Posted Tuesday, October 9, 2018. 

The Flaneur Assignment

After numerous trials and errors attempting to log in to the UNH network, my laptop, Blogger and LightRoom.....

Part 1: Statement

My walking around location was the Deerfield Fair on Sunday, September 30, 2018 in the mid to late afternoon. The fair was crowded - the perfect place to look inconspicuous carrying a camera - and rife with interesting subjects.  I took approximately 120 shots which covered antique farm equipment, food trucks, cattle, poultry, fair food, the midway, dressage and horse pulling.

Curating this collection resulted in two major sub-collections, horses and everything else.  The horse collection was further divided into Dressage, best described as individual, high-class, expensive, formal and precise horseback riding, and Horse Pulling, best described as teamwork, enormous, loud, expensive, rough and sweaty work.  Two almost polar opposites, but each with its own following and enthusiasts.

The dressage photos were reasonably well exposed but were not that well composed. The subjects were small and far away, the backgrounds were confusing. Subject to much editing, they can be rescued.

I chose to use the horse pulling photos as the submission to this project.  I liked the subject, the sequence, the people, the late afternoon light, and the New England-ness of man and beast working together.  I have presented the pictures in a sequence that reflects the different steps in a "pull", from relaxing in the shade to moving into the arena to the actual exertion and effort as a ton and a half of horses moves four tons of cement.

Part 2: Contact Sheets

Flaneur Contact #1

Flaneur Contact #2

Flaneur Contact #3

Part 3:  Project Contact Sheets

Select Contact 1

Part 4: Project Photos (edited)

Select Contact 2

Posted Monday, October 8, 2018

Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day!

This post consists of two versions of the same photo that I shot on Sept 30 at the Deerfield Fair.  It shows the Ferris Wheel in action some time around 5:00 PM.
The first (unedited) shot is grossly overexposed (Ferris Wheel 1A). The second (Ferris Wheel 2A) has been tweaked to decrease exposure and  heighten contrast and is a  more pleasing image, although not perfect.

Ferris Wheel 1A

Ferris Wheel 2A

Posted Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Questions:  What decisions will go into how you curate from your collection  of images to print or post? List 5 factors:

           1. What is the subject?
           2. Does the image produce any emotional reaction?
           3. Image composition
           4. Is the image interesting?  What's going on? Where is this?
           5. Can the image be modified? is this a good starting place?

Also.... this is the contact for the Color Assignment.

Posted Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Reaction to Robert Hirsch, Chapter 2 of Light and Lens: Photography in the Digital Age.

Robert Hirsch posits that photographs are a means of communications and as such can be useful or not depending on the visual literacy and experience of both the photographer and the viewer of the photographs they create.  He makes the point that a good photograph is well thought-out ahead of time in terms of how the different elements (shape, color, balance, symbolism, etc.) will create an image that contains the intended meaning.  He also points out that both the photographer and the viewer must share a common set of cultural experiences, symbols, and influences if the message created by the photographer is the same as the message received by the viewer.  Hirsch also points out that this potential difference between what is sent and what is received is today additionally complicated by the multitude of digital channels and modes that are available world-wide. Or not.

Hirsch makes three statements in this chapter that to me, at least, are worth remembering. One states that image making is 10% what we encounter and 90% how we respond. The second is the principle of subtractive composition which states that the camera will record everything that reflects light, creating visual chaos.  The photographer needs to control what is included and what is excluded. How this happens is planning and experience. Third, and perhaps most meaningful in the digital media age, is the consideration of the woefully short attention span of the modern viewer and the need for any message, however presented, to capture and keep the viewers focus.

Posted Monday, September 24, 2018

The results of first attempts in Develop module......

BEFORE...

AFTER..

Yarn at Laudholm Farm,Craffts Fair, Sept 9, 2018

Posted Saturday, September 22, 2018

A beautiful day in the neighborhood, and UNH is hosting an open house for prospective students.  Many tentative high school seniors walking around with parents. Many people carrying packs and cameras....I fit right in.  I'm trying out a project that involves photos of different sculptures found on campus. Shot enough to get started.  Overjoyed to find the lab open and available. Imported the photos taken this morning and made contact sheet.  Not particularly impressed with what I shot....seem to be some focus issues that need work.  Onward.

And The Five Best (?) from the Greenhouse - Unedited

Posted Monday, September 17, 2018....

These are five of  (IMHO) the best images from the Greenhouse shoot last week.