A to Z of Photography

Photography - it's a world in your hands

2012-08-27T00:30:00.000-07:00

International Earth Day and Time-lapse Photography

2012-04-21T16:40:00.000-07:00

We seem to giving a lot of coverage to the Google Doodles these days but when is the next time that photographers and the art of photography will get command such attention? Sooner or later they are bound to switch their attention elsewhere. Google has chosen to mark International Earth Day with a time-lapse photography sequence and imaginatively done it is too.

Time-lapse photography is a technique which allows still photographers to capture change and motion without having to resort to video. Indeed it allows for the observation of phenomenon over a much larger timeframe than would be possible with video. In the following example, we see the flower of a geranium opening over a period of about two hours. Consecutive frames are 7 minutes apart. Of course, with enough time, dedication and patience it would be quite possible to record a sequence of events that may take days, months of even years.

Photograph © Andrew Dunn, 31 July 2006.
Website: http://www.andrewdunnphoto.com/

Robert Doisneau - pioneer of photojournalism

2012-04-14T05:48:00.000-07:00

Yet another photographer has been honoured with a Google Doodle. This time it is the turn of French Photographer Robert Doisneau (1912-1994), regarded as a pioneer of photojournalism for the images he captured of Paris streets in the 1930s using a Leica camera.

Robert Doisneau photographed by Bracha L. Ettinger in his studio in Montrouge, 1992
Bracha L. Ettinger [CC-BY-SA-2.5], from Wikimedia Commons

His most famous captured image is the one entitled Le baiser de l'hôtel de ville - image on the far right of the Google Doodle posted above. Despite his reputation as a shy person, he had something of a passion for street photography:

"The marvels of daily life are so exciting; no movie director can arrange the unexpected that you find in the street."

In this image a contemporary photographer attempts to capture the warmth and feeling of Doisneau's celebrated work.

By Martin Wiesheu (Flickr) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Reference Material:

Robert Doisneau on Wikipedia
Official Website

Travel Photography - don't forget your camera

2012-01-05T11:39:00.000-08:00

Photographer, Kien Lam spent a year travelling the world, visiting 17 countries taking more than 6000 photos over the course of his journey. But not only did he return to tell the tale, he has managed to condense it into a five minute, time-lapse video presentation. This is called, appropriately enough, Time is Nothing.

Time is Nothing // Around The World Time Lapse from Kien Lam on Vimeo.

2011: A Year in Review courtesy of Getty Images

2011-12-08T08:47:00.001-08:00

Browse the archives at Getty Images

Louis Daguerre honoured with Google Doodle on 224th birthday

2011-11-18T08:23:00.001-08:00

Today being the 224th anniversary of the birth of Louis Daguerre, Google search engine have opted to mark the occasion with a Doodle in his honour.

So who is Louis Daguerre and what is his relevance to photography? Well a whole lot actually. He was a French artist and physicist, recognized for his invention of the daguerreotype process of photography, after whom it is named and said to be was the first commercially successful photographic process.

His discovery was made by an accident, according to the writer Robert Leggat, who said Daguerre put an exposed plate in a chemical cupboard in 1835 only to later find it have developed a latent image. - The Telegraph, 18/11/2011

This image by Daguerre, entitled Boulevard du Temple, was created using the technique he developed. It is purported to be:

"the first picture of a living person. The image shows a busy street, but due to exposure time of more than ten minutes, the traffic was moving too much to appear. The exceptions are the two people at the bottom left, one who stood still getting his boots polished by the other long enough to show." (from Wikimedia Commons)

Louis Daguerre [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

So happy birthday Louis Daguerre, who was born 224 years ago this day and of course is not around to be able to celebrate it with us, but we feel sure would appreciate the gesture if he was.

Introducing ... A to Z of Photography

2011-02-27T12:01:00.000-08:00

Welcome to A to Z of Photography, a new website that is passionate about the world of still photography. Our passion embraces all aspects, discipline and detail of photography and we welcome everyone who shares in it.

Our A to Z of Photography is neither authoritative nor comprehensive. It is more like an ongoing project that will be revised and revisited as it grows. Our interest extends to practically every field of still photography but we do not hold ourselves out to be experts in any particular area.

We welcome the participation and collaboration of seasoned photographers just as we look forward to hearing from novices and newbies. Whoever you are, wherever you are, we are all united by our passion for the craft.

More to follow ...

Hello World

2011-02-26T05:05:00.000-08:00

The A to Z of Photography website will be appearing here shortly