Photography

Photography of Shubho Salateen

2010-03-28T14:20:00.008+06:00

shubho salateen works as a freelance photographer.His preferred field of photography is landscape,people,documentary and travel.He is the most prominent photographer who visited remote corner of Bangladesh for search of the unseen beauty.His photographs can bee seen in the his blog ( http://focus-bd.blogspot.com)

A Walk in the misty Morning

Portrait:Bite of time

Rose Garden:Tikatuli,Dhaka,Bangladesh

Harvest in a remote village

Fancy good seller:taken from Ekushey Boimela 2010
Copy Right:Shubho Salateen

Exposure and Metering Modes

2010-03-26T21:55:00.000+06:00

Exposure and Metering Modes

Getting correct exposure with most simple auto-exposure cameras is easy: press the shutter button and the camera does the rest. More technologically evolved (i.e., expensive) cameras often provide a choice of several exposure and metering modes. Having to maneuver through a labyrinth of optional modes may seem somewhat anti-automatic at first, but in reality they enable you to become the master of, rather than a slave to, automation.

Exposure modes. A choice of different exposure modes enables you to manipulate the camera's selection of shutter speeds and apertures to match a particular type of subject: you can tell it to pick a fast shutter speed because you're photographing a race horse, for instance. Generally, the more costly the camera, the more modes you'll have to choose from, but these are the most common options:

In Program Mode, you accept the role of technological slave and the camera selects both the shutter speed and the aperture for you. It is often called the green mode because it's frequently marked by a green "P" on the mode-selector dial. The camera will choose a shutter speed that is safe enough for hand holding and an aperture that will provide a moderate amount of depth of field. It's ideal for shooting relatively stationary subjects (like a tall ship sitting at anchor) that don't require either a very fast (or slow) shutter speed or excessive (or excessively shallow) depth of field.

In shutter-priority mode you choose the shutter speed and the camera selects an appropriate corresponding aperture. If you want to blur the water rushing over a waterfall, for example, you can select a very slow shutter speed and the camera will choose the correct aperture. Conversely, if you want to halt a bounding terrier in mid stride, you can pick a fast shutter speed and, again, the camera will select an appropriate aperture.

The aperture priority mode, as you've no doubt guessed, lets you pick the aperture, while the camera selects the matching shutter speed. This is the mode to choose when you want to manipulate depth of field. For example, you could set a small aperture for extensive depth of field (in a landscape, for example) or a large one when you want to limit depth (as in a portrait).

Metering modes allow you to control what part of a scene the meter will take its reading from—a useful capability when it comes to getting good exposure in difficult lighting situations.

Matrix metering is used in virtually all digital cameras for the simple reason that it is the most reliable and sophisticated type of in-camera metering. Matrix metering works by dividing the viewing area into a series of key zones and taking separate readings from each of them. This information is then fed into a computer chip that has been programmed with literally hundreds of thousands of potential lighting combinations; the meter then makes an educated guess at what the important parts of the scene are and exposes accordingly.

Center-weighted metering is a type of "averaging" meter where the entire viewfinder image is metered but the reading area is "weighted" to give more emphasis to an area at the center of the frame. Typically the meter will give 75 percent emphasis to the material at the center of the frame and 25 percent to the remaining area of the frame. The logic of this method of metering is that since most people place their subjects in the center of the frame, that's where the most important metering should be done. Is it accurate? Yes, if you place your subjects in the center (at least during metering). You can place an important subject in the center for metering purposes and then use your exposure lock feature (on most cameras, just hold the shutter button halfway down) to hold that reading while you recompose the image.

Spot metering is a further refinement of center-weighted metering, but spot meters read only a tiny portion at the center of the frame—usually from 3-5 percent of the frame. This method of metering is very accurate if you are careful to read only the most important area of the frame. Imagine a scene where the important subject area (a person cross-country skiing, for example) is surrounded by a large field of bright or dark subject matter (a snowy field). By using spot metering, you can meter just the subject and exclude the large area of snow that would fool your meter.

The Zoom Effect in Photography

2010-03-26T21:46:00.003+06:00

The zoom (during exposure) effect is a classic special effect technique that can be traced back to early film photography era. By zooming the lens during a long exposure (typically 1/4s to a few seconds), photographer can create dramatic radiating streaks from center of the frame. This is a great technique to accentuate motion or create tension in photographs. Here are three different ways to achieve the classic zoom effect today.

The classic method for the classic zoom effect

For this technique to work, you obviously need a zoom lens and are able to create long exposures of about 1/4s and longer. The slow shutter speed can be achieved by shooting in dim lighting condition, reducing ISO setting, stopping down the lens, or using a neutral density (ND) filter.

Tombstone 0 005 by casch52

For best result, mount the camera on a tripod, compose and focus the subject at exact center of the frame. Move the zoom lens from a longer focal length to a shorter focal length as soon as the shutter is open. You will need to experiment a little bit to find out the best zoom speed and the range of focal length. This technique works best when you have a busy background or plenty of bright spots that create the streaks. There are also several variants of this technique. One of them is the so-called step zoom as shown in the title photo. For some excellent articles on this topic, please visit the following links:

Click and zoom (AIRC)
Mastering the zoom effect (dPS)

Use a special effect filter

The classic method is fun to experiment but it can be very tricky to master. One of the easier alternatives is to use a Cokin radial zoom filter (filter #185 in its creative filter system). It should make your life a lot easier. To get the setup to work, you will need to have an adapter ring for your lens, a filter holder that clips on to the adapter ring and accepts the filters, and the filter. Visit Cafe Cokin if you have questions on Cokin filter system.

The Photoshop magic

Scream – Zoom effect by Photoshop by PicMax

It is also quite easy to create the zoom effect in Adobe Photoshop. You can adjust the amount of the effect to your taste to simulate the speed of turning the zoom ring. You can also place the center of the zoom where you want instead of center of the frame. Follow these simple steps to master this Photoshop zoom effect:

Open the image in Photoshop.
Duplicate the layer.
Select the duplicated layer, go to Filter->Blur->Radial Blur, change the blur method to zoom, select the quality (draft, good, or best), click and drag to select the blur center. There is no preview, so you may have to experiment it to get the effect you want.
With the duplicated filter selected, add a layer mask.
Choose the gradient tool and select the black-white radial gradient. Click on the center of the zoom and drag it out to where you want. Make sure the center of the gradient is black, which will reveal the background layer to give you a clear center. If the effect you get is the opposite, check the “Reverse” box to reverse the gradient color and try again.

Sell Your Photographs - Think Out Of The Box

2009-12-12T15:30:00.000+07:00

Your town library is a good place to start showing your photographs. The library will give you great exposure, does not take a percentage of any of the photographs sold, is a non pressure environment and a good starting point for you.

The library will also promote the exhibit in the newspaper. I also approached our town nature center. They mailed an announcement of the exhibition to all their members. In return, I donated 25% of the sales of the photographs to the nature center. This gave potential buyers another reason to purchase a photograph. The nature center also promoted the exhibit on our local public TV.

Everyone at times, (including myself) has excuses why not to try different ideas and the underlying theme is usually failure. Once you decide that "Failure is not an option" and any failure that comes along is one step closer to success, you are on your way. If you are happy with photography as a hobby, then keep it that way... enjoy it for what it is and don't try to sell your photographs. No one needs any additional pressure on something that you enjoy. But there is one feeling that you will never experience and that is "Knowing that someone bought one of your photographs, took the time to frame it and hung it on their wall." And somewhere out there your photographs are being seen each day.

"If you don't try, you will never know... and when you do know, you will understand that feeling." You can't sit back and expect to be known without being creative and getting the word out about yourself.

After I had the photographs framed (cost about $220.00 including photographs and hangers), the investment was made. Any benefit that could be achieved after the investment was spent was a bonus and at the same time created a cost/benefit advantage over time.

Here is a plan for you:

1. Drive by the libraries and outdoor retail stores in your area to see if there is an area in the library/store that could display an exhibition of yours. Even if the place has never done something like this, they will appreciate a suggestion from you. My second exhibition was fortunately being displayed in the optics department in a outdoor retail store.
2. Frame your photographs with the same gallery frames. Do not mix frames. My photographs are 8"x10" and the frames are 16"x20".
3. Create a title for your exhibit (seen in the center of the photograph) along a bio with pricing. If you can, laminate the title and bio. The bio also includes the Outdoor Eyes website URL. I also created a little pocket made from cellophane that I placed my business cards in.
4. If you have other photographs to offer, create a little book of other photographs that customers can look through to purchase. I have a binder machine that creates a book, but you can go to Staples, Office Depot or any print shop and they will create a book for you with your pages for about $2.00. I printed all my additional photographs available on photo paper with 9 photos on a single page.
5. Do not sell the framed photographs off the wall. These are only to take orders from. The retailer will process the orders and also take a negotiated percentage of the sale. Usually the exhibit will run for a month. A library will only display your photographs. They will not sell your photographs.
6. If the retailer sells your photographs, then you can talk to the retailer about an additional length of time for your photographs to be displayed.
7. Search the Internet for all the newspapers and magazines in your area. Go to the calendar section and send a press release to the magazines and newspapers. This must be done at least 2-3 weeks prior to your exhibition.
8. Once you have one month booked for your exhibition, then you should look for your next month's exhibition.
9. The framed photographs are already paid for, so your out-of-pocket expense in only your time spent and a little gasoline. My last exhibition took a total of 2 hours to hang and drive to. You can continuously use the same photography book and the same framed photographs over and over again.
10. Take photographs of the exhibition so that you can show potential places what your exhibition will look like.

Good luck with your exhibitions.

Photography and Text By Philip Tulin © All rights reserved.

Sell Your Photographs & Promote Your Photographs

2009-12-12T15:27:00.001+07:00

Do I sell photos? Yes I do... and I am always thinking of ways to promote myself and my photography.

1. Develop a target market and focus on who and what you want to sell. That's your first objective.

2. Give your customers a DVD with all of their photographs so they can easily order their photographs. The DVD should start with your business logo and then display their photographs in a slide show. It is a very easy procedure for your customer to order photographs. All they have to do is write down the number on the photograph as it appears on the screen and give you a call. When they have a DVD, you never know when they might want to order some more photographs at a later time (even when they already have ordered some photographs).

3. Create a portfolio DVD for potential clients. It is very easy for them to view your portfolio on their DVD players at work or at home.

4. DVD How To: A multi-card reader allows you to create a DVD on a CD. There is software available to select the photographs and the music that you want to play along with each photograph. Each photograph should contain a file number, a copyright notice and your name.

5. Consider building a small office in your home. I go to a customer's home, to their business or a customer comes to my office. I built an office/lab where customers can discuss jobs. It's small (9'x11'), comfortable and includes a wet and digital lab. The office has definitely helped me develop business.

6. Always take photographs of any public event such as: grand openings, dog shows, sporting events, graduations, church events and public concerts. There might be an opportunity later when someone needs photographs of that event. At the same time, you will be seen photographing the event and people might come up to you with a possible job opportunity.

7. Always carry a binder with some of your work in it in case you have to opportunity to discuss some potential jobs.

8. Constantly try to get your name out there and everywhere. People will start to contact you because they heard of you. Word of mouth is a great form of publicity for you.

9. Take as many photographs as possible. Remember, any photograph can be sold the week it is taken or or a year later. You never know what photograph will sell or when a photograph will sell. If you have a large inventory, the better off you will be. There might be instances when a newspaper needs a photograph of someone who you've photographed recently.

10. Take many candid photographs around town... all I can say is take photographs and more photographs. If you have a digital, it costs almost nothing to store it on a CD. One day, that photograph is going to be wanted by someone. Guaranteed.

11. Look for photography opportunities and create your own. Don't just wait around hoping that some opportunity will just appear.

12. Get invited to private events because people will hope that you'll bring your camera along... which you will do!

13. There is an excellent book on how to make a profit with photography. The book is "Photography-Focus on profit" by Tom Zimberoff. Mr. Zimberoff will guide you on how to make a PROFIT, not just make money... and there is a real difference.

14. Always think of new and creative ways to promote yourself each and every day. And always carry your camera with you. You'll never know what opportunity may come along. My camera is constantly glued to my face at all times.

Good luck!

Photography and Text By Sal © All rights reserved.

Polarizer Filter Field Test

2008-04-15T16:37:00.001+06:00

Tips on Circular Polarizer

2008-04-15T16:32:00.001+06:00

What is the difference between the Polarizer and the circular polarizer ?

A circular has an additional quarter-wave plate or scrambler behind the (still linear) polarizing foil. Although not scientifically correct, it more or less restores the natural 50/50 vertical/horizontal balance of polarization, without affecting the initial pictorial result.

Only by restoring this natural balance it will allow the light metering and AF sensors to work properly, as they use polarizing beam splitters. With a linear filter, you would risk a cross-polarizing effect, ie a black-out. Bad for both light metering and AF.

In spite of what most people will tell you: the main reason to buy a circular polarizer is *not* the AF sensor, but the light metering system. You can *see* when AF goes haywire (it won't shift focus, it just has more difficulty to lock on), but you can only guess what happens with your light meter!

Actually, the first circulars were required long before AF existed, and are still required for non-AF cameras today (Rollei 600x series is a nice example).

POLARIZER TIPS

TIP #1: How much a polarizer filter will darken a sky depends on the type of sky and your shooting angle in relation to the sun.

TIP #2: On a sunny day, position your shoulder towards the sun and your subject at a right angle to your shoulder. When the sun is high in the sky, maximum polarization will result along the horizon. When the sun is low in the sky, maximum polarization will result in all areas in front of and behind you.

TIP #3: A polarizer has very little effect when used under a gray, overcast sky.

TIP #4: Remove any protective lens filters when using a polarizer.

TIP #5: Use a polarizing filter indoors only for reducing relections and glare. Any color saturation will be minimal. Remember, a polarizer filter will effectively reduce your lens aperture by up to 2 f:stops.

TIP #6: Use a polarizer filter to control depth of field. This is similar to using a Neutral Density filter, except that the Neutral Density will render "neutral" colors, while the polarizer saturates colors. Neutral Density filters are available in greater light reducing densities than polarizers.

TIP #7: To distinguish a Circular Polarizer from a Linear Polarizer, turn the filter backwards and look through it into a mirror. If the filter image in the mirror is black, you have a circular polarizer. If the image is clear, you have a linear polarizer.

Tip # 8: A Polarizer tends to cool down the image.

Circular Polarizer:A photographer's friend

2008-04-15T16:19:00.001+06:00

I use a polarizer(Hoya 55mm) on almost every shot with a blue sky. Without a polarizer, blue skies appear dull, light blue on film; with a polarizer filter, they come out in a rich, deep color. The filter works by cutting out reflected glare and it's also useful for water (lakes, ponds,rivers), window glass, and tree leaves. A polarizer is more expensive than most other filters but worth the investment.

Regardless of the type of shooting you do, a polarizer is the most useful and versatile filter you can own. It's a very visual filter with which to work: As you rotate it in its mount, the effects are immediately noticeable. A polarizing filter can deepen the color and contrast in a sky (the most intense effects are always 90° from the sun or light source), eliminate glare from wet or reflective surfaces and cut through atmospheric haze to increase clarity and contrast in a scene. Since the effect of a polarizer is most pronounced when it is used perpendicular to the light source (the sun usually), try this trick... Make an "L" with your thumb and forefinger. Point your forefinger at the sun and your thumb will point in the direction that the polarizer will have its greatest effect. You can rotate your thumb around the axis of your forefinger, pointing the lens in any of these directions will let you take full advantage of the polarizers capabilities. Polarizers have little or no effect when they are used in the same direction as the light source.

Polarizers come in two varieties: Linear and Circular. Each has the same effect visually; the difference is just in the way they polarize the light passing through. If you own an auto focus or auto-exposure camera (basically any modern camera), use a Circular polarizer, which won't interfere with its automatic functions. Digital cameras in general do not have reflection mirrors, and, as a result, can use both (linear or circular) polarizers.

LINEAR
Produces deeper colored blue skies, which at the same time creates a striking contrast with white clouds. Minimizes light reflections from glass and water Reduces glare from non-metallic surfaces. Provides a general color saturation to both cool and warm tones. Can be used in extremely bright light situations to reduce the amount of light entering the camera; this enables more selective depth of field control. Manufactured in self-rotating and drop-in formats. Note: using a Linear Polarizer on an auto focus camera with a beam-splitting meter will result in under-exposure of approximately 2-3 f:stops. Light is polarized by both the filter and the beam-splitting meter which results in double polarization. However, Linear Polarizers can be used with both non-auto focus and auto focus video cameras.

CIRCULAR POLARIZER
Provides the same filter effects as a Linear Polarizer, but is designed to work with auto focus cameras with beam splitting metering. The Circular Polarizer has linear polarizer construction plus a built-in "Wave Retardant" to ensure proper exposure. The linear element polarizes the light, and the wave retardant de-polarizes it, and then the beam-splitting meter polarizes the light again for proper exposure. The use of a Linear Polarizer with a beam-splitting meter will result in underexposure. Also used in video for video assist. (video tap).
Light Loss: 2 f:stops

Courtesy:geocities.com/cokinfiltersystem/polarizer.htm

My Lens,My friend:Nikon 80-200mm F2.8D ED AFS

2008-03-22T11:09:00.003+06:00

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

Masters of Photography - Richard Avedon

2008-03-19T14:41:00.000+06:00

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."

Masters of Photography - Gordon Parks

2008-03-19T14:21:00.000+06:00

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..

Masters of Photography - Henri Cartier-Bresson (2/2)

2008-03-19T14:15:00.001+06:00

Masters of Photography - Henri Cartier-Bresson (1/2)

2008-03-19T14:07:00.001+06:00

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: Celebration of Genius

2008-03-17T13:58:00.000+06:00

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.

Gabi Wright - Babies & Children Photography

2008-03-17T13:57:00.000+06:00

Children and Photography

2008-03-17T13:56:00.000+06:00

Digital Photography Lesson - Skin tones part 4 of 4

2008-03-17T13:54:00.000+06:00

Digital Photography Lesson - Skin tones part 3 of 4

2008-03-17T13:53:00.000+06:00

Digital Photography Lesson - Skin tones part 2 of 4

2008-03-16T17:12:00.000+06:00

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.

Digital Photography Lesson - Skin tones part 1 of 4

2008-03-16T17:11:00.000+06:00

Flower Photography Tutorial

2008-03-16T17:09:00.000+06:00

Flower photography tutorial about how to great flower photos.

photography - aperture

2008-03-16T17:07:00.000+06:00

Photography lesson. Tutorial aboutusing the aperture in your camera.

Photography tutorial - depth of field

2008-03-16T17:05:00.000+06:00

A photography tutorial on depth of field with Shelton Muller of Total Image magazine

Photography Tutorials - Wedding Photography

2008-03-16T17:03:00.000+06:00

Shooting a Sunrise with Rick Sammon and the Digital Rebel

2008-03-10T13:18:00.001+06:00

Learning to See - Photography

2008-03-10T13:16:00.000+06:00

Photography Course with Philip Dunn (light)

2008-03-10T13:14:00.000+06:00

Photography Course with Philip Dunn (layers)

2008-03-10T13:08:00.001+06:00

Photography Compostion Rules

2008-03-10T12:45:00.000+06:00

Tips for selecting the right wedding photographer for YOUR Pittsburgh wedding!

2008-03-10T12:19:00.000+06:00

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.

Available Light Photography::Night Photography

2008-03-10T12:03:00.002+06:00

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...

Arts vs Photography

2008-02-20T12:40:00.002+06:00

Art is primarily created by the imagination of the artist. Photographs are created by electro-mechanical devices. Photography is the precise reproduction of a two (possibly three, or four) dimensional image of reality. I am an artist and a photographer, and I like some of my art to look like photographs because I am so impressed by reality. Just like fact is often more interesting than fiction, reality is often more interesting and beautiful that imitation. So, on the one hand, some of my art I create to look like photographs; and on the other I am happy to share my love of the visual world through simple photographs (albeit invariably with subjective alterations/enhancements).

Rightly or wrongly, I think the generally perceived wisdom is that photography is easy and art is hard or more skillful. Consequently culturally art is generally more valued than photography. Whilst this obviously has a lot to do with the reproducibility of photographs and the often uniqueness of art, I think it is fair to say that even if only one photograph could be produced - for example polaroids - art would generally still be valued more highly than photography. I say generally, because there are exceptions, and society is slowly wakening up to the value of really good photography. (Of course there is a lot of “bad” art with little or no value, and the same applies to photography…)

On the subject of skill and value, I would like to make the point that a lot of so-called “art” could have been done by young children with very basic materials - paper, paint, and a paint brush - whereas even the most basic photograph requires much more complex equipment - a camera, chemical processing (until the digital age dawned), and a printer - several steps (take the picture, process it, print it), and training in the use of the equipment…

Some of my art could be described as photo-idealism, or photo-surrealism, in that they look like photographs. However, the arrangement and presence of certain, sometimes unlikely, items may seem too good to be true. For example the existence of birds, animals, and insects in some of my pictures - to say nothing of their very convenient placement… Or the apparent transformation of people into objects… In many ways this is what I am striving to achieve, however, I’m concerned about the term “photo” because of its’ often negative or cheap connotations.

I think it is the responsibility of the artist to do the best they can with their time in history - in terms of knowledge, materials and techniques. This means using any tools and techniques that will help them produce better work or to do it more quickly than otherwise. Cave people used different colour earths and cave walls because they had no other choice. However, throughout history new materials and techniques have evolved, at different times in different parts of the world, and artists have progressively had an increasing range of options to choose from. Much of what was attempted in the past was as faithfully as possible to reproduce reality. Techniques like ray-tracing - using Alberti’s “Artist Glass” (dating back as far as the mid fifteenth century); copying using a grid - Alberti’s Grid or “Veil” (fifteenth century); and devices like the camera lucida (early to mid nineteenth century) and obscura (from the sixteenth century onwards) were employed by the likes of Caneletto and Vermeer, to name just two - to help them achieve that faithful reproduction objective. There is no doubt in my mind that these two artists and many more besides would have used a camera of the modern variety if they were available in their day…

But it is not the tool that makes the art. A tool is just a tool. A camera is a complex heap of metal, electronics, and glass - and is incapable of selection, composition, timing, editing. Hundreds of people can be given the same camera, but few will make art. Likewise, hundreds of people can have a piano, but very few are composers. And fewer still are good composers. Modern day digital music technology can help the composer by making editing easier and writing down the music, being able to hear bars played by different instruments and to hear a whole orchestra - without leaving his or her study. However, the actual creative process remains unchanged: it is as uncontrollable and mysterious as ever…

I take photographs - like most people. I have a long and great affinity with photography, and some, in view of the equipment I have and the time I spend on it, consider me a fanatic or a perfectionist. Yes, I shoot probably more deliberately and diligently than most people, but that is simply because I really, really, want to capture as accurately as I can, what I can see. Often I take photographs because what I see I just want to capture as well as I can. I don’t want to change it at all. I specifically do not want to change it at all. I’m impressed and inspired by what my eyes can see, and that, in and of itself, is what amazes me.

However, I am all too aware of photography’s limitations and often I am frustrated by this because I cannot capture what I want to. This can be where art comes in…

I use photography for two purposes. One is simple photography - capture something amazing that I can see. The other is to make raw material for my art.

To capture what I can see can be a lengthy process in itself because of technical limitations that I want to overcome. For example the dynamic range of film (digital or celluloid) often cannot capture extremes of light and dark, especially if both are present in the scene. Moreover, certain corrections for perspective, colour, tonal range, and composition might have to be made. All this can be done after the shoot on the computer.

In terms of digital art I can use as much freehand work and as many photographs as necessary. On average I think I spend 200 hours (20 ten-hour days) or more per picture. And I use the most powerful computers and the most sophisticated software.

BooK Review: The Confused Photographer's Guide to On-Camera Spotmetering by Bahman Farzad

2007-08-16T10:21:00.000+06:00

I recently bought this book from amazon.com. I am involved in photography since 2001,and was confused about the correct exposure.I already read many books about correct exposure,but none of these book were able to give me much help. One of my friends told me about obtaining the correct exposure by using spotmetering .I was very much interested about spotmetering.I began to search books about spotmetering in the bet. When searching the net with Google , I found a site named www.spotmetering.com. Here I came know about spotmetering and Bahman Farzad (The writer).

In this site Bahman Farzad is describing his book 'The Confused Photographer's Guide to On-Camera Spotmetering' with photographs and other illustrations. I was very much interested and ordered the book from amazon.

After receiving the book, I jumped into my bed and began to read.After 30 min , I found that I know something very much valuable and this is what I am looking for. Next day,I went out with my film camera Nikon F-80 . I turned my camera in manual mode and followed the rules ,that I found in the book.When I printed my film,I was surprised very much to see the result. The light ,which I was trying to capture for a long time, at last I achieved it.

The book describes the techniques of measuring the correct exposure using spotmetering and partial metering with lot of diagrams and illustrations.The book also focused on the zone systems with lot of examples and diagrams.zone system is basically difficult to understand for new photographers. But Bahman Farzad made this topic very much interesting and easy to understand. 5 zone system scale is basic for understanding the correct exposure.The refernce tone selection and correcting the exposure over normal exposure is described in this book so easily that a novish photographer will master the technique of applying the zone scale with spotmetering.

The book also contains cheat sheets for various camera models including lates Nikon D-200.Besides,It has a printed gray card ( 18% gray),which will be helpful for determining the correct exposure using gray card.

For a professional or ameture photographer it is a must have book and I usually strongly recommend this book to my students and friends. Following are the review by famous photography magazine::

Outdoor Photographer Magazine Book Review:
"Farzad offers simple solutions to the sometimes complicated light metering issues of the modern equipment."

Dick Watkins: Nature Photographer Magazine:
"Using simplified text, drawings, and examples, Farzad makes this difficult subject (exposure) comprehensible. His charts of lens apertures, shutter speeds and film speeds are some of the best that have been published. If you have any problems getting the correct exposure or understanding how to determine exposure, then you need to invest in this book."

Elinor Stecker-Orel: Popular Photography Book Review:
"Farzad's wealth of creative analogies should certainly alleviate the confusion all beginning photographers have in understanding (and remembering) how to expose their subjects correctly"

Book Review, Nature Photographer Magazine, May/June 2000 issue: By Dick Watkins

One of the hardest concepts for photographers to grasp is determining correct exposure. I have worked with several students explaining shutter speed, lens aperture opening, and film speed only to have them return a month later still confounded and bewildered. add to this the different methods of obtaining a light meter reading and many of these people are ready to revert to the simple, easy, always ready point and shoot camera.
Bahman Farzad's Confused Photographer's Guide to On-Camera Spotmetering simplifies the teaching and learning process to help you understand exposure and how to achieve your desired results.
The book targets the outdoor photographer using a modern 35mm camera with a variable aperture lens and color slide or negative film. Outdoor photographers are faced with many color tones and varying degrees of light creating a perplexing exposure dilemma. Farzad identifies this situation as a complex subject and recommend a simple technique called single tone metering. Farzad explains, "once one tone of a complex subject is correctly exposed, the rest of the tones follow and are correctly exposed."
Using several popular cameras, Farzad includes a guide to their operation as it relates to exposure. An exposure cheat sheet for each camera is in the book and could be valuable information to the user on understanding that particular exposure system.
Farzad, a professional freelance photographer, is an instructor in photography at the University of Alabama. He holds master degrees in engineering and computer science. I have reviewed a previous book by Farzad, Teach yourself the Simplified Zone System. This along with this current publication is leading the way for all users of cameras to actually comprehend proper exposure. Using simplified text, drawings, and examples, Farzad makes this difficult subject comprehensible. His charts of lens aperture, shutter speeds and film speeds are some of the best that have been published. With few words these charts explain themselves. If you have any problems getting the correct exposure or understanding how to determine exposure, then you need to invest in this book. I can assure you once you have arrived at the last page, you will have a better understanding of spot-metering and exposure.

Using simplified text, drawings, and examples, Farzad makes this difficult subject comprehensible. His charts of lens aperture, shutter speeds and film speeds are some of the best that have been published. With few words these charts explain themselves. If you have any problems getting the correct exposure or understanding how to determine exposure, then you need to invest in this book. I can assure you once you have arrived at the last page, you will have a better understanding of spot-metering and exposure.

B&W ...Thoughts and Tips on Taking Black and White Pictures

2007-08-13T11:18:00.000+06:00

"Life is like a good black and white photograph, there's black, there's white, and lots of shades in between."

Why Black & White ? You can ask me this question.We are now the era of digital color photography but still Black & White photography has a unique value for the following reasons:

*It's classic and elegant, even romantic and special.
*When learning photography, the simplicity of black and white helps you focus on the important stuff.

*You can often turn a drab color shot into an amazing black and white.

*If you do your own darkroom work - traditional or digital - it opens up a world of magic and fun.

For more Thoughts and Tips on Taking Black and White Pictures, read on ...

It's Classic and Romantic

When people look at a black and white photograph, they often remark how "classic" and "elegant" it looks. For example, it remains to this day a popular choice for weddings. Headshots of CEOs and company presidents - destined for some annual report or other investor brochure - are also often shot in black and white. Black and white prints have a refined quality about them. The simplicity and uncluttered look give the subject a polished, high-class feel. Without the distractions of color, the picture begs each viewer to recognize the individuality and uniqueness of the subject.

Another reason why brides often ask for black and white is that it most clearly expresses the romantic. They know that there is something special about it. It has style. The most famous romantic images - Eisenstaedt's sailor kissing a nurse; Doisneau's couple kissing near a French hotel; Erwitt's lovers kissing in a rear-view mirror in California - have been bestsellers for years because they define the romantic.

Learning Graphic Concepts:

Tips on Taking Black and White PicturesBlack and white helps to learn the basics without getting too distracted; this is one reason why it is so popular among teachers. Black and white focuses the attention on form, shading, pattern, and other graphic concepts, to give them an unusual quality with tone and hue. With a clear view toward graphics, composition, and design, the photographer can concentrate on:

·How contrast creates lines and how lines lead the eye or psychologically affect the viewer by curving, lying flat, diagonal, or vertical.

· How shapes or lines make a pattern and how shape with texture gives an object form. · How highlights compete for attention and dark tones create an important negative space.

Many artists prefer black and white because it causes the photographer and the viewer to see the world in a way that cannot be seen with the naked eye. Seeing the reoccurring pattern, line, or shape is easier with black and white, which does such a good job of emphasizing it. This is especially the case when a black and white photo shows good contrast - when the blacks are black, the highlights are bright, when you can still see some detail in both the highlights and the shadows.

All photographs - not just those labeled "abstracts" - are only two-dimensional representations, or abstractions, of a three-dimensional scene. Black and white makes a photograph even more of an abstraction by removing the distracting qualities of color and allowing us to concentrate on the graphic elements. Take a look at how different an abstract photo looks in black and white. With the color removed from the overall expression, the shapes of the leaves and the lines in them take on more significance. The graphic concepts are easier to see:

When Black and White Works Better Than Color
Some things just look better when shot in black and white. With it, you can find interest in everyday objects and scenes around you. What might appear boring when shot in color suddenly becomes fascinating when captured in black and white. Here are a couple of situations which especially benefit from black and white: Overcast DaysIt can be so disappointing to get pictures back from a trip or a shoot to discover they look boring and washed out because the skies were a bright overcast gray. If you choose to shoot the same scene with black and white, you will often get great results; the focus moves to the forms and patterns and away from the dull white of the sky.

Black and white is simply fantastic for these kinds of days. The bright, overexposed sky, often blown out in both color and black and white, becomes much easier to ignore. Instead of noticing a dull sky, the viewer sees your intended subject, whether it be a person, an object, or an interesting place.

Portraits

Black and white also works very nicely for portrait photography. Skin tones, in black and white, are mellowed; blotches, blemishes, and uneven shading is less easily noticed than it is in color photos. Our eyes are very critical of facial skin tones in color but, when we examine black and white, we cannot evaluate the tones with the same critical eye. In this color portrait, the subject's face - blasted by an overzealous flash - takes on unnatural, artificial-looking, and unpleasant skin tones while the background is lost in dark shadows. However, by simply converting the image to black and white, the effect of the harsh light is lessened and the portrait instantly becomes a more pleasing image. The bright skin color is toned down to a soft, even gray and the shadowy background becomes less noticeable.

The Fun That Can Be Had

You can set up your own darkroom to process and print your own images. Like many, you may find it magical to see an image appear out of nowhere in your film or on a print. Developing your own film can be as fun as an art project is to a preschooler. Especially if you are a do-it-yourselfer, hands-on, tactile kind of person, you will get a kick out of mixing potions, clipping film, and seeing your pictures come out of nowhere. Without color to think about, this process is much simpler in black and white than with color film. You can also color select portions of a black and white by using products such as Marshall's photo paints.

Black and white is a predominant choice among masters because it tells the graphic story clearly; it is conducive to learning the art; it connotes a classic fineness; and it is plain and simple fun.

(c) 2007 All images in the post is reserved by Shubho Salateen

Quates on Photography

2007-08-13T10:55:00.000+06:00

In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration. -Ansel Adams

In my mind's eye, I visualize how a particular . . . sight and feeling will appear on a print. If it excites me, there is a good chance it will make a good photograph. It is an intuitive sense, an ability that comes from a lot of practice. -Ansel Adams

Photography, as a powerful medium of expression and communications, offers an infinite variety of perception, interpretation and execution. -Ansel Adams

You don't take a photograph, you make it. -Ansel Adams

The negative is the equivalent of the composer's score, and the print the performance. -Ansel Adams

Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer - and often the supreme disappointment. -Ansel Adams, "Photographing Nature: LIFE Library of Photography" by Time-Life (Editor)

A good photograph is knowing where to stand. -Ansel Adams

A photograph is usually looked at – seldom looked into. -Ansel Adams

A photograph is not an accident – it is a concept. -Ansel Adams

The best part of beauty is that which no picture can express. -Francis Bacon

I use photography as a point of departure. Like Frederick Sommer, I prefer to view a photograph as "a thing seen" in its own right, rather than considering it as a document of "a thing seen." This is a disengagement from viewing a photograph for its content alone. An image has its own reason for being, perhaps possessing its own kind of intelligence. -Jonathan Bailey , in Camera Arts Feb/March 2001.

A big shot is a little shot that kept shooting. -Amanda Caldwell

Everything has it's beauty, but not everyone sees it. -Confucius

The most important attribute a photographer can have is enthusiasm. -Arnold Drapkin, "Professional photographer's survival guide" by Charles E. Rotkin

Great photography is about depth of feeling, not depth of field. -Peter Adams, Adams Sydney, 1987

Photography is not about cameras, gadgets and gismos. Photography is about photographers. A camera didn't make a great picture any more than a typewriter wrote a great novel. -Peter Adams, Sydney 1978

Ansel Adams-A Tribute to the legendary American Landscape Photographer

2007-08-11T10:38:00.000+06:00

Charles and Olive Adams gave their son, Ansel, the freedom to grow and become whatever his intellect and talents would allow him to be. At twelve, unable to stand the confinement and tedium of the classroom, he utterly disrupted his lessons with wild laughter and undisguised contempt for the inept ramblings of his teachers. His father decided that Ansel’s formal education was best ended. From that point forward, the boy was home-schooled in Greek, the English classics, algebra, and the glories of the ocean, inlets, and rocky beaches that surrounded their home very near San Francisco. He also made a serious study of the piano, which he thought was to be his avocation. Another rich source of learning was the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, which celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal, and contained exhibits and displays from around the world that fascinated young Ansel for a full year.

In 1916, during a family vacation in Yosemite National Park, Ansel was given another gift from his parents...a Kodak Box Brownie. It allowed him to record the wondrous images that he already perceived in the natural beauty around him, a process that would continue all his life. Given the position of Custodian of Yosemite’s Leconte Memorial (Joseph Leconte was an eminent geologist and conservationist.) in 1920, Adams wrote to his father that “...I want you to see what I am trying to do...the representation of material things in the abstract or purely imaginative way.”

After a prolonged and sometimes painful courtship, Ansel Adams and Virginia Best were married in January 1929, and for the first two years of their marriage, he wavered between his two possible career choices, music and photography. After viewing the wonderful work of a new friend, photographer Paul Strand, Adams decided on his course. Happily for all those who would enjoy his work in the future, he would be a professional photographer. A short time later, he joined Willard Van Dyke, Imogen Cunningham, Edward Weston, Henry Swift, Sonya Noskowiak, and Jon Paul Edwards to form “f/64”, a group dedicated to the concept of photography that looked like photography, not like an imitation of other art forms. Their exhibitions excited much comment, a great deal of which was negative, as their more simplistic, high realistic work was in stark contrast to the overdone photos in vogue at that time.

March 1933 was an important time for Adams. It was then that he met the renowned photographer and patron, Alfred Stieglitz, husband of Georgia O’Keefe, owner of An American Place gallery, and a powerful influence on artists of that time. Stieglitz was favorably impressed with the young photographer and his work, and mounted an exhibition for him in November of 1936. Adams wrote in his 1985 autobiography “Steiglitz taught me what became my first commandment: “Art is the affirmation of life.”

The photography of Ansel Adams is virtually synonymous with the Sierra Nevada, the four hundred mile long, ten to fourteen thousand feet high mountain range that inspired the Sierra Club. John Muir, the Sierra Club’s first president and one of the greatest of America’s environmentalists, led the group to become a powerful force that influenced the United States government to establish the National Park Service. Yosemite, Sequoia, Mount Rainier, and Glacier National Parks are all found within the Sierra, and their splendid beauty was recorded with enormous dedication and brilliance by Ansel Adams. Both the grandeur of the canyons stalked by gigantic looming thunderclouds (Tenaya Lake, Mount Conness, Yosemite National Park, c. 1946), massive rock formations shrouded with fragile morning mist ( El Capitan, Winter, Sunrise, Yosemite National Park, 1968) and the intricate composition and wonderful design of pine cones and eucalyptus leaves were recorded with painstaking and crystalline clarity for anyone to witness and enjoy. Adams said of his work: “My approach to photography is based on my belief in the aspects of grandeur and minutiae all about us”.

Adams also worked in the commercial field, taking pictures of everything from raisin bread to glassware to bathrobes for a Christmas catalog. It was not his favorite work, but it paid the rent and allowed him to continue his more artistic pursuits. Even his commercial work produced some powerful images (Worker and Turbine, Pacific Electric and Gas, 1939).

Adams established a working partnership with another great photographer of the time, Dorothea Lange, with whom he collaborated on several magazine pictorials for Fortune and Time. The Fortune piece concerned the struggle between small family farms and large conglomerates over water rights in California’s San Joaquin valley; Life magazine contracted them for a study of the Utah Mormons. But Adams, though he admired the work done in that field, was not a proponent of documentary photography. He wrote to Lange in 1962 that he “...resent(ed) being manipulated into a politico-social formula of thought and existence....Is there no way photography can be used to suggest a better life-not just to stress the unfortunate aspects of existence...?”

In 1943, anxious to contribute in some way to the war effort, Adams sought and received a commission from Ralph Merritt, then director of Manzanar War Relocation Camp, to illustrate and record the lives of the Nisei, American-born citizens of Japanese descent who were interned there. He was tremendously impressed by the spirit of those people as they patiently awaited to return to their lives. “Born Free and Equal”, a compilation of photos of the camp with text written by Adams himself was released in 1944, but was badly received by those who only wanted to see the Japanese as the enemy.

In 1949, Adams received another camera as a gift. Edwin Land, brilliant inventor of the Polaroid Land camera, invited the photographer to become a consultant. Adams was impressed by the camera and by Land’s determination to make photography an artistic form accessible to all. Although other professionals considered the Land camera to be little more than a toy, Adams continued to test the camera and promote its use by providing boxes of the film to his associates. Ultimately, he sent over three thousand memos to Polaroid.

Ansel Adams wanted his work to be seen by many, not just the few who could afford to purchase it. He chose three images...Moonrise, Winter Sunrise, and the vertical of Aspens...and arranged for them to be printed as easily affordable posters. This went so well that, in 1984, production begun of Ansel Adams calendars (still a favorite over desks and on kitchen walls everywhere).

In 1979, Adams published his very successful book, Yosemite and the Range of Light, which was to sell over two hundred thousand copies. And in 1980, The Ansel Adams Conservation Award was established by the Wilderness Club, and Adams himself named as the first recipient. The citation read “...Ansel Adams-for your deep devotion to preserving America’s wild lands and to caring that future generations know a part of the work as it has been...”. The work of Ansel Adams serves as a guide to what we once had, what still remains with us, and what we must not lose in the future. As he reminds us in his autobiography, “The only things...that compatibly exist in this grand universe are the creative works of the human spirit.”

A Timeline

1902 - Ansel Easton Adams born on February 20, at 114 Maple Street, San Francisco, the only child of Olive and Charles

1915 - Despises the regimentation of a regular education, and is taken out of school. For that year, his father buys him a season pass to the Panama-Pacific Exposition, which he visits nearly every day. Private tutors provide further instruction.

1916: Family Trip to Yosemite, Californina.

1925: Decides to become a pianist. Buys a grand piano.

1927: First acknowledged photograph.

1940 - Teaches first Yosemite workshop, the U. S. Camera Photographic Forum, in Yosemite with Edward Weston.

1953 he collaborated with Dorothea Lange on a Life commission for a photo essay on the Mormons in Utah

In 1962 Adams moved to Carmel, California, where in 1967 he was instrumental in the foundation of the Friends of Photography

1984 - Dies April 22 of heart failure aggravated by cancer

Ansel Adams-A tribute to the legandary American Photographer

2007-08-11T09:31:00.000+06:00

After a prolonged and sometimes painful courtship, Ansel Adams and Virginia Best were married in January 1929, and for the first two years of their marriage, he wavered between his two possible career choices, music and photography. After viewing the wonderful work of a new friend, photographer Paul Strand, Adams decided on his course. Happily for all those who would enjoy his work in the future, he would be a professional photographer. A short time later, he joined Willard Van Dyke, Imogen Cunningham, Edward Weston, Henry Swift, Sonya Noskowiak, and Jon Paul Edwards to form “f/64”, a group dedicated to the concept of photography that looked like photography, not like an imitation of other art forms. Their exhibitions excited much comment, a great deal of which was negative, as their more simplistic, high realistic work was in stark contrast to the overdone photos in vogue at that time.

March 1933 was an important time for Adams. It was then that he met the renowned photographer and patron, Alfred Stieglitz, husband of Georgia O’Keefe, owner of An American Place gallery, and a powerful influence on artists of that time. Stieglitz was favorably impressed with the young photographer and his work, and mounted an exhibition for him in November of 1936. Adams wrote in his 1985 autobiography “Steiglitz taught me what became my first commandment: “Art is the affirmation of life.”

The photography of Ansel Adams is virtually synonymous with the Sierra Nevada, the four hundred mile long, ten to fourteen thousand feet high mountain range that inspired the Sierra Club. John Muir, the Sierra Club’s first president and one of the greatest of America’s environmentalists, led the group to become a powerful force that influenced the United States government to establish the National Park Service. Yosemite, Sequoia, Mount Rainier, and Glacier National Parks are all found within the Sierra, and their splendid beauty was recorded with enormous dedication and brilliance by Ansel Adams. Both the grandeur of the canyons stalked by gigantic looming thunderclouds (Tenaya Lake, Mount Conness, Yosemite National Park, c. 1946), massive rock formations shrouded with fragile morning mist ( El Capitan, Winter, Sunrise, Yosemite National Park, 1968) and the intricate composition and wonderful design of pine cones and eucalyptus leaves were recorded with painstaking and crystalline clarity for anyone to witness and enjoy. Adams said of his work: “My approach to photography is based on my belief in the aspects of grandeur and minutiae all about us”. Adams also worked in the commercial field, taking pictures of everything from raisin bread to glassware to bathrobes for a Christmas catalog. It was not his favorite work, but it paid the rent and allowed him to continue his more artistic pursuits. Even his commercial work produced some powerful images (Worker and Turbine, Pacific Electric and Gas, 1939). Adams established a working partnership with another great photographer of the time, Dorothea Lange, with whom he collaborated on several magazine pictorials for Fortune and Time. The Fortune piece concerned the struggle between small family farms and large conglomerates over water rights in California’s San Joaquin valley; Life magazine contracted them for a study of the Utah Mormons. But Adams, though he admired the work done in that field, was not a proponent of documentary photography. He wrote to Lange in 1962 that he “...resent(ed) being manipulated into a politico-social formula of thought and existence....Is there no way photography can be used to suggest a better life-not just to stress the unfortunate aspects of existence...?” In 1943, anxious to contribute in some way to the war effort, Adams sought and received a commission from Ralph Merritt, then director of Manzanar War Relocation Camp, to illustrate and record the lives of the Nisei, American-born citizens of Japanese descent who were interned there. He was tremendously impressed by the spirit of those people as they patiently awaited to return to their lives. “Born Free and Equal”, a compilation of photos of the camp with text written by Adams himself was released in 1944, but was badly received by those who only wanted to see the Japanese as the enemy. In 1949, Adams received another camera as a gift. Edwin Land, brilliant inventor of the Polaroid Land camera, invited the photographer to become a consultant. Adams was impressed by the camera and by Land’s determination to make photography an artistic form accessible to all. Although other professionals considered the Land camera to be little more than a toy, Adams continued to test the camera and promote its use by providing boxes of the film to his associates. Ultimately, he sent over three thousand memos to Polaroid. Ansel Adams wanted his work to be seen by many, not just the few who could afford to purchase it. He chose three images...Moonrise, Winter Sunrise, and the vertical of Aspens...and arranged for them to be printed as easily affordable posters. This went so well that, in 1984, production begun of Ansel Adams calendars (still a favorite over desks and on kitchen walls everywhere). In 1979, Adams published his very successful book, Yosemite and the Range of Light, which was to sell over two hundred thousand copies. And in 1980, The Ansel Adams Conservation Award was established by the Wilderness Club, and Adams himself named as the first recipient. The citation read “...Ansel Adams-for your deep devotion to preserving America’s wild lands and to caring that future generations know a part of the work as it has been...”. The work of Ansel Adams serves as a guide to what we once had, what still remains with us, and what we must not lose in the future. As he reminds us in his autobiography, “The only things...that compatibly exist in this grand universe are the creative works of the human spirit.” A Timeline 1902 - Ansel Easton Adams born on February 20, at 114 Maple Street, San Francisco, the only child of Olive and Charles 1915 - Despises the regimentation of a regular education, and is taken out of school. For that year, his father buys him a season pass to the Panama-Pacific Exposition, which he visits nearly every day. Private tutors provide further instruction. 1916: Family Trip to Yosemite, Californina.1925: Decides to become a pianist. Buys a grand piano.1927: First acknowledged photograph.1940 - Teaches first Yosemite workshop, the U. S. Camera Photographic Forum, in Yosemite with Edward Weston. 1953 he collaborated with Dorothea Lange on a Life commission for a photo essay on the Mormons in Utah In 1962 Adams moved to Carmel, California, where in 1967 he was instrumental in the foundation of the Friends of Photography1984 - Dies April 22 of heart failure aggravated by cancer

The First Photograph-History Review

2007-08-07T11:44:00.000+06:00

The first attempt to reproduce the First Photograph was conducted at Helmut Gernsheim's request by the Research Laboratory of the Eastman Kodak Company in Harrow, England, in March of 1952. After three weeks of work utilizing strong side lighting, high contrast film and the identical angular displacement of the camera and enlarger lenses, the lab produced this copyprint. However, because of the sharpness of the lens and the camera's objective nature of precisely copying the texture and unevenness of the plate itself, Gernsheim declared this negative-like version to be a "gross distortion of the original" and forbade its reproduction until 1977.

Kodak Research Laboratory, Harrow, England.
Gelatin silver print reproduction of Joseph Nicéphore Niépce's View from the Window at Le Gras.
March 1952.
Gelatin silver print.
20.3 x 25.4 cm.

Reproduction::
This most famous reproduction of the First Photograph was based upon the March 1952 print, produced at Helmut Gernsheim's request by the Research Laboratory of the Eastman Kodak Company in Harrow. The pointillistic effect is due to the reproduction process and is not present in the original heliograph. Gernsheim himself spent eleven hours on March 20, 1952, touching up with watercolors one of the prints of the Kodak reproduction. His attempt was meant to bring the heliograph as close as possible to a positive representation of how he felt Niépce intended the original should appear. It is this version of the image which would become the accepted reproduction of the image for the next fifty years.

The view, made from an upper, rear window of the Niépce family home in Burgundy, in the village of Saint-Loup-de-Varennes near Chalon-sur-Saône. Representationally the subject matter includes [from left to right]: the upper loft (or, so-called "pigeon-house") of the family home; a pear tree with a patch of sky showing through an opening in the branches; the slanting roof of the barn, with the long roof and low chimney of the bake house behind it; and, on the right, another wing of the family house. Details in the original image are very faint, due not to fading -- the heliographic process is a relatively permanent one -- but rather to Niepce's underexposure of the original plate.

Helmut Gernsheim & Kodak Research Laboratory, Harrow, England.
Gelatin silver print with applied watercolor reproduction of Joseph Nicéphore Niépce's View from the Window at Le Gras.
March 20-21, 1952.
Gelatin silver print and watercolor.
20.3 x 25.4 cm.

Basic of Photography composition rules

2007-08-06T09:46:00.000+06:00

Composing a photograph is essentially an editing process — deciding what to leave in and what to leave out. There are basic accepted criteria for good composition that, when applied, will help you achieve visual harmony or dynamic tension. Faithfully following all the "rules" of composition will not necessarily culminate in a good photograph. The rules are intended more as guidelines than strict dogma, but they will help you design well-balanced images that are pleasing to the eye. While it may be the subject that initially attracts viewers to stop and look at an image, it is the artistry of composition that holds them there.Here are some of the basic elements of effective composition:

STRONG FOCAL POINT :

It is usually best to have one main subject as the focal point because a photograph can successfully tell only one story. The main subject can be one object or several, and you may decide to include a secondary subject. But make sure nothing detracts from the focal point. Lacking a strong center of interest forces the viewer to search for something to observe, eyes seeking a resting place. Always give the focal point suficient prominence in the composition so that all other elements are subordinate. Even if the focal point is small, it can be given prominence by composing empty space around it.

RULE OF THIRDS

The exact center of any composition is not a satisfying place for the viewer's eye to come to rest. With the main subject placed in the center, the viewer is less likely to explore the rest of the photograph. In fact, it is preferable to keep the viewer's eye moving. To create movement in your photographs and to avoid the static bull's-eye composition, use the rule-of-thirds guidelines for off-center placement of the main subject. It is the traditional way to create a well-balanced composition and has been used by artists for centuries. To apply the rule of thirds, imagine the scene in your viewfinder divided into thirds both horizontally and vertically, similar to a tic-tac-toe grid laid over the scene. Place the main subject and other important elements of your composition along the grid lines or at the points where the grid lines intersect. Employing the rule of thirds not only helps avoid symmetrical composition but also provides a pleasing proportion of space around the main subject to prevent distracting tension between the focal point and the edge of the frame.

A common compositional faux pas occurs when the horizon is positioned directly through the middle of the frame, bisecting the scene. Utilizing the rule of thirds, the horizon is placed near one of the grid lines. This will lower or raise the horizon in the frame and give emphasis either to a dramatic sky or an interesting foreground.

SIMPLICITY
The best way to present a clear message in a photograph is to keep the composition simple. The fewer elements you have to work with, the easier it is to design a pleasing image and control the viewer's eye movement. There are several ways to simplify a composition, but the primary method is to move in closer to the main subject. Photojournalist Robert Capa said it best: "If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough." Whether you physically move the camera position closer or zoom in optically, getting closer allows you to fill the frame with the subject, paring the composition down to its essential components. It removes visual distractions from the edges of the frame, eliminates superfluous elements and defocuses the background. Shallow depth of field helps to isolate the subject from a busy background by blurring objectionable clutter, and may even create soft pools of complementary color behind the subject.

LEADING LINES

Another compositional technique to create energy and movement in a photograph is the use of leading lines. Whether they are graceful curves or dynamic diagonals, all lines should lead the viewer's eye to the focal point. But be careful with the use of leading lines. They can also work against you by directing the eye away from the subject or, if the line divides the photograph in two, leading it right out of the image.A few other factors to consider when refining your compositions:• Let the lines in your composition decide if the scene should be shot horizontally or vertically. If the scene presents long vertical lines, compose vertically to take full advantage of them. When presented with strong horizontal lines, use a horizontal camera orientation.

This plays to the strengths of the composition and also will help to avoid wasted space at the edges of the frame.• Be aware of white or light areas in your compositions. The viewer's eye will always go to the brightest part of a scene, so eliminate any bright spots that will pull attention away from the main subject.• Look for repetition of shapes and textures. Patterns create rhythm and motion in a composition.• Compose boldly using sweeping diagonal lines. Long horizontal lines can be static and visually boring. Conversely, diagonal lines add visual energy. Change camera angle to pivot prevailing lines so they don't run parallel to the top and bottom edges of the frame.• Try using a wide-angle lens. Compose for a foreground, middle ground and background with overlapping compositional elements to create a three-dimensional effect in a two-dimensional photograph.Obviously, I am only able to scratch the surface of composition basics in this space. There are many other techniques that can lead you to visual harmony. And then there's the other side of the coin — how to successfully break the rules of composition to create dynamic tension. But it is important to know and practice the basics before deviating from them. After they have become second nature to you, begin to experiment. It's okay to break the rules, but do so knowingly and intentionally. When you know and understand the basics of good composition, you will be free to roam the spatial relationships within your viewfinder.

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