Darkroom in a box

It must be said that I am sold on Photo JoJo, I do think their irreverence is infectious and worth spreading, not the infection but the irreverence…..

“Way back in 1851, photographers were an exclusive band of badass adventurers.

Marauders of the land, they hauled dark rooms across majestic mountain ranges and captured images of the countryside for the first time ever.

Like the great photographers of yore, you can now tow your camera and darkroom wherever you may be. Meet the Darkroom in a Box, a pinhole camera and portable darkroom in one.

Designed and hand assembled in France, it’s a miniature photo lab that lets you shoot and develop a photo all in one clever box.

Just how clever is it? Shooting and developing only takes 3 steps. 1) Slip photo paper into provided holder and place in the box. 2) Expose the photo via a pinhole in the top of the box. 3) Steep the photo in the provided developer and fix.

Voilà!: your very own hand shot and developed photo! Yup, it’s pretty much magic in a box, and you’re pretty much a badass.”

 

 

 

We haven’t tried the Darkroom in a box so our recommendation is out of the sheer joy in the idea rather than how well it all works.

Full details here

Photography opportunity in Switzerland

We receive occasional requests for help and this comes as something that may be of interest although the requiremnts are quite specific.

“Are you interested in spending a month in a beautiful Swiss Alpine village this summer? Aiglon College is looking for an energetic, enthusiastic Photographer/Magazine producer to join our Summer School staff team in July 2012.

We are looking for a suitably experienced person to photograph the Summer school students throughout the 3 week activity sessions and design and produce a 52 page magazine using Adobe Indesign or similar. You will have a love of the outdoors as you will be required to photograph students participating in such activities as white water rafting, mountain biking and rock climbing as well as classroom based activities. You may also be required to participate in a camping trip.
You must be a highly organised individual who is happy to work as part of a team or individually. You must also have the ability to work to a very tight deadline.”
EU passport holders only.   Car owner a plus.”

This link is to the school’s website   Photographer Magazine Producer Ad

If you are interested in this post, please contact the Director of Vacation
Courses, Ginny Cunliffe at vsc@aiglon.ch for further information.

Photo Gifts and Gear for Photographers

OK I have to admit I am struggling to work out if all these gadgets on the ever fun Photo JoJo site are serious, but then I can sort of see a purpose for most of them. It would be easy to call them cool, or geeky but that would deny the sheer absurdness of some of the items. I don’t want you to assume I am against these gadgets and I do really like Photo JoJo but maybe you should make your own mind up. The really sad thing is not that I am writing about this but that Photo JoJo being based in the US means, we over here in the UK, would have to pay exorbitantly for shipping and have to wait for weeks to get our hands on these fun gadgets. Go here to see the full range of things you perhaps never knew you needed

 

iphone range finder

table dolly

An Introduction to Rembrandt Lighting For Portrait Photographers

“If you’re a beginning photographer, chances are you’re still in the process of building up your arsenal of studio lighting. Being able to get the most out of a small lighting setup can be crucial to your photography. For those working with a one or two light setup, Rembrandt lighting can help you achieve professional quality portraits with a minimal amount of equipment.  Named for its frequent appearance in Rembrandt paintings, Rembrandt lighting is a method of studio lighting in which the subjects face is well lit on one side with only a small triangle of light appearing on the opposite cheek, such as in the photograph below.”..MORE

Sass by oxcnpxo, on Flick

By Tiffany Mueller on Lightstalking
Click Here: An Introduction to Rembrandt Lighting For Portrait Photographers

Using Flickr For Photo Backups

One of the things I talk about in our Understanding Your Digital SLR Camera courses is the need to back up images so if your computer fails you have a set somewhere else, on discs, a separate external hard drive etc. I have also advocated the use of on line storage, this means that even if your house burns down your most important images are stored on some one else’s server. I use Flickr for basic on line storage and this article on Photo Tuts says much the same.

“Although the main purpose of Flickr is for sharing your images, the online service will also safely store the original file you upload – providing you have a Pro account. This costs $24.95 for one year, removes any upload or storage limits, and lets you save and access very large resolution files.

If you have a very large photo library, the process of uploading your entire catalog of old images is going to take a very long time. There’s no way around this, and it’s the cost of using any off-site type of backup system.”…..MORE