Horst’s contact sheets, sketches and inspiration are set to go on show at an exhibition planned by London’s Victoria and Albert museum for the end of this year. Horst: Photographer of Style is described by the museum as a ‘definitive retrospective’ of the German photographer’s work, and will cover a range of styles and subjects taken between his move to Paris in the 1930s and the end of his life in 1999. Read more
Category: Uncategorized
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A Portrait of Invention: David Friedman’s ‘Inventor’ Series
Photographer David Friedman has been photographing inventors since 1998. During the course of that time he has sat down with 47 men and women who have their names on patents for products as diverse as cellphones, US Navy antennas and ‘Squirt-gun Shoes’. We spoke to David recently about his project – read what he has to say and take a look at a selection of images. See gallery
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Beyond the ordinary: Tim Dodd’s Everyday Astronaut
Many kids dream of becoming an astronaut. While few of us will ever go on a space walk, photographer Tim Dodd has done what might be the next best thing – he bought his own space suit. His was the only bid in an online auction for a Russian high altitude space suit, and he’s turned this unusual purchase into a clever photo series. Titled ‘Everyday Astronaut,’ he transforms the everyday into something a little otherworldly. See gallery
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What The Duck #1212
We’ve come to the end of another week here at dpreview, and as our thoughts drift to weekend shooting opportunities, it’s time to take things a little less seriously. Aaron Johnson’s comic strip ‘What the Duck’ is just the thing, taking a gently satirical look through the lens of a photographically inclined waterfowl. You can find it published here (and in our newsletter) every week; we hope you enjoy it, and your weekend.
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Lighting Tutorial: The Science Behind Light
Light : The Science of it All
Hey FashionPhotographyBlog.com readers. Happy Independence Day!
Today we are going to be talking about:
Light. Learn to understand it, learn to see it and the better you’ll be able to manipulate it. After all, the whole science behind photography is based on the principles of light. Stick it out through these next three days and things will get a lot more interesting. Before you can learn to manipulate light (or if you’re a curious person like me,) it’s good to understand the “how” and “why” behind it.
So, welcome to the science of light.
(I know this is the boring part, just stick with me…)
Light and Color Science:
The human eye is only sensitive to the visible spectrum of the electromagnetic spectrum. White light contains all colors. We learned this when Newton split white light with a prism.
Electromagnetic Spectrum
(Thanks Pink Floyd)
Additive Primaries – Red, Green, Blue
When you add equal parts of the additive primaries together (Red, Green, and Blue), you create white light. RGB is the color method used in today’s digital world. Mixing just two of the additive primaries will result with one of the subtractive primaries.
Subtractive Primaries – Cyan, Magenta, Yellow
The subtractive primaries absorb their compliments (RGB) and subtract them from white light. CMYK is the color model for printing (K referring to Black). When subtractive primaries are mixed, they subtract brightness from white, resulting in Black.
Each additive color has a subtractive color that is its compliment.
Red – Cyan
Green – Magenta
Blue – Yellow
Before you can learn to modify and use light, you need to understand how it works! The first things to be conscious of are the qualities of light which include direction, contrast, color, brightness, diffused, and specular.
Direction is where the light is coming from. This controls the relationship between light and shadow. Direction can also be understood as the position or placement of the light.
Contrast is the relationship between light and shade.
Color is the color temperature or actual color of the light source. (We’ll get into this in a minute.)
Brightness is the intensity of the light.
Diffused light is a softer light typically produced by a larger light source.
Specular light, in short, is light from a source that is not modified. Most of you guys will refer to this as “harsh” or “hard” light.
How can you tell if something is diffused or specular? Look where the shadow meets the lighted areas. If the transition is gradual, it is diffused. If the transition is knife edge its specular. Aka – Does the shadow end very abruptly? Think of high noon light and how the shadows cast by the sun are very crisp. This is specular light.
Pay attention to the transitions at the edge of the shadows
Source
The size of a light source (as relative to your subject) will greatly effect the type of light produced. A small source will produce hard light, hard edges and harder shadows. A large light source will produce a shadowless or softer light with softer shadows.
Distance also effects your light. A light close to your subject will create a softer light, whereas the same light when placed farther away will create a harder light. Think of the sun! It’s far away, appears quite small but produces an extremely harsh light/shade relationship unless there are clouds to diffuse the light. When the sky is overcast, it acts as a giant soft box for the sun.
We’ll dive a little further into distance and light tomorrow.
Until then –
Alana
IMAGE SOURCE:
Feature image & image 1: photography by Alana Tyler Slutsky from her Surrealia series. To view the rest of the photos from this series visit her website.
Image 2, 3, 4 & 5: Alana Tyler Slutsky
Image 6: 150m.com
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Blast from the past: Photographing steam locomotives
Matthew Malkiewicz is what you might call a vintage train enthusiast. Fascinated with trains since his childhood, he’s been photographing steam locomotives since a trip to Colorado in 2005 reignited his interests in trains and photography. His photos capture the old-world charm and romanticism that these steam-powered machines evoke. He answered a few questions about his work – see more of his photos and learn about his process. See gallery
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Canon and Microsoft sign patent agreement
It appears we can expect an increased interchange of technologies between imaging giant Canon and software maker Microsoft in the near future, thanks to to a patent agreement that was signed by the two parties on Wednesday. Though the brief statement issued by Microsoft doesn’t reveal much, it appears that Canon imaging technology may be used in future Lumia smartphones made by Nokia. Learn more
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Cecilia Gallery Camera Strap Giveaway
Recently, FashionPhotographyBlog.com reviewed the unique camera straps from Cecilia Gallery. Well today, I’m going to share with you how you can claim one of these gorgeously crafted straps for your camera because thanks to Cecilia Gallery, we have one of their camera straps to give away to one of our subscribers to our blog. To decide who will receive this coveted prize we are going to hold a competition between now and the end of the month.
The rules on how to enter the competition are simple:
1) Take a photo of your favorite item that you use as a photographer.
It does not have to be restricted to cameras; you can think outside of the box as much as you like. It can be an accessory, a piece of software, a tablet, computer or electronic equipment, a book or even an app just to name a few suggestions. Feel free to be as creative as you like in the photo – you may even want to appear in the photo if you are comfortable being seen in it. Just make sure that we can clearly identify what the item is.
2) Write a brief description of at least 100 words telling us why it’s a favorite item of yours as a photographer. You can detail how it has benefited you or how useful it is in your photography. Let us know why you love it.
3) Send these to us via this email competition@fashionphotographyblog.com with your first and last name so we know whose entries are whose.
4) Photo entries and their descriptions will then be posted on our Facebook page where the public will VOTE on for their favorite photos.
The scoring of these votes will be weighted and by the total number of SHARES, followed by the total number of COMMENTS, then the total number of LIKES. In a nutshell, the most popular photo with the top points at the end of the competition period will be announced as the winner of the camera straps. YAY!
6) You can enter as many times as you like, just that each entry needs to be accompanied with a photo and description.
7) Competition starts at the beginning of this month and closes at the end of this month, July 31st Midnight.
So that’s how you can will one of these trendy camera straps. Here’s how you can make sure that you stay updated about the competition and hear when we announce the winner:
1) LIKE us on Facebook
2) Join our mailing list
Once again, we would like to thank Cecilia Gallery for supporting this competition and offering one of their hand-woven alpaca wool and leather camera straps as the prize. We are officially starting the competition and receiving entries.
Good luck everyone! (Although there can only be one winner)
PHOTO SOURCE:Images courtesy of Cecilia Gallery
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Getting off the ground: Cheap drones for photography
With the popularity of drone photography ever increasing, curious hobbyists may be looking for a way to try it out without spending a lot. It’s not the most expensive hobby you could pick, but $ 1000 for a DJI Phantom II and a GoPro Hero3+ is about the same cost as a mid-range camera and lens. Low-cost drones with built-in cameras seem like a great option for the curious. But do the price benefits outweigh the inevitable image quality and usability tradeoffs that come with a cheaper quad? Read more