My Mutant Honey and Her Mutant Flower - iPhone Photo

My Honey!

Photo by Brad Rickerby

Fine Art Prints Available

This is another in my series of iPhone photographs. For a change, I wish I had been using my professional camera. The moment was so great and the light, from the almost setting sun was so even and so soft, that I could easily see this picture being used under the concepts of green, home ownership or gardening. The picture has an edge, which is good sometimes. And the mode, my honey if you couldn't guess that, has the kind of every day attractive look that sells in stock photography.

The light has changed now. So maybe I will try to get her back out there tomorrow. This image is not usable for stock because it is just over 1 MB in size. No stock agency that I know of will use such a small image. We will see if tomorrow I can get all the visuals in this image to work together again.

Fine Art Color Photograph by Brad Rickerby - iPhone Collection - Golden Retriever

Jake

The Old Golden Retriever

Photo by Brad Rickerby

Limited Edition Fine Art Prints Available

Another in the series of iPhone photographs, proving to me at least, that it is the photographer and not the camera that creates the image.

Poor old Jake was minding his own business when his nine week old Carin Terrior brother attacked, then attacked and attacked once more. It was relentless. When he finally found a touch of dappled sunshine with no puppy, I got this image where I think he looks both confused (why me?) and exhausted. Puzzled, that is the look in his eyes. This was taken with the instogram and one of the lovely filters provided the nice contrast.

Small size limited edition prints are available. Please contact me at brad@bradrickerby.com for details.

Fine Art Color Cityscape Urban Photograph by Brad Rickerby - Bangkok

Motorcyclists - Bangkok, Thailand

Photo by Brad Rickerby

Limited Edition Fine Art Prints Available

This image deserves to be seen much, much larger. Alas, there is only a certain amount of space on this page. I choose this image to talk about next because we have, over the last several images, been on a discussion on what works best as a stock photo. This image has sold many times as a Rights Managed image through Getty, netting in the thousands of dollars. I guess that makes it a successful stock image, although it clearly violates one of the major principles of stock photography, simplicity. This image is not simple. It is complicated. In fact it is more like an abstract or Impressionist painting than it is a photograph. And that is why it works. The image gives you an impression of what a scene is like. It is as if you squinted your eyes to eliminate detail (which is, in fact, how many of the Impressionist painters painted).

What you are left with when you just have an impression of the scene is a photograph that delivers concepts, and that is key for stock photo sales. In the first place, when you combine this image with its location, Bangkok, Thailand you get a real story about that location. The picture tells you that Bangkok is exciting and fast-paced and dynamic. So the image works as a journalistic travel photo. Take away the location and you just have motorcycles speeding by. You have an illustration of the concepts of speed, motion, fast, an adrenaline rush and movement. All those concepts being illustrated leads to a lot of income.

To create an image like this you really have to look for backgrounds and imagine how they will look when you move the camera across them creating a blur. A single traffic light or a couple of street lights is not going to suffice to create this image. Look for lots and lots of lights (and, of course, a lot of traffic). In this case there were car headlights, neon signs, traffic signals, street lamps and a bridge with more lights on top. Having found the background, creating the image becomes a matter of just panning with the motorcycles so they are clear against the blurred background. Easy? Not at all. I spent all night creating this image. It takes a lot of repetition to get the pieces to all fall into place.

The image was created at f 4.0 at 4/10ths of a second. The ISO was 200 and the lens, a 70 mm.

Fine Art Color Photograph by Brad Rickerby - Jumping for Joy 2

Jumping for Joy 2

Photo by Brad Rickerby

Limited Edition Fine Art Prints Available

Another in my series of women jumping for joy. A great stock photograph needs to be simple and deliver many concepts. It also needs to feature attractive people, but no so attractive that they cannot be identified with. That last is important. No supermodels. And don't overdress (or undress) your models. Use clothing that would be worn by regular people. No huge diamonds. 

Along the same lines, while we are talking about dressing your models, logos of all varieties are huge no no's! Further, shooting outfits that are all black is discouraged. All black is harder to light properly and more difficult for the end user to reproduce correctly.

This image has been licensed any number of times because it follows these simple rules. It is conceptually diverse, representing the concepts of joy, victory, achievement and the like. Blaire is a cutie. Made up differently, she could be stunning, but with minimal make up, her hair down and an ordinary dress, she is easy to identify with. The dress is a good color and has no logos. 

This image was created digitally at an ISO of 250. It was shot at f 5.6 at 1/250th of a second with a 28 mm lens. A hand held flash using a wireless remote was used to balance against the back light.

You should not, if at all possible, use an on camera flash. Just moving the flash a very short distance off center creates a molding of your subject that gives it depth. On camera flashes will flatten your subject making them appear less attractive. A small investment in a wireless remote will pay itself back quickly in increased image sales.

Fine Art Color Photograph by Brad Rickerby - Jumping for Joy 1

Meg - Jumping for Joy

Photo by Brad Rickerby

Limited Edition Fine Art Prints available

I did a whole series of people (mostly young women) jumping for joy. The image concept and execution are right out of the stock photographers handbook (or they would be, if there were such a book). The image is simple and consistently lit from front to back. The top leaves room for a masthead and both sides leave room for type. The image itself shows an emotion and represents a number of different concepts (joy, achievement, victory, success, youth, energy, craziness, etc.). That last point is crucial. It bears repeating. A good stock photo represents a number of different concepts. The photo will have many possible uses and will therefore sell much more than a single concept image.

This is a recent image and is digital. It was created with a zoom lens at 37 mm. The image was made at f 3.2 at 1/320 of a second at an ISO of 800. I usually don't like to go that high on the ISO (recall that I shot Fuji Velvia 50 for decades) but the light was going so I had no choice. The higher ISO works here and if I were not so picky, would probably work in a variety of other situations.

Prints are available. For more information, please contact me at brad@bradrickerby.com.

If I wrote a book titled, "The Stock Photographers Handbook" would you buy it?

Fine Art Color Abstract Photograph by Brad Rickerby - Hong Kong Harbor Abstract

Hong Kong Harbor Abstract

Photo By Brad Rickerby

Limited Editions Prints Available

This is one of the original images from my "City Lights" series, made on my second trip to Hong Kong. The image is on film, Fuji Velvia 50 (I loved that film).

You have to sit and watch the sun set over Hong Kong Harbor to understand just what a magical event that is. Capturing that magic on camera could be a life time project, there are so very many ways that it could be done. In this case a 200 mm lens was mounted with camera on a tripod. The film was set for a one stop push (to create a little grain and give me a tiny bit more latitude in the camera settings). This is about a ten second exposure with the lens set at f 2.8. During that ten second exposure I kicked the tripod, just a little bit, to give a blur to the overall image. Combine with the minimal grain effect from the film push, the image comes out more of a painting than a photographic likeness. This is exactly what I wanted.

I also waited for a boat to pass in front of me - in this case the Star Ferry leaving from Kowloon - to provide a light streak in the foreground.

I love the density of the modern buildings in the background, the overwhelming number of which have lit windows.

This image sold a lot back in the days when it was made. Buyers have become much more photorealistic these days and have moved away from this type of creativity. So sad!

For more information and to order prints, please contact me at brad@bradrickerby.com.

Fine Art Color Abstract Photograph by Brad Rickerby - Carnival

Carnival

Photo by Brad Rickerby

Prints and Greeting Cards Available

I am continuing the experiment of shooting with my iPhone camera. I really like this picture because it has a lot of lights and color and people being people as well. The technical aspects could use improvement, but I don't care. I am creating art, for its own sake. 

The art of using the iPhone camera at an event with lots of people is just to blend in and look like you are taking pictures of rides and booths or whatever else surrounds you. That way you get people looking natural. Everybody uses iPhone all the the to take pictures. No one gets defensive about it. You are ignored while you create beauty. Should you tell people you are photographing them? The law says I don't have to in a public space, and since I get better, more natural images without telling them, I don't tell them! Of course, that means I can't use the image for commercial uses. But like I said, these days, I am doing photography for my own  pleasure as as, for the sake of art.

To view additional works by Brad Rickerby and for more information on him, please visit his web site at http://www.bradrickerby.com

Limited Edition prints of this photograph are available for purchase. Please contact Mr. Rickerby by email at brad@bradrickerby.com.

Brad Rickerby is located in Cheshire, CT, USA