foto Priority

Daniel Linnet - the Ballerina, Marquee

What started out as a simple sketch from a set and costume designer and very good friend of Daniels, James Browne, turned into and epic 18 hour shoot with a cast of thousands, a very talented creative team, months of pre-production and planning all followed by many hours editing and post-production.

We often joke that this series of images is like the gift that keeps on giving for Daniel, but in fact there is truth to that statement. Daniel has sold many prints, and more recently they were shortlisted for the London International Creative Awards.

Recently better photoshop magazine ran a story on the creation of Marquee where Daniel explains the thought and creative process behind the shoot, from behinning to end!

Jose Fernandez

DOWNLOAD THE STORY

Original Sketch by James Browne

"Che Guevara" - ©RENÉ BURRI

“One of these days, I’m going to publish a book of all the pictures I did not take. It is going to be a huge hit.” – RENÉ BURRI

René Burri Photographs

Before you capture that exact moment, remember to take the lens cap off!

In the creative field, a little bit of humour goes a long way. Below is a link to 78 Photography rules for complete idiots with a hidden meaning of lets not take ourselves too seriously!

78 Photography Rules

These “rules” were originally created by created by latvian photographer Ivars Gravlejs, check out his funny yet quirky website

"Kate Moss" - © Irving Penn

“I myself have always stood in the awe of the camera. I recognize it for the instrument it is, part Stradivarius, part scalpel” – Irving Penn

Washington Post Tribute – Irving Penn Dead at 92

A few weeks ago we posted a story about the EOS Photo5 competition , by now those of you who registered should have received your little brown box and your mind is working overtime trying to come up with the winning image.

Well, meet Simon Harsent, Simon is one of the 5 judges chosen for this years EOS Photo5 competition.

With more awards than you can poke a stick at and a client list longer than a 600 f4, Simon discusses what keeps him inspired and who are his personal inspirations. He also shares some valuable hints and tips to set you on your way to create that winning image.

Simon’s work can be viewed at http://www.simonharsent.com/

With a prize pool of USD$88,000, $23,000USD of which is for the Amateur Section, this contest might just live up to it’s claim of being “the world’s most prestigious international online photography competition”. Although prestige isn’t purely measured by prize money, the quality of the 2008 entries and the calibre of the judging panel definitely make this one worth a look.

The entry fees are a little bit steep at $39USD per image for the Open, and $9USD for the Amateur so make sure you chose your entries VERY carefully.

Interesting to note that the 2008 Awards were dominated by Australian photographers. Have a look at the images here.

Open Categories:
People and Portrait
Sport
Landscape
Science and Nature
Commercial, Advertising & Fashion
Abstract/Illustrative
Photo Journalism
Wedding

Amateur Categories:
People and Portrait
Landscape
Abstract/Illustrative

Enter the Awards at – http://www.internationalapertureawards.com/

Susan Sontag 1962

“Standing alone, photographs promise an understanding they can not deliver. In the company of words, they take on meaning, but they slough off one meaning and take on another with alarming ease.” – Susan Sontag

Susan Sontag Foundation

Melt - ©Simon Harsent

Simon Harsent has won numerous national and international advertising awards including Cannes Lions, One Show, Clio, D&AD, London International, and Australia’s first Cannes Grand Prix.

As one of the world’s most awarded photographers Simons’s work has also been featured in many national and international publications and is also included in the permanent collection at the Queensland Art Gallery and the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney. Simon was awarded Photographer of the year in 2008 at the Hall of Fame Awards in Singapore for his work on Levis.

In 2009 Simon completed his latest project Melt: Portrait of an iceberg, a study of Icebergs photographed off the coasts of both Newfoundland and Greenland.

Melt media release

“This portfolio begins with images of the massive icebergs as they enter Greenland’s Disco Bay from the Ilulissat Icefjord; it ends with the icebergs off the East Coast of Newfoundland, by which time they have travelled hundreds of miles, and have been so battered and broken down that they are little more than ghosts of what they once were” – Simon Harsent

I found his iceberg images absolutely amazing, the light, textures and sheer size of them are mind blowing.

Simons personal website
Portrait of an iceberg

By Jose Fernandez

"The Damm Family in their Car, Los Angles, California 1987" - ©Mary Ellen Mark

“Everyone asks me how I get my subjects to open up to me. There’s no formula to it. It’s just a matter of who you are and how you talk to people – of being yourself. Your subjects will trust you only if you’re confident about what you’re doing. They can sense that immediately. I’m really bothered by photographers who first approach a subject without a camera, try to establish a personal realationship, and only then get out their cameras. It’s deceptive. I think you should just show up with a camera, to make your intentions clear. People will either accept you or they won’t. – Mary Ellen Mark – “American Photo”, September/October 1998

MaryEllenMark.com

daniel linnet, Photography, Color image, Horizontal, Indoors, Portrait, Torso, Head and Shoulders, One Person, 24 - 35 years, front view, One Bushman, Single Shearer, Farmer, Shearers, Old Polo Shirt, Clippers, Shearing Shed, outback australia, rural, Hand on Hip, Rural Scene, agriculture, Cowra, Wool

I hate keywording my images! In fact, one of the main reasons I haven’t been a regular contributor to an image library all these years is the amount of time it takes to consistently and  accurately describe each image in a manner that would make it easily searchable to potential image buyers. Yes, believe it or not, acurate keywording is indeed an art form, all be it a time consuming one.

If at any time now, or in the future you might be looking at having a crack at earning a few extra dollars from the stock photo market, brushing up on those descriptive terms might be a good idea.

Here are a few links to point you in the right direction.

Liisa Kaakinen is a keyword trainer and cosultant who has a really cool Keyword Test on her site, keywordtrainer.com. It’s a great way to get a start on how to properly keyword your images.

Alternately, if you’re not up for the challenge and need a touch of extra assistance, Imense Annotator can help you out for US$145 p/year.

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1. What is good keywording? – In order for images to be found, sold and used they should be easy to retrieve and logically accessible from as many needs and perspectives as possible. Good keywording characterizes broad as well as specific descriptions of the image without being speculative or too detailed.

2. What is a good caption? – For commercial and creative imagery captions should be concise, literal and accurate. Concentrate on the main message and elements and avoid describing the entire contents. For editorial images captions can be longer; the classic rule of thumb for journalistic images is ‘Who, What, Why, When, Where and How’. Captions for fine art images normally include the name of the artist, work title, year of creation and material.

Reproduced from the Imense Anotator site.

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To access the image Metadata just open the file in any image editor or RAW converter  and head staright for the properties, info or metadata tabs. Here are a few links to help out.

“Working with Metadata in Lightroom” – Martin Evening

“Editing Metadata – Adobe Bridge”

“Modifying Metadata & Keywording in CS4″ – Chris Orwig

“Photoshop CS – use Metadata to identify images” – PC Today

“How to Edit Metadata in Aperture 2″ – Video

EXIF, IPTC, XMP Software – Metadata Readers, Editors, Extraction Tools

Feel free to add your useful links as comments to any of our posts.

Happy annotating!

Daniel Linnet