Keeping it Real in HDR using Photoshop

There are many articles on our blog about HDR, we have always thought that using HDR to try to recreate what the eye sees is the best use of the technology and advocate the excellent tutorials on the Cambridge in colour website. This article By Jason Row on Lightstalking says much the same and gives a step by step guide to doing so

If you would like to read more of this article on Lightstalking go here

7 eBooks Every Photographer Should Read

I am a great believer in learning from others and  ebooks are by way the easiest and cheapest way of learning assuming you can’t make it to Oxford and attend one of our courses

I found this useful post on photographyblogger.net I would add to their list anything by the excellent Craft & Vision people

Here is what PB say:

While there are countless eBooks out there on photography, it can be a daunting task to filter through them all. Which books are worth their price tag, and will you walk away with the knowledge you need to improve your photography?

We set out on a photography eBook expedition to bring you a collection of guides that deliver – ones that will enhance your craft and widen your knowledge, so you can focus on enjoying your photography. Whether you’re buying for yourself or for the photographer in your life, these 7 eBooks can take your photography to the next level. See the full post and list of ebooks here

This is one sample from the post

Ten

If you’re looking to enhance your photography – that is, take what you have to another level – Ten is a solid source of inspiration that will help you grow as a photographer. Author and humanitarian photographer David duChemin is well-known for his eBooks, which are sold through Craft & Vision. Although he has authored many, his eBook Ten has earned a reputation as being a staple for photographers who have learned how to use their camera and are searching for that next step.

The eBook outlines ten ways to improve your craft, and none of them involve purchasing more gear. At $5, it’s already well worth the price – but as an added bonus, each step is followed by a creative exercise to help get you into the mindset needed to further your craft.

 

How to Make a Darkroom in Your Bathroom

by Jason Row over at Lightstalking

Despite the current renaissance of film photography, one of the biggest issues facing celluloid fans is getting it processed and printed. Long gone are the days of mini-labs in every small town, today you are more likely to have to send it off to another location to get the processing done. Even more tricky is to find places that will process and print black and white film, so, with that in mind,  why not have a go yourself. Back in the analogue days, one of the most popular ways of doing this was to have a bathroom darkroom. This simple set up negated the need for a dedicated room and permanent set up, and allowed for the photographer to develop as and when he needed to.

So How Do We Set Up a Bathroom Darkroom?

Well, first and most importantly, we need to black out the bathroom. There are several ways of doing this, but one of the best ways is to make wooden frame covered in blackout cloth or plastic that fits snugly into the window’s alcove. To seal any further light leakage use a roll of duct tape to seal around the window and the doors. The advantages of using duct tape is that it is easily removed when finished and cheap. Once sealed, stand in the bathroom for ten minutes (and let your eyes adjust) to see where, if at all, light is leaking.

A simple solution to creating a darkroom – by Matus Kalisky, on Flickr

More here  How to Make a Darkroom in Your Bathroom

How to Keep Your Camera Running Perfectly in the Dead of a Cold Winter

I am sure today is the coldest day of the year here in Oxford, or maybe it is the coldest day of the week, whatever it is just too cold. Cold in Oxford is not like cold in other places where it can be really cold, our cold is just….well cold. Enough, shooting in the winter has it’s pleasures but for me mostly outweighed by it’s pain so getting yourself sorted and ready to go an shoot when it is cold is really important. Batteries have a much shorter life in the cold.

Jason Row at Lightstalking has an article on this here

For those of us that inhabit Northern climes, the winter is fast approaching. I am sure many may put their cameras into hibernation for the dark days, preferring the comfort of the digital darkroom to the harsh realities of the freezing conditions, for some, outside.

However, by putting your feet up and ploughing through the summers post production, you could be missing some of the most spectacular shots of the year. Time to wrap up warm, wake the camera from it’s well earned slumber and get cold, for today we are going to take a look at some tips for winter shooting. Click Here: How to Keep Your Camera Running Perfectly in the Dead of a Cold Winter

Proposed UK copyright changes spark worldwide protests

There have been a lot of concerns over the way the British government planned to ease copyright restrictions. This is a difficult problem to solve as most of the world thinks it is ok to grab images and use them because they were ‘on the web’. However there is no doubt that many photographers are happy for their images to be used as long as they get a credit on the basis that any publicity must help, there are also many that want to guard their copyright at every turn. Read the full article by Olivier Laurent in the BJP here

US organisations representing photographers and photo agencies have written to the UK government to oppose proposed changes to the country’s copyright laws that would make it legal to use “foreign works without the knowledge and permission of the copyright owners”

Photography Books we recommend

It is that time of year, either you are looking for a book as a present for a photographer or you are constantly pressured by those who love you to come up with some ideas for what you would like as a Christmas present, so here are just a few suggestions. In no order or genre, just books we like

Tom Ang How to Photograph Absolutely Everything

This book does what it says, aimed at a more compact camera user with it’s technical advice but the ideas advice is excellent and everyone could learn from Tom.

 

Freeman Patterson Photography and the Art of Seeing

This is an excellent book for anyone who is interested in photography, not just taking snaps but those who really want to understand composition and the way it effects our images. This really is an excellent book that I have returned to regularly for ideas and understanding and inspiration

Almost any book featuring the work of Henri Cartier Bresson would be welcomed as a gift, I have a particular affection for this one

Henri Cartier Bresson Europeans

The book that started me off as a photographer when I was about 13 was by Bill Brandt, it was so inspiring that more than 40 years on I still return to it and marvel at this quiet man’s work

Bill Brandt Shadow of Light

At this time I can only see hardback copies from book dealers but even so it is worth the time and trouble finding one. An alternative is the book simply titled Brandt this has more pictures covering the widest areas of Brandt’s interest with a forward by David Hockney and a commentary by Bill Jay

 

 

 

 

 

 

This next book is not a photography book but in terms of visual ideas it is essential for any thinking person, it is large and stupidly cheap, I can’t recommend this book strongly enough The Art of Looking Sideways

Street Photography Now

This is a really excellent book and as Martin Parr says “it will become the new defining guide to street photography” Witty and full of ideas and inspiration, masses of pictures and features on specific photographers. A must if you are interested in street photography

I will post later about some other books I would like to find at the end of my bed on Christmas day.

Magnum Photos

You probably know about Magnum Photos or if not you will have heard of some of the photographers who are associates of this world important photo agency.

As the Magnum website says: Two years after the apocalypse that was called the Second World War ended, Magnum Photos was founded. The world’s most prestigious photographic agency was formed by four photographers – Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger and David “Chim” Seymour – who had been very much scarred by the conflict and were motivated both by a sense of relief that the world had somehow survived and the curiosity to see what was still there. They created Magnum in 1947 to reflect their independent natures as both people and photographers – the idiosyncratic mix of reporter and artist that continues to define Magnum, emphasizing not only what is seen but also the way one sees it. If you would like to read more of the history go here

Henri Cartier-Bresson said of the starting of the agency: “Back in France, I was completely lost,” legendary photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson explained in an interview with Hervé Guibert in Le Monde. “At the time of the liberation, the world having been disconnected, people had a new curiosity. I had a little bit of money from my family, which allowed me to avoid working in a bank. I had been engaged in looking for the photo for itself, a little like one does with a poem. With Magnum was born the necessity for telling a story. Capa said to me: ‘Don’t keep the label of a surrealist photographer. Be a photojournalist. If not you will fall into mannerism. Keep surrealism in your little heart, my dear. Don’t fidget. Get moving!’ This advice enlarged my field of vision.” We are so lucky he didn’t end up working in a bank.

Henri Cartier-Bresson

FRANCE. Paris. Place de l’Europe. Gare Saint Lazare. 1932.

The list of great photographers encompasses the very best in the world

Abbas,  Christopher Anderson,  Eve Arnold, Olivia Arthur, Micha Bar Am, Bruno Barbey, Jonas Bendiksen, Ian Berry, Werner Bischof, Rene Burri, Henri Cartier-Bresson Chien-Chi Chang, Antoine D’Agata, Bruce Davidson, Carl De Keyzer, Raymond Depardon, Thomas Dworzak, Nikos Economopoulos, Elliott Erwitt, Martine Franck,

Stuart Franklin, Leonard Freed, Paul Fusco, Cristina Garcia Rodero, Jean Gaumy, Bruce Gilden, Burt Glinn, Jim Goldberg, Philip Jones Griffiths, Harry Gruyaert,

Philippe Halsman, Erich Hartmann, David Alan Harvey, Tim Hetherington, Thomas Hoepker, David Hurn, Richard Kalvar, Josef Koudelka, Hiroji Kubota, Sergio Larrain,

Guy Le Querrec, Erich Lessing, Herbert List, Alex Majoli, Constantine Manos, Peter Marlow, Steve McCurry, Susan Meiselas, Wayne Miller, Dominic Nahr, Trent Parke,

Martin Parr, Paolo Pellegrin, Gilles Peress, Gueorgui Pinkhassov, Mark Power, Raghu Rai, Eli Reed, George Rodger, Moises Saman, Alessandra Sanguinetti ,Lise Sarfati,

Ferdinando Scianna, Jerome Sessini, David Seymour, Marilyn Silverstone, W. Eugene Smith, Jacob Aue Sobol, Alec Soth, Chris Steele-Perkins, Dennis Stock,

Zoe Strauss Mikhael Subotzky Nicolas Tikhomiroff Larry Towell Peter van Agtmael John Vink Alex Webb Donovan Wylie Patrick Zachmann Cornell Capa

Robert Capa, Inge Morath,

If you would like to read more about any of these photographers go here

Magnum are good at showing their work and the website is a joy, I would definitely bookmark this and go back there regularly to see what is new, I visit their site at least once a week, go here to see what is on offer today

Magnum also publish excellent books and I would recommend any of them, these are some of my favourites

This special and important photography book presents, for the first time, the very best contact sheets created by Magnum photographers. Contact sheets tell the truth behind a photograph. They unveil its process, and provide its back story. Was it the outcome of what a photographer had in mind from the outset? Did it emerge from a diligently worked sequence, or was the right shot down to pure serendipity a matter of being in the right place at the right time? This landmark publication provides the reader with a depth of understanding and a critical analysis of the story behind a photograph, the process of editing it, and the places and ways in which the selected photographs were used. For anyone with a deep appreciation of photography and a desire to understand what goes into creating iconic work, Magnum Contact Sheets will be regarded as the definitive volume. With 435 illustrations in total, 230 in colour, including over 3,600 frames on 139 contact sheets.

Here the photographers of Magnum, 50 years after the legendary group began its documentary mission, address the world following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989; a period which has seen the triumph of US capitalism at one extreme and the resurgence of ancient blood feuds at the other. The book is built around photo-essays selected and introduced by the photographers, many shot especially for the book. From Henri Cartier-Bresson to Magnum’s newest recruits, each photographer navigates the issues of history in their own way – some tackling the dramatic changes in the world head-on in the traditional manner of the “concerned photographer”, others choosing subjects and aesthetic viewpoints which are entirely personal. The result is an album of contemporary photography about the world today. “Magnum” is introduced by historian, broadcaster and cultural commentator Michael Ignatieff, linking the substance and pace of change in the post-Cold-war world with the historic role of the Magnum witness and image-maker. This is a book about history and humanity, journalism and art, and revealing the photographers of Magnum entering a new era.

Founded by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Magnum Photos is an iconic international photographic cooperative whose members have captured the major historical events of their times, as well as private and intimate moments. A year’s worth of these images is offered in this beautiful book that features full page reproductions organized to reflect what Cartier-Bresson himself declared a ‘community of thought, a shared human quality, a curiosity about what is going on in the world, a respect for what is going on and a desire to transcribe it visually.’ Nearly 70 photographers are represented with five to six images and the current Magnum members have selected the photographs that they consider to best represent their own output. Opposite each photograph is a page reserved for special dates, reflections, and notes. Published in an appealing and impressively-sized format, running more than 700 pages, this book includes images that make history both individual and universal.

10 Inspirational Photo Books

I am a great believer that looking at the work of important photographers is one of the best way to expand your horizons, to understand what it is to be a photographer and to improve.

This article By Phil Hill over on Lighstalking makes the same point. We all have our favourites but I have a number of the books Phil recommends. It is easy to be amazed by beautiful decorative images of landscapes and flowers but these don’t often make us think beyond, “that is beautiful” and photography as a creative art has to offer more than just beauty. No Ansel Adams here

I really wanted to inspire some photographers out there with some truly great work – photography that made me pick up my first camera.

To do this I have turned to one of traditional forums for displaying photographs; the photo book. Nothing quite beats sitting quietly with a hot drink and flicking the pages of a book packed full of incredible images. There are a huge amount of fantastic books out there, an inexhaustible list in fact. I have compiled 10 of my personal favourites, books that have aided my own photographic journey.

The Americans – Robert Frank

They should hand this out with every new camera sale! A lesson in editing, Frank shot 28,000 images for the book with only 83 ending up in the published book, and every one of those is a brilliant look at 1950’s American life warts and all.

Last Resort – Martin Parr

Challenging the traditional view of documentary photography, Parr takes you through a surreal and very funny tour of English resort town New Brighton. Street photography at its absolute best.

Guide – William Eggleston

William Eggleston’s Guide was one of the first publication’s to feature colour photography. The book may almost be dismissed as a collection of snap shots, however the more you look and look, the more it makes sense. Fantastic book.

See the rest of Phil’s recommendations here

Off the top of my head I would add these and when I have more time I will add more

Workers by Sabastio Salgado

Europeans by Henri Cartier Bresson

Beauty’s Nothing by Nadav Kander

In Our Time: The World as Seen by Magnum Photographers

Darkroom hire

In 1982 the Photographers Workshop was the first privately run darkroom hire centre in the UK. We continued to offer darkrooms and tuition until about 4 years ago when demand almost dried up. Since then of course I have received regular requests for darkrooms, now I only am aware of one. Here are some details

Photochats is a community photography project offering exhibitions, photographic workshops and high quality traditional darkroom printing facilities at a reasonable price.

Black and White and Colour Darkroom Hire.

All darkroom users have to attend an induction session before using any of the facilities. This will cover health and safety, darkroom and building procedures. The induction lasts for one hour and costs £10.00.

Inductions can be arranged at any time subject to availability. Call 07921 816754. This can be extended to include a second hour of directly supervised refresher printing if requested (£20.00 including induction).

Subsequently enlarger time can be booked by the session as shown in the timetable above. There is no annual membership fee. The basic charge is £4.00 per hour to use the darkroom. Alternatively you can buy 12 hours for £35.00. These hours should be used within 3 months of purchase. All darkroom bookings should be made at least 24 hours in advance by phone: 07921 816754 or emailphotochats10@yahoo.com

Darkroom Facilities.

The colour darkroom consists of 2 bench mounted De Vere 504 enlargers plus a floor standing De Vere 5108 (10×8). The processor is a table top Metoform 5040 which will take a maximum print width of 16 inches (20×16). The chemistry is Kodak. All negative sizes up to 10×8 can be catered for. The black and white darkroom has 4 bench mounted enlargers, including at least two De Vere’s, one with a cold cathode the other with a Multigrade 500 head. The paper is processed in open trays with the maximum size being 24x20inches. The paper developer is normally Ilford PQ Universal. There is a resin coated roller dryer and a couple of fibre dryers plus racks for air drying.

More info here

Better by Design: The role of design in the making of five modern photobooks

It seems to me that if you are even only sort of interested in photography you should be making photobooks of your work. The problem is design; it  is something that doesn’t come easily to everyone. I marvel at my friend Andrew Esson, who is a book designer, he instinctively knows how to a design a book that looks impeccable. Then again he has designed books for the UN, Houses of Parliament, the Royal Palaces …. Anyway this article found in the BJP looks at some recent photobooks and discusses the merits of design.

Jörg Colberg focuses on an overlooked aspect of the photobook, discussing the role of design in the making of five modern classics.

In the most basic terms, they are simply books made up of photographs, but of course there’s much more to the photobook than that. Typically they are carefully edited and sequenced, and the selection of the photographs, and their order, are crucial to whatever story is being told. But there’s another crucial element that’s too often ignored – the design.

Over the past few decades, photobook design has become an integral part of telling the story. Classics such as Walker Evans’ American Photographs used a very straightforward design: blank pages and picture pages alternating with very little text, if any. In contrast, contemporary photobooks have come to embrace the many different ways in which the design of a book – the graphic design as well as its actual physical properties – can help shape the message. The following books are some of the most striking examples I have come across. Interested? Read More Here

Broken Manual by Alec Soth.

Read more: http://www.bjp-online.com/british-journal-of-photography/report/2139689/design-role-design-modern-photobooks#ixzz25hQRrKDl
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