Person at Work- Segundo Intento!!!

Layn Hamilton, Christian tattoo artist and owner of Holy Roller Tattoo located in Post Falls, cleans an area he is about work on in continuation of his client 's "sleeve tattoo." He repaired Dustin Willey's initial sailboat tattoo performed by someone else, and built an ocean inspired artistic theme around his arm.




Layn is recently ordained Christian Preacher and self-taught tattoo artist that began learning how to tattoo in 2001. He is tattooing the arm of a customer that has been his loyal patron since the opening of the shop in 2009. Last year Dustin moved to Moses Lake, WA. Dustin does not mind the drive because he likes the quality of Layn's work and he trusts him.





After designing and stenciling a "message in a bottle," Layn looks for the ideal placement of his design. For this particular tattoo, he wanted it to look random but also to harmonize with the rest of the sleeve.

____________________________________________________________
Jerome and classmates at large... SOS, I have developed a crippling disease. I am allergic to captions. I have hives all over my brain and fingers.
I DO NOT like captions!!!


I got frustrated with the assignment so I selfishly took these pictures as well.

Person at Work - Attempt #3

Ok, I tried one more time.  Why do I always seem to choose challenging lighting conditions?  At least I am getting comfortable with them and getting lots of good practice.  I was having trouble getting my camera to auto focus.

Environment

Medium Option #1

Medium Option #2

Detail Option #1

Detail Option #2

For the environmental photo the one I selected seemed a solid choice.  For the medium shot, I really like the silhouette but the one with the guy standing in the engine compartment is probably a better choice and for the detail, I like the anti-freeze dripping into the pan but the other one has lots of metal and a groovy, golden oil sheen that might make it a more interesting choice even though I wish I had framed it a little better.

I will probably end up using the photos from my Attempt #2 set simply because they are sharper but I really thought this showed promise except that I had few keepers due to camera shake and motion blur.  I wanted to keep the ISO, and thus the noise, as low as possible and that was a mistake.  Too bad!

Whadda y'all think?

* * * * * * * * * * EDIT * * * * * * * * * *

After reading Jerome's comment about needing a better detail shot,  I added these two but I am not sure if the first two qualify as a detail shot.

I prefer the first photo above to the second one but the light coming

out of the guy's head bothers me.  Maybe I am being too nitpicky.

This photo might just not be close enough for a detail shot.

Mid-Term Studying

Our midterm is on Wednesday. It's going to be brutal.

And since class was cancelled due to snow last week, here are some of the items you should brush up on to prepare for the exam:

Elements or Language of an Image
Captions
Ethics
Picture Editing
On Assignment Shooting
Purpose of Photojournalism
Food Preferences

Technical Difficulties

Okay crew.

I'm not ignoring you. For some reason the blog isn't letting me provide any comments, but it will let me create a new post. Weird, huh?
So I'm working on getting this figured out.

In the meantime, here is some quick feedback.

Andreas, this last edit is damn good. The edit you have put together works well. The detail and medium are a little similar, but it's damn hard for this one to get a different detail unless it's snot hanging out of her nose or something to show the conditions and how it affects her. The overall with traffic is nice and I like the body language. Good job.

Mike, solid captions with a lot of information. I liked the overall with the client a little better because it shows a little of the fear that clients have when getting tattoos and the artist in that environment. I think the barcode-finger shot is your best detail. The finger still bugs me a little, but it's still a good shot nonetheless. The other shot isn't close enough to work as a detail. I'm torn between the medium shots. I like the reflection shot, but the spout bugs me on his face. And I like the shot where he's leaning over the client's back and you can see his face. Editing is a tough thing to do, but that's why I have you look at them and then I put my eyes on them too so we can have different points of view and I may see stuff that you overlook and vice versa. Good job Mike.

Person at Work - Attempt #2

Today I took another stab at shooting Liz, the Liberty Tax waver on US95 near Appleway.  It was a good day for a snow day but it was darn cold and windy and I was very wet from laying in the snow.

Environment Shots

 Medium Shots

Detail Shot

If I use the first environmental photo, I will probably use the second medium photo.  Since these work somewhat as sets, I will use the second of environmental and first medium shots set if I choose the other option.  This way I can show the most variety.  I tried very hard to get some good photos of Liz putting on her suit and setting up another, older suit that they put up near the main entrance but the lighting is weird and I got my reflection in the glass on some of them so they did not work out again.

My reflection is also in Liz's sun glasses in the second medium shot.  That will probably leave me with the first environmental and second medium shots as my keepers even though I prefer the other two.  I really like my detail shot and I hope you all do to.

I am much happier with this set than my first attempt but I have had so much trouble both times I tried to shoot this that I have set up a completely different thing for Saturday because Mike up-ed the anti with his tattoo parlor photos.  I do not know about the rest of you but I am really struggling with this assignment and must admit that I am somewhat discouraged by my grade on the previous assignment so I am really having to push myself to get this done.

* * * * * * * * * *    Edit    * * * * * * * * * *

Another possible Detail shot

As an after thought, I also decided I liked the following photo because of the

reflection in her sun glasses but I am not so sure I like the up-your-nose aspect.

Does this work as a Medium Shot?

I think it is almost a detail shot rather than a medium shot

but I sure would love to use it as my medium shot.

Another Overall possibility

My wife likes this photo for an overall or environment shot but the crooked roof line bugs me

and the snow is almost painfully white, even though it is not blown out according to my camera.

If I could crop and rotate just a touch, I would seriously consider this one.



One thing I find very frustrating is that I actually have a lot on decent photos but I am just not clear enough on the criteria for the three categories to be sure which one some of these photos fall into and therefore I selected not to use them at all.  There are several nice ones that are on the borderline between two categories.

Wednesday, Feb. 23rd Class Cancelled

Just got this into my phone a few moments ago:

NIC closing TODAY due to hazardous driving conditions

North Idaho College is closing TODAY Wednesday, Feb. 23 due to inclement weather and hazardous driving conditions. Many of the area roadways are treacherous and even closed in some cases due to accidents.

The campus is officially closing immediately and all evening classes are canceled.

I'll be available on my phone, blog and email for any questions or needs between now and next week. I'll post some info here on the blog for what you should know for the 150-question mid-term (just kidding). But there will be a mid-term.

Feel free to contact me.

Person at Work Assignment

For your "Person at Work" assignment, you'll spend at least two hours with a subject at their place of business. You are to turn in three photographs, including an overall, medium shot, and a detail. This is a chance for you to connect with the subject on a more personal level than just getting a portrait or mug shot.

On this assignment you need to be on the lookout for the three different type of shots and try to figure out what you are trying to convey with each one.

Make sure you have access to your person for those two hours, or more if you can. And you'll want to be there when they're working. Never accept a time when they're not busy. Because if they're not busy, they're not working. And that takes away from the "Person at Work" concept of this assignment. 

And make sure you have a back-up person on stand-by if something happens to your primary person.

The baseline requirements for this assignment are the usual: properly composed, a good exposure, sharp focus, correct color balance. The rest of your grade depends on the items we talk about in class:  communication points, accurate representation, well thought out idea or concept, creativity and those adjectives and adverbs that come across in the image.

Shoot with a purpose, always be editing and work that viewfinder from the outside in.

If you have any questions or need some guidance, feel free to contact me via email or cell. We'll be going over more information on the person at work assignment in class on Feb. 16.

The due date for this assignment is Feb. 23.

Below are examples of the three different types of images you need to complete the assignment.

Overall

The overall shot gives us the "where" information for the person. It offers some insight into the area or conditions a person works so the viewer can relate to the image or gain perspective.

Medium

The medium shot lets us see how the person works and a little idea of what it is. You want to include their face to offer identity and also show them using their tools or working with a little more tighter focus. This should give us some "what" and "how" information.

Detail

The detail shot shows us the tools a person uses or could be a close-up image of a person's hands working on their project. You can also get creative and use reflections in glasses or something like that to offer a cool visual element. Just ensure you can see what the tools are that are being used and what they are being used to do or crafting.

Could use some input for person at work assignment.

I'm having a really hard time narrowing it down to just one photo for the overall and normal categories. Maybe you guys can help me figure out which ones to choose. I have several great photos of him with the needle up to the client tattooing, but as Jerome said in response to Andreas' photos, you don't want to have a repetition of the same action in more than one photo. So, I decided to go with the needle on the skin for my detail shot because it seemed like the clear choice for that one. In light of this, I had to get creative with the other shots to try and mix it up. That's where I'm having a hard time choosing which photos to use.

I also might try another job for this assignment and scratch this whole thing too. I just have to think about how satisfied I am with these photos and if I have the time to try it all again.

P.S. I'm not sure on the captions if we need to repeat the same information in all three of them i.e. name, age, date, etc. So for now I just put that info in the overall photos. I was hoping Jerome would give sample captions with the sample photos.



Overall:

















Jake Tipton, 27, tattoo artist at Inked Envy, prepares his workspace for his next client Feb. 22. Tipton has been tattooing in the area for six years, formerly working at The Electric Crayon on Appleway Avenue until he was hired at Inked Envy in June.

















Jake Tipton, 27, tattoo artist of six years, prepares ink before doing a stencil for a color tattoo on a client at Inked Envy, Feb. 22. The stencil is the first step in doing a tattoo, Tipton explained, as it is the outline of the work to be done. After the stencil, Tipton will fill it in with color and shading.
(exif: 17mm, 1/60, f3.2, ISO 500)


Normal:
















Tipton prepares his tattoo machine for a color tattoo on a client. Tipton insists that the commonly-used term "tattoo gun" is incorrect. "A gun is made to kill; my machine only inflicts pain," he said.
(exif: 50mm, 1/80, f2.0, ISO 500)

















Tipton looks at his electric power supply as he calibrates his tattoo machine for work on his next client's color tattoo. Each tattoo is different, he explained, and requires different calibration depending on color, shading and other factors. Tipton says that the tattoo will only be as good as the time and effort spent preparing for it.
(exif: 50mm, 1/60, f2.0, ISO 400)

















Tipton tattoos a bar code for Evan Williams whiskey on a client with the same name as the liquor. Tipton has become renown for his precision with his work, particularly with lettering. After completing the barcode, Tipton scanned it with his phone's barcode scanner which indeed recognized it as the Evan Williams' barcode.
(exif: 128mm, 1/60, f2.8, ISO 1000. I hand held it for this shot, which is the equivalent of 192mm on a 35mm sensor. Gotta love Pentax in-body shake reduction)

-------------EDIT----------------

After reading Jerome's comment, I chose a couple more photos. I really don't like my detail shots of his "tools" very much, so I still want to stick with a shot of him tattooing up close. But, I did find a medium shot that might work where he's not repeating the same action in the detail shot. And, I think it has a moment in it. Not sure though, I'm still finding "the moment" to be by far the most challenging aspect of photojournalism for me. This guy did not change facial expressions very often. It seems like the "moments" that I had to choose from were serious face, normal face, or somewhat happy face. This one shows the latter, and maybe a sense of pride in his work that he finished.

Also, I chose a detailed shot that people wouldn't think they're getting flipped off in. I like the other one better, but in all 10 or 15 that I shot, he had his middle finger on the guys leg for stability, so those are all out the window I guess. This one is OK I guess.

Medium:
















Tipton leans back and looks at the work he just completed on a client's color tattoo. Tipton has been working on the piece for about a month so far. Once completed is complete, it will fill the client's entire back.

Detail:
















I'll think of a caption later. I'm too mentally drained right now.

Here's a couple more options for the medium shot. Let me know if you think these ones are better than the others I posted.








































(This one might only be able to be used as an overall because in the assignment instructions it says the medium photo needs to show the subject's face. I just kind of liked the perspective on this one.)


























ONE MORE EDIT-------------------
I promise I won't post any more photos up after this. I'm just struggling with the whole editing process. I overlooked this one that could work well as a detail shot instead of him tattooing up close for the detail, which would allow me to use a tattooing shot for the medium. The tools he has aren't the most interesting, but I think the close up detail on his tattoos and his shirt make up for it and give good insight into his character. What do you guys think?

What do you think?

Medium Shots: I like the first one because of the warm lighting and i hope i captured the smallness of the "restaurant." I think it would be interesting to go back and keep that in mind and the old- run down look of the place. For example.. all the dvds and music they have, the tape on the ceiling, big hole in the ground, things like that. The second photo I like because of the angles and the pattern the patties create. What do you guys think?



Environment Shots: This is Alisha Syth who works at a little hamburger joint in Kellogg ID called Humdinger. She has worked there for three years and is the big bad manager :) So in one of the shots I got her just staring out the window, which she says she does a lot. She has big dreams of making it as a musician and plans to leave that little town. The other shot is of her taking orders over the phone in a relaxed or lazy position. I also have a shot of her smokin cigarettes in the back (they are allowed) but need to make it more interesting. I wasn't sure if these were too close to being med. shots? AND I am having problems with the Detail shot... I think this will be where i capture the oldness of the place and the silly things that are laying around..like makeup, ash trays, hair stuff etc?

Exciting blog participation this week!

Once again, it is Tuesday evening at 5pm and we have had stellar participation on this blog where we, your fellow students, try to count on you for input when we are struggling.

Thanks very much to Jerome, Marily, Mike and Gabe for participating when it was still helpful!

Yes, this stuff is hard.  But it is much harder when we don't try to help each other figure it out.  Sorry, I won't mention this again.  I just thought I would try one more time before giving up.

Discussion Photos

After struggling with our current assignment and resigning myself to having to reshoot it, I decided to look around at other photos that met the criteria for an environment, medium and detail shot.  These are a few examples that caught my attention.

Environment

Photographer Laurent Van Der Stockt took this shot in the war-torn

Chechen capital of Grozny in August 1996.

Medium

No information given

Detail

Photo by David Blumenfeld

Why I picked these photos:

The first photo uses juxtaposition to create interest.  This is something that I had not been looking for while trying to remember the 972 different things we have discusses in class as I am trying to get a good exposure without a distracting background.  It is hard to concentrate on what I am trying to do and think about all the various factors that create a good photograph at the same time.  Good thing I am getting lots of practice.

The second photo has something unusual that we do not see everyday.  With my particular subject, the Liberty Tax Waver, I had a very difficult time finding something unusual to make my photo stand out.  I may very well have to find an  entirely different subject to make this work out.  This has been on my mind since my first shoot and I have been racking my brain to come up with the unusual detail or camera angle that could provide such a thing given the conditions at hand.

The third photo could have just been a photo of the guy's head.  This presentation of the back of a viewfinder in a camera shows the same information in a creative new way.  It is a different way of looking at the same thing, presenting it in an unusual way.  However, this particular example may very well have been Photoshopped (the added name certainly was) and is more about the photography than the subject in the viewfinder.  It is something different none the less.

Person At Work

For the past 10-15 years, William Hanks has been running his own garden art business, Granite Gardens, in Athol, Idaho. On February 20th, he continues to stack those granite boulders in order to complete the rock wall. "If it's gray, it's granite; if it's green, it's grass."