Shutter Mike Photography

Any one that regularly pursues a creative outlet, through writing, painting, photography or anything really, have probably hit that proverbial wall where they are stumped for the next inspiration and idea. In my photography I have been a victim of photographer’s block many times.  It can either manifest itself in a lack of desire to go out and photograph or a lack of inspiration when I do go out.  Nothing strikes me as photographable.

So what do you do when you hit that creative wall?  One solution I ran across recently is a 60 minute photo challenge based on a pre-determined theme.  Essentially you assign yourself a theme and give yourself 60 minutes to photograph anything that falls into that theme.  Your theme can be anything you can dream up from something very simple like red to a little more complex and abstract like memory.  Once you have a theme in mind head out to a good location and shoot whatever strikes you as being related to your theme for 60 minutes.  You are free to stray if your theme inspires you beyond its original parameters, but it can also be a challenge to really limit yourself to just that one theme.  It can help you see things in a new light that your creativity block may have been preventing you from seeing.

This exercise can also work just as a personal challenge even if you are not at a loss for photography ideas.  It will allow you to step outside of what you normally do and push your creativity.  I have started a list of themes to have ready for the next time I have 60 minutes to spare or next time I am feeling up against a creativity block.

Here are a few ideas to get started:

• Colors: red, blue, green, orange…you get the idea
• Shapes: round, square, triangles, etc.
• reflections
• shadows
• repeating patterns
• texture

I did my first 60 minute challenge this weekend with the theme of round. So I decided to continue that theme all week and each Photo of the Day this week will be from my round photo shoot this weekend.

You can also check out a video from Adorama TV that discusses the concept of a 60 minute photo challenge more.

There is a lot to look at on National Geographic’s photography page and it is easy to lose track of time while scanning  the countless galleries.  One easy way to stay caught up and not lose (is it lost?)  half your day in the site is to add the Photo of the Day section to your Google Reader or similar feed.  Of course if you are new to the site there are 10 plus years worth of photos of the day to catchup with.  No time for over 3,600 photos?  Try the condensed version with the best of the best in the Ten  Years of Photo of the Day gallery.

I may not have enough time to complete this residential architecture photography bucket list by this Saturday’s rapture but I think I will take my chances and make my list anyway.  My bigger goal, beyond photographing the three residences on this list, is to continually hone my architectural photography skills to the point that I can turn a passion into a living.  But the three works of architecture on this list represent the best of the best to me.  The holy grail of design in architecture, if you will, that I would love to add to my photography portfolio.  Luckily this is not a difficult goal to accomplish.  It will just require some travel and time (not time travel, although that might make it more interesting).

Number Three: Philip Johnson’s Glass House

It is called The Glass House for a reason.  You might feel a bit exposed and on display living in what is essentially a glass box.  But the house is situated on its site in such a way that it is not subject to public view.  Philip Johnson designed the New Canaan, CT house in 1949 as his personal residence and lived there until his death in 2005.  The Glass House is minimalist modern architecture in its purest form and its literal transparency allows the site and building to co-exist, rather than one dominate over the other.  The house was heavily influenced by my number two house, Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House, which at the time Johnson built his house, was still an unbuilt concept.  The similarity between the two is obvious although Johnson’s choice for no interior walls at all as well as each house’s site, which are integral parts of their overall design, make these two very unique and photo-worthy properties.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation maintains the house and offers tours.  There are several Johnson designed structure on the property in addition to The Glass House which I am sure would make for some fantastic architectural photography.

Number Two: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House

I love modern.  Modern architecture, modern design, modern.  Built in 1951 near Plano, IL, the Farnsworth House embodies the concept of modern residential architecture.  van der Rohe brought the movement that began with Europe’s Bauhaus to the Central United Sates through the Farnsworth House.  Glass and steel allow the house to be reduced to its simplest forms leaving a clean and transparent structure on a wooded, river-side site.  Although it may not be practical for most to live in, it it is a near perfect example of architecture as art.  It sits in the woods more like a sculpture than a residence.

The Farnsworth House is owned and operated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation which offers several different tour options (including a self guided tour, which I think is a great concept for photography without trying to keep up with a tour guide and group).  Photography does have some restrictions, like no tripods and the requirement of a special permit to photograph inside.   The photography permit gives you 20 minutes inside the house with your camera and will add on $30 to the price of the $20 ticket, but I wouldn’t think twice about paying it.  This is my Residential Architecture Photography Bucket List after all.,

Number One: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water

I have been in love with this house long before I developed a passion for photography.  (My passion for architecture goes back further.)  So the iconic Wright designed Falling Water in Pennsylvania is at the top of my list.  Built between 1936 and 1939 for the Kaufmann family the house is synonymous with Wright and his organic style of architecture.  Falling Water is integrated so well with its site along Bear Run Creek that it actually cantilevers over the falls making it one with the site.  For an architectural photographer I think this house pretty much has it all.  It is one-of-a-kind and sits in an environment that by itself is a fantastic photo opportunity.  The clean lines, natural materials and oneness with its environment, not to mention its mere legend in American architecture make Falling Water number one on my Residential Architecture Photography Bucket List.

The 2,885 square foot house cost $155,000 in 1938 and today is under the care of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.  It is open to the public for tours, one of which allows photography and one that does not. 

I have decided if I can take my hobby to the next level and try to make some money from it.  At this point I am not anywhere near the “I can quit my day job” level.  But who knows, it may happen some day.  In the mean time I am doing small things to promote my photography business like listing it on Google Places, getting business cards and the all important Facebook page.  I used Wix to build the Facebook page, the same template based site builder that I used for my main site www.mikesmallphotography.com.  Please check out my new page and click that little LIKE button to keep up with how things are panning out.

Mike Small Photography on Facebook

Already 70-some days into 2011; time flies.  That means I should be 70-something images into this years 365 Photo Project on Flickr.  I am a bit behind, but only by a few days.  But check out what I have so far.  Sometimes they are the same images as the Photo of the Day on Shutter Mike, but depending on how much shooting I can fit into any given day there are differences.

I wrote about some of the great Phoenix area neon signs from years gone by a while back.  In my list of signs worth photographing was one in Mesa, AZ known as the Diving Lady.  The lady graced the Starlite Motel on Mesa’s Main St. since the 1960s continually diving into a pool of neon “water.”  Unfortunately in one of Arizona’s harsh thunderstorms last year the diving lady dove for the last time and the historic neon sign tumbled down to the Starlite parking lot.

But not willing to let this piece of history and representative of a time gone by be forgotten the Mesa Preservation Foundation is leading the campaign to restore her to her former glory.  The cost of restoration is estimated to be $60,000 to $65,000 and the foundation has set up a Facebook page along with accepting donations through PayPal on its own site to help fund the project.

And speaking of the Mesa Preservation Foundation’s website you can see images of the Diving Lady, both pre and post storm, including the one here taken by yours truly.

I discovered while in New York City a handy app for my Droid that put the subway maps right at my finger tips.  Then there is the iPad app that puts NPR and all its newsiness right in my hands on demand.  I can get the weather, search for a new job, do my banking, or find a new vegetarian recipe for dinner all with an app.  So why not an Ansel Adams app? Well now fans of the photography of Ansel Adams have an app for that too.  Created by Hachette Book Group, Inc. (publishers of Ansel Adams 400 Photographs) in collaboration with the University of Arizona’s Center for Creative Photography, the world’s most extensive archive of Adams’ work and writings, the Ansel Adams app”…provides a multi-tiered introduction to the life and work of the most honored American photographer of the twentieth century.” Here is what you get with the Ansel Adams app which sells for $13.99 through the iTunes Store:

• A slide show of 40 Ansel Adams photographs with your choice of audio narration, written commentary or music.
• The ability to run the photographs as accompaniment to your own music.
• The ability to send the photos as e-cards via email.
• Video clips from Ansel Adams documentaries.
• Letters between Adams and many famous people.
• A time line of key moments in Adams’ life.
• Web links to site that would be of interest to any fan of Ansel Adams.

So it is a bit like a coffee table book on the work and life of Ansel Adams that you get to interact with.  For the die hard Ansel fan it is probably worth checking out.

I have  been working on putting together a second website to act more as a portfolio of my work for a while now.  I want some thing that is not a blog to send to potential jobs, use in an “artist” profile and the like.  So I started working with Wix, a free website editor to create my new site.  Wix has templates for most every type of Flash based site you might want (mostly for photographers and artists).  Their interface is relatively easy to use, although it can get a bit frustrating at times too when things don’t land exactly where you thought they would.  Then once you have your site built Wix will host it for free (with advertising) on a domain such as www.wix.com/mywebsite. If you want it ad free and on your own domain their rates are pretty reasonable and you can upgrade to various different levels.

I played around with building my site for a while but never hit the publish button.  But I have been getting more offers and inquiries lately to photograph beyond just my “art” so I decided it was time to pull the trigger.  Check out version one of mikesmallphotography.com.  It is still a work in process and I am tweaking things here and there.  But so far I am pleased with the result and have already used it to start turning a hobby into something that could bring in some extra money.  For new photography toys of course.

I recently attended a Rocky Mountain School of Photography(RMSP) weekend in Tucson, AZ and was very impressed.  RMSP, for those who are not familiar with it, is a Missoula, MT based photography school that offers a wide range of education opportunities in photography.  Their programs range from photography career training, to photography workshops based in some of the most beautiful and photographic location in the world to the Photography Weekends that I attended.

A Weekend with RMSP is a two day seminar geared towards “…beginner-through-intermediate amateur photographers.”  Each weekend is made up of 10 different photography seminars to choose from.  Each student can select 5 of the ten sessions based on their personal photography goals and interests.  The sessions are lead by experienced, working photographers and are very affordable.  Only $179 for both days ($169 if you take advantage of early and online registration discounts).  And you get a lot for your $179/$169.

The weekend I attend in Tucson was lead by Tim Cooper and Tony Rizzuto.  I will come back to these guys in a bit.  But first my thoughts on the 5 seminars I attended during the weekend.

The seminars we had to pick from are listed here.  I chose the ones in bold.

Photo Basics I

Understanding Exposure: Using the Zone System for Color

Photo Basics II

Workflow: Processing Your Images with Adobe Lightroom

Introduction to Macro Photography

Light: Creating Mood and Dimension

Video for Photographers: Capture and Composition

Composition: Designing a Great Photo

Nature Photography

Photographing People

Keep in mind that these are geared towards amateur photographers at the beginner to intermediate experience levels.  They are also short 2 hour sessions.  So the instructors are packing in a lot of information into each session and trying to target varying skill levels.  Don’t go in expecting in depth detail tailored to your specific level or needs.  I personally was very please with every aspect of the weekend and if you keep these things in mind I think most amateur photographers can get a great deal out of a RMSP Weekend.

I felt that I gained the most out of the Understanding Exposure: Using the Zone System for Color seminar lead by Tim Cooper.  One of the great things about the RMSP Weekend is that the instructors present the material in a very thorough and understandable manner.  They pack a lot into two hours and do a very good job with examples and making the connection between the concepts and how they will impact and improve your images.  Exposure is a concept that can be hard to grasp.  Most of us know that the aperture, shutter speed and ISO are what we control to get the exposure we want but an understanding of the Zone System introduces how light and color play into exposure and how to use them to get the perfect exposure every time.  This is one seminar I highly recommend attending.

Tony Rizzuto’s Composition: Designing a Great Photo was also very informative and very well presented.  There are so many “rules” for great composition and Tony did an excellent job of surveying the vast majority of them and again presenting examples to illustrate each in practice.  Whether it was S curves, negative space, or scale each were presented in a clear, understandable way with corresponding photographs demonstrating the concept for those of us that are more visual learners.

Each seminar I attended had something of value to offer.  The only drawback was that I was limited to 5 of the 10 seminars and I would have liked to have the chance to attend a few others.

As for the instructors, Tim Cooper and Tony Rizzuto in the case of the Weekend I attended, I was impressed.  I have taken photography classes before with teachers who are doing a job and are not very convincing that it is a job they like too much.  The were essentially filling up the time.  But it is obvious that Tim and Tony enjoy what they do and they put their whole selves into it.  They were both personable, very well versed on photography, informative and entertaining.  I cannot speak for any of the other instructors at RMSP but if these two are representative of the whole staff you can’t go wrong.

Overall, I can say that I got more out of this two day weekend than I did out of an entire semester of Digital Photography 101 at the local community college.  It was packed full of useful information for the amateur photographer and I came away with at least 3 very useful bits of information that I am certain will improve my photography once I incorporate them into my shoots and practice them.  Now if I can only drop $7500 and take 3 months off of life and attend the summer intensive in Montana.  After the Weekend Seminars I would have no doubt that any other program from RMSP would be well worth the investment.