Photography From A Nat Geo Man

If you are looking for inspiration or direction for your travel photography take a peek at Jim Richardson's site.

http://www.jimrichardsonphotography.com/

Richardson, a photographer for National Geographic, offers up not only several galleries worth of eye catching photos from his work around the world but also answers frequently asked questions on shooting for the magazine. Lots of fun stuff to check out and worth a look even if your travels never extend beyond the local borders.

iPhone the most popular camera?

Check out the chart on the link below showing how pictures taken by users with iPhones are coming to dominate submissions on the Flickr photo sharing site.

http://www.popphoto.com/news/2011/04/iphone-4-set-to-become-most-popular-camera-flickr

The other four picture taking devices listed among Flickr's top 5 are "real" cameras. The iPhone certainly has the edge in convenience but I still believe people interested in quality picture taking rather than just snapshots are going to stick with DSLR cameras.

To me what is most mind boggling is the sheer quantity of submissions made to Flickr on a daily basis.

Auction of famous photos

Have a wall that you want to decorate with a few photos? If you do, and if you happen to have an extra twenty or thirty thousand dollars in your pocket, you may want to bid on one of the well known images currently up for bid by Heritage Auctions. Work by such well known photographers as Irving Penn, Ansel Adams and Edward Weston are represented, along with many others. Click on the link to the Scoop collectors site for more details.

http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com/public/default.asp?t=1&m=1&c=34&s=262&ai=107748

There are some very cool images being auctioned, but if you are like me you will have to stick with your own artistic output for your wall decor. And you should be able to do it for well under twenty grand.

Wedding Bell Blues (Confessions of a former wedding photographer)

Springtime and a young mans fancy turns to ... well you know. Warm weather and love can only mean wedding season is near. I know because I once dabbled in wedding photography and from April through October there were a lot of weddings taking place.

Originally I planned on making a single entry on the subject, but as I pondered my brief career in wedding photography I realized there is more than one tale to tell. It takes a certain type of personality to succeed in the wedding biz, and to be frank, I ain't that kind of guy. I first became interested in photography as a form of artistic expression and although there are many excellent photographers who are capable of producing art-like results when doing a wedding, I just didn't have the touch. Hours before beginning an assignment I'd have a knot in my stomach anticipating a long day of chasing bride, groom and various friends and family members in an effort to produce worthwhile pictures of their once in a lifetime (hopefully) event.

Overall, I believe I delivered on the promise of a pictorial album for the couple to cherish always, but I really didn't enjoy doing it. And I never experienced the thrill of a great shot, like I do when photographing for my personal work. It was a job, and at times the job was a chore. Not good, when you need to be up and smiling for 10 hours while recording the big event. Still, there were a number of memorable experiences that I plan on sharing in future entrys - stay tuned!

Architectural Abstracts

If you have an interest in architecture or photography or abstract art or just like looking at cool pictures check out this link from the Popular Photography site.

http://www.popphoto.com/gallery/powerful-towers

The photographer, utilizing a wide angle lens and focusing on architectural details has created a series of very striking images. The subject matter is enhanced even further by being in black and white. This is the kind of stuff that helps to motivate me to get out and take pictures.

A Decisive Moment in Ireland

It is a wee bit late for St. Patrick's Day, but for an Irishman every day is St.Patrick's Day, so I offer up this photo taken during my Ireland trip of 2009. While our fellow travelers spent their time wandering around yet another souvenir shop, my wife and I stepped outside to take in the morning air as well as the local scenery. One thing I do not understand is wasting precious vacation time in a foreign land looking at gee gaws.

Suddenly, while wandering about near the roads edge, a horse drawn carriage wheeled past us at high speed. The carriage was followed by the fellow you see in the photo, who was moving faster yet. If you look closely this expert horseman is controlling three horses - riding one while holding the reins of the other two in each of his hands. An amazing sight! And the rest of our group missed it because they were inside rummaging about for souvenirs.

Rat Rods

I didn't fully appreciate the concept of rat rods until I wandered through the dozens of vehicles on display at Autorama's lower level, low brow exhibit. I had read articles and watched TV shows about the rat rod movement but it took seeing a group of these rusty relics in person for the light bulb to go on. The cars that fit the rat rod bill are backyard garage creations brought to life by guys in tee shirts and jeans, not some high priced custom shop.

I recently added a piece to my Imagekind gallery that I feel captures the rat rod spirit. http://www.imagekind.com/Ford-F-Rat-art?IMID=1c525fa9-0823-406a-acfa-3cba941dc779
A detail shot of the hood from a decades old Ford F100 pick up truck. The rust, pockmarks and patina are good visual indicators of a true rat rod.