Joe Baraban’s Digital Photography Blog

It was my vision not my camera that took this photo

To my fellow photographers that follow my blog, either those that have taken my online class with the BPSOP, or have taken one of my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the world, or those that have just found me in one way or another I have a thought for you.

I have had discussions with photographers that say, “Technology is the facilitator of vision”.  First of all, here is the actual definition:

fa·cil·i·ta·tor| fəˈsiləˌtādər | nouna

person or thing that makes an action or process easy or easier: a true educator acts as a facilitator of learning | a program run by trained facilitators.

In other words, all the new equipment that’s coming out will make you take better pictures. Ok, here’s the definition of vision:

vi·sion| ˈviZHən | noun 1

the faculty or state of being able to see:

She had defective vision. • the images seen on a television screen: the box converts the digital signal into sound and vision on an ordinary TV.

2 the ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom: the organization had lost its vision and direction. • a mental image of what the future will or could be like: a vision of retirement.

3 an experience of seeing someone or something in a dream or trance, or as a supernatural apparition: the idea came to him in a vision. • (often visions) a vivid mental image, especially a fanciful one of the future: he had visions of becoming the Elton John of his time.

4 a person or sight of unusual beauty: madame was a vision in black velvet. 

If we just concentrate on the first definition, the state of being able to see, How in the world does technology have anything to do with it?

For me, before I raise my (whatever camera technology affords me) camera up to my eye, I have to see what it is I want to shoot. The old expression, “It’s not the camera, it’s the ten inches behind it that count” couldn’t be more true.

I quickly pre-visualize the composition I want then I raise my camera to take the shot.

I guess I’m just too old and gray, but I’ve seen some of these new cameras where you almost have to have a left-brain degree to understand what all the programs and buttons mean.

So, my fellow photographers that have these awesome mirrorless cameras, more power to you and I’m sort of jealous of what they can do.

For example, I was shooting sports for AP, a very long time and standing on the sidelines of an NFL game, and had a 200mm lens on that I had to focus myself. Try getting a running back that’s coming right at you sharp when you’re on manual and focussing the camera all by your lonesome. Now all these Sports Illustrated photographers just have to aim their camera and they get perfect pictures.

I also had to walk five miles to the game in a snowstorm!!!! Oh well, it is what it is.

Visit my website at www.joebaraban.com , and follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/barabanjoe/

JoeB

One shot is all I got.

First of all, the expression “Don’t give it a second thought” is an idiom. So, to begin with, let me explain what an idiom is:

Essential Meaning of idiom

Enjoying the view of the Old town Square with a glass of wine.

I teach three online classes with the BPSOP, and I conduct my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshop around the planet. Before the start of my Springtime workshop in Prague, I had arrived there a few days early to scout all the locations with Katka, the woman that was coordinating/producing everything for me. I always do this so I can put my fellow photographers at the right spot for the early and then late light.

One afternoon she took me to a wonderful restaurant in Old Town Square. We sat on the roof and enjoyed appetizers with a glass of white wine. Looking down I asked Katka what the big crowd was doing at the base of the tall Old Town City Hall that seemed to be in the center of the square.

Katka told me that they were standing at the base where the astronomical clock was located waiting for the top of the hour. On the hour, a show of figures of the Apostles and other moving sculptures—notably a figure of Death (represented by a skeleton) is set in motion. They all come out and the skeleton strikes the bell. Immediately, all other figures shake their heads, side to side, signifying their un-readiness “to go.”.

As it turned out, we were through just in time to go down and watch the action unfold up close and personal. I was standing there looking up as the skeleton began his thing, and when I looked behind me, the place was packed with people taking pictures of the figures above me. It really struck me funny and it sort of felt like they were all taking my picture. Of course I yelled out…”My people, my people” since I always wanted to do that and there was never going to be a better opportunity.

My people!

🙂

For one brief shining moment…I was a Photo God!!!

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and follow me on Instagram. www.instagram.com/barabanjoe. Check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog.

JoeB

Making a statement using Line.

I teach my fellow photographers how to incorporate the elements of visual design and composition into their imagery. In my online class with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet, My goal is to provide my students with an ‘Artist Palette’. On that palette are all the elements we work on during the class, and the most important of all the elements is Line. Without Line, none of the other elements would exist. Vanishing Points, texture, patterns, and shapes are all made up of Line. Planes, trains, automobiles, even you and I wouldn’t be around if it wasn’t for Line; we all have an outLINE.

Creating memorable photos, as you probably know, is not an easy task. Keeping the viewer around as long as possible is a very important ingredient in doing just that. Unless you’re shooting strictly for yourself, the idea is to take control of how the viewer perceives and processes our images. Making him an active participant is the best way I know of to achieve this lofty goal.

One of the best ways is to use Line to move the viewer around your composition. Leading him in and out of the frame using lines to do so will keep him interested. Another way to use Line effectively is to arrange the lines to leave an impression or make a statement that communicates a visual idea.

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Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and follow me on www.instagram.com/barabanjoe. Check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB

The Rule of Thirds? I guess I just plain forgot!!

At the beginning Friday of my four-week class I teach online with the

BPSOP, and the first day of my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshop I conduct around the plane, I introduce what I call my “Personal Pearls of Wisdoms”.

These are sayings I’ve created during my fifty-three-year career as a corporate and advertising photographer, and my thirty-plus years teaching and giving seminars at photo events.  In my ever expanding list of these ‘Pearls’,  none will ever match up to one of my all-time favorites:

“GOOD PHOTOGRAPHERS FOLLOW THE RULES, GREAT PHOTOGRAPHERS BREAK THE RULES”.

I wrote this a very long time ago, and it has been my mantra ever since. I’ve been living by this creed  (if you will) for as long as I’ve been taking pictures, the latest count is forty-eight years going on forty-nine.

I had a student tell me that the president of her camera club once told her to never shoot into the sun. I love shooting into the sun!

Others have been scolded by senior members of camera clubs for not following the Rule of Thirds (see the above photo). Whatever you do, don’t follow people because your friends told you to or the guy behind the counter at your local camera store said so, or those newly appointed officers at your camera club…they are usually the worst!!!

Ansel Adams once said, “There are no rules for good pictures, just good pictures”.

BTW, I was rummaging through the stuff at the back of an old antique store when I found this amazing quote written on a plain piece of wood…which I now have on the wall in my studio. It says, “Color outside the lines”.

So, I ask you; where do YOU want to fit into the ‘cosmic photographic scheme of things?

Stay tuned for more discussions on forgettable rules!!

Visit my website at www.joebaraban.com, and www.instagram.com/barabanjoe. Check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB

300mm @ F/2.8

How many of my fellow photographers that have taken my online class with the BPSOP, or been with me in one of my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet can afford to go photograph wild animals? Probably not that many, and fewer still can get away for that long.

For the ones that can, and I’ve know several friends that have gone to Africa on a Photo Safari, it’s not guaranteed that you’ll even come back with pictures that were worth the cost. You’re in a special truck with lots of other people shooting, and the time of day is not usually the most advantageous for quality light or seeing animals moving around in their natural habitat. I’ve been told that when they went out a lot of the animals were sleeping in the shade of a very hot sun.

Well, here’s a good idea that will dazzle your friends and at the same time give you an idea of what it would be like to photograph exotic animals… go to your closest zoo!!!

Yes, I know it sounds dorky, dumb, and a host of similar adjectives too numerous to count, but I can tell you from experience that it can be a lot of fun. One gray day I was kind of bored, so I picked up my camera, my tripod, and my longest lens and headed to the Houston Zoo. I had no idea if it was going to work out or what I would come back with, but before long I was having a great time; I was in Africa. The key for me was to make sure the animals looked like they could have been free and wandering all around me, which meant to not show much of the environment…as in cages or walls with moats around them.

No cages or walls.

With my 300mm lens always set on F/2.8, I could knock everything out of focus except for my subject. I wandered around the zoo several times hunting animals. Since I had gone on a weekday morning, I felt as though I was wandering around in the jungle all alone, and it was great. It felt as if the animals sense this and acted as if they were also alone in the jungle. It was a great experience, and one I plan on repeating; now that I know what to expect.

You should give it a try sometime. Your friends just might start calling you Bwana!!

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and www.instagram.com/barabanjoe Be sure to check out my 2015 workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB

I saw the light and the welder first, then moved the bankers into it.

One of my favorite quotes is actually the title to a famous country and western song entitled, “I saw the light”, sung by one of the true country legends, Hank Williams.  Not that I’m a die hard lover of country music or a religious person, but years ago whenever I was shooting on location, chasing and finding the light, I would sing a couple of verses to sort of celebrate my good fortune and timing.:

I saw the light, I saw the light
No more darkness, no more night
Now I’m so happy, no sorrow in sight
Praise the Lord, I saw the light.

If you’re interested, here’s Hank singing it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtolv9kM1qk

Btw, my crew thought it was REALLY getting old!!!

The analogy I’m drawing is what I teach in my online class with the BPSOP, or in one of my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet.  I tell my fellow photographers that light is everything; you find the light and you’ll find the shot. The only exception is in photojournalism/street photography where capturing the moment/action can transcend great light and therefore be more important…every once in a while you can get both!

I’m always looking all around my environment and peripheral vision for that moment when I see the light hitting or falling on something. Light is so fleeting that once you see it, you have to act fast or you’ll lose it. Sometimes the light returns, as in a cloud moving across the sky, but I’ve found after forty-eight years of shooting that once it’s gone…baby it’s gone!!! Light will make the difference between going home empty handed or being less satisfied because of a gray day when you could have slept in.

When you do see it, while running towards it, you should also be thinking about how you’re going to use it. Sometimes there’s a subject or center of interest already in the light, and sometimes I look around for something to move into the light. The faster you can determine that the better your chances are of capturing it.

Are you going to side light, back light, front light? These questions need to be addressed and put in order of importance. In other words, try to light your subject from as many points of view as you can. I always try to start out backlighting or from the light in the ten or two position. Then I’ll look at my subject as it’s side lit. Finally and rarely will I front light anything…why?

Because when you front light, your subject will lose the third dimension, depth. The one exception is when the background behind your subject is dark, making it stand out.

Here’s what I saw when I see the light:

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Imagine me singing away when I’m seeing the light!!!

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and www.instagram.com/barabanjoe Check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me and we’ll sing in two-part harmony.

JoeB

I love Zydeco!!!

How many of you have ever written a letter, poem, story, e-mail, or perhaps an epic novel? If you did you proofread it before you hit send, submitted it to a magazine, or your literary agent. It would make perfect sense, right? After all, it’s all part of looking good and proving to others that you’re halfway literate.

Well, would it not hold true for taking pictures? Wouldn’t you want to make sure that proverbial tree or lamppost wasn’t growing out of your girlfriend or mother-in-law’s ( maybe you would in that situation) head, or including the rest of someone’s hand or foot? Truth be told, most people don’t think about it right before they snap the shutter; they’re always in a hurry. Sadly to say, those people rarely proofread so it’s probably no surprise there.

In my online class with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshop I conduct around the planet, I tell my fellow photographers to always adhere to my three checks. First, the four-corner check. I take a quick gander at each of my four corners. If for no other reason, to make sure I had the right lens shade on for unwanted vignetting, or if my filter was the cause of the same problem.

Next, I always do my Border Patrol, which entails running my eye around all four edges of my frame to make sure what I wanted in my composition was in my composition, and what I didn’t want in my frame wasn’t. This includes making sure all of my subject’s fingers and toes were included.

Last,  I do my “Fifteen Point Protection Plan”. To make sure among other things, that there’s enough negative space defining the positive space, and making sure there’s a balance between those two thoughts….as well as the things I would see in my four-corner and border patrol.

Redundant, you say? Yes, and redundancy is a good thing…at least in creating strong, and memorably photos it is. The key to this is remembering to always do it, as I have for the past forty-four years. The more you do it the faster you’ll get at it, until it becomes second nature and can be accomplished in mere seconds.

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and www.instagram.com/barabanjoe   Check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog.

JoeB

My 40th birthday party invitation.

It’s been more years than I’d like to remember, but when I do think about it I always give out a big smile since it was one of the best parties I’ve ever thrown, and I’ve thrown some damn good parties. It was for my 40th birthday, and I wanted it to be memorable so I rented out Rockefellers in Houston. It was a great place to go to hear well-known bands and solo singers that wanted to play in a smaller venue.

Renting Rockefellers for the night was expensive, so I struck a deal with the owners. I offered to shoot some pictures for them and I also explained what I was going to do for the invitation. They loved the idea so much that they wanted to create a poster and use my 53′ Caddy for their own advertising. Needless to say, I had no problem with that, especially since they were going to give me the entire place for a third of what they would normally charge for a Saturday night.

My idea was to take my 1953 black Cadillac convertible and park it in front of the building. The final invitation was a poster I sent out to all my friends working at the advertising and modeling agencies, and design studios. Well, when I did a tech scout and placed my car in front it was boring, and just wasn’t working. My next idea was to park it perpendicular to the building, but to do that would take hiring two cops to stop traffic while we shot. With a four hour minimum for each looking at me, I just couldn’t see putting good money out that should go to the bar!!!

I decided on a “gorilla shoot” (I’ve always been of the notion that it’s better to beg for forgiveness than to ask permission). That’s when you go on a Sunday night when the traffic is the lightest and just go for it. First, we put lights in all the windows of the building and I had two assistants with a walki-talki so that when I had my car in position, I would have them fire the strobes while the shutter was open and I was recording the building on the outside and mixing it with the ambient light in the dusk sky. That was the easy part.

The hard part was next. As fast as I could (since I didn’t have any police for traffic control), I turned my car around in the middle of the street so the building would be right behind it.  I jumped out, set up my tripod and started shooting. After checking a quick Polaroid, I was able to get off three exposures before the police showed up with red lights flashing.

The young cop was reasonably nice when he walked over to me and said, “Just what the hell are you doing? Are you nuts blocking this major street?” I explained what I was doing and he again said, “Well, you’re done doing it, now get this damn car out of the street. I’m writing you a ticket, but I have no idea what to put down”. I knew that was my moment. I told him that if he wouldn’t write me up, I’d like to invite him to the party, and by the way, I’m sending an open invitation to all the modeling agencies in town.

“Really?” he said with bulging eyes. “models?”  I said yes and that all the best looking women in Houston will be there. “Ok, I’ll be there. Can I bring a friend?”. I told him yes, and with that, he started directing traffic so I could get my car out of the middle of the street.

In case you’re wondering, he and a friend did show up, and from what I remember they both left with new friends.

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com and www.instagram.com/barabanjoe. Check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog.

JoeB

I’m the one wearing black and lying down in the middle.

In my online classes I teach with the BPSOP, I teach my fellow photographers how to incorporate the Elements of Visual Design into their photography. I also conduct my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops with the same idea in mind. The first workshops I ever taught (1983) was at the Maine Media Workshops in Rockport, Maine.

In those days my workshop was called, The Poetry of Light, and while I covered the design elements, the main focus was on the Light. To this day I tell people that light is everything, except when street shooting where capturing the moment might supersede great light.

As I look back at the thirty-six years I’ve been teaching there, one week in particular comes to mind. From the first early morning shoot to the last sunset shoot of the week, we had overcast skies. The mornings were shrouded in fog, and when it finally lifted one could look up and enjoy a weeks worth of gray skies.

I was desperate to find some subject matter for my group; even if it was to be without any light. I had remembered that Andrew Wyeth had summered nearby and painted his famous “Christina’s World”, so I obtained permission to take the class there to have some fun, and after three days of overcast skies, the class was actually smiling…albeit just a little.

Christina’s World by Andrew Wyeth.

The class and I decided to re-create the painting and I was elected (unanimously) to portray Anna Christina Olsen. We were then allowed to shoot inside the house, which was great since the light coming in from all the windows made for a great day of shooting. In those days, there was no limit as to the number of people that were in a class, and there were a lot of faces to create smiles on. Now the classes are smaller and a lot more intimate.

Btw, at the end of the week the class surprised me with a gift…a T-shirt that said, The Poetry of Fog with Joe Baraban.

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barabanjoe/

JoeB

Shadows that are the center of interest and provide visual direction.

In the past year, I’ve written a couple of posts on the importance of using shadows to create drama in our imagery, and as a result, leave the viewer with a memorable experience.

In my online class with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching Your Frame of mind” workshops I conduct around the planet, I’m always stressing the use of shadows in their photos. Shadows are our best friend, and the sooner my fellow photographers embrace them the sooner their photos will go what I always refer to as “up a notch”. I’ll occasionally be writing some additional posts about the use of different kinds of shadows, starting with this one.

This first post has to do with the type of shadow that’s the center of interest and it can often tell a story on its own. In the above photo, the shadows are from a group of photographers that were taking my “Springtime in Prague” workshop. We were down next to the Charles River at sunset and there were several young kids that were climbing up the wall of rocks. As I walked up to them, I immediately noticed their shadows on the ground and the fact that they led my eye to the kid climbing on the wall.

To me, the story is obvious as it clearly shows the shadows as the center of interest, and leads the viewer to the person.

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com and follow me on Instagram: www. Instagram/barabanjoe.com  check my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot some shadows with me sometime.

JoeB

Ok, you’re asking yourself what Kenny Rodgers (a well-known CW singer from the past) might have said that has stuck with me and became a euphemism that applies to my Photography. In the song “The Gambler”, Kenny Rodgers sang these lyrics:

You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold them, know when to walk away, know when to run. I’ve always loved those words, and I’ve actually found myself singing them (discretely) when out shooting. Ok, let me finally explain:

In my online class with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet, I’m constantly asked when do I walk away from taking a photo? How do I know when it’s not working the way I thought it would? Do I just take the photo anyway and try to fix it later? This last question really gets me!!!!

Here’s what I have to say on this subject:

For me, it doesn’t take very long for me to fold em. For one thing I “Pre-visualize”  Over the years I’ve managed to create an imaginary 2X3 rectangle right behind my eyes. When I’m either walking the streets or setting up an actual photo. I look through this rectangle and try to visualize the composition before I ever bring the camera up to my eye. It’s an easy exercise and one all my fellow photographers should at least try.

This exercise will eliminate a lot of time and energy I go through in composing a photo. To add to this exercise is a critical step in my thought process. Determining the direction of the light. If the light isn’t right, I’ll walk away sooner. If I can’t get the light to work for me, I’ll run away.

So now, the light is right and I’ve brought the camera up (horizontally) to my eyes. I look for the balance between the Negative and Positive space and if it isn’t feeling right within a few seconds I’ll try it as a vertical. I’ll look around for props or people I can add. I’m not the type of photographer that won’t change or move something to create a better photo. I’m out “making pictures”, not taking them. Finally, I’ll also ask someone if he or she would be in my photo.

If none of this works, I won’t spend any more time on it…why? Because as I’m always telling those students that stay with it too long, “The best photo you’ve ever taken may well be your next one, and that could be right around the corner”.

Don’t feel like you have to stay with it and take something as so many photographers do…just to be taking a picture. And don’t think about fixing it later in front of a computer. That’s not going to make you a stronger photographer. However, it will make you a better computer artist…if that’s your cup of tea.

In the above photo, I was just about ready to fold em. It just wasn’t doing anything for me. Then I saw the boy and his mom walking down the pier. I asked if I could put him in my photo. Then, I knew to hold em.

Btw, if you’ve never heard this song, here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDwCMxPwJ_4

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com and follow me on Instagram: www.instagram.com/barabanjoe. Check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog.

JoeB

As I tell my online students with the BPSOP and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet, there was actually a time when you had to create your pictures in the camera. During that period of time which goes back before most of the new age digital photographers were crawling around looking for our pacifier, Kodachrome was the film of choice. I shot Kodachrome 25, and when I needed high-speed film I switched to Kodachrome 64. Not only was the word Adobe linked to a type of house in the Southwest, but you had to wait until your film came back from the lab before you could breathe again.

What that did for photographers like myself was to make us rely solely on our own wits and knowledge of the camera. We had to know that 1/250th of a second at F/4 was the same exposure as 1/125th of a second at F/5.6, and 1/60th of a second at F/8. We also had to know that the depth of field would change according to the aperture.

Don’t get me wrong, I love CS5, and especially the content-aware tool!!! Now, if I can’t move to the right or the left to remove a telephone pole growing out of someone’s head, I use that tool as part of my thought process; however, I would rather embrace the challenge of creating my photographs in the camera. For me, the reward is knowing that I’m a good photographer that can solve problems and not a computer artist or digital technician that relies on a machine to fix something I could have taken care of at the point of conception…that is at the point that my camera and I created/made a picture together.

🙂

The three pictures above were a part of a campaign for Microsoft. The campaign was about being the best you can, and excelling in whatever endeavor you choose. The art director wanted something in the field of sports to make their point so I made a list I thought would make the best visuals. I had diving in the back of my mind and had already started to pre-visualize how the photos would look. The agency and client liked my idea so we started scouting locations where there was an Olympic pool. The direction of the light was critical to my idea so after looking at several pools across the country, I decided on the pool in Pasadena, California; just down the street where the Rose Bowl is played.

Ok, I had the right pool, so now it was time to secure some divers. As usual, when I’m shooting sports of any kind I want the best people out there. The visual part of the sport is important, as in the form, so I want the people that can do just that. I had my producer talk to the swimming clubs and organizations to get a list of names. We were in luck!!! There were several young women that were trying out for the US Olympic team that lived in the area. I thought you couldn’t do better than that since their form would be perfect. We paid three young teenage girls to come dive for me at sunset. I used three because one would get too tired climbing up to the top platform. I had each one doing their best dive for me one right after the other for the few minutes of time I had to be in the best light.

The swan dive was the easiest since I shot her with just the available light against a blue sky. With the other two, I waited until the sun went down behind a large hill so all I had was the sky behind them. I lit these with a small softbox I had set up on the top platform next to me. I waited until the sky behind the girls read the same as the light from the electronic flash and used what was called a synch delay so the flash would go off at the end of the exposure instead of the beginning. This created a slight movement.

I edited the selects down to these three and sent them to the art director to pick one for the ad. They wound up using the shot with the girl in a swan dive and as I said, there’s absolutely no post-processing of any kind in either of these three photos.

Visit my website at www.joebaraban.com, and follow me on Instagram: www.instagram.com/barabanjoe

JoeB