Glyphs of Time :: a blog by jarvis grant

July 29, 2016

Farewell Exaniner.com

Filed under: Education,Media,Observations,Photography — Tags: , , — Jarvo @ 1:05 pm

 

Examiner-Icon1Examiner.com gave me the freedom to write about almost anything. I enjoyed writing, about  Photoshop, giving commentary about the photographic arts and its related technologies. I also enjoyed being a member of the photography industry news press corp.  As an educator, it was a wonderful platform. I soon found out finding a similar platform wouldn’t be easy. Many of these online news outlets focused on photo gear like new cameras, lens, and other photo toys. All that’s well and good, but my interests are in technology that’s not based on instrumentation alone but on process. I’m still researching the options and how to adapt to them.

So until I can find such a platform, I’ll have to do it the old fashion way, build it myself. Over these past two weeks I’ve thought about the options I have. My Examiner.com articles are a useful educational resource. So first I need to create an archive for them. I have Word docs of all of them along with images and video links. I also downloaded all of them as PDFs because many of them have the final editorial edits. Right now I’m thinking of republishing them in a separate WordPress site. I’ll see how that goes. I forgot about my subscriber list so I’ll have to build that again too.

I will keep you informed and will solicit your comments and feedback. Many thanks for your continuing support.

Jarvis Grant - Washington DC Photoshop Examiner - Tech Gear. | E

Well, so long Examiner.com! Can’t wait to see what will happen next.

 

 
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February 7, 2013

The 2013 Mobile Photography Awards and Me

Filed under: Folio,Innovation,Media,Mobile Photography,Observations,Photography — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Jarvo @ 7:06 pm
Sunflower #7

Sunflower from the atrium courtyard, National Museum of American Art, ©Jarvis Grant, 2012

In the summer of 2012 I found a new venue of expression, phone camera. As stated in my last blog post, I had always been a camera snob. One reason was I saw so much poor camera phones photography. I have owned phones that had cameras, but never used them beyond visual note taking. When I upgraded to my EVO 4G LTE, with its 8 megapixel camera, the need to investigate its possibilities was very strong.

When I first began using the device, I always had my Panasonic LX-3 with me, and I would “shoot behind” anything I did with the EVO with the LX-3. The Panasonic images were always better in my mind. When reviewing the photos, the reason I felt the LX-3 pictures were better was because I put more into them. So, to really see that the phone’s camera could do, I must not take the LX-3 with me anymore, which forced me to only use the EVO. That was scary at first but necessary if I wanted to learn how to use the new device.

This was good, but I found myself fiddling with the device a lot. My daughter told me about Instagram, and I installed the app. In fact Instagram was the first app I actually installed on the phone, which in itself opened up a whole new word in mobile computing. But that’s another story. Okay, so what Instagram provided was fiddle free photography. While shooting with a square frame took some getting used to again, it was a lot faster than shooting with a twin lens reflex. Then there was the idea of processing the image with Instagram’s filters. They were limited for sure, and I found myself still reviewing the pictures and processing them once I got home. Then one day as I was riding the bus, I was thinking about a couple of images I’d just taken. I took out the phone and began experimenting with the images. It was then I realized I could capture an image, process it and publish it, all while I was out and about. Wow, “mobile photography”! Okay I get it.

Yet, mobile photography was also offering something more. Something I had not felt since my days as an art student and new photographer. Freedom! I regained the freedom to shoot whatever I wanted too and felt like shooting.  As a seasoned photographer I do lot of analytics while making photographs. I was finding that with the phone and all its limitations, I was much lighter, with fewer calculations, rules, and perceived obligations running through my head. When I looked up two months after installing Instagram I had hundreds of new images, with a couple of hundred posted on Instagram. For me, that was very different.

With my newly found mobile photography enthusiasm, I began writing about it in my Examiner.com column, which is the reason for the long gap between blog posts. Plus I entered a few images in the Mobile Photography Awards competition I saw on the Digital Photography Review website. Well last week I discovered in a Tweet from Jack Hollingsworth (@photojack) that the winners of the Mobile Photography Awards had been posted on their website. So I went right over to see if I placed. Well the images I thought were strong in their respective categories were not there. Bummer! When I got to Plants/Flowers category,and saw the stunning first prize wining entry  by Patrick Shourds, I thought, “Oh man, these look great, oh well”! But in the Honorable Mentions group was my entry, Purple Tears, and I was shocked and surprised. Plus I felt pretty damn good.

Here are the other images I entered into competition plus the link to the Mobile Photography Award winners page.

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August 15, 2012

Mobile Photography: Confessions of a Camera Snob

Filed under: Digital Tech,Innovation,Media,Observations,Photography — Tags: , , , , — Jarvo @ 11:34 am
Le Tombeau de Daguerre

Le Tombeau de Daguerre ©Jarvis Grant

Photographic technology has always spurred controversy in the art world. First here was photography itself. When photography first came on the scene in 1839, it was supposed to bring the death of painting, drawing, and art as we know it.  Now anybody could create an image. What was a true artist to do? Then film came along and replaced big cameras and glass plates. Now anybody could create an image! What was a real photographer to do? Then came portable 35mm roll film cameras you could fit in your pocket. They replaced large format 4×5 sheet film cameras. What was a real photographer to do? Next came color photography, how unnatural was that? Real photographs are made in black & white. Then came Polaroid’s instant photography. Instant photography no darkroom? Hell, now anybody can take a picture without even waiting a week to get their pictures back. Then came digital photography, replacing film. Hey, only real photos can be made with film cameras. Now anybody can take a good picture by “fixing” it in Photoshop. What’s a real photographer to do?

Well now it seems that photo tech has arrived at a new  paradigm, the mobile phone–camera.  With this new development in photo tech, you don’t even need a camera! What’s a real photographer to do?! For the past seven years, phone cameras have evolved from a dinky two megapixel joke to a decent eight megapixel creative tool.  Phone cameras have grown from novelty toys to the voice of people toppling dictatorial requiems around the world.  Now that almost everybody is carrying a video camera and a still camera in their pocket, web services like Faop for selling iPhone images as stock and ScoopShot as spot news cuts into the stock photography and photojournalism business model for many established photographers.

Now, I have been a long time camera snob when it comes to mobile photography and photography in general.  When all the hype about the iPhone came out I was a skeptic. Then when all of the accessory  and equipment hype came out, I thought there were a lot of folks drinking the Apple Kool-Aid! I mean why would any body want to put a $1000 plus Nikon or Canon DSLR lens on an iPhone? What’s the point. Get a camera! It’ll be easier to handle, give you more control, and will possible be smaller than having a five inch DSLR lens dangling from an iPhone. And don’t even mention an iPad tablet!

However, this past winter I went to a NAPP event at the Washington Convention Center and ran into my friend, classmate, and fellow creative pro Lorenzo Wilkins. He casually showed me some pictures from a recent trip he made on his iPhone. Man, I was blown away! Lorenzo’s images looked really good. At that moment I got the whole iPhone portfolio thing. I’ve seen lots of iPhone pics but was never really that impressed. I always felt people were showing off the phone not their images.

About a month ago I was forced to upgrade my old HTC Diamond Touch to a HTC EVO 4G LTE. The Touch Diamond finally died after 5 years of good service, but I never really used the Touch’s camera. It was okay, but not for taking real photos. I only used its 3 megapixel camera for visual note taking.  Then my daughter, Maya,  told me about Instagram and how she was using it to get her digital painting out into the world. So, I downloaded the app and started to play around with it. It was quite intriguing. Once I got used to it and my phone’s camera, I began to come up with a couple of good shots. Then I just naturally stated to see how to better manipulate the camera’s controls, along with finding photo apps that allowed more image processing contols beyond Instagram’s filter set.

So now I’m at the point were I believe that phone-cams can be creative professional tools. I still believe that a real camera will offer up better results faster that a phone-cam. I just don’t dismiss phone-cams as merely toys for people who are too cheap or lazy to use a traditional camera. I now stand on the opposite side of the mobile photography argument. Well, at least I’m beginning to see the other side’s perspective.

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February 12, 2012

A Visit to Creative Clay Studios

Filed under: Art History,Inspiration,Media,Observations,Photography — Tags: , , — Jarvo @ 9:43 pm
The Kiln Gods @ Creative Clay Studios

The Gas Kiln Gods @ Creative Clay Studios

This weekend I visited the Creative Clay Studios located in Alexandria, VA with my friend and colleague, Terry deBardelaben. Terry had finished sculpting and bisque firing a rather large vessel and was taking her work to be glazed and fired at Creative Clay Studios. As stated on their web site, “Creative Clay Studios is Northern Virginia’s home for clay artists”. The space allows artists to use the space as they would their own studio while maintaining a larger inventory of all things clay than the average professional artist would be able to keep. Much like an open studio darkroom used to function back in the day. Creative Clay also is a place for artists at all levels, to learn different ceramic techniques and provides  a place of community for the ceramic artist working in the Washington DC metro area.

While I was there I met Ed Bull the founder of Creative Clay Studios. Ed loves fire! He is a Ceramic Fireman. While Terry and I were there, Ed was conducting a Valentine’s Couples Workshop. Pretty cool stuff! Couples taking the workshop create separate personal “gifts” for each other or work on a project together.  Anyway, Ed took great joy and pride  explaining how the Studio’s variety of kilns operate. He reminded me of the fact that there’s quite a lot of alchemy involved in the creation of ceramic art. The earth, water, assorted chemistry of color glazes all brought together through the magic elements of fire and timing. I really hadn’t heard that stuff since my days at University as an art student. It was fun to hear again. It was also cool to see Ed interacting with the professional artists that were in the studio. Conferring and interacting with them as colleagues and as Master Craftsman.

While at Creative Clay with Terry, I used the time to do impromptu documentation of her as she worked on this piece of artwork. I’ve been photographing and videoing her as she’s been working on her many projects. In fact, I was with her earlier that afternoon at her school were she provides Open Studio for her students at the St. Steven and St. Agnes Upper School. I was editing video I shot  at a workshop  she conducted about sustainability and making art. The Creative Clay Studio is a visually engaging  space. When she was finished working I told her I wanted to make a portrait of her in the space. Then Ed came back into the kiln room, and I asked him if I could photograph him too. I belive a got a couple of good environmental portraits of these two artists and I share them now with you.

Terry deBardelaben, Artist/Scholar

Terry deBardelaben, Artist/Scholar @ The Creative Clay Studios. ©Jarvis Grant

Ed-Bull, Artist & Founder of The Creative Clay Studios

Ed Bull, Artist & Fireman, Founder at Creative Clay Studios. ©Jarvis Grant

 

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February 5, 2012

Citizens We Community Portrait Project, Continues…

Filed under: Design,Media,Observations,Photography — Tags: , , , , — Jarvo @ 11:29 pm

Citizens We Logo

Nancy

Nancy, ©Jarvis Grant

A few month ago, I launch a proposal on USA Projects. I was seeking funding for, Citizens We. At that time I was looking to get $5000 for an upgrade to a new 24 inch Epson printer. Well, I didn’t make my goal and the USA Projects aspect of the project folded. With USA Projects it’s an All or Nothing deal. The odd thing is that while I got nothing from the USA Projects part of it, Citizens We actually began to pick up speed and developed a life of its own. People in the community bought into it, and it started to develop a life of its own.

The strange thing about the “Crowd Funding”  model was that many of the people I actually knew, friends and family,  didn’t support the project. They all wanted to write me a check! But, that’s not how this model works.  With Crowd Funding, you “pledge” an amount to a 3rd party organization. Three folks I knew, my daughter, Maya, and two Howard University classmates, Clarissa Sligh and Dan Wade, along with a former student, which I believe was Chris Belcher (or Chris Smith) bought into the process. The rest were strangers! Now, as disheartening as this was, I came out of the experience feeling pretty good. A colleague  of mine Debra Weiss gave me a call from LA to let me know she believed in the project and would add her support for it to continue. That call was HUGE to my ego and my sense that the Citizens We was an important project to keep pushing forward.

Back in December of 2011 another friend and colleague, Joanne Henson, offered me an opportunity to setup an impromptu studio at her Holiday Craft Bazaar. This afforded me the change to setup the studio, and solicited people to be a part of the project.  Along with making the photographs was doing the paperwork for Citizens We. This would not have been accomplished without the help and encouragement of my friend and now Project Director, Terry deBardelaben. Terry was the one who gave me the idea of a community portrait project, and her support has been my most valuable asset. Photographers like to believe they can do everything by themselves. At least that’s what their PR hype will push forward. But now I see that all artists need someone to manage the details. Or if are not managing those details, to point them out to the photographer/artist,  so their attention and action can be addressed.

Here are a few of the portraits I made at Joanne’s Holiday Craft Bazaar. There are some exciting things happening with the project that I’ll be sharing once we are underway. So for all of you that supported the project when it was on USA Projects thanks so very much! New aspects of the project are proceeding, and I’ll be informing you of the progress. Thanks a lot for your continuing and renewed support for Citizens We.

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February 1, 2012

New Photography Magazine: The PHOTO Paper

Filed under: Folio,Media,Observations,Photography — Tags: , , , — Jarvo @ 4:54 pm
Cover The PHOTO PAPER

The PHOTO PAPER premire Issue cover

A couple of weeks ago I got an email notice from the Black & White Spider Awards. I was informed that my photographs were being included in the premier issue of a new photography magazine out of London, UK called The PHOTO Paper. This new magazine, “…spotlights the world’s finest photography and shares with its reader intelligent insights from the photographers of the published collections.”  For their premiere issue they’ve showcase a amazing international black & white collection featuring 522 photographers from 46 countries. Hey that’s nice. Glad to be a part of it! The PHOTO Paper comes in two flavors, print edition and digital edition.  The print edition of The PHOTO Paper includes editorial, stories and interviews. The digital issues have more pages and images than the print editions. The digital issues do not include editorial or interviews.

This approach is an interesting one, in that here in the US, there is a publication, Lenswork, that has been around for almost 20 years. With Lenswork, they have the opposite approach with their publication. The print edition is smaller and the digital edition is larger in both “pages” and scope. The digital editions takes advantage of being able to to show Black & White and Color photographs. It also has video and audio interviews. Plus it maintains a an archive of the podcast produced by the publisher Brooks Jensen. The digital edition also comes in a few flavors. There’s an iPad/Pod version, the DVD edition and a newly created online Lenswork digital hub, Daily Lenswork. Brooks Jensen has been able to keep his baby going fired by his passion for photography and the creative process. A few years ago, he made a very brave and bold decision. He took his print magazine off newsstand and offered it only through his Lenswork Virtual Newsstand web site. He was thinking green. Both for the environment and his bank account! In fact the whole Lenswork concept came about in part, to his reaction to the Fine Art Gallery System.  Jensen believed this “System” was not in the best interest of the artist. Lenswork offered an alternative platform of expression for the artist photographer. It also provided an alternative for artist on how to think about how to control their careers. I also feel that Lenswork provided Jensen with the opportunity to make a substantial contribution to the photographic community/industry. Check him and his publication out.

Ok back to me! Well, when I downloaded the PHOTO Paper digital edition pdf, I was very surprised to se that I had a page for one photograph and a double spread for the other. Thanks The PHOTO Paper. What sensitivity and taste you folks have! But seriously, I’m honored to be part of the Photo Paper’s premier issue. Plus a special shout out to the Black & White Spider Awards for making it possible. Thanks guys.

 

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December 25, 2011

Merry Christmas! A little something from New York City

Filed under: Art History,Inspiration,Media — Tags: , , — Jarvo @ 8:35 pm

Merry Christmas everyone. Here is Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol preformed as a radio play by the staff of WQRX New York’s classical public radio station and the staff of WNYC  news public radio station, recorded  live from the WQXR /WNYC Greene Space.

Here is the complete cast and crew lineup:

Artistic Team:
Elliott Forrest – director.
Arthur Yorinks – writer.
Fred Newman (Prairie Home Companion) – sound effects.
John Forster – composer/pianist.

Cast:
Narrator – John Schaefer.
Ebenezer Scrooge – F. Murray Abraham.
Bob Cratchit – Jeff Spurgeon.
Child – Jalen Robinson (11-year-old student).
Nephew – Jad Abumrad.
Gentleman – Richard Hake.
Marley – David Garland.
Mrs. Dilber – Naomi Lewin.
Christmas Past – Nimet Habachy.
Young Scrooge – Elliott Forrest.
Fan – Naomi Lewin.
Fezziwig – Brian Zumhagen.
Belle – Lorraine Mattox.
Adult Scrooge – Elliott Forrest.
Christmas Present – Robert Krulwich.
Mrs. Cratchit – Celeste Headlee.
Belinda – Naomi Lewin.
Martha – Lorraine Mattox.
Peter Cratchit – Jad Abumrad.
Tiny Tim – Jalen Robinson.
Nephew’s Wife – Lorraine Mattox.
Businessman 1 – Richard Hake.
Businessman 2 – David Garland.
Miss Eliza – Celeste Headlee.
Undertaker – Elliott Forrest.
Old Joe – Brian Zumhagen.
Boy – Jalen Robinson.

The gravestone prop of Ebenezer Scrooge used in the 1984 film "A Christmas Carol" was left in the graveyard of St. Chad's Church, Shrewsbury, where filming took place. ©Howard Lake

 
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August 22, 2011

Red River Paper Pro: Jarvis Grant

Filed under: Design,Folio,Inspiration,Media,Observations,Photography — Tags: , , — Jarvo @ 12:56 am

This past week I officially became a Red River Paper Pro. I have been using Red River Paper for about 10 years. It’s a great inkjet paper that comes in many varieties of surfaces, and sizes. I first started using the Premium 37lb Matte in 17×22 sheets and 17 in rolls for projects at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington DC. As a member of the Museum Studies department faculty, I choose this paper as an alliterative to Epson’s Enhanced Matte paper. First, because it was a lot cheaper than the epson stuff, and then I started to notice that the Red River paper didn’t turn yellow at the same rate that the Epson paper did. Then as papers were getting harder to obtain at local photography dealers, I decided to switch totally to Red River products.

OK back to me! When I saw that Red River had this pro section, I sent them an email to see how to be a member of the club. Drew Hendrix responded and gave me the details of the procedure. I sent the info and samples, and it was a go. I was then put in touch with  the editor, Arthur  Bleich. He made the final selection on the image to be used. He choose the image from the intro of the the Botanical Gallery of my web site. I offered another option, Three Black-eye Susans, but he wanted the image, Blowin’ Flower, because of its “elaborate” lighting and “action”. He was surprised that the dandelion picture wasn’t as elaborate a setup as he thought. I used a scanner to take this action shot!

So, please stop by the Jarvis Grant Red River Pro page and check it out. Thanks!

Three Black Eyed Susans

The image I waoffered as an option, "Three Black Eyed Susans", ©Jarvis Grant

 

Blowin Flower #4

The images used on my Red River Pro page, Blowin' Flower #4, ©Jarvis Grant

 
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August 16, 2011

Adobe: Contemplating the Muse

Filed under: Design,Digital Tech,Innovation,Media,Observations — Tags: , , , — Jarvo @ 2:49 pm
Adobe Muse web site homepage

Adobe Muse web site homepage

Adobe has released the beta of their new web design application, Muse. This new Adobe app is yet another in its line of web design sans-code tools. Muse is totted to be a tool to, “Create websites as easily as you create layouts for print. You can design and publish original HTML pages to the latest web standards without writing code”. Similar to Adobe Catalyst for designing interactive Flash design without using ActionScript, and Adobe Edge  for designing content & animation using HTML 5 , Javascript, and CSS.  Muse is definitely worth a look see. In fact the whole Adobe Muse site was created using Muse. One other interesting note is that Muse is built upon Adobe’s AIR platform.

With all of this techno wizardry, there is something different with Adobe Muse brings to the party. This little piece of Adobe real estate, while still in beta, presents on its web site a tab for Pricing. What the tab delivers to you is Adobe’s new software subscription model. Instead of the usual flat rate, it offers you the choice of the “Month to Month Plan” or the “Yearly Plan”.  Now this isn’t new that new. Adobe has been pushing this idea for several months. Actual since the “release” of Creative Suite CS5.5. So, you don’t want to shell out $600 for Photoshop? Okay, you can rent it for $30 a month, which puts you a little over the “upgrade” pricing. This idea is not going away, and for some users it does make since. You’re only using Photoshop, InDesign, and Acrobat Pro in the Creative Suite? That’s about $30 bucks a month on the Year Plan OR $50 bucks Month to Month. Only need AfterEffects for a few months? That’s about $70 per month.Still if you do the math you’re a little better off buying the box. Still, it is a option, and once more people buy into the idea of software subscription, the prices should drop.

So what Adobe Muse offers to designers is a way to design for mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, without mucking around with code. The interesting thing is that tools like this are actually training platforms too. As you begin to troubleshoot problems with your designs (yes believe it or not things can go wrong with software!) you’ll start picking up a little code handling here and there. Not a lot, but enough to understand what happens on the developer side of the equation. Now if there was only a tool for developers so they could understand that design is easy only after a designer creates a design!

 

 
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July 10, 2011

A Gigapixel Portrait

Filed under: Art History,Digital Tech,Media,Museum,Photography,Video — Tags: , , , , — Jarvo @ 8:53 pm

When I first started this project it was to create a 360 degree panorama of an art installation at the Hillyer Art Space in Washington, DC. The work, Ass Against the Wall is the work of artist Martha Jackson Jarvis. The piece was inspired by her trip earlier that year to Tajikistan, a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia, as an Art & Cultural Ambassador.  This was also the first time I use my Gigapan EPIC for an assignment. The original idea was to create a 360 degree pano for a QuickTime VR movie. However the final image/movie was huge! Even when I reduced the pixel count by 50% it was still pretty big, but it wouldn’t choke a user’s system. This is what I came up with. Click & drag inside the frame to view the movie panorama.

 

The thing about 360 panos is that they’re 360 degrees! So as the Gigapan did it’s thing we were in the final images. I wasn’t sure if it had finished, so when I leaned forward to check its progress, my movement was recorded. One thing that I did discover was that Martha was watching the camera’s movement with great interest. So much so that the camera captured her as if posing for a portrait. It looked pretty good, so I now thought of the image as an environmental portrait. We decided to make a poster for her artist talk at the gallery.

Ass Against the Wall Exhibit Poster

Well neither the QTVR movie or the poster really show the detail of this gigapixel portrait. Even the poster had to be scaled down so it could be printed on a 36 inch by 17 in sheet of paper. After I had submitted the landscapes mentioned in my previous post, Revisiting the Gigapan, I decided to upload the original 360 panorama (cropping me out!) to show it in its full glory, so to speak. Interesting thing about this “final” image is that when I was processing it, I still cut it back by 50%, so it’s still not the true full gigapixel image. Use a navigation tool to pan & zoom through the image below. You can also use your mouse wheel as well as click & drag to pan through the pano.

 
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