Out of the previous posts review task, its worth pointing out that of the last set (Classic Chevy), my preference was #3. I like #1, and so did others (that posted or just told me), but this was the first time I'd spent a good amount of time doing images like this. So there is an emotional context and attachment for me. Additionally, I'm just really happy with the way the amount of red shift on the car along with the contrast on the car itself in addition to it just popping out against the background works. When it comes up on my screen, I just spend a few seconds looking it over. It grabs me.

What was most interesting however was the reaction of the buddy who is often my opposite in this argument about manipulation, level of, and title of the end result. Generally the discussions end if that agree to disagree limbo, because we both respect each other as photographers more than we worry about labeling our work. So, I sent him the images a couple of days after doing the work but before doing the final upload to flickr. We ran into each other a day or so later, and he shocked me by saying that his favorite of the 3 was #1. The natural, unchanged (except cropped) image.

It wasn't that he didn't like the other images but he thought the level of detail captured and framing in the original photo were right on. Being able to capture the essence of the car without going in for a detail shot and leaving the edge of the photograph for context were what grabbed him. He though the color isolation versions were interesting but unnecessary. The discussion and compliments went on longer (but I will spare you as this post has been quite long) and it all just really startled me. I guess you could say that I was looking for confirmation that what I had done with the isolation images was cool and interesting and great and capturing.

Instead what I found was that when I really work hard to take a good photograph I don't need to do any of those tasks. That when I really work hard to take a great photograph, it will likely stand out as a great piece of photographic art. If you're lucky to be there and get it in the moment it clicks, then you can avoid spending too much time in photoshop.

And that was the best I've felt about any of the photography work I've done. 'Classic Chevy #1' is probably one of my sharpest and most complete photos.



Even if I'd rather hang my favorite image 'Classic Chevy #3' on my wall.

Part of the genesis in the last posting was an argument with a buddy where we would talk about what kinds and how much adjustment you can make to a photograph before it is no longer an photograph. When does that photograph, created by capturing light on a piece of film or a digital sensor, goes through enough changes that it loses the essential qualities of a photograph. So we went through the first two compare and contrast tasks before talking about 'Classic Chevy #1', ' . . . #2', and ' . . . #3' where the real meat of the experiment existed . . . .



As a photographer I have spent time working with film, developing my own film, printing my own frames, and determining the best framing for a given photographs purpose. It's worth noting that all of my experience in darkrooms were with black & white images. No color developing. However, now I deal exclusively with digitally and develop those photo's in Photoshop, but going through the same overall process. I'd shot more black & white if I could develop and print it myself.

Lately one of the things I have been spending time on with my photographs is working a lot with the various filters and tools within Photoshop to manipulate my photographs in one way or another. Extreme color correction that alters hue and saturation an sometimes the base color itself. Color isolation's. Those types of things.

But one of the problems that I come across in my own mind when doing that work, and when viewing other people's work of similar qualities, is when do those manipulations take the picture and move it away from being a picture? When does it become an image, or digital image, or a piece of digital art? There is no doubt in my mind that some of the work today that is comprised of major Photoshop alterations is art. People can do amazing things, especially HDR images. The detail and level of visual interest of the works is startling. There are even times I wish I was spending that much time on my work.

Regardless of that, one of the things that bother me is still titling some of these images as 'photographs'. I apply a loose and personal border to my photographs and that is limited to where my knowledge of darkroom processing tricks end.

Cropping, overlays, underexposed, overexposed, dodging, burning, contrast. All of the items to correct film errors. You can adjust the amount of time in the chemical baths to get different effects. These are all darkroom fixes that I know of and that I know can be made digitally. These I have no problem with using. I use them often.

Once you move into really crazy color adjustments (which I imagine may be possible in the color darkroom?) or color isolation's (which I imagine would be much trickier), you lose the photographic quality. To me.

To me, photography is all about capturing a moment and presenting all or part of that to a viewer so they were there. There's a book called 'The Moment it Clicks' that talks about great works of photography and the conditions that existed when it was taken. This is the very thing I am talking about, and recommend it as a more eloquent prose.

Now, you can argue that by selective cropping the photographer could remove context and alter the viewers emotional experience to the moment, and I'll gladly allow that point. I have to accept that. But when you drastically alter the composition of the photograph to misrepresent reality, it is no longer a capture of a moment in time. It's no longer the moment it (the shutter, heavens) clicked.

It becomes a digital painting or image but still a piece of art. Still a piece of creative process. But not a photograph. Not to me. Personally one of my favorite things about photography is exactly what I describe at the start of a previous paragraph. I love capturing the lighting of a specific moment. And I love presenting and sharing that to people who missed that moment. Or missed that angle of the moment. I love sharing moments that matter to me, or affected me to people i care about so they can share the same moment.

So when you drastically alter that by isolating the color or shirting it completely away from what it was in that moment, you are creating a new moment. And that's fine. Your viewers are experience the same thing, but they are sharing a moment in your creative process. It can still be an amazing image and a work of art, but it just can't be labeled a photograph in my mind.

Editors Note: This blog post was originally typed out on a plane flying from one country to another after having brewed in the writers head for nearly two months. It is being posted to the 'internet' while said writer enjoys red wine in an English garden outside London. You understand our issues, and we appreciate your accepting our apology for the delay.



If I may ask a favor of my dedicated readers, I would be indebted to you.

I would like to get some feedback on some of my recent iages. Now, I know the comment thing on the blog isn't working quite right, so for now I ask that you follow the pictures to my flickr page (just click a photo) and to begin the task. In the end, I would like to know if you like or don't like a picture. If you want to say why, even better, but do not feel obliged.

I am specifically interested in the following:

The first two are the easiest. 'Flower in Bloom' and 'Purple Burst'. In these photos I pushed the color past what it was in real life. 'Flower . . . ' wasn't as pushed as ' Purple . . . ' but the yellow was not that strong under the sun light with a bit of cloud cover as it appears the image. In 'Purple . . . ' the raw image had a good amount of purple in the capture, but I pushed not only the saturation but also the contrast, clarity, and hue values. Those last few adjustments plus a bit of a filter are the cause for the distortion that happens around the edges.

The next two are a bit harder but I pure compare-contrast-preference set. 'Chevy Taillight' and 'Taillight Adjusted'. When I took the photo, I had hoped that the taillight would be vertical in the image. So the first adjustment is to correct that. In ' . . . Adjusted' I am also trying to push your focus on the taillight and the shape of the rear quarter as it dives between the light and trunk. My plan to do that was by removing all of the saturation in the background making it a black & white layer in the image. This was taken a second step by making the reflections of the streetscape in the chrome around the taillight black & white as well.

'Classic Chevy #1', ' . . . #2', and ' . . . #3' present the biggest compare-contrast-preference question. Classic Chevy #1 is basically the image as it was taken. There is a bit of cropping to center the car as well as a bit of color work to remove any of the compression that happened in the way a digital camera captures the picture.

' . . . #2' and ' . . . #3' are obviously similar to the taillight question as it is a color isolation image. I didn't go so far as to get all of the reflections on the chrome, because my intentions with these images was not about the detail of the bodywork and design of a single element. My hope is that the car has your attention from the moment you walk past or see the picture because of the framing.

My intentions with these images is about the presence of this particular vehicle on a street. In ' . . . #2' its about furthering the presence of a classic Chevy parked on a sidestreet in a hip neighborhood in New York. A car from a time past in the colors of today. Even if those colors of today are a bit richer and fuller and more robust than they are in real life; which they are to help further the concept. It's about looking back to see where we came from and how far we've come. I mean, heck, the car was for sale. It didn't have airbags or a CD player much less bluetooth to sync with my iphone. It was from an era when the car was the coolest piece of the puzzle to the car.

Now, ' . . . #3' takes this color separation a step further and in the opposite direction. The becomes the colored object and the street fades away. This car was the most amazing bit of design and the coolest thing on this street that day. It was early summer and it was SoHo which meant fancy cards, beautiful women, and a tv star having lunch at the little joint two awnings down. But this car, this car was amazing. The curves, the polished chrome, the license plate, and decal. I had maybe 6 feet of space to get in front of the car for this shot, and am glad I kneeled down in the dirty street to get it. This image was about a great piece of design. It was about the car being the memory. You remember the car, and you remember the brilliance of the sun and clouds reflecting and stretching off the waxed body panels and that red color.



So, I'm not necessarily looking for you to tell what the image makes you think about. If you want to share that as your comment, I whole heart-idly encourage it. If you'd rather say I like this one, and want to email me why I'd be just as happy. And if you are okay with being an anyonymous contributor, I might share your comments in an upcoming post. But I would be just as ecstatic if you simply took a few minutes or a lot of minutes looking at the images and thinking about the images and leaving a simple 'this is my favorite' or 'this doesn't do it for me' or 'its just right, not too far at all' or 'why'd you ruin a good picture, where's the original again'.

Thanks for visiting the blog! And hopefully the pictures!

I know its been awhile since I've blogged, but apparently it takes an international journey to inspire me to put words to keyboard to digital 0's and 1's and then formatted through some code work written by another person to deliver you a blog.

That was a bit much, huh?

And, the part about it taking an international journey to complete probably isn't exactly right either. I mean I am traveling internationally as I write this (more to follow), but this is my second or third trip to my project in the UAE since that last post in May. But we all know me being truthful about the frequency with which I will blog leaves much to be desired.

So, here I am in Heathrow apartment. British Airways South Lounge, Terminal 5 looking out over the rest of the travelers below in the main terminal while overhearing some guy try to pick up a girl. In the lounge! Between flights! Even with that as my background, I will say that if you have the choice of lounges in Terminal 5, take the South lounge. It's smaller but definitely less crowded and much more stately. Not sure stately is exactly what I mean to say, but its just a bit more refined. Lower ceilings, muted colors, and a more subdued energy. Very good for the passenger who slept 4 hours last night on a plane and is getting ready to take off for another 8-9 hours.

At least it will be 107 degrees Fahrenheit when I get to my destination!

And can you believe I had trouble getting a ticket for this flight! Seriously, who is flying into that heat on their own free will?

Thankfully, its the first of several destinations on this trip. Dubai/Abu Dhabi then a day in London. Then a long weekend seeing friends in Stockholm. Then two days in Winchester outside London. A night in London. On a plane and back to my home in New York City. 6 flights. 2 round trip train rides.

Stockholm should be great though. I'll be visiting a friend I haven't seen since I moved to New York and he moved to Sweden. We were theatre buddies in high school, and trivia buddies after college during my last 9 months living St. Louis. The timing of this trip worked out so well that another one of our theatre & trivia buddies will be there as well. Plus that night in London at the end of the trip will be spent hopefully playing pub trivia with them as they make their way to Barcelona through London.

There should also be a lot of photos from the trip. And since I took the summer off from blogging, but not from taking photos, I've got a backlog of photos from a wedding trip to New Orleans, a trip to New York's HighLine Park, and other general photographs. So there will be a lot of photo activity once I return from this trip in 12 days. Don't expect them to happen magically overnight though. Give me a week or so, but they'll get out there for you to see and comment on.

In fact, on this next flight I plan to write a blog post that's been in my head since early June about a few photographs that I posted some time back. So look for that to happen shortly as well.

That's it for now.

Be safe. And be cool.

Well, its been quite some time since the last blog post and there has been a lot going on. The most obvious one is that you are no longer reading this on the rich'sbite website running through blogspot. It is now hosted on the website, making it a one stop shop for all things Rich. And since I probably had to tell you to go to my website to find the blog, you'll also notice the new website design. After going many many months (okay, a year and some months) without even updating the website, I hired a web designer and he came up with the great site you see now. There is still more that will be added in the future; primarily it will be the re-working of the images on the site to make it easier to navigate and view them.

I hope you all find the new website design and layout as exciting as I do. I had an idea in my head for so long about what I wanted my site to look like and express. Sleek and flashy and very design-y. Dark backgrounds with clean lines and minimal fuss. The details would be clean and beautiful in their simplicity. Yet, when I was put in touch with this designer and saw some of his work, my ideas started shift. I didn't want something so fussy. I'm not that fussy ( . . . sometimes). The site should express that my passions that this site is here to promote isn't the only thing that make up the person that I am. And while I love design, I love smart design that doesn't make too much of itself.

This site, and this design, does that for me. My web designer gets all the credit as I did a horrible job explaining that in words, and he came back with what you saw. Amazing. The use of that image (shot in Central Park by this writer), the font style, the way the site navigates. All of it is so much better than I could have ever imagined. It just goes to show that you should give people with expertise the room to work. It was a good lesson for me to learn. Again.

So. Now the site should become the focal point. For the time being, I'll use the blog portion to keep people up to date on the little things going on in my life (similar to that unused news section of the old site). Eventually, the site will have a second blog style bit that will be almost like what twitter is for some people. Quick sentences and thoughts about things I am working on or that i think people should check out. This would get updated more often than the blog which would be updated when I have a great story or something I want to say. My soapbox as it were.

As its a beautiful Saturday afternoon and its been some time since the last blog, I thought I'd give you a quick run down of thoughts and bits without anything crazy. Here we go:

- went back to the UAE for my hotel project over there; it was a great trip in terms of what we got accomplished; it was a painful trip because it was so much of what should have been dealt with months ago, which is why we had been clamoring for the trip since before Christmas; this project may kill me, and has already damaged my love of doing design for architectural projects (at least for the time being); whats really a shame about that is this project has the potential to be something very special for me moving forward; i could go on, but . . . .

- I have had one of the best weeks in a few months this past week, i will elaborate below

- had a good night before that UAE trip that was ruined with one event and made me loathe this city; it was a good thing I was flying out for a week the next day; my appreciation for the city is slowing coming back but is still hurt by that event; you might see a blog about it in the near future, we'll see how i feel

- got caught up on itunes last weekend to tune off over 150 songs; for those of that use itunes regularly you have an idea how much that set me back; that stop 'we recommend' or 'others have also bought this' just gets me some times and i just buy and buy and buy; it was one of the best sprees on itunes I've ever had and I have no regrets about it

- this next bit will make most people sick and it makes me sick whining about it too but I have to say it: I understand why US airlines are having troubles, they suck; on my trips to the UAE I get to fly business because I'm our project manager, which should be enough to quiet everything; the problem is when someone buys a $9,600 ticket they shouldn't have to pay $2 for a small bag of potato chips in the make-shift admirals club lounge or $8 for internet access; when I was in the British Airways lounge I could take a shower (which I did, and was awesome), have free internet, and a proper breakfast; rant over, sorry for whining about such things . . . .

- Part of the push for getting the website up to date is that I am lighting my first piece of theatre in New York (and since I graduated); its called Throat by Mando Alvarado and tells the story of the an Iraqi war veteran returning to the states and dealing with the trauma's suffered; its based off a true story and is absolutely amazing; interesting bit of parallel, my last lighting design was for a vietnam war piece exploring how the war affected different women; to say that I am honored to be part of the production and group producing the piece would be an understatement, and I can only hope to continue to work with this group of people

- The reason for this being one of the best weeks I've had in awhile is because of that item above; it is such a joy to be back in that environment, be back creating something that happens and grows and lives and then moves on; the people are fantastic and amazingly collaborative; and the design is all about the light coming out of a fixture, it isn't about gear or tricks, its about shaping light for the emotional needs of the show with the right lamp, placing in the right spot and aiming it in the right location, setting it at the right level, and bringing it on or off in the right amount of time and at the right time; and i don't want this to sound like its all me and that I'm some egotistical giant because none of it would be possible without the writing or the directors concept or the actors being extremely accommodating to shift their work to make the limited amount of light go further

- to go back to one of those above points, I remembered why I fell in love with theatre and light; this show pushed back into my mind what a lack of light can do; how powerful a single source can be; about how powerful shadow and darkness can be; this process was about being creative and thinking outside the box and thinking of the lighting as a character; sitting at a board and creating a moment, creating a look, re-enforcing an emotion, furthering an idea, making people pause and think; I realized I need this feeling and experience in my life every so often

- I have a hard time accepting compliments and I've spent much of the last 18 hours thinking about why that might be; i don't mean, because I feel better than them or something like that, i mean that i get sheepish and unsure of what to say; maybe its because I was a very slow soccer player or an average, at best, baseball player in middle school; maybe its because of some self-confidence issues related to a bit of a mental conditional; maybe its because I'm hard on myself and when looking back at what I have done only see the things I wish I had done differently, done better, been clearer about

- but I will say this: last night, despite being uncertain as to why I was being complimented the way I was on the lighting, it was one of the proudest nights I've ever experienced; I am beyond words proud of what I was able to accomplish and contribute to this production because I know that I gave it every last bit of myself, that I gave it my creative best, that I did all that I could, that I put everything I could on the table

- I can only hope some of what was written in those last four or so sections is halfway understandable and intelligible