Tag: <span>Avard Woolaver</span>

Published March 14, 2017 by

What is in the viewfinder really matters

Travelhome and the Range, Coldbrook, NS; 2017    © Avard Woolaver

 

It seems that good photos have just the right amount of content—not too busy, not too sparse. One famous quote from National Geographic photographer Jim Richardson, advises, “If you want to be a better photographer, stand in front of more interesting stuff.” And if you happen to be standing in front of some interesting stuff, there is always the question of how much to include in the frame.

American photographer Lee Friedlander, famous for his pioneering photos of the urban social landscape, has a talent for filling his photos with visual content without making them seem overly crowded. Eric Kim (whom I also cited last week) writes on his blog, ”Friedlander was very conscious of how he framed his scenes, and wanted to add more complexity to his shots through adding content of interest.”

Lee Friedlander accomplished this by using a wide-angle lens—usually a 35mm. That way objects in the foreground can remain in focus along with background elements. Though complexity is not always the answer, it certainly adds interest.

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Photo tip: If you have a wide-angle lens, try shooting with only that lens for a week or two. Make note of how this perspective changes the content in your photos.

Blogging Colour New Topographics Observation Photography Social Landscape

2017 Avard Woolaver Canon Rebel T3 colour content documentary Nova Scotia photography The Image Journey wide angle

Published March 13, 2017 by

Fishing in Japan

Japan, fishing, Kiso River, Inuyama, 1992
Kiso River, Inuyama, Japan; 1992                  © Avard Woolaver

The Japanese are crazy about fish. Not only do they enjoy eating fish, they also enjoy catching them. At urban fishing centres you can pay 600 yen (about $7) to go fishing in a concrete pool. (The fish have to be put back to be caught again by another customer.)

There is something zen about fishing. In a Huffington Post article Abigail Wise lists the ways in which fishing makes you a better person. It reduces stress and helps keep you fit, not to mention the health benefits of eating fish.

In my years spent in Japan in the 1980s, I saw people fishing in rivers, canals, and lakes. There was something calming about just watching them fish. And, of course, it made for interesting photos.

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Photo tip: The world looks different from above. Try looking for high vantage points to get dynamic high-angle shots.  Russian photographer Alexander Rodchenko was a master of using both high-angle and low-angle photography.

Colour Documentary Film Photography Photography Social Landscape

1992 analog Avard Woolaver film photography fishing Fujicolor film Inuyama Japan Kiso River social landscape travel

Published March 10, 2017 by

Blacksmith’s ledger, 1936

blacksmith, ledger, 1936, family history, nostalgia,
Blacksmith’s Ledger, 1936                    © Avard Woolaver

This photo shows an entry in a blacksmith’s ledger from Clarksville, Nova Scotia, in 1936. The man who made the purchases was my grandfather, George Mason. I stumbled across this recently—it’s something my mother’s caregiver had found in her home. Leafing through the book, I was so happy and surprised to find my grandfather.

This photo tells us a number of things, the first being that times were hard, and of course money was scarce in the Depression years. George ran up a tab of $2.60 in the summer of 1936, and paid it off in January 1937. It cost just $0.85 to remove and replace a horseshoe. According to American Farriers Journal, by 2015, the average nationwide price for trimming four hooves and applying four keg shoes came to $120.

In the aftermath of the Halifax Explosion (in 1917, and, until World War II, the largest explosion in history), ordinary people from all over Nova Scotia traveled into Halifax to help with the cleanup. My grandfather did so, with his horse and wagon. The first time he owned a car was in the 1940s.

My mother, Beth Mason Woolaver with her father, George Mason, 1982                                            © Avard Woolaver

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Photo tip: If you don’t have a copy stand, you can use a piece of foam core with grid lines drawn on it. Use flat, even light and a tripod.  Put the photo or document on the foam core and line it up so the centre of the lens meets the centre of the artwork. A medium telephoto lens works best for this.

Colour Documentary Family Photography

1936 Avard Woolaver blacksmith family history ledger photography

Published March 9, 2017 by

Complementary colours create balance

complementary colours, cool warm colours, rear view, winter,
Winter Balance, 2012                            © Avard Woolaver

You may have noticed the use of complementary colours on sports jerseys—blue and orange; red and green; yellow and purple. The combining of colours that are opposites on the colour wheel creates a sense of balance and harmony. It is something to consider when taking colour photographs.

American photographer Joel Meyerowitz, who rose to prominence in the early 1960s, is one of the pioneers of colour photography. In a 2015 Huffington Post interview Meyerowitz observed, “So color was a basic force in my development and I learned, early on, that it had an emotive power that needed to be recognized and which made me become a kind of early missionary for color.” A look through his powerful photographs reveals his use of complementary colours.

Photographer Eric Kim relates on his informative blog (erikimphotography.com) how this can be put into practice, “For example, if you see a mostly cool background color (blue, purple, green)– try to wait until someone with a warm color (red, orange, yellow) shirt walks by. It can be the other way too. You can look for a mostly warm background– and wait for someone with a cool colored shirt to step into the scene.”

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Photo tip: The use of mirrors or reflections can be a way to combine warm colours and cool colours in the same scene.

Blogging Colour Light Observation Photography Social Landscape

Avard Woolaver balance colour colour theory harmony mirror Nova Scotia rearview winter

Published March 8, 2017 by

When your faucet resembles a face

pareidolia, perception, reflection, face,
Window Reflection, 2013                                   © Avard Woolaver

Have you ever looked at the front of a house and seen a face smiling at you? Or looked at some tree bark to see a profile of Elvis Presley? Grab your camera, and take a photo. There may be thousands of others who want to see it, or even buy it.

Pareidolia is the phenomenon of the mind seeing a familiar pattern of something that doesn’t really exist. The most common examples are animal shapes in clouds, the man in the moon, and faces found on various surfaces, including toast.

It is not new—Leonardo Da Vinci wrote of pareidolia as an artistic device, “Look at walls splashed with a number of stains, or stones of various mixed colours. If you have to invent some scene, you can see resemblances to a number of landscapes… Also, you can see various battles, and lively postures of strange figures, expressions on faces, costumes and an infinite number of things, which you can reduce to good integrated form.”

So, the next time your toast pops up, or you find yourself in front of a stone wall, have a good, long look; who knows what your imagination may discover.

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Photo tip:  Look for reflections in windows. People and objects in the reflection can mingle with what is in the scene to create interesting, imagined narratives.

“Window Reflection, 2013” is from the series: Wish You Were Here

Blogging Colour Observation Photography Social Landscape

Avard Woolaver face Nova Scotia pareidolia perception photography reflection The Image Journey