Photography

6 photography tricks for taking beautiful flower pictures

May 27, 2023 By Admin in Photography

Flowers are the year-round subject that keep giving, but how can you make your photos stand out from the crowd?

Tools and requirements

Any camera; DSLR, mirrorless, smartphone

Lens with a variety of focal lengths

Whatever camera or lens that you own – even your smartphone – you’ll find some handy tips and creative techniques in this article to help your flower photography blossom.

Try a multiple exposure

There is a feature on your camera that you may not have used before, but it’s perfect for flower photography. Whether you use a DSLR, mirrorless, or point-and-shoot camera, it’s likely to offer a multiple exposure mode, and this feature allows you to shoot a specified number of frames, with the second and subsequent exposures superimposed over the preceding one. This technique originated during the days of film photography, but it’s far quicker and easier to try with a digital camera.

By taking two or more shots of flowers and overlaying them, you can create images with a whimsy, ethereal effect that lends itself well to forest scenes in particular. How you access and use this feature will differ between camera brands, but there are a few things you can try to maximize your chances of a great image. First up, take shots of two different flowers, rather than two frames of the same subject. Second, experiment with different orientations; so, for example, one frame in regular orientation and another at an angle.

Image 1 of 3

Bluebell flowers multiple exposure photo — Multiple exposure (Image credit: Future)

Bluebells — Single frame (Image credit: Future | Matty Graham)

Bluebells on sunny day — Other single frame (Image credit: Future)

Say hello to zoom burst

Zoom burst is a great technique to try with flower photography, and to create such an image you just need one essential item of kit: a zoom lens (sorry, no prime optics this time around). All you have to do is select Shutter Priority mode (S or Tv on your mode dial) and dial in a shutter speed that’s slow enough to give you time to twist the zoom ring on your lens during the exposure.

Focus up on your subject, and as you press the shutter button twist the zoom ring to zoom in, which will capture a zoom-blur effect. This technique requires a fair bit of trial and error to get right, but it enables you to create images with a real sense of dynamism. You can try zooming out as well as in, and the results can be both abstract and high-energy.

Purple flower and Zoom burst photo technique

(Image credit: Future | Matty Graham)

Show a worm’s-eye view

If there’s one piece of composition advice you should follow it would be” ‘never take a photo from head height’. Why? Well, because this is the view of subjects we’re all used to seeing, and by going higher or lower you can show a new view of a familiar subject. You can even go really low for a worm’s-eye view – placing the camera on or close to the ground and angling it up will create a genuinely fresh take on your flowery subject. You can handhold the camera for such shots, or for more control you could use a mini tripod.

If you only have a regular tripod that’s not a problem, as most models allow you to remove the center column and reinsert it upside down, so that your camera is close to the ground. Of course, this also means your camera will be upside down, but all you need to do once you’ve taken an image is flip it around in Photoshop. To exaggerate the worm’s-eye effect use a wide-angle optic – this technique works great with flowers that are just a few inches tall, such as bluebells or poppies, but you can try it with any subject.

Worms eye view of poppies and blue sky

(Image credit: Future | Matty Graham)

Sure up sharpness with a focus stack

One of the biggest challenges a photographer can face when shooting flowers is depth of field, which can be limited when you’re zoomed in on a flower, and even more so if you’re using a long lens with a compressed field of view, or a macro lens. So what’s the solution? Well, most cameras have a feature called Focus Stack (also called Focus Merge). In this mode the camera will shoot multiple images, changing the point of focus slightly between each frame. The frames will then be automatically merged in-camera (or you can do this manually back at your computer) to produce a final image with a much greater depth of field, meaning more of the subjects in the frame will be razor-sharp.

If your camera doesn’t have this mode, you can achieve similar results by placing the camera on a tripod so it stays static, then switch to manual focus and start shooting, changing the point of focus for each frame by rotating the zoom ring on the lens slightly. You can then merge these images in image-editing software such as Photoshop or Affinity Photo.

Image 1 of 2

Bluebell with a ladybird with very shallow depth of field — Single photo before stack (Image credit: Future)

Bluebell with a ladybird focus stacked photo with all in focus — Focus stacked (Image credit: Future)

Shoot contre-jour

Newcomers to photography are often told to shoot with the sun at their backs, but as ever with photography, rules are meant to be broken. Contre-jour is a French term that translates to ‘against the light’, and what this means for taking photos of flowers is that you turn your lens towards the light and make a feature of the sun, which can add drama and atmosphere to your shots.

You’ll need to take care when employing this technique, and only use it in the right conditions, as shooting into the light can cause issues such as flare and ghosting, although if flare is carefully controlled, the colorful artifacts caused by sunlight bouncing around inside the lens can add a lovely ethereal quality to flower images. An obvious fix to prevent flare is to add a lens hood – even if your lens didn’t come with one, you can always buy a generic hood to match the filter thread of your lens.

Field of poppies at golden hour

(Image credit: Future)

Fill the frame

When greeted with a field full of flowers it can be tempting to opt for a wide focal length (say, 18mm on your kit lens) and try to capture as much of the scene as possible. One of the problems with this approach is that small flowers can look completely lost in the frame, and a better approach is to swap out that wide-angle lens for a telephoto zoom, and zoom in to fill the frame with your subject.

Scenes such as fields full of sunflowers, poppies or tulips can work really well with this approach, but there are a couple of things to remember. When you’re using longer focal lengths camera shake becomes more of an issue, so check that you’re using a fast enough shutter speed to eliminate the risk of shake. As a general rule, don’t let your shutter speed drop below the focal length you’re using – so for example, if you’re using a lens set to 200mm, don’t let your shutter speed drop below 1/200 sec. Lenses fitted with image stabilization technology will also help keep shots sharp, as will using a monopod or tripod to support the camera.

Field of sunflowers on sunny day

(Image credit: Future)

Final Thoughts

When it comes to flower photography, the huge variety of species, shapes and colors means you’ve got plenty of scope for varying your style, approach and framing, making it easy to put together a varied and attractive portfolio. Use our six tips as a framework, but remember to break free of the rules, and experiment with different approaches and styles visions to capture your own takes on this fun and rewarding genre.

Finding Pain and Nobility in Everyday Americans

May 27, 2023 By Admin in Photography

With a retrospective in Philadelphia, Judith Joy Ross is still seeking to capture a mysterious moment.

In a room hung with empathetic black-and-white photographic portraits for her retrospective at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Judith Joy Ross, frail-looking and white-haired, was recently taking pictures for her next series. Posing a guard in front of her old-fashioned wooden view camera, she chattered on in an obscenity-laced monologue about her ineptitude.

Seemingly to herself, she said, “I have no idea what I’m doing. I’ve forgotten.” Then she looked up at the bald, bushy-bearded guard, who was standing compliantly where she had placed him. “That’s great,” she gushed. “Everybody can see that’s great. Fantastic. You are perfect.” He gazed ahead stolidly.

Ross turned to me and said, “People don’t like to be photographed, but photographers also don’t like to photograph. You have to get in the zone. You have to get rid of all the bull: ‘It’s not working, it’s not going to be right, it’s not as good as it was before.’ And then it might — it might — happen.”

Judith Joy Ross and her camera. By downplaying her prowess in a self-deprecating manner, and showering compliments on her subjects, she allows her sitters to fill the space with their own individuality.Hannah Yoon for The New York Times

The moment she seeks to capture is mysterious. At least as mysterious is how she has managed to find it so often. Portrait photographers are usually looking for a quality that can be described in a few words. Julia Margaret Cameron sought genius in men and beauty in women. August Sander revealed how Germans did and didn’t conform to their stations in life. Diane Arbus exposed the flaws in her subjects’ self-presentation. Ross assumes a more passive position. By downplaying her prowess, in a daffy, self-deprecating manner, and showering compliments, she allows her sitter to fill the space with a tentative individuality.

“The pictures are miracles,” said Joshua Chuang, the independent curator who organized the show, which originated at Fundación MAPFRE in Madrid and runs here until Aug. 6. “It’s not like she has command over the subject or the moment. With Judith, it is complete surrender to that moment, even to the point of forgetting the technique.”

The large-format Deardorff camera contributes to the magic. Technically, it allows Ross to avoid using an enlarger and instead make 8-by-10 inch contact prints that register fine detail. She also can release the shutter without an apparatus obscuring her face. Less obviously, the view camera adds a sense of occasion to the act of being photographed — the feeling, as she likes to say, that “the circus has come to town.” Her subjects hail mostly from humble backgrounds and find the unaccustomed attention gratifying.

“I don’t photograph people with money,” she said. “I don’t photograph people outside what I consider my class. I probably don’t like them. And I don’t know them. These are the people I know.”

Judith Joy Ross, “Untitled, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.,” 1984. Her portraits of solemn visitors caught up in silent emotion constitute a memorial as pared down and elegiacal as the monument they were visiting.via Judith Joy Ross and Galerie Thomas Zander, Cologne

Arguably her greatest achievement is the series of portraits she made in 1983 and 1984 at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, designed by Maya Lin, which had recently opened in Washington. “I was going to go out and ask people stupid questions — how do you deal with pain and suffering,” she said. “Then I heard about the Vietnam memorial. I knew I could ask that question without words.”

Most of the American toll of the war was borne by the working-class and lower-middle-class people Ross prefers to depict. Her portraits of solemn visitors caught up in silent emotion constitute a memorial as pared down and elegiacal as the monument they were visiting. In 1984, when she was briefly barred from photographing there, Ross continued the project back in Pennsylvania, outside a Pathmark store in Allentown. “I looked for pain and suffering in the local crap mall,” she said. “It exists everywhere. The pictures I made there are about Vietnam.”

Judith Joy Ross, Untitled, “Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.,” 1984.via Judith Joy Ross and Galerie Thomas Zander, Cologne

Ross, 76, lives modestly in Bethlehem, Penn., near Hazleton, the depressed coal-mining town where she grew up, a middle child of three raised by a father who owned a small chain of five-and-dime stores and a mother who taught piano. From her parents, she acquired a lifelong love of classical music and the natural world.

As a student on scholarship at the Moore College of Art & Design in Philadelphia, she was smitten with photography, and after receiving a degree in art education, she enrolled in a graduate course at the Institute of Design in Chicago. She felt so alienated in these early days that she was often unable to photograph people frontally. “I would spend all days at the movies and you would see people from behind,” she said, explaining how she trained her lens on the backs of people’s heads. In 1972, she secured a part-time job teaching photography at Moravian College in Bethlehem. When that ended, she supported herself for several years by cleaning houses.

The turning point in Ross’s career occurred after the death of her father in spring 1981. Profoundly depressed, she went that summer to a swimming hole in Eurana Park in Weatherly, Penn., a few miles from a creekside cabin in Rockport where the Ross family had spent summers in her childhood — and on memorable occasions visited the park.

Judith Joy Ross, “Untitled, Eurana Park, Weatherly, Pennsylvania,” 1982. An 8-by-10-inch Deardorff view camera Ross had just acquired helped her take photos that established her artistic style, conveying the awkwardness and uncertainty of youth. via Judith Joy Ross and Galerie Thomas Zander, Cologne

Now she photographed teenagers there. “It was about connecting to life again,” said Susan Kismaric, a curator who has been friendly with Ross since meeting her in the mid-1980s while working at the Museum of Modern Art. “The pictures are fabulous, and it did help her understand something about life.”

Ross returned to Eurana Park the next summer with an 8-by-10-inch Deardorff view camera she had just acquired and took a series of photographs that established her artistic style. (She now uses a replacement for that camera, which broke after heavy use.)

The Eurana Park photographs convey the awkwardness and uncertainty of youth. The soon-to-melt Popsicles in the hands of three little girls in swimsuits — two gazing back at the camera, one looking away — accentuate the fleetingness of these years. In many portraits, teenagers seemingly lost in thought stare into the middle distance. Focusing her camera with a shallow depth of field, Ross rendered her subjects crisp and clear against backgrounds of trees or water that blur until only softly discernible. She suffused the images with a warm, archaic glow by making the prints on light-sensitive, gelatin silver chloride printing-out paper toned with gold. A photograph of first graders napping in a classroom taken in 1993 might have been produced by Lewis Hine nearly a century earlier.

Judith Joy Ross, “Untitled, Eurana Park, Weatherly, Pennsylvania,” 1983.via Judith Joy Ross and Galerie Thomas Zander, Cologne

Usually, she would place a print in a storage box and leave it there, not concerned with exhibition. “The prints are so important to her,” Chuang, the curator, said. “She has no kids. She can be charming, but she’s awkward with people, and there’s a side of her that means she can’t be around people too consistently. The prints became her connection with people.”

They commemorate the photographic encounter — always with a stranger. “I feel so intensely connected to someone I photograph that I can’t do it with someone I know,” she explained. “I’m too self-conscious.” Unlike her interactions with people, Ross usually experiences nature unmediated by a camera, taking walks daily by the Delaware River or Lehigh River. “I don’t think I’ve ever taken a picture of a plant,” she told me, with slight exaggeration. “I try and give up real fast.”

“Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,” 1999.via Judith Joy Ross and Galerie Thomas Zander, Cologne

Ross likes to work in series. She has photographed students in her hometown, Hazleton; people at their various jobs in eastern Pennsylvania; young people (mostly African American) in northeast Philadelphia; adolescents in Easton, Penn.; political operatives working elections; and visitors to a New Jersey lookout point as they contemplate the mutilated New York skyline following the Sept. 11 attack. In a rare look at people with power, she received a commission to photograph U.S. senators and representatives, and their staff members, in 1986 and 1987. She assiduously avoided making the publicity shots that elected officials might typically send to their constituents. “I generally fall in love with people, even if I don’t like them,” she said. “We’re all vulnerable. That’s what these pictures are about.”

After the printing-out paper she favors became hard to obtain (popular in the 19th century, it allows the image to materialize in sunlight, not a darkroom), she experimented with color photography but gave it up because of the exorbitant expense of large-format color film. The few examples in the exhibition are intriguing, but most of this work — along with thousands of other prints in Ross’s archive — has yet to be shown.

Ross taking a photo last month of the security guard Beverlin Perez at the Philadelphia Museum of Art for her next series.Hannah Yoon for The New York Times

Ross is no longer represented by an American gallery. “I think she’s embittered by not being able to sell her work,” Chuang said. “Her various dealers have had a problem with the fact that people don’t want pictures of ordinary people.”

In her self-belittling litany of complaints, Ross cites double vision, memory lapses and a tic that developed in middle age. At one point, I asked what I thought was an innocuous question, simply a follow-up to something she had previously told me: “Are all your photographs about how people deal with pain and suffering?” She was speechless. Her face froze up. After a few seconds, she spoke. “I have a tic,” she told me. “You must have said something.” I realized that I had done what she would never do — pinned her to the wall with a direct question. Confronting instead of receding, I had removed the space for her to tell me on her own who she was.

‘I’d never seen a woman riding a motorcycle in a dress’: Girma Berta’s best phone picture

May 27, 2023 By Admin in Photography

“Serendipity plays a major role in street photography,” Girma Berta says. He shot this in Mali, but lives in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, and had never seen a woman in a dress driving a motorcycle. “Not many women in Addis ride motorcycles, and those who do wouldn’t ever do so while wearing a dress.”

Berta had headed to Bamako’s outdoor market that afternoon, drawn by its “overwhelming energy”. He was taking photos of vendors when the women passed. “You never know what you might encounter, and it’s this unpredictability that makes street photography so thrilling.”

He does, however, sometimes also have a sense of disappointment. “I feel sad that most people I photograph will never see the images I create of them. Many of my subjects don’t have access to the platforms and channels where I share my work.”

When editing, Berta created the streaking patterns, sourced from the background of the photo, to reflect all the colours of Bamako. “I wanted to amplify that sense of motion I had witnessed, of travelling at high speed,” he says.

What is Food Photography?

May 27, 2023 By Admin in Photography

Food photography is a sub-genre of still life photography that has gained tremendous popularity in recent years, thanks to the rise of social media and food-centric platforms. It is the art of capturing visually appealing images of food, with the goal of making it look enticing, delicious, and irresistible to the viewer. Whether you’re a professional photographer, a food enthusiast, or someone who simply enjoys capturing beautiful moments with food, understanding the nuances of food photography can help you create stunning images that make taste buds tingle.

Creative Food Photography

Creative food photography goes beyond simply capturing a plate of food. It involves experimenting with different angles, compositions, props, and lighting to create visually striking images. This type of photography allows the photographer to showcase their artistic vision and evoke emotions through their work. By using unique perspectives, unconventional props, and imaginative styling, creative food photography can transform a simple dish into a work of art.

Food Photography Ideas

Food photography ideas are endless, limited only by your imagination. Whether you’re photographing a home-cooked meal, a decadent dessert, or an exotic dish from a foreign cuisine, there are numerous ways to make your images stand out. Consider incorporating storytelling elements into your photos, such as capturing the process of cooking or showcasing the vibrant colours of fresh ingredients. You can also experiment with different plating styles, textures, and garnishes to add visual interest to your shots.

How to Take Food Photos

To take compelling food photos, it’s important to pay attention to details and create a visually appealing composition. Start by choosing a suitable background and setting up a scene that complements the dish. Consider using props that enhance the overall aesthetic, such as colourful utensils, patterned napkins, or fresh herbs. Experiment with different angles, such as shooting from above or at eye level, to find the most flattering perspective. Lastly, remember to use natural light whenever possible or invest in a quality lighting setup to illuminate your subject.

Which Lens for Food Photography?

Choosing the right lens for food photography can significantly impact the outcome of your images. A popular choice among food photographers is a macro lens, which allows you to capture intricate details and achieve a shallow depth of field, highlighting the main subject while creating a beautiful background blur. Another option is a prime lens with a focal length between 35mm and 85mm, which offers versatility and the ability to capture wider shots as well as close-ups. Ultimately, the choice of lens depends on your personal preference and the style of food photography you wish to pursue.

Restaurant Food Photography

Restaurant food photography plays a crucial role in enticing customers and showcasing the culinary creations of a dining establishment. When photographing food in a restaurant setting, it’s essential to work efficiently and be mindful of the surroundings. Communicate with the chef or staff to understand the desired outcome and capture the essence of their dishes. Pay attention to lighting conditions, as some restaurants may have dim or artificial lighting. Additionally, be respectful of other patrons and avoid causing disruptions while capturing mouthwatering shots.

Using a Tripod for Food Photography

Using a tripod in food photography can significantly improve the quality and sharpness of your images. It allows you to keep the camera steady, eliminating any blurriness that may occur due to hand movement. A tripod also gives you more control over the composition and framing of your shots. When selecting a tripod for food photography, consider its stability, weight, and flexibility. Look for a sturdy tripod that can support your camera and lens comfortably. Additionally, consider a tripod with adjustable height and versatile positioning options, such as tilting and rotating heads, to achieve different angles and perspectives.

Abstract Food Photography

Abstract food photography takes a departure from traditional representations of food and focuses on capturing unique shapes, patterns, and textures. It allows photographers to explore the artistic and conceptual aspects of food, transcending its literal form. In abstract food photography, you can experiment with close-up shots of ingredients, emphasising their textures and colours. You can also play with unusual angles and perspectives to create visually intriguing compositions. By breaking away from traditional norms, abstract food photography offers a fresh and creative approach to capturing culinary delights.

Artistic Food Photography

Artistic food photography is an expressive and creative form of capturing food. It goes beyond documenting dishes and aims to evoke emotions and tell stories through visual narratives. In this style, photographers often incorporate elements of fine art, such as dramatic lighting, unique compositions, and conceptual ideas. Artistic food photography allows for experimentation with different techniques, such as long exposures, intentional blurs, or mixed media. It encourages photographers to push boundaries and create images that provoke thought and engage the viewer on a deeper level.

Food Photography Lighting Setups

Lighting is a crucial aspect of food photography, as it can dramatically enhance the appearance of the dish. Natural light is often preferred as it provides soft, diffused illumination that brings out the natural colours and textures of the food. Position your subject near a window or shoot outdoors during the golden hours (early morning or late afternoon) for optimal lighting conditions. If natural light is unavailable or insufficient, you can invest in artificial lighting setups, such as continuous LED lights or off-camera flash, to achieve desired results. Experiment with different lighting angles and intensities to create the desired mood and highlight the food’s best features.

Food photography tricks: 04 Change your point of view

Best Plates for Food Photography

The choice of plates for food photography can greatly impact the presentation and aesthetic appeal of the dish. Opt for neutral-coloured plates and bowls that won’t distract from the food itself. White plates are a popular choice as they provide a clean canvas for the dish, allowing the colours and textures to take centre stage.

But while white plates are a popular choice for food photography, there are other options worth considering to add variety and visual interest to your images. Slate, wooden boards, marble surfaces, and colourful ceramic plates can provide unique backdrops that complement different types of dishes.

Consider the style, colour, and texture of the food when selecting plates to create a harmonious and visually appealing composition. Ultimately, the best plates for food photography are those that enhance the dish and allow it to take centre stage without overpowering or distracting from its natural beauty.

White Food Photography

White food photography is a minimalist approach that focuses on clean, bright images with a predominantly white colour palette. It creates a sense of freshness, purity, and elegance. In white food photography, the use of a white background, white plates, and props with light tones helps accentuate the colours and textures of the food. It also provides a blank canvas for styling and allows the subject to stand out. White food photography is often associated with light, airy, and ethereal aesthetics, and it can evoke a sense of simplicity and sophistication.

Food photography is a captivating genre that allows photographers to showcase their creativity, evoke emotions, and entice viewers through visually stunning images of food. Whether you prefer a traditional or more artistic approach, mastering the techniques, understanding lighting, selecting suitable equipment, and experimenting with different styles and compositions will help you capture delectable moments that leave a lasting impression on your audience.

From creative food photography and exploring abstract or artistic styles to capturing the perfect lighting setups and selecting the right plates, each aspect of food photography adds depth and uniqueness to the images you create. Remember to experiment, explore different ideas, and let your creativity shine through in every shot. With practice, patience, and a passion for food, you can master the art of food photography and create mouthwatering visuals that make viewers crave the dishes they see.

So, grab your camera, gather some delectable ingredients, and embark on a culinary journey through the lens. Food photography allows you to capture the beauty and essence of food, transforming it into a feast for the eyes. Whether you’re an aspiring food photographer or simply want to improve your skills, understanding the fundamentals, experimenting with different techniques, and infusing your own unique style will help you create stunning images that leave a lasting impression. So go ahead and indulge in the world of food photography, where creativity and gastronomy converge, and let your images speak volumes about the joy and artistry of culinary delights.

Henry Fox Talbot: Exhibition pays homage to photography pioneer

May 27, 2023 By Admin in Photography

By Rachel Candlin

BBC News

The contribution played by Victorian photography pioneer Henry Fox Talbot will be showcased in a new exhibition. BBC News has taken a look at the impact of his work in creating the world’s first negative and how it inspired artists for generations to come.

Ever since the 1830s, when Mr Fox Talbot was experimenting with his technique, the medium has been continually developed towards the digital processes used today.

The new exhibition is paying homage to Mr Fox Talbot by displaying the work of an internationally-renowned photographic artist who has spent her career furthering his legacy.

Ellen Carey’s work is being shown in the apt surroundings of Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire, Mr Fox Talbot’s home in the 19th Century and Britain’s birthplace of photography.

Born in 1800, the story of Mr Fox Talbot’s discoveries began with creative frustration. Married to Constance Fox Talbot, who was far better at drawing than he was, Mr Fox Talbot sought to create an alternative method of drawing with light whilst ensuring the image lasted forever.

Of scientifically curious mind, his experiments with paper, light sensitive solutions and early cameras led to the development of the first negative.

Fox Talbot photograph of Oriel window at Lacock Abbey

The earliest surviving example is of the Oriel Window at Lacock Abbey; an enigmatic image of a diamond-paned window made in 1835 and now owned by the Media Museum in Bradford.

To make the image, he brushed a piece of writing paper with salt and silver nitrate and placed it in a small wooden camera stationed on a mantelpiece opposite the window for an exposure that may have lasted hours.

The image is totally reversed as the paper darkened most where it recorded the bright light coming through the window.

This was one of the first and most significant breakthroughs in the discovery of the medium.

Another of his well-known negatives or photogram’s, Cascade of Spruce Needles, inspired Ms Carey to develop her work Crush & Pull with Hands, Penlights & Spruce Needles (2023).

It models the earliest photographic processes, like those of Mr Fox Talbot and his contemporary Louis Daguerre, who was also recording pictures ‘drawn by light’ in France.

Andy Cochrane, property curator at Lacock Abbey, said: “In the hands of Carey, the negative becomes a significant artwork, as should all negatives.

“Everything we’re doing here now at Lacock is a direct result of that moment in time (when Mr Fox Talbot invented the negative).

“It’s impossible to go throughout the day without being exposed to an image.”

Ellen Carey in a supersized Polaroid 20x24 camera

Ms Carey produced her artwork using a supersized Polaroid 20X24 camera to connect Mr Fox Talbot’s 19th Century work with Polaroid’s 20th Century instant technology.

Mr Cochrane said: “The exhibition is the beginning of the answer to the question – ‘What exactly is photography in the 21st Century?’

“It’s increasingly democratic throughout the world, which continues its relevance today.”

Mr Fox Talbot was not only a pioneer of photography, but as a keen amateur scientist, he was interested in how his discovery could be utilised more widely.

A concurrent exhibition, Bright Sparks at the Bodleian Libraries in Oxford, is displaying for the first time its own significant archive of the inventor, looking at the legacy of his life and work.

Exhibits in the Brights Sparks exhibition in the Bodleian Library

Curator of photography Philip Roberts said: “It’s about how Mr Fox Talbot initiated a lot of ideas that have since been picked up by artists and photographers, and they’ve taken them to all kinds of strange places with a contemporary eye.

“Mr Fox Talbot was interested in exploring the different potentials this new process could lead to, and each of those different techniques, for example, publishing in books, creating portraits, doing landscapes, recording the shapes of leaves, were significant.

“They’re all things that became super important and he had a hand in all of them, which is incredible.”

Mr Fox Talbot continued to experiment with the placement of objects in photographs.

“We have a really nice photo of his wife, Constance, looking away from the camera.

“He was playing around with how people should look in a photograph,” said Ally McConnell, principal archivist at The Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre (WSHC), which acquired and catalogued the nationally important Lacock Archive in 2013.

“Mr Fox Talbot was certainly recognised in his time, but there was probably more of an appreciation for him after his death.

“He actually made a really, really big difference to people’s lives and he continues to inspire,” she said.

The exhibition opens on Saturday at the Fox Talbot Museum in Lacock Abbey.

Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: bristol@bbc.co.uk

Saluda’s Allison DeVore is honing her nature photography skills.

May 27, 2023 By Admin in Photography

State

Zip Code

Country

DeVore is starting to experiment with film photography, too

May 27, 2023 By Admin in Photography

State

Zip Code

Country

‘Sun Breakers’ book sees Jürgen Beck’s photography celebrate Eileen Gray’s E-1027 house

May 27, 2023 By Admin in Photography

Photographer Jürgen Beck and Spector Books have launched Sun Breakers, a tome celebrating the architecture icon that is Eileen Gray’s E-1027 house. Presenting the home as an intimate, personal space, nestled into its landscape, instead of offering wide views that would ‘falsely enlarge the space’, the artist has captured a unique perspective on the modernist architecture piece that we are now all so familiar with – yet which still holds layers of experience and secrets to offer.

sun breakers book cover shot

(Image credit: Jürgen Beck)

Sun Breakers by Spector Books

Sun Breakers, which launched in spring 2023, features a delicious selection of Beck’s expert photography – the Zurich-based artist is a graduate from the Academy of Visual Arts in Leipzig, Germany – and essays by art writer and translator Dorothee Elmiger. Graphic designer Ina Kwon is behind the book’s overall look and layout. The team’s aim was to create a dialogue between the natural landscape and the building, as well as between photography and architecture.

inside pages of sun breakers book

(Image credit: Jürgen Beck)

Looking at the building, inside and out, through the overgrowth around it, as well as peeking from inside out, Beck’s work searches for an ‘expression of openness’ and at the same time, intimacy.

living spaces in eileen gray house from inside the book sun breakers

(Image credit: Jürgen Beck)

‘Beck moves inquisitively around the E-1027 house, which has only recently been elevated to an architectural icon. He takes summer strolls beside and into it, and avoids clear horizon lines or overviews that would enlarge what was planned as an intimate space for work, leisure and sport,’ write the team.

Beck’s approach to the project is ‘to encapsulate the design, characterised by its openness and lightness and what comes alive within it, in a story poised between glamour and critique’.

interior of eileen gray house from the book sun breakers

(Image credit: Jürgen Beck)

‘Through the titular sun breakers, shutter-like screens from the Mediterranean sun, photographic and architectural locations lose their objective frames, and the space opens into an expression for other forms of living and working, a malleable structure for flexible days and relationships. He reveals a design that addresses psychological and emotional needs, that inscribes things with their own names and relationships long before auto-fiction and the affective turn.’

view from inside eileen gray house from the book sun breakers

(Image credit: Jürgen Beck)

spectorbooks.com

“4-H Grows Here”: Holter Museum exhibits Lewis & Clark County 4-H photography works

May 27, 2023 By Admin in Photography

.lee-gift-article .btn {
float: left;
margin-right: 20px;
font-weight: 500;
padding: 8px 20px 8px 15px;
font-size: 16px;
border-radius: 20px;
background-color: var(–lee-blox-masthead-color) !important;
border-color: var(–lee-blox-masthead-color) !important;
}
#lee-gift-btn svg {
height: 22px;
width: 22px;
fill: #fff;
float: left;
margin-right: 10px;
}
.gift-links svg { margin-right: 10px; color: #888; }
.gift-links div { padding: 8px 0; }
.gift-links div:first-child { border-bottom: 1px solid #ddd; margin-top: 5px; }
.gift-links a { color: var(–lee-blox-accent-color); font-weight: 500; cursor: pointer; }
.gift-copy-clip {
display: none;
position: absolute;
background-color: var(–lee-blox-accent-color-secondary);
color: #fff;
padding: 5px 10px;
font-size: 11px;
bottom: 0;
right: 0;
border-radius: 5px;
}
.gift-copy-clip svg { margin-right: 2px; color: #cae5b3; }
@media (max-width: 997px){
.lee-gift-article .btn {
float: none;
margin-left: -10px;
}
}
/*
@media (max-width: 768px){
.lee-gift-article .btn {
margin-left: -25px;
padding: 10px 15px 10px 10px;
font-size: 14px;
}
#lee-gift-btn svg {
height: 20px;
width: 20px;
}
}
*/

Welcome to a showcase of photographs submitted by 4-H club members from the greater Lewis & Clark County community. We are grateful to the Holter Museum of Art and curator Ramsay Ballew for the privilege of displaying 4-H’ers work in Helena’s treasured gallery.

This year, 4-H youth enrolled in the photography project are exploring the concept of growth in their lives, both metaphorically and figuratively. “4-H Grows Here” is a national slogan of the 4-H program, and promotes the goal to develop citizenship, leadership, responsibility, and life skills of youth through experiential, hands-on learning programs in a positive environment.

In the photography project, we focus on creativity and composition. We work at promoting imagination and finding visual solutions to challenges. We explore different careers in photography, and photographic styles, such as portraiture, photojournalism, scientific astro, macro and micro photography, photographic artwork, commercial product and food photography, landscape and wildlife photography,

Most youth start out with camera phones, but as they pursue the photography project over multiple years, they learn to explore more of the technical aspects of photography, using DSLR cameras, lenses and lighting techniques. 4-H members pursue monthly photo challenges, attend workshops with presentations by professional photographers, engage in local photo safaris, pursue their photography independently and through 4-H curricula, and exhibit their work at the Photo Show and the Lewis & Clark County Fair.

The 4-H Photo Show is on exhibit at the Holter Museum of Art now through June 18. Presented by Lewis & Clark County 4-H members and Luke Duran, photography project superintendent.

Learn more about the 4-H Photography Project here: https://lc4hphoto.com

“Growing Through the Years: Four young brothers happily skip up the road together, a striking example of growth.” Cherith Irvin, 14, is a member of the Montana City Mavericks 4-H Club.

Cherith Irvin

“While it might be obvious by first look, this is the Washington Monument. No, I didn’t spend hours trying to find the perfect shot, but that’s what this image is for me. It represents every bit of growth I’ve had through 4-H. I’ve been in 4-H member for nearly 10 years. I started as a Cloverbud making crafts once a month to a responsible young adult who was lucky enough to attend the National 4-H conference in Washington D.C. Opportunities like this, and the connections made through them, is truly my driving force. So from Lewis and Clark County 4-H, to Washington D.C, I’ve grown, and learned so much.” Stella Duran, 15, is a member of the Prickly Pear 4-H Club.

Stella Duran

“My family and I went down to my great aunt’s ranch to help with calving. This is calf #325. He is a little bull, and he caught my eye from the start. “This little guy is only two days old,” says my aunt Gail, owner of Keystone Herefords. I look forward to seeing these calves every year and I’m excited to watch them grow.” Alyssa White, 14, is a member of the Gold Nuggets 4-H Club.

Alyssa White

“Winter Romp,” Cassidy Holm, 11, is a member of the Wild Roses 4-H Club.

Cassidy Holm

“When I think growth, I think of the mind set of plants and how they grow.” Alaina Greaney, 13, is a member of the Silver Spurs 4-H Club.

Alaina Greaney

Macey Rude, 11, is a member of the Prickly Pear 4-H Club.

Macey Rude

“Accidental Beauty” Jack Ellis, 15, is a member of the Big Sky 4-H Club.

Jack Ellis

“Over the last few years, archery has practically become a part of me. I have met a bunch of amazing people and formed great friendships through the 4-H Archery project, and honed skills such as perseverance, focus, and patience. I have learned so much from my two years in the program, and I’m sure that as the years begin to pile up, my love for this sport and its people will only grow further.” Emma Williams, 15, is a member of the Clancy Golden Nuggets 4-H Club.

Emma Williams

#lee-rev-content { margin:0 -5px; }
#lee-rev-content h3 {
font-family: inherit!important;
font-weight: 700!important;
border-left: 8px solid var(–lee-blox-link-color);
text-indent: 7px;
font-size: 24px!important;
line-height: 24px;
}
#lee-rev-content .rc-provider {
font-family: inherit!important;
}
#lee-rev-content h4 {
line-height: 24px!important;
font-family: “serif-ds”,Times,”Times New Roman”,serif!important;
margin-top: 10px!important;
}
@media (max-width: 991px) {
#lee-rev-content h3 {
font-size: 18px!important;
line-height: 18px;
}
}

#pu-email-form-daily-email-article {
clear: both;

background-color: #fff;

color: #222;

background-position: bottom;
background-repeat: no-repeat;
padding: 15px 0 20px;
margin-bottom: 40px;
border-top: 4px solid rgba(0,0,0,.8);
border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(0,0,0,.2);

display: none;

}
#pu-email-form-daily-email-article,
#pu-email-form-daily-email-article p {
font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, “Segoe UI”, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, “Apple Color Emoji”, “Segoe UI Emoji”, “Segoe UI Symbol”;
}
#pu-email-form-daily-email-article h2 {
font-size: 24px;
margin: 15px 0 5px 0;
font-family: “serif-ds”, Times, “Times New Roman”, serif;
}
#pu-email-form-daily-email-article .lead {
margin-bottom: 5px;
}
#pu-email-form-daily-email-article .email-desc {
font-size: 16px;
line-height: 20px;
margin-bottom: 5px;
opacity: 0.7;
}
#pu-email-form-daily-email-article form {
padding: 10px 30px 5px 30px;
}
#pu-email-form-daily-email-article .disclaimer {
opacity: 0.5;
margin-bottom: 0;
line-height: 100%;
}
#pu-email-form-daily-email-article .disclaimer a {
color: #222;
text-decoration: underline;
}
#pu-email-form-daily-email-article .email-hammer {

border-bottom: 3px solid #222;

opacity: .5;
display: inline-block;
padding: 0 10px 5px 10px;
margin-bottom: -5px;
font-size: 16px;
}
@media (max-width: 991px) {
#pu-email-form-daily-email-article form {
padding: 10px 0 5px 0;
}
}
.grecaptcha-badge { visibility: hidden; }

10 years of Guardian Australia’s best photography

May 27, 2023 By Admin in Photography

Joshua Collings and his son Tully at Pamela Noonan’s farm in Curryong, north-eastern Victoria, 7 July 2020. Tully wears a robot jumper and is excited to live in a ‘robot house’, the name he gives the modular, technologically innovative, energy-efficient and fire-safe home being built for his family by Atomic 6, a Melbourne-based research and construction company.

Photograph: Alana Holmberg/Oculi for The Guardian