Beach Days

Surfcast

We just returned from a wonderful 5 days in Ogunquit, Maine. Growing up in Southern California instilled in me a love of all things beachy…..including sand.

Beach Sand
by Raymond A. Foss
Maybe it is the memories
the change of pace that brings us there
the sense of vacation
maybe the smell of the place
the sights of the gulls, the dunes, the grasses
but oh it is the feel of it,
the crunch and slide of it
the feeling of beach sand
so different from dirt, soil, loam
no, not earthy, moist, rich,
but oh so granular and gritty
even when wet,
moveable paper spreading under toes
sliding beneath the soles
smoothing my skin
clearing my mind
unburdening me of the rest
drawing me to the tactile, the feel
of beach sand

Raymond A. Foss

Ogunquit, ME

BP’s Beach Protection Plans

My Metal and Diasec Prints

People can be a bit surprised when they first see my work in person. That’s because I print selected pieces directly on metal or mounted as Diasec prints. Here’s why:

Metal prints are a new art medium, in which dyes are infused directly into specially coated aluminum sheets. Because the image is infused into the surface rather than on it, the archival quality of the finished piece is remarkable. Additionally, colors and luminescence of the resulting image are vibrant, with unparalleled detail and resolution. Simply put, I’ve never seen a more brilliant or impressive printing process.

Benefits of infused metal printing

• Durable archival quality
• Brilliant luminescent images
• Ultra-Hard scratch-resistant surface
• Waterproof/weatherproof
• Easily cleaned with any commercial glass cleaner

Diasec prints employ a special mounting process combining Plexiglas, a photographic print, and an aluminum composite panel (Dibond). This process enhances contrast, sharpness and color saturation for a high gloss look unobtainable by any other framing method. The end result is a trend-setting, stunning, unique work of art, suitable for display in private residences and public spaces alike.

Benefits of Diasec Mounting

• Archival professional quality print
• Face-mounted with optically clear adhesive
• Backed with Aluminum Composite Panel (AKA Dibond etc.) for rigidity and flatness
• 1-inch thick aluminum frame for that “floating in the air” impression

Not every image lends itself to these processes. I take care to select images I feel sure will match the particular medium.

Masterful Food & Van Gogh Vodkas

Come one, come all (up to a 100 or so of you anyway) to a fun evening featuring the art of Joelle Rober-Goff, Wanda Alan, Dale Gilbert and yours truly. Great music (Dana Cunningham at the piano); great food (tapas
by Margarita Grill) and great drinks (compliments of Van Gough Vodka).
The best part? It all goes to benefit… The Valley Haitian Relief Fund.

When: Thursday – 5/13/10 from 6pm
Where: Margarita Grill – Glen, NH
Price: $30.00 (includes tapas and vodka tasting)

Hope to see you there!

More Info: here

Those Who Led The Way

Lewis Hine, Lost and found, New York City, ca. 1915

Photographers are great when it comes to paying homage to those who came before us. How can we not, when so much of what we do is based on innovations and discoveries made by our predecessors? Even in the “digital age”, where microchips and computer-aided processing are the norm, the skills and techniques of film photography are no less important. In that regard, I’d like to give a quick hats off to a group of innovative photographers whose work not only withstands the test of time but has, in many instances, become the benchmark for our profession.

THE PHOTO LEAGUE

The original Photo League was established in New York by Paul Strand and Berenice Abbot in 1936. Its initial purpose was to provide the radical press with photographs of trade union activities and political protests. Later the group decided to organize local projects where members concentrated on photographing working class communities.

Open to both professional and amateur photographers, the Photo League provided lectures and exhibition space. Members included Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange, Edward Weston, Marion Palfi, Marjory Collins, Mary Post Wolcott, Barbara Morgan, Berenice Abbott, Eliot Elisofon, Morris Engel, Sid Grossman, Lewis W. Hine (one of my personal favorites), Arthur Leipzig, Leon Levinstein, Lisette Model, Beaumont Newhall, Arnold Newman, Ruth Orkin, Walter Rosenbloom, Arthur Rothstein, Joe Schwartz, Aaron Siskind, W. Eugene Smith, Lou Stouman, John Vachon, David Vestal, Weegee, Dan Weiner, Margaret Bourke-White, Max Yavno and many more. .

Like the Arts Students League, the Photo League was investigated by the House of Un-American Activities Committee during the late 1940s. This led to members being blacklisted and Paul Strand decided to leave the United States and live in France. The Photo League closed down in 1951.

This Photo League photographers produced some of the finest photographs ever made. Their work lives today, as it will for years to come.

Jerome Liebling, Butterfly Boy (1949)
www.howardgreenberg.com

Ansel Adams, Bridalveil Fall (1948)
© 2008 Best’s Studio Inc DBA The Ansel Adams Gallery. All rights reserved.
www.anseladams.com

For More On the Photo League:

The Photo League

Mid-West Exhibit of Photo League Photography

Online Exhibit – Women Photographers of the Photo League

The Photo League’s impact on one photograherE

How is HDR Changing Modern Photography?

I’m a long-time member of a wonderful photo critique group on flickr, called Weekly.   Most of the members are serious about photography and it is a good place to get valuable feedback before going to press.  With that in mind, I posted this image to get an idea about how close I am to producing a HDR tone mapped image that would be acceptable to the general public and serious photographers alike….knowing full well the prejudice that many earnest photographers have against HDR (me among them).     As I said when I posted the shot, my goal in posting was to see how close I’m getting to making an image that utilizes the best of what HDR tone mapping can offer (broader dynamic range), but also manages to retain most (if not all) of the aesthetic value of the image. (is that possible?)

Here are a few excerpts from the ensuing discussion about this image and HDR in general:

• ….just don’t start posting everyone one of your shots like this like some do – it hurts my eyes over time. It’s a fine diversion and well done.

• ...I admit to not being a fan of HDR but willing to try.  There are parts of your HDR shot that work for me -

• I agree there are examples of HDR that find a balance. It is rare and I reckon the few first that nail it consistently may be on to some hot commercial prospects.
  I think you have come reasonably close to a balance but not quite. This I think as you noted is closer to pop commercial success than respect from peers but not far off both.
  Here is a link to a Aussie photog who is forging both massive commercial success and also lands major cred from the top echelons in this country. He has some hits, some misses but is not afraid to take on the processing.
  Again not my go but they are working big time for him. Peter Eastway.com

• I’ll have to give the submitted version some time, but my first impression is that it’s just a bit too radioactive for me…

• I really enjoy HDR when it is very subtle,I think you are very close on this one, just a tad less – not sure less of what -

• I’ve always admired the Fujifilm experimentation with their CCDs, whereby they have different sensors for recording different light intensities, with the results blended together in the final file/image – in some ways this is equivalent to what HDR is trying to achieve. My respect for this is due to my belief that without such ‘intervention’ we are presenting what the eye perceives, when being presented with a scene… but what the mind sees is a lot different from the ‘raw’ information supplied by the eyes. Our brain blends together the different exposures ‘taken’ by the eyes’into a pretty sophisticated real-time image view. I see the future of photography as being along these lines – in the past this was all about post processing (in the darkroom – digital or otherwise), but that can only take you so far (even with RAW files)…

• In many cases HDR is overdone, although that can sometimes create a ‘magical’ type of image. Here I think the processing is perfect…

Any my response:  More proof that, like so many other things, HDR is a matter of taste. What is just right for some is over the top for others. Though I’m still trying to determine where I fall on the continuum….

I can’t help but believe that it is forever changing the look of modern photography

Thanks Weekly for the insightful discussion!

A few HDR related links:

• Tony Sweet’s latest work
• HDR Tips
• HDR explained (simply)