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Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
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Photographs are made - and that's the truth

Ansel Adams is often on my mind. Two quotes of his that speak volumes.

You don't take a photograph, you make it. - Ansel Adams

 Dodging and burning are steps to take care of mistakes God made in establishing tonal relationships. - Ansel Adams


Matthew G. Beall Photography       Alps        2009/2011

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A Tree and Shadows at Vytlacil

A Tree and Shadows at Vytlacil - where I am doing an artist residency

Light and Shadow's playful display.

Matthew G. Beall  A Tree at Vytlacil  Sept. 2011

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Composition is Balance - Strive for Balance

Consulting the rules of composition before taking a photograph is like consulting the laws of gravity before going for a walk.  Edward Weston

Composition

While good exposure, for example, is a technical requirement necessary for a good image, it is composition that makes a good picture. Composition, of course, is a more subjective practice. There are no rules, only guidelines. Ultimately your aim is to produce a piece that will resonate with you and others.


Matthew G. Beall   Wrap it Up (workers)   2009/2011

Some compositional ingredients:

viewpoint
background
depth
symmetry
natural frames
cropping
strong diagonal lines and/or curves
patterns
shape
texture
light
tone

At the end of the day, a good composition is one of balance. Strive for balance. 

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How to Improve your Photography

You want to improve your photography? Here's how you do it.

Get out and shoot. Shoot a lot! With a digital camera you have the luxury of limitless shots. Use that advantage.  

Look at everything as a potential subject. See it. Visualize it! Compose it. Shoot multiple frames of it.  
The key = Look, SEE, Think 


Matthew G. Beall  Look, See, Think  2011



Then choose the best shots, get them into your post-production software and make them even better. Remember, rarely does that ‘perfect’ shot come straight out your camera untouched.

As the adage goes, practice makes perfect.
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Fortunate Traveler with a Camera

I was in Sanok, Poland over Easter.
I am a fortunate traveler with a camera.


"Life is like a good black and white photograph, there's black, there's white, and lots of shades in between." Karl Heiner





Matthew G. Beall   
Dzien Dobry   
2011



Matthew G. Beall   
Polskie Krajobrazy 
  2011
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What you see is not necessarily what it was.


Unless you have been hiding under a rock, you are probably familiar with Photoshop. Even if you have not used it, you have seen photos that have been Photoshopped, which has become a feature of many websites in recent years. The basic idea of Photoshop is that it can be used to enhance or add to a photograph. What you see is not necessarily what it was.

For example, if a picture has been taken which, on closer inspection, carries traces of something that the viewer “should not see” - such as blotches on the face of someone in the photo, or a stain on the carpet – the use of Photoshop can remove that undesired intruder. Similarly, Photoshop can be used to add things such as color or light.

A more esoteric use of Photoshop can be seen on countless sites around the Internet where photographs are deliberately and obviously manipulated for (usually) comedic effect. Whether it is putting someone else’s head on the body of an animal (or another person), placing a person against a background with comic potential or creating the impression that someone is a hundred feet tall, this is a popular pastime. Sometimes, too much is simply too much

Although Photoshop is not the only post-production software, it is perhaps the most well known. Every amateur or professional photographer will use these programs to enhance their pictures in their own way to their own liking. Photo manipulation has been around since the mid-1800s.   
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Thoughts about photography: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Although the Internet has dramatically changed how things are perceived, there are still many professional writers with low opinions regarding bloggers and self-publishing. Does this mean that bloggers can’t write? Of course there are those that can’t, but there are a great may that can. The medium has simply changed.

The easier it becomes to do something, the worse the whole medium becomes. This is an often heard (read) opinion about photography.

Matthew G. Beall  Diffusion  2011

 There was once a time that to own a ‘good’ camera you needed to spend a lot of money, and, as a result, there were fewer photographers – when they took a photo, they had to make sure it was good. After all, film was expensive, too. Now you can buy a great digital camera inexpensively, take some shots, and, BAM!, you are a photographer. The idea being that anyone with a digital camera considers themselves a photographer just because they took a black and white picture of an object, which was partially in shadow.

This is really a cynical argument.

Opinions are always going to be divided on the question of whether making something easier makes it better.

Has this led to the death of photography as an art form? Only the deluded would think so. With the innovations that have come our way, people with talent but not much money can now let their talent find an audience. Sure, there are now more bad photographers than ever, but this does not mean there are fewer good ones.
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Me, Myself and I - Portraits

Me, myself and I - Portraits on the afternoon of April 15, 2011

Matthew G. Beall

Matthew G. Beall

Matthew G. Beall

Matthew G. Beall
Matthew G. Beall
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Rain, Peaks and Roofs

A rainy overcast day

Matthew G. Beall   A rainy overcast day    2011

A peek at peaks and roofs

Matthew G. Beall   Peaks   2001

Matthew G. Beall   Roofs   2001
Look, SEE, Think
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Spiritus Sanctus - Bigger is Better - The Ulmer Cathedral in Black and White

"Life is like a good black and white photograph, there's black, there's white, and lots of shades in between." Karl Heiner

The Ulmer Cathedral in Black and White 

Spiritus Sanctus

Matthew G. Beall  In Namen des Vaters   2011

Matthew G. Beall  A Bit Closer Up   2011

Matthew G. Beall  For Thee   2011
Matthew G. Beall  In Namen des Heiligen Geistes   2011

Matthew G. Beall  In Namen    2011

Matthew G. Beall   Spiritus Sanctus    2011

Matthew G. Beall   Zusammen   2011


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Young and Square into the Night

Photography is about light. NYC at night is full of radiating, artficial light. Into the night is the most illuminating time in Manhattan.

Matthew G. Beall   Young  2008/2011
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My home is my castle ...

If your home is your castle

Matthew G. Beall    Neuschwanstein Castle 

Then nature is your kingdom

Matthew G. Beall  Nature  2009 (2011)
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Shadows on the Wall: Look, See, Think

Look, See, Think

Keeping it Simple                                       Please follow this blog

Patterns, textures, angles, tones, shadows and light, perspective all contribute to a dynamic photograph.

In black and white photography shadows and light creates mood. It is dramatic. The photograph is often more dynamic. For example, a photograph with dark tones tends to be somber and/or brooding, and a picture with light tones seems to be more delicate and even upbeat.


A lot of light means shadows. Shadows and light create a range of tone. A black and white photograph is tonal.

Matthew G. Beall

Matthew G. Beall

Matthew G. Beall

Matthew G. Beall

Matthew G. Beall
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Conditions Perfect - It's a Wrap in Denver

A rainy day in late July, 2009 at the  Denver Art Museum.

Everywhere I go I visit art museums. Some are better than others, some have incredible architecture, some are plain, and some are expanding or renovating. Clyfford Still Museum

Sometimes you get lucky with a shot. Conditions perfect. Snap. A little post-production work and it's a wrap!


Matthew G. Beall  Wrap it Up (workers), 2009 - Denver, Colorado

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Have a look at my paintings, too.
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The Ulm Cathedral - A Bit Closer Up

I am lucky to live in a city with its own cathedral - der ulmer Münster (Ulm Cathedral). It is impressive. It is old. It is filled with detail. It is architectural delight.

I often go out an shoot the cathedral. I wait for a day with some sun and try to go out at the right time to capture shadows and light.  I usually take shots of parts of the whole i.e. the whole from a distance. This time I focused a bit closer up.

See more at matthewgbeall.com

Matthew G. Beall  A Bit Closer Up, 2011  Ulm Cathedral, Germany



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Playing with Light and Dark - Out of the Haze


Despite the haze, there's still light


A bottle of water and sun

  Even when it seems completely bleak, there's still a flicker of light

Hope
 




And out of the darkness we begin to see things a little more clearly
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San Francisco's Golden Gate - Element of a Bridge in Black and White

 Looking up at an element in San Francisco, California.

The Golden Gate Bridge is an icon. Often we see it as a whole, yet it is made up of many elements.I decided to take a look, a unique look, at an element in Black and White.

Matthew G. Beall   Element ,  2008 -2011

The next time you cross the Golden Gate Bridge, Look up.

See my previous post about Looking Up
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A Black and White Photography Adventure and the Architectural Kunsthalle Weishaupt

Kunsthalle Weishaupt

Architecture: Kunsthalle Weishaupt, Ulm, Germany

When I first heard that art collector Siegfried Weishaupt was going to build a Kunsthalle in Ulm to share his collection and mount exhibitions, I was like a little boy waiting for Christmas to come. I thought it would never get here. Kunsthalle Weishaupt opened on Nov. 24, 2007.

The 4000 square meter building, designed by WWA - Wolfram Wöhr Architekten of Munich, is geometric. It is a beautiful design that contrasts perfectly with the traditional architecture of the city. It is balanced. It is art itself.

Walking on air
A bridge was built between the Ulmer Musem and Kunsthalle Weishaupt. I can tell you it is cool. You really do feel like you are walking on air, it's surreal.

Matthew G. Beall 'Bridge' 2011

Click to see my post about the current exhibition Robert Longo

Front of Kunsthalle Weishaupt and one of Longo's drawings
 The beauty of architecture in black and white

Matthew G. Beall  2011
Matthew G. Beall  2011
Matthew G. Beall  2011
Matthew G. Beall  2011
Now, don't forget to take a look at my art
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Matthew G. Beall Art :: Inside the Studio: My Photography

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Der Techniker ist im Urlaub aka Looking Up

Today I walked to the camera store to take my camera in for a good ol’ fashioned cleaning (it really does need it). The owner said, “der Techniker  ist im Urlaub.”  So the tech is on vacation this week and I can bring it back on Monday. ‘Scheiße’ I thought to myself and then I thought, hey, I can go out and take a few pictures. It’s such a blue, sunny day after all. And so I did.

We often go out and about without ever looking up. I decided to look up. Looking up can sometimes lead you to discover things you’ve never seen before. Looking up can make a picture more interesting. 

Matthew G. Beall  Shadows on the Wall,  2011

Matthew G. Beall  The White Stripes, 2011

Matthew G. Beall  The Windows, 2011

Matthew G. Beall  The Contrast, 2011

Matthew G. Beall  Irgendwo in der Mitte, 2011

Matthew G. Beall  die Ecke, 2011
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Black & White Photographer Matthew G. Beall

Matthew G. Beall Vision Driven Black & White and Color Photography 2008 - 2014 Copyright © . Powered by Blogger.

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Matthew G. Beall Vision Driven Black & White and Color Photography 2008 - 2014 ©

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If you use this artwork without express permission, I will take legal action against the infringer.