© David Julian

On this Sep­tember morning, there were probably forty people within a hundred feet of me near the base of the ever- popular Haystack rock, so I chose to move in closer to nature and leave the people out of frame. It’s easy to reach these multi- hued Ochre Sea Stars at low tides, but a challenge to find an unpop­ulated com­po­sition that really comes to life. I wanted to show the habitat more than to focus in on the animals them­selves, which I would make detailed por­traits of later. I also made a gallant effort not to step on the anemones, mussels and tiny crabs covering the area. I must have looked like a strange clown balance- stepping toe- to- toe with the extended tripod legs held high over my head.

Once I found the perfect com­po­sition, I mounted my SLR and a Canon 17- 40mm wide zoom, com­posing half my frame with the starfish grouping and half with the landscape and shoreline. The warm morning sun lit my fore­ground perfectly. Timing was important as incoming tidal waves swirled in and around my sinking tripod legs at staggered intervals, causing a shift in its position. I stopped my lens down to f16 so I would have a sharp enough back­ground to show the nur­turing sea and landscape’s details. A slow exposure allowed me to soften the receding waters leaving a reflected sky. The result was a pleasing description of animals in their environment.

But I was not finished telling the story of this amazing place, because it is acces­si­bility that allows us to see the colorful creatures of this envi­ronment and make our con­nection to them. My next task was to show the starfish and the people in an imag­i­native way. I put my camera in my bag and strolled along the tide pools noting how people viewed the uniquely accessible offerings of undersea nature in their path.

© David Julian

Once I had a feel for their behavior, I set out to reverse the typical pho­tograph of people watching nature. Instead, I put my camera’s point of view as close to the starfish as possible, and let the people become the back­ground. This technique worked per­fectly, and put the emphasis on the natural history of this location rather than our occu­pation of it.

Next time you are out in the world shooting nature, macros landscapes, try an exercise of thinking of the idea or story before the compositions, and you will be more deeply linked to your subject. From there, I believe your perspective and compositions will reveal themselves naturally.

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Photographer/Educator David Julian teaches creative workshops across the US, and offers screen-shared online custom learning.

Website: http://davidjulian.com

So how do you go about photographing an event like this, without intruding on their religious beliefs and not offending anyone? It’s a tall order to be respectful and yet get some great images.  Also how do you prepare for seeing the extreme piercing that is before your eyes?  I said to myself I had to look for photographs that were bold, clean and accurate in photographing the persons piercing, and then move on to the next person after you had hopefully got the shot.  I only really started to see the extreme piercing I had photographed in detail when I got home and was reviewing the photographs, and then you see the detail in the photos. It was useless trying to edit them on the fly at the event, reasons: – too many people around you, too bright even in the shade to see the screen on the back of the camera, it was very busy, so you did not have time to review any shots on the two days.

My worries were unfounded, as when I went towards the two Indian Temples where all the ceremonies’ etc were taking place and there were many thousands of people all around, a lot of them were taking part, being cleansed with the milk etc.

The down and up side to the large crowds at this event, on the downside you missed images because of someone getting in your way or quite simply you could not get the angle you wanted, and on the upside you were invisible, you could get your shot and disappear, sometimes without any one knowing you had been there.  Also a smile and a simple “thank you” went a long way, if they did notice you, no one objected to being photographed, as there were a lot of people with camera phones and had being photographed along the route many times.

Using the crowds as cover it is quite obvious when a “devotee” was approaching, so you had to look for a space in the crowds where you could slip in and get the shot.  However walking the route I found there was a policeman on a corner where they came off the main road and towards the temple, he was very good at crowd control all on his own (his assistant was not so good), he kept the spectators away from the devotees (to give them respect as they need space with what they are doing), this meant that I had space between me and the subject to get the shot as I followed them up the short path to the temple.

Some the people were just walking too fast, and as they approached me quite quickly, directly after photographing another devotee, I had little time to compose the shot, and untimely I had to let the shot go, which was a shame, but with so many people doing this, it was not long before the next one was going to come by you.

At this corner they often stopped, did a dance or a mini break before the final walk 200-300m before the long climb up the stairs to the final prayers at the top.  The other thing in my favor was a barrier that tried to keep the people moving in one direction either side e.g. left side up and right side down.  You have to use everything to your advantage and if someone look badly at you, or you just bump into them, just smile and say sorry, sounds to good to be true, but I did not cross words with anyone during the whole two days.

The temperature was around 35 deg C and most of the route was in the sunshine, so it was hot for all, between photographs you did try and find a little shade from the searing sun, and yes I did go through a lot of water (4 litres when at the festival and lots more when I got home).

Now for the coconut smashing, this was a little different, it was more of a party atmosphere there, as the road/path that the silver chariot was going pass on needed to be cleansed with coconut milk, it’s a serious event, but with a fun side to it.  However you had to dodge coconuts coming towards you as they were smashed to the ground and splitting open, and the pieces went flying, I had many hit my shins and feet.  Also the other thing you need to watch is the milk from the coconut, and it splashing all around you, hitting you and the camera lens, I was often had milk hit the lens, so frequent cleaning was the order of the day.  However I was told that being splashed by the milk brought you good fortune, so I did not mind.

As these coconut smashing sessions were in small batches of around 100-200 meters long, you could photograph one and then wait for the next one to start, so you can correct your mistakes as you go, again, no one stopped me taking any photographs, you had to dodge some traffic on the other side of the road sometimes, but it was slow moving, so that was OK.  When photographing a crowd of people smashing the coconuts, it was good to let the camera be on continuous shooting, at what ever max frames per second it would allow, and then edit afterwards, as trying to time the shots, was near impossible as I started out like that, trying to photograph a person in full throw, so I gave up and photographed either the crowd or a particular person in the crowd smashing the coconuts, and then let the camera do its work at 3-5 frames per second and then review when you get home. I got some of my best shots this way along with some sequences of the coconuts being smashed along with the blurs of the milk splashes from the ground.

Prior to the event I had contacted a news syndication agency and to see of they could sell any of these photographs to newspapers and magazines, they knew the shots were coming and currently I have 32 images up on their servers, this is hard to edit down from 1400 over the 2 days, I sent them around 90 in total and they did a final edit for me, as they know what might sell to these outlets.  All the photographs were shot on a Nikon D90, with 28-200 VR2 lens.  For more info on the actual event: Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thaipusam

Michael Crawford-Hick photography is an eclectic mix of all things water related e.g. sailing, windsurfing, powerboats, as well as abstracts of waves, reflections, beaches, sunset.

Links:

Websites: Images From Around the World, Prints by Post
Twitter: http://twitter.com/mchphoto
Blog: http://mchphoto2011.wordpress.com

Over the years, I have anticipated their seasonal arrival, and with camera in hand, I begin taking advantage of some great photo opportunities. The first time I attempted to photograph hummingbirds, I was not pleased with the results. My images were not in focus, and often times came out grainy and overexposed. Learning from these photos, a different approach was used in an attempt to improve the image quality.

After reviewing my errors, it was determined that first off, I was in a rush; I did not take the time needed to properly dial my camera into the environment I was shooting in. Secondly, I used the wrong lens for the situation. A super zoom lens was used and I did not need to employ such a lens for the situation. Based on these mistakes, I wanted redemption, and would not be denied.

On an early Saturday morning, I set up my camera near the hummingbird feeder and proceeded to patiently wait for these fast flyers to start their morning feeding frenzy. Surprisingly I waited almost an hour for some action and when the birds started to feed, they noticed my presence. Every time I would move to focus on the subjects, they would immediately fly away. To capture the images I literally had to be in position and motionless to snap the images. Over the coarse of the morning, the hummingbirds became more comfortable with my presence and even began to land on some of the existing vegetation’s we had planted in years prior to clean themselves. Although I was able to capture some nice images with their long tongues out, my position had some obstructions in place that took away from those photos. My advice when trying to photograph hummingbirds is simple. Patience and time, Allow them to become comfortable with your presence. Doing so will benefit you greatly.

The shots: Canon camera and Tamron lens combination. 270mm focal length with an aperture of f-8. ISO setting at 400 with a shutter speed of 1/500 to 1/800 of a second.

Michael Sargent is a top wildlife outdoor photographer in the eastern United States. See more:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/M.SargentPhotography
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/msargentphoto
Blog: http://msargentphotography.wordpress.com

I also didn’t have a model with experience or the patience for me to go through multiple lighting adjustments. Go figure. The image of my daughter with makeup was setup in window sunlight. No other light source was used on my model. I applied all the makeup (I am no makeup artist either, so had to have some fun with this one) and no digital manipulation of color was used. The photo was taken with a Nikon D90 in RAW. The settings included:

Exposure 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture f/8.0
Focal Length 105 mm
ISO Speed 200

The image was imported into Lightroom 3.6. I cropped the image in tight and added more exposure (+4) because I wanted the blown out white effect. From there, I softened the harsh light with an adjustment brush , reduced tint, and also added some minor saturation to the eye color and dramatically reduced temperature (original RAW had more skin warmth/yellow), then I did a lot of spot removal because some of the makeup didn’t blend into her skin well. Finally, I reduced the sharpness of her cheeks/nose a touch because I didn’t want to see pores or tiny hairs. Done. Give this a try with various models and makeup. YouTube has a plethora of videos on makeup application to give you some ideas. This process gave me great ideas for more fashion makeup shots using ambient as well as studio lighting.

As an amateur photographer of three years, Joelle Herman loves it all and typically spends a week to a month on a subject.  She also finds that being a part of a local camera club (Frederick Camera Clique) helps in networking, learning and exploring your passion.

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jneo/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/joelleherman
Google+: Joelle Herman Photography

Early afternoon in Paris today, Fotolia CEO Thibaud Elziere was out for a walk and testing the new Nikon D80 digital camera. However, one image would change the rest of his day.Walking down the Rue Vaneau in Paris, Thibaud captured an image of a CCTV camera [...] Within minutes, Thibaud was approached by the French Police and detained for the better part of the day.

Unknown to Thibaud he had captured the CCTV camera of the French Prime Minister’s personal residence and caused a great security concern. According to Thibaud, there were no signs or warnings about photography in the area. A simple click and his day was ruined.

The police questioned him about what he was doing in the area, if he had any terrorism connections, about his work, and why he would want to take a picture of a CCTV camera. Thibaud relates that his first answer of “taking pictures for fun” did not satisfy them. He soon outlined his connection with Fotolia and testing the camera. After 8 hours of questioning and background checks, they returned his camera and escorted him home.

It seems from what I read in the article this could have happened to any one of us. You take a picture of a building, for whatever reason, next thing you know you are being questioned by policemen about if you have any terrorist connections. What can you do, stop taking pictures of houses?

We are increasingly being warned not to take pictures of anything (or anyone) which might be construed by the paranoid as a terrorist threat but how was he supposed to know this was the home of someone important without any signs or notices. Just CCTV present does not necessarily imply that the resident is someone of national or defense importance, the guy might have an expensive car etc.

So now we have a new entry in the top ten things you can’t safely photograph

1. Underground/Tube/Buses
2. Refineries or other Industrial plant
3. Police
4. Government buildings
5. Bridges
6. Tunnels
7. Shopping malls
8. Airports
9. Office Buildings
10. Houses

Have I missed any?

Technorati Tags: photography, law, terrorism, police, rights, news, tips

Go try it, it’s free!

via:Thomas Hawk picture: richardmoross

Technorati Tags: photography, flickr, moo, minicards, printing, tips, news

I don’t want a wall sized family portrait because this is not how I consume photography these days. These days the majority of my photography is consumed on a 43″ plasma in my living room through my Media Center PC. Would I be interested in seeing my family shots on my plasma as they rotate through my digital photography collection, like all my other photography? Sure. Do I want a big wall sized print of my family on the living room wall? Not so much.

So I explain to the photographer about how I consume photography these days, on how it is of much more value to me to see my work as part of my Media Center PC than on a wall on a $1,000 print and ask if there is a way instead of buying prints, that I can just purchase the images digitally. I’d even happily pay the $2,000 for digital versions of my 5x7s rather than get prints which I don’t really want to hang in my home anyways.

And here she tells me no. Which is her prerogative I suppose, but when I mention that I could always just scan the 5x7s and watch them anyways she goes off into a little speech about how her images are copyrighted and I can’t do that, etc.

Aaah, the old portrait photographer ransom. What a clever scheme this is. Thing is the photographer in question is well within her rights. Consumers continue to pay the prices without demanding digital files and Photographers continue to charge them without offering them.

There are many photographers now who do offer (voluntarily) digital files. Surprisingly many wedding Photographers see this as the bargain end of their offering with the more expensive leather-bound-large-print service being the premium. Geek as I am, I see it the other way round with the RAW/PSD/TIFF/JPG images the more desirable providing the digital files are high resolution.

Seems quite similar to the music/film industry DRM dilemma. Clearly consumers do not want it but the copyright holders are willing to do anything to enforce these unpopular restrictions. We don’t like the MPAA for it. There is a lesson right there. But Photographers do need to make a living and that is as important as the customer getting a disc with pictures on.

The only answer to this disagreement is some calm discussion of the issue. For future reference though there are two solutions

1. Discuss beforehand your requirements (both Photographer and client)
2. Provide the option of work-for-hire rather than traditional portrait shoot

For photographers you need to either consider providing files as an option or have a very good answer to the question. Our last family portrait session I simply asked and was given a CD, no quibble, no additional fee. You do not need to particularly go that far, maybe having a price on your menu for an archive CD/DVD but it is worth considering the negative affect point blank refusal will do to your reputation and repeat custom …

Technorati Tags: photography, copyright, fair, use, law, news, tips

Several times I have heard of people attempting to get (family) photos copied at Wal-Mart and refused because they were “copyrighted” – because they were made by a photograph studio. Even if the person who OWNS the copyright were to ask a Wal-Mart photo manager to copy it, they would refuse. They misinterpret the word “copyright” to mean “copywrong,” That is to say: Copy?….. wrong!

In a way I guess it is tricky for the Walmart employee. They have a blanket policy and risk a reprimand (or worse) for breaking it, even if it makes no sense. Walmarts aren’t about to provide copyright training. The answer I guess is if you can use a proper outfit, print out a “release” on headed paper or scan and print it yourself.

Comedy Update:

Heh, couldn’t resist adding this.

Technorati Tags: photography, processing, printing, walmart, news, tips

One of those expensive but really useful things is a softbox. A softbox turns harsh direct light into beautifying soft diffused light. Most portrait lighting tutorials will mention them. Anyone who does portraits really needs one of these bad boys but they are darned expensive for anyone who A) will only use it on occasion and B) doesn’t get paid for this stuff. I mean, it is a lot of money if you will be taking pictures of the kids and pets, not so much if you have celebrities as paying clients. YMMV.

Anyway, this is all moot, using this DIY Softbox I will be able to put one together myself for a tiny sum and be ready for when Natalie Portman drops in for a random amateur photoshoot.

via: Strobist

Technorati Tags: strobist, fredmiranda, lighting, flash, photography, accessories, diy, make, softbox, tips, news

Perhaps the single greatest complaint regarding flickr’s new Geotagging functionality is the lack of street level coverage that yahoo maps provides for many regions of the world. In many regions outside North America it can be very frustrating to accurately place your photos. This frustration is often compounded by the fact that Google Maps may have extremely high resolution of that same area. Flickr responded to this need by opening up Geotagging data through the flickr API, allowing outside developers to add increased functionality on top of flickr’s maps. Within a day of the API being open, Trippermap had already converted to the new system. Further, they have provided an online tutorial on how to use their service to geotag using Google Earth

While it won’t make the map experience any better currently, at least you know when they finally get the data your stuff will be in the right place.

Check out Trippermap and their online tutorial on how to use their service.

Technorati Tags: flickr, geotagging, maps, yahoo, trippermap, google, earth, photography, tips, news