8 February 2010, 8:26 am
Q: How does the spectator fit in?
Ed Ruscha: That’s a good question, I don’t know. I’ll tell you, I don’t even think about it. It’s not my job to do that. It’s for other people to do that, maybe the critics. But I don’t think it’s all that necessary that the critics make the connections. Whether or not the work communicates anything to anyone is not important to me. The work is my indulgence. I don’t set out to get something across. I don’t think very many artists do. That’s where the trouble begins, when artists try to communicate.
From an interview with Ed Ruscha in: Leave Any Information at the Signal: Writings, Interviews, Bits, Pages
(originally published in Real Life Magazine, n. 14, summer 1985)
6 February 2010, 10:41 am
Famoso Motel — by Joe Reifer
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4 February 2010, 7:38 pm
Dirt road with joshua trees in Mojave National Preserve — by Joe Reifer
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4 February 2010, 7:23 am
Cyanide mixing tank — by Joe Reifer
I believe this large tank was for mixing cyanide used in processing gold.
Night. Full moon. 5 minute exposure.
2 February 2010, 6:08 pm
View from the top of the slide — by Joe Reifer
Abandoned waterslide park.
Over the next few days, I’ll be adding to the gallery of images of this location.
Night. Full moon. 6 minute exposure.
2 images stacked for depth of field using a layer mask in Photoshop: one image was focused at 4 feet for the foreground, and the second focused for a sharp mid-ground and background.
1 February 2010, 8:04 am
Commissioner / Blasting Area — by Joe Reifer
Night. Full moon. 10 minute exposure.
25 January 2010, 7:38 pm
Waiting at the Crossing, Lincoln, NE 1993 — by Chris Faust
The January 30th deadline is fast approaching for the panoramic night photography contest hosted by The Nocturnes, dubbed The Panocturnists. [Entry form here] The entry fee is a reasonable $25 for up to three images. The juror will be none other than Chris Faust, whose wide format night photography book Nocturnes is highly recommended.
The only panoramic night photograph that I’ve produced as a print is the Mad Mouse Rollercoaster image from a year ago. The 4 shot rollercoaster image was shot from a tripod without a panoramic head, and stitched together in Photoshop CS3 using Photomerge. Photoshop’s panoramic stitching functionality took a quantum leap in CS3 and CS4. If you’re shooting with a medium focal length and don’t include foreground subjects, Photomerge will quite often work seamlessly within a few minutes. No more specialized panoramic tripod heads or difficult to learn panorama stitching software.
But Photomerge isn’t perfect. If you’re just delving into the world of digital panoramas, I recommend locating a copy of Harald Woeste’s book Mastering Digital Panoramic Photography
. Woeste gives a logical introduction to the concepts behind digital panoramas, as well as an excellent overview of panoramic tripod heads and stitching software options. A couple of years ago I experimented with various software and equipment for panoramas, and spent weeks digging around online — this book would’ve saved me a lot of time.
The Star Trails Barrier
The reason I rarely shoot panoramas at night is gear related — shooting and stitching a scene with star trails is extremely difficult. Gaps between exposures longer than a second or two will cause your star trails not to line up. Those of you who’ve stitched a few panoramas know that the multiple images don’t stitch on a perfect vertical. Even using a panoramic head with detent stops and practicing to minimize the interval between exposures will yield star trails that are not accurate. If you’re a digital photographer with a solution to this problem, I’d love to hear about your technique.
The Mad Mouse panorama was easy to stitch because the fog provided a consistent sky tonality. Clouds are do-able — here’s a 10 shot hand-held sunset panorama that stitched together quite easily in Photomerge. Stitched city skylines are usually OK, but that’s not my bag. For star trail panoramas, you’re probably better off either cropping or using a medium format film camera.
Continue reading ‘Shooting Panoramas at Night: A Contest, and Gear Meditation’ »
23 January 2010, 10:06 am
Skippy, He Loved Life — by Joe Reifer
19 January 2010, 7:37 am
The Golden Gate Bridge approach construction project is underway (Doyle Drive replacement), and has presented an interesting photo opportunity — the entire area around the Park Presidio Pet Cemetery has been bulldozed and is under construction. Below are 4 photos from last week.
San Francisco Pet Cemetery Tetratypch — by Joe Reifer
