Blogodocious ramblings of a landscape photographer living in Maine.
The Addiction of Creation
"Acadian Coast", this was when my sweatshirt almost got swept out to sea.
"I need a photo opportunity, I need a shot at redemption, don't want to end up a cartoon in a cartoon graveyard" Paul Simon "Graceland"
edit: The word "addiction" carries a negative connotation but in this manifestation I don't think it's too bad of a thing.
I was talking with my honorary big-sister Linda Perrin last night http://atlanticartglass.blogspot.com/ whom I work for blowing glass and this idea occurred to me that I'd love to talk about and see if you guys agree with me on this one (you guys being my fellow photography friends and perhaps other creators of things, whatever- anybody respond!). Linda and I sometimes have some fun conversations about creativity and art and the process while we are working and last night I was trying to recount the inspirational and challenging blog post written by Guy Tal here: http://guytal.com/wordpress/2012/05/photography-and-the-creative-life/ that I read yesterday morning regarding concepts like art vs representation and finding your voice etc.. By the way, if you like reading about creativity and art and photography then you should definitely have Guy's blog in your favorites list.
Guy Tal reading Edward Weston (taken from his blog)
What I said to her (Linda), was that as a photographer I'm constantly and incessantly thinking of what my next picture is going to be. I ran into a quote this winter that sums it up perfectly: “Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow.” – Imogen Cunningham. And that's so true, while I can be perfectly happy with what I'm working on now or the image that I posted today, once that is behind me I feel like I'm already "behind the 8-ball", like the clock is ticking, or maybe it's a fear that I will never again be able to make an interesting enough picture, or I don't know... that the world will end or something else irrational like that? But I'm thinking and scheming and checking maps and crossing places off lists with the next shot in mind. Certainly we with our cameras are full time imaginators, whether we are actively shooting or not, and while driving to do errands we see pictures all around us- how the light is warmly kissing the edge of that tree or the perfect cumulous clouds above or the face of that really interesting looking person dancing with his dog on the sidewalk? etc. We see that stuff as we would if we had the viewfinder to our dominant eye and turning the focussing ring- anybody else manually focus here?
I use my big camera about 3 times a week probably as an average. And I like to work on or develop images more like maybe 6 days a week. And I like to look at pictures everyday of the week. Although I suffer from having to punch the clock and "work for the man" I really probably wouldn't be all that more productive even if I did have the time? Well that's perhaps somewhat of an exaggeration to try and prove my point here as there undoubtably would be more picture making if I did have the more time, nonetheless I would posit that visualizing and conceptualizing between shooting sessions is as valuable as the shooting itself. And it gives us time to review our recent images and see where we need to improve our technique, it gives us time to look at the Google Maps and scout locations, to look at our friends images that are more and more incredible every day and maybe find a new course to pursue through doing that. And we should have something of a succinct body of work, where I would love to be an "everything photographer" my focus is landscapes and nature and through self-curating I only have a few different cohesive shows of work of all the thousands and thousands of images I have so that always takes consideration, and more dedication etc.
edit edit: I wrote this kind of quickly yesterday afternoon and I got slightly sidetracked along the way but wanted to add one more thing: I started seriously pursuing making photography back in 2000/2001 and really started to feel the reward of it when I would come home from after making glass with Atlantic Art Glass which is a fantastic feeling of creation blowing glass is, but then after we were done for the day and I was home and I would have regained my energy and there would be lots of time left in the day I felt the desire to keep making stuff and photography allowed me to create on my own time and it was dependent on only me and it felt just as fantastic with the feeling of creation. No matter if it's photography or glass blowing or whittling or house of cards building or pencil drawing creation feels like a necessary obligation.
the archives
So what drives you my photographer friends to make more images? And do you ever feel satisfied with what you've accomplished to the point of just relaxing and not "worrying" about it? Am I over reacting? Are dogs man's best friend? What's your favorite kind of pizza? What's the meaning of life? I digress, see ya! -Nate.
More cool photography quotes:
“Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson
“If I have any ‘message’ worth giving to a beginner it is that there are no short cuts in photography.” – Edward Weston
“I always thought of photography as a naughty thing to do – that was one of my favorite things about it, and when I first did it, I felt very perverse.” – Diane Arbus
“In photography there is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality.” – Alfred Stieglitz
Shooting Seaside in Acadia National Park a Viddy Blog
I started seriously trying to make pictures 12 years ago because I live in Acadia. You can't visit or spend time in Acadia without wanting to make pictures, it's gorgeous, everywhere, and always different and always interesting, no matter where you look. Sunday morning I set the alarm for 03:00 so I could get up and take a quick wake-up-shower and gulp down 3 cups of coffee to get out the door by 03:40 to drive 30 minutes to get to the east side of the island to catch the morning light. Sunrise was 05:00 that day (give or take a couple minutes) and the images I wanted to try to find would have been around 4:30- 05:00. I finally have some energy again after fighting off a wicked cold that turned into a nasty cough for the last 2 weeks and I haven't been out shooting yet in the morning now that it's warmed up nicely. Making pictures on a warm morning in beautiful soft light is an experience that just can't be beat. And if anything else I would at least get some practice at that kind of thing: getting up way too early and trying to make work in a sleepy haze. And it was a nice morning that proved to be totally worth it- the images aren't blockbusters but it was fun and gave me some ideas for future comps and I took the time while my shutter was open to record a little video blog to show you guys the oceanside of where I live. Have a good one and thanks for stopping by -Nate.
And here's some of the pictures I made: (shot with Canon 5d MKII and 17-40 f/4.0 L USM using a B+W 110 ND filter)
"Tangerine Skies Over Acadia"
"Acadian Coast From Thunder Hole"
"Bob Seeger Was Here" (that's a reference to an aging American Rock and Roller and his soporific paleo-anthem), no offense Bob-
Which one do you like? And make a video blog yourselves and show me where you live! Yeah! Over and out, -Nate.
Turning 40!@$# A photographic landscapers gear-guide or birthday wish list.
Ma showing me how to stop and smell the flowers Feb. 1974
I'm gonna be 40 years old (Forty!), in a few weeks. What! This is ridiculous! How did this happen?! When did this happen?! I was just a kid, like- yesterday? Someone should have told me this was going to happen- or maybe they did. I probably just said something like: "don't worry, it'll be fine!" Ack. Well in light of this evidence: I'm truly disappointed at how sudden and yet unnoticeably slowly this whole state of events has come to be. Like some kind of lightspeed, time-warping, malevolent stealth-slug of the ages: I'm forty. Like how you don't see the tide go out as it happens unless you compare it to something like a rock rising up from the sand, or you don't see the grass grow (although you can kind of hear it this time of year around here!) until you realize that it has to be mown again. Or you don't see the sun move across the horizon unless you watch it's long winter shadow move across a room. Time goes. Have you ever actually listened to a clock tick and think of the seconds passing- it's real quick, and really depressing! I try not to find myself listening to a clock tick. Anyways- life has been good to me. I have a pretty healthy body, a loving and wonderful family, a wonderful and loving partner Sophie, a great dog, a great camera and glass, a job, and stuff like that- but since I'm turning 40 (forty!) I deserve the right to FREAK OUT at any point in time in the near future and dye my hair orange and grow a crazy half beard and quit my job and take up finger painting and professional gambling or any other bizarre manifestation that my psyche throws at me :) Oh the possibilities are endless! But in an effort to supplant those more insidious options I'll instead offer up to you my camera pals and maybe my more well-off friends a wish list of appropriate birthday gifts. Ha! And anybody else can use this as an appropriate Gear Guide for landscapers equipping desires. :) So let's get started!
1. 2012 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon or Call of Duty MW3 Edition.
Oh Yeah!
2. Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital Camera (Body Only) x2.
(Don't hate me Nikon fanboys- I already own Canon glass!)
3. Lenses
This should be a nice beginner set
Well in all reality the bag that you would need to carry all these may be a bit too unwieldy for most shoots, so to pare it down to an entirely necessary lens kit let's go with these:
3a. Must Have Lenses: Canon 16-35 f/2.8 L II USM or just save $1400 for another and get the Canon 17-40 f/4.0 L USM
Here's the 17-40 and the 16-35 and the 16-35 II
3b. Must Have Lenses: Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM or a Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 (no autofocusing)
Creamy Bokeh! Gotta have a 50 for the street-
3c. Must Have Lenses: Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 L USM (I'd save a G and not go with the IS myself) (IS=gyro image stabilization you noobs)
That'll cover your glass basics needs at which point you can begin to crave the 24mm f/3.5 Tilt shift, or the 45mm f/2.8 Ts-e,
or the 85 mm f/1.4 for portraits or the ultra juicy Canon 85mm f/1.2 L II USM
or how bout a mortar tube sized Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS USM: yeah!
4. then of course you'll need a Bag to put all this weight in so let's go with a Lowepro Pro Trekker 400 AW Backpack like this:
5. which you can also hang your sticks off like these Gitzo GT2531 Mountaineer 6X Carbon Fiber Tripod Legs with G-2272M 3-Way Pan/Tilt Head:
6. and then you'll be needing the landscapers master filter kit of: Lee Filters Adaptor Ring - 77mm, Lee Filters Foundation Kit (Standard 4x4, 4x6 Filter Holder),
and Lee Big Stopper Filter, and Lee Neutral density Soft Grad set of ND .3 ND.6 ND.9 and ND 1.2
7. a shutter release cable of Canon Timer Remote Controller TC-80N3 so you don't have to use a rubber band and burned cigarrete filter like me.
8. then when you get home and make to develop your imagery you'll need an Apple 27" Imac Core I-7 Quad Core Desktop
9. running Adobe Lightroom 4
10. And an Epson Stylus Pro 3880 to print your work:
11. and an understanding partner who'll listen to your "war stories of the shot that got away" and bake an awesome looking cookies like this:
Love ya baby!
12. and then when all is said and done you need the Eames Chair to do some masking and relaxin'! (photoshop joke)
13. and a Samsung 46" UE46D7000 LED TV to watch your "Deadliest Catch!" on.
I know, I know, that was a whole pile of mostly capitalistic completely unnecessary junk, but I'm turning 40 (Forty!) so pardon me, but Shut Up!
Right then, sorry about that, what I meant to say was: peace and good will to all. By the way have you guys heard about that new black and white only Leica M-Monochrom? That'd be a real nice 40th birthday freak out!
"Leica's monochrome-only M Monochrom equipped with the seriously expensive new Summicron 50mm f2 lens." -CNET
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57431858-1/new-leica-shoots-the-world-in-black-and-white/ Well, I do want to have that as well. And a happy birthday to you too, Thanks for stopping by, keep your batteries charged, and hope to see you out there shooting the 'scapes -Nate. :)
What's in a name or the importance of a title.
"Dire Bay" 2012 Nate Parker
Hi, my name's Nate, I live in Maine and I make photographies. That's my name, whether or not I like it isn't important- it makes me who I am. As far as pictures go I spend a fair amount of time considering an appropriate title. See the reason I'm writing on this is that the other day it was pointed out to me by a very talented Maine shooter who also has a lot of information on SEO (search engine optimization), Jim Nickelson at http://56x56.com/blog/ that as many of my titles for images are single words and not often very descriptive of place then the Google web crawler isn't giving me good placement on image search results: especially when searching for things like Acadia National Park, where I do most of my shooting. And that's really disappointing to me! Because I'm not going to "sell out" as it were with a new naming convention that is directed solely to massage Google's search engine. And I really enjoy when I can find one word or a couple words that captures the mood of the image I'm trying to name (but that isn't too precocious, or hoighty toighty) etc, like:
"Duality" 2011: I came up with this title because of the reflection and the two reads intertwining in the foreground. Though that was pretty clever!
"Chord" 2011: This shot was taken during the tail end of a hurricane and came out a bit abstract feeling and I thought that the bands of color which I was trying to find synonyms for could best be represented through a term from my music past.
"Immersion" 2012 :cause it's like immersion.
See where I'm going with this? But recently as I've been printing off a bunch of images and matting and mounting etc, it has occurred to me that I see a lot of people actually spending time on coming up with interesting and suiting and provocative titles for their images, but when it comes to a print- where does the title go? Because I'm not interested in going with the big title on the border of the image printed in the margin, because it makes me feel like it's a poster and not a fine art print. To each there own, I don't mean to offend anybody who may go with that approach. After thinking about it I've decided to put the title over my signature in a bottom corner. Which is probably really what most people would do, but what do you guys do? Where do you put your titles? And whats more important to you: a suiting evocative title or one that is referenced by the Google Web Bot? Thanks for your considerations and have a wicked nice day- Nate from Maine, Usa. Here's a couple more examples of the importance of titles:
"POTUS"
"Lady Chatterley's Lover" D.H. Lawrence 1928
NASA!
"Mom", 2011
Meet Nate, A video blog.
"Eagle Lake Acadia Lichen Rocks" 2012
Hi there! I've been thinking about doing this for a while, making a video blog of sorts, first thing is to figure out the right buttons to hit to make it play right here. So long as everything works, here's an Iphone viddy of me walking around Eagle Lake in Acadia National Park a couple of mornings ago trying to make a picture in less than favorable conditions. I often check the weather with photography in mind and when I saw the forecast for Tuesday morning and realized I may have enough energy and rest to wake up at 04:00 in the morning, I decided to make a go of it and see if I couldn't reap the rewards of some nice dynamic morning light. It was a bust in the end, as 4 knot forecasted calm breezes turned out to be an annoying 20 knots and a hopefully partly cloudy broken sky turned out to be a thick and nearly featureless blanket of dullness. But in my experience if I didn't set the alarm and get up then I would have found the skies to be absolutely blowing up with awesomeness when I would ordinarily be drinking my first cup of coffee. And, getting skunked this time will, according to the law of averages, make great success eventually! Sorry about the audio- it was real windy, but I've been meaning to introduce myself as many of you guys have become some great friends of mine. And if you were worried or wondering: the beard will be back next winter. Have a good one and thanks for stopping in- Nate!