Its the Weekend!!!
Stitched panoramic from Winding River marsh on the Georgia/ Florida border
Hi Everybody,
Thank you for all of your support of Light Diary!!!
The first Light Diary Podcast is now up and can be downloaded by going to
http://www.radiantvista.com/archive/podcast/26/
or by clicking on light diary podcast under blogroll
Starting today I will be posting a weekend placeholder image that will carry us over to the new week. I will change out the weekend placeholder images monthly. Comments and questions about the weekend images are welcome.
Hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend. The theme for next week is Location, Location, Location and the Light Diary Podcasts for weeks two and three will post in the next few days…..Sincerely, Craig
Craig, What an uplifting image to start this rainy day in Texas :0) I also listened to and really enjoyed the first podcast. Thanks for sharing your vision and energy! How do you ever find time to shoot with all you do for others? As far as todays post I really like your pano design, the way the grasses mimic the clouds, the use of B&W and your exposure. This image is beautiful.
Murry
Hi Murray,
Thank you for all of your feedback!!! I am very grateful to you for all of the contributions you have made so far to the Light Diary forum. I am also glad to hear you enjoyed the Podcast. One of the things I am going to tak about in the next podcast is finding time to shoot!!!! Have a great weekend…Sincerely, Craig
Craig, I’m so glad you have an image placeholder for the weekends. Two days is a bit too long for me before seeing one of your great images again
This one shows a feature that I’ve tried to find in landscapes I’ve shot, but I seem to either find landscapes that don’t feature this or I’m there at the wrong time of day.
This particular feature can be found in landscape paintings of the 1600-1700s, maybe 1800s, too. In these paintings you’ll see horizontal zones of alternating light and dark strips. Your image for today also shows these strips. Starting with the light area of the foreground that extends from the right corner to almost the left. It’s a shallow horizontal wedge. Next up into the image is the slightly diagonal horizontal strip of dark area. Then comes a smaller bright area, followed by a couple more dark-bright. Ending with a very small dark line on the horizon that broadens at either side. If these alternating strips of light and dark were not present, then the grasses would look too much the same and be boring.
I love the “god rays” shooting out above the cloud layer. I also can see at least two dogs in the clouds, plus some other forms that invite investigating.
Did you “paint” these rays to emphasize them? Or use a grad neutral density filter?
I really enjoyed your first Light Diary podcast. It’s very interesting to hear your side of the story, after having read others’ comments on those images. And I love being able to see the images again while listening to you discuss them.
A question, tho: did you ask these people to sign model releases? Why or why not?
Flo
HI Flo,
I love your mention of paiting styles as an inspiration for photography. I think its a great idea!!! The rays of light were there and have mainly been accentuated using levels and curves adjstments applied locally to the existing beams. You have me looking for dogs in the clouds now!!!!
I don’t ever ask for a model release when I am street shooting…I will not ever sell these pictures commercially…even as fine art. In this country you need a model release for photographing people when you plan on using the images to sell a product, service, or an idea. Technically you do not need a release to sell the pictures as fine art..but you could still be sued. These are my personal pictures that I am sharing in a forum that is about education and showcasing my personal work. Every picture of a person I post is a picture that I had permission to take. If anyone ever contacted me and asked to take a picture down I would do so immediately. More about this in a future podcast!!!…Sincerely, Craig
Craig – thanks for getting the first podcast posted….I have looked for it for some time. Having heard what you have to say, I feel I understand where the Light Diary is going and will enjoy the images even more. I liked the thematic presentation at first, but soon tired of it….all of them are good pictures, but there’s more than that coming together now….I really enjoy the back stories of your images…not so much the tech details, but WHY you took the shot…IMO, this completes our circle of connectedness…when I hear your intention, it helps me validate or sharpen MY OWN understanding of the image’s purpose – what you wanted me to see/feel. I like it best when I’ve gotten it right, but even when I miss your message initially, I get it eventually….AND, I learn from the techniques you use to make a connection with “me”…
Thanks for persevering…your passion and joy in this are coming through loud and clear! I’m happy for you.
david
Hi Craig,
I just saw the link to your site on Ted Byrne’s blog and thought I’d drop by. Great images as always. I especially like “Night and Day” with its “de Chirico”-feeling and some of the portraits. “I am” is fantastic and “Pink” absolutely charming, although this may be not completely unconnected with the subject
I’d probably have a second look at the fonts you use. They look real nice in Internet Explorer 7, but Firefox and Opera seem to fall back to some ugly fonts without anti-aliasing and with weired spacing. This is on Windows XP SP2, so that’s as mainstream as it gets.
Anyway, nice to see more of your work.
Andreas
http://photography-andreas-manessinger.blogspot.com/
http://photography.andreas-manessinger.info/
Hi David,
Thank you for your post. It means alot!!! I appreciate the time you have taken to offer feedback and I deeply apprecite how much support and encouragement you have offered. The next podcast will post in the next two days with the third not far behind. Hope you are having a great Memorial Day weekend….Craig
Dear Craig,
I just finished listening to your podcast. It was an unbelievable treat to have so many wonderful pictures to look at and then have you talk about them in a podcast. The anticipation of what you were going to say about the images kept me coming back to the pictures and relooking at them to figure out how I felt about them I have to say that I was a bit intimidated about “critiquing” a master’s images….but after listening to your podcast, I have decided to jump in and provide you with my thoughts as they occur. Your courage in putting the pictures out there for people to see and the sincerity with which you ask for feedback are inspiring.
Craig, the podacst provided everything I had hoped for….your vision behind Light Diary, your description of the week’s Theme (Impromptu Portraits), the techinical information where relevant and the backstory behind the pictures were all very useful to me. I actually kept looking at the pictures as I heard the podcast and listening to you talk about them was like removing a curtain to reveal the picture again. Thank you so much for such an in-depth and complete effort in bringing your pictures to life for us. I am learning not only about picture taking, but also about connecting, relationships, seeing differently and facing my “prejudices/projections” about people. It has been an exciting journey you have taken us through.
A couple of things that came to mind as I was listening to the podcast, for your consideration. I would like to hear a bit more upfront about how and why you actually choose a theme for a particular week. Do you pick a theme and then select pictures to go with it, or do you have a collection of pictures in mind before you select a theme? An interesting excercise would be to vary the theme between “assembling a collection from pictures you have already taken” and “giving yourself a theme publicly and treat us with pictures you take towards that theme”. In other words, it would be fascinating for us to go through your journey prospectively. I wonder how that would change the flavor? Also, how would you approach that versus going to your existing portfolio and selecting a set for a theme? Just curious.
I like the fact that each podcast consists of 5 pictures. Talking about each picture takes time and 5 pictures provide a good length of content. Having said that, I am never satiated. I would enjoy a podcast that was 2-3 hours long and still not be bored!!!!
Anyway, look forward to seeing more pictures and listening to more inspiring podcasts! Thanks for another great venue for us to gain from your teachings.
This is probably my favorite photograph that I have seen of yours. It is gorgeous.
JG
Incredible! A breeze taps on my shoulder and tells me to open my eyes and really look at the grandure of nature. I find it difficult to take landscape photos that look as awe inspiring as when I was standing in the midst of the scene- you have done it! This image says Shhh, just look, don’t speak just look and enjoy the solice of open space.
faye