foto Priority

Salvador Dali A - Philippe Halsman

“The head of the photographer is more important than his camera” – Phillipe Halsman

Halsman on Wilkipedia

Review by Chris Belyea

Now I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not entirely comfortable with taking the prospect of taking images of people, and my skill set in this area extended to the typical ‘ … stand there, look at the camera and smile .. ‘

Hardly inspiring stuff, so what do you usually do when you want to improve at something … you seek out talented, knowledgeable and experienced people to show you how !

Cruising the internet you’ll come across a variety of professional photographers offering a bewildering array of Workshops and courses, but one that really stood out was Sydney Photographic Workshops People Photography Workshop … a full day workshop … just what I was looking for !

I’d met Daniel Linnet before at the Shots @ The Arthouse workshops so I knew I was in good hands.

Right from the outset, I knew this was a professionally run course, from the booking confirmation form through to the reminder a few days prior to the Workshop. Everything was planned for and taken care of, I knew what I needed to bring, what we‘d be doing and how the day was planned.

Upon arrival we’re greeted by Wendy (Daniel’s wife) and the mood is relaxed and friendly and Wendy has this knack for remembering everyone’s name … all the time !

After we’re all seated comfortably, Daniel briefs us on how the day is planned … a morning shoot at a boxing gym and an afternoon shoot at an outdoor location. Bring it on !

The Morning Shoot

Within 5 minutes of arriving at our location, you quickly realise that Daniel and Wendy make a great team, and its so totally seamless in the way in which they operate … Daniel leads from the front, knows his stuff and explains things in a manner in which you can understand. Nothing is ever too much trouble, no question ever too stupid. Wendy is always in the background making sure that everything’s under control … she’s just ‘there’ … handing out drinks and snacks through to making sure everyone keeps their elbows in check.

During the morning session, Daniel carefully explains what we need to look for, what to consider and how to go about it.

All the basics are covered, but the finer details, all drawn from Daniel’s experience, are generously shared and I’m starting to feel a lot more comfortable in directing our model to get the shot I’m seeing in my mind. It still feels uncomfortable, but its getting there.

Just a small point worth noting is that SPW (Sydney Photographic Workshops) use professional models and believe me, this sort of attention to detail makes a huge difference, as well as the fact that they also have another professional photographer there, and Ben was simply fantastic in this regard

Everybody is well looked after and we all get ample time and opportunity to shoot

After around 3 solid hours of shooting we head back to the SPW studio for what was described as a ‘sumptuous lunch’.

Trust me, they’re underplaying what was a relaxed and beautifully prepared lunch for all 9 of us … again, it’s the attention to detail that make a huge difference

The Afternoon Shoot

Its back on the bus to our outdoor location and admittedly, the morning shoot had been one for the girls, but this was now the boys turn

Again, another superb professional model, beautifully made up and so totally professional and at ease … nothing was ever too much trouble (just like the morning)

With an entirely different set of conditions to contend with, Daniel is quickly into his stride and once again, the combination of Daniel, Wendy and Ben were all working to make the shoot so effortless.

Just a word to the wise … never underestimate the power of a simple ‘point & shoot’ camera in Wendy’s capable hands.

Towards the end of the day, Daniel shows us all how to create ‘day for night’ technique … but you’ll have to attend yourself to find out !

During the course of the day I found myself becoming more and more comfortable with directing our models until in the end, it felt ‘almost’ natural. I don’t think I’m quite ready to give up my day job, but at least I now know, more importantly, what NOT to do !

Mission accomplished !

As with some things, quite often the difference between what is advertised or promised and what is actually delivered can be disappointing.

Not so here !

If I’m honest, I’ll admit to slightly baulking at paying $395, but given my research on other workshops it seemed quite reasonable, that is until you experience it first hand and then you totally appreciate what stupendous value it really is.

From first hand experience, what SPW advertised they delivered, and much much more

• Multi award winning Master Photographer
• Photographer’s Assistant
• A professional and friendly fashion / beauty model
• A professional actor / character model
• A Host & Stylist
• Tutorial & objective brief for the days shoots
• Light refreshments throughout the day (includes water, tea, coffee, juice & snacks)
• Sumptuous lunch
• Final review
• Lighting & reflectors where required
• Location fees
• Studio equipment
• Transport van
• Wardrobe & costumes
• SPW Student Discount Card offering discounts from a variety of retailers and preferred suppliers
• Registration and on-going support via our Student Forum

Daniel made what I thought was a brave statement at the beginning of the workshop that we’d definitely come away with maybe 5 or 6 shots that we’d be really proud of.

He was right !

For more information and booking details please visit Sydney Photo Workshops.

'Longmont, Colorado' - Robert Adams

“No place is boring, If you have had a good night sleep and have a pocket full of unexposed film” – Robert Adams

Robert Adams on Wilkipedia

IPA 2009 Finalists from Lucie Foundation on Vimeo.

The International Photography Awards website is also definitely worth a look,…… but only if you’re interested in seeing some of the best photography the world has to offer!

Congratulations to Andeas Smetana (Aus) for taking out the Advertising Pro category!

Migrant - Dorothea Lange

“Put your camera around your neck along with putting on your shoes, and there it is, an appendage of the body that shares your life with you.” – Dorothea Lange

more on Dorothea Lange

For a long  long time I’ve scribbled ideas and thoughts in my trusty Moleskine, even going as far as numbering the pages and keeping an ‘index of ideas’ on the inside back page. These days however, my iPhone is my new Moleskine, but it wasn’t really until a very good friend introduced me to Evernote did I realise it’s true potential in the creative field.

If you have truly caught the photography bug (some call it a disease), then throughout the day you might get a constant flow of ideas and thoughts about your creative passion. Because my ideas always happened in such a spontaneous manner, usually triggered by my surroundings at the time, I always found that by the end of the day, unless I recorded them immediately, I would only retain only 50% or less.

I needed a way to harness my creative process! So, I went out and bought myself a Moleskine notebook which, with it’s practical design and arty history almost coaxed you to use it……, plus it was the perfect size to fit in my jacket pocket right next to my nerdy pen holder and ink stain.

I felt liberated! Now I was able to scribble my thoughts and observations at will yet still having them all in the same place, always available for further reference, and even indexed for speedy retrieval. The hardcover little black book was not to leave my side for many years.

My Evernote Desktop

I still have the original notebooks full of ideas and inspirations although these days they’re quietly sitting on my desk in a neat pile awaiting their eventual transfer into Evernote. I haven’t given up using them just yet but certainly feel that their days are very much numbered. Working in such a visually intensive field I realised that I wanted to be able to do more than just writing or sketching down my thoughts.

The first thing that jumped out at me about Evernote was the fact that it was a cross platform application. I could install it on all the studio Mac’s and the last remaining PC and keep everything syncronized and accessible from every part of the studio.

The next big plus for me was that Evernote also came complete with a native iPhone App ‘Evernote’ for my shiny new 3G, as well as apps for Palm and Blackberry users…… and things just got better! All the devices stay syncronized via a FREE Evernote account which also acts as your storage portal for all your clippings, so no matter where you are, you can log in to your account and view any of your clippings at any time from any internet browser.

Now I can, and regularly do,  grab a quick snap shot of a potential location (complete with it’s GPS coordinates) I might stumble across, jot down an idea, record a voice memo or clip a web page and then have it almost instantly appear on all my machines and devises, then as I continue my research on the web I can clip the pages along with their URL’s straight into their respective job folders using the browser clipping plugin.

To keep things organised I normally create an individual folder for each job, project or subject, and a default ‘go to’ folder for miscelaneous clippings to be filed at a later date. The ability to keep ALL the information for each project in the one place has proved invaluable in shoot preparation and execution, especially when I’m away on location. It has also come in handy for everything from buying a car, to preparing the grocery list and compiling ideas and information for Foto Priority.

The whole Evernote experience is very organic which takes no time to master, and yes, it’s definitely VERY complementary to the creative process. Best of all, to get going costs you nothing, although you do need to set up an account which gives you plenty of clipping room. The Palm, Blackberry & iPhone apps are also free.

Once you start using it for remembering almost everything, upgrading to Premium gives you a much bigger upload capacity, supports more file types, and offers enhanced security. Plus, you get PDF searching, faster image recognition, and no ads.  That will set you back US$45.00 p/year which, based on how much I use it, is very fair indeed. Happy clipping!!

Evernote Home

Evernote iPhone

by Daniel Linnet

The Photojournalist - Andreas Feininger

” No one can do inspired work without genuine interest in his subject and understanding of it’s characteristics” – Andreas Feininger

Andreas Feininger Photographs

Hand in Hand, Brooklyn Bridge - Norman Parkinson

“The only thing that gets in the way of a good photograph, is the camera” – Norman Parkinson

Norman Parkinson Archive

Chris Belyea has kindly agreed to become regular contributor to our “tripod holes around Sydney” category. We’d say looking at Chris’s photos on flickr he is certainly qualified to give everyone a “how to” guide for getting those awesome landscape and seascape images he has been producing lately. Keep reading below to find out how to get “that shot” at Mona Vale Tidal Pool.

If you live on Sydney’s north side, or are looking for something different to shoot at sunrise, I would suggest that you take a look at Mona Vale pool as there’s plenty there to inspire you as well as keep you occupied, and if you strike it ‘just right’ (more on that later) more than likely you’ll be rewarded with some great images to take away

Just a word of caution … I’m only an amateur photographer, who still has a lot to learn, and the information I’m offering is based on my experiences, and I’m sure that there will be plenty of better ways to do this, but we all have to start somewhere and hopefully this might help an aspiring photographer

OK, now back to the action !

There is a huge variety of shapes and textures at the pool, and as it sits at the end of a rock shelf, at low tides the background, depending on where you’re shooting from, can be as interesting as the foreground.

The simple geometric lines of the pool, and the wonderful stainless steel railings and chains, offer a huge variety of compositional possibilities.

Aside from the main pool itself there’s also some great shots to be had of the pool steps, the ramp leading to the smaller play pool and the wonderfully rusted valves on each pool

Mona Vale Tidal Pool - Chris Belyea

About this shot

Canon EOS 5D Mk II, ISO100, f/11 at ½ s, Av mode, -1/3EV, Evaluative metering

Manfrotto tripod, mirror lockup, cable release

EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24 mm

I set up on the steps of the pool making sure that I had everything level and then focused on the 4^th railing from the right at the far end of the pool and selected f/11 to get as much of the texture in the foreground in sharp focus. This also made sure that I was shooting through the axis of the lens so as to avoid and weird distortions.

As the lighting was fairly ‘even’ (nothing too bright or dark) I went for Evaluative metering and deliberately underexposed by -1/3EV to gain a little more contrast. Admittedly, I can get away with this with the 5D Mk II’s low noise and light ability, however the results with other setups may vary

Bearing in mind that the 5D Mk II is a full frame camera, to get this angle/perspective with a crop camera you’ll need to have a wide angle lens of around say 10 – 15 mm. Canon shooters with the EF-S 18-55 lens should be OK and I’m presuming Nikon has a similar lens in this range

The RAW files was processed in Lightroom to get the basic image to where I wanted it, and then used Nik Software plugins in Photoshop to finish things off

Things to Consider

1. As with most Sydney beaches, the pool is illuminated by a set of sodium vapour lamps which will play havoc with your white balance, so the easiest solution is to set your camera’s white balance to Auto (I know some will certainly disagree with this) and take a test shot with an 18% grey target (I use a WhiBal) making sure that the pool lights fall on the card. It’s then a simple matter to adjust your white balance in Lightroom (or Photoshop, or Aperture)
2. Don’t even think of shooting here in anything but RAW as you’ll have no chance of getting rid of the orange glow cast by the sodium lamps
3. The lights are on a time clock and appear to shut off at around 6:00 am
4. The pool is very popular with early morning swimmers, so as the saying goes ‘ … the early bird …’ however I’ve always found them to be extremely friendly and more than happy to chat
5. Tides and wind direction can play a big part in how the pool ‘looks’ and behaves. At low tides, the rock shelf is exposed and the surface of the pool takes on a fantastic glassy look which is great at sunrise. At higher tides there will quite possibly be waves crashing into the pool, both situations offer great possibilities
6. Whilst Mona Vale is not typically a ‘big surf’ beach, you obviously need to be aware of the conditions around you … cameras and salt water are usually not a good combination

Equipment

The pool faces due east so at sunrise you will be shooting directly at the sun so graduated neutral density filters can help if its particularly bright.

Needless to say, a tripod is essential as the shutter speeds can get rather low, and I’d suggest you get familiar with how to put your camera into Mirror Lockup if that facility is available.

A remote shutter release is also a great asset, however if you don’t have one, simply put your camera into self timer mode

As you’ll be shooting in a less than kind environment, some microfiber cloths are a good idea to clean your gear off with when you get back to the car

Best Time to Shoot

I’ve found the best time to shoot is definitely pre dawn and sunrise, however mid winter during the day, if you’re lucky enough to score of those magical crisp, clean and cloudless days also offers up a few possibilities

The best time to shoot is definitely at ‘first light’, typically about 30 minutes before sunrise as this allows you to set up and assess what’s happening with the pool, the sky etc

How to get there

Mona Vale pool isn’t that difficult to find, and there’s usually plenty of parking.

Make your way along Barrenjoey Road, turn into Darley Street and then into Surfview Road. Park at the northern end of the car park and then make your way towards the beach.

Google ‘Apex Park, Mona Vale’ and that will take you where you need to be

If you’re planning a sunrise shoot, you can’t miss the pool as its illuminated by those wonderful sodium vapour lamps

Have fun !

more of Chris Belyea’s work

Andreas Gursky

“Vision is an intelligent form of thought” – Andreas Gursky

more Gursky