Showing posts with label Own Projects. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Own Projects. Show all posts

Tuesday, 29 September 2015

Black and White Photographer of the Year (Finalist)

Black and White Photography Magazine host the Black and White Photographer of the Year Competition every autumn. This year I entered 2 sets of images in the main competition (First Prize is a Leica Monochrom Type 246) and a few in the individual categories. I have been informed that one of my sets for the main award has been selected to go through to the second stage of judging. I will now rework the images from raw and print them to A3 for the judges. This gives me the opportunity to make any minor modifications to tonality, cloning and dust removal, together with trying a few different paper types to ensure that I get as much out of the images as possible, both technically and aesthetically. The process will start by making a set of small prints from the jpegs that were judged in the first phase. It is essential that if I make a new set of tiffs from the raw I have the same crop and aspect ratio as before. Stage 2 will be to look closely at the raw conversion and in this case I will run them through Phase One Capture One, which I now believe to be a better raw converter than Adobe CR. Capture One it seems delivers superior Tiff files and the tools for local area adjustment work on the DNG file before making the Tiff. The third stage will be to make a set of full size prints on my everyday paper which is used for OCA work and most other output. It is a satin finish onto which is applied a small amount of gloss enhancer. The fourth stage will be to calibrate the printer for some Canson Baryta and make a set on this high quality paper. If I can find any other papers in the store I will run a set with those and at this stage I will have as many options as possible.
To add to the possibilities I may look at toning. In the past I have made prints with toning to help set the image into a historical context. This work particularly well for the Edward Weston images during Landscape but can be disastrous if applied with the wrong intent. The set I have to work with (I am not allowed to show these until after the winner is announced in November) is quite contemporary in its content and I worried that anything other than totally neutral monochrome will be wrong. The angst of editing and presentation as always is one where a decision has to be made and that is the lot of the competition entrant. The work is to be with the judges by 15 October.

Thursday, 23 July 2015

Ideas around an exhibition from 1975

A few postings back I had a look at the changing styles of Spanish architecture in one of their cemeteries in Menorca. It is astonishing how they seem to have abandoned their ability to create beautiful structures when confronted for the need of the new. There are practical reasons and those of cost that will be driving them towards this, especially at a time when behind Greece, Spain is close be being bankrupt. That aside I have spent some time looking at their commercial development. They are quite capable in providing infrastructure. They make good roads, they are wide, have pavements, street lighting and adequate parking. The money for infrastructure is of course from government sources, or more likely the EU when the billboards are studied that promote the works. The story after that is somewhat sad. The businesses who are asked to populate the commercial areas do not last and the empty spaces between buildings seemingly will never be filled. Those that are built are becoming empty allowing the scrubland to begin its slow but reclamation back to scrubland.

While looking at these and photographing the area I was thinking of New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-altered Landscape, 1975. The 270 sqaure miles of Menorca is a Unesco Biosphere reserve, a designation issued in 1993 for the rich flora and fauna that thrive in Minorca’s forests, gorges, wetlands, salt marshes and hillsides : a protected place. The loss of natural landscape here is so significant I begin to wonder what the process must be to dig it up, spoil it and make buildings and roads that nobody will use. Questions I did not have the time (or perhaps the language skills) to ask. What I have done is a series of images that could be part of a larger discourse. For now most of them they remain as raw files requiring PP but as I am excited about seeing some for myself I have looked at one and complete the work. It shows the ambitions of the developer with an older building extended although for all that it is empty. The pedestrian crossing, wide pavements and street lights for nothing. While there I saw few people and found the place almost as spooky as the cemetery. All images Leica MM, 28mm Elmarit.

People ?


Reclaiming the Land

Wednesday, 8 July 2015

The Spanish Cemetery


For some years I have tried to capture the architecture of the Spanish island of Menorca. Not known as a party island it is quiet and retains many of the influences of its former governments, including the Spanish, French and the English. What we have then is an eclectic mix of European styles from the 16-17th century with contemporary styles, especially in the non holiday housing.
A walk through the streets of Mahon (the capital) gives the feeling of an unregulated place with little or no consideration to the juxtaposition of the old and new. I find this rag tag disharmony an irritation and therefore difficult to photograph. This may be (almost certainly is) my inability to choose images that could tell the Menorcan story through the architecture. There are also the problems of styles from the place having been ruled by a number of countries and my Englishness in wanting a clear pattern. The Port of Mahon had a strategic importance for those fighting in the Mediterranean with the Spanish, French and English all having made it home for their fleets due to its secluded deep harbour. So the mixture, when it occurs is somehow messy and I struggle with the laid back approach of the culture and its "Manyana" (tommorow) feel that one day it will be sorted out, but not today. One particular feature of the Spanish culture that has interested me for some years is their cemeteries. I have seen nothing like these in the UK and the burial method (above ground) has created architecture that is visually interesting and culturally different. The burial spaces (crypts) all being above ground is thought provoking and the eclectic display of portraits of the deceased make the experience of visiting a very moving experience. The feeling that you are walking amongst the dead is tangible, as apposed the UK graveyard where you quite literally walk on the dead. The images below are from the town of Es Castell and on arrival the entrance into the walled area is bright and fresh. The level of maintenance is sublime with a clear message that this is not a sinister place. Probably due to the age and size of the original buildings there was a need to construct a new part by way of an extension. The new cemetery is frightful place, physically and emotionally. There is no architectural style whatsoever, or perhaps there is, it is a style of the nuclear age. The walls, the above ground crypts, the paving, the buildings are all constructed of reinforced concrete, with no attempt to soften the visual impact of this engineering material. I have spent 30 years working with reinforced concrete, building bridges, water treatment, sewage treatment, waste disposal, petrochemical and marine structures but none of that prepared me for the concrete cemetery. It has given the place a feeling of industrial utility with its engineering and lack of any human intervention in the design to take a step beyond its purpose to please the eye. All of the exposed steelwork including doors and handrails are not painted or coated. The steel is bare, it is rusting and it contrasts with the white concrete to make a monochrome place that has a binary existence. The photography of the old part was a delight, the shapes, the names of the deceased, the flowers, the curves of the cornices and archways, the haphazardly placed chair, have a harmony with the needs, not of the dead perhaps but certainly the bereaved or the visitor. The birds sang and the trees whispered in a warm breeze and strangely I felt a warmth there, I was not intimidated by the faces looking at me and I did not feel as though I had trespassed. I had taken the precaution of asking a local Spanish friend if there were any restrictions in terms of etiquette or local bylaws about making photographs, and was told there were none, so I did not feel obliged to work quickly and then escape. When I walked towards the new part I felt a chill.  This place has no character, well thats not true, it has the character of a Stephen King film. Desolate, grey and waiting for death. The rows and rows of spaces waiting for their coffins is the equivalent of pre dug graves in a UK graveyard. A loud noise breaks the silence as I work my way around taking the photographs. I can see nobody and it is difficult to position the noise, an engine, maybe a grass cutter, but there is no grass. I then glimpse a man with a blower machine moving along the rows chasing leaves. Maybe I could have stayed longer, tried something else with the photography, a wide angle perhaps, but no, I left. I was not at ease and I have never experienced two similar places with so totally different atmosphere than the old and new cemetery. The architecture, the change from classic Spanish with its gentle curves and finials, its textures and warmth, its apparent empathy with the dead and then the cold stark construction with  reinforced concrete and the dark rusting steelwork. I did venture too far and at the back of the buildings found various empty coffins which I did not photograph. There is a limit to what I needed and this seemed a step too far.

Over dinner with some friends I outlined my shoot. Needless to say not everyone sees this type of behaviour as normal (the English) but my Spanish friends love the place and agree that it is a special. Photographers, sometimes misunderstood or a bit weird, who knows.

I had spent some time considering how I wanted the images to convey a place that is different. Different in as much as however you look at them cemeteries are a place where we go to for a limited number of reasons. It is mostly for reflection to visit a loved ones grave and remember them so there is a focus on a single grave. I didn't want the images to be as if from an undertaker or the local authority. My photographs needed to show the atmosphere and the architecture without being overtly clinical. I choose to use a standard lens  (50mm on FF sensor) so that my vision (and therefore my perception) was not distorted. My selection to shoot with a wide aperture was made so that limited detail is shown, except where I specifically desired it.  

The outcome as far as a learning experience was significant. The emotions I felt at the time were extreme and this affected the photography without doubt. I should perhaps have made a second visit, hoping that the "place" had less to say directly to me and then I could have explored it more thoroughly photographically, but my instinct is that any fear I had is somewhere in the original photographs and a second visit would be too contrived. I could have done better but I was not prepared for the emotional impact and that is something I will need to overcome if I find myself in a similar situation in the future.

The photographs shown below are the start of what one day could be a larger body of work, which requires more travel to Spain !!.

Old Cemetery 5

Old Cemetery 1
Old Cemetery 2
Old Cemetery 3
Old Cemetery 4
New Cemetery 1
New Cemetery 2
New Cemetery 3
New Cemetery 4




Old Cemetery 6



Saturday, 9 May 2015

Is it right, wrong or naive to give away a unique image ?

The Guardian has an interesting story following on from the well publicised image of a Kingfisher with a Weasel on its back. I reproduce it here as the image was given away by the photographer, Mr Martin Le-May.


Here is The Guardian story

The photograph in question was made as a result of luck. Being in the right place at the right time with the right equipment to see something that probably has only ever happened a handful of times in all of history (my guess, no way of knowing) is akin to winning the lottery. So, you have the image, you know its rare (if you don't then Google it) and then you give it away by putting it on the internet. The action of a philanthropist or that of a photographer breaking the rules. Some say the amateur photographer has wreaked havoc for the professional, especially in the world of wildlife images. The article tells the story of some of the UK's best wildlife photographers and how cheap images have impacted their lives. Or have they. Some are moving into new areas of the industry, mainly teaching on field trips to places where good photographic opportunities exist. This then is them using their field craft, an often overlooked and difficult tool in the wildlife photographers toolbox. If you know where to find a Long Eared Owl by reference to knowing their habitat preferences etc. then you wont need a guide, but if you don't then you will.

My wildlife photography will never be of much interest to anyone. I enjoy just being there and being part of the countryside to much to sit for long hours in a hide with my eye glued to the eyepiece. When I have done it and the special specimen turns up I am generally so shocked and struck by its rarity or whatever I don't get the shot. Not very professional I am afraid. The few images I have made I enjoyed making but you need more than special equipment (underwater, drones, traps etc.) today to be at the top of the tree (no pun intended). If I were to get the unique shot would I give it away?. Answer I am afraid is No. The same would occur with anything that was unique because we know how wide the market would be. I say "we" thinking of people who know anything about photography as a business.

If therefore we want to have images that cant be taken by the iPhone we need to be working on projects that exclude the millions who can. After making a list the one that stands out as the most promising is the one that is the most satisfying is Fine Art Photography. It can be achieved with the iPhone but the more esoteric work certainly cannot. Is it time for the Fine Art Photographer to batten down the hatches, learn new methods and post processing techniques and keep them hidden. If you develop a new workflow that needs 6 cameras, a laser and a ton of cement, keep it hidden. I don't suppose BMW tell Ford how they make their engines and I don't suppose Chelsea tell Manchester United how they will organise themselves before their next game of football. Maybe the internet, the all knowing blogger and You Tube have made the knowledge too widely available and the lucky along with the savvy have now caught up. Photography is no longer a artisan activity. There are no chemicals (well I know there are some but here I am looking at a general view), no darkened room, no black cloths. In fact looking back the whole process was almost witchcraft with all the perceived attachments.

Fine Art work can be commercial and if any of us want to make some money then we have to be careful. I know there would be an instant roar of disapproval if I were to write this on the OCA website. Money, Commercialisation, Commodification of art is seen as an anathema to the academic world, but that is mostly from those who have achieved status and a good income from academia rather than those at the front line of making art for a living.

Thursday, 12 March 2015

Focus Stacking - Test

I have the need to revise my macro techniques for a future project. I have a 60mm and a 105mm macro lens, together with 3 extension tubes. Even at F45 the depth of field is very narrow, especially when at minimum focusing distance. A view camera or maybe a short tele tilt and shift on the DSLR would improve this but the cost would outweigh the benefits. One other item (given to me by a good friend) is a focusing rail. It is a rack and pinion device that allows movement of the camera to change the focus rather than the normal lens focusing. A few years ago I tried focus stacking, a technique whereby you take a number of images, starting from the front of the subject to the back, each in focus. Software, using layers stacks these, applies masks and produces a composite image of all the in focus bits. The result is a photograph with a very wide depth of field. In the image below I used a single Bowens strobe so there are too many reflections, but that will be rectified as my light tent has now arrived and a diffused light is now available.
The image is from 12 frames. Each movement on the focusing rail no more than 2mm. The images are then processed in CS5 using photomerge and align. An i7 with 32gb, 36MP frames and the processing took no more than 45 seconds so I am happy to make further stacks of up to 20 layers.
While just testing I have reverted to .jpg files rather than raw to speed this up a bit. This work continues.


Another experiment with the light tent and acrylic sheet lit from above and below. The paper weight is from assignment 2. Being glass it is difficult to not get reflections but here I think I have a reasonable effort.







Thursday, 5 February 2015

The Birds

The recent snow has meant a daily top up of the feeding station for the garden birds. We dont get anything exotic but have a good number of Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Blue Tit, Cole Tit and Robins. Apart from the ornithological need to keep the numbers up the feeding station is set up to give me picture making opportunities without too much effort. Birds that use feeders seldom fly straight in and land onto the feeder. They prefer to land on something close by (about a metre away), sit, have a look around (there are Sparrowhawks in the area and will take any of these for a meal of their own), wait their turn if its busy and then eat. By placing suitable perches close to the feeders, it is at these you get the photographs. Photographing a bird on the feeder is a waste of time as they have little use, commercially or ornithologically. The perch (only use one) is a branch found locally and screwed to a post. I have changed it from time to time but for now it is set at an angle of about 30 degrees to produce a bit more shape to the composition. The feeding station is set about 7.5m from the door to my office and editing room. 7.5m is not a random distance, it is just outside the minimum focusing distance of my 500mm lens, therefore filling as much of the frame as I can. Shooting this close does have a draw back, the 500mm at f4 has a very shallow depth of field and even a small bird is too wide to fit in the focus area. This has to be overcome by going to f8, which together with the need for a shutter speed of at least 1/250 sec (small birds move very quickly) means shooting in good light at a low ISO, upping the ISO or adding some artificial light. Before looking at lighting and ISO etc there is still the issue of getting a frame filling image. I have a 1.4x and 1.7x teleconverter, both of which bring me closer but the loss of either 1 or 2 stops of light has its disadvantages. The problem was solved by moving to a 36MP camera. The Nikon D800 allows me to shoot at full frame and there is plenty of pixels for a closer crop. A 1.5x crop still leaving me with 24MP. In addition being able to see more than you will use allows me to see outside the frame and move the lens to aim and compose, similar to using a range finder. Daylight fill in flash is not possible with a normal studio flash, well any that need you to use a normal flash sync speed (1/125 sec) as this is too slow. Useing the Nikon SB800 flash is one solution. It can be set up away from the camera and fired remotely and performs at much higher sync speeds. It needs to be used with a diffuser and on manual and around 1/16 power to fill in the shadows and make a highlight in the eyes. This works up to a point. The flash going off does seem to spook them, so it isnt used anymore. The current set up is continuous light. It is a 150w Halfords garage/workshop floodlight mounted on a standard studio light stand (little bit of engineering needed) and fitted with barn doors. The barn doors dont really mask any light as they would normally, but it conceals the light source and doesnt put off the birds from coming close. It is all black and is positioned about 2.5m from the perch, at camera height and just to the right of the subject. It is obviously not daylight balanced but that doesnt concern me. On the image below with the snow I did have to whiten it in Selective Colour Adjustment but that is all part of the post process anyway. The doorway into the office is covered with camouflage netting, a hole cut into it for the lens to protrude through, the camera and lens are on a tripod with a gimbal. I sit on a comfy office chair and wait. After working on the set up outside it will take about 20 - 30 mins for the birds to return as they are very suspicious of change. Camera settings are set to M, shutter speed 1/250 sec, aperture f8 and auto ISO. The speed and DOF far more important than ISO. Clearly the lower the ISO the better but up to 1000 ISO is perfectly OK. The metering is set to centre weighted and the auto focus is set to 5 point continuous. I prefer to use the electronic cable release rather than the button release, preferring not to have to hold the camera all the time ready for a frame. OK, I know none of this is conceptual art photography and in the time it has taken to set all this up I could have made fifty street images and talked about Robert Frank, but none the less it is image making and it is therefore worthwhile. 


Use of additional perch. The ubiquitous garden tool handle which works well but really needs snow for the perfect Christmas card image.


The normal perch, made to recreate a natural setting look. The light from the RHS producing just enough fill. On the web the background is a bit too dark.

Tuesday, 23 December 2014

Cumbria - November 2014

A five night stay in Cumbria during November was a pleasant break from the normal routine and while no photography was planned there was the inevitable bag of cameras making the trip.
It is easy to fall into the Lake District trap and get carried away with the magnificence of the place (remember I live in Norfolk) but that is now behind me and while I am happy to watch light chase across the fells I don't feel the need to try and capture the grand vista with a 5x4 as I did in the past, but did find time for one at dusk. When walking I tend to look for some detail or think of Fay Godwin and her fascination with the enclosure and access. However the following images are not forming part of the module but I include them purely as a note. All here are with the Leica MM and 35mm or 75mm lens.







Friday, 28 March 2014

Off on a Tangent

I am finding it difficult to concentrate on the exercises at the moment. I know the reasons but only time will change my attitude towards them, so in the meantime I am happy to sit and take a few Springtime bird shots. On issues of layout and placing the images on a page I am still trying to determine the need for a white border for colour photographs. Maybe these two will help me see the issues and gain an outcome.


Goldfinch - D800 with 500 f4 and 1.4TC

Greenfinch - D800 500 f4 with 1.4TC
 
Robin - D800 500 f4