1st PLACE ANIMALS: Pam Dorner Fire and Ice – Sandhill Crane doing his best dragon impersonation on a cold, January morni…
Indiana State Parks holding Spring 2024 photography contest with prize opportunities
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) – Indiana State Parks is holding a Spring 2024 photography contest with prize opportunities.
From March 21 to April 30, Indiana State Parks is asking photographers to take photographs of spring scenery, family and friends, and wildlife in Indiana State Parks which can be submitted in a photography contest with prize opportunities.
Eligible locations can be found here and include Indiana’s 24 state parks and seven small satellite locations, eight reservoir properties, two state forest recreation areas, and two off-road riding areas.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources shares that up to three photographs can be submitted for the 2024 contest. Those photographs should be emailed to SPcontests@dnr.IN.gov by April 30 including information about the photographed location and date as well as the photographer’s name and contact information. The department encourages the photographs to be natural, avoiding filters that enhance or alter colors.
By submitting photographs to be entered into the 2024 contest, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources says individuals are agreeing to the release of their images for promotion of the department’s agencies, programs, and events as well as fair use/informational reasons to external requestors.
For two weeks in May, submitted photographs will be placed in an album on Indiana State Park’s Facebook Page for voting. Votes can be placed on an image by giving it a ‘like’, and there is no limit on the number of images a person can vote for.
The 2024 photography contest is based on the number of likes on photographs in the album. Prizes will be awarded to the photographers with the top four ‘liked’ images.
The prizes for Indiana State Parks’ Spring 2024 photography contest are as follows:
- First Place: Choice of either a $100 state park inn or camping gift card
- Second and Third Place: A 2024 Indiana State Parks Annual Entrance Pass
- Fourth Place: A one-year subscription to Outdoor Indiana Magazine
Copyright 2024 WPTA. All rights reserved.
Photographer Brad Walls Unveils Latest Series ‘Displaced’
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Photographer snags an unexpected image of Pope Francis
Vatican City –
Having covered the Vatican for 27 years — that’s three popes — Associated Press photographer Andrew Medichini has mastered snapping images of papal pomp.
To capture this photo, Medichini knew exactly where to position himself based on the wind for a potential candid shot of Pope Francis.
Here is what he said about making this extraordinary photo:
Why this photo
After several years following popes in and out of the Vatican, you get to know where to be and how to anticipate the right frame according to the news or the conditions of the day — windy, sunny, rainy, etc.
The day I took this photo was rather quiet, no big names meeting the pope, no particular weather conditions. So, I decided to go to the spot where he enters St. Peter’s Square in the car and gets relatively close to me — and where there is always some wind channeled from the arch he drives through. I was lucky, his cap flew and, just at the right moment, he tried to catch it.
How I made this photo
The photo was taken from the first of the steps that lead to the churchyard at the entrance of St. Peter’s Basilica, where I had a clearer view over the heads of the pope’s security guards with a 600mm lens from a distance of around 40-50 metres.
It was then cropped in Photoshop, as the picture was still quite wide with distracting elements in it. The camera was set to one of its highest frames-per-second speeds. From experience, I know that if something happens it will likely be in a fraction of a second. That’s what happened in this case; I only got two shots and one was good.
Why this photo works
I believe it works because it shows an intimate and normal gesture by one of the most known people in the world. It’s so different from the formal meeting photos or the more ritual moments during ceremonies. For that split second, he’s like any person trying to catch their hat as it’s blown away by wind.
How to Achieve the Infrared ‘Harkonnen Effect’ From ‘Dune: Part II’
Dune: Part II was recently released in theaters, garnering positive reviews from movie-goers and reviewers alike. Over at Kolari, we were hyped to see infrared photography used in one of its most visually stunning movie sequences in recent memory.
Without any major spoilers, the effect is used on the Harkonnen homeworld, Giedi Prime: a poisoned and industrialized world, filled with cities of black, beetle-like skyscrapers and gladiatorial arenas. In stark contrast to the buildings, the light produced by this planet’s sun gives the denizens an inhumanly pale complexion. To realize the book’s depiction of the villainous Harkonnen homeworld and its inhabitants, infrared photography was used to render this imagery on the big screen.
What is Infrared Photography?
Infrared photography lets us capture an invisible and often alien world. The human eye can see wavelengths from about 400nm–700nm (from purple to red). Infrared light exists in wavelengths beyond 700nm.
Infrared has a long history in cinema but is often used for technical purposes or special effects behind the scenes. We have supplied our filters to Lucas Films to be used for motion capture of infrared paint dots for The Irishman. Hoyte van Hoytema recently pioneered a use for infrared to simulate nighttime scenes shot in broad daylight using infrared in a dual camera system, taking advantage of how infrared makes skies appear black in daylight. Only an infrared specialist would be able to detect the use of infrared in these scenes, which is why we were so excited to see Dune showcase the true aesthetic possibilities of infrared cinematography.
Infrared is most popular for its effects on landscapes. Depending on the filter used, blue skies often become black or blue, and leaves can become white or red. Red filters are often used in Hollywood to make skin appear more smooth, but infrared filters amplify this effect to a stunning extreme. If you go deep enough into the infrared spectrum of light, skin becomes translucent to the point where you can actually see veins. Eyes can look otherworldly with unnaturally lucid irises. Often, productions use the lower, milder variants of infrared to keep the models looking relatively normal, like in Russ’s music video and Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender. Other times the unsettling look is the goal, like Apocalyptica’s “Rise” music video, although this is less common.
How to Achieve the “Harkonnen Effect”
The Harkonnen Effect is notably black and white, but somehow, it looks mysterious and alien. Why? Unlike classic black-and-white photography, Dune used infrared videography to add an ethereal aesthetic to the black-and-white scenes. Materials captured through infrared photography, like foliage, skies, clothing, and skin tones, will react in unique and sometimes unpredictable ways. Let’s explore how this works practically by attempting to mimic infrared shots from the sci-fi movie. Our media team thought it would be fun to re-create this imagery with Kolari’s in-house gear and share the process we used to achieve it.
To shoot infrared, you will first need either an infrared-modified camera or a full spectrum camera with filters. The most common IR filters range from 550nm (mildest effect) to 850nm (strongest effect). Each filter will provide different results in different scenarios. A full-spectrum conversion makes a digital camera sensitive to UV, visible, and infrared light, allowing the most flexibility and the ability to switch between various clip-in or lens filters to achieve the desired effect. Almost all cameras can be modified to shoot in infrared, starting from the cheapest point and shoots, through DSLR and mirrorless cameras, as well as Canon, Sony, Blackmagic, and Red cinema cameras.
With post-processing, using 665nm can help you achieve B&W imagery. This filter uses a combination of visible and infrared light to produce false-color infrared. 720nm is good if you are interested in shooting mild colors and B&W. 780nm and 850nm produce higher contrast B&W imagery.
The Comparison Shots
To recreate this portrait of Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, we used a single high-powered, infrared light and taped each side of the reflector to mimic the lighting of the shot. It took a while to get the correct lighting angle—something too far top-down casted harsh shadows, especially below Justin’s nose, but this dramatic effect could be great for other purposes.
Between filters, we decided to shoot this scene with the 850nm filter. 850nm cut out all of the visible light and provided the most similar tones to the reference shot in comparison to the results of 665nm, 720nm, and 780nm—all of which pass some level of visible light into the camera. You’ll need a high-power light if you’re shooting this, as higher nanometer IR filters cut out more light. Here are the results with each filter:
As you can see above, Justin’s black shirt appears vastly different between shots taken with each IR filter. Fabric can be particularly challenging for costume design—a struggle for the Dune production as well. Many synthetic black inks will become white in infrared, while naturally dark pigments tend to stay dark. This can sometimes result in white fabrics with visible dark threads or other unexpected issues. You will also notice some minor hue and contrast differences in his hair. Hair dye can often appear brighter in infrared. This will be important for a hair and makeup team to take into consideration before shooting in infrared on a movie set. Of course, all of the Harkonnens are bald, so this wasn’t an issue in Dune!
This shot of the Bene Gesserit agent, Margot Fenring, watching the spectacle on Giedi Prime was a little more challenging to recreate. We needed to capture the soft lighting of the scene, while also making sure there was enough lighting to pass through IR filters.
With a single light, we bounced it to create soft lighting. It was just enough to make the shot work. In our test shot with our stand-in for the Bene Gessserit, Matt (as seen above), we were able to nail the lighting for Amber to take on the role of Margot Fenring.
While 850nm worked fantastic in our first shooting, it did not work at all in this scenario. It made the lighting too flat and cut out a majority of the key light on Amber’s face. You can see the decrease in light from 665nm all the way to 850nm. Compare the 850nm shot to using 665nm in combination with desaturation—since 665nm filter partially operates in visible light, it provided us more to work with in post-production.
Although we didn’t have a colosseum or the proper lighting to work with, we were able to mimic the composition of Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in this wide-angle shot. As you can see below, the progression of 665nm to 850nm provided different results in comparison to the reference. The color hues are still present at 665nm and 720nm but fade away going towards 780nm and 850nm. Particularly with 665nm, the color of the foliage pops compared with the other IR wavelengths as it overlaps partially in the visible light spectrum. For this shot, 780nm seems to work well. 850nm demonstrates how a sunny day can be transformed into a harsh and forbidding landscape.
Final Thoughts
Infrared videography can be a powerful tool in creating an unfamiliar atmosphere in a sci-fi movie by revealing light in a range of the electromagnetic spectrum that human eyes are unable to see. It captures light that is beyond the visible spectrum, resulting in surreal, color-distorted images. By using this technique, filmmakers can heighten the sense of tension and intrigue by altering the perception of the scene by the audience, making ordinary landscapes or scenes appear uncanny and unsettling with a monochromatic palette that is distinct from traditional black and white. This distinct color palette can enhance the eerie feeling of the environment, evoking a sense of desolation or alienation of a creepy and immersive atmosphere which was used so well in Dune: Part II.
Kolari has shown that you can achieve the “Harkonnen Effect” at home through infrared conversion of mirrorless cameras and infrared filters in many different form factors. You can use any infrared magnetic clip-in filters, drop-in filters for the Kolari EF-EOS R Drop-in Mount Adapter, or lens filters to achieve this effect. You can use our filters to achieve this effect, but to get the true glory of the imagery of Dune: Part II, you would ideally use an entire modified cinema camera and one of our large format cinema filters. IR isn’t limited to black and white imagery: you can use different LUTs and settings to tweak your visuals with otherworldly false-color infrared schemes to create your own sci-fi masterpiece.
About the author: Phillip Andrew Iglesias is a photographer and media coordinator at Kolari Vision, which offers pro-level filter optics and digital camera modifications. The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. This article was also published here.
An AP photographer snags an unexpected image of the head of the Catholic Church
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VATICAN CITY (AP) — Having covered the Vatican for 27 years — that’s three popes — Associated Press photographer Andrew Medichini has mastered snapping images of papal pomp.
To capture this photo, Medichini knew exactly where to position himself based on the wind for a potential candid shot of Pope Francis.
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Nasher Sculpture Center presents Hugh Hayden: “Homecoming” opening day
Working in the tradition of wood carving and carpentry, New York-based artist Hugh Hayden builds sculptures and installations that explore the idea of the “American Dream.” Church pews, a dinner table and chairs, or a football helmet, signifiers of faith, family, and athletics, become surreal and somewhat sinister subjects in the hands of Hayden, who frequently carves thorns and branches into surfaces of things that would normally come into contact with the human body, implying potential harm, or at least discomfort, should they be engaged with.
How to use your smartphone to photograph the solar eclipse
New Native Arts & Cultures Foundation leader seeks to shine light on Indigeneity
Shyla Spicer, enrolled citizen of the Yakama Nation, stepped in as the newest president and CEO of the Native Arts & Cultures Foundation in December 2023.
Nika Bartoo-Smith / Underscore News/ICT
Born and raised mostly in Portland, Oregon, Shyla Spicer, an enrolled member of the Yakama Nation and a descendant of the Seneca Cayuga Tribe who also has Filipino heritage, grew up deeply involved in the urban Native community. In December, she started her new role as president and CEO of the Native Arts & Cultures Foundation.
Spicer’s traditional Yakama name is Wachea’wit, which means water rapids. She aspires to create a hub for the Indigenous community as a whole, and continue the foundation’s work supporting Indigenous artists across Portland, the country and beyond.
Formed in 2007, the Native Arts & Cultures Foundation has spent the last 17 years supporting Indigenous artists through grants, opportunities to showcase their work, artist fellowships and more.
“I think that this is a place that artists and guests can come and just be inspired, because art does touch us in ways that we can’t even articulate sometimes,” Spicer said. “To be able to share culture and story and past and present and all of that is just so powerful. And doing it from an Indigenous voice and consciousness not the other way around.”
Related: Native American arts center in Eastern Oregon welcomes new leader
Note: The following interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.
Nika Bartoo-Smith for Underscore News & ICT: Tell me a little bit about yourself, including how you came to be in this new role as the president and CEO of the Native Arts & Cultures Foundation.
Shyla Spicer: It’s actually kind of interesting because when you’re not looking for something but you’re asking the universe for something that connects to your passion, and how you feel like you could personally make an impact on the world, something comes up like this. Because I wasn’t looking.
But I did notice that I have family members who are artists and they are challenged with all kinds of business issues. And that was something that I just did for a living, I ran operations. I’ve been in this space for a while, and had studied this with my MBA, and so that was something that I was like, “Well, I can help you with that. That’s not a problem.”
And then lo and behold, this job became available. Somebody from the community contacted me and said that they were looking, and at the time I was like, “I don’t even know how it would work.” I was in Seattle because I have a high-school-age son, and I’m pretty committed to making sure that he gets a really good education and gets out on his own and goes off to college next year. So to me, it didn’t seem attainable.
But as I started to look in and talk to this team and get to know them, it was a really good fit. What they were looking for, where they wanted to go and getting a chance to meet the board and the staff, I figured the rest of it would kind of figure itself out.
When you get a chance to work with amazing people, the rest of it kind of just comes around and it will make sense. So that’s sort of where I’m at right now, four months later.
Related: First gathering of Native Weavers of Oregon keeps tradition alive
Bartoo-Smith: Can you share a bit about the role of the Native Arts & Cultures Foundation in the community and your vision for continuing and expanding that impact?
THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:
Spicer: It really is an opportunity for us to provide resources and uplift Native artists nationally and hopefully internationally. It is an art philanthropy organization that gives millions out into the community. A lot of that is to drive social change, to activate and elevate our culture and provide a voice for our artists to be able to move up in their careers or expand into their careers and their artistic expression. And so that’s what I think that this organization provides.
We’re based in Portland, but we’re national. So we touch a lot of communities. I think we’ve given over $14 million out since its origin, over 400 artists have actually been touched by our resources here. So it has a great impact, really, not just in the Portland area.
Bartoo-Smith: Tell me about the building we are in, an old industrial building on Belmont and 10th.
Spicer: We were gifted this building in 2021, just on the heels of the pandemic, at the same time the organization was in a transition. So you’ll see that this place was usable, but it also needs some work.
I think this is really a place that culture can be celebrated and showcased. And not just in Portland, but this is a hub where all artists can come and share their stories, their voices and their work.
At this point, I’m in the listening phase. I really just want to hear what the community needs and how that will help uplift our community in a way that we just haven’t even manifested.
Bartoo-Smith: What does advancing Indigenous art and culture mean to you?
Spicer: I think that there’s an opportunity from a contemporary space, to be able to do it from a place of authenticity. That’s not having to retrofit our voice back into what we think will be a mainstream thing.
And I see and I’ve spoken to a few contemporary artists who have this mindset that it’s like, “I want to tell it from my story and my side.”
The way I see it is that they’ve been educated in a discipline that wasn’t written for them and now they’re having to go back and create art in a place that perhaps wasn’t designed for them. To be able to advance their voice from their perspective, in a creative marketplace that will disrupt that system, is completely important.
Related: Indigenous designers get the spotlight at Northwest Native Fashion Show
Bartoo-Smith: I know that you previously worked in tribal government, serving as the executive director of the Suquamish Tribe. How do you think that experience will inform your role at the Native Arts & Cultures Foundation?
Spicer: Well, it taught me how to organize myself in a way. I mean, there were 500 employees and I had 23 departments. And you’re working for a group of people who are so dedicated to who they are, and their way of life and such proud people of that area, because they’re Salish people.
I believe that experience can actually be applied in this space to how to care for our community.
Bartoo-Smith: Growing up in Portland, what is one thing you wish you would have seen more of in the city as an Indigenous young person?
Spicer: I think I would have liked to have seen a reflection of my culture, instead of having to explain who I am as an Indigenous person, an Indigenous woman. I think being able to see more imagery and make it available to a young person like myself, would have been helpful.
I’d love to see that continue to be reflected in our community going forward so that our up-and-coming Native young people in this place can see themselves reflected back from the community.
And we’re seeing this: we’re seeing the Cully neighborhood up-and-coming and all the great work that NAYA is doing. The Northwest Native Chamber and the Center for Tribal Nations coming online. The ATNI embassy. And some of the other Native organizations are really starting to gather some strength. So, I’m happy to be amongst that.
I’d love to see our Indigeneity shine through here and us not to have to stand up and deliver a land acknowledgement. It’s like, yes, of course, these people are from this place. Of course, we’re always going to be at this place.
THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:
Leadership San Marcos gives back with sculpture
Located on Hopkins Street near Zelicks Icehouse, the “Love Locks” sculpture invites the community to put a permanent piece of themselves in San Marcos. Like popular lock sculptures in Paris, France and Austin Texas, the love lock sculpture is intended to be a living and breathing piece of the city. Leadership San Marcos is a…
