The difference is in the details...

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to tour Portmouth Harbor on a Coast Guard boat and visit the (supposedly-haunted) lighthouse at nearby Fort Constitution State Park.

Although I took obligatory snapshots of my fellow passengers taking turns driving the boat and the temptation is great to take panoramic pictures of the surrounding area (I succumbed: see edited shoot at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=90218&id=542304560&l=3e3bda073d), I'm happiest with the pix that will never make it onto a postcard, the snaps that show what happened to catch my attention that particular day:




Above: Note the wear and tear on the railing outside the top of the lighthouse

Above: Unusual angle of the lighthouse light

Above: Cannon goes here (or the Batmobile)

Above: Textures of the walkway and the water

Above: Layered Coast Guard apparel

In summary: if you can buy it on a postcard, don't feel compelled to reshoot it. Spend the bulk of your time creating your own vision....

Getting published again......

Today, I learned that I have been selected as a finalist in the 29th Annual Spring Photography Contest, co-sponsored by Photographer's Forum Magazine and Canon. This is the fourth time that I have been recognized by the publication: I was also named a finalist in its 2002 and 2005 contests, as well as in its 2008 student contest. (Yes, as a law student, I technically qualify for the student publication.)

Below is a copy of the image they selected. If it looks a bit familiar, it's because it's an alternate version of an image I shot last December in a nearby graveyard and published here in black-and-white format. It's also the weakest of the three images I submitted, which just goes to show how hard it is to outguess jurors:

Where's the story?

I don't usually shoot events, because I like to decide for myself whom/what/whether to shoot. However, every once in a while, I do take the camera out to a function and try to see things through the eyes of a photojournalist.

Once I get home, the art director in me takes over. First, I delete the out-of-focus, poorly composed, unflattering, ordinary, and/or duplicate shots. After that, I weed out anything that wouldn't be published or hung on my walls. Finally, I look at what's left, figure out a theme, and remove anything that doesn't fit the theme. (If there's a great photo that I just can't make work this time, I slide it into a "miscellaneous" folder for future consideration.)

I then view the images as a slide show on my PC, several times. Anything that doesn't "wow" me by this time is removed or deleted. The goal is to get down to about 10-15 "signature" shots. I keep asking myself, "What's this person's story and how does it fit into an overall theme?" Once that's done, I Photoshop the remaining images and have 4x6" prints made of my favorites.

When I got back from the PowWow in Warner, NH last weekend, I had about 150 images of the event. I have a higher than average throw-away rate when I am trying to shoot dancers/performers until I understand their moves: where they go, when they pause, etc. After I whittled the selection down to 40-50 images, I further reduced the number to about 20 and Photoshopped the survivors. After a final edit, I had 13 images, five of which are reproduced below:

Butterflies!

Snaps taken at The Butterfly Place (Westford, MA):