These abstract impressionist photographs are from a series that I created in the studio for a private one-on-one workshop photography class. To make these images, there is no camera or subject movement or multiple exposures or any trickery involved, it is just photographing exactly what was there. But what exactly am I photographing?
The KISS Principle
This weekend I will be conducting a studio portrait and lighting photo workshop. (Details Here) Topics that we will cover are: demonstrating various lighting techniques, directing and posing the model, shooting and effective post-processing.
This summer we are planning several location model shoots. Email to be added to the mailing list for these upcoming workshops.
Guest Post by David Pollard
Best in Show Award
I’d like to thank Garry for this opportunity to comment on my recent Best in Show Award at the 2011 Ottawa-Outaouais Inter Club Photography Competition. Garry, one of three judges, describes the competition’s background in a previous entry.
To say that I was stunned by my result is an understatement. The quality and variety of the 183 digital and print submissions was, to me, impressive. I was satisfied with my entries to the point where I was prepared to submit them (are we ever truly satisfied?) and had thought the portrait might do well. Notwithstanding, over the course of the evening, and as the photo review progressed, I reached a point where I simply hoped for a reasonable score. Thus, to receive a perfect score from all three judges for my print “Looking Back” was beyond my wildest dreams. And yes I”m satisfied with the result for my other submission even though wasn’t a winner.
What has this competition and its result meant to me? First, it validates my work; after all I was reasonably happy with the print to start with. Second, it means I should trust my own judgement but continue to seek input from others; those who had previously seen the print thought highly of it, even earlier discarded versions. I am my own harshest critic and once I’ve decided on an approach I don’t always like to hear criticism from others (I might change my approach but that’s my choice). The lesson then is don’t ask if you if you’re not going to listen. Lastly, in a competition, you don’t really know how the judges are going to base their scoring. So, while it’s fantastic to win, in the end you learn more by losing. If you’ve done your best and are satisfied with your submission, then learn from the judges comments and keep them in mind for the next time.
Regarding the photo: shot during an October 2009 workshop outing to Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg, Ontario (UCV). The subject, one of the UCV interpreters, was standing in the doorway of the Livery located behind Cook’s Tavern. The original file shows him from head to knees but my preference was to crop to a head and shoulders portrait. For those interested in the technical info: shot with a Nikon D700, RAW in 14 bit mode, 105 mm @ f/5.6, 1/60 second, ISO 400, distance to subject 3.4 meters, matrix metering with fill flash, and auto white balance. It was printed using an Epson Stylus Pro 3800 on Epson UltraSmooth Fine Art Paper.
Thanks for reading.
David Pollard
Springtime in Ottawa
Spring? Snow? Really?
On the calendar, today is the first full day of spring. This is what it looked like on my street just about an hour ago.
This morning we were supposed to have freezing rain, it snowed instead. You just can’t trust the weatherman or weatherwoman.
Winter Weather Photo Tips #1
Here is my cold weather winter photography tip – Stay inside or head South! (I really hate the cold weather) Now, if you put your camera away right after the last of the fall colours, then there is no need to read any further. Stay inside your house until May.
But if you do want to venture out into that bitterly cold freezing winter weather, here’s a tip that might help…..your camera but not you! If you wear glasses or know someone that does, you already know this one. As soon as you come inside from the cold weather your glasses fog up immediately with condensation. Same thing happens to your camera, which is Okay for the glass optics but it’s not very good for the electronics and the mechanical parts of the lens and camera.
When you head outside you don’t have to worry about condensation forming on your camera, that only happens when you bring the camera in. The best thing to do is to let your camera/lens get cold and keep it cold. Once the camera is cold and if it is snowing then the snow won’t melt as it falls on your camera. However if you do get snowflakes building up on the front of your lens or on your camera don’t try to blow the snow off like you are blowing out birthday candles. If you do, you will just melt some of it and fog up the lens and viewfinder and end up in a real mess. Simply brush away as much snow as you can with your glove, also a Hurricane Blower works well in removing snow as it is only blowing cold air. One thing you don’t want to do is to try and warm up the camera by keeping it next to you inside your jacket. That is just going to create condensation, and then every time you take the camera out to take a picture and then put it back in to warm it up again you are just getting more and more condensation each time, that’s bad!
Make you sure you start the day off with fully charged camera battery(s). The cold will reduce a battery’s performance, whether it’s your car’s or camera’s battery. Bring along a spare battery (for your camera…. not your car) and keep it warm inside your jacket. Then you can switch or rotate between the batteries from time to time, which gives you more time to stay out in the cold.
When it’s time to come back in, is when you have to worry about that condensation I mentioned earlier. What I do, is put everything in my camera bag (Lowepro Fastpack 250) zip it up tight and bring it in the house/car and let it warm up for several hours before opening it. If your camera bag has foam padding then this technique should work for you. If not, then you will have to put your lenses and cameras and everything else in individually sealed Ziploc plastic bags and then put these in your camera bag. Bring everything inside and let it warm up slowly, just like your toes and fingers.
Clancey wasn't very impressed with this photo shoot
Wishing you all the joys of the season!
For the past 21 years photographer Robert Hitchman has been publishing the Photograph America Newsletter. They are extremely well written with lots of great location and photographic advice. I can tell you that as part of the planning and research that Valerie and I did for many of our trips, we have always checked to see if Robert had visited that area and see what he had to say about it. Each newsletter is dedicated to one location/area, to date there are 116 issues. Robert has offered my students and readers of this blog a 15% a discount. (coupon code wshop15) It is good for a 15% discount on one order of Photograph America Newsletter collections and/or individual newsletters placed through his website
In 1991 the Royal Family; Prince Charles and Princess Diana with Princes William and Harry visited Ottawa. For the occasion the Canadian government had contacted me and asked me to print the above photograph of the Douglas Fir Trees in Cathedral Grove, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The picture was presented to Princess Diana, however I didn’t have the opportunity to meet any of the Royal Family at the time. But – perhaps there might be a wedding invitation in the mail!
Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia
One of my photos from Peggy’s Cove has been used on the cover of Fodor’s Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada guide book. Over the years I have spent so much time out East, teaching workshops and on photo tours that a lot of people thought that I was from the Maritimes. It’s kind of funny because I’ve actually spent more time in Southern Africa and no one has ever asked me if I was South African. Maybe it’s my lack of a South African accent that’s the give away!
