Author Archives: ctrafford
Word of the day Synesthesia.
syn·es·the·sia Synesthesia is a perceptual condition of mixed sensations: a stimulus in one sensory modality (e.g., hearing) involuntarily elicits a sensation/experience in another modality (e.g. vision). Likewise, perception of a form (e.g., a letter) may induce an unusual perception in the same modality (e.g. a color). Here is hoping the word is the correct [...]
Keep exercising (practicing)
I listened to a podcast by Brooks Jensen on Lenswork where he brought up a very interesting point regarding practice. He noted that musicians, painters, writers and sports professionals spend a lot of time practicing their skills and or craft. That is to say they are active even when not on assignment. His point following [...]
November assignment. Sky.
Each month I plan on a self assignment. Working a large part of the year photographing events I plan to keep subjects very close to home. Who knows what each will be. I do however look forward to the challenge.
#6 Experiment with new equipment and technique.
Try a new piece of equipment. This is a variation from the original statement, try a new lens. A while ago when you wanted certain effect, you borrowed or purchased a filter, applied it too the lens and if you liked the results used the filter for future projects. Digital editing has changed a lot [...]
Position tells a story.
I believe there are times when my experience in underwater photography plays havoc with my terrestrial work. Let me explain how. If you take a moment to view the three very similar examples I have attached, make a mental note of what you see and I will explain how I personally work to tell a [...]
It may take more than one.
It may take more than one image to tell a thousand words. Triptychs and Diptychs, templates for adding multiple images to a single frame are a great way of doing this.
#7 Submit your work for constructive critique.
#7 Submit your work for constructive critique. One mediocre photograph displayed and shown beats one hundred amazing photos hidden in the drawer, or hard drive today. We all want to hear the. “Wow you are so talented” remarks, however, the you could have improved the shot by……… Is often a bitter pill to swallow. The [...]
Hazy days of summer, #4 There are 24 hours in the day.
Although not the correct title of one of the ten, it is an explanation for the following #4 There are 24 hours in a day. Thinking you have to limit your photography to early or later daylight hours is a great rule to experiment with. Shooting in the middle of the day has you thinking [...]
Working video
A friend sent me his video of a wedding I shot last week. It is kind of strange looking back. I do know why my laundry bill is so high!
#2 Make more images.
During the days of film photography, this was a practice somewhat discouraged, however with digital photography there is a whole different ball game. Being a photo raconteur today is significantly easier than in the days of film. Shoot images of the activity and if need be tell a visual story of an event or activity. [...]
#1 Have a camera with you.
Continuing with my list 10 Photography tips. Seems very obvious, the only way to get the photo is to have a camera. Does not really matter which. As simple as the camera on your phone can assist in identifying an opportunity and or location one would want to return to. Sure, you can do that [...]
#8 Look behind you.
I use a list of ten must do’s as a reminder for my photography. I have been practicing these for some time. some are second nature, others require a conscious effort to adopt. Regardless as I look at my list as a reminder I do make a mental note to keep practicing. At my last [...]