The Friedman Archives Newsletter November 2008
In this issue:
Saving Lenin and the Historic Value of Throw-away Shots
I have a really hard time throwing away images after I've selected the "good ones". Even though I know that I'll probably never need them, the older I get the more I realize that even the mundane shots can become more valuable over time. Here's a good example: I took this shot of the iconic Goodyear Blimp in the 1970's...
...and here's how it looks today (from an image I pulled off the web from mlive.com):
At the time my original blimp image was nothing special... but 40 years later it now has some historic value. As a result I've licensed this image 3 or 4 times.
This same phenomenon hit me again after I returned to Moscow and Latvia after 20 years, and in the last few months I've had a chance to re-visit my old work and compare how the two countries have changed.
The infamous "CCCP" initials in the Kremlin building (left) are gone now (right). It's as if the letters were Photoshopped out, but in real life. :-)
The impetus to examine my old archive and look for before-and-after changes came from a young writer (20 years old) in Latvia who was doing an article about my reaction to how Latvia has changed since Soviet times. The image above, of four "Young Pioneer" boys (equivalent to the American Boy Scouts - a pure Soviet institution), I had considered a "throw away" shot originally, but this now represents a part of the vanished Soviet history which the article writer never knew growing up. To my surprise this image was of extreme interest!
Okay, so most of you are not stock photographers, so how on earth is this relevant to you? The answer: I have found this same phenomenon to be true when it comes to old family pictures. Going through old snapshots 10 and 20 years hence -- even the ones that weren't good enough to show others at the time -- can bring back overwhelmingly positive memories (thereby fulfilling the purpose of a snapshot - to jog a neuron based on a previous experience within the viewer). Plus, now that I'm married to someone who loves to do scrapbooking, I learn that otherwise boring shots can be faded out and used as a background for the more important pictures when doing page layouts.
"So what about that reference to Lenin you made in the title??" Well, I'm getting to that. During my initial Soviet trip back in 1988, I was a bit of a snob. "I refuse to take pictures of statues of Lenin", I told myself, "since every tourist gets pictures like that and I'm not here to take tourist pictures!".
Arrogance? Yes. And I've always regretted that decision, since all the Lenin statues are now gone and this iconic reminder of a bygone era is now marketable. This is why today I almost always cover my bases, and even take 'establishing shot' pictures of things we all take for granted (anyone seen a phone booth lately?). 30 years from now these images might very well appreciate in value.
But wait! What's this?? When going through my old archives for the aforementioned magazine article I realized that I had begrudgingly snapped just such a picture; perhaps in a weak moment, just to cover my bases. But it was a very poor shot, with simply horrible light and because it was shot on slides there wasn't much room to play with as there would have been had I shot using negatives. (Shooting negatives is kind of the equivalent of shooting with RAW -- it gives you more leeway to fix gross exposure errors later on.) Is it at all possible to save this shot and make it marketable??
The left image was the original slide, scanned with
my ancient Nikon LS-20 film scanner. The center image
was manipulated in Photoshop to try to bring out the detail that
was already there:
1) First, I selected just the sky and darkened it a bit.
2) I next selected everything that wasn't the sky and adjusted the curve to bring out and enhance the contrast in the dark area (as shown in the "Curves" window on the right).
3) Notice that step 2 resulted in horrible shift in colors. (This, despite the fact that I was editing in 16-bits-per channel mode, and in AdobeRGB color space!!) Only one thing to do: Convert the image to B&W. (Which is fitting since most people associate B&W with history shots anyway.)
The right shot of the statue is the final product after a little bit of cropping. Not great, not bad. And it should really, really reinforce the notion that "Just as there is no substitute for good focusing, there is also no substitute for good light".
Advanced Topics 2 E-Booklet Now Available!
Well, you all responded with your input, and now the Advanced Topics 2 e-booklet is finally available, providing clear, approachable, and non-condescending tutorials on the most requested topics:
• All about filters – What’s Useful, What’s Obsolete • Color Space, Bit Depth, and ICC Profiles • Bird and Wildlife photography • Macro Photography • Long-term Archiving of Gigabytes of Information • Low-light Sports Photography • The Basics of High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging
This 100-page, full-color, instantly-downloadable .pdf file can be yours for the incredibly frugal price of only $15.95. Even if only one or two topics interest you, it still represents the outstanding value that I've always tried to provide in my e-books. Get yours now by clicking here!
Finding the Subject when Shooting Fall Foliage
A week before the Boston Seminar (which was a lot of fun, as always), Carol and I took a road trip to Vermont and New Hampshire, to "watch the leaves turn" (translation: Look at the fall colors, something this native Californian never got to experience growing up). Yes, it's beautiful, and yes, I took a few pictures. BUT I also did what I always do, which is to constantly ask myself, "How can I make this shot more interesting?" "What is my subject and how is it being placed?" "How can I improve the shot?"
I found my answer, of all places, indoors. I looked out the multi-pane window, and there was my shot, nicely framed for me!
This framing was the extra "oomph" I was looking for. I can now go home happy.
You want a piece of me? Matted and Signed Enlargements for Sale
Time to clean out the garage, and lo and behold, I unearthed a bin of cellophane-wrapped matted and signed prints of some of my most popular images. Put them in a frame that's suitable for your decor and have a fine piece of artwork grace your home. (Makes a great gift, too!)
Before anyone asks, these are inkjet prints made with the original Hewlett Packard PhotoSmart printer - an early pioneer in inkjet printers whose output was nearly indistinguishable from a real print, and whose inks lasted longer than most of the current available inkjet formulas. And please, none of that "Inkjet prints aren't real art" stuff. The art world once said that photography wasn't art; then when resin-coated papers came out the thinking shifted to "only fiber-based prints are art". I've always felt that the product was more important than the process, and I also consider myself a mild pioneer for embracing inkjet photos long before they became the norm. So embrace the independent-thinking maverick within you. :-)
Here are the images that are available (you can click on an image to enlarge):
I'm asking $50 each, plus shipping, while supplies last. If you're interested in owning a piece of me, fire off an email and let me know which image you'd like and your shipping address.
Seminars and Expedition Update
The seminars march on... The next two are set for Southern and Northern California, with more on the way. If you're new to photography, sometimes all the things there are to learn can seem overwhelming, and that is exactly why these seminars were created -- to explain, clearly and intuitively, exactly what you need to know in order to start taking "Wow!" shots right away, and to give insight and understanding into the technical issues you'll need to grow as a photographer but not be overwhelmed; everything from f/stops and shutter speeds to shooting RAW, understanding color space, how your exposure meter thinks, and how to format an image so when you email it, they won't only be able to see a tiny portion of the upper-left-hand-corner. :-)
Why not give yourself or someone you care about a post-Christmas present that will help you maximize the investment you've made in your equipment, and allow you to take more memorable pictures forevermore? Learn more about the seminars, register to attend, or suggest a destination city all at www.FriedmanArchives.com/seminars !
And the signup window for Rural China is rapidly drawing to a close. If you're new to this newsletter, learn more about this trip of a lifetime here, and sign up before December 31st! It's not often you get to go to such an exotic place on an excursion that was designed just for your inner photographer.
Coming Up Next
Things are never boring here. My next task is to update the Alpha 700 book to include details about the Firmware Version 4 enhancements (don't worry; those of you who bought the e-book or registered the hardcopy with me will get a free download link), and then I'll start work on the A900 book, which should be finished by late January. Send me an email if you'd like to be notified when that is done.
Next issue: How I took this shot using only 1 flash and NO fancy lighting equipment:
(And please, no comments about how the glass is tilted, or that it's a white wine glass leaning toward a bottle of red wine. It's only a test shot!!!)
Until next time...
Yours Truly,
Gary Friedman
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