Have You Seen These?

Have you seen these never-before-seen, secret art pieces?  I don’t imagine you have.  So, here for the first time, free of charge, I give you these artworks!

(Designation, Kinetic Ambiguity Project 623 – not named at this time.)

Designation, Kinetic Ambiguity Project 733 – not named at this time.

Designation, Kinetic Ambiguity Project 734 – not named at this time.

Designation, Kinetic Ambiguity Project 735 – not named at this time.

Designation, Kinetic Ambiguity Project 736 – not named at this time.

Designation, Kinetic Ambiguity Project 756 – not named at this time.

Do You Know Your Visual Signature? – Part 3

(Designation, Motion Project 40713 – not named at this time.)

(Designation, Kinetic Ambiguity Project 54150 – not named at this time.)

Working with a 50mm focal length and a 1x1 aspect ratio (see previous 2 post) gave me a better picture (pun definitely intended) of what my visual signature is with my ongoing principal projects.  The images above have a 50mm focal length and a 1x1 aspect ratio.  The images below have a (1) 135mm and (2) 300mm focal lengths with a 1x1 aspect ratio.  Both of those projects will stay at the 3x2 aspect ration I normally photograph at, as I feel it serves my visual signature well, especially after doing this.  It’s not that I don’t like the results because, yes, I do like the results.  I just believe I have other projects that 50mm and 1x1 will work better with – in particular, my Victor Valley Project which initially was at 50mm and 1x1, for a time.  I’ll have to create some new work with that project and share that with you soon.  This experimenting with focal lengths and aspect ratios has helped me to take a closer look at how I can better communicate with the viewers of my photography.  And it also helps me dial in the motif of my artistic style, or rather, my visual signature in my work.

If you haven’t done so, you should experiment with your visual signature.  I imagine that creative ideas will spring from doing this exercise.  And I think you will have some new fun while you are at it.

(Designation, Motion Project 40210 – not named at this time.)

(Designation, Kinetic Ambiguity Project 54779 – not named at this time.)

Do You Know Your Visual Signature – Part 2?

So, I have been doing some work with the 50mm focal length after watching that “What is Visual Signature?” on YouTube.  See previous post for details.  I think I mentioned this before, but I use to shoot mostly at 50mm until I gradually moved away from it.  As I said in the previous post, I’ve been at 300mm for my Kinetic Ambiguity Project and 135mm for my Motion Project for a while now.  Well, I did not only experiment with 50mm, I also photographed with 1x1 aspect ratio as well.  I made some interesting self-discoveries in doing this that I will share with you on the next post.  I’ll say this though, 50mm is a proven focal point.  Still, we need to keep in mind our own visual signature.

(Designation, Objects 457 – not named at this time.)

Do You Know Your Visual Signature?

(Designation, Motion Project 32926 – not named at this time.)

There may be visual signatures for every art form – every form of expression really.  But what I am briefly talking about here is your visual signature in photography.  So, I watched this YouTube by Ted Forbes on his channel, The Art of Photography.  The title of the YouTube was, “What is Visual Signature?”  I thought it was very interesting and if you are into art photography stuff you should watch it.  In Ted’s video, he explains that your visual signature is your lens’ focal length and that it is a good idea to master your visual signature in your photographic work.  To my point, my visual signature for my Kinetic Ambiguity Project is 300mm and for my Motion Project it is 135mm.  That is not how I began on those projects but that is how it has developed over the last few years as those have proven to be the best focal length for those projects.  The video gave me a new way of looking at focal length.  You should watch the video.

(Designation, Kinetic Ambiguity Project 28825 – not named at this time.)

A Quick Look at My Motion Project

The Motion Project is another ongoing project I plan on working on for some time.  What I was doing yesterday with this image creation was trying to make interesting compositions on the fly.  I was using my 6D Mark II on shutter priority (Tv) making the aperture set to auto.  I had also set my ISO to auto as well.  I normally set my ISO to 100 for this Motion Project but I was experimenting with the ISO.  Nonetheless, for this image, the ISO went to 100 and the aperture went to F/8.  My predetermined shutter speed was 1/640 second (my proven shutter speed for this project).  Also, my focal length was 200mm and my exposure bias was -1 step.  That exposure bias is a favorite of mine for everything I photograph, really.  And in that instant, I created this image.  Of course, there is my postproduction secret sauce that brings about this final rendering.  So, as you can see, this really wasn’t outside of my comfort zone, but it was a little experimentation with the ISO being set to auto.  I’m a little obsessed with control when I create images but I’m starting to loosen up, a little – a very little.

(Designation, Motion Project 40452 – not named at this time.)

Why I Wanted a New Camera

On Christmas, 2019, Jane (my wife and so much more) gave me a dream gift: a Canon EOS 6D Mark II camera.  It was my very first full frame DSLR.  And I have taken thousands of frames with it since then.  Yes, it was the only thing on my wish list (no secret there) and it cost a hunk of change (we are not monetarily wealthy) but I have imagined myself with one ever since I first heard about it in 2017.  Why did I want one so bad, the full frame sensor of course!  What it replaced was my Canon Rebel T3i which I had for five years at the time.  Its age wasn’t the issue, its APS-C sensor was.  I wanted that full frame sensor with a passion.  But has it changed my life?  Not really.  I really like the camera though because of a lot of features it has – not just the full frame sensor.  But I haven’t really taken advantage of most of those cool new features.  I think I’m going to change that though.  I think I’m going to leave my comfort zone and try some of these cool new things.  Stay tuned.

Oh, what do you think of my cool vignetting?

Oh, oh!!  If you like my posts, please add your email to my follow gang so you’ll get a message when I post again. 

(Designation, Motion Project 32960 – not named at this time)

Another Reason Why I Make Photographs

I got the chance to get out and make some images this weekend.  This was not on my list to do but it is no secret that I needed it – the therapy of making photographs.  When I am out there (anywhere really), with a camera in hand, the therapeutic relief is not instant.  It takes some time before I relax a bit and get into the flow of my process.  It varies but generally it takes about 30 minutes and I begin to feel what I’m doing with my camera.  For me, it is a free consultation with a mental health profession.  When I’m done, I am in a more relaxed state of mind and can better work my way through some of my issues that need addressing in my world.  I don’t know, but it may work for you too – if that is something that you need.

(Designation, Kinetic Ambiguity Project 2615 - not named at this time.)