Traveling the Journey of Light | Photoblog Thoughts, feelings, and techniques behind the photography of Derrald Farnsworth-Livingston

Marketing Photography, Part II: Educating Your MarketPosted by drfl on July 21st, 2010

A Non-”Corn” Nebraska Landscape

Alain Briot, a successful photographer, especially in the print medium recently wrote an article regarding pricing fine art photography.  Within the article he proposes the following:

• Most people cannot tell average photography from good photography
• Most people cannot tell good photography from very good photography

I agree with Mr. Briot’s assertions, with the addition of the following:

The majority of people that can tell good photography from very good photography are photographers themselves and photographers rarely purchase other photographer’s work. From my experience with art shows I can tell you that about 85% of my conversations are with fellow photographers and revolve around how I got the shot or where I was at the time. An astounding 80% of those conversations are discussions surrounding equipment. Majority Result? No sale.

Following my extension of Alain Briot’s logic then the majority of individuals who would appreciate the efforts and beauty of great art is would never buy great art. In order to help your customer’s make their decision in your favor, you need to educate them. This is true whether speaking about a print, a stock item, or assignment work.

For example, I photograph a diversity of landscapes and nature surrounding the American Great Plains. I travel hundreds of miles to ensure that what I get is unique, but distinctly “Great Plains”. The majority of these images were captured in Nebraska. Through my website and various other channels, I am contacted by companies who wish to use photography captured within the state of Nebraska for their marketing. Often, an immediate assumption made by individuals outside of Nebraska, that the state is pretty synonymous with “corn” or “crops”. As a result, they ask me what stock images I have of corn. The number? I have 1 image of corn taken in Nebraska.  It is at this point that I usually try to help the agencies or purchaser understand that while corn is an important aspect of Nebraska, it is not the only aspect.  Indeed, close to a million people in the state of Nebraska never even see a corn stalk for the majority of the year.  That’s the majority of the populous of Nebraska.  On first blush, “corn” seems to be the winner, but upon deeper inspection there maybe a stronger, less cliched possibility.

In order to educate your market, you need to be fully knowledgeable on your images.  That means, if you captured an image of an animal, you need to know what kind of animal it was.  If you are capturing a landscape, you need to know where you captured it - Park name, city, county.  If you are capturing a plant, you should know the name of the plant.  Additionally, you need to know when it was taken - ie Month, year, time of the day, etc.  If it was during an event, you should know the details of the event.  All this means taking good notes and creating an encyclopedia of information.  People like to know the stories and information behind the images and so the more information you can provide, the stronger the educational experience and the more likely a sale. 

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 17mm, f/13, 5 sec., 2-stop Hard Singh-Ray Filter
Jack Sinn WMA, Nebraska

Returning to One’s Roots by Using a Point and ShootPosted by drfl on November 24th, 2009

Over the Sea of Grass

When I was a young lad I had a 35mm Kodak camera that I had won at a contest in Montana.  About once a year my family and I would go on a trip, usually to a national park and I would be sure to pack the camera.  I would take several rolls of film and I would ultimately end up exposing most of it in the first couple of days and then I would have to ration the rest for the remainder.  During the time I was scurrying up on rocks and running up to lake shores to snap a quick photo, I had no idea that one day that would turn into something greater.  My only goal in those days was to capture the beauty around me so that I could be reminded of it later.

As time has progressed, so has my equipment.  During college I used a completely manual Pentax K-1000 to capture almost solely black and white images.  I did quite a bit of dark room work in those days, rolling and exposing my own film, and creating prints until the dead of night with only a singular red light for illumination.  I learned of different lenses, apertures, and shutter speeds.  I first used a tripod and a medium format camera.  Needless to say, the quick point and shooting slowly morphed into more deliberate, careful shooting, I had become a “serious” photographer.   Besides, now I had a grade depending on it.

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Announcing “The Quiet Beauty of Nebraska”Posted by drfl on November 2nd, 2009

For the past few weeks I have been putting the final touches on my book “The Quiet Beauty of Nebraska”.  I’ve neglected my blog and some other duties, but I am finally ready to make it available.  Comprised of over 40 photographs from across the state of Nebraska, this book focuses on the scenic landscape, nature, and native wildlife that I have travelled far and wide to capture. 

To see a preview of the book and/or purchase, please take a look, it would make a great gift for the upcoming holiday season!
 

The Quiet Beau…

By Derrald Farnsworth…

Book Preview

Nature AbstractsPosted by drfl on August 3rd, 2009

[Abstract art] seeks to break away from traditional representation of physical objects. It explores the relationships of forms and colors, whereas more traditional art represents the world in recognizable images. - Dictionary.com

Some photographers argue that abstracts only really work when the subjects or location are not evident. They feel that if those items are recognizable the abstraction no longer works because the viewer is aware of the atmosphere outside of the composition. Others believe that abstraction can work regardless if the viewer knows the subject.

According to the first part of the definition above, the purpose of abstract art is to break away from the “traditional representation” of objects. It is the second part, however, in which many photographers become entrenched, “more traditional art represents the world in recognizable images”.

In my opinion, however, these artists’ view of “unrecognizable subject matter” is too constraining and rigid. For an abstract to work I think that the only necessary requirement is that the object in question is being captured in a way that the focus is more on the interplay of contrast, color, light and shapes and not be done in a way that would represent the object as an interpretation of itself. To me an abstraction can work regardless of if you know what the subject is, as long as it is done in such a way to focus the composition on the particular elements of a scene and the interplay of those elements with one another.

Regardless of your view, finding abstracts in nature can be particularly fascinating. Sometimes they are evident, such as a closeup of a spiderweb between two stalks of tall grass, and other times they appear only when the timing is right, the shadows of clouds as they move across a field. Seeking these patterns photographicly requires a different mindset from other types of photography. The subtly of some of these designs require constant vigilance in order to quickly change and take advantage upon emergence of such patterns. During the evening as the previous two posts, I was primarily photographing the large landscape with a wide-angle lens. Here I had my primary camera setup on a tripod and tried different compositions attempting to capture a large slice of my surroundings. In the last post I was able to capture the geese as they flew across the scene since I was equipped with a second body and long lens which I normally have out and prepared for wildlife.

Today’s image takes a completely different slant of the scene at hand. As the sun dipped further below the horizon the intense colors of purple and orange tinted the surrounding area, especially reflecting off the water. It is at this time that the dark contrasts of the reeds in the lake created a pattern of lines that seem to come out of the reflected clouds. I quickly changed modes, placed a mid-range zoom on my primary camera, and captured several images of these reeds at different shutter speeds and focal lengths to experiment with the look of the reeds in the water. Ultimately, I decided on a faster shutter speed so it would catch the ripples in the water to give the viewer a reference point. In some nature pattern abstract shots leaving the reference point out is a good idea, but here I feel that the circles added to the aesthetic complexity of the composition. The strong colors with the strong shapes combine to create a shot that does not represent “reeds”, but rather “abstract”.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d Mark II, 70-200 f/4l @ 145mm, f/7.1, 1/10 sec.
Jack Sinn WMA, Nebraska

This photograph can be viewed on my website at: http://www.journeyoflight.com/journey06/photo.asp?pictureid=SilentContrast&xmlfile=/journey06/xml/color/midwest.xml&x=18

Dimming Light From a Northern SunPosted by drfl on July 30th, 2009

On a cool July evening, upon Jack Sinn WMA in eastern Nebraska, the evening was quiet except for the frogs and insects and the occasional honking of geese overhead.  This was one of those times that the light was exceptional and I managed to get several “keepers”.  I also got 3 ticks, but I decided not to keep them.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 17mm, f/18, 1/8 sec. 3-stop Singh-Ray Hard Grad
Jack Sinn Wildlife Management Area, Nebraska

This photograph can be viewed on my website at: http://www.journeyoflight.com/journey06/photo.asp?pictureid=DimmingLightofaNorthernSun&xmlfile=/journey06/xml/color/midwest.xml&x=18

Dreaming of TomorrowPosted by drfl on June 29th, 2009

Today’s image was taken at a little Wildlife Management Area called Jack Sinn just east of Ceresco, Nebraska - here is a place of solitude.  The first three times I visited this area I was the only person out in the fields, it was only the wildlife and me.  On this evening the atmosphere was calm and warm with nary any sounds except the chatter of the insects.  I setup my photo gear and watched as the sun set, illuminating the clouds for one more brief minute.  I captured a few images and then quietly packed up, determined to return once again to the quiet peacefulness that this area provides.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 19, f/14, 1 sec.
Jack Sinn Wildlife Management Area, Eastern Nebraska