Looking Back

Back when Nancy and I were first getting Cold Springs Studio Pottery off the ground, our focus was on making kick-ass retro stylin' pots which could work just as well in a modern asain-aesthetic lifestyle. To that end, Nancy and I looked at piles of magazines and books trying to understand how to convey that message with our images.




At that point, I had gone through my first back surgery to fix a herniated disk which had ejected disk material which had become lodged in the spinal canal. Not fun. Left me with my right leg partially paralyzed. Post surgery though, I had a six week recovery at home. Keeping me from going out of my mind, I decided to pick up digital photography. I had shot primarily with slide film in the 5 years prior to that point, but digital seemed easier.



We borrowed cameras from folks we knew, from different departments that would loan them out at Cornell... even tried a few in stores here and there around town. After doing a fair bit of internet searching, I settled on the Olympus C-5050Z which at the time (2003) was a pretty high end camera. I couldn't afford a dslr yet, and this could do almost everything that my older 35mm camera could do.






With the Oly in hand, Nancy and I set up all sorts of shots in our make-shift studio. We had virtually nothing that anyone would recognize as lighting gear. A cobbled together lightbox hung suspended from the ceiling in our throwing studio. Made from foam core, lightweight wood and spare electrical parts, this lightbox formed the basis for our photography work for the next 7 years. Here are a few images taken back then... and then revisited in Lightroom this week. Pretty interesting to see how these images can be re-imagined.

So Where Are The Pots?

Yeah. Where are the pots? After this past weekend, I needed a day where I didn't spend the entirety of the hot sweaty day staring at the same mountain of pots. As much fun as looking at pots can be, there is a threshold. And I crossed it yesterday. At this point, I would be happy to start our sale a month early. (just watch out!)

Instead, I wanted to try some new ideas with my camera. I try not to dwell on some of my problems or snafus... but I have been grappling with an issue for about two weeks now. The strobes that I am using are not infinitely adjustable (as most new flash units are)... instead they use 1/3 power, 2/3, and full power. Even at 1/3 power I find myself shooting typically around 1/100 at f/5.6 or more. If you take just a few steps back at that aperture, the focal length preserves too much distracting background. So my goal has been to figure out how to retain that buttery background (narrow DOF) while shooting flash. I asked one of my photographer buddies (J.Souza!!) out in California for ideas and he suggested using a BIG bed sheet to increase the size of the light source (which then could be pulled back from the subject (to lower the intensity)... which is a great idea. Didn't get a chance to get to the fabric store this weekend so I was hoping there was another option.

J. Souza also suggested I try putting a neutral density filter on the lens. Most of my experience with ND filters has been using them to turn waterfalls into those silken streams everyone seems to think is so great. So... after having made my share of waterfall silken pics, I tossed the ND filters back in the bag and promptly forgot about them. This is the best thing about the concept of coopetition (cooperation + competition via LIDLIPS [syl arena]... the idea that even though Justin and I could potentially see one another as competition, the reality is that we are both learning from each other. What could be better? I only wish he lived closer so we could shoot together more! Perhaps as our professions grow we'll find reasons to both be on the same side of the continent and we'll have more opportunities.

Justin Bieber is in the house! Just kidding.

Back to the ND filters. I tossed them onto my favorite little 50mm f/1.8 lens, and kicked on my flash transmitter. First shot out of the gate was pretty close. Dialed up a bit more light... because the ND filter I was using was a .6ND which cuts a substantial chunk of light out of the picture. I anticipated it making the camera struggle more during focusing. It may have impaired it some, but not as much as I would have guessed. I shot pretty close to wide open and I LOVE the buttery quality of the background. Luckily I had an amicable (and patient) model today. We also had a chance to test out our reflector and stand today.

My chores,... ummm,... no, not yet.

Suffice to say, I LOVE the way the light is moving. I wish (and will probably keep right on wishing) that we had a grip who could lug lights and hold reflectors during our shoots. Seems like most of the time, it just isnt going to happen, so I need to learn how to do it without the extra hands. Stands are coming in VERY handy.

I guess this is her way of saying we don't feed her enough.

Fork you Dad. Talk to the Fork Dad.

As things would have it, today was as sticky and hot as summer days get around here. Mid-eighties by 9am, and the humidity has climbed all day. As I type this tonight, we're hovering around 94% humidity. You could wring gallons of water from this "air".

Shooting in the studio is always a fun respite from dealing with hot stuff in the house... chores, cleaning, bills. Somehow the studio stays cooler till much later in the day. Probably the concrete slab acting as a thermal sink. Tomorrow the day is filled with physical therapy and delivering images to my most recent portrait clients.

Views of the Lake

A quick view from the creek flowing out into Cayuga Lake.

I think this is one of those images that I need to go back to in different weather. I think I also need to shoot it with a different lens.

This panorama of Cayuga Lake was shot during my walk at Taughannock State Park last week.
I shot 13 images consecutively, then merged them in Photoshop. Definitely worth a click to see it slightly larger. Wish I knew how to make a REALLY large version come up in Blogger. Any ideas from anyone would be helpful!

It was one of those days where you think that it's going to be warm because it's sunny outside. Then you get out there with the wind and the chill and you realize that if you don't wise up, you're gonna freeze to death waiting for that sun to warm your bones.

Then a day like today comes along. Warm, mild and oh so needed. Great day to work in the garden. Not so great a day to be in the studio. There's always tomorrow for the boards of planters and pie plates.

Places in Time

It is so hard trying to shoot images from a moving minivan... but we managed! Aurora shot from the back seat, Nancy from the passenger seat and now and then we stopped and I shot too! There are some days where the light is just ideal for shooting... you can't pass those times up.

One of the biggest problems I think many photographers face is what to do when you're faced with great light. On one hand you'll shoot anything if the light is magical. But what if you really want to capture some particular subject ... and instead you get so-so light. It's tough. Sometimes I think the light is really all I am shooting for. Something to bounce the light off, something the light can illuminate... not really sure how to express it.

In the bridge image above, all I saw (in color mind you) was the way the dark silhouette of the girders of the bridge framed the light pouring in from behind. Bear in mind, we were doing about 55mph, in a minivan that had seen the better part of the week coated in salt rime. Dirty doesnt begin to describe that windshield. But I shot through it... while driving.

The first image was a give-away. No potter could resist this shot.

More Learnin' Stuff

I have been trying to work on my photography skills this week. I spent most of today and all of Monday shooting images for Mary Ellen Salmon. I love her pottery. Rich red sandy clay, full of texture. Very different from the porcelaineous clay we use. Her textures are a joy to shoot because the light plays off all the nooks and crannies so well! To that end, here is a preview of Mary Ellen Salmon's latest works.

When I say I have been working on photo skills, I really do mean it. Try as I might, this camera is still showing me tricks and pitfalls I never knew or understood. This week's lessons have centered around light. How to get shadows to fall exactly where you want them? How do you get light to bend around little corners, just enough to give you an edge to a form? Oy veh!

I spent a good chunk of time looking at the photo shooting setup of John Tilton's on his blog : Contemporary Art Porcelain. I am continually blown away by the richness of his images and the contrast between background and foreground. John was kind enough to show us all how he does it. (see this blog posting) I may be slow, but it took me over a week to finally figure out that he was basically shooting into a tunnel. Then the light in my head went on. Ah hah! So today's fun has been trying to figure out a way to do something similar on our end.... but minus his strobes and bouncing stuff off the ceiling, etc. Working with the lights we have.... here's what I was able to pull off. Thank you John Tilton. You not only opened my eyes to a new way of seeing shadow and light... you also gave me warm washup water! That aquarium heater idea has made me one VERY happy man.