Reality TV

Just like literature and music, movies and video, photography sometimes takes us to places that don’t really exist. It comes from the power of our own imagination, through subtle and hidden suggestion, or even as a result of conscious manipulation.

At other times, our images just show the world as it happens to be: charming or shocking, beautiful or cruel, intriguing or revealed.

I sat idle on a sunny weekend morning, reflecting on these thoughts, while our TV set was reflecting its own bit of reality.

Gear notes: D700. 50/1.8

Click on the image(s) to see a larger version

Because we can…

Ever since Adobe Lightroom became available, I have been a big fan. I did take the time to become familiar with all the features, watched countless video tutorials, read the blogs and even own a couple of books on the subject. By now, it is my workflow tool of choice and touches all the images I shoot. It has enabled me to shoot RAW under all circumstances, and never look back.

Does Lightroom serve all my post-processing needs? Of course not! There is the occasional image that needs solid clone brush surgery or even stronger Photoshop manipulation. But I have to confess that, since adopting Lightroom, I tend to restrict my retouching actions to whatever that program allows me to do – emergency actions excluded. If I cannot do it with Lightroom’s tools, I seriously consider whether it’s worth doing at all. Even for lens and perspective correction or for HDR processing, I stick to plug-in capable solutions (in my case, PTLens and PhotomatixPro).

A few days ago, Adobe released Lightroom 3 beta 2, and I was giving it a try almost immediately. Among the newest goodies: the ability for tethered shooting without additional intermediate software, and a real Photoshop-style point curve! Grab the camera, pull out that USB cable, and fire some quick shots from right behind my desk.

One of the advantages of a point curve is that you can abuse it when and as you like. That’s the key to colorful and wild creative effects as shown above. Something I had been missing from within Lightroom’s confines. Just like I keep longing for direct plug-in support for Topaz and Nik software.

Why do we sometimes want to take our images beyond photo-realistic reproduction, and more towards artistic interpretation? Besides aesthetic pleasure, for the same reason that man climbs mountains: because we can…

Gear notes: D700, 27-70/2.8

Click on the image(s) to see a larger version

Chess on the square

Amsterdam, on a rainy Saturday afternoon. I had some time to kill before an appointment, near the famous Leidseplein. I wandered around, camera at hand, but found the atmosphere spoiled by the steady traffic of weekend shoppers.

I went through a short passage and arrived at a quiet square, lined with shops and pubs. And so I arrived at a ‘scene’…

 

It’s not that unusual – at least in some countries – to discover a large chess set outdoors on the pavement, surrounded by a flock of players and spectators. But you don’t expect it just around the corner from one of Amsterdam’s busiest meeting areas.

The square is named after Max Euwe, the famous Dutch chess grandmaster, mathematician, and author, whose (small) statue overlooks the chessboard. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion, from 1935 to 1937.

My wait took me just long enough to enjoy the game, witness the finale (white won), and grab these couple of shots. In black and white, of course. What else would fit the noble game?

Gear notes: D300, 18-70DX

Click on the image(s) to see a larger version