Photographic Quote of the Day - Galen Rowell

At the heart of all photography is an urge to express our deepest personal feelings - to reveal our inner, hidden selves, to unlock the artist. Those of us who become photographers are never satisfied with just looking at someone else's expression of something that is dear to us. We must produce our own images, instead of buying postcards and photo books. We seek to make our own statements of individuality.

- Galen Rowell, Mountain Light : In Search of the Dynamic Landscape by Galen Rowell

Photographer Extraordinaire - Yousuf Karsh

It should be the aim of every photographer to make a single exposure that shows everything about the subject. I have been told that my portrait of Churchill is an example of this.

- Yousuf Karsh

Festival Karsh

Karsh Estate

Photographic Quote of the Day - Steve McCurry

For those who were desperate, my camera became an object of hope (...)Throughout my year-long coverage of the monsoon world, my strongest conviction was that I was involved in the fundamentals of life.

- Steve McCurry

Words of Ayn Rand

I don't build in order to have clients. I have clients in order to build. 

- Howard Roark in "The Fountainhead", by Ayn Rand

Thus Spake Henri Cartier-Bresson

The simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as the precise organization of forms which gives that event its proper expression... . In photography, the smallest thing can be a great subject. The little human detail can become a leitmotif.


- Henri Cartier-Bresson

Photo Play - Kiting Fun

Play -- the spontaneous indulgence in seeming range-of-the-moment frivolity -- is really important in our lives, and even so in photography. Play allows us to recharge our creative energies, and in the midst of engaging in play, some interesting and unexpected results can also surface.

A gentle yet persistent breeze in the late afternoon awoke the sleeping kites, and soon, they were all yearning to fly free and high.

Kite in hand and my Tokina 11-16mm ultra-wide angle lens (attached to my Nikon D90, of course) in another, we took off to the Sengkang field to soar, and to play.

The Symphony of the Skies in D Minor.

Shoot it wide, shoot it tall. Oblique lines are nice.

  

How much freedom do we give to one raring to break free of the constraints?

Conflict! Play nice... the sky's big enough for everyone.

A respite from the exertion. So much sky to cover, so little string.

And here we go again.

Alas, all good things have to come to an end. 

Finale.

Ansel Adams Speaks

A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed. 

- Ansel Adams

First Quarter Moon

A new moon, even so tentative, even so shy.

 

Non-Photographic Quote of the Day - Warren Buffett

You do things when the opportunities come along. I've had periods in my life when I've had a bundle of ideas come along, and I've had long dry spells. If I get an idea next week, I'll do something. If not, I won't do a damn thing. 


- Warren Buffett

Non-Photographic Quote of the Day - Ayn Rand

So you think that money is the root of all evil. Have you ever asked what is the root of all money?

- Francisco D'Anconia, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Photographic Quote of the Day - Ken Rockwell

The camera's only job is to get out of the way of making photographs. 


- Ken Rockwell

Photographic Quote of the Day - Galen Rowell

You only get one sunrise and one sunset a day, and you only get so many days on the planet. A good photographer does the math and doesn't waste either.

- Galen Rowell

Free Desktop Wallpaper, Nov 09 - Chiaroscuro Lunar Edition

Here's a treat for all those astrophotography aficionados out there:

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Photographic Quote of the Day - Steve McCurry

What is important to my work is the individual picture. I photograph stories on assignment, and of course they have to be put together coherently. But what matters most is that each picture stands on its own, with its own place and feeling.

- Steve McCurry

Chiaroscuro - Precious Moments Edition

Especially for the Precious Moments figurines lovers ...! More here.

Photographic Quote of the Day - Ansel Adams

A photograph is not an accident—it is a concept. It exists at, or before, the moment of exposure of the negative.

- Ansel Adams

Photographic Quote of the Day - Aristotle

You should never think without an image.

- Aristotle

Non-Photographic Quote of the Day - Ayn Rand

Contradictions do not exist. Whenever you think you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong.


- Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand Author page on Amazon

Non-Photographic Quote of the Day - Warren Buffett

In some corner of the world they are probably still holding regular meetings of the Flat Earth Society. We derive no comfort because important people, vocal people, or great numbers of people agree with us. Nor do we derive comfort if they don't

- Warren Buffett, in "Buffett - The Making of an American Capitalist" by Roger Lowenstein

Chiaroscuro - Household Edition

Galen Rowell exhorted us to chase the light in photography.

Here are two examples which I hope I have managed to accomplish that, in my household.

Morning light through bedroom curtains. I thought the colors and textures of the fabric were nicely brought out

Graduated patch of light on bathroom tiles. Source of illumination was a side window.

Photographic Quote of the Day - Galen Rowell

I almost never set out to photograph a landscape, nor do I think of my camera as a means of recording a mountain or an animal unless I absolutely need a 'record shot'. My first thought is always of light.

- Galen Rowell

Photographic Quote of the Day - Ansel Adams

You don't take a photograph, you make it.

- Ansel Adams

Free Desktop Wallpaper, Nov & Dec 09 - Lady Redux

Visits to the previously published portraits (see here and here) of the CKC spaniel, Lady, have been quite popular on the site, so I thought I'd release another in the form of a desktop wallpaper calendar for the months of November and December.

Enjoy!

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(Non-Photographic) Quote of the Day - Leonard Peikoff

To save the world is the simplest thing in the world. All one has to do is think.

- Leonard Peikoff

Photographic Quote of the Day - Steve McCurry

Most of my photos are grounded in people, I look for the unguarded moment, the essential soul peeking out, experience etched on a person’s face.

- Steve McCurry

Chiaroscuro - Lunar Edition

The moon tonight accorded the possibility of a different kind of chiaroscuro, a lunar light-dark image.

Needless to say, I am very pleased with the image, especially with the details on the lunar surface, craters and all.

Curious readers will find Google Moon a great resource of information on the various craters.

In my previous post on the moon, I had some queries as to the equipment that I used to capture such images. I used the Kenko / Teleplus 2.0X teleconverter to extend the focal length of my Nikon 18-200mm lens to twice of its maximum range to 400mm. The entire setup was of course placed on a tripod.

(Non-Photographic) Quote of the Day - Ayn Rand

I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine. 


- John Galt, in "Atlas Shrugged", written by Ayn Rand

Organic Coffee Review: Machu Picchu (Peru)

Check out my organic coffee review at my product photography site, The Benevolent Universe.

(Non-Photographic) Quote of the Day - Ralph Waldo Emerson

It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.

- Series I. Self-Reliance

Free Desktop Wallpaper, Nov 09 - Langkawi, Malaysia

Just for those nature landscape lovers, a sunrise shot taken from the beach front of the Sheraton Langkawi Beach Resort, located on the island of Langkawi, Malaysia.

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Chiaroscuro Blog List

The Chiaroscuro Blog List is just a sample of the photographic websites and blogs I regularly visit to gain inspiration. Check it out on the right! I'll periodically add to it.

Steve McCurry on Portraiture

Steve McCurry has a great post on portraiture. Check it out!

Free Desktop Wallpaper, Oct 09 - Lady

For all the canine lovers out there, here's the freebie of the month - a desktop wallpaper calendar of Lady, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel belonging to a close friend.

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Mad Cows Attack!

Moove Media, the outdoor advertising agency, decided to launch a "cow invasion" on a grass patch outside Compass Point in Sengkang.


They were docile for the most part, only wanting to be left alone. A few were nice enough to pose for me ...

Chiaroscuro - Mid-Autumn Edition

The once-a-year Mid-Autumn Festival at Sengkang River Park turned out these lovely photos. Lanterns and light - chiaroscuro at its best.

Mid-Autumn Sparkles