Paul Lester Photo

Before tweaking
I’ve had Photoshop for a couple of years, I think, and largely, it goes unexplored. Occasionally, I’ll go through a tutorial and am amazed at the breadth and depth of PS. Mostly, I stick with the Layer’s menu and then really only using a small subset of that such as Levels, Curves, Saturation, and occasionally the Channel Mixer. I do, however, love the power of layer masks.

Frequently, when I take a picture of something, I am doing it for one of two reason:

1) I am really interested in the subject.
2) I’m really interested in the light falling upon the subject.

Unfortunately, lots of time when I get home, the lighting seems to be not how I remember it at all. It seems somewhat uniform. That’s not to say that it is flat, but it doesn’t have all of the cool shadows that I remember and the delicate touches of light here and there.

Yesterday was the same thing. I took a picture of Tony asleep on the couch. The only source of light was coming in from a window in direction of his feet. I sat in a chair and looked at the light, got my camera, changed the ISO to about 2200, and took a few pictures. When I got them into PS, well, that magic wasn’t there.

After tweaking

I played with the image a bit, but it just wasn’t happening. So, for the moment, I punted. Later, I decided to try it again, as I was feeling more inspired after stepping away from the computer for a bit. I went back into PS, did some layers, masks, and tweaks, and came out with what I saw! It took me about 30 or 40 minutes to get the desired outcome, but IMHO, it was well worth the effort! The differences are subtle, but most times, that’s what makes the biggest impact.

I know! I know! I come up with some interesting titles. Well, it’s only a ploy to get you to stop by and read it! I’ll explain:

I just got back from Savannah, GA. Savannah is some 2+ hours from Charleston. I went there on Wednesday night to see a friend, meet a new friend in the making, and hang out with a former teacher! Now, to put some names with the titles.

The friend is Usha, who I met at a workshop some 2 years ago. She and I have become friends. She was the catalyst for the drive. We speak to each other every now and again, as she lives in Wisconsin, and I in North Carolina. She visited our fine state last year, got to meet my family, and hung out for a bit to take some pictures of the autumn leaves. She sent an e-mail telling me that she was attending a workshop in Savannah. I figured, why not?! It’s only 2 hours or so … a very small price to pay for friendship! So, away I went after work yesterday. Our conversation centered around our respective worlds. I talked about my wife and kids and she about her husband and son. We had a laugh about our arms needing to be longer to help us see the print on paper, which seems to get smaller with each passing year. We never spoke of cameras.

The new friend in the making is Marti Jeffers. I had heard about her through others who had attended workshops, etc. She assists Craig Tanner on a number of his workshops and does a few of her own. I stop by her blog/website, http://www.martijeffers.com, and like to lurk about. We had traded e-mails and I had planned on taking a trip with my wife to Savannah to meet with her and Craig, but our time tables never meshed as my son, Mr. Tony Lester’s basketball schedule simply wouldn’t allow it! Sigh. She’s a fun person to be around and I enjoyed my conversation with her. Interestingly, before I knew who she was, she actually had walked passed me on the way to her room. Upon seeing her, I thought: Hmmm, I wonder if that’s Marti. Later, she told me that she had seen my picture and thought the same thing as she was passing!

Finally, Craig Tanner is the former teacher. Unfortunately, I’ve never had a long space of time to sit and talk with Craig, save for on the telephone one time, but I’d really love to. Last night was no different, either. As usual, he was very busy with the workshop, one in which he was actually assisting, not running! I got to speak with him for a very short while on the walk back to the hotel, but that was about it. Maybe next time!

I was privileged to have dinner with the group … sort of. The main table was full, holding about 12 people, so Marti and Usha sat with me. We had a great time chatting. We only spent 2 hours together. I could have spent more time, but they were heading to a bar with live music. Two things that I don’t tolerate well:

1) Cigarette smoke,
2) Loud music.

Both, I was told, were going to be available in significant amounts. I opted out and returned to my room to go to sleep. Besides, I had planned to get up early in the morning and drive back to Charleston, which I did.

In the end, 5 hours of driving to spend 2 hours with friends was well worth it! You’ve got to cherish your friends and cultivate new ones. The only down side is that they are all Canon shooters. After I finished dinner I had to run back to the hotel and take a very hot shower! *shudder*!!!

About the pictures
I took them at the restaurant while we were having dinner. The lighting was horrible and I had to shoot at ISO 2200. I only took a few, but wanted to catch their essence. Marti: Very nice, calm, sweet, and easy to talk to. Usha: We’ll, she’s spunky to say the least. She’s an in your face kind of person, but she has a really sweet heart beneath all of the bravado.

In lots of respects, I’m ignorant, and proud of it. I make no claims to have the right answers. In working with the very young crowd, those who are only as old as my oldest child, about 24, I laugh to myself when I hear them talk. There is so much certitude about what’s right, what’s wrong, and how things should be in all manner of subjects, most of which they have no experience!

Of course, being the old man of the group and having lived almost twice as long as some of them, I find many of the things that they say quite funny and remark to myself, just wait until this thing that you speak of is no longer theory. They have ideas on the “right” way to raise children; how their married relationship will be (rules and all), etc.

Of course, I am respectful and, most times, will never tender an opinion. I just prefer to listen. It makes for interesting days.

I fell almost like a native South Carolinian! Here it is, the second week of September, and I’ve been a month+. As Labor Day has come and gone, that pretty much signals the end of the summer season. The mornings are somewhat cooler and the beaches are noticeably less crowded, bordering on vacant. Just the way that I like it.

getting unstuck
Gordon mentioned an interesting thing that happened to him while he was in North Carolina for some six weeks. He didn’t photograph much at all, but when he got back to Austin, TX, his home town, the creative juices started flowing again. I found myself getting into that same type of position. I thought that being in a new place surely would do wonders for the ‘juices’; however, it’s those familiar places that seem to get things flowing.

It’s easy, I’ve found, to get into a rut, or less call it a daily cycle:

• Get up
• Walk
• Work
• Come home
• Read
• Sleep

Notice, there’s no place there for photography, even though I have lots of free time in the evenings. Part of it, I think, is that I love lakes and parks, which is what I’m accustomed to in Charlotte; Here, mostly everything, including state parks, open at 9 AM close at 5 or 6 PM. The beach is a 30 – 40 minute drive, but at least it’s open all the time!

Today, I almost talked myself out of going to Folly Beach, but fortunately, I went. As many have said before me, you can only get good pictures when you’re taking pictures!