Inside the Texas Capitol Building, after you make your way through the guards and metal detectors, you end up in a beautiful rotunda and if you happen to look up (I am not sure why you wouldn’t) will be presented with this wonderful dome. If you look really closely, you can see the star of Texas at the top. It actually reminds me a bit of something out of 2001 A Space Odyssey.
One of the places I wanted to go while in Paris was the Musée Rodin which was formerly Rodin’s residence. It is a stately manor in need of repair, but a wonderful place to visit while in Paris if you enjoy sculpture and you have the museum pass. Easily the most striking piece in the place is The Gates of Hell. Rodin spent much of the latter part of his life (37 years) working on the sculpture and never completed the work. There is a heavy presence surrounding the gate. Many of the 180 bronze figures on the structure writhe in pain and suffer for their worldly transgressions. I had an odd feeling that I was glad Rodin never completed the work as I am not sure I would like to see what was on its other side.
I have often said, I am interested in creating a feeling of a place and time in my photos rather than a snapshot representing how it looked. I want to transport viewers to how I felt at the time, how a place made an impact on me and try and convey that through my images. If I am successful, herein lies success in my mind.
Through me the way to the suffering city,
Through me the everlasting pain;
Through me the way that runs among the Lost.
Justice urged on my exalted Creator: Divine Power made me,
The Supreme Wisdom and the Primal Love.
Nothing was made before me but eternal things And I endure eternally.
Abandon all hope – You Who Enter Here.-Dante
I was driving down the road in rural Indiana when I saw this faded red barn. I actually drove right past it and decided to turn around (this actually took longer than I expected as there were very limited places to pull over). It has been raining most of the day with really dull grey skies. When I got back to the barn, the sky in the distance opened up and a bit more light came into the scene. It was as thought the skies opened up to shed some light just for my photograph. Right after I finished taking the photo it started to pour once again. I quickly gathered my camera gear and headed back to the rental car. It’s interesting how photos happen sometimes if you just look.
Pamela and I experienced our second SXSW Interactive festival this year. One of the un-official events, but very high up on my list, was the photowalk put on by Google+ and Trey Ratcliff. I had never been to a photowalk before and honestly it was sort of miserable weather. It rained the whole time, it was cold and the walk was mercifully over before I even knew what happened. I didn’t get many great shots, but I know a secret. A secret I am going to share with you…I stick around after events (often fun things happen).
I am always quiet around new people, but I wanted to meet some new photographers. I made several new friends and spent a very interesting evening hanging out with some very fun people. One of the interesting things about hanging out with a bunch of photographers is (and I think I have Karen to think for this quote) you never feel like you need to apologize for talking time to get a picture. Most people just don’t get the joy of spending 45 minutes trying to get just the right angle. Photographers understand this completely.
We walked to the Texas Capitol Building where I got the shot below. I ended up hand-holding this bracket at 1600 ISO…my slowest frame was 1/8th of a second. Usually I cant hand-hold at this speed, but I was using my trusty knowledge dispensed to me by the incomparable Joe McNally (via YouTube of course). Yet another reason why I need to buy Joe a beer. The other great thing is I was voted the best photograph in the “Everything’s Bigger in Texas” category. Another first for me…it was my first photo walk, my first photo-contest entry AND my first win! Not bad for a beginner!
Ok…I freely admit, I have a soft spot for the Disney movies of my younger years (and not so younger years). The Hamlet, located on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles was built for Marie Antoinette’s strange desire to experience the common life of a peasant. This distinctly reminded me of a particular Disney song…can you guess which one? I kept milling about taking photos of the great little village singing like the proverbial idiot. Good things we were there early and it was just us. The baker wasn’t even up yet, with his tray (like always).
This is one of the odd homes built in the Hamlet. The village consists of a working farm, vineyard and several buildings representing a small French Provincial village. The proportions are, however, very wrong. If you happen to glance inside, the rooms are built more for entertaining than real living. Another example of the fabled…”Qu’ils mangent de la brioche” (let them eat cake) attitude of the French aristocracy. As a side note, there is actually not real evidence that Marie Antoinette ever uttered those words.
While at Versailles we did quite a bit of walking. You can’t really help it…well you can rent a golf cart, but that didn’t see very regal or fitting. One of the many paths to the various palaces can be seen below.
I love the simplicity of the trees at Versailles. They are placed simply, but with great purpose and intent. Control of nature is one of the many reoccurring themes of Versailles. You can see it all around. The monarchy was in control of all things (until that whole revolution thing happened).
I attended a going away celebration this weekend for a work colleague who was leaving our team for greener pastures. The party was held outside of town in what I might well call the woods. I was told before-hand to bring my camera as the location was atop a small hill that gave a good vista of the surrounding countryside. I arrived about a half an hour after sunset and I thought all might be lost as I prefer the overly dramatic nature of just before sunset. The positive was the low light pollution gave me some great starry night sky. This is my first attempt at catching stars with my 16-35 f2.8 and I am afraid I caught a bit too much of the Earth’s rotation, but it came out an interesting shot none the less. It was amazing how long the color stayed around on the horizon.
As happens when I get around people with my camera in hand, I get asked lots of camera questions. Someone inevitably wants to purchase the awesome power of the DSLR and I am always a bit hesitant with the advice. Most people will see a shot like this and believe (thanks marketing) it was the camera. WOW! If I only had that $4000 setup like you, I could take pictures like that too! Well, not quite. Full disclosure, I spent 3 hours post processing this image.
My workflow went a bit like this:
All of this takes quite a bit of work. For YEARS, I would take pictures, import them onto my computer and be immediately discouraged. They were dull in color, not sharp, boring, poorly composed or cropped. This would lead to me putting my camera away for months at a time. In 2009 I literally took 44 photos. 44! What the hell! I LOVE photography…why did I take only 44 photos?
I had often heard from other photographers that gear doesn’t matter. Get out there and use the camera you have! I understand this truth now. The extension of this, that I missed for years…the thing that kept me for really pursuing photography is a simple realization that I would like to share with you now. Great works start with the click of the shutter. They don’t end there. The click is the first step in a huge process…great images come for blood, sweat and computer time. Today’s image isn’t an illustration of greatness, but its good and I learned ten new things I will take with me to the next image. I will grow…I will get better.
The same goes for you! If you want better images, start learning the techniques that help you create the images you see in your mind. Practice, learn, absorb, try new things. Perhaps someday you will want to spend $4,000 on a camera. Great! Welcome to the club! Know though, that an expensive camera doesn’t create good images. Only you can do that.
One of the interesting places we visited in Paris was the La Conciergerie. Build in the Middle Ages as a Merovingian Palace, it was later converted to a prison when Charles V decided the Louvre was much better digs. It had a bit of a notorious reputation, from the torture, to its roll as a holding cell for prisoners before meeting the guillotine during the reign of terror. This staircase is located in the main hall and leads up to the upper stories…we weren’t allowed to use them.
The day we visited there were these interesting blue lights strategically places all around the main hall. There was some sort of arts and crafts workshop for children going on. I thought it strange, given the heinous reputation of the place that it would now be used as a playground for kids, but perhaps a prison might be the best place to keep them…I am kidding…maybe. As a side note, I found it very interesting how well behaved the children and dogs where in Paris. Perhaps its just a product of being in a big European city, but everyone…and everything was just so darn polite.
Not that I am oblivious or anything, but Pamela asked me what HDR photo I was working on and I said one of the shots of The Temple of Love. “Oh,” she said, “for Valentine’s Day!” Right! Valentine’s Day! In retrospect, it was probably some sort of subconscious observation that put the holiday together with the temple at Versailles dedicated to love.
The Temple of Love was commissioned by Marie Antoinette to be part of her Hameau (place, often a rural area). It is made of marble and contains a dozen Corinthian columns that support the structure. In the center is a statue of Cupid, (the Roman god of love, desire, and erotic love) fashioning his bow from the club of Hercules. Marie Antoinette fancied the life of the peasants. Well, she rather fancied some aristocratic washing over of how wonderfully simple it must be to be a peasant. She didn’t actually fancy being poor or doing manual labor… that was far beneath her. She built a fantasy playground at the Trianon Palaces this temple is but one of the amusements of the Domaine de Marie-Antoinette.
Both Pamela and I are really busy these days. Getting to spend time in Paris together was wonderful mostly because we didn’t have a bunch of distractions, well except for Paris. One night we wandered down the the Champ de Mars to have a picnic and for me to take pictures. It was a great evening and out spirits were high, despite the waves of Nigerian and Indian Eiffel Tower key chain peddlers that continuously pestered you in languages neither they, nor you could understand.
Often its the simplest things that bring you happiness. One of the best memories we both share, is sitting on the ground, eating a simple dinner and gazing up at the tower together. I got to be with my best lady and I got to flutter around taking pictures of the wonderful scene. I don’t think I could have been happier in that moment if I tried.
