Guy Tal's New eBook is Impressive!

I love black & white images. They evoke so much emotion and I generally react to them more profoundly than color images. When I see a beautiful monochromatic picture, I am moved deeply and the image stays with me; I think about it over and over and I want to remember it always. I had this reaction to many images I recently saw at an exhibit of Edward Weston’s and I decided it was time to jump back into the black and white (B&W) end of the photographic spectrum.

After I got home I headed to the computer to see what magic I could create. I opened some files that had all the technical components that could make a beautiful B&W image: Clouds? Check. Texture? Check. Lines? Check. Focus point? Check. I hit the conversion button in Lightroom/Photoshop/SilverEfex Pro … and … bammo! A monochrome image! Yep. That’s what it was, but it had none of the impact I had seen in other images. There was no color, but there was also no emotional reaction. What gives? My image was not memorable because it did not incite a reaction of any kind and simply pressing a preset conversion button was not the answer. Sound familiar?

This is where Guy Tal’s latest eBook, Creative B&W Processing Techniques comes in. If you have ever liked, thought about, attempted, or successfully produced a black and white (B&W) image, this book is for you. In his eBook, Tal takes us on an educational journey from image conception to final output. More than a step-by-step formula to make a monochromatic image, this book offers the tools to visualize a B&W image and understand the process of maximizing it to reflect your unique vision. He challenges the reader to think about B&W as an in-field decision to express an emotion that cannot be conveyed in color and to make a connection with the scene to create a more personal image.

Tal encourages the reader to make an active choice to press the shutter with a concept in mind that will be rendered into a compelling image. He helps hone the creative process with instruction on visual storytelling as well as adjustments in the digital workflow. The use of exercises to break down the lessons into manageable pieces helps the reader internalize each section before moving on. By the end of the book, the photographer is ready to put these lessons into practice and decide what works best for them and their images.

The book takes you seamlessly through developing the concept, visualization and composition, capture, RAW conversion, and processing for successful B&W images. It is a companion to Guy Tal’s earlier eBook, Creative ProcessingTechniques, and assumes familiarity with basic functions of Lightroom and Photoshop. His focus in this book is on the techniques specifically necessary for producing B&W images. He explains in technical detail how the camera and computer capture and convert RAW data to assist the photographer in making processing decisions and organizing the workflow in a way that enhances the B&W image and does not impact a color image.

For me, there are many enlightening parts of this book. The technical descriptions of how the camera records RAW data and how the software uses this data differently with monochrome versus color images is invaluable for understanding how my processing decisions can inadvertently impact my final image. I am more aware of how to preserve all data recorded to create the best image possible. I also more fully recognize what happens in the RAW conversion process and how the processing adjustments I make at that stage are completely different than what I do for color images. I now know the why behind these decisions and I am more likely to remember them!

The global and local adjustments Tal uses will undoubtedly advance most photographers processing skills. I confess that I am a mere mortal when it comes to Photoshop and can do enough to get by, but I am not fluent in Photoshop-ese, by any means. That being said, I could easily follow and employ all the adjustments discussed and fully understand their effects. If you are unsure about your processing skills and haven’t ventured far into Photoshop layers or masks, you may want to start with Guy Tal’s eBook, Creative Processing Techniques, as this is a companion book and goes over many of the worthwhile functions in Photoshop.

Creative B&W ProcessingTechniques discusses the thought process and techniques for creating beautiful black and white images. I can see myself returning to this book repeatedly to visit the techniques used, solve problems that come up in processing, and to find inspiration for development of my creative vision. I feel empowered to use the processing techniques to fulfill my vision instead of “letting the tools drive the way an image is processed (page 49).” It is an excellent addition to my photography resource collection! I highly recommend this book as a useful tool for any photographer looking to enhance their creativity and learn new processing techniques.   

Practice Makes Perfect

From elementary school through high school, I played the violin.  My music teachers would constantly tell me, “Practice makes perfect!” to which I would respond, “I don’t want to be perfect.”  Every teacher would ask, “Why?” and I’d answer, “Because it takes too much practice!”  I was ornery to say the least, but it was true.   I hate to practice.  I want to make that clear.  It is my least favorite thing to do.  It’s monotonous, boring, and repetitive. 

In music, practice begins and ends with scales while working on a small snippet of music in the middle.  I normally practiced alone for hours just to go to rehearsal and practice with the group for many more hours.  I practiced until the music became second nature.  I mastered each section of the larger work one bar at a time.  But practicing photography…I did not know where to begin.

Someone told me I should be able to operate my camera like I drive a car.  For a while I worked on that and made sure I understood all the functions of my camera and was comfortable with the controls.  I went out shooting as often as I could.  While that has (almost) stopped me from taking pictures with the lens cap on, that did not feel like practicing photography. 

I recently had the opportunity to spend an afternoon with Guy Tal in a small group setting.  He challenged us to deliberately practice seeing a few basic concepts of composition.  He instructed us to give up looking for the award winning shot, but to only shoot when all the compositional elements came together without regard to the final output.  

This was my practice shot from that afternoon

And then it clicked (pun intended)!  I needed to practice visualizing an image.  I had to repeatedly look at the landscape for all of its parts and arrange them into a composition that meant something to me before even lifting the camera.  It was a revelation! 

Now I look for patterns in the landscape (big or small) that communicate the emotion I am feeling to create better images.  While I doubt I will enjoy practicing my photography, I will be able to endure it because I know now that I am improving the image, not just the technicalities.  

Fight the Dogs

In May I heard Dan Ballard speak at the Moab Photo Symposium.  He had an excellent presentation about getting out there and being present in the landscape.  He told a story about being in a foreign country and having to get up early every morning to hike out to his sunrise location, but between his lodging and this landscape were a pack of stray dogs.  The image he wanted was relatively specific and required a few natural elements to line up so he had to return to his location on multiple occasions.  Each morning as the alarm went off and it was very, very dark, he had to convince himself to “fight the dogs.” 

So what did I do the next morning when the alarm went off?  Looked outside, saw stars (no clouds), and went back to bed.  Seriously.  When I got up an hour later and looked outside, I saw the perfect puffy pink clouds of an amazing morning.   I did not fight the dogs.  I didn’t even see the dogs. 

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard the advice:

“Get out there!  The only way to get the image is to be there!”
“Don’t be late for work! If the light is right when you arrive, you missed the shot!”
“Spending a day outside photographing is better than a day at the office.”
“Getting out is the hardest part!”

I have used these lines myself!  And here I was, sleeping through a photography weekend sunrise.  FAIL.

While I did not heed Dan’s advice that weekend, the story stuck with me and I related to the line “fight the dogs.”  In my urban living situation, I do not have any wild dogs standing between me and my photographic subjects, but I do have two adorable Italian greyhounds who do not like to be disturbed while they are sleeping (which is most of the time), especially in the morning. 

As that line bounced around in my head, I started to develop an idea.  Not about getting out more, not about early morning alarm clocks, but about all the hurdles standing between me and better photography.  There are obstacles in every aspect of photography that make up the pack of stray dogs I fight to improve my craft.  

There are new computer programs, processing techniques, and printing tutorials to learn, understand, and apply.  I am influenced by what is popular on social media causing me to ignore what I find inspirational.  I feel the need to visit iconic locations to shoot the sights I see online while also wanting to explore my landscape closer to home.  At the end of the day the obstacles seem too great, the pack of dogs is too large, and I do nothing.  

It is time that I commit to my needs as an artist and what I have to do to improve.  I must focus on my vision and practice my craft to fulfill my potential. 

Am I the only one or do you ever have to "fight the dogs?"

I Love Snack Time

This image was taken on a snack break!

Packing snacks is essential to my photography.  If I get hungry, I can't think about anything else except where my next meal will be.  During the workday, I have snacks I munch on every hour so it only makes sense that I will still need to eat every hour while photographing.  For some reason, this has been a hard lesson to learn.  

I went for a sunrise hike yesterday to the amazing Lake Isabelle.  It was a beautiful (although cloudless) morning with almost no wind.  We had to leave the house at 3am to get there in time, but it was well worth it!  At that time in the morning, well, any morning, really, I don't like to eat much first thing.  I need coffee to get me started and then I eat later. At my desk job, this doesn't create any difficulty since I am not burning many calories, but on the trail this became a problem.  About 2/3 into the hike I completely bonked.  There was no fuel left in the tank to get up the only hard part of the entire hike. I slogged up the last part of the trail and then ate a couple bars, but I was really frustrated with myself for not eating properly.  What do you eat in the morning to get going?

Normally, I love the Clif Bar Mini packs, just not first thing in the morning.  They are sold at Target and Amazon and have 18 mini bars per box with 3 different flavors.  They are about 1/3 the size of a regular Clif Bar so I can eat a whole one and be done with the wrapper instead of eating part of the regular size and trying to wrap it up in my pocket for later (and inevitably having a messy pocket all day long).  If you put these in a part of your pack that gets warm, they taste like warm cookies or brownies.  On the downside, if they get too cold, they are practically inedible.  I know someone who broke their tooth on a cold Clif Bar!

Proper snacking isn't just for the hiking trail, either.  Even photographing flowers in a garden or home can leave me totally depleted.  I lose track of time and end up on the far side of hungry needing a quick fix.  As much as I would like to down a Snickers and keep going, I know that probably isn't the best way to solve the problem!

My Tripod Journey

This image would not have been possible without a tripod!

I think most photographers have the same tripod story.  We start cheap/sad and end expensive/happy.  My story is really no different than everyone else; I only wish someone had told me this tale early on.  It could have saved some money and some images! 

When my husband and I started getting "serious" about photography (and by "serious" I mean spending more than $200 on a camera), we learned that a tripod was a necessary piece of equipment.  So we headed to the local photo store and saw that tripods cost over $100!!  What!?!  We decided to shop around to see if we could find a better deal.  Lo and behold, we found a tripod for under $100 at a big box store and decided to get that one.  (I have to note that we bought one to see how it worked before investing in everything twice.  Jay and I have our own photo set ups and we have made plenty of bad decisions times two, but on the tripod hunt, we made these mistakes one at a time.)  We dutifully carried that thing around and almost never used it.  The camera wouldn't stay where we put it, it was wobbly, and, overall, not worth the plastic it was made of.  You are shocked, right?  

We heard from another source that a tripod is an absolutely necessary piece of equipment and that you should expect to spend some money on one.  Hmmm.  Fine, we will spend some money on one.  Back to the photo store and we spent more than $100 on a tripod we had seen the first time around (by this point our camera prices had increased as well).  We were shocked to learn that the tripod didn't come with a head.  The $100 was just for the legs!  Really?!?  Now we have to find a head for the tripod.  Where do you start?  We experimented with various heads and joystick grips, but the camera would still settle after we let go.  Some images were still not as sharp as they should be.  We upgraded our tripods a couple more times until we finally decided that the tripod thing must be only for certain situations and specific times.  I planned to avoid those times at all costs.  Tripods and I did not get along.  

Finally we went to a weekend photo seminar where someone recommended high end tripods and heads.  We vowed to look into better tripods/heads and to reconsider the tripod situation.  Not long after that seminar, we bought one set of Gitzo carbon fiber legs and a Really Right Stuff ball head.  This was a game changer!  The camera stayed right where we put it!  I could pan across a scene without knocking the tripod over.  The tripod was tall enough for my 6'0" husband to look through the camera without bending down!  You could extend the legs to a specific point and lock them in place.  Images were sharper, our equipment was more secure, and we finally agreed that a tripod is a necessary piece of equipment. It was a Christmas Miracle!   

It didn't take long for us to invest in another set of legs and another RRS ball head for me and my photography hasn't been the same since.  Carting around a large metal contraption that screams, "I have photo gear in my bag!" can be a pain, but I have gotten used to it.  It really isn't an optional piece of gear for my photography.  There are too many times I have found a scene that needs a slow shutter speed or requires shade I can only create by being slightly away from the camera.  Recently I have started doing more image stacking and this simply wouldn't be possible without a reliable and sturdy base under my camera.  

There are many exceptional brands of tripod legs and tripod heads out there.  I wish I had spent more time learning about the merits of the equipment and looking at them in the store before looking at the price. While price definitely makes a difference, I spent as much on all the wrong tripods/heads as I did on the right one.  I could have been using the right one all along!

My Fitness and My Photography

It helps to be able to get close!

There is a noticeable difference in my photography when I am in shape and when I am not.  Not only can I tell in my images, but I can tell in my enjoyment of capturing the image.  

When I am not in shape, I am reluctant to drop what I'm doing, pull out all my equipment, set up the shot and actually enjoy the situation.  When I am not in shape, I have to convince myself that it is worth the effort to climb or scramble to a different location for a better composition.  I find myself looking for the easy shot instead of the best shot.  I start to qualify scenes image as worthy or not of my effort.  If it does not immediately look like a keeper, I'll forgo the shot and look for something better.  I have learned over time that some of the best images came from moments that were not obvious.  In my head, I say I am not as committed to photography as I should be, but that isn’t the case.  When I am out of shape, I simply don’t have the energy to make the shot happen. 

Am I the only one who experiences this?  Has this ever happened to you?

When I am in shape, I can focus all my energy on the creative process.  I can move around a scene and really get lost the imagery.  I have recently found how helpful yoga can be for my photography.  Many times I am contorting my body to get in just the right place for a perfect composition of a tiny flower.  Since yoga focuses on balance and flexibility, I have found I am much more stable in these moments than I was before.  

Exercise is beneficial mentally and physically, but also artistically.  Time to hit the gym!