Newsletter of the Highlands Ranch Photography Club

Highlands Ranch Photo Club Meeting
October 9, 2007

DeDe welcomed everyone to the October meeting and introduced several visitors. Meetings are held at the Highlands Ranch Library the 2nd Tuesday of each month.

This weekend is the Highlands Ranch craft festival. Jim will be there with a booth and his photos to sell.

Claudia brought her new book illustrated by John Fielder's photographs. There will be a book signing on November 3 at the Tattered Cover.

Our speaker for this meeting was Zachary Malham, whose day job is to be managing partner for the Egg and I restaurant here in Highlands Ranch. He began the presentation by showing us two color photos: one of the Sand Dunes and one shot in Mykonos, Greece. Although he has shot color at some periods, his real passion is for black and white. He enjoys the shadow, light, line, texture, shape and form around which black and white photography centers.

Zachary said he "shoots from the hip." He leaves the technical aspects of photography to those who understand technicalities. The emotional part of photography is more his interest. His main "technical" pointer was to stop down to 22 and shoot slow, perhaps 1/8 second. The camera needs to be held tight or put on a tripod. This combination will give you 50 mile distance.

Tracing the 175-year history of photography, Zach said the word came from "photo" meaning light and "graph" meaning drawing. So photography means drawing with light. Photography replaced painting for personal portraits, battlefield sketches and landscapes.

Alfred Stieglitz was an early American photographer who promoted photography as a fine art form. Soon photography was no longer a curiosity, but an accepted art form. Others in his circle in the 1920s and 1930s included a young Ansel Adams and Paul Strand. Even after color film was introduced, black and white remained the fine art choice.

Zachary started shooting in the 4th grade in black and white. Later he would use a color Canonette. He never studied other photographers and always wanted his own fresh and personal interpretation, not to copy someone else. He also took up painting and sketching, which is how he learned about composition -- taking a scene and filling a space.

Zachary talked about the "money shot" at several points during his presentation. It is his phrase to describe a photograph that defines the photographer, the photo nobody else has captured that defines an emotion. An example is Alfred Eisenstaedt's 1945 LIFE photograph of a sailor kissing a nurse. Zachary said every photographer should look for the "money shot" that shows your photographer's eye, your "eye for the image." This term is not related to financial gain or jury selection. While those are nice, it is an emotion, telling yourself "gotcha" or "bingo." It happens when the eye, angle, image, emotion, heart and gut feeling all mesh.

While color is readily acceptable to the eye, it connects all the dots for the viewer and does the work for you. Black and white, though, gives more room for interpretation and emotion. Your mind has to do more work and it leaves more room for subtle nuances.

Some photographers set up and then wait for a shot to happen. Zach has only rarely worked this way. He often likes to shoot something as he comes across it.

Shadow, shape, form and texture are all important. The photographer needs to look into the image, not just at it. Without color there are fewer stimuli to give you clues. The viewer's interpretation will be based on their experiences and emotions. Black and white is less realistic and leaves more to the imagination.

As far as equipment, his kit is simple. He uses an all manual Nikon camera, two lenses, a yellow filter and 100 ASA professional black and white. The filter is needed to add contrast to black and white photography. It make the clouds pop. He also likes using a wide angle shot from his knees to completely take in the sky. This gives you lots of play with the horizon line. Zachary likes to use the same, simple equipment so he knows how to work with it. He is able to be comfortable with his equipment, the subject matter and his skill level.

A contact sheet can be a great tool. He often takes many shots of the same image. The best one may be a couple down the line from the one you thought would be the one. A couple of feet or inches or a slightly different angle in perspective may make all the difference.

He recommended Roach Photo Lab in Denver for their hand developing of black and white. He takes his contact sheet in and tells them what he wants and they do it his way. He uses archival quality paper which is fiber-based paper with a high silver content. It is important to find a developer who listens to you and does what you want. They have also been helpful with suggestions for framing and matting his work.

Asked about digital, he said it is really cool. However, he won't use it for art photography. He does not want to go there professionally.

Zachary chooses black metal frames to hang his photographs with white mats. He limits sales of his photographs to runs of 100. He brought a number of his black and white photos to the meeting, including several which have recently won awards at photography shows. The subjects included lost highways, drive-ins, clouds and Southwestern scenery and buildings.

Summing up, all art should inspire. "I strive to evoke an emotional response from my viewers," said Zachary. He likes working with the tonality of black and white and wants the viewer to do the interpreting.

November 13 - Dale Duxbury will do a presentation on digital photography.

View reports from previous meetings - News Archives