Make Pictures - The blog of Clay Enos Photography: October 2008

October 30, 2008

Safe

A few minutes after playing with the apple martini things got more tense across from our restaurant. Apparently someone important had decided to dine in public but being slightly more important than me or my friends, he rolled in with layer upon layer of security. Some plain-clothed, some less-discreet.

I love the guy with the shield. For the first minute or so of his arrival he held it up and looked through the little window. Who says Colombia isn't safe?

I posted a second shot on Flickr so feel free to poke around that stream to see it.

Make pictures, use protection.

Apple Martini in "Zona T"

I'm not sure what motivated me pulling out my G9 but this is the shot that came of it. That camera can focus on just about anything making it a fun little toy.

Combined with a fresh apple martini and the lights of Bogota's Zone T and we had the makings of a stock photo within seconds.

Make pictures.

October 26, 2008

Green Coffee Bags

The light was just right in the warehouse. A large door off to the right of frame was acting as a huge soft-box against the almost iridescent coffee bags. The hints of blue are the sky.

It's a bit of a game of angles to get a shot like this. If I were to be too close the image would be unrecognizable but if I were to be too far, the reflections would disappear. A little back and forth and I found my sweet spot.

I love the way light bounces off stuff. Especially concrete, wood, anything with some texture.

Not much of an entry. I uploaded a bunch of OCC stuff on my Flickr steam and Facebook group.

Make pictures.

October 16, 2008

Agua Dulce Alto Coffee Farmer 2

Here's another one of the same farmer I posted a few days ago. It gives you a more complete sense of his look but I feel like he's a bit stiff. I think because he is.

That stiltedness usually fades pretty fast but early on it's almost always evident. I share this to prove that point.

Make pictures that aren't stiff, stilted, or otherwise.

October 15, 2008

Ol' El Batan

I was taking another look at some of my shots today and this one, which had been catching my eye every time I saw it, finally found its voice. It needed that vintage feel. Something about the composition was evoking a Georgia O'Keeffe/Stieglitz ranch thing.

I gave it a little love in Aperture and finished things off in Photoshop. The man pictured is a farmer and he's in that same great cement structure in which the other two recent black and white images were made. I couldn't get enough of that place.

Make pictures.

October 13, 2008

Something Fleeting Lingers

Agua Dulce Alto, Palanda, Ecuador

Again, sorry about the OCC stuff, I´m recycling images for speed.

This image has been lingering in my head for days now. Its a real success in my opinion. One of those little moments when everything came together. It´s made even more satisfying knowing that dog popped out of frame moments later. Those little red berries are coffee cherries and those too were later removed my the farmer who picked them.

This photo is a sliver of time with a depth of field to match it. Sitting here in Quito I can´t be sure of the apperture. I don´t have the metadata handy. But since I usually have my 80-200 on f4, let´s assume that´s what it was.

The muted palate of beiges and browns allows those cherries to really speak. Even though they are speaking to a rather small audience of coffee folks, I think that audience will appreciate it. At least I hope they do.

Make pictures that linger.

October 12, 2008

Unashamed

El Airo, Ecuador Coffee Farmer

I think one of the biggest hurdles aspiring photographers face is just taking out their camera in the first place. People get shy on both ends of the lens but there's no excuse for the one behind it. I arrived in a remote part of Ecuador along with a coffee roaster from Equator Estate Coffees & Teas in San Francisco. I had a job to do but it'd have been no different if I'd been there on my own. I popped out of the pickup and engaged the awaiting farmers. I am a photographer. That's what we do.

The greatest light I'd seen in a while was bouncing through this cement structure and whoever sat in it was going to be documented if I was around. This guy took the brunt of it and would vacillate between seriousness and laughter. He'd never been shot this many times in such rapid succession that he was at once bemused and amused with all the attention I was giving him.

The point is, just make the pictures. If you are there with good intentions and have made them relatively clear, you should feel no shame or shyness. Your task is to honor your calling to make strong photographs.

(Forgive the OCC stuff. I just upload one of my "postcards" to share instead of keeping it clean. You get the idea).

Make pictures.

October 11, 2008

Coffee Farmer

I had a nice moment shooting a portrait with a white background yesterday. I hadn't brought out my Streetstudio since being down here privileging instead more contextual stuff. I really love the simplicity of the white. It focuses your attention on the person so much more than even the slightest hint of context.

The plastic bag cape/raincoat is what first attracted me to this guy so when it was time to make his portrait, I asked him to put it back on. It's a slight contrivance but then again, this is portraiture, not reportage.

Make pictures.

October 10, 2008

More Photos on Facebook

I started the OCC Facebook group for my coffee company, the Organic Coffee Cartel. I know this may seem like shameless self-promotion but I have reason to bring it up here. I've posted additional quirky photos there. Join it and see.

Make pictures, drink specialty coffee.

Mundane Palanda

I've seen a bunch of these floral decorations in restaurants over the past few days. This was taken this afternoon in Palanda while waiting for my ride back to Vilcabamba. I bought everyone (4 guys) a beer and sat down across from this scene. I pulled my iPhone out at first but later got out the Nikon to do it justice.

I usually shoot these boring shots with the intent of pairing it with another similar or related image. While that still may happen, the iPhone has an aesthetic all it's own. Pairing doesn't seem as critical. We'll see how that pans out over the long-term.

I'll share another floral wonder shortly.

Make pix.

October 09, 2008

Coffee Maker

It's about time I put up a real shot. I took this yesterday somewhere deep in the state of Loja, Ecuador. When we arrived at the destination I was immediately struck by the great faces milling about and the absolutely perfect quality of light that was bouncing around the cement shell of a building being used by the Coffee growers.

Even before the truck had stopped I saw this guy. His worn denim, and equally worn face were visible from 50 yards. When coffee was served, he sat beneath the open-air stairway and drank. I snapped.

I later converted the image to black and white in Lightroom, ever so slightly dodged his face and burned his hands. Otherwise, that's straight-up as I saw it.

Make pictures.

Pickup pix

Sitting in the back of a pickup truck speeding and bouncing over dirt roads is one of the most consistent aspects of the way I travel. Here's a little glimpse at my dirty legs and dusty cameras taken during a brief calm in the action. (The iphone has no shutter speed control so it's tricky getting a shake-free shot).

The reason I pulled out my iphone is because I could see the dust beginning to cover my cameras. I remember that I had every intention of babying my D3 but that idea got thrown out the window in a hurry. My stuff simply takes a licking.

And yuccas give a little cushion, don't they?

Make pix.

October 07, 2008

Loja, Ecuador

I love maps. When our hosts pulled out a massive detailed map of Ecuador and started putting pins in the coffee regions I jumped up and shot the crap out of it. I know it's totally illegible. That's not the point. It's just a cool texture.

Plus, I can't give away my exact position!

Make pictures.

October 04, 2008

Dancers

I hadn't shot any flash photography in a while but last night provided some fodder for my D200 with the ol' SB-800. A dance performance at the all-inclusive resort I'm holed up in had it's moments.

At first the light was working against me. Flash plus stage lights were an ugly combination so I moved to the back of the stage and allowed for the light to wash around the dancers. My flash simply had to fill in the shadows. After a fair bit of shutter adjusting, I found my sweet spot.

Make pictures.

"Keep Out" Bogota Style

How's this for a "Keep Out" Sign? In Bogota some family has decided to take their plea public to avoid further robbery. The sign reads, "For Your Information, you not find nothing of value in this residence. We have been robbed three times at gunpoint."

Make pix.