Photo Courtesy of Marc Shea
Natural World
images consist of both traditional landscapes and images
that capture my interpretation of nature. Most scenic
images were taken miles from the nearest road. I love to
hike, especially in the mountains, and have accepted the
necessity and extra weight of carrying a camera and tripod.
I can hike a long time before reaching for my camera. Then
something will catch my eye--it could be the light or
colors, a shape, pattern, texture, or mood. I love the way
our world can look, and am particularly delighted by the
effects of time and evidence of the life force that
permeates nature.
emigrant wilderness bookmark
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Black and White
Black and White
This
section includes black and white images not shown elsewhere.
metropolitan bookmark
Although my primary
interest is in nature and musicians, I occasionally take
pictures in and around
metropolitan areas. I like images that show something
a little quirky, like the woman painting a stairway while
wearing a white dress, or common locations at uncommon
times.
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visions bookmark
Visions are
abstract images. Pictures in this section may be the result
of a digital process, as with "Big Sur Hallucination,"
which actually is a picture of sand that I chose to
translate in a different way using the Curves feature
in Photoshop. Other images may simply be a normal
photograph, for example, “Flowers at German Market.”
Using a film camera, I set a low shutter speed and then
panned the camera across an arrangement of flowers.
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Technical Note
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Technical
Notes
For photographing
landscapes, I currently use both a Nikon D-200 digital
camera (purchased March 2006)and a Mamiya 7 (a 6x7 cm
medium-format rangefinder camera). Because I generally like
to stop down my lens to increase the depth of field and I
often take pictures during times when light may be limited,
I use a tripod and cable shutter release. My current choice
is a Gitzo G1128 carbon fiber tripod. Since I backpack, I
need a light but sturdy tripod that I can carry many miles.
I use the following
filters when I think the scene calls for it – polarizer,
graduated neutral density, and yellow. Unlike some
photographers who disparage the use of filters, I figure if
filters were good enough for Ansel Adams, they’re good
enough for me.
The images on this
site are either film scans or digital capture.
Even though I try to capture an image
that is close to what I envision without any further
processing, I have used Photoshop (an image processing
program) to some degree on all images. Typically I only use
techniques that would be used in a traditional darkroom –
dodging and burning (the subtraction or addition of light),
and minor color correction. Photoshop allows more control
over these processes than what can be done in a darkroom. I
have not added clouds or colorful skies to any of the images
you see. In addition, pictures made from digital
photographic files, whether scanned from film or originally
created with a digital camera, naturally tend to look
“soft.” Because of this, I also use the Photoshop sharpening
function, but do not believe this undermines the integrity
of the image; sharpening brings the image back to its
original appearance.
I mentioned above that
most of the time I only perform digital processes that are
done in a traditional darkroom. What about the other images?
Just for fun, I enjoy modifying some images in outlandish,
non-traditional ways. Those that appear on this site are
easy to spot. I have also created black and white prints
from images originally shot in color. (Shooting in color is
supposed to give more control when the image is converted to
black and white.) In some cases I’m thinking black and white
when I take the shot, in others I’m not. Sometimes it’s not
until I analyze the image after-the-fact that I realize it
was meant to be black and white.
Digital photography
and the digital darkroom open up a new realm of photography.
I like the expanded opportunities it affords me to get the
image I saw when I tripped the shutter. For those who may
find any digital processing objectionable, please keep in
mind that Ansel Adams used a number of the technical
processes that were available in his time to get the image
he visualized. In speaking of his prints, Adams acknowledged
“what reality [my photos] have is in their optical-image
accuracy; their values are definitely departures from
reality.”
Over the years there
have been many technological changes in cameras, light
meters, film emulsions and photographic papers. But have all
these advancements made photography better? I think one has
only to view images taken by earlier generations of
photographers to realize that the essence of an image is not
in the technology, it is the eye of the photographer.
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Please visit my website of
musician photographs at:
http:\\www.crosscutsawphoto.com
Contact
contact
bookmark
You can
reach me by email at
mike@mshea49.com
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