Modern in Denver | iPhoneography

Modern in Denver magazine blows me away -- consistently -- like no other publication out there. Seriously. Quality of content, graphic design, editorial choices. Love. It.

What a thrill it was when publisher William Logan asked me to contribute a series of iPhone photos to a feature to include iPhoneography of local designers, architects and other Denver creatives.

Deciding on a single theme to contribute was a fulfilling exercise. My iPhone gets FAR more use as a camera than as a phone, so I have no shortage of image collections -- all still growing! Finally I decided on this set, my most consistent muse being uniquely beautiful Colorado light -- in this case in the city. Even in my days as an architect, I was always in fascinated with natural light and how it plays on design elements. Having a phone always on me with which to document fleeting reflections, shadows and other beautiful light-drawn design keeps my senses constantly on alert.

So here's the final collection -- now in print! (the photos below of the magazine captured, of course, via iPhone).  Always exciting to see work in print -- but there's something really special about being able to share these intimate glimpses captured without any final goal in mind other than pure aesthetic whimsy.

As always, even the layout of the feature is beautiful!

Check out the Winter 2013 issue, on stands now (above). Someday I'll have to try that portrait above with a real camera -- captured brilliantly by my son at a local coffee shop. 

Below are of some of the original photos.  iPhoneography has absolutely enhanced my experience of enjoying a spontaneous walk in the city.  And in many cases, these simple captures have even inspired future more official and planned photo shoots. What a fabulous creative tool!

Instagram: Sharpening Capture Skills on the Fly

The year 2011 introduced me to a powerful little app called Instagram. I first explored the genius of this simple app with the limitations of an iPod Touch camera, which, unbeknownst to me at the time, isn't even rated with pixels, but rather based on lesser graphics for video.  Not the best for clean, crisp images, but it forced me to really think about the basics of composition in a tiny square, and I found I could still capture compelling images (half of the images above are from my iPod, half from the iPhone 4s).

If you are even mildly interested in bettering your photographic skills, I swear by this simple technology as a way to explore your eye and sharpen your skills at composition.  I am constantly impressed at how this technology is inspiring me - and some 12 million others - to see the 3 dimensions of our every day world through new eyes; to see beauty, backlight, pattern and shadow as more than just passing parts of our periphery, but as subjects of composition and interest in their own right.

If you're in Denver, grab your iPhone or iPod and join us for our our first Instameet on Sunday, January 15th - base of the Clocktower on 16th Street at 2pm.  

Follow @merrittphoto on Instagram for more details!

Playing with Tilt Shift App

Denver Art Museum

I discovered another fun little app for the iPod this weekend and I've been having a blast experimenting with different effects on a variety of photos.  It it absolutely incredible to me what these simple little gadgets can do!

This one allows you to mimic the highly specific depth of field effect of a tilt shift lens, resulting in images that often look like tiny scale models, even though these are - I swear - full scale scenes.

If you have an iPod or iPhone, this particular app is called TiltShiftGen and so far, I love it!

Denver Capitol building from Art Museum window

16th Street Mall, Denver

Confluence Park, Denver

Mesa Verde National Park

Telluride Wedding

View from Tattered Cover Parking Garage, Denver, CO

Glenwood Canyon, CO

Telluride from the Gondola

Telluride, CO during Mountainfilm

Denver City and County Building, July 4th 2010

16th Street, Denver CO

16th Street, Denver, CO

Telluride from Town Park

Telluride, CO - July 4th

Merrittphoto on Instagram!

We got a fancy little iGadget over the holidays, and I have become completely addicted to a new form of social media / photo sharing, in the form of a free app called Instagram.

Through the app, you can photograph and apply from a selection of nostalgic and artistic filters... but the power is really in the ability to view, share, comment, "like," follow  and otherwise interact with photo-minded people from all over the world.  

Ridiculously fun and inspiring!

Here are some selections from my first few days of posting.  If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, check out this free app and come say hello (@merrittphoto)!

Capture Philosophy | PHOTO TIP 01: Aperture + Depth of Field

I have been asked several times lately by new dSLR owners to share tips on simple ways to make the most of their camera and take better photographs.  Every time I get into this conversation, I realize how much I love sharing my passion for all things photographic.

Wide Aperture (f2.8) chosen for creative composition and shallow depth of field

So I thought it could be fun to start a “Capture Philosophy / Tip of the Month” series on the blog.  Some of the information I share will be basic, nuts and bolts tips for people just getting to know their dSLR cameras, while other posts may be more philosophical, reflective of how I personally approach photography.

Please feel free to comment and/or ask for more info!

I’d like to start with creative use of Aperture, since I believe it can be one of the simplest to learn and most powerful ways to make every day photos more creative.  Learning how to use Aperture and controlling your depth of field (the area of the photograph which is in focus) can produce highly satisfying results, from the ability to isolate a subject in an otherwise busy setting, to maintaining crisp focus from front to back of a wider landscape shot.

Small Aperture (f16) used to achieve depth of field form foreground shadows to mountain peaks

Wide Aperture (f2.8) used to highlight only tiny area of focus and blur everything else

Wide Aperture (3.2) isolates model and permits handheld shot in low light

Smaller Apertures can be extremely useful in capturing serene landscapes, formal compositions, and often is the best choice in architectural work, where one wants to highlight relationships across a room or between adjacent spaces.

When combined with higher ISO (when necessary), larger apertures will allow you to shoot later into the evening in lower light conditions.  This approach will often eliminate the necessity of a flash, allowing you to make the most of - and more importantly maintain the mood of - natural and available light.

THE BASICS

Aperture means literally, opening.  The basic creative tools of your camera are 1) choosing the size of the opening  (aperture), and 2) how long it stays open (shutter speed).

What you need to know regarding the aperture, is that the numbers, or F-stops, are representative of fractions, so the smaller numbers represent a larger opening of the shutter, (f1.4, f2.8, f3.5, f4, etc.), and larger numbers (f11, f16, etc.) represent a smaller opening of the shutter.

What makes this all so powerful is that with selective focus of a larger aperture, you can narrow in on a shallower depth of field and isolate your subject so that everything else in the photograph is out of focus.

Wide Aperture (f2.8) + faster shutter speed = shallower depth of field (isolated subject in focus)

Smaller Aperture (f16) + slower shutter speed = greater depth of field (more in focus)

SUGGESTION

Find the setting on your DSLR camera for "A" (aperture priority).  Play with the extremes of this setting to see what they do when you are focused on something close to the camera (say, within a few feet). Don't delete the photos until you have had a chance to look at the differences on your computer screen with the same shot and extreme aperture differences.

Isolating Eyelashes with f2.8

As a point of reference, shooting with an aperture of F2.8 when your subject is within close range of the camera can allow you to focus on someone's eye, and the rest of their face will start to soften.

When used creatively and intentionally, makes for really professional looking people photos...

You will notice that the range of depth of field changes with the distance from the camera... (F2.8 won't have as dramatic of an effect if your subject is far away).

So, get out of your "Program Mode" ... Experiment, and HAPPY SHOOTING!

Play with focus in unexpected ways - EXPERIMENT!

Architectural Photography | Capture Philosophy: On NATURAL LIGHT

I came to professional photography through the back door, after receiving my Master of Architecture degree and spending many years early in my career practicing architecture, planning and design.

For as long as I can remember, I have been a passionate darkroom and landscape photography enthusiast on the side, and wonder now if perhaps years of chasing ever changing Colorado light -- watching the power of natural and ambient light to dramatically change our perception of a landscape depending on its angle, intensity and color -- came to inform my taste for an architectural photography which celebrated that same quality of light.

My vision for how to photograph ARCHITECTURE specifically was sparked after receiving photographs over the years of my firm’s design work, realizing that I had a deep frustration with the way artificial light was being used in photographing architecture and design.

Natural and designed light are critical to our experience of architecture and design intension. Too much artificial light and you end up with staged, “movie still” looking photographs. Granted, traditional photographers were largely bound by limits of the camera in its ability to capture contrast, but the advent of digital has opened new doors to capture in different ways.

NATURAL LIGHT defines our PERCEPTION OF SPACE

Critical to showcasing contrasting elements and the layering of spaces, is the manner in which a lighting scheme is designed to illuminate, reflect and bounce around such materials and spaces.

The manner in which light - both natural and designed - plays within an architectural space is both the greatest potential satisfaction and most painstaking challenge of my work as an architectural photographer. Few photographic subjects test a camera’s limits as interior architectural photography does with its inherent drastic contrast from a subtle interior scene to the bright sunlight pouring in through windows.*

This presents the greatest challenge to a photographer IF and when the intention is to capture a scene the way our eye sees it.

In the days of film capture, a photographer overcame this technical challenge of balancing inside available light with the overpowering intensity of daylight by bringing in often very large amounts of supplemental lighting. If a view out the windows was important to the scene, artificial lighting was an absolute requirement to allow a camera to expose for both internal and external lighting conditions.

TRADITIONALLY, the consequence of obtaining a bright, balanced shot with supplemental lighting was the death of the intended architectural lighting design scheme, all too often distracting shadows of furniture strewn across the floor, and an overall loss of the subtlety of the interaction of contrasting elements, textures and shadow patterns.

With the advent of the digital capture and processing, it is now possible to push the limits of photography in new directions, coming closer than ever to a photograph being able to convey the subtleties of a space AS OUR EYE SEES IT, with all its depth as well as its intended contrasts. This can now be more closely achieved through a technique of shooting and layering multiple exposures of the same scene under natural and designed architectural lighting conditions.

Different styles are emerging for maximizing and celebrating natural light, from bright sunny interiors with intentionally over-exposed windows, to overt High Dynamic Range photography, where edges are punched and often exaggerated for dramatic artistic effect (a method which can be incredibly compelling, but in most cases, not necessarily the most appropriate method, if the goal is to represent the architecture on its own merit).

In my work, the desired end effect is a natural looking, sophisticated and welcoming final photograph that invites the viewer into the space to appreciate its design elements. This requires painstaking attention to detail and plenty of self restraint when working with up to 7 or 8 different exposures.

I have tried various methods and software programs to achieve results, but I find that I obtain the look I want in the end, only by approaching these layers by hand, selectively using different elements of each exposure with great attention to detail. Patterns have emerged in my process, but I find that a slightly different thought process takes place almost every time I sit down to edit a shoot, depending on what I see in each vignette.

The process of working with natural light can save an abundance of time in the field, as the setup of supplemental lighting equipment is essentially eliminated, but it requires a tremendous amount of patience, skill, creativity and passion for the subject matter after the shoot in the digital darkroom.

Ideally, the finished photograph becomes a sensitive reflection of the architecture, and in the best cases, even a work of art in itself.

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* The human eye is capable of assimilating information from contrasting bright (sun pouring in from a window) and low light (interior) conditions almost instantaneously in a way that a camera is, as of yet anyway, simply not capable.