Photo Walking at Scripps in La Jolla
I took some interesting pictures are Scripps tonight. I have been practicing shooting in raw to do some ultra-low exposure shots to see what I could come up with.
Ollie and Darla
This is a photograph of Ollie and Darla. They were taking a rest from jumping on the bed.
Ansel Adams Hated his Photography Job
If you love photography, never make it your career. If you do decide to, than make sure that you’re doing the type of photography you enjoy. If you don’t, you just might end up in the same position as Ansel Adams did.
I read an interesting article about Ansel Adams, written by Erik Hayden in the Atlantic Journal the other day. It got me thinking about getting paid for doing photography. I have never gotten paid a single penny for any of my photographs and I think I want to keep it that way. I am not saying there is anything wrong with getting paid for it, it’s just not something I am ready to do.
So anyway, here is the interesting fact about Ansel Adams – One of the photos he took, Oh Little Town of Bethlehem which appeared on the cover of Life Magazine in 1938 was selected as one of the worst Life Magazine covers of all time. Its true – you can check it out here – Worst Covers of Life Magazine of All Time.
You might notice that other legendary photographers such as Richard Avedon and George Silk made the list too. I guess it’s a bit comforting to know that even great photographers can take bad pictures. Everyone is human – even one of the most iconic photographers in America, Ansel Adams.
It wasn’t bad work, probably just uninspired
Apparently, Ansel Adams had taken the photo right before he ended up moving to Yosemite and doing the greatest work of his life. And, according to Hayden, Ansel Adams had hit a breaking point where he wasn’t sure how to instill creativity into his work.
Adams wrote in his biography , “I have to do something in the relatively near future to regain the right track in photography. I am literally swamped with ‘commercial’ work — necessary for practical reasons, but very restraining to my creative work”.
Ansel Adams was fed up with the type of photography he was doing and it the results were showing up in his work. I always find it fascinating how a photographers attitude and personality will almost always show up in the photos they take. Ansel Adams was uninspired and it was showing.
On the other hand, when Ansel was inspired he took some of his best pictures. Take for example his photo -Georgia O’Keefe and Orville Cox, Canyon de Chelly National Monument. It was taken right around the same time as his much panned “O Little Town of Bethlehem” but it is regarded as one of his influential pictures and a personal favorite of his. When Ansel was inspired his work was masterful.
He did it for the money and continued to for many years.
Ansel Adams never did end up completely abandoning his commercial photography, in fact he kept commercial clients until the 1970’s. He maintained clients such as Kodak, Pacific Gas and Electric, Fortune Magazine and AT&T to supplement his income so he could work on his real passion which was photographing the West.
It’s hard to believe that Ansel Adams had to supplement his income with commercial work when today his original prints can sell for $50,000 or more. I suppose even a great photographer has to do photography that they are not inspired by for the money.
Why does money change everything?
I always run over the question in my mind of why I am so reluctant to charge people for taking pictures. And it always comes back to the same thing for me. If I charge them money, then I have to do exactly what they want not what I see in my head.
To be honest, its probably a control issue. If I charge someone for photography, their expectations will rise and then I will feel obligated to give them what they expect. I guess I want to maintain the control and selfishly not have to give creative freedom over to them.
And to be even more honest, its probably due to a lack of confidence in my photography. If I thought I was going to take the best pictures they had ever seen, I might consider charging money. But I guess I don’t feel I can deliver that.
It’s what Ansel Adams didn’t do for money that was the most influential and inspiring
Ansel Adams photography was and continues to be extremely influential. His pictures of Yosemite and the West continue to be the benchmark for landscape photography even though he shot with film and didn’t have many of the modern photoshop tools to help his work.
I am glad that Ansel Adams had some bad commercial photography sessions and hated the work. Imagine if he loved it and that is all he did? Imagine all of the countless iconic images that we would not see. Ansel Adams desire for creative freedom helped to fuel the art that is so in demand today.
I often find myself influenced by him too
I suppose that I have been influenced by him too. I was browsing some of my own photos and noticed in a few how shamelessly I had tried to copy his style with some of my landscape photos. Well, I am sure I am not the first and won’t be the last.
Mountain Ranges in Yosemite
More Mountains and Waterfalls in Yosemite
Mountains in Banff National Park Canada
Photographs. Thank God for Photographs.
There’s a beautiful song by Colin Hay called Dear Father. The song is written to his father who passed away. He wrote the song while he poured through old photos of his dad years later. The song begins with a line that captures the importance of those photographs to him in keeping the memory of his father alive in his heart.
“Dear Father, I’ve got your photographs. Thank God for Photographs. Hip Hip Hooray”.
I love this song and in my mind I hum it often while I am taking pictures. It reminds me of the importance of capturing the moment I am in and how much it might mean to me (or somebody else) someday. The photograph could have the same importance as those that Colin sings about.
Then today, while browsing Facebook, a photograph and a post appeared which was quite moving. The post only said, “Grand Canyon Trip in June. I wish I had a time machine.”
And this was the picture that it captioned.
This might seem just like any other photograph on Facebook. It might seem just like any other family portrait of a vacation. But it is not just any photograph. It is not just any family vacation portrait.
This photograph is one of the last family pictures they took before Alice (the youngest girl pictured) passed away. She had just turned 2.
Her mother posted the picture. It is a powerful reminder of the importance of the moment. It is a reminder that the little things – like a photograph- are not so little. The little things are what make life worth living. This photograph is very important. It is a treasure that they will keep forever. It is a time machine that will take them back to the memory, back to their life with Alice.
A Letter to Alice
I learned of the story of Alice several weeks ago. She had passed away in her sleep. I could not fathom such a loss myself.
Her mother Melissa wrote a letter to her baby which is heartbreaking and beautiful. A goodbye that she never got to say. I wanted to repost the letter because it was very powerful. You should read this – Thank you Alice. How precious life, family and memories are. And, photographs. Thank God for Photographs.
10 Beautiful Photos of Surfers Heading to the Water at Sunset
There are lots of reasons to live in San Diego. When you live next to the beach you can walk to the ocean and watch all the beauty that evolves at sunset. Each day is different. Each day is like a painting that will amaze you.
I have been going to the beach here in La Jolla at sunset for years and snapping pictures when I see something particularly beautiful. Here are some of my favorite shots of Surfers heading into the water at Sunset.
My Girl’s Birthday
And now for the most special birthday of the year. Who would that be? My girl. My wife and the best person in the world – Tu McKenna!
Big Fun in Big Sur
Big Sur is a very sparsely populated area on the Central Coast of California that is famous for some of the most dramatic coastline in the entire world. Big Sur got its name from the Spanish name, “El Pais de Grande Sur” which means the big country of the south (because it is south of San Francisco).
Big Sur extends from San Luis Obisbo to Monterey and it is some of the grandest and most amazing coastline that you could ever visit. Before HighWay 101 was built Big Sur was so wild that it was nearly inaccessible so very few people would ever go to visit. Up until the 1950’s only two homes in the entire region had electricity. This was truly the last of the last of the wild west.
Can you imagine coming to this area in the 1800’s? It must have been amazing. Too bad that during the Gold Rush most of the Coastal Redwoods were cut down. That is a tragedy. The area has since been designated as a park and it is well protected.
When you drive through Big Sur, the road winds and zig zags for miles and miles and miles. About 60 miles actually. You will need at least half a day if not a full day to make the entire drive because you will want to stop at many of the scenic views along the road.
The first white settlers moved to Big Sur in 1862 after they were promised 160 acres of free land if they went to the place and built their homes. The settlers would primarily make their money by harvesting bark and selling it.
We stopped off and saw an amazing location that looked like it was an Oasis straight out of the movies. A waterfall descends on a white sandy beach and stone outcroppings with trees and vegetation grow from the sea. It was simply an amazing place.
Big Sur is heavily populated with thousands and thousands of sea otter. In fact the whole coast is populated with tons of wildlife, seals and birds. Big Sur is a great place to camp and hike.
The cliffs in Big Sur are so dramatic and so steep that it can be pretty alarming when you stand on the edges. In some cases you could drop several hundred feet on to the rocks below. Here, Tu stands on tree stumps. Just behind her, the cliffs drop off what must be 500 hundred feet or more to the coast below.
Bixby Bridge is one of the most iconic photo locations in California. If you come to California or see any pictures of the most beautiful places, Bixby Bridge will definitely be on the list. I put Bixby Bridge and Big Sur on my list of the 10 most beautiful places in California – 10 Most Beautiful Places in California.
Bixby Bridge actually looks great when the skies are cloudy and dramatic. This is a picture that I took last time I drove there and I like how the skies a little cloudy which made the pictures more interesting.
You can see our gallery of pictures here – Big Sur Gallery.