MARY BETH BAUR-BAKER
The Box known as mb3
I don't recall ever being anywhere without a camera. As far back as I can remember I've always had one and yet, I find it difficult to put into words how I feel when I look through the lens. Every time I go out the door with my “girls” (cameras), it is an adventure. I never have a true plan of a day of photographing. I just pick a place and let the adventures begin. Afterwards, my thoughts might wonder to, “Did I capture a single moment of adventure, emotion, color or beauty?” “How can I give that feeling to the viewer?” “Will the image make them smile, create a shock or a ping of loneliness?” “If so, am I successful in my art? If not, does it matter?” I enjoy what I capture and am forever caught in my own obsession. The capture of what I think is a great image may not be one at all. It's personal.
I have found in looking at all images, be they successful or not, helps me better understand the complex craft of photography. I have learned that it is subjective. There is no right or wrong. Success may only be judged on the uniformity of the crowd to whom it is presented.
I have been known to eavesdrop on those photographers who talk out loud when setting up their shots. It is a free education. I have no formal education in photography except a single class in college, in which I failed miserably. But it didn’t sever me from my camera. I continued, as I had before, documenting what went on around me. My point and shoot style works for me, for now. I am still uneducated enough to have “no clue” if I got any good images till I post process.
I find I do very little to my images once in the computer. Mostly color corrections, bumping the contrast up or down and crop. I purposely over shoot the frame so I have that crop freedom. I do not spend much more than a few minutes on “fixing” any one image. If it needs more than that, I feel it wasn’t that good to start with.
Although I am a shy person in a crowd, informal portraits are a favorite challenge. “Stalking the victim” with a long lens allows me to capture that moment. People seem to think they need to put on their Sunday best and stage paint makeup to be beautiful. I prefer to capture who they are,... everything; the good, the bad and the ugly. Wildlife, nature and animals are a favorite subject because it is part of my everyday life living on a farm. Dogs, cats, birds, horses and more surround me. My photography also puts me where I am most at home, outside with nature.
I enjoy photographing everything. My “I’m in” attitude opens many photographic opportunities. My travels have taken me from local attractions to foreign countries and from cities to swamps. Several weekend adventures have brought back to life a passion for writing stories. I have a humorous style of writing and it goes well with the people and adventures I have had. These experiences, along with the images, make excellent coffee-table-style books.
In my favorite green micro backpack I carry a Nikon D200 coupled to an 18-200mm, a Nikon D50 married with a 70-300mm, and a point and shoot Nikon 550. I have an SB800 speed light, which I rarely use, tubes for close up, a tele converter and a polarizer filter. I have a dislike for monopods and an even more sinister dislike for tripods. But my photographically accomplished friends insist I need to learn to use them. So reluctantly I carry one of each occasionally using one or the other as a walking stick or as a holder for my camera bag.... they annoy me.
Photography is a never-ending learning process and the road gets longer with every new thing I try to absorb. I am thankful to my friends who are helping me to broaden my creativity and step out of the box known as mb3.
Mary Beth
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