About

Posts by :

SlickPic Photography Challenge: Diagonals

Feb 17, 2024 By Admin in Photography

Tamron – Need lightweight, compact mirrorless lenses? Tamron has you covered, with superior optics perfect for any situation. With weather sealing and advanced image stabilization, you’ll open up your creative possibilities.

Radiant Photo – Radiant Photo superior quality finished photos with perfect color rendition, delivered in record time. Your photos — simply RADIANT. The way they are meant to be.

AfterShoot – Cull and edit unlimited images for a flat fee, using personalized AI that adapts to your style and preferences. Enjoy a 30-day free trial and an exclusive 10% discount on payment.

Mylio Photos – Access your photos from anywhere, without the cloud! Easily showcase your photos on-the-go, resolve duplicates, find faces and look for those stunning locations.

B&H – B&H is a world renowned supplier of all the gear photographers, videographers, and cinematographers need and want to create their very best work.

MPB – Grab used but perfectly working cameras and lenses for less, or turn your old gear into cash by trading and selling them on MPB!

Geoff Dyer: He toiled in obscurity – but now Saul Leiter is recognised as a true photography pioneer

Feb 17, 2024 By Admin in Photography

In 1947, when the 24-year-old Saul Leiter first saw Henri Cartier-Bresson’s prints at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, photographers were content to be regarded as photographers. Today’s aspirational ideal is “artist” or “artist using a camera”. But if Leiter is a consummate artist that is because his talents were uniquely served by – and entirely dependent on – the camera in his hand.

It’s tempting – and plenty of people have been tempted – to describe this pioneer of early colour photography as “painterly”. The upcoming exhibition Saul Leiter: An Unfinished World at the M K Gallery in Milton Keynes – the largest show of the photographer in the UK to date – includes some of Leiter’s actual paintings. These minor works are the equivalent of Cartier-Bresson’s drawings: of interest only because they were made by a great photographer. Painting – its history and Leiter’s hopes of adding to that history – is just background to his signature achievement.

Leiter’s achievement is complicated for several reasons. From the 1950s to the 1980s, he enjoyed some success as a fashion photographer, contributing to publications such as Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue and Elle. But it was the unpaid, personal work to which he devoted himself and by which he set most store. Much of this work was in colour.

Until the 1970s, the photography world seemed to share Robert Frank’s grouchy insistence that, “Black and white are the colours of photography.” Everything changed in 1976 with the exhibition of William Eggleston at MoMA – the first solo show of colour photography at the museum. A few American photographers had been using colour before then – Helen Levitt most notably – but it was Eggleston who, in the words of the curator John Szarkowski, “really learnt to see in colour”.

Leiter, though, had taught himself to see a different kind of colour, decades earlier. While working in black and white – elliptical and lyrical street scenes, portraits of friends, nudes – he was also, from 1948 onwards, becoming quietly articulate in his own language of colour harmony. This work attracted little attention, even after photography embraced the brave new world of post-Egglestonian colour.

Harlem, 1960

Credit: The Saul Leiter Foundation

So, this Pittsburgh-born son of a Talmudic scholar, who left a calling as a rabbi to come to New York in 1946 intending to become a painter, who photographed in colour when serious photography existed only in black and white, continued going quietly about his un-businesslike business, usually within walking distance of his apartment in the East Village. The tip of the wondrous iceberg resulting from his long patience was barely glimpsed until 1992, when, appropriately and ironically, the then 68-year-old was included in a book devoted to the so-called New York School. Being seen in the context of this larger group, which included photographers such as Richard Avedon and Diane Arbus, made it clear that Leiter’s style was entirely his own.

Unnoticed for 40 years, a Leiter picture became instantly recognisable after the publication of the book Saul Leiter: Early Color, by Steidl, in 2006. This extended delay – which Leiter seems to have regarded without frustration or bitterness – proved fruitful in several ways.

It meant, for starters, that there were many kinds of time in his pictures. They are records of the time when they were taken, but even this truism is not straightforward, since he had a fondness for using out-of-date film; the consequent deterioration was imbued with a desaturated radiance.

Pull c. 1960

Credit: The Saul Leiter Foundation

Although the places he photographed still existed by the time the pictures saw the light of day, the functions and storefronts had changed, the people in the streets were gone, their clothes fallen out of fashion. So the photographs had a kind of nostalgic immediacy, a contemporaneity that was also retrospective. Pictures, many of them taken by a young man who was now in his 80s, were simultaneously old and new, revealing a way of seeing that was both ahead of its time and backward-looking.

The documentary quality that is there in any photograph was always faint in Leiter’s work, but after half a century, it had been reduced still further (no news value whatsoever) and intensified, in the way that happens to any kind of relic. At an exact moment – often difficult to establish – a bit of the world looked like this, even as Leiter nudged what he saw to the gentle brink of abstraction. This is brought out by Leiter’s 1957 shot Through Boards, used on the cover of Early Color and on view at the M K Gallery: Rothko’s red-and-black eternity with, in the centre, a band of time-specific information in the form of a street, cars, stores and people.

Resolved contradictions are at the heart of Leiter’s magic. The colours run, slowly, as if not quite fixed. His exteriors are often seen from inside through steamed-up windows – such as Pull, taken around 1960 – or are mirrored by rain-smeared windows. The frantic streets become unhurried, contemplative, framed and thereby internalised by a consistently shaping consciousness. This gives his images a subtle psychological depth, while – another harmonious contradiction – the frequent use of a telephoto lens flattened the pictorial surface. “The concept is interesting,” writes John Ashbery in his 1977 poem “Wet Casements”:

to see, as though reflected
In streaming windowpanes, the
look of others through
Their own eyes. A digest of their
correct impressions of
Their self-analytical attitudes
overlaid by your
Ghostly transparent face.

Untitled, undated

Credit: The Saul Leiter Foundation

It seems inappropriate to mention a very English poet in the same breath as Ashbery, but Philip Larkin’s line “snow fell, undated” could serve as a caption for Leiter’s many photos of streets in which snow – the white of black and white in colour! – buries or blurs the identifying features of time and place. In Footprints (c 1950), snow causes the emergent red of an umbrella to blossom as if from a spring that lies both in the future and within vague drifts of memory.

These blizzards add to the pictures’ felt silence: muted colours doubling the romantic intimacy, the cosiness of the outside observed from within. So the scenes also contain our reactions to them or – going back to those expanded notions of time – our reflections on them. The mere act of looking at the pictures places us within them.

Leiter had a wry sense of how adroitly he’d avoided success and in some ways the neglect may have been a heavily disguised blessing. Would he have been able to keep working in the way he did if he’d been recognised, adequately noticed? Not simply because, on the street, instead of being able to wander the neighbourhood discreetly, very quietly, the observer would have been observed by people who spotted the great Leiter at work; more insidiously, he’d have become conscious of doing the Leiter thing.

If he’d kept showing the same stuff year after year, work that now draws plaudits could have incurred the displeasure of critics eager for change, development, of which, as far as we can see, there is mercifully little. Unlike his peers, Leiter had no shaping legacy. The world did not configure itself around or in reaction to his work; we did not start seeing real-world Leiters everywhere – until recently.

Through Boards, 1957

Credit: © Saul Leiter Foundation / Courtesy Florence and Damien Bachelot Collection

Still more time has passed since he was discovered – more snow has fallen, much of it dated – and the way we view Leiter’s photographs, what we see in them, is changing. Most of the work seems more poignantly beautiful than ever – but not all. The nudes have suffered, less because we are obliged to view suspiciously images of women stretched out on beds in suspenders and stockings than because these women are smoking. Ugh!

There is an irony to Leiter’s fleeting snapshots, which draw us back to the language of paint – to the late-19th-century intimiste French painter Edouard Vuillard, whom Leiter cited as an influence. As a contemporary once remarked of Vuillard, “the element of fantasy” in his work obliged him “to keep to these little panels; it would be impossible for him to go further… If he had to work on a big scale he’d have to be more exact – and what would become of him then?”

Acclaim came so late to Leiter that the question has only arisen posthumously. Since his death in 2013, at the age of 89, various attempts have been made to ensure his name is writ large – and larger. The danger of bigging him up like this – bigger prints, larger-format books – is that it is at odds with his essential aesthetic and identity. And, of course, he has become a belated influence. Todd Haynes’s film Carol (2015) was so steeped in Leiter’s palette and visual vocabulary, it seemed, at times, like a moving retrospective. Lately, this most local of photographers has, as it were, gone global. The history of photography, meanwhile, has had to be reconfigured around him, to do him justice. But his name, like Vuillard’s, has still to be written small if it is not to obscure itself.

Geoff Dyer’s books on photography, The Ongoing Moment and See/Saw, are published by Canongate; Saul Leiter: An Unfinished World is at the M K Gallery, Milton Keynes (mkgallery.org), from today to June 2

Picture this: the purpose of travel photography?

Feb 17, 2024 By Admin in Photography

#inform-video-player-1 .inform-embed { margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 20px; }

#inform-video-player-2 .inform-embed { margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 20px; }

As I write this, I am staring at this headline: “Will AI Ruin Travel Photography?”

For a few seconds, I just stared at it, like a caveman with a smartphone, slowly asking myself, “How could AI affect travel photography?”

I didn’t understand that at all, since travel photography is about preserving and sharing memories and, to a lesser extent, planning our next adventures.

But wait. What is travel photography? If travel photography is about winning clicks and likes, and if it is about outdoing other photographers, and if it is about cheating audiences into thinking you and your photography are something they are not to sell your images, then I’m not a travel photographer.

As it happened, right around this same time, a friend on social posted a 1999 photo of Monument Valley. Since I’ve been through there a few times, I looked in my files to find similar images, and, as looking at my photo files can do, I started thinking about one particular time I was there.

It was October 2006, and my wife Abby and I were in southern Utah for our second-anniversary vacation. On the second full day, we drove to Monument Valley for a Navajo-guided tour. I remember that morning like it was yesterday. It was sunny but very cold. Our first stop was on the north end of the valley, still in Utah, looking at the expanse of the area down the mostly-straight U.S. 163, at a spot that would eventually be “discovered” as Forrest Gump Point, the spot where the main character in the movie decides to stop running.

I remembered all the things we did and saw that day: the sun, the cold, the traditional chant the Navajo tour guide sang to us on the tour, and the beef barley soup I bought for Abby at the end of the day. We even saw and photographed people flying overhead in paragliders.

As I looked at all of our photos, hers and mine, from that week, I realized I was grinning from ear to ear, so happy to have these memories.

THAT is travel photography in its purest form, and nothing can ruin it.

#inform-video-player-3 .inform-embed { margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 20px; }

TN govt school students showcase photography skills at exhibition | Chennai News

Feb 17, 2024 By Admin in Photography

CHENNAI: It was for the first time that 560 government school students in Tamil Nadu were holding a professional camera to tell stories around them. As part of the state school education department’s Art Labs initiative to promote extracurricular activities, these children have been trained by a team of photojournalists in the last six months.
The students displayed 800 photographs at an exhibition in Chennai on Friday and Saturday.
The workshop was designed to teach students skills beyond the confines of traditional academics, said government school teacher Hemalatha C. Besides photography, the initiative also included theatre, storytelling, karate, martial arts, and parai (traditional art form).
The students received training in both theoretical knowledge and practical skills. Sessions were conducted thrice weekly after school hours, covering various aspects of photography including camera techniques, framing, storytelling and more.
Mariselvi S, a teacher from Vellore, said, “When I began teaching art to my students, I noticed a remarkable shift in their attitudes towards school.” “Attendance improved, and the stress about exams and assignments notably decreased,” she added.
For many students, the workshop was not just about learning a new skill but also about discovering potential career paths. Class XII student Dinesh Karthick said, “Learning photography has opened my eyes to a whole new world of creativity and expression. It’s shown me that there’s merit beyond textbooks and exams, and it’s empowered me to explore new interests and possibilities that I never thought possible.”

LETTER: Thank you to Outlook’s photographer

Feb 17, 2024 By Admin in Photography

Editor:

Kudos to Jungmin Ham, the Outlook’s photographer, for your amazing photos. You are very talented. Keep ’em coming.

Peggy Smith,

Banff

Overcoming Nature’s Challenges in Landscape Photography

Feb 17, 2024 By Admin in Photography

Landscape photography is a pursuit that challenges photographers to harness the unpredictable beauty of nature, pushing them to adapt to ever-changing conditions. This genre demands not only an eye for composition but also the resilience to face natural elements, from navigating rugged terrains to capturing the dynamic interplay of light and shadow in remote locations.

Coming to you from William Patino, this enlightening video takes viewers on a journey to a breathtaking, hidden waterfall in the wild New Zealand landscape, emphasizing the importance of composition, inspiration, and technical prowess in nature photography. Patino revisits a previously explored site, aiming to recapture lost frames with a focus on overcoming environmental challenges such as wind. His approach to tackling these issues without a tripod, using handheld slow shutters and post-processing techniques, is not only innovative but also educational. The video underscores the necessity of adaptability in the field, encouraging photographers to embrace the elements and use them to enhance their imagery.

Moreover, Patino’s emphasis on not previsualizing too much and allowing the environment to inspire composition is a valuable lesson in creativity. His methodical yet flexible approach to capturing the landscape, from considering dominant shapes to incorporating foreground interest for depth, provides practical strategies for creating compelling images. The detailed explanation of how to manage wind-blown foliage during long exposures by blending different shutter speeds in post-production is particularly insightful. This technique, which can potentially eliminate the need for a tripod, opens up new possibilities for photographers looking to travel light and still achieve stunning long-exposure effects. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Patino.

And if you really want to dive into landscape photography, check out our latest tutorial, “Photographing the World: Japan With Elia Locardi!”

Waupun IceFest is this weekend

Feb 17, 2024 By Admin in Sculpture

Waupun’s newest festival is this weekend with the first Waupun IceFest taking place with over 50 ice sculptures on display though out the city as well as indoor and outdoor

Opinion: ‘Styrannya’: A photographer memorializes Ukraine’s lost

Feb 17, 2024 By Admin in Photography

William Mokrynski is a Canadian photo-based artist living in London.

The moment I heard the news of Russia’s incursions into Ukraine on the morning of Feb. 24, 2022, I instinctively felt that the world had changed. This was different from 2014: not an opportunistic snatching of Ukrainian territory, but Vladimir Putin’s full-on attempt to turn back the clocks and begin to rectify what he has repeatedly lamented as the greatest catastrophe of the past century: the loss of the Soviet empire, which included Ukraine.

Like many in Canada, I grew up connected with the culture and traditions handed down by family. My grandparents arrived from Ukraine to begin a new life around 1930. I suspect that other Canadians of Ukrainian descent would agree that Russia’s invasion, along with its revisionist rhetoric – straight out of George Orwell’s Ministry of Truth – was not only an attack on the land and people of Ukraine, but also an assault on a fragment of who we are.

I found the imagery that emerged in the days and weeks after Russia’s invasion difficult to digest. Scenes of missiles striking apartment buildings that could have been in any city of the world; the skeletal remains of destroyed shopping malls; bodies of those who didn’t manage to evacuate in time laying next to their roller suitcases; and blocks and blocks of houses reduced to rubble.

In the midst of this carnage was the ruthless destruction of Mariupol, a city with a prewar population of 425,000. I recall footage taken from the turret of a Russian tank that casually travelled along a residential street, shelling every house it passed. Then there was the theatre used as a shelter, with the word “Children” clearly marked on the ground in Russian so it could be seen from the air; it was destroyed by a bomb dropped from a plane. An extra-brutal punishment seemed to be directed at this Russian-speaking community that refused to welcome the Russian “liberators” with roses. As the foreign press fled, news from this city ended, and a steely silence descended with the full grip of occupation.

It was in the middle of March, 2022, that I began encountering the photographs in my social-media feed. At first glance, they seemed to be simple snapshots of ordinary people that any friend could have shared of family life. The auto-translated captions, however, revealed that these were calls for help by friends and family desperately searching for loved ones who had disappeared, primarily from the Mariupol region. Notices for missing people are not a new phenomenon. However, seeing them appear on my screen in real time from an active war zone, intermixed with the prosaic contents of my daily feed, was unsettling. My initial response was to screen-capture the photographs of these individuals as they appeared on my phone to prevent them from disappearing into the ocean of data oblivion.

I decided that these digital images needed to be made physical, taking up space in the real world and not easily deleted. Through an exposure of the photo on my phone screen in a darkroom, the image has been frozen within silver grains of photographic paper. Processing chemistry was hand-applied and allowed to leave its marks, both developing the print and introducing a sense of intrusion, violation and loss.

Included in my screen captures were fragments of the captions. After reading several of these together, I realized these texts provided a different dimension to the war from what we saw in the news: a firsthand glimpse of what was experienced in Mariupol.

It’s important for me to emphasize that this work is not a piece of journalism but my personal response as an artist. I do not know what happened to these individuals. They may have been located quickly or may still be missing. Sadly, we know very little about what is happening in this part of Ukraine.

The title, Styrannya, means erasure in Ukrainian. This work is my attempt to ensure that these events and the people affected by this war are not forgotten.

Huawei P70 Series: Redefining Mobile Photography with Upgraded Var…

Feb 17, 2024 By Admin in Photography

In the ever-evolving landscape of mobile photography, Huawei takes a significant leap forward with its upcoming P70 series. Slated for release in March 2023, these devices are not just another iteration in the smartphone market. They are a testament to Huawei’s relentless pursuit of innovation, particularly in the realm of photography. The highlight of the P70 series is its upgraded variable aperture technology, a feature set to redefine the standards of mobile imaging. This advancement, rooted in a patent authorized in February 2023, promises to deliver unprecedented control over image quality, especially in challenging lighting conditions.

Advertisment

Revolutionizing Mobile Photography

The new variable aperture technology embedded within the Huawei P70 series is a marvel of engineering. Unlike its predecessor, the Huawei P60, which already boasted a flexible aperture range from F/1.4 to F/4.0, the P70 series aims to push these boundaries further. The essence of this technology lies in its ability to auto-adjust aperture sizes to meet the nuanced requirements of each shot. This means whether you’re capturing the subtle hues of a sunset or the vibrant chaos of a city at night, the P70’s camera is equipped to handle it with finesse. The patent, titled ‘Variable Aperture, Camera Module and Electronic Equipment,’ details improvements not only in the aperture’s stability and shooting effects but also showcases a design overhaul aimed at enhancing the overall imaging effect and quality of captured images.

The Technical Edge

Advertisment

At the heart of the P70 series’ camera module lies a sophisticated arrangement comprising a fixed base, rotating bracket, adjustable diaphragm, and M blades. These components work in harmony to adjust the aperture size, thereby controlling the amount of light that enters the lens. The result is a camera that can swiftly adapt to varying lighting conditions, ensuring that each photograph is not only well-exposed but also rich in detail. The upgraded variable aperture technology exemplifies Huawei’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in mobile photography. With around 10 different aperture sizes at its disposal, the P70 series stands as a beacon of innovation, showing that even in low-light scenarios, capturing clear and vibrant images is within reach.

Setting New Benchmarks

The Huawei P70 series, encompassing the P70, P70 Pro, and P70 Art, is more than just a new product launch. It represents a significant milestone in the journey of mobile photography. As we edge closer to the release date, the anticipation among photography enthusiasts and tech aficionados alike is palpable. This series is poised not only to meet but surpass the expectations set by its predecessors, thanks to its enhanced imaging capabilities. The inclusion of the upgraded variable aperture technology is a clear indication that Huawei intends to remain at the forefront of the smartphone photography revolution, setting new benchmarks for others to follow.

In conclusion, the Huawei P70 series stands as a testament to the brand’s innovative spirit and its unwavering commitment to enhancing the mobile photography experience. Through the introduction of its upgraded variable aperture technology, Huawei is set to offer users unparalleled control over their photography, ensuring that each image captured is a masterpiece in its own right. As we await the release of the P70 series, one thing is clear: the future of mobile photography looks brighter than ever.

The future of photography goes on show next month at The Photography & Video Show 2024

Feb 17, 2024 By Admin in Photography

When it comes to photography it’s not just about what kit you have, it’s how you use it. But whether you’re a novice with a dream or a seasoned snapper you can always scrub up on your techniques and best practice. That shouldn’t put you off though. After all, you can delete a bad picture, but a great picture is a great picture forever and worth putting the time into getting just right.

If you want to hone your craft, try some of the latest tech or pick up one of the best mirrorless cameras or accessories then The Photography & Video Show 2024 might be the place for you. Running on 16-19 March at The NEC, some of the biggest names in the game will be on hand to see you right. Including this trio of industry leaders.

1. Canon

Canon has been making some of the best camera tech out there since 1933 so I think if anyone knows their stuff, you’ve found them. As you’d expect, Canon will have a significant presence at the exhibition. Their EOS R6 Mark II is our current pick for the best mirrorless camera for most people.

Here you’ll be able to get hands-on with the new EOS R5 C mirrorless camera as well as try the new RF 5.2mm F2.8L dual fisheye lens as well as get familiar the company’s suite of apps and services.

On top of that, Canon will also be hosting a series of ‘Creator Sessions’ to help you create the most inspiring content possible across stills, video and vlogging.

2. Nikon

Nikon Z fc

(Image credit: Nikon)

Another of the giants of the industry, Nikon will be running a bunch of sessions throughout the show. Most interestingly there’s one on shooting a music video, including the proposal process, capturing the video itself and even post-production.

If nature is more your thing then you’re also in luck. Acclaimed wildlife photographer, filmmaker and artist Matthias Klum will be on hand to talk you through his work spanning his nearly 40-year career.

Those looking to further their career and get their name and work out there can also attend a session entitled “Making it personal – leveraging the right social platforms for you”.

3. Sony

You couldn’t have a camera show without Sony. At their stand you’ll be able to get hands-on and try a pair of their new mirrorless cameras, the A9iii and A7RV as well as hear from established professionals.

The workshop Perfecting Your Portraits obviously tackles portrait photography with tips on how to pose your subject, lighting and how to put them at ease to get their essence across.

In Into the Congo, wildlife photographer Will Burrard-Lucas will recount his time spent in the Congo rainforest photographing incredible wildlife both in person and using camera traps to grab shots of dangerous predators. Great fun!