You what you are or what?

Here's a little stream of consciousness for you, so forgive me if it's not the best structured piece I've ever written. I've been giving a great deal of thought of late to how I present myself, the image, the brand of Duncan Findlater Photography and I've come to a very simple conclusion: I'm not a going to kiss your arse and I'm not going to try to be something I'm not in order to win your approval or more importantly, your business. Now that sounds like a damn impulsive, possibly adolescent thing to say, but here'e the rub – I want to create honest images, images that reflect my subjects and my interpretations of them, that depict that interaction, not someone else's expectation of what that interaction should be. What would the point of doing anything else be?

That's not so say I want to be an arrogant arse or someone who's difficult to work with, quite the contrary. I pride myself on my ability to work with anyone, to put people at ease and make the most of a photographic session. I also pride myself on trying to create images which satisfy my clients needs and where possible to deliver beyond their expectations. Just don't expect me to create a persona around me to do it, I am me and I'm happy with that. Sometimes boisterous and sociable, sometimes I fall into the shadows and you'll never notice me, sometimes plain withdrawn; I've got to be me.

I have notes on the cult of personality, the nature of constructed personae, all a bit incomplete. One thing that does strike me though, despite the fact that we all wear masks from time to time, is that if you're working on a persona, then you're diminishing your ability to just be, you're using the faculties that could reflect your true self to create something else. All well and good if you're an actor and building a persona is your stock in trade, but unnecessary for most of us. It strikes me that too much is made of persona (or read this as celebrity if you prefer) and not enough of talent and personality, for that is what interests me, it shows – no, shines – in a face and the more of that there is, the easier the portrait will be.

On a slightly lighter note, I'm just about to add a new gallery to my personal work section. The snow chain image below was highly pre-visualisedand a couple of other images formed into a mini-project and gave me the opportunity to play with some black and white techniques, hope you like them.

Snow Chain

A poor workman?

"A poor workman blames his tools." A very true and highly misunderstood expression, usually rolled out by some wag who is scoffing at your failure to perform brain surgery with nothing more than a rusty spoon and a paper clip. For me, the key to the phrase is "HIS tools". You see any workman, craftsman or professional ensures that he has the appropriate tools for the job at hand and whilst the may be able to get good results from tools of lesser quality, that's not the essence I see in this phrase.

I was very fortunate recently to be completely outdone by a tool I was using, it was so well crafted, so perfectly fit for purpose that my skills in using it felt woefully inadequate. It was one of mankind's oldest tools, my partner's professional chef's knife. I did not have the "knife skills" to make the most of it's potential, and I knew it. It was was a humbling moment and reminded me of the first time I picked up a camera and how different that is to how I handle them now.

I know my cameras very well. Yes, there may be functions I only use once in a while and I may need to refer to the manual for those, but the day-to-day operation is completely second nature. I have chosen cameras, lenses and accessories which are appropriate for the work I am doing. Not only this, there are other tools I draw upon. The intellectual tools from having studied photography, viewed thousands of images and seen what does and does not work, what makes a good image, translating this into the selection of the correct tool to create an image. Then there are the physical tools too, the "muscle memory" that comes from having practiced the craft for countless hours, the way my cameras become invisible to me in the photographic process. Then there are those who will create the tools they need in order to achieve the results they desire, who find what's available commercially inadequate.

What does all of this translate to? In simple terms – cost. Professional equipment is expensive, it needs to be to withstand the rigours of everyday photographic use, some of it is highly specialised and produced in small quantities. Most importantly the appropriate tool will not hinder the your ability to do the work, professional cameras just work better than budget models and give you greater freedom to concentrate on the creative aspects of photography. Which brings me to the easiest things to grossly undersell; the experience, practice and creativity, difficult to achieve but enormously enjoyable and rewarding, the work of a lifetime. I can be hard to see the value in proficiency at a skill you enjoy, the years of learning, but that is where the value of a professional lies. The professional photographer will deliver the images you want.

Which brings me to another great expression, courtesy of a tweet by Terry L White: "Telling a photographer that their camera takes great pictures is like telling a chef their oven makes great meals". 

Flay, Diamond & Le Mindu

In lieu of  thoughtful writings on an area of photography which requires profound consideration, I'm just going to give you a "puff piece" on what I've been up to of late.

 Firstly there was the Charlie Le Mindu show, shot speculatively to see if I could win some more business on the back of the results. That put me in an interesting position, as I've decided to move away from shooting nudes. Low and behold Mr. Le Mindu – since he was holding a Haute Coiffeur show – sends two of his models down the catwalk entirely naked, save for shoes, bag and one of his hair creations. It's one thing to move away from a particular line of work, but given a decision between what I've chosen to do and what I've committed to do for a client, the client's needs (most often) win; and some good shots came from it. This site is workplace friendly, but the full set can be viewed at my more more risqué address www.hypnagogue.com/lemindu.

Charlie Le Mindu On Off show

Just last week Mr. Flay called, in need of some head shots for his agent, we rattled a few off, I think you'll agree, it's a great likeness.

Mr. Flay

Then on to the good folks over at Diamond Jack's who were in need of some group and individual portraits promotional materials. One of the most entertaining shoots I've had in a long time, they all really entered into the spirit of it and we got some images that I hope will serve them well and draw in the customers.

The Diamond Jack's crew

Photoshop CS5 broke my camera. Or RTFM, idiot!

A few weeks ago I was playing with the demo of Photoshop CS5, my interest having been piqued by content aware fill and, more importantly for this piece, HDR with Tone Mapping. For those of you blissfully unaware of HDR, it's a technique which (usually) takes a bracketed series of images and combines them to produce a final image with greater tonal range that you camera can capture in a single shot. Tone Mapping is how you choose to configure that tonal information which can result in anything from the creatively sublime to the cartoony and ridiculous.

I went out and shot a couple of bracketed sequences, not something I do very often, preferring to use plain exposure compensation or manual mode should the subject be a bit tricky. I had a little play with the HDR functionality in Photoshop CS5 and was impressed, it does everything I had hoped. The fact that I now own a copy should be sufficient evidence to how much it impressed me, despite it breaking my camera.

Cut now to my photo shoot in Helsinki, the Rock Menus book launch. I'm in a kitchen, lots of white tile and stainless steel and – to top it all – fluorescent lighting, every photographer's favourite with a couple of windows thrown in mixed colour temperature back-lighting. That's tricky to expose for, but I'm getting some really random results, some shots are bang on, some over and some under-exposed. This is curious, I've learned my D700 well, we are partners, we work in harmony, I know the sort of thing that will throw it's metering.

I know that you can probably see what's coming, but I had a little moment of well-disguised panic, the kind you get when you're overseas with only one camera body and the client is your girlfriend. I'd been through the camera's menus twice, everything looked OK, I'd checked all the physical settings, everything was OK. Then I noticed it, that flashing exposure compensation indicator in the top display. I searched for a moment, wishing I'd brought the 300g (10.6oz) manual with me. There's something that goes through my head at these times that's a subtle combination of eureka and oh, balls! Yes, dear reader, I had left the camera in bracketing mode and yes, that makes me akin to the kind of fool I used to have to support all day during my time time in the I.T. world. RTFM as we used to say. Me; who's always willing to harp on about how much I love Nikon's ergonomics, about how important it is to know your equipment. I missed the obvious. Humble pie may not always taste so good, but it's damn good for you now and again.

The point. Try new stuff, always look for new ways to learn, new techniques to try, always Read The F'ing Manual and if you can, write a headline with misleading hyperbole to deflect the blame.

Fade, Never!

I have not gone gentle into that good night, just work and personal life conspiring to limit my opportunities to post. More here soon!