20 Jul Being An Upright Photographer
Last year I had a chance to see an exhibition of photographs prints that had been taken in and around the City of Perth. We might not necessarily think of our town as an exotic place for photos...
July 2016
19 Jul The Bargain Harman For the Prudent Printer
Normally when I receive goods into my studio for illustration I finish taking the pictures and then carefully repackage them for return to the shop. In the case of this box of Harman Crystaljet Lustre RC paper I might just pay them for it and keep it for the production room. It is that good.I have used a number of Harman papers before - including a box of this type some time ago-and I am impressed with the way the surface takes the ink and with the fidelity that it has to my screen.I know the colour management and printing experts scoff at this and say that I should be able to minutely adjust the computer, screen, printer, paper, and ink with scientific formulae and careful measurements so that I could get an award-winning panorama on toilet paper. I must put in the hard yards - when the going gets tough the tough get going - and a calibration in time saves nine. Rah rah. I just want to poke a piece of paper in the Epson R3000 and get...
18 Jul Photo Live Expo 2016 – Cats And Dogs And Alex
Someone reading this column somewhere has a bag at home full of venomous snakes, hungry crocodiles, and angry grizzly bears. And they want a pet portrait done. This is the daily nightmare for Alex Cearns of Houndstooth Studio who must experience a nervous tremor every time the studio phone rings.Be kind to her. Give her a Sunday off when she can come and talk about the photography she loves to do to an appreciative audience. Come and buy a ticket for her Photo Talk at the Photo Live Expo 2016 on the 24th of July.It will be at the Novotel Perth Langley Hotel between 10:00 and 5:00 and you would be best to go to the Photo Live website to book ahead for a ticket - it'll be cheaper than trying to buy one on the day and you'll be sure of a seat.Alex is an award-winning shooter of a subjects that either melt your heart or fasten their teeth into your thumb. If anyone in Perth knows how to take pictures of fur, fins, scales, or feathers while they...
15 Jul Sticking Together Through Thick And Thin – The Photo Glue Saga
One of the first important responsibilities we encountered as children in kindergarten was the glue pot.No matter whether you found it in Europe, Britain, Canada, or Australia, it was the same thing - a big glass jar filled with something gelatinous and stoppered with a lid that never fit. Frequently there was a brush thrust through the lid. It was sticky on the inside and sticky on the inside and exuded an odour of strange chemistry.We all tried to eat it at some stage of the game. Wise schools invested in non-poisonous types...
14 Jul The Macro Secret – And Everyone Can Afford One
A quick whirl through the internet with the word "macro" in the search will turn up a bewildering variety of equipment and advice. There is science, art, alchemy, and obfuscation in about equal measures. And yet it can all be so simple.In my weekly review of the warehouse I lit upon a number of Olympus Stylus cameras that were stacked on a shelf. I think they might be trade demo models. They are certainly inexpensive...
13 Jul Photo Live Expo 2016 – The Flight Of The Drones
Love 'em, hate 'em, or sell 'em, the subject of the drones and aerial photography in general cannot be ignored in today's imaging world. Anyone who has seen television or the cinema recently has seen the work of the photo drone and some photographers have become inspired by them.The Speaker Session between 11:30 and 12:00 at the Photo Live Expo 2016 will be on the subject of drones and aerial photography by Christopher Fulham - who is eminently qualified to speak about it - He is a licensed CASA UAV pilot. UAV is the fancy name for drones - he can legally fly in the 7-20 Kg class.A great deal of confusion surrounds these useful tools - we hear no end of rumours and mate's talk at the pub about the legalities and complexities of the UAV. It's not helped by the fact that there are political and military questions too...
12 Jul Don’t Swat the Spyder – He’s Your Best Studio Friend
Your normal reaction to a large Spyder may be to reach for a swim fin or flame thrower, but we would like to break you of the habit. Not only will you be a better friend of the environment, but you'll get better pictures as well. Miss Muffett - invite the Spyder Cube to sit down beside you.The grey card is one of the most useful of devices to judge accurate exposure with. No matter how much confidence we have in the software of our camera, there are times when it can be fooled and we need to be able to correct its errors. If we use a grey card we can find the 18% reflectance point that gives our meter the best chance of an even exposure.If we also have access to a pure black tone and a pure white tone in our image we can tell our computer exactly how far to go for the image that it alters.Finally, for the ultimate of contrast control, we look for the ultimate specular highlight and absolute shadow. But frequently in...
11 Jul Photo Live Expo 2016 – Wedding Bells Are Ringing
So who doesn't love a wedding? The spiritual experience - the colour - the romance and spectacle - the family connections - the buffet table...
09 Jul Fujifilm Week Day Five And A Little Bit – The Internet Unveiling Unveiled
I'm not even sure if I am supposed to post this but I am going to go ahead on the reasonable assumption that the people who read it are reasonable people - reasonable in the legal sense...
08 Jul Fujifilm Week Day Five – The X-70
I was nearly going to entitle that The Fellow Traveller, but something about the phrase seems wrong - perhaps I'll settle for the Little Traveller...