Farruko arrives los angeles international hi-res stock photography and images – Alamy
‘Wild Thing ‘ focus of new Solano Town Center exhibit
FAIRFIELD — The Fairfield-Suisun Visual Arts Association kicks off the new year with a new exhibition dedicated to celebrating our inner wildness – “Wild Thing.”
The showcase features the works of Philip Venable, an artist who channels creativity through the lens of a camera.
A walking tour of Richard Hunt’s sculptures in Chicago
Hunt’s influence is global, but is especially embedded in Chicago’s public art landscape.
Night photography made easy: Answering the most popular questions (Part II)
I continue to answer your most popular questions about night photography. I’ll answer what you’ve asked most recently. This time? Filters, ghosts, and light painting.
Do bear in mind that I am answering these questions from the perspective of a night photographer who largely photographs on or near a full moon. While I do high-ISO Milky Way photography, it’s not my primary form of night photography.
I answered some of your night photography questions previously here.
Have you ever seen a ghost?
Asking if I’ve seen a ghost is one of the most common questions I am asked about my night photography. I think that people who photograph abandoned locations are probably asked about this more often than someone who only does deep sky or nightscapes.
No, I have never seen a ghost. I might be interested in photographing one if I can avoid the ectoplasmic goo (just kidding). It would be interesting to see whether it would register in my photos.
I have done night photography in some very creepy, unsettling locations. In these locations, I have felt uneasy. But actually seeing a ghost? No.
Why do use a handheld light instead of stands to light your subjects?
Handheld lights are extremely flexible. I have complete control over where I want to shine the light. I also have control over the color and duration. But perhaps the greatest reason is that I can be very flexible in what angles I light paint, moving the light around subtly to achieve the exact look that I want. I can also block part of the light with my arm or with light modifiers swiftly and easily.
Handheld lights are also nice and small. They fit in my pocket, taking up very little space.
They are considerably faster to use. I can light paint a subject in a fraction of the time it takes someone to set up stands with mounted LED panels. I can also use one light for numerous angles instead of having to set up a stand for each angle.
Do you use filters for night photography?
I have been asked this question numerous times. Most of the time, the person asking does not specify what kind of filters.
Regardless, the answer is that I use no filters for night photography.
UV filters
UV filters were popular when most people photographed with 35mm film. In bright sunlight, photographs sometimes had a slightly blue cast or were washed out. This is no longer an issue with digital cameras.
However, some people like to use UV filters for protection. This is often the topic of hot debate. Do UV filters actually offer much protection? If they shatter, they could scratch the glass. I’d like to think that they do offer some level of protection. Regardless, I don’t like that they introduce another chance for lens flares.
If I were to use a UV filter, I would get the highest quality filter possible. After all, why purchase a beautiful, sharp lens costing hundreds of dollars and then stuff a cheap UV filter in the front?
Light pollution filters
Irix, Haida, Hoya, NiSi, and other lens filter manufacturers make light pollution filters. I don’t use these, although I do have a mild curiosity about them. Under the right circumstances, they can produce stunning results.
However, I’ve never tried one.
There are several reasons for this. Many, if not most, light pollution filters are made for astrophotography, or deep sky photography, as some people call it. They don’t fare so well with ultra wide-angle lenses, which is what I frequently use. They can cause distortion (deformity) in the shapes of the stars.
Another reason is that many light pollution filters are created to combat the orange light from sodium vapor lights. With many places adopting LED lights, this is no longer so much of an issue. This results in you blocking some of the light of the Milky Way without the advantage of blocking light pollution nearly as much. I also do a lot of light painting, and I don’t really want the color of my light painting to be altered.
And finally, as you might guess, light pollution filters are reducing the amount of light entering your lens.
There are some good reasons for using light pollution filters. They’re just not something that interests me much.
Neutral density filters
Interestingly, people ask if I use a neutral density filter most often.
A neutral density filter is sort of like sunglasses for your lens. They reduce the amount of light coming into the lens.
And just like you are unlikely to wear sunglasses at night, I suppose the reason for not using one is similar. If I want to reduce the amount of light entering the lens, I could either reduce the length of the exposure or use a smaller aperture.
I do use neutral density filters occasionally during the day. However, I usually do this for a certain kind of effect, such as getting whooshing clouds or making water movement from the ocean or waterfalls more dreamy and silky. But even for this purpose, I am often likely to reach for a circular polarizing filter instead, as I have the bonus of having control over reflections as well as reducing the amount of incoming light.
Photos: Nick and Katherine Engelbert’s Grandview near Hollandale
The couple began living on a small Iowa County farm in 1922 and starting in the 1930s Nick Engelbert began creating whimsical art, most of it using concrete and shards
Spark your creativity! Spin wire wool for captivating long-exposure low-light photography
Inspired by the works of local photographers, street artists and architects in my home city of Bristol, photography has been a growing passion of mine ever since leaving school. Before setting up a shot I have in mind, I try to plan ahead as much as I can, often finding a few surprises along the way. For me, Bristol will always be a hub of creativity – I love the way the city offers a wide range of perspectives that many people walk past every day without thinking twice about.
Capturing something unique in what can be considered poorly lit areas has always been an interest of mine and steel wool spinning gave me the challenge I was looking for. You can’t capture the same image twice and sometimes it can take several attempts to create an image that I’ll eventually be satisfied with, tweaking a few settings and positioning different angles to suit the environment.
If you follow some basic safety principles and use your common sense, the process is both fun and safe. Using your imagination will also allow a range of new ideas to flow – such as changing the direction in which you spin the steel wool, which can yield some pretty interesting results.
Step by step: Shoot a low-light spectacle
Stabilize the camera
I always shoot this technique with a Manfrotto Pixi mini tripod. It’s small and extremely strong, and it allows me to achieve the low angle that makes these shots stand out. Due to the required shutter speeds, it’s also impossible to shoot long exposures without some sort of camera support.
Prepare the wire wool
Steel wool is readily available from most hardware shops and is cheap to buy. To house the wool, I place it inside an ordinary kitchen whisk – I’ve found that it’s best to pull the wool apart before doing this, as this allows more air to get to the wool and create better sparks.
Dial in the shutter speed
The shutter speed is the most crucial setting to get right. Here, I used 1.3 sec. The next setting is to make sure you’re shooting in Auto ISO, as you can never guess how bright the sparks might be. Finally, to get the best optical performance from the lens, use an aperture of f/5 to f/8.
Set the camera’s self-timer
Placing your camera on a support and using the self-timer function will allow you to create these images on your own without having to rely on a friend to help. I set a 10-second timer, which is just enough time to get into position, light the wool and start spinning.
Frame up wide
Due to the experimental style of spinning steel wool, allow yourself a little breathing room by shooting with a wider composition than you think you’ll need. I use an AF-P DX Nikkor 10-20mm and, typically, will zoom out to 10mm to capture the spark trails as they fly off.
Start the exposure
For spinning it around me, the whisk is tethered to my wrist with a flexi cable. To start shooting, I’ll frame up, start the shutter’s self-timer, get into position and light the wool. Wearing a hat and a hoodie to keep any small sparks away from my face, I’ll start spinning the whisk.
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“Never get broke”: Fans react as K- Pop fansites reportedly invest over $7000 dollars for photography
It is a well-known phenomenon in the Korean industry that fansites are always occupied following their favorite and desired artists to airports, concerts, and places where they make public appearances. They are also equipped with high-tech and high-definition cameras to capture their latest appearances in the best quality.
It’s obvious that all the arrangements, from capturing their first and unseen appearances at various places to editing them, cost a significant amount. Posts about the issues related to the costs of photographing favorite artists by fansites are going viral on social media, where one fanbase has reportedly invested over $7000 just for capturing images of their favorite idols.
As a result, netizens are discussing it on social media, with one user wondering if they ever face financial constraints:
“Most collectors are really rich people”: Fans discuss how these fansites make money
Recently, a post went viral on January 6 on the South Korean social media platforms The Qoo and Facebook, where several fansites shared a screenshot from Instagram’s Question and Answer sessions.
In the screenshot, one unidentified NCT fansite revealed that they had once spent over $7000 in just one month in 2019, resulting in shocking reactions from netizens who questioned where these fansites are acquiring such large sums of money and how they are allocating their funds.
Another BTS dedicated fanbase shared that they had spent over $82,800 annually in 2018 and commented, as translated by Koreaboo:
“This is what I charged on my credit card, so it’s excluding my cash expenses. But while a lot of it was spent on running the account, there are some personal expenses included in the amount, too. So take it with a grain of salt, I guess. And to be safe, I’d like to explain ahead of time that this doesn’t mean fansites make a lot of money. That’d be a misunderstanding. Also, why would you assume that all of my money comes from my fansite operation? Just cutting off potential nonsense spewing from this.”
As netizens became aware of the exorbitant amount of money they spend on capturing the latest moments of their favorite K-pop idols and actors, they were taken aback and wondered where these funds come from, suggesting several possibilities.
Many also questioned whether they could recover the money, while others stated that individuals with regular wages might not be able to afford such expenditures.
Some speculated that they are in contact with companies willing to pay a handsome amount for the latest pictures of the artists, leading to an intense discussion on social media.
Fans reacted as K-Pop enthusiasts reportedly invested over $7000 for photography:
Netizens feel K-pop fanbases should not spend such an exorbitant amount on their favorite artists as it would lead to the wastage of resources, while some believe the expenditure should be within a certain limit.
Edited by Jito Tenson
Iconic clock sculpture returns to Prague’s Florenc metro station
Though the original 40-year-old structure had degraded beyond repair, an exact replace produced by the city has now returned to Prague 8.
Champion trophy hi-res stock photography and images – Alamy
Celtic pride 1996 hi-res stock photography and images – Alamy
