Self Expression

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

“I think your picture is not sharp”, “I think your picture is a little bit dark”, I think your highlight is blown out”, ” I think you picture has too much noise”. For me this is all “funny comments” not from photographers but I would call them a “Technicgraphers” why? Simply because these kind of people who like to comments about technical aspect of photography fail to realize what photography is all about, a picture is not like an engine or a building where you can measure or judge their performance by technical aspect. Great photography or great picture will work even if they break all the rules, a blurry picture and totally blown out highlight picture will still stand a chance to win a World Press Photo Awards if the picture is GREAT regardless of their lack of technical aspect.

For me it is very simple, a GREAT picture is a GREAT picture and a BAD picture is a BAD picture even though all the technical aspect is perfect in term of composition, lighting, exposure  and etc and etc…

Eid-ulFitri | Selamat Hari Raya

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

My Universe

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

Sometimes we need to think outside of the box in order to be creative. This things is pretty simple to do, all it takes is a little bit of imagination and just few Photoshop tricks here and there, no I’m not doing the hard work with the Globe, with the help of a “Website” I manage to do this and the key words here is TAGGING, at the meantime, I’ll let you wondering and thinking how I did this because I believe if you can read this that’s mean you have access to the internet and you can get the answer pretty easily. All I did is to add the stars and the lighting effect, the rest is made by the “Mechanism”.

Everybody need a quick answer nowadays, use plug in here, plug in there and use preset and action and later on called it “ART”. It is up to you if you consider whether some work is Art or not, about my picture about, it is not art, just pure playing with my pictures but the “Art” comes into play when we think outside of the box and put outside elements to make this things a little bit more interesting. I got the “Stars” from Google Earth. A lot of younger generation nowadays are too lazy to read after they graduate thinking that they have known everything in the university, how wrong they are. I’m saying this as my personal experience and just my personal thought. You may have your own, I mean by not reading is, not reading education material, not something like love novel that most people read, I mean a lot of younger generation nowadays read less education material, just few of them do.

How many people buy and read photography books other than magazine, maybe some of you say that photography books is expensive, how about your camera? I think your DSLR is so much expensive isn’t it. Buying expensive camera equipment without the knowledge of handling them and use them the way it should be is a waste of money, just remember, people can steal your equipment but not your skills and knowledge. My point is spent some extra money on education, buy some books about photography or anything that might interest you. Learn from other experience photographer. We cannot meet all the great photographers out there face to face but we can “Listen” to their story and experience through their books.

In photography we need to practice and practice in order for us to improve our skills but if we keep on pressing our shutter blindlessly without any clear vision, we are not making any photograph but just taking picture. If the photographers who have some knowledge in his head, he will be able to focus more clearly, see the vision ahead of him even before he lift the camera to his eyes. I’ve met many great local photojournalist who have a clear picture about a picture that they need to shoot even before they get out of the office, by the time they get their assignment from their Boss, they have a “Clear Vision” about how they are going to Photograph The Assignment.

HaiQal | The Untitled

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

Enough rant about my experience while attending “Compulsory Adobe Photoshop Course” organize by my department, that’s what you get when you attend a course for free, you are not given a choice, just live with it, but I’m sad because it is tax payers money, the course suppose to make our job easier, faster and more efficient with the knowledge that we gain but if we can’t use the knowledge on our day to day duty, what’s the point of the course?

Back to the picture of my son HaiQal above, in case you were to ask, how do I get the colors. As usual I develop my picture in ACR Adobe Camera RAW simply because I shoot in RAW, I boost the temperature somewhere between 7000 to 8000K, I know it is high temperature but later on I decrease the Vibrance and just push a little bit saturation, all done in ACR. After finishing some basic editing in ACR, later on I do my final adjustment in photoshop, this time I play around with Channel, I just give you some hints only, how to play with Channel, go and figure it out, that’s the only way to learn, you may make some mistake or get some unwanted result but  you will learn along the way. Don’t be afraid to make some mistake and don’t be afraid to try something new.

I like to keep on experimenting, I don’t use any plug-ins, preset or any photoshop action, I did everything from scratch but I do suggest to any of you out there who make bulk editing like wedding for example to use plug-ins, it will increase your productivity and will save you great times, but to get creative and if you have more times to play around and nobody waiting for your art work then you can get creative with photoshop, trust me the excitement of doing the things on your own rather than using plug-ins is different because you know what you are doing rather than let the “Software” do the thinking. Taking a picture yourself is not the same as giving order to other photographers to get the picture. Same like if you pay someone to get a picture on the other part of the world, yes you get the picture but you don’t get the experience of being there. But sometimes we need to work smart rather than work hard, you be your own judge and you draw your own line…

HaiQal | Expressive Portraiture

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

Expression is something that make a portrait. Expression shows an individual his or her character or personality, expression can add mood to a picture, tears, smile, moody, bored, joy, all this kind of expression doesn’t need words to explain. Expressive portraiture will have an impact and usually timeless, most great portrait that are timeless is portrait with a very good expression and for sure it is not about smiling face. Have you remembered Afghan girl that grace National Geographic magazine front cover taken by legendary photographer Steve McCurry. Have you seen a portrait of famous Prime Minister of United Kingdom Winston Churchill taken by Yousuf Karsh a Canadian photographer. Those two pictures are among hundred of photograph that captured my heart, it is because of “Expression”.

HaiQal picture above is among few recent picture that I took and I’m quite happy with his expression, my son and like any kids or toddler doesn’t know how to pose, if you want to learn to shoot candid, you can start with your own child, they can’t stood still even for a moment. A lot of people think that my son know how to pose, in fact it is so hard nowadays to get a decent picture of my son. I can write a long story about my “adventure” of photographing my son but I think most people doesn’t have time to read, there are million of Blog about “How To take a Great Picture”. My secret is simple, it is something called “PASSION”. If you have it, everything will be easy. I don’t have a any formal training or education in photography and I learn photoshop all by myself, if Ican do it, so can you, all it take is passion and about a portrait, try to captured an “Expressive Portraiture” and you will enjoy and appreciate it for as long as you can.

Happy Mothers Day

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

HaiQal | Treasure of My Life

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

HaiQal | Big Boy

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

Reach Out…

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

My son has grown up and it is not so easy anymore to photograph him, I’ve to use all the tricks that I can possibly imagine to get my son attention to look at my camera, sometimes it succeed while most of the times I failed, but I’m not someone who can give up easily. I like the challenge to photograph my son, after all he is my son. Who else have the patient to photograph him. Like everybody else who have family, my son is everything to me, I really enjoy watching him grow in front of my eyes and sometimes I watch him grow in front of my lens camera and captured it permanently for all to see. I can write a long story but I think a picture is more than just a picture in term of story telling.

Face of New Year…

 

 

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

 My son face when he get angry, actually he is not really that angry, I just put him on a higher ground to photograph him, he move a lot these days, very hard for me to get a decent picture of him, so I decided to put him on a higher ground, where he can’t move freely and I take a picture of him, the light was not very good, I need to be quick to photograph him or I’m not going to have a nice 1st Jan 2009 picture of him, “Nice” picture to me does not mean that I want to have a smiling face but a great expressive picture, a memorable one, something that does not stop when the moment is freeze, like this one above, the action does not stop there, I’m just capturing “in between action” if I can say that.

I will always continue doing my very best to take a picture of my son, I love to travel and love to explore new things and new frontier, and while I was busy doing my homework to determine where I should go or travel to, I will photograph my son, no matter how hard it is… 🙂