Green...

Lily

Branch

Fern

These photographs were taken in the town of Independence, Texas and in Lick Creek Park in Brazos County near the town of College Station, Texas. (Technical: Pentax K2, FujiFilm 400 Speed Color Film)
Copyright Teddy Wilson 2008

Neighbor’s Gardens...

Lantana

Iris

Herbertia

These photographs were taken in the town of Navasota, Texas. (Technical: Pentax K2, FujiFilm 200 Speed Color Film)
Copyright Teddy Wilson 2008

Artistic Experimentation...

In the last few weeks I have been thinking more about art as a whole, and widening my focus from just photography. I have realized that since I have been taking photographs in the last several months that I have been look towards more than just photographers for inspiration and for influence. I have also notice that my mind has been working on ideas for several different ways that I can expand upon the medium of photography.

I have chosen film for many different reasons, and I do not see myself exploring the digital photography realm with my photographs. However, I do see myself exploring other means of photographic expression, and I am starting to experiment in some new ways.

One of the ways, that those of you that are familiar with my photograph may have already seen, is that I have been creating videos with my photographs. These videos are basically virtual slide shows, and I have added soundtracks to enhance to experience. The first video that I made was after I had been taking photographs for a few months, and I incorporated as many different styles of photographs that I had taken to that point to show an overview of my portfolio. I also used the beat of the particular piece of music to time the appearance of photographs to give a more dramatic effect both individually and as a whole.

The next video project that I have been working on focuses on the flower photographs that I have been taking, and it incorporates these photographs along with music to enhance the meaning of this collection of photographs. Also, I am incorporating thoughts from some of the greatest minds, and quotes will be shown over the top of photographs from people like Henry David Thoreau and e.e. cummings.

As far as future plans, my mind always seems to be further ahead than my shutter. Especially because I have come to consider that if I am going to consider myself an artist in any way shape or form than I must be trying to say and express something with my art. I do not think it is enough for me to take a photograph of a landscape just for the sake of taking a photograph of a landscape. I feel compelled to say something.

So, it is along those lines that I have begun to research my first project which is going to be called Life and Death in the Brazos Valley. I think that this project will take about six months to complete, which includes the research and actually taking the photographs.

There are also other ways that I will be experimenting with photography. In the next few weeks I am going to begin photographing things much more in black and white, and I will also be taking many more night photographs.

In the next couple of weeks I will post about upcoming artist events happening locally, and I will also spotlight an artist.

Cedar Creek Flowers...

Honeysuckle

Stiff-Stem Flax

Texas Dandelion

These photographs were taken near Cedar Creek in the town of Navasota, Texas. (Technical: Pentax K2, FujiFilm 200 Speed Color Film)
Copyright Teddy Wilson 2008

Animals on Film...

Dog’s Eye

Cows in the Shade

Kid in the Brush

These photographs were taken in Grimes and McLennan Counties, Texas. (Technical: Pentax K2, FujiFilm 400 Speed Color Film)
Copyright Teddy Wilson 2008

Internet Arts...

The internet is amazing.

I know this may seem obvious, but I think that I underestimated the depth of which the internet can be used for artistic expression and the arts community. There are thousands, if not millions of web sites, blogs, and vlogs dedicate to the arts. There are of course the web sites that are for official arts communities, professional artist and dealers, and for museums and art publications. But, there are by far much more “starving” artist, and these amateurs and working class artist have filled the internet with art.

So are so many people with so much talent, that I think it is revolutionizing art. I think that art is no longer just something that people have to go to a museum or art gallery to see. I think the internet is giving artist of all statures the ability to share their art with the world. The revolution does not just affect those artists who work in the visual arts, such as painting, and drawing, and photography, and graphic arts. This revolution affects the written word as well, and it is also affecting the spoken word.

Not to mention that an application for a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts is just a click away.

Online there is a blending of art…it seems as though sometimes it is hard to tell where different styles stop and others begin. There also seems to be so much positive feedback between artists. On community sites and blogging sites there is a type of negative mist that seems to hang in the electronic atmosphere. From the dip I have taken into the world of art on the internet, there seems to be a positive vibe so thick that you could drown in it.

So, to support the arts community on the internet, every week I am going to feature a new artist that I have found on the internet. Look for the first featured internet artist on April 30th, and on that same day I will feature a YouTube internet artist.

Support arts on the internet! (I am going to have to work on that slogan.)

Texas Continues to Bloom...

Albino Paintbrush

Dandelion

Bluebonnet

All photographs taken in Independence, Texas. (Technical: Pentax K2, FujiFilm 400 Speed Color Film)

Copyright: Teddy Wilson 2008

Night Photography...

Park Bridge at Night

Campus Hallway


Park at Night

These three photographs are my first experimentations with night photography. These experiments have given me a barometer for what to expect when taking photographs at night, and in low light settings.

I used FujiFilm 1600 speed color film for these photographs. It is the best speed for night photography, although it is expensive. All of the photographs were taken with an aperture setting of F8; I felt that this aperture setting would be a good middle ground baseline to work from. I took three exposures of each scene, and the exposures where staggered from ten, twenty, and thirty seconds.

I found that the different between the exposure times was essentially minimal, but the exposure time would be important depending on what kind of look I was trying to pull out of my photograph.

In the first photograph of the bridge I felt that a ten second exposure time produced the best photo, although I think that I will use a filter the next time I take a similar photo to reduce the starburst from the park lights. The longer exposures dulled the color of the grass, however increased the intensity of the reflection on the water.

In the second photograph I came to the conclusion that the ten second exposure time also produces the best result, because in the longer exposure time the red color of the brick is diffused and the shadows are less apparent. This is my favorite off all the night photos that I took with this roll, because it is simple and creates an interesting feeling when you look at it.

The second photograph I once again came to discover that less is more. With such a high speed film there is not a need for long exposure times, and with short exposure times you can bring out interesting things in a night photograph.

These photographs were taken in College Station, Texas, on the campus of Blinn College and in Wolf Creek Park. (Technical: Canon AE-1, FujiFilm 1600 speed color film)
Copyright: Teddy Wilson 2008

Reflections on Photography...

In the last three months since I have been posting photographs I have learned more than I knew that there was to learn about photography.

In the last few weeks I have been focusing on wildflower photography, which has turned out to be much more difficult than I first assumed. I have found that the most difficult part of photographing flowers is the limited depth of field that a macro lens provides. Also, attempting to photograph flowers in different and unique ways has sometimes been complicated, and it has mostly been complicated because of the composition of the flowers themselves. Another thing that I have found to be difficult to do is to bring out the vibrant colors of the flowers.

The Indian (or Texas) Paintbrush has been very abundant this spring, and I have also discovered it to be the easiest to photograph. The geometry and fullness of the flower has allowed me to experiment more with the paintbrush than with any other flower, and with some success. The Texas bluebonnet has proven to be the most difficult to photograph in unique ways. Because of the composition of the petals the Bluebonnet is a flower that tends to be much more visually stimulating from further away than it is up close.

I have discovered that my favorite time of the day to take photographs is in the later morning hours. About ten o’clock in the morning seems to be the right time to take most photographs; the light is usually just the right intensity. There is also something about the time of day that I think translates into the photograph. There is another part of our senses that is active when we look at a photograph in which the time of day can be reasonably assumed.

I am going to continue to post new photographs twice a week, and I will be posting a blog once a week. I have other ideas that are working themselves out inside my head, including showcasing the work of other artist especially local artist. I am also hoping to post video vlogs on my YouTube channel once a week and these vlogs will include commentary and new photographs.

At the moment I am researching a project that I plan to take photographs for this summer; I have called the project “Life and Death in the Brazos Valley.” In the more immediate future I will probably be taking the weekend off from taking photographs. Last weekend I took four rolls of photographs, and I need to focus on organizing my photographs and negatives (I am behind at the moment). Also, I need to spend some time finding more prints for my portfolio. Hopefully next week I will have some news pertaining to that specifically.

For now I will leave you with a thought from Berenice Abbott: “Photography helps people to see.”

Texas in Bloom...

Texas Bluebonnet

Sweet William

Showy Primrose

These photographs where taken in Washinton and Brazos Counties, Texas. (Technical: Pentax K2, FujiFilm 400 Speed Color Film, Kodak 800 Speed Color Film)

Copyright: Teddy Wilson 2008

Blog Photographs Review (Jan-Mar)