Memorial Day 2009

I made this picture as a self assignment for an NYIP photo class many years ago. The object was to use converging lines to lead the eye into an image. Although I had never visited the Wall before, I decided to check out the location. It was a perfect day to avoid crowds of tourists...wet, miserable and chilly. After looking at the possibilities, I set my camera on a tripod at the apex of the wall to capture the Washington Monument at the converging lines formed by the Wall and the sidewalk. Just as I was about to release the shutter, that lone visitor appeared from seemingly nowhere at the point of convergence. Sometimes I guess we just get lucky.

After I had captured the image and was preparing to leave, I turned to the left and there on Panel 1 of the Wall I saw the names of some of my aviation unit buddies from 1964-65, at eye level, right in front of me. The sight of those names brought on emotions that I had not expressed since the day they were killed in Vietnam. I have been back several times since then and am always overwhelmed by the tremendous loss those pieces of black granite represent.

Earlier this month another name was etched on the wall. The addition brings the number of names on the wall to 58,261.

Frank Z

Another of Mama Shan's Outstanding Photoshop Tutorials

Ramblings

In photography as art, what do we really mean by "original" anymore? It's pretty clear when you are talking about original or vintage prints made from the film negative of the masters of yesteryear. But does it even make a difference as to who makes the print or is it who made the image that is on the negative that results in an original photograph? I'm pretty sure there were prints made by master printers for photographers and not printed by the photographers themselves. Just as is the case of photogravures that were pulled by master artists, using original negatives, either with or without the photographer's guidance...such as this Jon Goodman gravure of Edward Steichen's "The Flatiron."

And then what about the future? There will come a time when there are no negatives in the process. Already has to some degree. Then what is the original...the raw file of 1s and 0s? Or the processed and converted file suitable for printing...or the first print made and signed by the photographer? Further, which file is the original...the one on your hard drive or the two or three exact duplicate backups of the file on removable media. I think a lot of my questions about this subject really started after seeing the Robert Frank exhibit at the National Gallery of Art recently. It was a great experience overall, but particularly to me, that we were able to see his marked up negatives as a first cut, then the printed contact sheets, then the 8x10s with his notes and crop lines pinned to a bulletin board and then finally those magnificent 83 prints that ended up in "The Americans." It dawned on me that future generations will not be able to experience being immersed in the step-by-step work of the photogs of today who will at some point become the masters of tomorrow.

What are your thoughts on the subject?

Frank

Mama Shan - Watermarked Client Proofing Disk

Photo of the Month for January

Anyone who has travelled along I-95 at the North and South Carolina border knows about the huge complex just inside S.C. Known as "South of the Border", the kitschy tourist mecca invites the traveler to make a stop going either north or south, using hundreds of billboard ads many miles before arriving.

I made this image just after the sun had set and the neon signs started lighting up.

Frank

Winter Wonderland

Well I don't know what happened to October and November, but suddenly I find myself in December. The winter scene I chose for this month was in the backyard of my partner's family. I'm not really a "snow" person, being from the South, however I do love to watch while it's falling and before it is spoiled by human and animal traffic.

This was a particularly beautiful snowfall and I was the first one to step out with my camera. Of course as soon as I made the shot, I went right back in to the warmth of the house.

Photo of the Month for September

My pick this month is a high-key portrait of a single Starburst lily. This bloom is just beginning to open into the beautiful and beautifully scented flower that it is.

A short video of a flowering Starburst lily can be seen here.

For a gallery view of this print, click on the image.

Best always,
Frank

Queen of the Night (Part 2...

...for Part 1 see Photo of the Month for September.)

Last week I had the opportunity to record some images of an incredible blooming event. Our long-time friends and fellow Cereus enthusiasts, Ralph and Steve, gave us the heads up on the impending blooming of their Night Blooming Cereus.

The first photo shows the buds as they were beginning to open at 7:15 on the evening of August 20. At about 8:30, Ralph called to say that the blooming had started and that all six of the flowers were opening fast. I took the next photo of the almost fully opened blooms at about 9:40. The close-up shows the intricate details of the flower's throat.

Once again, the beauty of the flower and the perfume scent that it gives off is hard to describe. However, Ralph did a very good job of it on his blog. So I suggest you hop over there and take a look at his accounting of the evening (but come back of course).

(Click on photo for gallery view)

This Was Fun (And took a lot of work!)

I put a layer of the first leaf over a background of the second leaf then blended to form a new image.

Photo of the Month for August

By now, if you have witnessed my obsession with creating images of flowers, plants and trees; you will know that one of my favorite subjects is the Southern Magnolia. I tend to concentrate my work on the flowers themselves, however, inspired by some of my favorite photo artists, I decided to try and create images from the beautiful shape and form of the leaves. As an example of images that have inspired me, see the work of Ruth Bernhard and Imogen Cunningham. The sepia toning of this leaf was inspired by Joyce Tenneson's Flower Portraits.

I welcome your comments.

Frank

Photoshop Mama's Colorization Concept

Posted below are three more of Mama Shan’s Photoshop tutorials. They should be viewed in the order in which they have been posted because each tutorial builds on the techniques covered in the prior video.

Photoshop Mama's Colorize Black Dress