FRAMES Artist-in-Residence February 2022: Robert Clark
PART 1 – FEBRUARY 2, 2022
W. Scott Olsen in conversation with Robert Clark, introducing our next Artist-in-Residence, talking about his approach to landscape photography and his plans with this particular FRAMES AiR assignment.
Leave your questions to Robert in the comment section below and he will do his best to answer them all.
PART 2 – FEBRUARY 8, 2022
Hello FRAMES Community!
Welcome to Installment No. 2 of my Artist-in-Residence presentation. I want to thank Tomasz and the FRAMES Team for asking me to be a part of this program.
When Tomasz contacted me about participating, I of course jumped at the opportunity. But, about an hour later I found myself wondering what I had committed too. When one puts themselves, and their work, out into the public sphere it often comes with trepidation and fear. One never really knows how the work will be received or whether the message will have meaning. But, fear of the unknown is an irrational fear, and ultimately I have the overall wish to help, in some small way, others who are on this path of photography. Perhaps it is one thought or idea that can generate a spark for someone. I have been the beneficiary of such sparks many times as I have walked the paths of image making. I still seek the sparks for myself as there is still so much to learn, to see, and to do.
If I am to be honest however, during the last two-years of COVID, lockdowns, and no travel, I found myself unravelling. I don’t think I am alone in this. I suffered, as did my creativity, and I saw that life-force slip away much like the batteries of my camera slowly draining to zero. I had no answer for any of it. I tried to rekindle the flame with half-hearted attempts at photography, and often surfed the archives of my images with an alarming disinterest.
Tomasz’s request was a firm call to return to the land of the creatives, to find my own spark again, and awaken from the timeless drift. I thank him whole-heartedly for this. Creativity comes and goes and it is inevitable to enter a dry spell on occasion. Despite leading a few workshops and some camera club talks which helped to keep me in the game and smooth out some of those ruts, I still was languishing. Sometimes however, you just need a swift kick in the tail.
To be creative comes at a price. It has ups and downs, and sometimes the muse just leaves you for awhile. It really does not matter what you do, but if you are a creative person, you want to produce, and the invitation from Tomasz brought me back to those thoughts and the joy of being behind a camera.
This first installment takes you out on an afternoon jaunt to one of the landscapes near my house. The weather here has been challenging to say the least. Over the timeframe of creating the content for this AiR series, we have had snow, melt-off, more snow and ice, wind, a little fog mixed in for good measure, and sheer cold. Some of the images were shot in snow, some when the snow was completely gone, and always with the constant companion of Jack Frost’s frigid temperatures. In this video we had strong winds and wind-chills hovered around 19 to 20 degrees. Two of the scouting shots I made were photographed on a morning when the thermometer read 6 degrees. None of this is to imply any excuses as this is just what occurs in the landscape. And I just took what the landscape and conditions gave me.
While I would have loved to have brought you to Iceland or even the Highlands of West Virginia, I opted instead to shoot local. It is what I had to do as travel was not an option for me. Many of us right now have to stay close and embracing the gifts of what we have is a blessing. So, welcome to my world of “rural regionalism” of farmlands, trees, barns, old houses, and historic battlefields. It is a messy landscape, tangled and brushy, overgrown, with wind breaks and farm fields, and old barns and sheds resisting the natures reclamation. As such it is textually rich and constantly changing.
So, what should you expect moving forward? Installment 3 will take you on a frigid morning shoot. For each of the field shots I will show only a few of the images, opting instead a larger collection at the end of the series. For installment 4 I will pick out an image or two and process them from start to finish in Lightroom and Photoshop. And in the final installment I will post a selection of my favorite images from the 4 to 5 weeks of the process, along with some closing thoughts. If you have any questions just post them in the comments section. I hope you enjoy these explorations.
The two images below where shot during my scouting trips when snow and cold blanketed the landscape. Both of these locations are part of this video. The first image, the house on the hill, officially the DR Miller House, and which some of us locally refer to as the “house of odd angles” was shot in the waning moments of civil twilight, and literally as the first rays of the sun rose above the horizon. It was terribly cold and even the warm light of the sun found it hard to break winter’s grip. In the video you will see why we refer to it as the house of odd angles.
I took advantage of the houses’s position on the hill to use a low camera angle to accentuate the “presence” of the house in the landscape and provide a sense of depth. The color-grading was developed to express the cold of that morning and the line of the snowdrift helps lead the viewers eye up to the house. The color complements of blue and gold always work well in landscape images.
Fujifilm GFX 50S II and a Fujinon GF 35-70mm F4
This image is a focus stack of three separate exposures to achieve near to far focus.
The second image is the small white barn at the Poffenberger Farm, Antietam National Battlefield. The weather was socked in and the gold colored grasses fought to stay above the blanket of snow. There was a “flatness” to the light which can be quite useful to render fine details. The final processing plays to the monochromatic nature of the light, and only expressing color on the grasses. This has the effect of using the grasses as a subtle series of lines that point towards the barn. And finally, a vignette was added to the sky to contain those corners. You will see this barn in the video and again in a final selection of images in Installment 4.
Fujifilm GFX 50S II and a Fujinon GF30mm F3.5
This image is a focus stack of three separate exposures to achieve near to far focus.
Leave your questions to Robert in the comment section below and he will do his best to answer them all.
PART 3 – FEBRUARY 16, 2022
Hello FRAMES Community,
In today’s video we are going on a morning shoot to an old, abandoned, farm a few miles from where I live. We were up well before sunrise, at the tail end of nautical twilight, and to say it was cold is an understatement. The thermometer read 6 degrees just before the sun broke the horizon. As you will see in the video, the site has some interesting old structures including the one I refer to as “the shrieking shack” because it is literally leaning from all sides and reminds me somewhat of the old house from the Harry Potter movies.
I like structures like this and the landscape where I live is dotted with them, most in various states of repair, and nearly all slowly giving way to reclamation by the landscape. I made several exposures as we circulated around the shack before we succumbed to the cold.
In this video, and in Installment No. 2, I mention the typical settings I use, and this is a good place to go over those again. I learned years ago to know my camera(s) so well that I could make changes on the fly as light, or events changed. My first mentor referred to it as making the operations of the camera “automatic”. This ultimately led to creating a repeatable process for making images. I really do not vary from that, even today, and it has allowed me the freedom to concentrate on looking at the light and compositions as opposed to fiddling with menus, button, and dials. I certainly employ those menus, button, and dials, but they are set to support my process, not hinder it.
Additionally, I do not carry a ton of camera gear – one body, and from 2 to four lenses. That’s it. I definitely used to carry more than that, including multiple camera bodies, different camera systems, different lenses, adapters, cables, filter rings, cards, and all manner of other supporting gewgaws. Much in the same way I work to simplify my process, I also cut way back on camera equipment. Marie Kondo would be proud. However, with all that said, I do confess to loving cameras in all their manifestations but having a lot of them did not make me a better photographer and left a lot of expensive glass sitting around on my desk. For those reading this who have lots of gear, you might want to take my name in vain, but I am not being judgmental. Photography is to be enjoyed and however we choose to express that, is absolutely OK. The goal is to get out and make images.
My camera of choice, and which has been for over 6 years now, is Fujifilm, and specifically the GFX 50S II. I am not a Fujifilm “fanboy” and would never knock another system (over the years I have photographed with Nikon, Sony, Olympus, Leica, Hasselblad, and a bunch of film cameras), but Fuji cameras have certain operational components that I like. The best camera is the one that you are comfortable with, that you know, and that allows you the freedom to make images. End of story.
So, back to settings. I shoot manual. I prefer to be in control of the camera to set the ISO, the aperture, and the shutter speed – collectively known as the Exposure Triangle. I use manual focus but set up my camera with back-button focus. What this means is that my focus type setting is set to “M”, but the camera will automatically auto focus where I have the focus point set in the scene when I depress the AF ON Button. When the light or the contrast becomes an issue, I can simply rotate the focus ring, which magnifies the scene where I have my focus point set, and dial in the focus with focus-peaking. It is really simple, clean, and repeatable.
My Live View Screen is set to Black and White. I rarely set it to color for my landscape work as I am more interested in the tonal range of the light – the shadow tones, mid-tones, and the highlights – and not the relative distraction of color within the scene. Exposure is generally evaluative over the entire scene and measured using the LV Histogram. I have learned how far I can push to the right, and even to the left, and recover the data. Additionally, I can change the shutter speed and explore what happens when I push or pull the exposure. This gives me a sense of how I might treat the dark tones, the light tones, and the mid-tones when I bring the image into LR and PS. It is not precise as the histogram is actually reading an in-camera JPEG rendering of the scene, but it is close enough to make evaluative judgements. My file format is RAW, uncompressed, and the White Balance is set to Auto.
I mentioned in the videos that I employ focus bracketing. This is truly a holdover from my days shooting with a 4 x 5. With a 4 x 5 the tilt – shift operations of the camera allowed me to achieve near-to-far focus on a single sheet of film. Medium format systems offer a shallower focus, as compared to APS-C, and full frame, and achieving hyper-focus often requires stopping down the lens to smaller f stops. Even this can be problematic when the scene may contain close foreground components to frame along with mid-ground and background elements. It is much easier for me to set three to four focus points within the scene, capture those, and then blend the exposures in Photoshop. It is easy, quick, and PS actually does an excellent job with the files. When I am in the field, I constantly evaluate the composition and pre-visualize what I need for a set of files. That process is completely automatic for me. I just don’t let the camera get in the way of making images. Most of the advanced features in these new cameras I simply don’t use. If you have made it this far you may now understand that I have tailored the type of camera I use, built around the methodology of how I shoot, and layered onto what I shoot. Ultimately that is the important consideration for all of us to understand in order to choose the right tool for the job at hand.
The four images below where shot in the course of making the videos as well as general explorations around my home. The first snow melted off, which was followed by a quick snow squall as the overall frigid temperatures remained. I waited a few days for the last of the snow to melt off before heading out again.
The first image expresses the agrarian nature of the landscape. Winter fields, such as this one adjacent to the Poffenberger Farm, usually do not lie fallow, and most have been planted in winter wheat with neat rows that seem to run on forever.
I am fascinated with the sense of expanse these fields have even though many of them are contained within distinct parcels and bordered by windbreaks of trees. On this day the sky was textured with layered, wind-driven clouds, while far along the horizon a flock of birds moved against the sky (look to the lower left). I used the neat rows of newly sprouting wheat to suggest movement into the landscape, and the trees on the horizon as a place for the eye to rest before exploring the rest of the scene.
Fujifilm GFX 50S II and a Fujinon GF45-100mm F4
This image is a focus stack of three separate exposures to achieve near to far focus.
The second image is the “Shrieking Shack”, shot while making the video for this installment. The shack is not going to stand much longer, I suspect, as a shed roof has already collapsed and the right side is bowing outward. I loved the textures of the grasses around the shed and the locust tree became an important element to layer into the image. I think this image expresses the messy complexity of these landscapes. One might question the “centered” positioning on the tree but I believe this is balanced because of the way the trees branches spread over the shed and bring the eye down to it. I also enjoyed the similar angles expressed between the old roof and the wall of boards collapsing on the right.
Fujifilm GFX 50S II and a Fujinon GF45-100mm F4
This image is a focus stack of three separate exposures to achieve near to far focus.
The third image is on an old, abandoned farmstead, bordered by expansive fields. I think the placement of elements in these types of images is important to express the siting and the sense of presence. I try to employ this as a set shot that places the main subject, in this case the old house, within the context of its environment. From there I can move on to find other interesting angles as move in tighter to capture more details on the house. I searched a bit for an interesting foreground element but ultimately decided the textural nature of the grasses and leaves worked better. I also placed the house more to the left to create some tension in the composition and express a sense of loneliness and discord. Darkening down the foreground and the sky helped to accentuate the light on the old house.
Fujifilm GFX 50S II and a Fujinon GF35-70mm F4
This image is a focus stack of three separate exposures to achieve near to far focus.
The final image is an old favorite that receives its best light in the early morning. These fields have not been planted but I love the definition as they roll across the landscape. I like the way the house sits in the folds of the land as well as that amazing morning light that brings such clarity to the composition. While this may look like a long exposure, it is not, as the clouds had spread into layers by upper level winds. It is a simple composition as achieves a similar sense of presence within the landscape and expresses the rural nature of my home.
Fujifilm GFX 50S II and a Fujinon GF 45-100mm F4
This image is a focus stack of two separate exposures to achieve near to far focus.
Leave your questions to Robert in the comment section below and he will do his best to answer them all.
PART 4 – FEBRUARY 25, 2022
Hello FRAMES Community,
In this installment I have prepared video on the development process, from Lightroom to Photoshop, of one of the shots from the House of Odd Angles. I do apologize as the video is a bit long at 58 minutes, but I try to cover some of the basic things I might do to an image as well as some of the more advanced techniques I might do. The Lightroom section is pretty straightforward but it gets more detailed in Photoshop.
In the Photoshop section I use two advanced panels from Tony Kuyper – The TK8 Panel, and from Joel Tjintjelaar – the B+W Artisan Pro Panel. Both of these panels are integral to my processing work and I use them interchangeably depending on what I need to accomplish. The TK8 Panel is where I can create targeted Luminosity Masks and access the Photoshop Automation Tools that speed up my work. The B+W Artisan Panel allows me direct access to tonality tools, specific freeform tonality adjustments, and color grading tools just to name a few.
So, do you need these tools? If you are performing just basic curve adjustments and maybe some color work, probably not. If however, you really want to get into your images and begin to target specific tonal changes using feathered mask, manipulate tonality, color grade, and automate your work, then yes. There is a learning curve, as there is with most things like this, but there are also amazing resources to help you along the way. Please note that I am not attempting to sell these panels to you one way or another. I only recommend things that I actually use, and I use these panels everyday, and on every image I produce. I have included links to the Preset and Panels, plus my discount code in the Resources section at the end of this post.
The House of Odd Angles – Start to Finish Processing
Now, on to the House of Odd Angles. The basic development strategy for this was to convert to B+W and work the image to accentuate the sense of light, subtle as it was, on the side of the house. This was done by both tweaking out the light on the house while darkening down the foreground and the sky. The combination of these counterpoints works well to bring attention to the main subject, which is the house.
I almost always have a development plan in mind, and though I might arrive at a solution iteratively, I still go through the steps to think about the final idea I am trying to convey. Sometimes images just come together easily and at other times I have an idea but it takes a bit more effort and manipulation to get there.
By way of confession I do clean up areas in images, and not just dust spots, and often remove items that do not contribute to the final image (like the snow parts in this image), correct for parallax in buildings, and often use warp techniques. I will use compositing techniques, like focus bracketing or exposure bracketing, but I do draw a line at sky replacements. My final images are accurate representations of what I saw but cleaned up and rendered to represent my vision.
The basic development plan for the House of Odd Angles is diagrammed in the image below and I cover most of these solutions in the video.
The basic development steps shown in the video include:
Lightroom – Part 1
B+W Conversion using a Custom Camera Profile
Parallax correction of the house
Using the Masking Tools to target specific areas of the scene
Basic Global Development
Photoshop – Part 2
Clean up and removal of distracting items – My “Bob Ross” moment
Use of Warp
Tonality with the B+W Artisan Panel
Dodging and Burning through a targeted Luminosity Mark with the TK8 Panel
Targeted Zone adjustments with the B+W Artisan Panel
Automation tools with the TK8 Panel
I hope you enjoy this video. If you have questions please post them in the comments section.
Resources
If you are interested in learning more about some of the Profiles and Photoshop Panels and Tools I use, you can find out more at the links below. You can also use my discount codes for the TK* and B+W Artisan Panels
Archipelago Presets
This where I purchased my custom Profiles that I employed in the Lightroom Development of the House of Odd Angles >>>>>
Tony Kuyper – TK8 Panel
The tools in this panel are extensive. I am pleased to be able to offer my Discount Code to the FRAMES Membership as part of this Artiest in Residence Series. Just use Discount Code: RHCL15 at Checkout >>>>>
The discount code will expire at the end of March, so don’t wait too long if you are interested.
Joel Tjintjelaar – B+W Artisan Pro X Panel
Like the TK8 Panel, this is one I use extensively in my development process work in Photoshop. I am pleased to be able to offer my Discount Code to the FRAMES Membership as part of this Artiest in Residence Series. The panel is only available through the Adobe Exchange site listed below. Just use Discount Code: Artisan-UXP-15OFF-RHC at Checkout >>>>>
The discount code will expire at the end of March, so don’t wait too long if you are interested.
Leave your questions to Robert in the comment section below and he will do his best to answer them all.
PART 5 – MARCH 5, 2022
Hello FRAMES Community!
Well, here we are at the end of my FRAMES AiR sessions. The time has certainly flown by and I cannot believe that it has now been a month since I started this journey with all of you. It has been a fantastic experience to share some of my thoughts with you, and I have welcomed the opportunity to get out of my winter shell and out into the landscape. I greatly appreciate all of the support that you have brought to this venture and value the time you have taken to read the posts, watch the videos, and leave a comment.
To end this properly I have picked out a few images from the various videos and shoots that I have been on during the last month. I hope you enjoy them and find something to help you along on your photographic journey.
My own journey continues this year, beginning in May, with a trip to Iceland to photograph the lambing season and pursue some personal work, my Spring Workshop in West Virginia in June, The Fall in Iceland Workshop in September, and the Fall in West Virginia Workshop in October. There is a lot of activity coming up and I am excited to be out and about again.
This is my moment to encourage all of you to keep shooting and get out on the path to making images. There is great joy and power in connecting to the world and creating photographs and stories. As always I am happy to answer any questions you might have.
Thank you again, and thank you to Tomasz and the team at FRAMES!
The Pre-Scout
These are two of my pre-scout images from an extremely cold morning – somewhere around 6 degrees F. Processing was done to accentuate the sense of cold through the use of blues, but also express the beautiful light that comes as the sun rises.
The Poffenberger Farm
This image, from the Poffenberger Farm, in the first video, was not possible on the day we shot due to the amount of wind. So I returned a week later after the snow melted and created this longer exposure shot of the corn crib and the bank barn. This is actually a fairly simple image to make requiring only some calm conditions and a 6-Stop Solid ND filter to get my exposure to 2 minutes.
The Shrieking Shack
This group of images are from the morning shoot video at the Shrieking Shack. That was certainly another very cold morning and I lost all feeling in my fingers in about an hour. The first three images really show the precarious nature of the shack as nature is slowly reclaiming the structure. There was a lot of wonder textures to record and extreme angles to convey in the final compositions. The last image I mentioned in the video is the old chicken coop that has collapsed. I was able to frame this to play off the lines in the coop and use them to lead the eye to the Shrieking Shack.
A Month of Other Musings and Explorations
This final group of images are from various walk-about during the month, and in-between making the videos. They consist of random explorations and are generally theme-less, save for the collection of trees, and a building or two. I have so many diverse subjects to explore and photograph and this group represents a small sample of these options.
Winter can be a hard time and it may seem that there is nothing out there to photograph, but there is always something. The old trees always seem to change throughout the seasons and I love to try and express their character.
The two barns in the field and the cookhouse shed are old favorites that I have not visited in a number of years. I loved that the door was ajar on the cookhouse shed. It was not that way the last time I visited and I found the moment rather evocative.
And in the last two, the bale wagon was a lucky find while exploring other sections of Antietam, and I never tire of making a visit down along the Potomac River to shoot the bridge piers. Late in the afternoon they have a beautiful glow on them and the light brings out branches of the Sycamore Trees.
As I look at these images I cannot but be thankful for the rural character of where I live. Yes, it is a messy landscape, but it is also diverse, close, and always available. It is here when I need it and always provides a kind of “photographic comfort food” for the soul.
Intention and vision are the drivers to exploration. Without them you are merely going through the motions. Discovery of the possibilities can only come from the process of getting out and making images. Not one image, but images, plural. Waiting for that special trip is fine but you are missing many opportunities to practice your craft. So get out. Find the sublime in the ordinary. Always look for the light. That is where the story lies.
Takk
Bob
Postscript, Thank You’s and Where to Find Me
A special thank you to my good friend, workshop assistant, and brother from a different mother, Adam Holston. He shot and cut all of the field videos for me without question, or complaint, despite the gnarly weather we had. You can find Adam on Instagram at: @adamholston.
You can find me here on these various, fine web and social media platforms:
On the world wide web at: https://www.roberthclarkphotography.com
On Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/robert.clark.520562
On Instagram at @rhclphoto
Leave your questions to Robert in the comment section below and he will do his best to answer them all.
Richard Hutson
February 2, 2022 at 22:13
Robert, your introductory conversation with Scott Olsen was a very enlightening and generous look into how you approach photography. I’m just a hobbyist but eager to learn more about creating captivating images. Thank you for sharing your creative process. I look forward to following your residency.
Robert H Clark
February 3, 2022 at 15:09
Hi Richard: thank you so much for taking the time to listen. I will attempt to expand upon some of those ideas in the following weeks. If something comes up and you have any questions or comments, please do jump in and ask. always happy to engage in these conversations.
Takk
Bob
David Loble
February 3, 2022 at 15:33
Robert, so much of what you showed us and told us struck a responsive chord in me. The Iceland ultimate landscape photo that you put up is such a wonderfully complex image that it represents a workshop in itself. Spending some time looking at it I saw two repeating elements that I didn’t notice at first:
The upper line formed by the soil(?) in the fg echoes in reverse the shape of the mountain.
The round patch of sky in upper R echoes in reverse tones the round, bright grass in the fg. So looking forward to your AiR discussions.
Robert H Clark
February 3, 2022 at 19:11
David: thank you very much for your keen observations and thoughts. In my 4×5 days this kind of framing was almost standard for me and I would have to work a scene pretty hard in order to put together the elements. I have tempered some of that in the intervening years but there is still that moment when I love to take a wide-angle lens and coax out a composition by bringing layers of disparate shapes together in a final composition. Many of my images have that place where the viewer can enter the frame and then let their eye wander around. Thank you for stopping by to listen.
Bob
Darrell
February 4, 2022 at 09:30
When Rob discussed the possibility of his pictures being too clinical it made me think of a Malaysian photog I used to follow Called Ming Thein. I say used to because around two years ago he turned his professional attention to designing watches he now has made in Switzerland under his own name. https://blog.mingthein.com/aboutcontact/
I certainly admire mings work and I guess it is very clinical I think because he is a very scientifically driven photog and has an immense understanding of the science and physics of how to get super clean and tonally inspired pictures.
In fact, perhaps he would make a very interesting artist of residence.
Robert H Clark
February 4, 2022 at 16:20
Darrell: I also enjoyed Ming’s work. I have several photog friends who definitely thought his work was “clinical”. I thought how work clean and well crafted which is why I liked it. After a number of years pondering this I know there will be opinions on both sides of the fence. I am more certain now that I do have a tendency towards “crafting” an image, of considering its parts, and then assembling them into a final composition (though there are some exceptions to this). I also clean up areas that don’t meet my idealized view. But, I am ok with that as ultimately it is my art and represents how I think about, and view the world. Thanks so much for stopping by!
Takk
Bob
Robert H Clark
February 4, 2022 at 16:29
Darrell: I also followed Ming’s work and enjoyed it very much. I have several photog friends that definitely considered his work “clinical”. I felt differently and thought it clean and carefully considered. I have pondered this question in my own work for a number of years and know that I most assuredly “create” my images carefully, considering the light, the composition, the elements, and how these are assembled into the final shot (there are some exceptions to this, however). I also will clean up my shots of extraneous elements or things that catch my eye as needing removal. I am ok with all of this as ultimately it is my art and represents how I see the world. Thanks so much for stopping by!
Takk
Bob
Michael Parrott
February 6, 2022 at 11:32
Hi Robert, I really enjoyed your introductory conversation with Scott Olsen, with some valuable insights already, and I look forward to viewing your residency. I was particularly interested to learn that you set your camera to black and white mode even if the final photograph is going to be in colour (one of the joys of RAW files) and I think I’m going to give that a try myself. I would also be interested to know to what extent (if any) you use filters and hopefully this will be covered during the course of your residency sessions.
Robert H Clark
February 7, 2022 at 16:18
Hi Michael: I very much appreciate you stopping by to listen! I will add some more about the B+W/Settings in Installment 2, but I probably will not over filters too much. I use them quite a lot on waterfall/water shots which I did not shoot on this set of sessions. But I can include some info in the written part of Installment 2 about what I use. And you can always send me a message to clarify anything. Happy to help.
Takk
Bob
Eric M Lipnack
February 9, 2022 at 18:40
Thank you for these first two sessions. I wonder around S. Florida thinking there is nothing worth shooting. You have opened my eyes to possibilities that are right under my nose. Thank you. Eric
Robert H Clark
February 9, 2022 at 22:40
Thanks so much Eric! I have a suspicion there is quite a lot to photograph in South Florida, especially in the wilder parts and along the coast. Keep looking and make those images!
Takk
Bob
Stephen Smith
February 9, 2022 at 19:04
Bob, thanks for taking on this assignment! It is inspiring to see your thought processes when approaching your subjects. I would love to hear as much detail in that regard as possible. In fact I am spending a week in Andeer, Switzerland at the moment, practicing my landscape photography with 4×5 and 6x6cm. The challenge is, as you mentioned, seeing the detail, grandeur and composition possiblities in a landscape that you know from your backyard, and which can so easily be a clichéd tourist shot.
And on a personal note: I experienced a large dose of nostalgia watching the video. I spent 8 important years in Maryland, and 3 crucial ones in my highschool years in Charles Town and know and love the landscape from Frederick to Winchester intimately. Where do you live?
Robert H Clark
February 9, 2022 at 22:45
Stephen: You lived in Charles Town? It is a small world. I am in Shepherdstown. More details are coming in the next segments. I spent many years with a 4 x 5, Fuji Velvia, and a stack of Quickloads. That kind of photography teaches patience and process. And it takes a bit of dedication to haul all of that equipment. I have been to Switzerland several times, not for photography, however, and it is a beautiful location. The mountains there are simply stunning. Good luck with your journey there! Thanks so much for stopping by.
Takk
Bob
Cynthia+Gladis
February 9, 2022 at 19:28
Hi Robert, I really enjoyed Part 2. I enjoy seeing how others approach their image making. I watched your segment with interest, particularly your use of a tripod, and how you said you never shoot hand held. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve used one — I know that I probably should, particularly for night shooting (instead I use a self timer and hold my breath!). You are also using one of the Fujis I lust after — it was only when I saw the size of it compared to my X-T2 that I realized I’d probably be very uncomfortable handling it because of the size and weight. Is that one of the reasons you use the tripod with it, or are you a tripod user no matter what camera? I also enjoyed learning about the multiple shots for depth of field, something I’d like to try. One more thing — I really appreciated your gracious acknowledgement of us previous Artists in Residence. That’s class.
Robert H Clark
February 9, 2022 at 23:04
Thank you very much, Cynthia! I very much appreciate you stopping by. Yeah, the whole tripod thing really is a holdover to my subject matter, process, and desire for complete control. I certainly will shoot off tripod for Icelandic sheep round-ups, some portrait work, and general street/walk about stuff. But, for some reason I cannot make a landscape image without the comfort of the tripod. It is a must for focus bracketing as the component files have to line up correctly and I shoot at low ISO’s in low light. Now, I will make “digital sketches” off-tripod when I am exploring elements in the landscape. Once I have something I like I will go on the tripod and start to work the scene. Compared to the X-T2, the GFX 50sII is heavier. Especially so coupled with a lens like the 45-100mm. But, oh those wonderful files it produces. I really appreciate the support being able to connect with you through this whole process. It is one of the great things about photography.
Takk
Bob
Donna Hopkins
February 9, 2022 at 20:21
Hi Robert, I just finished your second installment as Artist-in-Residence. Thank you for the opportunity to see through your eyes and get inside your thought process! I don’t consider myself a landscape photographer and often walk around the historic battlefields in my area with no vision for an image. This way of seeing doesn’t come to me naturally. But I decided to hunker down and stick with you for these lessons, keeping an open and curious mind. So glad I did! There is always something to learn. Your honest and open approach in sharing both the technical and the creative aspects of your style of photography is a beautiful gift. Now I can’t wait to revisit the battlefields here in Virginia and follow the light! Looking forward to the next installment!
Robert H Clark
February 9, 2022 at 22:37
Donna: thank you so much for your kind comments! I find the key to some of this the time of day as the light in the early mornings, and evenings, is such that the landscape is often enveloped in a kind of glow, especially as the sun rises and after it sets. Look at how that light sculpts structures and lays across the landscapes. Then find those things within that you respond too. That is where the images can be found. Thank you again!
Bob
Rivki Locker
February 10, 2022 at 02:36
Hi Robert. Thank you for these wonderful conversations. I don’t shoot a lot of landscapes (mostly I photograph people) and some of the reason for that is that I find my area (southern New Jersey, near Philadelphia) is just a bit boring! It was interesting to hear your perspective on finding the interest in your own area. You’ve inspired me to try to seek out the beautiful landscapes that just exist in my area! Thanks!
Robert H Clark
February 10, 2022 at 16:45
Thank you Rivki! I appreciate that very. I have always enjoyed following along on your family photography and street outings. I think we have all watched your daughter grow up before our very eyes. Though I do like my forays to Iceland, there is so much that lays before us and just out of our front door. It does help that I live in an agrarian/rural location but I know there is quite a bit within a short drive for you. I would look forward to seeing what you find!
Thank you again.
Bob
Rivki Locker
February 11, 2022 at 19:58
Thank you so much for the kind words and encouragement.
Richard Hutson
February 10, 2022 at 03:13
Robert, I very much enjoyed the video of your field trip. I admire the dedication it must take to go out in such freezing cold weather to make photographs. The resulting images are stunning and inspirational. I am looking forward to seeing how you process the images. Thank you for taking on this project
Robert H Clark
February 10, 2022 at 16:46
Thank you Richard for taking time from your day to stop by. I appreciate that very much and hope that I can convey in some small way how I think about things. Which could be dangerous, lol! Thanks again.
Bob
Bob Weil
February 11, 2022 at 19:49
Hi, Robert, thank you for your amazing contributions so far – I’m learning so much. I particularly need to master “making [my] technique repeatable,” as many of your students have mentioned. I found particularly fascinating (in your interview with Scott) how you have felt the need in recent years to “reign in” the wide screen in favor of a more intimate canvas. I have found the same as I’ve grown more mature in my work – I now almost exclusively begin with a square space, in order to resist the temptation to be “sensational” with width. It also forces me to be disciplined about composition, since the dramatic is harder to accomplish without the benefit of the wide screen. Does your shift come from a desire to seek greater depth vs. breadth in your story-telling? To seek out the details rather than the grand view? Don’t let me put words in your mouth – I guess it could be as simple as your extensive experience with 4×5 film. Very interested in hearing a bit more on that front. (And thank you for the kind words about my work about 20 minutes in – I’m honored that you find it intriguing.) Best of luck as you continue with your series after such a great start!
Robert H Clark
February 13, 2022 at 16:57
Hi Bob: I really enjoyed your process and as a graphic designer I am so drawn to your amazing sense of composition, layering, color palettes. I certainly do like the square, too. I often frame final comps in a square format especially on Instagram. I have never like the 2 x 3 “width” factor of full-frame. I always loved the 4 x 5 format and come close to this using medium format with a 4 x 3 ration. I like that tighter constraint just a bit better. The subject of ultra-wide is difficult for me to answer. Here is no doubt that I love to shoot an expansive scene wide but felt it had become to cliche in my work and what I always just reached for. Certain scenes require, or can be better framed with an ultra-wide, but moving more towards 24mm, and the 35-85mm focal lengths and helped me see and frame the world differently. I like that vision of the world more and I do think it is about growth and maturity. Thanks so much for following along, Bob! I really appreciate it very much.
Bob
Terrance Wimmer
February 11, 2022 at 21:20
I was intrigued when you said you set your camera display on black & white when you shoot, even though the final image may be color. I think you also mentioned working with Ansel Adams zone system. I studied his zone system as well and may still have his three books, The Camera, The Negative & The Print. When you mentioned these techniques it made me realize that, without directly thinking about it, I never take a photo without relying on this system.
Robert H Clark
February 13, 2022 at 16:45
Hi Terrance: I know those books quite well! Thinking of the image in tonal values is still an important component of making photographs. Though I do not have to employ a spot meter and assign an EV into a zone to calculate an exposure, it is still nonetheless resident within me when I make images. Settng the LV to B+W is a techniques that helps with those visualization.
Thanks again for stopping by.
Bob
Marc Gregory
February 12, 2022 at 03:10
Thank you for sharing your process and practice as you select and frame your shots. I look forward to your next videos and writings. Your subjects are near and dear to my heart. I was born and raised near Frederick, MD and have visited the battlefield many times. My son also graduated from nearby Shepherd University in 2019. Shepherdstown is a great place! There is a “peacefulness” and calm to the park that I attribute to it being hallowed ground. It is hard to imagine the bloodshed as you walk the open fields as I imagine the farmers did before the battle.
Robert H Clark
February 13, 2022 at 16:41
Hi Marc: thanks so much for following along. It is definitely a small world. I have lived here since 2002 after moving from Atlanta. Antietam is an amazing location and it is hard now to imagine what that day must have been like in 1862. The landscape has certainly recovered but the ghosts of the pass almost assuredly remain.
Thanks again.
Bob
Bill Green
February 16, 2022 at 21:55
I like your explanation regarding your learning to love a previously unappreciated landscape. I think your outlook on this subject is so pertinent these days. The “grand landscape”, for me, is becoming somewhat of a crutch. I’ve been photographing since 1972 and visited over 30 countries. And I’ve photographed many of the “standard” compositions in Iceland, Faroe Islands, Patagonia, etc. But nowadays there is a glut of these images all over. They are plentiful and, by some measure, getting way over the top. It seems that the jaw dropping image is becoming a requirement. I love what you’re doing with your local landscape. I’ve adopted that mode of operation myself and find it refreshing. I believe it takes more artistic prowess to produce a lovely image of a falling shed than of the Grand Canyon. Great series. Thanks
Robert H Clark
February 17, 2022 at 14:56
Bill: thank you so much. It is a keen observation about the glut of “the standard” shots. All you have to do is scroll through social media to see it. I think I have been reacting to it for some time now but it takes a real switch of the brain to re-condition the neurons. I am still trying to get that going and shooting locally does help. I have also moved to some different projects and focus my time on those as opposed to the “grand landscapes”, which I still love, by the way. I appreciate your thoughts on this and hope my ramblings are helpful in some small way.
Takk
Bob
Pierre-yves Matile
February 16, 2022 at 21:55
Thank you very much. The way you teach is just amazing.
Pierre-yves Matile
February 16, 2022 at 21:56
Amazing series. I learn so much.
Pierre-yves Matile
February 16, 2022 at 22:00
Did a workshop with Bil Brown. He told me to work with jpeg black and white to frame my picture as you propose to do. This is an amazing way to see the world differently and concentrate on what counts while still having the option to print the raw files in color.
Robert H Clark
February 17, 2022 at 14:51
Pierre: I started doing this years ago and despite having all the options for in-camera Film Profiles for Fuji, I still just shoot in the moment of Black and White. It is definitely not to say that I don’t like color, as one look at my Iceland or West Virginia work will attest, it is however a key way to concentrate on forms and tones. It does take some getting used to and now it is just an automatic for me. Thanks so much for stopping by and being a part of all of this.
Bob
Richard Haas
February 17, 2022 at 16:07
I so enjoyed your second segment, shooting the rural buildings and landscapes at the park. I have two questions. (1) Not being a mathematician, I wonder what the advantage is of stacking over just closing down the lens. (2) Do you ever remove signs from your landscapes to make them appear more natural?
Robert H Clark
February 17, 2022 at 18:05
Hi Richard: with medium format cameras/sensors, the larger sensor size puts a premium on the DOF. There is science behind it all which makes my head spin so I rely simply on the real world of experience gained from shooting. If I frame a scene with a FF system, shooting wide, I can hyper-focus that scene to specific spot based on the focal length of my lens, and at an aperture of f11, and bring it all into a relative appearance of “In-focus” in a single capture. With the same scene in medium format, and placing the focus point in the same spot as the FF shot, and other factors being equal – focal length and aperture – all elements will not be in a relative appearance of “In-focus”. It will be in focus at the focal plane where I placed my focus point, but the foreground will be soft and the background will be as well. Hyper-focus techniques, I have found just do not work as well on medium format if you want to achieve the relative extreme sense of DOF in a scene. Focal length of the lens does have something to contribute here and there are many times I don’t need to stack. Stopping down does help a small bit but lenses are designed to operate and perform at certain apertures and less so at other as you go beyond, say f11 to f13. Moving into those smaller apertures will introduce diffraction artifacts and the resultant images will be soft. The decision to hyper-focus, stack, or let parts of the scene go soft is that creative moment that arrises when you shooting. You may want the whole scene to be tack sharp from fore-ground to back-ground, or you may want the subject to be sharp and allow the focus fall-off to be a part of your financial shot.
FujiFilm cameras have excellent focus-peaking capabilities and they employ THE most useful distance-scale I have ever encountered. The distance-scale gives you a tick mark and distance readout where you have placed you focus-point and an additional blue graph that expresses the depth of field based on that focus-point. So, it is very easy to judge where you are focused in the image and what is not, or is going to be soft. Hopefully this helps explain my thoughts on this in a non-mathematical/scientific way. The only numbers I like are aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. Everything else along that line is greek to me.
As to removal of “items” in an image. Yes, I take them out, unless I can shift position to reframe, or they add to the composition. There are moments to remove items and there are also moments to use other techniques like perspective correction and even warping to correct/enhance the image. I unapologetically use them all. The final shot is my composition and view of what I think it should be – my art for example – and therefore my interpretation. Now, I do not replace skies. The scene before me is what I work with, clouds/no clouds, or whatever. But digital clean-up is a necessary task on any image for me.
Thanks so much!
Takk
Bob
Richard Hutson
February 18, 2022 at 04:43
The last photo shoot you shared with us was a real inspiration for me and a validation of sorts for what I’m trying to do with photographs. I don’t have easy access to rural landscapes but I do have easy access to some very interesting cityscapes, especially the abandoned buildings in the shipyards that are about to be repurposed in new mixed use developments. The idea of understanding what’s around you and learning how to use it to create interesting images inspires me to get out with my camera more often.
Robert Clark
February 18, 2022 at 13:41
Richard: that is good to hear and greatly appreciated. I am imagining all those abandoned buildings and the shipyards you are referencing and that gets my creative thoughts going. I love such locations and recording that is a powerful way to recall the past once it is turned into shiny new buildings. Sounds like an excellent project!
Bob
Terrance Wimmer
February 18, 2022 at 05:35
Shooting medium format, I’m curious what size do you print your images?
Robert Clark
February 18, 2022 at 13:37
Hi Terrance: I print all sizes really, but generally 18×24 range and some larger up to 36 and 48.
Bob
Bill Fosdick
February 18, 2022 at 19:29
I truly appreciate the story you are weaving as you explore areas immediately around you. I realized that for too many years I waited to travel to “see” an unfamiliar area. You have encouraged me to revisit the places I know (or think I know) and shoot again. Do you have a preferred format to your landscapes.(eg. 16×9, 16×10) or do you crop to the scene you want to capture?
Robert H Clark
February 19, 2022 at 14:01
Hi Bill: that is good to hear! I think there is a great power in reconnecting with the potential photography that is literally right out of your doorstep. Not to say I would not mind a little travel! So, with the Fuji GFX I shoot in a 4:3 format, which is the native framing for that camera. It is the most relative to the 4×5 format from my film days. I shoot the occasional pano, but it is not my preferred method or format. I do not crop a lot and try for some capture that frames the story in one take. Not opposed to it however and often cut in slightly on a shot and especially if I do parallax corrections for architecture. I actually do that on the next Installment video.
Thanks so much for the support, comments, and stopping by.
Bob
Sharon Loudon
February 19, 2022 at 21:12
Hi Robert – Can’t tell you how much I’m enjoying your series. I live in Nebraska and as much as I appreciate the surrounding rural areas (and I do), I have struggled to do much with them photographically. Your master class has given me a new set of glasses through which to see my home turf. A someone who used to travel extensively in the world, like a lot of people, the pandemic hit me hard creatively – just no mojo. I hope to get out there soon, and make an image or two. Thank you for the insights into your process, and the very helpful nudge!
Robert H Clark
February 22, 2022 at 16:49
Hi Sherry: my apologies as I missed your comment and only now responding. I am so thrilled that I have been able to help in some small way. I think all of us who have travelled with cameras were caught in the maelstrom of the pandemic. I certainly am not afraid to admit it or own up to the loss of the muse. The mind is a terrible place to languish as it creates feedback loops that make it difficult for escape. But escape we must. And if we are aware, we can. I think Nebraska just might be quite exciting. I am envisioning grain elevators and big skies, combines, storms, and vast planted fields. So many beautiful things and all there to be captured.
Thank you for you kind comments and I hope you are getting out to shoot.
Takk
Bob
Robert H Clark
February 22, 2022 at 16:50
Sharon: Sorry, for some reason my phone spell checked you.
Bob
Sharon Loudon
March 4, 2022 at 23:13
Thanks, Bob. I also wanted to say that your comment about “messy” landscapes really resonated, as that is one of the obstacles here. There are some very nice, old, abandoned farmsteads and outbuildings to be photographed, but often they are ensconced in tangles of shrubbery and trees that make imagery tough. And a lot of it is private property so one must tread carefully. Also, no worries on the spellcheck; when I was young, people called me that. Plus, you used ‘maelstrom’ – one of my favorite words. 😉 Thanks again, and no need to reply, just wanted to add that.
Donna Hopkins
February 20, 2022 at 00:20
Just watched Part 3 and I’m grateful for your fine instruction. I absolutely did not understand the messiness of the landscape in my area and needed some help to appreciate the beauty and subtlety of these areas in my own backyard. Watching these videos has helped me to add a whole new dimension to my photography practice – another way for me to express my unique voice. I’ve visited Slaughter Pen Farm, part of the Fredericksburg Battlefield in Virginia, many times but didn’t really love the views and couldn’t see a picture to make. For the first time, I was able to make a photograph of this place, in my own hometown, that made me feel proud. I’m taking notes and looking up the the new-to-me techniques like focus bracketing. Again, thank you for teaching and sharing!
Robert Clark
February 20, 2022 at 02:58
Donna: that is so thrilling to hear! Battlefield parks offer a lot o opportunities from landscapes to the historical structures that are part of their fabric. I often find a great deal of peace there even though they were site of unbelievable events. I think in some way they have healed – a reminder still, but a place that have moved on. Thanks so much for your comments and support. Keep shooting and exploring!
Takk
Bob
Bill Fosdick
February 21, 2022 at 21:02
You touched on your use of a tripod and I notice that yours is pretty skookum. The large ball bracket seems to offer a lot of flexibility for quick positioning. Do you mind sharing the brand and do you ever use a remote trigger for your longer time exposures? Again, I am truly enjoying the series.
Robert H Clark
February 24, 2022 at 22:54
Hi Bill: So, the tripod is an older model Induro, that I have used for the last 10 years. It has a stub center column as I am not a proponent of extending long center columns on tripods. You can definitely get motion blur with columns extended. The head is a Sirui K40 I believe which is big but provides a very stable base and easily adjustable. I also use an L-Bracket that makes for quick changes between horizontal and vertical orientation.
I do not use a remote trigger as a mater of practice unless I have my bigger 100-200 on. Even using a shutter delay can impart a slight bit of blur with that lens. So, I will use a trigger for it. In general with my other lenses I will employ a 2-second timer delay to the shutter.
And thank you again!
Bob
Richard Hutson
February 26, 2022 at 03:39
Robert, Thank you for taking us trough your very detailed development process for this image. I doubt that, as a hobbyist, I will ever master all of the fine points that you have shown us but I did learned a great deal that will help me in my pursuit of making better photographs.
Robert Clark
February 26, 2022 at 13:52
Hi Richard: thank you very much. I hope that there were elements that you can employ in your image processing. I tried to keep most of the LR part fairly straightforward. Photoshop can be daunting and does require practice and a lot of perseverance. But the results are achievable. When I first started in PS back around 2000 I thought it was the invention of the devil. But I took bits off the elephant, one at a time, and my skills improved. And I keep on it even to this day as there are tons of techniques still to learn. Just keep shooting and keep at it! Really appreciate you checking all this out!
Takk
Bob
Thomas Sheppard
February 26, 2022 at 08:25
Hi Robert: Thank you for this excellent series and for sharing your time and talent with us. I am a little like Richard in that I am somewhat familiar with Lightroom, but am a stranger to Photoshop – so the second half of instalment 4 was a little confronting. I will watch it a few more times and see what I can apply.
I really appreciate the careful way that you have presented your edits, and the time/space that you have created in doing so to make them easier to follow.
The transformation of the “House of Odd Angles” resulted in a splendid image.
I cannot help noting that when LR selected the subject, it included a part of the sky as seen through the back corner of the verandah.
This small area remained bright throughout the editing, and continues to catch my eye when I view the final image.
I am really impressed by the treatment of the windowed wall of the house, and the detail in the final rendition of the sky.
Thanks again, and I look forward to Part 5.
Tom
Robert Clark
February 26, 2022 at 13:45
Hi Tom: I do realize Part 2 in the processing will/can be somewhat daunting and is actually toned down from other things I might do, but I wanted to give some insight into the transformative tools available that can help achieve such changes in a RAW file. The one singular practice that is easily learned is dodging and burning. You can so much to an image with those tools on an extra layer.
Good eye on the porch! As good as the masks are they cannot always pick out everything. There was a brightness along part of the horizon so I elected to play that out and just burning in some of the cloud in Photoshop. The effect gives some three-dimensionality to that side of the house as the tones are nicely separated. Moving forward I would isolate that part with a mask and bring in a tad more tone-but not too much.
Very appreciate you comments and following along with this series.
Bob
Kevin Payne
February 26, 2022 at 11:21
Loved the presentations so far, thank you for your time and I have found it very instructive. I am glad I am not the only one that goes out and comes back with very few usable images. Off now to convert many of my landscapes to b&w having seen the beauty of yours.
Robert Clark
February 26, 2022 at 13:33
Hi Kevin: thanks so much for stopping by. Truth be told there are times I don’t come back with anything that excites me. Not for lack of effort, but sometimes the outing turns into a walk without much photography. And there is nothing wrong with that. The point is to get out and use those moments to just observe and reflect. There is power in that. Good luck with the conversions!
Bob
Todd Stuart
February 26, 2022 at 16:23
Really enjoying this series. The editing installment was helpful to see how you create images. Love you work!
Todd
Robert Clark
February 26, 2022 at 20:36
Todd: thanks so much! I hope you found some things that can be helpful in your journey.
Bob
Eric M Lipnack
March 5, 2022 at 19:22
Bob, I see that you run workshops. I would be very interested in knowing more about them. I have been using Lightroom for about 2 years, but I only use PS for blemishes, so I don’t know if these workshops would be above my level. Would you send my information on them? ericlipnack@gmail.com. Thanks and thank you for contributing and opening my eyes to new possibilities.
Richard Hutson
March 5, 2022 at 22:26
Robert, Your residency has inspired me to get out more and explore what’s around me with my Leica Q2M. I am quite passionate about black & white photography and truly admire the work you presented.
Robert H Clark
March 7, 2022 at 20:17
Hi Richard:
That is awesome! I do like the idea of that Q2M. I shot with an M240 and a first gen Q2 and often miss the relative manual simplicity of all of that. Maybe one again I’ll pick up a monochrome Leica. Thank you for stopping by and you kind words.
Takk
Bob
Thomas Moseley
March 7, 2022 at 19:32
Just wanted to thank you for sharing your inspiring work appreciate the post production segment -very helpful and interesting Wish you the very best .
Robert H Clark
March 7, 2022 at 20:18
Thomas: thank you very much! Really appreciate your support with the all the segments.
Takk
Bob
Doug Lutz
March 7, 2022 at 19:40
Robert. Thank you for sharing with us your process in video and images. Your region is rich with moments and you capture them exquisitely with rich tones in the darks and the lights. I loved the different tonalities that you use in your B&W processing – they add so much. I sometimes think that we are seduced too much by color, particularly in landscape, but you demonstrate how careful composition and thinking in tones can equally express, or differently express, the emotion of a moment in front of your subject. Although I use Capture One for my processing, I very much enjoyed your segment on your post-processing. It was a window into how you work after the shot is in the camera. You’ve inspired me to explore using limited focus stacking in my landscape work to get that full detail from foreground to background that I sometimes struggle with. One thing that Covid has forced many of us to do is to get out and work in our sometimes limited environs, and that practice has added a constraint that has led to some wonderful photographic discoveries close to home. Many thanks again and safe travels.
Robert H Clark
March 7, 2022 at 20:32
Doug:
Thank you so much for your support and kind words. The whole AiR process has been an interesting one to develop and I was happy to be able to, in a small way, attempt to describe some of the things I think about. I have spent some time with Capture One but ultimately found I had too much invested in the LR to PS pipeline, so just decided not to make it so hard on myself. The focus stacking is actually a fairly simple technique to employ and just requires knowing your lenses, following a bit of repeatable process, and letting PS handle the blend. It works very well. If you try it out and need a bit of help I am happy to walk you through it. Thanks again for the support and comments.
Bob
Todd Stuart
March 7, 2022 at 22:55
Beautiful images. Really enjoyed your AIR series!
Todd
Robert H Clark
March 8, 2022 at 14:34
Todd:
Thank you very much! Really appreciate that and your support.
Cheers
Bob