I was so excited to see documentary as the theme for April. I love all genres of photography. The beauty of a backlit family portrait is indescribable. The way food photographers create a story with lighting and color is amazing as well, but there is something freeing about letting go of control and allowing a scene to unfold in front of us without any interference.
There were many comments and questions about the rules of documentary, so many of us doubting our ability to deliver a "good" image. Part of it is simply trying to understand the elements that make up a "good" documentary image. It's challenging because it looks different in some aspects. I imagine the other part is that many of us feel our homes, our lives, and our daily activities aren't interesting enough on their own. We fear the viewer will see the laundry piled in the corner, the dishes on the counter, and the kids on their tablet for a little bit too long.
The imperfections of our lives is exactly why I LOVE documentary. It's an opportunity for us to connect. It's an opportunity for us to join in solidarity, to see that all of us, at some point, have dishes piled in the sink. A lesson I've learned in life is that the things we try to hide from others is the very thing that helps us connect. When I see an image with toys on the floor or laundry piled in the corner, I feel a sense of relief. I'm not the only one who doesn't have their stuff together!!
And in spite of your fears and hesitations, y'all delivered. You got vulnerable, You shared a part of your homes in such a beautiful way, and you did it beautifully. I was blown away by the images that documented an unprecedented time in history. Can you image what it's going to be like in 20 years, when our grandkids are studying 2020? Can you imagine having these beautifully imperfect images that documented what our daily lives were like during the greatest pandemic since the Spanish Flu? We are doing important work, y'all. And I'm so glad I get to be a part of it with you. Here are some images that really stood out to me this week.
Wendi
Gear: Sony 6500 20mm 2.8
Settings: 20mm, f2.8, 1/125, ISO 320.
The Shot: Homemade preparation of Easter chocolates (melt chocolate, put it in a container and add fruit, oilseeds, spices ...). I let my son create his chocolate mixes. He was on his step. I put myself above him with the soft light of the end of the day.
Post Processing: I brightened up a bit, I added black, white and contrast to draw the shadows. I warmed up the temperature very slightly.
Gear: Nikon D610 Sigma 35mm 1.4 ART
Settings: ISO 800 f/3.2 1/200
How did you shoot it: I was folding clothes and feeling a little overwhelmed with all of the chores I needed to do. And then on top of it, my daughter was having a bad day as well. When I set her down so I could get some stuff done and all she really wanted was momma....my heart broke a little. But I snapped an image to help me remember that messes are OK to have, picking up your babies and letting the house be messy is OK. I gave myself grace that day and when I look at this image it doesn't give me anxiety like it normally would, instead it makes me realize that I'm an OK mama and all this girl wants/needs is me - no matter what.
How did you edit it: In Lightroom using my own preset, tweaks basics, adds a slight matte, messes with colors, noise reduction, and then after that preset I went in and tweaked some more.
Gear: iPhone XR
Settings: Native photo app, standard lens 1/60sec f/1.8 ISO 50
The Shot: I liked the fact that my husband was napping on the floor with my daughter and dogs all connecting with him surrounded by the chaos of the mess. I stood on the arm of our sofa and after setting the exposure to expose for the highlights I raised my phone up as high as I could overhead to capture the scenes.
Post Processing: I used Lightroom mobile. Corrected white balance, mild adjustments to the exposure, contrast and clarity, texture, and selective edits to increase shadows or reduce highlights in specific areas
Gear: Nikon D750 35mm 1.8
Settings: f2.5 ISO 100 and 1/1250
The Shot: Took the boys out to play in the backyard and they insisted on wearing their costumes!
Post Processing: I used a Twig and Olive preset as a base
Gear: Nikon D750, 50mm 1.8
Settings: ISO 100 f2 1/1250
The Shot: The playgrounds around us in South Australia are being taped off and closed now, yet we aren't on a really strict lockdown yet. We walk to kick the ball on the oval and documented this time to look back on in the future.
Post processing: edited in lightroom using the tone curve mainly.
Gear: Sony a7iii 24-70 2.8 @24mm
Settings: ISO 3200 SS1/200. f/stop 2.8
The Shot: Sorry for the mess. We were all eating dinner around the island and my husband was feeding bites to my youngest from my lap. My youngest LOVES to eat and crawled right out of my lap onto the island to get his next bite because couldn't wait! My oldest was of course playing with his cars and could care less about dinner!
Post Processing: Edited in Lightroom: edited the white balance, increased exposure and luminance but left everything else as is.
Gear: Nikon d610; nikkor 50mm
Settings: f/1.8 2. ISO1600; 1/250 sec; f1.8
The Shot: Getting a kitchen quarantine haircut
Post Processing: Edited in LR with a B&W preset
Gear: Nikon D750, 35mm 1.8
Settings: ISO 100, f1.8, 1/800
The Shot: I shot this as my kids played with magnitiles on our bright carpet. I loved how the geometric pattern looked with the window light, as well as the shapes from their magnets. I ran and quickly grabbed a chair and my camera to get the shot from above.
Post Processing: Edited in LR using SMAL01. Removed grain matte, and tried to straighten it as best as I could.
Gear: Canon 6D mark ii, Canon 35mm f/2
Settings: ISO 800, f2.8, 1/400
The Shot: Had just finished giving the girls a bath and they started dancing, so I ran to grab my camera and began shooting from outside the door so they didn't notice me.
Post Processing: Applied personal preset for tone curve and camera calibration in LR, adjusted WB, and applied color balance action in PS.
Gear: Canon EOSRP + RF 24-105mm f/4.0 lens shot at 24mm
Settings: 1/100, f/4.0, ISO 500
The Shot: It was first thing in the morning & I walked into the bathroom and noticed this pretty light, so walked straight back out again and grabbed my camera.
Post Processing: Edited in LR with minor tweaks where I slightly increased highlights and decreased darks plus brightened the yellow
Gear: Canon Mark iii, Canon 28mm
Settings: ISO 32300 F/6.3 SS1/1600
The Shot: He was jumping off the roof into the pool... so I got low to the ground to shoot up... to ensure he was in a clean space and to accentuate the height.
Post Processing: Rebecca Lily EAST preset
Gear: Canon 5D mark iii, sigma art 35mm 1.4
Settings: ISO 800 | f/2.8 | 1/250
The Shot: We've been doing lots of Cosmic Yoga for kids through this whole "stay-at-home" to make sure the kids are staying active on the rainy and cold days. I documented this moment because it feels like a "normal" day for us now. It's the perspective I would see him doing this--from the kitchen. The light is a big picture window, camera right. It was a cloudy day, so it was a big soft box.
Post Processing: Edited using a tweaked version of SMAL 01
Gear: Nikon D750, 35 mm
Settings: f7, 1/500, iso 100.
The Shot: through window of my car.
Post Processing: I straightened the photo in Lightroom and cropped , added exposure, and contrast. Added vibrancy and saturation. I sharpened and added detail.
Gear: Nikon d7500, Tamron 18-270 mm
Settings: ISO 200 f/5, 1/640 sek
The Shot: I was documenting the easter egg hunt, and my granddaughter decided to talk a little with grandpa.
Post Processing: I used lightroom, cropped it, adjusted exposure, black and white clipping, hightlights and shadows.
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