civilized ku # 5263 # / diptych # 235 ~ for your perusal

Schellengers Restaurant ~ Wildwood, NJ (embiggenable) • iPhone

sill sitters ~ embiggenable) • µ4/3 / iPhone

Presented above are 2 pictures of the same referents, one made with the iPhone camera module (JPRG format, HDR setting), the other with a "real" camera (Olympus E-P5 / RAW format). The pictures were made with approximately the same focal length lens.

While the pictures are not identical inasmuch as I would have had to use a much smaller aperture on the Oly picture in order to mimic the same DOF as the iPhone picture. Nevertheless, in terms of native resolution / sharpness (none applied to either in processing), color fidelity, dynamic range, et al, the results are very close to identical. In fact, when viewed as 20"x20" prints from a normal viewing distance, they are identical, image quality wise.

FYI, tomorrow I am heading out to our camp for the month of September. I will respond to Julian Behrisch Elce's request-I’d love to hear you unpack "I am desperately trying to avoid going all the way,” on Sunday or Monday at the latest.

civilized ku # 5262 / diptych # 234 (the new snapshot) ~ no apologies needed

Hugo posing ~ Ottawa, CA. (embiggenable)• iPhone

motors ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

As my picture making slowly slides into the iPhone realm-I am desperately trying to avoid going all the way-I must admit that the idea of "ultimate image quality" has faded even further in to the background of my picture making mind set than it already was.

Specifically, since I acquired a digital camera capable of making RAW files-c.2003-I have been a full-on maker of RAW files. Nary a camera-made JPEG file has ever darkened content of my hard drives. While the fact remains that, whenever I use a "real" camera, I still shoot only RAW, my iPhone camera module picture making is full on JPEG format.

ASIDE I do have a iPhone camera app which allows me to make pictures in the RAW format, I have yet to spend any significant amount of time trying to grasp the techniques (shooting+processing) to do so, or, if it is even advantageous to do so. And, the fact remains that I most likely never will ... if I want RAW, I'll use a "real" camera. END ASIDE

The reason for that belief is simple ... I want to keep my iPhone picture making as simple as possible in order to adapt my iPhone picture making mentally into a "snapshot" frame of mind. That is, as close as possible to the original KODAK advertising slogan of You push the button. We do the rest. While I do the rest, it is done on my iPhone with, again, the idea of keeping it as simple as possible.

In shooting JEPG format with the iPhone and processing it on the iPhone, I have been pleasantly surprised at the image quality that it is possible to obtain with careful shooting and processing techniques. As mentioned previously, the image quality is such that I can make a print of one of my "serious" photograph-made with the iPhone-for which no apology is needed, quality-wise.

FYI, for newcomers to this blog, the genesis of my recent the new snapshot awakening can be found in the book, The Art of the American Snapshot ~ 1888-1978. Specifically in the following excerpt regarding the 1944 MOMA exhibition, The American Snapshot:

.... the pictures "constitute[d] the most vital, most dynamic, most interesting and worthwhile photographic exhibition ever assembled by the Museum of Modern Art" .... [P]raised as being "without artistc pretensions" and coming "nearer to achieving the stature of true art than any of the inbred preciosities in the museum's permanent collection of in any of its previous shows," the photographs were applauded as "honest, realistic, human and articulate."

I really like making pictures which are honest, realistic, human and articulate.

The new snapshot # 242-46 ~ "reinvented", my ass

hot dog guy ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

hot rod motor ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

Lonesome Bay ~ Lower Saranac Lake, NY - (embiggenable) • iPhone

hot rod pickup ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

Oh baby, let's go to the hop ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

The interweb, Photo Division, is all a-buzz, re: the new Nikon mirrorless cameras as well as Nikon's ultimate-image-quality lenses which were introduced along with the cameras. However, for me, it's much a-do about not so much.

Nikon's claim that the cameras are "mirrorless reinvented" is ridiculous advertising sloganering. Mirrorless was invented and introduced in 2004. Since then quite a few mirrorless iterations have appeared on the market, each building upon what came before. That written, the formula remains the same ... compact body (relative to DSLRs) and lenses developed to maximize their application in conjunction with the mirrorless bodies. Various bells and whistles abound, but nevertheless, the basic formula remains the same.

I was an early adopter of the mirrorless camera, starting with an Olympus E-P1 and, over the years, moving up the iteration ladder (E-P2 > E-P5). Along the way, I assembled a nice 6 lens collection, although, 85% of my pictures a made with the same lens.

Would I ever be tempted to move the new Nikon mirrorless world? In a word, "No." But, you might ask, what about those "ultimate" image quality lenses? Don't I want the"ultimate" dynamic range, resolution / sharpness, color accuracy, et al? In a word, "No"

My reason for the word no is simple. iMo, "ultimate" image quality has nothing to do with "ultimate" dynamic range, resolution / sharpness, color accuracy, et al. Those qualities are of a technical nature and, although those qualities might be important in some picture making applications, iMo, those qualities, in and of themselves, do not an interesting picture make.

In today's picture making world, as in the past, the vast majority of really good picture makers, in their picture making, pay little or no attention to achieving "ultimate" image quality in the technical sense. In their picture making, their interests are directed toward other visual qualities which elevate their pictures above mere technical considerations.

civilized ku # 5261 / diptych # 233 (the new snapshot) ~ photographs in conversation

Wildwood boardwalk ~ Wildwood, NJ (embiggenable) • iPhone

chairs and water ~ Stone Harbor, NJ (embiggenable) • iPhone

diptychcahairswater is an addition to my photographs in conversation work. Click on conversations in the categories list below to see the rest of the pictures from the exhibition of the same name.

Whie this conversation is one in which I conversed with myself, the exhibition pictures were colaborations with other picture makers. That is, I sent pictures ( 1 each) to other collaborators who responded with a picture which created a conversation between the 2 pictures. It was a fun project. One which I would like to continue with again.

Anyone interested?

civilized ku # 5260 / the new snapshot # 241 ~ one of these things is not like the other

hockey rink bathroom ~ Canton, MA. (embiggenable) • iPhone

hockey rink bathroom (v. the new snapshot) ~ Canton, MA. (embiggenable) • iPhone

It was last Wednesday in my last entry that I promised a next day entry, re: why the 2 pictures in that entry incited different reactions from a viewer thereof. That promised entry didn't happen as the result of a 4 day hockey tournament trip to the Boston area. So here is the promised entry albeit 5 days late and a dollar short.

Re: the 2 picitres in this entry - I stand by my statement in the aforementioned entry. iMo, these 2 pictures incite a different reaction in the viewers thereof. My reason for that belief:

A viewer, when confronted by the top picture on a gallery wall (or, for that matter, on a wall in my home) would typically react to the picture by searching for the picture's meaning. After all, it must have meaning inasmuch as it's hanging on a gallery wall so it must be "serious" work / ART and all ART has meaning. Therefore, the picture must be taken seriously.

Whereas the the new snapshot version of the same referent, when viewed in a photo album or even on a wall in my home, would typically be perceived as a memento of a personal experience such as something seen on a trip or a wander around town. The viewer would have a "relaxed" approach to viewing the picture. After all, it's just a snaphot. There is no meaning to be deciphered inasmuch as it's just a picture of what is depicted.

So, my point is quite simple. A viewer in a gallery assumes that a picture was made for reasons beyond what it depicts. While he/she might have an interest in what is depicted, he/she is most likely looking to see something more than that - interesting / involving visual qualities and characteristics (indepent of the depicted referent) which, when seen in a picture, transport the picture into the realm of ART.

In the case of a snapshot, a viewer looks at the thing depicted and therein is their interest, or lack thereof, in the picture. The question, why did you take a picture of that?, might arise but rarely is there a conversation, re: the pictures's ART-istic merits.

Not wishing to make a promise I might not keep, I won't promise an entry tomorrow which explains why I am making the new snapshot pictures. It's my intention to do so but .....

civilized ku # 5259 / the new snapshot # 240 ~ the way I see it

COOL SCOOPS ~ Wildwood, South Jersey Shore (embiggenable) • iPhone

COOL SCOOPS / v. the new snapshot ~ Wildwood, South Jersey Shore (embiggenable) • iPhone

In case you're wondering, here's my rationale, re: the new snapshot v. my "serious" pictures. The rationale has everything to do with the manner in which I see. To a certain extent, the way I see the world around me but, most certainly, the way I see pictures (or Art in general).

On hindsight, I have come to realize that, since very early childhood, my visual apparatus coupled with my related mental visual sensitivities / perceptions have conspired to give me a hightened awareness to the relationships of shapes/forms, light/dark, lines/angles, colors, et al to one another - what I label as my eye and sensibilities. This visual awareness facility acted as a facilitator-in-hiding / hinden hand which guided my art creation endeavors (employed initially for my drawing and illustration activities). That same unrecognized facility stayed with me well into my involvement with the medium of photography.

Over a protracted period of picture making time-approx. 15 years- I began to realize that my eye and sensibilities are/were pricked, not by the referents I pictured but rather by how I perceived that the realtionships of the aforementioned visual characteristics-as found in a given scene-might look when isolated by the frame I might impose around them in my picture making. Short version - I was much more interested in how the thing, aka: referent, looked when photographed as opposed to the thing itself.

As that realization came into focus, I also began to understand why it was that I liked certain pictures made by other picture makers and, by association, those pictures made by me. I liked those pictures because my eye and sensibilities were pricked, not by what was pictured but by how it was pictured. FYI, how it was pictured does not mean special equipment or effects, but rather a picture makers's ability to create an image which causes my eye (guided by my sensibilities) to dance across the surface of the 2-dimensional plane of the surface of a print. In other words, a print must have visual energy, independent of its depicted referent, to get my eye and sensibilities in gear.

All of that written, my pictures are the result of my seemingly preternatural facility to see and identify incidents of visual energy in the world around me. In turn, I picture what I see. Then I make a print of what I saw so that others might be able to see what I see.

FYI, the 2 pictures in this entry are an example of how 2 pictures of the same referent can incite very different reactions and perceptions from a viewer. More on that idea tomorrow.

civilized ku # 5256-58 ~ back in the saddle again

giant lobster ~ Wildwood, NJ (embiggenable) • iPhone

Chick fil-A lunch / car hop ~ Cherry Hill, NJ / Wildwood, NJ (embiggenable) • iPhone

For those of you who might wondering, I have broken up my picture making into to genres - my "serious" work and my the new snapshot work.

Over the last week or so, I have been on vacation. In that circumstance I tend to make snapshots. On occasion, upon viewing snapshot work at a later time (most often when I am back at my computing machine), I realize I made a picture as a snapshot, aka: using the iPhone, but it is "serious" picture worthy.

In that case, I have no worry inasmuch as I regularly print iPhone pictures as large as 19"x19" on 22"x22" (trimmed down from 24"x24" paper) substrate. From a "normal" non--pixel peeping viewing distance, those prints are for all intents and purposes, indistingishable from prints made with a "real" camera 12mp sensor printed at the same size.

I am able to achieve that result even with picture making and processing (Snapseed is an amazing processing app) all performed with and on the iPhone. If I want to be extra persnickety, I download the file-after careful/light Snapseed highlight/shadow adjustments-from iCloud to my computing machine and perform my file processing with Photoshop.

That written, I will continue to use my "real" cameras for my serious work. On occasion I do make 30"x30" prints of that work.

FYI, for some reason beyond my comprehension, really thought that the car hop / Chick-fil-A pictures worked really well together.

civilized ku # 5253-55 (picture windows) ~ looking out

Stone Harbor, South Jersey Shore ~ embiggenable • iPhone

Stone Harbor, South Jersey Shore ~ embiggenable • iPhone

Stone Harbor, South Jersey Shore ~ embiggenable • iPhone

These picture windows pictures were made with the iPhone and processed on the iPhone with the Snapseed app.

In this case, the intent of the processing was to create pictures for Instagram. Since the Snapseed app preserves the original file, upon my return home I will be processing the original files on my desktop machine using Photoshop. The intent of that processing will be to create pictures in the manner of my "serious" picture windows work.

In addition, all of the pictures made on my Stone Harbor visit will be converted/processed into The New Snapshot format for inclusion in a new sanpshot album/book.