Obama - A Photo Essay ...

I’ve been a fan of The Big Picture for a while now and this is one of the best photo essays I’ve seen on Obama.

Well done America, but what a shame you didn’t make it a perfect day by culling Proposition 8…

The Photographic Adventures of Nick Turpin ...

For one month Nick Turpin, a professional photographer, has hung up his cameras and it shooting just with a Samsung mobile phone.

Not only that, where he goes and what he shoots will be dedicated by visitors to his website.

Follow his adventures at The Photographic Adventures of Nick Turpin or on his YouTube channel

Next Time ...

I could have saved myself some space when I went to Cyprus.

Despite taking my Nikon D100 I never actually used it. All of the pictures I took (which I have just finished post processing and are now online here) I took with my Canon G9.

I shot almost all of them in RAW, which means I have loads of archiving to do to get some disk space back, and all of them with the camera’s lens despite taking the teleconvertor lens with it.

This was never going to be a photography expedition but what I did take I’m very pleased with.

The Long Road From The G2 ...

It wasn’t that long ago I upgraded to the Canon G9 and now look what’s come along ….

Canon Powershot G10: Canon PowerShot G10 14.7MP Flagship Camera Goes Wide-Angle

The PowerShot G10 digital camera offers serious amateur shooters and professional photographers several essential ingredients for a flagship model, including Canon’s new DIGIC 4 image processor, 28mm Optical Image Stabilized lens and RAW mode. This trilogy of style, performance and image quality is an ideal professional complement for anyone seeking the photo quality of a DSLR, combined with the convenient size of a point-and-shoot.

As the successor model to the popular PowerShot G9 digital camera, the PowerShot G10 digital camera is loaded with Canon’s latest technologies, including a long-anticipated 28 mm wide-angle lens with 5x optical zoom, 14.7 megapixels and 3.0-inch Pure Color LCD II screen.

Time to start saving…

D90 ...

Finally announced - the new Nikon D90

• Newly designed Nikon DX-format CMOS image sensor with 12.3 effective megapixels and Integrated Dust Reduction System
• Incredibly low-noise performance throughout a wide sensitivity range of ISO 200 to 3200; can be set to ISO 6400 equivalent
• Incorporates Nikon’s comprehensive digital image-processing EXPEED concept
• The world’s first D-SLR movie function: D-Movie, selectable from 320 × 216 pixels, 640 × 424 pixels or 1,280 × 720 pixels in AVI format

I so want one…

G9 ...

On the whole I’m happy with my Canon G9 but, in an ideal world :

• I’d have a lot more disk space on my computer to deal with the processed RAW files. Every day is a day spent burning off pictures to DVD. I need some way to asset all my photos.
• I’d get a moment to find out what the RAWs I’m producing don’t work with Photomatrix as I’d like to have another go at HDR photography.
• I miss being able to move the viewfinder around so I can take low and high level pictures.
• I’d be somewhere sunny to play with it more

Post Processing ...

There’s a really interesting piece over in today’s New York Times comparing the successful photography on Flickr with the fine art photography of past years.

Virginia Heffernan - The Medium - Television - Internet Video - Media - Flickr - Photography - New York Times

“A photography blogger who posts under the name Thomas Hawk is a Flickr regular, and he told me in an e-mail conversation that there is not a single Flickr style. But he conceded that intense postproduction processing is necessary for popularity on the site.”

Perhaps that’s where I’m going wrong, not enough time spent in Photoshop…

RAW ...

Now I’m really stuck.

Do I try to get all the ills fixed with my Canon G6 (flash doesn’t work, doesn’t bracket exposures, no digital zoom - yes I know I don’t use the flash that often and the zoom rarely) or get a smart new G9.

Thanks goodness Canon listened to all the criticism of the G8 and have brought back RAW mode for this latest camera it’s a shame that they decided to use SD cards for storage and went for a flat screen with no cover and no way to angle it for over / low shots.

Here’s a few reviews of the new camera :

• Canon G9 at DP Review
• Review at Gizmodo

Magnum

Congratulations to Mark Power who has attained full membership of Magnum, the first British photographer to do so for over forty years.

Rather a shame with all this publicity and praise that his website is in bits all over the floor but I found some examples of his work here.

I still struggle sometimes to understand why some pictures work but perhaps I’m going in the right direction if you compare this picture with this one.

Now I REALLY Need to Raise My Game ...

From now on there’s no sitting back on my small collection of laurels.

Today we all met to celebrate Sophie’s birthday and her first venture into the world of fashion photography, admire Richard and Helen’s new patio, watch young boys play with ducks and dogs and welcome back a very brave woman.

Doing Things Different ...

I’ve been spending a little time thinking about photography and me.

Whilst I’m more or less happy with what I’m doing there are a few things I feel I should be doing differently :

• Play around more - there’s no penalty fee for experimenting
• Slow down and wait for the shot
• Use RAW mode a whole lot more
• Ask more questions about my work and the work of others
• Use different angles to take pictures
• Use different formats - use the camera diagonally
• Start to think about the next place I can place pictures for publication
• Use flickr - syndicate my pictures a little more

Let’s see what happens ….

Hold the Front Page ...

A little while ago I said I received an unexpected mail. That came from Kulaphat Saeteng, the art director of Thai Smile magazine.

They had seen some pictures I had taken at a Thai festival and wanted to use them in their magazine.

Today I received a copy of it in the post. I’m happy to report I still get the same buzz from seeing my name in print : I am, however, a long way away from a book deal ….

At Last I Am A Flasher ...

I hate using flash for photography.

I’d much rather struggle to get a picture in the gloom than flood the scene with cold, harsh light. But, there are times you need to use it. Only recently did I get a flashgun (and only then a second hand one) to use at Amanda’s wedding. It served the purpose but I can’t say I was happy using it.

Over the last few days I have trying to make sense of all the settings on the flashgun and the camera and at last I think I have it cracked. Reasonable colour, no nasty shadows, good shutter speeds and warmth in the tones.

Now all I need to do is remember what it is until the next time I need to use it …

The Year in Pictures ...

I've Finally Realised That I'm No Longer Straight ...

For a long time now I’ve wondered about what direction to go in. I’ve had a few experiments and liked what I’ve found.

A whole new world opened up before my eyes when I was brave enough to venture from what I knew. Sure it feels a little uncomfortable even now and I get some odd looks but I think I’ve finally found something that is more “me”.

It started a while ago with that first time. Discovering a whole new way of doing something which I thought I’d mastered a long time ago. Now it’s slowly becoming second nature and feels less awkward.

Of course it was an uncomfortable journey but in the end I’m happier now with what I’m doing than a few months back.

I now look at the pictures that I take and have something in my armoury more than the ability to rotate and sharpen the pictures. I play with cross processing, lomography, tints and emulsions. Possibilities reveal themselves with the addition of grain and noise that I used to want to remove from every picture.

No longer am I a straight photographer who wants to capture the moment as I see it. It’s taken a while but I’m no longer straight …

Sand

I was supposed to be walking in a forest but as soon as my feet stepped on the sand I felt all the stress drain away from me.

The plan had been to meet after I dropped K at the airport and go for a walk for some air and exercise. Despite the fact that we had to negotiate two lanes closed on one motorway as we headed to the airport and I had to dodge another closed motorway on the way back I made good time and called Martin when I was almost home. The call revealed that the plans had changed as Joanne had been ill in the night and all they wanted to do was rest and chill. “I called and left a message on your mobile and at home”, said Martin, which was a little odd as I’d had no missed calls and no voicemail.

I was a little surprised to see them all dressed up and about to head out when I pulled up in the road but it seemed that Anne has invited them up for a meal. I changed, grabbed a camera and headed off myself.

I’ve said before that at times of stress and when I need to relax it’s to the sea I head. Today was supposed to be a forest walk to take pictures of Autumn colour but with the sky high and blue the sea called me.

So, that’s how I found myself setting foot on the beach and wondering if this really is the 15th of October. From the first lambs of Spring, through the harvests of late Summer to the bonfires at the start of Winter there are things which mark the passing of one season and the start of another. Today it seemed that this was the day to be cleaning and repairing one’s beach hut. A ritual of late Autumn before the high seas of Winter.

I have to confess that for a long time now I’ve harboured a desire to have one of these huts and spend my time sitting by the sea reading books, making simple meals on a small gas fire and watching life pass by. Perhaps it’s fact that they remind me of the time I spent with my Father in his shed on a Sunday morning learning to solder or how to use chisels. Maybe it’s the fact that these small huts are less daunting than living in a house surrounding us as they do with a single room with no frills rather like a cocoon. Whatever it is today was one for the few hardy souls who sat out to the bitter end of summer. A warm, bright day stolen from Winter where the Sunday papers, a cup of tea and a sleep in a recliner looked ideal.

The beach itself was almost deserted, a complete contrast to the mass of humanity on a summer’s day. Today it was only the people who really appreciated it who had taken the trouble to find a corner against a groyne where the sun would linger the longest, faces turned to the sky making the most of this unseasonal weather.

All I wanted to do was walk and walk. I seem recently to have lost touch with life outside of an office or the inside of a car. The sound of the sea, the smells of the late flowering plants and the bird song was amazing. What have I been doing to miss all this for so long ? On and on I walked enjoying every step, the chance at last to use my body for more than walking from front door to car.

The pier was disappointing. Not as grand as Brighton it lacked the long walk out to sea but, nevertheless, was a good place to stop and watch the surfers enjoying the sun and the slight swell of ther sea, looking hopefully to the horizon for “the big one”.

With the light changing to that magical, golden pre-sunset light I love so much it was time to head back. A few people had arrived to play beach cricket and it reminded me of Goa and as I strolled along I was back there walking back to the apartment in Candolim with the air having that warm, dusty smell and the sun large and red hanging over the water.

By now most of the beach huts were closed up. I walked past some newly painted for the winter, some sporting new creosoted decking, the smell of the preservative mixing with that of the sea. The last part of the walk took me back onto the sand before the struggle up the dunes and down the other side to the car.

At home I tipped the sand from my shoes and put it with the shells on the shelf in the kitchen. A little bit of seaside to keep me sane until I can visit again.

For more pictures please look here …

Processing ....

Today has been a day of downloading pictures, processing them to remove noise, colour correcting them and generally trying to make them look half decent.

Have a look at the gallery here.

Exposure Adjustment

I’m still casting around for new techniques in photography. Last year it was the zoneplate this year it looks like it will be High Dynamic Range (HDR) images.

HDR’s are composite images that utilise several different exposures of the same scene to create an HDR image to which you then apply a tone curve. Sounds complicated but luckily there’s some software from HDRsoft which lets you do this easily.

For some examples of HDR images have a look at the HDR Flickr Pool.

Zoned Out

There’s a danger with something like photography that you get too interested in the equipment rather than the process.

Sitting here this morning with a coffee I was looking around a few photography sites and stumbled across Epson’s digital rangefinder the RD-1 and then a gallery of some pictures taken with it. The camera costs a lot more than I’d want to spend on one at the moment but the attraction is that it’s new and a challenge.

After looking around for a site offering it with slightly fewer zero’s on the price tag I decided to try something new with what I had and dug out the zoneplate I’d bought this year. You get some very odd looks taking pictures with a camera with what appears to be the body cap and no lens attached. It’s also virtually impossible to see what you are taking but at least today there was a lot of sunlight and if you squinted you could just see.

I think I like what I took today, they look a little Monet’s paintings of London have a nice atmospheric feel to them. Check then out here.

Finding a Theme

One of the issues I have with photography on a day to day basis is finding a theme around which to take pictures. It’s easy enough if you have travelled to some exotic location but what do you do on a Saturday morning? For that reason I was really interested to find The Way We See It a website which, as it says, “aims to see how differently people view and perceive the same place through the lens”. Concentrating on small areas of London, such as an alleyway, it brings together photographers who have a very different view of the same place.

Maybe that’s something I’ll have to try ….

Zoneplate

Well after a little searching around I found a place to purchase a zoneplate rather than struggling to make one.

Basically, a zoneplate is a way of turning a normal camera into a pinhole camera.

With this you can make images like this or like these.

The plan is to use it on the digital and see what I can come up. I need some nice locations to take pictures in and I’m guessing it has to be with a tripod as you are more or less working with a fixed aperture. So, when it’s arrived from the States we’ll take it out and try it.