Photography – Page 4

The New Mustache and the Agony of the Selfie

Posted on February 14, 2016February 14, 2016 by Tim McMurdo

It’s been a while since you’ve had a good look at me and I’ve grown a mustache since I created my last self portrait. Sounds like a good enough reason to set up the tripod and take a selfie.

I’m not one to take a lot of portraits of myself. It’s hard. There are the technical issues of setting up the gear and using a light stand as fill in so that I can set the focus and the exposure manually. The need to stand in the right spot and make adjustments until I am happy with the results. Then come the truly difficult parts of creating a self portrait. How do you stand, what kind of expression do you wear. How do I avoid looking like an idiot and make my personality come through? What should I do with my arms? What should I wear?

Twenty or so shots later, I have the image you see above and I am fairly happy with the results. And then the t-shirt begins to bug me. It pops out and draws my eye. It’s stark white in a portrait that is made up of gorgeous greys and charcoals. The eyes are not quite sharp enough. Did I say the t-shirt bothered me?

Change out of the t-shirt, get dressed again. Re-check the gear Try to remember where I was standing, make adjustments. Try to not look like an idiot again and you can see the results above. Not as much personality, but by this time, I am tired and want to move on.

What do you think? Does the t-shirt bother you in the first image? Are the images too dark? I never question my judgement when I am creating portraits of others. Which is the keeper? Is the mustache a keeper?

This is one of the few times that I open my work up to your suggestions. Let me know what you think.

Jason Morgan

Posted on January 10, 2016January 10, 2016 by Tim McMurdo

Jason Morgan is a local painter who is know for his portraits and hyper realistic still life paintings. His work has been showing at the Art Museum in Springfield, OH since mid summer and I saw him soon after the exhibition opened (You can see his work in the background of the photo). Over the weekend, I had some spare time and decided to take an hour and see if there was anything new at the museum. I was surprised to see Jason painting in the middle of the exhibit while answering questions from the gallery visitors. I’d say that was pretty good planning (pure luck) on my part.

As a non-painter, I was really interested to hear about the process of painting as well as what inspires him.the entire experience left me better educated as well as in a position to better understand his work. My hat is off to the folks on the museum staff that arranged for Jason to paint live and answer questions.

If you are in the central Ohio area, give the museum a visit. I think you’ll agree it’s time well spent. You can find out more about the museum here.

Undeniable Proof

Posted on January 10, 2016 by Tim McMurdo

I’ve worked my entire life to convince other people that I don’t know how to use one of these or that they don’t fit my hand. Unfortunately, my Friend Debbie captured proof that, I do indeed know how to use a mop. I blame it on all of those years I spent swabbing decks in the Navy.

We Had a Ball

Posted on January 8, 2016January 8, 2016 by Tim McMurdo

Last year was the first in a number of years, that I was not able to shoot the New Year’s Eve Grand Ball, held in South Charleston, OH. The ball raises money to preserve the local opera house as well as a number of other local landmarks. You can imagine how excited I became when I found that I could make it to the ball this year.

This is a stunning event. Live music, gorgeous dresses and uniforms, wonderful ball room, and more. For a photographer, the event is also a real challenge. The lighting is dim and the dancing means plenty of motion. Bring your fastest gear because you will need it. I struggle with the low light. Most of the night, I shot with an 85mm prime set around f1.7, ISO 1600 and speeds in the 1/30 – 1/80th of a second. Unfortunately, my camera body can’t create usable images at higher ISOs.

Want to see the rest of the pictures from the ball?
I thought you might, so I created a Flickr album. You can find it here.

Night Forge

Posted on December 14, 2015December 13, 2015 by Tim McMurdo

Sewing Box

Posted on November 28, 2015November 28, 2015 by Tim McMurdo

I simply loved the blue of the box. Sometimes, you don’t need a reason to take the shot other than you wanted to.

Contrast

Posted on September 12, 2015 by Tim McMurdo

Contrast is one of my favorite elements of photographic composition. Even a beginning photographer can create wonderful images with good light and contrast. I was recently asked to comment on the contrast that I use in my images. Specifically, How do I use contrast with the intent of creating a viewer experience.

Here are some examples that might be helpful. However, these examples are limited to my work. You may make use of contrast in other ways that allow you to tell your own visual stories.

I use contrast to draw the viewers eye. When I want them to focus on one portion of the image, contrast can do the trick. The contrast can be between light and dark, colors, patterns and many other differing parts of the photo.

Sometimes, I use contrast to eliminate the distractions of the background.

I use contrasting colors to emphasize a pattern or to break it up.

I often use more subtle contrast too add atmosphere to a scene.

I use contrast to add drama to the image or suggest a story to the viewer.

Contrast can bring out textures and patterns.

Sometimes contrast can simplify a scene and allow the user to see the beauty of simple forms.

I hope these examples help to explain how I regularly use contrast. How do you use contrast in your work?

Light as Subject

Posted on September 12, 2015September 12, 2015 by Tim McMurdo

Typically your subject is a person, a scene…something physical. You use the light to contrast your subject from the background or to enhance its form.

Then there are those wonderful moments in which you see the light and tune out everything else in the scene. The light becomes the subject. The light may take the form of a single ray, or the contrast of light and shadow.

Find some light & capture it.

Accidental Images

Posted on August 9, 2015August 9, 2015 by Tim McMurdo

There are times when you take all of your years of experience and your equipment, and you put them to work creating a stunning image. You work hard, walking around the subject, trying different angles, and different light conditions. Finally, you take the perfect image and…well, it’s really not that interesting, the focus is off just a hair and you wish you had widened the depth of field a bit.

There are other times when you are fiddling around in the dark, trying to set your camera, struggling with the low light, and your gear’s poor ISO performance. You take a test shot and move on, not giving the image a second thought…and that one accidental shot, fired off almost thoughtlessly is the one that you come back to and think, “not bad for pure dumb luck”.

Maybe spontaneity has it’s place.

three cans, a bucket, and a box

Posted on May 31, 2015 by Tim McMurdo

I often find beauty in the simplest scenes. Here, three watering cans, a bucket, and a wooden box are set against the repeating pattern of an old brick wall. Simple. Beautiful in its basic forms.

Yes, scenes like this are a joy.