I found this on Steve's Blog http://www.stevegettle.com/home.php. What an image, his portfolio is awesome I cannot believe that I have not seen his work before, wow!
Photo Tip Friday: The Geek and the Artist
One of the things I love about photography is it appeals to both the geek and the artist in all of us. On the geek side you have the technical considerations of making an image; the f-stops, shutt...er speeds, depth of field, histograms, dynamic range, all the stuff we must all master in order to communicate our vision. Of course we can’t forget about all the ‘geeky’ gear, super telephotos, focusing rails, tele-converters, extension tubes, fill flash, and such. On the artistry side things are a little tougher to define, shape, color, composition, mood, balance, and that fickle mistress light, to mention just a few.
To make a great photograph we have to find the balance between the geek and the artist. If we lean too much toward the geek our pictures, while technically perfect, can lack emotion. They may not reach out and touch the viewer. They can be missing a mood or feeling. Conversely, too much focus on the artistry at the expense of the technical may often leave the work riddled with technical flaws distracting the viewer from the message. Most photographers tend to lean in one direction or the other, some are master technicians crossing every T and dotting every I in their images. While others have a flair for the artistic not having the time or desire to bother with all of that technical stuff. A truly great photographer finds the balance and has a mastery of both of these two seemingly opposing disciplines.
At its very best photography communicates something with the viewer. The message can be anything like an idea, a concept, a mood, or a feeling, even something as simple as, “Look how pretty this is”. But the goal is to reach out and touch our audience in some way. The most effective way to communicate with the viewer is without technical flaws that could distract from the message. The most powerful way to reach someone is by touching their soul with your artistry.
Good Luck and Good LightSteve
Image: Spider Web and Dewdrops South Lyon, MI
Steve Gettle’s images communicate his love for the wildlife and wild places of our world. For over twenty-five years, Steve has spent countless hours creating hundreds of thousands of photographs of the beauty around us.
His images have been exhibited in galleries and museums all over the world, including the Museum of Natural History in London, as well as The American Museum of Natural History in New York. Steve was honored to have a one man show at The National Center for Nature Photography in Ohio.
You can see Steve’s work in many books, magazines, calendars, and other publications by, The National Geographic Society, Canadian Geographic, Audubon, Sierra Club, The BBC, The World Wildlife Fund, The National Wildlife Federation, Birder’s World, Nature’s Best, Wild Bird, Natural History, and many others.
The artist has been honored to receive many awards for his photography. Some of the highlights include being chosen Great Lakes Wildlife Photographer of the Year as well as being a multiple award winner in the BBC’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest, as well as the Nature’s Best photography contest. Steve was also honored to receive the People’s Choice award his first year at the Michigan Wildlife Art Festival. No other first time exhibitor has ever received one of these awards.
His work is represented to the editorial marketplace by the stock agency Minden Pictures.
Steve’s photography has taken him throughout North and South America from the woods of northern Canada to the salt marshes of southern Florida, from the coast of Maine to the high plateau of the desert southwest. Steve has made numerous trips to South America visiting such places as Ecuador, Belize, Costa Rica, and The Galapagos Islands. Although he travels extensively, he finds much of his inspiration in the natural areas surrounding his home, in Brighton, Michigan.
FROM THE ARTIST
I consider it a great privilege to be able to spend time outdoors doing something that I truly love. On many occasions, I have been honored to have animals accept me into their world and give me a view into their private lives. It is my goal through my photography to share some of these moments with you and to help foster a love and appreciation for the wildlife and wild places around us
Steve Gettle
One of the things I love about photography is it appeals to both the geek and the artist in all of us. On the geek side you have the technical considerations of making an image; the f-stops, shutt...er speeds, depth of field, histograms, dynamic range, all the stuff we must all master in order to communicate our vision. Of course we can’t forget about all the ‘geeky’ gear, super telephotos, focusing rails, tele-converters, extension tubes, fill flash, and such. On the artistry side things are a little tougher to define, shape, color, composition, mood, balance, and that fickle mistress light, to mention just a few.
To make a great photograph we have to find the balance between the geek and the artist. If we lean too much toward the geek our pictures, while technically perfect, can lack emotion. They may not reach out and touch the viewer. They can be missing a mood or feeling. Conversely, too much focus on the artistry at the expense of the technical may often leave the work riddled with technical flaws distracting the viewer from the message. Most photographers tend to lean in one direction or the other, some are master technicians crossing every T and dotting every I in their images. While others have a flair for the artistic not having the time or desire to bother with all of that technical stuff. A truly great photographer finds the balance and has a mastery of both of these two seemingly opposing disciplines.
At its very best photography communicates something with the viewer. The message can be anything like an idea, a concept, a mood, or a feeling, even something as simple as, “Look how pretty this is”. But the goal is to reach out and touch our audience in some way. The most effective way to communicate with the viewer is without technical flaws that could distract from the message. The most powerful way to reach someone is by touching their soul with your artistry.
Good Luck and Good LightSteve
Image: Spider Web and Dewdrops South Lyon, MI
Steve Gettle’s images communicate his love for the wildlife and wild places of our world. For over twenty-five years, Steve has spent countless hours creating hundreds of thousands of photographs of the beauty around us.
His images have been exhibited in galleries and museums all over the world, including the Museum of Natural History in London, as well as The American Museum of Natural History in New York. Steve was honored to have a one man show at The National Center for Nature Photography in Ohio.
You can see Steve’s work in many books, magazines, calendars, and other publications by, The National Geographic Society, Canadian Geographic, Audubon, Sierra Club, The BBC, The World Wildlife Fund, The National Wildlife Federation, Birder’s World, Nature’s Best, Wild Bird, Natural History, and many others.
The artist has been honored to receive many awards for his photography. Some of the highlights include being chosen Great Lakes Wildlife Photographer of the Year as well as being a multiple award winner in the BBC’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest, as well as the Nature’s Best photography contest. Steve was also honored to receive the People’s Choice award his first year at the Michigan Wildlife Art Festival. No other first time exhibitor has ever received one of these awards.
His work is represented to the editorial marketplace by the stock agency Minden Pictures.
Steve’s photography has taken him throughout North and South America from the woods of northern Canada to the salt marshes of southern Florida, from the coast of Maine to the high plateau of the desert southwest. Steve has made numerous trips to South America visiting such places as Ecuador, Belize, Costa Rica, and The Galapagos Islands. Although he travels extensively, he finds much of his inspiration in the natural areas surrounding his home, in Brighton, Michigan.
FROM THE ARTIST
I consider it a great privilege to be able to spend time outdoors doing something that I truly love. On many occasions, I have been honored to have animals accept me into their world and give me a view into their private lives. It is my goal through my photography to share some of these moments with you and to help foster a love and appreciation for the wildlife and wild places around us
Steve Gettle
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