leslie mcdaniel photography - the blog

A TEDX Talk - Brene Brown: The power of vulnerability

2011-10-24T08:00:00.001-06:00

You know TED, right? Ideas worth spreading? Even if you don't know TED, I'm going to pretend that you said, "Yes, of course!" while you drop everything to redeem yourself here. I've found so much inspiration for my photography work and life in general from the talks I've come across on TED. Today I want to share a TEDX talk by Brene Brown entitled The Power of Vulnerability. It's been almost one year since I watched this talk but I recently came across my notes and was inspired once again. The TED website describes her talk like this:

"Brene Brown studies human connection -- our ability to empathize, belong, love. In a poignant, funny talk at TEDxHouston, she shares a deep insight from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself as well as to understand humanity."

The talk is about 20 minutes long and I don't think you'll regret watching it:

Here are some of my "take-aways" from this inspiring talk:

Let go of who I think I should be in order to be who I am.
Fully embrace vulnerability.
We can't selectively numb emotions. When we numb the bad ones, we numb the good ones, too.
Am I losing my tolerance for vulnerability?
Vulnerability is the birthplace of joy, love, belonging, creativity, and faith.
I can practice vulnerability by

Practicing gratitude and honoring what's ordinary in my life
Allowing myself to experience joy & love.

What do you think about being vulnerable? Do you think it's a good or bad thing to be vulnerable? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

2011-10-10T08:30:00.001-06:00

Happy Fall! As I mentioned in my previous post, I tend to find photographs with people more interesting. There are times, however, when I'm only drawn to shape and color (and the absence of people). In general, I tend to love designs that are curved and flowing (or that contain circles) and I am very drawn to the color red, sometimes yellow, and displays of bold color in general. There was a time in my life when I only loved neutrals - black, gray, white, cream, beige, etc. After I crossed the line into color in my wardrobe and decorating style, there was no turning back.

I came across some giant displays of fall on a recent trip so I decided I wanted to focus on small sections of these giant displays to create graphic photographs consisting mostly of color, line, and texture. I hope you enjoy these images of fall:

Tourist Attractions and Their People, New York City

2011-09-28T14:22:00.000-06:00

Whenever I watch a movie set in New York, the movie cannot end without my proclamation of "I want to go to there." Since I had never visited this great city before last week but had seen it portrayed in countless films and documentaries, I dubbed it the most familiar unfamiliar city I have ever visited. Just last week my husband and I met some friends in New York for our first NYC experience.

There was so much I wanted to photograph that I felt a little overwhelmed and often traded the view through my lens for simply experiencing the city with my camera tucked away in my bag. Don't get me wrong, I made plenty of photographs, but in retrospect...not as many as I would have liked. At one point, my friend even commented that she was surprised I hadn't taken more pictures. The thing is...when I am on a trip, I will often make pictures of landmarks or touristy things, but I am much more interested in photographs that also contain people. Sometimes the arrangement of people seems "messy" to me (too many in one place, or not arranged in a way I think would make a pleasing composition) and I'll pass up the opportunity. Other times I'll spot something I want as a backdrop (a landmark or tourist attraction) and wait for someone to enter into the right spot or to arrange themselves in a way I find pleasing within the frame. Here are a few such photographs from my recent trip to New York City:


American Museum of Natural History - Hall of Ocean Life ©2011, Leslie McDaniel. All rights reserved.

American Museum of Natural History - Hall of African Mammals
©2011, Leslie McDaniel. All rights reserved.


The Central Park Mall ©2011, Leslie McDaniel. All rights reserved.

Lobby of the Empire State Building
©2011, Leslie McDaniel. All rights reserved.

Washington Square Park
©2011, Leslie McDaniel. All rights reserved.

Prepare, But Be Ready for the Unexpected

2011-08-29T08:49:00.001-06:00

When I am hired for an assignment, whether I'm hired by the University, a business, or a family, I mentally prepare by visualizing the types of images I might make and what the experience will be like. This doesn't mean the photographs I will take are set in stone, but it's just my way of prepping myself for what I might encounter (emphasis on the might). I imagine many photographers do this to some extent, as do people in other fields. Sometimes, I even go as far as sketching out my ideas. Other times I just visit the location in advance to think about options.

I do this mental preparation with the understanding that there will still be "unknowns" and surprises. This is a good thing because it allows me to create images spontaneously. Somehow, this mental preparation for what I think I will encounter helps me better prepare for the unknowns. What do I do, then, when the situation I had mentally prepared for doesn't actually happen? This is when I rely partly on my experience and knowledge, but mostly I decide to be flexible and just go with the flow to capture the new situation.

I recently had this experience while on assignment. I had mentally prepared for a certain type of image-making but when circumstances prevented that from happening, the client asked if I would play the journalist role to capture the event as it was happening. My response? Sure! How did I mentally prepare for this? Well...there wasn't much advance mental preparation I could do for this. My job became keen observer. Watching, waiting, anticipating and absorbing what was happening around me.

How does mental preparation help in your work? Does this advance prep help, even if the situation is nothing like you had imagined? I'd love to hear your comments!

You can see more images from this assignment here.

Ricky Padilla - Brown Water Coffee

2011-08-22T09:43:00.003-06:00

This is Part II of a new portrait project about people in Bozeman who are doing great things. Please check out Part I here.

Clean water. It's something so simple that we never even consider it unless it's taken away from us due to a natural disaster, flooding, etc. These circumstances are pretty rare for most of us so it's more than likely we will never experience the inability to have clean water during our lifetimes. If we do, it will be for a limited time. Imagine, though, if one of your major daily struggles was to locate, gather, and transport water for your family that is dirty and contaminated and puts your family at risk...but you have no other choice. If you are a female, you will begin this task at a young age and will likely lose the opportunity to go to school to perform this simple task.

Ricky Padilla and his wife Tana are passionate about helping people have access to clean water. The mission behind Brown Water Coffee is to provide a high quality product to its customers while also funding non-profits for clean water. Brown Water is set to launch this Friday, August 26, 2011 with a line of ground and whole bean coffees. From every 12 oz. and 1 lb. bag they sell, they will donate $2 to help a community get clean water. They have decided to use these proceeds to fund Living Water International who take a sustainable, community-based approach to provide mechanical wells and pumps so communities can have access to clean water.

Each bag of coffee you purchase will be made to order and shipped within a timeline that provides optimum flavor. The tagline for Brown Water Coffee is "Drink brown water so others don't have to." Be sure to check out the launch of Brown Water Coffee this week!

Ricky Padilla, CEO Brown Water Coffee
©2011, Leslie McDaniel

Ricky's office is decorated with photographs from Living Water International that serve as a reminder of his mission
©2011, Leslie McDaniel

The office of Brown Water Coffee
©2011, Leslie McDaniel

Ricky's favorite blend is Guatemala - check for it online Friday!
©2011, Leslie McDaniel

Ricky demonstrates the taste-testing process of the beans he has just finished roasting and grinding.
©2011, Leslie McDaniel

Guest Blogger - John Felkins

2011-08-02T13:51:00.004-06:00

Today I'd like to introduce you to John Felkins. I have known John for many years and have only recently learned of his love of photography. John is an amatuer but he is like a sponge for photography knowledge. I try to answer as many of his photography-related questions that I can and he's definitely asking the "right" questions - things that really matter and that will help him to improve his photographic skill and vision. His main interest in image-making is landscapes and since his somewhat recent move to Nashville, TN, he has taken an interest in photographing a Hackberry tree right next to his house. Today he shares with you his personal project and his goal to capture this tree in a variety of lighting and weather situations while also using it as a subject with which to experiment and try out the things he learns about photography. I hope you enjoy his project and maybe it will inspire you to start your own personal photography project!

The Laboratory
by John Felkins

Behind my house is an old Hackberry tree. When I say old I mean about 40 years old which is how old I am so it's not really that old! But like me it's a gnarly old tree and has some good character - worthy of photographing. My photography is in it's infancy and as such I'm still exploring "my style". The old Hackberry tree has provided me with a great subject on which to try different techniques and has kinda become a teacher to me. Everything from different lighting situations, different perspectives, and even painting with light have been attempted.

The tree is so nearby I can walk out the back door and just try something new. I like exploring new areas all the time but it is nice to be able to just go out the back door and start making photographs and the Hackberry has been a good canvas for that. It helps me to make pictures as often as possible. Daily is great. At first I thought I'd get bored with one tree but as I began to photograph this one tree I started to notice things a lot more. The sameness of the tree accentuated the changes around it. Light, seasons, and weather all became a lot more apparent to me. It was like I was paying closer attention without being told to do so. I felt more connected with what was going on around the tree and that encouraged me to look closer and find new ideas about how to photograph the tree.

I started with closeups and worked towards photographing the entire tree. One night a saw a lot of lighting bugs around the tree and had to get some pictures. I ran out the back door, forgetting to spray my legs with insect repellent, and started shooting away. Setting up my tripod and shooting as the sun went down, I ran out of options when it got dark until I thought of something I had seen in another picture. I yelled for my daughter to bring me a spotlight and I tried painting with light a little. I got some cool shots that and sadly I also got a good batch of chigger bites!

©2011, John Felkins

From Homelessness to Home: The Hill-Smith Family

2011-07-25T09:30:00.002-06:00

For the fourth installment of my Homeless to Home project, about families who have sought help from the Family Promise program and who now have their own home, I photographed Crystal and her two children. After losing her home, Crystal immediately called Family Promise on the recommendation of someone who told her about the organization. Thankfully, they happened to have exactly three spots open - perfect for her and the kids. At first she was scared about the limit of a 3-month stay. She wondered how she was going to make a turn-around in 3 months: find a job, become financially independent, and find a place for her and her kids to live. However, at the very end of her three months, someone called Family Promise and wanted to donate a trailer. Gloria, the Executive Director at Family Promise, knew she had the perfect family for the trailer. She wanted Crystal to go check it out first because the person donating it mentioned that it was in very bad shape. Luckily, someone offered to fix it up by replacing the flooring. Crystal and her kids moved into the fixed-up trailer but then the 2010 hail storm caused extensive damage. Just two months ago, Crystal and the kids were able to move out of the two bedroom trailer into their current three bedroom apartment.

©2011, Leslie McDaniel


©2011, Leslie McDaniel

©2011, Leslie McDaniel

So, which of the family portraits do you like best? I threw in the silly one because the kids wanted to do "funny" pictures and I think it shows that they have a lot of fun together. However, I'm more likely to use the first or third photographs as the one whole-family portrait.

For the kids, I kept trying each of these in black and white for some reason, but then settled on the color versions. Of the three choices for Shanna, which do you prefer? And finally, which portrait of Zeke do you prefer?

Andrew Babcock - ROC Wheels

2011-07-20T09:30:00.007-06:00

I met Andrew Babcock last Thursday for my first portrait in my new series. Although I've tossed around a few ideas for a title of this series, none have stuck. As with all my projects, I believe this one will become more narrowly focused as it progresses. For now, I'm simply seeking people in Bozeman, MT who are doing cool or interesting things that make a difference.

Andrew is the Executive Director of ROC Wheels in Bozeman, MT. Prior to the suggestion from a friend to photograph someone at ROC Wheels for my project, I had not heard of the organization. After checking out their website, I got really excited about the work they're doing. They not only assemble and provide wheelchairs for children (or very small adults) in developing countries, they also include educating the public and the recipients in their mission. The pediatric wheelchairs are specifically designed to be durable in the countries they serve. By providing the Bozeman community with the opportunity to volunteer as wheelchair assemblers, ROC Wheels educates the volunteers and also gives them a sense of ownership in the process of helping others by providing mobility.

ROC Wheels was started by Wayne and Lee Ann Hanson who began with the idea of Kid Kart and prototypes of jogging strollers. Kid Kart grew quickly due to demand from parents and therapists to best serve the needs of their children. The company was then sold to Sunrise Medical where Wayne worked in R&D. Eventually, he would found ROC Wheels with the focus of designing & distributing pediatric wheelchairs for children in developing countries.

Andrew, who when asked what his job responsibilities are smiled and said "everything", earned a business degree at St. Norbert College in Wisconsin. After graduating, he moved to Montana and spent time as a self-professed "ski and fishing bum" and enjoying outdoor life in this beautiful state. He eventually felt a gnawing desire to do something more with his life...something that would allow him to help people and in his own words, "get back to using my brain". After searching for the right position, he settled in as Executive Director at ROC Wheels six years ago. Andrew does everything from working with volunteer groups to visiting the current manufacturing facility in Morocco (and later this year, the facility in Iraq), to working with their established networks in the developing countries they serve. According to Andrew, coordinating a wheelchair distribution can take 8-12 months. A team of 6-20 volunteers (and very rarely more than two staff people) spend 8-14 days traveling to remote areas to custom fit 20-40 people each day. The actual amount of mobility products distributed during this trip can range from 100-400, depending on the need in the area and the available funding.

©2011, Leslie McDaniel

The two portraits above obviously have a very different feel to them. In the top one, I wanted to express Andrew's passion for his work and for helping people. Therefore, I directed the light onto his face with a 10° grid over the strobe. I'm still deciding if I like the resulting effect and shadows. For the second image, I wanted to create a a confident feel with Andrew's stance and the camera angle. I chose to use a 60" umbrella on this photograph in order to light more of the background. Working in a warehouse type setting where some of the wheelchair assembly occurs did have its challenges but I'm fairly happy with these photographs.

After photographing Andrew on Thursday last week, I came across a little card on Saturday that said "Make your career matter." That's exactly what I'm trying to do and it's what brought Andrew into this type of work.

How do you make your career matter?

My First Opportunity to Photograph Dance - IndepenDANCE

2011-07-18T12:53:00.001-06:00

IndepenDANCE, an all volunteer, non-profit organization, was formed three years ago to give dancers over the age of 18 an outlet for dance and choreography. According to the group, there are not a lot of opportunities for dancers to showcase their talents outside of the university. I was hired as the photographer for the organization's annual show on June 23, 2011. This was my first time to photograph dance, but I really loved it! Since I was not familiar with these specific dance pieces, or dance in general for that matter, it was a lot of fun to hear the music and to anticipate the moves. It was a challenge to work with the pre-determined lighting sets, but the challenge was a good one. There was a total of 18 dance pieces, all of which were unique.

Here are a few of the photographs I captured from the event:

©2011, Leslie McDaniel

If you are interested in seeing more photographs from this event, post a comment with your email address and I'll email you the link to the gallery. Prints are also available.

Guest Blogger: Photographer Juliette Osen

2011-06-28T08:40:00.001-06:00

I recently asked Juliette Osen to write a guest post about her 365 Project. I cannot say enough positive things about this mature and amazing 17 year old who aspires to become a professional photographer. I first came to know Juliette when I contacted her family about participating in my adoption portrait series and multimedia project. You can see my portraits of Juliette and her family here and here which were part of my Forever Families project. Her already large family adopted two boys from the Philippines and Juliette's mom has home schooled all of the Osen kids, including the older ones who now live on their own. Juliette also recently passed her second degree black belt test in Taekwondo. She is so very hard on herself and she pushes herself to excel in everything she does. Enjoy Juliette's post and be inspired by her work.

Project 365
by Juliette Osen

I look at the pictures I take as a way of documenting parts of my life, as a looking glass that will bring me back in my life years from now. So to me the idea of documenting a year of my life with a picture every day made perfect sense.

I started my 365 project on New Year's day. At first the project came easily to me and didn’t seem challenging at all. It forced me to work on concepts I had thought of but had never taken the time to work on. It was exciting to photograph every day and to actually have a purpose.

Soon though, I ran out of juice and ideas. I had lost all interest in the project and landed in a rut. I was bored with my life so taking pictures to document it bored me as well. I realized, though, that completing this project was important to me and would be a major accomplishment. I am naturally not a quitter and I'm extremely dedicated to anything I start. So, I made the commitment to finish the project, no matter how impossible it seemed.

Before long I regained my enthusiasm for the project. I again felt that passion, and strove to make each image beautiful and to represent each day well.

There are still days when making that picture seems nearly impossible so the result is a far from perfect picture. Other days though, I get an idea and I'm so excited I want to try it immediately. Whether or not they turn out the way I want them to, I am still trying and experimenting and delving deeper into the world of photography.

Today is day 179 of my 365 project and I have yet to skip a single day. This project has helped me work through stuff in my personal life and is teaching me so much about photography. I can see the improvement in my work since I started and I'm so glad I've stuck with it.

I plan on continuing the project, making a memory for every day.

Day 54 - ©2011, Juliette Osen


Day 141 - ©2011, Juliette Osen

Day 160 - ©2011, Juliette Osen

I encourage you to check out the remainder of Juliette's 365 Project on her Flickr stream here. Also, feel free to leave her a comment with a word of encouragement to keep going.

Fundraising Photo Booth

2011-06-20T09:31:00.000-06:00

Photo booths at weddings and other events seem to be very trendy now. When I was recently asked to run a photo booth for an adoption fundraiser, I thought it sounded like a fun way to contribute. Since there was already an admission price for the music and art fair, we chose to offer the photo booth pictures for a small additional charge. Several people let us borrow costumes and accessories so people could dress up for their picture. If you are planning a fundraising event, I would highly recommend adding a fun photo booth!

Me with one of my assistants in front of one of the costume racks

The Emergence of Spring in Polaroids

2011-06-06T08:30:00.049-06:00

Spring in Montana is really just an extension of winter. Late spring can be a cruel time of rainy days punctuated by a few warm, beautiful, and sunny days. The cruelty comes when the rest of the country is enjoying consistently warm, actual spring-like days and we are still having rainy (and sometimes snowy) days. When the sun arrives, the entire town is out enjoying the day. On one of these recent beautiful days, I carried my Polaroid SX-70 around my neighborhood to record a few glimpses of warm weather. When I lived in Memphis, Tulips and Daffodils would often arrive in February. Here in Bozeman, MT, Tulips are still in their prime now in the first part of June. The trees have just recently begun to be covered in green. These pictures are a reminder to me that on the cloudy, rainy, and cold days, the sun will shine once again.

Blue Skies and Green Leaves

©2011, Leslie McDaniel

Tulips

©2011, Leslie McDaniel

Weeds

©2011, Leslie McDaniel

I chose my SX-70 for this little outing for a few reasons. First of all, I love square photographs. Secondly, I love actual prints so the SX-70 would immediately satisfy both of these things. Also, I love the color and slightly fuzzy style I get from my camera. Before I headed out, I knew I wanted to capture these glimpses of spring and summer. I also know that my style tends to be fairly "clean" in that the subject either fills the frame or is carefully and thoughtfully arranged and would work well within a square format. All of these things helped me to decide to choose my Polaroid SX-70 camera over any of the others.

It sounds like a big part of the southern U.S. is steaming hot today. Wherever you may be, what are you doing to enjoy YOUR weather?

Guest Blogger: Photographer Kelly Gorham

2011-05-31T09:36:00.000-06:00

Today I am extremely pleased to introduce Kelly Gorham as my guest blogger. Kelly has been a big influence as I've grown as a photographer. He has helped with advice, ideas, and encouragement. As an intern for Kelly at Montana State University, I observed and experienced lighting people in various situations "on the fly". In other words, I observed Kelly in vastly different situations and he always came up with a quick, effective, and beautiful lighting solutions. This helped to give me confidence when I was on my own assignments. The one thing I carry with me on every assignment is something I learned from Kelly - "Treat every photo assignment, no matter how small, as if it's the most important." Please enjoy Kelly's post today as he talks about something he learned about his own work and his encouragement to fight through the laziness. Be sure to take him up on his challenge at the end.

Zoom With Your Feet

by Kelly Gorham

…my metaphor for photography and life

When I was six-years-old, in the 1970’s, and got my first camera it used film and flash cubes and had a fixed focal-length lens. You may remember a flash cube only had four shots in it. After I threw many tantrums when I’d run out of film or flashes, my mother lectured me and instructed me to make each photo count instead of photographing everything as I did.

This trend continued through my life of photography as I used a view camera with prime lenses in college and a Pentax K1000 with one lens during my first two summers interning with a daily newspaper. It really forced me to think about my photos and zoom with my feet. During these years I managed some pretty creative compositions and explored my subjects more thoroughly since I had to move my body to get different perspectives.

This all fell apart when I upgraded camera systems and got my Nikon N90s with 28-70mm f2.8 and 70-200mm f2.8 lenses. I was working for a daily paper in Nevada and found myself working much more quickly. This was in part due to my heavy assignment load but also because the zoom lenses made me lazy. For years I would get to a scene, have a look around, and then pick a couple good angle and fire away with the motor drive cranking like a lawnmower. There I was, just standing and zooming. Oh, maybe I’d take time to switch between the two lenses but the interaction I had experienced with my subjects from an early age was gone. I used the technology like a crutch and it made me lazy and as a result the photos suffered.

Fast forward twelve years and I’d been shooting digital for about ten of those. Yup, you guessed it, even lazier. With digital I could see every photo as I captured it. We call this chipping in the industry. It’s almost like a funny photo ballet. You really see it at sporting events with a row of photographers bobbing their heads in unison from the action to their LCD screens. So now, I’m still standing and zooming but have even less concerns because I can see instantly if I’m getting the shot. The challenge is gone. Even if it’s a poor photo I’d be in Photoshop trying to salvage it. Of course, photographers are famous for saying, “I never Photoshop, I’m true to the subject,” but let’s admit it, we’ve all gone through that phase of trying to squeeze every bit of information out of every pixel. Is the photo too dark? Fix it in post. You didn’t get close enough? No problem, crop it in post. Too lazy to wait for good light? No problem, shoot a bunch of bracketed photos and merge them in HDR (high dynamic range) software.

In 2008 just as my laziness-induced obsession with HDR imaging and zoom lenses was reaching critical mass, my 28-70 broke. Oh crap. It was a morning before I had several news assignments. The 70-200 would be too long for all these assignments. I grabbed the only other lens that was with me at the time, my trusty $89 Nikkor 50mm f1.8 that I had previously only used when shooting food and products and went off to the assignments.

Suddenly photography was tough again. I was crouching, squatting, laying on my belly and on my back. I stood on chairs and tables. Wow, I was moving again. This lens didn’t allow me to be lazy. I was thinking about my subject and interacting with it. I didn’t even chip. I just shot the photos and hoped for the best, just like the days of slide film. When I got back to the computer I downloaded the photos into Adobe Lightroom and was amazed at the quality. It was like the 23-year-old version of me walked into the room. The photos were interesting, well composed and perfectly exposed. I didn’t change a thing in the computer. I simply exported the images and sent them off to the editors. I was a photographer again.

Soon after, I went to Berlin to shoot a project about relics of the Cold War. I carried a 20mm and a 50mm. The project was the highlight of my career and has exhibited around the U.S. and in Germany. Now in 2011 I carry a 28mm and an 85mm throughout the day. I shoot sports with a prime 300mm f2.8 and use a 1.4x teleconverter when I need the extra oomph. I still have a 70-200 and use it when needed but I travel light and think about my shots. Instead of researching cameras with bells and whistles and massive zoom lenses, I find myself dreaming about compact mirrorless cameras with prime lenses and very few controls. I treat every photo as though it’s the most important image I’ve ever captured.

Here’s a challenge for you. Take one camera with one prime lens and go for a stroll. No filters, no gadgets. Just go and explore your subjects and force yourself to break from the restraints of technology. Enjoy life for what it is and make the most of it.

Getting to Know You

2011-05-16T08:30:00.002-06:00

As I've read about best practices for running a blog over the past year, one thing I consistently come across is to know your audience and to always offer content that is of interest to them. I tend to mix the content of this photography blog between my current projects, things I find inspiring, guest posts from people I'd like to introduce you to, and how-to type posts with ideas or suggestions.

I try to keep my reader in mind as I write, but I thought this would be a good time to conduct a short survey in order to offer better and more interesting content. So, dear reader, why do you read this blog (even if it was only one time) and what content are you most interested in reading? With your help, I can offer things that are beneficial and worthwhile to you.

I know there may be people who stop by and read an occasional post but never comment. So, if you have ever read any of my posts, I'd love for you to leave a comment below:

What do YOU want to read about and what would you like to see from this blog?
Which posts have you enjoyed the most?

Thanks for your help! I sincerely appreciate your comments and your time, and thanks for reading!

Capturing Natural & Complimentary Portraits

2011-05-09T08:30:00.007-06:00

One of my recent freelance jobs was to photograph Montana State University faculty who received a promotion and/or tenure this year and who didn't already have a portrait on file with the university. Of the 34 or so who received this honor, 21 did not already have a portrait. Even though the portraits were mostly head shots, each new environment was a challenge. I really loved meeting each person and the varied environments in which I met them. Upon arrival, I needed to quickly assess the location and lighting and how to make the most pleasing portrait within a fairly limited time frame. One of the main challenges was to help the person get comfortable and relaxed with me in a short amount of time. Capturing a casual, relaxed, and real smile was key. Making this happen, however, depends on several variables.

Here are a few tips on how I work with people to try and help them relax in front of a camera:

1. If the person seems busy and stressed, I do my best to assure them I will not take much of their time and I express my sincere thanks for meeting me in the midst of their busy schedule.
2. As I'm setting up and assessing the location, I also engage them in small talk about their work or hobbies (if something in their office suggests a pastime). I try to find and express a common connection. This can be anything from places I've traveled, things I've studied, or hobbies I enjoy.
3. It can be difficult to be funny on the spot with someone I just met, but I try to be as light-hearted without sacrificing professionalism. What I say or how I do this just depends on each person and how they are responding to me.
4. If I give a compliment, I make sure it's 100% sincere. I never say "Oh, I love that shirt you're wearing!" or "I love that painting behind you!" if I don't mean it.

With this project, I would sometimes ask them to give me that big promotion smile...or that "I'm finished with that grueling tenure process" smile. That would often illicit a genuine smile, although sometimes brief if I had to move my camera too much to put it in front of my face. In other words, I had to be READY for it. That smile can quickly melt when they remember I'm photographing them. :)

Here are a few of my favorites I picked for different reasons:

©2011, Leslie McDaniel

For this portrait series, I used a variety of lighting set ups including window light with a reflector and a flash head on a light stand with a "shoot-through" umbrella.

When photographing people, it's very important to determine the best pose, angle, and lighting that is most complimentary to the subject. In a previous post, I gave some tips on posing for portraits. The importance of using these things to the advantage of the person being photographed can be illustrated by the following example. Look at these two portraits of the person in the first portrait above. The following portraits were made back to back. However, slight changes that occurred to the angle of her body, lighting, and her hair in the moments between the two images resulted in photographs that almost looks like two different people:


11:20:40 AM

11:21:08 AM

As you can see, I chose the first photograph of her at the top of this post over either of these because I felt her smile, pose, and the lighting in that one was the most natural and complimentary.

What process do you go through to make the most complimentary portrait of a person?

Rethinking Landscapes

2011-05-02T08:30:00.002-06:00

I recently wrote a post about using landscape photography as an opportunity to slow down. I sort of lamented about my inability to make interesting landscape photographs. I'm also generally not drawn to the landscape photography of others.

On a recent trip to nearby Yellowstone National Park, I decided to take my medium format camera to attempt landscapes in squares. I'm not sure why I haven't tried this before. Even though I completed an entire non-portrait project entitled I Heart America with a medium format camera about a year ago, I've never considered capturing landscapes in squares. I think I've found a way to give landscape photography a try.

Here are a couple images from the Mammoth area of the park:

The funny thing is that I'm still more interested in landscape photographs that have people in them, such as the first one. After this little experiment, I'm thinking about starting a project with the medium format of the tourists I encounter in the park. This would allow me to work with both people and landscapes with a non-traditional landscape format.

What do you think of these images?

Guest Blogger: Photographer Dan MacDonald

2011-04-25T09:45:00.000-06:00

Today I'm pleased to have a guest post by Dan MacDonald. I attended the School of Film & Photography at Montana State University with Dan and had the opportunity to witness his creativity through his photographic projects and the installations for his work at our senior shows. Today Dan shares his new project with us:

Sometimes I Stop Along the Way

I started this project while on a trip this past summer, but the idea had been germinating for sometime before that. I should also start by saying this project is probably an outgrowth of a larger interest I have in architecture. I am not so much interested in the technical aspects or even the design of buildings, but I am interested in them more as a potential physical expression of personal, social, and cultural feeling. Which leads me to the rest areas. Some are utilitarian, some are quite elaborate (sadly none of the ones I’ve shot so far), some have extremely trendy architecture that screams out which decade it was designed in and some are for more modest with a specific era of design and construction difficult to pinpoint. What I find interesting about them is their purpose is extremely utilitarian, primarily a sanitary place to dispose of bodily waste, and secondarily a place to stop along the way for rest from a journey. Yet many states have used them to showcase quite a bit of local pride, and often the designs of these areas reflect some version of the local culture of the region they’re in. Yet I think they’re often overlooked, people are usually in a hurry to get wherever they’re going on a trip, and I mean honestly it’s a place to poop. Yet someone, perhaps a team of someones, spent hours designing this unusual space and yet oddly purposeful place, and more people spent many hours constructing it.

So I’ve set out to document as many rest areas as I can, my criteria for the project so far has been to only shoot ones that I actually have to stop and (ahem), rest at. I’ve tried to shoot them in a straight-forward documentary fashion that doesn’t try to make them more than they are, but I am taking a more considered shot than just jumping out of the car and snapping the first angle I see. Usually I’ve taken no more than 5 shots at each one and these are shot digitally but have nothing but the most modest of color correction comparable to what would be easily achievable with color film and C-prints. The rest areas seen so far in this project are mostly in Montana, but there are some from Washington, Oregon, and California as well. I see this project continuing for quite some time to come as my travels hopefully take me all over the country.

More of Dan's project and other recent work can be seen on his blog.

From Homelessness to Home: The Young Family

2011-04-18T08:15:00.001-06:00

This is a continuation of a series. You can see an explanation of the project and the first family here and another family here.

Today I'm pleased to introduce the Young Family:

Karen is raising her two sons, Bryan (12) and Nathan (7), in this apartment that she's had for the past four years. It's the very same apartment they moved in to after their Family Promise experience.

Click here to hear from Nancy and her praise for Family Promise:

The two boys (Nathan, left and Bryan, right) share their room equally, each getting a wall to decorate as their own with posters and memorabilia.

Nathan was super excited to show me all of his favorite things, although sometimes he had trouble choosing his favorite. :) His bed is made up with a quilt each boy received from Family Promise.

I had a great time hanging out with the kids and trying to capture their smiles. Even 12-year old Bryan starting loosening up a bit towards the end...

...even enough to show me his mad hacky sack skills.

What do you think of this project and images so far? I'd love to hear any feedback you have, positive or negative, or ideas you might have to share. I understand that your comments will won't have anything to do with the families I photographed. One thing I miss about being in school is having regular constructive criticism of my work. Thanks for any comments you might have!

Landscape Photography as an Opportunity to Slow Down

2011-04-12T08:00:00.003-06:00

I recently had an email conversation with a friend who asked my advice about photographing a particular scene he had come across while hiking. He was frustrated with the photographs he made because he felt like he wasn't able to capture the beauty of what he saw. I admitted that this is actually one of the reasons I do not like landscape photography very much - it seems like I can only make boring landscape photographs. I can relate to the frustration. However, after giving him some suggestions of a few things to try, I came across this blog post by photographer David duChemin. I love this advice from his short blog post:

"Don’t allow yourself to be seduced by your subject matter. A beautiful scene isn’t necessarily a beautiful photograph." He goes on to encourage us: "Instead allow yourself to be seduced by, and fall in love with the light, the moment, and the geometry of the frame."

When I first started really concentrating on photography and learning about light, I felt like the world was new. Potential photographs were everywhere! In other words, I paid attention to how the light fell on things and I noticed the beauty in the things around me everyday. One of my daily prayers now is that I will be more aware of my environment and my surroundings. I don't want to surf through life without taking in all the little beautiful details. I want to find things to love about every moment.


This is one landscape image that I feel did turn out the way I had hoped. I photographed this herd of buffalo hanging out in the fog while traveling through the southern section of Yellowstone park early one morning. The fog was so thick it felt sad and heavy yet peaceful. ©2011, Leslie McDaniel

What are your frustrations with landscape photography and what tricks or tools have helped you to make the photograph you want?

And finally, how do you make yourself slow down and take in the fleeting moments of your life?

From Homelessness to Home: The Reuter Family

2011-04-04T16:56:00.000-06:00

Meet Nancy and her son Austin. Nancy's story from homelessness to home involves going from living in an unsafe roommate situation to living in a warehouse. Finally, she was connected with Family Promise and has now lived on her own with her son for a couple years. She and Austin both loved their experience in Family Promise, but were obviously ready for their own place towards the end. Even now, they remain connected to Family Promise who also helped them to find a working vehicle when their old one died.

Austin loves having his own room and has decorated it to represent the things he loves. He also has a goal to climb Mt. Everest one day so he hung the Nepali flag above his bed.

Listen to Austin's response when I asked him how Family Promise has changed him:

In the hour and a half I spent with these guys, I could tell this mom & son duo have a great time together.

Nancy & Austin pose outside their home.

Do you have any ideas or suggestions for ways to photograph my future project participants?

Guest Blogger: Lea Alexander

2011-03-28T11:44:00.000-06:00

Today's guest post comes from photographer Lea Alexander. Lea is another fantastic artist I met when she and some friends moved into our Memphis bungalow. Her housemate, Kathleen Murray, guest posted for me in February. You can check out her post here. You can follow Lea on Instagram at Photoyo.

When I was first asked to do this blog post I wondered what I would write about. This post actually comes at a perfect time because just a few weeks ago I was in Atlanta attending the Society for Photographic Education conference. I felt that this conference was just what I needed. I have been out of graduate school for a few years now and I have found myself in some sort of slump ever since. These conferences are full of many different lectures. Some are fantastic. Some not so much. But the keynote speaker for this conference was Abelardo Morell. I adore his work so I knew that was totally worth the trip! His talk was great. He took us through his work from the beginning to what he is currently working on. I left there ready to photograph. Another great thing about this conference was that I got many ideas from each lecture I went to. Dan Burkholder, well known for his process of creating digital negatives, gave a talk on using your iPhone and the many different apps that can be used and what these apps do best. This talk was great to hear because though I say I have been in a slump, I have been using my iPhone pretty much everyday to photograph the world around me.

I have come to terms with the fact that the use of my iPhone camera is my main way of photographing right now and that it is ok to incorporate other art forms in what I am working on. I don’t believe that to be a “real” photographer you have to have the best gear or the latest technology or only stick to just photography. By using my phone, I can document everything around me and often photograph without it being obvious what I am doing. The networking of people who use their phone as a form of communication is continuing to grow and grow. I have been using the Instagram app a good bit lately and have really enjoyed it. It allows me to upload photos, which then allows everyone who is following me to view them and comment if they want to. I hear there are now Instameets where you can meet up with people in your city who use Instagram. This use of technology allows us to view photos and meet people that we may have never met otherwise! Amazing!

And I actually enjoy editing these photos with the many apps that are available. You are able to have a finished product in no time at all. So I think I have determined that I have not really been in a slump, but just quietly working and that somehow all of these photos will come together. Printing these images makes this process even better because it gives me proof that I have created something. A printed image makes all the difference in the world, even if you have to go to some drug store to print it out.

If you ever have a chance to go to a photo conference or listen to an artist of any kind give a lecture, GO. Even if you don’t think that it influences you, there may be one word that changes everything about your art. And who cares if you use the camera on your phone to create images? The main thing is the fact that you are creating. And that can lead to anything…

Abelardo Morell’s website: http://www.abelardomorell.net/

Dan Burkholder’s website: http://www.danburkholder.com/

Fallen by Lea Alexander

Metal Curtain by Lea Alexander

From Homelessness to Home: The Wright Family

2011-03-21T07:45:00.000-06:00

My newest social issue project involves photographing families who were once homeless and who now have a home. The families I plan to photograph have gone through Family Promise, a local non-profit organization that offers help to families with children who are experiencing homelessness. Their website states that they have an 80% success rate of "homeless to home transition". The purpose of the organization as stated on their website is: "Our interfaith, nonsectarian network brings the faith community together to help our community’s families regain housing, independence and dignity in a time of need." While in the program, the families stay at local churches who cooperate with Family Promise. Volunteers from each church spend time hanging out with and feeding the family in the evenings during their stay. In the daytime, the families search for jobs, attend school, or spend time at the Family Promise "day house" doing tasks such as laundry or using the computer.

I had the pleasure to meet and photograph the Wright family this past Friday in the home they've had for just a couple of months. During my interview with them, they both discussed the benefits of the program as well as the difficult times. After their move from Wyoming, the couple spoke of the love and friendliness they experienced from Bozeman residents, particularly the volunteers they met through Family Promise. Heather told me of countless times she was moved to tears at the unconditional love they felt from volunteers during the program.

Meet Jason, Heather, & Hailey Wright:

Click below to hear from Heather on why they chose enter the Family Promise program to help them get back on their feet (this is a very short raw & unedited clip from the interview I conducted last Friday):

Of the two family portraits, which do you like better and why?

Reconsidering Your Cell Phone's Camera

2011-03-14T08:09:00.000-06:00

One of the things that bothers me the most about the photography business is this constant chatter about which particular camera we all use. When I'm out on a job, I can always spot the ones that will ask. You know who they are. They're the ones lingering around, twisting their head back and forth, trying to see the brand of camera you're using. If they can't tell, they'll ask. If they can tell, they'll immediately launch into their own opinions about your choice or explain why they've either chosen the same brand or gone with the other. Yes, I realize there are more brands of cameras out there than the big two, but to everyone who has ever wanted to engage me in this conversation, there are only two. I'm not trying to alienate anyone who uses brand x or y, and if this is you, this conversation probably irritates you for a whole different reason. I've had this exhausting conversation with both consumers and pros. My humble opinion is that it doesn't matter. When someone asks me for a recommendation for which to buy, I simply say go with your budget, then pick the one that feels better in your hands or has a specific feature that you really like. Beyond that, just read the manual and learn how to use every part of it.

I'm sure that most of you have heard the phrase "The best camera is the one that's with you." Most of you have cameras on your cell phones, and if you do, you probably already use it regularly. But do you consider it a tool to create images that are just as beautiful as your "big" camera? When using your cell phone's camera, you can still control two very important things to make a beautiful image: lighting and composition. There are many professional photographers now who are creating whole portfolios of work from their cell phone. Two you should check out are Jeremy Cowart and Chase Jarvis.

I'll leave you with one image I recently created with my cell phone's camera, which is 5 megapixels...more than my first digital point and shoot camera! You may recognize this owl from my Polaroid post.

(Processed with Old Photo Pro)

Do you know of other photographers purposefully using their cell phones to create new bodies of work? Leave a comment with a link to their gallery. I'd love to check it out!

Long Live Polaroid!

2011-03-07T08:08:00.001-07:00

It's kind of funny to me that in today's world of instant everything, Polaroid is a thing of the past. I know, I'm completely ignoring the whole digital photography thing that allows us to see our photographs instantly on the back of our cameras (or phones). However, I still love film and I still love having a physical photograph in my hands. Polaroid pictures satisfy both my desire to see my pictures instantly AND my desire to hold a physical object.

My first Polaroid camera was given to me by my sister, just about three years ago, not long after Polaroid announced they would cease production of their film. At the same time, she gave me several packs of the Polaroid film (600 & 779) that work in that camera.

In the past year alone, my Polaroid camera collection has quadrupled. It started when my grandmother sent me her old Polaroid SX-70 Sonar OneStep camera. Then, in just the past month, an awesome friend sent me two Polaroid cameras she found while helping a friend clean out her grandfather's house (with her friend's permission of course!). New to my collection are the SX-70 Alpha 1 and the 440 Land Camera. I was most excited to have the SX-70 Alpha 1 because although it's not the original SX-70 (which was produced from 1972-1977), it was the second in the SX-70 series (production beginning in 1977) and from what I've read, it's superior to the Sonar OneStep (production beginning in 1978) I received from my grandmother (dates from The Land List). Here are my two new lovelies:

The SX-70 Alpha 1 is in amazing shape! The leather cover and strap look like it was hardly used. With a couple of minor modifications to the camera, I can use Polaroid 600 or 779 film with this camera. Yup, I still have a couple of packs left from the supply my sister bought a few years ago. The film is expired now, but here are a few images I've taken with the SX-70:

This one was a total mistake but I love the abstract photograph the mistake created!

This is an alabaster owl figurine I recently asked my mom if I could have. I'm not into figurines at all, and as kitschy as it may be, I love this owl since I remember always seeing it as a kid, sitting on a shelf in my mom's bedroom.

This is a sculpture I made when it was only partially finished.

This one didn't develop correctly because it was way too cold outside. Oops.

I still need to make a modification to the battery of the 440 camera to make it functional so I have yet to try it out. My Polaroid camera collection now sits at four:

(From left to right: Polaroid One600, SX-70 Alpha 1, SX-70 Sonar OneStep, 440 Land Camera)

Thankfully, after Polaroid ceased production of their film, a few former Polaroid employees began The Impossible Project to produce Polaroid-like film. Long live Polaroid!

What do you think about Polaroid? A thing of the past that produced horrible pictures that you relate to the 70s? Something you look upon with kindness and a sense of nostalgia?

Guest Blogger: Kathleen Murray

2011-02-28T12:15:00.000-07:00

Today I have a guest post from photographer Kathleen Murray. I've gotten to know Kathleen over the past several months when she and some of her friends moved into our Midtown Memphis bungalow. I'm inspired by the work of these artists (three photographers and one painter) and Kathleen is no exception. She loves photography and seems to put her heart and soul into her work. Take a few minutes to read her post and I bet you'll be inspired, too! Then, check out her work by clicking her links at the end of this post.

Hello world!

Thank you Leslie for giving me the opportunity to guest write for your blog! And thank you readers for reading and responding!

Credibility, for what it’s worth; here’s a bit about myself:

I began my interest in photography at an early age: in the fourth grade I won first place in a 4-H photography contest locally, regionally and in the state for a photo that I inadvertently double exposed. That is where it all began; my curiosity was peaked! From there my parents allowed me to continue to follow this curiosity by entering a summer art program offered to kids at a local college. I took photography in the mornings, and drawing in the afternoon. I cannot draw to this day, but what I learned in those mornings has fueled the fire for what I now do.

I was the girl with the camera, who blew through 35mm film like it was going out of style, (little did I know, it would begin to a few years later). College hit, and I was able to EXPERIENCE the DARKROOM. A new love was found. Then, digital became popular, and I jumped on board. I completed my Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Sociology, with a minor in photojournalism. I was the photo technician on campus for three years and a student photographer for the school for two, I was quickly bumped from photo editor of our college's newspaper to the managing editor my final semester in school. As a photojournalist, I have been able to participate in the photographic coverage of disaster relief during hurricanes, tornadoes and severe flooding.

Upon graduation, I ventured off to graduate school seeking an MFA in art photography, after a year of schooling, moved to Texas where I spent yet another year as a photographer in a communications department. Years after graduating with my bachelor's degree from college, I returned to my alma matter to teach art photography as an adjunct professor and program director. After two years of teaching (a total of 18 photo classes) I have temporarily put teaching on hold to finish graduate school, which is where I am currently.

A few unrelated, though related thoughts on the overall theme of gaining ideas for photo shoots and growing in one’s own photography:

LEARN ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY!

It’s really quite amazing to learn about all the photographers that have gone before you! Maybe some of these names are familiar…maybe not…(If not…PLEASE do yourself a favor and do a little research! Who knows…maybe it’ll give you some inspiration.) Have you ever heard of...

W. Eugene Smith
Alfred Stieglitz
Edward Steichen
Gordon Parks
Margaret Bourke-White
Dorthea Lange
Robert Capa
Cornell Capa
Diane Arbus
Eadweard Muybridge
Thomas Eakins
Etianne Marey
Harold Edgerton
Walker Evans
Jacob Riis
Irving Penn
Ansel Adams
Henri Cartier-Bresson
L.J.M. Daguerre
Avedon
O. Winston Link
Gjon Mili
Joseph Nicephore Niepce

This list is just a sampler of AMAZING photographers who have paved the way for you to do what you are doing, or what you’d like to be doing.

Knowing the history of photography is also knowing about contemporary photographers! History is ongoing correct? Do you know...

Joe McNally
Jeremy Cowart
Esther Havens
Chase Jarvis
Tokihiro Sato
Mary Ellen Mark
Hiroshi Sugimoto
Tim Walker
Sebastiao Salgado
Alec Soth
Annie Leibovitz
James Nachtwey
Gregory Crewdson
Sally Mann
Nikki S. Lee
Zena Holloway
Laurie Simmons
Larry Fink
Shizuka Yokomizo
Jeff Wall
Robert and Shana Parke-Harrison
John Coplans
Michael Kenna
Duane Michals
Lorna Simpson
Eve Sonneman

When looking at the work of these photographers, ask yourself:

Why are you attracted to certain images?
Why are you not attracted certain ones?
Why is this photographer important in the world of photography?
What can I learn from this photographer and their body of work, or methodology of photographing? Try to decipher what type of photographic equipment they were using and WHY.

Explore!

My former college professor Jim continually reminded me to “Explore!” It’s something that I enjoy doing to this day, with and without my camera. When you are learning about photography, especially early on, it’s important to have your camera on you at all times. It’s also very important to go slow enough to ask questions of what and how you are shooting, that way you are learning as you work. And hey, it’s totally okay to experiment! In fact…it’s always encouraged!

The key is to slow down enough to question what is working and what is not working. Then move around and keep shooting. In today’s digital world, it’s easy to rapidly shoot off thousands of images and hit with maybe one or two good images. To be consistently hitting the mark with great images takes time and refinement.

Revisit the basics! If you are feeling good with where you are at as a photographer, try limiting yourself to 24 or 36 images with NO deleting for a shoot. It’s the equivalent of shooting a standard roll of 35mm film…anyone remember those? They are getting harder and harder to find. This is a great challenge even for the most skilled photographer.

Prepare, then, GO with what you know—the flow, don’t force it.

In fact, to prepare mentally for photo shoots, I like to revisit some inspirational images that I have acquired over the years. I keep a folder on my computer of images (currently at nearly 8,000 images) that I have found from friend’s photo websites, from blogs, from anywhere online really. These images are filled with color palettes that are aesthetically pleasing to my own current taste, images that are where I’d like to take my photography, images with interesting perspectives on classic images, and images with fresh, creative ideas. I’m not one to duplicate images in my folder, but I try to adapt them to my own style and technique of shooting. The worst thing I see when looking through portfolios are images that feel forced and overly created and manipulated. I’m definitely one to appreciate the more natural feeling images…no matter how staged or directed they may have actually been.

Remember, it’s not about the camera and equipment, it’s about the persons behind and in front of the camera that matter most.

There are times to pick up the camera and shoot, and times to set the camera down and focus on establishing and maintaining a good rapport with who or what may be in front of your lens. You must be sensitive and aware of the situation you may be in to whether or not you should be the active photographer with camera up, or camera down. In either situation, you must active and your ears must be OPEN. There are always going to pictures missed, but it’s whether you get the essential story-telling images that count. Some of the most story-telling images are the ones that occur before and after the “main event”.

OKAY. Go prepare, do your homework, be an active photographer with open, attentive ears and eyes.

I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes, which I painted years ago as an undergrad student on the wall of my photo classroom, that I later taught in, “The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.”—Dorthea Lange.

Here’s to seeing differently!

--Kathleen

www.kmurrayphoto.com

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