CameraTalk » photography

Bali High

Kenny Smith — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 11:20:41 +0000

I just got back from a trip to Bali. Most of us have been there, many more than once. Everytime I go I’m blown away by the hospitality of the people and how hard they work to make a living and support their families. Sure things aren’t perfect, but nothing is. I saw something that I thought was really cool. I paddled out in the surf one day and it was not by any means small, in fact it was pumping. Out in the line up were 2 local ladies on old shortboards, looked in their mid to late thirties, dressed modestly in shorts and long t-shirts, pretty much fully clothed. No roxy girl wear or billabong bikinis. They were laughing together and paddling for waves and having a blast, much like the social mum surfers I see where I live who meet on their longboards and catch up. They actually couldn’t surf yet and were going over the falls, yet just kept hooting each other on and laughing and paddling back out. Awesome! Oh yeah, I took some pics too

In: Series – Emily R

Kenny Smith — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 11:53:04 +0000

Worked with model Emily updating her portfolio. In this shoot we really went for lively natural poses, and focused on the overall colour palette.
Emily naturally has a real outgoing personality and turned out to be real athletic. I don’t know many models would just do a handstand on a whim, but it went real well with what we were doing.
Styling, hair and Make Up by Mel Grafton.
View the whole series

Tech Info: Canon 1Ds MkIII, 17 – 40mmL, 50mm 1.4, 20mm 2.8, Available light and a large reflector

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www.kennysmithphotography.com

For Art’s Sake

Peter Ching — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:32:21 +0000

Photography now is more accessible than parking in the city.

Far more numerous are the reasons people choose to create images with a camera. Photographs are captured for personal motives, obviously, but also for commercial, archival, forensic, and a great many other purposes.

Such diversity might seem to suggest that photography has no place in hallowed institutions devoted to Art. Alongside sculpture or painting, or compared to a symphony or choreographed dance work, it may appear that photography is a lightweight, especially with regard to the effort, inspiration, and even genious required to breathe life forever into stone, paint, strings and stage.

Yet when you view the seminal works of photographers such as Eugène Atget, Man Ray, Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Ansell Adams, et al, you’d need heavyweight blinkers to fail to see the art.

Among the discussions here on this site, is some parrying as to whether gear or technique is responsible for better photographs. An argument then needs to be voiced for the sake of art.

A well conceived photograph will likely reveal its inherent artistic value to any person, with a degree of visual literacy, who sits with it for a time. As with all art, this experience is subjective.

Some say Picasso is a genius. Others say he is an ass. Undeniable is his capacity to produce something beyond technique and materials.

The same capacity to transcend technique and equipment is true for your photography.

You may not have the best technique or equipment but you do have the potential to express yourself. It will need to be done with more delicate intent than parking your car in the only remaining car spot in town, but it only takes the press of a button.

What’s Wrong With This Picture?

Peter Ching — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 06:38:58 +0000

Welcome to the intergalactic nether world of Critico, where everyone is convinced they are an expert. Truth is all Critizens are reluctant wannabes. None are capable of reaching for the stars. But every last one of them can critique.

We recently interrupted a Critican post mortem of the ouvré of a now unfashionable Al Pacino, to place a series of fine photographs in front of a panel of Critics. They did what they did. They ripped ’em to shreds.

This photograph, while a respectful homage to Cartier-Bresson, failed to evoke the authority of the French master of photo-journalistic chiaroscuro; and that photo, a painterly rendition of fading afternoon light, brought itself undone thanks to an overly ambitious expectation of ISO performance by the photographer.

Lack of sharpness. Saturation slips. Blown highlights. Every glitch was noted and every look askance.

Well guess what? We’re departing planet Criticism and leaving it to huff and puff in its own grandiosity, to stew in its own bile.

Back here on Earth, a different reality applies. Thankfully.

Here, photographs can be judged or appreciated through eyes, minds and hearts that open in preference to closing.

So, if you own a camera, take a long look through your viewfinder and take shots like only you can. No one else sees things quite the same way. Guaranteed. And curiosity will be enough to get you an audience.

Your camera can be used to capture a moment, render a feeling, create a mystery, pay a tribute, send a message, the list is endless. The more photos you take, the better you get at taking photos.

And there are no rules. Well almost none. Just that if you’re going to cut heads or feet off, try not do so unintentionally.

Storytelling, In:Series

Kenny Smith — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:29:09 +0000

As I eluded to in a previous post, Mike our web guy here at KSP and I have been working on ways to get out the work for your enjoyment beyond delivering our commercial product to our clients.

They say that great photographers need to be great storytellers, and often out of all the frames I’ll shoot, only one or two will have a life beyond sitting on a disk drive.

In order to storytell a bit more, and share some of these images with you, we’ve built a new page on the KSP website, called “In:Series“. This page will contain picture tales narrated by imagery which, when you look at it altogether, tells a certain story that I hope you will find interesting.

You can view the new In:Series page here.

This first Series is set on the East side of the island of Oahu in Hawaii, where I stayed as a guest of my friend Debbie, her husband Ivan, and their 2 boys Christian and Allen when I was over there in January.

You can view my blog post with more pics from Hawaii here.

Singapore to Vietnam to Thailand… a Journey

Alex Harrison — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 06:30:47 +0000

I have recently returned from a month long journey into Singapore then Vietnam then Thailand.

Over the coming blogs, I will share with you my experiences and lessons. This will be much more a travel blog than photographic but I trust you will still enjoy the journey as much as I did.

My journey (along with my son who turned 14 that day, my daughter who is looking forward to visiting clubs in Australia once she reaches 18 in a month’s time, and my Darling who had been wishing to visit Vietnam for years) began on 24th December 2009, when I left Brisbane bound for Singapore.

We spent 2 days in Singapore, celebrating Christmas Day and Boxing Day, before jetting off to Saigon aka Ho Chi Minh City for 5 (very long) days. Then we flew to Da Nang for about a week in Hoi An. Then a treacherous taxi ride north to Hue for a short 2 day stop. Then (I am getting tired just recalling this… imagine being there) we flew north to the welcoming cooler climate of Ha Noi. Three days on Halong Bay, following 2-3 days in Sapa (very close to the Chinese border) which was blanketted in clouds, could have easily been dragged from 1540 into 2010 in one step. Then off to Phuket in Thailand for 5 days in the sun with a million of so Kazakhstanians… and that, my friends, is another story

I hope you will share your experiences and enjoy my story.

Creating Memories for Yourself

Janaka Rodrigue — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 11:03:21 +0000

Why do we take photographs?

I found myself contemplating this question while driving home from where I work (of all places, a camera store).

In the past few years, the photographs I’ve taken have not really been for myself, rather they’ve been for other people — models, businesses, advertisers, product manufacturers, fashion designers and so on.

While I’ve certainly enjoyed the broad scope of subjects and the multi-faceted skill set that has resulted from capturing such images, it’s a far cry from the reason I originally picked up a camera.

I want this to change.

Why do I take photographs?

I take photographs because I can.

I want to capture a sliver of the human experience visually. To record what it’s like to be there in that one tiny moment of existence. To have a record of the sight, sound, smell, feel, and emotional response of that impossibly short, fleeting moment when everything is absolute… when time stops and you no longer wonder about the meaning of life.

The photograph is taken to capture something that is inside me during that brief moment and share it with others. Or perhaps keep for myself. It is an attempt at creating a negative of the spirit — a picture of that which we cannot understand within ourselves.

For me, this year is going to be about capturing memories for myself — whether it be the floating dandelion flower blossom that lands to rest beside me as I lay in my forested haven, or the warmth in the smile of a friend, the raindrops trailing paths down my car window as I wait by the side of the road just enjoying the ambience.

From tomorrow onwards, I will — like many others have done and are currently doing — begin the project for myself of capturing one photo a day for a year… purely for myself.

I trust that this will renew my passion for creating memories for myself and, of course, improve my technical and creative photographic skills.

This is a journey of discovery and one I will travel despite not yet knowing where it will lead. Still, I follow with my camera.

Signing off,

Janaka

What Really Matters in Photography

Gabriela Sousa Rocha — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 05:40:36 +0000

Many may disagree but when it comes to photographic equipment, the thing that matters above all else is the quality of the images it produces.

I hear concerns about the noise produced by the lens focusing system. I hear people worried about the physical weight of a camera or lens. And I hear concerns about how easy it might be to operate a particular camera.

The last thing I’m concerned about is the noise a lens makes when it focuses. Lenses are made to take photos, not to play music. Some lenses have no USM (ultra-sonic motor) yet take beautiful pictures. To me that’s what really matters in photography.

Good glass takes good pictures. But good glass is usually big and heavy.

I know how comfortable and appealing having a tiny camera with lenses that take great pics but are light as a feather. It’s not realistic though.

Last but not least, the easier the camera is to operate, the more automatic it is and the less input you have. Photography is an art and, for you to fully express yourself, you need to bring your point of view across. If the camera does the thinking for you, you are merely translating the camera’s point of view.

If your true desire is to pursue and reap the rewards of photography, keep in mind what’s really important: quality images.