Complementary colors crossing the street

Photography, Street, Travel

Street photography is one of my least proficient genres. And judging by the amount of blurry pictures I took on my trip I need to use a faster shutter speed or take more time. Likely the latter.

There is an old adage “f8 and wait,” referring to the f8 aperture which provides a fairly large depth-of-field (the amount of the imagine in focus.) This is a valuable tip, if you’re stationary. I think for me a fast shutter speed would be more valuable since I’m often moving with the subjects.

WIth all that said, this next shot literally passed me up, and I grabbed the only – almost sharp – shot I could.

Crossing a street in Paris a family of four, being led by the dad in a large hurry, hustled by. Without even bringing the camera to my eyes I shot a single, hip-level frame, which does a nice job emphasizing the children. Even without being sharp I absolutely love the complementary colors of the kid’s clothing.

Color theory states warm colors – yellow, orange, red – will appear closer in the frame, even when in the background. So the pedestrian in the yellow shirt is a strong figure.

I like the shot, but 1/125th of a second was not fast enough.

Weekly Photo Challenge: The Golden Hour, Versailles, France.

Photography, Street, Travel, Weekly Photo Post

The golden hour is the current weekly photo challenge. Around sunrise or sunset the sun’s low angle causes more diffusions in the atmosphere and casts long shadows. The result can be spectacular light. I used to strictly time my photography around this time, until one day a teacher asks when the best time to take a photo was. I replied “the golden hour” to which he responded, the best time to take a photo is anytime. While I still prefer catching the dramatic and soft lighting prone to the golden hour, that piece of advice has stuck with me and greatly influenced my photographing habits.

These two images were recently taken in the town of Versailles, France.

Apparently weary of my camera, a dad plays with his son during sunset.

Pedestrians cast long shadows walking by packed cafes.

Horse looks longingly

Alaska, Photography, Street

Farmers Loop, just north of Fairbanks, still lives up to it’s name. Multiple residences have horses right along the road. There’s still a hayfield and the occasional garden visible. This photo shows a horse, at what must be a common spot for him to stand, watching people and traffic pass by. Shot at 9:26 p.m., June 16, the low sun illuminates his mane nicely.

A horse looks longin

Evening Bike: Plane, Rail and Road.

Alaska, Photography, Street, Uncategorized

Fairbanks is fortunate to receive the late-night light that blankets high-latitude lands. There rarely seems to be a shortage of it, and it makes many activities available all times of day. May 15 the sun had set just before midnight, while I was out riding my bike. The afterglow provided some fun photo effects.

My favorite was illuminated railroad tracks and a descending plane above. Shot at 11:57 p.m.

A Boeing 737 approaches Fairbanks International Airport. May 15, 11:57 p.m.

A few things attracted me to the next shot, the soft sliver of a moon contrasted the flattened and fragmented patterns of the car carrier and building.

Car transport parked with crescent moon above. May 16, 12:02 a.m.

Bicycle Beat: Welcome to Winter, Spring.

Alaska, Black & White, Landscapes, Photography, Street

Crazy Fairbanks weather continues. That didn’t deter some friends and I from doing an art-show bike on Friday, May 3.

Such an important part of photography is taking pictures of everything. I find it an important way to sharpen the eye and make sure my camera’s settings will give me a well-rendered file. The green fence caught my eye, and the complementary color of the red for-sale sign was enough reason for a quick stop.

Green Fence with for-sale sign, May 3, 2013.

Wind and cold soon swept in snow, which fell in large, heavy clumps. Truly spring with a twist.

Snow falls May 3, 2013 in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Spring is also a chance to see what winter left behind. This is most evident in the trash that manifests on roadsides after being forgotten under a blanket of snow all winter. Fairbanks has a community clean-up day, when scores of volunteers take to the streets with bright yellow trash bags helping make the Golden Heart of Alaska clean again. Not uncommon, clean-up day 2013 had to be postponed, and is now scheduled for May 11.

I don’t know what happened for this bike beside the path to become utterly destroyed, but it must not have been enjoyable for the rider.

A beat-up, rusty bike lays along side a bike path in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Bicycle Beat: Munching Moose and a May Day Sun Dog

Alaska, Landscapes, Photography, Street, Wildlife

“Bicycle Beat” is an idea I have wanted to start for some time. And until recently was hindered by winter. Bicycle Beat is my reporting from a bicycle. I have often felt bike riding is the ultimate way to capture great photos. Unlike driving, stopping and turning around is almost instantaneous, and it’s much easier to spot interesting subjects traveling 10 mph rather then 50. Consequently, also much faster then walking, greatly expanding the range of your photographic canvas. Also important is inconspicuous. You draw a lot more attention stopping a car then a bicycle.

I went for a very brief 3-mile bike ride last night and in the short time happened upon two photo-worthy subjects. It’s been a very testy spring in Fairbanks, with multiple inches of snow the last week of May. Greenhouses are opening despite unavailable exterior space. One of them is Plant Kingdom.

Mayday! A sundog is visible on May Day. A sundog is an atmospheric reaction when light deflects off ice crystals in the air, producing a halo effect. They are common to cold weather.

The snow and cold on May 1, producing a sundog, mixed with the open Plant Kingdom sign, is a significant juxtaposition.

A sundog is frames the Plant Kingdom sign on May 1, 2013. It has been one of the coldest springs on record in Interior Alaska.

I slung my camera around my neck and hopped on my bike, only to travel another half-mile before finding another photo.

While I may have stopped a car to take the sundog picture, I never would have seen this young moose right off the bike path. Maybe 15 yards away, it would have been a great opportunity to get a wide-angle shot of a moose. Having a zoom lens however, my first instinct was to zoom in as close as possible. Probably 2 or 3 years old, I did make sure no mother moose was visible before shooting.

A moose munches off Farmers Loop Rd.

Very-Temporary Fossils

Alaska, architecture, Photography, Street, Wildlife

While nothing in Interior Alaska can be considered typical, Fairbanks – typically – isn’t very windy. This winter has brought no shortage of windy days. While occasionally bone-chilling cold, wind also creates exciting conditions. Ravens seem to have fun when currents whip up.

Ravens play in high winds above UAF’s Fine Art Complex. April 17, 2013.

The next day, slowly picking my way down a steep, slippery hill, my preferred route between car and classroom, I found evidence some ravens had been using strong winds and currents to their advantage.

Spiraling strike marks decorated the snow’s surface. A raven had been hunting, likely a small rodent. My friend accurately described it as a “very-temporary fossil.” Indeed unlikely the imprint would be preserved more then a day or two.

A hunting raven leaves evidence in the snow, April 18, 2013.

At the time I was en route to grab class materials, happy just to spot the strike, I didn’t linger. Deciding to court a safer path back up the hill, my attention was once more drawn toward patterns in the snow. I couldn’t pass the opportunity to photograph another strike mark. Even if it meant going back to my car to swap tennis shoes for boots.

A pedestrian walks up a path at UAF, near a imprint a raven left in the snow, akin to a temporary fossil.

A pedestrian walks up a path at UAF, near a raven imprint in the snow, akin to a temporary fossil.

Close-up of an imprint left by a hunting raven.

Music Monday: TIm Robb at Creamers Field.

Alaska, Black & White, Film, Music, Photography, Portraits, Street

First things first: My condolences go out to all those affected by today’s Boston Marathon tragedy. I have spent some time viewing photos and watching videos, it truly is horrific. I can’t imagine the utter shock and chaos felt during what should have been a time of jubilation.

I was riding my bike to school, just about this time in 2012, and stopped by Creamers Field to shoot some 35mm, B&W film. I happened upon an unexpected scene.

Fairbanks musician Tim Robb watched the arrival of Canada goose while practicing guitar, his dog in attendance. Robb is a very enjoyable, mellow yet enthusiastic musician. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner correctly critiques his work: “Robb… typically blurs the style lines through free-form interpretation and improvisation.”

I was worried I didn’t have anything for Music Monday, then I found these gems in my archives. The first image is a lesson in micro-composition. A few extra seconds in the viewfinder and I may have panned up and to the right, eliminating the rear-door handle and “Outback” emblem, at the same time getting all the lettering on the barn and the vents on the roof.

Tim Robb practices guitar while his dog hangs out at Creamers Field, April 2012.

Tim Robb practices guitar while his dog hangs out, Creamers Field, April 2012.

Bright morning light causes squinty eyes, but doesn’t diminish smiles.

Sporting Thursday: Christmas day jog.

Alaska, Landscapes, Photography, Street

It may be a little dated, but as I mentioned in my last post, winter has decided to stick around in Fairbanks. It was probably a lot nicer out Christmas day, 2012, then it is now in the middle of April.

I was capturing some of the gorgeous light from the sunset walking to my grandma’s house, just before 3 p.m., . Suddenly a pair of runners turned off a subdivision onto the main road. I had time to capture one frame as the ran off into the winter wonderland.

Runners make their way up Steel Creek Rd. on a Christmas-day run in a white wonderland.

The winter sun in Alaska never gets very high. Here it is seen setting through trees just before 3 p.m.

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Can I use that picture? No. Well… I’m going to. Street photography and copyright infringement.

Film, Photography, Portraits, Street, Travel

An issue every photographer struggles with, sharing their work with the world while protecting intellectual property, has a new high-profile case.

Humans of New York, the blog of street photographer Brandon Stanton, is a hugely popular blog featuring posed and candid images of the many unique citizens in America’s most populous city. According to The Guardian, clothing company DKNY offered Stanton $15,000 to use 300 of his photos. Feeling $50 per photo was inadequate compensation from a wealthy company Stanton requested more, which DKNY denied.

A fan of Stanton later brought to his attention that DKNY had in fact used many of his images in a window advertisement in Bangkok. Taking a very admirable path, Stanton asked DKNY donate $100,000 to his local YMCA, in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. In what was a simultaneous act-of-kindness and backhanded swipe, DKNY donated $25,000 in Stanton’s name.

So how do photographers, and artists as a whole, attempting to establish their name protect it at the same time? There’s no fool-proof way. Watermarks, finding websites that don’t allow downloading of images and small file sizes are all techniques.

Personally, I size my images small enough they wouldn’t make a decent print and hope people will at least ask if they want to use it. I have found out this isn’t an adequate approach.

The topic will only continue to brew confusion and controversy, as popular image-sharing software Instagram has recently been sued over inadequate protection of users photos.

Today I will share some of my street photography from Seattle.

I didn’t have much reaction time when I saw how the orange of the man’s shirt and child’s stroller complemented the orange accents on the posters.

Here I was simply interested in the smooth curvature of the drinking fountain and the bike-lane indicator in the street when a pedestrian came to quench his thirst. Again I had to quickly step back to get a more inclusive image before he continued on his way.

I dig his tall, white socks with black shoes.