The Photographer - Greg Gordon
I’ve been interested in photography for over 40 years. It started in the mid 1960’s when I got my first camera – a Pentax Spotmatic. A lot has changed over the years. I was told back then that I had an eye for composition. I got more serious in the mid 1980’s and moved up to a medium format Pentax. Although my main focus had always been scenic landscapes, I was starting to move into portraits. I built a studio in the basement of my home and equipped it with lights, reflectors, meters, backdrops etc. After some years I found myself getting frustrated with portraitures and returned to scenic work. With the large format image size, I was able to produce extremely large prints. But there was something missing, it was difficult at times to capture on film what my minds eye saw. I would have to rely on photo airbrush artists to complete my vision. And it got very expensive.I was selling a lot of mounted & framed prints thru shows at malls, restaurants and hotel galleries. I did this for several years. And then came digital photography and PhotoShop. Here was a whole new world for me to explore. And explore I have. I believe that when you click the shutter on the camera, it’s only the first phase of creating the image. I am not ashamed to use digital tools to complete the creation process.
I have always wanted to bring something more to my images. Not just visual but be able to evoke emotion on the part of the viewer. Viewing a sequence of images backed with the right music and/or lyrics can take those images to a whole new impact level. I dabbled in slideshow creation but wasn’t able to find software that would give me 100% control of ALL aspects of the show. Each program I tried had its own unique quirks and drawbacks.
By fluke I came across a site that promoted yet another slideshow program. Not expecting much I clicked on the site. The home page was full of downloadable demos, so I selected one to watch. I was immediately blown away. It was obvious that this software had some tricks that I had not seen in the others. The main thing was the transitions, they were wonderful and the control you have over them is amazing. I selected another demo to watch and then another. Before I new it, 2 hours had gone by. It became apparent to me that this program had more control than any of the others I had seen. I purchased the software directly from this site and in a week I was in balls deep.
The software is called Pictures to EXE (PTE). The site I came across while surfing is http://www.beckhamdigital.co.uk/ . The author of the site is Barry Beckham and in my view is “the grand master” of slideshow creation not to mention, a fabulous photographer in his own right. The PTE software is widely used in England and across Europe but for some strange reason is not that popular here in the west. I’ve been using this product for 2 years now. I’m able to create themes using image sequences backed with music. I don’t think enough people understand the importance of a music backdrop and how it can add life to the images. I should mention that, in my view, Photoshop software and experience with it, is a crucial tool in the slideshow development process.
Alas, there is a drawback, the PTE software is for PC’s ONLY. There has been no announcement of creating a version for the Mac platform.
I am now using a Nikon D200 with a 18 – 200mm @ 4.5 and a fixed 55mm @1.4. I shoot everything in uncompressed raw. When I’m not shooting my own images, I’m usually working on client photos, simply cleaning them up, enhancing and/or preparing them for slideshows. This is the way I travel – thru working on other people’s photos. The process is challenging, sometimes daunting but always gives me a great deal of satisfaction in the end.
~ Greg Gordon