Category Archives: photography techniques
Becoming a Fine Art Photographer
It is great being a photographer. It is great to be a wedding photographer. But being a fine art wedding photographer really takes things to a whole different level for me. I have always loved photography, especially documentary style. I was fascinated by photojournalists from an early age and lulled into the mystique of the National Geographic photographer. I wanted to travel the world and photograph all types of people and culture. This was my initial drive and what originally led me down the photography road. When I went to graduate school, I was at a point where I wanted to continue making documentary photography projects, but by that time I was becoming more and more interested in the fine art aspect of the photography world. I noticed that there was a nostalgia and a romanticism that was creeping into my documentary projects. I was no longer satisfied with the ‘straight’, classic documentary photography that I was producing. For a long time Sebastaio Salgado was my lone photo hero. You can read more about that in my post ‘10 Easy Ways to Improve Your Photos (Part 2).’ To this day I am still heavily influenced by him and his use of light and his brilliant black and white images. But my hero list has expanded and now I follow more styles than people.
Just prior to entering graduate school I took a few photography workshops. One of them was at Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass, Colorado. The workshop was on documentary photography and it was with Sylvia Plachy. If you are not familiar with her wonderful work you need to look at it. The first day of the class she asked us to bring in prints to display and then the class would review them. I brought in some very classic, Salgado-like work from Mexico. The class and Sylvia liked it, but she could see that I was not satisfied, that something was bothering me. The beauty of Anderson Ranch is that you spend all day with your classmates; class, darkroom, meals, lounging time. And the instructors are around and available most of the time. So after class, later that night, I had a chance to talk with Sylvia one-on-one. I told her that I felt torn. My mind was telling me to stay with regular documentary work. I wanted a magazine job, a career with National Geographic. But I was feeling that romantic, fine art component creeping into my work more and more. I thought that she was going to be very strict and make me stick with the safe road of photojournalism. But much to my surprise she told me to do whatever I wanted to do. This surprised me at first, but then it really made sense. Someone who I knew and highly respected just told me to follow my passion and to follow my creativity. It was so simple, but I just needed that outside push to make it sink in.
That week long workshop literally changed my life. I left and began graduate school where all I did was let my creativity flow with no regard for what I should be photographing or not. The more I let go the more my true style came through. I wrote more about this in my post ‘Finding Your Own Artistic Style.’ When I began my wedding photography business my first impression was to photograph what clients wanted, to be safe and do what everyone else was doing. But I soon found that creative, free side creeping in. And that is when I decided to follow my passion to create fine art wedding photography.
Following my creativity is one of the reasons why my blog posts are so varied. I don’t want to just show lots of images from weddings. I am more than that. I want to explore photography subjects and review my art projects, and anything else that comes to mind. We all need to follow our passions. If you are trapped in something else, well now is the time to do what you want to do. Sylvia told it to me, now I am telling it to you.
Gary Miller
Houston Fine Art Wedding Photographer
Eye Candy and Brain Veggies
Why You Want Simplicity in Photographs
minimalism at white sands national monument in new mexico
I have written previously about the idea of minimalism in a photograph. You can read more about that in ‘Photography Movement – Minimalism.’ A brief review is that minimalism is a composition with a great deal of negative space, or open space, where the items that are missing are just as important as the items that are present. It is the concept that ‘less is more.’ Many beginning and seasoned photographers make the mistake of trying to put too many elements into an image and in the process they loose their focus. This is not a pun. I think that the wording is important. When a viewer is confronted with many elements in a photograph they can become confused about what they should be looking at first. You do not want to confuse the viewer, unless you have produced some fine art piece with that type of psychological component. For the most part I recommend keeping your compositions simple. For some advice on improving your composition you should read ‘Good Composition in Photography‘ and ‘Photographic Composition With Jim Zuckerman.’ Both articles are filled with useful information that will make you think differently about how you compose an image.
For me, composition is a vital component of a good photograph. Not that every good photography needs to have good composition, but I believe that it is vital in most situations. I have mentioned before that I have a great deal of formalism in my style. So I am very concerned with the shape of objects and how they fit together visually to create aesthetically pleasing compositions. A strong aspect of the formalistic view of art is simplicity. For me there is a difference between minimalism and simplicity, but the two often cross over. Many simple photographs are also minimalistic ones. Simple photographs are not cluttered with distracting information. Every part of the frame is used efficiently. In photography there are several ways to simplify an image. The obvious one is to put less things in your frame. The photograph above from White Sands National Monument in Alamogordo, New Mexico is a good example of this method. Another way to simplify your image and direct the viewer’s attention is through the efficient use of depth of field. When your main subject is the thing that is in focus, and the background is out of focus, you are telling your viewer what to look at, what is important. So if I am taking a portrait of a bride at a wedding, I want to place her away from busy backgrounds that will distract and then I want to use a wide aperture to blur the background and to really draw attention to my subject. Simplicity can also be obtained by limiting the colors in your image. This can mean more of a monochromatic palette or moving into black and white. If you are interested in learning more about black and white photography see my posts ‘Ode to Black and White Photography‘ , and ‘The Allure of Black and White Photography.’
There are other ways to simplify your images. Just keep that old adage in mind of K.I.S.S., keep it simple stupid. Start taking things out of your photographs and see how they can become better.
Gary Miller
Houston Fine Art Wedding Photographer
Eye Candy and Brain Veggies
Also posted in digital photogarphy, fine art photography, philosophy, photography
Tagged composition, fine art, fine art photography, minimalism, New Mexico, simplicity, White Sands National Monument
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Solving Problems in Photography
bride and groom wedding portrait during their wedding reception
One of the keys to being a good photographer is to be a problem solver. I spoke about problem solving in my recent post, ‘Problem Solving and Leadership.’ That post spoke about the general idea of problem solving and how important it is in any field, not just in photography. Every day we are faced with various situations that need a solution. Some need a solution quicker than others, but the ability to identify a problem and then to come up with a solution and implement it are valued traits.
I was photographing a wedding for Kristi and Justin in Houston. You can read more details and see more images in my post ‘Kristi and Justin’s Wedding.’ Sometime between the wedding ceremony and the reception my photography partner, Erica Moncada, and I were taking formal portraits of the two families and guests. I am not a big fan of the ordinary, posed type of formal portraits. I admire them when they are done well, but they just do not fit into my fine art, photojournalistic style. I want to record the people at the wedding in a more editorial, photojournalistic way. Editorial photography is pretty much the style of magazine work. The editorial style, which is a branch off of the photojournalism style tree, is more casual. People are less posed and more interactive. It is a looser style and one that I, and my clients prefer. So I was thinking about ways to photograph the bride and groom that would break away from the ordinary. That was my problem. The couple wanted to be photographed outside. We tried one location behind the Houston Heights Fire Station, but it was either too sunny or too shady. I suggested that we go across the street where there were some run down stores and this beautiful old weathered home front. The light was much better over there. One problem solved. Then I saw the house and thought that it would be a cool idea to pose the couple in front of it to create a movie poster style photograph. Second problem solved. And everyone was very pleased with the results. There was a bit of post-production work to change the color palette to what I liked, but the result is a nice fine art style image that is not too posed. Yes they are all looking at the camera, but it is a looser style, a compromise between static, stiff, boring posed images, and candid photographs. In the end I solved a few problems and produced an image that everyone was happy about.
It is important to find your style and then to find ways to stay within it. Problems will arise but with practice you will be able to conquer them all. Thanks again to my friend Erica for her help and great photography at this wedding.
Gary Miller
Houston Fine Art Wedding Photographer
Eye Candy and Brain Veggies
Reading is a Great Teacher in Photography
and old book provides new knowledge
I have been teaching photography for over eleven years. In that time my students have taught me a great deal. I have been on the front line of the switch from film-based to digital photography. Two of the jobs that I had involved either converting a conventional, film and chemical darkroom based program into a digital one, or starting a digital photography program from scratch. I have spoken before about the film versus digital realms in posts like ‘You’re Not Taking Enough Photographs‘ and ‘The Visceral Nature of FIlm.’ So I am familiar with change and I am familiar with technology. It is important to never stop learning and reading books is an integral part of that.
One of the trends that I have noticed in my students over the years is that fewer and fewer of them are reading books. Now it doesn’t matter to me whether it is a printed book or an ebook. Students have become used to getting their information daily via online and smart devices. They are used to 140 character posts on Twitter, or quick text messages, or brief Facebook posts. There is nothing wrong with these methods of communication, but by not reading books, and not reading often enough, people are giving up one of the best learning tools that we have. I have read countless research reports that show book readers are more intelligent. It gives your brain exercise, increases your knowledge base, and is a really economical way to learn. The research also suggested that like nutrition, people should be reading from a variety of sources. Just because you are a photographer does not mean that you should spend your days reading only photography books. By tossing in other subject areas you mix it up and broaden your education. Thomas Jefferson had a personal library of almost 6500 books and he had read each of them. The subject matter for his collection is vast, so vast that after the British burned down the Capitol building 1814 Congress purchased Jefferson’s collection for the Library of Congress. You can read more about this collection and view scans of the books at the Library of Congress site. Many students in my classes try to save money by not buying the test for a class. In most cases this is mistake. Now if a text is not well matched for the course, or not used properly, it can be a waste. But having the text that compliments a class allows a student to reinforce their knowledge.
I, like everyone else, have been guilty of buying books and then not reading them. Even now I have a stockpile of books waiting to be read. I have gone through phases where I do very little reading. But I always feel better if I consistently am reading something new and challenging. And I am talking about reading books, not online forums or postings. I would recommend to everyone that they start getting back in the habit of reading on a regular basis. There are just too many positive benefits to be gained. There is so much knowledge out there just waiting to be ingested. And no, blog reading doesn’t count unfortunately. This is the ‘brain veggies’ part of our slogan.
Gary Miller
Houston Fine Art Wedding Photographer
Eye Candy and Brain Veggies
Also posted in digital photogarphy, fine art photography, philosophy, photography
Tagged book, classroom, digital photography, learning, photography, reading
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The Allure of Black and White Photography
black and white ambrotype photograph
I really love black and white photography. I had a recent post that was my ‘Ode to Black and White Photography.’ For about ten years I was exclusively a black and white fine art photography, shooting primarily film. Some of you may actually remember film. There are definitely things that I miss about using it. I have nothing against digital, but the hands on nature of film really added another quality to the work. I felt more connected to the piece since I exposed the film, processed it, made contact sheets, and then made fine art black and white prints. I talk about this more in my post ‘The Visceral Nature of Film.’ Many of my students are interested in black and white photography. About a year ago I noticed that several of them were handing in black and white images for some assignments. But the conversions were weak and the images did not really fully exploit the abstract and graphic nature of the medium. So I created an elective class for them, ‘Black and White Digital Photography.’ Those that take this class really show improvement in their work very quickly once they learn to see in a monochromatic way.
When the digital age roared in many of the software and printing manufacturers went after the commercial and consumer photography markets. For many of the last 12 years making good black and white images on the computer or creating a nice, fine art digital black and white print, was very difficult and disappointing. It was so disappointing that I abandoned black and white all together when I was using my digital SLR. In an ironic twist, as I was entering the digital SLR realm, working more with Photoshop and other software, and using the digital media to its’ fullest, I began to become very interested in the historical, or alternative processes. I was especially enamored by platinum printing and I spent several years perfecting the artform. It was laborious, but there was something magical about all of the time and effort and handwork that you had to invest to get a stunning print in the end. I still believe that nothing can match the sublime beauty and tonal subtly of a fine platinum print. There are inkjet prints that look like it and press printed pieces too, but nothing has that texture, that feel. If you have never seen a platinum print up close and personal then I recommend you search around at your local galleries and museums. You will see what I mean.
Now digital and printing technology have caught up and you can produce really nice black and white images. There are printers that contain gray inks or you can buy special ink sets that help create the subtle tonality of a fine black and white photographic print. There are many great fine art papers on the market. Photoshop has a good black and white adjustment layer built in and there are several vendors producing plug ins and stand alone programs for converting color images to black and white. One of the best that I have found is Nik Software’s Silver Efex Pro 2. It is a stunning piece of software. Nik Software makes some of my favorite plug ins and I am not a plug in type of guy.
So if you are interested in making black and white photographic images, good images, the technology exists to do so. But I encourage you to learn the medium. Too many people are just taking the color out of their images. That usually does not produce a true monochromatic image. It is important to utilize previsualization to get the best results. You can read ‘Do You See What I See?‘ to find out more about that concept. I have begun using black and white imagery more and more in my wedding photography business. It really fits my fine art, photojournalistic style, and there is a timeless nature about that you cannot beat.
Gary Miller
Houston Fine Art Wedding Photographer
Eye Candy and Brain Veggies
You’re Not Taking Enough Photographs
collage of wall photographs
There has been an ongoing debate in photography for a long time now. It centers around how many images someone should capture. Now some people argue that if you know what you are doing you can take very few images and get it right. Others argue that you need to take loads of images to cover yourself. Well I think that both extreme approaches have their flaws. If you take too few photographs you run the risk of not really covering an event or portrait session. Whenever people are involved in a photograph you run the risk of shut eyes, wide open mouths, weird expressions, or just plain disaster. Even though it may have looked fine to you through the viewfinder when you pressed the shutter button, because of the lag between your brain, finger, and camera, you may not have captured the moment that you thought you did. You can read more about this in my post ‘Capturing Moments, That’s Our Job as Photographers.’ On the other end of the scale are the ‘spray and pray’ group. These are people who are taking way too many images because they lack confidence or they just plain lack technique. You do not want to be one of these lame photographers. These are the people who just take loads of images hoping that a few of them will be good. At events this can get annoying to the guests as you are constantly sticking a camera in their face or have that crazy flash going off every second like it was some Hollywood red carpet premiere.
Being a wedding photographer, and dealing mostly in a photojournalistic style, I need to cover certain key aspects of the ceremony and reception. I have to have coverage and I cannot be afraid to take a bunch of frames. I am also custom designing the wedding albums for my clients, so I need extra images to use in the design. These extras can be used as accent images or as parts of backgrounds. By being involved in the album design process I can better appreciate the need for these ‘extra’ shots. Since I am not posing people much I need to have more coverage because of the human face expression problems that I mentioned before. If I were a portrait photographer in the studio, or doing more formal portraits at the wedding, then I would not expose as many frames as I do now. In highly controlled situations you can photograph less. In fact, if you have done your homework, set up your lighting properly, and metered it, you should be able to get a good image in a few tries. When I used to be a commercial location photographer I took many environmental type portraits. Lots of these were with CEOs and they rarely gave you more then a few minutes to work. These types of situations taught me the value of being prepared, setting up way ahead of time, testing your lighting with a stand-in, and making sure that all of your equipment was functioning properly. That way when the CEO or celebrity walks in you are in control and look very professional. You place the subject and take your photographs. The whole photographing process may take a few minutes.
In the film days there was much more incentive to photograph less because it cost you money every time you pushed the shutter. Now, in the digital age, taking more images does not have that financial burden. Negating the two extremes that I mentioned above, I still think that the average photographer that I see, and most of my photography students, are not taking enough images. This goes to the end of coverage, but more so, it leads to a lack of practice. So the more images that you take with skill, the more you will learn, and the more familiar you become with situations. This is a great way of developing your photographic intuition which I talked about in my recent post, ‘Developing Your Photography Intuition.’ Everyone will have to find their own comfort level, but don’t let the post-processing component slow you down.
Gary Miller
Houston Fine Art Wedding Photographer
Eye Candy and Brain Veggies
Developing Your Photography Intuition
develop your intuition my dear watson
Documentary photography has long been an interest of mine. I did not start out being interested in this area but somewhere along the line I fell into it and I am happy that I did. I was teaching myself photography, slowly I might add, and for the first years of my development I was more of a landscape type photographer. I think that many people fall into this path. I liked to travel. I liked to hike. I had a camera. So it became a natural progression that I would travel, hike, and take photographs. In fact, photography became a good excuse to travel. Most of my work was not in the Ansel Adams traditional landscape style. It was more about detail, abstract, nature. Somewhere along the line I discovered the work of Sebastaio Salgado, the brillant documentary photographer from Brazil. And my photography life, and regular life, was changed. I was moved by the sublime use of light in his images. I loved the raw emotion that he captured in his subjects. I was entangled by the exotic places that he visited. I have mentioned him before in my posts ‘Why We Photograph‘ and ‘10 Easy Ways to Improve Your Photos (Part 2).’ So you can see how important and influential another photographer can be on you and that is why I always tell me students to have a photo hero.
In the wedding photography business I mix in my documentary, photojournalism style with my fine art background. Bake for 30 mins at 350 degrees and you have a delicious treat. I have been asked many times about my images and how I was able to capture that perfect moment, or what Henri Cartier-Bresson called ‘the decisive moment.’ A great deal of it is being able to predict what is going to happen, when, and where. Some may think that this is blind luck. It is more like intuition and the only way that I know how to develop it is through continued practice. It is like a chess master memorizing the moves from classic games and then using the right move in their own games. It is intuition, but it is more about putting in the time to really master your craft. Life is somewhat predictable. If I find an interesting location I know that sooner or later someone interesting is going to come by. As you practice this skill of photography more and more you really do get to the point where you feel like you can predict the future. It is hard to explain, but there are many times that I know exactly where to stand and where to look to capture that great moment in time. I guess that is a form of intuition. One of the definitions of intuition is “…a keen and quick insight.” There is nothing magical about that.
So if you want to develop the seemingly impossible skill of intuition know your game really well. Practice over and over and suddenly situations will not look so unfamiliar. There is really no other way that I can explain it. You must become aware. Once again you must see.
Gary Miller
Houston Fine Art Wedding Photographer
Eye Candy and Brain Veggies
What Does the Future Hold for Photography?
what does the future hold for photography?
People are always trying to predict the future. Now this can be to make money, like in the stock market or predicting the winner of a sporting event,on in the field of business, to better prepare. But being able to predict the future in the business of photography will definitely help you prepare for changes and better position yourself in the future. No one knows what will happen. A new technology could emerge tomorrow and photography would embrace it. It always has. The latest technological advancements have always been mixed with the medium of photography. With that caveat, here are my predictions for the future of photography.
1. Video
Unless you have been living under a rock you know that just about every digital camera produced in the past two years has had video capability built in. The Canon 5d Mark II started the trended a few years ago and the look and feel of DSLR videography has taken off. Numerous television shows, movies, events, weddings, and commercials are being shot using these compact, incredible cameras. And the trend is going to continue. While many cinematographers have embraced the new technology, most classic videographers, like you encounter at weddings, have not made the switch. They are going to be left behind. Commercial and consumer photographers will be asked to produce more and more video in the future as the world gets more web-based and more motion-based. Don’t be left behind. Now is the time to learn the skills.
2. Camera speedlites
Those little on-camera flash units have come a long way in the past few years. They used to be clunky beasts, many times referred to as ‘potato mashers’, that blinded many a partygoer and bumped a lot of heads. Well these little babies have come of age. Now they have full TTL (through the lens) metering capability, along with manual controls, IR and radio control, power ratio setting, and power enough to do most jobs. They are starting to replace bulkier studio-type flash units because they are light, portable, and versatile. They have a look, a genre all their own. To learn more about them you should read Joe McNally’s wonderful book, ‘The Hot Shoe Diaries‘ or check out The Strobist website or books. My advice to you is to learn how to use an on-camera flash well. You don’t have to fully convert to using them, but they are going to become more and more of a good solution to many photo problems. And anything that you can do to improve your lighting skills is important.
3. Outsourcing
There was a time, not long ago, in the film days where the photographer, well photographed. We would expose the film, then take it to a lab to be developed. When it came back we would edit it and then send it off to the client, usually a graphic design or advertising agency. And our job was done. Then came the digital era and photographers were expected to take the image, retouch it, make it ready for printing, post it up on a website, etc. Well luck for us outsourcing is back. Now you can affordably send your images out to be edited, retouched, posted on a website, etc. The market is driving this as prices for these services are dropping. This trend will continue.
4. Boutique business
Being a ‘me too’ business is really not going to help to be successful in the future. You can read some more of my thoughts on this in my post ‘Fine Art Wedding Photography.’ You want to build a boutique business and stand out from the crowd. Charge more because you value yourself more and then your clients will value you and your services more. A great resource for all things boutique marketing is the Joy of Marketing website run by Sarah Petty and Erin Verbeck.
I am not some weird futurist. All of these trends are happening around us right now. To be successful in any photography business you just have to go back to the basics that your learned in your Photography 101 class, and that is seeing. Slow down and take a look around you. You will see all of things that I mention slowly creeping into the business mix.
Gary Miller
Houston Fine Art Wedding Photographer
Eye Candy and Brain Veggies
Also posted in digital photogarphy, fine art photography, philosophy, photography
Tagged digital photography, fine art, fine art photography, photography, wedding photography
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Curiosity is a Prized Possession in Photography
children at sesame place, langhorne, pa
When we were children we all had it. We would open up any door or box, search under the couch and behind the bed. We freely explored the world around us and although at times it was a dangerous endeavor, that may have resulted in some minor injuries, we lived on to explore another day. That was pure curiosity. That was the time in all of our lives when we are learning by searching, finding, tasting, seeing, and feeling. This is such an important time for us. Then, somewhere along the way, most people loose their sense of curiosity. One day it is there and then it is gone, beaten out of us by societal norms and rules. We are told what to do, how to sit, how to speak, how to act, and curiosity is not amongst the approved list of activities. Fortunately some people retain their curious nature. I don’t know why, but I am one of those lucky people. I remember when I was a kid I took apart everything in the house that I could get my hands on, and then thankfully I was able to put most of those things back together. I was driven by my need to know how everything worked. That is probably why I gravitated towards photography at an early age. There was probably some camera, my father’s old cameras, that I came across in the basement closet, stacked away in boxes and bags in the back. I remember finding his slides from Europe and sitting around for hours watching them through an old slide projector. One light in the dark led my imagination. It spurned my desire to travel and to photograph. I think that curious child is what led me to begin my amusement park project. You can see images from that in my posts ‘Amusement Park, Ocean City, NJ‘, ‘Amusement Park – Wildwood, NJ‘ and in several others.
My meeting with photography was an innocent one. I never knew that it would grow into my advocation. Over the years I have been a freelance photo assistant, a commercial photographer, and a fine art photographer. I am still all of those things, but now I am a wedding photographer in Houston and an educator. I do both because of my curiosity. I think that is what eventually led me to documentary work. I wanted to explore the world, the people and the cultures. Then my interest became more localized. I wanted to know about the life of the guy behind the counter at the local store. My wedding photography draws heavy on my drive to know more about people and to record their special moments. That is why I prefer the photojournalistic, hands-off, fly-on-the-wall style, over posing people too much. I want to be an observer of life, a recorder for posterity, a conduit for peoples’ memories. Check out my post ‘Photo Shoot – Crowne Plaza River Oaks Hotel, Houston‘ to see some of my wedding photography work.
To this day that same curiosity that I had when I was little drives me on. I think that many people have lost their sense of wonder and awe. I think that now would be a good time for people to find it again, to awaken their inner curious kid and to explore the world on their own terms. No one sees the world in the same way. Now is the time for your vision to be seen and heard.
Gary Miller
Houston Fine Art Wedding Photographer
Eye Candy and Brain Veggies
Also posted in digital photogarphy, fine art photography, philosophy, photography, wedding photography
Tagged amusement park, art, curiosity, digital photography, fine art, fine art photography, wedding photography
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Ode to Black and White Photography
When I began to learn photography it was all about color for me. In fact I looked for images with lots of bold color and then used a slide film that would make them even more saturated. At the time my influences were Ernst Haas and Jay Maisel. You can read more about Haas in my post ‘But You Have to See in Photography.’ I dabbled a little with black and white but that was only when I took a basic darkroom class. I used black and white film and worked in the darkroom just like everyone else did when learning darkroom skills. At the time I did not take it very seriously and it was more of a vehicle to learn basic techniques and then to move on to using the color darkroom.
It wasn’t until I entered graduate school that I found the joys of working in black and white. I am not sure how the transition happened. A few years before I became more and more interested in photojournalism and documentary photography. I began looking at the classic work of the Farm Security Administration (FSA.) This is the group of photographers that did some stunning documentary work around the United States during the depression era. They were originally conceived just as a vehicle to record the state of the country for the Federal government. But the photographers that were hired were some of the best and most artistic of the day. This group included legendary photographers Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, Gordon Parks, and Arthur Rothstein. For me this was the height of photojournalism in America. All of their work is in black and white and it really helped to create the ideal form for me. When I entered graduate school I had already begun using black and white film as part of my documentary work. At the time it was a very pure style and my photo hero was Sebastaio Salgado. You can read more about him in my post ‘Why We Photograph.’ In graduate school I began to pursue more of a fine art direction and then applied it to a documentary photography approach. At that time all I did was black and white. I processed up to 40 rolls of medium format film a week, made countless contact sheets, and many prints. After doing this for the better part of three years I was totally absorbed in the black and white world.
When digital came around I began to experiment with it. I bought my first digital SLR camera in 2000, just as I was finishing up graduate school. At the time I wanted to learn more about digital photography because I knew that it would be the next big thing. But I did not do much black and white work with digital. At the time it was difficult to make a good black and white digital print. Also, converting the color files to monotone was not very good either. It wasn’t until the past few years with advancements in printing technology and computer technology that I have returned to black and white imagery and printing.
You will probably start seeing me post more and more images here in black and white. My dream is that some client will let me produce a complete wedding album in black and white and in a classic photojournalistic style. Fortunately, many people are rediscovering the beauty of this artform.
Gary Miller
Houston Fine Art Wedding Photographer
Eye Candy and Brain Veggies
