Tuesday, 5 October 2010
Time-out from the Noodle
Apologies to all Noodle enthusiasts. I have sort of left my bowl of noodles stewing rather than the regular even slurps that are required. I have just started a course at college and am snowed under right now. I have some exciting stuff to go through so please bear with me!
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
Reflection
So this was the first photo that I have submitted to 52x3. Yet another iphone photo. At this rate I might sell all my camera gear as they're not getting a look in.
Actually it's not just my iphone at play here. I really found it tough to find a shot for my chosen theme of reflection. I wanted to do something about myself. I am just changing career - from an assistant's role in law to a secondary school history teacher. I have a month off to get used to the idea and prepare for yet another trip to college. It seemed a pretty good time to reflect, and hence the theme.
It turned out that building the challenge up in my head made it almost impossible to find a shot I was happy with. I generally take photos on the spur of the moment, with only minimal planning. I thought of all sorts of ideas about staging shots but all just didn't seem to be me. I want to try different techniques but not depart from my own style completely.
In the end I was looking at my old medium format camera and testing the focus in the mirror. Then it came to me to shoot the viewfinder with my iphone and see what would happen. The iphone's shiny back reflected a whole load of light onto the viewfinder which was reflecting back at me. At first this was very frustrating as I could not get a proper shot of the what the vintage camera was focusing on. But then I realised that I could see my own face from 2 perspectives. I really liked that effect and went with it. Loaded up hipstamatic with some b&w film and bang!
I'm pretty happy with it. I like the fact that it was spontaneous. I was a little annoyed with my framing and the fact that it's a little blurry so I tried a few other shots but none had the same feeling as the first.
I strongly believe that this is what is in decline in photos these days. We all have such precision instruments that all we are led to strive for is the sharpest, highest resolution photo with spot on exposure. We often forget that these are only secondary to the feeling of the shot. This photo has a lot of faults but I like it because it harks back to this point.
Actually it's not just my iphone at play here. I really found it tough to find a shot for my chosen theme of reflection. I wanted to do something about myself. I am just changing career - from an assistant's role in law to a secondary school history teacher. I have a month off to get used to the idea and prepare for yet another trip to college. It seemed a pretty good time to reflect, and hence the theme.
It turned out that building the challenge up in my head made it almost impossible to find a shot I was happy with. I generally take photos on the spur of the moment, with only minimal planning. I thought of all sorts of ideas about staging shots but all just didn't seem to be me. I want to try different techniques but not depart from my own style completely.
In the end I was looking at my old medium format camera and testing the focus in the mirror. Then it came to me to shoot the viewfinder with my iphone and see what would happen. The iphone's shiny back reflected a whole load of light onto the viewfinder which was reflecting back at me. At first this was very frustrating as I could not get a proper shot of the what the vintage camera was focusing on. But then I realised that I could see my own face from 2 perspectives. I really liked that effect and went with it. Loaded up hipstamatic with some b&w film and bang!
I'm pretty happy with it. I like the fact that it was spontaneous. I was a little annoyed with my framing and the fact that it's a little blurry so I tried a few other shots but none had the same feeling as the first.
I strongly believe that this is what is in decline in photos these days. We all have such precision instruments that all we are led to strive for is the sharpest, highest resolution photo with spot on exposure. We often forget that these are only secondary to the feeling of the shot. This photo has a lot of faults but I like it because it harks back to this point.
Tuesday, 17 August 2010
Small steps to greatness
A few of my friends and I have been wanting to do this for some time. It's not particularly original. It's not particularly difficult. But I think it could be a significant step into making all of us better photographers.
Each of us in turn shall set a theme each week, and we will post our results to a group on flickr. I shall also post my photo here, as well as any winners/interesting discussions that should arise.
What do I hope to gain from this? Well as much as a photographer has his own personal goals, we all like affirmation when we come up with something good. I think by discussing and mulling over potentially challenging themes, we should be able to drag ourselves out of the ordinary and try something different. No photographer, professional or otherwise, would disagree that your nice expensive camera won't take amazing photos sitting there in your bag. You need an incentive to get out there and take photos!
Today is a good example. London is cold. It looks like it's going to rain. The sky is dull. I would never think of shooting anything today in a million years. But I have this challenge. I set the theme of "Reflection" this week and I feel the pressure to come up with something. So I'm going to try something and that's a better start than sitting here watching the sopranos!
Wish me luck!
You can check out our progress here:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/1525365@N22/
Has anyone else tried this and what were your experiences?
Each of us in turn shall set a theme each week, and we will post our results to a group on flickr. I shall also post my photo here, as well as any winners/interesting discussions that should arise.
What do I hope to gain from this? Well as much as a photographer has his own personal goals, we all like affirmation when we come up with something good. I think by discussing and mulling over potentially challenging themes, we should be able to drag ourselves out of the ordinary and try something different. No photographer, professional or otherwise, would disagree that your nice expensive camera won't take amazing photos sitting there in your bag. You need an incentive to get out there and take photos!
Today is a good example. London is cold. It looks like it's going to rain. The sky is dull. I would never think of shooting anything today in a million years. But I have this challenge. I set the theme of "Reflection" this week and I feel the pressure to come up with something. So I'm going to try something and that's a better start than sitting here watching the sopranos!
Wish me luck!
You can check out our progress here:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/1525365@N22/
Has anyone else tried this and what were your experiences?
Monday, 9 August 2010
Photo of the Month: Finsbury Park Shadow
According to flickr I took this 31/07/2010 so this is my July photo. So much for photo of the week. Very tardy!
Whilst waiting for the bus to Angel, I noticed that the entire floor of Finsbury Park station had been covered in a beautiful shadow pattern. I've never seen this happen before! Either this is because we don't get enough sun generally, or I just got the angle of the sun at exactly the right moment to stream through the roof in this way. Whatever the reason, I'm pretty chuffed to have snapped it. Thank you iphone! The only camera I had at hand! Would have been great to have some nice contrasty B&W film though. I may pop down on another sunny day to see if the same pattern occurs.
Saturday, 17 July 2010
Egg Bagel
Iphone shot of the week:
Even breakfast sometime seems like a photo opportunity!
A little snapshot with my iphone 4 and a tiny bit of editing in the photoshop app.
I'm planning on uploading my best shot of the week here taken with the humble iphone camera. It's always on me and there's always something to shoot.
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
Great article on travel photography - leaving your camera behind
Just found this brilliant article from the Digital Photography School and thought I'd share.
It's all about leaving your camera behind and seeing with your own eyes. Once you are comfortable with your surroundings and got over that "Everything is new and amazing and weird" time, you can actually see good photos again. I guess it all depends on whether you take photos whilst travelling as some sort of documentary evidence that you have been somewhere (I saw this in China and Japan all the time!), or whether you are interested in creating something with meaning and message. Both are valid uses of photography. After all, it's up to you to push that shutter button! I definitely have done both, but am definitely veering towards the latter more recently (or I like to think so anyway!).
Right enough summarising! Read the article for yourself here!
It's all about leaving your camera behind and seeing with your own eyes. Once you are comfortable with your surroundings and got over that "Everything is new and amazing and weird" time, you can actually see good photos again. I guess it all depends on whether you take photos whilst travelling as some sort of documentary evidence that you have been somewhere (I saw this in China and Japan all the time!), or whether you are interested in creating something with meaning and message. Both are valid uses of photography. After all, it's up to you to push that shutter button! I definitely have done both, but am definitely veering towards the latter more recently (or I like to think so anyway!).
Right enough summarising! Read the article for yourself here!
Sunday, 11 July 2010
Boat in the Mountains
Well first post on the Noodle.
Welcome one and all, and it's likely to be one of you at this stage! I'm going to use this as a place to express all my photo related experiments, frustrations and general explorations. I hope it to be both useful for others and for myself as a kind of diary to see how I progress.
As a way of an introduction, I am very much an amateur photographer. It is true I have owned many cameras, and have taken many many photos but hasn't everyone? I have always found photography an immensely enjoyable hobby. To preserve memories, to remember the way you saw things, or even to look at an old photo with older, wiser eyes and see things you couldn't have seen when you took it. All of this is brilliant in my eyes.
Photography is special I think because everyone can participate. Yes there is gear which costs the earth and we all want it. Yes there are those who are more skilled at framing and have art degrees, but at the end of the day everyone can push the shutter button and come up with something. And who knows, by sheer chance, it might be brilliant. This luck factor, is in many ways why I have spent more and more time with film again. It has all that excitement. Negatives are sent off and you just don't know if you might come back with a masterpiece. I used to, and still do sometimes, get this fantasy in my head that there might be something so good on this film that the developer might keep it for himself!
What I write is not to say I'm against digital however. I love it and use it. I recently got a new iphone (pangs of guilt!) and the photos it can take are astonishing. It's in my pocket at all times and I will probably take more photos with this than any other camera. Film, however, will always hold a special place. For me, it's that old vinyl vs CD debate, and I'm a vinyl man. It's all about character!
To balance my first post, which has been a bit of a mental enema, I attach a photo I recently took in Vietnam with my tiny Olympus XA2 camera and a roll of fuji acros B&W film. It hasn't received many views on flickr, but it's my favourite of the holiday. I was lying on the deck of this boat in Halong Bay with mild sunstroke, but otherwise in sheer bliss. All I could think about was lining this tiny boat up in between the mountains. I waited and waited to get it lined up. Admittedly, it's still not that lined up but there was a degree of planning and concentration to get this. That is what my aim is right now. Slow down, don't shoot everything in sight without a moments thought. Easier to do on a lazy boat ride than in the throngs of a big city but that's what I want to remember right now!
Hope you like. I'll be posting something up again very soon!
Welcome one and all, and it's likely to be one of you at this stage! I'm going to use this as a place to express all my photo related experiments, frustrations and general explorations. I hope it to be both useful for others and for myself as a kind of diary to see how I progress.
As a way of an introduction, I am very much an amateur photographer. It is true I have owned many cameras, and have taken many many photos but hasn't everyone? I have always found photography an immensely enjoyable hobby. To preserve memories, to remember the way you saw things, or even to look at an old photo with older, wiser eyes and see things you couldn't have seen when you took it. All of this is brilliant in my eyes.
Photography is special I think because everyone can participate. Yes there is gear which costs the earth and we all want it. Yes there are those who are more skilled at framing and have art degrees, but at the end of the day everyone can push the shutter button and come up with something. And who knows, by sheer chance, it might be brilliant. This luck factor, is in many ways why I have spent more and more time with film again. It has all that excitement. Negatives are sent off and you just don't know if you might come back with a masterpiece. I used to, and still do sometimes, get this fantasy in my head that there might be something so good on this film that the developer might keep it for himself!
What I write is not to say I'm against digital however. I love it and use it. I recently got a new iphone (pangs of guilt!) and the photos it can take are astonishing. It's in my pocket at all times and I will probably take more photos with this than any other camera. Film, however, will always hold a special place. For me, it's that old vinyl vs CD debate, and I'm a vinyl man. It's all about character!
To balance my first post, which has been a bit of a mental enema, I attach a photo I recently took in Vietnam with my tiny Olympus XA2 camera and a roll of fuji acros B&W film. It hasn't received many views on flickr, but it's my favourite of the holiday. I was lying on the deck of this boat in Halong Bay with mild sunstroke, but otherwise in sheer bliss. All I could think about was lining this tiny boat up in between the mountains. I waited and waited to get it lined up. Admittedly, it's still not that lined up but there was a degree of planning and concentration to get this. That is what my aim is right now. Slow down, don't shoot everything in sight without a moments thought. Easier to do on a lazy boat ride than in the throngs of a big city but that's what I want to remember right now!
Hope you like. I'll be posting something up again very soon!
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