October 2018 – LJSteele Photography

Evolution of …me.

August 3, 2021October 25, 2018 by Lynley J Steele

Ya know it’s funny how ‘we’ evolve. Not in the hominid sense, but in the evolution of what we see and experience as photographers.

I relate it to my evolution as a wine buff…taking my Introductory Sommelier then realizing “yeah I’m good right here…” I’m not going to be working in the ‘industry’ … or maybe…?”

I first saw photography or rather photographer evolution in this brilliant chap I met one fine winter day, while out freezing our butts off at an ice-climbing festival. So I blame him for me thinking about the ‘me’ evolution in photography.

Ace is a low-key, down-to-earth, talented, well-known, National Geographic Photographer, someone I felt a connection…probably with more than a bit of awe [grin] thrown in. I gave him my pounamu, as a thank you, because in New Zealand the pounamu is considered a sacred gift, and that is what I felt he gave me when he shared his photography tips and more importantly, his photography story.

He talked about how he moved through the various themes of photography…adventure sports then through other themes to finally his travel portraits.

It got me thinking about where I was with my photography… I’m still thinking about it…am I a landscape photographer? Not an underwater photo hound. Oh what about wildlife (I’m surrounded by it in Alaska) or maybe I am a travel photographer, as most of mine are taken as I travel..but I really love the impromptu portraits I have taken…

Whitianga, New Zealand

Musician at Shidner Fest, McCarthy, AK, USA

‘Saltie’ crocodile in Kakadu National Park, Australia

So I realized I still have not idea ‘What’ I want to focus on…then I realize as I look through some of my pics “ya know it’s ok”…I don’t need to be known for any one theme, I can just enjoy My evolution… wherever it will take me.

There’s something about black and white…

October 21, 2018 by Lynley J Steele

There is something stoic and passionate, raw yet peaceful about black and white photos.

Whether it is the layers of gray or the contrast between shapes and lines that appear so defined compared to color photos, or perhaps it’s that the lack of color, it is not there to distract the eye from other facets of the photo we may not perceive. Some think of it at an art form that takes away the distracting colors and lets the foundational portions of the photo (shape, form, lighting, texture) come to the forefront. Sometimes it’s the grainy image that brings my mind back to the beginnings of photography and its dense textures.

Traditional black and white photograpy was monochromatic, where there was different amount of light but not different hues. Where the photograph contains variations of one color. This was the only way there was back then before 1936 and the invention of color in photography. Exploration of the variety of black and white styles gives a different meaning of color, sepia (warm tones), cyan (cool tones)…just to name a few .

Today, black and white photography can be done the more traditional way and shoot in monochrome (most cameras, have this setting) or you can shoot in color and choose black and white in post-processing.

Black and white portaits let the focus be on the face and eyes instead of the colors that are there. It lets the smaller things, like freckles, show more than they may have in color format.

While not every photo you take will look better in black and white, many themes can look stunning in black and white. No matter what theme, it comes down to composition, mood, and personal perference. Landscape and looking for active skies or capturing architectural texture of the buildings, or travel photography to seal that moment in time in grayscale or sports shots.. all can thrive in black and white styles as their shape, form, textures and tones emerge to show us their full potential.