Calm Photos

I did quite a variety of commercial and assignment photo shoots this past year. Everything from food, medical facilities, dental office, home interiors, waterproofing product application, small families, big groups and events.The following images are my personal favorites from those and other commercial photography shoots. I thought it would be important to emphasize this body of work given all the nature and landscape work I’ve been posting recently.

Is Jim Crotty a nature photographer ? Is Jim Crotty a portrait photographer ? Does Jim Crotty do commercial work ?

Yes, yes and yes - for God’s and cash flow sake, yes (just no weddings, please). I’m hearing more and more that here in Dayton I’m regarded as strictly a nature photographer. That could be part of the problem why I struggle do to business in this town. Sometimes I’m in a fight against my own success. But I still believe there’s another, more negative reason why this is the case. In fact, I actually know it to be true. More on that later. For now here are my personal favorites from my commercial assignments for 2007.

      

Once again I’m re-evaluating my selection of printing vendors regarding online print sales of my fine art nature and landscape photographs. My current storefront with Printroom.com is pretty good, but I’ve been more impressed with the quality of printing, selections in papers, frames and matting and user friendly interface provided over at ImageKind.com.

Fine art prints purchased at my ImageKind storefront come with a refund policy - satisfaction guarantee, safe online shopping guarantee and careful attention and care in the packaging of prints, both framed and unframed. These are also Giclees prints crafted from the largest possible TIFF file, carefully edited by me, from the original raw digital capture. This results in the best, museum-quality print versus those that are produced from compressed JPEG’s. I can personally attest to this fact because I’ve conducted my own print-and-compare quality testing process from these same file sizes and formats here in my studio using an Epson 7600 wide format printer.

Giclees prints from ImageKind have a longevity of over 125 years when framed under UV-protective glass. Also, you will be impressed with the variety of framing options offered through ImageKind. Their selection of frames, mats and coating options is perhaps the best you can find with an online art store and of course you can preview exactly how each print will look with your choice in paper, mat and frame.

I’ve started to populate my ImageKind storefront gallery, titled “High Dynamic Vision,” with some of my most recent nature, landscape and cityscape photographs captured this past September and October in locations such as the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the Hocking Hills of Ohio. I will be adding more selections to this storefront over the next several days. I also maintain another storefront/gallery of old favorites on ImageKind titled “Serenity Images.” The best seller there has been my famous Dayton skyline.

There are plenty of photographers with good equipment and some technical skill.

There are a few less with good equipment, technical skill and the ability and experience to function as a professional - within their career field as well as with their clients.

There are far, far fewer photographers who possess all of the above in addition to what is most important - Creative Vision.

I am in that very small minority. The photographs presented with this post should illustrate my point. I am not just a “nature and landscape photographer,” or a “commercial photographer,” or a “portrait photographer.”

I am a visual artist who brings a unique creative vision to both personal and client-assigned work, bringing forth the extraordinary from the ordinary.

My photography is how I envision light and subject through my own creative approach toward life. Although my subject matter is widely varied, the one constant is my personal drive, skills and talent in capturing photographs and creating images that no one else could previously see and compose.

That’s what I bring to the table.

I actively seek clients - both for assignment work as well as purchasers of fine art prints and licensing rights - that are located throughout North America and beyond. In no way am I beholden to my local market - in terms of creativity, capability or short-term business necessity.

Please call 1-877-527-6889 or email jim@ohiophoto.org for more information about how my creative vision can enhance and add significantly to the visual effectiveness of your marketing and advertising efforts, printed materials, organizational web site or decorative presentation of your office location.

There are two primary techniques I use to visually convey a sense of movement and action within my photographs. The most common - and easiest - method is that of hand-held panning whereby I follow a moving subject with my camera and lens while using a relatively slow shutter speed. I enhance this technique by using “fill flash,” the on-camera Canon Speedlite that throws just enough light on the subject so that it contributes to the sharp focus of certain parts of the subject while still maintaining the background which is intentionally blurred. My best examples of this technique includes my equine portrait photograph of “Bear” the horse and the wheelchair racers at the 2005 Columbus Marathon. I’ve also included another sample which is a sledding shot of my daughter Chloe, just because it so unbelievably hot and humid today (admit it, the snow actually looks refreshing).

When I can’t pan my subject, or if it is a still life subject that simply is not capable of movement, there is another technique that I can employ, but not with the camera, lens and flash. This is a digital technique completed in the post-shooting process stage and involves the use of one of the effects filters available in Photoshop CS2, a duplicate layer and patience with Photoshop’s digital eraser tool. However, there are only certain photographs where this technique can be effective, specifically those images that have a very well defined point of interest as to where I want the viewer’s eye to go. The finished image must be able to withstand the sacrificing of just about all of the details of the background and foreground elements in the process. The following are some of the images from my stock library where I think this digital technique of adding movement adds to the interest and attractiveness of the subject.

Hold on, you might get dizzy.

The following are a few sample images from an editorial assignment I shot last week, at the 2007 Military Tattoo event held on the grounds of the United States Air Force Museum and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, here in Dayton. A regional magazine had asked me to shoot the event for an upcoming cover and feature article.

One of the positives of living in the Dayton area is Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. This wasn’t the first time I’ve photographed flight events at the USAF Museum, and the collection of both static and flying military aircraft on display is perhaps the best in the world. I’ve also had the pleasure of shooting several product assignments for various civilian contractors on the base.

The Military Tattoo event was a true pleasure to photograph - beautiful weather, friendly and enthusiastic people, great performances and some incredible flight technology on display, particularly the after-sunset fly-over of the F-22 Raptor, which when going into an almost 90 degree climb over the parking lot proceeded to set-off just about every car alarm. But the visual element that really topped things off for me was the visual treat of a colorful sunset, providing the perfect background and setting for a celebration that marked the 60th anniversary of the United States Air Force.

My latest image catalog, which includes updated nature, landscape, wildlife, cityscape photography, is now available for preview in PDF format.

Well, the first 15 pages anyway, but it will give you a good idea of how extensive and well-organized this image catalog is.

With the arrival of online, on-demand self-publishing services such as Blurb, I’ve now discovered a new and more professional method for presenting my fine art photography to art dealers and buyers. Within the 72-page, hardcover, large format book are over 380 of what I consider to be the best of my nature and landscape photographs, organized and grouped according to subject and file numbers for easy reference when ordering prints or requesting image licensing.

The image below is the cover of the new image catalog. This image also serves as a link to the online, 15-page PDF preview. The entire 72-page book can be ordered directly from Blurb.

Blurb | Fine Art Nature and Landscape Photography : A unique artistic vision. : Books : Jim Crotty : Arts & Photography : Civil War : Jim Crotty : black and white : Gettysburg : Ohio : art : cityscape : flowers : images : landscape : nature : photographs : photography : prints : seasons : waterfalls

I finally finished it. A comprehensive catalog of my favorite and best-selling images. This is a large format coffee table style book with 72 pages that include over 850 images, each cataloged with an item number and description and grouped according to subject, including autumn landscape, waterfalls, flowers, winter landscape, avian, aviation, wildlife, Civil War battlefields and more.

Although intended primarily for art dealers and buyers (of whom a few select will be receiving complimentary copies), this book is available for retail purchase at blurb.com, for the wonderfully cheap price of $84.95 and would be a great addition to a customer waiting area, corporate lobby or home library. Also, please note that you can preview the first 14 pages in PDF format via the web page link listed in this entry.