A little more than a week after C&A Marketing Inc. announced its Calumet Photographic acquisition, the company is reopening its first Calumet store this Sunday in Oak Brook, Illinois. One of the newer stores in the chain and, according to C&A, one of the most successful, the company promises the Oak Brook location will have the inventory that professionals expect. Learn more
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
You can currently pick up 2 eBooks on Street Photography by James on sale now at SnapnDeals!
Windswept Hair, Prince and Broadway, SoHo
If you live near me, the birds are starting to chirp, it no longer hurts your face to walk out the door, and everyone sheds their all black winter outfits and puts on their most interesting attire.
If you live in the southern hemisphere, it’s beginning to cool off nicely. Spring and fall are the best times of the year to capture people and focus on street photography. If ever there’s a time to do it, it’s now.
So here is a list of street photography tips and exercises to get you out there shooting.
Prada Store, Prince and Broadway, SoHo
For this entire list of exercises, we are going to stick to the same general area. If you notice, all of the descriptive images in this article are from the same area of SoHo in New York City, at different times of day and in different seasons. There are so many reasons why this is a beneficial way to shoot.
The more you visit and revisit an area the more you get to know how it works and thinks, and the more you will get to know the characters. You will allow yourself to get familiar with the themes and subjects of the area. In addition, by the end of this exercise you will have a set of cohesive images that will work well when displayed together. Each image will play off the others.
From a technical and learning standpoint, there are a lot of advantages as well. It is common for people to walk around constantly while trying to find content to photograph, which is normal, but often waiting in the same spot or area for something to happen is a more effective strategy. Whether you are walking or waiting, the same amount of interesting moments will happen, and if you are waiting you will be better prepared to see them happen and capture them correctly.
As you visit the same area on multiple days, pay attention to the location of the sun in the sky and how it affects your images. Notice how the illumination of a scene and the appearance of your images change as you photograph into and away from the sun. Notice how the quality of light changes as a cloud moves over the sun and away again. Take the same shot twice at different times of day. Take advantage of the golden hours, as they are the most beautiful times to photograph, but don’t shy away from shooting in the harsh light of midday or at night.
Window Glance, Broadway, SoHo
A significant percentage of the greatest street photographs have emotion to them. They make the viewer feel something. This is not by accident; it is what most likely drove the photographer to take a shot.
It is difficult to capture someone at the height of their emotion because those moments are so fast and fleeting. More importantly, if you are not actively looking for them then you will not be able to catch the moments before they disappear. Emotion does not only have to be on a subject’s face. It can be in their stride, in their posture, and in their hands.
Hint: It is much easier to capture an image like this if you pick a location and linger.
Diverse Crowd, Prince and Broadway, SoHo
Create a scene that is busy with delightful things for the viewer to explore. These photographs work extremely well because, in addition to being interesting, they give our eye more to look at, and can help the photo feel more balanced when done right. These elements don’t have to be people – they can be objects, animals, signs, or pretty much anything as long as they are balanced well in the scene.
Bubble, SoHo
The opposite of the last exercise is to hone in on a small detail. Make the entire photograph about some tiny detail that alludes to a larger idea or story.
In the case of the image above, I tend to view the neighborhood of SoHo as a bubble. It has turned into a shopping mall and not much of a true neighborhood anymore. This photo is my way of alluding to that.
What’s the best strategy to finding something like this? Honestly, there isn’t one except for keeping your eyes open. This tip is similar to searching for a strong expression, in that the only way to do it well is to keep your eyes open so you can see it in the first place. You will be surprised at how many of these photographic moments pass you by when you are not actively looking for them. In addition, the more time you spend in the same area the more of these types of images will pop out at you.
Shoe Store Display, SoHo
Street photography is often confused with the idea that you need candid people in the frame. This is a misconception. Street photographs are about people and culture and life, but they can just as easily be devoid of people. Some of the best and most interesting street photographs are devoid of people. Lee Friedlander was an expert at this, take a look at his work for inspiration.
Matching Jordans, SoHo
If everyone is photographing in one direction, photograph in the other. The key to this type of work is to have fun and to create unique images that mean something to you. Create images where you live or work, where you hang out, and what you know best. Those will turn out to be the most unique and insightful images.
Vince Camuto, SoHo
A majority of the best street photography is spontaneous, but the more time that you spend in an area the more you will begin to think about ideas to capture. In some cases, just thinking about these ideas will make you better able to notice and capture them when they do spontaneously happen. In other situations, however, you will be able to find an area and wait for the photo you are thinking of to come along.
In the photo above, I wanted to create an image where it looked like a window display was beckoning to someone. The image of the naked man was on a loop from a video, so it took a some time for the right person to come and make eye contact at the right moment.
Too often I hear people say, ‘I live in a boring area. Nothing happens here. I can’t do street photography.’ I think you can do street photography anywhere. Focus on step number five. You don’t need to live in the most fashionable area with the most people to do this type of work. Photograph suburban life. Photograph what it’s like to live in a sparse area.
If you live in a sparse area, create a sixteen image essay that explains your neighborhood. Give me a glimpse into what it’s like there. If done well, it can be just as fascinating and interesting as anything else, and it will be unique, which is the most important thing. Explore the work of William Eggleston, Stephen Shore, or Lee Friedlander, who all did a significant portion of their work in sparse areas.
You can currently pick up 2 eBooks on Street Photography by James on sale now at SnapnDeals!
The post 7 Street Photography Tips and Exercises to Try This Season by James Maher appeared first on Digital Photography School.
[ By Steph in Gaming & Computing & Technology. ]
Fantasy architectural structures inspired by M.C. Escher provide a playful setting for a fun iOS puzzle game called Monument Valley. Even if you aren’t big on playing games on your phone or iPad, it’s worth checking out just for the dazzling structures alone. Each architectural landscape is like a painting you can interact with.
The object of the game is to solve sculptural puzzles to rescue Princess Ida, a little girl who needs to reach the top of the monuments. “There was once a princess who fell in love with geometry,” reads the press kit that comes with the game. The makers of the game include programmers with an interest in art, and artists with knowledge of programming, bringing these two worlds together to create a game that’s truly a visual wonder. Everything in the game works mechanically, but also looks incredible.
“The idea of the project was that every screen could be a work of art in itself,” says designer Paul Wong. “And so we work really hard – I think it’s a different way of approaching making a game. Every screenshot could be printed out and hung on a wall.”
The more of the puzzles you solve, the more of Ida’s story and that of the abandoned Monument Valley you unveil. Some of the individual levels of the game are so complex, they took months to complete. Monument Valley is available via iTunes for $ 3.99.
A large storefront window in a Belgian designer’s work/live space invites passersby to pause and play an arcade game with a fun interactive installation. …
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So you’ve always wanted to participate in an internet meme but you’re just too lazy? The Lying Down Game is the perfect answer: it’s Parkour for lazy people.
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This video thrives on convention – specifically: breaking with it. In the same vein as M.C. Escher, The Matrix or, more recently, Inception (or even the …
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[ By Steph in Gaming & Computing & Technology. ]
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In this post Gina Milicia – author of our brand new Posing eBook – walks us through the taking of one of her portraits of Christy Vandenberg.
I’m constantly on the look out for new and interesting ways to pose my models. This shoot only took me 20 minutes from start to finish and is really basic to set up and photograph.
The following tutorial is a step by step of how I pose and light my window portrait.
This set up is great way to add mood to a portrait. The reflections caused by the glass that partly obscure my model add a sense of mystery and romance to the shot.
This image was taken in my studio using daylight and can be recreated almost anywhere.
The example I’ve given is of a full-face shot but this also works with ¾ shots and profile shots and with or without venetian blinds.
I’ve used a focal length of 200mm but a focal length of anywhere between 70-200mm will work. If you have a cropped frame sensor a 50mm will also give a similar result.
I shoot most of my headshots using a tripod because having my camera fixed gives me the freedom to focus on expression and pose rather than having to worry about whether my vertical and horizontal angles are straight.
The other reason I love shooting on tripod is it allows me to shoot portraits at very slow shutter speeds of 1/15th or 1/8th of a second, which I could never get using hand held.
* Perspex is lighter and cheaper than glass and easier to transport.
I’ve used a long focal length of 200mm and short depth of field of f/2.8 because I wanted my models eyes to be in focus and the background to be out of focus.
The lighting in this shot is very simple daylight coming in from a large window directly behind me.
The model is also backlit by two large windows directly behind her.
Lighting diagram
I positioned my model behind the venetians and then took a test shot to make sure my exposure was correct.
The Perspex is then held in front of the Venetian and tilted forward slightly to minimize reflections.
The style and type of reflections will vary depending on the location you shoot in.
I experimented by having the Perspex tilted at various angles. The example above has a slightly more mysterious vibe because the face is obscured by reflections.
Finally I introduced texture to the image by spraying water on the Perspex.
The post Room with a View: How to Create this Window with Blinds Portrait Anywhere by Gina Milicia appeared first on Digital Photography School.
This week has been a busy week on our social media accounts with unprecedented amounts of sharing of dPS articles. In fact the last couple of weeks have seen us smash our previous traffic records.
So we thought it might be fun to do a wrap up of the most viral dPS photography tutorials being shared on our different accounts. As you’ll see the lists are quite different depending upon which social media account you follow!
I hope you enjoyed this quick round up of what’s being shared around the web from dPS. Thanks to everyone for your engagement and shares!
The post Our 21 Most Viral Photography Tutorials This Week by Darren Rowse appeared first on Digital Photography School.
Brother and Sister Bonding Time, by April Joy Gutel.
On Wednesday I spent the afternoon shooting the Oakland Museum of California with my sister April Joy Gutel (her photo of me above, thanks April). I always love shooting in museums and find myself inspired by the art even as I create new art in that sort of a space.
A lot of museums don’t allow photography, but the ones that do almost always disallow backpacks. Because I shoot mostly prime lenses, I need a lot of different lenses wherever I go.
On Wednesday I tried shooting in a museum in my new Scottevest for the first time. It worked great. I was able to pack an iPhone 5s, 4 different lenses (my 8-15 fisheye, 14mm, 24mm, 135mm), an extra battery and two CF cards easily into the vest. This was in addition to the Canon Mark 3 and 50mm lens on my camera. While I definitely felt the weight as I shot (those lenses are heavy), it felt much better than wearing a backpack. The lenses were also much more accessible to me as I didn’t have to take a backpack off to get to them. I simply unzipped the pocket and pulled out what I needed.
Even with this much gear, I still had lots of room to pack more stuff into the vest if I needed it.
The vest has sleeves that come on or off, in case you want to wear it as a jacket. It was very light weight and very comfortable to wear. It’s a great thing to have around for those times when you want more than just your camera, but don’t want to (or can’t) take your whole backpack set up with you.
You can check out photos I’ve taken at the Oakland Museum of California here.
Thomas Hawk Digital Connection
The widely rumored and much-leaked Nikon Df is here. The Df is a 16MP, full-frame DSLR with the sensor from the flagship D4 sensor and the 39-point AF system from the D610 packaged in a body inspired by film cameras from the 1970s. The Nikon Df can’t shoot video, but it will accept 50 year-old non-Ai lenses. A lot of Nikon users have been asking for a ‘digital FM2’ for years. Is the Df that camera? Click through for our first-impressions.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
[ By Steph in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]
Would you give up all your privacy in order to live in a spectacular glass cylinder with a tree growing up the center? Perhaps the secluded forest location will help make that decision for you. ‘Tree in the House’ by Masov Aibek is a stunning four-story modern treehouse in the woods of Almaty City, Kazakhstan with transparent walls and a spiraling staircase.
The staircase takes you from one floor to the next along the outer perimeter of the house, with an opening in the center of each floor that grows wider as the tree’s branches stretch out toward the top. Plasterboard inner walls provide a little bit of organization and section off areas for lounging and a bed.
Aibek set out to create a romantic retreat for couples that nurtures “spiritual and creative development.”
Real as it looks, this is currently just a concept – but it’s on its way to being built. Construction will begin in early 2014 at an estimated cost of U.S. $ 361,000, and the architect is currently taking orders for more.
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It’s been a busy few days here on DPReview.com, with new products being released in both the camera and mobile industries, news, previews and of course plenty of in-depth reviews still in progress. In this short article we look back at some of the things we’ve learned over the past week or so from the industry and from you, our readers. Click through to read more.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Here at dPS we are all about helping people of all experience levels to improve their photography.
This week we’re excited to see our friends at CreativeLIVE putting on a free online event that will help you do just that – it is called Photo Week and we think you’ll really love what is on offer.
Starting today and over the next 6 days CreativeLIVE have 50 amazing photographers coming into their studios to run full days of live workshop training on many many aspects of photography.
They’ve arranged the training into 3 tracks:
The quality of trainers and training will be amazing – I hardly know where to begin with the lineup they’ve got. Here’s a quick screen shot of the instructors!
The best thing about Photo Week is it is all shown on the CreativeLIVE site for free throughout the week.
You can pay to get recordings if you can’t make all of the sessions you want to see or would like to play them back over and over again – but if there’s just a few sessions you want you can tune in when they are on and grab them completely for free.
See the full 6 day schedule and RSVP for Photoweek here.
Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.
Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.
Get 6 Days of Online Photography Training For Free This Week at Photo Week
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