Rocky Terrain

There are a lot of photographers, videographers, and artists out here. On the interwebs. Way before I ever picked up a camera I'm sure it was way more difficult to get your photographs seen by the public eye. The internet is a direct lifeline to everyone, anywhere, and at any time. That means without doing any math to bore you more photos are uploaded in one day than they were taken before the internet was around. I'm sure these stats are actually even more ridiculous. Everyone has a camera phone. And everyone takes photos. 

With as little as I've actually stated in this post there are plenty of photographers who value quantity over quality. And surprisingly at times quantity trumps quality because of high web presence. Lightly speaking of course, I'm talking about the abundance of photographers that publish images daily to those who publish monthly or when the photo feels right. 

See, the internet doesn't care if you're actually good at taking photos. It doesn't care if you're good at editing. The internet, for majority, cares about communication between one another. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours type of shit. The guy on Instagram that has over 500 hearts may be a great photographer or he may be just some bloke who takes his time to tediously like other Instagram accounts in exchange for likes on his own posts. It happens on every platform for sharing work not just Instagram. 

I know that not all my images are great. Shit, some of my images made Flickr explore, and while exciting for any photographer, it was a complete waste of my sense of accomplishment. I did not accomplish anything in real time. For a day I might have been popular on Flickr. But I didn't and I cannot stress this enough; I did not accomplish anything. It only made things worse. It inflated my ego. It made me feel like I've done really good. But as I'm strolling through explore I see photos of Legos with over 100 favorites. Don't get me wrong I love a good Lego, but come the fuck on. You've looked through explore and other "popular" photo pages and wondered the same shit, don't judge me. Even the photos that made explore for me had me scratching my head. Like why these photos and not these ones? 

What I'm saying is that if you want real criticism you have to be your own critic. Be harsh. Don't listen to your mom telling you that you're really good. Ask another photographer for an honest opinion and don't take offense. You asked for it. 

Stay In It?

When we rush something time becomes an obstacle instead of a gift. When I booked and planned our itinerary for Italy I had no clue what I was really getting myself into at all. Italy is foreign to me both because it's overseas and because I had never been there. But traveling is an adventure.

However; when your adventures revolve around photography in a foreign land that you've never had any assimilation with before then you're asking for it. As I wander through my Italy archive I'm constantly looking for new images. I have thousands of images, but I'm still kind of pissed off at myself. I'm pissed because I didn't spend enough time in any one location to really enjoy it photographically. I never do when I plan these excursions. Everything to me is a day trip. If I like it I'll make it back. 

But Italy is a bit different. It's over 13 hours away on a plane and it cost mucho euros to get to by plane, train, and automobile. I have regrets. One of them is that I didn't really connect with the Tuscany region as much as I thought I would have when I booked it. I really thought these rolling hills and vineyards would be stunning. But, I didn't have enough time to explore the area. And for that I'm sorry. But, now I know that since this beautiful little city of Montalcino (which I didn't actually take any photos of because I was so hungry) haunts me in my dreams that I'll have to go back eventually. 

Maybe I didn't need to take photos of the little city we wandered through because I remember how I felt and how it felt to walk through this age old town. It reminds me of the scene in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" where Walter asks Sean O'Connell when he's going to take the shot and O'Connell replies, "Sometimes I don't. If I like a moment, for me, personally, I don't like to have the distraction of the camera. I just want to stay in it." 

The few images I did capture were along the walls of Montalcino. Montalcino is the town that haunts me. 

The Narrows in Venezia

Lately I have been watching a new show on Netflix. As I began watching the pilot episode I had little to no enthusiasm starting a new show, but I kept an open mind during this holiday season because all my shows are on hiatus. The show on Netflix, Marco Polo, grabbed my attention after the first episode and I've been binge watching since I have found it. Marco, most famous for his travels of Marco Polo, is often said to have been a merchant adventurer from Venice who traded on the silk road. The reason I talk of Marco Polo is because I have recently visited Venice.

Those first real steps without my luggage as we blindly walked through the alleys and canals made me feel as if I were someone like Marco Polo. I'm aware that many of people have been to Venice, but to me it was exotic. It was the first real exotic city I had ever been to in my life that had any historic importance outside of the United States. While I didn't discover or become the first to accomplish any feats while in Venice I still felt like I was Indiana Jones or Marco Polo. 

With near or over 7 billion people on Earth it is really hard to be the first person to discover anything new and exotic. It's hard to be the first person from any culture to visit with another culture for the first time in this age because we're so open and aware of one another that it seems that there is no more adventure anymore, but I say there is adventure still to be found. Just because you weren't the first person or even the first person you know to travel somewhere new doesn't mean it doesn't hold journey to your life experiences. 

I never had any ambition to ever visit Italy, or Venice for that matter. Now that I have I feel different because of my experience. I feel as if the world is still filled with new meaning for my adventurer's heart and for that I am grateful.

Bobby Q's!

Being part of the photography community has made me more aware of other trades and arts. Particularly the culinary arts as of recent. My good friend, Jeff, and his buddies run a pop-up restaurant called Bobby Q's that runs on the north side of Chicago every few months or so. They specialize in smoked meats like pulled pork and beef brisket. I'm more of a pulled pork kind of guy and I'm not just saying this shit because Jeff makes the pork and I'm his friend, but it is hands down the best smoked pork I've had. EVER. Get there early as the meat goes quickly. Seriously the last time they sold out. Smoked goodness! 

The pop-up will be at 2124 W. Lawrence Avenue Chicago, Illinois. They will be occupying the space at Borelli's Pizza. 

  

Attitudes Behind the Lens

I recently read an article online (I know, oh wow!) that had me thinking about my attitude towards photography, editing, and life in general behind the lens. It wasn’t meant to be an article on attitudes, but it transformed into that kind of mentality by the time I had finished reading and analyzing it for myself. Why do we write these articles when everyone writes the same articles? Which got me thinking because I’ve often wondered the same thing. Do I really have to explain aperture and exposure again?

But it struck me half way into a whiskey neat that this way of thinking is destructive to your creative process. If I were to take a photograph of the Sears Tower and share with everyone wouldn’t that be the same as writing an article that everyone has written? Yes, I agree that most articles are just recycled topics that are transformed with new words, but sometimes these articles evolve. As a photographer who often shoots the same buildings, landscapes, and people as other photographers the idea becomes topic of composition. How can I frame it differently than those before me so that others aspire to create the same composition as I? And if that becomes exceedingly difficult to do than how can I take the same composition and make it better?

I had a conversation with a non-photographer about writing blogs, journals, or what-have-yous and their mentality was almost the same as this article that I had read. So many duplicate articles float around on the internet with each article more trimmed than the next one as if the human brain loses interest after a few sentences. The idea behind putting words into photography is to help those suffering from photo block or to give way to a new idea or series. It’s to help someone who is looking for an answer.

With each post I write I try to tell a story, give instruction, or offer a thought that I may be struggling with or want opinions on myself. I want you to have read my article and leave with a new train of thought, or at the very least question your attitude towards the topic of discussion. After all; an open mind is a creative mind.

Epcot Center

I've hit the archives during this winter photography depression. I went back to 2012 when I was last at Disney World. I went to that part of my archive because I kind of left a bunch of images just waiting to be processed and because I have a potential client looking for Disney images. I remember taking this image because it was around midnight when the park was closing to those of us who were staying in park-owned resorts. Jacob, my wife's godson, fell asleep and we were just walking around Epcot taking photographs and eating. 

The entire night I used my Gorillapod as my tripod since I was lazy and didn't feel like hauling my tripod around with us. If you were to ask me which Disney park is my favorite I'd tell you Epcot Center. Spaceship Earth (pictured below), food from all over the world, and plenty of drink choices as well (especially during the food and wine festival), and last of all because when I was knee high to a duck my parents would take us here every year and we'd watch the fireworks and lightshow aka IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth. 

Out of Chicago: Summer Conference Sign-Up

Early-early bird sign-up has begun over at Out of Chicago for the 2015 Summer Conference. For those of you who follow me you know I presented last year at the 1st Out Of Chicago: Summer Conference. I will, again, be presenting at this years conference as well. This year I will be presenting on Dynamic Processing. This class will be held on two days and will cover post-processing techniques, tricks, and useful tips in getting more pop out of your landscape and cityscape images without dulling or over-cooking them. 

There will be plenty of other photographers presenting this year as well that you should definitely check out. But of course, you want to hear me speak profanities and fail at using my Mac in front of a large crowd of people. I'm not going to name all the other photographers, but I will post a link to the instructors list and from there you can see what they're presenting and where they're leading their photowalk. 

It will be held at the end of June on the 26th through the 28th at the University Center in downtown Chicago, Illinois. It would be a pleasure to meet you, see you again, or curse at the lack of color in the sky together during my photowalk this year. So sign up now and save yourself some dough with the early-early bird sign-up. 

Chris Smith (Out of Chicago Founder) has really outdone himself this year if I say so myself.

Here are the links to sign-up: SIGN UP HERE!

My Instructor page: BRIAN KOPROWSKI!