I’ve been working pretty hard lately.  

There’s commercial work ( graphic design and photography ) and then there’s my own artwork ( drawing, screenprinting, and sculpture/ceramics ).  I also have teaching ( eco – art ) mixed into there, which is another slice of the art pie.  I enjoy it all, for the most part, and that’s what keeps me going.  I have been really struggling as of late, to come up with good ideas, and to trust myself with the process of things.  Not to sound all spiritual, but I think there’s certain blocks in my life, with God and faith that are spilling over into my own process: trusting that my vocation will grow and there is a time and place for me in all of it.  Trust is a kind of hard word these days.

I’m trying to finish up the pictures I took for Melissa and Dan’s wedding, a little over a month ago.  I know her wedding coordinator’s totally mad at me because she wants to post those pictures into some article.  It’s hard, it takes me a while to get through all the pictures.  

So, far the process has been good. I’ve taken a lot of pictures, and I’m finding it really satisfying to be able to push the pictures to their potential, and then decide if I want to keep the or not.  I feel like I spend as much time editing as I do shooting.  It’s only moving sliders back and froth, but imagine moving sliders back and forth for 100 pictures, or 200 pictures, or in my case, 864 pictures.  You get the pictures, it’s a lot of work.

My friend asked me a good question the other day about digital post-processing.  Basically, is it ‘legit’ to edit pictures after one shoots a picture, or is it ‘cheating’ to do that stuff: bump up contrast, push the saturation a bit, cross process ( add yellows to hilights, and blues and purples to shadows).  What is the line between a computer generated piece, and a pure photograph?  I think it’s a tough question to ask, and it’s one of the most important questions to ask as photography ( for the most part ) has gone ( very ) digital.

In my opinion, there is no such thing as legitimate or pure way to photograph something.  From the moment one pushes the button to freeze a moment in time, there are 10 different ways to make the picture into what one wants.  Aperture adjustments, shutter speed adjustments, focusing, framing, film-speed, and white balance are all different ways to adjust a picture, even before it is taken.  There is no pure photograph.  Every moment is calculated, adjusted, and configured.  I think the realm of a digital darkroom ( where the processing goes on in the computer as opposed to a darkroom ) pushes the envelope, but it’s really all the same thing.  Instead of dodging and burning prints in the dark, we push exposure and contrast filters in Lightroom and Photoshop.  

I still respect folks that do little or no adjustments to their digital pictures.  I think it is a real art form to be able to capture an image, to it’s maximum potential through the adjustments in a camera.  I however, am not that skilled, and I often find that my skills lies in other areas.  I work really hard to push and pull my pictures to a point where they look beautiful, but not contrived and overworked.  Sometimes, I feel like photos begin to become overworked, and I try to pull back some of the contrast or color.  Sometimes it goes the other way too.  I feel like I am always pushing and pulling at this line of photography vs. digital image.

I’ve noticed that some of my best pictures of the wedding are moments that I have not planned for, or worked to hard to capture.  I cringe at the fact that the ‘money shots’ ( the kiss, the ring, the portraits together) or so-so, and I laugh that I’ve caught the bride with a beautiful expression with her father on the way into the ceremony, or I’ve caught the niece ( flower girl ) looking straight through me, into the lens.  It’s funny how it’s important to work hard to put oneself into a good position to shoot a good picture, but it’s equally important to be aware and to wait for a moment that might never be captured, without the right attention.

And yes, this post is a total tease because I’m not showing anything that I’m writing about.  This because I’m not done ( about 400 photos in ), and the bride and groom get to see them first before anyone else.  So, back to the sliders.