by Gary Gardiner | Apr 26, 2013
Generations dancer before solo performance – My Final Photo for April 26, 2013
The Fourth Friday in April always begins the once a month summer celebrations in Uptown. I’m almost always there as it continually offers an old news photographer the opportunity for feature photos.
Feature photos are typically those photos that don’t need an explanation or caption. They speak for themselves not needing anything to help explain the moment. A caption is only useful only to expand on the obvious and to answer one of the WWWWWH questions.
Feature photos typically have very strong central subjects, good lighting, and are at the peak of action. A combination of these elements intensifies the impact so that the photo usually stands out on the page. It becomes the dominant element on the page around which other stories and ads are scanned or read.
Also called stand-alone photos, good feature photos do not require accompanying stories and usually are all that is necessary to communicate the moment.
Using a feature photo does not always communicate the complexity of an event just as this real-time portrait of a Generations dancer about to perform her solo doesn’t show the depth of Fourth Friday. Fourth Friday is always a lot more than a single dancer. Even the dance portion of the night is more complex than this dancer as the photo below shows.
Dancer performs on West College in Uptown Westerville
If I were on assignment to cover Fourth Friday for a publication there would be a shoot list of photos to match the editorial idea for the story. The list details the subject of the story with a suggestion of the photos required. If the story were about dancers both these photos would have been good as feature photos. If it had been about the food vendors neither would have worked. Not that the food vendors couldn’t have a standalone photo. The girl reaching for a sample of strawberry shortcake is a good feature photo for that purpose.
Youngster sampling strawberry shortcake at food vendors booth at Fourth Friday
I didn’t shoot every possible event for the night. The cool weather perhaps kept some people at home because the crowd was smaller than normal so there isn’t a crowd photo. I didn’t shoot any of the musical groups. I didn’t shoot people working in the booths.
Those will probably be in the next set of photos on the next Fourth Friday. For this one you’ll have to be satisfied with my standalone feature photos. I was.
by Gary Gardiner | Apr 26, 2013
Generations dancer before solo performance – My Final Photo for April 26, 2013
The Fourth Friday in April always begins the once a month summer celebrations in Uptown. I’m almost always there as it continually offers an old news photographer the opportunity for feature photos.
Feature photos are typically those photos that don’t need an explanation or caption. They speak for themselves not needing anything to help explain the moment. A caption is only useful only to expand on the obvious and to answer one of the WWWWWH questions.
Feature photos typically have very strong central subjects, good lighting, and are at the peak of action. A combination of these elements intensifies the impact so that the photo usually stands out on the page. It becomes the dominant element on the page around which other stories and ads are scanned or read.
Also called stand-alone photos, good feature photos do not require accompanying stories and usually are all that is necessary to communicate the moment.
Using a feature photo does not always communicate the complexity of an event just as this real-time portrait of a Generations dancer about to perform her solo doesn’t show the depth of Fourth Friday. Fourth Friday is always a lot more than a single dancer. Even the dance portion of the night is more complex than this dancer as the photo below shows.
Dancer performs on West College in Uptown Westerville
If I were on assignment to cover Fourth Friday for a publication there would be a shoot list of photos to match the editorial idea for the story. The list details the subject of the story with a suggestion of the photos required. If the story were about dancers both these photos would have been good as feature photos. If it had been about the food vendors neither would have worked. Not that the food vendors couldn’t have a standalone photo. The girl reaching for a sample of strawberry shortcake is a good feature photo for that purpose.
Youngster sampling strawberry shortcake at food vendors booth at Fourth Friday
I didn’t shoot every possible event for the night. The cool weather perhaps kept some people at home because the crowd was smaller than normal so there isn’t a crowd photo. I didn’t shoot any of the musical groups. I didn’t shoot people working in the booths.
Those will probably be in the next set of photos on the next Fourth Friday. For this one you’ll have to be satisfied with my standalone feature photos. I was.
by Gary Gardiner | Apr 25, 2013
Soccer practice fields at Hoover Dam – My Final Photo for April 25, 2013
A steady flow of runners, walkers, athletes, bikers, and small kids led their parents on a trek across the dam at Hoover Reservoir while I waited for the afternoon clouds to part for just a few minutes at the right time.
Ten frame multiple exposure
There were many other photos to shoot while waiting for soccer practice to begin with the hope the clouds would then separate throwing a rim light across the freshly green trees and active youth on the fields beneath the dam.
The photo trek, on my bike, included a brief trip off the dam but most of the time for about two hours was traveling end-to-end on the dirt, asphalt, concrete, and steel span observing early shafts of light and the people and places it illuminated. Or failed to illuminate as often one end of the dam would be in shadow and the other in full sunlight making me wish I’d the ability to float over the scene to show the natural variety of light in such a small space.
Recumbent bike with slow shutter speed
Even later as the clouds began to thin and light more often fell across the plain below the dam I’d have to scamper to the shelter to get out of a brisk rain shower preceding the brightness.
The wait allowed, or forced, me to try a variety of techniques to shoot a unique photo from the dam. I’ve been there many times and am always looking for something even slightly different from before.
The soccer fields are a previous subject although I’d not shot them with the trees so early in their spring growth.
I used my D300 on the multiple exposure setting for a faux blurred motion photo of the water below the dam and the clouds above. Without a tripod I jammed the camera against a concrete post and a galvanized steel railing to keep it from moving between exposures.
The blurred recumbent bicycle is standard slow shutter speed choice.
There were more bikes, silhouettes from inside the shelter on the eastern end of the dam, overheads of people running along the roadway, more blurred action of cyclists and joggers, and a fisherman at the end of the day.
Not bad for two hours of bad weather.
by Gary Gardiner | Apr 24, 2013
There was that moment late in the afternoon when the clouds parted and I discovered College Avenue in Uptown Westerville bathed in spectacular contrasty warm light.
The photos are lacking in compositional and subject elements such as people walking on the sidewalks, bicyclists in the road, or skateboarders.
But there is always that light and the large shadow cast across College to aid in tonal composition..
by Gary Gardiner | Apr 23, 2013
Sparring partner in Huber Village Park
Every now and then I stumble on a scene that takes me a moment or two to begin to understand. It happened today while I was on my bike for a late afternoon ride through Huber Village Park.
Alon the norther peremiter of the lacrosse field stood a young couple boxing. Both wore red gloves. She wore protective gear as a barrier against the much large boy she competed against.
I watched for a few minutes as I shot more bikes being stored in the nearly full bicycle rack next to Planet Westerville.
The pair continued to spar along the sidelines of the lacrosse field being used for practice.
Finally, after I was satisfied with my bike rack photos and worried they might finish training, I biked over and started up a conversation about how unique it was to find sparring boxers in the park.
Of course, I shot a few photos, one of which is this portrait that becomes My Final Photo for Tuesday, April 23, 2013.
