AS WITH SOUND, PHOTOGRAPHS ARE SUBJECTIVE

As with sound, images are subjective. You and I may not see the same color red as red, but we will probably agree that the image on the screen is a digital image or film image, based on contrast, bit depth, and refresh rate.

John Dykstra

“Red Metal Door – Georgetown, Penang” (2011, Nawfal Johnson Nur)

RED DOOR, Georgetown, 2011, njn. An interesting red painted door in Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia, photographed by Nawfal Johnson Nur.

Some people may wonder why photographers create the photographs they do.   Many people, I suspect, don’t care.  There are some, a few, who are interested in your work:  It is this group who will spend the time to look more deeply at your photographs and see why the photographer took the time to compose and photograph a subject.  These interested few will realize the minor details in the photograph, that also, I assume, caught the eye of the photographer.  Some of these details may be color, texture, design, shadow and light.

In the photograph of the red door, I was attracted by the vibrant red color when I first saw it.  I then approached the door more closely to get my photograph.  I wondered what the Chinese characters meant.  I was also half curious what the pealed off, square sign was, that used to be there.  I noticed several layers of paint underneath the red paint.  I wondered how many layers there were, and how old this door was.  So many interesting questions pop up in my mind when I see an interesting subject to photograph.  I may never get all the answers to my questions about a subject; nonetheless, I always attempt to get a photograph of the subject.

Yes, images are subjective.  I can’t please all the people all the time.  However, if I can please myself through the work that I do, then what more can I ask.  If I feel I have captured some subject that interests me, and I have done a good job with the composition, then the photograph is likely to capture the attention of a few other people who also see subjects similar to the way I see the subjects.  If I find answers to some of my questions about a subject, then that is an added bonus.

I can’t be alone.  The world is a big place, so live curious with a camera in hand at ‘all’ times, and create photographs that satisfy your adventurous spirit.

I liberated my Facebook and Flickr “Friends” Lists

My definition of a REAL “Friend” is someone who freely gives (whatever), and humbly accepts (whatever), is supportive, as well as, gives a gentle kick in the behind when necessary.

A REAL “Friend” also reciprocates friendly advice and compliments to their friends, thanking them, and is someone that you can count on, no matter if they live next door, or halfway around the world.

A REAL “Friend” is forgiving and accepting of you for who you are.

A REAL “Friend” remembers you, and cheers you up when you are down, when you are facing poor health, when you are sad, and stands strong with you when you combat adverse circumstances.

A REAL “Friend” watches your back!

This is why I have liberated my so-called “friends & contacts” lists at Facebook and Flickr.

When looking at my lists, I looked at the people who were there; and evaluated those who NEVER-HARDLY-EvER reciprocated a compliment on my work or  my posts.  Also, I looked at people who NEVER hardly visited my posts or photos, AND those who I have never even met before (in real life).  We all have those people on our lists – don’t we.

I never expect people to reciprocate – they do or they don’t.  I don’t want empty “attaboys” comments on my photography.  Only if people mean it, then it means something.

However, if YOU have noticed that you openly and honestly compliment other people’s work, and you never hear from them, or the ratio of things are 1 to 200,  in the other person’s favor (as if this were a contest), then don’t you believe that you should really start evaluating your contacts and friends lists.  When things become so lopsided, then you may be wasting a lot of time on people who don’t give a damn about you, your work, or anything you have to share on these sites.  You should think about that.

I can clean out my lists of those people who do not seem to care if they are on my lists in the first place.

These sites seem to cater a lot to the human ego.  On the obverse side, I think that many people are fine with being concerned that “contacts & friends” always appreciate their work or posts; but on the reverse side, they care little in return to do the same, or take interest in most others on their own list.  And if this is the case, why keep those people on your list – what is the point.

Some of the people on my lists that I kept are still there because I like to see their work, and because I am inspired by their work.  In this case, it does not matter to me that these people have NEVER visited my work.  They are not friends, but I want to keep them as contacts because I want to be notified when they add new work, and I can appreciate the skill of their work.

Of the “non-friends” (people who do not fit your true and real definition of a “friend”) people on your lists, how many of these people’s works actually are inspirational to you?  Ask yourself that question and perhaps you too will see a need to whittle down your lists.

I have enough on my plate right now with health concerns and other things.  Therefore, I have “Used the Force” and have lightsabered my lists down to people for whom I really like to see their work, read their posts; and, those who have, over time, seemed also to take interest in my work, and what is going on with me.

Leave it to say, my lists have been chipped away considerably on both ends.  And this is totally fine with me.  My ego will survive, life will be less complicated I hope, because the less complications for me the better.

A Flash of Light

Red Candle - A Flash of Light by Nawfal Nur, made on 20 March 2011.

A Flash of Light or Dazed and Confused?

At this point, on this morning, I am not sure what the answer to that question would be.

One thing I do know is that it has been a little over a year, I believe, since my last blog entry here, at my blog.  I spend more time with my http://finegrain.wordpress.com/ blog, and my portfolio blog, http://photographist.wordpress.com/ .

I’m getting rid of some of the email accounts I don’t use.  How did I ever collect so many email accounts, it is amazing.  And why?  There is no need for it, really.  Multitudes of email accounts just adds more confusion to my already confused life.  There is no need.  So today, is partially at least, a clean-up day – getting rid of some digital garbage from my life.

Wish me luck!

BTW:  The candle photo was taken at the Yap Clan House, or at least, the temple next to the Yap Clan House, which is actually called the Choo Chay Keong Temple.  This is one of the candles in that temple, in Georgetown.

The Vacuum – Artists Putting Themselves Out There

Prologue: What is this all About?

Edit Inclusion, 24 March 2010.
I was thinking about what I had written here, in this post.  I’m not changing anything because I feel what I have said is important, in support of the entire Artist and Photographer community.  Why?

Here’s why it is important.  While it may seem, on the surface, that I’m upset that people did not respond to my personal ‘press release’ about a project I had released to the world, that is not the case.

OF COURSE, getting little notice is disheartening, but I can live with that.  I have lived with that, but I go on, and I do the next project, and the next, and the next whether I get noticed or not.

• No, lack of PERSONAL PATS ON THE BACK is not the main issue in this post.

What is important here, is the fact that Artists and Photographers don’t often get notice, through proper feedback and response for their creative works.  The ‘personal pats on the back’ is different from getting feedback for creative work that took a lot of time, efforts, energy, and resources.  Feedback is ultimately necessary for creatives:  Without it, we have no way to gauge if we are doing things in the right direction; if we are growing; and if we are improving.

Creating the work is only Step One in the life of a creative.  The next step (Step Two) is the step where creatives release their work out into the world for showing; for seeing; for review; for feedback; for learning and educating themselves.  And, believe it or not, for survival:  Yes, for survival as a working artist, we need our work to be acknowledged, and we need it to sell.  That is why it is so important to be one’s own best self-promoter because no one else in this world is going to do it for you!  That is unless you are one of the lucky few, maybe less than 1%, who are represented by art reps, or art galleries, who help the artist and photographer sell their works.  If you fall into the 99% ( just guessing on the percentage, but I bet I’m not far off ) who are on your own, as an independent business creative, then you need to be noticed:  Acknowledgement is not a want, it is a NEED!

My main point in this blog entry, is not about being pissed off that I didn’t get “Atta boys” for my new publication.  No!  The Main Point here is that my work was released to the world, and it got absolutely no feedback.  It is like my project ended at Step One.  No one gave any comments or reviews, or acknowledgements to allow my work to move forward into Step Two.

How can my work move forward without fuel (feedback) to help motivate me to grow?

It will grow:  My work will continue.  However, a creative’s life, my life as a creative, would be more enriched if I hear back from the people who view my work.    And that is why I decided to write this post.

So, when you continue reading the rest of this, and if you didn’t respond to all my efforts to self-promote my important project (important to me), don’t take my words personally.  It’s not about you and it’s not about me (in the BIG Picture of things), it is about the lack of notice and response that all too many creatives face in their efforts, which is really detrimental to their efforts to lead a creative-commercial life.

With that said, and if you want to continue to read the “rant” (the original rant) below, then please do so.  You may have some epiphany about how you interact with creatives when you see their works, and these works catch your eye, the art lifts your spirits, or the photographs bring wonderful visions to your mind.

——————–

I must warn you at the beginning; this is a rant. If you wish not to read a rant, then please check back again, another day, when my mood has calmed, and the winds of discontent are long gone.

Hope in a dead man’s dream,
The sound of a bell
that will never ring,
You’re just wasting time.
Source:  Lamb of God, from “Foot to the Throat.”
FOOT TO THE THROAT

This Lamb of God song deals with something much different than what I’m talking about, but these few lines from that song, seem appropriate to my message today.

But first…some back-story.

PART I – ARTISTS PUTTING THEMSELVES OUT THERE FOR THE WORLD TO SEE

Brooks Jensen, a Fine Art Photographer, Publisher of LensWork Magazine and an avid Photo-Info-Podcaster, has said in his podcasts, on numerous occasions, that if you are an artist, then put yourself out there! If you produce work and want to be relevant, then you must release it to the world for others to see, (that’s a rough quote of his original, but the meaning is there).

I listen to Brooks a lot.  And, I also take what he says to heart.  He has several years more experience than I do in the world of Art Photography, and I am humble enough to know when to be quiet and listen, and learn.

Therefore, I took Brooks’ advice regarding a project I just recently completed and self-published as a Fine Art Photography eBook.  I produced it more in style as an eFolio, but in the raw sense of the technology, it is nonetheless, an eBook (note:  I use the terms eBook and eFolio interchangeably in this entry, although my project was more in lines with the presentation of an eFolio, but it was published using LULU.Com’s eBook format).

MY PHOTOGRAPHY PUBLICATION

The title of the photography project I just completed is, “SHELLS & SANDSTONE.”  This is a collection of 20 Black & White digital images, and the work contains text about the motivations behind these photographs, as well as a couple of pages about the equipment used to create the images.  In addition, I threw in the Artist’s Statement to tell about this collection of work and how the collection came about and progressed, including the idea-stage, planning the project, and the end results.  My Artist’s Bio comes at the end of the publication, because the key importance of this publication is the work, not my background.  This is how I think.

The “SHELLS & SANDSTONE” publication (eFolio) was the end product of close to one-years work.  Off and on, I worked on the photographs, the planning, the layout, and the editing for this Art eFolio.

Because Art Photographers also have to live, and make a living, I decided to embrace new technology and produce the project as an electronic product for commercial purposes (as well).  I decided on using the Adobe® Digital Editions (ADE) format for delivery and for reading this eBook.

Therefore, when someone purchases my product, they will be prompted to download Adobe® Digital Editions (if they don’t have it), and then the eProduct is downloaded into the ADE Library of “Purchased” works.  ADE, I would say, is very safe for the copyright owner of the work, and it is quite convenient for the purchaser of the product.  I like this technology!

To Recap so far…I mentioned that I had spent a lot of time, nearly one full year, to plan, to photograph, to edit, to work on layout, and to produce the “SHELLS & SANDSTONE” eFolio.

When my project was completed and finally published at LULU.Com for the world to see and purchase, the date was 11 March 2010, and I felt pretty good with the results. 

Thus, that was Part I of the project story:  My efforts in working to get the project done and published.

PART II – TOOT YOUR OWN HORN – SELF ADVERTISING!

Being cognizant that I would need to self-advertise, that was my next challenge.

Letting Yourself be Known is what most experts tell us to do, and this is extremely important for artists nowadays because the world is saturated with art and a sea filled with artists/photographers.

A good basic selling idea, involvement and relevancy, of course, are as important as ever, but in the advertising din of today, unless you make yourself noticed and believed, you ain’t got nothin’. ~ From: Leo Burnett ~

There’s very little instruction on selling ourselves with ease and sincerity. Somehow we think if we personalize our message or get too excited, we are not being professional, when in fact this is exactly what makes us effective self-promoters. ~ From: “Brag! The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It” by Peggy Klaus ~

“Tooting your own horn” is not evil!  In fact, in today’s world an artist/photographer is likely to NEVER, EVER be seen, or noticed to any financially successful extent unless he or she goes about self-promotion.

You don’t have to be an egomaniac to self-promote, but you do need to be diligent and smart…If you want to be noticed, you need to self-promote, this is especially important for anyone swimming in the huge and crowded sea, known as the Arts’ Sector. ~ From:  Me! (aka, Nawfal Nur)

If you’ve done the work, then there is NOTHING wrong with letting people know that you have a product available on such-and-such a topic, for whatchamacallit purposes, and that it may be helpful or just plain aesthetically pleasing to have such a product in their collection/library/possession.

Getting people to listen and to respond to your self-promotion is the challenge!

PART III – THE VACUUM – UNANTICIPATED & UNEXPECTED RESULTS OF SELF-PROMOTION…LIKE VAPOR IN SPACE

The Vacuum – Unanticipated & Unexpected Results of Self-Promotion turn out to be like vapor in space.

If you don’t self-promote, few will know you exist.

If you self-promote, and there’s not one damned response to your self-promotion efforts, then what the hell does that mean?

Is it thus, meaningless dribble?

Are your efforts like lost words sailing forth upon the gusts of high-winds on a churning and bitter sea?  Is your self-promotion thus lost to the depths of hell, burning brightly as fodder for the hellish and embittered souls to trample and mock?

Do people who are family, friends and contacts not even want to spend a few seconds to give you an “Atta Boy!” to recognize your work?

I don’t know…

But here’s what happened.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF…

On 11 March, after publishing my eFolio to LuLu.Com, I then proceeded to promote my project to the world; to let my family, friends, and contacts around the Internet know that I had just completed a Photography Project THAT WAS IMPORTANT TO ME!

That is the damned KEY PHRASE here!  This project meant a lot to me.  Therefore, I just ASSUMED (made an ass of me, I guess), that people on my radar would MAYBE, perhaps, perchance, possibly, want to spend 5-seconds on a note saying:  “Nawfal, Good Job!”

That’s the thing:  I went to the boundaries of my self-promotion know-how (which may not be all that much, but I did what I could), to let people know that my project was finished and published and ready for sale.  However, no one could be bothered.

It is AMAZING to me that on places like FACEBOOK, that a contact or family member can do something STUPID with their Facebook Farm, or kill someone in Mafia Wars or whatever, AND THEY WILL GET SEVERAL COMMENTS OR “LIKES” from other contacts.

I am dumbfounded!  I am at a loss!

Sour Grapes?  Perhaps.

Was I asking for so much?  Did I want everything and the damned kitchen sink too?

NO!

I’m not greedy.  I’m not an egotist.  BUT I WAS NOT EXPECTING A SHUTOUT!  That’s like getting sucker punched.  Not one comment at all…nobody…nada…zilch…

Nobody acknowledged anything!  My words entered the vacuum of space and vaporized.

I have obviously failed Leo Burnett:  I have gone unnoticed and to my dismay, disbelieved!

Well, it wasn’t for the lack of trying, I know that for fact.  I gave my Nawfal Nur Photography blog an entry for my new project release:  It was my March 12, 2010 Blog entry.

I wrote a blog entry at my ‘BEHIND THE LENS’ WordPress blog telling my readers about my new publication.

I have FIVE (5) entries in my news feed at FACEBOOK!!! Not a single mention to any of these entries. BTW:  Only one of the entries was from my “what are you doing” blah, blah, blah space, while the others were feeds from Google, WordPress, Twitter, and BlogSpot.  My blog and twitter feeds come directly into FaceBook – I just set it up that way.

In addition, I believe I may have mentioned the new project release to a few people via., email, and Delicious.com.

What were the results (again) – Not . One . Damned . Response!

I’m really wondering what the hell is wrong with me?

Am I the strange one thinking that friends and family (and even contacts) may have the thought to give a two word reply to my news (i.e., “Good Job!”, or, “Congrats Nawfal!”).  Five words may be asking too much:  “I’ll check it out, Nawfal.”  I’d be fairly insane to believe that I could get seven words:  “Good Job Nawfal!  I’ll check it out!”

PART IV – THE AFTERMATH!

“What such sorrow does to the Artist’s soul…” ~ Me ~
————————-

The energy it takes to get even a little notice of your artwork, today, sometimes reaches a point of confusion, frustration, and struggle, and takes a real toll on your spirit, and a little bit of wind out of your sails.

But never say never, and always keep up your fight to have your work be noticed, even in the face of great adversity and lost battles.

PART V – POSTLOGUE

I’m not in 5th-Grade expecting praise from friends and family.  That’s not my point here.  My post (here) is more self-reflective and philosophical in nature….really.

• I’m wondering what I could have done differently in my self-promotion approach.
• I’m wondering if I have been barking up the wrong trees with my networking and self-promotion energies.
• BEFORE THIS, I thought telling contacts, friends and family was one of the best ways to get the word around that I had just produced a project that is important to me.  After all, if people on Twitter and Facebook can talk about what they are building on their farms, or all the other distractions available on Facebook, then why not offer up your business, personal, and professional achievements to get feedback.
• *** There are three options that I know of at Facebook for your contacts to respond to what you post:  1) Comments; 2) The ‘Like’ Option.  Oh, and 3) There is a “Share” option.  Thus, if someone spends another few seconds, they could spread the word about your work, that is, if it were not too much trouble.
• There are no lack of resources available at Facebook to respond to my five News Feed Entries, about my publication:  It would take someone two seconds to hit the “I Like” button.
• Perhaps I’m expecting too much?
• Would it have helped if I would have changed the focus of my project slightly.  Maybe if I would have focused on “Hot Bikini Babes with Shells & Sandstones”?  Do you think I would have gotten comments, feedback, and ‘Atta-boys’ with that subject?  I’m guessing, yes!  I have plenty of beaches here, maybe that will be the next project then!
• My 17-year old daughter told me that I should stop holding everyone else to my personal standards. She knows me very well: What she means is that, she knows if I notice that a contact, friend or family member has just completed what they considered a major work, that I would spend the time to say “Good Job, Congrats!”, or some such note.  This also refers to my standard of responding within 24-hours to email!  Perhaps I need to listen to my very wise 17-year old:  I’d be so much less stressed out, that is for damned sure!
• One more thing: I’m totally open to the idea that my new publication is no good!  Maybe the sight of it is just so totally repulsive that no one wanted to comment, “Like” or “Share It” with anyone else.  I am so open to that possibility, but I wouldn’t know that because I didn’t hear a word from anyone at the websites where I self-promoted my project.  After all, an artist or photographer MUST have feedback for their work, or how else will they know if they are on the right track, if they are improving, or if they, the creator, is needing to refocus.  Perhaps people don’t realize this?  Could’a be.
• PLEASE NOTE:  My sarcasm, when I’m a wee-little bit pissed off, is very sharp!  I did give fair warning at the beginning not to read this if you wish not to read a rant!

BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT!

Perchance, that nobody at all saw my FIVE listings at Facebook regarding my new publication, nor did they notice the two blog entries at WordPress and BlogSpot, nor did they see my Twitter entry, or the entries at Google Buzz.  And perhaps nobody noticed that a search at GOOGLE using the words, “shells and sandstone”, comes up with my blog listed #3 on the 1st Page.  I can see how easy that would be to miss.

Yes, by chance, no one at all saw any of my efforts to tell the world that I had just completed something that was important to me.  My apologies in advance.  I have been totally off-track in my thinking and simply have persecution mania, for which I will need to sort out.

What was I thinking?  Silly me.

JUST A THOUGHT – A more serious note!

Please, if you peruse the Internet and see art work, or photography work that you like, spend a couple of minutes to let the artist/photographer know that you like their work. IF you think their efforts were worthwhile, or, that their artwork is important, then let them know.  You can choose your own words; however, the important point is just to make the effort.

It is difficult enough to live a creative life, to put your energy in work that you believe in and strives to express to an audience your personal and emotional-filled meaning.  If the artist does not get feedback, the job of being an artist takes on a new level of difficulty, not just doing the work, but living the creative life becomes more difficult and less fulfilling.

It is like the quote at the beginning of this entry:

Hope in a dead man’s dream,
The sound of a bell
that will never ring
You’re just wasting time.

God knows I don’t want to waste time.  Life is too short and time moves silently forward, ready or not.

A FEW SAMPLE PAGES FROM MY PROJECT

If you are interested, the following few photo-samples come from my “SHELLS & SANDSTONE” publication.  Oops!  I guess this is again, another attempt of unashamed self-promotion and I should probably be prepared for no response; however, I said “never say never” so that is what I’m saying now.

If you lasted all the way through this blog entry, and ended up at this point, then I must “Thank You” for your patience and wherewithal to endure my rambling and much heated rant.

“THE END!”

TRAPPED

“Trapped” (© 2010)
A Collaborative Work

Nawfal Nur (Original Eye Photo)

Brittney Hamilton (Dark Artwork on this Photo)
http://luckywolf-13.deviantart.com/

” Being Trapped “
© Nawfal Nur (12 Feb 2010)

“The sound of a heartbeat bounces off four walls,
and silently falls to the ground.
An ear hears no words,
but the torturous ringing of empty-blackness.
The eye sees nothing but a faint distant light, taunting,
but there’s no way out.
A mind void of senses goes slowly mad,
and thoughts bleed from the body and disappear into the growing-blackness.
Being Trapped. “

Well, not the cheeriest of poems I’ve ever written, but fitting…it must fit the subject of the photograph. 

Is my poetry any good?  What a question to ask yourself.  I don’t know if these lines fit any formula of poetry, and I don’t really want to occupy my mind with formulas.

When I ‘visualize’ what “Trapped ” is, these are the thoughts, the visual words I see in my mind’s eye.

I want to thank Brittney for finding my Iritis Eyeball photograph at my blog.  She contacted me and asked if she could do one of her “Dark Art” pieces using my eyeball photograph.  After some emailing, it was agreed upon and she applied her skills, her genre (Dark Art) to my photograph, and the “Trapped” photograph (above) is the result.

I do appreciate that Brittney wrote to me to ask permission to do this collaborative work.  I commend her on that.  The results of this ended up well.

It is a sad note that both of us have had people use our images/artwork without asking permission.  It is difficult to tell if these ‘violators of copyright images‘ know that they are not supposed to use images made by other people.  However, if you see a © symbol, then the work is clearly unusable to anyone but the artist/photographer/author of the work.

However, if an image is in the public domain, or an image has an ‘open’ copyright that allows its use for specific purposes without asking permission, then that’s a different story.  This sort of usage freedom is what the Creative Commons copyright notice is for – to allow some freedom of usage of intellectual works.  BUT, THESE WORKS ARE ALSO CLEARLY MARKED WITH SPECIFIC COPYRIGHT SYMBOLS:

• Attribution (CC-BY)
• Attribution Share Alike (CC-BY-SA)
• Attribution No Derivatives (CC-BY-ND)
• Attribution Non-Commercial (CC-BY-NC)
• Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike (CC-BY-NC-SA)
• Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND)

Go Here to find out more about the CC!However, often times, we artists/we photographers find our work being used without our permission, even though it is copy written, and has the usual © symbol attached to it:  That is not right – it is a violation of our intellectual property and our copyright.

• So, what can you do, what should you do, what realistically can be done?

Pursuing such violations under whatever means available is often fruitless.  I don’t want to sound negative about this, but you must look at the economics of your work and its true market value.

If your original work isn’t valued beyond belief (i.e., Thousands of Dollars), then the legal costs of pursuing copyright violations would be enormous to the point of business breaking for most photographers.

This is not to say don’t pursue violations of your copyright, but in this day-and-age of royalty-free images going for a few cents per download, and a worldwide economy that has taken a major hit, a photographer would have to weigh the common sense and economics of pursuing copyright violations against them.  The easy to get MULTITUDES of digital images off the Internet has devalued the work of everyone out there who depends on sales for their living.

If it makes economic sense in your world, then have at it – go for the legal course of action.

If it is not feasible for you to take legal action, then try to reason with violators.  Perhaps they will remove illegal work if you send them an email notice.  If that doesn’t work, then perhaps a lawyer’s letter will have more bite to it.

To me, this is another form of “Being Trapped” – when there isn’t much you can do about something, even though you wish you could, and you know you are in the right!

You may be trapped between wanting to take some action to correct a wrong and set it right; and, not being able to take action because it would not be economically feasible.

After all, where will you end up if you choose poorly.  You could end up spending (or owing) several 10′s of thousand’s of dollars in legal fees (and how much time wasted) to save your photograph that may only have a shelf life worth $100.00 (maybe more, but probably less if the work was meant for a royalty-free micro-stock site)?

Enough joy about photography copyright violations.

————–

Again…

Please have a look at Brittney’s other work – she is talented.  Just click on her link under her name (above).

EGG BEATER, v.7, EDIT B

EGG BEATER, v.7, EDIT B, originally uploaded by N. Nur.

The Egg Beater of Life!

Probably don’t want to figure that one out…I’m sure it means something.

FLOWER from BELOW, v.2

FLOWER from BELOW, v.2, originally uploaded by N. Nur.

Title: “FLOWER from BELOW, v.2″
Creation Year: 2009

“By cultivating the beautiful we scatter the seeds of heavenly flowers, as by doing good we cultivate those that belong to humanity.”
~ Robert A. Heinlein ~

EGGS, v.1-06

EGGS, v.1-06, originally uploaded by N. Nur.

Title: “EGGS, v.1-06″
Creation Date: 12 Nov 2009
Styles & Methods: Photography, Textures, Still Life, Layers, Art Photography.
Lighting: Natural – Mid Morning.

A Note:
This is a style of Photography that I like to work on…it is mainly a combination of still life photography and working with layers, and then developing the images into an Art Photograph. I work until the image on the screen comes close to matching the image that I had previsualized for the artwork.

At that point, I say, “I am done, I can not micro-tweak, or adjust the image any more, it is how I visualized the finished product.”

At least, that is how I operate.

ROBBER FLY & LUNCH, v4-01

ROBBER FLY & LUNCH, v4-01, originally uploaded by N. Nur.

Just a scene that caught my eye today! And, my camera.

FREEZE

“FREEZE” is a powerful word for a photographer who prefers continuous lighting, and that is something I have discovered over the last few days on assignments.

Why?

Well, because, depending on the Watt-Power you have at your fingertips, your shutter speeds may be a ‘bit’ slower. This means, possible subject movement.

However, when ‘helpful subjects’ are working with you, and most are, they will freeze in place for you to get your shots. Just make sure to give your subjects notice when they should ‘freeze’, and also, don’t make them ‘freeze’ until you are ready to shoot.

More Later! Have a good one!

#23, v5, Flowers & Smoke

#23, v5, Flowers & Smoke, originally uploaded by Fine-Grain.

Mix it UP a Bit!