Robin Hammond – Named Winner of 3rd Annual Dr. Guislain “Breaking the Chains of Stigma” Award

Robin Hammond exhibited at Photography Oxford, the recently ended festival of photography in Oxford, so it is very good to report that he has received a substantial award for his photography of mentally ill people in nations such as the South Sudan, Liberia and Uganda documenting the struggles faced by patients with brain disorders in many developing nations. The resulting images, many of which are striking and unsettling, have been published in a photo book entitled, “CONDEMNED-Mental Health in African Countries in Crisis.”  The information about his award and the awarding organisation is here

The pictures from this project are disturbing but sensitive to the condition of the subjects, here is text from Robin’s website regarding the work

CONDEMNED – Mental Health in African Countries in Crisis

Where there is war, famine, displacement, it is the most vulnerable that suffer the greatest.

Abandoned by governments, forgotten by the aid community, neglected and abused by entire societies. Africans with mental illness in regions in crisis are resigned to the dark corners of churches, chained to rusted hospital beds, locked away to live behind the bars of filthy prisons.

Some have suffered trauma leading to illness. Others were born with mental disability. In countries where infrastructure has collapsed and mental health professionals have fled, treatment is often the same – a life in chains.

I started documenting the lives of the mentally ill in African countries in crisis in an attempt to raise awareness of their plight. I travelled to war ravaged areas of Congo, South Sudan, Mogadishu and Uganda. I spent time with the displaced in refugee camps in Somalia and Dadaab. In Nigeria I went to see the impacts of corruption on facilities for the mentally ill.

After 12 years of documenting human rights issues I’ve never come across a greater assault on human dignity. These people are unseen and therefore their suffering ignored. This project is being produced in the hope that no longer will ignorance be able to be used as an excuse for inaction.

Many Somalis will take their mentally ill relative to traditional or Khoranic healers for treatment. The 20 year long conflict has ensured the collapse of mental health services and leaves them few options. Mogadishu, Somalia

Severely mentally disabled men and women are shackled and locked away in Juba Central Prison for years on end. The new nation of South Sudan faces a tremendous challenge to build a modern country capable of caring for all of its citizens. Juba, Sudan

Abdi Rahman Shukri Ali, 26, has lived in a locked tin shack for two years. He stays with his family in Dadaab in Eastern Kenya, the world’s largest refugee camp, where Somalis fleeing conflict and famine have sought safety. Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya

See the rest of the project on Robin’s website here

Paddy Summerfield – Mother and Father

Here is a little reminder in case you missed the previous post whilst sunning yourself in some sunny location

Dear Paddy has been an institution in Oxford for decades, he was the very first person to appear at the original Photographers Workshop on 6th June 1982, he shambled through the door and said, ‘hi I’m Paddy can I help’.  He has been a great source of inspiration and support for so many fresh faced new photographers that there is probably a book just on who has been influenced by the great man. Now as part of Photography Oxford he is showing his touching and long term body of work Mother and Father.

During the festival there are showings of Paddy’s exhibition in the garden where the images were created from 6pm each evening 337 Banbury Road

This first public showing of Paddy Summerfield’s Mother And Father is part of the new PHOTOGRAPHYOXFORD 2014 Biennale, and also marks the publication of his book (Dewi Lewis Publishing). The images will be installed in the actual garden where most of the photographs were taken. The exhibition and  book document the final decade of a 60 year marriage, that began in the summer of 1939 as war approached, and ended under the shadows of another struggle: the trials of old age and his mother’s loss of memory. Summerfield reflects through the lens of his own vision the bond between his mother and father, which even dementia could not break.

As Gerry Badger writes: “Nothing much happens in these pictures, just everyday, commonplace, important things. The Summerfields tend their garden, they walk and sit within its protective embrace, they embrace each other.”....READ MORE HERE

©Paddy Summerfield

 

 

©Paddy Summerfield

Location: PhotographyOxford 2014

Venue 22: 337 Banbury Road OX2 7PL

Opening Hours: 6.30-8.30pm daily

Paddy Summerfield

Mother And Father

14.09.14 – 05.10.14

PhotographyOxford 2014 / Oxford / England

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….

Paddy Summerfield – Mother and Father

Dear Paddy has been an institution in Oxford for decades, he was the very first person to appear at the original Photographers Workshop on 6th June 1982, he shambled through the door and said, ‘hi I’m Paddy can I help’.  He has been a great source of inspiration and support for so many fresh faced new photographers that there is probably a book just on who has been influenced by the great man. Now as part of Photography Oxford he is showing his touching and long term body of work Mother and Father.

This first public showing of Paddy Summerfield’s Mother And Father is part of the new PHOTOGRAPHYOXFORD 2014 Biennale, and also marks the publication of his book (Dewi Lewis Publishing). The images will be installed in the actual garden where most of the photographs were taken. The exhibition and  book document the final decade of a 60 year marriage, that began in the summer of 1939 as war approached, and ended under the shadows of another struggle: the trials of old age and his mother’s loss of memory. Summerfield reflects through the lens of his own vision the bond between his mother and father, which even dementia could not break.

As Gerry Badger writes: “Nothing much happens in these pictures, just everyday, commonplace, important things. The Summerfields tend their garden, they walk and sit within its protective embrace, they embrace each other.”....READ MORE HERE

©Paddy Summerfield

 

 

©Paddy Summerfield

Location: PhotographyOxford 2014

Venue 22: 337 Banbury Road OX2 7PL

Opening Hours: 6.30-8.30pm daily

Paddy Summerfield

Mother And Father

14.09.14 – 05.10.14

PhotographyOxford 2014 / Oxford / England

How to make money from photography, part 5: shoot property for estate agents

From Digital Camera World, a series on making money from your camera.

Over the past five weeks we’ve been introducing you to new ways to make money from photography. We’ve looked at selling photos via stock photo agencies, running photography workshops and more.

Click here to read the full series on How to make money from photography

This week, in our final instalment of the series, we speak to photographer John Durrant, who turns a profit from photographing property. Via his Property Photographer website, John shoots houses and buildings on behalf of estate agents.

We spoke to John about how approaches these firms, how much he charges and how much you can expect to earn.

 

An old but pertinent joke goes, how do you make money from your camera?

Sell it

Masters of Photography – their thoughts and ideas

Please read these quotations, think about what these supremely gifted photographers have to say, what do you think? Leave a comment and start a debate. Or find a quotation of your own and post it and start the conversation going

1. “ You don’t take a photograph, you make it. – Ansel Adams

Full awareness of what makes a good photo is essential in taking great photographs.

Why would anyone be interested in this photo and what elements can be included or excluded to make it truly great?

2. “ Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst. – Henri Cartier-Bresson

Do you know how many photos you have taken up until now? You will have to take thousands of pictures to reach a point where you can begin to evaluate them objectively. Looking upon your photos as if you were looking at them through someone else’s eyes is a good way to give yourself constructive criticism. Comparing your first photos with your most recent, do you see improvement? Do you remember how you loved some of your first photos – do you still love them or are they now not so good anymore?

3. “ Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph. – Matt Hardy

You often don’t or can’t see beauty in the world until someone shows it to you. Take a look around you just now – even without moving from the computer. Can you see something in a new way, a different way of presenting something common? Just take a look again…

4. “ Nothing happens when you sit at home. I always make it a point to carry a camera with me at all times I just shoot at what interests me at that moment. – Elliott Erwitt

When the world is your canvas, so to speak, you need your tools with you to capture everything around you. Make a habit of always carrying a camera with you—you will never suffer the regret of wishing you had.

5. “ Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow. – Imogen Cunningham

Never be fully satisfied with what you’ve done.

Never stop photographing. It is very likely that your best photograph has not yet been captured.

6.  “ You’ve got to push yourself harder. You’ve got to start looking for pictures nobody else could take. You’ve got to take the tools you have and probe deeper. – William Albert Allard

We are always looking for reasons for not taking good pictures. Cartier-Bresson used film camera, same lens, no flash, same shutter speed – he didn’t need the newest digital equipment to take great photos.

We all have access to some subjects that no one else has access to – look at your friends’ hobbies, the workplaces of friends and family, and any place you have access to to find a vision that comes uniquely from your access. Many people would dream of having the same access you have, and you might not have considered how valuable your access is.

7. “ If I saw something in my viewfinder that looked familiar to me, I would do something to shake it up. – Garry Winogrand

How often have you seen a photo that is missing something, thinking, “This is a good photo but I’d make it different somehow.”? Sometimes small things make a big difference. Don’t be afraid to shake things up.

8. “ I always thought good photos were like good jokes. If you have to explain it, it just isn’t that good. – Anonymous

Sometimes it is interesting to hear the story behind the photo and you see the photo in a new light. But in most cases a photo shouldn’t need a story to back it up. It has to speak for itself.

9.  “ Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop. – Ansel Adams

Even one of the masters in photography, Ansel Adams, didn’t expect to get more than 12 great photographs each year.

How can anyone expect more?

Take a look at your last year in photos – do you really see 12 photos that stand out from the rest?

10. “It can be a trap of the photographer to think that his or her best pictures were the ones that were hardest to get. – Timothy Allen – On editing photos

Editing photos can often be the most difficult but also the most satisfying part. Sometimes taking a quick look at all the photos and then going away for a while before taking a closer look lends a fresh eye to your viewing. You may see things you did not notice previously. Stepping away from the mass of photos can make certain images stand out in your mind’s eye, leaving a memorable impression that can characterize a good photo.

 

Well……..

9 Crazy Cross Eye 3D Photography Images and How to Make Them

OK the headline makes it sound….well crazy, but the simple fact is that 3D is now part of our lives in some form or other and will increasingly be part of future viewing experiences, these images and tutorial make it a possibility for all of us to create 3D pictures, do you want to? That is a hard one to answer, if it adds to the image then I guess we would say yes but the reduction of a 3D world to 2D representation has been part of what we as photographers have done for over 150 years, but then we used film for most of that time. Change will come whether it is a good thing the future will tell us when it is too late. Stereoscopic images (3D) are not new, the first invention that allowed 3D imagery was in 1838

The photographer behind these images and tutorial is Neil Creek and this is what he starts with..

“A revolution in photography and videography is coming. The 50’s cliche of the 3D movie and nostalgic childhood 3D viewers like the Viewmaster were ideas ahead of their time. Pretty soon 3D will be everywhere. Thousands of US cinemasare being upgraded to show new 3D movies, new computer display technology is bringing 3D without glasses to the desktop, and a growing enthusiastic community is breathing new life into time-honored 3D photography techniques.

If you haven’t experimented with 3D photography yet, now’s the time.

Anyone with a camera can take 3D photos, and with a bit of practice, most people can learn to see the 3D effect on their monitors without special glasses. I’ve collected here a few examples of some of the cool stuff that photographers are doing with 3D photography today. I hope these images will entertain and inspire you to explore the third dimension in your photography, and put you ahead of the new wave of 3D imagery which will soon flood our culture.”

Read more: here is the rest of the article

20 Invaluable Tips for the Aspiring Wedding Photographer

You’ve heard there is big money in wedding photography and you want a piece of the action. After all, it sounds like a good gig, right? Five hours of work one evening on a weekend and a $1000+ payday! What could be simpler?

Before the dreams of grandeur and big pay checks start clouding your vision, here are 20 tips I hope will help steer your growth so you are an asset to the happy couple entrusting you with their fond memories.

20 Invaluable Tips for the Aspiring Wedding Photographer.

 

 

How to Plan the Ultimate Family Portrait

Most people spend sometime with their families during this holiday period and it is the best opportunity to get a family portrait.

The reason very few people are excited about having a family portrait done is because they usually lack creativity, involve standing around with fake smiles and wearing a matching outfit with the rest of your family.  BORING! So how are you going to get a less boring picture of your family?

Taking the ultimate family portrait is about capturing moments within the family dynamic, it goes beyond lining family members up from tallest to shortest or putting on white button down shirts, khaki pants and sitting on a beach.  Think outside the box and look beyond normal standards for ways to get a group shot unlike any other your family, or your client has ever seen!   Read more: Light Stalking » How to Plan the Ultimate Family Portrait

If your family is less typical maybe a shot like this