Emerald Isle Photography Workshop
Folks have been asking me for a while now about offering some photography classes and training sessions. I have always wanted to do something along those lines. Although I’m very flattered that people want to learn from me, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t intimidating. Luckily, in talking with my friend and fellow photographer Brad Styron I learned that he was looking to do the same kind of thing. So we joined forces and co-hosted a beach photography workshop on Emerald Isle. It turned out being a great success and with six attendees and two instructors, everyone got a lot of one-on-one attention. We had two classroom sessions broken up by two beach shoots. I didn’t get as many behind the scenes shots as I wanted, but here’s a little collection. Thanks to everyone who came out, it was a lot of fun!
This is the finished version of the shot I quickly went over before we shot the sunset. I thought that the folks attending may like to see how it ended up.
If you didn’t get a chance to come out, there will be more sessions in the very near future. Interested in a workshop in your area? Shoot me an email and we’ll see if we can set one up!
©2012 Zach Frailey
February’s First Eve
Here’s a short video I shot on the night of February 1, 2012. I set out to shoot a timelapse of the sunset, but ended up with a ton of other footage. I put it all together to make a sort of visual narrative. I’m shaking off the video rust, you see, I haven’t done anything since I was in college and even then, I wasn’t shooting with DSLRs as I am now. As anything, it’s a learning process and I like to think each shoot gets a little better!
Shot on the boardwalk behind the North Carolina History Center in New Bern, North Carolina using a Nikon D90, Nikkor 50mm, Nikkor 18-105mm and Rokinon 8mm lenses.
Cliffs of Emerald Isle | Emerald Isle, North Carolina
These ‘cliffs’ actually stand five or six feet high in parts and are a product of beach erosion on Emerald Isle. I have seen a few other local photographers sharing images of the beach’s condition in the past few weeks and thought I should head out and see it for myself. It’s certainly a different look for the beaches of this area!
I headed down the beach for a sunset photo excursion with Brad Styron and spent the better part of an hour canvassing these sand formations with my camera. (This is a the same shoot that my ‘Behind the Scenes’ photo came from.)
The shot: Nikon D90, 8mm Rokinon lens. 1/80 sec., ISO 200, f22. 3 bracketed exposure. With my three exposures, I made a tonemapped file to use for the portion of the sky with the sun. I then masked in the ‘cliffs’ and blue sky of the middle exposure and the foreground sand and water of the lowest exposure. The brightest exposure was discarded.
©2011 Zach Frailey, do not use without permission
4 Things That Every Photo I Take Is Built On
The image pictured below was originally just going to be my typical daily photo post on the blog and on my Facebook page. As I was processing it, however, my mind started to wander (as it so often does when I’m buried in Photoshop). There have been so many tips, tricks and suggestions made to me since I first started shooting, that I forget what they all are. However, I have taken them all to heart to the point that they have all mashed together and been ingrained in my photographic eye. As I started at this photo, I began to pick it apart and break it down into the various tidbits of tips that I’ve picked up over the years. Maybe you know them and use them already, maybe you don’t. Hopefully they can help you the same way that they’ve helped me. (note: every tip pertains to this photo and every photo I shoot!)
1. Be different. Be unique.
Today, we see so many photos. They’re all over Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, Google+ and so on. I think it’s easy for photographers, especially newcomers, to get caught up in trying to be ‘better.’ I don’t think ‘better’ is what you should shoot for. Instead, be ‘different.’ So many people are doing the same exact things, trying to do those same exact things better than the rest. Why not create your own style? We all see the world in different ways, reflect that through your lens.
My photography professor at Indiana University of Pennsylvania would always say something like this. He’d critique students’ work and would say something like ‘that’s a great shot, technically phenomenal, great lighting, but it’s just a beach.’ I used to think he was nuts. At the time, the photos he was saying that about, in my mind, were fantastic. But, that’s because we were chasing grades. To me, that shot was ‘A’ work, not art. As I’ve grown and became more of an ‘artist,’ I look back on his choice of words fondly because he was exactly right. Anyone can shoot a picture of a beach or a flower or a car or a sunset. Everyone who visits Cape Lookout shoots a photo of the lighthouse. Everyone who goes to the beach is going to take a photo of the sun setting over the water. The key is to somehow make your shot different. That’s where the artistic side takes over. You’re at the location at the right time and place, now make something unique.
2. Perspective, POV.
Change your perspective. Everyone takes a photo standing up. Sometimes all it takes is dropping down on one knee to create a completely different feel. Also, think about a different point of view. Shoot through something to frame your subject, place your camera at the level of your feet to create a sense of scale and bring depth and detail to the immediate foreground. The possibilities are pretty endless. To use the above photo as an example, don’t be afraid to go the extra mile to get something different. I could have stayed up on the beach and gotten a typical sunset. Instead, I kicked of my shoes, rolled my pants up and went into the water with my tripod. I may have gotten a little wet and cold, but in the end that’s just all part of the adventure of photography. Don’t be afraid to step off of the beaten path and into the tall grass. It’s fun!
3. Simple is good.
I read an article by Chase Jarvis that said, “almost every photo that is bad has too much information. Outside of technical basics, the number one reason that most photos fail is because there is no clear subject. Remove clutter, remove distraction. Tell one story, tell it well.” That has stuck with me and really helped mold my more recent work. I don’t think there is much more elaboration that I can add over what Chase said. Just keep it simple.
4. Patience
And finally, patience. I spend a lot of time sitting there, camera set up, remote in hand…waiting. I don’t want to snap off any random shot. In my mind’s eye I know what I’m looking for and I have to wait and see if the clouds move where I need them to. There is no worse feeling than shooting something then packing up and leaving only to look in your rear view mirror to see the scene has transformed into something completely different and amazing. Simply put, you must be patient.
I’d love to hear your feedback, let me know what you thought!- Facebook | Twitter | Flickr | 500px | Google+
©2012 Zach Frailey, all rights reserved
‘Surf City Sunset’ | Surf City, North Carolina
This cloudy sunset was shot with the new 8mm lens (which if you haven’t picked up on yet, I love). The lens really makes the Surf City Pier elongate and appear to just fade off into the horizon. I think the real star of this shot though are the linear components. I love how the contrails in the sky almost perfectly run parallel with the pier and both they and the pier seem to disappear at the same point.
Also, I haven’t said much about it, but I’m currently (like, quite literally right now) working on my book, ‘Sky Chasing, vol. 1’ This image is going to be the cover! I really hope to have it finished within the next day or two. I’ll keep everyone posted though. Thanks for all the support and patience.
The shot: Nikon D90, Rokinon 8mm lens, tripod held and remote fired. 3 exposures, tonemapped in Photomatix and manually masked back with the 3 original exposures. Finished with Nik Viveza and a slight Glamour Glow filter in Nik Color Efex Pro.
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