I'm always collecting pictures for editorial self-assignments. I have a list of editorial projects I'm working on with no particular time frame and I enjoy being able to shoot these assignment. Old Catholic churches are one of my favorite assignments -- especially churches in areas that may no longer be financially self-sufficient (that's a fancy way to say these churches are in blighted areas!). Some day these churches may close -- and former parishioners will enjoy being able to see the images of the churches before they closed.
I also like taking pictures of people talking on phones. Years ago we didn't carry our phones with us wherever we go -- now that most everyone carries a phone with them, we get to see animated discussions in public places. It always makes me chuckle to go to a place like a them park and see people talking on phones. And I won't hesitate to snap a picture of someone making an expression while talking on their phone. Sometimes it's hillarious!
Another favorite subject I've photographed for over 20 years -- building implosions! I've photographed about five or six over the last 20 years. It's just interesting to get to a blow-down site (that's what they sometimes call implosion sites!) and elbow yourself into position to capture the building coming down.
What kinds of editorial things to do you like to "self-assign?"
We're back! I resolve to resume and continue blogging daily photo tips and general fun photo related items on a daily basis in 2009. Bookmark me...check back often to keep me honest!
Does your point & shoot camera record video?
Check out this contest from SanDisk!
http://www.youtube.com/sandisk
Check out this article from Dave Johnson -- PC World Magazine's resident photography expert -- about Adobe Lightroom.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/152031/article.html?tk=nl_dfxcol
Check out this short behind-the-scenes video of a sports photoshoot by St. Louis Post-Dispatch photographer Chris Lee. Call me a photo nerd, but I love being a voyuer on stuff like this! ;)
Just click here.
Anton Corbijn is a famous photographer known mostly for his work with the rock band U2. His style is described as showing raw emotion. I was influenced many years ago to become a photographer when I first saw Corbijn's famous picture of Peter Rowan -- the boy on the cover of U2's album titled "Boy" (and also the younger brother of U2 frontman Bono's good friend "Guggi"). Rowan, coincidentally, is now a well-known Irish photographer.
Since his initial work as a still photographer, Corbijn has branched out into directing music videos and feature films. You can check out his official web-site by clicking here.
Take the quiz...
http://www.autodesk.com/eng/etc/fakeorfoto/quiz.html
See if you can determine which of the images are real and which ones are fake (computer generated). I got 9 out of 10...much to my own surprise...but then again, I faked my way thru school so I know what I excel at! :-)
This is an old piece but very relevant -- timeless you might say.
Read this interview with Jay Maisel from Photo Insider. Jay is an amazing photographer known for his mastery of light and gesture in his photographs. I had the pleasure of hearing him speak in St. Louis about 5 years ago -- probably one of the best photographer talks I ever attended.
Samsung's new SyncMaster 2263X Dual Display monitor, I'm convinced, was built for photographers. The dual display couples a 22 inch primary monitor and a detacheable 7 inch companion monitor -- seems like the perfect setup to work in Adobe Photoshop to me! You have your image workspace on the main monitor and actions or other palettes on the 7 inch companion monitors. Samsung's new monitor earned a Popular Mechanic's "editor's choice" award in the April 2008 issue. The 7" companion or "sub-monitor" connects easily to an available USB port and can be used in portrait (vertical) or landscape (horizontal) modes. Estimated price is around $550.
Seems like a great little set-up especially if workspace is at a premium. Or, if you are like me -- you work dual screen using a laptop and a separate monitor. With the Samsung...I wonder if it would be possible to work with THREE monitors for one PC? Okay...now I'm getting greedy... LOL
A friend of mine sent me this interesting article. It's about a new company called Refocus Imaging -- and the ability to change the focal point in a digital imagine during post processing. Check out the article:
http://www.news.com/8301-13580_3-9876296-39.html
Looks pretty cool, eh?
I know I've been off-line a while...my apologies...I've got too many projects right now! But we're back again...and what better way to return to great quotes than one from the master -- Ansel Adams...
"There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept."
-- Ansel Adams
I saw this nifty little disc painter from Dymo featured in the recent issue of Rangefinder magazine. Check it out...
http://www.rangefindermag.com/magazine/Feb08/154.pdf
Check out this article about photographer Paul Nicklen -- the "photographer of the north."
http://www.uphere.ca/node/170
EDIT: Thanks to Oleksandr for pointing out my error on this post. :) I love the photo community on the internet! :)
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We went ice skating recently and the rink has a rule about taking cameras out on the ice. Naturally, this is a rule I completely disregard. :) With that rule in mind I did use my 4th string DSLR...my trusty 4 year old Canon EOS 10D. I love shooting slow shutter of action shots (especially sports and children...bonus when I can combine the two). In order to get the slow shutter I need, I have to stop the aperature way down.
A small aperature can reveal nasty dirt specks on a DSLR sensor at a low / slow shutter speed that a normal or fast shutter speed would not reveal. See below for examples...
sensor specks barely noticeable... (1/45 second, f22, ISO 100)
...dust specks even more noticeable! (1/20 sec, f32, ISO 100)
And here's a fast shutter speed -- same camera and lens. The image below was shot at 1/500 second, f5.6. The sensor was not cleaned for this shot...but you can not see the dust specs.
Click here to watch a short CNN.com video interview (about 6 minutes) with Anne Geddes. Anne tells us what inspires her to photograph the babies in the way she does and speaks about some of the challenges in photographing new babies.
Enjoy!
Supremely talented travel photographer (and Nikon shooter) Bob Krist states that there are four basic elements to a great photograph:
1. Good color
2. Good composition
3. Beautiful light
4. A sense of moment - a storytelling element
Keep these simple things in mind when shooting travel, nature...or really any kind of photograph. You'll see great improvement when you are consistently accomplishing all four elements in your images.
I watched the Tom Brokaw special "1968" on the History Channel tonight. Well...I watched as much of it as I could while trying to assert my role as "Mr. Mom" on evenings when my wife is at work. LOL
One of the people they interviewed was, of course, some kind of hippie radical expert or something...gee, I really wish I would have remembered his name! He talked about the hippie culture and the Haight-Ashbury element that would consistently "go to the edge." This concept really struck a chord with me -- at least as an visual artist. :)
Am I shooting at the edges? I mean...am I pushing my talents and abilities as a photographer further and further each time I pick up a camera? Am I doing the same when I sit down to work with the images in my favorite image editing program?
Are you shooting at the edges?
Maybe it's just a slow sports news day...but I LOVE it when Sports Illustrated does these features of their top photographers and their favorite shots. Check out uber-talented sports photographer Peter Miller's gallery of favorite shots...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0711/gallery.canon.miller/content.1.html
Here is a Canon "Explorers of Light" interview with Denis Reggie -- check it out...
http://www.usa.canon.com/dlc/controller?act=GetArticleAct&articleID=926&fromTips=1