The Artist's Eyes by Jenn Lee

With the kiddos being out of school on summer break, I have been trying to keep them busy with fun projects of their own. Today was one of those days when it was hard to occupy my youngest son so I decided to do some creative photography with him….

Every once in awhile I have to admit it’s nice to break out of my usual artistic medium and play around with other ways to use my creativeness. I love playing with photography as a secondary tool as a creative outlet.

With today’s digital cameras you can take as many shots as you want and have the instant gratification as soon as you upload them to your computer. My tool of choice is a Nikon D70. It may not be the best digital camera or the newest but it has several great little tools embedded into it that makes it better than some of the newer cameras. If I was going to recommend a nice digital camera to play with…this would be it.

When you are sitting at home with the kiddos this summer and can’t get them to stop climbing the walls…get them to strike a pose for you…besides nice updated portraits of them to share with family, you can get creative and make digitally manipulated photos like this! Not only will you have a little creative fun, your kids will leave you alone for awhile after posing! Mu-ha-ha-ha….

If you don’t see what was so creative about the photo above, other than the fact it looks like my son is falling out of the sky…check out the original below…

All you need is a photo editing program like Adobe Photoshop or if you are looking for a free program, try GIMP. You can find tutorials online for either program and even some on Youtube. After you get the hang of it, you can have a lot of fun as well as this being a great creative outlet…in this artist’s eyes.

When it comes to photography, John Adkins has been my teacher/mentor as well as I am his biggest fan. He is a wonderful photographer that has an eye for composition as well as lighting. I look at his compositional lighting as an art. He sculpts the light like a sculptor sculpts clay. I have been after him for quite awhile about teaching a class on lighting and now finally he is going to do it! If you are a local interested in photography as a hobby or even considering it as a business interest…this is a class you don’t want to miss.

Do your eyes glaze over at the thought of using your flash on camera?

Do you want to learn how to create directional, beautiful light with your off camera flash?

Are you intimidated by using your flash off camera?

If so, you will definitely want to attend my first, Off Camera Flash Photography Workshop!

Many folks have been requesting for some time that I do a workshop covering off camera flash techniques and with the help of a few friends and some positive motivation, we are finally in the running.

In this workshop we will be covering all of the gear needed to use your flash off camera, how to balance ambient light with flash and how to modify those little flashes to look like the big boys.  Mastering off camera flash is much easier than you think and will help you take your photography to the next level.  Its so easy even I can do it!

If this sounds like something you would be interested in, then check out the details below and I look forward to seeing you there!  If you have any questions about the Workshop, please sound off in the comments sections below or feel free to email me.

Be sure to bring your camera and gear!  If you’re new to the new off camera flash world and don’t have all the goodies yet, don’t be afraid to show up as we will have plenty of gear for you to check out and experiment with.  Also, this is not a gear specific class, meaning that this can be done with Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax and even point and shoot cameras!!!

Details:

Off Camera Flash Photography Workshop

When: Thursday June 24th 2010
Where:
Republic Bank & Trust Co.
9600 Brownsboro Road
Louisville, KY. 40241-3901
(502) 339-2200
What time: 5:30pm to 9pm
Cost: $59 Cash at the Door

When one thinks of art, sometimes it’s hard to envision food as art. Think about food magazines though, or restaurant menu’s, how many times has your choice of what looked good was influenced by the photo verses just the description of the item?

Thankfully I have a wonderful boyfriend that is a photographer. With the partnership between his technical as well as compositional expertise and my artistic visions, we compliment each other to create some pleasing art.

Eat your veggies! - Jenn Lee

I have watched and read some great articles over time by some phenomenal food artists. I say artists in total seriousness. From the viewers eye, what seems to be such a simple idea to fill a plate and make it pleasing to the eye, is quite a challenge.I found this out personally when taking part in a fun challenge by one of my favorite photographers, Strobist. Over a course of a handful of lighting challenges, David Hobby (aka The Strobist) challenged us to take assignments and come up with our own interpretations. I had a great time working on this project but I feel John nailed it with his yummy composition as you see below.

Peanut Butter & Chocolate - John Adkins

Don’t you just want to take a bite out of that rich chocolate and creamy peanut butter? I know I do…correction…did! After the shoot that is…

Other interesting food photographers tutorials I have seen included what was called a food stylist. What is a food stylist? Well a food stylist is a person that painstakingly prepares food much like a hair stylist or makeup artist, so that it is the most visually pleasing to the eye. I know, I know…I was quite shocked when I heard this too! A person that is educated in the styling of food?? Wow! I want that job! Or do I? I might end up gaining a few hundred pounds he-he!

When creating our own versions of food art to display in our kitchen, I wanted to do something that both tied in colors that would compliment our kitchen and hopefully also inspire some creative cooking and healthy appetites! Add a few nice matted frames and there you go, kitchen art for the eyes and soul! This is art…as seen through this artist’s eyes….

©John Adkins Photography

©John Adkins Photography

©John Adkins Photography

Driving to Heine Brothers, a local coffee shop in the Highlands, I had so many questions popping up in my mind that I wanted to ask  Scott Slusher, Louisville, Kentucky Artistic Photographer, during my interview.
I first learned about Scott a couple years ago through my boyfriend, John Adkins. After seeing his work on flickr, the online photography community, I was awed by his unique artistic style.
Over the past few years I have been quietly following this artist, watching for updates he’d upload to his flickr account and LPC (Louisville Photography Collective), enjoying the compositions that he would share.

Last week I messaged Scott and asked him if he would be willing to meet with me for an interview. I was honored he obliged and we scheduled a meeting.
As I walked into Heine Bros. I saw him across the room sitting at a table waiting for me. I have to laugh because when he stood up to greet me, he literally towered over me! At 6′ 6″ tall, (I being 5′ 1″) he really put the meaning in “as big as life”!
We sat down and started talking like long lost friends. He was so easy to engage in conversation that I forgot that I was holding a pen in my hand. Scott and I talked for what must have been twenty minutes before I stopped and said, “Wait, I should be writing this down!”
Me: Scott, let’s start from the beginning…when did you first begin an interest in art?”
Scott: Well when I was five years old, (the late 60’s) there was this t.v. show that my brother and I used to watch, Ultraman. It was kind of like today’s anime/Japanese style cartoons. My brother and I would draw characters in this style all the time.

Me: When did you add your art interest to include photography?

Scott: I’d say when I was around fourteen years old, when my brother and I got a couple of Kodak Instamatic cameras. One day we wanted to take some pictures, his had no film, mine had no flash. I thought about it for a minute and came up with an idea. I told him to hold both cameras and click them at the same time. He said, “That’s not going to work!”, but I talked him into trying it. I ran through the doorway at him and he took the shot. Of course back then, we took our film to those Fotomat’s, so we rode our bikes down and dropped the film off. When they finally called to tell us the photos were ready we rode over there fast, skimming through the shots till we got to that one…it turned out!

When I turned seventeen would be when I got my first real camera though. I remember I went to a vocational school during my junior and senior high school years, where I studied Graphic Arts. The teacher put me in the darkroom, where I really learned all the ins and outs of film.

Me: Were you interested in other artistic outlets too?

Scott: I asked my parents for a guitar around thirteen. They really didn’t think I would stay interested, kind of like a passing phase, but they bought it for me as well as lessons. I still like playing guitar to this day. I would say those were the years I really opened up my creative side, I wanted to learn more and more in my creative interests.

Me: Did you go to college to be an artist?

Scott: I told my parents I wanted to go to school to study art. They really weren’t happy about that, but supported me anyway. I went on to study Fine Arts.

Me: You have worked many years in the photography industry, haven’t you Scott?

Scott: Yes I have. I spent many years working with various Commercial Catalog Companies. They taught me as a photographer to be prepared for anything with their hit the ground running attitude. I would come in and be given an assignment with no prep time and be expected to shoot…go go go! This is back in the day when big department stores like JCPenny had those phone book size catalogs. Commercial photography has slowed way down since then.

Me: Scott, do you run your own art/photography business?

Scott: I opened up my own business Eyechart in 2001. I felt that commercial photography lacked creative freedom for me. Though, in 2005, I closed up shop because I found I spent eighty percent of my time doing administration work vs. the twenty percent of my time shooting…it didn’t lead to a very creative environment.

Me: Knowing you are going to school again now for Graphics Design, would you consider yourself a lifetime student?

Scott: I wouldn’t consider myself a lifetime student because I just started back after ten years, but I would say you can never be too old to learn.  I finished my Fine Art degree back in 1997 and just started school again in Graphic Design. I am interested in always striving to learn more in many areas.

Me: When you view art, what you see as art, what are you drawn to?

Scott: I am drawn to chiaroscuro: the use of effects representing contrasts of light, not necessarily strong, to achieve a sense of volume in modeling three-dimensional objects such as the human body. I like artists such as Ingres (Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres)and Rembrandt, with their use of extreme light and dark values in their work. Edward Hopper is another artist I like, with his powerful use of light…so I would say lighting draws me to art. Shadows also are important if not more important than light. Shadow gives a sense of space and draws you into a composition.

Me: What inspires you? Where do you gain your inspiration from?

Scott: I draw inspiration from looking at other peoples work, the internet and/or movies. Seven is a really good example of a movie that inspires me. I think you can see this in it’s dark style.

Me: When you are being creative, do you create your vision via the subject you want to model for you? Or do you create your vision then get a model to put into it?

Scott: I think it’s a work in progress. It takes time working with a model to gain their trust and figure out what works with that subject. It takes several shoots to develop a rapport or relationship with a model so it’s a collaboration between working with the model and the model themselves.

Me: Could you say that any certain model was your muse? Or that any certain model stood out to you in your work?

Scott: I don’t really think muse is the term I’d use, as muse is more of a soul connection. I would say Melissa stands out as a model that inspired me most though. She stood out on the first shoot. We were mutually inspired and she opened her creative mind with our shoots. She would come over and sketch an idea for me and we would get to shooting. I can’t say we didn’t have shoots that didn’t work like we saw it in our heads or on paper, but we tried them out and some we would shoot again and they would turn out after some reconfiguring. I haven’t found another model I connect with quite like her yet.

Me: What would you say about your work as an artist over…say, the last ten years, as far as do you see a growth?

Scott: If I look back on work I’ve done ten years ago? Yes I can still say there a few that really grab me. Right now I could say that there are some that couldn’t be improved upon, but then ten years from now, I might say I could have done better. Process can only happen over time.

Me: I understand you are active in the community, via art groups?

Scott: Yes I am involved with Art Sanctuary. I met Lisa Frye (President of Art Sanctuary since 2004) in college. We remained friends afterward and over time held similar ideologies about art and the community. Lisa convinced me to join, which put me in the role of Director of Operations. I have since become Vice President (though I prefer to work behind the scenes).

Me: What is Art Sanctuary? What is it’s role in the community?

Scott: Art Sanctuary gives artists of all types, the opportunity to show their work, regardless of the type of art, from acting to painting or photography. It also provides a place for people to have the opportunity to view the artists works via art shows and theatre performances. In 2009 Art Sanctuary partnered with the Alley Theatre in opening up a location in Louisville dedicated to the arts.

Me: I have loved talking with you today Scott. It has been a pleasure…in closing is there some type of advice you could give beginning artists/artist’s in general?

Scott: Advice…”Don’t be afraid to f**k up, in anything in life not just art.” I could say it more politely, “Don’t be afraid you are going to screw up.”, but it doesn’t really feel like it holds the same feeling. If I hadn’t taken a chance and tried different things, I wouldn’t have the art that I have created. I can’t tell you how many files I have on my computer that will never see the light of day, but had I not tried…I would never have figured out how to make them work.

Just like there are many different painting styles, there are so many artistic photography styles. There are realists, journalistic, landscape, film noir, architectural to the extreme Photoshop/Processing photographer (just to name a few).

The realist takes a composition and sets it up exactly the way they want to see it in print. There are many photographers that use this style when taking family, wedding, childrens portraits. This doesn’t make them any less of an artist, it’s about seeing the shot in their heads and making their clients feel the subject ooze out of the shot with beautiful lighting and posing. Some of my favorite photographers in this category are:

• David Hobby – “Less. Gear, More Brain, Better Light”
• Joe McNally – Photographer, Writer, Teacher
• John Adkins II – Great Portrait Photographer

Journalistic photographers work can be seen in Time magazine, National Geographic and many others. This style is no less artistic. The compositions, the ability to capture a moment that proves that saying “a picture is worth one thousand words“. How many times have you looked at the pages of these types of magazines and sat there looking at a photo just saying “wow“?

When I think of landscape photographers the first one that comes to mind is Ansel Adams. What a fantastic artist. His work brings the viewer to the location. Seeing nature through his eyes in such detail and beauty. There are many great landscape/nature photographers that I have seen on the internet, in museums and galleries.

The style that interests me most personally is the photo manipulator. I love taking/seeing photography that starts out with a base image/composition, then in photo editing software such as Adobe Photoshop, Corel, Gimp etc, and fusing it with other images to create something completely from ones imagination. Some manipulative photographers to mention in this category are:

• Mattijn – Beyond your imagination
• Helen De Baroos – Painting style portraits
• Gale Franey – Youthful fantasy
• Jason Lee – Fun & quirky childrens photography
• Alexia Sinclair – Stunning portrait setups
• Martyn Starkey – Amazing landscapes

There are so many styles of photography and noteworthy photographers out there, that I haven’t mentioned, but  this post would go on forever.

In closing, I just wanted to say, art can be created in so many different ways. Art is not limited to painting, sculpting, drawing etc. Photography is art as well, from portraits to landscapes, journalistic to manipulated. Art is in the eye of the beholder.