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Posts Tagged ‘Wine’

Display duality: The Fujifilm X-Pro3 in the California wine country

23 Oct

The Fujifilm X-Pro series has historically been marketed to a certain type of photographic purist and is part of a small group of cameras aiming to offer the most analog-like experience possible in an increasingly digital world.

The latest iteration brings a change that in many ways, doubles down on the traditional concept of the X-Pro-series. While it sees a host of expected under-the-hood improvements, like an updated sensor and electronic viewfinder, the most radical update to the X-Pro3 is the unique implementation of a hidden, touch-sensitive rear LCD.

I had the chance to shoot around with a pre-production X-Pro3, while on holiday in California. What follows are my initial impressions on the design of the camera.

All of the images in this article were shot using a pre-production sample of the X-Pro3. As such, image quality may not match the output of final shipping cameras, but is likely to be close.

Duality of the hidden display

The hidden display in some ways made me more appreciative of my surroundings and less concerned with snapping a million photos. The wine also helped. Out of camera JPEG, shot using the ‘Velvia / Vivid’ film simulation.
ISO 160 | 1/1000 sec | F5.6 | XF 50mm F2 R WR

The addition of touch-sensitivity to the rear LCD counts as pretty darn radical for the X-Pro-series, but the fact that it’s hidden, with no default rear preview, is radical for digital cameras in general (we see you, Leica M-D). This was a design I grew to both appreciate and be frustrated with while cruising the back country roads of Northern California. On the one hand, it made me more decisive in choosing whether I wanted to frame with the EVF or LCD – I mostly committed to the former. And when I did use the LCD to compose, the small inconvenience of flipping out the screen caused me to slow down and be more deliberate.

This was likely Fujifilm’s intention with the camera’s concept: to make you think more about the image you’re taking, rather than just shooting and ‘chimping’ the rear screen immediately after pressing the button. In other words, to get you closer to the experience of using a film camera.

The small inconvenience of flipping out the screen caused me to slow down and be more deliberate

On the other hand I missed a lot of shots because the moment had passed before I could fumble the LCD open or get the finder to my eye in time: these were mostly snapshots of funny moments with my partner. And sometimes it’s these casual snaps that are the most special, interesting or telling. How foolish I felt for not better appreciating the near-instantaneous live view nature of other mirrorless cameras.

I also found it was an adjustment not being able to pick up the camera and jump right into menus to change a setting, without taking the time to uncover the LCD. Yes, you can access them with your eye to the finder, but it’s hardly an ideal way to navigate settings. There’s also a distinct pause before they appear.

Waist-level shooting at a touch

Flip-out touchscreens can be quite handy for landscapes.
Out of camera JPEG, shot using the “Velvia / Vivid” film simulation.
ISO 160 | 1/1100 sec | F5.6 | XF 23mm F2 R WR

Despite the LCD’s fumbly nature, I did find the ability to frame from the waist level, while using the screen to focus or fire the shutter, to be invaluable for candid-style shooting as well as landscape photography (like the shot above). And while some street shooting purists may disagree with this approach, there’s no questioning how simple and practical it is. That said, the screen’s 180-degree articulation means it doesn’t quite tilt far enough for high-level shots. Boo.

There were a lot of casual images I didn’t take because they happened before I could fumble the LCD open

But let’s take a step back: Both the X-Pro1 and X-Pro2 both had fixed screens with no touch-sensitivity, a fact that always seemed sensible to me. After all, why would cameras emulating a film rangefinder offer such modern conveniences as a touchscreen? But after handling the X-Pro3, I’m willing to part with my old way of thinking and embrace the new. Modern street/documentary/candid-centric cameras should have an articulating touchscreen! And I’m hoping the next generation X100-series camera (I’m a current X100F owner) also has one, just not one that can only be used at waist level.

Love for the sub-monitor

So with the LCD hidden away, what about the flip side? On the back of the camera, where a traditional LCD would normally be, you’ll find a small ‘sub monitor,’ which displays basic camera info, much like a top plate display on an SLR. By default it features a snazzy graphic of the film simulation being used as well as ISO and white balance. It’s truly the digital version of tearing off the film box top and sliding it in the back of your camera: a bit of a parlor trick, but a harmless one at that. I personally love it.

The sub monitor is truly the digital version of tearing off the film box top and sliding it in the back of your camera

But if it’s not your cup of tea you can switch from the ‘Classic’ to the ‘Standard’ display which offers 8 customizable rows of camera info, sans cool film simulation graphic. The only downside to this ‘sub monitor’ is the fact that it’s fairly dim and hard to see in bright light, unless held at a very specific viewing angle.

A worthy upgrade, but not for everyone

Out of camera JPEG, shot using the new “Classic Negative” film simulation.
ISO 2500 | 1/200 sec | F2 | XF 23mm F2 R WR

Ultimately, the X-Pro3 seems to be a solid update to a beloved series and I applaud Fujifilm for adding touch sensitivity and screen articulation to a line I never dreamed would have these features, as well as a better EVF and sensor. However, the decision to hide the screen is a bit perplexing: part of me wishes Fujifilm simply made the screen mechanism fully articulating. This would allow it to both be used flush against the camera, hidden away, or flipped out, and you could still have the rear ‘sub monitor.’ Why not give the people the choice?

Part of me wishes Fujifilm simply made the screen mechanism fully articulating

Still, I think this design adds something unique to a camera line perhaps struggling to differentiate itself from a lot of other high-end ILCs, including Fujifilm’s own X-T3. It tosses the traditional Fujifilm rules of what a purists’ digital camera should be out the window, while writing a new set.

And at the end of the day, limiting factors often lead to photographic growth: my guess is potential X-Pro3 customers already embrace limitation (after all, the optical viewfinder is best used with a limited range of 23-90mm prime lenses) and they’ll learn to love the camera’s hidden rear display, in time. For everyone else who loathes it at first sight, that’s OK. The X-Pro3 isn’t for you.


Fujifilm X-Pro3 pre-production samples

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How to Make a Composite Wine Bottle Image using Photoshop Layers

19 May

A wine bottle is always a tricky subject to photograph. The highly reflective nature of the glass makes it hard to use frontal lighting, while backlighting will not reach the label.

In short, the perfect light for the glass will usually not work for the label and vice-versa, often leading to the capture of various images that are later on composited in post-production, creating the final image in this manner.

Photograph wine bottle composite

In this article, I will show you step-by-step, how this image was photographed and composited using Photoshop.

Image capture

This image was photographed with a full frame DSLR, a 100mm macro lens, and two speedlights.

wine bottle photograph seen in the camera - How to Make a Composite Wine Bottle Image using Photoshop

One of the speedlights was fitted with a yellow filter, this provided the background light. The other speedlight was fitted on a stripbox and provided the light on the bottle in different positions for different shots.

Light areas

Planning ahead and deciding which areas to light are key factors for the success of the final image composite.
In this particular image, the areas that were lit for each image were as follows:

  • The label
  • Gold logo
  • The embossed letters
  • Light side light
  • The background

Photograph wine bottle composite 03

None of these images look good by themselves, but each adds its own contribution for the final result.

Raw image development

This is the stage where the Raw images are processed and the basic adjustments are applied. I start by adjusting the “background” image which will be the base for the composite.

Even though the yellow filter used on the speedlight created a nice warm tone on the image background, I decided to make that tone even warmer, adjusting the yellow and green hue to orange, giving it a vintage ambiance.

Photograph wine bottle composite 04

The compositing process

After developing the RAW images, it’s now time to start merging all of the different images.

I start by opening the “Background” image and giving it some basic corrections, like completing the right edge reflection with the clone stamp.

Photograph wine bottle composite 05

Next, I load the “Embossed Letters” image as a new layer that will stay on top of the “Background” layer and start the compositing process. For this process to work, it is imperative that all the images have the same framing and neither the camera or the object is displaced between shots.

Layers and masking

Even though there are many ways to create a composite in Adobe Photoshop, my favorite, and the one that allows more control, is the layer mask function.

This masking process hides parts of the image while revealing the information that exists on the underlying layer. Just click on the layer mask icon in the layer panel, and a mask will be added to the selected layer. It might look complicated but it is, in fact, a simple process.

White areas of the mask show what is on that layer, black areas show what is on the underlying layer (think of it as a hole you look through to see the layer below).

Photograph wine bottle composite 06

In this particular case, it is easier to invert the mask from white to black (Image>Adjustments>Invert) and paint in the areas you want to reveal from that layer by using a white brush.

The exact same process was applied to the “label” and “gold Logo” layers. The “Left Side Light” layer was used to create just a fine rim light on the left edge of the bottle and give it a better separation from the background.

Photograph wine bottle composite 07

Refinements

Now that it all starts to look much better, with all the bits and pieces that were used from each layer to form the composited image. So it is time to pay attention to the small details like small imperfections on the bottle, smudges or dust specs that may need to be fixed.

Photograph wine bottle composite 08

A higher zoom (100% or 1:1) will likely reveal problems that need to be solved.

The icing on the cake

Even though I could consider the image editing process finished by now, there is still a small but really important detail in my opinion – the table’s smooth wooden texture was not the right fit for the look I was trying to achieve.

So, the right thing to do was to photograph an old beat up piece of wood that would fit the look of the overall image and replace the existing tabletop.

Photograph wine bottle composite 09

Now I load it as a layer on the final image and use the perspective command (Edit>Transform>Perspective) to adjust the flat wood image to match the perspective of the tabletop.

Photograph wine bottle composite 10

And for the final touch, I changed the blending mode of the “Wood” layer to darken, in order to make it blend smoothly with rest of the scene.

Photograph wine bottle composite 11

Final thoughts

Even though I always try to get things as right as possible during the photography process, and leave as little as possible for the post-processing phase, the truth is that this compositing technique amazes me every time I try it. It is incredible the amount of detail control it offers.

Give it a try, I am sure you will be amazed too.

The post How to Make a Composite Wine Bottle Image using Photoshop Layers appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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Tutorial: How to photograph wine on clear plexiglass

17 Jul

Photographer Dustin Dolby of the YouTube channel workphlo is used to doing a lot with a little. In this tutorial, he uses a couple of flashes, a piece of clear plexiglass, and his know-how as a product photographer to capture a classic wine look, taking you along every step of the way. He even shares a neat trick for capturing a perfect masking frame for use in post.

The tutorial is a little over 19 minutes long, so we wouldn’t call this “quick and easy,” but Dolby does show you the entire process, sharing a ton of great techniques along the way.

The first part of the tutorial covers all of the frames Dolby needs to shoot to put together the perfect wine shot later. That includes a main shot, a brighter photo to bring out details in the label, and three frames with a stripbox placed directly behind his bottle to create a perfect high-contrast black-on-white masking frame to use in Photoshop later.

Then, starting at the 6:25 mark, he jumps into Photoshop to show you how to create that perfect mask and then run you through the many cleanup, correction and compositing steps that turned these two photos:

Left: Main lighting setup | Right: Label detail shot

Into this final shot:

The final photograph after cleanup and compositing in Photoshop. © Dustin Dolby

Watch the full tutorial above to see how this shot came together from start to finish, and then leave Dustin a comment or question either on this post, or on his YouTube videos.

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Review of the Wine Country Camera Filter Holder System

28 Feb

In this article, I will go over why I switched to using the Wine Country Camera filter holder system from others I’d previously used. As well I’ll cover some of the system’s key features so you can decide if it’s right for you as well.

Since the late 60s and early 70s photographers have been using drop-in (slide-in) filters in front of their lenses. The holders which accept such products are usually used for neutral density filters, polarizers, color filters, and sometimes effect filters.

But there has been a problem with this type of holder, even since its inception.  They’re usually poorly made with cheap plastic or mixed aluminum materials. And that’s just the holder’s materials. Other problems are the placement of the polarizers which can cause vignetting, manufacturing errors, and much more.

Review of the Wine Country Camera Filter Holder System

The Wine Country Camera filter holder and vaults.

Although I inherited a Cokin filter kit from my grandfather, my first self-purchased kit was a Lee Filter Foundation Kit. The product is made of plastic, which makes it light weight. But it also makes it vulnerable to bending and breaking.

Eventually, Formatt Hitech released their newer aluminum filter kit, and I made the switch and used it for a couple of years… until now.

Wine Country Filter Holder Materials

Review of the Wine Country Camera Filter Holder System

One of the many tactile points of contact on the holder.

Wine Country Camera was born out of the need for quality filter systems and ongoing standards. Every aspect of the filter kit has been deeply considered and well thought-out from the bottom up, or backward to forward.

Instead of plastic or aluminum, premium materials are used, with purpose. For example, instead of a standard dial, a wooden dial is used, so your fingers don’t freeze in cold weather. That can also be said for the wooden grips on the front of the holder. Every part of the holder is tactile so you know when you’re turning, rotating, and pushing. It’s so tactile that you can even maneuver the holder and filters while wearing gloves.

How It’s Unique

By now you likely already recognize that the holder system from Wine Country Camera is unique. But to reiterate why I thought so, I wanted to point out some of the features that are unlike any other holder on the market.

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Coin locks

Many locations around the system carry the Wine Country Camera logo, a wine glass. At first, you might think it’s about branding. While that might be true, the more important reasoning is so that you know when items are right side up. For example, the filter vaults have this beautiful coin which is turned to lock or unlock the filter. When the wine glass is upside down, the vault is unlocked. When it’s standing on its stem, the vault is locked.

Review of the Wine Country Camera Filter Holder System

The coin which locks and unlocks filters from the vaults.

Vaults

Speaking of the vaults, these are a new concept, already mastered. The vaults are made of a polymer, similar to that found in a Glock. They’re extremely strong. No joke – they can’t be bent. The moment I filled one of my vaults with a filter, I dropped it (I got it on video too). To my surprise, there was no damage to the glass filter inside. The vault serves multiple purposes.

  • The vault seals the space between filters and the holder so that you do not need those annoying foam gaskets.
  • Makes it extremely easy to insert and remove filters from the holder with or without gloves.
  • Protects the filters from normal wear and tear and minor dings.

Vaults are available for 100mm square filters as well as graduated filters. Along with the vaults are two red buttons on the holder. The buttons are designed to remove the friction holding the two outer filters in place. That way you can safely move graduated filters up and down with ease, safely.

Review of the Wine Country Camera Filter Holder System

The red buttons which help adjust how the filters sit in the outer two slots.

Customer service above and beyond

It’s worth noting that due to the high-quality standards of Wine Country Camera, they have identified a flaw of other manufacturers. Although there are so-called standards among filters, they’re not always followed precisely while making the filters. Here is what they said:

Service Advisory: We are noticing that some Lee grads have been produced at a thickness outside of their specification. If you experience difficulty installing your grad, contact us immediately and we will resolve it for you.

As you can see, Wine Company Camera is replacing their filter vaults with new ones, for customers experiencing an issue of their filters not fitting. It’s not their fault, but they’re correcting the issue for their customers. Lots of thumbs up for that customer service decision!

Using the filter holder

The holder allows for three filters to be used at any given time. The reason for this is that the Wine Country Camera filter holder uses an internal polarizer. Because the holder keeps the polarizer in the back, instead of the front like most filter holders, it opens the doors for a third filter.

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Typically when a Circular Polarizer is placed in front of the Neutral Density filters, you lose a slot and have a giant 105mm ring to attach a Circular Polarizer (CPL) too. But with the Wine Country Camera system, the polarizer is easily removed with two red clips and turned using the beautiful wooden dial.

Review of the Wine Country Camera Filter Holder System

The wood dial which turns the internal polarizing filter.

Last, and not least is that because of the extremely low profile of the filter holder, and the polarizer being in the back, there is a reduced the risk of vignetting. The system has been tested as wide as 17mm without any vignetting. That’s a huge jump from the 24mm limit I had with the Formatt Hitech and Lee systems (even with the wide angle adapter rings). I photograph at 20mm quite often and have always experienced vignetting, although minor. Until now.

Is it worth the price?

I’ll be the first to admit when the Wine Country Camera filter holder system was initially announced I was shocked by the price. Especially when compared to systems from other manufacturers. But after getting my hands on it, I understand why.

The amount of pride, thought, and effort that went into every millimeter of the product is the highest possible quality. It’s not cheap plastic. It’s not cheap metal. But for the curious minded, I thought I would include a price comparison on my kit before and after. I will leave out my Neutral Density filters for right now I’m still using my Formatt Hitech Firecrest ones in the Wine Country Camera holder. (I’ll likely switch to WCC once they have their own ND filters)

Wine Country Camera System

  • Holder with internal polarizer, two vaults, and one Adapter Ring: $ 449
  • Two extra 100x100mm square vaults (I have four square filters): $ 75
  • One 150x100mm rectangular vault: $ 35
  • Three Adapter Rings: $ 150
  • Total: $ 704

Formatt Hitech

  • 100mm Aluminum Holder: $ 47.99
  • Four Wide-Angle Adapter Rings:
  • Polarizer Ring: $ 19.99
  • 105mm Firecrest Circular Polarizer SuperSlim: $ 229.99
  • Total: $ 481.92

As mentioned, the price for the Wine Country Camera system is more. But keeping in mind the advantages of the system, the materials used, and that you have the vault advantage, it’s worth the extra money up front. The $ 257.08 savings on a different system might save you up front but could cost you in the long term. Maybe on parts falling apart, lower quality materials breaking, light leaks on your photographs, and potentially more.

But I know that not everyone can afford the kit, so it may not be for you. But if you are like me and want the best of the best when it comes to your photography, then you’ll save up and take the plunge when it’s right for you.

Review of the Wine Country Camera Filter Holder System

Bonus for high megapixel cameras

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Something else to keep in mind, for anyone with a high megapixel camera, like a D810, A7RII or a medium format camera – is that many polarizers have an issue with reflections on higher resolution sensors. The one from Wine Country Camera does not have this issue. The polarizer fits inside the holder body, eliminating reflections and allowing geared rotation. Wine Country Camera worked with a high-end optics manufacturer to develop the highest possibly quality polarizer. Their polarizer uses 2.5mm thick Schott optical glass that is fire polished, and free of surface aberrations. Considering their CPL is less expensive (when purchased alone) than the previous one I was using, it’s nice to know my optics are protected.

Keeping it together

Before theWine Country Camera system, I was using the Mindshift Gear Filter Hive to hold everything in one place. The small bag is incredible, can be stored in a backpack, clipped to a belt, or hung from a tripod.

I was happy to find the Wine Country Camera system almost completely fits in the same bag. Everything but the holder itself fits inside. But fortunately, Wine Country Camera provided a very protective case for the holder and its attached polarizer.

Review of the Wine Country Camera Filter Holder System

Final thoughts

As I mentioned earlier, I was originally a skeptic for the Wine Country Camera system. But I have fallen in love with it. I am so gratefully that this company has now taken steps to improve the lens filter system, as the industry has needed this change for a long time.

I love that every adjustment possible on the holder can be done with the left hand.  That way the right hand can be kept on the camera. To me, the price is worth it, the features are worth it, the quality in craftsmanship is worth it. I hope you recognize the same.

Have you taken a look at the Wine Country Camera filter holder yet? What are your thoughts?

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Pairing Wine & Literature: Italian ‘Book Bottles’ Wrapped With Short Stories

14 Nov

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Products & Packaging. ]

italian-book-bottle-design

Curling up with a glass of wine with a story has never been easier thanks to Librottiglia, a project that wraps printed pages around bottles of Italian reds and whites.

wine-wrapped-books

Each wine is paired with a specifically selected literary short intended to match the characteristics of the vintage with an appropriate genre and narrative. Drinkers are encouraged to pour a glass then pour over the pages of a unique tale.

Designed by Reverse Innovation for the Matteo Correggia winery in Italy, each 375-ML bottle is good for two glasses and an absorbing literary adventure. The covers in each case double as both book titles as well as wine labels and descriptions.

booke-on-a-bottle

A piece of twine wraps the book to each bottle while the words themselves are printed on a thick paper stock to round out the stylized packaging. Stories include The Frog in the Belly, I Love You Forget Me and others by journalists, humorists and mystery writers.

wine-label-book-twine

book-wrapped-375-ml

“Today we read books on computers, tablets and mobile phones,” note the creators. “Why not on a bottle of wine?” they ask. “After years of discussion about analogue vs. digital, we want to propose an alternative: oenological” (meaning: related to the cultivation and study of wine).

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Like Fine Wine – Creativity Gets Better With Age

11 Mar

As a culture we are constantly encouraged to believe that youth is a magical time – that everything is at our fingertips, easily captured, and that age will only bring a withering of possibilities and opportunities.

DPS creativityAnthonyEpes01

“Aging seems to be the only available way to live a long time.” – composer, Daniel-Francois-Esprit Auber

Creativity is a huge victim of this idea – that aging destroys it rather, than helping us to flourish. Well, I don’t believe that at all. Creativity can wither with age – but it doesn’t have to. What about our huge amount of experience that we gather throughout life? Isn’t that pretty useful for creating?

Here are some ideas on the benefits of keeping creative with your photography as you age, and why you can get more creative, not less, as you get older.

Very few of us can tap the creative genius at a young age

When you are taking photos and being creative, you want to aim to access that wild creative place deep inside you, where pure inspiration flows. Some people call it the creative flow state. For some it’s a zone, but it could be thought of as a well of inspiration. But, that can be a hard place to get to – you’re encouraged in so many ways in life to prioritize your practical skills (getting a job, buying a house, raising children, etc.) over your creative skills. Some people can access their inspirational, creative space when they are young, but for many it takes years. But what’s great about that, is that it’s only a question of getting there, not whether or not you have it.

“Every day we slaughter our finest impulses. That is why we get a heartache when we read those lines written by the hand of a master and recognize them as our own, as the tender shoots which we stifled because we lacked the faith to believe in our own powers, our own criterion of truth and beauty. Every man, when he gets quiet, when he becomes desperately honest with himself, is capable of uttering profound truths. We all derive from the same source. there is no mystery about the origin of things. We are all part of creation, all kings, all poets, all musicians; we have only to open up, only to discover what is already there.” – author, Henry Miller

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I don’t remember my youth being a place of unfettered, wild creativity. I was a pretty good photographer, but I wasn’t one of those types of artists who excelled in their twenties (think Rankin, Bob Marley, or JD Salinger). So unless you’re one of those young creative geniuses, I reckon that you could be on the same path as me – my creativity is building, and improving over the years.

Let it give you permission for freedom

But becoming more creative as you age isn’t a given, it’s a choice. As a culture we are more likely to give into the idea that we can’t be as creative with age, as when we were young.

“No, that is a great fallacy; the wisdom of old men. They do not grow wise. They grow careful.” – author, Ernest Hemingway.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can use what you’ve learned, and seen throughout life to make you more cautious, or you can allow it to give you permission to ignore your fears, ignore what others tell you about aging, and just choose freedom.

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You are not who you think you are (unless you want to be)

Our brains are amazing at creating stability and continuity, so that we can live day-to-day, almost on auto-pilot. Neuroscientists now say that 95% of who you are (habits, behaviours, beliefs) is set by the age of 35. And 70% of the thoughts you will have today, you also had yesterday! So if you aren’t in the habit of being creative, it might seem a little hopeless.

But – and this is an awesome but – neuroscientists are now also saying that we can change our brains any time we like. So even if you haven’t lived a creative life, and are only turning to it at 40, 60 or 85 – you can quite easily change your brain’s habits. Becoming super creative is completely possible at any age. You don’t have to be stuck in the same place, doing the same things, and being the same way forever.

Creativity keeps your mind young

“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.” – actress, Sophia Loren

Some kind of creative thinking, is an amazing way to keep your mind young. Because as Edward de Bono says, in order to be creative you have to use your mind in a different way than before. Anything you do that is new to your brain, creates new neural pathways, and engages those dusty grey parts that maybe you hadn’t used before.

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Photography is about communicating feelings and experiences

“Photography for me is not looking, it’s feeling. If you can’t feel what you’re looking at, then you’re never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your pictures.” – photojournalist, Don McCullin

What more do we have as humans as we age, than experiences, and a rich storehouse of memories and feelings? Let’s draw from that to inject our photos with more meaning and feeling. Let’s use that experience to connect with our subjects, to go deeper into the myriad of experiences happening all around us every day.

“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever… it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.” – photographer, Aaron Siskind

Unshackled from expectation – “The man who views the world at 50, the same as he did at 20, has wasted 30 years of his life.” – boxer, Muhammad Ali

I love that now I am in my forties, I care a lot less about what other people expect of me, and my photography. I can go on my own way, and do the things that really inspire me. And you know what, the more inspired I am, the better my photography turns out – so that’s a double win!

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Age can bring freedom from expectation. Many people mind less about what people think as they get older. Use that. Create not for some specific goal, but just for the sheer joy of it, the wonder of discovering new subjects, the beauty of light, the amazing feeling of walking not to get somewhere, but to just see new things.

“We move what we’re learning from our heads to our hearts through our hands. We are born makers, and creativity is the ultimate act of integration – it is how we fold our experiences into our being.” – professor, PhD, author, Brené Brown

Taking photos energizes your mind

Creativity is an amazingly powerful way to smash through lethargy, and that beautiful French word, ennui (a feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or excitement). Maybe your job is boring, maybe your life is a lot of endless tasks that make you feel a bit sludgy, maybe you’ve retired and are thinking – now what?! Well, what better way to greet lethargy, than to meet it with the scintillating excitement of creating something. We are all born to be creative, it’s in our bones, the very fabric of our being. Maybe we hide it under deep layers of other stuff – but it’s still there, burning like a small ember of inspiration.

DPS creativityAnthonyEpes06

Creativity is a journey, not a destination

Creativity is a liberating experience. It will help you discover new parts of yourself, but also help you see the world in a new and refreshing way. Let it liberate you. Let it fill your life with awe at the beauty, craziness, and amazingness of what lies around us in this world.

You are never too old, too set in your ways, too full of habit to embrace the creative journey. Photography has brought amazing, interesting, challenging and awe-inspiring experiences into my life, which make me feel good to be alive.

“Putting things off is the biggest waste of life: it snatches away each day as it comes, and denies us the present by promising the future.” – Seneca

Whatever you do, don’t let age stop you.

Carpe diem! Because if not now, then when?

 

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The post Like Fine Wine – Creativity Gets Better With Age by Anthony Epes appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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Secret Spirals: Underground Home Wine Cellar Spaces

25 Jan

[ By Steph in Design & Fixtures & Interiors. ]

Hidden Spiral Wine Cellars 1

High-tech looking spiral wine cellars that either blend into the floor or glow with colored lights will entice even non-oenophiles to take up collecting Cabernet. A company called Spiral Cellars offers prefabricated cellars in traditional and modern designs that can be inserted into the floor of nearly any home, even if you don’t have an existing basement or cellar.

Hidden Spiral Wine Cellars 2

The water-tight, cylindrical system can store up to 1,900 bottles of wine. Because it relies on the surrounding earth for its insulation, and comes equipped with an air-flow system, it doesn’t require any power to keep the wine at a constant temperature. The system was inspired by a spiral staircase from 1844 found at the Pont du Gard aqueduct in France.

Hidden Spiral Wine Cellars 3

Hidden Spiral Wine Cellars 4

Wood-paneled doors practically disappear in a wood floor, especially the recessed trap doors that can be covered in timber, engineered wood or laminate flooring to match the rest of the room. Others are made to be seen, with LED lights that make them glow like some kind of space ship portal.

Hidden Spiral Wine Cellar 5

Some of the doors are motorized, so they pop up at the press of a button. A retractable round glass trap door features two semi-circular glass panels that swivel over each other to open. Craving wine yet?

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[ By Steph in Design & Fixtures & Interiors. ]

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How to Make Rice Wine (??)

07 Dec

It’s easy to make this interesting wine/beer. Learn how to make Chinese Rice Wine. Shot with a Nikon D90
Video Rating: 5 / 5

Nikon D90 + Photomatix Pro High Dynamics Range movie. www.switch-science.com
Video Rating: 4 / 5