Some dinner time inspiration from Ansel

Ansel Adams 400 Photographs — want to argue about something positive over the dinner table?

When I was around 10 years old, my mother, my older brother and I stopped in at the gallery-store in Yosemite, and the great master was there. My mother made a connection with him through her friends Brett Weston and Gus Bundy. I was spellbound looking at the superhuman sized prints on the wall behind him. Somewhere in this process, he noticed the Brownie camera around my neck, and my fascination with his images. He asked me what I thought about one. Not knowing what else to say, I was bluntly honest: "I really like the sky and clouds in that picture." There was a twinkle in Ansel's eye, and he admitted, "I spent a lot of time on that sky." Then I heard him softly share with my mother, "make sure he keeps taking pictures".

Fifty years later, I continue to draw inspiration from his images. You can, too. If you think of yourself as an artist, if B+W strikes a deep chord in your soul — this is a wonderful book. Considering the number of images (400), and the history and descriptions, it’s well worth the price!

Some people say that my New Mexico images remind them of Ansel’s work. I would add Brett & Edward Weston, as well.

Flickroom — an LR interface for Flickr

I've been trying out Flickroom. I started out on Flickr, and then moved to Smugmug, initially for the interface — hey, all those white pixels are really eye-fatiguing after a while! And, I didn't see much reason to go back. Well, actually, the groups on Flickr are cool.

Flickroom is an Adobe AIR app, and to be honest, part of my curiosity was to test out AIR, on something that I might be using. I've since shown and emailed it to several friends and colleagues, and their actions have been similar: why didn't Flickr do this in the first place! It's true, it's a nice front-end, especially for those of us that prefer less fatiguing darker interfaces.

It's been quite a while since I uploaded anything to Flickr. My first digital SLR purchase coincided closely with the public beta for Adobe Lightroom, and I started with Smugmug not long after that. I've done two uploads with Flickroom so far. It's a significant improvement. Not quite as responsive as a local app, but the performance is close. My problem, I guess, is the back-end. Flickr and Smugmug are worlds apart for me now. The analogy of bicycles & airplanes comes to mind.

Well, to each, his or her own, I guess. If you're a Flickr user, be sure to check out Flickroom.

Update 4/15/2011: Glad to see that Flickroom is alive and well, and continuing to be improved! The link changed, and has been updated.

NiceNames on Smugmug

This is a really exciting new feature on Smugmug. Take a look at the URLs in the previous post. We used to be limited to domain/category. Now the NiceNames will automatically pick up the gallery names (this is editable), and the old NiceNames will be remembered if one is changed, so links won’t break in the future.

Here's an example: http://www.chriswesselmanphotography.com/Nature/CA-bays/

Update 4/15/2011: Smugmug also has sub-sub-categories now, too. In this case “CA-Big Sur” is the edited NiceName for the sub-sub-category called “Big Sur Coast“: http://www.chriswesselmanphotography.com/Travel/CA-Big-Sur/Labor-Day-Weekend-2009/

Spring on Hwy 1, finally done!

This was a serendipitous trip in late April 2009. I decided to drive down and back up the Big Sur Coast (Hwy 1, aka PCH, Pacific Coast Highway), and caught some interesting light both times; and another dawn shoot from the Skyview Motel in Los Alamos (near Dunn School, Los Olivos and Solvang). This year's dawn shoot was even better than last year's with some interesting mist in the hills. Here is the gallery. My Big Sur shots on the way down and back are here.

I like to push the envelope on digital photography, trying to capture low light, dynamic range, interesting light, things like fog and mist that can present some challenges. I'm also playing with B+W film emulations — Fuji Acros, Rollei R3, and of course Kodak Tri-X. As part of this, I've decided to keep my B+W images separate, i.e. start from the RAW image and make those images only B+W. Otherwise, it gets into this guessing game, at least for me, of OK, do I like this better in color or B+W? With those images finished now exclusively B+W, that guessing game goes away. Yes, there are some similar images, but they're actually separate images. There's something timeless about B+W — maybe it's about that (analog) darkroom I always hoped for.

And, yes, I'm still thinking about shooting some of these films in my wife's Nikon N65 (aka F65 outside the USA). I'm also very impressed with what I'm reading and hearing about the Mamiya rb67 and rz67 medium format cameras. My younger Chris and several friends and acquaintances are experimenting with these. Some impressive stuff. Check out this link of my friend Allan Chen's shots. Some really rich shots here. Here’s another page that's really impressive, discussing digital sensors vs film resolutions. I guess I need to get out Sue's N65 first, and see if I'm willing to go that extra mile.

Mini-review: "Motionless Journey" — an extraordinary photo book

Motionless Journey: From a Hermitage in the Himalayas by Matthieu Ricard:

Preface: This collection of photographs is an account of a motionless journey, the fruit of something that most photographers (including myself) rarely have the chance, the time, or even the inclination to do: to sit for a whole year, waiting for the right light.
Nor, indeed, was that my goal. I did not go into retreat to take photographs. Nevertheless, as I contemplated that sublime landscape from the early hours of the morning, well before dawn, until after nightfall, every now and then an extraordinary light would illuminate the vision evolving continually before my enchanted eyes. The scenes in this book, all taken from the terrace of my hermitage or within a few dozen yards from it, are the fruits of that long 'wait without waiting', and of the joy of witnessing the harmony of nature blending closely with the delight of meditation.

Introduction: From the terrace of my retreat hut, I can look out over the almost perfect circle of the horizon. Dominating the spread of the foothills, the majestic chain of the Himalayas stretches over 200 miles. To the east are the massifs of Everest, to the north those of Gaurishankar and Langthang, and to the north-west, far away, the Annapurnas.

Each of Matthieu Ricard's images is accompanied by quotes from Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (to whom the book is dedicated), Shantideva, Milarepa, and others.

In addition to the extraordinary scenery in his images, the author pushes the limits of available light photography far beyond where many of us would venture forth. For those entranced by low light shooting, this is a portal into the possible. Matthieu's images are a feast for the eyes, and his paired quotes, a teaching by themselves.

Acknowledgments: ... The author's share of the proceeds of this book has been entirely donated to various humanitarian projects in Tibet, Nepal, India and Bhutan. To find out more about this work, please contact:
Dilgo Khyentse Fellowship
...
www.shechen.org
karuna-shechen.org

The photographs in this book are available as signed limited-edition prints.
For more details, please go to www.shechen.org

Available at Amazon and other fine book sellers.

Additional links:
Matthieu Ricard's website
and his gallery there.

Quotes on photography

A true photograph need not be explained, nor can it be contained in words.
Ansel Adams

In wisdom gathered over time, I have found that every experience is a form of exploration.
Ansel Adams

There are no rules for good photographs; there are only good photographs.
Ansel Adams

You don't take a photograph, you make it.
Ansel Adams

Consulting the rules of composition before taking a photograph, is like consulting the laws of gravity before going for a walk.
Edward Weston

The camera makes you forget you're there. It's not like you are hiding but you forget, you are just looking so much.
Annie Leibovitz

You don't have to sort of enhance reality. There is nothing stranger than truth.
Annie Leibovitz

Photography is an immediate reaction, drawing is a meditation.
Henri Cartier-Bresson

Spring on Hwy 1

Two weeks ago, I did the (now) annual pilgrimage down to my high school reunion in Los Olivos, CA. This year, I was driving by myself, in a nice new Toyota Camry with an in-dash audio-in jack for my iPod (to listen to podcasts and awesome tunes). To be frank, that car probably has as good a sound system, as I've ever owned, including the whacky big speakers and 100 watt per channel stereo amp I had in the 70's and 80’s.

I had decided to drive down Hwy 1, beginning with Laureles Grade into Carmel Valley, accessed off Hwy 68 between Salinas and Carmel. Hwy 1, or PCH (Pacific Coast Highway, as it used to known), is one of the more amazing roads on the continent! This year it was totally magical, with wildflowers and Spring finery, courtesy of the late rains. I'd have to say, it was as good as I've ever seen the Big Sur Coast.

Since I was shooting photos at the reunion, I needed to divide my 700+ shots from the trip into People and Places. Now that the People shots are done (in a private gallery for the school alums), I can turn my attention to the Places shots. I hope to have those posted in a public gallery on my website very soon. (I'll link them in my Big Sur and travel galleries.)

For those of us fortunate enough to live in Northern California, it's an amazing year for Hwy 1 and most likely the Sierras, as well. Wanderlust abounds — why wait? Grab the camera, and go...