Sunday, January 25, 2009
My return from Sable Island
So I came back from the Island on Friday (23rd Jan) after a 4 week trip. The trip was very good and great for photographs. Lots of great light, extreme weather (wind, snow, rain, blizzards, cold). And best of all I was very much in the right mood to take advantage of it all. Posted a couple of images below and hope to post more. Damian
Thursday, January 22, 2009
CS4
Hi
I recently - like, 2 days ago - purchased CS4 upgrade from CS.
First impressions are very favourable. It seems to run faster, and the Bridge function - which was a real trimmed down affair in CS - is much quicker too. It has some nice neat tweaks and interface changes, and a greater level of control with some of the filters etc. Very early days, so have hardly scratched the surface of the new version. Being 3 full versions on from CS, I'm guessing that there's a lot more to discover.
The best bit is Adobe Camera Raw, version 5.0. I recall using Camera Raw with an older version of Photoshop (v6) and enjoyed the fact that it's fully integrated. I think I need to get a good book on Adobe Camera Raw.
Any recommendations for ACR and CS4 books?
Cheers
Ivan
I recently - like, 2 days ago - purchased CS4 upgrade from CS.
First impressions are very favourable. It seems to run faster, and the Bridge function - which was a real trimmed down affair in CS - is much quicker too. It has some nice neat tweaks and interface changes, and a greater level of control with some of the filters etc. Very early days, so have hardly scratched the surface of the new version. Being 3 full versions on from CS, I'm guessing that there's a lot more to discover.
The best bit is Adobe Camera Raw, version 5.0. I recall using Camera Raw with an older version of Photoshop (v6) and enjoyed the fact that it's fully integrated. I think I need to get a good book on Adobe Camera Raw.
Any recommendations for ACR and CS4 books?
Cheers
Ivan
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
If only it were this easy...
I found this image last year on flickr, and it made me chuckle. NOT my image, but I kind of wish it were...
Ivan
A view on composite images
Happy New Year, fellow "Critical Light"ers. Hope 2009 is great for you all.
I came across this interesting article on Tim Grey's blog, that Damian put me on to last year. It deals with the issue of composite vs straight images. I found myself agreeing with the sentiments expressed, and can see that I apply a similar philosophy, albeit in a much more straight photographic way, when I sometimes "meddle" with images.
Ivan
[Extract from the article]
A big part of the discussion among those spending time in front of this image in the PCNW Gallery involved speculation about whether it was a "straight" photograph, or if it was a composite of multiple images. What I found so cool about the photo is that it is completely possible that it could be a single image. There was nothing about it that couldn’t have really been as it appeared for a single instant. And yet I figured it had to be a composite. I actually felt guilty for making this assumption, so I was relieved when I contacted the photographer and confirmed it was indeed a composite.
I asked Julie about her perspective on creating such an image photographically, in the context of some people feeling that creating such a composite was "cheating" (a notion I don’t agree with, by the way). Here’s how Julie described her work:
"When I describe my work I sometimes talk about my husband who writes fiction, and how he works. He’s always borrowing from real life, and then changing certain details or the context of them for the sake of the story. But in a way, his work tells the truth about life in way that writing it exactly as it happened wouldn’t be able to. So, I guess that’s they way I’m trying to work visually."
I think this is such an apt description for her work and her approach to photography. I’d be the first to admit that there are situations (such as photojournalism) where creating an invented scene isn’t appropriate. But in most cases I really feel that photography is art, and thus deserves to have he same freedoms of creativity found in any other art form. In other words, creating such a composition is an incredible expression, and one that should be applauded.
I came across this interesting article on Tim Grey's blog, that Damian put me on to last year. It deals with the issue of composite vs straight images. I found myself agreeing with the sentiments expressed, and can see that I apply a similar philosophy, albeit in a much more straight photographic way, when I sometimes "meddle" with images.
Ivan
[Extract from the article]
A big part of the discussion among those spending time in front of this image in the PCNW Gallery involved speculation about whether it was a "straight" photograph, or if it was a composite of multiple images. What I found so cool about the photo is that it is completely possible that it could be a single image. There was nothing about it that couldn’t have really been as it appeared for a single instant. And yet I figured it had to be a composite. I actually felt guilty for making this assumption, so I was relieved when I contacted the photographer and confirmed it was indeed a composite.
I asked Julie about her perspective on creating such an image photographically, in the context of some people feeling that creating such a composite was "cheating" (a notion I don’t agree with, by the way). Here’s how Julie described her work:
"When I describe my work I sometimes talk about my husband who writes fiction, and how he works. He’s always borrowing from real life, and then changing certain details or the context of them for the sake of the story. But in a way, his work tells the truth about life in way that writing it exactly as it happened wouldn’t be able to. So, I guess that’s they way I’m trying to work visually."
I think this is such an apt description for her work and her approach to photography. I’d be the first to admit that there are situations (such as photojournalism) where creating an invented scene isn’t appropriate. But in most cases I really feel that photography is art, and thus deserves to have he same freedoms of creativity found in any other art form. In other words, creating such a composition is an incredible expression, and one that should be applauded.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Lomo style
Happy New Year to you all!
Surprised to be the first to post this year...
I love Lomo style photos and keep meaning to get myself a camera.
I thought I'd try to emulate the effect, and with a little web tutorial came up with this after a little experimenting.
Curious for your thoughts?
Surprised to be the first to post this year...
I love Lomo style photos and keep meaning to get myself a camera.
I thought I'd try to emulate the effect, and with a little web tutorial came up with this after a little experimenting.
Curious for your thoughts?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)