Phoenician-2
Mar, 2016Views
1450
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Awards
Contest Finalist in Faces In Black And White Photo Contest
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Superior Skill
Magnificent Capture
Virtuoso
All Star
Genius
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 30 rank week 1
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
First of all, I would like to thank ViewBug for the wonderful award, it is an honor. There are so many wonderful images here that i continue to learn from, and I enjoy looking at everyone's photos shared here, you all inspire me. This shot was captured while living in beautiful Culebra, Puerto Rico.Time
The photograph you see here was captured August 10, 2015 at 12:07 pm.But it could have been an hour earlier or even an hour later. Honestly, when i got the camera I was going through the settings and the date was correct. The time was off by an hour, and I couldn't remember if it was daylight savings time, and then I started thinking..... well dang, if I change the time now, then I'm going to have to change the time again when the goes back to normal....so I just left it....I lived on the island for 20 years sooooo ......some things don't really matter to you that much after awhile lol.Lighting
Being around midday the sun was rather high, however there are many palm trees around, so I used that high shade to soften the over head sun to utilize the ambient light. A strong overhead sun is generally not very pleasing and casts an unusual shadow over the face, I don't really want to waste the creative energy involving the subject if I am aware of it...Trust me, I have taken photographs and wondered what was I thinking. I can get a bit involved and caught up and not notice the rattlesnake resting not 8 inches away from my foot....but that's a different story for another photograph.Equipment
I shot this with an old Nikon D70s which still has the original battery after all these years. This particular shot was taken with a Tamron 70-300mm 572D. Lucky for me I was heading out looking to see if I could capture some pelicans or hawks that day, because some photographers will argue that shooting at around 150-200 mm has great results when shooting portraiture. But that depends, some will argue 85 mm to 100 mm is the best. But in the end, basically, it has something to do with distortion of the facial features due the the physics of the glass. No flash or tripod was involved. The whole shoot was a very spur of the moment kind of thing.Inspiration
Honestly, I was sitting at a coffee shop on the ferry docks on a tiny island of the Carribean. Island life is pretty slow for the most part, so sitting around the ferry docks is where a lot of human activity occurs. So yeah, I'm drinking coffee trying to get my head together, fairly bored, but i have my camera with me in case I spot an interesting bird flying about, so I have that going for me. I said the usual good morning to the folks I know and they go on about their usual business. Some time had passed and this woman pictured shows up, sits down a few tables away and begins drinking her coffee. She looked fairly bored so i struck up a conversation....we have a friendly spirit on our little island. For some reason we started talking about history and she explained her mother was from Lebanon, which as everyone knows is where the Phoenicians originated.....-hence the title of this photograph. Long story short, she explained she had gone to modeling school for a little while and had left all that in the past...... I asked if she would be up for some photos, she agreed.....the most interesting photo of that shoot is the shot pictured here.Editing
These days, with digital photography, and all the many software editors around, I am quite sure you will find many if not most photographers employ a bit of post-processing. And really, it is our equivalent to the glory of the dark room used in film photography. The dodging and burning techniques used to create most of the iconic photos pioneered from our most honored photographers of yesteryear have indeed been past on to us. Ansel Easton Adams, employed many techniques he acquired form his colleagues. Also of note is that he was in the process of revisiting his photos in order to make his black and whites ....darker, or more black....at least according to his secretary. In keeping with that tradition, i like to experiment with my photos ....color, cropping, and so forth. Most of the image must be captured in the best way possible during the time the photo is shot however, it is here where most of the magic is truly captured.In my camera bag
I don't really have a lot cameras and lenses. A recent acquisition is an HX-80 by Sony, if its not in my shirt pocket, its in my tool bag. Its Zeiss lens covers an equivalent 24-720mm range It is a versatile little camera that truly fits in my shirt pocket. Another camera that I possess is .....by todays standards, quite old. I present the Nikon D70s 6,1 MP made back in 2005. This camera goes with me on all my journeys, the Caribbean, Israel, Turkey, or even my backyard. Most of my shots have been taken with the D70s, including this photo "Phoenician-2". Accompanying this camera are 3 lenses. A Tokina 100mm AT-X Pro Prime which was given to me by a friend, a Tamron 28-80mm 177D, and a Tamron 70-300mm 572D. Generally speaking, the Tokina is for my macro stuff, the 28-80mm for group shots, and the 70-300mm for just about anything. I have another camera, a Nikon D3500. The D3500 is a new acquisition, it is labeled as an entry level camera, but let me tell you, it does everything the big boy cameras do, and a lot cheaper. This is what i have been shooting with as of late. The Nikon - D3500 DSLR is a two lens kit, it comes with a AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR and a AF-P DX NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3G ED. If pressed, I have a tripod stashed away in the truck.Feedback
Well I'm no expert thats for sure, that being said, aside from the educational information found here at ViewBug, I would suggest to anyone who loves photography to pursue shooting things u enjoy in your free time. Also there are a number of little groups available for free on the internet that often give out free user tips and tricks out there these days. Some of it is repetitive but there is always some little gem of knowledge in those articles. Also take as many shots as u can from different angles and distances, you may never have the time or chance to come across the subject matter again. But, for the most part, enjoy your time in the field. I really enjoy being out in nature and having an activity like photography will drag me out of my cave and off on some little adventure.
