If you recognize the name Tim Chambers, it may be because he is the man, the myth and the legend that rode every Shanghai Metro line in one go.
Or it could be from one of a number of mesmerizing, dreamlike drone videos of the Shanghai he has created. Watch some of his footage – set to the track ‘Glacier’ by Chris Haugen – below…
This weekend sees the opening of his debut Shanghai exhibition at La Cava de Laoma, ‘Another Angle: Shanghai From Above,’ with an opening party taking place on Saturday.
We sat down with the Englishman to find out more…
How did you first get into photography?
I think we are all closet photographers, especially in the modern day. As the adage goes “What is that best camera to carry? The one you have on you.”
In other words, be prepared to capture the moment – and now with modern smart phones, we all have a camera on us all the time.
I am not a photographer by profession (I have been working in Engineering and Manufacturing here), but it is a true passion for me.
I have always enjoyed those areas where creativity and technical aspects intersect, such as graphic design, architecture, photography, and the like.
I met with the Shanghai Flickr group when here in Shanghai many years ago and am still friends with them.
And, like a number from that group, I was interested in doing things a little differently – whether that be taking photos on film, or with a pinhole camera, or 360 degree, or indeed a drone.
How do you choose where to shoot?
With drones it often is affected by the weather – Raining? Clear sky? Mist or clouds? – so very often photo taking can be quite spontaneous, especially if it’s a good sunset or cloudscape, for example.
Of course, there are also planned shoots, and in Shanghai there are certain places or buildings that are classics to shoot, like the Lujiazui area or other buildings from above.
Trying to find unique locations and angles becomes an interesting challenge.
What do you look for in a photograph?
There are quite a lot of drone photographers in Shanghai, so the simplistic answer to this is ‘something different’ – but that’s too easy an answer.
The city is large, there are many locations and angles and weather conditions – so sometimes it’s a case of just putting in the time and hoping that you are lucky to catch a moment.
Favorite place to shoot in Shanghai?
Personally, I really like water shots – so to involve boats and ships, bridges and rivers… and I’m not exactly sure why. I suppose the drone can give us a perspective that we will not be able to see otherwise.
There is also a certain level of risk here; drones and water do not mix, so the closest I have ever got to losing a drone has been over water (not here in Shanghai, but on beaches – these things need to always be considered, especially with an offshore wind).
How do you find out about new locations?
I am in several drone WeChat groups and there is quite a community sharing content, so that helps.
That said, as mentioned before, it is not always about locations but weather conditions; sometimes exactly the same location may provide a totally different shot due to cloud / mist / clarity of the atmosphere, or even lack of clarity and mistiness.
Then other times it just dawns on me, “I wonder what that looks like from the drone?”
Travel is also a great opportunity. I was in Hong Kong last year, and it provided a chance to get both city and nature; it is such a dense location of both urban and natural shots.
Visitors will see some of Hong Kong in the exhibition; the city and shorelines are both fantastic opportunities, and I think there is more to be captured there.
If you could shoot one place you have not yet, where would it be?
Drones give us the opportunity to see things differently and, of course, one of those aspects is altitude; safety permitting I would like to get above the Shanghai Tower. This is a classic shot many have captured, and I still need to.
Apart from that, I would say that I would actually like to capture more nature really: more shoreline, more sea, more boats.
I think Slovenia and the Balkans are very beautiful and a wonderful juxtaposition to the urban construction we have here in Shanghai.
What advice would you give someone starting out as a photographer?
Don’t be too critical of yourself; everyone now has the tools available to produce anything pretty much (smart phones in pockets) but what’s important is a passion and sticking to it.
Think of a situation, make a plan, and go for it – make a set of photos or a video.
What can people expect from the exhibition?
I hope visitors enjoy seeing the city from a different angle than from everyday life, and also some other areas of China such as Hong Kong and a few other more rural countries.
I hope it gives people a chance to view a different aspect of their home city.
This captivating exhibition explores Shanghai’s urban landscape and its ever-evolving construction from a drone’s-eye-view.
The city possesses a visually striking and unyielding character, yet amidst its brutal nature, there exist moments of beauty.
A resident of Shanghai since 2011, Tim Chambers is always surprised by the diverse preferences viewers have for his photos.
Come along, have a glass of wine, and discover yours.
Opening Party, Sat Jan 20, 5-9pm; Free.
Exhibition, Sat Jan 20 to Thu Feb 22, 4-11pm; Free.
La Cava de Laoma, 1156 Kangding Lu, by Wuning Nan Lu 康定路1156号, 近武宁南路.
“This photo is probably what kicked off the desire to do an exhibition.
“I know it’s a classic photo from Shanghai, but I had never had one in my collection until the week of foggy weather we had at the end of last year.
“It took a few flights to get these exact clouds, but I’m happy I persevered – and was lucky with this balance of colors and with the sun conveniently disappearing behind the clouds.”
“Usually people are shooting in the opposite direction towards the Lujiazui skyline here, so to think differently I turned around to get this beautiful shot of the Garden Bridge at the head of Suzhou Creek with the old post office in the center.
“Taken in September 2018, the timing was perfect to still have a little light in the sky, but with all the bright lights – sometimes referred to as the ‘blue hour.'”
“This is the ferry from Lamma Island to Aberdeen in Hong Kong in mid 2023.
“As mentioned, for me there’s something about boats and drone photography that works well together, the different angle and danger of flying over water (remember, drones do not float!)
“I was staying with a friend on Lamma, and used this ferry to get to and from Hong Kong Island, sharing space with the inhabitants’ food supplies.”
“I surprised myself looking at the time on this photo, taken at 6am on a July 2019 morning, because I don’t remember getting up that early for photos!
“Anyway, again I’m glad I did as I think this shot came out great with the mixture of soft morning mist and the sharp architecture of the buildings.”
“The city truly is vast, and I try to take these large vista shots in high contrast black and white to attempt to show that.
“This photo shows the circle around the old city and contrast of the generally low rise buildings against the backdrop of taller skyscrapers.
“The Bund and a hint of the Huangpu river are visible top right.”
“This wonderfully abstract photo is of supposedly the longest teakwood bridge in the world near Mandalay, Myanmar, whilst I was on a motorcycling trip before the current issues in the country.”
“Another, different abstract – this time the colorful umbrellas over the food area of an equestrian event near the Huangpu River back in 2016.”
“I don’t just shoot the city, or China – here is a valley from Slovenia from 2018, with the Triglav Mountains in the background. These mountains make it onto Slovenia’s National flag.
“I lived and worked in Slovenia for three years, and I still find it a massive contrast to Shanghai and China (obviously!) with its two million people and lovely rural landscapes.”
As mentioned in the intro, Tim Chambers is also the man, the myth and the legend that rode every Shanghai Metro line in one go…
READ MORE: Meet the Man Who Rode Every Shanghai Metro Line in One Go
Oh, and scan the QR to visit his YouTube channel:
[All images and video courtesy of Tim Chambers]
3LT’s new Patti 2.0 brings a variety of updates to the company’s entry-level tripod to bring it into line with the Punks 2.0 range. Patti 2.0, named after musician Patti Smith, now comes with a detachable leg, enabling photographers to create a monopod by joining the leg to the centre column.
The central canopy boasts an integral 1/4″-20 accessory attachment thread. To match the styling of other tripods in the Punks 2.0 range, Patti 2.0 also features a chunky column lock that combines knurling and rubber for optimum grip, and the flip locks have been refined with a textured surface.
Patti 2.0 is available in ‘Darkness matte black’ and signature ‘ocean blue’ colourways, each priced at $273.
In addition, 3LT has also launched the LevelHed, a new raised mounting platform for improved compatibility with heads and clamps, and a smooth rotating bubble level for better visibility and usability.
According to 3LT, the LevelHed reduces set-up times and increases the accuracy and precision of levelling – making it ideal for landscapes, panoramas, and architectural photography.
[embedded content]Formed from anodised aerospace-grade magnesium alloy, the LevelHed tool allows users to achieve a level horizon without having to adjust their tripod’s leg positions, on even the most challenging terrain.The LevelHed is available in sleek Darkness matte black and a metallic slate grey colourway. It’ll set you back $263.
The art of macro and close-up photography allows us to capture the intricate details of small objects that are typically invisible to the naked eye. In this technique, the background is blurred to provide a greater focus on the tiny object – in this case, a young green shield bug on an Eryngium thistle leaf.
Macro photography also offers the chance to create a fantasy world of colours and shapes, which is what Netherlands-based photographer Angelo Richardson has attempted here. “This photo was taken as part of my ‘plausibo’ collection – a close-up and macro series of mostly insects that I found in our garden,” Angelo says.
“I’ve always wondered what the sky would look like if you lived on a planet within a globular cluster, a group of tens of thousands of stars tightly bound by gravity and orbiting together around the cores of galaxies. Would there be day and night? This image is a concept of what I think it could look like. No insects were hurt making this shot.”
“Lighting in macro photography is often a challenge. Your body and camera are many times larger than the subjects and block a lot of the ambient light. Because
of the wafer-thin depth of field, I used a smaller aperture in this series. This also requires a lot of light, so I used a studio flash with a softbox and a speedlight and reflector to fill in the shadows and painted craft cardboard was used for the background. The RAW file was edited in Lightroom and, apart from the basic adjustments, I used the Lightroom brush to draw a few extra stars.”
Angelo Richardson is originally from Aruba, but he has been living in the Netherlands for more than 20 years now. Michael began his photography journey in June 2007. Prior to that, he used to do webcam astrophotography, mostly taking pictures of planetary and lunar objects. Back in the days, he purchased a Canon EOS 400D camera with the intention of capturing dimmer objects in the sky at night. However, the unpredictable Dutch weather forced him to shoot other things!
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Lens: Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Accessories: Tripod, Canon Speedlight 430 EX, 200Ws Studio flash with softbox
Aperture: f/9
Shutter speed: 1/125 sec
ISO: 100
There’s a certain magic in seeing the world from a unique perspective, and Brian Smith, a resident of Melissa, has made it his mission to share that enchantment through the lens of his trusty DJI Mavic3 drone, affectionately known as “The Batdrone.”
It’s been more than a year since The Batdrone first caught my eye, its images weaving tales of the beauty that lies above the quiet towns and bustling cities of North Texas. Brian’s drone photography, now a full-time venture, paints a canvas of captivating visuals that dance across social media platforms.
It means that most photographers now come back from adventures with hundreds or even thousands of images clogging up their cards or external drives.
To give you an idea, if I am out on a morning street walk, I can come back with 80-100 images with my camera set to three frames per second (fps). If on a game safari, I could come back with 1000-2000 images! Some photographers shoot even more, with the camera blazing away constantly at 20-30 fps.
It’s too easy to overshoot and fill those expensive memory cards, and worse yet, have piles of unsorted images clogging up your hard drive. So, what do you do with all that data? And more importantly, how do you decide what to keep and what to ditch?
First things first, regardless of how many images you capture on a shoot, if you do not have the right tool to view your results or download in a logical way, you will make things much harder.
If you take the odd trip, or just short adventures, then iPads and even your phone can work as a quick storage/transfer and viewing device. But as you spend more time in the field, you’ll want an up-to-date laptop, with good RAM, core speed and storage space.
A fast laptop means I can sort, cull, and process most images before I return home. I love a big screen and I do not find it a hassle to carry as my main luggage and camera bag is lightweight.
I recently updated my MacBook Pro to the 16” version, with 64GB of RAM, a 4TB hard drive and lots of core grunt. It cost a lot, but it makes my workflow more efficient, and with a bit of luck I won’t need a laptop upgrade for several years.
Hardware sorted, now it is the software and the workings of the job that come into play. A few different styles of workflow are possible. The most important point is that it is logical and efficient.
For myself, after a shoot, I connect my camera to my laptop and download my new images into a folder on my laptop named: ON TOUR IMAGES, via Lightroom Classic.
I then have a subfolder for each trip. I’ll often run two to three tours/workshops to a region, so one subfolder might be India, and the next Madagascar. I download the images each day into the country folder.
They automatically line up in date order. I do not use day-by-day sub folders. I’m even happy to mix two camera files. If a clash of numbers occurs, I just rename them. My files are based on time shot and date.
Next, it’s about identifying the keeper shots.
I also use Adobe Lightroom Classic to view and sort my images. Let’s say I have been on a shoot and I have captured 803 images.
I start by importing and converting these to DNG. DNG (Digital Negative) offers a smaller file size than the original camera RAW, and as you process your images, it records the processing changes. Think of it this way – it’s a smaller file at the best quality – perfect!
Next, comes the cull. I look at my images via the line of smaller thumbnails at the bottom of the LR window. In some instances, I’ll enlarge an image that interests me. Here’s a tip – hit ‘F’ to view an image in the reel at fullscreen.
When I find a keeper, I’ll hit the number ‘1’ key to rate it. This tells me it is good but not processed yet.
I try to remember key images from my shoot. That moment when the eyes are looking at you, or the lion grabs its prey. Some of the other images around that hero shot might become part of the story. I will hit the number 1 key for these also, but I might not process them. I also hit the X key for images that are of no use. More on that shortly.
I move on and repeat until I get to the end, marking any key shots with the 1 key. I then go to the filter at the bottom right and choose to display just the one-star images. I have now limited my search from the original 803 images to just the key few important images.
At this point, I take my time, going image by image, to process and check for technicalities like sharpness. I check sharpness most often at 50% but will move to 100% for some.
This may take a while but as I complete the processing for each image, I’ll upgrade them to five stars by hitting the ‘5’ key.
Now I have a great starting point with a series of the best images, all easily identified as 5-star images from the shoot. These are ready to export. This whole process is quick, and If I do this every day during a month of travelling, I come home with most of my main processing already finished.
One step I’ll often do later down the track is turn off the filter and return to the first image and start to look for any ‘seconds’. Maybe I missed a hero image, or another image with potential.
Like before, I give these a one-star rating, and then I’ll process them as before.
My final check is to get serious on the previous criteria, and ‘X’ing out images. By hitting the letter X, I am saying that this image is not up to my usual technical standard.
Perhaps I missed focused, cut a head off, or have too many of the same image, etc. However, I am very careful as to what is ‘greyed out’ with the X.
Historically, I have had film images with bad processing scratches. One that comes to mind is a brown falcon shot in central Australia in 1982. I kept the image, and in 1994 with Photoshop I fixed the scratch in a couple of minutes. I offered it to a publisher, and it was used in a bird calendar!
These days, I’m not bothered about keeping multiple, exact copies of the same subject, and especially so if I was shooting 20 frames per second.
The same goes with technically poor images. But I will keep small variations between shots like head movements, or different background perspectives. That said, if I have 4-5 images that are the same head angle, then I will delete some, usually keeping just one or two.
I say this because I’m never sure of the future use of my images. Plus, if I manage to capture a successful and rare subject, it would be to my advantage to have multiple variations. I can use one in this magazine, another in a new book, and a third on my website.
Ten years down the track a buyer might like an image, but say “I love your whale shot, but I was after two whales in the image, not three”. Guess what, I have that, plus I have a few more variations!
Remember those images that I hit the X button on? Those are the ones that are either not up to scratch, or I have too many copies of. It’s time to take care of those.
First, in Lr I hold down the Command (MAC) or Control (PC) button and then the Delete button. This will bring up all my X’ed images. In the dialogue box, I select Delete to Disk and it follows that command. It has placed all my unwanted images into the Trash. Periodically I’ll then delete the Trash and they are gone for good. The culling is over!
With that done, my result is a series of images neatly organised and rated, and all in one folder ready to be backed up when I get home. The first image I shot and kept is at the start of the folder or will appear first in the Library in Lr. I can scroll through the images while waiting at the airport, and easily move between unedited and edited images by filtering to display the one- or five-star images.
Better yet, with a click I can filter to show the five-star shots, and up comes the very best of my latest adventure – I love this system!
No matter which editing software you use, or filing/processing system, make sure it’s logical and systematic. This will guarantee you can keep up with the larger image capture rates and quantities of images we’re all capturing these days, and it will also help you to keep up to date, and able to find images quickly and efficiently. ❂
Assistant Professor of Art History Nadya Bair recently organized a panel on “Representation and the Holocaust: Responses and Perspectives in Historical Context” at the Association for Jewish Studies conference in San Francisco.
Bair said the impetus for this panel came from her teaching Holocaust photography, particularly as part of her survey course Photography Changes Everything and her 200-level course on Visualizing World War II.
The panel was convened, Bair said, “to take stock of the dominant approaches to theorizing and analyzing art in the shadow of the Holocaust, while proposing new ways for thinking about Holocaust representation by focusing on representational practices and ideas that emerged in the immediate aftermath of the war.” The three papers presented “approach this subject from a range of disciplinary perspectives anchored in contemporary debates and methods in Comparative Literature, the History of Photography, History, and Visual Studies,” according to the description.
As part of the panel, Bair presented a paper titled “The Problem with Susan Sontag: Holocaust Historiography and the History of Photography,” in which she explored why Susan Sontag’s photographic theories, composed in the 1970s, have crowded out alternative approaches to the photography of the Holocaust.
Bair said her paper “analyzes some alternative historical and theoretical starting points for engaging with Holocaust-era photographs” and argues for a deeper engagement with pictures and photo writing produced during WWII, including in the newspaper PM, which published some of the first Holocaust photographs in the United States.
Photo courtesy of the Noguchi Museum
Jan. 15, 2024 By Ethan Marshall
The Noguchi Museum is offering a free photography workshop program conducted entirely in Spanish starting from Jan. 16 and running through Feb. 27.
This creative opportunity will take place Tuesday mornings from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The workshop is designed for adults aged 16 and older, aiming to provide a unique and enriching experience for individuals interested in photography.
This program will be run by artist Sol Aramendi, who will guide attendees through basic photography and video techniques and image composition. Participants will explore how film and photography is capable of capturing growth, connection and transformation over time by taking inspiration from Isamu Noguchi’s stone sculptures, natural organisms like fungi and experimental films of Marie Menken, which is the subject of the museum’s current exhibition.
The Noguchi Museum is holding this workshop program in partnership with Project Luz, a local arts organization that seeks to empower new immigrants in Queens with photography. The organization helps its participants- immigrants from Hispanic countries, to use photography as a tool to explore the city and tell stories, both about the city and themselves.
Those who wish to participate are required to bring a notebook and a camera or cell phone. While participation is free, attendees are expected to be in attendance for every session and complete weekly assignments. For more information on the workshop, or to register, visit this site or contact [email protected].
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