insights into photography
One of my favourite sites for photo-journalism is The Denver Post, this series of images and story are a testament to the quality they produce. Excellent news that Craig Walker has won the Pulitzer Prize for his work
“Denver Post photojournalist Craig F. Walker, who chronicled in intimate, affecting detail a young man’s journey from a high school student in Lakewood to a soldier fighting in Iraq and then back home, won the Pulitzer Prize for feature photography Monday.”
See the full article and pictures here
Between his high school graduation and the bus ride that would begin his journey to basic training, Ian Fisher reveled once more in the civilian life that was defined by his buddies, his girlfriend and his family. But the long good-bye slowly segued into the reality of his enlistment and the difficult road ahead. June 1, 2007. 2:03 p.m. Ian returns a phone call to Sgt. 1st Class Gavino Barron, the commander at Ian’s Army recruiting office. Barron was making sure Ian was on track for enlistment. When he was 17, Ian had joined the Army’s Future Soldier Training Program, which prepares recruits for the enlistment process. Barron recalls his initial impression of Ian: “He wasn’t in it for the money. He was only in it for God and country. That’s the reason most infantrymen join.” #
June 20, 2007. 12:41 p.m. “I want to go home. It makes me feel like I have an excuse. I’ve been thinking about everyone,” Ian says. He waits to speak with Sgt. 1st Class Robert Russell, the recruiting command liaison, to outline his injury and make a new claim: A drill sergeant mistreated him for not seeking permission when he got an X-ray the night before. #
Sept. 15, 2007. 3:22 p.m. Following a long day – on top of a long week – and suffering from heat rash, Ian finds himself back at his tent, bowing his head in prayer. He explains later: “I’ve been praying that God takes this stuff off my back.” #
Dec. 10, 2008. 8:20 p.m. Ian, center, and Buthmann pull security detail for a meeting between a psychological operations team and some local residents who were near the site of a rocket attack two nights earlier. The meeting is over quickly; the team doesn’t find what it is looking for. #
See all the images and read the stories here
It’s that time of the week again, well it is Friday and the weekend stretches before us, time to relax and catch up on the things we are just too busy for in the working week. This weekend I get no such break as I am teaching our DSLR course tomorrow with a shoot in the late afternoon and on Sunday I am teaching again our 1 Day DSLR Photography Workshop. As this is the end of term we are busy working on dates for the next series of courses that will start in January.
So those great folks at Toad Hollow Photography have collected together a staggering 126 tutorials, links and galleries from websites, blogs and other photography sources posted in the last week. You will definitely find something to keep you entertained and interested here, this comes via Lightstalking and go here for the full list
Here is a taste of what is presented to you
TUTORIALS
How to Print HDR Photographs — Printing Tips — Prints That Really Pop – a completely comprehensive guide to final printing of images, with an eye toward HDR photography. Very detailed, including a series of screenshots and examples, this article is guaranteed to teach you tips and tricks on how to most effectively perform this activity. Well worth the time to read, this is a totally awesome article.
Using Symmetry in Photography – a great tutorial that discusses the use and employment of symmetry in photography. This post includes some great example images, producing a complete article that is sure to shed some light on this practice and style of photography.
Boudoir Part 4: Implied Nude – Erik Kerstenbeck really delivers a compelling background story on this style of photography. More centric around the history of this style with some technical tips and cues, this piece is sure to teach everyone a little something about this truly incredible photographic style.
Boudoir Part 5: Different Perspectives – a continuation from the above link, Erik Kerstenbeck shares some more really great tips and tricks for this particular style of photography. This is a great series of posts that deliver a lot of information about applying this genre of imagery.
Making Your Images Pop – Through Choice Of Lens – a short but very helpful post outlining a set of tips and tricks to get the most out of your photography. This list is comprised of some simple points to follow, all of which help to achieve the desired effect.
Use Fake Rain for Intense Action Shots – a behind-the-scenes video of a photo-shoot for a famous magazine shows how fake rain was created and used in this shoot to create the desired end-effect.
Photo Food Tags: A Thanksgiving DIY Project – just in time for Thanksgiving in the US, this wonderful blog post provides an in-depth guide on creating unique food tags for the dinner offerings. A wonderful idea, this article really takes the reader through the entire process.
The Best Way to Learn Wedding Photography – striving or desiring to be the best wedding photographer you can be? This fabulous article outlines some key steps to ensure success in this realm of photography related services.
GREAT PHOTOGRAPHY
Learning to See (space) – Part 6 – Tom Dinning (who is a regular contributor here at Light Stalking: @tomdinning) delivers another absolutely profound piece in his latest running series. Exquisite photography provides the foundation for this new article, and is accompanied by a truly incredible article that discusses the artistic interest in space. This new article is guaranteed to make you pause and think deeply about the world we live in, and as photographers how and what we capture. This post is guaranteed to leave you with a new sense of our surroundings and we wholeheartedly encourage everyone to pop over for a read.
Show Your Fall Color – right here on the Light Stalking forums resides this wonderful thread full of Autumn color! Great shots from many of our active members grace this page, a wonderful post well worth the time to visit and check out!
Sun Devil Stadium – absolutely picture-perfect, this photograph from the studio of Scott Wood delivers a powerful and dramatic night-shot of a fireworks display over a stadium. The facility itself is crystal-clear in this image, and the colors and details of the fireworks display really showcase Scott’s abilities as a photographer to capture challenging subjects. Well done.
Hugh O’Neill Building – a wonderful architectural study done by Mark Garbowski really showcases this iconic building. A very complex method was used to capture and process this image, producing a striking and strong photograph sure to delight the historically significant architectural fan in us all.
Big Box Stores Hide Historic Ranch House – a stunning and breathtaking shot of an old, weathered house on a hillside in California produces a striking and compelling image. Renée M. Besta really delivers the goods in this shot, full of incredible textures and details to enjoy, all punctuated by the raw drama of a stormy sky producing a striking overdrop to the entire scene.
Ha’penny Bridge – an incredible photograph of a bridge in Dublin. Fabulous details and a truly mesmerizing reflection await the viewer in this beautiful image of an iconic bridge.
The Red Light, Toronto – a wonderful image of light at nighttime from Ren Bostelaar creates a dramatic and compelling scene to enjoy. Warm tones are punctuated by great framing to produce a great photograph in this shot.
unexpected satisfaction by ros k @ getfunky_paris, on Flickr
Oxford School of Photography 