Shutter Mike Photography

The Glass and Garden Community Church in Scottsdale, AZ is quintessential Mid-Century Modern architecture.   It’s round form is dominated with concrete and glass as the main materials.  It was designed in 1966 by E. Logan Campbell.  When it first opened the parking lot incorporated drive-in movie-like car speakers so people could hear the sermon from the comfort of their cars.

Front Facade of the Church

The “smell of rain” in the Arizona desert is synonymous with the Creosote (cree‘-uh-sote) bush.  After a desert rain storm the air is filled with a very distinct odor that most Arizonans associate with rain.

The 30th annual photography contest from Photographer’s Forum magazine and Sigma lenses is now accepting entries.  Early entries will be accepted up through April 19th and have a small entry fee of $3.95.  The final entry deadline is May 17th and the entry fee goes up to $4.95 if you miss the early date.  The grand prize is $2000 cash, a Sigma 24-70 mm lens and publication in an issue of Photographer’s Forum and their annual photography book.  Second place gets $1000 cash and a 12-24 mm Sigma lens.

Good luck!

Although well known for his photography of the great American national parks such as Yellowstone, Ansel Adams also has a strong connection to Arizona.  He was one of the founders of the University of Arizona’s Center for Creative Photography, one of the largest archives of Adams’ work;  he was often published in Arizona Highways magazine; and he often photographed the wonders of Arizona from the San Xavier Mission near Tucson to the Grand Canyon and Canyon de Chelly.

The Phoenix Art Museum, in collaboration with the Center for Creative Photography, is presenting an exhibit of Ansel Adams’ photography entitled “Ansel Adams: Discoveries.”  The exhibit features 120 photographs spanning the lifetime of Adams as well as documents from his personal archives.

Adams is best known for his sweeping landscape photography.  But this exhibit highlights his work in the architectural photography realm as well as some portraiture he did during his career in addition to his well known nature and landscape work.  It traces his relationship with Arizona Highways magazine and Eastman Kodak as well.  But more than that, it presents Adams’ personal photography philosophies such as his concept of careful seeing – observing the subject in careful detail and truly seeing all that it had to present – as well as his struggles with and ideas on working with color photography.

This is a very well done exhibit of the full spectrum of Ansel Adams’ work and life.  It runs at the Phoenix Art Museum until June 6, 2010.  Admission to the museum is $10 for adults.  But if you go on a Wednesday nights from 3 pm to 9 pm it is free.

I made a photography mistake with this image.  It is a rather large painting at the Phoenix Art Museum because I loved the colors.  But I did not make note of the artist or the painting’s title.  It is also not listed or shown in the museum’s online galleries.  So if anyone knows the who the artist is or the title of the painting please let me know.

Update:  Thanks to Joshua I have more details on this painting. He was able to find the artist.

Beyond Megapixels had a very timely post for me recently on Curing Photographer’s Block.  There are times when I head out with camera in hand and nothing inspires me.  I may try to shoot something hoping for the best but come back with an empty memory card or images that are uninspiring.  Tiffany at Beyond Megapixels offers 5 great tips for getting beyond the block and back to shooting.  If you don’t have her blog on your reader be sure to add it.  It is well written and offers some great tips and information on photography.

As a refresher from my previous posts on composition in photography, composition refers to how the elements in the frame are constructed and arranged to result in the desired final image.  You will often hear people speak of the “rules” of composition and a set way of composing an image in order for it to be considered visually appealing.  My stance on the rules is that as long as you are aware of them and able to follow them you are not required to follow them.  Photography is an art that is open to the interpretation of both the photographer and the viewer.

The “rules” around when to compose a photograph with a vertical layout versus a horizontal layout center around the composition of the subject itself.  It is often rather obvious which way to turn your camera based on the general layout of the subject.  The subject dictates the orientation in many cases.  However, the final decision is up to you as the photographer and your interpretation of the scene and how you want to present the final image may contradict what the subject commands.  This is where you have the luxury of trying it both ways and often achieving a completely different look just with a turn of the camera.

The two images below are of Cathedral Rock in Sedona Arizona.  The top photograph, taken with a horizontal orientation, tends to push the main subject back further as it brings in more of the vegetation to the sides and the stream in the foreground.  This is a great way for setting the scene and telling the whole story of the subject and its surroundings.

This image was taken with a vertical orientation.  The resulting photograph has the main subject filling more of the frame from left to right and therefore appearing more as a central focal point.  The foreground is still dominated by the stream and allows for the “story” of the subjects surroundings to be told.

As a rule of thumb, tall subjects that are vertical in nature dictate a vertical camera orientation while wide subjects that spread from left to right dictate a horizontal camera orientation.  Use that as a guide when deciding what will work best for your subjects.  But use your gut and artistic instinct as the final decision maker.