Black and White Photography by Andreas Feininger
Andreas Feininger became famous for his photographs of New York, science and nature. His most famous work produced during the great depression thru the mid 1960s. I like his work because it demonstrates his understanding of light and his ability to manipulate his images in the darkroom.
Most people can create similar images however they would need to use advance Photoshop techniques to do it. His photographs demonstrate how dynamic traditional darkroom photography can actually be.

Almost everyone has taken a great photograph landscape or cityscape.  However, in most cases the success of the photo comes down the photographer being in the right place at the right time and having the camera meter the light perfectly.

A few simple rules will help make the amateur photographer be more successful.  Adventure photographer Dan Bailey sites 3 basic rules to consider when taking landscapes.

Wait for the best light.  In the morning around sunrise and in the evening around sunset you will get  your most dynamic light.

Less is more.  Remember a simple composition is best.  Don't over complicate things and treat your  viewfinder as a canvas.

Choose the right lens.    Most will limit themselves to a telephoto lens when taking landscape photographs. Often a 50mm lens will be the perfect lens for capturing one's surroundings and making good use of low light.

Check out Bailey's website for more tips and books on how to take better photos. http://danbaileyphoto.com

My student participate in the National SkillsUSA Digital Photography Competition each year.  One aspect of the competition is to work with a model an take several traditional portraits.  Usually this is a very formal setting and therefore it very easy to score.  However in the portrait submission category the judges frequently look for portraits that are unique.  Usually, the students take photos that are still very basic.  They are afraid to take risks.  I want my students to think outside of the box.

Fuller Edge Portraits take traditional family portraits that go beyond the norm.  They are extremely raw.  They takes their subjects outside of the studio and places them in unique settings.  In many cases they  make ordinary people look like rock stars.

If you would like to see more of Fuller Edge check out their website.http://www.fulleredgeportraits.com

I'm a print production teacher and a major part of teaching effective graphic design and advertising is being able to make the mundane interesting maybe even exciting.  In my class we take a lot of photos of models and objects.  However we have had the most difficulty setting up good shots of products.  At least setting them up in a way that makes them appear more dynamic.  People are much easier to photograph.  They have personality and character.  All the photographer needs to do is capture the right moment in time.  However giving a glass of milk or a bowl of fruit personality is difficult.  Colin Cooke is a photographer who turns ordinary objects in to art.  He can create action in a shot filled with normal static objects.  Take a look at his portfolio. http://www.cookestudio.com/

It is obvious that a great deal of planning and experimentation goes into every shot.  He pays special attention to lighting and manipulating the shutter speed on his camera.  I hope to expand my level of photography and pass the knowledge onto my students,

Here is a photo I took at my daughter's birthday party.  In this photo I also tried to pay attention to contrast.  My daughter has light colored hair.  In this shot I positioned my girl under a light and I also put her in front of  a dark window.

Second photo shoot.   Today I had an opportunity to play around with lighting and to play around with subject and background.   Todays focus was contrast.  Usually I shoot studio photographs using a standard lighting triangle, Key light, fill light, and a hair light.  Also,  in most cases people dress the same.  They wear neutral colored clothing.  As a result, I often need to add an extra light to the background in order to create contrast.  This will achieve foreground and background separation.

However, today my subject was dressed in her cheerleader uniform.  Her uniform was almost all black which contrasts the white laptop and the busy white background.  Check out these un edited black and white images.

If you need tips on nearly any subject related to digital photography take a look at the following website. http://www.dpreview.com/

The site has information on everything such as,  guides to purchasing new equipment,  video tutorials, vocabulary, theory, and great how-to demonstrations.

The next day the lighting was much better.  I used a aperture of f-16 in order to make sure I had an adequate depth of field.  Also, I had to get all of my shots done early because it was warming up quickly and the snow was milting.  I was also difficult to find fresh snow.  Most place were trampled.  I found this secluded location about half a mile from the hotel.

Here are a few of the interior shots from the hotel.  These were taken at around 2 am as everything was winding down.  Many of these photos need to be taken quickly.  i spent most of the evening avoiding security.  Apparently they discourage creativity.

These are just a few un edited samples.

This weekend I had an opportunity to take a couple hundred photos.  Many of my shots were at night so I had to set my shutter speed really slow.  Unfortunately,  I forgot to take my tripod, so i had to extremely careful when taking my outdoor shots so that they would not be blurry.  Fortunately though, we received about 6 inches of fresh snow so that there reflected light from Seven Springs compensated and shed many of my shots.  Check these out.

I still need to crop and edit these photos.  Also I plan to convert these to black and white.