Monday, September 29, 2014

Making Eyes Pop More in a Portrait Using Lightroom

Original Edit

When shooting portraits, we invest loads of money into lighting and lenses in order to get the image as close to perfect as we can. We also tend to put a lot of emphasis on the eyes. But there are ways to make the eyes pop even more if you didn’t get them right the first time. The key to doing it all has to do with subtle corrections, using the spot editing tool in Adobe Lightroom and being moderate. And in the end, it all has to do with contrast.

To begin, what you’re going to do is bring the image into Adobe Lightroom. Then you’re going to do all the normal and general edits that you’d normally do. This may include working with the overall black levels, exposure levels, sharpness, and individually tweaking the color values. To make this image easier to work with, we cropped it quite a bit. It was originally from the Nikon D810 and used the Zeiss 85mm f1.4 Otus with a LumoPro LP-180 being placed camera right to deliver the lighting effect.
I added sharpness and clarity to the image overall as well as fixed the white balance on top of adding a bit of contrast to make certain parts pop out more. Unfortunately though, I didn’t get Grace’s eyes perfectly in focus–which is a problem that I had with the lens to begin with.

Next I zoomed in on Grace’s eyes, selected Lightroom’s spot editor (mask) and started lightly painting over her eyes. When I looked at them I said to myself, “What can I do to make these pop even more despite them not being in focus?” The answer to make something look sharper than it really is has to do with the black levels and contrast. Of course, I took all the steps to ensure that the image was sharp right out of the camera, but in this case I didn’t do as well as I could. Still, if you’re not pixel peeping the image it’s still a wonderful shot.

Once the eyes were selected, I started to tweak the settings a bit more. I raised the exposure levels, contrast, saturation, clarity, sharpness and did some other work. When zoomed in, the eyes looked perfectly fine and beautiful. But there was a problem.
When you look at an image at 100% and then as a whole, it can totally change. And when I zoomed out, there was too much of a change and the eyes looked unnatural. So what I had to do was go back and tweak the values in a more modest fashion. In the end, I only tweaked the contrast, clarity, sharpness, and saturation. But overall, it was a very slow and methodical process that required me to pay careful attention to the image and even call my roommate in to see if anything looked unnatural.
This will vary immensely from image to image, but these parameters are what you’re going to need in order to tweak the look of the eyes. What you could also do is brighten the whites–and even that has to be conservative. It’s also VERY SUBJECTIVE based on how you see the image.

Original Edit Model: Grace Morales

Final Edit. Notice how the eyes are brighter but not by too much and not overpowering. The key is to be subtle.

Read more at http://www.thephoblographer.com/2014/09/28/making-eyes-pop-portrait-using-lightroom/#GWhEBsP4xzbDtQMS.99

The Last Roll Captures the Emotional End of Slide Film Processing

by Kevin Lee on 09/29/2014

Film dying away does not just mark the end of an era or a natural progression into the digital world. More importantly it affects people from their livelihoods to their relationships. Hero Av has shot a new short documentary that captures the emotional impact behind the closure of one Orms’ E6 process unit, one of the most well-known and last bastions for slide film development.
Located in Cape Town, it was a processing plant that many South African photographers visited to develop their film. Shooting slide film itself is a difficult challenge and so its closure earlier was heartbreaking for photographers whose entire livelihood revolves around shooting on the analog format.
“It was really like getting cold water over myself, because this was actually my last place to process,” landscape photographer Koos Van Der Lende said. “I really have to just sit down and really rethink my life as a photographer on film.”
Andre Eksteen, an Orms technician at the E6 processing unit also added, “There was a lot of trust that had to be put between the lab and the photographer, as such, and that is a moment that we are saying goodbye to. Nevermind just the process itself.”
The short six-minute documentary is a tiny glimpse at the human story behind the end of slide film processing. It’s a story that will pull at your heartstrings, so be sure to check it out after the jump.
Via Picture Correct

The Last Roll from Hero AV on Vimeo.

Read more at http://www.thephoblographer.com/2014/09/29/last-roll-captures-emotional-end-slide-film-processing/#6VRjrou4IM5fU2QA.99

12 Films Worth Shooting With Before They're Gone

Give your digital camera a break and shoot a few rolls while you still have the opportunity

By Stan Horaczek on July 25, 2013
27

Film photography is not dead. It is hurting, though. It seems every couple months, we lose a few more film stocks. The remaining selection is a small fraction of what we once had. Still, there are plenty of films out there worth loading into a camera. And the cameras are pretty cheap now, too. But who knows what the future holds?

We've put together a collection of films you might want to try while you still can. Some of them are old favorites and others are a little more obscure. All of them, however, offer a unique and often extremely rewarding photographic experience.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, so feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments. And if you have a freezer full of an old film stock you miss, feel free to leave a comment about that, too. We're sticking to the stocks that are easy to get, but there's all kinds of interesting stuff out there. Let the film bug bite you.

Kodak Portra 400

Type: Color negative film

Price: $8 per 36 exposure roll

Other speeds: 160, 800

Photo: Flickr-user Kelly Jones (Creative Commons)

At one time, there was a rift between Kodak Portra shooters. There were two kinds, VC and NC. VC stood for Vivid Color and was great for things like landscapes, while the NC (Natural Color) was preferable for skin tones. Then, Kodak merged the two lines together. Some shooters were sad, but the new Portra has won over a lot of fans, and for good reason. It’s great.

The color reproduction is excellent and the grain, even at 400, is very impressive. You can even push it a bit and still keep things looking nice, which isn't always the strength of color negative film. It's not as cheap as the stuff you can buy off the rack at the local K-Mart, but in terms of quality, it really does look better.

The grain on the 160 is even finer and the 800 isn't too shabby either. It seems to be going strong, but with all the tumult in the Kodak camp, we hope this stock won't be going away anytime soon.

Kodak T-Max 400

Type: Black-and-white negative

Price: $4.95 per 36-exposure roll

Other speeds: 100 and 3200

Photo: Flickr user Jochen Abitz (Creative Commons)

When picking a black-and-white film, grain is going to be a big part of your decision. Kodak's T-Max 400 is, as Kodak claims, "The world's finest-grained 400-speed B&W Film." While we haven't scientifically confirmed that fact, we can say that it does have some very smooth tones.

So, if you aren't looking for grain in your images, or you're looking to push a 400-speed film as high as 1600 and still get acceptable results, this is a great choice.

Note: Because it's a true B&W film, you can't drop it off at the local drugstore and expect to get it developed.

Kodak Tri-X 400

Type: Black-and-white negative

Price: $4.49 per 36-exposure roll

Photo: Flickr-user Martin (Creative Commons)

On the other side of the grain issue is Tri-X. While T-Max strives to make things as smooth as possible, Tri-X gives you more contrast and a coarser grain that lends itself to disciplines like street or documentary photography.

It's often even cheaper than T-Max is, and in my opinion, easier to develop. Plus, because you're already expecting a bit of grain, you can push it a few stops and it will only amplify the effect.

Some people really love it, some hate it, and others have been using it for so long that they wouldn't think of using anything else. Trying T-Max and Tri-X at least once is something every photographer with a curiosity about film should do, though

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Hi Everyone, if you're reading this blog regularly you already know I've been off line for several days. The Flu bug that's going around finally got around to visiting me. (a very unwelcome visit) But, I'm back. I hope you continue to visit and enjoy my posts. Below, for those of you in or near the Sackville, (Toronto) area is a request for a competent / experienced Photographer. Visit this link for more information:

"http://www.kijiji.ca/v-photography-video/city-of-halifax/videographer-someone-with-film-experience/1021906496

Wanted: Videographer/ Someone with Film experience

Date Listed	27-Sep-14
Address	Lower Sackville, NS B4C 3E2 View map

We have a wedding in 2 weeks Oct 11th. we are looking for someone to film the wedding. due to it not being planned for we only have a max budget of $300 for this. if u know anyone who can help or have some experience yourself please contact me asap. please be able to supply some sort of sample of your work. wedding is 45 mins from halifax. preferable to have your own transportation
Thank you so much!

Photography

Mission Statement

Our mission is to provide Mountain View College students in the Photography Department and those in the Mountain View College Modeling Organization the opportunity to come together and help each other achieve common goals. Each can provide the other with practice in their perspective fields as well as helping the other build their own professional portfolio.

Department Description

Mountain View College Photography utilizes traditional film photography and digital imaging to create true Fine Art. We are willing to share our passion in this Fine Art with you.

Classes Offered Day & Evening:

Photography I
Photography II
Digital Imaging
News Photography I (Digital)
News Photography II (Digital)
Continuing Education Non-Credit

Photography at Mountain View College merges traditional darkroom processes with modern digital imaging. The department offers an intimate darkroom in which students learn how to develop black and white film and make paper prints ranging in size from 5” x 7” to 16” x 20.”

In addition, there is a studio for use by students interested in learning about lighting and studio portraiture. Color printing is accomplished through the use of a digital hybrid system in which color film is scanned into the computer, color corrected using computer technology, and printed digitally.

Our digital imaging classes encourage students to understand the operation of their cameras in conjunction with programming software to successfully create visual works of art.

Contact Information
Contact:
Phone:	214-860-8753
Fax:	214-860-8765
Room:	W-67
Email:	ptrish@dcccd.edu
Hours:	The Photography Lab hours are determined by the Photography Class schedule and are posted with each new semester.	Mountain View College 4849 W. Illinois Avenue Dallas, TX 75211 Tel: 214-860-8680

Explore Photography

Explore Photography, Film and Mobile at Free Adorama Events This October; "Super Month" Events Celebrate NYC Comic Con

Adorama Offers Free Events This October Covering NYC Comic Con, iOS, Photography and More; Industry Professionals Including Michael Artsis, Bobbi Lane and The Photo Brigade Headline Events in Manhattan Store

NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwired) -- 09/26/14 -- Adorama, (http://www.adorama.com), one of the world's largest photography, video, imaging and electronics retailers, is hosting a number of free events in store throughout October. The educational events will cover a variety of topics including photography, film, and mobile and consumer electronics, plus exciting activities for New York Comic Con fans. Open to the public, all events will take place at the Adorama store, located at 42 West 18th Street in Manhattan.
For complete event details, the latest updates on upcoming events and to register for Adorama in-store events, please visit Adorama's event calendar at http://www.adorama.com/events.
Super Month Continues!Adorama is celebrating New York Comic Con with Super Month -- a series of comic book-themed, in-store events leading up to the convention. New York Comic Con is being held at the Jacob Javits Center from October 9 through October 12, 2014.

September 28 and October 5: Comic Book Photo Shoot Featuring Al Espinosa
September 29: Turn Into a Comic Book Character with Kenly Dillard
October 2: ProDays - Create a "SUPER" Short Film in Tribute to NY Comic Con
October 6: Compositing Cosplay Photos With Eric Ng

Seminars

October 7: Learn to Use Green Screens on iOS with Michael Artsis
October 21: Dr. John Diamond on Photography as Active Meditation
October 22: 21st Century Editorial Portfolio Presentation with Simon Alexander
October 26: Beyond the Snapshot: Composition Secrets for Making Better Images with Ron Jautz
October 27: Portraits: Natural and Flash using the Fuji XT1 with Bobbi Lane
October 27: Landscape Photography with Tony Gale
October 28: Meet and Greet with the Photo Brigade

Vendor Days

October 1: Photoflex and Hoodman Shooting Solutions

OnSet Days

October 23: Lighting to Build Character in Portraits
October 30: Stop Motion Video

Stay in TouchFollow Adorama on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Adorama) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/adorama) as well as the Adorama Learning Center (http://www.adorama.com/alc/category/store-events) to learn more about in-store events and workshops. Additional workshops and events will be added as they are confirmed.
ADORAMA: More Than a Camera StoreAdorama is more than a camera store -- it's one of the world's largest photography, video, imaging and electronics retailers. Serving customers for more than 35 years, Adorama has grown from its flagship NYC store to include the leading online destination for photography, video and consumer electronics. Adorama's vast product offerings encompass home entertainment, mobile computing, and professional video and audio, while its services include an in-house photo lab, AdoramaPix, pro equipment rental at Adorama Rental Company, and the award-winning Adorama Learning Center, which offers free education for photographers in online channels such as the popular Adorama TV.
Adorama is listed as one of the top five electronics retailers by Consumer Reports, "Best of the Web" by Forbes.com, Internet Retailers Top 100, and is the official Electronics Retailer of the NY Giants.
Visit ADORAMA at www.adorama.com.
Press Contacts:Anya Oskolkova
(e) anya@zazilmediagroup.com
(p) 617.817.6559

Friday, September 26, 2014

Rare Photos of Debbie Harry From the Early Days of Blondie

By Erica Schwiegershausen

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the founding of Blondie, and to celebrate, the band’s co-founder, guitarist, and songwriter, Chris Stein, has released a new photography book remembering its glory days. A Brooklyn native, Stein studied briefly at the School of Visual Arts before dropping out “to be a hippie," he writes in the BOOK'S

introduction, and first met Debbie Harry in 1973. A year later, they founded Blondie. “When we were out on tour, or doing stuff, I would always have a camera around,” he told the Cut by phone last week, back in New York after spending the summer touring in Europe (Blondie's 40th-anniversary tour continues in California next month). “I don’t think there was a lot of preconception in it — it was mostly just about what I was seeing and what was around me.”

Though Stein claims to have thousands of photographs in his archives, the way he describes his photographic process is surprisingly casual. “People are always asking me to define punk, and I say there’s a big DIY element,” he says. “Obviously a lot of the people around me I felt were very striking and attractive, and I was just taking pictures of them. Everything in that scene was very familial.” Chris Stein / Negative: Me, Blondie, and the Advent of Punk, out today from Rizzoli, chronicles the early punk scene, featuring not only rare photos of Debbie Harry, but also Joan Jett, Iggy Pop, the Ramones, and Andy Warhol. Click through the slideshow for a look at Stein’s intimate photographs of Harry from the early days of Blondie.

Chris Stein’s photographs are currently on view at the Blondie 40th-anniversary exhibition at the Chelsea Hotel Storefront Gallery (curated by Jeffrey Deitch). Stein will also be at Barnes & Noble in Tribeca (97 Warren St.) for a BOOK signing on September 29 at 6 p.m.

The first space photographers

By Stephen Dowling

Flying high

Ed White walking in space over New Mexico, Gemini, 4 June 1965 (Nasa)
Far horizon

Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina, Gemini 9, 5 June 1966 (Nasa)
Cosmic stroll

James McDivitt, Ed White walking in space, Gemini 4, June 1965
Moon shot

Lunar surface and horizon, Luna Orbiter II, November 1966 (Nasa)
Rock of ages

Lunar boulders, St George crater beyond, Apollo 15, July 1971 (Nasa)
Space dust

Charles Duke, John Young collects lunar samples, Apollo 16, 1972 (Nasa)

Snapping photos in space wasn’t always so easy. Stephen Dowling discovers how the first astronauts battled radiation and more to take stunning cosmic images.

Anyone who learned to take photographs back in the days of film will remember how frustrating it could be. Quite apart from the trickiness of loading the film, budding photographers couldn’t be sure whether they had a potential cover of National Geographic or a pile of prints fit for the litter bin until the negatives came back from the lab.

Now imagine you had to deal with these difficulties hundreds of miles above a glittering blue Earth, tethered to the space capsule that is your only link between home and the endless gulf of space. Your movements are constricted by the clumsy spacesuit that allows you to survive out here. And you can’t even hold the camera up to your face to compose your pictures properly, thanks to your ungainly helmet. Finding out whether you’ve shot a masterpiece or a mistake has to wait until you’re safely back on Earth – where you might discover that all that cosmic radiation has fogged your film completely.

Gerald Carr, Ed Gibson leaving the hatchway, Skylab 4, June 1975 (Nasa)

It’s a wonder Nasa’s astronauts managed to capture anything at all, let alone the astonishing images they did. A new exhibition, containing some of the most striking, opened last week in London at the Breese Little gallery. ‘Encountering the Astronomical Sublime: Vintage Nasa Photographs 1961 – 1980’ includes many images snapped by astronauts, back in those pioneering days of space exploration.

Radioactive risk
“Space missions in the 60s and 70s were definitely pushing at the limits of camera TECHNOLOGY – and indeed the limits of every other type of TECHNOLOGY. In many cases they didn't know how successful things would be until they actually tried it,” says Marek Kukula, the public astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich.

“It's interesting to note that when Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space in 1961 there were no cameras onboard his Vostok capsule. Just eight years later the first landing on the Moon was broadcast live on TV.”

Unlike astronauts, photographic film doesn’t need a supply of oxygen to survive. But once you’re outside the Earth’s protective atmosphere there’s a very real threat – cosmic radiation.

Segment of Saturn's rings, Voyager 2, 1981 (Nasa)

“Most of the really nasty stuff is blocked by a combination of our atmosphere and the Earth's magnetic field, but when you go into orbit you're giving up the protection given by the atmosphere and for missions to the Moon and beyond you're also forsaking the Earth's magnetic shield,” says Kukula. “This isn't just a problem for cameras though – you also need to protect the astronauts, so shielding is an integral part of most space missions.

“The Apollo astronauts reported seeing flashes of light on the Moon, which we now think were radiation particles passing through the fluid in their eyes – the same radiation would have been affecting their cameras too.”

All this meant that cameras needed extra shielding to protect the film within. Still, the possibility remained that an extreme radiation event, such as a solar flare, could have wiped the film – or worse, proved fatal.

Tethered cameras
There was another problem with space photography: pressing the shutter button wasn’t exactly easy, thanks to the bulky spacesuit gloves. Kukula likens it to trying to work “fiddly technology while wearing oven gloves”. Camera manufacturers like Nikon and Hasselblad had to come up with special designs so that suited space explorers could take pictures, both to aid scientific study and help to promote the space programme, which was being funded by the public purse. “Images are far greater ambassadors for public expenditure than huge swathes of raw astronomical data, a fact embraced and exploited by Nasa’s public relations department for over half a century,” the exhibition’s brochure notes.

Martian hemisphere, Viking 1 orbiter, June 1976 (Nasa)

“Cameras were adapted to take account of the practicalities of shooting in space,” says Michael Pritchard, director-general of the Royal Photographic Society. “Camera controls were extended or special alterations made so that they could be worked with heavy gloved hands. Some controls such as built in viewfinders were dispensed with as you couldn’t get the camera close to an eye for framing because of the helmet, so less accurate sights were used.

“Cameras would also make use of automatic winding of film and a number of models made use of extended lengths of film compared to standard lengths, to save the need of changing film in flight. One very practical measure was tethering the camera to the astronaut’s space suit so that it didn’t get separated if the user let go of it.”

Moon shots
The Soviets – who at the time had the biggest camera-making industry in the world outside Japan – found many of the same solutions, modifying existing designs to capture their cosmonauts in action. Earlier this year, two formerly top-secret designs – including one meant for an aborted mission to land Soviet spacemen on the Moon – were auctioned in the UK. Another design, a heavily modified Kiev medium format camera used in the Zond-7 spacecraft, sold for more than $75,000 in 2012. In appearance, they have the hallmarks of a normal camera, but with exaggerated features such as giant winding dials and protruding arms to change the lens aperture.

As some of the images in the exhibition show, our blue planet proved a dazzling backdrop, and even without the proper aids to composition, some of the astronaut photographers took impressive pictures. The image of Ed White floating in space, GOLD visor glinting, umbilically linked to the open door of the spacecraft would be impressive enough – the white, brown and blue of our home planet floating behind, adds an extra dimension.

The exhibition also includes images taken on the Moon, during the handful of Apollo missions that explored our nearest neighbour. Thousands of images of the lunar surface were taken on modified Hasselblad cameras, part of a family extensively redesigned for the rigours of space travel.

"The shot of the Earth rising above the moon became an emblem for the nascent environmental movement highlighting both the fragility of the Earth in space and also its uniqueness,” says Pritchard. “For this reason it’s BECOME one of the world’s most reproduced photographs.”

But in order to save weight and allow more rock samples to be taken back to Earth, only the detachable backs of the cameras, which contained films, were kept. Almost all the cameras and lenses were left behind, destined to gather moondust until the next lunar visitors arrive…

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

PHOTOGRAPHY TECHNIQUES

Make the most of your CAMERA

by learning new photography techniques. These include tips for photographing specific subjects, using different creative styles, and improving image quality.

Using Your Camera

Subjects

Photo Lighting

Making the Most of Natural Light in Photography (NEW)
Portrait Lighting with One Light: Introduction
Portrait Lighting with Two Lights: Fill Light
Specialty Portrait Lights: Background, kickers, hair, rim, etc.
Studio Portrait Lighting Styles & Diagrams

Composition

The Rule of Thirds
Using Diagonals for Dynamic Photos
Negative Space - Sometimes Less is More

Image Stacking & Multiple Exposures

While every photographer eventually develops their own style, learning common techniques can help you get to this stage more easily.

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CAMERA EQUIPMENT & ACCESSORIES

Learn to make the most of your CAMERA

equipment and accessories. Topics include camera lenses, lens filters, general camera care and maintenance. Tutorials are usually independent of camera type or brand.

Camera Types & Accessories

Camera Lenses

Lens Characteristics

Camera Lens Filters

Caring for Your Camera & Photos

Just as with any tool, having better CAMERA

equipment only makes a difference when this tool is used effectively. Although photography might seem technical at first, eventually this aspect will become second nature — enabling you to focus on your artistic intent.