Seven by Five

Photo Profile: Adriana Glackin

7X5 Editors — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:00:53 +0000

Eclectic is the only way to describe my photographic style. I enjoy photographing still life compositions, portraits, food and when weather and time permit, I also enjoy landscapes and seascapes. I find it difficult to limit my subject matter to only still life, or only portraits for example, as I derive so much pleasure from all styles. Photography presents us with a never ending learning curve from the minute we pick up our first camera and I enjoy learning something new each time I begin to set up my gear. So I thought I would share some details of the workflow I follow when creating still life compositions.

Inspiration – this can come from an object seen in a vintage store or a photo in a magazine or flowers from the garden or even from a theme seen in an online photography challenge/competition. I visit a few vintage stores always seeking out little knick knacks for the purpose of using them in a composition – but it doesn’t mean that I rush home and begin to set up without further thought to the composition.

This leads me to the next step, that of Pre-visualisation. Now that I have my object (a plump bunch of hydrangeas, for example) I build the composition in my head. I imagine the style of vase I will need to match the blooms as well as look for other accessories that will add to the story-telling of the composition. The items need to work together to create the look I am visualising, so that if I’m trying to achieve a vintage look, I need to ensure all items also have a vintage look about them. I visualise the positioning of the items and consider the lens and DOF I will be using. My preference is always for shallow DOF as I love how the focus falls away to the blurry softness from the initial point of sharp focus.

I am fortunate that photography is my passion and not my source of income so that I can indulge in allowing myself plenty of time to set up and shoot. For me, achieving an ideal composition can take some time. Using the example of the vase of plump hydrangeas, I arrange them in a pleasing manner, and then begin – one by one – to add the remaining objects. Arranging and re-arranging them until I have a composition that is pleasing to my eye. Currently, I rely a lot more on OCF to light the composition, but prior to having my current lighting gear, I used natural light or bounced flash on camera. I don’t like to delete images in-camera as I prefer to see them on my computer screen before I delete the ones that I feel don’t convey the concept I have pre-visualised.

Now, this next step is where my family think I take things a little too far. Rather than packing everything up once I have my shot, I instead continue shooting. Leaving the composition as it is, I swap lenses – long lens, nifty fifty, Lensbaby, toy lens, homemade bendy lens, change image orientation, change DOF, change camera angle, use or remove reflectors and white fill cards, crop the image tightly in-camera or give it plenty of space to breathe. In other words, I play with elements and learn from what I feel works and what doesn’t, what is a strong result and what is so-so. Why do I do this? I enjoy the learning process and I’m a visual learner, so to see all the varying compositions and how changing one element can alter the look and feel of the image, helps me to better understand composition and lighting.

Once I have the image, I open it up in Adobe Camera Raw and this is where I do the majority of the editing. I fine tune the temperature, the brightness, clarity, curves, and noise and so on. As I use a lot of textures in my work I open the image, together with the texture I’m using, in PS. I like to use a series of blend modes such as overlay or soft light on the texture layer to create a vintage, grungy effect. And finally I am done! Creating just one image can be quite a process and I encourage you to try and look at the scene before you from different viewpoints in order to find the ideal composition for you. If you have any questions, I would love to hear from you, but in the meantime, I wish you all good light and much creativity!

Links:

Website: http://www.redbubble.com/people/dabble
Blog: http://virtualjottingsbyadriana.blogspot.com.au/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Adriana_G
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/virtualjottings/

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Please note that Photo Profile: Adriana Glackin and all Seven by Five content is copyright 2001-2011. Seven by Five Photos in our flickr group remain the copyright of the original photographer. This RSS feed is provided for personal, non-commercial use only.

Seeing Creatively with a Lensbaby

7X5 Editors — Tue, 22 May 2012 14:00:16 +0000

Creative focus is the biggest drawcard in owning a Lensbaby. This nifty little lens with its many interchangeable optics and aperture effects puts fun back into shooting the ordinary. But it does more than that, it actually gives new perspective to many subjects. I bought a Composer Pro with the Double Glass Optic along with the Macro Kit because I wanted to experience what all the fuss was about; I haven’t been disappointed in the least. I’m sure it won’t be long before I add the Sweet 35 Optic to my collection.

So far I have found Lensbaby to be a wonderful portrait lens, especially so when shooting in ambient light, which I do most often. I love the challenge of getting the right part of my subject in the lens’ sweet spot. Usually that’s their eyes, but sometimes it’s nice to have the selective focus on another part of the frame instead. For some reason my clients react more excitedly to their Lensbaby images than those taken from a much more expensive Canon lens, even though I don’t believe the quality of the pixels are near as good. Regardless, if they’re happy, I’m happy. I think the Lensbaby really centers attention on the chosen sweet spot, more than a regular prime lens at F/2.8 can do. The bokeh, if not bent too drastically, eases you into the subject. It surrounds the subject and the blur progressively weakens as it approaches the diminutive selective focus areas of F/4 or F/5.6 which happen to be my two favorite aperture disks.

Another fabulous use I have found for my Lensbaby is shooting macro. The Macro Kit consists of two 37mm thread filters, a +4 and a +10 which can be stacked to create a magnification of +14 which gets you remarkably close to your subject. The shots taken with these filters are impressively sharp, but beware as they’re not compatible with all Lensbaby Optics.

To sum up, seeing creatively gains new significance when viewed through a Lensbaby. It’s not for everyone, the aperture system is fiddly and it does take time to control and master the bend. I’m still learning and finding new uses for my new ‘toy’, but as I do so I’m widening my ability to see new images in the everyday and mundane and for me that helps fire a spark that keeps me shooting longer and helps get my camera out of its bag more often, and hell I like that!

Susan Blick is the founder of Photoopolis and an Australian freelance photographer in Auckland, New Zealand.

www.photoopolis.com
Twitter: @photoopolis

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Please note that Seeing Creatively with a Lensbaby and all Seven by Five content is copyright 2001-2011. Seven by Five Photos in our flickr group remain the copyright of the original photographer. This RSS feed is provided for personal, non-commercial use only.

The Black & White Photo Show Off Thread

Scott — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:00:35 +0000

If you haven’t heard yet, Leica did something that no other camera manufacturer can get away with.

That’s right, they released a camera that only photographs in Black & White. The Leica M-Monochrom is very similar to the Leica M9, boasting a killer 18-megapixel sensor and rangefinder design.

But is a Black & White only sensor really needed? Does the industry really need a camera that only takes Black & White photos?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a Leica shooter and I love my M9. The question should not be answered in words. So here goes my quest to find the answer.

Do you prefer to shoot in Black & White only?
How do you feel about the new Leica M-Monochrom camera?

Tell us your feelings on Black & White photography and comment below with a link to your gallery of Black & White photographs.

Feel free to cast your vote on the poll below, answering which you prefer: Shooting color or black & white in camera.

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Please note that The Black & White Photo Show Off Thread and all Seven by Five content is copyright 2001-2011. Seven by Five Photos in our flickr group remain the copyright of the original photographer. This RSS feed is provided for personal, non-commercial use only.

10 Tips on How To Create an Impromptu Portrait Session with Strangers on the Street

rcooper — Tue, 15 May 2012 21:32:56 +0000

Sometimes, I just like to go out with my camera, a couple of lenses and walk through some of the streets in certain areas of the city where I live, Mexico City: the biggest city in the world! Funny thing is, I take four lenses and end up using only one: my trusty Canon 50mm f/1.8. Also, the cheapest lens I have (I highly recommend it). This lens is great for shooting portraits, not only for it being such a light-catcher when you open it up all the way, but also because it creates a beautiful bokeh, thus separating your subject from the background, pretty much blurring everything else.

So, here are 10 tips – going from the technical to the creative – on how to create a quick, 2-minute or so impromptu portrait session with strangers on the street:

Be prepared: if you have the idea of going to shoot portraits, don’t have your wide-angle on the camera but be prepared with a good portrait lens, such as the aforementioned 50mm, ready for action.
Open it up but hold it steady: open the lens to 1.8 and – leave the camera in Aperture priority so it takes care of the rest if you don’t want to worry about exposure times – and make sure you hold your hands next to your body so there’s no blurry picture for you to come back home to on your computer.
Focusing on autofocus: if you believe you’ll have luck, have your camera on autofocus in order to make the shooting go by fast. If not, go for manual and make sure to focus on the eyes, the center of attention when shooting portraits. If not, there’s a chance that (especially with autofocus on) the lens will focus on your subject’s nose and well… the eyes and the rest will end up being out of focus.

© Sergio Mendoza Hochmann
Who to pick: this one is pretty much up to you. Look for the kind of face that you’d be interested in hearing a story from. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the prettiest woman or an extremely handsome man that you’ll go for. Look for a face that interests you and you believe will speak to the camera.
The approach: be courteous and civil. Don’t go for the person that looks as if they’re in a hurry because chances are you’ll get a negative answer. Someone sitting down in a bench by themselves is always a good choice. Or it could be a couple of people slowly ambling by that don’t look as if they’re right smack in the middle of an important conversation.

© Sergio Mendoza Hochmann
What to say: “Hi, I’m out taking pictures and I love taking pictures of people who look interesting. Do you think it would be okay if I take two minutes of your time and take a couple of pictures?” I tend to say something like that (in Spanish) and things work out well.
To pose or not to pose: if you get a positive answer to your picture-taking question, your stranger might ask you if you want them to pose. This, again, is up to you. Sometimes I feel that the person looking directly at the camera will give me something to work with. But there are some occasions in which I’ll tell them to carry on with what they were doing and then I’ll snap a few photos.
Don’t take too much time: if a person let’s you take their picture on the street, that doesn’t mean that it’s ok for you to steal 5-20 minutes of their time, unless your gut instinct tells you that they’re REALLY into it. Besides, in two minutes you can usually get what you wanted. Also, do remember that it is supposed to be an impromptu session and not a long-winded, 15-pose shoot.

© Sergio Mendoza Hochmann
Groups or solo acts: if you see a group of, let’s say, three people, and you only wanted to shoot one of them, no problem! Approach them and ask them if you could take some portrait shots of all of them. You never know if you end up getting the best pictures from the person you least expected them from!
One last tip: I always ask people if it would be okay for me to get their email and name so I can email them the picture in both color and black and white (I go for b&w in my portrait shots). It’s not a big effort to mail them their pictures and not only can you make a new contact for your Facebook Page, for example, and maybe even get business coming your way (if you’re a professional), but you also share in the joy of letting someone have a nice picture of themselves in a day in which they were not expecting it. And for free!

I hope you muse over these tips that I’ve given you and see what suits your taste in picture taking of strangers on the street. Do remember to take under consideration the area in which you live and the kind of people you’ll approach. A person with 5 bodyguards might not be the most approachable or appropriate!

Take care and may you shoot sharp… unless you want blurry!

Sergio Mendoza Hochmann is a photographer who’s also a teacher of literature and communication skills, a signed songwriter and a jingle writer. Born in Chile, an Austrian-Mexican-blood mix, lived in 10 countries and has an Ecuadorian heart. He shoots everything, but specializes in cars, architecture and portraits.

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/FotoHochmann

Blog: fotohochmann.wordpress.com

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Please note that 10 Tips on How To Create an Impromptu Portrait Session with Strangers on the Street and all Seven by Five content is copyright 2001-2011. Seven by Five Photos in our flickr group remain the copyright of the original photographer. This RSS feed is provided for personal, non-commercial use only.

Photo Profile: Davide Luciano

7X5 Editors — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:30:47 +0000

Looking back at my childhood everything makes perfect sense, I spent countless hours playing with toys, creating stories and imagining different scenarios. Today, nothing has changed except my toys have been replaced by friends, family and models and I create large-scale photographic prints that are meticulously staged to create humor and awareness. School was never a priority nor an interest until I enrolled in film school, which was the beginning of my journey. I instantly found my voice, passion and vision to express my views for the world to see. After writing, directing and editing a few short films which were well received with praise and accolades, I realized I wanted to challenge myself and create “mises en scenes” with a single frame.

My work has been exhibited in solo and group shows across Canada and the United States in cities such as New York, Toronto, Montréal, Washington and Kentucky. I have had the honor of winning numerous awards, including an award of excellence from Megan Fontanella, curator at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City.

In my most recent photographic series titled “Sheep Nation” I explore a society that is desperate for uniqueness and originality, but ultimately succumbs to “following the herd”. Behind every mask lies a personal truth, an innocence, a sense of individualism and a longing to be seen and heard.

This large-scale photographic series includes twenty three intimate and introspective portraits of “sheeple” and six mises en scène depicting people unable to stand alone and be unique. The subjects have allowed the influences of different forms of media to undermine their own identity and wander mindlessly in herds, like sheep.

Links

Website: www.davideluciano.com , www.mypotholes.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidelucianoartist
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/davide_luciano

Copyright Information

Please note that Photo Profile: Davide Luciano and all Seven by Five content is copyright 2001-2011. Seven by Five Photos in our flickr group remain the copyright of the original photographer. This RSS feed is provided for personal, non-commercial use only.

Photo Profile: Miss Aniela

rcooper — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:30:46 +0000

I pour my mind into everything I create, and always aim to push the envelope with consistently compelling imagery with the highest production value possible, whether I’m shooting with huge budget or with just my own body and a remote trigger. Photography is always my ‘living’ whether I am working on personal or commercial work, because it is creating that keeps me feeling alive.

I am a photographer based in London, UK. I produce work primarily as an artist, but also for fashion and commercial projects. I am internationally exhibited and the author of 2 books. I also run an event called the Fashion Shoot Experience.

My series ‘Ecology’ is about our world, and the place of humanity within it, at once a beautiful and polluting form. The images play with growth and disruption of growth, with ‘utopia’ and its opposite: dystopia. In this series I want to stir people to question and to think, intelligibly – about the problems, the beauty, and the conflict between them, in the world around us. The images are an evolution of my playful self-portraiture from 2006-2009; it is a way to express a troubled outlook on the world, through quietly sinister and even unnerving distortions.

‘The Fourth Soil’ was created in the forest near where I live, helped by my partner Matthew who took the shots of me standing at a distance between the trees. I knew at the time that the images would be black and white, but they took on a surreal organic life force of their own to make the final image. To me, the image represents re-discovering our connection to and almost complete dependence on nature, which has been muddied and often even dismissed, like a ‘tall story’, by the attitudes of modern medicine and lifestyle.

In my ‘Surreal Fashion’ series, fashion portraits become immersed into fine- art surrealism. I make bizarre interactions between models and other elements such as paintings, drawings and objects that are found in the location in which the model was shot. The surroundings of the model echo, distort and appear in unexpected ways in each situation. This is my attempt as a fine-art photographer at making fashion shoot situations more artistic, imaginative, and thought- provoking, and to take the easily-mimicked ‘in camera’ fashion shot several innovative stages further.

‘Storm Door’ was created during an event at Weston Park in the UK, with models dressed in semi-Regency period costume. The image of the model was shot with just the light from the modelling lamp, and stitched panoramically from two shots. During the event I had gazed at the paintings around this stately home, inspired by them more than anything else. I had photographed a classical painting of ships on the wall, fascinated by the drama in the ocean, and the tungsten hue which permeates a lot of my work. In post-production, I spontaneously combined my photograph of the model with the shot I’d taken of the sea painting. I saw that the dress could be manipulated to flow out into the waves as though the sailors were being thrashed upon it, by Mother Nature or a Helen of Troy-like figure, biting a string of pearls that fit the nautical imagery. I was also inspired by the C.S. Lewis story ‘The Voyage of the Dawn Treader’, with the fitting notion of a painting coming to life, through a door.

Links

Facebook: www.facebook.com/missanielaphotography
Website: www.missaniela.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/missaniela
Flickr: www.flickr.com/ndybisz

Copyright Information

Please note that Photo Profile: Miss Aniela and all Seven by Five content is copyright 2001-2011. Seven by Five Photos in our flickr group remain the copyright of the original photographer. This RSS feed is provided for personal, non-commercial use only.

Behind the Scenes: Making ‘Understanding Exposure: Perfect Exposure on Your EOS Camera’

7X5 Editors — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:31:45 +0000

Behind the photos

I took this photo several years ago in the city of La Plata in Argentina. The gothic cathedral is the largest cathedral in the Americas and took around 100 years to build. They only finished it 20 years ago. It illustrates the concept of exposure perfectly, as the church and statue are backlit by the setting sun – a challenging situation when it comes to deciding the optimum exposure.

I recently spent six months in Shanghai, China – some of the photos I took on that trip appeared in the book. These two photos were taken in Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou. The main attraction in this city is West Lake – a beautiful lake surrounded by low hills, forests and ancient temples.

Both photos are close-ups – I used an 85mm lens on my EOS 5D Mark II fitted with a 500D close-up lens. That’s a +2 diopter close-up lens (or filter) that lets me get closer to the subject. I like this style because it lets me concentrate on details like the incense sticks and candle.

I took this photo of the three monkeys at Dongtai Road Antiques Market in Shanghai. Dongtai Road is a narrow street lined with market stalls and shops. The guides say around half of the stuff sold there is fake – but there are lots of genuine items there too if you know how to find them. I don’t – but as my interest is in taking photos, not buying antiques, all I cared about is whether they were photogenic. The market stalls holders were friendly and not as pushy as I expected, and happy for me to take photos.

The Idea

Writing the body of the book was the easy part – it only took a few days. The hard part was planning what to write about and then finding good photos to illustrate it. Caption writing, diagram creation, putting tables together and fact checking all take a lot longer. I rewrote the first draft several times until I was happy with it. The book also had to be designed, which I did myself with Adobe InDesign.

I got the idea for ‘Understanding Exposure: Perfect Exposure on Your EOS Camera‘ after reading a couple of books about exposure. One was meant to be for digital cameras but had clearly been originally written some time ago and the author hadn’t taken the differences between film and digital cameras into account. The other book divided exposure into around 12 exposure scenarios, and I thought that overcomplicated things.

I started thinking about simplifying the topic of exposure, and came up with three basic exposure scenarios which cover any situation a photographer will encounter.

I also thought about the differences between film and digital cameras. Part of the reason people get confused about exposure is because digital sensors react to light differently than film. Photographers who learned their craft with film have to relearn many of the basic principles. Of course, now that digital technology has matured there are many photographers who have never used film cameras, and I took care to ensure that the book is just as relevant to them.

These ideas are the heart of the book. I also decided to make it EOS specific. It meant that I could go deep and explain to EOS camera owners what the various metering and exposure modes do on their cameras. That separates it from generic books about exposure. It’s the second in a series that will develop into a comprehensive library of books about the EOS system.

Download the eBook Now for only £7

Andrew S Gibson is a freelance writer and photographer. He is the Technical Editor of EOS magazine and writes for photography websites, magazines and book publishers.

Copyright Information

Please note that Behind the Scenes: Making ‘Understanding Exposure: Perfect Exposure on Your EOS Camera’ and all Seven by Five content is copyright 2001-2011. Seven by Five Photos in our flickr group remain the copyright of the original photographer. This RSS feed is provided for personal, non-commercial use only.

Photo Profile: Marjolein van Noort

7X5 Editors — Fri, 04 May 2012 19:27:53 +0000

Telling a story with a single picture has always fascinated me. Growing up, I had my own simple camera enabling me to capture family holidays. However, the switch to a more sophisticated one came years later. Just to see whether my old love was still there, I bought a digital camera. It was. And it brought me to the point where I am now.

Over the last two years I have been photographing a lot, capturing all kinds of scenes. Finding out that my heart lies with street and portrait photography. Not a single country is an exact copy of another country, not a single person is an exact copy of another person. We differ in so many ways and are yet so similar to one another. That to me is a continuous source of inspiration. Showing local scenes. Capturing local habits. Just to help us understand a bit more of the world we live in.

Having a camera in my hands makes me a very happy person. I felt that taking pictures while traveling wasn’t enough anymore, so autumn last year I decided to launch my website and explore a career in photography. Since then I have been asked for various assignments.

My starting point in every project or assignment is an optimistic one. True, we don’t live in a perfect world. Not even close as goes for some areas on this globe. But there are many courageous, innovative, ambitious, beautiful initiatives that make a difference. Those are the ones I love to have in front of my camera.

For that reason I am currently working on two independent series. The first which I recently have started focuses on integration/ diversity in four major European cities. The project takes me to Paris, London, Berlin and closer to home, Rotterdam. The second has light – daylight and artificial light – as a starting point. These projects take me to familiar places and places yet to become familiar.

Links

Website: www.theworldinfrontofmycamera.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/mlvannoort

Copyright Information

Please note that Photo Profile: Marjolein van Noort and all Seven by Five content is copyright 2001-2011. Seven by Five Photos in our flickr group remain the copyright of the original photographer. This RSS feed is provided for personal, non-commercial use only.

31 Images of Reflection

rcooper — Fri, 04 May 2012 01:21:07 +0000

Rain, mirrors, lakes… a face contemplating life… We asked our Flickr followers to post an image they interpreted to illustrate ‘Reflection’.

If you want to comment on an individual photograph click on an image to be taken to it directly on Flickr. We all appreciate the feedback. You can find out more about our flickr group here.

1. Becky

2. Dan Bailey Photo

3. Lens Artwork

4. paul downing

5. Rina B.

6. jezconk

7. LeftyRodriguez

8. Stephen A. Wolfe

9. misund007

10. DaveFrost

11. sena10

12. Greg Schmigel

13. Greg Schmigel

14. klwalton

15. Shamrockah

16. 50mm_Streettog

17. pratiphotography

18. tobyct

19. ~~Lou~~

20. OKCorralPhoto

21. theblackstar

22. shoeless LindaB (HEMEEE)

23. Tim Green aka atoach

24. [ f_stopper ]

25. mr._martini

26. fomu

27. Colin Gallagher

28. dthomasd

29. Abhinav Singhai

30. The Neepster

31. adamjefferyphotography
Anyone can take part in our monthly Flickr themes! Check out our previous themes and find out more: 7×5 Flickr group page.

Copyright Information

Please note that 31 Images of Reflection and all Seven by Five content is copyright 2001-2011. Seven by Five Photos in our flickr group remain the copyright of the original photographer. This RSS feed is provided for personal, non-commercial use only.

Photo Profile: Ivan Lieman

7X5 Editors — Wed, 02 May 2012 19:15:09 +0000

I have witnessed the very meaning of daily struggles, having grown up in Kenya. Photography became a passion at a very early age as a way of documenting the hardships I saw unfolding in front of me. This helped me to develop my style; candid shots that tell stories of the happiness that can be found in adversity. I’ve always appreciated the fact that no matter their situation, people are thankful for life.

For the last two years I have traveled extensively throughout East Africa, India, Morocco and Sri Lanka, building a large portfolio of work documenting life stories, culturally significant events, political contexts and areas of beauty. In environments that were at best challenging and at worst hostile, I have learned to use situations to their best potential and create photos that capture the raw essence of the moment. Travel, alongside photography, is one of my greatest passions, and I think they compliment each other perfectly. There has been no better teacher for me than travel itself, and the constant surprises and challenges it brings.

Having just returned from India, my recent work documents the stories that I found unfolding there. I was lucky enough to be able to cover Holi festival, one of the most colorful and engaging events in the calendar of religious festivals in the country; an incredible experience that I´ll never forget.

Back in the UK, I have a number of ongoing projects that allow me to use my creativity and experiment with different mediums, techniques and situations. Tryptographs and panoramic have been a particular point of exploration for me, expressing the continuation of a moment or a scene through a collection of stills. Alongside this idea of continuation has been my diary of faces and voices; documenting an individual’s portraits and voice clip with a new character every day. I have also created my own short films and continue to use this medium in addition to my photographic projects.

Watching my first photo develop from its negative is a memory that has stuck with me throughout my photographic career; that excitement and anticipation is still at work with every new project I undertake. I appreciate that there is never a bad day in the field, as there is a lesson to be learned from every photo. I am looking for the chance to make a meaningful contribution to the world of photography; getting there is a journey that I am most enjoying.

Links

Website: http://ivanliemanphotography.com/
Twitter: @ivanliemanphoto
Blog: http://ivanliemanphotography.wordpress.com/

Copyright Information

Please note that Photo Profile: Ivan Lieman and all Seven by Five content is copyright 2001-2011. Seven by Five Photos in our flickr group remain the copyright of the original photographer. This RSS feed is provided for personal, non-commercial use only.