Benjamin Von Wong, a Montreal photographer – underwater fashion

From Bored Panada

Benjamin Von Wong, a Montreal-based photographer known for his complicated productions and fantastic images bristling with power, has completed an extraordinarily difficult underwater photoshoot with absolutely stunning results. He and a hand-picked crew of experienced divers, underwater photographers and freedivers set up an entire photoshoot 25m under the sea in a sunken shipwreck off the coast of Bali.

The images are enchanting in their own right, before you even get into the incredible technical details of the photoshoot. The models, who also had to be experienced freedivers (divers known for diving without oxygen tanks), posed on-site in and around the shipwreck with beautiful flowing dresses provided by international Bali-based designer Ali Charisma. Their flowing dresses transform them into the wonderfully beautifully mermaids or nymphs of mythology, who threatened to drag sailors bewitched by their beauty to the cold, dark depths.

To make the shoot possible, Von Wong had to find just the right people to support the photoshoot. Instead of photo assistants, he had experienced safety divers who provided the freediver models with breaths of air from their oxygen tanks. The underwater setting prohibited the use of studio luxuries like lighting – they had to rely on camera strobes and on natural lighting. For some of the shots, the models were actually tied down to the shipwreck – a miscommunication could have spelled disaster for their project.

see more here

To see the full extent of Benjamin’s work go to his website here

Abstract Photography: how to shoot urban Impressionism

The trend of Impressionist photography has shown us the natural world as it’s never been seen before. But can it work in an urban setting?

Photography has witnessed an explosion of creative ideas over the last few years, primarily due to the advent of digital capture and processing via the “dry” darkroom. The digital photography age, due to the low cost of memory as opposed to capture on film, has above all allowed the individual to experiment far beyond what was previously possible. It has also allowed people to develop new methods of approach to their photography, here, leading landscape photographers  Morag Paterson and Ted Leeming talk about how to transfer your Impressionist photography techniques from the natural world to the urban environment. Read more….

Photography theory: a beginner’s guide

Bewildered by Berger? Stumped by Sontag? We read the essential photography theory so you don’t have to. Putting this simply here is a digest of the writings on photography by the great photography writers as seen in The Telegraph  Here is an example of what is on offer to give the chance to work out if you want to delve further

“The decisive moment”, an idea that has defined street photography and photojournalism as we know it, was first outlined in the preface to a book of photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson. The essay starts with Cartier-Bresson charting his life so far as a photographer – from messing around with a Box Brownie as a child to co-founding Magnum Photos – before talking through his approach to photography.

According to Cartier-Bresson, there is an almost magical split-second in which events in the world – interactions between people, movement, light and form – combine in perfect visual harmony. Once it passes, it is gone forever. To capture such moments as a photographer you must be inconspicuous, nimble and attentive; working on instinct; responding to reality and never trying to manipulate it.

Composition cannot be planned, nor can it be added in afterwards. Cropping will invariably make a good shot worse and is unlikely to make a bad shot better. Camera settings shouldn’t be something the photographer even thinks about – taking a photograph should be like changing gears in a car.

In his own words:

“We photographers deal in things that are constantly vanishing, and when they have vanished, there is no contrivance on earth which can bring them back again.”

“Composition must be one of our constant preoccupations, but at the moment of shooting it can stem only from our intuition, for we are out to capture the fugitive moment, and all the interrelationships involved are on the move.”

“To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organisation of forms which give that event its proper expression.”

How to sound as if you’ve read it:

Be ready and reactive. Don’t get hung up on kit and, most importantly, keep it real.

Want more? go here

Oxford Photo Walk – October 11th 2014

You may already know about this, if not thought you might be interested. The idea of a photo walk is that people with cameras gather for about 2 hours and walk around their city and take pictures. Sounds like it could be fun. It is presented as a social thing rather than a learning experience although I am sure advice will be spread to those who are receptive. There are photowalks all over the world on the same day so even if you don’t live in Oxford you might be able to find one near you or even organise one. The main organiser is Scott Kelby, who is a well known photographer and trainer. Here is a bit of info, here is the link site

©Keith Barnes

©Keith Barnes

Photo Walk Description

Hi guys, I’m Peter. This will be my third Worldwide Photo Walk, and this year I’ve decided to take the lead!

I want to do something a little different this year, and set a theme. Oxford is a beautiful city with centuries of history, and I want to capture that by shooting film. I will even hand develop all my shots! So, I would like to suggest that anyone interested in joining me on an attempt to take over Oxford for 2 hours brings a film camera with them. This is not a requirement for attending this walk, but it would be great to see as many film cameras as possible. It doesn’t matter whether you have a pinhole camera, a brownie, Leica, or even if you bring an 8 x 10 large format (although anything bigger than that may cause an obstruction).

If you don’t have (and can’t borrow one) a film camera, don’t worry it’s not a requirement. If you do wish to get involved, disposable film cameras can still be easily found for as little as £2-3, and I may also be able to help out if needed (more details on an update). It’s also not a requirement that you only shoot film.

I have created a local Flickr group which can be found here: https://www.flickr.com/groups/wwpwoxford2014
The main Worldwide Photo Walk Flickr page can be found here: http://flickr.com/groups/wwpw2014

I really enjoyed my last two walks, and I hope I can make this year as enjoyable for you. I will keep this page updated with more details as I get them, with the possibility of a local competition! Again, to recap: film would be great but not a requirement, no experience required – just the love of taking photos, and above all else, we’ll have fun and meet new friends.

Meeting Location & Time

Radcliffe Square, Oxford, Oxford- United Kingdom
Get Directions

Date: Saturday, October 11, 2014

Time: 03:00pm – 05:00pm

Location Details: Outside the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin

After the walk, meet at: TBC

If you are not in Oxford then go to this site and see if there is a walk near you

24 Blue Hour Photographs for Inspiration

From those nice people at LightStalking The blue hour is that beautiful period of time that isn’t quite day time and isn’t quite night time. The quality of light thrown off is an absolute gift for photographers who can really use that quality of light to produce special colors in photography. It’s had enough of an impact on the general public for at least on restaurant in every city to be called L’Heure Bleue too. This collection should show you why it’s such an inspiration to people.

MIMI MOLLICA . PHOTOGRAPHER

György László at  L1GHTB1TES keeps finding gems to tantalise us with, this one is from his first post.

GL: Your pictures from Dakar are currently on display at the Somerset House in London. When I saw them I sensed a mixture of immediacy and formal discipline. How did you take these pictures?
MM: While working on En Route To Dakar, I was lucky enough to be mentored by Mr. Martin Parr, whom I like to call Mr. Martin. Once, as he was commenting on my photographs, Mr. Martin told me, to spend much more time on taking my photographs. “Mr. Martin, more than one hour per photograph?”, I asked. “One hour? Mimi, you must stay one day, one week, one month on a photograph… until it is good!”
So I went back to Dakar and applied the methodology suggested by him. This picture must have been taken in March 2008. There was this spot along the motorway, where a bridge was to be built, but at that moment people still had to just cross the highway to go from one part of Dakar to the other. Every day from early morning until the evening, commuters, school kids, vendors, women… Everyone was flowing from one side to the other and I thought this was pretty symbolic, important for my story, and mostly, it was visually compelling!
I waited in the middle of the carriageway and stayed there all morning and the day after all afternoon and the following day from morning until late afternoon and so on… I have a lot of photographs of people jumping across the highway. This is one I am quite happy about. I like the colors, and I like the posture of this lady imposing her elegant and eloquent figure on my frame.
GL: How do you get ready for such moments mentally? And how do you make sure that the image is going to be okay technically?
MM: Generally speaking, I believe in the photographer’s expertise to be able to catch volatile moments, to be able to render them universal in a photograph. This is what is exciting about reportage/documentary photography. Only by doing so can you maintain a good honest balance between you, the photographer, and the reality you are trying to capture.
It’s a bit like fishing. If you go out to the ocean, place a bomb into the sea, detonate it and then come and collect the dead fish, this is not what I call fishing, this is plain and simple mass murder! But when you go out and spend a day with your rod waiting for the good catch, not only you’ll feel more in balance with nature, but you’ll have thought a great deal during that day. That’s why fishermen and photographers are usually wise people, because they learn to observe and to listen. The means are as important as the end!
I am always aware of the moments I would want to catch with my camera, even if for some reason I do not have the camera with me. This is my natural attitude towards life. Yes, I do go to places where things are more likely to ‘happen’ but photographs are virtually everywhere!
As far as the technical aspect of capturing the right image, here you need some skills, you need to know your tools, you have to master your camera and be ready to capture the moment without hesitation. I must admit that I did loose a few photographs along the years, but this is also part of the game. If it is true that you learn from your mistakes, then I must be very clever by now!

More

Related articles

• Martin Parr Research (alevelphotographyblogg.wordpress.com)
• Sally Mann 3 (cochranse.wordpress.com)
• Tony Ray-Jones and Martin Parr: English rituals of the 60s (theguardian.com)
• A brief discussion of Henri Cartier-Bresson (philplunkett.wordpress.com)
• Susan Burnstine, A Photographer and An Inspiration (jacquelinepfeiffer.wordpress.com)

Free Photography ebooks from Craft & Vision

We really do think that the Craft & Vision books are exceptional value, the best way to improve your photography is by learning more about the subject. You probably come on our courses but you might want more to fill the times when we are on holiday, maybe you just don’t live in Oxford (poor you) so our courses are not possible for you. If you want a taste of these really brilliant ebooks there are some which are free for you, go here to grab a couple Have a look at some of the other titles while you are there

 

ANDREW MIKSYS . PHOTOGRAPHER

L1GHTB1TES is the blog place of our friend György László. He has the simple but wonderfully perceptive idea of talking to photographers whose work he likes. Every so often he finds someone that intrigues him and he interviews them. I recommend you make  L1GHTB1TES one of your regular book marks

GL: How did you meet this girl in this disco that more than anything looks like a set from a David Lynch movie?
AM: The problem with photography is that you never know what’s going to work in a picture and what’s not. I find it impossible to plan a good photograph. It’s more about getting into interesting situations and environments and then just seeing what happens. I asked this girl if I could photograph her. The location was kinda good because it was in the lobby of the disco and not too chaotic. Then I tried a few different things from photographing her standing near a wall and then near this column. When I was photographing, I can’t remember seeing all the guys in the background in leather jackets, but when I saw them on the contact sheet I thought the contrast between the girl and the them looked great.
GL: How long work you working on this series? And how did you know that you were done with DISKO?
Andrew_Miksys_DISKO_03AM: I spent about 10 years on and off working on DISKO. It was really difficult to finish the series. I wasn’t exactly chasing after individual photographs. There was something more in the mood and atmosphere of rural Lithuania on empty back roads that I wanted to come through in the book and in a series of photographs. At one point a few years ago, I decided to stop photographing and look through every roll of film and start choosing images that worked together. There were about 75 images that seemed to fit the them which I later edited down to 45 for the book.
GL: What attracted you to the disco?
AM: I like projects that have many layers. In DISKO there were the teenagers growing up in a new post-Soviet reality with more influences from western Europe and the US. But the discos took place in Soviet-era cultural centers that were basically unchanged since the days of the USSR. Past, present, and future were all mixed together in one room. Lots of material. Photographing was always a bit cumbersome. I use a studio style flash on a stand. It’s pretty easy to move around, but I was rarely out on the dance floor trying to photograph. Instead I worked around the edges.

Interested to read more, go here

500px Is Turning Four! Another Competition

©Justin Marimon

OK we have to admit we do like 500px as a site to share pictures, a sort of grown up Flickr, so as they are now 4 and are giving away cameras as part of a celebratory competition we thought we should let you in on it. You do need a 500px account to enter but go for it

Hey everyone, tomorrow is our Birthday! 500px is turning four years old and to celebrate we have a special surprise for you.

I remember it as though it was yesterday. It was the evening of October 31st, 2009, and two of my friends: Evgeny and Oleg were about to launch a self-funded, hard-labored and very awesome website — 500px.com.

Now four years later, 500px is home to the worlds’ best photography with an incredible community of photographers & photo lovers. Because of your love, support and feedback the site has evolved over the years and what started as a 2 man endeavor has become a 30 people company. This would not have been possible without you, thank you so so much for all your love and support. Our Birthday is your Birthday too, so let’s celebrate together with gifts…

To mark our four year Birthday we want to shower you with gifts!

1. Our first gift is Fuji Film x100s cameras to four lucky 500px members. All you have to do to win one is 1) Take a photo with 500px logo and 2) Upload it to your account with tag 500pxbirthday. You have one month to enter and winners will be announced December 1st 2013. We will ship world-wide, no age restriction and winning photos will be judged on creativity and photo techniques.

2. Our second gift is the gift of Awesome. The first 40 people to comment will get automatically upgraded to one year of Awesome accounts. Yay!

3. Our third gift is a bundle of swag. So if you ever dreamt of getting your hands on that 500px logo T-shirt, cup, stickers etc. this is your perfect opportunity 🙂 We are giving away four special bundles on our social media pages. Visit our Twitter and Facebook pages to enter.

4. Our last gift is a virtual hug and a thank you!

The words are not enough to express our gratitude and appreciation for your commitment, support and feedback. Every comment that we’ve received over the years, be it an email to help, twitter shout-out or an in-person thank you has made our hearts skip a beat and will be forever cherished.

Go here for details and information

The Visual Storyteller – new ebook

Over here at OSP Towers we love Craft & Vision ebooks, fantastic value stuffed with really useful tips, tutorials, ideas and beautifully illustrated. The latest in the series is by Oded Wagenstein and is about  “Creating Stronger Stories and Better Photographs” something very dear to our creative hearts

 

 

Some of the most powerful photographs tell – or imply – a story. Of course, not all of them do, but the ones that do seem to engage us in ways others don’t. Capturing a sense of story in our photographs isn’t easy, but it’s a good way to make our photographs stronger. Oded Wagenstein is a young Israeli photographer with a surprising number of publishing credits to his name already, and is a regular inNational Geographic Traveler (the Israeli edition). The Visual Storyteller is his first eBook with Craft & Vision and it’s an excellent introduction to incorporating story into our photographs.

Storytelling is a rich subject and Oded’s eBook is a great primer for anyone wanting to either wrap their brains around this topic, or to begin selling their work to editorial markets, which is where Oded makes his bread and butter.

Beautifully laid out, The Visual Storyteller takes you from a discussion about what makes a good story-telling photograph, and the basic elements of storytelling, to how we incorporate that knowledge into our work. He goes on to discuss gear, light, composition, approaching people, and how to get your photographs published, including an interview with Daphne Raz (National Geographic Editor-in-Chief).

Beginners and intermediate photographers who travel with their cameras, or have an interest in pursuing work as travel photographers, will enjoy this 78-page eBook.

 

To buy this wonderful ebook for, $5, yes $5 or in real money £3.10 go here