Most of the trip thus far has been on 120 film with the mamiya 6. Can’t wait to process and see what came out

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Chase Jarvis recently had a contest to win his old iphone 3g – all you had to do was submit a picture taken with a mobile.  (I didn’t because I already have and iPhone, and wouldn’t want to take it away from someone else!) Anyway, he recently posted the winner along with a gallery of favorites.

wow.

There’s some absolutely amazing stuff in there – all shot with mobiles.  Damn impressive.  So next time you hear someone complaining that they can’t make good pictures because they need X piece of gear or Y isn’t good enough show them this…

(and before I get absolutely flamed – of couse the camera “matters”, some cameras are better suited for some things than others etc… but the point is that you can make photographic art with anything from a box with a pinhole and scrap of film to a D3x to a cellphone.  So go out there and do it!)

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…in 1944

Thanks to Terry Moore for this one… A very good read.  Amusing and insightful – kinda puts a perspective on a lot of things…

http://people.rit.edu/andpph/giants/POP-PHOTO-future-1944.html

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inquiring minds and all… not trying to be provocative, just legitimately curious.

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And finally the true strength of the 4/3 system is realized…  Just in case there’s anyone who *hasn’t* heard about it yet (my RSS reader already had about 15 articles on it!) Olympus has finally announced their first MFT camera, the e-p1, in a unmistakable homage to the PEN series of old. To me, this is what the 4/3 system should have been from the beginning.  high-quality, interchangeable lenses, supercompact body.  To me, this is more of a “digital rangefinder” than the Leica M8 (dons flame-retardant suit and hides from the leica-o-philes).
check out the size comparison next to the e-420 *already* the smallest dSLR on the market. 
 

All the usual goodies are checked, HD video, 12mp (reasonable for 4/3 sensor – glad they didn’t push it), a multi-apect sensor (very cool! – it shoots 1×1! square love!), yadda yadda yadda…  The dual control wheel setup is unusual, but I could see myself liking it…

for the full rundown, check dpreviews hands-on preview. 

and some more sample photos over at PhotographyBlog.com

Honestly, it’s hard to overstate my excitement at this camera.  I’m not all that much of a “gearhead”, but when something like this comes along it’s just like “wow, that’s exactly what I’ve always wanted in a picture making tool”

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… One of the reasons I love B/W is that I don’t have to deal with color corrections

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P.S. I know none of *my* readers are “that guy”, just venting a bit. 

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Until now. 

The newly announced Eye-Fi pro adds RAW transfer and ad-hoc network connection capability – the two things that were conspicuously missing from earlier versions, and now Im thinking I may never buy another card again.   So for all practical purposes, this card provides a wireless tethering solution in a box – consider:  grab a laptop, set up an ad hoc network, connect the eye-fi.  Now every shot you snap on that camera is transferred to a folder on your laptop.   Set lightroom to “watch” that folder and bam – now as you shoot, images stream to you laptop and pop up in lightroom in real time. 

This my friends, to use the parlance of the day, is EPIC WIN.

course it still has all the same functionality of the earlier eye-fi, as well as adding the capability to selectively upload shots instead of just shooting all of them up by default.  Very cool stuff.  Kudos to the eye-fi guys for listening to the community and coming back with a product that really seems to knock it out of the park!

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a MFT, digital PEN.  Oh Joy!

(that sound you hear is all the “digital rangefinder” folks squealing with anticipation!)

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This generated such a slew of comments he had to write two followups, clarifying his position.

Now, without starting my own debate, I agree with what he is saying – and it got me thinking.   Essentially this exercise boils down to the value of limitations as a teaching and creative tool. 

Nowadays taking a photograph is easy.  Point and Shoot, nothing too it.   But we don’t want to just take photographs.  We want to take *good*, nay *great* photographs.   And *that* is very, very hard!  And often,  the very things that make it easier to take a picture, make it harder for the beginner to take a Great picture.  They become crutches, and the learner goes along relying on said crutches which is fine for a while, but hamstrings him when it is time to “move to the next level” as it were. 

And I think that much as Mike is saying – a great way to move past these hurdles, is to actually impose limitations on ones own work.  Limitations force us to figure things out.   They don’t allow us to rely on crutches.  The make us use skill to compensate for limits.  And of course, no one is saying you have to limit yourself forever, but it can be a valuable teaching tool.  On this very blog, I’ve espoused taping up your zoom to a single focal length to improve your compositional skills and learning to “see” in a particular length. 

I’ve espoused shooting a whole roll of film in a single enclosed space to force yourself to look beyond the obvious and find images outside your comfort zone. 

And yes, I’d even say it’s not a bad idea to spend an entire year shooting with nothing but a leica and a single lens. 

These things are all limitations – self imposed limitations – but they all serve the same purpose: to push us beyond our reliance on the camera as a tool, to force us to use our eyes and our brain to compensate for the shortcomings of our gear rather than our gear compensating for the shortcomings of our eyes!

So before you knock it, try it.  Stick on a prime lens and shoot with it instead of a zoom.  Turn off your autofocus and auto exposure.   Heck, put on an old manual lens that won’t do ttl metering and use the sunny-16 rule to train yourself to estimate exposure.  And shoot with a leica for a year. 

It’s the limitations that we impose on ourself that train us to overcome the limits that our gear imposes on us. 

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/facepalm

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“I wonder if it is becoming too silly. Silly forums and silly pretentious people with no real experience preaching silliness to silly people“

(I would tend to agree, but that’s a whole ‘nother rant)

course the first thing it brought to mind is: (specifically 1:37 in)

also that old New Yorker cartoon with the 2 dogs in front of a computer, with one saying “on the internet, no one knows you’re a dog“

Silly, sure -but it raises a good point.  Always remember when asking questions on an internet forum – anyone can be an “expert” on anything, so be careful who you take your answers from.  A little common sense goes a long way.  I’ve seen far too much blatantly *wrong* information being distributed as fact, and pour souls who didn’t know any better eating it up. 

Ah, well such is the price we pay for the incredible information-disseminating capabilities of teH interwebZ.

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A good laugh.   Course it’s highly applicable to photography as well. Think about it – we photographers complain so much… (yeah I’m guilty of it too). We complain about our gear – this lens isn’t sharp enough, this body doesn’t have good enough “per pixel” sharpness, etc… We complain about the industry, we complain about being undercut, we complain about our clients demands.   But maybe we should just stop and consider:

Take the lowest-end DSLR on the market today. You know, the camera that you subtly look down your nose at – the one you upgrade out of the second you have the cash.  Now consider that a photographer from just 50 years ago or so would probably have given his entire life savings for a camera like that.   From his perspective, can you image a camera that

• automatically focuses at the tough of a button – even tracking moving targets
• can change focal lengths at the twist of a ring
• can automatically meter a scene, based on any number of parameters
• can take (effectively) *unlimited* number of photos without even needing to be reloaded
• can display the photos instantly, and even transmit them across the entire globe for anyone to see
• can take photos in color, or black and white (or both) and even video in practically candle-lit conditions

Can you image how amazing that would seem?  For all my recent posts on film etc… I get the feeling some folks think I am some kind of Luddite who thinks the those durn digital cameras are killin the art of photography.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  I think digital technology is amazing!  I think it’s incredible how every day practically there is some new technology that gives us more (photographically) than ever before.   Just think:

100 years ago, “taking a picture” involved a cartload full of fragile equipment an in-depth knowledge of chemistry, and exposure to dangerous and toxic materials.

Now I can have a camera that takes a thousand pictures at the touch of a button and fits in my pocket.

Incredible isn’t it?

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One of the non-photography-related blogs I like is Seth Godin’s blog (for those who don’t know Seth is a *legitimate* marketing guru, (unlike the “OMG use Twitter to make millions types), and posts various thought provoking comments/thoughts on his blog  every day)

Yesterday I read the following on his blog:

Email is dying because it’s free. If you can send an email for free to 100 of your closest friends, instantly, you probably won’t abuse the privilege. But someone else will because they might define ‘friend’ differently than you or I.

100 times 100 is ten thousand. Spam.

So now, people don’t reply when you send them a resume, because it costs too much to do that ten thousand times.

Twitter is next. The paradox is obvious: to grow, you need to remove friction from the medium. If it’s not easy and free to use, people won’t. But then it gets big and it becomes profitable, so people use it too much.

The churn rate at twitter is reported as more than 50%. That’s because of lack of friction as well. Easy to get in, easy to get out.

Stamps are underrated. Friction rewards intent and creates scarcity.

I like that quote “Friction rewards intent”

It also made me think about Alec Soth – Recently I also had the opportunity to see Alec speak, and he opened his piece by talking about a recent “crisis in photography” that he was going through.  Albert over at dragonballyee.com has a nice summary/analysis of this, which I will summarize/quote instead of trying to write out my own long winded piece

In short – photography is suffering from “information overload” much like email or twitter.  There are 4 *million* pictures uploaded to flickr every day, the vast majority of them snapshots – fragments.  Digital cameras give us this capability, they remove the “friction” from the medium.  Cameras are ubiquotous, there is no “investment” involved in taking a picture.  *anyone* can literally take a picture of *anything* without even having to think about it.

William Eggleston made an art form of elevating photos of the mundane to the extrordinary.  but what happens now when you can take a random selection of snapshots from flickr, mix them in with Egglestons’ work and unless you were an art historian probably couldn’t tell the difference. Alec pointed out Flickr’s 2 *billionth* (with a B) photo, and how it looks remarkably similar to an Eggleston.

We have accepted that Photography as an art form can make the mundane extraordinary, but what about when the mundane is just mundane?   And if so, is this particular aesthetic losing meaning in the realm of photography – largely discredited because of the medium itself?

How are these “random snapshots” different than the work of the “masters”?  or are they even different at all?

does the sheer volume dilute the meaning of the medium?

Of course the 1,000 pound gorilla in the room is *digital*.  Film provides “friction” to use Seth’s term.  There is a *physical* limitation to shooting film that provides constraints, both physical and otherwise.  I’ve hear of digital wedding shooters coming home with 8,000-10,000 images from a single wedding!  try doing that with a Hasselblad!  It makes me wonder if they are even *looking* at what they are shooting or just pointing their camera at everything in sight and holding down the shutter in burst mode until the card fills up.  But in essence, why shouldn’t they?  there is no penalty for doing so – no film to pay for, develop, make contact prints (or scan), print etc…

No friction.

The best photographers will tell you that they are always shooting.  always carry a camera, always be making photos.   But that presumes that we are *thinking* about the photos we make – that there is intent, purpose.  When every click of our shutter costs a nickle, or a quarter, or 5 dollars we think alot more about what we point it at when we click that button.

What happens when the friction is removed from that as well?  On one hand it’s a great thing – now we can Always Be Shooting without hesitation or worrying about film, but what happens if and when we stop *thinking* about what we are shooting? does it change the meaning of the activity?

Have you ever gone to a tourist spot, and seen hordes of amateur photographers standing in the same spot, taking photo after photo of the same subject?  It puzzles me – why take 27 photos of the exact same thing?

No Friction.

Medium and meaning, meaning and medium.

Where I think this is going is that while there is no question that digital has changed the way we “do” photography, the question is: has it actually changed the *meaning* of photography in and of itself?

I don’t know the answer to that question, or even if there is one.  But it’s definitely something to think about, particularly when thinking about purpose and meaning in one’s own art.

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1. the center diffuser from a full length 5-in-1 reflector
2. 4 clamps
3. a piece of matboard (or something else to make a nice sweep)

In short – bend the diffuser so it makes a nice arch, and clamp it to either side of a table.  (best to do 2 clamps on one side, then the other).  use the matboard as a sweep under it, and light as desired.  Voila! instant lightbox  (caveat: not quite as good as a “real” lighbox, but if you don’t have one and don’t want to spend the $$$ for one it’s a good substitute!

here’s how it looks:

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This piece is excellent – creative, well executed and quirky/funny.  worth a look:

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Some might just consider them old snapshots, but I think they are wonderfully moving.

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One “gotcha” with MF film is that unlike 35mm, there is more than one way to load it.  Many MF camera systems have slightly different loading methods, but the basic idea is always the same – put in the uptake spool, thread the paper leader into it, wind until the “start” marker, then close it up and wind till frame 1.  easy as pie.  always remember to keep a finger on the film roll when loading or unloading to keep it from unspooling and ruining your roll.  that’s basically all there is too it -  happy MFing!

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• Spatial Relationships and Distortion – a great post from Jeff over at Beyond Megapixels who gives a striking illustration of the effect of focal length on percieved spatial relationships.  Ever wondered what exactly photographers mean when they say a long lens “compresses” a scene?  or why longer focal lengths are preferred over shorter for portraiture?  All your rquestions answered here.
• Flickr add-ons and Mashups from Photojojo. I’m a big fan of flickr (see feed in the sidebar!) and have posted some great addons before, but here’s another nice roundup of tools and sites to make your flickr-ing even better.
• Also from Photojojo – 101 photoshop tips in 5 minutes. This will crack you up, and you’ll probably pick up a PS trick or two…
• Using lightroom & PS to quickly extract a subject from background in an image – from O’reilly.  There are any number of ways of doing extractions for composites or whathaveyou… Here’s a quick-and-dirty trick using lightroom and PS to “knock out your subject”!

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By Cheryl Jacobs, out of Denver

These are my thoughts, nothing more and nothing less.

I get asked all the time, during workshops, in e-mails, in private messages, what words of wisdom I would give to a new and aspiring photographer. Here’s my answer.

- Style is a voice, not a prop or an action. If you can buy it, borrow it, download it, or steal it, it is not a style. Don’t look outward for your style; look inward.

- Know your stuff. Luck is a nice thing, but a terrifying thing to rely on. It’s like money; you only have it when you don’t need it.

- Never apologize for your own sense of beauty. Nobody can tell you what you should love. Do what you do brazenly and unapologetically. You cannot build your sense of aesthetics on a concensus.

- Say no. Say it often. It may be difficult, but you owe it to yourself and your clients. Turn down jobs that don’t fit you, say no to overbooking yourself. You are no good to anyone when you’re stressed and anxious.

- Learn to say “I’m a photographer” out loud with a straight face. If you can’t say it and believe it, you can’t expect anyone else to, either.

- You cannot specialize in everything.

- You don’t have to go into business just because people tell you you should! And you don’t have to be full time and making an executive income to be successful. If you decide you want to be in business, set your limits before you begin.

- Know your style before you hang out your shingle. If you don’t, your clients will dictate your style to you. That makes you nothing more than a picture taker. Changing your style later will force you to start all over again, and that’s tough.

- Accept critique, but don’t apply it blindly. Just because someone said it does not make it so. Critiques are opinions, nothing more. Consider the advice, consider the perspective of the advice giver, consider your style and what you want to convey in your work. Implement only what makes sense to implement. That doesn’t not make you ungrateful, it makes you independent.

- Leave room for yourself to grow and evolve. It may seem like a good idea to call your business “Precious Chubby Tootsies”….but what happens when you decide you love to photograph seniors? Or boudoir?

- Remember that if your work looks like everyone else’s, there’s no reason for a client to book you instead of someone else. Unless you’re cheaper. And nobody wants to be known as “the cheaper photographer”.

- Gimmicks and merchandise will come and go, but honest photography is never outdated.

- It’s easier to focus on buying that next piece of equipment than it is to accept that you should be able to create great work with what you’ve got. Buying stuff is a convenient and expensive distraction. You need a decent camera, a decent lens, and a light meter. Until you can use those tools consistently and masterfully, don’t spend another dime. Spend money on equipment ONLY when you’ve outgrown your current equipment and you’re being limited by it. There are no magic bullets.

- Learn that people photography is about people, not about photography. Great portraits are a side effect of a strong human connection.

- Never forget why you started taking pictures in the first place. Excellent technique is a great tool, but a terrible end product. The best thing your technique can do is not call attention to itself. Never let your technique upstage your subject.

- Never compare your journey with someone else’s. It’s a marathon with no finish line. Someone else may start out faster than you, may seem to progress more quickly than you, but every runner has his own pace. Your journey is your journey, not a competition. You will never “arrive”. No one ever does.

- Embrace frustration. It pushes you to learn and grow, broadens your horizons, and lights a fire under you when your work has gone cold. Nothing is more dangerous to an artist than complacence.

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I’d love to hear some feedback on the new ports -love em? hate em? don’t care either way?  Click on over and let me know what you think…

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A few from the shoot:

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• From the always-great “APhotoEditor” – an interview with Edward Weston’s wife and muse, Charis Wilson.   A really wonderful piece, I am a *huge* Weston fan and this was a nice peek into his life from someone close to him.

• Hiroshima: The Lost Photographs – a powerful and moving account of a man discovering a suitcase full of mysterious photographs, documenting a firshand account of the Hiroshima tradgedy and aftermath.
• Ever wondered what a focal plane shutter looks like in super slo-mo?  Check out this piece showing a D3 shutter release down to the millisecond, along with how it was done.
  
  
• What does it take to be great? – The inimitable David Ziser’s take on the age old question

That’s it for today, some more golden oldies coming soon.

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I really like this image on a few levels – one, the lighting.  This was the “Exciting Lighting” contest so obviously use of lighting was a big part of the criteria.  Bryant has done it very well – creating dramatic, yet not “over the top” light, well balanced with the ambient.  The backlighting makes the veil “pop” and prevents the dark shadows that would have otherwise crept in the back of the dress/train.  The shadows are subtle and non-invasive, in fact they even work with the scene overall – creating the “pool” of light that surrounds the bride.

Secondly the composition.   Bryant has made good use of the classic rule of thirds, – I also really like the strong diagonals in the composition:

(sorry for the hack job!)

The colors are saturated and dramatic, but not the “hyperreal-neon-glowing” colors we see far too often (besides, it’s a wedding shot, it’s allowed to be a bit “poppy” in the color).  still, skin tone looks good (at least on my monitor) and the splash of red from the bouquet is a nice touch.

The pose is great, and the whole scene just exudes a sense of exuberance and joy.   I’m sure this was posed, but it looks like a great moment anyway.

Anyway, congrats to Bryant – well done, and enjoy the free registration to the Digital WakeUp Call tour!

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