Interesting talk on remixing and copyright
Another interesting talk about remixing and copyright.
I’d heard of this before – the lawsuit about the Miles Davis photo had made the rounds in the photography news feeds.
He refers to the “Everything is a remix” series of videos I’ve mentioned before.
Fashion blogger photographers
Think I may have posted something very similar before – or it could be on Facebook. Either way this is both curious and interesting: A video on the ever increasing trend in fashion bloggers and photographers.
Obviously there are the very old-school people like Ian Cunningham (see previous post about a film about him) and then more recently it’s been made popular by the likes of The Sartorialist. But it now seems to be exploding!
During London Fashion week I passed a venue where there was a show and there must have been a dozen or so photographers there. Only one or two who looked like pros.
It’s also interesting to see that a couple of people being photographed are rather common in the different situations – as if they in turn follow the photographers!
(Found via PetaPixel)
Canon UK Cashback
I’m not a Canon user (well other than compact and printer) but spotted this and thought I’d share. Partially as it’s been so long since I blogged anything!
http://www.canon.co.uk/springcashback/
Products include:
DSLRs – Casback
EOS 5D Mark III
£160/€200
EOS 6D
£100/€125
EOS 7D
£80/€100
EOS 60D
£65 /€80
Lenses & accessories – Cashback
EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
£80/€100
EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM
£160/€200
EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
£80/€100
EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
£80/€100
EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM
£235/€300
EF 8-15mm f/4L FISHEYE USM
£155/€200
EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM
£235/€300
Speedlite 600EX-RT
£80/€100
Compact Cameras – Cashback
PowerShot G1 X
£30/€38
PowerShot G15
£30/€38
PowerShot S110
£20/€25
PowerShot SX50 HS
£50/€60
Camcorders – Cashback
LEGRIA HF G25
£75/€95
Printers – Cashback
PIXMA PRO-1
£100/€125
PIXMA PRO-10
£75/€95
PIXMA PRO-100
£50/€60
Joey L. : Varansai : “Beyond”
Just watched Joey L.’s free on-line documentary : Varanasi, India: “Beyond”
(Please watch it in HD full screen, not in this little window)
Its partly about Varanasi and the Sadu’s but also partially about their journey and photography/cinematography.
Other than the fact that I think Joey L. is amazingly talented there are a few things that I really like in the documentary :
The fact that they don’t storm in to taking photos – they take a little time to get to know people and get their trust first and have a brief relationship – which I guess when most of us go on holiday we don’t have the luxury of time.
And also the fact that although his equipment is top-notch (e.g. digial medium format) – the setup is relatively simple but gets stunning results. Must be very careful in matching the flash to the ambient light.
Don McCullin film
There seem to be quite a few Photographer based Documentaries in the works at the moment!
Just seen (via Photo Archive News) that there’s one about Don McCullin showing in London at the moment! May go and see. Although there are a few conflict photography films I have on DVD but yet to watch e.g. Bang Bang Club.
I only realised that Don McCullin was still alive a year or so ago. Since then I’ve :
- Been to see his exhibition at the Imperial war museum which was very impressive – including his famous Nikon which stopped a bullet.
- Just got his autobiography this Christmas (but not read yet) : “Unreasonable Behaviour: An Autobiography”.
- And also realised I’ve lived a couple of streets away from where he grew up in Finsbury Park
Anyway – I have lot of respect for the guy – not just because of photography skill – but how he talks with compassion and emotion about how, what and why he photographed and also the effect it had on him.
Here’s a trailer:
It’s currently showing at the Curzon in Soho. It looks like it’s showing up to an including Jan 17th. ICA is also showing – but ending same day.
The Many Lives of William Klein
Recently come across this iPlayer showing of an episode of the “imagine…” series on BBC which is about William Klein and thought I’d share. (UK only unless you’re going through a proxy))
On the whole I don’t know much of well known photographers and hadn’t heard of William Klein before either. But apparently he was listed as No 25 in Professional Photographers 100 most influential photographers.
Anyway – this is well worth a watch if you’re into photography and in particular 50s street photography from New York or fashion photography of the same era. It’s a testament to the strength of doing things your own way. His comments can be quite cutting and to the point but in not too unpleasant a way – quite funny infact. You can tell from a few of the scenes that he really likes people of all kinds ….. other than fools of course 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01p0rrc/imagine…_Winter_2012_The_Many_Lives_of_William_Klein/
Lytro geekery
Although not a massive geek in things IT and only a bit in Photography the whole Lytro thing does get the inspiration/geek mojo going – exciting science.
Just seen that Lytro are introducing new software to do “stuff” that is fairly cool:
Although not hugely amazing in terms of being able to walk around a scene or anything like that – it is still rather cool.
If you’re not aware of Lytro – it’s the camera where you can change focus after taking the picture! There are plenty of examples on their YouTube page. When it was first announced I thought – oh – it’ll only be a fad. And I still think it’s a little bit of a fad and will unlikely have a place in “serious” photography or at least for a while yet – mostly as you need a special viewer to use the pictures fully – but I now think it’s rather cool and fun. The “cool” bit is the geeky science behind it – the “light field” technology. As I understand it : when recording the light hitting the sensor (as normal digital cameras do) they can also measure in what direction all the light was travelling in – be it photons or pixels. And with this data – then can calculate where the light would be a bit earlier or later and so mathematically alter where the virtual sensor is – thus changing focal point. I assume that this perspective addition is similar but different mathematics.
When announced I was expecting them to be massive and expensive – but they’re actually quite small – compact camera size!
They’reselling for $499 and $399 so ~ £250 and £320.
Am I tempted to get one – well a little, just for the geekery. Will I ? Probably not, although not new at full price…. Seeing as they don’t currently have an outlet/distributor in the UK I guess 2nd hand ones won’t be available in the UK for a while yet.
New Sigma lens can be connected to a Computer!
Bit of a geek-out post this!
Sigma have announced a new 35mm f/1.4 lens. Priced at $899
Nothing massively interesting there – although I would have hoped it would be cheaper – mind you – Nikon 35mm f/1.4G is £1299!
BUT the funky-doo-dah thing is that you can buy an optional part that allows you to connect the lens to a computer! Not to take photos of course ,as this would need an imaging chip – but to update the lens itself! i.e. adjust the internal lenses, updating firmware etc! Some cameras have micro-adjustment settings to fine-tune them per lens – but this means you can do it directly to the lens without including the camera – which I guess should mean that it will be optimized for all cameras. I didn’t even know lenses had firmware! Updating is done via the software Sigma optimization Pro.
(Via PetaPixel)
Materials Council – Super Brands, London Design Festival
Yesterday I did a job for Brad and Ian at Materials Council and Architronic at their stand at the Super Brands London exhibition – part of the London Design Festival. It involved photographing their stand and the surrounding area in the morning before the public turned up and then coming back in the evening for the opening reception.
Photography geekyness wise it’s not overly difficult however there were some areas to keep an eye on. The exhibition is called “Whiter than White” where the Materials Council is displaying some of its white materials. So the areas to keep an eye out are :
White Balance – With mixed lighting (white light panels above, and more orange Tungsten not far away) then white balance is something to keep a close eye on, especially since the title of the display has the word “White” in it – wouldn’t be great if everything was orange! The obvious get-out for this is to shoot RAW and choose the White Balance later in post production – so this is what I did.
Exposure – When you get a viewfinder full of white – and if on some camera automated exposure mode there is the danger that the camera will under expose the white to get it averaged out for middle gray. There are different techniques to counter this – and I used a mix depending on the scenario. When steadily photographing the white material – going up and down the display I switched the camera to manual and set the exposure myself. The lighting on the display was fairly even so this was made possible. At other times when moving around photographing people around the display etc – I generally used Aperture Priority set to 2.8 for nice shallow depth of field, but set the camera to exposure compensation of +1/3. This could on occasion be not enough, or too much – but since I was shooting RAW this gives more leave-way to change the exposure later on.
With post production the trick is to get the material to be white, but not blow-out the details. Also while shooting and editing the old term of “expose to the right” applies i.e. exposing so that the historgram sides to the right – more white, but without over exposing. The point of this is that making things darker in photoshop etc tends to be better than making them lighter – as noise etc becomes more evident then.
Here’s a quick selection of the opening night. Got in rather late but edited a quick few for their newsletter today.
if you’re wandering about the Gin – then they were the sponsors of the Architronic areas (presentation area turned bar for the reception)
Materials Council Coverage of the opening day.
I took a few pictures of some of the areas – and will upload a couple of pictures later on.
In collaboration with Super Brands London – the Tent London show is going on at the same time in another part of the venue – The Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane. I was quite surprised to see this as it was upstairs and a LOT bigger than I expected – it was huge. As far as I can tell – Super Brands was for the larger more established designer companies, and then Tent was for the smaller companies – either starting out or still relatively small scale.
Unfortunately – as I was working I didn’t really have the time to photograph them but there’s plenty to see.
If you’re into interior or furniture/fittings design and free over the weekend – I highly suggest going. Mind you – open House London is also on this weekend. Entrance for Super Brands/Tent London is £8 in advance or £10 on the door for adults. Less for kids etc.
Magnum Photographer Christopher Anderson
Nice little video on/from Magnum photographer Christopher Anderson.
Talks briefly about how he became a photographer, “fell” into war/conflict photography and then out again.
Bit of an arty piece – uses words such as “engaged”, “conciousness” etc which all too often can be used in far too much of a high-brow manner, but in a very down to earth way. I appreciate that.
http://www.vice.com/en_uk/picture-perfect/christopher-anderson
Unfortunately I can’t embed it – wordpress.com doesn’t like script embedding – boo WordPress/oolaya
15min long
Remixing or Copying
Of late I’ve started to think that I should work on a “Project” again (again as in thinking I should, not having done one before) as I don’t seem to be photographing much for myself but more for other people. I enjoy this and sometimes it brings in a few pennies but all too often the editing can take weeks of my free time evenings which on occasion can be fulfilling but when it continues for many evenings can drag on.
One issue I’ve had with thinking of topics to cover is that they all seem to have been done already or are too obvious e.g. the view out of windows in my life (home, office, bus etc). Reading through photography blogs and magazines pro-photographers seem to start personal projects for two reasons A. Just as a creative output for themselves, but also B. to create something interesting and (arguably) innovative so that it can show their prospective clients or peers something new and a reason to pay attention to them. So it’s this later point which I find troublesome.
I am rather averse to doing work (photography) that is too similar to to others or making use of other people’s work – it’s for this reason I generally don’t photograph statues or graffiti. If I took such photographs I wouldn’t consider myself the major contributor to the end piece and so not really my work. I would of course be happy to photograph such things for the purpose of documenting them – but not to present it as my own “art”.
This also leads on to one of my pet hates – such projects that are every repeating. Reading many photography articles and blogs as I do all TOO OFTEN you se the same thing coming up time and again. Often presented as being quirky, different or innovative – but since I’ve seen it all before – not in my mind. Common examples would be levitation photographs (where people seem to be hanging in mid air, either vertical or unusual poses) – my most hated, Fashion shoots using powder, under water fashion shoots, etc I could go on.
HOWEVER I recently watched this TED talk by Kirby Ferguson – he was the person who made the Remix videos that made the rounds a while ago but the Ted talk encapsulates some of those areas. It’s interesting – take a look:
And it’s started me thinking – is it too bad if I do something that’s been done before ? It might even be really hard to actually find something that someone somewhere hasn’t done before with photography in terms of projects. As long as I choose something without being influenced by someone else to omuch (i.e. doing something because X person has, or I’ve seen another person’s effort), and that I make it my own, not copying others too much – then it might not be too bad. E.g. there has been quite a strong resurgence in light painting photography recently – and even though it’s not a new thing (See Picasso doing some) I appreciate it as some of the recent results have been fantastic – check out Dennis Calvert.
So – maybe time to let go of the hangup of doing something that may have been done before…..
Let’s see what I choose.
I’m still not touching “levitation” photography though
Here are the rest of the Remix videos from http://www.everythingisaremix.info/
Jacobs stock goes on auction – bargain potential.
Something I came across in my Photography news feeds:
Since jacobs have gone bust – a lot of their stock is being auctioned off. This will be over four days and has already started see:
http://www.joneslanglasalle.co.uk/UnitedKingdom/EN-GB/Pages/Current-Sales.aspx
All the good stuff i.e. SLR related is on day 3 – so still available.
http://www.webcastauctions.net/online/onlineauction_categories.php?parent=2217
There is a potential for huge bargains since there is so much going on sale in so little time. BUT I think the snag is you need to collect in person 10-12th September 9am to 4pm, and more-so for me – I think the location is the Jacobs offices in Leicester. Darn. Would love a couple of cheap primes.
Gregory Heisler – The Quiet Portrait
All too often, especially for photographers coming from a background such as myself (colourful + brash nightlife events), a lot of us photographers aim for the colourful/stunning/sharp/alarming/shocking portrait. All these words mean different things – but on the whole they all lend themselves to an overall term of ”Striking”. I know I’m very guilty of it myself – lots of people finding their way in a skill will do the same – be it photography, painting, drawing, music etc. We will of course over-do things sometime but then see the benefits of toning things down. I try sometimes. It’s of course very understandable as being striking – these sorts of images are the ones that often inspire us most.
Just come across this interview with photographer Gregory Heisler. Although he touches on a couple of topics – such as dealing with subjects/clients – the area and topic which I found inspiring was his discussion of what he calls the “quiet” picture.
Take a look:
Found on : http://fstoppers.com/behind-the-lens-with-gregory-heisler
William Eggleston – Dandy + Rogue
Reading this in a photography mag earlier:
“But there are those photographers, such as Eggleston, who insist they’re doing nothing more than looking through the lens and capturing things that interest them; Eggleston, as you know, is famously opposed to any intellectual investigation of his work” it struck a chord as on the whole I dislike photograpic discussions that mess around with juxtapositions etc etc.
So while looking up for some confirmation/quotes I came across this:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2004/jul/25/photography1
With this fantastic exert:
“Back in the mid-Nineties, when Primal Scream were recording their album Give Out But Don’t Give Up in Memphis, they paid a call on Eggleston to ask if they could use Troubled Waters, his strange image of a neon Confederate flag and a palm tree, on the cover. ‘I remember he was wearing jodhpurs and leather boots, some kind of military outfit, and walking about with a rifle and a bayonet,’ recalls lead singer Bobby Gillespie. ‘When he heard we were Scottish, he sat down at the piano and started reciting great chunks of Rabbie Burns. It was surreal.’
Gillespie’s friend, the filmmaker Douglas Hart, takes up the story. ‘William and his wife were knocking back these massive drinks. He asked us to let him hear a song, and then he would decide if we could have the picture. We played him “Moving On Up”, and he fell on his knees and started shouting, “Bo Diddley! Bo Diddley! Y’all love Bo Diddley!” He rummaged through his records and pulled out “I’m the Meat Man”, by Jerry Lee [Lewis] and played it so loud the speakers blew. Then his wife shouted, “Y’all want ribs?” She insisted we all go to a local rib joint. It was wild.’ Gillespie nods in agreement. ‘He let us have the picture though. He was a true gent.‘”
Ha – how cool!
Will have to read up on him some more.
Eggleston – Troubled Waters
Edit – here’s another from the Guardian article:
“He wore Savile Row suits and drove a Bentley, and played classical piano, but he was more rock’n'roll than any of us, even though he probably hated the music we were making. He’d shoot with some kind of night vision lens often until the bitter end, then just fall over unconscious on the floor. He wasn’t just at the party, he was the party. When he and Stanley Booth [the Memphis-based rock writer] got together, it was like World War Three.”
Aerial + Slow-motion + Action sports
How good is this!
Love all the elements, more so when put together.
Originally from Fstoppers.
Steve McCurry clips
Interesting shortish (22min) interview with Steve McCurry (photographer of the famous “Afghan girl” photo :
I thought people might be interested in:
Here’s another with him in a bit, following him down the street:
I notice in this second one he completely swaps over his hands and grip compared to what one would normally do.
(Originally found on PetaPixel)
Photography meets Street Art
Although I’ve seen a lot of stencil street art – I’ve always wondered if there’s any photography biased street art around – and I’ve just come across some thanks to a post on PetaPixel about street artist.
This is the second post on him atually – they also did a story on him when he won the $100,000 TED award.
Initially he seemed to be pasting his photographs/art in poor and deprived areas – mostly slums around the world – be it for art and creativity and to highlight the plight of people living in such areas.
As well as interesting and creative photography he uses them in very creative and artistic ways – I really like it, but don’t take my word for it – check out his website :http://www.jr-art.net/
Post the grant from TED he’s started the Inside Out Project. Here’s the short TED talk:
If I was campaigning for some worth cause I’d be seriously tempted to partake. Ha may even consider it when not. I like his conditions – no credit, no sponsorship, no branding, no marketing etc.
EDIT: Ah – there has been an Inside Out project in London : http://www.insideoutproject.net/#@section=view_project@project=272
Bullet time + Painting with light
Ok – so you’ve all seen painting with light – some examples better than others.
And you’ve probably seen Matrix-esque “Bullet-time” setups where there are lots of cameras in a ring all fired at the same time or in very quick succession with the resulting shots turned into an animated gif or video.
Well this is a combination of both 
Pretty Nifty I thought – so sharing.
Originally seen via Peta Pixel.
Pulitzer Prize 2012
Well …. seems I’ve been passed over again
Just a quick post to mention that Pulitzer Prize 2012 winners have been announced.
The number of photography awards can vary years to year, this year there are two:
Feature Photography – Craig F. Walker of The Denver Post
Breaking News Photography – Massoud Hossaini of Agence France-Presse
Here’s the winner for Breaking News Photography (see above link for more details):
Ashural Bombing - by Massoud Hossaini of AFP
For those interested in the Photography of Pulitzer – there is a book called “Moments – The Pulitzer Prize Winning Photographs” however it’s now out of print so hard to get hold of. Also as years go buy it’s been updated so there are numerous versions of the book too. I have one, think the 2002 version – I’ve yet to go through it in detail. I THINK there might be a version from 2007.
Canon 5d Mkiii vs Nikon D800
I’ve considered doing a post on the D800 for a while because I’v ordered it (Woohoo – long awaited upgrade!) but as I’ve not actually got it yet – and no idea when it will turn up as yet – I thought I might as well wait.
But this video popped up on one of my feeds so thought I’d share it too. Rather amusing….
Focus on imaging – cameraworld prices
More Focus on imaging 2012 prices – this time cameraworld,nothing I want is V cheap.
Click on images for a larger picture.
Focus on imaging – Jacob prices
Some prices for you. Hope this WordPress app uploads the full images. Edit: It didn’t but they’ve been uploaded. Clicm on picture for the full size.
Focus on Imaging 2012 – preview
Focus on Imaging 2012 started today.
This is the UK’s biggest Photography trade show/fair. It’s at Birmingham NEC and started today (Sunday 4th) and goes on until Wednesday (7th March). Practically all the main photography manufacturers have a stall there and also a lot of other interesting stalls also – retailers, magazines, smaller manufacturers, trade agencies, societies, Universities etc. If you’re a big photography fan then it’s a must at least once – especially if considering buying some equipment.
But as well as stalls trying to sell you stuff there are other things of interest – here’s the show’s What’s On page.
Talks, demo’s, workshops etc. Unlike other trade fair which have separate paid for seminars – these talks are fairly small, but also free. I’ve been to a few in the past e.g. on Nikon Speedlights and they certainly can still be interesting. Here’s a list of all the talks.
With a quick preview picture:
Deals : usually there are some good deals to be had at the show and this is why I’m going this year – I’m hoping to buy a Full Frame lens cheaply before I hopefully upgrade to the Nikon D800. I will try to blog prices here – but as I’m only going on Tuesday – it may be a bit late for most I’m afraid. Should still be interesting though. Although – I have seen someone mention that they bought a Nikon 16-35 from the Jacobs stall for £850 – that’s their normal shop price! Although purchasing a lens is my main purpose for going it has been more than a year since I last went – so it should be an interesting day out anyway.
Other things I’m hoping to try/buy:
- Try a production D800 (already tried a demo one)
- Take some photos with my own card on both D800 and D700 to compare
- Look at Computer monitors – I’m thinking of buying a new 24″ monitor
- Try some Wacom tablets
- Maybe buy some 1.72m wide Colorama backdrop paper.
- And generally just geek out
Creative Bokeh
Ok so I’ve mentioned creative Bokeh before, but think this is the best one so far – combines split screen and also love the fact that they show how it’s done in the film itself.
