How I Really Feel About Mornings

I've been meaning to get up and shoot in the morning light, but I hate waking up early.  Somehow, I managed.

There are no filters or fancy Photoshop tricks being used here; it's just pure, unadultered, harsh morning light.  While many photographers use the low sun to cast delicate light on their subject, I chose to shoot at the sun and really give an example of what I see when I'm up too early.

Taking in Chicago

Another panorama, this time from my friend's roof in River West.  It is comprised of eight different images, all taken with the same settings.  I then blended together in Photoshop to make an image that is roughly 18,000x2,500px or 44MP (thought I've shrunk it down here to make sure it doesn't kill the internet).  

 

Filters

I love technology.  I love what it's done to photography.  I can get on my computer and view thousands of gorgeous shots at my leisure.  I can explore the work of photographers I've never met.  I can take a poorly composed, poorly lit, mundane shot of something and transform it into something beautiful.

Wait, what?

I'm not going to say that I dislike Hipstamatic, Camera+, or Instagram (or Photoshop, for that matter).  In fact, I think they're great.  They produce a ton of shots that would otherwise be really boring without the effects added to them.  The only thing I dislike is that it's entirely too easy to use them as a crutch.  Shots that took zero techinical proficiency, patience, or planning can turn out beautiful.  To illustrate this point, I've included a picture of a boring shot:

This image, for all intents and purposes, stinks.  It's got terrible white balance, no subject, and it's just sort of...bland.

Now, with a little time in Lightroom, I can make it do this:

Look at how much better that is!  The clouds pop, the sea wall, lake, and sky are discernable, and it generally looks pretty okay.  I could also make it black and white:

Now I don't know a thing about shooting in black and white, but this looks pretty artsy to me.  I just had to add a preselected filter in Lightroom.  The second picture took me about 10 minutes and a lot of careful evaluation.  This one took me 10 seconds.  One more example, and this time with a little more pizzazz:

Yellow highlights, blue shadows, heavy vignetting, and more contrast make this look a little vintage.  This took me 30 seconds.  

So, what do you think?  Is one inherently better or worse than the other?  Is this the further democratization of art?  Do I, as an untrained photographer really have any say in the matter? I certainly don't have the answers, but I think it's a worthwhile question to think about.  

Update on Monday, August 22, 2011 at 05:55PM by Kevin Leckey

Check out the comments - there have been questions raised about the progress of art and the way in which we define art and its relationship with techonology.  Also, a little related reading.

Lighting Up

I picked up a gray card this week.  It will allegedly ensure proper white balance and exposure in my photographs, leading to more pleasing shots.  I've also been playing with my lighting, trying to shoot at the sun a little more often.  Here's what I've got so far:

Chicago Walk

No story - just some building.

I had an opportunity to go for a walk this weekend and took my camera with me to see if I could get any shots.  Unfortunately, it was absolutely packed and the light was really harsh.  I still managed a few shots, and a handful of them came out alright.  

I liked the way the symmetry and the contrast of color played off each other in this shot.  Two buildings of vastly different size, shape, and architecture, are transformed into twins with the right perspective.  Not a beautiful image by any stretch, but still cool in my opinion.

Another technically crappy shot that I included because of the subject matter.  We were waiting around for a bus (where it didn't stop), when the Bently and garbage truck drove by.  I remember thinking, "I wonder if this guy's pissed that his car is the same color as a garbage truck?" 

Update on Monday, August 1, 2011 at 10:22PM by Kevin Leckey

I was really, really disappointed with how the shot of the black & white buildings came out, so I spent a little time working on some creative crops.  I find it to be a much more appealing (and interesting) shot, but let me know what you think.