GORDON C. WEBB - Fine Art Photography

THINKING ABOUT BABIES

2011-07-14T17:51:00.000-04:00

Earlier this spring, I couldn't wait to go outdoors with my camera as nature started to bloom in southeastern North Carolina.


"Baby Blueberries"

Everywhere I looked I saw nature "giving birth" to a rich abundance of colorful scenes for me to photograph.

"Baby Azaleas"

Even when I thought about what I was going to photograph the next day (which I do often -- as I'm trying to fall asleep)... I kept coming up with the same thing:


"Baby Dogwood"

Frankly, it was becoming a bit monotonous. I mean, these scenes of tiny buds waiting to blossom were even in our daughter and son-in-law's yard:

"Baby Fig"

I actually HAVE taken photos of a few other subjects lately... like this one of our daughter, Carrie -- on a recent visit to our pool:

But, I just can't figure out the source of my strange "baby photo" obsession. Maybe it'll come to me...

AMAZING PHOTOGRAPHY FOR A GREAT CAUSE

2011-05-07T13:01:00.037-04:00

I'm proud to know a wonderful local photographer named Brownie Harris -- whose portfolio includes portraits of the likes of David Brinkley... Paul Newman... Sophia Loren... Bill Clinton and my jazz hero Miles Davis. But as amazing as this body of work is -- a project he's involved in (see example to the right) really moved me... as a great example of "the power of pictures."

The HEARTS APART organization supplies "soon to be deployed servicemen and women with pictures of their spouses and children." These photographs, many taken by Brownie are printed on waterproof and durable bi-folded cards... designed to fit securely in uniform pockets. The organization operates on the principle that "our military personnel deserve and need the memory of their families to carry them through the difficult times that lie ahead."

Brownie donates his time for these stunning photographs, and -- just like his commercial work -- he has achieved the kind of technical excellence that is generally only possible in a well-equipped studio.

But the final results of these photo sessions are family images with the kind of warmth and humanity that can only be achieved by a truly professional portrait artist. Please check out the HEARTS APART website to see more excellent examples of what talent and creativity can do for our service men and women -- who are risking their lives for us.

GREAT SUBJECTS MAKE GREAT ART

2011-04-25T19:22:00.001-04:00

Photographers (and other artists) spend a lot of time searching for "that perfect subject." I think that's why there are so many great shots of children... and pets. It's almost impossible to go wrong... so I think at least part of the credit has to go to the subject or scene. This is the case with my entry in the recent Wilmington Art Association's Spring Show and Sale:

"Amish Farm Girl" Lancaster, PA

This shot was taken during a trip to Lancaster, PA last summer -- an area where beautiful scenes abound -- in every direction. But, when this particular shot was taken, I was actually photographing the empty field on the right. Then, I started to hear a dog barking and a faint mechanical sound in the distance... and a few seconds later a young Amish girl appeared from behind the trees -- in traditional dress -- driving a team of horses. I quickly switched to my telephoto lens and only had time to fire off a few frames before the machinery made the turn and disappeared behind the trees again. About six months later -- this scene would win the "Southeastern Camera Award" at the W.A.A. show.

The Amish people don't love having their picture taken, but I couldn't resist during that trip... and at a farmer's market in downtown Lancaster I was able to capture more picturesque images -- like this pretty young Amish woman selling cold drinks. In just the right light -- she looked a lot like Kelly McGillis in the film "Witness."

And there was an old man selling pickles -- "put up" by his wife who also worked at their booth. His persona was so perfect -- with the straw hat, long grey beard and suspenders -- I wondered if he wasn't "dressing up" just a bit -- to increase sales.
I wouldn't have dared think such a thing if it wasn't for the next image. In a small town outside Lancaster we saw many black horse-drawn wagons navigating the tourist traffic. As we passed the local bank, my wife spotted one wagon as it turned into the parking lot... and we followed. There was the horse -- waiting patiently as the driver did his banking -- at a drive-through ATM:

In the Amish country -- just like everywhere else -- past and present are merging much too quickly. I guess I feel it's a photographer's job to capture some of these scenes -- just like Matthew Brady did during the Civil War when photography itself was brand new. And, if we manage to preserve a few images that win awards... or that someone calls "art" -- then, that's fine, too.

TOO SMART TO BE A DOG!

2011-03-09T20:47:00.002-05:00

"It's a Dog's Life"

A few days ago, I realized I hadn't posted anything new on my blog for quite a while... and even worse -- I had no idea what I should write about. But now I do.

Recently, my wife and I accompanied our daughter to the vet -- to provide moral support in what must be one of the hardest thing a human has to do -- sending a beloved pet to "the happy hunting ground." That's how my parents referred to it... and while I was growing up we had to go through this process several times with various dogs and cats and believe me, it hasn't gotten any easier.

In this particular case it was our daughter Carrie and son-in-law Jamie's dog Abbie -- a 14 year old Shar-Pei mix whose time had come. Her body was wracked with arthritis and who-knows-what else -- but had reached the ripe old age of 98 in human years. She was obviously in a lot of pain... so we knew that this was something that had to be done.

"Neighborhood Watch"

We were the grandparents and Abbie was the grand-dog... and I mean GRAND. One of the most intelligent, gentle canines I've ever known, Abbie also had a strong will... and if she didn't want to do it -- it wasn't going to happen! She was well-behaved, playful and friendly to everyone but -- make no mistake -- fetching and most other "stupid dog tricks" just weren't for her and no one could make her chase a ball or balance a piece of meat on her nose. This led to a nickname she earned in her later years -- PITA ("pain-in-the-ass").

"Are you with me Grampa?"

One year -- when our daughter was in Oregon on a college internship Abbie spent part of the summer with us and her job was to take me on long walks -- to keep me in shape. For every mile I went, she'd cover two or three -- running in and out of the woods and exploring every tree, leaf and log. If I ever got too far behind she'd stop and wait patiently (see photo above) until she caught sight of me -- and then continue her exploration.

ABBIE: "Mine. SNOOP: "No-mine!"

The winner!

There's one member of the family who will really miss Abbie -- although I don't know if he's realized yet quite what what happened to his faithful companion. Snoop -- Jamie and Carrie's younger pooch was Abbie's best buddy. I don't think I ever saw TWO dogs pulling on the same toy until I took these pictures. Once in a while Abbie would snarl just enough to tell Snoop: "Get outta my face." And he would... but there were never any hard feelings! After all, they were best buddies.

Often, they'd do the "neighborhood watch" bit together:

"Neighboorhood Watch #2"

There are people who passed through my life (or, maybe I passed through theirs) whom I'll never forget. I'll always remember my grandparents -- although it's getting harder since they've been gone quite a while... and my parents -- who passed away fairly recently. And I'm sure I'll never forget Abbie Webb VanGorder! Sometimes I wonder if she knew how much I cared about her. She had this thing where she's never look you straight in the eye... and she didn't really like to "cuddle" like some pets. But, somehow -- I think she knew.

Abbie Webb VanGorder (1/11/2011)

This is the last picture I took of her -- only a short time before she went to the "happy hunting ground." Abbie was -- truly -- "too smart to be a dog."

MY HERO: Norman Rockwell "exposed"

2011-01-30T20:35:00.071-05:00

While reading a recent issue of AMERICAN PHOTO magazine I was surprised to find an interesting article about one of my favorite American painters -- Norman Rockwell. Why did this appear in a magazine about photography, you ask? The short article deals with the artist's use of photographs -- of carefully-posed models -- in creating his ultra-realistic scenes of American life.

This is the subject of both an exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum (http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/norman_rockwell/) and a fascinating new book by Ron Schick: Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera (http://www.amazon.com/Norman-Rockwell-Behind-Ron-Schick/dp/0316006939). In the examples below -- from AMERICAN PHOTO -- the artist's depiction of the photographed scene is extremely accurate -- right down to the shadows.

Norman Rockwell (American, 1894–1978). The Tattoo Artist, 1944. Oil on canvas, 43 1/8 x 33 1/8 in. (109.5 x 84.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the artist, 69.8

One can literally "layer" one image on top of the other (I tried it in Photoshop) -- and they're nearly identical! In other examples of Rockwell's work -- in the book and on display at the Brooklyn museum -- he used several photographs and combined portions of each image in creating his final work.

I have to admit that when I first read the article my gut reaction was one of slight disappointment. For years, I had thought that Rockwell must have possessed some kind of uncanny talent for conjuring up painted images of what I imagined to be reality. But one has to remember that Rockwell began his career as a commercial illustrator, and often said he was known as "The Kid with the Camera Eye." Apparently, as his career as a painter took off -- he realized that "the camera is just another eye with better memory for the artist to use" (http://www.stanprokopenko.com/blog/2009/10/norman-rockwell-behind-the-camera/).

As I thought more about the two media -- photography and painting -- I've come to realize that Rockwell really was doing, in his own way, what painters have been practicing over the centuries. Some of the contemporary painters I'm acquainted with work directly from photographs or natural outdoor scenes ("plein air")... and the "great masters" posed models -- often for hours at a time -- in order to achieve their creative impression of "reality." So, I think that regardless of the final outcome... most artists begin their creative process with some form of real life in mind -- and the extent to which the finished work resembles the original is what we know as "style" and "technique." And one only has to compare the work of, say, Picasso with his contemporaries to see how different and varied the artists' styles can be.

The AMERICAN PHOTO article claims that Rockwell used a professional photographer to capture his reference images, but Ron Schick says the photographers were usually his studio assistants... and that after 1935 his models were generally amateurs -- friends and neighbors. The most important point is that Rockwell controlled the creative process -- and the photography was just part of that process.

If you want to see more of the photos that were part of this artist's portfolio -- just search the web (I'm not the only one "blogging" about this subject) and you'll find articles like this:

http://www.ruralintelligence.com/index.php/arts_section/arts_articles_art/authenticating_norman_rockwells_american_dream/

OR, buy Ron Schick's book -- it's getting rave reviews everywhere.

NUDE CALENDAR PUTS PHOTO TECHNIQUES TO THE TEST

2011-01-04T22:05:00.000-05:00

Some British ladies started it all in 1999 -- posing "in the nude" for a calendar to raise money for a local hospital. Their husbands weren't all amused... and I suspect the same is true with a new calendar from the Wilmington Art Association. Some spouses, significant others and family members probably raised their eyebrows when their partners announced they would be appearing "discreetly in the nude" -- in artsy photographs (taken by yours truly).

The images range from really sexy...

Loraine Scalimoni

...to teasingly provocative...

Sheryl Janosko

...and "tongue in cheek."

The concept for the calendar was to create a series of images which merged the artists with their own work in some way... or created clever scenes to illustrate the calendar title: EXPOSE YOURSELF TO ART. Photography for the calendar began in a makeshift studio in my dining room, but once the basic "portraits" were taken -- then the process of creating the final images began -- using digital editing and manipulation (Photoshop).

Almost nothing is as it seems... in the original location shot of artist Kay Bilisoly above, the painting on the easel had to be replaced at the artist's request:

Since her arm was on top of the painting -- this required adding another layer with a "new" arm -- complete with an artificial shadow cast on the artwork.

Another calendar page featured artist Alouise Fenstermacher -- who came to the studio in costume matching the style of her beautiful Asian painting. The shot began with a simple portrait in the studio -- using a cloth with a solid color as a background -- making it easier to remove from the image later... like this:

Then, the image of Alouise was "pasted" into a scanned image of her painting -- scaled so her image matched the size of the pond:

This whole image is an illusion... so I had add an imaginary "shadow" for Alouise (cast by an imaginary "sun" above and to her right):

To understand the process of "layering" images in Photoshop, imagine that each component, or layer, is on a piece of clear film -- one on top of the other. Where the film is clear -- the image below shows through... and the completed, composite image is simply a combination of all the parts:

One final touch was added at the last minute.

It seemed logical that the woman (Alouise) would be dipping her foot into the water, so...

... using another layer, I added some water over her toes -- softened and made slightly transparent -- to complete the illusion.

That's the story of how one calendar page was created, and there are eleven more... if anyone's interested. Or, in my next post, I can just talk about exciting stuff like: f-stops... braketing exposures or depth-of-field.

ANY SUGGESTIONS? You can add a comment at the bottom of the web page.

(Check out the main "Expose Yourself to Art" calendar website at: http://webbonline.info/waa_calendar/)

I LOVE PELICANS...

2010-08-20T14:20:00.000-04:00

I don't know why... but ever since arriving in southeastern North Carolina I've been fascinated by pelicans. I can't stop shooting photos of the amazing birds. Perhaps it's because of this little "diddy" I learned when I was growing up:

A wonderful bird is the pelican. His beak will hold more than his belly can. He can take in his beak Food enough for a week But I'm damned if I see how the helican.
— Dixon Lanier Merritt

My Dad used to say that, and I don't know if he knew the source... but we occasionally vacationed on Long Island and saw various sea birds which we weren't familiar with as "upstate New Yorkers."

Now, we often see these birds -- in "hunting parties" of up to a dozen -- soaring high over Carolina Beach in search of fish. At other times they fly so low they look like they're touching the water. Then, they'll climb way up high and at just the right moment, they pull in their wings and drop into the surf -- often emerging with a fish in their beak.

I took a photo of this one in the inlet near the "Harbor Master" restaurant -- where they gather for the leftovers tossed overboard by fishermen. He seems to be saying "catch me if you can" to the other bird chasing him.

In the same spot -- this one came in for a not-so-graceful landing:

I suppose that some day pelicans will seem as normal to me as robins were up north. We noticed the red-breasted birds when they returned in the spring... but then never paid much attention to them for the remainder of the summer. However, pelicans seem to be a bit more exotic -- looking like a distant cousin to an ancient, prehistoric bird. So, maybe they'll always be special -- one of the many fascinating aspects of living near the ocean.

A most CHALLENGING photo project

2010-08-06T20:04:00.000-04:00

I was recently asked by a very important client (my wife Cathy) to photography her YWCA swim group -- so the pictures could be turned into postcards... greetings cards... prints, etc. as a fund-raiser. I agreed and photographed the class -- all wearing hats and other crazy headgear for the Fourth of July.

Unfortunately, after it was all finished and everyone was out of the pool -- another member of the group showed up... followed by another instructor who wanted to be in the picture. So I opened my big mouth and said "I'll just 'photoshop' them in." I shot these ladies separately -- not realizing how much work was ahead of me.

Here are the two photos -- including the original shot:

... and the final "photoshopped" version:

(CLICK EITHER PHOTO TO ENLARGE)

I'll let you figure out which ones are the "extras" -- and if anyone's interested I can explain the process... piece by piece (and if no one cares... well -- I'll move on to another exciting topic). There's lots more to it than just "pasting them in" -- especially when water's involved!

(I had all the "models" sign a release -- so I'm covered... although they probably never thought they'd show up in my BLOG).

P.S. It's fascinating how brandnames have found their way into the vernacular (i.e. "photoshopping," "xeroxing," etc.) There are many brands of imaging software and plenty of makers of copy machines... but it seems that the pioneers of new technology win by having their names remembered (yes -- I use "Photoshop").

LOTS MORE IMAGES AT: http://webbonline.info/photography

more on ANSEL ADAMS -- "lost negatives" found

2010-07-28T17:32:00.000-04:00

I never thought I'd hear so much about "the master" as I have since posting the first blog entry. Apparently some lost Ansel Adams negatives have been found and have been verified by experts as being his work -- although his heirs doubt it.

I heard a good interview on NPR today regarding this... in which an art expert quoted Adams as saying: "The negative is like a musical score... and the print is the performance." There are several radio stories about this development (no pun intended) here:

http://www.npr.org/search/index.php?searchinput=ansel+adams

I'm still digesting what Adams had to say in Vol. 2 of his series of books (referred to in my last entry)... and now I must try to deal with this marvelous quote... and how it may apply to my own work. My printing is normally done at a distant lab (White House Custom Color, or WHCC at the moment) but what Adams did in his darkroom I now perform in Photoshop. While many photographers still use film and print the "old fashioned way," I'm not about to start putting my hands in to caustic chemicals again.

I've been told by the owner of a local lab here in Wilmington, NC that modern ink jet prints (or "giclee" if you prefer the fancy term) are capable of a wider tonal range than a modern photographic print. I haven't tested this extensively, but I like the few sample prints I've had this lab do for me. These were black and white (including this image)...

... and the images they made for me seemed to have a certain "look" that I've only seen in high quality exhibition photographs (like "silver gelatin" or "platinum" prints).

So... check back and maybe in my next posting I'll have come to some conclusion about how to apply the advice provided by Adams to my work... and what influence discovery of his lost negatives may have on fine art photography. And if the PRINT truly is the "performance" -- I'd better start learning all I can about the electronic darkroom connected to my computer monitor. If I do my work on the computer well enough... and if the lab making my print has all their technology calibrated, (and if the moon is in the right phase, etc. etc.) I may be able to come up with "symphonies" that at least I'm please with.

MY FIRST BLOG ENTRY -- Ansel Adams

2010-07-25T16:37:00.000-04:00

I was browsing the web recently and accidentally came across this comment:

"Does anyone else think Ansel Adams' photos are really boring and that he's overrated?"(http://forums.popphoto.com/showthread.php?t=572016)

This was a strange coincidence since I had just visited the public library, where I came across one book in The Ansel Adams Photography Series published by Little, Brown and Company (who, by the way, is the only publisher authorized to reproduce his work in calendars, posters, etc.) This was Volume 2 -- "The Negative" and even though this meant reading his thoughts out of sequence -- I found this to be a most interesting volume. Originally published in 1980 this book speaks volumes even to practitioners of modern digital photography (including, no doubt, the ignorant author of the statement quoted above). With digital images there are no negatives of the type that Adams discusses... yet his techniques are as pertinent today as they were when he painstakingly captured his amazing imagery using huge, bulky large-format cameras.

The author's complex zone system of exposure involved dividing the luminance (or "brightness") of any scene into ten "zones" and then adjusting the overall exposure accordingly in order to produce the perfect negative. This technique is the opposite of today's "point and shoot" mentality -- but it turns out that modern cameras are equipped with features that make applying the master's techniques not only possible, but much easier. By using the "spot meter" setting available on many modern cameras (instead of the less-accurate averaging meter) ... and applying exposure compensation ("bracketing") it's possible to produce a series of images -- one of which should be the "perfect exposure" for any scene being photographed. What's amazing about Adams's work is that he generally produced his masterpieces with one exposure (but then again -- he was using expensive sheet film, while digital cameras make it possible to shoot many exposures of each scene at no additional cost). Serious photographers (and the "pros") know all about this... but nearly anyone with a modern digital camera could practice a bit of what Adams preached.

I'm really looking forward to reading the first volume of The Ansel Adams Photography Series - The Camera. The chapter titles indicate an emphasis on subject matter and composition... this volume should be even more pertinent to anyone interested in taking good photographs.