Donald Barnett

Dont take this Personally!!

noreply@blogger.com (Donaldsart) — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 13:38:00 +0000

Don't take this Personally!!, a set on Flickr.

Spring Tide, 1st September Kalk Bay Harbour 2008

Don't take this Personally
But I am Big
You are small.
You are in my way
Will you stand or will you crumble ?

This is going to be
a very busy day

Print options for this image

60x60 cm stretched canvas R750 ZAR

80x80 cm stretched canvas R1150 ZAR

postage cost will vary according to your region

email inquiries to bagend@iafrica.com

The 1st September is traditionally known as the 1st day of spring in the Southern Hemisphere.
The spring of 2008 swept in with a tide of catastrophic proportions, accompanied by a wave of storms that is said to be the worst in the Western Cape region, for over 20 years.

The response to this series has been somewhat overwhelming.
But perhaps more overwhelming has been the experience itself.
So I felt it would be appropriate to write a short story about this series of pictures.

In amongst all of the most wonderful comments there was one that said, "Lucky shot"
At first this comment put me on the defensive. After all, I felt that my own journey as a photographer had also equipped me to take these pictures on the day, without fluffing it.
But it did get me thinking. Yes, in fact that comment is correct.
I count myself very lucky to have witnessed such an epic event.
Within the last few weeks, I have journeyed back in my mind and through these images to those moments.
To think that I had to phone a friend for a lift to get me to the location, because my car had broken down on route.
Everything about the day seemed so surreal. It was like taking pictures for a larger than life movie, but you were also in it.
Of course all the stunts were your own too.

I think more importantly though is the subject of our relationship as human beings with the changing environment around us. In those moments that we stick our heads out of the maize of mediocrity, it would be agreed that the world around us is changing.
Climates are becoming more unpredictable, storms of this nature are becoming more prolific and increasing in size.
Ultimately it will be us against nature. All the trivial politics and dogma in-between, I believe, mean absolutely nothing in the end.

So let's think about the size of that wave looking down on us the next time we buy that mass produced product of little or no use, or sip coffee out of a polystyrene cup or blindly upgrade from that old cell phone, because it's no longer cool.
We are all consumed by our own systems.
Have we stopped to consider whats coming over that wall ?

Wild pyrography

noreply@blogger.com (Donaldsart) — Sat, 07 May 2011 09:48:00 +0000

Wild pyrography, a set on Flickr.

Pyrography means "writing with fire" and is the traditional art of using a heated tip or wire to burn or scorch designs onto natural materials such as wood or leather. Burning can be done by means of a modern solid-point tool (similar to a soldering iron) or hot wire tool. I attached some bolts to the base of the tip, which helps in regulating the heat. At the right temperature I am able to sketch onto the leather, the same as I would with a pencil on drawing pad. The only difference being that I never have to sharpen my pencil.

Large format pieces are 80cm x 1.2 meters

Born to be Wild

noreply@blogger.com (Donaldsart) — Sun, 01 May 2011 06:10:00 +0000

Born to be Wild , a set on Flickr.

A gallery dedicated to some of my wildlife paintings over the years.
These images are from paintings already sold.
Photo and canvas prints available. Original commissions taken.

African wildlife has been one of my passions for many years.
As such, I have recorded this subject in various mediums; oil, acrylic & watercolour being the most prominent.

When I first started to do large format paintings (about 80cm by 1meter - metric) these were predominantly done in acrylic. I don't really know why I used this medium because it just takes forever on a canvas this size. Perhaps I liked punishing myself ?
Because acrylics dry very quickly, it is possible however to gain fine detail, specifically in the hair of certain animals (there is no blending of colours) My approach was similar to that of photoshop - working one layer of colour over the next. I found these pieces somewhat exhausting.

Oils are currently my favourite medium. I love the ease of blending and manipulating colours. I can't believe that I discovered oils so late in life (my early 30's to be exact) For some reason I was always afraid of it, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense when I am one of those artists that is eager to experiment in different mediums.

I don't really have a specific approach to my work other than I just to do what makes sense to me.

Taking a great photograph #2

noreply@blogger.com (Donaldsart) — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 15:27:00 +0000

In my first step on the approach to photography, I discussed the importance of getting to know your subject, getting in tune with it, learning to grow a sense of consciousness to the world around you. If you develop this technique you will start to notice pictures all around you, every day. The images reveal themselves to you even when you are without your camera.
There are often times when I set out without my camera, knowing that I might loose some great shots, but I also tend to become more conscious. It sharpens the senses so to speak. Sometimes you also need to revel in a moment without trying to record it.

Step2: Understanding light
What is light ? Let's try to dissect it. Without light there is nothing - think about it.
Darkness also cannot be revealed without light. The two are inseparable. They work together, this is very important to photography.
Colour also cannot exist without light.
Lets try to look at light scientifically:

REFLECTION OF LIGHT
Reflection occurs when light or any other wave bounces off an object. REFLECTION enables you to see objects that don't produce their own light.

SCATTERING OF LIGHT
Scattering is the release of light energy by particles that have absorbed extra energy. Light from a flashlight is SCATTERED out of the beam by air particles. Translucent materials scatter light as it passes through.

ABSORPTION OF LIGHT
Absorption is the transfer of energy carried by light waves to particles in matter. You cannot see through OPAQUE objects because light cannot pass through them. Opaque materials reflect and/ or absorb all light waves.

TRANSMISSION OF LIGHT
Transmission of light is the passing of light through matter. The light that reaches your eyes is transmitted through air. TRANSPARENT materials allow light to pass through.

REFRACTION OF LIGHT
The bending of light due to a change in its speed is called REFRACTION. When light passes from air (less dense) to water (more dense) it slows down. Passing white light through a PRISM separates or refracts the light into different colors.
source

Now look at some of your photographs. See if you can identify where these things happen in your pictures. Try imagine how you could alter the light in the same photographs, to reveal something completely different.
Photography is very much about capturing light. Capturing something that is traveling at an incredible speed and recording it in a single moment. A split second in time. Almost like making time stand still. Start thinking about how light affects the outcome of this moment. You need to start to see the light :)

Here are some tips to help you along the way:
Ask yourself what is the light doing in my photograph ? Is it reflecting light off some-ones sunglasses, is it being scattered with my flash, creating harsh shadows where the light can't reach ? Maybe you want this effect, maybe you don't, but you should have some direction over the light if possible.
Light that is filtered might pick up a hue.
Think about how light is refracted through the earth's atmosphere, particularly at sunrise and sunset. These conditions usually result in warm photographs with rich colour. This has to do with the refraction of light. Now consider if you had to add some scattered light to this. A little bit of flash on the foreground subject, still revealing a magnificent sunset in the background. You need to experiment with it if you want to see results.
Cool light is also scattered light as it is transmitted through molecules revealing more of a blue light.
Florescent light will reveal a green hue in your photographs.

There are many ways that you can change the dynamics of light in your pictures, but it is also important to understand the relationship between your lens and your eye. The lens quite simply does not register how our brain sees a thing. Our eye has already adjusted to the light, we do it unconsciously, but the lens does not. This is one of the reasons why people can be disappointed in their results, because the photo does not always reveal what they saw.
It is the rigid lens of the eye which bends rays of light entering the eye. Like the camera, the eye has a shutter to control the light. It is called the iris. It works automatically - like the camera, it has a film, for forming images, which covers the retina.

Research & experiment ! Before the days of digital, I used to own a manual camera which I would often take apart and clean. Examining a simple thing like the shutter opening and closing at different speeds helped me understand how light was controlled as it burnt itself on the film against the back plate.

Here are some links that will help your research on photography
The History of Photography
"Photography" is derived from the Greek words photos ("light") and graphein ("to draw") This is exactly what I'm saying. You are drawing or painting with light. Changing the intensity of your brush will have significant effects on the outcome.
Take a journey from the pinhole camera to the modern day digital. This will bring some understanding of how light works and how this has been processed along the way.

Working with Light
Here is a great tutorial of a photographer I follow on DA.
He does shed some further light on the subject.

Remember, when you understand a little of how something works, it empowers you to new levels when you apply that knowledge to a task.
Understand how light works. It will do much for your photography.

Good luck and thanks for watching!
To be continued -part 3 Understanding Composition

Taking a Great Photograph

noreply@blogger.com (Donaldsart) — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 17:36:00 +0000

Everywhere I look people are taking photographs. Nearly everyone I know has a camera of sorts. These days you can even snap away on your cellular phone. But what makes a really great photograph ? What separates an image from the pack and makes it truly remarkable ?
As astounding as technology is, I do not believe it is always the size of your camera that counts. This is not a technical journal. To be honest, I suspect I could be more in tune with current trends, but I own a very basic middle of the range SLR camera. Nothing special. I could seriously do with an upgrade ! So I won't be talking about the methods, shutter speeds, f-stops, etc There are articles that can explain these things much more efficiently than I could.

As an artist at heart, I tend to approach the process of photography in a similar fashion to rendering a painting. The method is somewhat different, but the camera becomes another creative tool through which to obtain a desired result (almost like painting with a lens)
I've had much early experience with shooting on film. I think this was the grounding I needed of how photography works. These days most things are digital, but many of the principals I believe are the same.

I would like to talk about the approach to photography. For me there are 3 important steps to achieving great results.

Step 1: Understanding your subject.
“A good photograph will prove to the viewer how little our eyes permit us to see. Most people only see what they have always seen and what they expect to see. Where a photographer, if he’s good, will see everything.” -Leon Levinstein.

Ask yourself the question - why am I shooting this photograph ? Remember we are talking about taking a 'great' photograph, not just a regular happy snap - which can no doubt randomly turn out to be great, but this is not the point.
You need to understand your subject. You need to get in tune with it !

A simple example would be, if I am photographing children I should consider shooting from their level. As an adult, if shooting down onto a child, the picture might look a bit demeaning. This is fine if this is the desired result, but what if you want to capture more of the essence of the child. You need to think like a child. In your mind you need to become the child. This is a process and it takes practice, but going down on your knees or just sitting down on the ground already brings you to their level. Your photos will already start to look different.

If you are shooting food, in your mind you are eating that food - sure hope it looks good, otherwise it won't taste that great, right ? Will your viewer feel like they want to lick the photo, or perhaps you want to say something else ? Evoke an idea, even if you are shooting dead fish.

Dare to think differently. If you shoot a scene exactly like you see it, it has to be really special otherwise you will just be revealing the way everybody sees it all the time. You need to make them stop and think about your image. You need to make an impact.

Sometimes you come across a scene that you want to shoot, but maybe you feel you don't understand the subject well enough. You have little to no knowledge of it, but you feel compelled to shoot it anyway. Shooting the 2008 Kalk Bay Spring Tide has been one of the most exhilarating of photographic experiences for me.

It was surreal to the point where I lost myself. It felt like I was shooting on a movie set, yet I was also part of it. Everywhere around me was water, mayhem and madness. I felt completely relaxed. This is hard to consider, if I have to take into account my car that had just blown a head gasket, which I had left somewhere on the side of the road. I was hungry for these pictures. I forgot about my car. It did not matter. It was freezing and it was miserable. I put this out of my mind. Nothing else existed, I blocked it all out. Would you believe me that I saw this picture 'Don't Take this personally!' in my mind before I actually shot it ?

I knew how to take a reasonable picture in these weather conditions, but what I really needed to do was to tune into what was happening around me. This is a simple approach to understanding and then processing. When you shoot that great moment, whatever it is, how grand it is when you are able to become one with the wave. Then there is more, you are not just the wave you are the sea. You are not just the sea you are the storm. You are the moment, you are one with it. Clicking the shot is sheer rapture. You have to do nothing else. You just have to be there, anticipate it, feel it, them capture it when the moment is completely right.

With this approach to photography, how could you not start getting better results?
I don't always get it right. I am still learning, but this understanding has worked for me.
Remember, a lot of 'you' as a photographer can be revealed in a photograph if you are truly one with it. Forget about what people want to see in your pictures. Start thinking about what you see - what you really see. Now how are you going to go about revealing this to the viewer ?

Good luck and thanks for watching!
To be continued -part 2 Understanding Light
For a more expanded view of this journal, please see DeviantArt version

Every child can see ...

noreply@blogger.com (Donaldsart) — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 23:05:00 +0000

This was a status line I saw on Facebook today, which prompted the following response
"...children see what we can not.
How hard it is to see through the eyes of a child. To be like Peter Pan and believe in the impossible and the beauty of life. The belief to never grow old.
The essence of life which eventually becomes lost to conformity."

As an artist and an adult I am constantly challenged with this dilemma . "Face reality" "Take responsibility" "Be responsible" yet as we grow older we become more conformed to these guidelines which are more often than not entrenched in us by external influences. Constantly bombarded with advice and instruction on how to live, how to behave, what to buy, what to wear, bla, bla ... all of these pretentious ideals to be accepted into society. To be 'normal'
Our creativity has been stifled!
A child has the ability to see the world through different eyes. Through the eyes of wonder. Through the eyes of possibility. Through the eyes of creativity.
Creativity is the greatest rebellion there is !
Please join me in this rebellion. Decide today to be creative.
This is a challenge because to be truly creative you need to be free, you need to let go of your restrictions, your ideology, your EGO !

I recently had the pleasure of attending the Afrika Burn festival with my son Jethro. There were many restrictions I made for myself not to go, but in the end we did (thanks to the compulsion inflicted upon me by my wonderful wife, Lara) The circumstances facing us in just getting there were extreme, even up until a few km before our destination when I had a blowout.

There are many other stories I could tell of our journey, but I want to talk about the lesson my son taught me on creativity.
Much of Afrika Burn is also about people dressing up as their 'alter ego'. A big fancy dress party in the desert so to speak, although there is a lot more to it than that.

On the second day Jethro found this camo suite which he climbed into and proceeded to be in 'disguise'. At times he really was camouflaged, jumping out at passers by and making them laugh. He also was the perfect prop in helping me with my Burning Frame of Africa series.

The thing that struck me most was that whilst everyone else was parading as their alter ego, they were pretending in essence to be something they were not. In my son's case, he was not pretending. He really was whatever his mind allowed him to be. No restrictions, no boundaries, total freedom, no ego !
He had reached a pinnacle of creativity.
Jethro stayed in the suite for most of the day.

I would like to encourage you to try and see the world again through the eyes of a child. Believe in the impossible. Break down a barrier. Forget your ego. Strive to be free.

Do something creative !

First Steps

noreply@blogger.com (Donaldsart) — Tue, 25 May 2010 21:29:00 +0000

My first steps into the realm of Social Media, after leaving this blogspot vacant for so long.
Fear not, my website is soon to be updated and all my portals to be collaborated.

In the mean time please click my links provided where you will find me here there and everywhere.
If you wish to contact me please do so at bagend@iafrica.com

I am open for art commissions and print sales