MY PHOTOGRAPHY PHILOSOPHY

As we approach the end of 2025, I thought I'd end it with my philosophy about photography.

My interest in photography began more than a decade before the advent of photo editing software and digital photography. I was already an aspiring but amateur photographer when I heard the announcement about a new exposure light metering system--matrix metering. Before then, we only had center-weighted metering to work with.

Until mid-2009, I was shooting with Kodachrome and Fujichrome Velvia and Provia slide film. ISO 25, 50, and 64 were my go-to choices before 2009. Some of you might remember that we chose the film type based on the type of light conditions we anticipated or had planned. 

A decade or so before I bought my first high-level DSLR camera, I spent three years in college studying art--composition, color theory, design, painting with oils, acrylics, watercolor, and so on. I studied what the world masters painted, how, and why. I was impressed with art movements like impressionism, surrealism, and pointillism. I learned about the application of brushstrokes. And, of course, I learned about lighting.

That backdrop has served as the foundation for my photography today. As an artist with a camera, I like shadows. I strive for the right exposure, not the "correct" exposure. This is why I ignore today's camera histogram, which is engineered to advise me as to what the "correct" exposure is or should be. The histogram is incompatible with my artistic vision. That said, I understand and apply left-brain knowledge, but I shoot with right-brain vision: What made me stop? How do I want this to look? What's my message? How do I translate my thoughts and feelings into something we call a photograph?  

Oh, and those apps, so readily available and heavily marketed today? So many appear to me as tools for the untrained, uneducated, the non-curious, and the non-creative. We have so many of those tools in our cameras. We just don't know they are there or how to creatively use them. To me, many are extra gadgets and photography toys. Don't get me wrong. If you are not trained on what DSLR and mirrorless cameras and lenses already have built-in, and not creative enough to use them in ways they were not designed for, they can be fun to play with. 

I look with my eyes; I see with my imagination. 

Now I will share a few of my favorite images from my huge collection. Feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or observations. If you are like-minded, I would like to hear from you.

I saw this sunrise as I was driving on a two-lane highway in the Arkansas Ozarks. I quickly stopped, walked briskly up the hill, and saw the fog-filled valley below. I felt peaceful; tranquil. However, when I clicked, the resulting image did not capture my feelings. I switched the WB to fluorescent, and viola!
If I had listened to my histogram, it would have screamed, "You're way off, dude!"

I also got this shot in the early morning hours, before actual sunrise. Put Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colorado on your to-do list. 

One creative technique I've created along the way is to swirl my camera during a shutter speed of 1/6-1/15 of a second. You have to be steady and quick and swirl, or swivel, the camera with the palm of your hand. Experiment with it. Don't arch the camera; just swirl from left-to-right or right-to-left, based on what feels more comfortable for you.

One of my favorite techniques is to create my renditions of impressionistic art. My goal is to capture the characteristics of Impressionism. One of my favorite ways to do that is to create an in-camera double exposure. You will need a camera that has a multiple exposure feature in the menu. 

I take the first shot slightly out of focus, then take the second shot in sharp focus. I underexpose the second shot by usually 2/3 of a stop, to make sure the final double-exposed image doesn't come out overexposed. Below is one of my many impressionistic images. By combining the two images in-camera, I create an image that looks more like a painting. 

Zoom rings, on any lens, are not designed for this next technique, but I like to have fun with it. I zoom into a subject during a long exposure. Depending on what I am trying to create. It can be just a few seconds to 20 seconds. I zoomed in on this classic sign of an old Mobile Oil Company Pegasus and created this unique result. I waited a few seconds before zooming in so that Pegasus would register on the film first.   

It was a late autumn afternoon, just outside Steamboat Springs, Colorado, when I came across this  beautiful scene. If Monet had been with me, he would have painted it. And, yes, there are shadows.

I titled it, "Impressionistic Valley."

I leave you with this image. As I walked along a dry riverbed near Fort Worth, Texas, I turned around to make sure I wasn't missing out on something. I do that often during my walks or hikes. To my pleasant surprise, I saw this awesome scene. I got several quick shots, but was not satisfied with them. It occurred to me to put on my FLD filter. I had used it before and liked the results. As you can see, it was the right call. 

FLD stands for Fluorescent Lighting Daylight. Its purpose during film days was to correct for the  color temperature of fluorescent lighting when shooting indoors. It was akin to today's use of WB (White Balance) on cameras. I started experimenting with this filter years ago with outdoor photography. I found that it did a great job with early morning or late afternoon shooting. I still use it today with my digital camera. This image is on my website. I titled it, "Morning Has Broken."

Again, please contact me if you have any questions, comments, or observations regarding my philosophy on the art of photography. 

Eli