When Rick got his porsche he posted an I Phone photo of the thing on Facebook and it looked pretty decent… for a snap shot, but it gave me the idea of taking some dramatic shots using old iconic Mancuanin locations. He’s from Manchester, that explains the location.
So on my way back from giving a talk on HDR at the Welshot academy night in Chester, we stopped at Castlefield and had a drive around to get some shots.
With all the strobist stuff I’ve been doing I did think about clever lighting, but really, I’d need to practice lighting cars with speedlites before trying it on a proper car, so I relied on old faithful - HDR.
I keep HDR simple these days – use Av mode for exposure, meter with Matrix mode, use AEB to get my 3 shots (each 2 stops apart) and rapid fire mode to get the 3 shots out as fast as I can. On a bright day, it takes no longer than single shot.
So that’s what these shots are – simple HDR, a mix of Tone Compression and Details Enhancer tone mapping and a lot of dicking around in Photoshop.
Well as it was snowing over the weekend, I thought I’d get out for a bit with the camera.
I’ve been going through one of my Kraftwerk appreciation phases of late and watching a few videos on Youtube.
One of them was an interview with Karl Bartos, where he actually said that if you like a style and sound, you should copy it – at first exactly or as closely as possible, then after a while your style will move away from “copying” and evolve into your own style.
First off, I was a bit surprised that anyone from Kraftwerk would say that – they were reasonably original – and secondly I saw the parallel with photography. the old cliche we live by is that noting is completely original, we’re all influenced somehow etc. but is copying very closely wise?
Well I never subscribed to that point of view, the reason being that you end up with a shot that is very very similar to one that has already been taken. The one you copied. I still think that copying to get a useable end product isn’t a good way to go, but as a learning tool Karl may well have a point.
Like may things that seem pointless, such as going for an LRPS, it’s not the end result that counts so much as what you learn on the way. My mate Mac did his LRPS and I was slightly amused by it all – he has lots of qualifications so it was very “him” to do it. But when I was at his place, he showed me his “panel”, a set of shots that were judged, and I saw the effort he’d been to to print, mount and arrange the shots – sort of changed my mind a bit, though I’m not going to start putting together my own panel very soon.
I’ve purposely strayed away from copying, I very rarely look at other people’s photography , preferring to annoy people on photography forms, but I may start taking a look at other work and seeing if I can think how to re-create the shot. May just learn something, or find some glaring holes in my skillset on the way!
I’ve had ads on Facebook and model mayhem for a while, just offering time for CD (TFCD), so I can get someone reasonably aesthetically pleasing to photograph. What I’ve found is that most of the ones from facebook are pretty unreliable, gothic and very young.
However, I was pleasantly surprised when I got an email from a burlesque dancer who needed a few portfolio shots doing. Within a few days I was setting lights up in her living room and hanging up a black backdop – the black backdrop I’ve used on most of my “studio” stuff.
With these I went for pretty flat front lighting as that’s what I’ve seen most pin up style shots use – but I also used a couple of speedlites as kickers, which worked to varying degrees… the main problem was space really. You get 4 tripods in a long narrow kitchen/living room, and there’s not a lot of scope to move them.
The main thing I’d change is probably to get a coloured background – maybe red velvet would look good for this kind of shoot, though for portfolio shots I think they get the “act” and personality across pretty well.
Hoping to get a few outdoor shoots done before autumn nights draw in, so watch this space.. .
Got a text message from my good friend Mac, who’s currently over in Norway doing geological things apparently – he agreed with an artical I’d written in DSLR User Magazine!
Eh?
Well many moons ago, I wrote an article about how to get your mojo back when you get uninspired with photography, and hey presto, its in there…
Not seen it myself, but go have a look in WH Smith, or even buy the mag! Quite ironic really as I’ve semi-lost my mojo – still taking lots of shots, but not really hitting the mark I’m aiming for as often as I’d like.
Have trouble carting your gear around? Does your camera hang heavy around your neck and you need a large car to cart it all around in? Well Shaun Irving goes that little bit farther with his camera, it does not need a vehicle to transport, his camera is the vehicle…..It’s a camera truck! An old mail van, army surplus lenses (including one from a submarine periscope) and buckets of chemicals!
What I really like about the prints are their organic and random nature, the visual results, flaws and lucky happenstance tie into my earlier post about aesthetics. Photos such as the one below have a wonderful ethereal feeling that just invites the viewer to explore and see what is in the picture. It is much more engaging with the viewer encouraging dialogue and a greater appreciation for the image. That and it is just a damn cool idea!
“Windmills” Tablate, Spain. © Shaun Irvin
The idea is so cool, that he even had a documentary movie made about him and his truck. Check out the gallery on his site for many more great photos. I would love to see one of these in the flesh.
Story is via The New Yorkers Lens Blog, check it out for more background on the project.
There are few photo opportunities that really leave you gobsmacked and in awe of the situation, well this month sees the anniversary of the Apollo 11 landings, a massive feat in the field of human endeavour, what can you say? In any photographic scenario content is always king, what are you covering, what story are you trying to tell? Here we have one that sums up a lot of the greatness of the human spirit, endeavour, risk, humility and hope. The astronauts themselves thought they had a 50-50 chance of getting home again.
It is also a story of human nature, the reluctance of Neil Armstrong to be the all conquering global hero that people want him to be, the voracity of Buzz, which i think is ace… and the silent participation of Michael Collins, who was constantly going through disaster (and recovery) scenarios as his friends and compatriots were on a totally alien surface.
All too often documentary is about suffering, illness, pain and tragedy, sometimes it needs a kick, a look at endeavour, reach and the real strength of the human spirit. Long may we see such things.
Nasa’s Apollo 11 Photos.
Nasa’s Astronomical picture of the day
And if you have Vertigo the most piss your pants shot ever.
I wrote a blog post some time ago, on an old (and now defunct) personal blog, about space and time. Rather than being concerned with metaphysics, the space and time in question were actually the space on your hard drive(s) to store photo’s and the time needed for some shots that’s needed for you to go away and learn how to process them to your satisfaction.
I don’t have the time or the inclination right now to re-hash the article, though I’ll maybe have a crack at it tomorrow. However, the following shot was taken by me right the way back in 2005, on my very first digital SLR, in the village where I used to live (indeed, the village where I was born!). It’s taken me nearly 4 years to learn sufficient Photoshop skills that I’m now able to process it to a stage where I’m reasonably satisfied.
Crich Stand Monument
I’m very definitely a hoarder, but it’s worth bearing in mind that some things are worth keeping hold of.
