Motivation

I cycle nearly every weekend. During the summer it's easy to motivate myself to get out on my bike. Cycling with my fellow NVL member, Matt helps. If I decide I just can't be bothered to go out. What do I say to Matt? I know it's the same for Matt. Even bad weather rarely stops us. But what if Matt isn't around? This weekend he is down in the New Forest. The weather, as you can see in the picture, wasn't inviting. Damp, chilly and very foggy. Should I just have stayed in bed?

No. I got out. The sun hadn't risen as I left the house. Compared to some recent mornings, it wasn't too cold. Unfortunately the fog got thicker the further I cycled. As I left the street lights behind I had to make a decision. Turn around and go home, continue on the road or use the cycle path.

I didn't want to turn around but the road from here is a 60 limit. Too dangerous to cycle on in these conditions. But the cycle path is typical of many. Very poorly surfaced. Covered in mud and leaves. With slippery tree roots pushing through it. Pretty dangerous. And then there is the very real possibility of punctures. Alongside the path is a hedge of thorns. Not too long ago it was pruned. Leaving behind small branches covered in big thorns. I did well, covering around 3 miles before getting that deflated feeling as air escaped from my rear tyre. It didn't take too long to locate and remove the thorn. And then replace the inner tube. But my motivation for a long ride had gone. I had intended to cover 30 to 40 miles. Now I am home I wish I had pushed on. But to be honest, I know it would have just been a case of saying I had done it. No real satisfaction or enjoyment. Had Matt been there we would have continued. There is still tomorrow to look forward to though.

I do get a sense of achievement from completing a task that I may not have had much motivation for. The cycling is a good reminder to myself that I am stronger than I sometimes feel. And that, I think, is another reason I do it. My photography also benefits. I know I can push myself, learn and improve.

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Years review

Matt and myself, reading my books. During a break on a ride.

Now that we are in to December I have started to think about the past year, and my photography.

I have continued to develop and focus on the type of photography I like to do. People photography is still at the top of my list.

But I have also come to appreciate the photography produced whilst cycling. I think this has seen the biggest improvement. I don't want to produce a snap of the event, just to record a place I cycled through or to. I want to have an image that stands on it's own. Without having the cycling as a reason for it to exist.

I had a picture printed on canvas a while back. It really stands out and looks good on the wall. So I started looking at the cycling pictures with a view to printing them in the same way. My last blog post talks about the books I printed from the pictures.

They need to be bold images, and the orientation has to be right for where I will hang them. One portrait, the other landscape. Selecting forty pictures for the books was hard enough, now I have to bring that number down to just two.

My portrait photography has continued to improve. But not as fast as I had hoped. The professional critique a couple of months ago showed me that what had really improved was my ability to connect with the subject. Put them and myself at ease. What hadn't improved as much as I had hoped was the end result. I see now that I had found a comfortable approach that meant the pictures were consistent, but not different enough from a year ago. I should have spent the year experimenting. With light and composition. I should have looked at each picture and said to myself. How could I have made it better? How could I have made it stand out? Instead of safe lighting, could it have been more dramatic? I have found myself using the same one or two lenses. I have others, why hadn't I used them? I could have been testing my control of depth of field, perspective etc. Damn it.

I'll start the new year with more questions for myself. I have a family portrait session taking shape for January. Seven people and a dog. I have some ideas, I don't want to produce a series of white background, high key pictures. I'll need to discuss what the client wants. But I think between us we can achieve a set that wont look the same as they will have seen from their friends studio shoots. I know it's putting more pressure on me. But I really want all my pictures in 2017 to have that something extra, to look better than I would have produced this year. I don't want anyone, including myself, to say they're just okay. 

Some of the contenders for possible canvas printing

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Vanity publishing

I really like to see my pictures printed, the bigger the better. But are there other ways to display them?

I wanted to look at some of the alternatives. This got me thinking about books. I hoped it would be a good way to bring a selection of my pictures together in one place. I could show them to people just by handing over the book.

There had to be theme, a story. What better than a decade of cycling photography.

Ten years ago I started cycling again after a break that started when I got my first motorbike. No pictures exist from back then. I've made up for it, this time around. 

It took some time to go through them all. Almost every ride results in a picture or two and I cycle most weekends. Then I chose the forty that I liked the most. I decided to make two books. The first one contained some specific journeys. London to Paris, the South Downs Way and trips to Brighton. Mostly bike shots. The second book contained more people. I wanted to show the people who have kept me cycling.

I don't expect to sell any books. It's just for me. An indulgence.

I might produce more books. I have so many pictures that aren't viewed very often, even by me.

To see a preview my books and purchase them. Click here.

I'm thinking Family and Beauty Portraits. Why not add your address to my mailing list. You'll be informed about future posts. Follow me on twitter. 

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Jumping ship

This might be a bit of G.A.S.

I am always reading on forums and blogs about photographers jumping ship to another manufacturer.

I know each one replaces their line-up at a different pace. Bringing improvements and new features before the competition.
But invariably they all catch up.

So what would tempt someone to sell all of their Canon kit for example, to be replaced by Nikon or Sony etc?

Pro quality lenses hold their value well, so selling them wouldn't incur too much of a loss. Camera bodies though don't fare so well. And the manufacturer specific accessories, they may not find a new home. Why not wait until the upgrades or improvements come to your system? That way you will only be looking at a new body.

Pro photographers can do the maths. They write off their equipment over the years. They can calculate how long it would take to recoup the cost of the change by work generated from having the new feature or ability. They use it more heavily, so could look at it as partly replacing old kit.

But what about amateurs? I replaced my camera body for one that had better ISO performance, higher resolution and I must admit to a bit of G.A.S. But I made sure it was going to be compatible with existing lenses and accessories. Otherwise it would have been too expensive. I have also gotten use to the layout and menus. There were some new features, or different ways to set it up. But no big changes.

Had I swapped manufacturers it would have almost been like starting again.

There is an upside to this. There is plenty of used last generation equipment for sale. For when I convince myself I need a newer camera.

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Critique

A short time ago I had the opportunity to spend some time with an established and successful photographer (Stephen Perry). I wanted to review my photography. To discuss how I had improved over the years. Where I could go in the future.

From my sports photography through the family portraits to the model shoots I have been doing lately.

My family and friends all say they like my pictures, and think they are very good. And I like them too.

But what would an impartial observer say? I don't get the chance to speak to more experienced photographers, so it was good to spend a couple of hours just talking about my work.

We concentrated on the pictures on my website. They are afterall my shop window.

I must admit they were a mixture of mostly older pictures. With a lot of sections. But I liked them and thought they showed what I could do.

At times it was a little difficult to hear. Picking out small imperfections or mistakes I had missed. Or suggesting that they just weren't my best work.

At the end of the review I had a lot to think about.

A change to the website structure was the first action point. I needed to simplify it.

Then I needed to look at the pictures on it, and remove a lot of them. And then pick some new content that would showcase only my best work.

The session gave me a new way to look at my pictures. Not only to be very critical of composition, lighting, posing, but the tools I used.

Could I have used a different lens to achieve a better result or effect?

Was the lighting right for the style, and mood I wanted to achieve?

Could I have changed the pose a little?

Did it flatter the subject, show them in the best possible way?

How could I have produced an image that stood out?

I had to look at each scene. Pull together all the elements and tools. And produce a picture that would draw the viewer in, tell a story or display a product at it's very best.

Overall it was a good and needed experience that I hope will improve my photography.

Please checkout my website and facebook page. And leave a comment on this post. I would really appreciate your thoughts on this or any blog post. And my website.

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Confused about art

I was talking to my cycling buddy as we took a break from the ride. I had read an interview with some photographers, one of which was Kevin Abosch. He of the expensive potato picture. We wondered how that massive price had come about. What made it worth so much? We talked about art in general. I guess I just don't get it. Art, when it's painted, or sculptured tends to mean a one off. So I can see how the value, especially over time can grow. 

I am at a lose though to see how some modern art is so highly valued. 

Again it is a one off, even if the piece is produced again. It's not going to be exactly the same. But I don't understand what it is most of the time. Or what it's trying to say. 

It appears to me at least part of it's value is who the artist is, not the piece itself. 

Once a group of people collect the artists work, they buy everything. Why? Bragging rights, a show of wealth, or a way of demonstrating they are part of the group who understand in a way others are just not capable of?

Then I come to art photography. Again this is just my opinion. 

When you buy a piece of photographic art. It can easily be reproduced. Just printed again. I'm not saying because it is a photograph, it can't be art and highly prized though. It's just not unique in the same way.

I tend to shoot pictures that are either personal to me or the subject. Or that satisfy a requirement. So not really art in itself. Although I hope some of them would be seen as artistic. 

Maybe I'm just too literal a thinker. It has to be obvious. And that's my failing, not the artist's problem.

Here is the potato in question.

Pic: Kevin Abosch

Quote from Peta Pixel, I think, illustrates why I am confused about art. “Kevin likes potatoes because they, like people are all different yet immediately identifiable as being essentially of the same species,” “He has photographed many potatoes. This one is one of his favorites.”

What do you think? What am I missing?

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