Chasing Banded Demoiselle

Whilst trying, and failing, to capture a nice image of buttercups in the local park this Banded Demoiselle fluttered into view   There was a recent article in the Iris magazine about how to capture images of damselflies and dragonflies.  In short it was to set a high ISO and blast away.  This is exactly what I did and low and behold I captured a good photograph of the Banded Demoiselle.  This one is a male.  Now I don't want you to go away thinking that I am some sort of expert.  I'm not.  I found out this information from the web.

Poppy

The weather was just right this afternoon to do some flower photography; it was warm, dry and slightly overcast.   Out of the three the overcast is the most important as it means that there is a bright light source without being too bright - thus creating hasrh shadows.

So I started off in my garden capturing images of a lovely red poppy that is flowering at the moment.  After this I went to the local park and tried to capture images of buttercups.  As usual I failed.  I just can't get the right balance between the bright yellow flower and the green background.  I need to work on this further.  Another challange!

Again, I have put together a show on Flickr which can be accessed by clicking here:

Wot Flower???

Well what is in a name?  Quite a lot actually.  I have been going through the codes of practice and 2008 exhibition CD for the RPS Nature Group and one of the overwhelming impression for me is the need for authenticity and correct scientific names or as the code puts it...' should convey the essential truth of what the photographer saw at the time it was taken...'.  Now this posses me with certain problems.   I have little problem identifying fauna but flora is another matter.  The three photographs illustrate this really quite well.

All three were taken in a local park which is part of a flood meadow.  This produces an abundant bloom this time of year, one that cries out to be photographed.  However, here is the problem.   I know these flowers are Meadow Buttercups and Dandelions - no problem there.  However, interspersed in the meadow are far more delicate flowers which I have no idea of their name.  I have gone through my pocket field guide and am no further forward.  However, they make a lovely photograph but would this be acceptable for the Nature Group?   

Of course I have no answer to this yet and I am sure this will not be a problem as there will be many helpful people who will be able to identify the errant flower,   But does this effect the validity of the photograph?  I suppose the answer to this is yes and no.  Yes as a record of the plant but no when considering the broader aesthetic value of a photograph.

To examine this further consider the flower photographs of Niall Benvie.  Here he takes really wonderful portraits of individual flowers.  However, when you see his set up and the way his final images are produced it really does place a question mark over whether they are an authentic record of the flower.  Indeed this really does raise a whole series of questions about the use of flash photography - does this record the '...essential truth...'?   

Now I am not critising the rules it just something I will have to get used to and I have to say it is rather interesting way to photograph.  Indeed, the better you know a subject then generally the better the photograph.  As the code of practice puts it '...The photographer should be familiar with the natural history of the subject; the more complex the life-form and the rarer the species, the greater his/ her knowledge must be...'

This will make for an interesting learning curve.

Playing Catch Up

I suppose we all get those sort of days.  Days when you don't really feel like doing anything other than sitting on you big bum and watching TV.  Well todays has been one of those days.  It has been a real struggle to get anything done.   I was planning on going out and making a few photographs but unfortunately I just couldn't summon the energy to this.  I'm sorry today was just a flop.

The one thing that I was able to do was try and catch up with the back log of photographs I have taken and try to sort through them and process a few.  Believe me this was also hard but I persevered and managed to produce these 4 photographs.   I have a busy few days ahead so I doubt I will be able to get out and make any photographs so I might have to resort to further catching up - perhaps this is not a bad thing after all given the back log I have got!

Thinking about a theme

A number of people have said that I need to make the next project about more than 'flash photography'.   I have been somewhat resistant to this suggestion as I don't feel that either I am not explaining myself too well - not unknown - or that other people have not got what I have been saying.  I am not sure whether this is helping or not so I have decided to modify what I am doing.   Instead of just ploughing on regardless I am now going to slightly change my approach.  It is still going to be around flash photography or painting with light but instead it will be in support of the 4 project I have on the go at the moment.   These are:

Leicestershire Landmarks - an exploration of the landmarks that have a significant impact on Leicestershire

Park and Ride - Documenting the building of a new park and ride at Enderby

Jubilee Park - Documenting a local park

Varsity - Documenting my life at University

Some relaxation

Apart from the hard work of the project work I have found time just to produce some work of my own.

More reflections on my project

Having had time to sleep on yesterday's feedback I think it has helped me clarify what the theme of my project is going to be.  To produce impactive photographs based around flash photography..what does this mean?  Well as I write this I think it means using the technique I have acquired to produce a series of photographs that don't necessarily have a recurring theme but rather are examples of how I have used flash photography.  

An example of this would the photograph above.  This was shot at dawn this morning in the remnants of a snow storm.  I used flash to 'paint with light'.  I then applied a significant amount of post production techniques in Photoshop to produce what I think is am 'impactive photograph'.  Now whilst this is a similar to other photographs I have made in style, content and perhaps interpretation this is not the point of the work.  The point is produce variations upon a theme or in other words '...an area new to you ...that should challenge your existing experience and knowledge..."

Why do I make photographs?

Dawn - Jubilee Park

This is a question that has just come to me - why do I make photographs or images or prints or what the hell you wish to call them?  For me it starts with a feeling in the pit of my stomach.  I see something, hear a sound read an article and I am gone.   Something fires in my brain, a stray neuron; a synaptic collision and bang.   This satisfaction doesn't always come with the actual capture but by the time that I have produced the photograph I feel it - a strange warmth as I look on what I have produced.  This changes overtime but I still feel it about most of my work. 

Whilst writing that last paragraph I became aware that I didn't want to use the image to describe what I produce. I am instinctively wary of the word image, although it is a perfect description of what I produce it doesn't feel right.  I am a photographer not an imager, which sounds like someone who works at Disney.   I digress.  

The spark, the infusion of a spirt that makes me make photographs is something that it is impossible to quantify, yet it is there.  I have just been watching the movie Broadcast News and bang I am off.  Something connected and I want to produce a photograph but I don't know of what and why.  I am thinking about flash photography at the moment and yet this is not what I want to produce.  I sometimes envy the professional photographer who has a brief and can let loose his or her creative juices on a set goal.  Me I have no such luxury or constraint.  I can produce what I want and mostly when I want and this is fine but sometimes it would be nice to have a small idea to illustrate rather than some grandiose thought, something that you know you won't produce and yet will no doubt lead to something that you will.

So what is the answer - why do I make photographs?  Well put to put it simply I do so because I love doing it.  Nothing more nor less.  I wish I could draw well enough to satisfy this urge but I can't or am not willing to put the hours into improve my meagre talent.  No I photograph and love it.  And that is the best answer to the question I can come up with.

I am not sure where that came from nor whether it makes much sense but I feel better having written it than before.  I doubt whether few will read it and of them if any will understand what I am saying.  Still it felt good writing it and after all, that is the purpose of blogging.