Textures, lines and angles

@TraamisVOS ...

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Yep.
there are "buckets" forming the circumference of the wheel and my first photograph is a crop of three of those

Awesome. One of my favourite people in the world, Billy Connolly, travelled all around the world doing his tours and he used to send photos home to his family (father in particular) but they were quirky photos. For example he was at the Sahara desert once, he took a close up photo of the desert sand and sent that back to his father as evidence that he'd been to the Sahara. When he was in Sydney, Australia, he took a close up photo of the mortar and bricks at the foundation of the Sydney Harbour Bridge as evidence that he was there. It was funny, I like that.
 
Thanks Olli. Not sure if you ever frequented the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Old Town Alexandria when you were here, but there are some excellent photographers who have studios there. Several of them specialize in B&W. One of this is Craig Sterling. He has taken and processed some fantastic Washington, DC area images. His web site only is a fraction of what he has on display in his studio. He has a couple from under the Woodrow Wilson Bridge that are works of art (and are priced accordingly). He has a knack for taking often photographed monuments, buildings, and sites in DC and presenting them in an extraordinary manner.

PORTFOLIO: FINE-ART PHOTOGRAPHS|WASH. DC|ITALY|PARIS & THE WEST:CRAIG STERLING PHOTOGRAPHS
 
Thanks for the information John. I've visited Alexandria and the Art Center a few times but never looked closely. It's probably going to be another 18 months before we are back in the DC area but we'll probably be staying for awhile at that point so I'll have time to look up places like this.
 
John - that's a WONDERFUL shot of the bridge. Took me a couple of seconds to realize what I was looking at and it was still wonderful. And then all the better when I knew.

And, good heavens, THANK YOU for that link to Craig Sterling! That guy is phenomenal! I always have mixed feelings about seeing work that great. On the one hand, its wonderful in itself to just take it in. And its hugely inspirational in a sense. On the other hand, there's an element of it that's depressing and makes me wonder why I even bother?!?!? But I guess its like Paul Simon concluded when he saw Elvis as a kid, 'I'll clearly never be able to do THAT, so I guess I'd better figure out what I can do well and perfect thatl' or something to that effect. It was an interview I read with him years ago and its always stuck with me and been my solace and inspiration when I'm blown away by some form of art that I know I'll never be able to even approach...

-Ray
 
Thanks Ray. I agree with your comments. I think that while we all are striving to become better photographers, we sometimes don't fully grasp the time and effort that artists like Craig Sterling have invested to get where they are. I know that in today's world it is easy to get caught up in the technological end of the equation and forget that it is not the camera but the person who ultimately composes and develops the final image.

I just happened to listen to an interview on Adorama TV yesterday with car photgrapher Patrick Ernzen.

Automotive Photographer, Patrick Ernzen

He runs:

Desert-Motors.com :: Automotive Event Information, Reviews, Online Community and Automotive Photography - Phoenix, Arizona

As you can see on his site, he is a very accomplished car photographer.

One of the amazing things is that he shoots only with an older Canon 10D, three relatively inexpensive lenses, and virtually no other equipment.

Anyway, I went to his site and he has a great article called Three Simple Tips to Better Car Photography

Desert-Motors Magazine :: Three Simple Tips to Better Car Photos - Photos/Words: Patrick Ernzen

At the beginning of the article he lays out a little of his philosophy on becoming a better photographer, and he places most the emphasis on persistence and just getting out and shooting vs. spending too much time on the equipment aspect. If you get a chance, it is a nice little article.

Lastly, I wouldn't say that you would never get "there" to that higher level as your images that I have seen here and at mu-4/3s might say otherwise. In my own case, I don't think I have enough years left in this lifetime to get to the Craig Sterling level and will be content to just snap a few keepers for the family album! My philosophy is more aligned with Clint Eastwood's quote as Inspector Harry Callahan in the movie Dirty Harry where he says..."a man has to know his limitations". :)
 
Thanks John. Yeah, those are both 9-18 shots. I think I'll have that lens as long as I have any m43 gear. And since m43 is the heart of my system, that should be for quite a while. There's a chance I could go all-Nex for the wide to medium focal lengths at some point in the next couple of years, but they're not close to a wide angle that would compete with the 9-18, so I'm not thinking too hard about that yet...

-Ray
 
I had the 9-18mm last summer and sold it when I wasn't using it much. I have one on "consignment" right now and tried the 7-14mm last week. I did like the 7-14mm and it is very sharp but not sure it is really that much better than the 9-18mm especially for the price differential. I have a couple shots from this weekend that are appropriate for this thread that I will post later that were with the 9-18. On the GF2, the 7-14 is manageable in size and looks somewhat like the NEX with the 18-55. The 9-18mm collapsed makes a nice and more compact set-up though. Of course there are other factors in the equation as well (ability to use a filter, etc.). I looked back on my previous shots with the 9-18mm and found that I ended up using it mostly at either end of the spectrum at either 9mm or 18mm.
 
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