dakwegmo.com » photography

Great Photographers on Twitter

marcus — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:26:07 +0000

This is my contribution to the great photographers on Twitter discussions that have been going on lately. This list is mostly nature/landscape/adventure photographers who inspire me to get out and shoot. These recommendations are also based on the quality of their photography, not necessarily the quality of their tweets.

This list is not in any particular order, and is clearly not meant to be comprehensive, merely the ones I am familiar with. If you have suggestions, please share them, I can always use more inspiration.

Making Progress

marcus — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:15:42 +0000

Today I posted my 400th Photo to InvisibleGreen.com. Instead of showing thumbnails of everything I’ve posted there, I thought it would be interesting to show how my work has progressed, in part, because of my commitment to post and keep shooting.

The image above was shot August 21, 2005 at a day lily farm outside Clayton, Ga. It was one of the first shots with my digital SLR. We just happened to stop by the farm, and so I got out my camera and snapped a few shots.

This image was shot roughly a year later on July 1, 2006. My mother-in-law purchased some of the day lily’s from the farm, and planted them in her garden. I was actually struck by the quality of light in the late evening sun, and went out to find something to shoot, when I saw these and decided this one would look great in that light.

This is actually the same image as the second one above and was published on August 2, 2008. The only difference between the second and third image is the amount of post processing I’ve applied to it. To me this image really captures what it was that I saw in the flowers originally, and the artisitc touches convey what it was I saw in the flowers initially.

I hope that as another year passes, I’ll find some other way to express what I see through my photography. Maybe I’ve mastered what I can do with red day lily’s or maybe I’ll revisit them again, with a fresh perspective. Either way, I think this series of images illustrates my growth as a photogrpaher, and I hope that this growth continues for a long time.

A Zen Thing

marcus — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:42:21 +0000

My sister-in-law left a comment on one of my photos last week. She said, “I’m not sure exactly what Zen is, but that word comes to mind when I look at this amazing photo.” It’s funny because zen is exactly the way I would describe my state of mind when I’m out shooting.

The day I shot the photo in question, I had set out with my friend Roman to shoot some waterfalls. The days leading up to our trip, and even the day of, we had a significant amount of rain. it wasn’t enough to break the drought, but enough to significantly increase the volume of water running down these rocks.

On the drive up, I had begun to feel quite ill. My head was pounding to the point that I was nauseated. So, when we finally got to the trail, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to make the very short hike to the falls. I didn’t feel well and it was still raining. Still, I decided that getting out and shooting would be better than sitting in the truck being sick. I hadn’t driven two hours just to puke in the woods.

Quite gingerly I walked up the path to the base of the falls, setup my camera and tripod, and began shooting away. An interesting thing happened as I stood there with the rain dripping on me, and the water fall roaring in front of me: I forgot about my headache. It was still there, and anytime I had to stop to think and make a conscious choice about something, I could still feel it. However, when I was shooting, my actions were almost completely automatic. For the most part, I didn’t have to think about what I was doing. Composition, camera settings, everything just sort of happened intuitively. I don’t know how long I stayed there taking pictures, but I know Roman got bored long before I was finished.

I shot some of my favorite photos that day.

Then, about a month later, I drove down to Callaway Gardens to shoot some azaleas. Some of the more popular spots were quite crowded with photographers, but there was one shot that I had thought about doing and wanted to make sure I got, so I was willing to wait my turn. Again I setup my camera and tripod and was composing my shot, waiting for the photographer in front of me to finish up.

I was just standing there in the garden, when something caught my attention. In my memory, I just sort of sensed something was there. I looked down, and just on the edge of the creek, about 20 feet from me, was a snake with his head poking out of the water. I walked towards it for a better look and realized I was looking at a copperhead. He didn’t seem to notice me, though, and continued to swim through the water, just off the bank.

The photographer who was in front of me was lying on the ground with his feet nearly in the water. I let him know that there’s a poisonous snake headed in his direction. I’m not sure whether he believed me or not, but he stood and asked me where. I pointed it out, and he quickly packed up his stuff and left the area. The snake, too, went on his way.

In relating this story to my wife, she said I have a very keen survival instinct. Athletes call this being In the Zone. Psychologists call it mindfulness. I’m pretty sure it’s what Buddhists would call Zen. I’m not sure exactly what it is, but these seemingly mystical, higher consciousness moments are just one of the many reasons I love photography.

Plagiarism shot

marcus — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 13:21:55 +0000

I managed to get away to Callaway Gardens by myself this weekend and really had a blast shooting the azaleas and other flowers that were blooming. Nestled in the woods on the grounds is a small chapel with incredible stained glass windows. Last time I was there the chapel was closed for a wedding. This time is was open, so I went inside to get some pictures of the windows. A couple of people were already there shooting the main window, so I shot the side windows while I waited for them to finish. When I finally had a chance to get to the front of the church there was an older gentleman there who proceeded to tell me about how he had seen this great photo online that he just had to “plagiarize” (his word) and described the shot in detail. I smiled and nodded as he talked and went ahead setting up my shot. All my smiling and nodding, though, seemed to signal to him that I wanted or needed his advice. He asked me if I wanted to know how to shoot the “plagiarism shot”. Without having to think about it, I said “No, thanks. I’ll make my own picture.” He must not have expected someone to reject the free advice he was offering, because he started explaining the setup to me anyway. He got to about the third step in the process when either he noticed I wasn’t listening, or it finally occurred to him that I had said no. Either way, he stopped mid-sentence and went off to find someone more willing to listen.

I’m not above mimicking other photographers, especially if they’re good artists. However, I think the act of copying another’s work is a very personal thing. There are dozens of different things about a photo that may evoke a reaction in me: light, color, composition, textures, etc. If I choose to copy someone, it could be just one or a number of those photographic elements that I set out to duplicate. The process of taking the elements that I like, then making the rest my own, is part of how I develop my own style. Eventually, I hope to get to a point where I’m no longer copying anyone, and all my photos have a consistent Marcus Taylor look to them. Making photos by following the advice of someone else’s interpretation of a photo I have never seen does nothing to help me personalize my photos. As I see it, the kind of advice this man was offering was more of a hindrance than a help to the budding photographers who actually listened to him.

Photo of the Day 01/08/2007

marcus — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 14:20:46 +0000

I am currently subscribed to nearly 100 Photoblog Feeds (the number seems to grow daily). I see a lot of great photography every day, and in the hopes of sharing some of the beauty other photographers have captured, I have decided to start a new photo of the day feature. This will just be a link to a photo that has impressed or inspired me. If you want to see the photo, you’ll just have to follow the links.

So, kicking things off is today’s photo of the day:
When Will I see you Again at Kulay Photography.

Oh, and if you like what you see, be sure to leave the photographer a comment.

Calendars are In

marcus — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 21:17:20 +0000

The calendars are in, and I will try to get them delivered this week. If you want one, send me your mailing address and I’ll get it in the mail by this weekend. You can send an email to mtaylor {at} dakwegmo.com.

Note to immediate family. I’ll have the calendars with me on Saturday, so you don’t have to wait for the mail to deliver them.