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Expressway (speed project)
#1

As I mentioned in a thread in General Talk, I wanted to create a small series of photographs but was suffering from a lack of material. I decided to make it into a "speed project" and see what happened.

[Image: 260504600_SM9ah-L.jpg]

My goal was to create a series of photographs taken at the same location. I wasn't expecting to creating a narrative or developing theme, but simply wring as many decent photos as possible out of a decidedly drab location. I chose the underside of an elevated expressway because it's somewhere I've photographed in the past, it's reasonably easy to get to, and it's private. I kept my equipment simple with just my E-3, 35-100 lens, and flash with TTL cable. The goal was to produce 24 prints, and I had decided that I would keep them all at the native aspect ratio, all would be framed horizontally, and spend as little time post-processing as possible. They didn't all need to be art, but I was trying for interesting and varied.

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I take photographs the same way I write -- slowly and repetitively. I can easily spend an hour and produce only five or six distinct compositions, even though I'll have taken dozens and dozens of photographs. My "keeper" rate is generally about 6%. So part of the goal was to force myself to get good results quickly and move on. One method that I used was to automatically bracket all of my non-flash photographs, and part of it was simply moving on after I'd tried one or two compositions.

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I did miss one or two photos that I wish I had framed differently, but it was the 3EV bracketing that gave me the biggest surprise. As I was shooting in shadows under a bright overcast sky, there was no hope of recording the entire tonal range of the scene. Reviewing the photos, I found that I usually preferred the overexposed images, both because they avoided the hardest shadows, and I enjoyed the 'snapshot' quality of skylined details being lost. And sometimes the effect was quite pleasing.

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After a couple of editing passes, I had 50 possible candidate photos, which I narrowed down to a final 24 the next morning. They were printed as 3.5"x4.6" prints on 4x6 paper, giving nice wide boarders, and are now happily sitting in their book. This speed project was unlike any way that I've shot before; just knowing what the final output would be made a huge difference to how I photographed the series. The full series, in the portfolio sequence, is on-line here:

Expressway (speed project)

matthewpiers.com • @matthewpiers | robertsonphoto.blogspot.com | @thewsreviews • thewsreviews.com
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#2

I like very much your idea about speed project Matt.
In this series you presented here, the first one is my favorite, but the whole series has very interesting pictures.

I see also a change in your technique? like to go a bit more into the light?

I like your project because it helps to think fast and look for something else and not to get stuck with one picture, as it happens to me.

A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art.
Paul Cezanne
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#3

I did shoot this series differently, as I typically started with over-exposed photos (I didn't care if I lost the details in the brighter sections) and then pulled the dark tones back into range in Lightroom. I've been learning more about how to control tones and what the different controls do, and I was very happy with how they turned out.

Now I just need to think of something for my next one. It's certainly an exercise that I'll do again.

matthewpiers.com • @matthewpiers | robertsonphoto.blogspot.com | @thewsreviews • thewsreviews.com
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#4

I like the colors and the theme of your shots!
Taking time to plan your shots is a great thing.

the second one doesn't really work for me, though. somehow lacks tension.

uli (jetlagged at 4am in the morning)
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#5

Having looked through the whole series, I have a few comments.

Working in a shadowed area like this, with over-bright skies trying to intrude through cracks and gaps, it was possibly a digital photographer's worst nightmare if they tried to capture it all.
You went for well-exposed subjects and let the gaps blow-out rather than try to contain everything within the dynamic range of your camera (or ANY camera).

I think this was a wise approach, and possibly an original one since too many photographers try to capture too much sometimes.
You made a decision on what needed a bright exposure and stuck with it.
The results speak for themselves--your usual strong compositions, plus more detail and clarity than anyone else might have achieved in the important zones using standard methods or HDR.

Sometimes the sky needs to be completely ignored, and that's a powerful lesson.
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#6

Uli, thanks. I appreciate your comments about #2.

Keith, you're very generous, and ignoring the sky was a lesson for me, too. Most of the exposure decision was made in post-processing; my only claim to brilliance at the time of the shoot is that I was using exposure bracketing 'just in case'. Big Grin But you're absolutely correct that there was no way to hold everything in range, and even if I had with HDR, all I would have kept is an overcast sky and extraneous detail in the background. The first photo in particular would have been much worse if it used a "correct" exposure. And thanks for looking at the whole thing. I probably spent as much time selecting and sequencing the final collection as I did on shooting or editing.

I have to say that the biggest surprise for me in this was the effect of having a project with a fixed objective. Normally I shoot what I like in whatever way appeals to me, edit a few of the better ones, post one or two on-line if I really like it, and maybe even make a print occasionally. There's no intention behind any of it, it's just a series of whims that may result in a finished item. Even my ongoing themes and collections are nothing more than a collection of similarly-inspired whims. Having a defined goal, even one as simple as "24 4x6 landscape prints", made a massive difference to everything I did. And now I have a little book to show for it. Big GrinBig GrinBig Grin

matthewpiers.com • @matthewpiers | robertsonphoto.blogspot.com | @thewsreviews • thewsreviews.com
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#7

A very interesting series. Each shot gives a hint of the whole, yet stands alone as a great combination of color, lighting, pattern, and texture. I do feel the same way, I think, as Uli about that second shot (#22 in the series). For me, it doesn’t have the continuity that the other shots have. But the project as a whole is very well done, and I can certainly see why you’re so happy with it.

"The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera." ~ Dorothea Lange
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#8

aine-caitlin, thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it. The photo with the pillar and the ice might be a case of working too hard; I have the most variations on it so really wanted to include one.

I bought a few folders that have 6 letter-sized sleeves, so now I'm looking for project #2.

matthewpiers.com • @matthewpiers | robertsonphoto.blogspot.com | @thewsreviews • thewsreviews.com
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