My Living Portfolio

I have created a Facebook page dedicated to my photography pursuits past, present and future. Hence, my living portfolio. Because it is always growing.

Here's what the front page currently looks like:



It will change at some point toady and then again tomorrow and the next day, just like every other living thing in the universe.

I hope you will take the time to visit my Chesher Cat Photography page and click the "Lke" icon on the top of the page.

Chesher Cat Photography

I am planning a huge photography project that I will embark on in the next couple of years that will require sponsorships and the more people that "Like" my page the easier it will be to raise the money.

Thanks for your support.

xo Deborah

Back in the Saddle

Something happened on April 27th - four days after my last post - that caused me to take a hiatus from the blog. That's about all I'm going to say about it at this time.

Sorry to those of you who missed my random postings...I will do my best to make it up to you. Oddly enough, I think I had more traffic to the blog while I wasn't writing. It will be interesting to see if my numbers drop now that I'm back.

I'm also sorry to all the wonderful musicians I photographed for missing the celebration of their birthdays and the honoring of their passing. I'll try and rectify that too.

But for now I'm going to start sharing some of the photographs I've taken this year. Been shooting a lot of black and white film. And spending a lot of time in the darkroom developing said film and printing. Ah, there's nothing like the scent of developing chemicals any time of the day or night.

So, without further ado, here's the first picture - appropriate to the title of this post and my return to this dusty little corner of the web.

Horse and Rider

T & S

I am very tall and skinny when I go to school.

Photography 101

Tomorrow night I will be shooting an event. I haven't seen the location yet but I know it will be outdoors and starts at 7pm. The most important thing with any shoot is preparation. Even though I can't scout the location until one hour before the event, I can still prepare.

First, I visual what I think the event will be like. Thinking up different scenarios. What I want the pictures to look like. What will be shot...the raw photographs. And what I think I can do with them in photoshop for additional artistic flair.

Once I think it through, which I have been doing for the past several days, I decide what equipment I want to use and how my work flow will work at the location. I visualize myself taking all the pictures, when to change cameras, when I'm going to download etc. I try to leave no stone unturned. I want the shoot to run smoothly. If I have to stress while I'm shooting, it will show in the pictures. And the people at the event will pick up on my stressed energy. The only way to avoid that is preparation.

First I decied that I will shoot all digital with two Nikon D300 cameras. Then I decided to rent an extra lens. I was also thinking about an attached flash for when it gets too dark to shoot available light. There was a special device I heard could attach to my on-camera flash that would diffuse the light, so I decided to get that instead of a flash. When I got it, I found out it doesn't...it attaches to an attachable flash. Oops.

Next...test shots. Both cameras. It's important to test lighting situations and also test the equipment so I know everything is working properly. I shot 94 pictures (that's an advantage of digital...no extra cost for shooting lots of pictures). Following are 16 of them with comments. On the ones taken outside I used a Nikon 17-55mm 1:2.8 DX lens. The inside shots were with Nikon 50mm 1:1.4 lens. The flash ones are all with the on-camera flash.

I like the sharpness and detail with the flash.
Although it's not red-eye, I'm not crazy about the effect the flash has on the eyes.

Switched to monochrome in the camera. Same comments as above.

Messing with distance and exposure. These are all 250 shutter speed and around an 18 f-stop.

Why we need to test.
When I wide angle on the zoom, the on-camera flash creates a shadow of the lens.
Definitely need to get another flash before the event.

Same shot zoomed in.

Flash looks better when the eyes aren't facing the camera.

This shows me that if I shoot with a downward angle
the eyes looking into the camera look fine.

Without a flash I had to put the ISO from 200 up to 1600 and
shoot 1/15 sec shutter and 2.8 f-stop. I'm good with holding
the camera steady but I can't control the subject.

Too dark.
I need to get the natural light shots early in the evening, then switch to the flash.

Although I do like the look of the natural light.
But picture quality isn't as good.
But then again it can create a certain artistic quality.

These next two are interesting...

This one is without a flash. Way better than the flash shot below.

If I'm doing longer shots the flash will definitely be off.

I shot these inside shots just in case my client wants something done indoors. They would have the same comments as the outside shots of the dog. Except the natural light ones shot inside are much better than the outdoor ones and I like the look of them better than the flash shots.




What do these test shots tell me overall? I will likely shoot one camera with the flash and one with natural light. I will try to get most of the shots with both. I may forego the fixed lens and use a zoom on both cameras. If I have lots of time to cover everything I can switch off on the lens. I will also try and switch between b/w and color on both cameras. I don't think shooting in color and converting to b/w in photoshop gives me the same quality I get if I do it in the camera.

One more thought on why it's important to shoot tests...I was able to look at the shots in high resolution so I could check the quality of the pictures at full size. You can never trust what you see on the on-camera screen, even when you enlarge it for detail.

I will take my computer to the shoot so I can download as I shoot if needed...and I will also be able to do more test shots and check them at full size in the hour I have before the event starts.

I hope my photographer readers found this post helpful and the non-photographer readers weren't completely bored.

Also, thanks to Pumpkin for being such a cooperative model.

Pimping

I hope I don't burn in Hell for pimping on Good Friday. I don't do it very often but once in a while, when I come across something that's really exceptional, I just gotta pimp. In this case it's this new photographer I found. He's so good I'm thinking I might as well just pack it in.

The first thing I came across was his new photography blog that you should definitely follow. It's called One Cool Photo. Every day he shoots a new photograph and posts it on his blog. And I guarantee they are cool.

By the looks of his profile photo, he's really young...

Then I found out this amazing photographer also has a fan page on Facebook.. A freaking fan page? WTF, I don't even have a fan page on Facebook. Mr. Amazing Photographer has a lot of cool rock'n'roll pictures on his "fan page." Shit, he shot The Police. I haven't even shot The Police.

There was also this picture of him on his Facebook page...

It looks like he's also a filmmaker. Criminy. Who is this guy? And where did he get his talent from?

Sheesh.

Drive-by Shooting

On my way to and from LAX today, I did some drive-by shooting. I instantly knew I found the seed of today's post (the title came later) when I saw this...

The Car + The Guy + The Dog = The Whole Package

Obviously, it's the subject that's the thing in this photo, but I also like the reflections ... the palm tree and top of my car in the window, and especially my whole car in the hubcap. The photo was shot with my iPhone. I took it from the driver's side with the passenger window open. It has not been retouched or cropped.

Neverending Scaffolding

I've lived in L.A. close to a million years now and have probably driven through LAX a couple or three hundred thousand times. I can't remember the last time I saw what used to be this futuristic piece of architecture that doubled as a touristy restaurant without all this scaffolding. This is shot out the open window of the driver's seat, while I was probably going around 25mph, hence the groovy blur. It's not easy to maneuver the iPhone one-handed whilst driving. They should really ban cell phone photography while driving. It at least equals the danger of texting while driving which, in case you don't live in California, was deemed against the law on Jan 1, 2009.

Stacked

They may look like smoke stacks on a drive-by photo but they are actually towers of light that change color. Again, this is shot out the driver's open window, but I was probably going 35mph by this point. The bend in the verticals is a cool effect that sometimes happens on the iPhone camera when the shooter is moving and the subject is stationary.

Reflections

I followed this guy for a while and wanted to shoot the reflections of the palm trees in his very clean back window. The double reflection of my headlights on the 'johnny park' signage and his bumper, as well as the left tail light flare were a bonus. This was shot through my front window (good thing I had just cleaned it) and we were at a stop.

Dashboard

Someone didn't recharge their phone. I put it in the charger while the camera was still on. I liked what I saw so I shot it. I you didn't know I have a copyright notice on my dashboard, did ya?

The Color Blue

I shot this earlier in the day... as proof to all the naysayers that the sky in L.A. is actually blue, as opposed to smog brown. No, no, no...don't go boxing up all your belongings. I lied. This is a composite shot using a sky photo from Montana. We can barely breathe here. We're all hooked up to portable ventilators. Don't move here. If you do, you'll surely die.

Who Is This?

I'm having trouble making up my mind tonight. What to post? I started by pulling a negative sheet out of the vault - well, it's not actually a vault...it's a box of all the pictures I haven't gone through yet. I pulled out Elton John and scanned a black and white set of negs. I found this one that I really like...

Then I decided not to post any of the close-up stuff of Elton since everybody has seen those a million times. Except I was going to post one, sort of, because it's part of a story that I want to tell. Also found some interesting color stage shots that I started to scan. While I was doing that I was looking for another shot that I know I saw recently but I couldn't find. And that one thing made me change my mind about doing my Elton John post. Maybe another time.

Meanwhile, here's my all-time favorite portrait shot. And it's extra-special because of the subject. Do you know who it is?

Finally, a special thanks to Jay in NZ for psycho-analyzing me to a tee (I'm now considering meds), but in fact my thought for putting that particular shot on yesterday's post was far more literal. With regards to the post, I would title the shot "A Ray of Sunshine On The Bridge Over Troubled Water." Which directly relates to the trouble we were having with the act and the fact that I actually wrote something about the solution or finally identifying the problem being like a ray of sunshine. Guess it turns out that I am just a simpleton...but a simpleton with a sense of humor in getting my readers to think "deep." Well done.

Photography (Things)

If I ever had a God complex it's gone as of today, because I didn't get one second of rest on this seventh day. It started with my monthly writers group from 10-12:30, then I wrote on the reality show with my cohort from 12:40-6:20 at Starbucks - straight through with no munchies...just two cups of decaf. Got home at 6:30 and scarfed down some food (you have no idea how ravenous and hypoglycemic I was at that point). Did a little organizational work, then was on the phone with my producing partner from 8-10:45 working on the budget for the movie.

I hung up with him and pulled these pictures and converted them to a manageable post size in order to complete the second half of yesterday's rant. This time it's photographs I took that focus on things rather than people so it's more about lines, spaces, movement and, of course, composition. I guess you could say it's how I see the world around me.

Again, these are all taken with my iPhone camera and are not cropped or retouched.

Apple NYC
I like pretty much everything about this photo, but I'm
especially drawn to the shadowy figures in the bottom half.

Tube Man
I like the perspective in this shot and the movement that defines
the speed to the train compared to the lack of speed of the man walking.

Palm Springs
I love the fact that when people see this on my phone they are baffled.
Maybe it's easier to figure out on here.

NYC
I like the red lights and the vertical red streaks
in combination with the horizontal streaks of white light.

Flags
I like the contradiction of the precise and static
row of lights below the free waving flags.

Mind The Gap
Best phrase ever.

W
I love the angle from above, the elegance of the lights and
the perfection of the place coupled with the imperfection that is people,
especially the blurred guy going up the stairs.
I also love the face that all the green patches are real growing grass.

This is a bonus photo that I took on my way home from Starbucks tonight. I took it very quickly through the car window so it's not a great example of anything except maybe subpar photo-journalism on the fly.

Oops
That's a pulverized motorcycle on the ground. I like the guy on the right...
I think he's kicking debris out of the lane but it looks like he's dancing.

And now I sleep.

Photography (People)

Just like movies, books, music, paintings, sculpture and any other art form you care to name, photography is subjective. And like the other arts, I believe anyone can learn the technical side of the craft but I don't believe talent can be taught. In photography I think talent represents a person's eye. Not only how one frames the picture, but how one sees things. How they interpret the world around them. And how well and often they can catch that special moment in time. Let me tell you, it ain't easy. Sometimes it's like getting the planets to align.

Now that we're in the digital, everyone thinks themselves a photographer. Okay, maybe not every everyone. It's the same as when Photoshop came out. Suddenly, everyone considered themselves a designer. That movement pretty much killed my ability to make a real living (as in making enough to live "well") because the young upstarts with a Mac and Photoshop moved into the independent film world and lowered the financial bar. Unfortunately, the clients didn't realize that just because they had tool didn't mean they could design. Just because you can hold a pencil doesn't mean you can draw.

So, just because you have an awesome expensive camera (the tool), it doesn't mean you can take great or even good pictures. And I think if you have a good/great eye, you can take a good/great photograph with the shittiest of cameras. And I don't think it's possible to teach someone how to have a good/great eye. Someone who doesn't have a good/great eye can occasionally shoot a great picture but for the most part I believe you either have it or you don't.

Here are some photos I took that fall under the people category (tomorrow I'll post some non-people shots) that I think represent use of my good eye. None of them have been cropped or retouched or adjusted in any way. They all come straight from the camera. Oh, and the camera is my iPhone. Let's see if I can give them some spiffy titles and what I like about them.

Innocence and Wonderment
I love the look in the boy's eye and the relationship between him and his father
that's expressed through their hands and the placement of their heads.

Purple Legs
Again, the hands do it for me. And of course the color combo
which I didn't create but I did capture.

Mickey's Back
I like the composition and the photographs behind him. Also how the lighting
gives him a black and white feel. Oh, and the bright light on the left.

Sad Dog
I like the dog being really sharp and the guy on the other side of the window
being soft. And the look of longing in the dog's eye . And the pane lines.

Confused
It's all about the sign coupled with the expression on his face.

Dinner
The dingy lighting, the graininess, the expression and the hand.

Self Shadow
The grates and the texture of the pavement. The anonymity of the shadow.

Feel free to disagree and rip me a new one in the comments section. After all it's subjective. Maybe you see something I don't. Maybe I see something you don't.

It Is Brain Surgery - Part 6

The Art of Surgery
Disclaimer: The author of this blog is not responsible for any trauma caused by
the reading of this post or the viewing of any of the photographs herein.

I was flummoxed when the medical powers-that-be told us Jaimie could go home. Not because she wasn't ready - they had already kept her several days longer than was originally anticipated - but it dawned on me that in all the days we'd been there no one had ever changed the dressings on her head. And when I questioned that on her final day, they told us there was no need to change them until a day or two after she got home.

"Really? You can just leave a festering gauze rectangle on a person's cut-open head forever?"

"A few more days isn't going to be a problem."

"But no one has even looked under that bandage since Dr. Brilliant Neurosurgeon stitched her up in the O.R. Isn't that something someone should have done?"

"It's not unusal."

Just to be clear, I'm not a pussy when it comes to blood and guts. I just thought it would be a good idea for a professional to do a dressing change so I could see exactly how it should be done before I put my grubby paws on my little girl's freshly drilled skull. Especially at home, where I'd have no back-up.

So, after some gentle prodding, they sent us a nurse to change her dressing before they gave us all the other discharge dos & don'ts.

Here are the photos I took while the lovely nurse was doing her job. Imagine you are looking at a flip book as you scroll.

By the time I shot picture #6, I was REALLY glad I had a camera in front of my face. No way I wanted Jaimie to see the look of shock on my face. I don't know what I had thought was under that bandage all those days, but I certainly wasn't expecting a trap door secured shut by industrial staples that I could have picked up at my local Home Depot.

She was equally shocked when I finally worked up the nerve to give her a mirror. But it wasn't long before we both came to the conclusion that she was the badass-est of the badasses. The stapled trap door added the final touch to her stylin' new do, which I affectionately dubbed "The Hedge."