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Posts Tagged ‘Photography’

Wide-Angle Versus Telephoto Lenses for Landscape Photography

11 Mar

When you arrive at a beautiful scene, open your camera bag, and reach in to pick out a lens for landscape photography, which one do you usually choose and why?

A mid-range focal length lens, say between 35mm and 70mm, is usually the one that gets picked the most because it is closest to what we see with our eyes. When we choose that lens, we come home with photos that look like what we saw and they feel natural.

Chain fruit cholla at Organ Pipe National Monument, Arizona by Anne McKinnell

A wide-angle lens is often chosen when we simply want to take in a wider scene, and a telephoto lens is chosen when we want to get closer to something in the distance. While these uses are certainly valid, these lenses can also be used in the exact opposite way.

Let’s take a look at different ways that wide-angle and telephoto lenses can be used to emphasize different aspects of a scene for landscape photography.

Wide-angle of view versus distant details

This is the way most people use wide-angle and telephoto lenses, as follows.

When I arrived at the scene below, I wanted to capture as much of the lake as possible while eliminating a few distractions on the edges. I reached for my wide angle lens and made an image at 14mm.

Convict Lake, California - Wide-Angle Versus Telephoto Lenses for Landscape Photography

This image was shot using a 14mm wide-angle lens.

Then I noticed some interesting details in the distance on the left side of the frame above. I really liked how the colors of the plants seemed to come down the hill at an angle and were reflected in the lake making a triangle shape. To emphasize this detail, I reached for my telephoto lens and made this image at 65mm.

Convict Lake, California - Wide-Angle Versus Telephoto Lenses for Landscape Photography

The same scene with a 65mm lens.

Wide-angle of view versus close-up details

I made this photo of some cacti and the setting sun right in my campground in southern Arizona. To get the foreground rocks, the cacti, and the background in the frame, I used my wide-angle lens at 15mm and set the aperture to f/22 to make the starburst.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument Arizona - Wide-Angle Versus Telephoto Lenses for Landscape Photography

Then I became drawn to the lines in the organ pipe cactus. To emphasize the lines in an abstract way I moved around the cactus, so I would be working with side light, and used my telephoto lens at 210mm to capture the details.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument Arizona details - Wide-Angle Versus Telephoto Lenses for Landscape Photography

Get close with a wide lens, go wide with a telephoto lens

As I mentioned in the introduction, lenses can be used in the exact opposite way from our usual mode of operation. Sometimes the best way to get close is to use a wide-angle lens. But you have to be really close!

To make this image of a chain fruit cholla, I was only a couple of feet away from it when I made this image at 33mm. Getting physically close to a subject in the foreground makes that subject look large in comparison to the background. The cholla would have looked even larger if I had gotten closer and used a wider angle like 10mm.

Chain fruit cholla at Organ Pipe National Monument, Arizona - Wide-Angle Versus Telephoto Lenses for Landscape Photography

33mm

At the same location, I wanted to make an image that captured the huge expanse of cacti and the surrounding mountains. With a wide-angle lens, things in the distance look tiny and you don’t get the feeling I was looking for. So I used my telephoto lens to capture more distant subjects at 122mm.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument Arizona - Wide-Angle Versus Telephoto Lenses for Landscape Photography

122mm

Make the background or foreground look large

The two photos below are shots of the exact same plant. I chose this organ pipe cactus with a mountain in the background to demonstrate depth compression and how it applies to your lens choice.

When I was quite a distance away from the subject, approximately 100 feet, I made the photo below using my telephoto lens at 129mm. I would have gone farther away from it, but other cacti prevented me from getting a clear view of my subject from a farther distance. Notice how large the mountain appears in this image.

Organ Pipe Cactus in Ajo, Arizona - Wide-Angle Versus Telephoto Lenses for Landscape Photography

129mm focal length.

Then I went right up to the cactus, only inches away, and made the photo below with my wide angle lens at 18mm. Now you can tell that there are actually two organ pipes that looked like one in the previous image. Notice how small the mountain appears in the image below.

Organ Pipe Cactus in Ajo, Arizona - Wide-Angle Versus Telephoto Lenses for Landscape Photography

18mm

Note that this difference is not a result of the lenses themselves, but rather it is due to the distance between the camera and the subject.

When you want to make something that is the background look larger, get farther away from it and use a longer lens. If you want something in the background to disappear, or at least be minimized, get closer to your subject and use a wider lens.

Depth of Field

The depth of field in your image, which is the amount of the scene that is sharp, is determined by the aperture you use. So if you want the background to be blurry you use a wide aperture like f/2.8 or f/5.6. But the aperture you choose does not have the same result with every lens.

I made the photo below with a wide-angle lens at 20mm and an aperture of f/5.6. The result is that most of the flowers are sharp and the background is just slightly blurred.

Black Eyed Susan, Victoria, BC - Wide-Angle Versus Telephoto Lenses for Landscape Photography

20mm at f/5.6

If you want the background to be extremely soft, it’s better to get farther away from your subject and use a longer lens. In the example below, I wanted to make the flowers stand out and minimize the appearance of a house in the background, so I moved farther away, used my telephoto lens at 250mm and an aperture of f/5.6.

Cherry blossoms - Wide-Angle Versus Telephoto Lenses for Landscape Photography

250mm and f/5.6

Conclusion

Here is a quick summary to help you remember what you just learned.

Use a wide-angle lens when you want to:

  • Get close to subjects in the foreground and make them seem more important than the background.
  • Make subjects in the background appear smaller.
  • Get everything in focus.
  • Photograph in tight areas like canyons.

Use a telephoto lens when you want to:

  • Get closer to subjects in the distance.
  • Make subjects in the background appear larger.
  • Get a shallow depth of field by blurring the background.
  • Make close-up images of details.

The post Wide-Angle Versus Telephoto Lenses for Landscape Photography by Anne McKinnell appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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My First Time Shooting Infrared Photography

11 Mar

Up until a few months ago, my only experience with infrared photography was through the work of Minor White and a few other photographers that shoot masterful infrared photographs. Their images were dreamy scenes with glowing trees that completely transformed my idea of what made a beautiful picture.

Most people I speak to about infrared photography immediately say something about the movie Predator or ask, “You mean like those cameras they use in police chases, right?” While those are in fact infrared cameras, they use thermal infrared which…hang on. I’m getting ahead of myself here.

My First Time Shooting Infrared Photography

A couple weeks ago I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to try out an infrared converted digital camera (Canon 60D) from LifePixel Infrared. Seeing as this would be my first time shooting any type of infrared photography I immediately wanted to share my experience with anyone who might be considering taking the leap and trying infrared picture work.

In this article, I’m going to take you along with me and tell you all about my first experience shooting infrared. This will not be a tutorial on how to make and process infrared but rather a real-world account from an infrared newbie. And I promise, no more Predator references.

The Camera

It might come as a surprise but all digital cameras are capable of capturing infrared images. The reason your unconverted DSLR can’t is that manufacturers add filters to purposefully eliminate (or greatly reduce) light in infrared wavelength from reaching the sensor. An infrared conversion is essentially camera surgery where the infrared eliminating filter is replaced with one that allows infrared light to pass through.

My First Time Shooting Infrared Photography

And unconverted sensor.

In reality, the images we think of as infrared are in fact near infrared. This type of light has a wavelength that hovers approximately around 700nm. Exactly how much infrared light passes through to the sensor depends on the filter and the type of conversion.

The 60D I was sent sports LifePixels’ popular Super Color IR filter which allows for a more flexible infrared experience because it also allows a small amount of visible light to pass through as well. This Super Color filter leaves lots of room for incredibly creative and downright insane post-processing possibilities for working with color and black and white pictures. The filter looks dark red (below) compared to a non-converted sensor filter (see above).

My First Time Shooting Infrared Photography

The infrared converted camera from LifePixel.

Aside from that, there’s not much to say about the external appearance of the converted Canon 60D. It just looks like a normal 60D. This is a good thing in my opinion. Given the complexity of the conversion procedure, it’s nice to see all the screws and joints of the camera remaining just as they were before.

Out and about with infrared

The entire experience of actually shooting images with an infrared camera was incredibly different than how I had imagined. Not at all in a negative or even difficult way, but the creative involvement that was needed reminded me of shooting film and also added an element of excitement you don’t always get when shooting straight digital.

I had assumed that using an infrared camera would be fairly straightforward. Meaning that the image that came out of the camera would essentially be an entity unto itself complete with weird colors and that finished infrared look. This is not the case. Have a look at a RAW infrared photo fresh from the camera equipped with the Super Color IR filter.

My First Time Shooting Infrared Photography

Shock. Panic. Gnashing of teeth. When I saw this on the LCD screen my heart sank. What had I done wrong? This wasn’t the cool looking picture I had expected. As it turns out, everything was just as it should be. So, if you’re thinking about using an infrared camera for the first time take some comfort in knowing that things are going to look downright horrible until the image is appropriately processed. We’ll talk about the post-processing of the infrared images a little later.

And seriously, I mean just look at that. They really do look horrible. Moving on…

The best thing about putting the camera into use is relearning how to visualize a photo before you actually snap the shutter. As I said, this is something that has been lost in translation during the digital age. Shooting infrared brings in a fresh feeling of involvement when shooting because you can make all the creative choices but still not know what you have until the photo has been processed.

What’s more is that infrared photography loves being shot in harsh midday light that would normally be absolutely fatal to most sorts of photography. Which is actually really cool. Something I would recommend is to make use of your camera’s Live View mode if it is so equipped. This allows you to see what your sensor sees in real-time.

Also, note that with infrared converted DSLR cameras there can be a slight focusing inaccuracy when shooting at wider apertures unless it is corrected (which LifePixel offers). The Canon D60 I tested out was focused corrected before it was sent to me. Now, let’s talk about the completely incredible way (but not the only way) I processed some of the photographs I made with the infrared converted 60D. You’re not going to believe this.

Post-processing the IR images

My First Time Shooting Infrared Photography

Let me start off by saying that post-processing infrared photos is not difficult. The biggest help you can give yourself is to remember these images are just photographs, but they are photographs that include nearly infrared light.

I feel as if I entered into the post-processing phase of my newly shot IR photos with a certain timidness, which was completely unfounded. While we’re about to briefly talk about the biggest hurdle I had to overcome with the processing the overall concept of editing an IR photo is really no different than any other picture.

The Magical Realm of White Balance

If you’ve ever heard someone say “always shoot RAW” and doubted the truth of it – let me tell you now that when it comes to post-processing your near-infrared images, shooting in RAW format is essential. I made the mistake of not switching the camera from JPG (my fault, I should have checked) to RAW and the resulting images were completely unusable.

Why? Because JPG files simply do not have the information to effectively set an accurate White Balance in post-production. If there’s one thing that is completely 100%, definitely, totally essential, and inescapable it is that White Balance is key to a successful infrared photograph.

My First Time Shooting Infrared Photography

The challenge with IR converted cameras is that the influx of IR light confuses the camera so that Auto White Balance is completely inaccurate. You can set a Custom White Balance in camera and the easiest way is set it off of green foliage (chlorophyll reflects infrared and is thusly white or close). But if you want to do it all in the editing phase, here’s a quick run-through of how to get it done.

Using Adobe’s DNG Profile Editor

This goes back to what we talked about earlier in this section. Don’t assume that there is a secret to IR photography processing. They are no different from normal photos in that you should have a desired White Balance and exposure. That’s it.

The problem with setting a White Balance for IR images in post-processing is that the color temperature can’t go low enough to correct the image. This is where an often neglected section of Adobe Lightroom called “Camera Calibration” will quite literally save you from pulling out clumps of your hair in frustration.

Using an even lesser known piece of Adobe wizardry called the DNG Profile Editor, you can create a custom White Balance profile and place it in the Camera Calibration section of Lightroom. This is what will allow you to accurately color correct your IR photos.

My First Time Shooting Infrared Photography

Never heard of the DNG Profile Editor? Don’t worry, I wrote a book on Lightroom and I had no clue about it myself. Firstly, it’s a free download from Adobe that allows you to create custom profiles based on your camera, and save those so that they appear in the Camera Calibration section of Lightroom.

Read more here: How to Use Adobe’s DNG Profile Editor to Make Custom Camera Profiles

My First Time Shooting Infrared Photography

My First Time Shooting Infrared Photography

It’s easy, actually kind of fun, and it doesn’t take much time. We’ll skip the particulars but if you want to learn more about the entire IR process, check out this excellent video from B&H Photo by Vincent Versace.

Once you’ve created your custom camera profile it can then be applied to any image you make with your IR converted camera. Then you can go back and make detailed White Balance selections based on the particular image you happen to be editing at the time. Here’s that RAW image again from earlier as it looked straight from the camera.

My First Time Shooting Infrared Photography

My First Time Shooting Infrared Photography

With the White Balance corrected using the custom profile from the DNG Profile Editor.

My First Time Shooting Infrared Photography

With a color channel swap (blue/red) in Photoshop and some basic editing back in Lightroom.

The possibilities really are endless and include black and white conversions, color swaps in Photoshop, selective color, as well as any other edits you feel like trying out!

Here are a few more images I shot with the IR converted Canon D60 from LifePixel.

My First Time Shooting Infrared Photography

My First Time Shooting Infrared Photography

My First Time Shooting Infrared Photography

My First Time Shooting Infrared Photography

Final Thoughts on My First Infrared Experience

Often times I talk about the importance of stepping outside of your comfort zone when it comes to your shooting. It’s essential to be bold and extend your creative reach which will, in turn, help you grow technically, professionally, and creatively.

My first time shooting infrared is a classic example of how refreshing it can be to try something completely new with your work. I learned so many new things and reminded myself of how much I truly love this thing that we all do, called photography. Needless to say, my time shooting infrared was immensely positive. Here are a few tips that will help avoid some pitfalls should you decide to try IR photography for yourself:

  • Shoot RAW.
  • Use your camera’s Live View mode.
  • Remember plants and foliage generally reflect IR light.
  • Accurate White Balance is a MUST!
  • Use Adobe’s DNG Profile Editor to create a custom color profile for your camera.
  • Remember there is no set way to edit your IR photographs.

Check out LifePixel Infrared at their website. Not only are they a group of super nice people who do awesome camera conversions but they also offer a treasure trove of educational information about infrared photography and post-processing infrared images.

I hope you enjoyed taking a trip with me during my first time with IR photography. Next on the agenda? Deciding which of my cameras to have converted to IR.

The post My First Time Shooting Infrared Photography by Adam Welch appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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Long Exposure Photography 201 – How to Edit a Long Exposure Seascape

10 Mar

In case you missed it, in an earlier article I introduced you to the 101’s of Long Exposure Photography, provided a checklist of the essential equipment, and detailed the exact steps to follow so you can capture a long exposure photograph.

In this article, I will share a precise workflow that you can use to process your long exposure photographs.

01 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

Long exposure seascape after editing.

Straight out of the camera (SOOC)

Long exposure photographs, when imported straight out of the camera are, in many ways, a lot like rough diamonds. Sadly, in most cases, the price tag usually isn’t one of them.

Straight out of the camera, it’s inevitable that your long exposure photograph will have a color cast and a degree of undesirable noise. Particularly if you miscalculate the exposure time and underexpose your image by accident (nobody’s perfect right?).

02 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

Underexposed, blue, and noisy RAW image straight out of the camera.

After taking one look at an image like this, it would be easy to feel a little disheartened. You’d probably reject the image, write your time off, and hope for better luck next time.

Noise, color casts, and the occasional exposure miscalculations happen – it comes with the territory. Fortunately, with a little sprinkle of post-processing magic, you can correct these mishaps.

Now, to be clear, I’m not suggesting you adopt a “fix it in post-production” approach. Like any genre of photography, you want to capture your subject as best as you possibly can in-camera. But, unlike more sensitive photography genres (portraiture, commercial, beauty, etc.), the atmospheric and surreal nature of long exposure photographs provides you with greater tolerance for post-processing corrections.

The chances are there’s a diamond hidden among all those imperfections. Here’s precisely how you can uncover it.

Processing Steps for Long Exposure Images

Step One – Basic Edits

01 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

Step one: Dust it down.

After importing your RAW image into Lightroom, it’s likely it will look a little flat and may have a handful of imperfections. The most common being color noise and color casts.

03 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

This image has a significant amount of Color and Luminance Noise.

Before you can tackle the corrections, polish your image off, and proudly display it for the world to see, you need to be able to see what you’re doing.

Regardless of whether your image is underexposed or overexposed, it’s a good idea to use the Lens Corrections and Basic Tone Panel in Lightroom to strengthen the basics of your image. Doing so will make correcting those imperfections much easier in the next step.

Here’s an example

Load your image into Lightroom’s Develop Module and navigate to the Lens Corrections tab.

Enable the “Remove Chromatic Aberration” and “Profile Corrections” checkboxes. These features will detect the lens you used to capture your image and load a profile to correct any distortion. This is particularly efficient at removing the vignette caused by any ND filters.

04 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

Before and after comparison of the Lens Corrections.

With the Lens Corrections in place, navigate up to the Basic panel. The general aim here is to refine your image as a whole using global adjustments. A good rule of thumb is to correct your exposure, restore detail in your highlights and shadows, and retain a good degree of overall contrast.

The specific values will vary for each image. Here you can see that increasing the exposure slider helps to correct the underexposed image. Further adjustments to the Shadows and Highlights were applied to restore detail. Finally, the Contrast, White, and Black sliders were fine-tuned to boost the overall contrast.

05 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

Before and after basic global adjustments.

Step Two: Correcting Color Casts

Long exposure images are prone to blue or magenta color casts, often caused by using ND filters. Provided you captured your image in RAW, correcting the color cast couldn’t be simpler. Simply adjust the White Balance sliders to counter your color cast.

In this case, the blue color cast is easily removed by adjusting the White Balance to almost 10,000 K.

06 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

The White Balance tool can be used to remove the color cast caused by your ND filters.

Step Three: Correct Noise

Noise can be problematic in long exposure photography. It’s caused by a variety of factors – ISO setting, the length of your exposure, and the heat of your camera sensor – none of which are terribly exciting to talk about.

In short, there are two variations of noise. Luminosity noise and color noise.

Luminosity noise creeps its way into your long exposure photographs through a combination of your ISO and the heat of your camera’s sensor. Essentially, the longer your exposure, or the higher your ISO, the more luminosity noise it will generate. Luminosity noise is colorless and typically shows up as small bright pixels.

07 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

The small bright pixels are known as Luminosity Noise.

Color Noise is luminosity noise’s irritating ugly brother. It typically looks like unsightly splotchy green and red pixels. It’s often found in the darker and lighter areas of your image.

08 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

Unsightly Color Noise.

In long exposure photography (LEP), it’s inevitable that you will encounter noise in your images. Sure, there are techniques to minimize it in camera. Like taking a bunch of shorter exposures, then aligning and blending them all together.

But if you read part one of this tutorial, you’ll know that sitting back and letting your camera do all the work while you enjoy a cup of tea is all part of the fun of long exposure photography. If the price you pay is a little bit of noise then I say, “Boil that kettle!”. Besides, it’s really easy to reduce or completely remove noise from your images. Take a look.

Navigate to your Detail tab in the Develop module and zoom into your image at 100%.

09 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

The Detail tab allows you to reduce Luminosity and Color Noise.

Start by adjusting the Color Noise reduction slider upwards until the bulk of your color noise disappears.

10 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

The Color Noise has been significantly reduced.

It’s likely you will still have some residual color noise. In that case, tweak the Detail and Smoothness sliders until you find a balance that removes the color noise and still retains detail in your image.

11 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

Tweaking the Detail and Smoothness sliders has completely removed the Color Noise.

Now you can turn your focus to the Luminosity Noise. Adjust the Luminosity slider upwards until the bulk of your luminosity noise has vanished. To fine-tune the adjustment, you can tweak the Detail and Contrast sliders.

12 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

The Luminance Noise is almost completely removed.

Be careful not to overdo the Luminosity slider. Retaining detail is more important than complete noise reduction. It’s no good having a perfect noise-free image if your subject now looks like it’s carved out of wax.

13 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

Before and after noise reduction.

Step Four: Restore Presence

By now, your image should either be noise free or have a degree of acceptable noise. If you’ve had to be a little heavy-handed with your noise reduction, the chances are your subject might have lost a little texture and overall presence.

To restore this, navigate to the Basic panel and adjust the Clarity slider upwards. This will bring a little texture and presence back into your subject.

14 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

Before and after increasing the Clarity slider to enhance the rock formation.

The overall color strength of your image also plays a big role in how your subject appears. In the example, you can see that reducing the overall saturation helps to mute the vibrant colors and lets the rock formation do all the talking.

15 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

Decreasing the Saturation helps to mute the ocean and make the rock formation stand out.

Step Five: Creative Vision

By now your image will have progressed significantly. Let’s take a second to compare the results in just four steps.

16 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

Original RAW versus current image with global adjustments.

You’ve probably invested a considerable amount of time preparing the shot, capturing the image, and processing it in Lightroom. Therefore, you might be tempted to call it a day, settle for the current progress, and share your not-so-rough diamond with us in the comments section below.

Alternatively, if you want to give your image a little extra sparkle before proudly unveiling it for the world to admire, then I welcome you to join me. Let me hold your hand while we lightly step into the world of Photoshop.

To get there, right click on your image, scroll down to “Edit” and select “Edit in Adobe Photoshop…”

17 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

Open your image in Adobe Photoshop.

Photoshop can be a little overwhelming. Therefore, it can help to create a plan and jot down your ideas before you get to work. This will help keep you focused and will serve as a reminder of what you are trying to achieve.

Create a new layer and rename “Notes”. Then use the brush and type tools to jot down your vision and ideas. If you’re stuck for ideas, these questions (and this article) will give you a good place to start.

  • Where do your eyes get drawn to first?
  • Where do your eyes go next?
  • What elements enhance the story?
  • Which elements weaken the story?

Here you can see the notes that were created for the example image. These set the goal for the final outcome.

18 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

Creating notes will serve as a reminder of your goal when you are editing your image.

Step Six: Bring it to Life

Up until now, all the edits have been applied globally (meaning to the entire image). If, like in the example, your long exposure image is looking a little flat and is in desperate need of some sparkle and polish, applying local adjustments to target specific areas of interest is a very effective method.

How do you know which areas to target? When you look at an image, your eyes will tend to gravitate towards the sharper areas that contain the most brightness and contrast. Take a look at the example.

19 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

Notice how your eyes want to gravitate up into the bright sky. And, if they haven’t already left the frame, they may descend to settle in the high contrast areas on the outer areas of the rock.

Controlling your viewer’s eye is both important and quite simple. An easy method you can adopt is to create a series of simple minor adjustments that:

  • a. Gradually decrease the contrast and highlights in the areas you don’t want your viewer to focus on.
  • b. Gradually build up contrast and highlights in the areas that you do want your viewer’s eyes to settle on.
18 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

Referring to our notes, you can see that the aim is to draw the viewer towards the rock formation.

How to do you create those minor adjustments?

Here’s a simple Curves Masking System that allows you to lighten or darken selective areas of your image to control contrast, shadows, and highlights in a natural and subtle way.

20 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

1. Create a Curves Adjustment Layer.

21 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

2. Decide what areas of your image you want to target and lighten or darken the curve accordingly.

22 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

3. Click on the layer mask thumbnail and use the keyboard shortcut Command + I (Mac) or Control + I (PC) to fill the layer mask with black to hide the effect.

23 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

4. Select either the Gradient Tool or a soft Brush with the settings at Hardness 0%, Flow 10%.

24 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

5. Press D to set your foreground color to white.

25 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

6. Apply your Gradient or paint with white over your Layer Mask to reveal the effect of the Curves Adjustment Layer.

26 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

This is what your Layer Mask will look like after applying the Gradient tool. The white areas of the Layer Mask will reveal the effect of the Curves Adjustment Layer.

27 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

7. Create a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer, clip it to your Curves Adjustment Layer and reduce the Saturation slider to desaturate your adjustment. Note: Only do this step if you Darken the curve in step 2.

Using your notes to guide you, work your way around your image. Apply several versions of the Curves Masking System to lighten or darken particular areas and control the viewer’s eye, each time varying the intensity of the Curve to create a subtle and natural result.

Here you can see how the Curves Masking System allows you to:

  • Selectively darken the sky to push the viewer’s attention down towards the rock formation.
  • Lighten the foreground to draw attention to the bottom half of the image.
  • Create contrast, presence, and depth in the rock formation to capture and hold the viewer’s focus.

Using the Curves Masking System to Darken the Sky

28 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

Two applications of the Curves Masking System were used here to gradually darken the sky.

29 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

The darkened sky helps to push your focus back into the middle of the frame.

While darkening the sky helps to keep your eyes inside the frame, you’ll notice the image is still looking a little flat and not very interesting. To inject a little more life into the image, you can use the Curves Masking System to create contrast, presence, and depth in your subject as well. Here’s an example.

Creating contrast, depth, and presence in the rock formation

30 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

Several applications of the Curves Masking System were used here, alternating between lightening and darkening the Curve to gradually build up presence in the rock formation.

31 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

Selectively enhancing the contrast and highlights in the rock formation helps to draw your focus in and creates a point of interest for your eyes to settle in and get comfortable.

With your subject now sparkling and ready to flaunt its new-found presence, you want to make sure it gets seen.

We know eyes love to settle on bright sparkly things. Therefore, you can use the Curves Masking System to strategically lighten areas of your image to practically escort your viewer’s eyes directly to your subject. Here’s an example.

Selectively Lighten the Foreground

32 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

Several applications of the Curves Masking System were used to lighten the foreground to draw your attention to the lower half of the image.

33 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

Increasing the brightness of the water immediately captures your attention. Care was taken to ensure the rock formation still contained the brightest pixels in the image.

Let’s take a quick look at the example image before and after, applying the Curves Masking System:

34 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

Before

35 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

After

After several applications of the Curves Masking System, you’ll notice that your eyes no longer gravitate up into the sky and exit the frame. Instead, your eyes now descend toward the rock formation and go for a little swim in the silky water. Much more refreshing!

All that’s left for you to do now is to give your image a good clean and polish, then share it with us in the comments. Here’s how to do it.

Step Seven: Clean and Polish

Long exposure photograph is not only great for capturing surreal images, it’s excellent for letting you know if your camera gear needs a clean. Upon close inspection of your image, you may notice random dull spots. If so, the chances are there’s a bit of dust on your lens, ND filters, or your camera’s sensor.

36 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

Random dull spot – often caused by dust on your lens, filters or camera sensor.

Removing these spots is incredibly simple.

On a new layer, select the Spot Healing Brush and simply paint over the spots. Photoshop will work its magic and voila! Your once (very) rough diamond is now ready for unveiling to the world for all to enjoy.

37 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

You can use the Spot Healing Brush to remove dust spots and hot pixels from your image.

Recap

Let’s take a second to recap the long exposure processing workflow before taking a peek at the before and after.

  1. Dust it down – start off in Lightroom to apply Lens Corrections and basic tone adjustments.
  2. Correct color casts – adjust the White Balance to correct the color cast from your ND filters.
  3. Correct noise – use the Detail tab to remove Color and Luminosity Noise.
  4. Restore presence – navigate the Clarity, Vibrance and Saturation sliders to give your subject more presence.
  5. Creative vision – open your image in Photoshop and note down your vision for your final image.
  6. Bring it to life – use a series of Curves Adjustment Layers and Layer Masks to manipulate light and direct attention towards your subject.
  7. Clean and polish – Select Photoshop’s Spot Removal Brush and remove the dust spots from your image.

Before and After

02 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

Original image before processing.

01 Long Exposure Photography 201 How to edit a Long Exposure Seascape

Final image.

Well, that concludes this two-part guide for capturing and editing long exposure photographs. Hopefully, the workflow, tips, and bad jokes shared encourage you to reach for your camera, venture outside, and unearth something special.

Share it below, I’d love to see it.

In case you missed it, you can read part one here: Long Exposure Photography 101 – How to Create the Shot.

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Week Photography Challenge – Antiques

10 Mar

This week it’s time to dig out all your old stuff, or get out and look for some antiques. Things that are aged and beautiful – look for old buildings, your old shoes, rotting wood of an old window, antique cars, clocks, books, etc., yes even people. Remember these old things have great value, especially our senior citizens – so photograph them with the respect they deserve.

Textured wall of an old building in Havana, Cuba.

 

If you want to add a few tricks to your images of antiques try these techniques:

  • How to Create an Antique Photo Look Using a Lemon and Layer Masks in Photoshop
  • How to Apply a Texture Overlay to Your Images to Create an Antique Look
  • How to Create a Retro Faded Look Using Lightroom or Photoshop
  • How to Add Vintage Frame Overlays Using Alien Skin Exposure X
  • How to Use Split Toning to Make Your Photos Stand Out

Split toning to make it look like an antique photo.

Antique cars of Havana.

Even try your hand at some light painting as was done here to “turn on” the car’s headlights.

An old typewriter makes a great subject. Simplify your composition for maximum impact.

Weekly Photography Challenge – Antiques

Simply upload your shot into the comment field (look for the little camera icon in the Disqus comments section) and they’ll get embedded for us all to see or if you’d prefer, upload them to your favorite photo-sharing site and leave the link to them. Show me your best images in this week’s challenge. Sometimes it takes a while for an image to appear so be patient and try not to post the same image twice.

Share in the dPS Facebook Group

You can also share your images in the dPS Facebook group as the challenge is posted there each week as well.

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Contest – Win One of THREE Online Professional Photography Courses from the New York Institute of Photography

09 Mar

Over the last few years here at dPS, we’ve run some incredibly popular competitions with one of our partners – the New York Institute of Photography – to give away some of their great online photography courses to lucky dPS readers.

Photo by Finnur Tomason, NYIP Graduate.

Due to popular demand – we’re doing it again this week.

For this competition, NYIP will name 3 winners.

Each winner will receive a free enrollment in their most popular course:

Professional Photography Course – worth $ 1,199

The professional photography will teach you to take control your digital camera.

  • Develop your eye as a photographer and develop a visual signature.
  • Utilize exposure, lighting, and lenses on your camera.
  • Describe the proper composition and how to take the perfect photograph in all conditions.
  • Discuss different photographic genres including wedding, landscapes, portraits, studio, and more.
  • Use the manual mode on a camera.
  • Explain how to make money with your camera in a variety of fields.
  • A professional photographer will serve as your mentor.
  • NYIP Graduates are eligible to become certified by the Professional Photographers of America (PPA).

Photo by Etienne Ludovic, NYIP Graduate

All students get the benefit of online courses they can work through at their own pace, as well as one-to-one feedback from professional photographers on their work!

How to Win

To win this competition you’ll need to:

Watch the video below and visit the course page HERE

Leave a comment below and tell us why you’d like to enter to win this course from New York Institute of Photography. Please note: there is a limit of ONE entry per person.

Do this in the next two weeks and on March 30th, 2018, the team at NYIP will choose the best three answers and we will announce the winners shortly after that date.

Deadline is March 23rd, 2018 at 11:59 pm PDT. Comments left after the deadline will not be considered.

By “best” – we’re looking for people who understand what NYIP is, what the course offers, and how it suits their needs. There’s no need to write essay length comments to win – but we’re looking to hear what you like about NYIP, the course and how it would help your development as a photographer.

This competition is open to everyone around the world no matter where you live, but there is only one entry per person, please. To enter – simply leave your comment below.

Don’t forget to share this post with your friends!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Learn more about New York Institute of Photography here.

NYIP is partnered with the PPA – Professional Photographers of America. NYIP graduates are eligible to become certified by the PPA.

Contest open to all. No purchase necessary to enter. The winner is responsible for any fees or taxes. The prize will be delivered electronically by NYIP. Only ONE entry per person. Please allow 2-4 weeks for prize delivery.

Disclaimer: NYIP is a paid partner of dPS.

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Working with Different Focal Lengths for Macro Photography

07 Mar

At some point in your photography journey you may be fascinated by pictures capturing living creatures in great detail, flowers close-up, and in general intimate vistas, which may go unnoticed in our daily viewing habits. Such shots are commonly described as macro photography.

Working with Different Focal Lengths for Macro Photography - red flower

The purpose of this article is to provide you with theoretical and practical insight, to help you select lenses for macro photography with focal lengths suitable for your style.

What is macro photography?

The Collins English Dictionary defines macrophotography as: extremely close-up photography in which the image on the film is as large as, or larger than, the object. Extending this definition into the world of digital, the word “film” can be replaced by “sensor”.

The terms magnification and reproduction ratio (RR) are two ways of quantifying this definition. They describe how big the capture on the sensor is as compared with the subject you are photographing.

  • “As large as” means that whatever object is captured it is the same size om the sensor as it is in real life (magnification of 1x or x1 and RR of 1:1).
  • “Larger than” means if the image on the sensor is N times the actual life size of the subject, the magnification is then Nx and the RR is N:1.

An important distinction has to be made between the image on the sensor and the printed image. 1cm of object captured on 1cm of sensor may appear on a typical 10x15cm print as much bigger than 1cm.

It is important to note that not all lenses are capable of reaching 1x (1:1) magnification, even if they contain macro in their name. So it is important during your gear selection to know what is a true macro versus a marketed as a “macro” lens. This does not mean that you cannot and will not make breathtaking close-up pictures with that lens, it just means that you will only able to reach lower magnifications and RRs (e.g. a 0.25x magnification = RR of 1:4)

Now that we have established the realm of macro photography, there are a couple of other terms that are essential in this article.

Other definitions

Minimum focusing distance (MFD). This is a lens’s construction characteristic. According to Nikon, MFD is the shortest distance at which a lens can focus. In the case of DSLR Cameras, the focus distance to the subject is measured from the focal plane mark on the camera body, not from the front of the lens. MFD is important because 1:1 or life size RR only happens at the MFD of any true macro lens.

2 focal plane mark - Working with Different Focal Lengths for Macro Photography

The focal plane mark on a D750 is shown below to the left of the strap handle.

Minimum working distance (MWD). This is the distance from the subject to the front of the lens barrel (excluding the lens cap if used), while the lens is set to its maximum magnification (i.e its MFD).

On the web, there are various tools to help calculate MWD. This is a lens and camera combination characteristic, as different cameras contribute differently to the MWD (even if minimally so). A simple graph illustrating MFD and MWD is shown below.

MFD MWD - Working with Different Focal Lengths for Macro Photography

The purpose of this article is to practically demonstrate the difference in Minimum Working Distance between two lenses of different focal lengths, as well as some implications that arise from this difference.

Gear and settings

For the examples used in this article, two macro lenses, the Tokina 35mm f2.8 and the Sigma 150mm f2.8 were mounted on a Nikon D750. This will demonstrate the MWD difference between two considerably different focal lengths (short versus long).

4 Tokina 35 Sigma150

5 D750 - Working with Different Focal Lengths for Macro Photography

The supporting platform (all-important for macro photography) consisted of a SIRUI T-025X carbon-fiber tripod, a Manfrotto 410 Junior Geared Tripod Head and a Velbon Super Magnesium Slider Macro Rail. A Nikon ML-L3 remote was used to trigger the shutter to avoid adding additional vibrations.

6 Platform tripod - Working with Different Focal Lengths for Macro Photography

Quick comparison

Let’s start with a 1:1 macro shot of an everyday item like a coin. In the photographs below the coin was shot 1:1 with both the 35mm and 150mm lenses. Rulers were placed to show the sensor size of 35.9 x 24.0 mm. The difference of a few mm is probably ruler set-up error on my part.

35mm lens

Ruler in cm and mm showing the size of the image on the sensor. This is 1:1 which would be 24x36mm.

 

The distance needed to shoot the coin at 1:1 with the 35mm lens.

150mm lens

1:1 shot showing the images size on the sensor, 36mm which is fully 100% for a full frame sensor 24x36mm.

 

The distance needed to shoot the coin at 1:1 with the 150mm lens.

I measured an MWD of 19.5cm for the 150mm and only 1.8cm for the 35mm!

To see how this big difference affects a real-world shooting scenario, the owner of a close by flower shop allowed me to use his grounds and beautiful flowers. Continue reading for more info on this.

Doing macro photography of flowers with different focal lengths

To obtain the 1:1 photo shown below, the 35mm lens needs to actually be on top of the bulb as shown in the second shot.

10 150 bulb

A similar shot was done using the 150mm lens.

9 35 MWD

35mm lens in close to get a 1:1 shot.

11 150 MWD

While getting a similar photo with the 150mm lens is much more comfortable.

12 screen

The settings for both flower macro shots were as seen here.

Focal length matters even more in macro photography

Macro photography is exciting. In the words of Roman Vishniac, “In nature every bit of life is lovely. And the more magnification we use, the more details are brought out, perfectly formed, like endless sets of boxes within boxes.”

However, in my experience, macro has more gear and technical considerations than other popular subjects (e.g., portrait or landscape), especially as magnification goes up. One primary point of concern is the Minimum Working Distance of the lens used (true macro or not). This will determine significantly, in my view, the ease of use of the lens and the subsequent willingness you may (or may not) show towards doing macro photography.

Working distance issues

Apart from static subjects, where you may be okay to handle a short MWD. But if at some point you want to shoot bees or other living critters, then most probably you will want a longer MWD. This will help you to not scare away your subject and also to avoid being bitten/stung by it.

Additionally and importantly, a longer working distance will allow access to more light (natural or flash). You can imagine the limitations trying to introduce extra light to the 35mm setup shown above. Things will get even more cramped if you introduce closeup lenses or do lens reversal to reach even higher magnifications.

A rough proposed working classification of focal lengths in macro photography could be as follows:

  • Focal lengths up to 60mm – Useful in product photography (e.g. jewelry) and small objects that can be approached and lit in a controlled environment.
  • 60-150mm – Usable with caution for insects, flowers, and small objects from a greater distance.
  • Above 150mm – Ideal for critters where additional working distance and additional lighting options are preferred.

Finally, there are other considerations, such as perspective differences due to varying focal lengths. These are more aesthetic than technical and not in the scope of this article.

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3 Things You Need to Know to Get Started with Infrared Photography

05 Mar

An Introduction to Infrared Photography

Infrared light is not visible to human eyes. The light your eyes see is that within what is referred to as the “visible spectrum” and infrared (IR) lies beyond this band. Thus Infrared (IR) Photography requires special equipment beyond your standard camera, to tap into this “unseen” world.

Over the years, IR photography has not only become more accessible but is also less complicated with more inexpensive options. If you have been exposed to infrared images, you immediately notice how the look stands out. While some find it rather eerie, others are intrigued by the way the ordinary transforms.

An Introduction to Infrared Photography

In this article, we’ll look at a few things you need to know to get started with infrared photography.

1) What gear do you need to shoot IR?

Filters

If you are just starting to explore this haunting genre of photography, a filter is an easy addition to your gear list. It is least expensive and a good way to gauge how much further you want to delve into and invest in infrared photography.

Infrared filters allow infrared light to hit your camera’s sensor, while at the same time prevent visible light from doing so.

3 Things You Need to Know to Get Started with Infrared Photography

Most manufacturers offer infrared filters and they can range from screw-on to slide-in filter systems. The Hoya R72 is a popular screw-on infrared filter. Interestingly this filter allows just a little bit of visible light through as well, which makes it a nice introductory filter to the world of infrared.

If you already have or prefer to use slide-in systems, note that the infrared filter should be closest to the camera body, to avoid any unwanted visible light hitting your camera sensor.

Different brand filters render color differently as they may address specific ranges of the infrared spectrum. The plus side is that you can experiment with different filters until you find the one that suits your vision.

3 Things You Need to Know to Get Started with Infrared Photography

Converted Camera

If you are committed to doing infrared, a more permanent option is having a dedicated infrared camera body. When a DSLR camera is converted, the infrared blocking filter (that resides in front of your DSLR sensor) is removed. It is a more expensive option, but the benefits include using your camera similar to how you usually do, with normal exposure values.

Note: once a camera has been converted, its sole use is infrared photography – you cannot take “regular” images with it any longer.

3 Things You Need to Know to Get Started with Infrared Photography

Film

With film photography on the rise again, infrared film is readily available and relatively cheap. Developing this film though may nullify that cost-benefit, as you will have to find a lab that has the ability to process infrared.

3 Things You Need to Know to Get Started with Infrared Photography

2) Camera Settings

RAW and JPEG

Shoot both RAW and JPEG files in the beginning. As with any images taken with a DSLR, RAW gives you the most scope when processing. If you are just starting out with infrared photography though, you may be horrified when you look at the back of your camera and see a flat pinkish red image staring back at you.

The JPEG option allows you to see a little more differentiation and determine how to adjust your settings. Believe it or not, with time you will be able to look at those dull pinkish RAW files and be able to tell if they are good or not.

3 Things You Need to Know to Get Started with Infrared Photography

Exposure

If you are using infrared filters, you will need longer exposures when you block out the visible light. So on a bright sunny day, you can work with exposure times between 30-120 seconds, at f/8. Thus a tripod is a must!

If your camera is infrared converted, your settings will vary depending on the amount of light as with normal exposures. Using the sunny day example, your settings could be 1/125th or faster at f/8.

White Balance

A topic all of its own, white balance is important in infrared photography. Refer to your camera’s manual on setting custom white balance, as this is your friend when it comes to infrared.

3 Things You Need to Know to Get Started with Infrared Photography

3) Post-processing Infrared

Auto Tone

As previously mentioned, when you shoot RAW images your output is a dull pinkish red image as shown below.

3 Things You Need to Know to Get Started with Infrared Photography

Infrared RAW image straight out of the camera.

There are several methods to start your infrared file processing, including applying a DNG profile conversion tool. One of the more common ways is to import it into Photoshop and apply Auto Tone.

Note: You can also do both of these processes if you wish.

3 Things You Need to Know to Get Started with Infrared Photography

Auto Tone applied to an infrared image.

Channel Swap

Next, to get those blue skies you need to Channel Swap your colors. While channel swapping is an essential part of infrared photography processing, there are mixed views on which channels to swap to what values. The following are some of the values that are used. Experiment until you find which one works for you:

Changing the Red and Blue Channels only:

  • Red Channel: Red=0, Green=0, Blue=100
  • Blue Channel: Red=100, Green=0, Blue=0

Changing all the channels:

  • Red Channel: Red=0, Green=0, Blue=100
  • Blue Channel: Red=100, Green=0, Blue=0
  • Green Channel: Red=0, Green=100, Blue=0

or another option:

  • Red Channel: Red=0, Green=0, Blue=100
  • Blue Channel: Red=100, Green=100, Blue=-100
  • Green Channel: Red=0, Green=0, Blue=100
3 Things You Need to Know to Get Started with Infrared Photography

After Channel Swapping has been applied.

Final Processing

Final touches include adjusting your hue/saturation and your curves and levels adjustment in Photoshop. It all comes down to your personal taste. Then there is the whole other topic of black and white infrared photography. Read more on that here: How to Enhance your Black and White images with Infrared Photography.

3 Things You Need to Know to Get Started with Infrared Photography

Conclusion

Infrared photography is a small but growing niche of photography, that has evolved with time. It offers creative choices and opens a whole new dimension to explore. You can start off simple with filters and then graduate to converting your camera to be a full-time infrared camera in time.

If you have tried infrared photography please share your tips and images in the comments below. If you haven’t, please let me know if you have any other questions.

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Weekly Photography Challenge – Water

03 Mar

Water, water, everywhere. Your challenge this week it to photograph water in some way – it could be the liquid form or frozen in the form of ice. Pick flowing water or still water. Capture it frozen in time or with motion. The choice is yours.

Water droplet photography and refraction make for great images.

As it’s spring in many places now you might want to photograph the rain, or kids jumping in a puddle. Or raindrops on the window and some stunning bokeh. Or try some refraction in a water droplet. It’s time to get creative.

Photo by Daiga Ellaby on Unsplash

Weekly Photography Challenge – Water

Here are some ideas on photographing water:

  • 5 Fun Tips for Photographing Water
  • 6 Tips for How to Photograph Waterfalls
  • 9 Water Photography Ideas to Make a Splash
  • Water Splash Photography Made Easy
  • How to Create Abstract Photos with Oil and Water and a Little Dish Soap
  • How to do Photography of Frozen Flowers
  • How to do Frozen Object Photography at Home
  • Tips for Doing Macro Underwater Photography

Oil and water and a bit of color make for a fun afternoon photography project. Image by Ramakant – see how to do this here.

Simply upload your shot into the comment field (look for the little camera icon in the Disqus comments section) and they’ll get embedded for us all to see or if you’d prefer, upload them to your favorite photo-sharing site and leave the link to them. Show me your best images in this week’s challenge. Sometimes it takes a while for an image to appear so be patient and try not to post the same image twice.

Share in the dPS Facebook Group

You can also share your images in the dPS Facebook group as the challenge is posted there each week as well.

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Long Exposure Photography 101 – How to Create the Shot

01 Mar

It’s easy to get caught up in the fast nature of photography, technology, instant results, presets, etc. But what happens when you slow your photography right down?

This tutorial will introduce you to the 101s of daytime long exposure photography and share the exact steps you can follow to create your very own long exposure photographs.

01 Long Exposure Photography 101 How to create the shot

Long exposure seascape.

What is long exposure photography?

long exposure photography can be defined in two ways. A traditional description would class it as taking photographs with the intent to deliberately capture the effect of time and display moving objects in a different way to how our eyes are used to seeing them.

But for those of a more literal-mindset, long exposure photography is a brilliant way of photographing atmospheric landscapes, whilst being able to enjoy a cup of tea and a biscuit – all at the same time.

Now, if that sounds like your type of photography, I encourage you to settle in and read on.

02 Long Exposure Photography 101 How to create the shot

Slow down

The very nature of long exposure photography is pretty slow paced. It forces you to take your time, which is excellent practice for your framing and compositional skills. And because you literally can’t rush the shot, it makes you think about the light, your subject, and your compositional techniques before you invest several minutes of your time capturing the image.

It’s worth noting that there is no specific shutter speed that defines the crossover from “typical photography” to long exposure photography. It’s not the duration of your shutter speed that defines your image as a long exposure photograph. Instead, it’s your intention to capture moving objects using longer exposure times than necessary that makes it a long exposure photograph.

03 Long Exposure Photography 101 How to create the shot

Generally speaking, long exposure photographs will use shutter speeds that can be measured in seconds or minutes instead of fractions of seconds.

Embrace the blur – add a sense of motion

“So, why should I take a photo using a slow shutter speed? Won’t that make it blurry?”

Yes, precisely. Using a long exposure technique is typically reserved for times when you want to selectively blur objects in your images. Common examples would be to capture flowing water, like the ocean or a waterfall. It’s also used to capture the movement of clouds or stars in the night sky.

04 Long Exposure Photography 101 How to create the shot

Long exposures are great for capturing motion and stillness in a single frame.

A long exposure photograph reveals the passing of time and conveys motion in a way that your eyes are simply unable to see at the time. Long exposures turn clouds into whispers, water into silky-looking glass, and people into otherworldly ghost-like beings.

Long exposure photography allows you to capture stillness and a sense of motion in a single frame. The contrast between these elements creates a sense of mystery and adds a surreal atmosphere to your images. It’s precisely this playful mix of the fluid and the still that makes long exposure photography beautiful, strong, and mildly addictive – or maybe that’s just the cup of tea.

Anyway, here’s what you need to know to take a long exposure photograph.

05 Long Exposure Photography 101 How to create the shot

Blocking out light with Neutral Density (ND) Filters

To capture those ethereal tones and silky motions in your images, you need to use a slow shutter speed. The trouble with using a slow shutter speed during the day is that it lets in a lot of light. So much light in fact, that it will inevitably overexpose your image.

To counter this, you will need to use a Neutral Density (ND) filter to make long exposure photographs during the day.

ND filters essentially sit in front of your lens and block out the light. Think of them as a fashionable set of sunglasses for your lens. And because the ND filters reduce the amount of light that hits your camera sensor, you can use shutter speeds up to several minutes long without overexposing your images – even in bright conditions.

06 Long Exposure Photography 101 How to create the shot

Rectangular ND Filters – otherwise known as “rectangular dark glass to block out the light”.

Using an ND Filter

The exact length of your exposure will depend on the lighting conditions and the strength of the ND filter you use. ND filters are typically measured by the stops of light they are able to block out and are usually available in increments of 3, 6, 10, or 16-stops.

Nisi, Lee Filters, and Formatt-Hitech are among the popular brands of ND filters, although there are many others available for a variety of budgets. ND filters come in either a circular format (these screw onto the front your lens) or a rectangular format, which requires the use of an additional filter holder to mount them to your lens.

As a general rule, the more light your ND filter is able to block out, the longer your exposure will need to be to achieve a balanced exposure. And the longer your exposure, the more dramatic the effect will be in your final image.

07 Long Exposure Photography 101 How to create the shot

Rectangular ND Filters attached to camera lens using a filter holder.

Don’t Move

You may be aware that when you use slow shutter speeds, the smallest bit of camera movement can throw your image out of focus and cause it to look a little blurry. This is especially true in long exposure photography.

Given that your camera will be taking several seconds or several minutes (if you’re using a 10 or 16 stop ND filter) to complete a single shot, it’s crucial to ensure it doesn’t move a millimeter during the exposure.

It would be nearly impossible to achieve this by hand. Therefore, it’s a good idea to get your hands on a sturdy tripod. This not only ensures your camera will remain still throughout the entire exposure but more importantly, it frees up your hands, so you can have a sip of your tea whilst your camera is hard at work.

In addition to your ND filters and tripod, here’s a checklist of essential equipment you’ll need for long exposure photography.

Essential Long Exposure Photography Equipment Checklist

08 Long Exposure Photography 101 How to create the shot

Essential long exposure photography gear – particularly #10.

  1. Your ND filters.
  2. A sturdy tripod.
  3. Camera with bulb mode function – bulb mode allows you to take exposures longer than the camera’s default 30 seconds.
  4. Fully charged batteries – try to avoid the heart-breaking moment when your battery cuts out in the middle of an exposure.
  5. Lens – wide-angle lenses work very well with landscapes, seascapes, and architecture photography. If you’re just getting started, any lens that is compatible with your ND filters will work just fine.
  6. A shutter release cable with a locking functionality. Using a shutter release cable (remote trigger) allows you to lock the shutter open without having to touch the camera body. This reduces camera movement during your exposure.
  7. A viewfinder cover – during long exposures, light has a habit of finding its way into your camera through your viewfinder and ruining your images. You can prevent this from happening by using a viewfinder cover, some sticky-tac or even duct-tape.
  8. A dark cloth or hat – perhaps the most peculiar item on this list, however, it’s arguably one of the most important. Believe it or not, light doesn’t just find its way into your camera via the viewfinder. It also leaks in via the lens/body connection and also from the connection points on the side of your camera. Placing a dark cloth or hat over your camera works well to prevent light leaks.
  9. Smartphone – this will serve two purposes. First, it will help you to calculate your long exposure times via a handy long exposure calculator app that I’ll introduce you to shortly. Its second function will be to keep track of your exposure time using a simple timer.
  10. A flask of tea and a selection of biscuits – and you thought I was joking! By far my favorite item on the list. long exposure photography will typically have you sitting in a beautiful spot for several minutes, taking your time and soaking up your surroundings. It’s good for the soul and a creates the perfect opportunity to enjoy a well-deserved treat, particularly on cold mornings!
  11. Chargers, USB cables, and lens wipes. Ideal if you need to recharge your gear or remove your fingerprints from your ND filters when you’re out and about.

Every item on this list plays an important role in capturing a long exposure photograph. Now here’s precisely how you can capture one.

Step 1: Prepare at Home

Unlike a typical day of photography, long exposures don’t afford you the luxury of being able to rattle off 1,200 images in a few hours. Instead, you’re likely to return home with only a handful of good photographs after a day of long exposure photography.

So, before you grab your gear and set off in search of ethereal landscapes and mind-bending architecture, it’s well worth investing your time. Research the location and environment so you can make the most of your time in the field.

Weather Conditions

If you’re planning on shooting a landscape, cityscape, or architecture, take a look at your local weather forecast to see what the cloud cover will be like. Anything over 40% cloud cover should give you ideal conditions to capture a silky sky.

04 Long Exposure Photography 101 How to create the shot

The low clouds help to create a surreal atmosphere.

Creating a long exposure seascape, on the other hand, doesn’t necessarily need a lot of cloud coverage (although, cloudy conditions over water often produce great results). It’s worth researching the water conditions because – like the clouds – the greater the movement of the water, the greater the effect of your long exposure photographs.

10 Long Exposure Photography 101 How to create the shot

Cloudy and stormy conditions create dramatic long exposure photographs.

Location Scouting

Use Google Maps and street view to go for a “virtual walk” around your location. Doing so helps you to familiarize yourself with the area and scout out potential compositions for your images. Essentially, you should know precisely where you are going, how you will get there, where you will park, how much daylight you will have and in which direction you need to walk to ensure you take full advantage of your time and the conditions.

11 Long Exposure Photography 101 How to create the shot

Using Google Maps and Street View can help you with composition ideas before leaving your house.

Prepare Your Equipment

There is nothing more heart-breaking than spending the time to scout out the perfect location and setting up your camera only to realize that you have left your ND filters at home or your camera battery is at 27%. Be sure to charge up all of your batteries (including your smartphone) and pack your camera bag using the equipment checklist above.

Shoot RAW

Set your camera to shoot in RAW format. Long exposures tend to have a blue or magenta color cast caused by the ND filters. Shooting in RAW allows you to easily correct the white balance in post-processing.

12 Long Exposure Photography 101 How to create the shot

Ensure that your camera is set to record your images as RAW files.

Install Long Exposure Calculator Smartphone App

Spending your time trying to calculate what your exposure length should be with a 16-stop ND filter might not sound like much fun to you. Long exposure photography is all about taking time out to soak up your environment and enjoying the views – not solving algorithms.

Installing a “Long Exposure Calculator” app on your smartphone will save you time and make calculating your shutter speed much easier when you’re out in the field. Here are a couple of popular suggestions for IOS and Android users.

  • Exposure Calculator – Android
  • Long Exposure Calculator – IOS

It’s a good idea to install the app on your smartphone at home before heading out – just in case you later find yourself in an area with no mobile coverage to download the app.

Step 2: Work the Scene

By the time you’ve prepared your gear, researched the area, and arrived at your location, you’d be forgiven for wanting to unpack and get shooting straight away. Instead, you’ll find that holding off for just a few minutes and allowing yourself to explore the scene often produces more favorable results.

Pick up your camera (without the tripod) and work the shot. Take note of the weather, light, and direction of the water, clouds, lights, or traffic. What are the characteristics of the scene? How does the mood feel? What angle best captures all of this? What are you going to include in your frame?

Step 3: Compose the Shot

Once you have decided on the perfect angle, it’s time to set up your tripod and mount your camera (without the ND filter) to compose and frame the shot. Ensure your tripod is locked in place and your camera is tightly secured. Now is also a good time to attach your remote shutter release cable to your camera.

13 Long Exposure Photography 101 How to create the shot

Secure your camera to your tripod and attach the shutter release cable.

Step 4: Aperture, ISO, and Focus

Switch your camera into Aperture Priority mode and set your aperture to somewhere between f/7.1 and f/11. As a rule of thumb, this range will fall close to your lens’s sweet spot and provide you with a deep depth of field to ensure your image is sharp throughout.

As I’ve mentioned, noise and camera shake can be problematic in long exposure photography. Therefore, adjust your ISO to 100 to minimize the amount of noise and turn off Image Stabilization on your lens to reduce the amount of internal camera shake.

14 Long Exposure Photography 101 How to create the shot

Aperture Priority mode, ISO 100, f/8.0

Focus your lens, ensuring your subject is sharp from back to front. When you are happy with your focus point, switch your lens over to manual focus. This essentially safeguards your focus point and prevents accidental re-focusing when you trigger the shutter.

15 Long Exposure Photography 101 How to create the shot

Switch your lens over to manual focus when you’re happy with your focus point.

Step 5: Test Shot

Use your viewfinder cover (duct-tape or sticky-tac will work) to cover up your viewfinder. This will prevent light from leaking into your camera and ensure that your camera gives you an accurate metering.

16 Long Exposure Photography 101 How to create the shot

Use a Viewfinder cover, duct-tape, sticky-tac or even some cardboard block out light leaks.

With your viewfinder covered and your camera still in Aperture Priority mode, take a test shot to obtain the base shutter speed. It’s the shutter speed from this test shot that will form the basis of your long exposure calculations.

It’s a good idea to review the test shot to ensure the exposure looks good and everything is perfectly in focus. When you’re happy with your test shot, check the metadata and make a mental note of the shutter speed.

17 Long Exposure Photography 101 How to create the shot

Aperture Priority test shot – In this case, the camera’s light metering used a shutter speed of 1/60th. This shutter speed will form the basis of the long exposure calculations.

Step 6: Bulb Mode

Switch your camera mode from Aperture Priority to Bulb Mode and set your ISO and aperture to mirror the exact same settings as your test shot.

18 Long Exposure Photography 101 How to create the shot

Bulb Mode – Set the ISO and aperture to match your test shot.

Bulb Mode allows you to keep your shutter open as long as you hold down your camera’s shutter button. However, standing next to your camera and keeping the shutter button held down with your finger isn’t ideal. Not only would this cause lots of camera shake, it would also make it nearly impossible to enjoy a cup of tea on the job (it’s clear where my priorities lie).

This is precisely why you’ll need a shutter release cable with a locking function. The lock plays the role of your finger and keeps the shutter button held down until you decide to release the lock, thus minimizing the possibility of camera shake.

Step 7: Calculate Your Long Exposure

Enter the shutter speed from your test shot into the long exposure calculator app you installed on your smartphone in step 1.

19 Long Exposure Photography 101 How to create the shot

Enter the shutter speed from your test shot into your Long Exposure Calculator mobile phone app.

You will then need to set the filter density to match your ND filter. For example, if you’re planning to use a 16-stop filter, you would enter 16-stops into the app.

The app will then calculate the length of your long exposure. It’s worth noting here that this time is approximate. It doesn’t account for a change in weather conditions during the exposure or the quality of your ND filters. I use Lee Filters and from experience, I find adding approximately 25% to the app’s suggested exposure time works well.

Step 8: Set a Timer

Load your long exposure time into your smartphone’s timer. You will trigger this at the same time you commence the long exposure to keep track of timing.

20 Long Exposure Photography 101 How to create the shot

With a 16-stop ND filter and a base shutter speed of 1/60th, The Long Exposure Calculator suggested that I will need an exposure time of 18 minutes. I added approximately 25% to allow for the changing light conditions and created a timer on my phone.

Step 9: ND Filters

Mount your ND filters to your camera. Be careful not to adjust the focus or zoom rings of your lens in the process. It’s a good idea to double check your lens is still set to manual focus.

21 Long Exposure Photography 101 How to create the shot

Mount your ND filters to the camera.

Step 10: Mirror Lock-up

If you’re using a DSLR, enable Live View or the mirror lock-up function. These features lock your camera’s mirror in the up position, which reduces internal camera vibrations when you trigger the shutter.

22 Long Exposure Photography 101 How to create the shot

Live View or the mirror lockup function will prevent camera vibration when you trigger the shutter.

Step 11: Cover the Camera

Carefully cover your camera with a dark cloth or a hat, being careful not to adjust the zoom or focus rings on your lens. This will help to prevent light from leaking into your camera during the exposure.

23 Long Exposure Photography 101 How to create the shot

Perhaps the most crucial step – use a dark cloth, hat, or an old pair of trousers to wrap around your camera to prevent light leaks.

Step 12: Trigger the Shutter

Now it’s time to create your ethereal masterpiece. The aim here is to simultaneously trigger your smartphone’s timer with one hand (this will keep track of your exposure time) and with your other hand, lock the shutter release cable to hold open your camera’s shutter. If you’re like me, and the mere thought of doing two things at once confuses you, you can simply trigger them one at a time.

All that’s left for you to do at this point is make yourself comfortable and enjoy that cup of tea! Finally! And because you set a countdown timer on your smartphone, its delightful little chime will alert you when it’s time to get up to release the lock on your shutter release cable. Thereby closing the shutter and completing your long exposure photograph.

The Result

So, what do you get after spending a leisurely afternoon in front of a beautiful scene sipping from your thermos and nibbling on a cookie? Well, it’s likely you’ll return home with an image that looks something like this.

24 Long Exposure Photography 101 How to create the shot

23-minute long exposure – processed in Lightroom and Photoshop.

Recap

The very nature of creating long exposure photographs is to slow down. It encourages you to step away from the rapid-fire approach and have fun creating something that you wouldn’t ordinarily be able to see. That’s what long exposure photography is all about.

By now, I’m hoping this article has you reaching for your ND filters and checking the weather forecast – I’m sure you’ll love giving it a try. In case you need a short reminder whilst you’re out in the field, here’s a snapshot of everything we’ve covered.

  1. Research your location, charge your gear and install the long exposure calculator app on your smartphone.
  2. Work the scene to find the best angle.
  3. Set up your tripod and compose your shot without the ND filters.
  4. Switch your camera to Aperture Priority mode. Set your aperture between f/7.1 – f/11.0 and your ISO to 100. Focus in on your subject and set your lens to manual focus.
  5. Cover your viewfinder and take a test shot.
  6. Switch your camera into Bulb Mode and set your aperture and ISO to match your test shot.
  7. Use the long exposure calculator app to calculate your exposure time.
  8. Set a timer on your smartphone.
  9. Mount your ND filters.
  10. Enable live view or your camera’s mirror lock-up feature.
  11. Cover the camera with a dark cloth or hat.
  12. Lock open the camera shutter and trigger your smartphone timer.

If you have any questions, please ask. And it would be great to see your long exposure photographs, so please share them in the comments below.

The post Long Exposure Photography 101 – How to Create the Shot by William Palfrey appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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2018 Sony World Photography Awards shortlist revealed

28 Feb

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

The World Photo Organization has released the shortlist for this year’s Sony World Photography Awards, the so-called “world’s most diverse photography competition.” The shortlist covers all four competitions—Professional, Open, Youth, and Student Focus—and a total of 20 categories in all.

This year, the Sony World Photography Awards received nearly 320,000 entries from over 200 countries, and the 200 shortlisted images—the top 10 in every category—represent the best of those 320,000. The judges also selected a top 50 per category to create a “commended” list. The overall winners in each category, as well as the coveted Photographer of the Year award, will be revealed on April 19th, and a specially curated exhibition is slated to run from April 20th – May 6th at Somerset House in London.

The 30 images in this slideshow represent “highlights” selected from various categories of the Professional and Open competition shortlists. Scroll through for a little dose of Wednesday inspiration, and let us know what you think in the comments.

To learn more about the 2018 Sony World Photography Awards, or if you would like to see all of the shortlisted images for yourself, visit the World Photography Organization website.

Press Release

Shortlist for 2018 Sony World Photography Awards reveals outstanding quality, variety and record entry figures

Today’s announcement signals an impressive year ahead for the world’s most diverse international photography competition

  • All shortlisted images available at worldphoto.org/press

  • Nearly 320,000 images were submitted from across the world, seeing a 40% increase in entries compared to 2017.

  • Overall winners will be revealed on April 19 2018 (23.00 GMT) and a specially curated exhibition will take place April 20 – May 6 at Somerset House, London.

The shortlisted and commended photographers for the 2018 Sony World Photography Awards, the world’s most diverse photography competition, are announced today.

Photographers from over 200 countries and territories entered nearly 320,000 images across the Awards’ competitions, the highest ever number of entries to date and a 40% increase on 2017. The judges were particularly impressed with the high quality of entries, and the shortlist’s ability to offer insight into the foremost trends and contemporary concerns of photographers working today.

Produced by the World Photography Organisation, the Sony World Photography Awards are now in the 11th year of partnership with their headline sponsor, Sony. The Awards’ shortlist (top 10 per category) and commended list (top 50 per category) comprises some of the world’s finest contemporary photography captured over the past year.

The international range of entries display a huge diversity of imagery in terms of genre, style and subject matter across the Awards’ 4 competitions: Professional, Open, Youth and Student Focus. The Professional competition includes 10 categories such as Architecture, Contemporary Issues, Landscape, Natural World & Wildlife, Portraiture and two new categories for this year: Creative and Discovery, while the Open competition offers 10 categories including Culture, Enhanced, Motion, Street Photography and Travel.

This year, the Professional competition, which is judged on a series of works, saw an impressive number of entries across its 10 categories. Judges found submissions to be exceptionally strong, particularly across the competition’s two new categories – Creative and Discovery. The shortlisted series of works include stylish images of humanity’s obsession with wealth to raw images of the Rohingya refugee crisis, through to quirky portraits of dogs and their owners. The photographers will now compete to win their categories, and Photographer of the Year title.

The Open competition, which is judged on a single image, also saw a wide variety of subject matter submitted to its 10 categories, with Street Photography and Landscape and Nature receiving the highest volume of entries. Shortlisted works include beautiful imagery of frozen lakes, sunlit deserts and hidden forests; stunning portraits of faces from around the world, and unique insights in cultures and traditions that might otherwise be unseen. A breadth of Open competition images were awarded ‘Commended’ as some of the top 50 works within their categories, ranging from images of industrial power stations and formations of swans, to an evocative image of para-athletes competing in the rain.

All the shortlisted Professional and Open photographers’ works will go on to compete to become category winners, with the chance of being selected as Photographer of the Year winning $ 25,000 (USD) or Open Photographer of the Year winning $ 5,000 (USD).

The Awards’ Youth competition saw a diverse range of entries from 12-19 year old photographers who submitted one image on the theme of ‘Your environment’, with nearly 8000 more entries submitted compared to the previous year.

Finally, the Student Focus competition saw applications from universities worldwide. Ten shortlisted students from the UK, India, France, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, Canada and China will now go on to produce a further body of work, with the chance of winning €30,000 (Euros) of Sony digital imaging equipment for their university.

The winners of the Awards will be announced at the Awards ceremony in London on April 19. The Photographer of the Year, Open Photographer of the Year, the Professional and Youth competitions’ category winners and the ten shortlisted Student Focus entrants will all be flown to London to attend. Category winners will also receive the latest Sony digital imaging equipment and will be included in the 2018 Awards’ book.

The Sony World Photography Awards are judged anonymously by internationally acclaimed industry professionals. The 2018 Professional competition jury was chaired by Mike Trow (ex Picture Editor, British Vogue) with representatives from international museums, publishing and the media.

Philip Tinari (Judge and Director, Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art, China) commented:

“We were impressed by the depth and diversity of the work that we reviewed, and inspired by the many ways in which photographers around the world are engaging with the issues that face us all.”

Naomi Cass (Judge and Director, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne, Australia) remarked:

“The range of work considered was breathtaking, and diversity amongst the judges ensured robust discussions, leading to outstanding winners. I was impressed by the diversity of approaches within each category and the breadth of photographers from across the globe.”

Clare Grafik (Judge and Head of Exhibitions, The Photographers’ Gallery, London, UK) commented:

“From new approaches to portraiture to creative responses to the landscape in which we live, the images illustrated what a broad and innovative field photography has become. As our way of experiencing photographic images becomes all the more multifarious, the Awards offer us the opportunity to focus on new talents and important projects that may otherwise have passed us by.”

Commenting on this year’s awards, Scott Gray (CEO, World Photography Organisation) notes:

“The quality of this year’s submissions has been very impressive, with outstanding works of art entered across the competitions. The Sony World Photography Awards has celebrated photographers and photography throughout its 11-year history, and we continue to work to ensure photography is recognized as a dynamic, exciting, and accessible medium.”

All shortlisted and winning images will be exhibited as part of the 2018 Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition at Somerset House, London. This exhibition will include a dedicated section featuring specially selected works by the 2018 recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to Photography prize. The exhibition will run from April 20 until May 6. Tickets are available at www.worldphoto.org/2018exhibition

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Nick Dolding, United Kingdom, Shortlist, Open, Portraiture (Open competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

The stylish Emile shot for Paypal looking suitably aloof and hoity in a set with just a little nod towards Wes Anderson.

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Manuel Armenis, Germany, Shortlist, Open, Street Photography (Open competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Hamburg, Germany. Spring of 2017. The most graceful lady of her neighborhood, despite the burden of old age. Always stylish, colorful, in good spirits, smiling, never complaining, even though the everyday is a struggle and a challenge for her. And never to be seen without her best friend – her little dog.

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Xiaoxiao Liu, China, Shortlist, Open, Culture (Open competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

In China, new senior middle school students would have their military training at the beginning of the first year’s school term. We all have memories during everybody’s training time. I helped a school to shoot for the record of their training time in September 2017.

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Manish Mamtani, India, Shortlist, Open, Travel (Open competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Aerial view of Glacial river in Iceland. While crossing the bridge, I noticed some pattern in the water and wondered how it would look from the sky. I stopped the car at a turnout after crossing the bridge and flew my drone to capture this image. I included the bridge and the car to give an idea of the scale. This river flows to the ocean and becomes part of the sea.

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Sphiwo Hlatshwayo, South Africa, Shortlist, Open, Portraiture (Open competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

A portrait of a woman with freckles taken earlier in 2017. This image was taken in studio using two soft lights (softness altered in post production). This image was taken because I simply found the model to be beautiful. She caught my eye at an event and I had to bring her into the studio so I could capture every single freckle on her face.

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Mark Edward Harris, United States of America, Shortlist, Professional, Natural World & Wildlife (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Series Name: Eyes Are the Window to the Soul

Image Description: A 40 year old orangutan named Azy at the Simon Skjodt International Orangutan Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. Some orangutans have lived into their early 60s.

Series Description: Photographic and scientific studies of a group of orangutans at the Simon Skjodt International Orangutan Center in Indianapolis, Indiana demonstrate the individuality of each primate as well as a clear awareness of self. There is obviously a sentient being looking back through the lens. Orangutans and humans share 97 percent of their DNA sequence.

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Rasmus Flindt Pedersen, Denmark, Shortlist, Professional, Current Affairs & News (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Series Name: Mosul liberated

Image Description: An elderly woman is driven through the city on the back of one of Golden Division’s Humvees. The temperature is nearly 50 degrees celcius, and she’s too weak to get away from the frontline on her own. 11 days later – 10. July 2017 – the Iraqi prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, declares Mosul liberated, although fighting continues in the city for a couple of weeks.

Series Description: On the 16th of October 2016, a coalition of Iraqi and Kurdish military forces launch operation ‘We are coming, Nineveh’ – the fight to retake the Iraqi city Mosul and the surrounding area from ISIS. Nine months later Mosul is declared liberated. An AP report estimates that upwards of 11,000 civilians have been killed during the war, and according to the International Organisation for Migration more than 800,000 people have fled their home. The series is shot over the course of 16 days during two separate trips to Mosul, Iraq in January/February 2017 and June/July 2017 in order to document the war to liberate Mosul from ISIS.

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Asha Miles, Russian Federation, Shortlist, Professional, Current Affairs & News (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Series Name: Scars

Image Description: I do not remember anything about the ceremony of circumcision, I was not even a year old. About what it did to me, I only found out when I was older. I remember that I was so upset and offended by my mother, when I found out, that I did not talk to her for a very long time. I already knew by then that it was bad. We were told about this in school. I’m glad that today the operation is banned.&nbsp;<br>
I myself could not do without the consequences – my stomach often hurts, and the doctor says that maybe it’s because of circumcision. But I was lucky compared to my younger sister – she was constantly experiencing pain during urination and did not go to school for months. Everything was so bad that Mama herself decided not to do the operation to my other sisters.

Series Description: Female Genital Mutilation, or Female Circumcision, is the partial or complete removal of external female genitalia. “Scars” are personal stories of 12 Gambian women who survived the procedure as children. For several years, Gambia has been actively spreading information about the harm of female circumcision, which was once considered part of a cultural tradition designed to reduce a woman’s sexual desire and keep her clean before the wedding. According to recent statistics, 76% of the country’s women were subjected to the procedure. Officially, the procedure has been banned since 2015, but continues to be carried out secretly to this day. There are very few cases of prosecution, also with the change of power this year, many people think that the old laws are no longer valid. Whether this ritual will become a thing of the past, depends on the consciousness of women and their attitude to this issue.

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Edgar Martins, Portugal, Shortlist, Professional, Discovery (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Series Name: Siloquies and Soliloquies on Death, Life and Other Interludes

Image Description: A woman has sparked a backlash after she took a picture of a dead man in his coffin then posted it on Facebook. The unnamed woman took a sheet off the body of Michael Dene Ray, 21, at a funeral parlour. She then put a friendship bracelet – identi- cal to the one she and another person were wear- ing – on his wrist and took a picture of their arms next to one another. The woman then put the image on Facebook as a ‘tribute’ to him. It has since been taken down after Michael Dene’s family learned that friends were planning to wear a T-shirt featur- ing the offending image at a party to celebrate his birthday. Now the man’s family has reacted with anger and want tighter controls at funeral parlours. Michael Dene died on 21 December last year and a coroner later ruled his death was as a result of suicide. The family has started a petition calling for it to be made illegal to take pictures in funeral homes without the consent of the next of kin.</p>

Adapted from ‘Mourner took picture of dead man in his coffin for Facebook’ by Richard Hartley-Parkinson in www.metro.co.uk, 13 June 2016

Series Description: Siloquies and Soliloquies on Death, Life and Other Interludes which began to take shape during the course of research carried out at the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences (INMLCF), in Portugal. Over a period of three years, Edgar Martins took more than a thousand photographs and scanned more than three thousand negatives from the INML’s vast and extraordinary collection. A significant number of these images depict forensic evidence, such as suicide notes, letters and other objects used in suicides and crimes as well as inherent in the work of the pathologist. However, alongside these photographs, Edgar Martins also began to recover images from his own archive and produce new photographs on other subjects, intended as a visual, narrative and conceptual counterpoint. The project sits precisely within this counterpoint between images, imaginations and imagery relating to death and the dead body, as an interstitial realm, an interlude, between art and non-art, between past and present, between reality and fiction. Edgar Martins’ decision to work in the National Institute of Legal Medicine stems from his interest in highlighting the historic and symbolic role of one of the places that, in the context of modernity, institutionalised – through scientific practice and judicial discourse – the representation, analysis and scrutiny of death and the dead body. In this sense, the incursion of a photographic artist into a place so charged with scientific character (medical, judicial, ideological) necessarily calls on epistemological, psychological and semantic questioning: e.g. what distinguishes a documental image of a corpse or a crime scene from an image that reproduces the staged creation of a mental image of a corpse or a crime scene? What effect do these differences have in the viewer’s imagination? How do the retrospective and prospective horizons appear in the face of these different types of image? In this way, by productively linking documental and factual records (pertaining to real cases and meeting the scientific and operational requirements of the INMLCF) with images that seek to explore their speculative and fictional potential, Siloquies and Soliloquies on Death, Life and Other Interludes proposes to scrutinise the tensions and contradictions inherent in the representation and imagination of death, in particular violent death, and, correlatively, the decisive but deeply paradoxical role that photography – with its epistemological, aesthetic and ethical implications – has played in its perception and intelligibility.

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Eduardo Castaldo, Italy, Shortlist, Professional, Creative (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Series Name: Check Point 300; (in)human borders

Series Description: Every day, before sunset, thousands Palestinian workers spend between 2 and 4 hrs clumped together to cross the so-called “CheckPoint 300”, that divides Bethlehem and Jerusalem, in order to go working in Jerusalem and surrounding areas. The images presented are realized with instants taken from more than 30 different pictures realized at CheckPoint 300, and the purpose of the series is to represent the inhuman conditions in which these people are forced daily to get their right for a job. If these images are result of a creative composition, hence not real, what is real is the sense of oppression that they aim to represent.

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Varun Thota, India, Shortlist, Professional, Landscape (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Series Name: We live in a symmetrical world

Image Description: Taken at the outskirts of Hong Kong, this large residential area is supposed to resemble North American type suburbs, with individual homes and even yellow school buses. However, this large lake in the center of it all may have been designed a particular way, which can only truly be recognized from above.

Series Description: Our world from above, is beautifully symmetrical, whether it be the highways we drive on, the neighborhoods we live in, the high rises we build or the parks we play in. Shot with a drone through my latest travels to Guangzhou, London, Macau and Hong Kong, aerial photography has taken photography to new heights, allowing me to see world through a whole new perspective.

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Jack Yong, Malaysia, Shortlist, Professional, Discovery (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Series Name: SPACE PROJECT 2088

Image Description: Thermal Vacuum Test Area

Series Description: Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar, the first Malaysian individual who traveled to space made a statement that resonated with me until today was; “I looked out through the tiny window – and there it was, the unmistakable third rock from the Sun we call Earth, floating in the inky darkness of space. It was more beautiful that I could have imagined. My heart felt like it had stopped beating and my eyes didn’t even blink. I just looked in awe, amazed by the beauty of space. The moment was worth dying for.”

That statement did not only triggered my inner childhood dream to go space but refocus my thoughts on what it is to observe space beyond a spatio-temporal dimension of reality. My understanding of the celestial space lies above me, guided by the abundance of photographs captured using sophisticated satellites and astronomical machines.

As my fascination of traveling to space was dismissed by limitations, I’ve engaged a process of alternative vision that progressively shifted my periphery of view to a much familiar landscape and gravity – simultaneously re-channeling my focus to an epistemological foundation. By entering several space facilities in Malaysia, I’ve garnered photographs that remind us not just of the representation of these machines and landscapes as functional objects – but an extensive reinterpretation of “space” on Earth.

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Tania Franco Klein, Mexico, Shortlist, Professional, Creative (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Series Name: Our Life In The Shadows

Image Description: Mexico City, Mexico.

Series Description: Influenced by the pursuit of the American Dream lifestyle in the Western World and contemporary practices such as leisure, consumption, media overstimulation, eternal youth, and the psychological sequels they generate in our everyday private life.

The project seeks to evoke a mood of isolation, desperation, vanishing, and anxiety, through fragmented images, that exist both in a fictional way and a real one. Philosopher Byung-Chul Han says we live in an era of exhaustion and fatigue, caused by an incessant compulsion to perform. We have left behind the immunological era, and now experience the neuronal era characterized by neuropsychiatric diseases such as depression, attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder, burnout syndrome and bipolar disorder.

My characters find themselves almost anonymous, melting in places, vanishing into them, constantly looking for any possibility of escape. They find themselves alone, desperate and exhausted. Constantly in an odd line between trying and feeling defeated.

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Anush Babajanyan, Armenia, Shortlist, Professional, Portraiture (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Series Name: The Twins of Koumassi

Image Description: Rasidatou and Latifatou, 4, pose for a portrait on a street in the Koumassi district of Abidjan, Ivory Coast on July 25, 2017.

It is a belief that is centuries old in Ivory Coast, and in several countries of West Africa, that twins have spiritual and mystical powers. When in need for a problem to be solved or for a positive change to happen, people often come to twins, donate to them and seek for a blessing, with the hope that the power of the twins will help their wishes come true.

Series Description: Mothers dress them in mirroring and often traditional outfits and bring them out and about the streets of central Abidjan, Ivory Coast. It is a belief that is centuries old here, and in several countries of West Africa, that twins have spiritual and mystical powers. When in need for a problem to be solved or for a positive change to happen, people often come to twins, donate to them and seek for a blessing, with the hope that the power of the twins will help their wishes come true.

In the district of Koumassi in Abidjan, the twins and their mothers are concentrated around the area of the Koumassi Grande Mosque, where visitors of this mosque can see them after their prayers. The twins of different ages spend most of their day in this area, with others’ trust in their spiritual powers supporting the children and their families.

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Tomasz Pad?o, Poland, Shortlst, Professional, Landscape (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Series Name: Greetings from Kazakhstan

Series Description: Series Description: Kazakhstan entered to the independence probably with the most damaged natural environment among the former federal states of the USSR. The excessive use of water from Syr Darya for irrigation of farmlands affected to the disappearance of the Aral Sea, plowing millions of hectares of chernozem, triggered wind erosion, which led to unprecedented degradation of soils, while the Semipalatinsk area became famous for nuclear tests and related contamination of the region.

For years, the authorities have been trying to change the negative image of Kazakhstan, promoting, among others things, its natural attractions. It takes a special form in Almaty, the former capital of the country, where many construction areas are decorated with sheets depicting landscapes of Kazakhstan. It creates a kind of dissonance with the perception of the country, as well as with the fact that actually Almaty is one of the most polluted cities in the world. Crumpled, dirty sheets say a little more about the country than the originators could have predicted.

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Wiebke Haas, Germany, Shortlist, Professional, Natural World & Wildlife (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Series Name: Horsestyle

Image Description: Anton was tickled in the ear to shake his head. His thick mane looks like a hairpiece. Most of the time he held his his head close to the ground so it took a lot of time to manage this shot.

Series Description: When people ask me why I’m photographing horses I usually respond: “Because I adore their beauty and magnificent grace!” But there is another reason as well. Horses can be hilarious and darn funny!

It’s my greatest passion to tease out nearly human expressions of my horse models. It was really fun to work with such different horsy characters. The black PRE Allaus learned to shake on hand sign within 5 minutes before the photo session! Arabian stallion Hafid preferred to neigh proudly in studio first before he realized that 3 girls where absolutely euphoric when he shook his head.

The most difficult part was to keep the horses straight to the camera. Most time they wanted to move their head to the side or downward. A good handling and horse goodies were highest priority. I focused on a great face and a harmonic choreography of the hairs.

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Luca Locatelli, Italy, Shortlist, Professional, Landscape (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Series Name: White Gold

Image Description: A view of Torano’s “marble valley” in the Apuan Alps, one of Italy’s most marble-rich area, where the abundance is surreal. What we admire as pristine white stone was born hundreds of millions of years ago in overwhelming darkness.

Countless generations of tiny creatures lived, died and drifted slowly to the bottom of a primordial sea, where their bodies were slowly compressed by gravity, layer upon layer, until eventually they all congealed and petrified into the interlocking white crystals we know as marble. Some eons later, tectonic jostling raised a great spine of mountains in southern Europe. Up went the ancient sea floor. In some places they rise more than 6,000 feet.

Series Description: Rarely has a material so inclined to stay put been wrenched so insistently out of place and carried so far from its source. In Italy’s most marble-rich area, known as the Apuan Alps, the abundance is surreal. Hundreds of quarries have operated there since the days of ancient Rome and Michelangelo sculptured most of his statues from this stone. Now the trade is booming due to the demand in Saudi Arabia and other gulf states.

The photographs of this area’s majestic quarries reveal their own isolated world: beautiful, bizarre and severe. It is a self-contained universe of white, simultaneously industrial and natural.

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Sasha Maslov, Ukraine, Shortlist, Professional, Portraiture (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Series Name: Faces of World War II

Image Description: The first time I was injured was a year after I went underground. Five bullets in my foot. I was living in the forest with a few others, all young kids. We were busted in the forest by the NKVD, the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs.

There were five of us and they fired at us. I got hit then, in my left foot. I wanted to blow myself up with a grenade so they wouldn’t take me alive, but once I realized I could still walk, I threw the grenade in the direction they were shooting from and ran with the others. They fired more shots, blindly, but didn’t hit anyone else and we were able to escape.

Series Description: Veterans is a series of portraits of people who took part in the Second World War – the one event in human history that could not be compared with any other event on the scale of catastrophe, human tragedy, and the degree of impact on the future of our civilization.

Every single person who participated in the war, whether they were a soldier or a general, prisoner or a guard, medical worker or an engineer, took part in shaping the image of the world as it is seen and perceived today. This project aims to look behind the emotional drape of each individual photographed. After 70 years after the war that took millions of lives, the photographer strives to to analyze and compare the lives of those who survived and are still living.

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Lauren Greenfield, United States of America, Shortlist, Professional, Contemporary Issues (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Series Name: Generation Wealth

Image Description: Ilona at home with her daughter, Michelle, 4, Moscow, 2012. Ilona’s sweater was produced for her in a custom color by her friend Andrey Artyomov, whose Walk of Shame fashion line is popular among the wives of oligarchs.

Series Description: Generation Wealth is my 25-year visual history of our growing obsession with wealth. Weaving 25 years of work into a meta-narrative, I have tried to explore a consumer appetite unprecedented in human history. Keeping up with the Joneses has become Keeping Up with the Kardashians as the “aspirational gap” between what we want and what we can afford has dramatically widened.

My journey starts in Los Angeles and spreads across America and beyond, as I endeavor to document how we export the values of materialism, celebrity culture, and social status to every corner of the globe through photographs and interviews with students, single parents, and families overwhelmed by crushing debt, yet determined to purchase luxury houses, cars, and clothing. We visit homes and observe rituals of the international elite and the A-list celebrities from reality TV and social media, the same influencers who shape our desires and sense of self.

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Ana Amado, Spain, Shortlist, Professional, Contemporary Issues (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Series Name: Down Dance

Series Description: The series was a commission by Down Coruña, an association that works with young people with Down Syndrome. They wanted me to take photos of the boys and girls in relation to the building where they were developing their capacities, an awarded architecture by a Galician architect: the architecture as the witness of their gradual progress. But, besides, they asked me to take pictures that could tell another story about Down Syndrome.

We are used to think about them as limited people, about their discapacities, but we never consider that they can do a lot of things, specially things that everyone likes to do. I asked the people of the Association to tell me something they all love to do, and they said they are always listening to music and dancing. The series shows a group of young people having fun and dancing, like any other teenager.

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Chloe Jafe, France, Shortlist, Professional, Contemporary Issues (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Series Name: ? ? ? ? ? Inochi Azukemasu

Series Description: This is a project I started 4 years ago about women in the Japanese mafia. I decided to gain access into the Yakuza organisation to try and find out what the women’s role is in this little-known organisation.

I tried to enter this underworld through different doors, from the nightlife in the red light district, to hostess bars. For a short period of time I even became a hostess myself in order to have a better understanding of their way of thinking and to respect their identity. After many months of trying to infiltrate the Yakuza, I had a fortuitous meeting, and was authorised by a boss to photograph the organisations daily life. This project is about my personal journey through this underworld.

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Corentin Fohlen, France, Shortlist, Professional, Architecture (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Series Name: MORNE A CABRI

Series Description: Lumane Casimir, in Haiti, is, an example of the cacophony and the problems that prevail the reconstruction in the country: lack of housing, corruption, vagueness in administrative management, disengagement from the state, ill-conceived and badly managed humanitarian projects, natural resources destroyed.

On this project of 3,000 houses, only half have been built. Each year I photographed this village to show how it had changed… or not. Story between 2012-2017.

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Behnam Sahvi, Iran, Shortlist, Professional, Sport (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Series Name: Magic of Water

Image Description: Pejman, 11 years old, takes a shower before the Disability Children Swimming Championships at the Disability Swimming pool in Tehran province , Iran.
09-08-2017

Series Description: Child Disability Swimming Championships at the Disability Swimming pool, Tehran Province, Iran

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Norbert Hartyanyi, Hungary, Shortlist, Professional, Sport (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Series Name: Dancing In The Air

Image Description: Murilo Galves Marques – BRA

Series Description: The most spectacular part of the historical Hungarian sports event, the 17th FINA world championship is the high diving when competitors jump from an extreme hight: women jump from 20 meters, men from 27 meters. In case of the men, it means a 3 second free fall and carries huge risks of possible injuries, therefore competitors have to reach the water feet first, as their speed can reach 90 kms/hr.

Every time jumpers are watched by light divers in the water so that they can provide assistance in case of trouble. This was the first time in the history of world championships when competitors didn’t jump in natural water but in an artificially built pool. The pool at the foot of the 34-meter high, 10-ton tower was built in the Danube’s river bed on a 870 square meter concrete platform whose diameter is 15 meters with a 6 meters depth.

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Krister Sørbø, Norway, Shortlist, Professional, Portraiture (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Series Name: Like owner, like dog

Series Description: How often have you not passed a dog and its owner on the street thinking “wow! No wonder those two found each other!” Well, I have, and wanted to document this phenomenon, and searching dog shows with a makeshift studio, I found the myth to be (partially) true.

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Patricia Kühfuss, Germany, Shortlist, Professional, Creative (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Series Name: How to get home – South Africa’s 12th language

Image Description: Informal stands with sweets and vegetables can be found all over Soweto at the side of the road. Under Apartheid it was restricted how many and what kind of businesses black people were allowed to have. In the last twenty years more and more malls have been built in Soweto.

Show this sign at the side of the road and a taxi heading to Jabulani Mall/Soweto Theatre will stop.

All pictures have been set up together with hand model Siya Ndzonga.

Picture taken 01.05.2017 in Soweto, South Africa.

Series Description: Over twenty years after Apartheid ended, history still echoes through South Africa and the results filter down to everyday life of people living in the townships.
Today many black people still have to move up to 40 km every day into town to get to work, after their grandparents have been moved out of Johannesburg to the townships like Soweto to make the city center a white area. While the state’s infrastructure like the metrorail break under the amount of people and crime, private minibus taxis have become one of the booming economy branches in the country.

This series of set up photographs explores the unique hand signs used in Johannesburg to stop a taxi going in the right direction, which are also know as “South Africa’s 12th language,” referring to the fact that South Africa boasts 11 official languages. By making them blend into everyday situations of Soweto, they do not only tell the story of how to get home in Johannesburg, but also show what this home looks like.

Hand model: Siya Ndzonga

All directions are referring to travels to/from/in Soweto.

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Fredrik Lerneryd, Sweden, Shortlist, Professional, Contemporary Issues (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Series Name: Slum ballet

Image Description: The boys and girls is practicing for an upcoming show, following teacher Mikes instruction

Series Description: Every Wednesday at Spurgeons Academy, a school in the middle of the indecipherable maze of Kibera’s narrow streets and alleys, students take the chairs and benches out of a classroom and sweep the floor. The school uniforms are switched to bright-coloured clothes.

When teacher Mike Wamaya enters the classroom, the students get into position and place one hand on the concrete wall as though it were a ballet bar. Classical music plays out of a small portable speaker, and the class begins.

The Ballet class is part of Annos Africa and One Fine Days charity activities in slum areas around Kenya. In Nairobi they work together with two schools in Kibera and one school in Mathare, another slum closer to the city centre. Dance is a way for the children to express themselves and it strengthens their confidence in life, and a belief that they can become something great.

Some of the children are now dancing several days a week in a studio called “Dance center Kenya” in a upper-class area of Nairobi and living in a boarding school, so thanks to their talent they have taken themselves away from the harsh conditions in the slum.

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Andrew Quilty, Australia, Shortlist, Professional, Portraiture (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Series Name: High Water

Image Description: Omid, who doesn’t know his age, stands for a portrait with his homemade skis in Aub Bala’s village mosque. Aub Bala, ‘High Water’, is the farthest village up the Fuladi Valley in central Afghanistan’s Bamiyan Province, so named because it is the closest to the source of the valley’s water, which comes off the mountains in snow-melt and rain, deeper in the valley, beyond where the single road reaches.

Series Description: Au Bala (means High Water in Dari language) is located in the Fuladi Valley, near Bamiyan, Afghanistan, March 2017.

I’d seen photos of the boys and their homemade skis; the rough-hewn planks matching the mottled skin on the faces of their makers.&nbsp; They were from Bamiyan in Afghanistan’s central highlands, famous for the giant Buddhas carved into an escarpment 1,500 years ago and destroyed by the Taliban just months before the United States led a military intervention to overthrow their regime in 2001.

The boys seemed only to appear for cameras at least when the “Afghan Ski Challenge”an annual cross-country race that attracts skiers from across the province and overseas, and which ran for the seventh year this Marc was held within skiing distance of their homes.

While many Afghans who’d compete had accumulated mismatched ski pants and jackets, boots and proper skis from donors, these boys wore mostly traditional Afghan clothes with regular shoes or plastic sandals.

I wanted to find the boys and photograph them with their wooden skis.

The first call I made before flying from the Afghan capital, Kabul, to Bamiyan, was to the manager of a hotel in the provincial capital. Abdullah proved not only to be an affable host, but an enthusiastic colleague, as well. Within a couple of hours of my arrival we’d met up with Alishah Farhang, a handsome, fit-looking 27-year-old in mirrored sunglasses on a nearby piste.

Farhang, it turned out, was one of Afghanistan’s top two skiers. He hopes to represent his country in the 2018 winter Olympics in the giant slalom. It would be a first for an Afghan. He suggested we venture west, beyond his village, as far as the road would take us into the remote Fuladi Valley.

Bamiyan is the safest province in Afghanistan, so, unlike most other parts of the country, where road movements—especially for foreigners—are done with caution, planning, often heavily armed escorts, and always white knuckles the drive, through villages of mud houses and silver poplars, was unusually pleasant.

Abdullah urged me to be patient as I eyed each passing village for young skiers. After an hour on the muddy road we finally came to a dead-end and the village of Au Bala, High Water, the farthest up the river that feeds the valleys potato crops.

As Abdullah parked, I spotted a silhouette making its way across a snow-covered paddock, straight-legged, scissoring along just like a cross-country skier. As the silhouette moved out of the direct sun, I made out a young boy, maybe ten, shuffling along on what looked like shortened fence palings.

We were in the right place.

It was 2009 when Au Bala first encountered skiing. A man and woman working for an international development organisation had travelled there in a quest to map the mountains of Bamiyan as part of an effort to attract tourists to the province.

The pair gave a demonstration on skis they’d brought along, and ever since, based on the shared memory of that day, and using lengths of timber with plastic strips nailed to the bottom; with nylon webbing, twine or even protruding nails for bindings, the boys of Au Bala have continued to build their own.

As we walked into the village we quickly collected a trail of young boys who pointed us toward the village’s only mosque, a gathering place even outside prayer times. We explained ourselves to a handful of elders who were soaking up the winter sun outside.

Within minutes Abdullah and I had been ushered inside a small anteroom where worshippers ordinarily leave their shoes during prayer. This, someone had decided, would be our studio.

The room quickly filled with young boys, a couple carrying clunky skis and wooden poles. At the demand of one older boy another dashed outside into a maze of alleyways in search of more skiers. Minutes later, five boys, all fumbling with homemade skis, were lined up along one side of the room.

Rarely does it all come together so easily in Afghanistan.

One by one I had each stand with their backs to the white-washed mud wall across the room from the low doorway. Sunlight poured through and made a trapezoid of light on the floor – it bounced up and lit the shadows beneath the boy’s eyes.

Afghans are wonderful portrait subjects; staring down the lens sternly, expressionlessly, but with pride. I spent less than two minutes with each: Baz Mohammad, Chirgh Ali, Bismillah, Ghodratullah and Omid. None knew exactly how old they were. And there were more, the boys said, but they were at school.

The following day we drove back to Au Bala at the same time. Eight more boys were waiting for us outside the mosque. Their skis were side-by-side, leaning against the wall, and the winter sun was melting the snow they’d collected on their last run.

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Kaleb White, United States of America, Shortlist, Professional, Natural World & Wildlife (2018 Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Series Name: The Roar

Series Description: The Roar is an intense occurrence of Red deer taken during the annual breeding season on the North island of New Zealand. I was commissioned to record the essence of stag (males) behavior during the peak roar. Stags are most vocal and have a very distinct roar sound when attracting hinds (females). Stags establish dominance during the roar by not only vocalizing their superiority but also displaying forms of mature postures and often fighting with competing stags to mate with hinds.

Being able to safely document large, antlered, wild, and aggressive stags has taken years of practice and patience. Witnessing intense, raw moments, for a brief time, ultimately provides a better understanding of red deer behavior; the essence of The Roar.

Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist

Photo © Neil Aldridge, South Africa, Shortlist, Professional, Natural World & Wildlife (2018 Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Series Name: The Return of the Rhino

Image Description: A young white rhino waits in a boma, blindfolded and partially drugged after a long journey from South Africa, before being released into the wild in Botswana as part of efforts to rebuild Botswana’s lost rhino populations. Botswana is saving rhinos from poaching hotspots in neighbouring countries and translocating them to re-establish the populations of rhinos it lost to poaching by 1992.

Series Description: Rhinos are fighting for survival. Poachers are killing more than three every day to feed the demand for rhino horn in the Far East. All the while, the South African government is championing the consumptive use of rhinos and the legalisation of the trade in horn.

But there is hope. This is the story of how Botswana is leading the recovery of rhinos amidst a global poaching crisis by rescuing animals from poaching hotspots in neighbouring countries and translocating them to the Okavango Delta. Botswana is rebuilding the rhino populations it lost to poaching by the early 1990s and is creating an ark-like population capable of restocking parks and reserves that may have lost their rhinos to poaching.

To tell this story, I worked alongside the Rhino Conservation Botswana team, I visited rhino orphanages, I met poaching survivors and tracked with the incredible people working tirelessly to keep rhinos safe.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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