Comments on: The work of it

By: Widening the comfort zone â€” Meandering Passage

Widening the comfort zone â€” Meandering Passage — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 23:33:32 +0000

[...] thinking also follows along with another recent post by Paul, “The work of it” which speaks of putting “the work in” to become good at a craft, such as [...]

By: Paul Lester Photography » Blog Archive » Is burn-out possible?

Paul Lester Photography » Blog Archive » Is burn-out possible? — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 05:01:00 +0000

[...] bob wong: There is another issue that I think needs to be kept in mind and allowances made. This issue is mental… [...]

By: Laurie

Laurie — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 02:26:49 +0000

One of the best advantages of having the lights ready to go is when that the moment of inspiration hits and an idea for a photo like that pops into my head all I have to do is go into that little room and turn on the strobes, adjust the settings, arrange the items, maybe change the background paper, and shoot, it could be 50 shots or just one or two. It is always worth it. I don’t have to think about the trouble of spending 30 minutes dragging out the equipment from a closet and setting up all the stands, yadda, yadda. The shot I have posted today was one of those spontaneous I have an idea moments that had I not had the stuff set up, I might have second guessed and said in my head “Nah…not worth it, maybe some other time.” As it turns out it is probably one of my favorite photos this year.

By: Anita Jesse

Anita Jesse — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 17:15:37 +0000

I am so delighted that Laurie brought us back to noticing the photo accompanying your thoughts, Paul. The light is indeed lovely. One reason I talked about feeling pummeled (I was throwing all the blows at myself) was your admission of playing with lighting equipment one day, then putting it away. I did the exact same thing a while back. You and Laurie have inspired me to set it up and learn more about light.

Bob’s comment also hit a nerve. I have been pushing myself lately and I think I need to shake things up a bit while I continue “just doing the work.” Drat, balance is demanding. And, so darn tricky.

By: Paul

Paul — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 17:03:14 +0000

@Laurie: Excellent idea about having the lights available. I’ll have to carve out a small area in my domicile to keep the lights set up.

By: bob wong

bob wong — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 16:50:11 +0000

There is another issue that I think needs to be kept in mind and allowances made. This issue is mental health. Pushing ourselves in certain ways, may not be in our best interest. There are many theories and best practice guidelines out there and it is difficult to know what is best for each individual. Here is one that I think works.

Find a way to enjoy your activities and stop before you wear out your enjoyment. In other words, stop before it becomes a grind.

I suspect that resistance to starting a project or activity is a psychological reaction to having pushed your self into the grind pattern in times gone by. If this is true, then the grind is something to be avoided or at least dealt with in some manner.

I think we have all heard of “burn out”. You don’t want this to happen for those things that you enjoy.

By: Laurie

Laurie — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 16:47:53 +0000

Interesting.just the other day I was photographing a couple of pewter pots similar to these…Huh? Great minds think alike!!!

I have various lights from “hot” lights to 2 large 1500W/ (750W/s each) Bogen studio lights and a 750W/s Photogenic, 3 pocket wizards and 3 small strobes, 2 SB800′s and one old vivitar 285 HV which I use as a hair light with an IR slave. Various umbrellas, stands, softboxes, and other light modifiers.

I think you handle the strobes well here…don’t be afraid of them…I think that is what happens a lot…I know I was afraid. Also it helps to have a place set up so that the “work” of dragging all the stuff out and setting it up and taking it down is not as daunting. To do small things like this you don’t need a large space…my little product studio is set up all the time in a room that is about 11 X 9…and I have a couple of cabinets, a treadmill which I use that folds up too, so it really doesn’t require a lot of space. You will be more likely to use it when it is easily accessed. You can see the little set up here. (I hope the link is formatted right and works…Still don’t get HTML!!!)

I like the depth of shadows and gentle light here which is what I was shooting the other day too…like I said, great minds… Oh yeah…that’s right I just remembered we are also both Pisces! That explains it!

The ones I use most are my very portable strobes which I use off camera except when shooting certain more “journalistic” type events that require flash, which is fairly infrequent. I like to use the Nikon CLS whenever possible and set the built-in flash to control it with it set to only trigger the other units. When I use the Vivitar though I have to use the pocket wizards and trigger the Vivitar with the attached IR slave. The pocket wizards are also more reliable than the CLS which cannot always produce the results I need…I do get a lot of misfires using the CLS under certain conditions like when using my shooting tent, or shooting through umbrellas and at greater distances from the camera, so using the pocket wizards yields more consistent results. What I really like about the CLS though is shooting with the high speed sync…cool!

By: Anita Jesse

Anita Jesse — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 16:37:53 +0000

Oh, goodness, that came out wrong. I only meant that I could see all my weaknesses and doubts in everyone’s observations. I never felt anyone was picking on me.

By: Paul

Paul — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 16:22:47 +0000

@Anita: No blows were intended for you. All of the them were directly squarely at that guy in the mirror, Paul!

By: Anita Jesse

Anita Jesse — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 16:01:36 +0000

Ouch, I hurt all over from the blows. Everything here is hitting hard and pounding tender spots that were already throbbing.

No matter how many times I learn these lessons, I have to keep repeating them. I’m shaking my head and wondering.