Dickens on the Strand

This photo was taken at Dickens on the Strand a week ago Saturday in Galveston. This is an annual festival on the island celebrating Victorian London and ringing in the Christmas season here in the Houston-Galveston area. My shooting partner, Larry Patrick, and I were using the same flash setup we used at the Renaissance Festival about a month ealier - a single Nikon SB800 flash shot through a small softbox triggered wirelessly with Alien Bees remotes. He'd shoot, and I'd run the flash; and then we'd switch off. This one young lady was heading quickly down the alley when we stopped her and asked to take her photo. I'm pretty sure she didn't know what to think of the two of us when we first approached her, but I think she liked the results. Anyway, it's truly amazing that so many people are willing to stop and spend a few minutes letting you take their photo. It's a great learning experience for aspiring portrait photographers - setting up a light and quickly composing a shot in a very short amount of time.

abstraction #5

This abstraction involved moving the camera diagonally while photographing a shoreline of reeds at Armand Bayou.

abstraction #4

This photo was taken along Armand Bayou, and the effect was achieved by rocking the camera vertically during the exposure. Color tweaks and vignetting were added in Photoshop.

abstraction #3

Camera movement? Wild Photoshop filter? No, just the clouds over Galveston this morning ... and you can take take whatever way you like.

abstraction #2

This photo was taken walking down the street in front of the Tremont House in Galveston, Texas. If you look closely, you can see the blurry emblem of the hotel in gold along the right side - not that you could ever decipher it if I hadn't told you because of the blur. This photo was shot at 1/8 of a second as I walked. I do that sometimes, put the camera in shutter priority at 1/20 of a second or below and take photos as I walk, most times without even looking through the viewfinder. It's surprising what you get, sort of like throwing paint on a canvas - sometimes you cringe and other times you say to yourself, "that's kind of cool." It's something you never could have captured without loosening your grip on what your mind tells you is a good photograph.

intentional abstractions

Over the next couple of days I'm going to be posting a series of abstract photos - abstract because they are blurred intentionally to create a wash of color or texture. Whether done in camera with movement or with special lenses or attachments, they will hopefully challenge our expectations of what a pleasing photo should be in the classic sense. Sharpness will become blur, shape will become texture, and colors will become hyper-real. This is something I want to pursue more in 2009. Craig Tanner calls it "the power of play" - using the camera, unorthodox techniques, and not playing by the rules to open up the possibilty of creating something nontraditionally beautiful. In the photo above, I moved the camera in a circular motion as the shutter went off. It's a simple fall bouquet of flowers. No special Photoshop filters were involved - just opening your mind to the concept of "what if?"

an ike thanksgiving

If you live in the Houston-Galveston area, you have probably heard about the layoffs where I work - at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Due to the heavy flooding of the island during Hurricane Ike, most of the university's buildings were damaged leaving patients no other choice but to seek care at other hospitals in the area. The University of Texas Board of Regents then voted to layoff 3,800 employees as a result of the falloff in revenue. I was fortunate - my job was spared, but many healthcare workers and support staff are now without jobs after already losing their homes and belongings to Ike. It's hard to say what will happen to Galveston and UTMB in the next six months. You hope for the best and give whatever support you can to the many hardworking professionals now facing Ike's second blow, but most of all you give thanks for what you have - family, friends, and the fact that the sun will rise in the morning.