Peter Carroll’s photography blog

Photography books are a dime a dozen. Well, actually no – they go for about $40 each but you know what I mean. There’s no shortage of authors selling “how to” roadmaps. Every now and then, however, an author comes along and writes a photography book which throws a bucket of cold water on the industry. David duChemin is just such an author and Within the Frame published by Peachpit is just such a book.

Depending where you are on your photo journey David’s message may be like a teaspoon of Buckley’s couch syrup. It will be hard to swallow but it will be good for you in the long run. David’s a straight shooter and that’s what I love most about Within the Frame. You want the truth? Are you ready for it? This photography thing is hard. Plain and simple. There are no shortcuts. It’s hard work. You can buy the latest camera but look all you want in the box it came in because I guarantee you that you won’t find a free pass to being a great photographer. As David says, “Gear is good. Vision is better”. Photography is all about vision and great photography is where craft and vision meet. Becoming a craftsman takes time. Check out an old blog post of mine about the 10,000 hour rule. Sorry to break this to you but there are no shortcuts. Shortcuts anyway are all about destination. Craft is all about the journey.

Joe McNally, who wrote the forward to the book, sums up Within the Frame nicely when he says, “David gives you the tools and information that enable you to make the camera - a machine – an extension of the human heart and mind. Then he gives you a road map…and invites you on the journey. It’s a trip well worth taking”.

Early on in my photo journey I came across a book that changed the way I look at the world around me. That book was Freeman Patterson’s Photography and the Art of Seeing. I can think of no higher praise for David duChemin’s book that to say it deserves its place on the bookshelf right beside the book that inspired me to be a photographer and to express my vision of the world around me within the frame.

It’s two weeks before Christmas and I thought my readers might appraciate a little help making their list for Santa or getting a few gift ideas for the photographer in their life.

Books

Here are a few of the books I thought were noteworthy over the last year. I’ve linked to the publishers rather than push a particular bookseller.

1. Within The Frame by David duChemin

2. VisionMongers: Making a Life and a Living in Photography by David duChemin …. again (busy and productive year for this very talented and super nice fellow Canadian)

3. The Moment It Clicks by Joe McNally

4. The Hot Shoe Diaries by Joe McNally …. again (These guys can really churn out the books!)

5. The Photographer’s Eye by Michael Freeman

6. Always happy to plug any book by super talented local Alberta photographer Darwin Wiggett. If you are traveling to the Canadian Rockies I highly recommend his How To Photograph the Canadian Rockies. It’s almost sold out and no more will be printed. Get it before it’s gone!

7. Anything by Freeman Patterson!

Gear

1. If you or someone you know is looking to get into studio lighting definitely check out Lightrein’s line of products. Their egg crates are the key to the world of soft light control… enter and enjoy the possibilities.

2. For light control of the smaller variety check out Honl’s line of products.

3. Every landscape photographer who has made the nice list this year should find a Singh Ray filter in their stocking. If someone you know is just starting out in landscape photography a 2 stop soft graduated neutral density filter will totally transform the images they make. Bang for buck it’s a great gift.

4. Pocket Wizard triggers. Great pieces of kit and now they’ve jumped to a new level with ControlTL

5. the gear list is never ending so I’ll stop at 4

Outside the Box Ideas

1. Take a loved one’s favourite shot and get it printed on canvas.

2. The price of hard drive space is always falling but the feeling associated with losing images to hard drive failure remains the same. Show someone you care about their work and buy them a hard drive.

3. I finally bought Nik Software’s Color Efex Pro this year and it totally transformed the way I process images. Well worth every penny.

Camera Bags

The only thing I’ll say about camera bags is don’t buy one. Let me save you the heartache. If you buy one for the photographer in your life this year it will only break your heart to see it on the wish list again next year. You’ll say,”Didn’t I buy you one for Christmas last year?” and they’ll answer,”Yeah, but I didn’t like that one because…. and they just put out a new one that has …..” Ya see they still haven’t made the perfect camera bag. It’s the Holy Grail of photography. Let the photographer ride the camera bag roller coaster. Don’t facilitate the addiction!

36 satisfactory exposures on a roll means a photographer is not trying anything new. – Freeman Patterson

There you go… some inspiration to stretch your comfort zone. Next time you pick up the camera try experimenting with a style you’ve admired but have never tried yourself. Don’t just experiment in capture but bring that energy to your post work too. Take your shots down a different road and see where it takes you. Give yourself the freedom to experiment… to make mistakes… to learn.

I aim to get these “quotations that inspire” posts published first thing Monday morning so my aplogies to those of you who checked early this morning only to find edition 5 was late. The reason I’m a little late on the post is I was off in Banff National Park this weekend. The weather was absolutely superb. The getaway was a wonderful mix of relaxation and photo opportunities. I’ll post a few pics later in the week after I run them through post production.

The post may be late but I’ve got another two for one deal again for you this week. Simply stated, photography is an artistic expression of a moment in time. Too often we can get distracted with best-laid plans and trying to capture the picture in our mind’s eye that we lose sight of what’s happening right before our eyes in the here and now. Below are two quotations that remind us that plans are good but not at the expense of truly experiencing the now.

“If there is one lesson that I have learned well along the way, it is simply this: the place to live is in the here and now. If I dwell too long in any of my past homes or anticipate too vividly my future travels,as important as it is to factor in the relevance of both, I find that I am missing what’s happening to me today. That’s how life can pass you by.” – Freeman Patterson

“Life’s what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” – John Lennon

So pick up your camera today with an open mind and the intention to create images in the here and now. Capture life unfolding right before your eyes. Don’t let life pass you by.

I’m starting a new series of posts here on the blog called “Quotations That Inspire”. About once a week or so I’ll post a quotation by a photographer which has influenced my own photographic journey and hopefully will inspire you in your photography work.

I have Canadian photographer Freeman Patterson to thank for helping me make the jump from taking photographs to making photographs. I was in my local library one day, when I first got interested in photography,  looking through the photography section when I came across Freeman’s book – Photography for the Joy of It.  His photographs were wonderful but what really got my attention were his words. He wrote about photography like no one else I had ever come across. He saw wonder and beauty all around him and communicated the joy of framing that vision in such an inspirational way. The photographic journey is full of twists and turns, ups and downs, and through it all Freeman has been a wonderful mentor with words to focus and inspire me. I strongly encourage you to pick up one of his books (maybe start with Photography and the Art of Seeing) and enjoy the gift of this man’s insights into the world of photography and life in general. Here’s today’s quotation…

“Seeing, in the finest and broadest sense, means using your senses, your intellect, and your emotions. It means encountering your subject matter with your whole being. It means looking beyond the labels of things and discovering the remarkable world around you.” – Freeman Patterson