April 28, 2004
End of an Era
It is like viewing the Grand Canyon through pea-shooter. It is to take a full, rich, detailed outdoor scene and reduce it to a dimension smaller than a postcard. Trying to convey the expanse and detail of a local landscape in a weblog image has always been disappointing. My images run 450 pixels wide at most before I run into formatting problems; now, that dimension is perhaps a fortieth of the full 6 million pixel image the camera brings back from the places I take it. I can't tell you how many landscapes I've previewed in MT and then decided 'why bother'--even before the larger, richer images were possible with the 6MP camera.
Last night I attended the organizational meeting of what may become an active photographer's group in our little rural community. I've not had another photog around since the late 70's, and so was looking forward to sharing and learning from other visually-oriented folk. I've carried a camera since 1970 and thot I'd have a thing or two to contribute. Well, ends up I had the distinct impression I had signed up for Biology 101 and walked my mistake into Advanced Computational Systems Modeling--a graduate course, to be sure. Let's just say of the seven photographers, I was the runt of the litter. And I was the only one who didn't respond with enthusiasm to the plan for the next meeting: everybody bring in a dozen of their framed photos to hang in the gallery for the night and we'll discuss and critique. All my images are digital, none of them printed, most of them so low-res I won't even attempt to print them.
So. If I am going to take the next step up, I need at least two things: 1) a place to show images in larger size than the weblog front page; and 2) a color printer capable of at least 11 x 14" color prints (and then matting, framing etc after that.) And I am too lazy and too broke to do either. So never mind. It's the same old era. Photography has been a private joy for so long. Now at least I can share my little mini-postcards with kind readers from around the world. Now at least I will be able to go and sit at the feet of folks who take the medium seriously and pick up a few crumbs that will make me better at my hobby.
And about the milldam: it was a spectacular morning. I made myself leave the house early and go poking around when the light was golden, low in the sky, and the trees still that translucent green I love so much. I discovered several things--a remote picturesque cemetery for one--I had never seen driving past the mill. I learned that one of the old homes nearby is a museum that contains the history of the mill and the community that once existed there and I have a contact person to give me the tour. I hope eventually to generate a magazine article (with photos) from future visits. The milldam image here is too small to do its beauty justice, but to the photographer, there is almost always more to the image than meets the eye.
Posted by fred1st at April 28, 2004 06:36 AM | TrackBackFred, you take and make your photos all to a standard size, and I will send you the necessary mount and matting for displaying at least a couple of them at a time, one metal frame and plexi that you can easily reassemble yourself to switch photos, free of charge.
Neat to have a friend in the business, no?
Posted by: susan at April 28, 2004 07:27 AM
Fred! If you continue in this vein I’ll send you such a cyber-kick-up-the-pants that it will give a nEw meaning to gOose Creek! – and in my good shOes too!
How you could possibly compare yourself to other photogs and figure that you come up short, I will never understand. You have a great natural eye for composition – and enthusiasm that is unbounded. Maybe they have a few more snazzy buzzwords than you do, so what? You do what you do – and you do it great.
Maybe THEY are meant to learn from YOU. Ever think about that? Get in there – parlay it Baby! Mix ‘em up with your own version of what-be-what. Maybe you’ll turn them on to the digi-world – clearly you’re way ahead of them there.
As to physical prints and other stuff – DOUG (duh Fred). Remember him? Doug has equipment AND a seriously stuffed studio. Barter a little time and matting from him (matts are good and you can learn to cut your own). And if you don’t take mY word for how good your work is, ask DOUG!
Now that’s enough stroking your ego – chin up pillow piggie. You can SO do this, Fred.
Posted by: India at April 28, 2004 07:58 AM
You do know that you can display a small image on your page and then us that "thumbnail" to link to as large an image as you like? That way you can keep the formatting intact but folks who click on the link can view the image in all its glory.
I hope you don't pass up the opportunity to show a few images next session. I can attest that being at the low end of a high-performing field of photographers is uncomfortable but it's not such a bad place to start, really. If someone gives you a good thoughtful critique it'll be worth every second. Looking at your front page today I see some images that need not hang their heads in any company.
Did they specify 11x14? You could do a good critique at 8x10. And you don't have to buy a printer to start, either. One of the wonderful things these days is that lots of Costcos and Walmarts, not to mention mail-order places, now have amazing digital printers that will give you a fantastic large print for a few bucks. And as Susan pointed out, you can reuse the mats.
As far as what you have to offer in return, I squirm every time I critique a picture, but if you think about it, the ultimate critic isn't a photographer, it's the ordinary person who walks up to a picture and is moved by it. Even if you feel unable to critique on a technical level you can still speak as that ordinary person and it's probably the most valueable input of all.
Posted by: Ana at April 28, 2004 09:29 AM
Your "too small" web photos make me wish I were there...a measure of your achievement.
Posted by: Denny at April 28, 2004 09:40 AM
How about taking a laptop along and letting your images slide-show?
Posted by: Michelle at April 28, 2004 09:54 AM
Make do with what you have. You could expand forever. I have thousands of pictures that I have never seen beyond the negatives. I dream of a film scanner, with one I would at last be able to view them on the computer, but priorities, priorities. After a while, the want, the desire, wanders off and lies dormant until the day it is possible to actually have what is wanted.
Anyway there should be no reason why you can't critique pictures on a computer, I wish I could see mine bigger than the negative. Cut down the expense. Your club should not cost you anything more than what you have. Blabidy blabidy bla…I sure your sick of advice. We know everything.
Posted by: Philip at April 28, 2004 05:12 PM
Hi Fred -
Thanks for the beautiful pictures! And your blog. It's a lot of fun to read about your adventures and to see your country, even if it's virtual. I've used a few of your pictures as wallpaper, a MUCH nicer view than my cubie wall -- I hope you don't mind.
Anyway, I read your other post, and I hope that you don't stop blogging. Spam is nasty, it's true, but I appreciate you!
Posted by: Robin at April 28, 2004 05:44 PM
Love your nature shots. Wish you could come further south, to Caroline, to catch the kudzu starting it annual migration. It's so lovely this time of year creeping up the guy wires, consolidating its death grip on all the caved-in buildings, and soon to conceal the ugly erosion of long-neglected fields of worn-out soil soon to be forests of scrub pine as nature continues its inexorable cycle of reclamation. In the calm of eventide, if you tilt your head just so and close your eyes, you can catch, on the gentle breeze, the dim, wavering anguished plaint of Scarlett O'Hara, "As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again!"
Either that or the clamor of the raging drunk in that ramshackle hell-hole across the road throwing his wife through the cheap storm door they bought last fall at Lowe's, and the sickening whump of her ample form bouncing off the hood of the rusted-out four-door Galaxie they put up on blocks in '92, with the weeds reaching from the front seat toward the sun's warm rays pouring down through the long-vacant windshield hole.
Whichever.
Posted by: Reno at April 28, 2004 07:09 PM
I'm displaying pix over at Exposure Manager: http://instapun.exposuremanager.com -- they host 'em at sizes you set, and do prints. Today I got some 11x14 prints (which cost an absurdly cheap $3.50) and they were quite good. You might check 'em out.
Posted by: Glenn Reynolds at April 28, 2004 07:15 PM
I was going to suggest what Michelle suggested already. Why not set them up as a slide show on a laptop? I agree with Philip that you could expand and spend money forever. And I especially agree with India...I don't know what a pillow-piggie is, but the "aw-shucks, ah aren't gude" stuff makes me want to take you by the shoulders and give you a good shake.
I don't have the expertise to do that in photography, but I've done it with your writing. There is just no profit in finding yourself lacking in areas where you so obviously shine. Grrr.
Posted by: travelertrish at April 28, 2004 09:51 PM
Don't know about prices in the US but an A4 size photoquality printer in the UK is pretty affordable - even after shelling out on your D70 - probably about £100-£150.00.
There are also lots of sites and companies who will do prints from your digital file.
The issue of image size came up in a discussion on Fotolog too - this is a link through to it.
http://ibanda.blogs.com/panchromatica_2/2004/04/index.html#a0001256951
Posted by: Ian at April 29, 2004 06:00 AM