JACK GRAHAM PHOTOGRAPHY www.jackgrahamphoto.com
LEARN to SEE LEARN to THINK LEARN to CREATE
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LATE NEWS:As of a few minutes ago I confirmed ULTIMATE CUBA 2013 PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP. Announcement coming next week. Feb 6-13 2013—-details coming soon!
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Workshop schedule: https://jackgrahamphoto.com/2012-workshop-schedule
Workshop Registration Form: https://jackgrahamphoto.com/sites/default/files/REGISTRATION-FORM-2012v9.pdf
Workshop Overview https://jackgrahamphoto.com/workshop-overview
Workshop FAQ’S; https://jackgrahamphoto.com/sites/default/files/GENERAL-WORKSHOP-QUESTIONS-FAQS-INFORMATION-v2012f.pdf
Workshop Referrals: https://jackgrahamphoto.com/referrals
PODCAST: www.18percentgraymatter.com
JACK GRAHAM PHOTOGRAPHY e books –available for purchase and immediate download https://jackgrahamphoto.com/shop/e-books
Mystery Valley, Arizona
NEWS and NOTEWORTHY
It’s been quite a long time since my last posting. I have been busy away with my 2012 workshop schedule. I’ve spent about 6 weeks in the southwest, and 4 corners region (Navajo and red rock country) then up on Whidbey Island doing a great workshop for the Pacific Northwest Art School (more on that later) then over to Olympic National Park for a week.
I am currently in southern California where I’ll be at the Temecula Balloon and Wine Festival http://www.tvbwf.com/ starting this Friday through Sunday afternoon. I return to Oregon on Tuesday morning and begin my Columbia Gorge workshop Wednesday night and another in the Palouse Region in Eastern Washington the following week. I am so fortunate to be able to get to these places at the best times of the year.
After the workshop I usually take a look at the few images I make (I am there for my customers, not for my own shooting opportunities!). I have had very few acceptable images, this year since workshops have been quite full and my time is spent with my attendees. However this image I made waking back t my truck on the Olympic Peninsula is one I am quite pleased with. I had a metal print made of this which I will get to see tomorrow. This is the Sol Duc River between Forks and Port Angeles in a secret spot I know about.
Sol Duc River, Olympic Peninsula, Wa.
Tech Data 012:05:18 16:34:00 Nikon D700 80-200mm F 2.8 @ 100mm
Sunset, Marin Headlands, near San Francisco, Ca
Below is a list of my workshops for the remainder of 2012. Of particular note is the workshop in Northern California in September 2012 ( https://www.jackgrahamphoto.com/autumn-napa-valley-san-francisco-and-northern-california-coast-pacific-northwest-art-school-photogra ) that I will be conducting with the Pacific Northwest Art School. September is a great time to be in this area. The summer crowds are gone and the air is a bit cooler and refreshing. In addition, the cost of this workshop is very attractive considering the itinerary and diverse subject matter. We will spend a full day in the beautiful win county of the Napa Valley. We will travel a bit Northwest through the Point Reyes area, then down to the Marin headlands for some great ocean views and a sunrise shoot of the Golden gate. After a morning in San Francisco, we’ll venture out to the coast, south of San Francisco for more ocean, and intimate landscape locations. Time is set to conduct presentations, image discussions and more. Please consider joining us. You can register with the PNWS here: http://www.pacificnorthwestartschool.org/all/photography-workshops/graham-jack-fall-in-northern-ca-sep-20-23-2012-1 or by calling 866-678-3395.
My 2013 workshop schedule is coming into shape. You can view it here. Another trek to Iceland is planned for July with an additional 9 day excursion to beautiful ( and quite warm & pleasant and under photographed) Greenland. I’ll be back in NE Ohio in October for fall color and once again a full day(including a private Amish dinner) with my Amish friends on their farm in Sugarcreek Ohio. I’ll be teaming up with my good friend, world class photographer and teacher Bill Fortney(www.billfortney.com) for a workshop you will not want to miss! I’ll also be announcing a workshop in late October 2013 in the red rock country (including Zion National Park) very soon. Details on these and more can be found here: https://www.jackgrahamphoto.com/2013-photography-workshop-schedule
I received requests to link the webinar I conducted for NIK SOFTWARE , back in March, entitled, “Keeping it Simple .You can view it here: ( if you purchase any or all of the NIK Software package… enter code JGRAHAM and receive a 15% discount!!!
Sunrise, Hunt’s Mesa, Monument Valley AZ
2012 Workshop Info:
COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE …JUNE 2012 – 1 seat left https://jackgrahamphoto.com/columbia-river-gorge-and-mt-hood-photography-workshop 1 spot open
THE PALOUSE, JUNE 2012, SOLD OUT—- https://jackgrahamphoto.com/spring-palouse-now-5-days
ULTIMATE ICELAND, 10 days, JULY 2012 –ONLY 1 SEAT LEFT https://jackgrahamphoto.com/ultimate-iceland-july-2012
OREGON COAST 5 DAYS!—August 2012—2 seats open https://jackgrahamphoto.com/2012-oregon-coast-cannon-beach-bandon-5-full-day
NAPA VALLEY, No. CALIFORNIA COAST, SAN FRANCISCO MORE!!!SEPTEMBER 2012 ( www.pacificnorthwestartschool.com ) few seats left, not many! http://www.pacificnorthwestartschool.org/all/photography-workshops/graham-jack-fall-in-northern-ca-sep-20-23-2012-1
TETONS & YELLOWSTONE, SEPTEMBER 2012 3 seats open https://jackgrahamphoto.com/fall-grand-teton-and-yellowstone-np-photography-workshop
17TH ANNUAL EASTERN SIERRA FALL WORKSHOP with GUY TAL www.guytal.com JUST a FEW SEATS LEFT—filling fast https://jackgrahamphoto.com/17th-annual-eastern-sierra-photography-workshop-mono-lake-alabama-hills-bristlecone-pine-bodie-more
More information found here: https://jackgrahamphoto.com/2012-photography-workshop-schedule
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FEATURED ARTICLE -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
WHICH ONE WORKS? The Ferry House, Whidbey Island, Washington
In this series of articles, I discuss and compare images and talk about why I like one over the other.
Choosing one image over other similar images is one that we all deal with in our digital darkroom.
I suggest to you, as well as my workshop attendees to work the subject while in the field, make final decisions on your monitors at home.
….. WHICH ONE WORKS # 7…..
LOCATION: Whidbey Island, Puget Sound, Washington http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?v=2&pc=FACEBK&mid=8100&where1=South+Ebey+Road%2C+Coupeville%2C+WA+98239&FORM=FBKPL0&name=The+Ferry+House+on+Whidbey+Island&mkt=en-US
If you have viewed the movie “Snow Falling on Cedars”, 2009, you might remember this house. It is the historic Ferry House at Ebey’s Landing. The Ferry House was in the movie for only about 30 seconds so have to look quick. This house is owned by the US Park Service and is one of the historic places. The house even has its own Facebook Page http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Ferry-House-on-Whidbey-Island/332890913105
One of the oldest residential buildings in the state of Washington, the Ferry House was built in 1860 by Winfield Scott Ebey as an Inn to provide financial stability for his brother’s children, who were orphaned when Isaac Ebey was brutally murdered and beheaded by Canadian natives. Once completed and opened for business, the building was named The Ebey Inn. With no other nearby accommodations, the Inn — which housed a post office, a tavern, and rooms for overnight guests — quickly became an important place for sailors and other travelers to rest before continuing their journeys to other towns on Whidbey Island the nearby mainland and points further north. Travelers and locals could also purchase merchandise and groceries at the Inn, which served ferry traffic to and from Port Townsend The house stayed in the Ebey family for 57 years, until Isaac Ebey’s grandson sold the old Inn in 1917.
The old Inn is currently owned by the National Park Service. The Ferry House became part of the 17,500-acre (71 km2) Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve created in 1978 to protect the rural working landscape and community on Central Whidbey Island.
THE STORY: Every time I visit Whidbey Island, be it for a workshop or when I am there photographing, I always visit this beautiful location. These three images were made on separate days in different light. These are three of my favorite images, but only one will stand out enough to me to be my favorite image of the Ferry House. I was initially attracted to the location by the look of the old house against the background of cedars. The challenge was how to work the rather large foreground into the scene. In many cases a rock tree, etc. can serve as an anchor for the image, making for an interesting photograph, In this case, using the building in and of itself would have been acceptable, but I wanted to use the beautiful field of barley and the green to serve as my foreground. This was not as easy a task as I thought it might be. This location is best photographed in the morning. The light can be challenging to say the least. Often extremely windy conditions are present due to the proximity to the sound and the ocean. Returning many times is essential.
To create a successful landscape photograph I believe you should learn as much about a location as possible. Learn the conditions such as weather and light, and how they affect the scene and prepare yourself properly. Being at the right place at the right time is rarely by luck. Be sure your camera setting are what you want to make the most of the photograph. Imagine these images taken at F4! When the lights “happening” it usually lasts for only a few minutes. You’ll need to work quick and know how to access your equipment. Not knowing where things are in your camera bag can cost you a great shot.
TECH DATA: All images made using my Nikon D700, Gitzo 3541 tripod and Really Right Stuff BH55 Ball Head.
IMAGE 1 Nikon 80-200mm 2.8 @ 200mm 1/60sec at f16 Apature priority / Matrix metering
-1/3 compensation . ISO 1250
IMAGE 2 Nikon 28-70mm @ 70mm 1/ 2.5 sec at F16 Manual /Spot metering –1/3 compensation . ISO 200
IMAGE # 3
IMAGE 3 Nikon 28-70mm @ 70mm 1/3sec at F16 Manual /Spot metering –1/3 compensation .
ISO 200
PROCESSING:
The key to processing is knowing what I want out of the image in the field as I am making the photograph, then applying the processing technique in my studio. I make initial processing
adjustments in cam RAW using Adobe Lightroom. I use NIK SOFTWARE’S “DEFINE” to reduce any noise. I adjust the image further using NIK”S VIVEZA and Color Efex Pro. I used some layer adjustments in Adobe Photoshop to increase contrast. Final sharpening was done using NIK’S Output Sharpener.
All three of these images were processed relatively the same. What makes them different is
1) Composition 2) Light conditions 3) Use of the subject with the foreground
THE EDIT: There are three very different images and each conveys a different feeling. It is always important to define the subject before making the image. Obviously the subject is the Ferry House. Like all images, weather they be photographs or paintings, how the subject is handled is crucial. The house is depicted in three completely different ways in these images.
IMAGE #1
IMAGE # 1
This image was taken about 2 months before the others and the green barley field was really nice in green. I think if I was trying to show the house and not the environment, I would select this image, The adjacent fields and close by water adds something to the image. There are some lines in the field that sort of lead into the subject which I like. The house is sharp and the background fairly clean. Depending on the use, this image works quite nicely. The light was really good this day. It was overcast, quite cool and windy. That is why I set my ISO to 1250. I did not want blurriness in the grasses as the wind was very strong. The house in this image is for my taste is balanced, but too centered. As you can see in the other images there are parts of the environment that I did not want to include in this image. By not including them I came up with this one dimensional image. It’s a nice image but to me somewhat boring.
IMAGE # 2
I went back after the 1st image and arrived at the location early in the morning, during the sweet light, to make this another images of the Ferry House. This time I wanted to use the driveway and pathway, leading to the back of the adjacent property to tell more of the story of where this old house is located. After walking around for quite a while, I selected this spot, while the light remained quite nice. The early morning light really did a nice job on the background. I still to this day cannot decide if I like this driveway or not. Sometimes I think is add something, something I think it draws my eye to the end of the driveway and away from the subject. I also don’t like how the light handled the green barley field. The light though good everywhere else really didn’t work on the grass. Perhaps if I was sold on this composition I could go back into my software and play with the luminosity etc. and adjust the grass a bit, but since I am really not sold on this image, I think I’ll wait until I am, if ever.
IMAGE #3
IMAGE # 3
Again this image was taken in the early morning. This day featured a cloudless sky and though not bad, the poorest morning light of the three images. I like the house placement and the green barley field a lot in this composition. This time of year the yellow mustard field in back of the property was in full bloom. I used the blue of the Puget Sound along with the complimentary yellow of the mustard field to work to enhance the image. The light was not quite as good on the house as in image 1 or 2 but not terrible. The biggest drawback for me in this image is the sky. There is no drama here. However we photographers sometime have to work with what we have.
FINAL DECISION
My final decision is to go back and do this photograph again. What I am after is the composition of IMAGE $3 with some dramatic sky’s or some drama caused by weather. Snow would be great. Fog would be interesting as well.
All three images are nothing I would hang on a wall. Image one might be good to use for editorial purposes. I can’t come to a firm decision regard the composition of IMAGE2. Until I do I will pass on this composition. IMAGE 3 is more of what I call a post card image. Yes, the composition is somewhat different from what I’ve seen before, but after a few seconds it is just a nice image, not exciting.
Many that I did not want to include in this image. By not including them I came up with this one dimensional image. It’s a nice image but to me somewhat boring.
Many times, viewers look at some of the better images I have and ask “How did you get that great light “ or “How did you ever get an image looking like that” They wait for a technical answer, thinking I must have a great camera or lenses. My answer always is that I try and go back to a location many times, and you I might be there when everything works.
What do you think?–jg
I always decide which image I like best before I read the whole article. I picked #3 also for the composition. With a dramatic sky it will be great.