Michael Connell's photostream  

I've been into photography since the summer of 2009. It was a tragic event that got me thinking about getting serious about learning this art. Photography became kind of a therapy for me and helped deliver me from a very dark time in my life. You can read more about that here if you like.

This has become an addicting habit for me! I really enjoy learning new things about photography and taking pictures as often as I can. I'm especially into HDR, through the influence of Trey Ratcliff. After a friend showed me some of his work, I immediately decided I had to learn how to do that! HDR attracted my attention because it lets me see (I think) things that people have described to me my whole life that I couldn't see before. I'm largely color blind, so when people talk about leaves changing color, rainbows, etc., it means nothing to me. With this type of processing, I can amp up the lighting and color saturation to levels where I can see these things, at least in my own way. The challenge is to not take it too over the top so people with normal vision can appreciate it too. I do like to create images that push against the boundaries of reality and questioning whether the HDR image is a photo or painted is not a bad thing to me. There is a balance somewhere in the processing that gets people to do a double-take and get a closer look. I strive to keep it tasteful while not being overly concerned with how "real" an image is. HDR is a cool thing and it got me really excited about photography.

I'm not limiting myself only to HDR. As I learn more about photography, I am constantly trying new things. I have grown to love walking around with just a prime lens mounted and capturing interesting things and people in the world through the boundaries of a fixed "window." I especially enjoy doing this at night. I also like to dabble with abstractions through composition, focus, and depth of field sometimes.

You'll notice that I post full size images out here. This is so people can fully take them in and enjoy them. It drives me crazy when I see a cool shot on the web and want a better look, only to find that the photographer has posted a ridiculously small image. Full size also allows all details to be seen so that those who are inclined to do so may offer constructive criticism. I also don't use watermarks. No offense to my professional friends who use them, but I think that watermarks greatly detract from the beauty of the image. My eyes are always drawn to them, like unsightly graffiti on a beautiful building. I can appreciate the concern about image theft. It does happen, unfortunately. My past experience as a musician has perhaps tempered my view on copyright violation. It is so easy for music to be pilfered and digital images are really no different. I figure that the people who stoop to such petty theft aren't ever going to pay anyway so I'm not going to fret about it. If a business is doing it and making money I do care and they will hear from me. Ethical businesses do contact me from time to time about licensing my work, so my approach works for me for now. Karma comes around.

Here is my current gear list:
Fujifilm X100
Canon 5D
- Canon 17-40mm 4.0 L
- Canon 50mm 1.8 (Mostly used for macro with extension tubes.)
- Sigma 50mm 1.4
- Canon 100mm 2.0
- Canon 70-200mm 4.0 L (non-IS)
Promaster 7200EDF Flash
Nikon SB-28 flashes (for off-camera)
Cybersync flash triggers