Abstract Trees, F4443, Edit D: by Nawfal Johnson Nur, Created on 12 Jan 2012.

Abstract Trees, Photo-Art by Nawfal Johnson Nur.

It has been an amazingly long time since I last wrote or showed any of my work here at “THE LIGHT-PAINTER’S THUMB”-and I must apologize for that.

I regularly add new blog posts to my primary photo-blog:

http://finegrain.wordpress.com/ (Behind the Lens)

Recently, I have also added a lot of new Dance Photography to my “Interpretations of Dance” photo-blog.

http://interpretationsofdance.wordpress.com/

The Abstract Trees artwork (above) is one of several in my “Abstract Trees” collection.  This collection began a couple of years ago, and because I really enjoy designing this series, I will continue, I think, for a long time to come.

I’ve been listening to various photography podcasts today, something that I like to do.  I have thought about the reasons why I listen to photography podcasts; so far, I have not come up with a good enough conclusion.  Many of the things that are discussed, such as technical things, or ‘the obvious things’, I already know, have practiced myself, have heard about, read about, etc.  There are other things, technical things regarding new equipment, that I have not heard about, and I am open to learning new things, new techniques, or different, OR BETTER ways of doing things.  There are plenty of things I would love to do better.

Putting the technicalities discussed on the podcasts, aside; I would have to say that the main reason I like to listen to photo podcasts is to hear photo stories from the people who tell the stories.  For example, it is quite interesting to hear about how Joe McNally began his career with National Geographic, and that this excellent photographer had to deal with many missteps throughout his career.  When I hear, and realize that master photographers have all kinds of problems to deal with too, and that they don’t shoot perfect shots all the time, the first time, it is sort of a humbling readjustment of my view on a photographic life.  Hearing other photographers discuss the highs, and the lows, of their careers brings my own experiences into more focused perspective.

I always find it inspiring also, to listen to other photographers who are engaged in their work-I too, get more focused.

BTW:  I really recommend that everyone listen to the Joe McNally interview.

FOR THE MOST PART, with this blog post, I have not published anything here in a long while, and thought I better, no, I MUST add new work here today.

  In this case, I took photos of the alternative light source:  Candlelight.

Photo Data:

Shutter Speed:  1/8th Second.

Aperture:  f/7.1

ISO:  100

No Flash.

Photo Data:

Shutter Speed:  1/15th Second.

Aperture:  f/14.0

ISO:  1600

No Flash.

4-Point Star Filter.

Photo Data:

Shutter Speed:  1/15th Second.

Aperture:  f/14.0

ISO:  1600

No Flash.

 

9-Seconds, v.4, Edit B, Special Effects Photo, Copyright Nawfal Johnson Nur.

 

 

It is 5:20am, and I have not, even nearly, gotten enough sleep – can’t sleep properly – too much swimming around in my head.  Read on to hear the ramblings of a tired photographer.

Not that it matters, probably, to very many people, the thought of entering the hospital for anything can cause some amount of anxiety. No matter how small the need to go to the hospital, there is some anxiety about it. I could be, possibly, perhaps, and even perchance, be wrong, maybe this is something that matters to a lot of people.

How ironic that the less sleep you get, the more anxious you become, and the more anxious you get, the less sleep you get. At least, that is how I operate.

And, what happens, if I press this ‘barcode’ button?

Nothing, nothing happens. That frustrates me considerably. A button that does nothing. It’s like when you stand at the traffic crossing, you push the “Pedestrian Cross Walk Button” – the one that stops the traffic – I mean, the one that is supposed to work and stop the traffic. These things don’t really work, come on now, if you press that thing, it takes as long to stop the oncoming traffic as if you never pressed the damned button in the first place. In fact, if you take a screwdriver to that thing, I bet there is nothing in there, no wires, nada, zilch, nothing. It’s just a button – a “Psychological Button” to play with your mind. The powers-that-be just put those buttons on the light pole to screw around with pedestrians’ minds, giving them the hope that they can cross the road faster than usual. It is a sick game to say the least.

That was just a random thought – I am not angry about this little irritation!

Photo Details: “RAGE, v.8, Edit D”. Self-Portrait, 2008. One day, I was thinking that how some emotions are over looked in photography, probably because they are uncomfortable to confront. You can see multitudes of good, happy, fluffy, beautiful, “hot”, sexy, photographs on the Internet. When you think of a self-portrait, you don’t really think in turns of the “negative” emotions as the ones you want to “wear” while getting your photograph taken. It is easy to smile at the camera, or simply stand, sit or lay down without emotion and have your picture taken. However, to reach the highest of lows – RAGE – is the ultimate self-portrait challenge. It is not easy getting yourself into a rage and take your own photograph at the same time. The depths of all depths of pain and anger need to come forth, out through your pores, to express real-rage. This was, by all measures, the most difficult photograph I had to prepare myself for emotionally – ever. This was also the most unusual photograph I had to act for, as I am not very often, angry. I am quite patient and quiet most of the time. This made my preparation for this photograph all that much thornier. Sometimes, a photograph is created that no one is likely to like, but it does not mean it is not real and emotional. If a photograph is uncomfortable, then the photographer probably has done his or her job and provoked an emotional response from the viewer. Of course, happy, funny, sexy and ‘hot’ photographs also provoke certain emotional responses, but of a much more different kind. I guess in this instance, I wanted to concentrate on the less focused on emotion of extreme anger – RAGE. Why? Why not. Why not investigate the uncomfortable, from time to time? I would suppose that if all my photography was happy-happy, ‘normal’ type shots, then I would get very bored with my work, very quickly.

An exploration of RAGE, "RAGE, v.8, Edit D," A Self-portrait, taken in 2008.

Conceivably, I am not thinking properly, not yet at least. Not enough coffee in my bloodstream yet.

Let’s get back to the topic of this post. What I have learned from the “Treat every today as if tomorrow you will be in the hospital” thinking, is that today, and many days prior to today, my “To Do” list took on a completely new urgency. I’ve accomplished a whole mess-load of stuff that I have been putting off, or dragging my feet about. It is like a miracle all on its own!

Photo Details: Abstract Rain, v.19″

I would say that I’m feeling more than a little abstract this morning, and it has been a long morning already.

Thoughts of going to the hospital tomorrow have entered my mind throughout this past week. Why I am going is, and it isn’t, a mystery to me. I will be getting an MRI done on my left thigh because there is something wrong with my rectus femoris muscle. There is a BIG lump inside, or under, this muscle.

The MRI will show more clearly, what the problem is with this muscle. However, preliminary indications have pointed in all sorts of directions. One doctor told me that it looks like it could be a lymphoma! Another doctor said that it could be a lipoma. Moreover, a Radiologist thought that the Ultrasound was showing many vascular malformations in the muscle. Therefore, the MRI is necessary.

I’ll be in the hospital for one day, for sure. If my Orthopedic Surgeon wants to remove, and or, fix any of these possible issues, then I could be in the hospital longer.

I am happy that I have gotten quite a few chores done that have been on my “To-Do” list. It really should not take impending hospital visits to get me moving faster on tasks, but it seems to have worked this time.

Please wish me luck. God-Willing I’ll be back to tell you the rest of this story.

And there it is…

Some photographs from, and along the road.

All Photographs © 2011 Nawfal Johnson Nur.

Entryways, doors and windows.

I like to photograph these subjects when I am out and about. I wonder what is on the other side. Should I go up and knock on the door, or just quietly go about my business? It remains a mystery.

“The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.” Confucius

I just re-installed Live Writer, and I hope to add photos much faster than using WP options.  Unfortunately, because the previous post was not written with LW, I can’t seem to find a way to amend that post.  Oh Well – no big deal.

Thanks for your visit to my blog and I hope you enjoy seeing this group of photographs.

Yeah, hehehehehe,not an urban fragment, but this dancer has nice curves.

A beach fragment…

Some nice flowers…

Flying high!

I love the Penang sunrise…

No worries…just relax!

Penang’s famous Mamak Mee (i.e., South Indian fried noodles) – Oh so nice!

Masjid Kapitan Keling.

For the Pink Floyd fans, “All in all it’s just another brick in the wall. All in all you’re just another brick in the wall…”

This photograph is the only non-digital (original non-digital) photograph in this collection.  I created this photograph about 3-years ago using my antique KODAK BROWNIE box camera using 120 format Kodak film.  The exposure time was approximately 6-seconds.  Because NO ONE in Penang was available to make prints for me from the negatives, I had to experiment a bit to get a positive.  Thus, I scanned my negative using my UMAX Astra 5600, making the digital file.  Then, I used PhotoImpact, photo editing software to Invert the digital negative image into a digital positive image.  And thus, this is my photograph.

An old bike against a blue wall on Jalan Talipon.

The passenger ferry, Pulau Udan, picking up passengers.

I have more Urban and Urban Fragment photographs I want to share on my blog, but I think I will save those for a Part III.

Thank you very much for your visit and I do hope you enjoyed seeing my Penang photography.

I think that living in one place for a long time, and I have been in Penang for almost 17-years, a person can start seeing the same things over and over and this makes stuff not very interesting.

So what do you do when your ‘vision’ becomes stifled?

As a photographer, I have to really challenge myself to look at things in Penang, in new ways, with “new eyes”, so to speak – as if I’m seeing this island for the first time.  It isn’t easy to do.  I felt the same way in my hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska (USA).  After awhile, nothing seems very interesting to photograph because you see it over and over.

I wonder if people who live in Italy feel this way.  Having never been to Rome, or Venice I can’t imagine ever being bored photographing there.  I hazard a guess though, if you live there, and if you do not look at things in new ways, what you see will start looking, well, like you have seen it a thousand, or ten thousand times.

When I engage in a photography subject, like Urban Fragments, I look for smaller details, and I hope to compose and frame photographs (in the viewfinder), which I find interesting, and appear completely new.  Looking at the smaller details in Penang creates a fun experience for me when I’m out shooting.  I’ve always been somewhat of a macro-focused shooter, thus I look at the small details.  I do enjoy photographing the entire building, but I prefer to see parts and pieces of architecture and photograph those smaller perspectives.

Well, I hope you enjoy seeing my photographs of  Penang, the way I see things here.

3-Balconies, Ah Quee St, v4, PENANG

Yellow, White, Blue, Broom, v2, ANSON ROAD, PENANG

Yellow Door, Red Bucket, v1, JALAN KRIAN, PENANG

Yellow Line Reflections, Bishop Street, v2, PENANG

Window Hook, TALIPON ROAD, PENANG

WINDOW and Yellow-Blue Paint, v2, PENANG

Window and One Open Door, Church Street, PENANG

Window and Red Tub, Irving Road, PENANG

White Arrow & Trishaw, v1, OFF CHULIA STREET, PENANG

Wat Chayamangkalaram, WINDOW IN WINDOW

Wat Chayamangkalaram, BICYCLE

More photographs coming soon…I need to use Windows Live Writer so I can add photos (many photos) all at once.  Having to hit the “show” (from the Gallery Folder) link and then, ‘Insert into Blog’ takes WAY TOO LONG when you want to add a lot of images to a blog entry.  Anyway, be back soon with more photos of Penang.

The closer you get to your subject, and the shinier and darker the material, the more dust magnetizes itself to the subject you are photographing.  Don’t ask me why:  It is a universal law of Physics.  It’s called the Duunkenheimer Dust Law of Attraction.

Alright, alright, I just made that shit up.  You probably won’t find that ‘law’ in any Physics textbook.

HOWEVER – Dust seems to have a mind of its own:  I just know that it is saying, and yes, I do mean each and every little particle:

“Hehehehehehe – I’m gunna mess you up Mr. Photoguy!  I’m gunna be a fly in the ointment, a monkey in the wrench, a pain in the ass!”

I attempt to ignore the taunting words of the dust.  Mind you, I will still get the photograph done, no matter what – and to my liking and standards.  However, minute pieces of floating and flying granules can make for a rough stretch of trials and tribulations during the shooting-phase, and during the post-production phase.

Such is life with dust and photography.  I wonder if Seagate would let me use their clean room?  I promise not to get in the way or take up too much space, just a corner somewhere would be sufficient.

How to Deal with Dust?

Well, if nothing else, make sure you have a high-powered, bulbous air blower to constantly knock the dust off of your subject, props, and the general photo set-up.  I also use micro-fiber dusting cloth.  The rest of the dust spots can be cleaned up with photo-editing software.  However, the less dust that is captured in the shot means less time cleaning the spots off later, during post-production.

I don’t want to be worrying about dust, there are so many other details that are far more important in still life photography, such as lighting, props, design, position of the subject, composition, exposure, hot-spots, reflections, color, shadows, lens choice, lens angle, and positioning reflectors and diffusers.

Yes, dust is a pain in the patella!  However, you can never fully get away from it – you just have to deal with it.

BELT, Still Life Product Photograph by Nawfal Johnson Nur

Early Morning Photograph of the Fountain at the Gurney Drive Roundabout, Penang, Malaysia

Taking myself too seriously is always a good way to be set-up for disappointment.

And, I’ve heard (from a Stewart Harvey interview) that you need to ‘get out of your own way‘ before you can really take amazing photography that other people really care about, photography that is relevant.

I have thought about this statement for some time, and I’m still learning about how to apply that to my life and work.  I think that when I can finally ‘get out of my own way‘, then there will no longer be set-ups and disappointments.  Maybe finally not caring who thinks whatever about my work, my work will finally become meaningful.  Failures are OK – I can learn from failures.  I just do not like setting myself up, and I can help stop that by refusing to fall for nonsensical thinking.

It may all be about creating photography that is relevant, interesting and fresh, something that maybe anyone can appreciate, and not attempting to get ‘attaboys‘ from other photographers.  Peer review is of course important, but I want my work to reach out to the wide-angle audience – everyone.

I believe that the main people I need to concentrate on making happy about any of my photography is if I’m creating photographs for a client.  If that is successful, then I have done what I set out to do.  If I can do this and keep my creative integrity intact, then I am happy too.

Getting out of your own way is easy to say, so much more difficult to do.