Noise is Not Evil–More Examples

In my last post “Noise is Not Evil” I made the case that noise can be used as an important artistic element of your photography and is not the evil scourge many seem to believe.  My view is in contrast to those in the photography world who appear to be obsessed with the idea that we should only accept what the best of today’s digital cameras are capable of.  In other words, new versions of cameras are increasingly capable of shooting high ISO, low light, and low noise photographs – this group of people believe because we can effectively eliminate noise in many circumstances , we should accept nothing less.  “They” are the people who believe noise is evil.

I don’t intend on pressing my case here, but thought to provide a few more examples of noisy photographs that work.

Today’s shots include a bike on the streets of Abu Dhabi, the Pentagon from the air, a man waiting at JFK, and finally, the beaches in Aqaba Jordan.

Have fun and go make some great photography.

Craig

Noise is Not Evil

There are many people in the photography world that would have you believe that noise in a photograph is and undesired evil.  I disagree.  To put it simply, noise is the digital revolution’s equivalent to film grain.  Why was grain in film considered acceptable, an artistic choice, and even desirable in many cases?  Yet the noise in digital photography is considered a technical flaw?

I will concede that noise is not a characteristic one should routinely pursue.  But there are unquestionably times when noise not only fails to distract, but actually offers a desirable artistic element to the photograph.

Each of the photos I offer here as examples contained noise when shot.  I then leverage the noise through sharpening, increasing contrast, and addition of grain in post processing.  The noise/grain in each of the shots plays a different role, but I believe the noise works well in all.

If you want to consider avoiding noise as one of “the rules” of photography, fine.  And just like any other “rule”{ in photography, it is OK to break the rules as long as you know the rule and break it with intention and purpose.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

Revisiting Photos–Time Can Help

I have written several times about my workflow and the fact that my photographs usually get several reviews, often at times quite distant from each other.  So here is an example.

In January, I posted a somewhat snarky entry “I Don’t Shoot Sunsets (Except in Aqaba Jordan).”  The photos featured in this post are the same photos I posted in January…except that they have gone through another round of editing.

In addition to catching a couple of spots from sensor dust, time away from the photos have given me a slightly different approach.  For the most part, the revisit resulted in some desaturation, lowering the contrast a tad, and a bit of color correction.  In summary, a more subtle approach than my first round of editing

I provide this example along with an endorsement to not hurry through your post - processing.  In addition to suffering from tired eyes, your photos can suffer from the difficulty of removing yourself from the emotions tied to the time and place the photo was shot.  Time helps a great deal in overcoming these challenges.

Have fun, and be patient with your images.

Craig

Rafeek Alewah – Stand-in for Omar Sharif in Lawrence of Arabia

Every once in a while, happy coincidences happen.  I will tell you of one such happy coincidence.  As I write this post, I am on my last night in Jordan before returning to the U.S.  During this trip to Jordan, a friend of mine (Nour Kabariti) sent a random note suggesting I visit a souvenir shop in Aqaba.  Nour is wonderful at sending these little tidbits and each one has turned into a great adventure…so of course I took her advice and visited the shop (and greatly appreciate the random recommendations).

First of all, let me tell you that Aqaba is a wonderful place.  It is a seaside resort town on the Red Sea, is relatively modest in the grand scheme of resort towns, and is therefore not overwhelming and thoroughly enjoyable.  Being a seaside hamlet, seafood is the cuisine of choice.  And the best seafood in Aqaba comes from the Ali Baba restaurant.  Nour directed me to the souvenir shop of Rafeek Alewah immediately adjacent to the Ali Baba (where I dine most evenings).

Upon my visit to the souvenir shop of Rafeek Alewah, I was treated to a great experience.  Rafeek was the stand-in for Omar Sharif in the 1962 filming of Lawrence of Arabia.  In this role, the 27 year old Rafeek was filmed in many of the non-speaking, or distant roles of Omar Sharif.  Although IMDB and many of the other internet movie sites have no mention of Rafeek, the photographs posted in his shop are a testament to his role.

Rafeek is an animated an engaging character.  If you have the opportunity to visit Aqaba, Jordan, I recommend visiting his shop – after enjoying a wonderful dinner at the Ali Baba.

To reinforce the idea that the best camera is the one you have with you, all of the photographs in this post were taken with my iPhone.  You will not always have your expensive DSLR with you, but that does not mean your photography should suffer.

Have fun, and go make some great photography!

Craig

Boats in Aqaba Jordan

I received some good feedback on some recent and past posts showing the before and after versions of raw photographs and finished product.  So here is another example.
My first decision on processing this photograph was conversion to black and white.  I applied one element of my set of criteria that asks if the color information is important to the composition.  With only a bit of the reds and the blue sky adding anything of note to the shot, I chose to go black and white.

The second shot shows the result of the first portion of post processing; cropping, and exposure adjustment.  In this case, I was happy with the composition and did not crop.  However, I increased the exposure by about one stop, and used the Lightroom recovery feature to bring back some of the detail in the mountains on the horizon.

The final set of adjustments included adjusting the curves to add contrast, an angled gradient filter to darken the sky slightly (more darkening on the right), some dust spot removal (look about 1/3 of the way from the left just below the top of the frame to see a prominent piece – on the first two versions), and a small bit of sharpening.
This photograph will get some more work, but I thought I would share my general workflow in Adobe Lightroom.  Processing the photo to this point amounted to about 5 minutes of work…interrupted by a local kid selling magazines (I’m a sucker and bought Wine Spectator…he got 2000 points, whatever that means).  The process varies a bit with color, and I promise to share an example soon.
Have fun, and go make some great photography.
Craig

Fireworks in Aqaba

Just the other night I was sitting on the balcony outside my hotel room in Aqaba Jordan doing exactly what I normally do…smoking a cigar, enjoying a glass of wine and listening to podcasts.  In addition to enjoying my favorite vices, I was doing a little photography. 
Facing my hotel is another hotel with similar balconies angling toward the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea.  I found the view interesting because of the repeating patterns formed by the rooms in addition to the overlaid pattern formed by the guests turning on the balcony lights as they enjoyed the evening – like me.  So the first photograph represents the “why” of having my camera set up in the first place.  The next two photographs are a happy coincidence that resulted from having my tripod and camera in place.

I am not a big fan of fireworks photography, but since the camera was already there, I figured “why not?”  This leads to two points I am obliged to address; 1) why I am not a fan of fireworks photography, and 2) fire works are all about color – why did I decide to process the photography in black and white?
I am not a fan of fireworks photography because of sentiments I hold that are similar to sunset photography (see my post titled “I Don’t Shoot Sunsets (Except in Aqaba Jordan)”)  On one level, I find fireworks photography cliché.  More importantly however is my recognition that getting fireworks photography “right” is a very difficult thing.  In addition to the obvious challenges with timing and exposure, fireworks are just big flashy bangs unless they are set within an interesting context that gives them a sense of purpose and scale.

The two photographs shown here are essentially the same composition, but I think they clearly show the point I was making (I am not suggesting these are particularly noteworthy fireworks photographs, but they are illustrative).  If you accept my premise that a happy snap of an exploding rocket in the middle of a black sky is not particularly compelling, you can see how composition and other elements of interest make these two photographs much more interesting.  Adding interest to this composition, one could consider the following as contributors;

• the fireworks are off-center on the third
• there are the equivalent of two horizons at roughly the bottom 1/3 and top 1/3 formed by the upper limit of the Aqaba city lights and the top of the mountains in the background
• the flag pole on the right flying the flag of Jordan draws your eye through the photograph to the right
• the repeating patterns of the hotel rooms on the left with the single balcony light energized draw the eye through the left of the frame.

I hope you enjoyed my happy coincidence.  Oh, and by the way, regarding the second question of “why black and white fireworks photography?”  The answer is simple – I was more attracted to the black and white version that accented the silhouette of the mountains.  In the end, it really helps if you enjoy your final product.  So processing choices should be something that leads you to an appreciation of the photograph even if you cannot articulate a reason other than “I like it.”
Have fun and go make some great photography!
Craig

Archeology in Aqaba

Of the many unique and interesting things in Aqaba Jordan are the many archeology sites.  I have not had the opportunity to find out more about these sites and their significance, but hope to do so in the future.  A couple of photographs from these sites are featured in this post.
From a photographic standpoint there are two elements of these photographs  worthy of some discussion.  First, both of these photographs are high dynamic range (HDR – type HDR into the search bar above to find more of my entries discussing HDR).  This fact is of little consequence, but worth observing is that one of the shots is color and the other black and white.  The relevant point is that HDR works equally well in color and black and white even though nearly all of the HDR photography you will find as you browse the web are in color.

The second noteworthy point is the light – the most important component to any photograph.   Questions to ask when viewing or composing a photo include

1. What is the source of the light?
2. Where is the light coming from?
3. What kind of light is it?
4. Was all natural light used, or were there lighting supplements (strobes, lights, reflectors, etc.)
5. What is the quality of the light (harsh, soft, toned, etc.)
6. And on, and on.

In the case of each of these photographs, the light was sunlight within one hour of sunset…very low on the horizon resulting in soft light and long shadows.  The light in the color photograph came from my left, while the black and white photograph was composed with the sun in the upper right corner of the frame.  You can use the light in many creative ways, but first you have to “become one with the light” so you can use it to your advantage.
Have fun, and go make some great photography.
Craig

Aqaba – A Visual Buffet

In my last post “I Don’t Shoot Sunsets (Except in Aqaba Jordan)” I featured a few photographs of the beautiful winter sunsets in Aqaba Jordan.  According to EsTeh who posted a comment about the last entry, winter sunsets in Aqaba are particularly nice because it is the time of year when clouds are likely to be present (you can read more about Aqaba at EsTeh’s web site “Your Guide to Aqaba Jordan”).

In this post, I am featuring a few more shots from Aqaba that demonstrate a small portion of the visual diversity of the city - ranging from a really cool and immense bar at the Intercontinental hotel, one of the many Carriages that roam the streets of Aqaba, and a lonely tree on the hillside (yes, this is in the city of Aqaba…it’s all about where you point the camera!).

I have a few more photographs of Aqaba I will post soon.  I still have not had the opportunity to dedicate much time to photography in Aqaba, but I am sure that will be remedied sometime soon.
Have fun and go make some great photography.
Craig

I Don’t Shoot Sunsets (Except in Aqaba Jordan)

I don’t shoot sunsets.  While beautiful to watch, I find them completely uninteresting as photographs.  To make things worse, it is inevitable that your friends reliably reserve three obligatory categories of snapshots they feel duty bound to show you - their children, their dog, and the sunset from their last vacation.  And to make things worse, these sunset shots generally lack any sense of composition, no sense of scale (something else of interest in the photograph), and amount to little more than a gradient of pretty colors.

Having just completely trashed the lifework of my mother who has dedicated her complete artistic self to capturing sunsets from every vacation she has ever taken, I will now take a contrary position.  Given my disdain for the cliché of a sunset photograph, the obvious challenge is “how does one make a sunset interesting as a photograph?”

This week I was forced into trying to make a sunset interesting.  I am now in Aqaba Jordan.  From what I have seen, Aqaba is a beautiful place filled with extremely nice and helpful people.  However, I have been working sufficiently long hours that my opportunities for photography have been limited.  I was a able to escape momentarily with camera and tripod for a few shots; mostly around the Intercontinental Hotel where I am staying, and therefore these sunset photographs.
I hope you find them a bit more interesting than the dreaded vacation sunset photograph.  For all of the habitual sunset shooters out there, please accept my apologies.
Standby for more from Aqaba.
Have fun and go make some great photography.
Craig