Earl Moore Photography
First Presbyterian Church - Salisbury, NC


Final photos have been selected so I’m officially finished with my part of doing the photography of local churches for next years Rowan Helping Ministries Calendar.

The photo above was among the non-seclected. When I first began this project I’d planned doing many of the photos with a wide-angle lens for a more unusual and dramatic effect. However, while I personally liked the results I came to realize many of the target audience might not and since the goal of the calendar was to sell, with proceeds going to those in need, I decided to shift my photographic style to a more conventional angle.

This didn’t remove all the challenge. As I mentioned in a previous post, many of the city churches had intruding power lines, signs or traffic signals directly in front of them so a clear shot was impossible. This led to hours of painstakingly removing these distractions pixel by pixel. The up side is this makes for unique photos of many of the churches that can’t be replicated by just anyone with a point-and-shoot.

Now this ends the formal project but I’m beginning a personal follow-on project of putting the series of final shots together in what will hopefully be a folio or book.

Have a great weekend!


22 Comments
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Mark
13 years ago

I rather like this shot Earl. Shame it didn’t make it into the selects.

Earl
13 years ago
Reply to  Mark

Mark, when I submitted this shot I didn’t expect it to be among the selected. I personally like it but they chose another that was perhaps a bit more traditional which was okay because for different reasons I liked it too. :-)

Anita Jesse
13 years ago

I like this very much and it certainly whets my appetite to see more of the pictures. The detail is gorgeous and waiting for those clouds paid off. Certainly this much work and attention to painstaking detail deserves to be collected in more ways than the calendar. I look forward to hearing your final choices for presentation. Either a folio or book—maybe both—sounds ideal.

Don
Don
13 years ago

Sounds like a very worthwhile project. I know a little of the time it takes to clean up a picture with distracting lines and such. I know they will appreciate the high quality you always bring to your pictures.

Markus
13 years ago

Earl, this diverging tastes of the target audience (and purpose) and the photographer are not easy to accept. But it seems you made a stepstone of what could have become a barrier – and a personal project following your way of seeing is certainly worthy to pursuit.
While I do enjoy your wideangle view of the church – for me also connecting it with “heaven” through the light – I fully understand that typical customers will not be fond of too much dynamic. I am looking to your folio/book!

Paul Maxim
Paul Maxim
13 years ago

I have a question similar to Markus’ comment, Earl. Will your followup project use the pictures that you favored, or the pictures that you thought the audience would like, or will you use both? If it’s both, will you comment on the differences (as you see them, I mean)?

I’m not trying to make more work for you – I just think it would be very interesting. Markus is right. Trying to select images based on what the imagined audience will “like” is difficult. And how do you separate what you think they’d prefer from your own tastes?

ken bello
13 years ago

I have also done some work for organizations and sometimes they can be very vague (or very specific) about what their needs are. I prefer to have specific instructions but there are times that the client doesn’t know what to expect. If that’s the case, I usually shoot a wide variety of subjects in as many situations as I can, process them all and hope for the best. If time allows, I will try to put a personal spin on some of the shots and present them as well. I’m not disappointed if these are not acceptable but I’m delighted when they are. If you’ve ever watched DVDs with out-takes and deleted scenes, you may wonder why they were left out of the theatrical version because they seem so well done. It’s not that the scenes aren’t good, it’s that they aren’t necessary. I’m anxious to see your follow-up project.

Paul
13 years ago

That certainly is a beautiful shot and you’re right, no one else without some post processing prowess will be able to match what you’ve done. In fact, probably people looking at the calendar, might not be able to find a particular church. They wouldn’t recognize it with it all cleaned up! :)

I don’t know if you own one or not, but if you do, did you use a tilt/shift lens on any of the churches?

Paul
13 years ago
Reply to  Earl

No. I used to shoot with a 4×5 view camera, so I know what the tilts and swings can do for you, but never with the Nikon PC lenses. They do have them for rental at LensRentals.com for a very reasonable price. It might be interesting to try. I’d like to see your opinion of them, especially since you like to shoot historic homes and such. It might come in handy.

Ove
Ove
13 years ago

I hope you’re happy with the calendar picks, as they turned out after the selection. The calendar is of course made for a cause, as you wrote. It has to sell. :)
The image in this post is really wonderful, very light and airy.

Monte Stevens
13 years ago

Well, congratulations, Earl! There is always a good feeling when we reach a goal and can say we’re done. I look forward to your folio “and” book.

Martina Egli
13 years ago

Earl, that is a magnificent photograph! I love the perspective you have choosen for this shot, it makes the church look even more majestic. And the sun just coming out from behind the steeple adds a lovely symbolical effect. Furthermore, the huge trees frame and conceal the subject beautifully. I look forward to seeing the other photographs in your portfolio from that project. Congratulations!