Ansel Adams I Am Not...

Artists are blessed and cursed. We create from visions within, yet cannot help but see those subtleties separating the good from the excellent and the excellent from the genius. We apply this ‘eye’ to our own work, whether music, painting or photography, and become our own toughest critics when we see just how much we fall short of our sources of inspiration. I look at the work of Joe McNally, Bryan Peterson, Glen Johnson, John Shaw, Annie Leibovitz… Henri Cartier-Bresson, and work hard to incorporate their genius into my style – ever aware just how much I fall short such high standards. Of course, Ansel Adams belongs on this list as well. His darkroom skill will likely never be bested, and the powerful simplicity of his compositions is a hallmark of fine photography that others, myself included, aspire to.

I was honored to win the Ansel Adams Award for Fine Photography my senior year of high school – signed by Virginia Adams herself! I spent many of those days hiking around with a 4x5 view camera, plates, and the largest tripod I’ve ever carried, trying my best to imitate one of my heroes. The better I became, the more I was able to appreciate just how large the gap was between what I could produce and what Ansel did.

Ansel was very methodological in his approach. He would visualize an image from start to finish even before the first meter reading. He’d mark on his plates exactly how he planned to develop the film back in the darkroom. Of course, Ansel had his happy accidents - Moonrise Over Hernandez, his most celebrated image, chief among them. This image was also one of those happy accidents. I was meandering about with my wife and sister, looked over my shoulder, saw this scene, and instantly knew it would be the shot of the day. The composition was a no-brainer… the horse in the foreground with the triangular s-shaped fence leading the eye to the rest of the horses and the rancher’s house was practically gift-wrapped. I’d like to think even Ansel himself would approve.

The sky was mostly cloudy, creating a relatively low dynamic range and affording me an exposure that captured the detail in the clouds and snow. Still, it’s easy to see where I am not Ansel…. he would have kept detail in the shadow areas of the horses and the brightest whites in the fence line. He would have known they would be important to the final image, and would have exposed and developed accordingly. Me, I just wasn’t paying enough attention to recognize it at a time when I could have done something about it. I still love this image, flaws and all. Absent my studies of Ansel Adams, I might not have noticed these flaws, maybe enjoying the image more – but then I wouldn’t be as good of a photographer.

Yes… a blessing and a curse. The trick in all this is not to become discouraged as your awareness of what separates good, excellent and genius increases. Rather, allow that awareness to inspire you on to higher levels. Take the curse for what it is and improve your skills. Just never forget to enjoy the blessing along the path to becoming a better artist.

d

(this blog is a partial except from dan's portfolio - click here for the full page)

Life at the end of the alphabet.

I just may have cursed my wife...

Not deliberately, of course, but a pattern is emerging. In my high school days, I was the last person in my group of friends to go on a date, much less have a girlfriend. It wasn't that I didn't want to date, but hey, it was the 80's, and camera carrying computer nerds weren't sought after... at all.

Fast forwarding... I was the second to last person in my college circles to marry. This was more by choice - I'd shed some of the nerdiness of my youth and was dating more, but just couldn't shake this vision in my mind of the partner who'd be perfect for me. It took the 20-year old, who told himself he'd be married by 25, 15 years to find the woman of his dreams. She was very much worth the wait.

A few years passed, and Sarah and I have built close friendships with several couples in our locale. These friends (some of whom are family), all have kids (or are soon too). As Sarah and I are in the process of adopting, they've already been a wonderful resource to us - both physically (clothes, furniture, etc.) but also spiritually as we wait for a child of our own. Fortunately, our friends don't mind 'loaning' us their kids from time to time. It takes the edge off the wait, and provides a nearly endless supply of shooting opportunities.

Maternity shoots are especially challenging. Getting the light just right while not trying the patience of a soon to be mom is a delicate balancing act. But when you do get the light right, the delicate power of maternity is unmistakable.

Then there are the newborn sessions. Fortunately, if well fed, newborns will put up with a lot. Of course, Mom's loving touch doesn't hurt either...

My favorite sessions remain younger kids. Never are they afraid of the camera, and they'll not tire before you. Even the posed shots have a spontaneity to them that is hard to find in adults.

It's a wonderful reminder of what's in store for Sarah and I.

When Sarah changed her name after we married, she went from the B's to the V's. She'll joke from time to time that moving that far back in the alphabet hasn't been the best deal for her - especially in light of how often we're sorted by last name, even as adults. Hopefully, that won't translate to much longer of a wait for a kid of our own.

dan

Additional Images
Sophie's first gallery
Rachel and Allison

Your Inspirational Story for the Day

What I wouldn't have paid to be there...

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3967807

Think I will think twice about whining about anything today.