Why Black and White Photography?

The Question

I have done a few interviews lately for newspapers and local magazines and the question always comes up_ Why do you only make black and white photographs? I have always just stumbled through this question, but lately I’ve done some thinking.

Before discovering photography I experimented with different types of artistic mediums. I’ve created 2 dimensional works in pencil, charcoal, ink, oil paint, and acrylic. All of these were interesting to me in one way or another, but I eventually lost interest or became overwhelmed by their cumbersome or time consuming nature. I am a realist, or a contemporary realist as some people might call it.

Maybe I’m a victim of the times, but picking up a digital camera provided instant gratification, and I was immediately hooked. While I recognized the creative potential of the camera early on, it took me some time to develop a style that would communicate my vision.

Turning Point

In December of 2005 I traveled to Quivira National Wildlife Refuge. I left at 2am with intentions of arriving before sunrise to photograph migrating waterfowl. I arrived late. That day marked the beginning of a cold snap and a turning point in my creative journey. I stood looking out over the salt marsh, the wind chill below zero_ a thick blanket of clouds masking the sun. I could see for miles. I felt so small and powerless, like I was an insignificant part of an elaborate and beautiful plan. I can only describe it as a spiritual experience. I switched my camera to the black and white setting, and snapped a few photographs of the marsh from where I was standing. Two of those photographs are at the top of this post.

The Answer

There is a world that exists only in the corner of my imagination_ It’s a place that I am still discovering_ It’s a place that I would like to run through. My black and white photographs are the closest I’ve come to making those places tangible. I couldn’t accomplish that with a color photograph, painting, or drawing.

Photo of the Week 10/25/07

PHOTOS BY DANIEL W. COBURN SHOWING IN NEW EXHIBIT AT 6 GALLERY

“Delicious”
6 Gallery
716 1/2 B Massachusettes Street
Lawrence, Kansas 66044
October 16 – December 19th

Opening Reception for the Artists
October 26th 7-9pm

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PHOTOS BY DANIEL W. COBURN SHOWING IN UPCOMING EXHIBIT AT STRECKER-NELSON GALLERY

Abundance: Art for Christmas Giving
November 9 – January 12th
Strecker-Nelson Gallery
406 1/2 Poyntz
Manhattan, KS 66502
http://www.strecker-nelsongallery.com

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DANIEL W. COBURN SOLO EXHIBIT AT 12 12 GALLERY – RICHMOND VA

Between Earth and Sky – Photographs by Daniel W. Coburn
November 9th – December 16th, 2007
12 12 Gallery
12 East 12th Street
Richmond, Virginia 23224
(804) 233-9957
http://www.1212galleryrichmond.com

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PHOTOS BY DANIEL W. COBURN @ ARTWALK W/ THE LAWRENCE PHOTO ALLIANCE

I will have some un-editioned prints for sale at this years ARTWALK. My work will appear at the Lawrence Photo Alliance presentation in the lobby of the Lawrence Arts Center. To purchase a limited edition print, visit one of my galleries listed at the bottom of this newsletter.

10am-6pm on Saturday, Oct. 27
12pm-6pm on Sunday, Oct. 2.

Lawrence Arts Center
940 New Hampshire St.
Lawrence, KS 66044
785-843-2787

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PHOTOGRAPH BY DANIEL W. COBURN TO BE USED FOR THE COVER OF A NEW BOOK BY RICHARD E. WOOD.

My image entitled “a time to feel small” will be used as the cover of new book being published by the University Press of Kansas.

Survival of Rural America: Small Victories and Bitter Harvest, by Richard E. Wood.

Drawing on what’s happening in selected Kansas farming communities, mostly found on the High Plains, Wood–a former reporter for the Rocky Mountain News–focuses on efforts to stabilize and even revive a steadily depopulating rural America through statewide, regional, and local initiatives. His views are guided by the belief that many rural communities are faced with the necessity to transform themselves to become more harmonious with their environments and therefore sustainable.

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BOOK RELEASE: ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK: REDISCOVERING PARADISE

My new book ships this week. Click the link below to preview the book in it’s entirety and order your copy today:
http://www.danielwcoburn.com/books.html

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PROMOTIONAL/INFORMATIONAL VIDEO POSTED ON YOUTUBE

I recently completed a short promotional/informational video and posted it on youtube.com.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyInPkdqdcw

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LIMITED EDITION PRINTS AVAILABLE AT THESE FINE REGIONAL GALLERIES

Strecker-Nelson Gallery
406 1/2 Poyntz
Manhattan Kansas
785.537.2099
http://www.strecker-nelsongallery.com

Leopold Gallery
324 West 63rd Street
Kansas City, MO 64113
816.333.3111
http://www.leopoldgallery.com

SouthWind Gallery of Topeka
3074 SW 29th St # 1
Topeka, KS 66614
785.273.5994
http://www.southwindgalleryoftopeka.com

The Elk River Wind Farm

I recently made a trip to Wichita, so I decided to take a short detour to the Elk River Wind Farm. It’s a place I’ve wanted to visit for quite some time. The Elk River Wind Project is a 150 megawatt wind energy project located in Butler County, Kansas. Monday was a dreary day in this neck of the woods, but adverse weather conditions make for dramatic photos. A majority of the images I captured were shot in the rain and backlit. There are over 100 of these gigantic turbines, towering over the lush rolling vistas of the Kansas flint hills.

It was an amazing experience_ almost surreal. To understand what I mean, you really have to see it first-hand. Among these giant gadgets are things you would typically see on a drive through the region_ old barns, antique windmills, crumbling silos, and hundreds of cattle. It is an interesting juxtaposition to say the least. You’d expect hundreds of these things in just a few square miles to make quite the racket, but these monsters are silent_ just a gentle hum.

The development of windfarms in this region (the flint hills) has become a controversial subject. Many people think the farm is an eye-sore, and is damaging to the endangered flint hills and tall-grass prairie. People on the other side of the fence make a good point that the elk river plant provides clean energy. How do you weigh in on the issue?

Dual Display Setup – Mac Mini Intel Core 2 Duo 1.83 MHz w/ DualHead2Go Analog Edition

I typically use my blog to talk about photography related topics only. While this is a technical issue, I hope it can be of use to other photographers and artists.

This is my new workstation. The setup consists of my new mac mini and dual 19inch Samsung Synchmaster monitors. The dual displays are made possible by the use of a DualHead2Go splitter by Matrox. I purchased mine at JR.com for about $155.00. While the instructions that came with the splitter and the information on the Matrox website suggested that this was a “plug and play” device, I found the installation to be a little more complicated. When I encountered issues I went directly to the web to search for help. I eventually found answers, but I thought it would be helpful to talk about this solution in detail in an effort to help others wanting a similar setup.

Note: Daniel W. Coburn photography will not be held responsible for damages made to your software,monitors,computer or other hardware while you are attempting setup.

Scenario 1: My monitors behave as if they are not recieveing a signal after I connect my computer via DualHead2go. The power light is red on the splitter instead of green like it should be.

Scenario 2: My monitors light up after I connect DualHead2go but the display is mirrored and the desktop is not “split” like it supposed to be.

Possible Solution: The maximum resolution you will achieve with the DualHead2Go on your Mac Mini Intel Core Duo 2 is 1024×768 per display. You are using dual monitors so this increases the size to 2048×768. The DualHead2Go is essentially a splitter. From what I can tell, it recieves an analog signal from your computer, and than separates that signal.

This is how I was able to fix my problem:

Step 1: Shut down the computer. Bypass DualHead2Go and connect directly to one of the displays. Restart your computer.

Step 2: Create a Custom Display setting: 1024×768 60Hz
Download SwitchResX from
http://www.madrau.com/html/SRX/About.html
Carefully read all of the documention about switchresX before you install the software.
Install the software and then restart your computer.
Click on Apple/System Preferences/SwitchResX
In SwitchResX click on the “custom” tab and create a new display setting – 2048×768 @ 60Hz. (I didn’t change any of the other default settings)
Restart your computer.

Step 3: Click on Apple/System Preferences/Displays
Choose 2048×768 and make sue it is set to 60Hz
Shut down the computer

Step 4: Connect to the displays using DualHead2Go exactly as states in the manual.

Step 5: Start the computer. At this point the display was split and functioning like I dreamed it would.

Here are some addional links and posts about this topic. I would encourage anyone who is interested in this setup to read all of the documentation for SwitchResX and DualHead2Go before you attempt any of this. I tried to contact DualHead2Go technical support with no response. I have heard from others that the folks at technical support have a similar fix for mac users.

DualHead2Go User Manual with troubleshooting guidelines:
http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/corpo/support/dh2go/home.php?market=gxm

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=5430899

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/archives/feb07/021507.html

http://voice.firefallpro.com/2006/02/mac-mini-dual-monitors-using.html