I captured Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument on Riverside Drive in New York City one night in late summer.
Category Archives: gallery
CHALLENGE: OPPOSITES
These photographs were all the “rejects” that I did not select for entry in the challenge. I opted for this image of a mushroom because I believe it is much more impactful for the theme of OPPOSITES.
MUSHROOM © 2013 NATE METZ
STATS:
rank = 16th
1/125 sec, f8, ISO 200
I opted for a simple set of opposites shared in a single subject where the frame would highlight the differences. The closeness and color conversion really emphasize the theme. I received some great feedback on how the frame seems top heavy and that the top portion out of focus might have looked better as the smaller 1/3 of the frame. However, I like it as is because in the competition for your eye, it really pushes the oppositional tension between the top of the mushroom and the underside.
FARM
I recently had the pleasure of visiting and documenting a local farm that grows produce for several restaurants at the beach. While I prefer not to shoot in the middle of the day, I was able to tweak the settings on my camera to handle the harsh lighting and successfully document the fields and high tunnel. It is a little different style of shooting for me to do. I’m used to capturing subjects in unique and interesting ways, but my ways might distract the growers from their job. All of the images I captured are to be used in the record keeping and to plan for next year’s crops: sequencing, row spacing, and so forth. I definitely would like to go back periodically and have good product images of the produce grown that they would be able to use for marketing.
I really enjoyed my time out in nature surrounded by the life and abundance. It feels magical around so much thriving greenery. The energy really uplifts and revitalizes my own life force. Can you feel the love?
Quiet Gordon
It’s quiet in the morning on the Atlantic Ocean, the ocean with barely a wave. The stillness is reflected in the beached jelly fish and the resting algae on the jetty rocks. I arise in the stillness of today like the silence of the womb of quiet reflection. Today is a beautiful day, as is every day at the beach.
Quiet Reflection © 2013 NATE METZ
Through the looking glass… As I see it…
Looking Glass © 2012 NATE METZ
Round and round I walk in square. Lights flare across distortions in my lens. There. Now back around and side to side. It’s looking through glass for a photographer. More refractions and distractions. Got it. The light changes constantly. Constant change. Snap. It’s looking glass.
PRINTS FOR SALE
I am happy to announce that I have integrated new software into my website so that you may order prints direct!
To order prints:
1) go to natemetz.com
2) click on “Photography” on top menu
3) click on “Exhibits” on left-hand menu
4) click on the desired gallery
5) click on the magenta colored “View Gallery Now!” button
6) browse photos and add to your cart at leisure
It has never been easier to order prints online from me! The software links to ProDPI in Colorado. They process, print, and ship your order direct to you. Because my art business is still so young, I was at first hesitant to let another company handle part of the transaction. I would prefer to receive all orders myself and then ship the prints to you in my packaging, but that adds days to the timeline of processing the order and the shipping lead time. So, because of your sanity and desire to have Nate Metz Art on your walls I have moved ahead with this system to order prints online. I’d love to know what you think: convenient? easy? quality of prints?
As I see it…
Seeking a respite from Summer Streets, I took a summer stroll through the state parklands. I brisk walk can at first seem monotonous in a dancing of green light as I breathe in the forest smells and be in a walking meditation. I stopped though because on top of a picnic area moss grows on some weathered shingles roof. I climb up to look down, and from my perch I gaze up higher still. This is what I saw:
FACE of FRIDAY
Stinky Vinegar Hole © 2013 NATE METZ
I tried something a little different with this face by using a photograph of a found object as part of the face – the drain in a water fountain – instead of objects that come preloaded in the app. The direction I would like to head is to photograph found objects on my own at a much higher resolution so I could create these collages that would make suitable prints. It’s one of the back burner projects, though. I’m really focusing on the photography portion of my art and these collages serve as the play time to keep the creative juices flowing. What do you think? Would you like to see more faces or more photographs? Comment below!
Damn Good Advice – THIRTEEN
I can say that I am guilty of it: google. I’ll be in the midst of a brainstorming session and I start to google my ideas. Sometimes I’m checking to see if it’s been done before and take a litmus on my originality. Sometimes I’m having trouble connecting some ideas and look to see what other people think on the subject. And, other times, I cannot articulate my thoughts so I mind map on google images and help myself see. Lastly, I google myself (name, art, business) to check on my SEO and visibility.
So if you’re not tinkering on a computer, as George Lois so vaguely puts it, where do you find the big idea? He doesn’t offer up any suggestions. Rereading his tagline, I see he is merely pointing out that one should not expect a computer to do the work. One must still put forth the effort to procure the big idea. As the illustration on the page says: “DUH!” I’m not sure that this is really great advice though for any creative individual. We already know this fact: ideas come from within ourselves.
When I meditate, dream, or set forth the intention to solve a creative problem, develop a big idea, or embark on a new creative project, it always comes from within my being. It is spiritual. Sometimes I feel it in my heart. Sometimes I think in new ways that challenges my beliefs. And, other times, the big idea explodes with such a tremendous force that the fountainhead remains shadowed by the idea itself. I do not question my intuition when it leads me to a great idea. Because I trust the process of my artwork and photography, the big idea blooms like a flower. It just happens. And then with a series of computer tricks, contents, and forms my computer delivers it to the world to share all of it’s glory.
173: Favorite Spot
It’s my first time at this specific spot, but a favorite nonetheless. In my free time I hike the many trails local to my area which led me along a small pond’s edge where nature had mottled a full frame!
Nature’s Mottling © 2013 NATE METZ
rank: 20 of 22
1/40 sec, f2, ISO 64
Again, I’m rather disappointed with my ranking. That is until I remember I snapped this in passing on my iPhone and did not spend a lot of effort in capturing a favorite spot on the trail. It’s a classic yield for effort, thought, and planning. Onwards!