works but also delves into the journey that gave birth to those images as well as the thought process behind them.

Focused intently on several journeys to the Andes mountains in South America, Gibson recounts bus rides, exploratory wanderings, encounters with indigenous cultures, witnessing local festivals and really gives a sense of what it is like to wander and photograph the area, the land, the people, and their customs.

What struck me the most personally was the simplicity of Gibson’s gear and how it had a direct impact on the outstanding quality of the resulting images. On his first trip Gibson traveled with two simple Pentax 35mm film cameras with a 24mm wide lens on one and a 50mm lens on the other. On his second trip he traveled with a Canon EOS 350D (a Canon Digital Rebel XTi here in the U.S.) and 18-50mm kit lens. A kit lens!! Brilliant!! Just the proof I needed to be reminded that the quality of a photographer’s gear does not directly correlate with the quality of a photographer’s photographs.

So come take a tour of a gifted and skilled photographer’s images in this wonderful ebook: Andes: The Print and Process Series. If you’re anything like me you’ll be inspired to go out and make incredible images with simple gear.

Special Offer on PDFs
For the first five days only, if you use the promotional code ANDES4 when you checkout, you can have the PDF version of ANDES, A Print & Process Series for only $4 OR use the code ANDES20 to get 20% off when you buy 5 or more PDF ebooks from the Craft & Vision collection. These codes expire at 11:59pm PST August 6th, 2011.

Jul

2011

Your Creative Mix: the ebook

Well, I don’t know quite what to say. If there ever was a book, an article, a piece of writing that spoke true to the merits and pitfalls of being creative in one’s chosen field, this is it. Corwin Hiebert, business manager and entrepreneur, has written the “get to work” ebook for photographers (and arguably for other creatives as well.)

I won’t go into a lengthy review of the book-that would just serve to undermine a fantastic piece of work by Corwin-but rather I’ll say that I am enjoying reading this book. I believe it to be highly useful and helpful in encouraging and guiding anyone in the creative fields to create. I’m chewing on Corwin’s words a lot, and I’ll continue to do so.

If you are creative, want to create your good work, and even want to make a little money while doing it, spend you $4 for this ebook. In the interest of full disclosure if you buy this or any of the other Craft & Vision ebooks I’ll get a few shekels commission, but that is honestly not why I’m recommending it. I’m recommending it because he explores the nature of creativity with attention to the internal “inside the artist” perspective, to the external “outside of the artist” perspective, and supports community and collaboration. He also rants about “going pro” and what that really means as well as how an industry of like-minded people, no matter how well-meaning they may be, can squash creative thinking.

Buy the book. It’s a gem. There aren’t many who manage photographers and are willing to share their insights and thoughts about how they help their clients become and remain successful. Corwin Hiebert is one. And he doesn’t hold back.

Special Offer on PDFs
For the first five days only, if you use the promotional code MIX4 when you checkout, you can have the PDF version of Your Creative Mix for only $4 OR use the code MIX20 to get 20% off when you buy 5 or more PDF ebooks from the Craft & Vision collection. These codes expire at 11:59pm PST July 23rd, 2011.

Jul

2011

Polo Teaser 3

I’m still working on my series of images taken from the polo tournament I attended a couple of weeks back. It has been a lot of fun editing the images down and I have arrived at about 19 that I want to keep to make a visual story. But I’m a bit stuck as to sequencing and whether all the images need to be included. So, I’ve decided to print them out and sort through them manually rather than digitally. There is just something magical when I can include the tactile element in my decision making process. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this outtake photo. I had originally cropped it down to include only the two players attacking the ball, but I’m finding I’m liking this crop too.

I’ve made this and the other polo images available for sale because the players have expressed some interest. I’m aware the “buy buttons” can be a bit distracting and I do try to keep them off my blog. Instead I prefer to have them on my “Purchase” page but for ease of ordering by my “models” I’m making an exception here. Thank you for understanding.