. . . While at first the only sound heard was the scraping of the snow plow and the occasional passing train outside, the more time I spent with the old instruments, the more I began to see the notes that were once played. As I focused my camera lens upon an interesting array of strings or lines of well-worn organ keys I began to realize that each instrument was at one time the extension of an individual musician, perhaps some accomplished professionals; maybe others just students. Here were the artfully crafted tools used to share a talent and give to others the pure pleasure of simply getting lost in the notes, whether it was with family in a living room, in the church loft above some congregation or in the music room of a grade school.
In many ways being in a room full of such reminders of life moved onward is like the feeling of walking into a child’s room, still adorned with toys and murals from more innocent times, after the child has grown and moved away. I think there’s something in all of us that secretly hopes for a return to those earlier days. Unfortunately the painful yearning of that hope often arrives too late. Yes there’s an element of sadness involved when photographing still life subjects that were once part of someone’s life experience and musical expression. Not surprisingly that’s exactly why such subjects have such a strong appeal to most visual artists. The resulting work is the expression of the heart exposed and is the proof presented of honest intent to just simply share that which is felt within.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting a local office where prints of my work are on display within the client waiting area. The most recent addition to the collection is a 30″x40″ gallery wrap canvas print of Upper Falls in Hocking Hills, Ohio. Next to it is an older print, simply displayed on white mount board, of an autumn landscape from Red River Gorge, Kentucky. Both of these prints show how fine art photography can effectively be displayed without a traditional frame.
In my home I have 13 of the 30″x40″ gallery wrap canvas prints of some of my favorite photographs captured in Hocking Hils, Cuyahoga Valley, Dayton, Zion National Park of Utah and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
By all means I’m not against traditional framing. In fact when done professionally the frame in of itself can be a work of art. I just believe in providing customers who look to buy prints of my photography with as many options as possible when it comes to hanging and displaying large format prints.
The gallery wrap canvas print is an option that I wish more people would consider. It is ideal for an environment where there are neutral walls and where the print can be fairly safe from wandering hands. These prints come direct to the customer from my professional lab, wired and ready for display. For their size they are very light and easy to hang. These prints also provide that added dimension, hence, the “wrap,” that gives the pleasing effect of almost walking the eye “around” the photograph.
For more information regarding sizes and prices, please email or all 1-877-JCrotty (527-6889). Special pricing is available for decorators and commercial art representatives.
The following landscape photographs and video are just a small sample of what I captured during last week’s trip to Zion National Park, on the northwest section of the Colorado Plateau in Utah. There are many more on the way. These were just a few I edited and prepared for posting online during my flight from Las Vegas to Columbus, using my MacBook Pro. The magic of the winter light in the canyons is hauntingly beautiful with the added benefit of the tourists of summer long gone.
It is just plain COLD. Scenes captured during a brief outing today, January 9, 2010. I was over at the Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark assisting with a recent photography contest. I took the opportunity to do a bit of photography myself, on the grounds of Wegerzyn and then at one of my favorite locations for images of the Dayton skyline. It was frigid. So much so that as soon as I returned home it was home I remained for the rest of the day.
Over six inches of snow fell over the Dayton area yesterday. All the white stuff on the ground creates the perfect light box just outside my studio window. Here I’ve photographed an orchid using just window light and a black background. The image was captured using the Canon 100mm f2.8 macro lens. I also employed a technique now available in Photoshop CS4 that effectively combines multiple exposures of the same scene, each with a different and distinct focal point, for maximum depth of field and detail.
The second image was taken later yesterday evening, just after sundown in the prairie at nearby Sugarcreek MetroPark.
Last January when I sat for the written exam portion of my professional certification there were many, many questions pertaining to lighting ratios for portrait photography, all of which referenced strobe light systems. These lights are an important tool used in the craft of capturing portraits within the studio. I use a variety of light boxes, directional grids and umbrellas within my studio set-up, combined with three Alien Bees strobes. The system is trusted and true, delivering quality results.
But the portrait lighting technique that sometimes produces the best results is the simplest – natural, subdued light through windows. I’m fortunate enough to work in a home studio where I have access to a bank of large windows – all facing southward – within a room with a very high ceiling. Not only that but there’s also a skylight directly above that allows for even more use of natural light for indoor portrait photography.
The week following Christmas I had a session scheduled to photograph Stephen Emerick and his daughter, Shawna. Both were in need of portraits and studio shots to use for a book project they are working on to promote the retreats and workshops they present in Hocking Hills, Ohio, titled “The Nature of Life: Inner Voice Inner Light.” This portrait session provided me with the perfect opportunity to finally take advantage of the pleasing light within the central living area of my Centerville home. In the past I have completed portraits and head shots in a downstairs area near my office. What was catching my creative imagination this time was the indirect, soft light of mid-winter. The furniture was moved out of the way and my backgrounds brought upstairs. I also included a strobe or two, but only as a secondary light source. In the video tutorial below I discuss how to implement various tools for “fill light” on the sides of the subject that are facing away from the window light.
The photo shoot was a great success. The only problem is that the window light tends to fade fairly quickly during this time of year, especially if it is a longer photo shoot scheduled in the afternoon. Nonetheless it wasn’t long following that session that I had another portrait client scheduled for head shots, so for now – and probably for the next two months of winter – my backdrops, posing chairs and reflectors will remain upstairs.
What will the new year bring ? Perhaps the answer lies in the light of the winter landscape, discovered on New Years Day 2010 along the trail at Sugarcreek MetroPark. For me 2009 was filled with exciting adventures and accomplishments, both personal and with my profession, photography. The challenge during the next two months of deep, dark winter will be to hold on to the fruits gained and the seeds harvested during 2009 so that even greater accomplishments and steps forward can be achieved in the coming year.
For everything there is a season. The light turns. Even in the cold quiet of January there are slight hints on the horizon of the promise of a better and brighter tomorrow.
I’ve come to finally know that when I am out by myself on the trails alone, crunching about in the woods with camera and tripod in hand, that I’m never truly alone. Today there is much, much more to that “good light” than there was before.
