This lens is heavy and nice black in color.I bought this lens from one of my friend,Tareaque.When I first saw this land,I was astonised.The appearnce is so sexy.The lens is very well constructed.It has a supplied lens hood and nice collar.The non rotating front allows the mounting of 77mm filters for professional users.The nice thing is that, it does not change the size of lens during zooming or focusin.When I first hold it,it seemed to me that,I am touching the real thing in photography and felt slightly proud to have this lens.My friend taraque brought it from Australia.One day I went his residence for visit him.While talking about photography or something else,he showed me the lens.I was speeechless at this time.I aske him if he wanted to sell this lens.He agreed only for 18,000 taka(BDT).But I managed the lens only for BDT.10,000.00 after the long burgaining.
The removable tripod collar is well built and provide good lens support on a tripod. I also found the tripod collar useful for providing extra grib onto the lens when I don't use a tripod or monopod with it. There are 3 buttons on the lens barrel which supposedly will freeze focus when pressed.AFS works well on both my F100 and N70. Auto focusing is swift and silent as advertised.
Specification:
Lens Type:80-200mm F2.8D ED AFS Lens Construction:18 Elements in 14 Groups (5 ED Elements) Minimum Focusing Distance:1.5m (4.9 feet) Attachment Size:77mm Weight:1.58kg (55.7 oz) with Tripod Collar
Richard Avedon (1923 --2004) was an American photographer. Avedon was able to take his early success in fashion photography and expand it into the realm of fine art.
Avedon was born in New York City to a Jewish-Russian family. After briefly attending Columbia University, he started as a photographer for the Merchant Marines in 1942, taking identification pictures of the crewmen with his Rolleiflex camera given to him by his father as a going-away present. In 1944, he began working as an advertising photographer for a department store, but was quickly discovered by Alexey Brodovitch, the art director for the fashion magazine Harper's Bazaar.
In 1946, Avedon had set up his own studio and began providing images for magazines including Vogue and Life. He soon became the chief photographer for Harper's Bazaar. Avedon did not conform to the standard technique of taking fashion photographs, where models stood emotionless and seemingly indifferent to the camera. Instead, Avedon showed models full of emotion, smiling, laughing, and, many times, in action. In 1966, Avedon left Harper's Bazaar to work as a staff photographer for Vogue magazine. In addition to his continuing fashion work, Avedon began to branch out and photographed patients of mental hospitals, the Civil Rights Movement in 1963, protesters of the Vietnam War, and the fall of the Berlin Wall.
During this period Avedon also created two famous sets of portraits of The Beatles. The first, taken in mid to late 1967, became one of the first major rock poster series, and consisted of five striking psychedelic portraits of the group — four heavily solarised individual colour portraits (solarisation of prints by his assistant, Gideon Lewin, retouching by Bob Bishop) and a black-and-white group portrait taken with a rolleiflex camera and a normal Planar lens. The next year he photographed the much more restrained portraits that were included with The White Album in 1968.
Avedon was always interested in how portraiture captures the personality and soul of its subject. As his reputation as a photographer became widely known, he brought in many famous faces to his studio and photographed them with a large-format 8x10 view camera. His portraits are easily distinguished by their minimalist style, where the person is looking squarely in the camera, posed in front of a sheer white background. Among the many rock bands photographed by Avedon, in 1973 he shot Electric Light Orchestra with all the members exposing their bellybuttons for recording, On the Third Day.
He is also distinguished by his large prints, sometimes measuring over three feet in height. His large-format portrait work of drifters, miners, cowboys and others from the western United States became a best-selling book and traveling exhibit entitled In the American West, and is regarded as an important hallmark in 20th Century portrait photography, and by some as Avedon's magnum opus. Commissioned by the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, it was a six-year project Avedon embarked on in 1979, that produced 125 portraits of people in the American west who caught Avedon's eye.
Avedon was drawn to working people such as miners and oil field workers in their soiled work clothes, unemployed drifters, and teenagers growing up in the West circa 1979-84. When first published and exhibited, In the American West was criticized for showing what some considered to be a disparaging view of America. Avedon was also lauded for treating his subjects with the attention and dignity usually reserved for the politically powerful and celebrities. Laura Wilson served as Avedon's assistant during the creation of In the American West and in 2003 published a photo book documenting the experiences, Avedon at Work, In the American West.
Avedon became the first staff photographer for The New Yorker in 1992. He has won many awards for his photography, including the International Center of Photography Master of Photography Award in 1993, the Prix Nadar in 1994 for his photobook Evidence, and the Royal Photographic Society 150th Anniversary Medal in 2003.
Hollywood presented a fictional account of his early career in the 1957 musical Funny Face, starring Fred Astaire as the fashion photographer "Dick Avery." Avedon supplied some of the still photographs used in the production, including its most famous single image: an intentionally overexposed close-up of Audrey Hepburn's face in which only her famous features - her eyes, her eyebrows, and her mouth - are visible.
Hepburn was Avedon's muse in the 1950s and 60s, going as far to say "I am, and forever will be, devastated by the gift of Audrey Hepburn before my camera. I cannot lift her to greater heights. She is already there. I can only record. I cannot interpret her.
There is no going further than who she is. She has achieved in herself her ultimate portrait."
Gordon Roger Alexander Buchannan Parks (1912 --2006) was a groundbreaking American photographer, musician, poet, novelist, journalist, activist and film director. Parks is remembered for his activism, filmmaking, photography, and writings.
He was the first African American to work at Life magazine, and the first to write, direct, and score a Hollywood film.
The youngest of 15 children, Parks was born into a poor, black family in segregated Fort Scott, Kansas. His mother, was the main influence on his life. Parks commented: "I had a mother who would not allow me to complain about not accomplishing something because I was black. Her attitude was, 'If a white boy can do it, then you can do it, too—and do it better, or don't come home.'"
When Parks was 15 years old, his mother died and he was sent to live with a married sister. He and his brother-in-law did not get along and he was evicted within a few weeks. He slept in trolley cars, loitered in pool halls, played piano in a brothel, worked as a factotum in a whites-only club, and worked as a waiter on a luxury train.
In 1938, Parks was struck by photographs of migrant workers in a magazine and bought his first camera, a Voigtländer Brilliant, for $12.50.The photo clerks who developed Parks' first roll of film, applauded his work and prompted him to get a fashion assignment at women's clothing store. Parks double exposed every frame except one, but that shot caught the eye of heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis' elegant wife. She encouraged Parks to move to Chicago, where he began a portrait business for society women.
Over the next few years, Parks moved from job to job, developing a freelance portrait and fashion photographer sideline.
Working as a trainee under Roy Stryker, Parks created one of his best known photographs, American Gothic, Washington, D.C. Parks had been inspired to create the picture after encountering repeated racism in restaurants and shops.
Parks became a freelance fashion photographer for Vogue. He later followed Stryker to the Standard Oil (New Jersey) Photography Project, which assigned photographers to take pictures of small towns and industrial centers. For 20 years, Parks produced photos on subjects including fashion, sports, Broadway, poverty, racial segregation, and portraits of Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael, Muhammad Ali..
His photo essay on a poor Brazilian boy named Flavio da Silva, who was dying from bronchial pneumonia and malnutrition, brought donations that saved the boy's life and paid for a new home for his family.
In 1969, he became Hollywood's first major black director with his film, The Learning Tree. Shaft, Parks' 1971 detective film starring Richard Roundtree, became a major hit that spawned a series of blaxploitation films. In the 1980s, he composed the music and libretto for Martin, a ballet tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr..
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908 --2004) was a French photographer considered to be the father of modern photojournalism, an early adopter of 35 mm format, and the master of candid photography. He helped develop the "street photography" style that has influenced generations of photographers that followed.
Trained as a painter, he began his career in photography in 1931 on a trip to the Ivory Coast. He was one of the first photographers to shoot in the 35mm format with a Leica camera, and helped to develop the photojournalistic "street photography" style that influenced generations of photographers to come.
It was there on the Côte d'Ivoire that he contracted blackwater fever, which nearly killed him. Returning to France, Cartier-Bresson recuperated in Marseille in 1931 and deepened his relationship with the Surrealists. He became inspired by a photograph by Hungarian photojournalist Martin Munkacsi
Cartier-Bresson said: "The only thing which completely was an amazement to me and brought me to photography was the work of Munkacsi. When I saw the photograph of Munkacsi of the black kids running in a wave I couldn't believe such a thing could be caught with the camera. I said damn it, I took my camera and went out into the street."
The photograph inspired him to stop painting and to take up photography seriously. He explained, "I suddenly understood that a photograph could fix eternity in an instant.". He acquired the Leica camera with 50 mm lens in Marseilles that would accompany him for many years. He described the Leica as an extension of his eye.
Cartier-Bresson is well known for his concept of the "decisive moment" in photography. He defined this moment as "the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms which gave that event its proper expression During his photographic career Cartier-Bresson photographed all over the world - Mexico, Canada, USA, Europe, India, Burma, Pakistan, Indonesia, Africa, Burma, China, Japan, Cuba, and the USSR, among other places. He also photographed many famous personalities and artists of the 20th century, including Matisse, Picasso, Coco Chanel, Truman Capote, and Gandhi. His interest in the visual arts also extended to film - he made films with Jean Renoir, Jacques Becker and André Zvoboda and a documentary on Republican Spain (1937).
During the Second World War Cartier-Bresson was taken prisoner by the Germans and escaped, then photographed the occupation and liberation of France. During this time rumors reached the USA that he had been killed, and the Museum of Modern Art began to prepare a "posthumous" show. Cartier-Bresson later spent a year in the US helping to prepare this show. In 1947 Cartier-Bresson co-founded the photographic cooperative Magnum along with fellow photographers Robert Capa, George Rodger, David Seymour, Bill Vandivert and others.
Valuing his anonymity as a tool for capturing decisive moments with his camera, Cartier-Bresson did not like to be photographed, and shot with a Leica camera which was smaller, quieter and less intrusive than other cameras. Cartier-Bresson retired from photography in the early 1970s and by 1975 no longer took pictures other than an occasional private portrait; he said he kept his camera in a safe at his house and rarely took it out. He returned to drawing and painting. After a lifetime of developing his artistic vision through photography, he said, "All I care about these days is painting — photography has never been more than a way into painting, a sort of instant drawing."
Cartier-Bresson is regarded as one of the art world's most unassuming personalities. He disliked publicity and exhibited a ferocious shyness since his days in hiding from the Nazis during World War II. He hated to be photographed and treasured his privacy above all. Photographs of Cartier-Bresson do exist, but they are scant. When he accepted an honorary degree from Oxford University in 1975, he held a paper in front of his face to avoid being photographed. He did recall that he once confided his innermost secrets to a Paris taxi driver, certain that he would never meet the man again. The Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation was created by Cartier-Bresson and his wife and daughter in 2002 to preserve and share his legacy.
Ansel Adams is among the few photographers in all the history of photography whose name and work enjoy worldwide recognition. His stunning landscapes and intimate still lifes of nature continue to enthrall viewers. Adams's ability to convey the power and grandeur of nature in a black-and-white photograph is astounding. This exhibition honors the man and celebrates his genius. Jeanne Verhulst discusses some of her favorite works in the sold-out traveling exhibition Ansel Adams: Celebration of Genius. Ms. Verhulst is the associate curator of exhibitions at George Eastman House, International Center of Photography and Film.
I caught this show on my television and absolutely love it. I wish it was on more often. I tivo-ed it and figured I'd share it with others. If you want to learn more about taking great photography, this is the show. This one is about shooting with contrasting skin tones.
I caught this show on my television and absolutely love it. I wish it was on more often. I tivo-ed it and figured I'd share it with others. If you want to learn more about taking great photography, this is the show. This one is about shooting with contrasting skin tones.
Choosing a wedding photographer is a daunting task. Your wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event and you don’t want to trust just anyone to capture the memories that you’ll cherish for the rest of your life. Here are some tips that can help you select the right wedding photographer for you.
Experience – Pretty much anyone can run out and buy a camera and call themselves a Wedding Photographer. But that doesn’t mean they’re any good though… Fortunately we live in the era of the internet and most photographers have web pages these days. By browsing through the web pages of wedding photographers in your area, you can get a feel for the quality differences. Here are some things to look for when viewing a wedding photographer’s samples. Are all the pictures from just a very few weddings? If so, that may raise a red flag about the experience level of that photographer. How long has the photographer been shooting weddings? You probably don’t want your wedding to be some photographer’s second wedding. Another thing to keep in mind is that if a photographer does have a lot of experience, that doesn’t mean that he’s any good either. If you see from his samples that none of his images are from the same wedding, it might mean that the photographer’s quality is lacking. Even if the photographer has shot a hundred weddings, one good shot per wedding is not a good sign of a quality wedding photographer. After you’ve narrowed down your choices a little and it’s time to meet your favorite photographers, ask to see a couple complete weddings. This will show you not only their style but also their consistency.
Style – You probably already have in mind the style of photography you prefer. It’s usually a subconscious preconception of how you think your wedding should look. When you look at different wedding photographer’s samples, they to discern what their style is. Is their style more traditional, or a little more modern? Modern is not necessarily better, if you want your wedding to be more “traditional”. One style is not better than another, just different. Make sure that you aren’t assuming that the photographer will shoot your wedding in the style you want. Most wedding photographers shoot in “their style” and you should select a photographer’s style that matches your expectations, not the other way around.
Personality – This is something you just can’t get from the Wedding photographer’s web page and it’s one of the most important aspects of selecting a good wedding photographer. Weddings can be a stressful time for most Brides, and the last thing you need is to have a wedding photographer that adapts and goes along with the flow. Is the photographer charming and personable, or a prude and a pre-Madonna? Will the photographer be a help or a hindrance at your special event? Make sure that you think you two can get along well enough to insure that your memories end up being positive ones.
Price – Price is something that will vary wildly from wedding photographer to wedding photographer. Maybe you’re the type of bride where price just doesn’t matter, but for most others, the wedding budget is serious business. You don’t want to spend a fortune, but you realize that a professional needs to make a living too. Most wedding photographers have packages from you to select from. While this gives you a place to begin your comparisons, be aware that some wedding photographers count on selling you additional products after the event is over. Make sure that you think this through and figure out ahead of time the quantity and types of pictures that you’ll want in the end. Usually, the prices for purchases outside the wedding photographer’s package, can be quite pricey and the markup on Photographic prints can be huge. So if one photographer offers the extras you want, (framed prints, mother’s albums, wedding party gift prints, etc.) you’re probably much better off. Just make sure that you ask about the price of the “extras” when attempting to compare wedding photographers.
Ownership – One way to control the cost of your wedding photography is to select a photographer that offers you the ability to purchase either the negatives or the files from your wedding. This is not the norm in the wedding photography business. Most photographers count on making money from additional sales and giving the negatives or files away keeps them from taking advantage of that captive market. (You!) It’s amazing the markup on prints. If you can get own the files, you’ll probably save a ton of money. Most photographers that offer you the negatives or files will also be able to suggest and quality lab to have your prints made. That way, you get the quality and not the cost.
Photography needs light. Without it, there would be no picture. On the other hand, having more of it doesn’t necessarily produce better pictures. Actually, some of the most interesting photos can be taken in low-light situations - at dawn, in the evening, at night or in dark rooms.
That ray of light filtering through the trees of a wood or falling on the face of a person sitting in the dark is much more effective than broad daylight.
But: how to capture high-quality pictures when it’s dark? There are just a few options: 1.use a fast (highly sensitive) film or push develop your usual film (you should try that out beforehand... 2.if you have a digital camera: set your ISO setting to a higher than normal value use a flash 3.use other additional light sources like spots, or a reflector 4.use a fast lens 5.use a tripod
Fast Films
Isn’t this perfect? You just use a different type of film and you can shoot away as usual. Well, in a way that’s true, but, of course, the higher speed has its price (otherwise, we’d all be using 800 ASA film most of the time...). Not in terms of money but in terms of resolution: high-speed films are grainier and less saturated than normal films (did I mention that my favourite film is Fuji Velvia, which has 50 ASA?). This may even enhance some photos - but it takes a bit of experience to predict where this is the case. Push development means that you use your normal film but manually set the camera to a different ISO setting. Upon coming back, you ask your lab to push develop the film at the higher setting. Some films can be easily pushed, others not. Results vary and it is wise to try this at home rather than at a remote travel destination. Oh, and make sure to reset the camera for the next film, if it doesn’t do this automatically...
ISO-setting
See above. There’s no escaping the laws of physics. However, digital cameras at least allow you to see the result immediately...
Using a Flash
I wrote another section on this. However, with night photography, there are some interesting additional options. For example, you can put your camera on a tripod set it to “bulb”, walk around and use the “test” function of your detachable flash to illuminate certain parts of a big object, - like a building. Professional camera systems also often offer a way to trigger several flashes at the same time - either controlled by the inbuilt camera flash, or cables or a remote control.
Another nice effect is using coloured filters on your flash, thereby illuminating the scene with blue, green or red light (or a combination of several colours). Still, I think the main application of a flash is to illuminate the foreground in order to reduce the contrast with a brighter background (“fill flash”)
Lamps and Reflectors
Spots and lamps are indispensable for studio photography, but you usually won’t have them with you while travelling.
On the other hand, a collapsable reflector or even a pocket mirror may give you the chance to shine some additional light on a detail in the shade.
Fast lenses and anti-shake
Fast lenses allow you to take sharp pictures when other people have to use a tripod. You can take a picture inside a church, inside a museum or at a theatre performance without using a flash (very often inside such buildings, photographing is allowed, but not the use of flash or tripods). Just as for other things, there’s a price tag attached to this: - yes, fast lenses are more expensive - a fast lens only allows you to take pictures in the dark because you can open it more than a slower model. This means that you are dealing with a wide-open aperture. Thus, the resulting photos will have very little depth of field. Good if you have a subject that you want to separate from an unimportant background, but a problem for shots where you would like to show foreground and background tack sharp. Anti-shake systems avoid that problem.
Tripods
my preferred way of taking pictures in the dark: I use a slow film (Fuji Velvia), put my camera on a tripod, set the camera to auto trigger or use a remote control and bracket. This usually results in very saturated pictures. Beautiful for landscapes and city panoramas, the only problem being that any movement will be blurred. Another factor to consider is an esoteric concept called “reciprocity failure”. Normally, you can easily make use of different combinations of exposure time and aperture. The total amount of light will be the same, but the background will be more or less blurred (the smaller the aperture, the greater the depth of field...). This can be easily predicted and many cameras provide you with a simple way of selecting different combinations. However, for very long exposure times, the film behaves differently and doubling the exposure time will not make the image twice as bright. Here you have to voluntarily “overexpose” your photo. Unfortunately, different films behave differently here, so the best approach is to take many pictures with different settings (bracketing). Some other hints: with very long exposure times, it’s often best to close the view finder before pulling the trigger. And: a small flashlight comes in very handy when you want to put in a new film, change your lens, or check whether you have put all equipment back into your bag...
