The Natural Light Cycle for Photographers

From  Jim Hamel at DPS were find this article that clearly explains the effect of daylight as we move through the day from sunrise to sunset, very interesting

Natural light is what landscape photography is made of. Other forms of photography rely heavily on flash, but most landscapes rely entirely on the sun’s rays as their light source. That natural light from the sun is changing every second of the day. A picture taken at 9:00 a.m. will look fundamentally different than picture taken at 7:00 a.m., even if it is a picture of the exact same subject, from the exact same angle, using the exact same camera settings and focal length. Therefore, understanding these changes that occur throughout the day is critical to improving your landscape photography. By understanding these differing lighting conditions, you will know how and when to be set up and ready to take your landscape photos.

These changes in natural light don’t just affect the overall lighting and exposure level of your photos, but also things like color and contrast. Different lighting will lend itself to different camera effects. So in this article we will take a quick walk through the times of day for the landscape photographer, focusing on the unique advantages and challenges of each.

read the full article here

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

Magic In The Middle Kingdom: Michael Steverson

On the fabulous Faded+Blurred we find this article

China has always seemed like a fascinating place to me, both for the exotic culture as well as the chance to capture images that are unlike anything I’ve ever photographed before. For the past 8 years, documentary photographer Michael Steverson has been living and working in China’s Southern Guangxi Province, photographing the wonderful contrasts that exist in a country with feet planted firmly in both a more traditional rural way of life as well as the urban landscape of progress. His portfolio is filled with the wonderful colors, textures and faces that populate the Middle Kingdom.

You can see more of this series and other pictures by Michael Steverson here

Steve McCurry – Just a Moment

Steve produces sets of his pictures around a theme, if you have just a moment then have a look at these

all images ©Steve McCurry

 

Travel Photography – A Different Point of View

By tom dinning, Tom is one of my favourite writers on photography and here on the Lightstalking site he gives some of his tips on travel photography, as he says

“Who doesn’t like to travel. Certainly none of the photographers I know. New experiences, new opportunities, new photos with which to bore the relatives on your return home…….

But are they boring? Are they purely descriptive? This is where I went, this is what I saw, this is what I did. How many shots of London Bridge or the Opera House have you seen already? So, then you go searching for the new angle and find another dozen or so photographers are also there. “

Here are some suggestions that might make your photographic experience just that bit more enjoyable as a photographer.

 

©Keith Barnes

When I travel I try to have an idea or theme that I keep an eye open for. Often it is satellite dishes, they are everywhere, these are just a few from my trip to Laos, you can see more here

Masterful portraits by a master of photography

Travel Photographer of the Year Competition

The BJP reminds us that the TPOY competition is coming to a close for entries so no time to waste.

Laos 2011 ©Keith Barnes

Photographers have until 17 September to enter the 2012 edition of the Travel Photographer of the Year competition, which is open to amateur and professional photographers from all countries.

The overall winner will receive a £2500 cash prize, as well as another £2500 in an expenses paid international photography commission.

Photographers can enter their work in three portfolio categories – People Watching, Wild Planet, and Journeys; and two single shot categories – Water and Big City. Videographers can submit their HD videos in the Travel Shorts category.

The winners will be selected by a panel of jurors that include Eamonn McCabe, Jason Hawkes, Ami Vitale, Steve Bloom, Nick Meers and Chris Weston, and will see their work exhibited at the Royal Geographical Society in London.

Entry costs from £10 to £20 depending on the categories.

For more details, visit www.tpoty.com.

Read more: http://www.bjp-online.com/british-journal-of-photography/news/2198277/travel-photography-competition-calling-for-entries#ixzz25hOFwlk6

Understanding Flash Course

Thanks to the repeated requests from our students we have written a new course on flash photography. This course will look at the use of on camera, off camera and studio flash. We aim to explain how flash works and why and when you might use it. We are also interested in the creative possibilities of using flash both at night but more so during the day. We have investigated the various equipment options and will advise on what you might need to buy to become a serious and considered user of flash.

This course starts on Monday 12th November and runs for 3 x 2 hour sessions, full details can be found on our website here

We have a new schedule of courses for this coming term with dates for most of the courses we teach, if only there were more days in the week!

Here is a list of the dates for this term, currently the Intermediate and Photoshop courses are half full.

 

Understanding Your Digital SLR Evening Classes:start dates 17.9.12 (now full) ; 7.11.12  This is always a very popular course and very well received, if you don’t use your camera properly give this one a try.

Understanding Your Digital SLR Saturday Morning Classes start date 3.11.12 as above really…

Understanding Your Digital Compact Camera – starts: 26.9.12  After we revamped this course to include the chance to do some assignments

Introduction to Photoshop and Photoshop Elements starts 25.10.12 not  a must for everyone but if you intend to use Photoshop or already do then this course is ideal in understanding the basics

Composition In Photography – Seeing Pictures – starts 15.10.12 This course is one of our most popular and really successful in changing the way our students see the world and take photographs

Understanding Flash Photography starts 12.11.12 A new course that we know hits the parts others don’t. If you intend using flash this will get you where you want to be

Portrait Photography: starts: 25.9.12 Most photographers want to take better portraits but shy away from the idea because people are difficult aren’t they. well no they aren’t if you know what you are doing

Intermediate Photography – starts: 23.10.12 This is our most advanced course and is not about cameras but about how we see and react to our world. It is a serious course for those who already understand their cameras and really want to be interested in photography as a subject. This is a great course.

Black and White Digital Photography – starts 27.9.12 Specialist in nature in that making b/w images is not difficult but this course is designed to stretch the way you look at a monochrome world and make images that reflect the works of the great photographers from the past

One Day Understanding Your DSLR – 23.9.12; 21.10.12; 18.11.12;  This is an ideal start point for those who have a  DSLR camera and want to use it rather than being led by it’s automatic functions. It suits many people who just cannot commit to the 4 session version of the course but still want the basics.

Photography Tutorial: Travel Photography See the world

Canon have tutorials on their site and this month they turn their gaze towards travel photography, if you are about to go away or plan a trip in the future you might want to check out what they have to say

Travel photography has changed a lot over the last few years. Not so long ago you would take a few pictures and wouldn’t see the results until you got prints made when you returned home.

Today, you can shoot hundreds of images and upload the best to a personal blog or a photo-sharing site. This tutorial will help you make your photos stand out and give other people a real idea of the places you a visited.

         • Packing for your trip
         • What to photograph
         • Camera techniques
         • Back home

Read MORE HERE

Thailand ©Keith Barnes Canon 5D Mk2 24 – 105 f4L

Going On Holiday?….Don’t Forget to Pack a Photographer

According to The Wall Street Journal…Travelers Book Professionals to Photograph Best Moments of a Vacation; Services Offer Thinner Thighs, Bluer Skies writes ANDREA PETERSEN

Do you need someone to capture that ride on an elephant moment ©Keith Barnes

For summer vacation, the flight is booked, the hotel is reserved, the bags are packed, but what about the professional photographer to take snapshots and make you look supernaturally gorgeous?

A growing number of hotels and resorts are offering sessions with photographers to chronicle guests’ vacations. Travelers want to record memorable moments without ruining them stressing about focus and flash. They want more sophisticated shots to share on social media. And vacationers realize that an iPhone may not catch that perfect surfing or skiing triumph……..Prices for vacation photo sessions can range from about $100 an hour to much more. The Four Seasons Resort Hualalai in Hawaii, for example, charges $800 for an hour. A half-day shoot is $3,200…….Grant Myrdal, a photographer from Bend, Ore., offers shoots with skiers and snowboarders on the slopes of Mount Hood Meadows Ski Resort. “When someone is going 40 miles an hour down the hill, an iPhone doesn’t do it,”……….Some city photographers are starting to get requests. Anna Azarov, a part-time photographer in New York, recently was hired to spend three hours with a vacationing couple from St. Petersburg, Russia…….READ MORE HERE

So does this sound like a good gig for a professional photographer, I am not so sure because while everyone else is on holiday having fun you are at work and charged with getting great pictures of people who might not look so great in their swimmers. Still in these straightend times maybe any work is better than none. I can certainly see that for ski enthusiasts the chance to get some skiing in paid for by others whilst taking a few pictures might be attractive, same goes really for any holiday activity that is typically expensive and difficult but beach pictures might not hit the button.

Anyway if you like the idea maybe you should hit the travel agents in your town and see if there is demand locally from tourists, I am sure there is in Oxford, or if they would like to offer a photographer as part of the package.