Photographer Chris Maggio Wants You To Think Objectively About Christmas Traditions

 Tags: Photography for Beginners, Photographer, Film Photographer 

 

  by: Pia Peterson

 

Photographer Chris Maggio is smart — the kind of person who can talk seamlessly about film, photography, politics, and capitalism without ever seeming to grasp for an idea. This may be why he captures photos in a way that makes even the most banal things — office lunches, parking garages — seem interesting and new. After going to school to be a filmmaker, Maggio found himself gravitating more toward his on-again, off-again hobby of taking pictures. He works as a professional photographer, and lives in New York City “with 8.4 million of his closest friends.”

Every holiday, I find myself looking to his Instagram for the funny, poignant, and sometimes tongue-in-cheek images that define an alternate take of the holiday. His work offers a real view of the hubbub at hand — the attempt at a questionable recipe on Thanksgiving, or the hope that the drug store’s brand of Valentine’s Day candy is better than it was last year.

We spoke to him about his work, the freneticism of the holidays, and when he stopped believing in Santa Claus.

Chris Maggio

It seems like you have a pretty dark view of, well, America and humanity in general. Do you want to confirm or deny that?

Chris Maggio: [laughs] I mean, I think there might be some darkness in there. If anything, I think it's more nihilist. But I'm a glass-half-full kind of guy. There's definitely a feeling of being alienated, being alone together, especially in such a massively dense place like New York.

Chris Maggio 

 

That’s a tough one to start out on. I really want to talk to you about your work on Christmas. They’re not really like anything else. How did you set out to photograph it?

New York has the reputation of being such a romantic place to experience the holidays, but objectively it’s such a bizarre tradition.

I grew up in a household where my mom is Jewish and my dad is Catholic. I was raised as a Unitarian Universalist — you know, the ultimate left-leaning, absurdly liberal religion. So I feel that looking at all the optics of the holiday season objectively is somewhat easy for me. Christmas in particular, it’s just so garish and funny and overwrought. It doesn’t look like any other time of the year, and the tropes are just so loud and extreme. It’s just a really fun palette to play with. The rush up to this big celebratory moment is just so hilariously frenzied and congested, but the madness is its own kind of tradition, and I have my own romantic memories of that.

 

When did you stop believing in Santa Claus?

It was either 3rd or 4th grade. I remember seeing my mom balancing her checkbook at the kitchen table and going through all these receipts from the holiday season. And I remember seeing a receipt that was for something that was distinctly a gift from Santa, like, the gift. The one we opened last. I looked at that receipt, and then our eyes met. And she just said to me, “Don’t tell your brothers.” The most indirect but direct way to say that “this isn’t real, but we’re going to preserve the tradition.”

Whose work did you look to the most? Who was doing the most important work for you at that time?

A big influence early on was looking at photography that now has the moniker of being called “cursed photography”: abandoned Flickr accounts and Photobucket accounts full of loose ends of people’s memories. There was a really prolific Tumblr called “internet history” that was curating exhibits of these found, vernacular photos of the digital age. Dis Magazine was the next step from that, and I’m still a huge fan of David and Solomon, two of the founders who have since become Torso Solutions. I’m obsessed with the idea of taking everyday, pedestrian concepts and extrapolating them to the degree that they almost become foreign and alien. Brad Troemel and the Jogging were big influences early on too.

I didn’t have any education in photography at all, but as I’ve learned more and more I’m fixated on artists who illuminate the absurdity of the domestic life I was raised in. I’ve always loved the work of Eva O’Leary, Chris Verene, Thomas Mailaender, and Erik Kessels, to name a few.

Chris Maggio 

 

Portland-based photographer Will Matsuda put it really well when he said in an interview that the Chris Maggio "worldview" is so distinct. I feel like the current pandemic couldn't have made it any more...surreal. In a way, it's like the issues that the Onion had with the Trump presidency; how do you spoof something that seems to be constantly spoofing itself? What has it been like photographing in the surreality of the last year?

It's been a really difficult challenge. It’s sort of stymied me a little bit. I think that photographers have a lot of fun needling the absurdity out of everyday life, trying to see something that others overlook, but the pandemic has laid everything bare. I think it’s a golden age for photojournalism, and there’s been so much incredible work on that front this year. For photographers like myself who are a little bit more conceptual, it seems like a time to take a backseat and think about our practice. Everything is so literal right now; it doesn’t feel like there’s a second layer to uncover visually.

I’ve been shooting a little bit but struggling to make something that speaks to something beyond the pandemic. The images that I take right now, I don’t know if I want all of them to have masks in them or plastic-wrapped cashiers or weird shanties outside of restaurants. I think time will tell what to make of all this — hindsight is 2020.

Folks seeing your Christmas images for the first time will get that this isn't an endorsement of the holiday. I'm not trying to goad you into acting the Grinch, but what do you want people to consider when they look at these holiday photos?

It should encourage people to think about the mechanisms and stories surrounding the holiday. The “Santas on Vacation” story for the Times is a really good example. Labor for the holidays is a year-round job, and the type of people who end up working in the [holiday] industry are fascinating. For Santas, specifically, it’s a time for senior citizens to shine. As you get older, your place in the workforce starts to erode, but … as a Santa, especially as a real, bearded Santa, which is like the top-tier position in the world of Santas, being a senior citizen is an advantage. It’s a job that you grow into as you age. That’s something that I had never thought about before, just the fact that the talent and the type of person that it takes to put the holiday together is so specific, and it’s only for that one month out of the year. I don’t want people to think of the photos as ugly or condemning; it’s about getting people to think objectively about the traditions surrounding the holidays.

Chris Maggio 

 

There’s a lot of shadow planning, or things that happen before the day, like the parking garage decorations that nobody notices but still take work.

To me, that’s the most endearing part. I love the fact that the staff at the garages, they all get together to decide who’s going to decorate and what’s going to be the aesthetic of it. Some of them go all out. There’s one garage on the Upper East Side that does a whole miniature village in it. It’s a type of creativity that you don’t see at any other time of the year. Like the houses in Staten Island or Dyker Heights that are famous for doing these insane light displays — for the mom or dad or whoever is decorating the house, that might be their only creative outlet for the year. It’s a kind of folk art, a creative voice that they may not even think about; it’s just an impulse.

Chris Maggio

You are still enamored with the things you photograph? You’re not disillusioned?

I’m not disillusioned. I take photographs of things that I love — things that help put me in touch with or challenge who I am as a person. Real life to me is the moments in between the big moments, the losses and the triumphs. I think, if anything, the whole COVID debacle has made us more aware of that in a way. What I’m going to remember the most about all of this is just the slog of everyday life and the ways in which that’s important. Running the errands, cooking, all the stuff in between. I want people to think about the simple routines and ridiculous habits in our lives and how those define us. It’s the whole arc of our lives, and it’s OK to laugh at that sometimes.

Chris Maggio

Are you planning on trying to get out and photograph this year?

I’ve done quite a bit of photographing the holidays in the past, so I don’t know if I’ll go out and do a full piece this year. I’ll definitely be shooting a little bit. I’m more interested in what comes next. There’s no stopping holiday tradition. Yes, we’ll see plenty of funny images of Santa behind plexiglass this year, but I’m curious how our traditions will be reformed in the wake of seeing how fragile they really are. 

Chris Maggio 

 

How are you spending the day this Christmas?

Just spending the day at my apartment and catching up with my folks remotely. My parents both work in public schools on Long Island, so we're trying to figure out a way to do something safely in person at some point, but it's proving to be tricky. I've seen people covering themselves with plastic painters tarps to hug one another, but that seems a little extreme to me. Maybe we'll bundle up and eat a meal on the porch.  Share this article.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PHOTOGRAPHY FREEBIE:

How to make money with your Photography even if you're not a Pro.

Copy & paste this link into your browser, click ENTER, and enjoy: 

https://mrdarrylt.blogspot.com/2020/01/how-to-make-500-month-from-your.html

                                                         or

https://www.photography-jobs.net/?hop=darryl54

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Visit me on Facebook and post your pictures.

https://www.facebook.com/Darryl-T-363867387724297/ 

 

 

InstantKon SF70 instant camera is a Polaroid SX-70 on steroids

Tags: Photography for Beginners, Polaroid, MiNT, SX70, InstantkonSF70

 

by Dunja Djudjic 

 

The legendary Polaroid SX-70 was invented nearly half a century ago. And in 2020, MiNT is introducing the modern version of the iconic instant camera. InstantKon SF70 takes the best from the retro SX-70 and combines it with modern technology. You get the same instant photo experience, but with full manual control and a couple more improvements over the Polaroid SX-70. So, let’s dive in and see what the InstantKon SF70 has to offer.

 

When MiNT imagined the camera they wanted to make, they realized that it would have to contain the best features of the SX-70,” but also be better than it in some key areas. “Otherwise, it has no reason for being,” the company writes. So, they took the foldability and portability of the SX-70, its focus control, depth of field, and the square film format. And then they added built-in flash, shutter speed control, and aperture control.

The closest focusing distance is 75cm (29.5 inches) and the widest aperture is f/5.6, going up to f/22. You can also adjust the shutter speed and set it between 1s and 1/500s. There’s also Bulb mode that goes up to ten minutes. Some instant camera light painting, anyone?

ND filters are also available for the SF70, so you don’t over-exposing film in bright sunlight. Speaking of film, the SF70 uses Fujifilm Instax Square.

  Here are the full specs:

• Apertures: f/5.6, f/6.7, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22
• Lens: 3-element lens with glass, aspherical lenses, f=93 mm, EFL (Effective Focal Length) (35mm equivalent: 50mm)
• Coating: Multi-layer coated
• Focusing distance: 0.75m (29.5 inches) – ∞ (manual focus)
• Depth-of-field (@ 0.75m and f/5.6): 4.9cm (35mm equivalent: f/2.4)
• Shutter speed: 1/500 – 1sec (A mode), B mode – maximum 10mins
• Viewfinder: Real image viewfinder, 0.44x
• Exposure control: AUTO, A+1, A-1, B, R-flash, 1/500, 1/250, 1/125, 1/60, 1/30, 1/15, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1, OFF
• Flash: Built-in electronic flash with auto-brightness balance
• Multiple exposures: Yes, unlimited times
• Film: Fujifilm Instax Square Film
• Adapters: Cable release socket, tripod mount socket, neck strap eyelets, and 2.5mm audio jack
• Battery: 2 AA Alkaline batteries (included)
• Warranty: 5-years

And here are a few sample photos by Antony Hands & Sébastien Poirier

InstantKon SF70 is currently available through Kickstarter, and it’s doing quite well: $135,411 has been pledged of the $32,245 goal, and there’s nearly a month still to go. The camera sure seems like something worth owning, but note that it’s not cheap like most other instant cameras. The Early Bird price is $846 for the camera alone, and you can get a bundle with filters and film for about the same price if you make the pledge super-early. The official retail price will be $891 for the camera alone.

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

 

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PHOTOGRAPHY FREEBIE:

How to make money with your Photography even if you're not a Pro.

Copy & paste this link into your browser, click ENTER, and enjoy: 

https://mrdarrylt.blogspot.com/2020/01/how-to-make-500-month-from-your.html

                                                         or

https://www.photography-jobs.net/?hop=darryl54

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Visit me on Facebook and post your pictures.

https://www.facebook.com/Darryl-T-363867387724297/ 

 

 

 

How to help buyers easily find your commercial photography

 Tags: Photography for Beginners, SEO

 

by: Feature Shoot

In the last few years, Google Images has implemented multiple changes to help photographers sell their work through the search engine, from adding image rights metadata to specifying Licensing information for potential buyers. Heading into 2021, search engines remain one of the most important ways for photographers to market and promote their images, but many still overlook the significance of SEO (search engine optimization).

SEO is a complex, multi-billion dollar industry, but for photographers, it’s relatively straightforward. Without relevant keywords, titles, and more, your marketable work could get lost in a sea of content; on the other hand, optimizing your images can boost your discoverability and help you get your work in front of the right buyers. Here are four simple steps you can take to give your licensable photos a competitive edge and increase your portfolio’s chances of surfacing in image searches. 

 

Use concise, descriptive titles

Search engines rely on bots to scan and discover content relevant to search queries, but they’re much better at recognizing words than they are at identifying pictures. For that reason, the titles of your images are essential when it comes to surfacing your content; according to Getty Images, titles are one of the most heavily weighted factors for search engines.

Titles should be literal, straightforward, and descriptive; include concrete, concise information about the who, what, where, and why of your image. Don’t be afraid to get specific either; for the image above, “Young woman among wildflowers in the mountains at sunset” works well as a title because it pinpoints the location, time of day, and age of the subject.

Getty Images recommends touching on the primary and secondary subject of your photo; tangential subjects aren’t relevant enough to be included in your title. Their test data further reveals that the optimal length for image titles hovers around 40 to 60 characters, though anything longer than 55 characters will be truncated with ellipses in search results.

Finally, remember to use unique titles for each photo; while images from a single shoot might share general similarities, titles are one way to get granular and specific about the activities, scenarios, and emotions that make up individual pictures. If you’re uploading the same image to multiple commercial stock photo distributors, give it a unique title on each platform to maximize its chances of being found.

Add descriptions

Descriptions aren’t weighted as heavily as titles, but they can prove invaluable; research from Getty Images suggests that files with unique 50-word descriptions receive 8% to 15% more search engine traffic than files without descriptions and those with shorter or longer descriptions.

In your Licensing portfolio, descriptions give you the chance to go into more detail about the image than you would in a title; for these, you can mention factors like time of day, season, location, image style (aerial, flat lay, etc.), and much more. This is also a place where you can take advantage of your conceptual keywords and describe the mood, feeling, or idea behind the image. Make a list of some terms buyers might search when looking for an image like yours, and include the most relevant details in your description.

Apply relevant keywords

When it comes to SEO, keywords are king, so don’t skimp on this part of the process. Whether you’re uploading images to your website or a stock agency or distributor, it’s a good idea to add 10 to 30 relevant keywords to your photos. Ideally, these keywords will include a mix of literal terms—who, what, where, and why—and conceptual terms that capture the feelings or ideas conveyed in the image.

Most stock agencies and distributors have a keyword suggestion tool; these are helpful to start, though you can pick and choose which ones to keep, add your own, and remove any that aren’t relevant to the image. Additionally, there are tons of online resources for generating keywords, from Keyword Tool to ahrefs and beyond.

It’s also good practice to start compiling your own list or spreadsheet with your most commonly used keywords and ideas for future shoots. You can always browse top-selling images on 500px or Getty Images for inspiring keywords to implement in your own work. When keywording your files, you can include details like time of day, background color, location, as well as the number of models, their ages, what they’re doing, and more. You can also incorporate some of these trending keywords for a timely twist.

While it’s important to include a variety of appropriate keywords, from literal to conceptual, remember to avoid “spamming” your files with too many or unrelated keywords. Keyword spamming makes for a bad user experience, and search engines are getting better at detecting it.

Share your work

500px and Getty Images market and promote the images on their platforms, but today’s commercial photographers also serve as their own PR professionals. One of the best things you can do for your Licensing portfolio is to get it out there and in front of people; share your newly uploaded shots on your website and all your social channels, with links to where people can buy your images.

For more visibility, add trending hashtags related to relevant and enduring commercial themes like environmental sustainability, wellness, and technology. It can help to use a tool like Display Purposes to generate unique and popular hashtags for your work. Other tools like Iconosquare and Planoly can also help you schedule your social media posts, so you can plan out your week in advance.

While SEO can seem daunting, it’s an integral part of building a commercial photography portfolio, especially in a competitive market. “Optimizing your content to be found simply means including as much important information related to your photo in all available fields,” the 500px Content Team explains. It all boils down to finding a metadata workflow that suits your schedule and business needs; fortunately, today’s image management tools and AI capabilities make the process simpler and more efficient than ever. You spend time making your photos the best they can be, so it makes sense to give them an advantage using SEO.  Share this article.

 

Shooting film cameras at night

Portland photographer’s vintage pictures make people ‘less sad for what they’ve lost’

 Tags: Photography for Beginners, Vintage pictures, Portland Maine, John Duncan

by Troy R. Bennett 

  

PORTLAND, Maine — When John Duncan, 69, starts spinning stories, there’s no telling where he’s headed. Duncan tends to ramble but it’s only natural. Having lived an extraordinary life of travel and adventure, he’s earned the right.

Many of Duncan’s best tales flow from the thousands of pictures he’s made throughout his nearly seven decades. He’s been all around the world, worked more jobs than he can accurately count, seen amazing sights — and has the photographs to prove it.

But as a photographer, Duncan is best known for the simple, black-and-white images he made at home, on the streets of Portland in the 1970s. In recent years, Duncan’s been combing through his archives, scanning old negatives and posting them online. The positive response has been intense as his pictures transport viewers back in time, to a city that no longer exists.

“People stop me on the streets and say, ‘Hey you’re the guy who posts all the old pictures of Portland, I love those,'” Duncan said.

He has posted hundreds of his photos in the “Portland Maine Encyclopedia of the 1960s, 70s, & 80s” Facebook group, garnering enthusiastic responses from its nearly 16,000 members.

“The extent of his documentation of life in 1970’s Portland is mind-boggling and we are the beneficiaries” said Bonnie Blythe, a group co-founder. “He is also beautifully skilled and so humble.”

Duncan’s 70s photos are not epic. They’re the opposite. Rather than depicting news events, protests or disasters, they illustrate simple, daily life. In his image collection, there’s long-haired young men playing guitar in the park, pals drinking beer in a now-retro apartment and mechanics working on once-ubiquitous Volkswagen Beetles.

          

 

 Portland’s photographer John Duncan’s archive of photos depicting the city in the 1970s is deep, including these images. Credit: Troy R. Bennett | BDN

Back then, Duncan shot almost anyone that got in front of his lens, including friends, strangers, random street scenes and even what he could see in his car’s rear view mirror.

One of Duncan’s best-loved photos is of two ladies, one dressed dark and the other light, walking on what looks like a collision course, down Congress Street in front of the long-gone State Drugstore. Since posting it to Facebook, the image has inspired dozens of comments and shares.

“I believe the beauty salon on the second floor was my grandmother’s,” wrote one commenter, which prompted many responses about whose relatives were customers at the salon.

It’s typical of Duncan’s online photos. They often prompt long strolls down memory lane, uniting the collective memory of Portland’s displaced diaspora.

“Love this, remember it well — and the corner it was on,” wrote another member of the Portland Encyclopedia group. “Oh, to have those good ol’ days back. Sigh.”

People recognizing themselves or relatives in his vintage pictures, too, often get in touch with Duncan, asking for prints. He’s happy to oblige.

“I posted pictures of a guy throwing pizza dough and someone wanted a print. They said it was their father and he’s 70, now,” Duncan said. “They gave me a bottle of whiskey for it. That was good.”

Another one of Duncan’s more well-known pictures is of a striking, freckle-faced girl selling lemonade in the West End. Since it hit Facebook, he’s been contacted by the now-grown woman and her children.

Duncan still has old treasures he’s yet to unearth. He estimates he’s only gone through about three-quarters of his negative archive.

“And everytime I go through them, I find something I missed before,” he said.

Duncan’s first camera was a gift from his father in middle school. Since then, he’s only rarely been without one.

“Scenery has never interested me,” he said. “It’s always been about people, humans.”

Portland photographer John Duncan shoots pictures while Bob Bergeron works on his mural at the new Amistad Mark Perry Center on Forest Avenue on Dec. 4, 2020. Credit: Troy R. Bennett | BDN

Duncan’s biography reads like the plot of an unbelievable action-thriller film. It makes the popularity of his vintage, hometown photos more remarkable.

Growing up in Falmouth, Duncan set a state high school track record, running the mile. He then went to Woodstock in 1969 and hitchhiked to San Francisco and back. He spent nine months in the Air Force during the Vietnam War before talking his way out, convincing higher-ups he wasn’t cut out for military life, earning an honorable discharge in the process.

Duncan lived in Sweden for a decade and met his wife there. He’s had numerous careers, including oil rig roughneck, long-haul trucker, cabbie and photocopier repair man. He also sold cotton candy from a circus train and did nude art modeling in Maine, as well as Europe.

He’s never worked as a photographer, though. His output is all self-motivated.

Duncan’s retired now but still spending a lot of his time photographing Portland and its people. You’ll see him cruising around town on his bike, in a high-viz vest, camera slung around his neck, talking to everyone.

“What really feels satisfying to me is getting close and interacting with people, if I can,” he said.

In warmer months, he sits at sidewalk cafe tables with an antique, folding camera. When passersby ask about it, he demonstrates by taking their portrait — adding them to his photographic pantheon of local characters.

University of Southern Maine Professor Libby Bischof, who teaches a course on the history of photography, thinks Duncan’s pictures are important markers of time and culture. Bischof knows exactly why his photos are so popular online, too.

“I name that phenomenon nostalgia,” she said. “One of the appeals of photography is that it allows us to see what can no longer be seen. We see the people we once were and the places we can no longer go.”

Duncan’s photos are akin to hometown poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow piece, “My Lost Youth,” she said.

Its first stanza reads: “Often I think of the beautiful town that is seated by the sea; Often in thought go up and down the pleasant streets of that dear old town, and my youth comes back to me.”

Bischof thinks Duncan’s informal street photography and portraits of friends are particularly powerful because everything is in context. Most of his images are loosely framed, including detail-rich backgrounds to luxuriate over. You can’t get that from a more formal kind of picture taking where everything is set up perfectly, with nothing extraneous in the frame.

She also reckons Duncan’s pictures are a kind of memorial balm. Bischof hears a lot of bitterness from old-timers about how Portland has changed — how they no longer recognize it. But Duncan’s pictures somehow make them feel better.

“Getting old ain’t for the faint at heart but I’m really enjoying all the pictures — brings back some great memories,” one commenter wrote in a long Facebook thread reuniting old friends for the first time in years — while they compared the chronic illnesses they were fighting. “Please keep up the great work.”

Sometimes remembering what came before is an exercise in pain but not with Duncan’s pictures.

“The emotion is different,” Bischof said. “With his photos, people are less sad for what they’ve lost and more happy about what they had.”  Share this article.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PHOTOGRAPHY FREEBIE:

How to make money with your Photography even if you're not a Pro.

Copy & paste this link into your browser, click ENTER, and enjoy: 

https://mrdarrylt.blogspot.com/2020/01/how-to-make-500-month-from-your.html

                                                         or

https://www.photography-jobs.net/?hop=darryl54

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Visit me on Facebook and post your pictures.

https://www.facebook.com/Darryl-T-363867387724297/ 

 

 

Minnesota photographer brings 'realness and grit' to help brand musicians, clients

Tags: Photography for Beginners, Michelle Bennett, Photographs, 

  By: Melinda Lavine

 

Michelle Bennett photographs Kelly Schamberger, a student of Great Lakes Academy of Fine Art. Schamberger is working on art for her virtual senior show, and the project is to help her market herself as a professional artist after graduation. Bennett of Wolfskull Creative has helped market many Duluth bands and small businesses, including Superior Siren, Tender Ness, Whole Foods, Karen McTavish and Dave Hoops. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

DULUTH — Michelle Bennett moved through the art studio.

It was filled with Kelly Schamberger’s oil paintings of a ship floating on turquoise tissue paper, a skeleton with a brownish background, a portrait of a woman with maroon hair.

Duluth oil painter Kelly Schamberger hired Michelle Bennett of Wolfskull Creative to shoot 

professional photos to better market herself after she graduates from Great Lakes Academy of Fine Arts. These photos will be used on Schamberger's website. (Photo courtesy of Wolfskull Creative)The owner of Wolfskull Creative specializes in brand photography and portraits for small businesses, musicians and artists — and considering her portfolio, Bennett seems to be the photographer to the Twin Ports creative community and beyond.Superior Siren, Anton Jimenez-Kloeckl, Jeremy Messersmith, Karen McTavish, Shaunna Heckman and Abigail Mlinar are a few on her client list.Duluth singer-songwriter Sarah Krueger has worked with Bennett for promotion photos, shows and personal portraits.Bennett has the ability to encourage her subjects, to capture their personalities and let them shine in her images. As an artist, it's special to relate to other Duluth creatives by just seeing them in Bennett's photos, Krueger said: “I've watched her grow over the years from shooting recreationally to becoming this really well-respected photographer.” Bennett launched Wolfskull Creative after a layoff from her corporate job in 2015. She got to know many in Duluth’s music industry from going to shows and mutual contacts. Then, she offered session giveaways to 10 bands during Homegrown Music Festival, and her work shifted. “Musicians in Duluth, I don’t think were marketing themselves at that level quite yet. It created a new standard for musicians,” Bennett said.  Superior Siren. (Photo courtesy of Wolfskull Creative) Bennett recalled working on the concept for the 2018 Superior Siren album cover. On it, Laura Sellner looks up toward the camera while emerging from the dark waters of Lake Superior.  “It looks like she was in the deepest water ever. Really, she was in 4-foot-deep water in Brighton Beach on a sunny day with kids playing around,” Bennett said.It’s harder to brand an artist than it is to brand a business. A musician has their music, we know what it sounds like, but what does it look like? Bennett said.It was easy to conceptualize the Superior Siren album cover because she had been a fan of Sellner’s work for years.

Michelle Bennett of Wolfskull Creative photographs Kelly Schamberger, a student of 

Great Lakes Academy of Fine Art. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

For a musician such as Jeremy Messersmith, who had released five albums by the time they worked together, she was able to work backward and have many conversations with him about his concept. (One of her final shots of him shows Messersmith looking off the side of the frame, the lake stretching far behind him with the shoreline trickling in.)

Her work with Superior Siren was “really prolific,” said Clancy Ward. That, and her work with Messersmith, reeled him in.

Ward hired Bennett to shoot for his business, Saltwood Furniture Co., and his band, Sugar on the Roof. Along with photos, Bennett will be rehabbing Ward’s business website and consulting.

“It’s people like her and my son … that really reinstated my confidence in the ability of younger generations,” Ward said.

It has been a long-held passion for Bennett, who recalls photographing others with a disposable camera during elementary school. Years later, her father gave her an old Asahi Pentax.

“It’s a paperweight now,” she said, but back then, she used it to get familiar with the darkroom.

Michelle Bennett of Wolfskull Creative photographs Kelly Schamberger, an artist who will use the 

photos to help her market herself after graduation. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

She reminisced about the effects she could conjure.

“I used to get that out of Lomo cameras, where there’s light leak, and really unexpected things that happen,” she said.

She eventually learned photo editing software, and when she started her own business, she wanted her photos to look more painterly. There is definitely a play with darkness and a mood she’s trying to sell, she said. And she often edits her photos so they look like film.

Author Sarah Seidelmann was drawn to Bennett’s aesthetic, and how she captures the dark in her photographs.

“There’s a realness, I would dare to say, a grit, to them, and it makes me feel more connected to each of those artists. They feel more accessible in this world where there’s so many filters.

“As human beings, we’re not all light and sunshine, and not all well-lit,” Seidelmann said.

When Duluth author Sarah Seidelmann felt compelled to take photos that were empowering to her 

personally, she thought of Bennett. She and a couple of her friends posed for topless photos on the 

beach. “They changed the way I think about myself. … I'm part of creation," Seidelmann said. 

(Photo courtesy of Wolfskull Creative)

When Seidelmann was compelled to take photos that were empowering to her personally, she thought of Bennett, saying, “She creates a safe space for you to be yourself.”

Seidelmann and a couple of her friends posed for topless photos on the beach. “They changed the way I think about myself. … I'm part of creation,” Seidelmann said.

Working during a pandemic has been challenging for Bennett.

You prepare for a downswing after the holidays and an upswing during spring, so it was scary when everything was canceled in March, she said.

Photographer Michelle Bennett of Wolfskull Creative takes in the scene in the studio of artist 

Kelly Schamberger as Schamberger works. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

Bennett moved to Minnetonka at the start of the shutdown. Making the choice to move back home was really difficult, she said, but things are picking up.

She returns to Duluth for days at a time for client work. She has recently photographed a magician, a sunset session on Park Point and photos for Zen Eye Care. And she’s looking forward to being able to expand again creatively, maybe travel with a band as their photographer, when it’s safe.

And as far as the origin of her business name: Bennett wanted something that referred to this area but didn’t necessarily include “Duluth” or “North Shore.”

She has always thought the outline of Lake Superior looked like the head of a dog or wolf.

“‘Wolf head’ sounded a little too decapitated,” she said, so thus began Wolfskull Creative. “I wanted something kind of edgy, it’s kind of rock ’n’ roll, which I like.”  Share this article.

Michelle Bennett of Wolfskull Creative.

 

 

 

 

 

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PHOTOGRAPHY FREEBIE:

How to make money with your Photography even if you're not a Pro.

Copy & paste this link into your browser, click ENTER, and enjoy: 

https://mrdarrylt.blogspot.com/2020/01/how-to-make-500-month-from-your.html

                                                         or

https://www.photography-jobs.net/?hop=darryl54

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Visit me on Facebook and post your pictures.

https://www.facebook.com/Darryl-T-363867387724297/ 

 

 

 

Film Photography 101 (for beginners!) | disposable cameras, point and sh...

Ilford to Release the Sprite 35-II, A Reusable 35mm Point-and-Shoot

Tags:  Photography for Beginners, Ilford, 35mm Point and Shoot, Sprite 35

 

 

by: Jaron Schneider

Ilford is reportedly set to release a revival of the 1960s-era Sprite 35 in the $35 Sprite 35-II. Reportedly coming in January, the Sprite 35-II is a reusable point-and-shoot 35mm film camera.

Firsthand information on the camera has proven challenging to procure, as Ilford itself has not published any information on the camera publicly since its initial unveiling via Inside Imaging at the beginning of December.

The camera will continue the heritage of the original Sprite 35, one of the easiest and affordable cameras of its time. 

“Forget shutter speeds, aperture, or light meters – just load a roll of film, hit the shutter button, and press the film lever,” Ilford states.

The Sprite 35-II will feature a fixed shutter speed of 1/120 of a second and a single-element 35mm f/9 fixed-focus lens. There is also a built-in flash with a 15 second recycle time.

While the Sprite 35-II isn’t going to blow the doors off modern expectations, it is a rather faithful reproduction of a classic, beloved camera. Ilford’s updated design smooths down the hard, square edges of the original and makes for an attractive modern take on the 60-year-old camera.

Photo by Akairom, shared via Public Domain

The camera will be lightweight and compact, weighing 122 grams (~4.3 ounces) with dimensions of 119mm (W) x 67mm (H) x 44mm (D), and will be available in black and black and silver versions.

No information on where the camera will specifically be available to purchase was made known, but the company will reportedly start shipping the camera in January 2021 for $35.  Share this article.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PHOTOGRAPHY FREEBIE:

How to make money with your Photography even if you're not a Pro.

Copy & paste this link into your browser, click ENTER, and enjoy: 

https://mrdarrylt.blogspot.com/2020/01/how-to-make-500-month-from-your.html

                                                         or

https://www.photography-jobs.net/?hop=darryl54

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Visit me on Facebook and post your pictures.

https://www.facebook.com/Darryl-T-363867387724297/ 

 

 

 

Steve McCurry shows that even he shoots some portraits on a camera phone

By Chris George 

The legendary travel and portrait photographer tells the story of three pictures taken with the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  

Steve McCurry shooting on location at New York's Grand Central Terminal with the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro (Image credit: Xiaomi)

As if we needed proof that camera phones are now capable of shooting professional images, legendary Magnum photographer Steve McCurry has just released a series of three panoramic portraits shot on a smartphone. The photographer, best known for his iconic portrait Afghan Girl, shot the images with the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro – as part of a series commissioned by the Chinese phone manufacturer on photographers shooting pictures of their own personal heroes. 

In the behind-the-scenes video below, McCurry talks us through this three choices for the #MyUnsungHeroes project. First up is 98-year-old fellow photographer Tony Vaccaro who is best known for his powerful pictures of World War II – but who hit the news this year as a Covid-19 survivor. In the picture that McCurry takes, Vaccaro is seen holding portraits that he took of Pablo Picasso and Sophia Loren during his post-war career as a fashion & magazine photographer.

"One of the things I admire about Tony is that he photographed in virtually impossible circumstances during the war; he even sometimes developed his film in his helmet at night", explains McCurry.

“Heroines and heroes, from all walks of life, are the backbone in this difficult moment when we all need to toughen up and carry on. I would really want to make a memory to make these faces remembered."

The other two heroes he chose were closer to home –his four-year-old daughter Lucia, and his Studio & Exhibitions Manager Camille Clech. 

Steve McCurry's Unsung Heroes

A post shared by Steve McCurry (@stevemccurryofficial)

A photo posted by on

A post shared by Steve McCurry (@stevemccurryofficial)

A photo posted by on

A post shared by Steve McCurry (@stevemccurryofficial)

A photo posted by on

“This year is also a good time to express our huge respect and appreciation to those who have been supporting us throughout the hardships', explains says Shou Zi Chew, President of International, Xiaomi. "This is why we chose to work with Steve McCurry, a world renowned photographer, to capture portrait images of the unsung heroes in his life using our stellar flagship Mi 10T Pro. This device is created to power your creativity, with its top range 108MP camera, we believe this would bring Steve’s works to another level,” 

 

Gift Guide: Fun photography gear to brighten up the holidays

 Tags: Photography for Beginners, Fujifilm, Nikon, San Disk

 

by: Taylor Hatmaker

It’s a difficult time to be a photographer. Getting creative feels impossible when every day is the same and the most exotic locale you visit is the living room. Travel is out this year, vacations are pushed back and everybody is cooped up inside trying not to lose it.

Everything is hard in like 12 different ways right now, but encouraging your friends and family to immerse themselves in new hobbies and plan future adventures is a great distraction. For photographers at a loss for what to shoot this year, it’s the perfect time to mix things up, switch up your gear entirely and try to see the world with fresh eyes.

Fujifilm Instax Square SQ6 Instant Film Camera

Image Credits: Fujifilm

It might not seem like it, but it’s actually the perfect time to get into instant photography. As a photographer myself, I haven’t picked up my main camera in months. Nothing feels inspiring. But I started carrying a cheap instant camera on walks around my neighborhood, rain permitting, and it’s been a meditative way to appreciate the beauty of small things that otherwise just blend into my routine. This Fujifilm Instax shoots larger, square photos and they look great popping up in an Instagram feed too if you’re in it for the ‘gram.

Another good option: The Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 Camera creates smaller, rectangular photos and it’s playful design makes it perfect for anyone.

Price: Fujifilm Instax, $80 from Adorama | Fujifilm Instax Mini, $70 from Target

GoPro Hero8 Black

In a year when we can’t do a lot of the things we’d normally enjoy, many of the safest, most enjoyable things are outdoors. If your giftee is an adrenaline junkie (climbing, snowboarding, surfing, etc.) the latest GoPro is a no-brainer for in-the-moment action stills or video that you could never capture otherwise. But like an instant camera, a GoPro can also be a really fun way to switch things up for nonadventure photography. I brought one along on my honeymoon and ended up shooting stills with it half the time even when I wasn’t in the water — having a teeny indestructible pocket camera just feels really fun and different.

Price: $280 from REI

SanDisk 64GB Extreme PRO SDXC

Image Credits: SanDisk

If you’ve met a photographer who has enough memory cards, I’d like to know their secret. These SD cards are fast, reliable and widely compatible. Much like socks, SD cards have a way of vanishing and you never have enough of them even though it feels like you buy them all the time. Good stocking material! 

Price: $20 and up from Amazon, depending on capacity

Sony RX100 VII

Image Credits: Sony

Know someone who (a) wants a super compact travel camera, (b) wants to get into photography but doesn’t care about interchangeable lenses or (c) needs a small camera for anything, really? Sony’s been killing it in compact photography for years now and the RX100 series is a testament to everything it does right. The RX100 VII is an incredible camera in a really small package, capable of taking everything from beginner night sky photos and professional-looking portraits to casual photos and everything in between. Since it’s got full manual settings, new photographers can go as deep as they’d like and anyone who wants to keep it simple can stay in full auto and snap away. 

Pro tip: Since Sony is in the 6th generation of the RX100, you can find old versions for screaming good deals and you won’t even know what you’re missing. Just stick with the RX100 III on up for the included viewfinder.

Price: $1,298 from B&H

B&H Gift Card

Know a photographer who always needs stuff, but you’re not totally sure what that stuff is? Or someone who wants to start shooting but likes the process of researching and picking things out themselves? A gift card to New York-based photography supercenter B&H is a solid choice. They’ve got a robust online shop where you can buy anything and everything.

Bushnell Core DS 30MP Low-Glow Trail Camera

Image Credits: Bushnell/Getty Images

This is a weird year and we’ve all learned weird new stuff about ourselves. In my case, I have learned the weird new fact that coyotes are frequently roaming around my fairly urban backyard eating people’s pets. (Sad but also interesting!) With entertainment options slim and monotony all but guaranteed, a lot of people are paying more attention to backyard and neighborhood wildlife lately. Even if you live in a major city, there are tons of wild creatures around. Go full Nat Geo with a trail cam and finally find out what happens when animals stop being polite and start getting real.

Also cool: We haven’t tried this one out, but the Canon PowerShot Zoom ($299) looks like a handy present for anyone who’s started bird or wildlife watching lately and is interested in nabbing quick super-zoomed-in shots.

Price: $199 from Bushnell

Sony a7 III Mirrorless Digital Camera

Image Credits: Sony

A lot of photographers, myself included, have switched over from DSLRs to full-frame mirrorless cameras in recent years, and for good reason. Mirrorless cameras are smaller and lighter, but that used to mean compromising on image quality in the name of portability. Those days are long over. New mirrorless cameras have image quality on par with their larger, more traditional counterparts and their light weight and smaller size makes them easier to cart around for stuff like travel, street or outdoor photography. You really can’t go very wrong with most of the full-frame mirrorless options out there, but Sony’s a7 III is perfect for anyone getting serious about photography. The brand new Sony a7C is another mirrorless full-frame also worth a look if you want an even more compact option on the cutting edge of what small cameras can do.

Price: $1,698 from Amazon

Fujifilm’s X100V

Image Credits: Fujifilm

Is your loved one one of those pretentious film photography people who talks about how digital ruined the art and nothing feels as good as a film camera? Well for one they’re kind of right. But you might be able to delight them nonetheless with the latest from Fujifilm’s’s extremely well-loved X100 series. It’s about as close as you can get to the je ne sais quoi of shooting with film, offering lots of little touches (classic design! an ISO dial!) that capture some of the magic of film photography. This is another option where you can save significant $$$ by finding a new last-generation version on the cheap. 

Price: $1,399 from Adorama

Nikon D3500 and Canon EOS Rebel T7 

Image Credits: Nikon

Compact mirrorless cameras are having an extended moment right now, but sometimes a regular DSLR is a better choice. For anyone learning the basics of photography for the first time, a “cropped sensor” DSLR (versus a pro-level full-frame DSLR) is really a better starting place in some ways. These camera bodies and their lenses are larger, but they’re generally more tactile in a way that will help new photographers build up a good foundation of knowledge. These bodies usually come with a “kit lens” (18-55mm) that’s not terribly impressive, but if you also pick up a cheap 50mm f/1.8 your budding photog will have plenty to play around with. Whether you go Nikon or Canon, it really doesn’t matter — just pick a horse and ride it. Did we mention these are great, affordable choices for a teen who’s just getting into photography? They are!

Price: Nikon D3500, $499 from Amazon | Canon EOS Rebel T7, $449 from Canon

Peak Design Field Pouch and Tech Pouch

Image Credits: Peak Design

Peak Design is best known for their camera bags and those are cool too and very worth a look. Bag preferences can be a pretty personal thing but even the most well-geared photographer can appreciate one of these handy little pouches for stashing SD cards (so they don’t vanish!) and all the random little odds and ends you need to cart around in a camera bag. You can’t go wrong with any of Peak Design’s organizational stuff — it’s all thoughtful and handsomely designed.  Share this article.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PHOTOGRAPHY FREEBIE:

How to make money with your Photography even if you're not a Pro.

Copy & paste this link into your browser, click ENTER, and enjoy: 

https://mrdarrylt.blogspot.com/2020/01/how-to-make-500-month-from-your.html

                                                         or

https://www.photography-jobs.net/?hop=darryl54

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Visit me on Facebook and post your pictures.

https://www.facebook.com/Darryl-T-363867387724297/ 

 

 

Pentax K1000 Review: A reliable workhorse

 

Tags:  Photography for Beginners, Pentax, Film Photography, Yusuf Sabqi

Yusuf Sabqi

I have a very special place in my heart for the Pentax K1000. It is the first SLR film camera that I purchased, and a fully mechanical one at that. Yes, it uses a single cell battery, but that is only to power the light meter (which was already kaput in my copy to begin with). So here I am, writing about the film camera that sparked my G.A.S. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) and increased my love for film photography.

A photo of my Pentax K1000 with the 50mm f/2 lens that came with it.

Unfortunately, I no longer am in possession of the camera. The photos that you see in this article are the ones that I managed to salvage from my Carousell listing of the Pentax K1000.

Let’s get on with the review shall we? But first, specifications of course because, duh, specs definitely matters right? (I’m being sarcastic, chill guys.)

Specifications

These specifications were taken from Ken Rockwell’s amazing website.

• Type: 35mm Single-Lens Reflex (SLR) camera
• Lens Mount: Pentax K-mount
• Shutter: Horizontal rubberized-silk focal-plane, 1 second – 1/1000 & Bulb, 1/60 flash sync, orange “cocked” indicator next to shutter button, regular screw-in cable release.
• Viewfinder: 0.88x magnification with 50mm lens, glass prism, ground glass with central micro-prism spot for focusing.
• Metering: Two CdS cells, single live needle in finder: center is OK, up is brighter and down is darker, ASA 20 ~ ISO 3,200, metering range: EV 3 ~ EV 18 at ISO 100 with f/2 lens.
• Power source: 1 LR44 cell-battery
• Film loading: Standard film loading system (film tongue goes into slit in take-up spool)
• Film advance: Wind lever, single or ratcheted multiple strokes, 160º throw with 10º stand-off.
• Dimensions & weight: 93.5 x 143 x 49.5 millimeters, 606 grams.

There, now we’ve got the important specs out of the way.

As per other reviews, I will break up this article into several sections to make your life easier.

• Build quality
• Easiness of operation
• Shooting experience
• Lens sharpness
• Weaknesses

Build quality

The Pentax K1000 with the lens cap removed.

The Pentax K1000 is solidly constructed from metal, with bits of plastics here and there. It is very well built, and can definitely withstand a few knocks and drops.

The camera feels very solid in the hand, and has a good heft to it to due to its metal construction. The leatherette feels quite plasticky to my liking though.

My copy of the Pentax K1000 seemed to have issues with the shutter door, as it did not seem to close tightly as it normally should. Light leaks happened because of this. I have managed to solve this problem by slightly tweaking the back door catch using a pair of pliers. The back door closed tightly, and the light leaks were no more.

The lens that came with my copy was the ‘kit lens’ of its day, and is also made of metal. Together, they make a fine combo, especially for the price I got for it (RM 350, which is equivalent to around USD 120).

Easiness of operation

In terms of operation, the Pentax K1000 is as easy to operate as it can get. Being a bare bones camera, one can immediately see why the Pentax K1000 is the preferred camera for photography school teachers to recommend to their students.

All the available settings on this camera can be seen in this photo.

The Pentax K1000 only has 3 essential settings for photography: shutter speed dial, an ISO ring integrated into the shutter speed dial, and aperture control (on the lens).

This simplicity allows the user to focus more on the composition of the image rather than other distracting settings, as with the case with many modern cameras (no offense intended).

Focusing is done manually through the lens and the reasonably large viewfinder. The Pentax K1000 uses a split-prism system using ground glass with a central micro-prism for tack sharp focus.

Shooting experience

Prior to purchasing the Pentax K1000, I have read reviews on it and watched many YouTube videos to hype myself up.

Needless to say, the Pentax K1000 lives up to its name.

Its reputation for being a beginner-friendly camera could not have been more accurate. Shooting the Pentax K1000 with the Pentax 50mm f/2 lens was a breeze. Just set your shutter speed and aperture, compose your shot, focus, and fire away.

The viewfinder with 0.88x magnification is reasonably huge. I remembered feeling euphoric as it was the first film SLR viewfinder that I have looked through in my entire life.

Pentax K1000 viewfinder. Photo courtesy of Wit and Folly.

Focusing through the viewfinder was great. It has a circular ground glass with a split circle in the center for focusing. Align the split images together and your focus should be tack sharp.

I must say that the ergonomics of the camera were not the best. It was very heavy, and the lack of a grip was a pain to my fingers and wrists. I have to mention though, that this only affects me during the times when I stubbornly decided not to use a neck strap.

Lens sharpness

A close-up image of the Pentax 50mm f/2 lens.

The Pentax 50mm f/2 that came with my Pentax 1000 was reasonably sharp. From my experience, it produces contrasty images and good color reproduction.

Take a look at some photos that I took with this combo:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BvjcBcChpoH/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwHnbguhixl/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv_4AVphJ0m/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwny1GWhNyo/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwoRDC5BgWP/

Weaknesses

Based on my experience with the Pentax K1000, there are only two weaknesses that I can think of.

The first weakness that the camera has is, as I have mentioned before, is its ergonomics. A heavy camera without a grip to hold your camera is a nightmare experience for your wrists due to the heavy weight of the camera.

The second weakness is of course the weight. Weighing close to 750 grams with the 50mm f/2 lens, the Pentax K1000 is definitely a camera you want to use with a neck strap. Due to its heavy weight though, your neck would soon tire, so my solution was to cross body sling it.

Conclusion

The Pentax K1000 will forever hold a special place in my heart. Its simplicity and reliability is what makes it a popular choice for beginner film photographers globally.

It may not have the bells and whistles as other more advanced cameras, but it does bring me back to the basics of photography: composing the shot and living in the moment.

For those of you in Malaysia, you can get the Pentax K1000 from Uncle Eddie. Click here to visit his Carousell and go through his listings.

Do you have a Pentax K1000? Share your experience shooting with it in the comments below!

 

 

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PHOTOGRAPHY FREEBIE:

How to make money with your Photography even if you're not a Pro.

Copy & paste this link into your browser, click ENTER, and enjoy: 

https://mrdarrylt.blogspot.com/2020/01/how-to-make-500-month-from-your.html

                                                         or

https://www.photography-jobs.net/?hop=darryl54

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Visit me on Facebook and post your pictures.

https://www.facebook.com/Darryl-T-363867387724297/