It is a strange time. Most of us have probably been asked to “shelter in place”, not going out except for essential things.
If you are passionate about photography like I am, what will you do with this time? Will you continue processing your backlog of photos? Try to create new content (blogs, etc.)? Learn new post-processing techniques? Take on new challenges to photograph the things around you that you usually don’t do?
Related to that last question is an awesome exercise where you try to photograph as many cool things around your apartment, back yard, house, or whatever and make it really compelling, practicing new compositions, new techniques, different genres of photography, utilizing new lenses that are ordinarily not used for that purpose, and approaching everything with a fresh perspective. I would heartily encourage you to do this if you don’t already.
If you never do portrait photography, perhaps this would be a good time to experiment with this. Or if you’ve never tried your hand at “light painting”, give it a go. Macro? Why not? Panos, sure, even if it’s in a tiny apartment!
What post-processing can make your images better? Perhaps it might be time to figure out how to dodge and burn. This is a technique going back many decades, one. utilized, as the name “dodge and burn” implies, in the darkroom. Luminosity masks is a great thing to learn, and can help target specific areas. For instance, I use luminosity masks to target the night sky specifically so that I may apply some noise reduction to the sky but not to the foreground or the stars. Layer masks is a beautiful thing. We could learn how to do a better job organizing our photos in Lightroom or whatever program we use that has some sort of file management system.
We can go to lynda.com, YouTube, Phlearn, National Parks At Night, or other places to learn new techniques.
Although we may not be able to run out and photograph, this is a time when we can still step up our creativity, knowledge, and techniques.
Let me know how you are doing in the comments, and what part of your photography or art you might work on during this strange time.
VISIT ME, VISIT ME!
MY WEBSITE:
Head on over to the Ken Lee Photography website to purchase books or look at night photography and long exposure photos. My latest book, “Abandoned Southern California: The Slowing of Time” is available there and Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Target, Booktopia, Books A Million, IBS, and Aladin. If you enjoy the book, please leave a nice review.
SOCIAL MEDIA:
Ken Lee Photography Facebook Page (poke your head in, say hi, and “like” the page if you would, uh, like)
Instagram
PODCAST:
Behind the Shot video podcast – interview February 2020
VIDEO INTERVIEW:
Conversation about night photography and my book with Lance Keimig of National Park At Night
ARTICLES:
A Photographer Captures Haunting Nighttime Images of Abandoned Buildings, Planes, and Cars in the American Southwest – Business Insider by Erin McDowell
A Photographer Explores Southern California’s Desert Ruins – Los Angeles Magazine article by Chris Nichols
kenleephotography.wordpress.com 