Better in Black and White

Been a While

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:04:00 +0000

I know. I'm not blogging like I ought to. The truth is that I've been caught up in doing some family history research. Besides, there hasn't been much to photograph lately. We got a pretty good snow last night, and although I can't yet get down my steep driveway I did go out and shoot some in my yard this morning.

My Back Deck

A Little Glow

And this abstract of the frozen water on the cover of my swimming pool.

Recent Fujifilm X10 Shots

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 15:34:00 +0000

Dark Morning

Jetta

The Rewards of Seeing

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:25:00 +0000

This is a guest post from my Flickr friend, RG Sanders, who describes himself in his profile there as follows:

I cannot describe myself. I try to define myself with my photography.
I truly believe in what I see and not so much what I hear.
What I do care about is how the mind interpreted the light reflected from the subject.
Every photograph is valuable because it may be as close as I get to the real person and their inner spirit. In this way I respect the work of others and find infinite joy in appreciating it

In essence the beauty of a photograph or lack thereof is directly related to the ability of the photographer to see and understand what they're seeing. Surely we have all been inundated by distractions like the type of camera and its capabilities or its manufacturers. Seduced by clever salesman that boast the sharper lens made in the country far away have magical properties that transform average and boring photography into works of art.

What is absolutely amazing is actually how so much photography potential is held back by these distractions.. Yes, having a camera that works consistently is important especially if you only have one. Also having a memory card, film, a lens and/or a battery if necessary is important. I dare some of our most prominent photographers to delve back to that day that they forgot to put film in a camera. Or maybe they just neglected to bring a spare battery and thus the glorious moment escaped capture. So, for those starting out on the quest for images of lasting value these notions may be of value.

First, take a walk and leave the camera at home. Assume your eye is the camera. Please note first the type of light that exists. Try not to be judgmental about light. It's all good. The overcast, bright sunshine, shadow and practically no light at all are not obstacles. Each can be a wonderful and expressive element emotionally. Try to review the objects that you see as if you created them. Do not judge the objects but simply assess them in terms of whether they satisfy you. Of course if you created the object you would view it from several viewpoints and critically assess it in ways the casual viewer would not.

Your ability to visually see something is also hampered by the way the mind gathers information. Primary focus is usually given to an object ahead of you and in your path. That makes a lot of sense. We really don't want to run into something and fall down. This however, is not the way a lens gathers photons to use in imaging. We must force ourselves to see a wider vista. To become more aware of the full measure of vision afforded to us. The eye is far better than any lens made anywhere. A wonderful instrument that's free that we hardly use.

I just want to clear up a couple of things. When I started out I was told by photographers that what you need to do is examine the light and dark areas when visualizing. Then carefully sort out the compositional details and arranged them in a pleasing manner. Even to the extent of squinting the eyes to more precisely understand the basic structure of what I was seeing. What I had to learn on my own is that how you feel about the subject is the most important thing. To capture the essence of the subject is to capture the spirit. This is what starts the visualization process. This is why Ansel Adam’s work and others is so great. True, technical skill does play a part. However, taking a great technical picture of the featureless dark is relatively unsatisfying.

Make a point to look up and to view from a lower perspective while you walk. My personal opinion is that people don't look up unless prompted. What went unobserved by people and seen by photographer is what fascinates them. On the scale of what's important you may find perfect sharpness or even perfect composition to be subservient to the emotional impact of an image of something you loved. Do not be swayed by the fact that others may not love the subject is you do. That is superfluous to say the least. Photography is an individual statement about what motivates that individual. Reveal yourself through your visions. Whether you are an amateur, commercial artist, or photojournalists all things are equal in terms of visualization.

You can view more of RG's wonderfully nuanced pictures at his Flickr photostream.

This and That

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 18:29:00 +0000

During the last week:

Eastman Kodak filed for Bankruptcy;

Michael Johnston wrote about the evils of pushing film for no good reason -twice (counting yesterday's addendum);

And I took the following picture of my son and his girlfriend:

Pretty random, huh?

A Couple of Leaves

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:39:00 +0000

I told you. A couple of leaves. That's it.

Ilford Redefines its Galerie Range of Papers

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:59:00 +0000

Yeah, yeah, I know I said this blog was going to be more about me ("me, me, me") this year, but I keep getting word of announcements and events that interest me so I share them. Here is a press release from Ilford (the digital paper, not the traditional wet darkroom paper and chemical folk who are separate) regarding some re-branding of their paper.

ILFORD REDEFINES ITS GALERIE RANGE; ESTABLISHES PRESTIGE TO MEET THE EXACTING STANDARDS OF PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS

Rebranded as ILFORD GALERIE Prestige, the ILFORD GALERIE Lineup Retains Same High-Quality and Permanence Standards, and Adopts a Star Rating System for Instant Classification

Avon, CT & Marly, Switzerland – 17 January, 2012 – ILFORD (http://www.ilford.com), a leading developer and manufacturer of professional quality media for both inkjet printing and color photographic processes, today announced that it is rebranding its popular ILFORD GALERIE range as ILFORD GALERIE Prestige (5*). While the packaging has changed, the media inside remains the same leading inkjet paper that professional photographers rely on to produce breathtaking prints with superior permanence qualities.

The evolution to GALERIE Prestige (5*) paves the way for a series of new product additions to be introduced in 2012 that combines state-of-the-art inkjet technology with in-demand artistic styles. The additions will compliment the already robust line of best-in-class media developed for professional photographers and creative professionals. In addition, the GALERIE range is now categorized in a star rating system, enabling professionals and consumers to quickly recognize the media that best suits their printing needs.

GALERIE Prestige (5*) is developed for professional photographers and imaging professionals who demand high precision and accuracy. The specialty coating provides superior images and consistent results when used with a wide array of printers. This range includes the Gold Fibre Silk, Smooth Pearl and Smooth Gloss that recently received high print permanence ratings from Wilhelm Imaging Research, Inc., the world's leading independent permanence testing laboratory. Smooth Fine Art and Smooth Lustre Duo are also included in the range.

“ILFORD has a long tradition of providing the marketplace with media that delivers perfect images for every style, from traditional portraits to contemporary, highly-saturated commercial images,” said Jane Dixon, Director of Global Marketing for ILFORD. “With the introduction of ILFORD GALERIE Prestige, both professional photographers and photo enthusiasts can be sure the choices they make will best deliver the print results they desire. In addition, the advanced coatings on all ILFORD media, and on-going development from our in-house research and development team, ensure that all ILFORD media will continue to be compatible with a wide range of printers currently on the market and new printers that will hit the market in the future.”

To further guarantee photographers exact the finest prints from each sheet of ILFORD GALERIE Prestige, and all ranges, detailed instructions for using ICC profiles are available at the ILFORD website. AReadMe file is available in the profile download section offering intuitive, step-by-step instructions. The carefully defined printer settings, created by technicians on the ILFORD Research and Development team, ensure optimal print results for the entire range.

About ILFORD

Founded in 1879, ILFORD is a leading player in the development and manufacture of photo quality media and other consumables for both inkjet printing and color photographic processes. The worldwide digital imaging and color photographic businesses, which include R&D and manufacturing operations in Switzerland, are owned by Paradigm Global Partners LLP. ILFORD hosts its U.S. sales operations from its offices in Avon, CT.

The ILFORD name is well established in the history of imaging and today continues to be associated with cutting edge technology thanks to its strong links to the photo imaging marketplace, research and development, technical know-how and manufacturing capabilities.

For more information on ILFORD, please visit http://www.ilford.com/

Free Webcast on Digital Black and White with Harold Davis

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 17:10:00 +0000

Photographer/Writer Harold Davis is featured in a free webcast about digital black and white photography this Thursday, January 19, at 10:00 AM PT (1:00 PM for those like me on ET). It is based on his book Creative Black and White: Digital Photography Tips and Techniques. Mr. Davis has written extensively about photography and this is, I think, a great opportunity for some free tips from a master. You can sign up for the webcast here. And you can check out his latest book Photographing Flowers: Exploring Macro Worlds with Harold Davis.

I Took the Ricoh GR Digital IV for a Walk at the Lake Today

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 20:23:00 +0000

I have to say that I am really impressed with the quality of this picture from the small sensor. This shot has had a lot of work in Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 that would amount to probably a hour of dodging and burning in a darkroom. I probably spent over 20 minutes doing adjustments to get this to look the way I wanted - which is a very long time for me with a digital file these days. But in the end, it turned out well I think. The breeze by the water was excruciatingly cold, by the way - especially since we have thus far had a very mild winter.

Sigma Announces New Lenses for Mirrorless Cameras

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 23:12:00 +0000

I have received the following announcement regarding new Sigma lenses for Olympus, Panasonic and Sony E-mount cameras:

Sigma Corporation of America announces prime lenses for mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras at CES 2012

New lenses and product line designed for Micro Four Thirds, E-mount systems

RONKONKOMA, NY and LAS VEGAS, NV, Jan. 9, 2012 – Sigma Corporation of America today announced the launch of its new line of Micro Four Thirds system and E-mount lenses for mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2012 in Las Vegas, NV.

The leading researcher, developer, manufacturer and service provider of some of the world’s most impressive lines of lenses, cameras and flashes, has made its entrée into the mirrorless interchangeable lens category with the introduction of its Digital Neo (DN) line, which will first include the 30mm F2.8 EX DN and the 19mm F2.8 EX DN lenses in Micro Four Thirds mounts for Olympus and Panasonic, and E-mount for Sony NEX-series cameras. Pricing and availability are pending.

“The launch of our DN series with two fast prime lenses demonstrates our commitment to being a leader in innovation and quality, and providing photographers with excellent choices for lenses in this exciting new camera category," said Mark Amir-Hamzeh, president of Sigma Corporation of America. “Sigma lenses empower photographers to be more creative with their photography, and we’re absolutely thrilled to be embarking on this new journey with products for mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras for Micro Four Thirds and NEX mount systems."

The Sigma DN line of high-performance lenses is designed exclusively for mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. This lens design and technology ensures high optical performance and compact, lightweight construction. The DN lenses’ superior telecentric optical design also assures sharp- and high-resolution image quality across the entire image plane.

The 30mm F2.8 EX DN and the 19mm F2.8 EX DN lenses are both equipped with Sigma’s Super Multi-Layer Coating to reduce flare and ghosting, while providing sharp and high-contrast images, even at the maximum aperture. The lenses also benefit from a newly developed linear autofocus (AF) motor, which moves the lens unit directly without the need for gears or the drive of other mechanical parts. This system ensures accurate and quiet autofocusing, making both the 30mm F2.8 EX DN and the 19mm F2.8 EX DN suitable for video recording as well as still photos.

· The Sigma 30mm F2.8 EX DN has the equivalent angle of view of a 60mm lens (35mm equivalent focal length) on the Micro Four Thirds system and 45mm (35mm equivalent focal length) on the E-mount system. It has a minimum focusing distance of 11.8 inches and a maximum magnification ratio of 1:8.1. The 30mm F2.8 EX DN has two glass mold aspherical lenses, including a double-sided aspherical lens, to provide excellent correction for all types of aberration, as well as an inner focusing system that corrects the fluctuation of aberration to maintain image quality regardless of the focal distance. It also features a rounded, seven-blade diaphragm to deliver a smooth rendering of the out-of-focus areas of the image.

· The Sigma 19mm F2.8 EX DN is a wide angle lens with the equivalent angle of view of a 38mm (35mm equivalent focal length) on the Micro Four Thirds system and 28.5mm (35mm equivalent focal length) on the E-mount system. It has a minimum focusing distance of 7.9 inches and a maximum magnification ratio of 1:7.4. Three glass mold aspherical lenses provide excellent correction for distortion, color aberration and field curvature, and an inner focusing system corrects the fluctuation of aberration to maintain image quality regardless of the focal length. The 19mm F2.8 EX DN lens features a rounded, seven-blade diaphragm, which ensures smooth rendering of the out-of-focus areas of the image.

Sigma Corporation of America is exhibiting at CES 2012 this week in the Las Vegas Convention Center’s Central Hall, booth 8960. For information about Sigma Corporation of America, visit www.sigmaphoto.com, or follow the company on Twitter and Facebook.

About Sigma Corporation

For more than 50 years, Sigma Corporation’s expertise and innovation has driven the company’s core philosophy of “knowledge, plus experience, plus imagination,” with an emphasis on producing high-quality, high-performance photographic technology at moderate prices. This family-owned organization is the largest, independent SLR lens manufacturer in the world, producing more than 40 lenses that are compatible with most manufacturers, including Sigma, Canon, Sony, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic and Pentax. Sigma Corporation also produces digital SLR cameras and high-definition digital compact cameras. The company is headquartered in Japan, with offices strategically located throughout Europe, Asia and North America. For information, please visit www.sigmaphoto.com.

Of Irony and Coincidence

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 15:14:00 +0000

Hey, a color picture on a site called Better in Black and White. Irony or coincidence?

Irony, of course. But I post this because there seems to be widespread confusion on the meaning of the two words. I am always hearing, or reading, folks saying things like "How ironic that we have bumped into each other three times today," or "Ironically I sat behind Ashley Judd at the UK ballgame last night." No, those are probably just coincidences. The first might be ironic if we absolutely loathe each other and have sworn to never be in the same room again. The second might be ironic if there is a restraining order against you being within 500 yards of Ashley Judd. But the real irony, besides the fact that there is little to no irony to be found in Alanis Morisette's song "Ironic," is that so many don't seem to know the definition of the word. You can find out some rules for distinguishing "irony" from "coincidence" here.

Around the House

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:21:00 +0000

From my living room window:

Gotta' love those funny small tufts of grass that litter my yard.

This one was taken during my morning stroll from the front door to my car:

While I really like this one, the fine folks at Flickr disagree - not many views. Oh well.

A New Year, A New Look

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 11:30:00 +0000

Yesterday was my last day off work.

And today is my first day back.

My First Picture of 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +0000

My daughter, Lauren, taken at Ted's Montana Grill in Lexington, KY with Ricoh GR Digital IV

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:01:00 +0000

And welcome to Better in Black and White 2012.

Now That was a Party!

Things are going to be a bit different here. A bit more personal. As I intend my photography in 2012 to be a bit more personal. A bit more serious and, paradoxically, a bit less serious. A bit more integrated into my life. Instead of "photo walks," I hope to simply go on "walks." And bring a camera along, just in case I see something photo worthy. I am going to try to have a camera handy more often and take more pictures of what is going on in my life.

I turn 50 this year (sooner rather than later in the year, to boot), and this is part of what I envision as a year-long project. Not necessarily one of those "365" deals where one tries to take one decent picture every day. But a few decent shots every week to post here and, at the end of the year, to publish as a Blurb book to sell and get rich. No, not really - mostly so I will be able to buy one and put it on my shelf as a kind of diary of the year.

This blog has always been dedicated to monochrome photography, whether digital, analog, hybrid or "alternative" techniques have been employed. And I would like to see that continue, although I don't necessarily want to be the one writing about that. So if you (yeah, I'm looking at YOU) would like to contribute a guest post (at the going rate of $0 USD) on a topic, let me know. Short reviews of equipment (including vintage analog cameras, enlargers, lenses, etc.), books, film, paper, and chemicals are always welcome, as are posts on more esoteric subjects like techniques, photo philosophy, etc.

Thank you everyone who has visited regularly, subscribed, commented, written guest posts, endured my interviews and profiles, and who have been kind and gracious. I hope you hang around! And if you don't, well I understand and no hard feelings - you gotta' do what you gotta' do. But, at the same time, I gotta' do what I gotta' do too.

My Fujifilm X10 Review...

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 11:55:00 +0000

...has posted at Serious Compacts.

Be back in 2012! Until then, Happy Holidays! Below is the annual picture of our children that are shipping in our Christmas cards this year.

Thank You, and Good Night

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:32:00 +0000

Okay, I haven't had a new post in two weeks. Looking back, I haven't had anything new or original to say in a much longer time. Right now I can't think of anything to say "on-topic," and I am enjoying other aspects of my life a bit much to worry about it. I'm not saying goodbye, I'm just acknowledging that I don't have anything worthwhile to post right now. I plan to be back - just don't know when yet.

If I interviewed you, or did a profile of you, or otherwise posted some of your pictures and those were part of my debacle of accidental deletion, and you would like the pictures to go back up with your interview or essay or profile, etc., please email me. I may need you to send the pictures to me again, but I will try to get those fixed for anyone who needs or wants their pictures back up.

Thank you everyone for all of your support!

The Pond, Pikeville, KY, taken with a Fujifilm X10

And do look for my review of the Fujifilm X10 coming to Serious Compacts in December!

A New Picture for My Portfolio

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 00:27:00 +0000

I'm a sucker for trees in fog.

Thank You, Neal Thorley!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 12:19:00 +0000

Neal graciously allowed me to use one of his Kodak Plus-x pictures since I couldn't find one of my own. This shot of a dead fruit bat seemed appropriate for the death of this noble film which was the subject of last post. Neal and his brother Steve have a blog about traditional film photography that is worth checking out here.

Kodak Plus-X - Get it While You Can.

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 02:14:00 +0000

Because it has been discontinued. Gee, I haven't used this film in so long that I don't think I have any scans of a sample. Nor could I find an example in Flickr's Creative Commons. I guess this helps explain the abandonment. If anyone has a sample Plux-X picture I could post, please email it, or a link to it, to me.

Digital vs. Analog, Round 4,371,044

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 22:57:00 +0000

I recently received the following very nice email which I am reprinting here with Mr. Munchau's permission.

Dear Mr Damron,

I have been following your excellent blog with great interest for some time. It whetted my appetite for trying out film photography, a subject you have discussed on numerous occasions. There is a nagging question I have: If I tried out film, then scan and print digital, will I not up end with a rather digital looking image, of the kind I could create in Photoshop or Silver Efex Pro? Or is the difference still sufficient to make an analogue-to-digital workflow commendable? (I definitely do not want to set up a darkroom)

I have a second question: When you print large, say A3 from 35mm, do you go via a high-quality scan, or through a purely analogue process? The reason I am asking relates to the scanner. I suspect one could buy a medium-quality film scanner, which should be sufficient for any digital conversion for the screen or the web, or even for small prints – and use a specialised B&W analogue lab for larger prints, or a drum scan for further digital processing. There were a lot of discussions on the internet on this point several years ago, but much less so now.

I am really sorry to bother you with these questions. But I am trying to figure out how involved this process will be for someone who comes from a digital workflow, and whether it will have to involve the purchase of expensive gear beyond a camera body, etc.

With kind regards

Wolfgang Munchau

And here was my response:

Mr. Munchau

Thank you for the kind words!

You ask some good, and no doubt seemingly straight-forward questions. I am going to start by stating that I think the answers to these questions are more a matter of opinion than fact. I think that the look of film can be largely duplicated shooting digital and applying an S curve to mimic the way film reproduces shadows and highlights, and by adding some simulated grain. This can be done Photoshop and Silver Efex Pro as you state. Then a print that looks quite a bit like a standard print from a traditional darkroom print can be printed if the right inks and paper are used. I like the look of Crane Museo Silver Rag, but there are also numerous papers with actual baryta (the clay used in traditional darkroom papers) in them that also replicate the look of darkroom prints. So you can use a strictly digital workflow and still end up with prints that look like those from a darkroom. Whether there is a problem with this or not depends on your viewpoint. If you are a purist, all of this manipulation and altering of a color digital image to replicate something else will not sit well. A purist would argue that if you want your pictures to look like they were made with film, you should shoot film in the first place. It already has the "S curve" built in. And the grain. No need to torture pixels.

I have an A3 print from a scanned 35mm negative hanging in my living room. I scanned it using a now ancient Minolta Dimage Scan Dual III at its highest resolution (2840 dpi) and then interpolated larger. It looks very good at any distance. Scanning black and white film takes a while though because dust elimination cannot be done with programs like Digital ICE - the retouching of spots must be done by hand. This can be tedious - but once done never has to be repeated while every print from the darkroom may need a little "spotting" with dyes to fill in such white spots. You could probably pick up one of these dedicated film scanners pretty cheap these days. I do think that a dedicated film scanner will probably serve you be better than a general scanner. And film can be developed without a darkroom with minimal equipment - you just need a tank, a thermometer, some bottles to keep mixed chemistry in, and a dark room to load the film into the tank - once the lid is on the tank is light-tight so the dark room you need can be a closet or a bathroom with a towel to seal out light for a few minutes while you put the film onto a reel and put the reel in a tank. Used film tanks should be really cheap at this point. So really the scanner is likely to be the most expensive purchase so that is where you should begin in figuring out if you can afford this and if you want to do put in the extra work. There is something uniquely rewarding about seeing a roll of film you developed yourself.

With your permission, I would like to post your email and mine on the blog - I suspect that other readers would love to chime in with their opinions on this.

Thanks!

Jeff

And finally, here is the response to that:

Dear Jeffrey,

Thank you so much for this very clear and detailed answer. I will definitely try out the Crane Museo Silver Rag to see what kind of look I can get from it. And of course, you can publish this exchange on your blog. I would indeed be very intrigued to hear what your readers have to say.

For me, the idea to add a film camera to my digital setup is not so much about the feel of analogue photography – which I am not really missing – but about the look of the pictures. I don’t have any moral objections to imitating the feel of analogue photography in a digital post-processing workflow. I am merely wondering how effective it is. I recall that you or one of your readers pointed it out in one of your analogue-versus-digital series that the look of TriX film was different from the TriX emulation in SFP [Nik Silver Efex Pro]. Not better or worse, simply different. Maybe I am kidding myself here – that the combination of curve, sensitivity, and grain settings in PP produces the elusive magic. If that was indeed the case, I would probably stick with digital, invest time in advanced digital post-processing techniques, or even invest in second digital camera as a backup.

Thank you also for your advice on scanners, and the difficulty about dust removal – a problem I heard about but whose significance I was not sufficiently aware of. One of the newer generation dedicated film scanners seems to be the way to go.

Best wishes

Wolfgang

Soooo... I'm thinking there are folk who would give different advice. Here is your chance. What are your thoughts on this discussion?

Peninsula, shot with Olympus E-620 with a free-hand "S" curve adjustment in Silver Efex Pro

Oops!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 13:24:00 +0000

I was deleting pictures on Google+ that I thought were just old and saved somewhere else. Turns out, those were the pictures on Picasa that I had uploaded here! So all of the pictures here that were ever uploaded from my computer instead of simply linked (like Flickr pictures) are gone! I am working on restoring these but this is going to take a while. This is what happens when you don't really know what you are doing, I guess.

Odds and Ends

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 23:05:00 +0000

First, an announcement that I received - you could win a new Sony a55!

The holiday season is fast approaching, and that means family gatherings and photo opps! What better way to capture the moment than with a brand new camera? Now through November 30^th, TakeGreatPictures is now hosting its Fall contest and giving away a Sony a55 camera and lens kit!

Take Great Pictures.com offers free photo tips and techniques from master photographers and the latest news on new products, events, and artists. Learn about photo contests, photography book reviews, and even share your own work! For daily tips and TGP news, your readers can “like” the Take Great Pictures Facebook page!

Visit the contest page below for details, and help us spread the word to your readers!

http://www.takegreatpictures.com/photo-tips/contests-shows-workshops/fall-into-photography-contest-win-a-sony-a55-dslr-and-lens

Secondly, I have had a couple of readers tell me they have had some difficulty posting comments. If you have too, please shoot me an email at jeffreyddamron@gmail.com about it. Also, please let me know if it happens in the future. Thanks!

Thirdly, there is now a link at the top right of the page that takes you directly to my new portfolio site, so please check it out if you haven't already. Thanks yet again!

Photography as Activism

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 17:24:00 +0000

An interesting story, at least to me.

I have previously mentioned a literary magazine that I discovered and love - The Sun. I was looking for the most recent issue at Joseph-Beth Booksellers (a wonderful bookstore in Lexington, Ky) and beside it was another publication that also caught my eye - sojourners. It is, according to its by-line, about "Faith in Action for Social Justice." The featured article in the September-October issue is about a church in Tennessee that welcomed a new Islamic center to town and even invited the Muslim community to use their church for services until the new mosque was completed. Nice! So I picked up a copy. On the back cover of that magazine was an ad for a new book from Richard Rohr called Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life. There was an endorsement from Dr. Oz, who I like and respect (despite some of the silly demonstrations on his show, but I was a fan before his TV program). As someone who turns 50 in a few months, this book intrigued me, so I downloaded a sample on my Kindle, really liked it, and downloaded and read the whole book in a few days. The book is about building on what one has learned during the first half of life to find God's purpose for them (Rohr is a Franciscan friar so there are no new age "Universe" euphemisms for God here) and using that to help others - to make a difference in the world. That is a gross oversimplification, but it is the main message I got from it. Mr. Rohr is an excellent writer. One probably doesn't read such a book unless one is already wondering about such things, and it safe to say that this issue has been on my mind quite a bit the last couple of years.

So, I read the book. And I'm watching an episode of Oprah's new Lifeclass show with my wife (you do watch Oprah, don't you?) And the show was about finding your purpose in life and that you will never be fulfilled until you do. So I ask my wife what she thinks my "purpose" might be. And she tells me that it is to make a difference in the world through my photography. Well, that sounds good to me. So I go to bed with that rolling around in my mind.

The next day I go to work and when I arrive there is a package in my chair. I open it and inside is a book. Michelle Bogre's new book, Photography as Activism: Images for Social Change. I have never heard of it. I didn't order it. There is no message with the book. Just an address label. The return address is: "God." No, I made that part up. The return address is for Elsevier, which I believe is the U.S. publisher or distributor of Focal Press photography books. I have previously reviewed three small books from Focal Press that were shipped to me by Elsevier. Those all came in one package and was only shipped after I agreed to review them at the request of a different entity entirely - Focal Press's PR firm. I have never had any direct contact with anyone at Elsevier. No one has ever asked me to review this book, emailed me that they were going to send it to me, etc. All very mysterious. And the timing is a bit unbelievable. So yes, I have lots of things to think about and contemplate.

In the meantime, I have posted a review of Photography as Activism at Amazon. Below are links to it and to Falling Upward.

Elin Hoyland's Photo Project: The Brothers

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 10:00:00 +0000

Elin Hoyland: The Brothers from Daylight Multimedia on Vimeo.

Fall and Fog...

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 16:26:00 +0000

...make everything new again. I couldn't get used to the the temperature in the 30s this morning though!