Joe Baraban’s Digital Photography Blog

It took the ten inches behind the camera to think of it, then lots of work to make it happen.

: The 10 Inches Behind The Camera

Definition of non sequitur 

1 : an inference (see inference sense 2) that does not follow from the premises (see premise entry 1 sense 1) specifically : a fallacy resulting from a simple conversion of a universal affirmative (see affirmative entry 1 sense 3) proposition or from the transposition of a condition and its consequent (see consequent entry 1 sense 1)

2. a statement (such as a response) that does not follow logically from or is not clearly related to anything previously said.

The online students I teach with the BPSOP, and the ones that attend the “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet, are always asking me what camera they should get that will take better photos than the one they have. I also hear people saying that some lens take better pictures than others.

That’s like saying that because you have a great typewriter you must be a great writer.

WHAT???

Since I shoot with Canon, here’s what I tell them: If you go out and buy a new Canon 5D Mark II from B/H photo (what I shoot with and where I buy them), it’s not going to make you a better photographer. What it will do is make you the very proud owner of a Canon 5D Mark II. Camera stores are filled with top of the line cameras, because the people that buy them find out that it takes more than a great camera to take good photographs.

It’s a labor of love that takes:

• Work
• Diligence
• Work
• Perseverance
• Did I mention work?
• Tenacity
• Patience
• And above all…Work

The most important part of your camera is the ten inches behind it.  Ernst Haas, one of my all time favorite photographers whose work hangs in my house said , “The camera doesn’t make a bit of difference. All of them can record what you’re seeing…but, you have to see.”

As for lenses and zoom lenses, Haas also said, “The most important zoom lens you have are your legs”.

JoeB

Writing these brings back fond memories to when I was working full time as an advertising, corporate, and editorial photographer. After fifty years, I’m now semi-retired teaching classes with the BPSOP, and conducting my workshops all over the planet.

Some of the stories were funny then and still funny, and some were not so funny then but funny now. This is one that was more of a pain in the butt, than not so funny; but really funny now!

I was shooting a series of ads for the Renaissance Hotel chain, and the one pictured above we shot in Houston. The client was from England, and I had worked for here a couple of years back; I knew she could be a major pain.

Before she came over she instructed my studio manager to order her a case of some special mineral water that was only available where she lived in London; and it was all she would drink. She was adamant that it be there before she arrived, and couldn’t care less on how much it would cost. She said to bill it to the job!!

Well, as was our custom to make all our cliens happy, we  ordered it and had Federal Express send it to the studio. It was expensive water to begin with, but figuring in all the costs each (small) bottle was about five dollars…back in the eighties!!!

This woman was in Houston for several days, and in that time she drank only one bottle (out of the case) of her precious water; leaving it for us. She was such a pain in the butt that we weren’t interested in drinking the water so what did we do?

I gave it to my dog to drink!!!

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB

A little dab will do ya.

I get the ideas for my posts in the strangest/weirdest places. In this case, you have to be my age to remember this commercial It has always reminded me of the way I go after light:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxBNW5XJI1o

I love the light, plain and simple, and I’m a firm believer in one of my favorite phrases, “You find the light and you’ll find the shot”. I’ve been following this self-appointed rule for as long as I can remember and it has served me well.

One of my favorite ways to shoot is to find a little dab of sunlight somewhere, usually hidden between larger areas of shadow and or color, and place or see an object or subject in it. When I expose for only the area in light, I can make the shadow area ever more dramatic and interesting…and colorful.

In my online class with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet, I’m always telling my fellow photographers that one of the best ways to take their photography what I refer to as “up a notch”, is to “see past first impressions”. I usually follow this with a quote by Henry David Thoreau who once said, “It’s not what you look at, it’s what you see”.

What I mean in this context is when you find yourself at some location, look for areas that have a small amount of light hitting somewhere. This is easier to find when the light is dappled, but harder to find when the majority of the scene is in shadow. When you see it, think of ways to utilize it. I can promise you there’s a chance to walk away with one of those illusive “Keepers” we all strive for but sometimes have a hard time creating.

There are people out there that think this is not a good idea and will tell you that you need more light to take good photos. All I can tell you is to run away as fast as you can because they will only beat you up with bad advice and drag you down to their level…Don’t follow the road well traveled, follow your own road and have people follow you.

In the above photo taken during my Springtime in Berlin workshop, I was walking down the street and saw a crowd of people standing in line. I’m always attracted to this because of the possibility that something going on.

What the people were doing is waiting for this restaurant to open, so I walked up to the front to see what it looked like. I’m really curious about everything, especially when I have a camera in my hand…which is most of the time.

There, right in front of my eyes was this chair being lit by the sun coming through a small hole in the red fabric. Needless to say, I was all over it like a tight fitting Lassie costume.!!!

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and check out my 2019 workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come look for the light with me sometime.

JoeB

I knew my subject, did you?

So I was reading the other day and came upon this proverb that I’m pretty sure a lot of people out there has heard…”Know thyself”.

As is usually the case, I get my ideas for all these posts I write from all kinds of sources and from these sources, mixed with personal experiences, I wind up with what you’re reading now.

That said, within a couple of days of reading the proverb, I had a student taking my online class with the BPSOP submit a photo for my daily video critiques.

This person had submitted a portrait (for one of my assignments) of a woman sitting on a large rock, and right next to her on the exact same plane was another rock…the same size as her subject was.

This immediately brought to mind the proverb I had read, only it wasn’t about “knowing thyself” but knowing thy subject.

In the photo, the photographer had positioned the large rock right next to the woman whose portrait she was taking.  The problem was that to the viewer there might have actually been two subjects: the woman and the rock.

It’s important to keep things as easy to understand as humanly possible, and that means making sure the viewer understands your thought process.

Both in my online classes and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around our planet, I will often refer to the basic elements in the psychology of Gestalt, and how they apply to photography.

I write:

“The methods we use to gain attention to our photography will vary, but what’s important is how we manage what the viewer perceives and processes when looking at the visual information we lay out to him in the form of a photograph.

Humans rely on perception of the environment that surrounds them. Visual input is a part of our everyday life, and as photographers it’s our prime objective to present this visual information in a way that takes control of what the viewer sees when looking at our imagery.”

If I’m photographing something or someone, I want to make sure that it’s the main subject and for the viewer to not to be confused with a potential second subject; that will compete or distract from what I’m really trying to say.

I will use other means to help me establish the main subject, and that is everything else that’s important in the environment…including other centers of interest.

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and check out my upcoming workshops. Come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB

I already had my exposure set.

Since I’m a reader and always looking at stuff on the internet, I’m invariably finding quotes that were said by all types of artists from photographers to musicians to painters, to writers. I use the ones that fit into the way I approach teaching to those that take my online class with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around our planet.

I recently found one first through a friend, then checked the author out. His name was Seneca, and he was a Roman statesman, philosopher, dramatist and satirist, who died in AD65.

A tutor and later advisor to Nero, he was accused of being complicit in the attempted assassination and forced to commit suicide; I read that he was probably innocent.

Seneca once said, ” Luck is when preparation meets opportunity”. I can’t tell you how much that hits home with me and the way I’ve been doing things for most of my fifty year career as a professional photographer.

I realize that for most of my fellow photographers time is not their friend. In other words they have jobs and families and can’t always devote as much to the process of taking pictures; fortunately, I can…I’m semi-retired and my kids are grown and gone!!!!

Here’s the best case scenario to comprehend just what this quote is all about…just in case you want to find some additional time to go after that illusive “keeper”.

Instead of just deciding to go to a location based on friendly advice or perhaps something you might have seen or read about, do some preliminary preparation.

Preparation done ahead of time.

In other words go to the location ahead of time to see what’s it all about, instead of just showing up only to find that it’s closed on Mondays, or for remodling, or it doesn’t open until nine…and you’re there at seven. If you’re one of those that love the early and late light, find out if sunrise or sunset is a better choice.

That said, there is another way to be prepared in case the best photo you might ever take is right in front of you (or will be momentarily) and this one might be a little easier for you.

I’ve had dozens of my fellow photographers ask me how I can capture some of my photos that are exposed perfectly, especially since I take most of my pictures in the camera with little or no post processing.

I tell them that when I’m just walking down the street with a camera over my shoulder I always take a few generic photos just to get the exposure down.

I’ll take several different exposures, usually based on a fast shutter speed and pick the right combination of shadows and highlights. This is when the action is happening to fast to let the camera decide what the best exposure is going to be. Now I’m prepared if the opportunity reveals itself….and I get lucky!!!

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and check out my 2019 workshop schedule at the top of this post. Come get lucky with me sometime.

JoeB

Have you ever arrived at your vacation destination (after planning and looking forward to it for a year), and you were possibly overwhelmed because you didn’t know where, what, and when to shoot. It can be difficult, ever for some professionals. Here’s what to do to simplify your “once in a lifetime vacation” and make it a memorable experience.

In the old days, the days before the internet, we would call or write (depending on the time we had) the Tourism Department of every country, state, and city I was going to be in and would ask for information as to what to see; we would also contact the Film Commission for similar information.

Now, with the inception of the internet, it has become so easy to obtain the same results. These sites are meant to attract photographers to come photograph their city, state, or country. To them it’s free publicity, and photographs are a quick way to spread the word around.

I know what you’re thinking, why go to the places that all the tourists go to and photograph the same things? For me, the reason is simple. Tourists will go to these places after breakfast when the quality light is gone. Or, they’ll go right before or right after lunch, when the light is the hottest. They will usually be through well before dinner so they don’t have to worry about it while sipping their glass of wine.

I go out well before breakfast (sunrise) when the light is the best. Then I have breakfast. Since I’ve been up a the proverbial “crack of dawn”, I’ll go back to my room and rest up (if I can). During the lunch hour, I’m sitting at an outdoor cafe, eating the local fare while sipping a glass of wine figuring out what I want to shoot at sunset during the golden then blue hour. Then I go to dinner and enjoy my dinner while thinking back to what I’ve shot that day.

These are the photographs that I’m looking to have prints made with. These are the important photos because I’ve spent the most time in the pre-planning stage and are taken in the best light.

The above photo represents a lot of time surfing the web looking for places to shoot in Provence in the Fall.

These are areas I cover with my online class with the BPSOP, and locations I’ve scouted out for my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet.

Check out my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and my 2019 workshop schedule you’ll find t the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB

When I talk to my students in my online class with the BPSOP and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet, I’m reminded as to how short a time they’ve been photographers; certainly not all, but quite a few.

Most of these people have jobs and can’t devote as much time as they would like. However, there are those that do have the time but find themselves procrastinating when it comes to going out and taking pictures…making art; I have been guilty at times myself.

That said, I’ve been extremely fortunate as to have had photography my career as well as my passion going on fifty years; traveling on assignments two hundred and fifty days out of the year before retiring.

Even after all these years, I still get all warm and fuzzy when I have taken a photo that I knew even before clicking the shutter that I had one of those illusive ‘Keepers’.

The analogy I can draw is through the game of golf. I’m not very good and I never know who’s going to address the ball on the tee. The Tiger Woods that can hit the ball three hundred yards straight down the middle, or the duffer that hits the ball to the ladies tee; I’ve done both.

My point here is that if I can hit the ball once in a blue moon like Tiger, it’s what keeps me going even after hitting fifty in a row into the woods, people’s back yard…or lake!!

Taking a great shot, an illusive keeper, every once in a while is what I live to shoot for. For me, it’s the elixir that keeps me going; it keeps me living for the next one. It keeps me setting the alarm clock to be somewhere at least an hour before the sun comes up…whether I get something or not really doesn’t matter; perhaps it’s just the thrill of the hunt.

So, my fellow photographers, I’m here to help motivate you to go out whenever you can and enjoy the gift you have given yourself. Remember that a camera on a tripod is just like a blank canvas on an easle.

You and I are artists who have chosen a different medium other that a paintbrush. Go out and paint and if you’re lucky you can come home with a work of art, if not, then maybe next time.

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com and check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come paint with me sometime.

JoeB

Losing sight of the shore.

Andre Gide was a French writer, and humanist who received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1947. I was recently reading an article on him and one of his quotes really hit home with me and the way I approach teaching both online with the BPSOP, and in my personal workshops I conduct around the planet.

Specifically, a conversation or conversations I recently had with two of my students (over a period of four weeks) who both live and die by whatever the ‘powers that be’ say at their camera club meetings and competitions; after all, who knows better than the newly elected officers? Am I right?

Btw, if I had to pick one subject that I talk about the most is the question whether camera clubs, online information, or just friends tell you what to do and what not to do. I certainly don’t think what I profess is the Gospel according to Joe, but I will tell you that most of the material you read on the information highway is just not in your best interest; sometimes you just have to follow the roads less traveled.

This is where the quote comes in. Gide once said, “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”

To me, taking chances and making mistakes in the process is the best way to take your photography what I commonly refer to as “up a notch”. I’m not implying that you should quit going to your local camera club meetings. After all, it’s a great place to eat free cookies,  nibble on celery and carrot sticks, drink Perrier sparkling water, or perhaps diet coke is your thing.

I’m not profiling here because I have seen it up close and personal. I have been asked to judge several local camera club annual competitions and I always had a hard time being asked to judge the title of the photograph and even how it was matted in my final decisions whether to  accept a piece into the show or worse…to give it a blue ribbon; I finally started turning down the honor.

The last camera club’s annual show I judged, I had set out a stack of self addressed post cards for people to take that talked about my online class and my workshops. Out of the entire club of a hundred plus people, only one woman picked one up.

I found out that she was the one that had placed first in three categories and second in the third. After seeing my presenation she decided that she wanted to learn more about seeing differently and growing more as a photographer.

If you feel that you’re not going anywhere as far as your photography is concerned, then maybe it’s time to discover new oceans; I like to call it “coloring outsides the lines”. If it means going out shooting by yourself, then just do it! One thing will be certain, you’ll be looking ahead and not behind you…where everyone else will be.

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB

Thanks for the great image Nick.

I recently returned from my amazing workshop in San Miguel, and it was everything I had read about.  I had seen beautiful images shot by other photographers that had been there before me, but it’s just not the same as seeing it with your own eyes.

Sponsored by The Santa Fe Workshops it was, as usual, professionally run and no attention to detail was spared.

Besides San Miguel, I have also participated in four workshops in Cuba with Santa Fe, and I always look forward to fully committing myself to working with my fellow photographers and not having to worry or think about anything else; they always have the students in mind…and my back!

I spent a week shooting alongside and working with a great group of people, looked forward to seeing their work in the daily reviews. I also enjoy putting together a post highlighting their art, and I’m confident you’ll be as impressed as I am at the level of work submitted by everyone.

These photographers either represent students that have taken my online classes with the BPSOP or have been with me in other “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops…or both.

Enjoy the show:

PausePlayPlayPrev|Next

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and check out my upcoming workshops at the top of this blog

Using my Bag of Solutions

When I’m online with my class with the BPSOP, or traveling with my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind“ workshop, I often refer to my “Pearls of Wisdom”. One of them is,  “My bag of solutions”.

What I mean is how do I solve a problem that’s come up unexpectedly? If I could only get a couple of feet higher, or have to stand out in the water, or pick up any trash, or how about fixing something that might be broken or needing a piece of tape to hold something while I shoot. Here’s what I often carry in my car when I’m going out. You just never know when you’ll need something!!!I don’t necessarily carry everything all at once, but I have before on personal long road trips and assignments. Although I consider this list equipment, I call this my “bag of solutions”:

• Tripod
• Bean bag
• Small table tripod
• Six foot ladder
• Spray bottle with water/glycerin mixture
• Photo stand with a sand bag to keep it steady
• A-clamps (to secure the reflector and umbrella to the stand).
• White reflector or white piece of foamboard.
• Duct tape (very important)
• Fifty feet of garden hose (for ‘wet downs’)
• Mikita (or another brand) 14 or 18 volt rechargeable screw gun
• Rubber boots
• Chest waders
• Knee pads
• Blanket
• Walki-Talki’s
• Plastic tarp
• Broom
• Rake
• Garbage bag
• Golf Umbrella
• Change of clothes
• Small Red line tactical flashlight for light painting
• https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=redline+flashlight&tbm=shop&spd=4139016517009177550
• Model/minor/property releases (important if you plan to sell the photos)
• Ice chest with water, soft drinks, beer, and Martini fixers’ (after the wonderful sunset)

Did I leave out anything?

In the photo above that I shot for the Coca Cola Bottling Annual Report, I used the broom and rake to clean up the area, the fifty feet of hose (every bit of it) to wet down the pavement,  the small mag light to light up the lettering on the truck’s door, the duct tape to secure the flashlight to the six foot ladder, and the garbage bag to clean up whatever trash I created.

Check out my website at: www.joebaraban.com and come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB

As the followers of my blog, my online students with the BPSOP, and the photographers who have attended my “Stretching your Frame of mind” workshop all know, I have a plethora of random thoughts gathered throughout my photographic and teaching career. I call these thoughts my “Personal Pearls of Wisdom“.

Dating back to the early eighties when I first started teaching, I’ve conjured up these expressions as situations called for them, either from my own experiences or those of my students. Although I love all my Pearls for one reason or another, there is none that brings a laugh to me faster than “Go With The Flow“.

If you’ve been shooting long enough, I’m sure at one time or another you’ve been faced with a situation that you either didn’t expect or didn’t want. You probably had a certain idea in your mind, or a pose, or a composition that come hell or high water you were going to shoot…no matter what!!!

If you were anything like I was in the old days, those days before Medicare, Social Security, and mellowing out, you got flustered or probably a little pissy because it wasn’t going your way. For me, it was usually the subject that wouldn’t cooperate or a lot of the times it had to do with animals.

I don’t remember exactly when it was, but at some point I decided to stop fighting it and joining it. I began to “go with the flow“. If someone wasn’t taking my direction, or for some reason really didn’t want to be photographed the way I envisioned, I would just let them do what they wanted and when I discovered that it usually resulted in a better photo, I started waiting and hoping it would happen again. It’s not something you can create yourself, it has to be spontaneous and coming from the subject. It’s also very important to anticipate the possibility because if something does happen, it’s a good chance that it won’t happen for long and won’t ever happen again.

The two photos you see above and below are perfect examples of “Going With the Flow“. I was working on a photo essay called “Back-road Businesses where I traveled the smaller roads throughout Texas looking for the entrepreneurs of these  weekend businesses. These are businesses that spring up all over Texas on the weekends, opening on Fridays and closing Sunday afternoons after all the travelers were back home.

In the photos taken of the owners of the sword and knife business, and the hubcaps, they didn’t want to show their faces. No matter how much I was willing to pay for a hubcap or a sword, they were just not interested. The sword man said that I could take his picture but it had to be his way. He told me to go out and get setup and he would think about what he was going to do (after buying a knife). When he finally came out wearing the helmet, I thought I would start crying in utter happiness!!! How could I have ever planned that?

When I asked the guy with the hubcap to take a picture of him in front of all his hubcaps, he said fine, but I couldn’t show his face (maybe something to do with his britches?). He leaned over and grabbed a hubcap and put it in front of him. He said that if I still wanted to take his picture it was OK.

OK!!!!!!!! Someone please pinch me, because I knew I had to be dreaming!!!! I shot as fast as I could before he could change his mind.

So my friends, be prepared to forgo your initial idea and be ready to “Go With the Flow”. Just let it happen because it just might prove to be a better idea.

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, check out my 2018-19 workshop schedule and come shoot with me sometime. Hear my “Pearls in Person”!!!

JoeB

If I followed the rules, I wouldn’t have taken this

One of my all time favorite photographers was W. Eugene Smith. I have several of his books (Minimata being the most powerful) and love going back and look at his work.

He once said in an interview, “I didn’t write the rules. Why would I follow them?”. This quote comes to mind as much as any in my category My Favorite Quotes. Why, you might ask?

I teach an online class with the BPSOP, and I conduct workshops all around the planet. The reason why I think about this quote is because I’m constantly asked if I follow any rules pertaining to how I go about deciding on how I compose my final composition.

At that point I will invariably quote Eugene Smith. I also didn’t write these so called rules, that were written merely to take us down a one way path to mediocrity; so why should I also follow them?

A lot of people that have recently fallen in love with photography, seek out advice from others. I can understand since they are new and want to take the best photos they can. The problem is that they will listen to anyone and take what they hear as gospel; after all, they must know more since they are already photographers and have really nice cameras; don’t be fooled by that…it’s the ten inches behind the camera that really counts.

Here’s where I stand: I’m not going to follow rules that I didn’t write and especially ones that I don’t believe in; as long as the rules aren’t actually laws that could eventually wind up being a bad decision!!

🙂

I have one rule as it applies to my photography. I never crop my photos, and haven’t for the fifty years that I’ve been shooting profssionally.

So, my fellow photographers, while it’s important to have personal rules when it comes to your new found love, whatever you do don’t listed to those that think it’s important to follow rules just because someone, somewhere, wrote them.

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB

A balanced composition

Closing in on fifty years of taking pictures, I can turn the composition I’ve created in the viewfinder upside-down in my mind, without having to physically rotate my  camera to see my photo inverted on the display. So, you’re probably asking yourself why in the world would I want to do this? To make sure my photograph has balance, either symmetrical (formal) or asymmetrical (informal).

Okay, have you ever looked at one of your images and for some reason it didn’t feel quite right to you; and you weren’t sure why? One potential reason is that it wasn’t a balanced composition.

In my “Stretching Your Frame of mind” workshop I conduct around the planet, and in my online class I teach with the BPSOP, students submit photos that (hopefully) represent the assignment or the discussion of the day. In my workshops, I teach photographers how to use the Elements of Visual Design to make their photos stronger. One of the basic elements is Balance. 

Images submitted to me will often have a strong subject or a point of interest on one side, leaving the other side empty, or areas of color or light that aren’t compatible with one another. A good photograph will have an equal amount of color, shapes and areas of light and dark. Each one needs to have a certain amount of value or visual weight (mass) in relation to all the other elements in your photo, and be placed accordingly to create a sense of balance.

In my classes, I deal specifically with the balance between Negative and Positive space. If a student submits a photo that is obviously out of balance, I’ll turn their photo upside down and show it to them. Why you ask again?

Still balanced

Because when the student views his or her photo upside down, they’re now using a different part of their brain to process information. When they’re looking at it right side up, they’re looking at it with the right side of their brain. It’s the creative and visual side. They’re looking at the parts that make up the whole. i.e., Shape, Pattern, Texture, Form, and Color.

When I turn their photo upside down, they’re using the left side of their brain, the analytical side. They’re now looking at the whole first then putting them into a logical order and drawing a conclusion.

In other words, their image is no longer a photo that has a subject, meaning, or tells a story. It’s simply shapes, colors and areas of light and dark; it now reads only as Negative and Positive space. The student immediately sees that their photo is out of balance.

Try it yourself sometime.

Check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog, and my website at: www.joebaraban.com. Come shoot with me and together we’ll look at your photos upside-down!!!

JoeB