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10/15/2002 03:55:10 AM · #1 |
In the spirit of this week's challenge:
"I almost never set out to photograph a landscape, nor do I think of my camera as a means of recording a mountain or an animal unless I absolutely need a 'record shot'. My first thought is always of light."
- Galen Rowell (1940-2002)
Click Here to learn more about Galen and Barbara Rowell.
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10/15/2002 04:56:31 AM · #2 |
well, his photos are just phenomenal, but besides that...! :)
I adore lighting. I think it is one of the most important and interesting aspects of photography. I also think is the catalyst that can make or break a picture; it has the power to take a photograph from the realm of boring to amazing. the majority of the pictures i take revolve around the lighting i can get, or concoct for the shot! concerning the challenges here, my initial thought process is usually concerned with not only the subject, but also with what cool way can i light it?
I dont have expensive lights like the kind i used in school, but find myself thinking of creative ways to utilize "at-home" items to replicate them such as white sheets or tissue (for soft boxes), colored bulbs (for gels), flashlights or table lamps wrapped in tinfoil (for spot lights) an actual umbrella lampshade (!) (for directional lighting) and candles (for fill)...heck, i even managed to convince my overhead kitchen light that it was a backlight, and once chased a sunbeam around the same kitchen for hours to turn it into a spot light! :) To me lighting is that sort of thing.
Of course, my attempts are amature, but i have learned quite a bit from just trying something with new each challenge. Granted, you have to learn how to control your lighting, and understand the effect on your photo of the warmth or coolness of the wattage you use (i use anything from 15 watt to 500, not including candle power!), not to mention learning to control the technical aspects of your camera to make the best of the subject and its lighting--- but I also think that experimenting with indoor lighting also helps you to train your eye to recognize the power of light in your outdoor photoshoots as well--such as learning how to use shadows and reflections to enhance a shot.
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10/15/2002 06:21:29 AM · #3 |
Lighting is something I've recently started to experiment with so I really welcome this week's challenge. Like Alecia Ive been using desk lamps and torches and sunlight with mixed success.
John |
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10/15/2002 06:30:36 AM · #4 |
Alecia, Could you do a few pictorial Show and Tell's on some of your experiments? Sounds fascinating.
aelith |
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10/15/2002 10:42:57 AM · #5 |
Rowell's work are all natural and unless he uses "fill flash" to blend in with the natural light, there is no other artificial light involved.
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10/15/2002 11:23:09 AM · #6 |
Originally posted by paganini:
Rowell's work are all natural and unless he uses "fill flash" to blend in with the natural light, there is no other artificial light involved.
And the point is?
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10/15/2002 11:36:30 AM · #7 |
This was a good quote. I like how he is kind of lobbying for not just snapping every shot you see, but waiting for the right moment. It kind of goes with some of the other quotes.
Although was an outdoor photographer, I think his idea applies to other types of photography too.
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10/15/2002 01:58:41 PM · #8 |
The previous two posts have strayed into discussion of artificial light and Rowell's work has never been as far as I know, indoors using artificial light. I was trying to move it back into the realm of discussion.
Originally posted by jmsetzler:
Originally posted by paganini:
[i]Rowell's work are all natural and unless he uses "fill flash" to blend in with the natural light, there is no other artificial light involved.
And the point is?
[/i]
* This message has been edited by the author on 10/15/2002 1:56:34 PM.
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10/15/2002 04:54:55 PM · #9 |
| i guess i just got tired of typing, hehe, my point was to talk about lighting---in the spirit of this challenge! My unfinished thought was that by learning the art: the rules, techniques and nuances of lighting by practicing indoors, will ultimately help you to recognize subtle (or just good combinations) lighting enhancements outdoors. i haven't read his book, i have no way of knowing if rowell ever used an artificial lightsource in his life, but he has an incredible eye for lighting. Was he just born with it, or did he train himself to see? i dunno, but my point was that thru practicing and learning the basics of lighting, you will develop a better eye for it and learn how to apply it to all aspects of your photography. |
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10/15/2002 05:04:44 PM · #10 |
I read a book of Galen's many many times about 8 years ago. From what I remember, he was incredible at "being at the right place at the right time" but it was usually not an accident. He would stake out a scene and decide what sort of light it would look best in - dawn, sunset, cloudy, sunny, etc. Obviously, being a great mountainclimber like he was, he had a lot more access to incredible vistas that people like me will probably never get to, which I think was a lot of his appeal to me. And being in those environments, he lucked into a lot of great shots too (like the famous one with the rainbow and the palace in Tibet).
But at the same time, he had the technical ability to not screw up an incredible shot when it came, which is really something I'd like to be one of my goals. |
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10/15/2002 05:12:27 PM · #11 |
I do not think he was born with it, I think it has more to do with patience, and persistance.
There is a story of him that a read recently, I think was in Tibet, and a beautiful rainbow appeared. Many photographers stood there and photographed it. Galen ran a mile or so, to find a vantage point where it appeared to fall directly on a shrine. Creating one of his most famous pictures.
Nature photophrphers will scout out a great location, and keep revisiting it, until the conditions are right. There are some keys things to look for, clearing storms, clouds that accentuate the color of the sunset or sunrise (almost never photograph during the day. Neutral density filters can help balance out the light and create in even expousre and darken the sky a bit. These photographers are very talented, and know their craft, but I am convinced that what seperates them from me the most, is patience and persistance. There are a few easy guidelines that anyone can learn from a few issues of Outdoor Photographer, Shutterbug, or Popular Photography to find the right light. If you look at a collection of great landscapes, there will probably be some similar elements in them. Getting the knoweldge is the easy part, getting off my ass and doing something with it is another thing all together.
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10/15/2002 07:48:00 PM · #12 |
It's called a temple and as a Buddhist I am offended :) just kidding. He actually asked the other photographers whether they'd like to run with him to see if the rainbow would hit the top of the Potala Palace, but they refused.
The amazing part about Rowell is that he makes his living from doing nature photography. That's very difficult to do. Most photographers make their living shooting weddings, advertising (from crafts to whatever), portraits/glamour shots, etc. and very few are selected by National Geographic or magazines like that for assignments.
Originally posted by Zeissman:
I do not think he was born with it, I think it has more to do with patience, and persistance.
There is a story of him that a read recently, I think was in Tibet, and a beautiful rainbow appeared. Many photographers stood there and photographed it. Galen ran a mile or so, to find a vantage point where it appeared to fall directly on a shrine. Creating one of his most famous pictures.
Nature photophrphers will scout out a great location, and keep revisiting it, until the conditions are right. There are some keys things to look for, clearing storms, clouds that accentuate the color of the sunset or sunrise (almost never photograph during the day. Neutral density filters can help balance out the light and create in even expousre and darken the sky a bit. These photographers are very talented, and know their craft, but I am convinced that what seperates them from me the most, is patience and persistance. There are a few easy guidelines that anyone can learn from a few issues of Outdoor Photographer, Shutterbug, or Popular Photography to find the right light. If you look at a collection of great landscapes, there will probably be some similar elements in them. Getting the knoweldge is the easy part, getting off my ass and doing something with it is another thing all together.
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10/15/2002 07:51:14 PM · #13 |
Most people may not know this, but Galen Rowell is a WORLD CLASS rock climber as well. He started off with rock climbing first before he had the interest in photography. He spent his 20's working odd jobs to support photography, it wasn't until his mid 30's that he got his big break with National Geographic.
There are some spetacular shots of his friends on Yosemite Half Dome, where the "model" is another world class rock climber climbing the wall WITHOUT ropes :) Here's a small version on line:
rock climbing
Originally posted by Alecia:
i guess i just got tired of typing, hehe, my point was to talk about lighting---in the spirit of this challenge! My unfinished thought was that by learning the art: the rules, techniques and nuances of lighting by practicing indoors, will ultimately help you to recognize subtle (or just good combinations) lighting enhancements outdoors. i haven't read his book, i have no way of knowing if rowell ever used an artificial lightsource in his life, but he has an incredible eye for lighting. Was he just born with it, or did he train himself to see? i dunno, but my point was that thru practicing and learning the basics of lighting, you will develop a better eye for it and learn how to apply it to all aspects of your photography.
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10/15/2002 08:49:35 PM · #14 |
Tony, I don't know if you know it or not, but Galen and his wife Barbara perished in a plane crash back in August. You mentioned his name a couple of times in the present tense, so I just wondered.
Originally posted by paganini:
Most people may not know this, but Galen Rowell is a WORLD CLASS rock climber as well. He started off with rock climbing first before he had the interest in photography. He spent his 20's working odd jobs to support photography, it wasn't until his mid 30's that he got his big break with National Geographic.
There are some spetacular shots of his friends on Yosemite Half Dome, where the "model" is another world class rock climber climbing the wall WITHOUT ropes :) Here's a small version on line:
rock climbing
Originally posted by Alecia:
[i]i guess i just got tired of typing, hehe, my point was to talk about lighting---in the spirit of this challenge! My unfinished thought was that by learning the art: the rules, techniques and nuances of lighting by practicing indoors, will ultimately help you to recognize subtle (or just good combinations) lighting enhancements outdoors. i haven't read his book, i have no way of knowing if rowell ever used an artificial lightsource in his life, but he has an incredible eye for lighting. Was he just born with it, or did he train himself to see? i dunno, but my point was that thru practicing and learning the basics of lighting, you will develop a better eye for it and learn how to apply it to all aspects of your photography.
[/i]
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10/15/2002 08:55:15 PM · #15 |
Grace, that's another reason I chose Rowell for this current quote. It was definitely a sad loss....
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10/15/2002 09:21:00 PM · #16 |
The Potala Palace photo is HERE.
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10/15/2002 09:25:32 PM · #17 |
Originally posted by jmsetzler:
The Potala Palace photo is HERE.
It could very well be because the image quality is terrible on that
web site - but that picture doesn't do a whole lot for me. I keep
getting told how wonderful it is - and it is a 'right place, right
time' kind of shot - but from what I've heard rainbows are excessively
common in that particular place.
I wouldn't mind seeing a decent reproduction of it though.
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10/15/2002 09:33:34 PM · #18 |
It's in the national geographic photo book in it's original glory...
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10/15/2002 10:03:09 PM · #19 |
Yeah i knew that, i just use present tense :)
Originally posted by Gracious:
Tony, I don't know if you know it or not, but Galen and his wife Barbara perished in a plane crash back in August. You mentioned his name a couple of times in the present tense, so I just wondered.
Originally posted by paganini:
[i]Most people may not know this, but Galen Rowell is a WORLD CLASS rock climber as well. He started off with rock climbing first before he had the interest in photography. He spent his 20's working odd jobs to support photography, it wasn't until his mid 30's that he got his big break with National Geographic.
There are some spetacular shots of his friends on Yosemite Half Dome, where the "model" is another world class rock climber climbing the wall WITHOUT ropes :) Here's a small version on line:
rock climbing
Originally posted by Alecia:
[i]i guess i just got tired of typing, hehe, my point was to talk about lighting---in the spirit of this challenge! My unfinished thought was that by learning the art: the rules, techniques and nuances of lighting by practicing indoors, will ultimately help you to recognize subtle (or just good combinations) lighting enhancements outdoors. i haven't read his book, i have no way of knowing if rowell ever used an artificial lightsource in his life, but he has an incredible eye for lighting. Was he just born with it, or did he train himself to see? i dunno, but my point was that thru practicing and learning the basics of lighting, you will develop a better eye for it and learn how to apply it to all aspects of your photography.
[/i]
[/i]
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10/15/2002 10:08:49 PM · #20 |
WHere did you hear that (about how rainbow is common)? As far as anyone knew, there hasn't been any other shot with a rainbow on top of the Potala Palace. Rainbow is always common when there are mists, but it takes a special angle and time of the year for it to happen on the Potala. So far there hasn't been any photos with it directly on top of the Potala other than this one.
What makes the photo really special is that while the rainbow hits the top of it, on the print, there is sunlight that shines through the cloud and hits the top of the palace, giving it a divine feeling to it. He described it in his Mountain Light book on how he went after the rainbow and how he captured it, and how he waited after he took a few insurance shots until the sun came out of the cloud briefly and when this and other shots were made (one of them made it to the national geographic -- he was working on assignment for them and they select a few slides, the rest he can sell, but National Geographic owns one of them exclusively and that's the one you see in the magazine which is not the one you'll get if you order a print from the website)
Originally posted by Gordon:
Originally posted by jmsetzler:
[i]The Potala Palace photo is HERE.
It could very well be because the image quality is terrible on that
web site - but that picture doesn't do a whole lot for me. I keep
getting told how wonderful it is - and it is a 'right place, right
time' kind of shot - but from what I've heard rainbows are excessively
common in that particular place.
I wouldn't mind seeing a decent reproduction of it though.
[/i]
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10/15/2002 10:15:07 PM · #21 |
Originally posted by paganini:
WHere did you hear that (about how rainbow is common)? As far as anyone knew, there hasn't been any other shot with a rainbow on top of the Potala Palace. Rainbow is always common when there are mists, but it takes a special angle and time of the year for it to happen on the Potala. So far there hasn't been any photos with it directly on top of the Potala other than this one.
here
Don't have any way to tell if it is true or not.
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10/15/2002 10:18:51 PM · #22 |
BTW, the price on the print of Potala Palace runs for $18,000 BEFORE he died. It's a limited edition, i.e. 300 prints only. I'd think that for $18,000 it'd be quite good indeed :)
His other unlimited edition prints (which unfortunately doesn't include the El Capitain classic photo, which is LIMITED edition and sells for $400 but you can't buy it after he died, the estate froze the sale of all limited prints as those are printed and signed by Galen himself) are available and sells for $250 for a 11x14 i think.
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10/15/2002 10:59:16 PM · #23 |
This is not a "right place, right time" shot. This is a "make it happen" shot. He saw the rainbow, and worked very hard to position himself to get this.
There is a local photographer that was at the Tuscon desert museum admiring a shot of his that he and his wife spent a week to get, a family of nocternal birds nesting in a cactus. They had camped out the nest for many nights, one night looking down to see a rattle snake coiled around a tripod leg.
As he is admiring his shot he hears a lady behind him say, "Oh look, what a lucky shot".
Pro photographers cannot count on luck, they are extremely dedicated, and work a good scene for all it is worth. |
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10/15/2002 11:00:26 PM · #24 |
These prices are extremely reasonable.
Originally posted by paganini:
BTW, the price on the print of Potala Palace runs for $18,000 BEFORE he died. It's a limited edition, i.e. 300 prints only. I'd think that for $18,000 it'd be quite good indeed :)
His other unlimited edition prints (which unfortunately doesn't include the El Capitain classic photo, which is LIMITED edition and sells for $400 but you can't buy it after he died, the estate froze the sale of all limited prints as those are printed and signed by Galen himself) are available and sells for $250 for a 11x14 i think.
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10/15/2002 11:37:26 PM · #25 |
I agree :) the potala palace is basically his masterpiece and it's a work of art. $250 for an unlimited print of some high quality image isn't bad either. I think his LIMITED prints when it goes on sale again will rise in price very quickly and be sold within a few days.
Originally posted by Zeissman:
These prices are extremely reasonable.
Originally posted by paganini:
[i]BTW, the price on the print of Potala Palace runs for $18,000 BEFORE he died. It's a limited edition, i.e. 300 prints only. I'd think that for $18,000 it'd be quite good indeed :)
His other unlimited edition prints (which unfortunately doesn't include the El Capitain classic photo, which is LIMITED edition and sells for $400 but you can't buy it after he died, the estate froze the sale of all limited prints as those are printed and signed by Galen himself) are available and sells for $250 for a 11x14 i think.
[/i]
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