30 January 2010

Photo Manipulation

I always insisted I was a “purist” with film photography. I never wanted to do any photo manipulation, enhancing, or even cropping in most cases. Whatever Kodak or Fuji delivered was what I accepted. Yet with digital, I’m slowly beginning to experiment with image modifications.

For example, the color of light is very blue in open shade – is it wrong to remove some of that blue with a computer to make the scene look as I “saw” it? Likewise, in deep shadows, I want an image that looks like it’s in deep shadow – is it OK to darken/modify an image to convey that impression?

I sure don’t have an answer. Here are two examples from the last couple of days. The top image of each pair is the original; the lower image shows my modifications. I'm definitely a babe-in-the-woods so far with image modification.



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28 January 2010

Haiti, Charity, Aid, Life

A few days ago, travel guru Rick Steves posted a blog entry titled “No Aid for Haiti.” He has since taken down the post, saying the removal wasn’t over any sense of political correctness, but rather that the piece was going to be published in a newspaper and he didn’t want to usurp their readers.

I’ve read the original post (it’s still available online by searching for the title phrase), and it really isn’t at all inflammatory. Nor are most of the comments reactionary (in either direction). His post is actually about the culture of “helping,” especially from a Big Brother attitude (my phrase, not Rick’s) so prevalent with governments around the world.

On some levels, I totally agree. Jumping on the Disaster Relief bandwagon every time something goes awry in the world makes us feel good as individuals, yet as individuals our efforts are generally so diluted as to be nearly meaningless (except to our sense of doing good), lost among the vast sums coming from governments and large, established charity organizations. (Many journalists and other observers have felt that all the aid that has been poured into Africa – as an example – simply helps the corrupt governments stay in power and makes the aid organizations feel good about driving around in brand-new white SUVs.)

I’ve contributed to charitable causes throughout my life. I’ve also supported many other types of non-profits with time and contributions. And I’ve settled into a stage in life where I’m not really “cynical” (a word Rick uses in the first paragraph of his piece; saying he’s not cynical, but...), but rather that I’ve come to believe in the “teach-a-man-to-fish” philosophy of help for those less fortunate.

Where this all is going is that while my wife and I have made a few specific contributions toward the relief efforts in Haiti (buying bread from our local baker who was holding a fund-raiser; donating artwork for a Haiti charity auction), we’ve primarily simply added more funding to our Kiva account. Kiva makes loans to people attempting to better their lives. Nearly all of Kiva’s loan recipients repay the loans in full. Then, when our Kiva account balance is refilled, we can designate another loan to another individual. (Kiva’s website – kiva.org – doesn’t even have Haiti information on its front page. It does note that this week alone, the organization made more than $1.2 million in new loans, funding 3,400 new individuals, and that their to-date repayment rate was above 98%. To me this represents sustainable support for the needy.)

This is the kind of ongoing help for others that makes the most sense to me as a form of individual giving. In the past we also supported Heifer International, which purchases farm animals, seed, plants, etc. so people can raise more and better food. Yet to us, while commendable, Heifer still “gives” to others – a subtle difference from “supporting” others. It’s not quite the same as Kiva, which tries to create an environment where the recipients want to succeed and repay their loan and become self-sufficient and self-supporting.

There is no wrong or right way to help other people in need, but for me it’s about making my contributions count. And about helping others obtain a better life – no matter how they define that “better life” nor where in the world they live.

(An aside: I very briefly visited Haiti in the mid 1970s, when Baby Doc was in power. Many homes and businesses had two photos hanging on their walls – weirdly, of Papa Doc and of JFK. The country was a study in contrasts: Ancient women selling coal from donkeys below windows whose shutters displayed posters of blond American models advertising Clairol hair products and Colgate toothpaste. Yes, the poverty was pervasive.)

Malawi Africa, 2007. Photo © Francesca Campbell Hulick

27 January 2010

Photo January 27, 2010

Green.

24 January 2010

Photo January 24, 2010

When you really can't decide what you want. Discovery Bay, Olympic Peninsula, Washington.

20 January 2010

Photo January 20, 2010

Shapes of the snow.

18 January 2010

Photography Again

Many years ago – far, far too many, actually – I was a photo nerd. Obsessed. For fun; for profit; for... I don’t know what. I loved photography. (I remember an old line: When photographers get together, they talk about lenses and film and cameras. When writers get together, they don't talk about pencils or typewriter ribbons or computer programs.)

Then, film died. Kodachrome was my middle name, and when film started to evaporate I grew despondent. I was probably the last person to actually buy two APS cameras (look it up on Wikipedia).

Nonetheless, in the “old days” I sold quite a few photos as a minor-league, semi-pro photographer. To small- and medium-sized magazines such as Chevy Outdoors, Explore, Westways, Mountain Biking UK, Climbing, Mountain, and quite a few others. Back then, editors of smaller magazines actually appreciated a writer who could take photos. It made their lives easier. Besides, who else even had photos of the Agua Tibia Wilderness to go with my article?

Anyway, it seems like I’m revisiting my youth (or at least my young-middle-age). I finally got a fairly good digital SLR, and am having so much fun with it. Of course, my greedy side is trying to figure out how to make some money from photography again, but....

Despite the fact that I bought my wife a nice Nikon DSLR and several lenses a couple of years ago before her trip to Africa, for myself I still only had a couple of cheap (but decent) “point-and-shoot” digital cameras. But with the new camera, I’ve set myself a challenge. Over the course of a year, I want to take at least one photo a day with the new camera that might be good enough for publication – or good enough for someone to maybe, maybe, maybe want to buy a print.

I’m going to post these photos the day they were taken – maybe not every day, maybe not all of them; but no old stock pix; no images from previous trips (or a previous life) that might have produced some good shots. Just a (maybe) daily photo from the new camera.

Today, a shot from our house on the east side of the Cascade Mountains, Washington.

14 January 2010

Haiti Earthquake Relief

If you’re concerned for the people of Haiti, you’re also probably wondering how best to help. Organizations world-wide will be pouring money and resources into the country. Our suggestion is to support Kiva.org, which helps people all over the world become more self-sufficient with micro loans. See Kiva’s comments about the Haiti earthquake relief here. A loan (much more valuable than just a donation) through Kiva can be made in amounts as small as $25.