Harold Davis's Blog, page 6

Eye of the Dragon

Eye of the Dragon, shown below, is a Photoshop composite of an extreme close-up of a dahlia blossom and my left eye.

For more about the image of my eye, check out this story. Here is another kind of image made from my eye in Photoshop.

Eye of the Dragon © Harold Davis

I photographed the dahlia itself using a new piece of gear that I am very pleased with, a Novoflex bellows fitted to my Leica M11-P. The Novoflex and the associated focusing rail come with an Arca mount, so its easy to put the assemblage on a tripod.

The lens I used was the Leica 135mm f/3.4. Sitting on a focusing rail, the bellows lengths the distance between the focal plane and the rear element of the lens, essentially allowing me to go as close as I’d like in a continuous range.

Eye of the Dragon falls into a body of surrealist work that I’ve made that I call “Impossible Images.” You could think of these composites as “artisanal AI” or “hand-generative AI”: the images are all my copyrights, and I’ve done the combining myself the old-fashioned laborious way, using layers and masking.

Click here for more on my impossibilities.

Slow Photography: Agave Abstracts Suite

I’ve been having a great deal of fun experimenting with new Leica M lenses and new techniques. In particular, I’ve used the enhanced dynamic range properties of my Monochrom M11 combined with wide-open to handhold some black and white images in field situations where normally I would have worked with a tripod and longish shutter speeds.

Agave Abstract 6 © Harold Davis

This casual approach to ISO has worked well with some handheld images. However, it is a fine line between casual and lazy. The other day it bit me.

Agave Abstract 5 © Harold Davis

I was out in the twilight gloaming having fun in my casual handheld way with some local Agave plants. Reviewing the images later on my computer, I could see that the subject matter could benefit from a more studied and classical approach—if one can call capture on a 60MP monochrome sensor “classical”.

Agave Abstract 4 © Harold Davis

I held my breath and hoped I would get another chance with the light: high, not-too-dense fog in the early evening was required to make the photography glow with reflected diffused light. Luckily, these weather conditions happened for the second late afternoon in a row, and I had another chance.

Agave Abstract 3 © Harold Davis

I headed up the block with a tripod and my Monochrom M11 outfitted with my Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 Aspherical lens. This is an expensive, classical lens that captures light with an incredible, but almost clinical, elan. 

Agave Abstract 2 © Harold Davis

Working slowly, with the camera on the tripod, I choose a low ISO (125) and stopped the Summilux down all the way (to f/16). Exposures were in the range of one or two seconds. The images that resulted emphasize the curves and abstract shapes of the Agaves.

Agave Abstract 1 © Harold Davis

I am printing a very small edition of this suite of six images on Moab Juniper Baryta. The prints will be small and positioned on the paper so they appear jewel-like. Please contact us if you’d like to pre-order one of these portfolios. 

Photographing Flowers for Transparency Masterclass (online webinar)

Please consider joining me for an online Photographing Flowers for Transparency Masterclass. The webinar is scheduled for Tuesday, September 17, 2024 at 10am PT. There is a discount for advance registration until September 10, 2024. Click here to register!

Garden Medley 2 © Harold Davis Photographing Flowers for Transparency by Harold Davis

“Harold Davis’s ethereal floral arrangements have a purity and translucence that borders on spiritual.”—Popular Photography Magazine

In this live 2-hour online masterclass and Q&A, internationally renowned photographer and best-selling Rocky Nook author Harold Davis shows his stunning floral imagery and describes in detail his process for light box photography. Floral arranging, botanical composition, backlighting, exposure, bracketing sequences, high-key photography, and post-production are explained.

Survey after survey comes up with the data that flowers are a subject that photographers of all skill levels want to shoot. Where else can you find such a riotous display of colors and shapes contained in such a small package? Every flower is different. 

In this masterclass, Harold Davis shares his special techniques for high-key floral imagery using the lightbox techniques that he has pioneered. He’ll demystify the photographic and post-production workflow involved in creating this innovative imagery and will also explain what he looks for in floral models, and the techniques that he uses in the studio and in the garden. 

Learn more and register for the webinar!

Passiflora Mandala Inversion © Harold Davis

This masterclass will consist of an extensive presentation by Harold Davis explaining the complete process of photographing flowers for transparency, followed by a wide-ranging discussion.

In this masterclass, participants will learn to:

Understand the principles of transparency and translucency in photographyWork with high-key compositions and exposuresCreate an exposure layer stackCombine a high-key exposure stack in PhotoshopMake your own light box compositions using patterns of shape, color, and form

When

Tuesday, September 17th, 202410.00am-12.00pm Pacific Time2-hour online masterclassTuition: $50 until Sept 10; $75 thereafter

About the Presenter

Harold Davis is an artist, photographer, educator, and the bestselling author of many books. His most recent books include Composition & Photography, Creative Garden Photography, and Creative Black & White, all from Rocky Nook. Harold’s book Photographing Flowers (Focal Press) was rated the “Best Guide to Flower Photography” by Digital Photographer Magazine.

Harold is the developer of a unique technique for photographing flowers for transparency, for which he was awarded the 2022 Photographic Society of America Progress award. According to Popular Photo Magazine, “Harold Davis’s ethereal floral arrangements have a purity and translucence that borders on spiritual.” 

Harold is also known as a master of black and white. The Seattle Times put it this way: “Harold Davis is the digital black and white equal of Ansel Adams’s traditional wet photography.”

He is a Moab Master, and a Zeiss Ambassador, and an internationally known photographer, as well as a sought-after workshop leader. In 2022, two of Harold’s floral images, Tulip Panorama and Sunflower Bouquet, were produced as United States postage stamps, with five additional US postage stamps released in 2024.

Harold’s website is www.digitalfieldguide.com.

Tulip Pano © Harold Davis

Learn more and register for the webinar!

Solar Rotation Mandala

As many of you know, I love to create mandalas on my light box using flowers. The idea behind Solar Rotation Mandala was to create a “solar system” circling the central sunflower (shown at the bottom of this story). The first image shown (below) is an LAB color L-channel inversion of the mandala as photographed on my light box. The flowers are all from my cutting garden, which is producing nicely this time of year!

Solar Rotation Mandala Inversion © Harold Davis

The image on white (shown immediately below) was photographed with the Leica M11-P using the Leica Summilux -M 50mm f/1.4 Asph at f/16. With the camera on a tripod, I made eight exposures at ISO 64 and shutter speeds ranging from 1/8 of a second to ten seconds. I combined the exposures using a layer stack. Actually, I only used five of the eight exposures in the stack as I didn’t need outlying exposures on the darker side of the exposure histogram. 

Solar Rotation Mandala © Harold Davis

The sunflower that is in the middle of the solar system mandala is shown below. It’s noted that this varietal, ‘Italian White’, has a pale, almost green look that is not the typical vibrant color of many sunflowers.

Sunflower © Harold Davis

Wreck of the Point Reyes

Last week I stopped by wreck of the Point Reyes fishing trawler, beached near Inverness, California. I first started photographing the boat in roughly 2005, most times on my way out to the Point Reyes National Park. Early on, as you can see in the images from 2008 (below), the Point Reyes was fairly intact.

Solitude © Harold Davis (2008)

Read Schadenfreude, the original story about this image!

Star Trawler © Harold Davis (2008)

Read Star Trawler, the original story about this image!

Between the Earth and Sky © Harold Davis (2008)

Read Between Earth and Sky, the original story about this image!

By 2019 (image immediately below), the passage of time and the forces of entropy were having their way. The prow of the trawler was relatively intact, but the stern had collapsed. I called my image The Wreck of the Pont Reyes.

Wreck of the Point Reyes © Harold Davis (2019)

The next stage of disintegration was I believe the fault of a photographer, who inadvertently set the boat on fire while “playing”—capturing the trails made by steel wool spun in the air at night. I am still unhappy that this happened, and blame the photographer for negligience.

Wreck of the Point Reyes © Harold Davis (2024)

This year the Point Reyes is truly a wreck (image above), looking like it will take only a good storm or two to wash the remnants out to sea. 

All things must pass, and one can never set foot in the same river twice. Undoubtedly true, and one of the hallmarks of experiencing life. It’s nonetheless enlightening and melancholy to observe the passage of time by photographing the same subject over the course of the passing years.

TV Interview and article in Marin Independent Journal

Local television station KTVU-TV reporter Alex Savidge interviewed me about my new postage stamps (click here to view the replay) and the Lifestyle section of the Marin Independent Journal reporter PJ Bremier featured me (and the stamps!) in Berkeley artist’s floral images land on Postal Service stamps.

Triumph of Beauty over Despair © Harold Davis

First-Day-of-Issue Stamp Event Featuring Local Berkeley Photographer’s Images (Harold Davis, July 18 at 11am PT)

First-Day-of-Issue Stamp Event Featuring Local Berkeley Photographer’s Images

What: An unveiling event for new low-denomination stamps that feature images of flowers by Berkeley native, Harold Davis.

Who: USPS Berkeley Postmaster Katrina Scott; USPS Manager of Postal Operations Mario Harris; Acclaimed Photographer Harold Davis

When: Thursday, July 18, 2024, from 11:00 am

Where:2000 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA 94704

Background: The unveiling event will feature special guests, a presentation on the significance of the stamp, and photo opportunities. The event is free and open to the public.

Customers can order the Low Denomination Flowers stamps online at The Postal Store beginning July 18. News of the stamps is being shared on social media with the hashtag #LowDenominationFlowersStamps.

Click here for the USPS press release.

Weed in the Light

When tourists are abjured in the national parks from feeding the wildlife, one slogan notes that “it’s a smart bear that knows where the hotdog ends and the hand begins.” Similarly, it is the smart photographer who knows the difference between a plant and a weed. Why not photograph both?

Weed in the Light © Harold Davis

In this case, Weed in the Light was photographed using the Leica Monochrom M11 equipped with the Macro-Adapter-M (essentially, a variable extension tube) and the inimitable Sadayasu Miyazaki’s MS-Optics ISM 1.0/50. 

I photographed with the lens essentially wide open (f/1.0) and critically focused on the foreground weed. The light refraction in the background was caused by sunlight reflected off passing cars.

The photograph was captured handheld at 1/6,400 of a second and ISO 125, a roughly 2 EV underexposure with the goal of rendering the weed in the light. I brought the refractions out in post-production using a second RAW process, layers, and masking.

Coins

I wanted to see how close I could get with reasonable resolution using the Leica M11 Monochrom. The upper photo of the coin is somewhere between 5:1 and 10:1, meaning many times larger than life size. I used the Monochrom with a Leica Macro-Adapter-M with the Novoflex M-mount to Nikon F adapter, a 36mm extension tube, and my Zeiss 50mm f/2 macro lens.

The hardest part was getting the tripod and subject configured so the coin was well lit and close enough to the lens. This kind of thing is usually a “MacGyver“—in this case involving two tables, two books, and a black velvet background cloth.

For another photographic MacGyver, check out my notorious WASP image: “It took some contortions on my part to get my tripod close enough to take this picture, as you can see in this photo Phyllis took of me in my pajamas photographing the wasp with my tripod raised up using diaper cartons.”

Coin © Harold Davis

Having had a fun time seeing the capabilities of the gear, I turned my attention to making patterns with whatever was at hand, in this case a collection of the small change brought back from various foreign travels (click on the images to view them larger!).

Coin Pattern © Harold Davis

Garden Poppy Pod and White Poppy

Both images were photographed just now in my garden on the summer solstice, with the sun just setting below the horizon. I used my Leica M11 Monochrom with the Novoflex Nikon F-Lens to Leica M mount adapter and my Lensbaby Velvet 85 wide open. Both photos were minimally post-processed.

Garden Poppy Pod © Harold Davis White Poppy © Harold Davis