Tag Archives: photo

SMOKE

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Smokey Cactus © 2013 NATE METZ
Smokey Cactus © 2013 NATE METZ

It’s almost hard to believe that another challenge has come and gone. While on vacation in North Carolina this month, I had about an hour in the Biltmore Estate Conservatory to take photographs. Tucked away in a side room were the cactus including this Old Man Cactus. With my signature tight framing, the wisps of hair instantly reminded me of thick wafts of smoke. I knew when the challenge prompt included this direction– “The theme of your photo should clearly be smoke, NOT a person smoking, or the word (smoke). You are welcome to use as much post processing as you like.” –black backgrounds with white or colored smoke in elaborate, decorative patterns would be common. As quickly as I thought I’d experiment with that type of photograph, I decided to upload Smokey Cactus.

I’m happy with how well my entry fared in the challenge voting. The feedback I received through comments were about the technical proficiency and how it related to the theme. All but one comment acknowledged that it was a creative interpretation and different in approach. The lone dissenter’s comment was arrogant,disrespectful and narrow-minded. So, I won’t discuss it further. I am grateful at the warm reception and hope that my work continues to challenge a status quo, to make my viewers reexamine their own beliefs, and to make such bold statements!

Challenge 168: SMOKE
PS postprocessing: crop, levels, auto color correct, resize, USM, export
Rank: 13th
Nikon D80: 1/125 sec, f5, ISO 360

mistakes

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MIS-TAKES © 2012 NATE METZ

I’ve been think a lot about the ideal of perfection and making mistakes. I was sharing a story with another artist on Facebook about how I never delete any photograph that I take. Never ever. I often will flip through old files and see something new in a picture that had previously not met focus, or something that I can manipulate into some great digital art, or sometimes a little heavier post-processing can add a selling touch. All of the images above never were posted in their original state; they were the rejects. Until now.

Coincidently, I saw this video on my YouTube feed the same day:

Some key takeaways for me:
**Fear of making mistakes can cause us to never take action at all and never try.
**Everything is an opportunity to learn and to grow.

I can honestly say that some of my favorite photographs were not a result of me walking outside, turning on my camera, pushing the shutter button once, and uploading that image as a final print. Never ever. Looking at my mis-takes is precisely how I learned photography. I have not taken any coursework on photography or cameras. With the shutter, aperture, ISO, and other settings I took a lot of mis-takes to learn, and I would say that the same true for those with a degree. I believe that mis-takes aren’t even mistakes because they are exactly as intended. It’s up to us to change our perspective to see what we can learn from our rejection of something we created!

CHALLENGE: 5

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Sleigh Trails © 2012 NATE METZ
Sleigh-trails on Christmas Day © 2012 NATE METZ

It was a much better way to start out the new year on the photo challenge front. The theme, 5, left me faced with several obvious choices: dice, watches/clocks, hands/feet/fingers/toes, money. I opted for a grouping because it lent more freedom creatively as to how 5 would show up. I was not having much luck finding five of anything in a natural setup without my physically placing 5 items together. Remember I’m not a huge fan of studio work and forcing a shot under controlled settings. In the last few days before the deadline I resigned to sit this round out because I wanted to submit a photograph that fits my aesthetic and my voice. After posting Linear Sunrise, I glanced back through all of my shots and realized that a different frame had five contrails. And as I reflected more on my audience I did tell a white lie and say I took the photograph Christmas Day instead of Christmas Eve because it fit the story better:

Santa’s sleigh left 5 contrails criss-crossing the sky on Christmas!

I received some nice, positive feedback that I had an unexpected approach and that the backstory information was fun. I know this photograph is a success because I managed to keep my point of view and add some fluff that would appeal to a specific audience that would help them to understand my work.

14th Place
Apple iPhone 4
1/539 sec, f2, ISO 80
Post-Processing– PS actions: crop, levels adjustment, hue shift +15, saturation +3, lightness +3, resize, USM, export

My constant comparison of my work to others in the challenges does appear to be unhealthy to you readers of that I am sure! It only appears that way because I’m not sure what else to talk about in these challenge entries. A huge part of the content for my art blog for a challenge entry is the competition, the judging, the comparing. I’m also really just putting myself out there (here) as I define my artistic voice and learn how to present my work. I have an exhibit coming up this summer and this forum has been instrumental in me learning to speak intelligently about my work and my process.

Thanks for reading!

TRANSLUCENT

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TRANSLUCENT STUDY © 2012 NATE METZ

Here we are at the end of my translucent study! In addition to these last three images in the series posted above, I entered 2 photo challenges (trees and beauty). And over the past few weeks I have shared parts of the study (1, 2, 3, 4).

While shooting this fall, I really didn’t want to shoot cliched images. In light of feedback on the images selected for AWAKE that they were “just pretty” and many could not stand alone in a frame on a wall in a gallery or museum, I sort of went up against myself and my voice. The challenge was for me to take pictures that carried the spiritual connotations without a lengthy philosophical explanation AND that were technically proficient AND that were aesthetically attractive. I did not meet my own criteria on all of these images, but I posted them anyway! One of the greatest life lessons learned is imperfection. Allowing slightly out of focus images and untouched images to be posted next to my favorites is one way I practice my spirituality through art.

I faced the cliches strongest during voting periods of the two photo challenges. I found that people were taking and posting images that were touristy or pedestrian. This critique is not meant to be condescending or to place my view in a superior ranking. The majority of the popular images were indeed very beautiful, some even professional in technical photographic skill. Yet, I still see a lack in artistic expression in that forum. Considering the host site is very clearly a hobbyist/enthusiast site I don’t know why I still analyze this feature so heavily. I am finding these differences more and more as I compare my work to other photographers’. It is as simple as my self-referencial title: artist. I see myself as an artist and not a photographer even though a dSLR is my primary art-making apparatus. My intuition and guidance indicates that I am so sensitive now to these differences because my artistic voice is still forming and I will be able to clearly delineate my style and my approach to my art.

As for what I do like from the Translucent study, these images speak strongest for me:

Translucent Study - Frame 6 © 2012 NATE METZ
SIX

Translucent Study 19 © 2012 NATE METZ
NINETEEN

Translucent Study 29 © 2012 NATE METZ
TWENTY NINE

TRANSLUCENT

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Here is the fourth installment of my translucent study. Combined with my previous set, these are some of my favorite images. I think the soft and layered light is really beautiful and renders great colors. The fallen leaves show the lack of luminescence with a diminishing life force and show a great contrast in color and dimension to the other leaves:

Translucent Study © 2012 NATE METZ

If you like any of these images, please feel free to click the Facebook button below and share it with your friends! I do enjoy getting feedback on my work no matter your level of expertise in photography as I don’t think you need an MFA or a 30 years career to enjoy great art!

BEAUTY

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