Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Tuesday Grab-Bag
In a post a few days back, I blogged about an expert dissing Nikon’s new D600 because of its slow’ish sync speed of 1/200. Well, here’s a sync speed right at the other end of the scale: 1/1600! This superfast sync speed is available using Schneider Kreuznach leaf shutter lenses on Phase One’s new 645DF+. Its max shutter speed of 1/4000 is nothing to sneeze at either.
Phase One makes medium format, high end, open platform camera systems, meaning that you can ‘plug and play’ with different digital camera backs, besides lenses. They’re also sold under the Mamiya Leaf brand name.
Those who like to take snaps and be hip and chic have been following those vapid celebrities and buying Diana cameras and getting into the ‘lomography’ act. Well, now you can be hip and chic and have a real, top-class camera, thanks to . . . fuddy-duddy Fuji!
Fuji’s XF1 looks as hip and chic as . . . well, as Audrey Hepburn in a 60’s film. It has a faux leather front in your choice of tan, black or red over a stylish aluminium body. Most importantly, it has serious photography chops for a small, playful kit. How about a 25-100mm f/1.8 zoom lens? This baby should do wonders for Fuji’s ‘image’.
Canon has gone Cloud. Their Project 1709, announced just before photokina, enables users to store all their photos on the figurative ‘Cloud’ such that they can be accessed transparently, regardless of type of system or device, from anywhere and anytime you have an Internet connection. The project is in beta and is scheduled to go live in 2013.
One doesn’t expect to find or share photography-related articles from non-photography publications but I stumbled across what I think is a pretty good ‘how-to’ on buying a DSLR in PCMag. It neatly explains the differences between full-frame DSLRs and other types of cameras. Worth a read.
Offbeat Day: The Silly, the Spooky, and the Sad
Silly
Bad photographs are making a comeback because . . . well, because apparently they’re cool! The fashion world strikes again. I know it sounds silly but it’s true.
The photography techniques and ideals of the day are now “blurry shots, shadows, overexposure” according to Anne-Marie Conway, who seems (at least a little) enraptured by this retrograde development. Known as ‘Lomography’, boiled down to its essentials this Art & Science centres around deliberate use of el cheapo cameras to simply point and click, and then see what happens.
The boxes of choice for the hip and cool (and silly) crowd are Diana+, Holga and Lomo LC-A (which are said to represent a serious threat to Nikon, Canon and Olympus’s long-term viability). Evidently these are ultra-complicated rigs, for Create Studios offers a half-day Holga and Diana Workshop, according to Conway. No doubt it will be expensive but I am sure it will be well worth the stiff price so I am booking a place . . .
Spooky
Talk about this lomography business’s “burry shots” and “shadows,” Julie Griffin’s blurry shots of shadows from the spirit world represent a much more honest endeavour than the lomography fraud, er, I mean fad.
Cathy Torrisi writes about Griffin’s childhood in a purported haunted house in which para-normal activity was . . . normal. Swaying chandeliers and swinging doors aroused a desire in Griffin to photograph the spooks and she set about her task with whole-hearted dedication.
Spooky Goffe House is said to be one of the more in-demand retreats for sophisticated ghosties and Griffin tried to hunt down a few with notable success: “Last week, she set up her camera with a motion detector inside the Goffe House when no one was there, and it did go off,” reports Torrisi. The results of Griffin’s ghost-hunting exploits are at http://www.ghostlyphotographs.com/. Definitely worth a look-see.
Sad
We move from hunting ghosts to hunting elephants, and from the ghosts of humans to the ghosts of elephants – slaughtered, mass-murdered elephants.
Ivory, though illegal under CITES, is big business. NatGeo’s sad story, Blood Ivory – Ivory Worship, exposes the Elephant Killing Fields and reveals that the outlawed ‘Blood Ivory’ trade runs into the unknown ‘multi-tons’ and spans the Middle East and Far East.
Here’s the photography connection: attached to the article is a photo album by Brent Stirton. It captures some low points in the transit route of illegal ivory, including a nice pic of the ‘Elephant Monk’ outside his temple.
The killers will surely stop someday . . . that sad day when all the tuskers are gone.
No Studio? No Problem. Rent One!
If you’ve ever idly planned to set up a home studio but never got around to it or simply wanted to shoot in a studio but ‘knew’ you couldn’t unless you set one up yourself, well, Russell Masters has some good news for you: rent one!
Though renting a studio may seem like something a photographer in a different sector, say outdoor or industrial, may want to do from time to time, it’s actually an excellent way for an amateur to significantly sharpen his/her indoor photography skills and technique.
Masters’s very original how-to is pretty frank in stating “Just like you I have always found the thought of shooting in a studio exciting but have until recently never been brave enough to actually try. . . . the thought of putting ourselves in a high expectation situation such as a studio shoot is enough to ensure we never actually do it.” Reading this interesting how-to will make you jump up and want to ‘do it’!
The main advantage of renting a studio is the considerable variety of lighting equipment and reflectors plus props and backdrops. Masters explains how to use the Web to find rental studios near you and offers tips and hints as to how to approach the session including advice as to how to engage a model or whether to bring along a friend.
One point I would like to add is that the first-timer make his/her booking in person, doing so when the studio is not occupied. Then, spend five or ten minutes acquainting yourself with the studio you’ll be shooting in and also take a gander at the rental equipment that will be at your disposal so that you don’t suddenly parachute into unknown territory.
If you read yesterday’s post, you’ll recall that it was about Nikon’s newly announced D600. Well, the Nikon-Canon Love Affair that revolves around the oh-so-romantic line “Wither Thou Goest . . .” continues. Canon has “followed” Nikon and released a rumour to the effect that their “EOS 6D DSLR camera will be the direct competitor of the Nikon D600”! Which one do you like?
Nikon D600 — does it sync too slow at 1/200?
The gear announcements are flying thick and fast in the Autumn season when new products are unveiled and among the various gizmos announced today, amateurs would probably be struck by the odd mix of a Nikon full-frame body, Tamron lenses and (wait for this) Apple’s new iPhone – and why not? Would you believe that the iPhone is one of the most popular snapshot cameras!
The iPhone 5’s camera has an 8 MP resolution, like its predecessor. However, it’s going ‘upmarket’ with additions like a sapphire-crystal lens coating. The biggest evolution seems to be in the software as you can pan across a scene to take a panoramic picture of upto 28 MP. You just click and pan, the software will straighten out the hand-shake and off-axis movement, and create the panorama!
Since the days of film Tamron has been one of the ‘go-to’ names in optics. Many pros opt for Tamron lenses because they are seen to offer above-average quality at below-average prices. Their A009 zoom catches the eye because of its maximum aperture – a big f/2.8. The 90mm macro opens up to f/2.8 and has a magnification ratio of 1:1.
The biggie surely has to be Nikon’s D600; one can call it the amateur’s ‘pro’ camera or the pro’s backup body. An expert has dissed this camera’s sync speed of 1/200 which has caused quite a flurry of chatter on the Strobist blog. (Remember when flash sync used to be 1/60? Those were the days!)
(Flash sync-speed is important, and the higher the better because that results in a wider aperture which is what is really important as it lets in more light; consequently, assuming all other variables are constant, you can either get more juice out of your lighting setup or, more critically, it will give you more ‘reach’ or ‘throw’.)
On the point of (flash-)freezing motion, the blog’s author makes the pitch-perfect point that flash cares only about aperture and not shutter-speed. And, the converse point, in a somewhat back-to-front way, is that motion blur ‘cares’ only about shutter-speed, i.e. even with motion-freezing flash, you can get some residual (post-flash) motion blur for effect. Anyway, how about a choice of sync speeds? I think that would make everyone happy!
Hiya Shutterbug! Here’s a new blog for you
Hiya Shutterbug!
Brilliant Prints is delighted to bring you a cool new blog that won’t try to keep ‘educating’ you with a never-ending stream of photography how-tos . . . most of which you already know! We’ll mix it up by telling you about photography exhibitions and auctions, plus gadgets and gizmos, all seasoned with the practical lesson and spiced with the offbeat item, say about the love-hate relationships our chi-chi ‘celebrities’ have with the lens (go ahead Angelina Jolie, strike another whacko ‘binbag’ pose and make our day . . . puh-leez!)
If you snap the shutter for a living then do we have more good news for you! You’ll find a more professionally-oriented blog on our BPro site. However, if you’re a casual shutterbug then (in real casual way) mosey along to the Pro Blog; you just might find some useful tip or trick or it may even inspire you to take the plunge and go pro!
In any event, this blog’s purpose is to keep you informed and excited about photography, and sometimes even amused and entertained. As we said on the Pro Blog, “You don’t have to trawl the Web – because we do it for you!”
Today has to be ‘gadget and gizmo’ day, courtesy of Sony. In our pro blog yesterday we mentioned that Pentax had made a ‘news splash’. If that was right, then today Sony has made a news SPLASH! They’ve announced an assortment of gear – semi-pro cameras, snapshot cameras, zoom lenses, fixed-focal-length lenses . . . . The SLT-A99 is surely the ‘Headline Act’ in glitzy Sony’s lineup – it’s certainly a lightning rod and is attracting a slew of comments. Also take a peep at the new DSC-RX1 which too is getting a lot of attention.
In closing, we at Brilliant Prints don’t plan to do this in a vacuum so feel free to wade in. Tell us if there’s anything in particular you’d like us to discuss or dig up!
Cheerio,
Kersie
Project 365: Chronicle your life – one photo at a time.
Photo credit: balladist
Let’s talk about your blog. As much as possible, you write something in it every day: that déjà vu in the train, your lunch, your overly cheerful boss, your child’s questions, your favorite part of the day, anything at all.
One journal entry a day, 7 entries in a week, 30 in a month, 365 in a year.
Now imagine doing that—chronicling your life—with photos. At the end of the year, you will quite literally see your whole life flash before your eyes. Like how they say near-death experiences cause the same thing. This time, you force it upon yourself.
Taylor McKnight started a photo endeavor called Project 365. On January 1, 2004 he took the first photo. 365 days after and 365 more photos later, the project served as a great way to remember the passing year, and on a more profound sense, helped him appreciate and understand the important things in his life. Apart from that, he became a better photographer.
Are you up for the challenge? Do you wish to look back to see actual scenes of olden days, recall the feelings and thoughts, see whom you met and what you learned? If nostalgia is your cup of tea, this project is a great way to save you from forgetting. Here are tips to get you started with Project 365:
Bring your camera everywhere
You should always be ready to capture anything as the day unfolds hour after hour. Make it a habit to pitch your camera in your everyday bag. Take it to the office, school, grocery store, restaurant, birthday party, movie house, meeting and dinner. Keep this mantra in your head: there are photo-ops everywhere. And you don’t have to lug those bulky DSLRs; compact point-and-shoots and camera phones are good enough.
Allow for easy posting
Get a great place to post your daily photos. Blogger and WordPress both have built-in photo posting. One entry, one photo. You can also post through Flickr. One week worth of photos can be uploaded in about 2 minutes.
Don’t be afraid to experiment
Be creative. Today, take a photo of someone you meet. Tomorrow, perhaps get a snapshot of the restaurant you just discovered. Vary your themes. Take a photo of the adorable baby who made you smile. Take a photo of the yoga class you recently enrolled in. And don’t forget to take a self-portrait so you can see how you’ve changed.
Never give up
You may get tired of taking and posting photos every single day. It may be something nasty that happened at work or at home that would make you think of stopping halfway through. But hear this: don’t stop. Think of your goals. Achieving them is always worth the effort. Don’t think that there’s nothing left to take a photo of. There are always more things to photograph. Get out of the house. Take a short walk. Take a photo of anything. Just don’t stop.
Hang it on your wall
If you want to savor each year in your living room or right out of bed without having to turn on your computer, have your 365 photos resized to fit in a medium or large collage (we can provide this service at no charge). Get it printed as a canvas print. You now have a year in your life immortalized!
Flickr 101: A Beginner’s Guide
From its minimalist layout to its user-friendly functions, Flickr offers heaps of features that attracted hobbyist and professional photographers alike. Easily, it grew into a place where people can comfortably share their work, interact and learn.
So if until today you’re not yet Flickring then it’s about time you start. Registration is free. And to guide you on your Flickr baby steps, here are some beginner tips to help you move around.
Sign up using your Yahoo! mail account
And that’s it—no long bio forms to fill out, no secret password questions and no codes to confirm your being a human.
Upload photos with ease
The first thing you need to do—fill your photostream with as many photos as you want. There are a handful of ways to upload your photos in Flickr.
- Use the web-based upload form right in the Flickr website. Ideal when you only post one or two photos at a time.
- Upload photos straight from your desktop with the Flickr Uploadr 3.0. You can download the uploader for Windows (Vista/XP) or the uploader for Mac OS X.
- When you’re on a vacation and there’s no computer within your reach, you can use your mobile phone to send photos to your account.
- Email your photos to your photostream using an especially configured email address.
Add titles
After uploading, the filename of your JPEG file (e.g. IMG_076) automatically becomes the title of your photo. Change it to a more descriptive or artistic title like “Angelli sipping her coffee” or “Tonight I’m leaving my sky.”
You can also write a brief story behind the photo in the description box. Some users write (or paste) famous quotations that somehow describe their photo.
Use tags
Tags will help you search photos within your photostream, especially those belonging to the same theme. For example, you may choose to put the tags “travel” and “Sydney” on photos from your recent trip to Australia. Also, tagging allows other Flickr users who search for “Sydney” photos to discover yours.
Adding contacts
One of the great things about Flickr is its community. You’ll connect with photographers of varying expertise from all corners of the world. Some of whom would become your favorites, whose work you would want to follow and stalk. Here’s how you can add another photographer as a contact:
- Go to his or her photostream page, say AusPhotographer’s.
- Click Profile in the menu under AusPhotographer’s Photostream.
- On the upper right hand part of the Profile screen, click Add AusPhotographer as a contact.
- On the confirmation screen, you’ll be asked to add AusPhotographer as either friend or family. If the photographer is neither, leave the tick boxes unchecked.
- Finally, click Add.
Join groups
Flickr is home to thousands of interest groups you can join. They usually have a field of expertise in photography.
You can find groups on portrait photography, Canon cameras , Nikon gadgets, beaches, insects, lomography, macro, kites, and just about anything you can take a picture of. Some also form groups based on their country or city. There are also groups specifically created for themed photo competitions.
Advanced Flickr Tips
There are more fascinating things you can do on Flickr and one post is not enough to lay them all down. But the above tips should be enough to give you a jumpstart. Come back soon for more tips on Flickring! In the mean-time make sure you check out our advanced guide to the Flickr photostream.
Featured Hot Shot Photographer – Allison Murphy
Allison recently won the "Wedding" photo category in the first round of our Hot Shot or Not competition. You can see all winners here.
In this post – Allison talks about her winning image:
I always wanted a dramatic poses for my wedding photo’s and just as that picture
was about to be taken the wind came up and my dress just billowed out, and we
knew that that photo would be brilliant!
Allison’s tip for others getting wedding photographs is:
I did a lot of research on poses and picked out the ones I wanted for my wedding
photos and I made sure that those were taken. I would rather a few fantastic
photographs than a lot of ordinary.
Stay tuned for more feature photographer posts from our July Round of Hot Shot Photographers/
5 fantastic photographers take out the June Round of Hot Shot or Not
544 images. 5000 votes. 1 very tight contest.
We are proud to announce the winners of the first round of Hot Shot or Not. Each of the winners received the highest average vote in their category.
In no particular order – our 5 Hot Shots for June are:
Wedding Category:
Allison M. for "Windswept"
Landscape Category:
Sally M. for "Resting ontop of the Alps"
Portrait Category:
Sally M. for "After a day’s surf"
Flower Category:
Jenny T for "Purple Hyacinth"
Other Category:
Peta C. for "Action at Avalon Airshow"
Each winner receives their image as a 12 x 18 canvas print.
Many of the winners have offered to share the stories, techniques and tips behind their images on this blog. So keep checking back to find out their photographic secrets 🙂
Do you have what it takes to be our next Hot Shot?
We will be deleting the winning images from the server. So make sure you vote, or upload your own images!
Introducing Hot Shot or Not – Get your photo rated while winning great prizes
We are proud to announce the launch of Hot Shot or Not – our ongoing photographic competition.
The idea behind "Hot Shot or not" is simple. You can:
1) Rate other photographers images and provide feedback
2) Upload your own images anonymously and get both ratings and comments
3) Win great prizes. The monthly winner in each category gets their winning images printed as a stunning 12 x 18 inch canvas prints.
We’ve created Hot Shot or Not to be an easy way for keen photographers to get honest feedback on their work.
The competition will run monthly – so make sure you see whether you are Australia’s next Hot Shot!
Follow us on Facebook for all the latest in canvas printing news and exclusive deals!
