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.
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
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.
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