Macro Photography and Audience

Yesterday, I'd mentioned that I did not see any macro photography work at the art festival. I had seen several examples during the prior years, though. This made me wonder - am I targeting the right audience with this work?

Macro work is by far my strongest point. Consider these:









That's all well and good, but I haven't seen pictures like these hanging on people's walls - or anywhere else, really - except for in print ads.

Interesting, I thought to myself. I then went to Google a few search terms to see what audience I should target with my macro work. I had to dig through a lot of information, but I realized quickly that I've been missing the mark all along.

Macro photography is best used for marketing (ads), nature, science, and medical photography. I have been entering this work in general contests - not the right target most of the time. Certainly, there's a place for it in the fine art world, but it's not a natural and easy fit. As far as stock photography is concerned, though, it's a great fit - which is why I see macro work in so many ads.

Sounds easy, right? So why did it take me so long to come to this conclusion? I don't know, but I'm someone who looks for those small victories every day. This was a big one for me.

Tomorrow - equipment update!

More Inspiring Photography Moments

I'm wrapping up yet another work week, and this one was definitely long and tiring. A nice way to start my day is to think about other moments over the years which inspired me. Here are a few more that come to mind:

1) The first time I photographed in twilight:



This was, as you can see, back in 2007. I had only taken a point-and-shoot on this trip. I was walking around with my family and thought the setting was really pretty. Many people don't like this hotel, but I did. Of course, now I know how to take better pictures of buildings!

2) How waking up early really does pay off:



I don't normally like waking up early, frankly, but this was worth it. I love the beach!

3) The first time I realized that stunning pictures were within my reach:



A picture like this really inspires me to keep trying. It also encourages me to keep scrutinizing my work and striving to improve. Earlier this year, I went to another place of worship with a dome, the National Shrine, and took this:



A big improvement, if you ask me. And that in itself is inspiring - the fact that I really am improving and loving what I do.

And, on that note, have a great weekend!

Photo Challenges

As you know, I try to enter contests every month (that didn't work out so well last month). I don't participate in photo challenges, though. But what are they?

Well, from what I can tell, they're like contests, but with a very specific focus. So as an example, contests can be about a subject like macro photography, but a challenge might restrict it by subject (one particular object, like a bottle) or colors. Something along those lines.

I came across the following challenge topics earlier today:

Day taken at night

Urban nature

Water bottle

Two colors

Backlighting subjects

i would have entered the two colors one, but it was too late. The backlighting subjects one was really interesting. I found myself digging through my portfolio to see if I had anything that would work. I can't say that it was an easy task, but it was interesting. These pictures seem to fit the bill:













Will I enter any of these? I really don't know. I might. I have until the end of the month to decide. However, learning about the technique, as well as really focusing on my work were activities that were well worth my time.

Tomorrow: A promo offer I received in the mail.

Bright Lights, Big City - Time for Another Trip

I'm going to Vegas on Sunday for work. I won't be back until Thursday, but I do have some (photography) goals for my trip. Here's what I'm planning:

1) Vegas at night - cliche, but a good exercise for me. Here's an example of what I mean, from my New York trip:



2) Hotels (interiors and more) - examples:



I'm taking my point-and-shoot - and only my point-and-shoot, so this will be a challenge. All I need to do is pick up another battery charger - I seem to have misplaced mine already. They're so small!

Till next week - most likely Friday!

You can do this, too - Historic Places

As some of you know, I started a new job this week. This new job requires some travel. Sunday, I go away until Thursday night. More on that tomorrow.

I've mixed business with pleasure before, and therefore knew I'd take my camera. However, because of everything else I have to pack, I'll be limited to my point-and-shoot. I initially thought, "Oh, no, this is going to be terrible", but reminded myself that 1) I have a new point-and-shoot and 2) I have traveled overseas with only a point-and-shoot and did fine. I then thought back to 2007.

I went to Damascus, Syria, and Aleppo, Syria in 2007. At the time, I'd just bought my DSLR, but I was afraid to take it with me - I didn't want anything to happen to it. Also, it's important to note that I had had VERY little training at the time. I was by no means an expert.

So, I took my 4MP Canon point-and-shoot. If that's all you have, and if you're going somewhere historic, here are some ideas:

Panoramas:



Interesting interiors:



Twilight shots:



Historic items:



Foreign calligraphy (a personal favorite):



Some tips:

1) Try your best to avoid harsh sunlight. Use the shade, or wait - if you can. It's very hard to correct overexposed pictures.

2) Conversely, if you're shooting in low light, bump up the ISO. You won't be able to control much more than that, but it's better than nothing.

3) For closeups, experiment with the macro capability (it looks like a small flower on a Canon). You'll be able to have fun with shapes and textures.

4) For buildings, try not to tilt the camera upward. If you do, your building will look like it's leaning in from the sides - not very pretty. Either move (far) back as I did, or look for an area of interest in the lower half of the building.

Till tomorrow!

Lessons from the Art Show

I went to the Bethesda art show on Sunday. It's a juried art show, which means that the artists were required to submit applications and essentially "apply" for inclusion in the event. Only about 6 or 7 exhibits were from photographers, so this was a very select group.
I set the bar very high for myself, so using others' work in a show like this as a benchmark definitely helps me. Here's what I gathered from the exhibits:
1) There were generally one or two areas of specialization per artist. Five of the exhibits focused on one area.
2) The pictures themselves were crowd-pleasers - in other words, visually appealing, but nothing requiring a lot of technical precision. Here's one example of mine that was similar:

3) Crowd-pleasing definitely did not mean generic. Many of these pictures were beautiful, but with a twist. There was always an extra element of interest. Here's an example:

(note the seagull in the middle, and the footprints on the left - that's what I mean by visual interest)
4) NO macro photography. I couldn't believe it! I would die without pictures like these:

I'm therefore taking a cue from my professional life by setting a goal for myself: Twice a month, I will enter one contest of sorts. Magazines have them, as well as online sources. Since we're mid-month, and since I submitted my work earlier this month, that gives me until the 31st to find something else. The law of numbers dictates that good things will happen!
Till tomorrow!

Twilight - When the Best of Intentions goes Awry

I mentioned in yesterday's post that I'd had some misadventures while trying to shoot in twilight. Let me explain what I mean:

I don't like nighttime photography, but I LOVE twilight shots. Here's one from years ago:



The picture of the building itself isn't perfect, but I fell in love with the deep blue sky. I was hooked.

So, I planned my trip to Hershey on Friday, at the last possible minute. On Sunday morning, I decided that I would try to take twilight pictures. A few minor issues:

1) Twilight isn't special (or really even noticeable) when it's cloudy outside. Example:



Was this twilight? Maybe ... maybe not. I certainly couldn't tell. Maybe this one?



See what I mean? About ten minutes later, it was so dark outside that all I got was something like this:



Mind you, these pictures actually turned out great - I was thrilled with the way they looked. A few positives from this shoot:

1) I figured out a way to use long exposures (30 seconds, in this case) without a tripod. I found several places where I could set down my camera such that it was stable.

2) Playing with the shutter speeds and the water was something I hadn't done in a long time. Tip: Very fast shutter speeds "freeze" the droplets. Slow shutter speeds provide the effect you see in these pictures.

3) Clouds are always beautiful, no matter what.

4) Sometimes, you just have to roll with it.

5) Perhaps nighttime photography isn't such a disaster. Maybe I should embrace it. THERE'S a thought. :)

I'm hoping to head down into the city at some point this month to take real pictures in twilight. Maybe my results will be better. Or, maybe I'll learn something else about myself and my work.

Until tomorrow!