Photograph vs Snapshot

[SwampGrizz]

Hello All
First thing I want to say is that I have spent a good amount of time looking at the photographs on this site. They are stunning. Being the newbie that I am, I feel like I’m swimming around in the very deep end of the pool. Way over my head. There is some first class stuff on here.
Now to my point. I have been reviewing some of my pictures, and with a few lucky exceptions, they all look like the opportunistic snapshots that they are. Most all of the shots on here appear to me to have some sort of intention behind them. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the spontaneous act of stumbling up on interesting stuff, but that takes you only so far. I have looked at a blue million videos and articles about how to put soul and emotion and feeling and blah blah blah into your photographs, but I can’t get the hang of it. I didn’t really understand this until I saw a photograph that ORSONNEKE recently posted of a woman’s hands peeling potatoes. I responded to the thread that it took me back to when I was a child in my Aunt Minnie’s kitchen and remember the smells of the biscuits baking and the coffee brewing. That’s what a photograph should do.
How do I find that intentionality? I understand that this is a very subjective, loose, and open-ended question with no clear answer, but I would greatly appreciate knowing how you take photographs instead of snapshots. All advice, tips, and opinions welcome.
Swampgrizz

 

[Archibald]

Here's a quick exercise. When you're out wandering aimlessly, looking for interesting things to shoot, forget about the things and look for interesting light instead. When you find some good light, only then go in search of something to put in front of that light. Not only do you get more interesting images that way, but it trains you to look at the light which, after all, is our medium.

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You are an artist.

 

[SwampGrizz]

MikeZ,
Like the old saying goes: You can give out, but you can never give up. I plan to keep going.

There was something in that sewer grate that caught my eye. I spent my professional life dealing with geometric shapes and patterns, so I am probably a little more attuned to that kind of thing than others. The repeating pattern appealed to me. I worked with the image a little, but nothing really struck me other than an interesting pattern. I haven’t given up on the creative process, but in this particular case, there was a point of diminishing returns. Maybe I’ll give it another shot. See my message to Phil below.

Phil,
I would be pleased if you and anyone else would have a go at re-editing my little sewer grate. I really would like to see what somebody that is fluent in editing could do with it. Make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, so to speak. Im not familiar with downloading a picture from this site yet. Is there a setting or something I have to do in order for others to download it? Everybody have a whack at it. I have the Louvre on speed dial now, so I’m optimistic.

 

[ShipleyNW]

Ansel was never wrong

Although he was both, Ansel was more of a chemist than an artist. His greatest contribution to photography was the zone system, which was all about dynamic range on film. I remember talking to a photog buddy of mine, a seasoned vet and regular Pulitzer Prize contender. He was telling me about going to a seminar and listening to an Ansel Adams presentation. Apparently Adams went on an on about different chemical baths and how they affected density and contrast. My buddy, bored to death, said he wanted to yell out, "Hey Ansel, where's Gretel?" Maybe bring the crowd back to life.

 

[SwampGrizz]

Ken,
Very well done!

 

[PKM-UK]

MikeZ,
Like the old saying goes: You can give out, but you can never give up. I plan to keep going.

There was something in that sewer grate that caught my eye. I spent my professional life dealing with geometric shapes and patterns, so I am probably a little more attuned to that kind of thing than others. The repeating pattern appealed to me. I worked with the image a little, but nothing really struck me other than an interesting pattern. I haven’t given up on the creative process, but in this particular case, there was a point of diminishing returns. Maybe I’ll give it another shot. See my message to Phil below.

Phil,
I would be pleased if you and anyone else would have a go at re-editing my little sewer grate. I really would like to see what somebody that is fluent in editing could do with it. Make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, so to speak. Im not familiar with downloading a picture from this site yet. Is there a setting or something I have to do in order for others to download it? Everybody have a whack at it. I have the Louvre on speed dial now, so I’m optimistic.

Hi Dale,

As far as I know this site cannot accept raw files (you'd have to upload it to Dropbox/ iCloud and provide a link), but I have downloaded the *.jpg.

Although this offers less leeway to pull-push things around it should be enough for me to have a play with a few ideas. (No promises of success!).

(The key thing is I have your permission as I won't mess around with people's stuff unless they're happy for me to do so).

Not too sure of timescales, but I'll be back [Edit - see below]...

Phil


Sewer Grates as Art - Before/ After...

 

[SwampGrizz]

Phil for the win!!!!!
That’s outstanding!! Just goes to show that there’s a whole lot more in a picture than you think. I looked at it that day and saw an ordinary sewer grate. You saw it, and brought out the art in it. This changes how I look at things from now on.

I’ll notify the Louvre.

What did you use to do the edit? Photoshop?

Thanks for your effort.

 

[PKM-UK]

Phil for the win!!!!!
That’s outstanding!! Just goes to show that there’s a whole lot more in a picture than you think. I looked at it that day and saw an ordinary sewer grate. You saw it, and brought out the art in it. This changes how I look at things from now on.

I’ll notify the Louvre.

What did you use to do the edit? Photoshop?

Thanks for your effort.

Hi Dale,

Cheers! - I'm very pleased to hear you enjoyed my edits. It's humbling and rewarding to learn I may have inspired you too. (Makes it all worthwhile!).

As time was very limited this morning I ‘threw a few things at the wall until they kind of stuck’, but from memory I called on the services of Adobe LrC (basic adjustments/ cropping), PS (using Tony Kuyper Panels, DxO Nik [custom presets in Analog, Color and Silver Efex], Topaz Labs Studio [Photo and Gigapixel]), plus Topaz Labs Bloom (web) and Studio 2 (custom presets - via LrC). It's nowhere near as complicated as it sounds (well, mostly!).

PS is definitely the main creative workshop, but I also regularly lean heavily on - the sadly discontinued - Topaz Labs Studio 2 (wild things/ framing).

I don’t make notes about what I do, I just have an idea of where I want an image to head and kind of ‘feel my way’. There are a variety of tools I can use to get to where I want to go and I'll generally try a few options/ combinations and see which ones are giving me what I want.



Phil

 

[SwampGrizz]

Phil,
Wow. From your post, I am making the assumption that you are a rocket scientist who moonlights as a brain surgeon on the side. That’s some serious editing firepower. If this is something you just threw at the wall, then I really want to see what you’ve done when you have had time to think about it.

The good thing about this thread and this website is the fact you and others are willing to share your time and expertise with the rest of us. It’s appreciated.

 

[SwampGrizz]

Sir Henry,
Thanks for your post. Your first paragraph about not drawing a distinction between an intentional photograph and a snapshot gave me something to dig on. I had not considered the element of chance, particularly in a controlled studio / intentional setting. The model’s glance, light being just right, etc. Bresson’s Decisive Moment might come in to play here, because when that chance instance happens, you have to press the button. Thanks for the food for thought.

 

[Photofarmer]

Sometimes difference between a great photo and snapshot is as simple as removing dead space in camera or post processing.

 

[SwampGrizz]

PhotoFarmer,
You're right. I've salvaged quite a few photos with a judicious crop. They don't rise to the level of greatness, but they make me feel better.

 

[Bucolic Old Sir Henry]

Sir Henry,
Thanks for your post. Your first paragraph about not drawing a distinction between an intentional photograph and a snapshot gave me something to dig on. I had not considered the element of chance, particularly in a controlled studio / intentional setting. The model’s glance, light being just right, etc. Bresson’s Decisive Moment might come in to play here, because when that chance instance happens, you have to press the button. Thanks for the food for thought.

Here's a shot - one of my all time favourites - which is the very definition of a snapshot, but at the same time intentional, in that I was looking for things to photograph, to be part of a record of a trip around Yunnan in 2007. This was in a street market in a small town near the Tiger Leaping Gorge, on the way to Shangri-la. Street photography, if you like. The shot before was of a duck in a bowl, the one after of the same girl at a vegetable stall, but looking away because she was shy...

Apologies for the non-R image... ;-)

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[SwampGrizz]

Very nice! You caught the moment! She has a great smile. Well done.

 

[PKM-UK]

Phil,
Wow. From your post, I am making the assumption that you are a rocket scientist who moonlights as a brain surgeon on the side. That’s some serious editing firepower. If this is something you just threw at the wall, then I really want to see what you’ve done when you have had time to think about it.

The good thing about this thread and this website is the fact you and others are willing to share your time and expertise with the rest of us. It’s appreciated.

Hi Dale,

You're way too kind (but I'll happily take it - with thanks!)...


Apologies for the tardy reply (busy week!) - by way of example here is the workflow for our entry to the February Forum Competition (B&W).

Thinking time to completion took roughly 10-15 minutes-ish. (An edit is never 'finished', you just stop fiddling about with it).

Phil


In the beginning (unedited jpg of raw file as shot by Karen)...

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The wheels of industry (my workflow)...

• LrC - Adjustments and crop
• PS - Healing Tool (fix minor blemishes)
• Nik Analog Efex - Apply Paper Texture Filter (75% masked to background in PS)
• Nik Color Efex - Apply custom Preset (Filters: Tonal Contrast, Infrared Film, Vignette Blur, Darken/ Lighten Centre, Glamour Glow),
• Tony Kuyper - Vignette (20%)
• Tony Kuyper - Spotlight (10% masked to flower)
• Tony Kuyper - Paint Contrast (15% using soft brush applied to selected areas)
• Tony Kuyper - Soft Pop (30% global)
• Topaz Labs Studio 2 - Apply custom Look (5% Filters: Brightness Contrast, Radiance, Motion Blurs, Glow) and custom Digital Frame
• PS - Add custom Watermark (Brush)
• PS - Flatten/ Re-size to RFShooters file upload size limit
• LrC - Export

In the end (Karen liked it - job done!)...

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[SwampGrizz]

Happy wife, happy life….

Are Nik and Tony Kuyper plug-ins for LrC? I am unfamiliar with them. To the uninitiated, that appears to be a complex editing regimen, but you can’t argue with the results. I agree with Karen. Great photo.

I do most of my editing in LR mobile on my iPad. My preferences run to deep, rich colors, (not neon colors) and the bulk of my efforts in LR are correcting exposure, salvaging shadows and highlights, and the occasional crop or two. I’m early in my photographic and editing journey, and to attempt the level of processing you are doing would result in neural overload. With LR, I feel like I’m driving a Ferrari at 35mph. (Aston Martin for our U.K. friends). Once you see what’s possible, then you can dig into the tools to find a way to accomplish it. Thanks for giving me a window into your process.

 

[PKM-UK]

Happy wife, happy life….

Are Nik and Tony Kuyper plug-ins for LrC? I am unfamiliar with them. To the uninitiated, that appears to be a complex editing regimen, but you can’t argue with the results. I agree with Karen. Great photo.

I do most of my editing in LR mobile on my iPad. My preferences run to deep, rich colors, (not neon colors) and the bulk of my efforts in LR are correcting exposure, salvaging shadows and highlights, and the occasional crop or two. I’m early in my photographic and editing journey, and to attempt the level of processing you are doing would result in neural overload. With LR, I feel like I’m driving a Ferrari at 35mph. (Aston Martin for our U.K. friends). Once you see what’s possible, then you can dig into the tools to find a way to accomplish it. Thanks for giving me a window into your process.

Hi Dale,

Exactly!

In terms of my editing prowess, I have fun - that's for sure, but compared with top editing aficionados I'm like a child in a sand pit wearing a dribble bib. I am also happy to spend some of my 'disposable free time' mucking around with software (for pleasure/ satisfaction - I make no money out of my hobby).

I hope I never stop learning new stuff. I always say that everyone has their own workflow - and if it produces what they're after, it's right for them.


The Nik Collection 8 plug-in is now owned/ supplied by DxO and can be run from a variety of host software including Adobe LrC and PS ('Edit In'). There is a free trial version you can download via the link. If you do wish to buy you can get a 15% discount using Dave Kelly's affiliate link in his videos - new purchases only though. He also produces inspirational tutorials and his YouTube channel is highly recommended. (Other affiliate links are available... ).

(The original/ free version can be found if you look hard enough - the filters are much the same as they are now - but this version is unsupported).

Importantly - I don't believe Nik will run on iPad IOS. You should be able to double check this on the DxO site. (I am advised by Google AI - so make of this what you will - that iPad users often look to Nik Snapseed for similar functionality. This is available via the Apple App Store).


Tony Kuyper produces various plug-ins for Adobe Photoshop - a number of which are completely free. Dave Kelly also produces superb content demonstrating the many useful features found in these absolutely wonderful plug-ins.

Phil

 

[SwampGrizz]

I hope I never stop learning new stuff.

Exactly.

“Child in a sand pit with a dribble bib”
My analogy is that I have stopped eating the crayons in kindergarten, and I’m using the big pencil in 1st grade. When I was matriculating in grade school, they gave you a big chubby pencil to use instead of the standard skinny one. All that to say I’m making progress, however incremental.

Thanks for explaining what the Nik/Kuyper things are. At this point, I have enough on my plate with learning basic LR. I’ll give you a call when I get to 2nd or 3rd grade.

It’s a pleasure conversing with you.