A photo discussed on today’s “One Voice from Africa” show. My segment starts at around 30 minutes in. Listen here.

As is often the case, I am surprised by the selections a client makes for use in a project.  Isn’t my aesthetic sense the final word?  No way! Everyone has different appeals, and I am occasionally “too close to the sun” to see the light through others eyes.  This  lifeguard shack on the south side of the Santa Monica Pier has probably been photographed millions of times, maybe billions, I have no way of knowing, but usually from the other direction.  I had one day to photograph a “treasure hunt” of locations, and this location was the obvious conclusion to a long day of shooting.  I was fortunate to have a great sunset, because two days later we settled in for two weeks of rain.  Anyway, this was one of my favorite shots from that day.  I thought it was slightly clever facing away from the sunset (other direction in photo below) and the colors were amazing.  I must admit Southern California isn’t a bad place to be in December.  I think my wife (fortunately, an amazing assistant) and I were the only people looking in this direction at the pier location that evening, a situation I often find myself in, the photo salmon.  While most cameras were pointed in the other direction at the admittedly nice sunset, I was taking in the other worldly colors of the alpenglow.  This situation happens quite a bit, I am often running away from the obvious viewpoint (often through mud, and other gunky substances) to get a different perspective.  I doesn’t always pay off, but nothing ever does.

Fortunately, the photo didn’t mean anything to the client for this particular project, and I am left with a great outtake that I can use for whatever purpose I like.  Of course, I shot the the more traditional sunset too, and the client choose one similar to the attached version here. Despite the client not seeing eye-to-eye with my upstream vision, it’s all good.  I always give them what they want, plus what I like, and let them choose.  The reality check is always helpful.  I never want to get so inflexible that I can’t appreciate the perspective of others.  After all, you can’t swim upstream all the time.

A photo we discussed on last week's show.

Tune in tomorrow for episode two of “Behind the Lens” on One Voice from Africa with Kenneth Hieber. I’ll begin by discussing of all things, cameras. Yes, there are at least several hundred to choose from, and many categories within those choices. I’ll help get you started in the right direction for the type of photography and commitment you want to make on your next safari.  Show starts at 1PM PST and my segment starts around hour two. If you miss it, all the shows are available on demand after the live airing. Of course, you can download them from iTunes and listen at your leisure on that new iPhone or iPod somebody thoughtfully bought you this holiday season.

Kenneth Hieber of 2Afrika and I have been working on a number of projects over the last few years, and this is the latest.  Starting today, I will have a segment on his Blog Talk Radio show each week.  This is an exciting project as it allows me to share some of my experience with fellow travelers, and hopefully inspire others to start having their own adventures.  I will discuss equipment, techniques, etiquette, and much more each week.  The show is live every Tuesday at 1PM PST, and my segment starts at 2PM PST.  This is the beginning of a new dimension for Ewert Photography, and there is much more to come.

Below is the link to today’s show.  If you prefer to listen on your iPod or other devices, download it from iTunes for free.

After a bumpy year, I felt the need to look back and catalogue a few of the interesting things that I photographed, and experienced during 2010.  My work is varied to say the least, and about the only things I don’t photograph categorically are babies and weddings.  This is somewhat of a joke to those who know me because even these are occasionally broken.  It’s minimally amusing because when people ask me what I do, they automatically think weddings and portraits.  When they find out my specialty is primarily architectural photography, the next inevitable question is, “who are your clients?”  Well, this list is for them (and me so I can review the diversity of my profession, and be thankful that my work is often interesting.)  A few examples:  bridges and commuter trains in San Diego, a stainless-steel ping-pong table, a fiber optics testing facility, the installation of a walking-reheat furnace, an HDTV exhibit, various commercial sites from the air, celebrity homes, a church opening, construction sites, a titanium distribution center, and a tight deadline Santa Monica “treasure hunt” project.  In addition: there were many homes (scary apartments to opulent mansions,) commercial sites, restaurants, and hotels.  This may sound like a lot of work, but it is punctuated with creativity-draining periods of idle shutter buttons, unused computers, and addled brain matter.

Fortunately, some of that time was used for travel, and somewhat less so, re-modeling a bathroom.  This year it was Panama, Cambodia and Vietnam.  Experiencing Angkor Wat re-kindled my interest in b&w photography which was a welcome change that challenged me to learn new methods for old techniques.  It has been at least 20 years since I washed a print in a darkroom.  The romance is undeniable, but in this age the computer rules, and I am okay with that.  I can tell you that it is just as much work (and if I’m honest, more) creating a fine art print on the computer, but the control is worth the long nights.  Learning when to be done was a new challenge for me, and I now have a little taste of what my artist friends go through creating a painting.

The inevitable merging of still and video photography marches on and I was able to to incorporate video into my work-flow to a limited degree this year.  I have been experimenting with different ways of shooting video, and feel that the new video-capable SLR’s will be what I end up using in 2011.  The quality is undeniable, and I doubt the handling issues will bother me much as I am so used to using an SLR that I’ll adapt with a few equipment additions.  2011 will see the continuation of skill and equipment upgrades, so I can better meet client needs in this area.

In compressed retrospective it was a very interesting year filled with variety, education, and exciting new experiences.  My hope for the coming year is simply more of the same.  Could I ask for more? Of course, but growing as a human being, artist, and finally a business is more than I ever dreamed possible not too many years ago.  Well, maybe a little less idle time would be welcome, after all, there is another bathroom awaiting my blundering home improvement skills…

I am off to Cambodia & Vietnam tomorrow, and will be posting when possible.  Cameras for the trip include: Canon 1DS Mk III, Panasonic DMC-LX5, iPhone 4, and a few misc. spares.  I am looking forward to testing the LX5, as I haven’t strayed from the Canon camp in many years.  I will also be using the the indispensable iPad for the first time as a light editing machine. I’ve tested the camera connection kit and a couple of software apps, and everything has worked extremely well.  In fact, so well, that touch screen editing may be the future for many photo related tasks.  Stay tuned.

Photographing a luxury home is not always the plum assignment people expect. For some reason, the photographer’s schedule and needs are not always the top priority of the home owner! Having to work around the comings and goings of a busy household is a challenge, but one that I have to deal with on a regular basis. This brings out the problem solver and expectation setter in me. Challenges such as:  difficult lighting, uncontrollable traffic, lack of stager, and time constraints must be met with a confident calm. Gently setting expectations is also important because the client needs to understand the limitations placed on the photographer by not allowing better control of shoot conditions. Having said that, nobody cares about excuses. When the they see the end result, they aren’t thinking about the myriad of details that go through my mind for each shutter press, they only want to see amazing pictures. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating “at it’s heart, photography is really multi-plane problem solving.”  I think my travels around the world have helped me in this regard.  I have visited many corners of the globe where waiting for ideal circumstance was not an option.  I had to make do with what was there, and create the best photograph possible in the given situation.  This is what people usually do when taking snapshots without even thinking about it, but when you call yourself a photographer, people expect more.

The initial appraisal of a scene, and the machinations in my mind to create a photograph are difficult to reproduce.  I have even found on occasion, when the opportunity to revisit a location under better conditions yields no improvement.   Of course, the opposite can also be true for particularly difficult situations where the results of the initial encounter were truely horrible.  Fortunately, the results of such encounters are rarely shared.  The attached photo is an example of a shoot that was conducted under a bit of duress.  The situation was less than ideal and the amount of time I had to shoot the very large property was extremely short, but another version of this shot made the cover of a luxury home magazine which featured this property in it’s first edition.  I live for these challenges, but occasionally, I would like to be like Austin Powers, and have someone catch my camera when I’m spent.

Spending time in Santa Barbara is no hardship, but finding interesting viewpoints is always challenging in such a well loved, and photographed area.  The Mission is a well known landmark, and I was just another tourist, so I had to stay “on the rails” for the self guided tour.  Even so, there are ways to find a unique shot.  This time, my wife and mother in-law pointed this scene out for me as I was looking at a plant or something.  This happens often.  My wife is very good at finding interesting scenes, and I find a way to make them look decent.  After many years together she has developed a great eye for things that I like to photograph, and sometimes she finds things I would have never considered.   Occasionally, I am overwhelmed by the newness of a place, sometimes I just get lazy, so it’s great having that little push because I won’t pass up an opportunity for a cool shot. I didn’t bring a tilt-shift on this trip, so a little perspective correction was required to keep the converging lines at bay.  Perspective control is important to an architectural photographer, but I do enjoy crazy angles, when they are done on purpose….