A Call for Entries from Ohio Filmakers
Posted on February 6, 2009 - Filed Under Culture, Photo | Leave a Comment
Are you a filmmaker in the great state of Ohio? Worked on a film with some friends and are interesting in seeing how it does in a theatrical setting? Just want to get your work on screen in front of a large audience? If you answered 'yes' to any of the above questions, then The Wexner Center has the perfect event and showcase for you.
The Wexner Center for the Arts, one of central Ohio’s only art institutes, is looking for entries for its 14th annual Ohio Short Film and Video Showcase (full details here). The event is designed to showcase Ohio’s independent media artists and it gives them a chance to shine in front of an audience. Only thirteen films were shown last year and they are hoping for many more this year. I strongly suggest that any person interested in films, directing, choreographing, or the like, enter this competition; it is a great way to get your name out.
As with last year, there will be an accompanying youth division featuring films from anybody under the age of 18. These films are only half as long as the normal adult films, but they are usually just as entertaining and inventive. A nice benefit for the kids is that the top five will be chosen to create a PSA about prescription-drug use. This is a pretty nifty way to get some experience under your belt before you turn 18.
Personally, I believe that the idea of showcasing Ohio films is a great move by The Wex. Ohio has been featured as a setting in many movies (Rush Hour 3 and A Christmas Story, to name two) but rarely is actually seen as a hotbed of movie making. While this event is unlikely to help put Ohio on the map as a movie location, it is sure to help inspire more people to participate in the process. The more people we have working in films, the more likely they are to bring the films back home.
So, if you are interested in submitting a film to The Wexner Center’s showcase, the deadline is Friday the 27th of March. All films by adults are to be 20 minutes or less in length, the youth’s are to be 10 minutes or less. Or, you can just come by the actual showcase on the 9th of May at 7 pm at watch the fun. Hey, you might even be so lucky as to see me there. For more information, please visit The Wex’s website.
Taking Better Pictures Without Spending More Money
Posted on January 17, 2009 - Filed Under Culture, Photo | Leave a Comment
If you have years of schooling and experience in photography, thousand-dollar lenses, and a half-million dollar studio, that’s great. But most of us have to make do with what we have. Many people make up for this by digitally altering the photographs they’ve taken — not as enhancement, but as repair. Wouldn’t it be nice to take a photograph that doesn’t need anything but a frame?
Here are six tips (and one piece of unsolicited advice) you can put into practice right now no matter what kind of camera you have. You’ll instantly improve your photographs and you might not have to spend as much time in your photo program fixing pictures. Most of these tips can be applied to landscapes and wildlife, but the primary focus (no pun intended) of this article is how to take better pictures of friends and family.
As proof that the photographer matters more than the camera, and in hopes of encouraging those who are short on money and long on desire, all the photos I’ve used as examples were taken with available light (no flash), expired film (because it was cheap when I had little money), and a low-end point-and-shoot camera.
Flash is the Devil
The flash that’s built into disposable cameras and less expensive digital cameras is intense and not adjustable. Red-eye is the result of direct flash. If you simply must use flash, take the picture when your subject is looking away from the camera.
In addition to the red-eye plague, flash often washes out most skin tones, and can distort makeup just enough to make a person look clown-like. It makes darker people look even darker (hiding facial features and emotion) and makes lighter people look sick.
Use the light you have for indoor shots. This includes daylight — direct or by window — candlelight, and lamps. Overhead lighting is not recommended because the shadow it casts on faces is unbecoming.
Unless you’re going for a silhouette effect, make sure the light source is behind you, not your subject. At the same time, don’t expect a person or animal to look directly into the sun. Sometimes a photo comes out fine with nothing more than a car’s dome light (see darker photo above).
Background Noise
Most people don’t think to do a quick scan of the area before taking a picture, because they are focused on their subject rather than the area around their subject. This is why a picture of a cute baby on a park swing also showcases a man scratching his crotch not 30 feet on the other side of the swingset.
The park isn’t the only place you’ll find visual debris. Set your cute baby on the couch and then look through the camera at her. Now check the entire frame for other people, trash, toys, dishes, and laundry – and stains on the couch that you’re so used to you don’t see them anymore unless you’re looking for them. Cover those stains with a baby blanket.
Software Review: Kubota Pro Pak – Part 1 From Kubota Image Tools
Posted on January 12, 2009 - Filed Under Culture, Photo | Leave a Comment
The Kubota Pro Pak is a bundled package of products that contains six of the most popular tools from Kevin Kubota’s professional image enhancing tools for Adobe Photoshop. This package includes the four Artistic Series of actions, his Production Tools, as well as his Formula Book which contains 42 separate recipes to get just the look you want.
Who is Kevin Kubota and what makes his actions so special? Well first off he was named one of the top ten wedding photographers of 2007 by Popular Photography Magazine for giving his customers more than they expect by capturing fresh, expressive images. He has now taken that philosophy to Photoshop processing by providing the same techniques to you via his image tools.
Today 
I will look at the four actions sets known as the Artistic Tools. In case you are not familiar, a Photoshop action is an automated series of steps that have been recorded to provide an effect or series of effects. Some of these actions are totally automated, while others have stopping points that request you to perform some action, usually to paint in where you want some sharpening to occur. In all cases there is a pop-up window that tells you what you need to do.
Artistic Tools Vol. One: The “Classic Film Effects” Pak
In this pak you will find a variety of Black & White Actions, organic film grain, cross-processing effects, sepia effects, and monochrome toning. This set contains over 40 Actions and it includes Skin Cream, Fuji Snappit, Vignette, as well as Eye and Teeth Enhancer.
The black and white effects include conversions that give nice film grain effects without introducing digital noise. In this way they look much more organic and have a better feel. There is not a loss of sharpness and in fact many times the sharpness appears enhanced. There are actions that smooth skin, add glow to the image, add a Hollywood effect, as well as other creative effects for a vignette, giving a romantic feel, and adding vibrancy to the image.
There are color actions that can add a bright sunny effect, a cross processed look, and a contrasty Fugi Velvia film look. There are also image correction actions that raise the shadow values, lower contrasts and saturations, adding warming gel filters to add mood to an image, as well as a mid-tone brightener. There are even actions that will attempt to fix images shot with the wrong white balance. There are examples of “Classic Film Effects” Pak on the Kubota Image Site.
Software Review: Adobe Photoshop Plug-In DxO FilmPack 2 from DxO Labs
Posted on December 29, 2008 - Filed Under Culture, Photo | Leave a Comment
With the latest release of DxO FilmPack version 2 from DxO Labs you now can not only add the style and beauty of classic films to your images, but you can now add additional traditional film effects giving you more capabilities to replicate the look and feel to real film. DxO FilmPack is a plug-in that gives digital images both the look and the grain of conventional films.
OK, I know what you're asking! I gave up film (or never used it) because of all the graininess and the color differences, why would I want to start making my images look as though they were taken on film? Well, one reason is for artistic license. You may want to give an image that fresh-from-the-fixer look. Another reason is that you may want to integrate film images and digital images and you need some method to get a more consistent look for all.
DxO FilmPack recreates the color and grain of over 50 classic film types. These include Kodachrome, Tri-X, Velvia, and Illford. These films were analyzed and reproduced so that they could be applied with just one stroke of the keyboard. The package also offers access to several toning filters to transform any digital image into a toned print. These include Sepia, Terra Sepia, Ferric Sulfate, Gold Sepia, Gold, and Selenium.
DxO labs has a complete list of the available film looks, and they break down into nine categories. color positive films, generic positive films (without grain profile), instant color positive, black and white films, color negative films, instant black and white films, color filters, black and white filters, and tonings.
DxO FilmPack can be used as a standalone product or from the filter menu within Adobe Photoshop. The user interface is self-explanatory. You have drop-down lists and sliders. You choose an emulsion and the filter applies the color and the grain of the film to your image. You are presented with a preview on the screen so you can see what it looks like.
Product Review: Digital Foci Image Moments 6 Photo Frame
Posted on December 12, 2008 - Filed Under Culture, Photo | Leave a Comment
The holidays are upon us, and here you are again, not sure what to get that far-away loved one. Want to send someone all the pictures of your vacation, or update the grandparents on what the kids are doing, Kodak-style? Sure, but original photos are fragile and can get bent or damaged during shipping. Instead, pre-load a digital photo frame with the images, ship it off, and you're done. The Digital Foci Image Moments 6 digital photo frame is one such frame you could use for this very purpose.
It should be that easy, at least. Just to get new images into a playlist, you're going to have to spend a good bit of time reading the manual and making sense of the frame's often-inconsistent setup and unreliable buttons.
Full specs on the three different models in the Image Moments product line can be viewed here, but let's cover a few of the bases now. The six-inch (5.7" viewable) frame's brushed two-tone chrome plating and overall small footprint combined with the sharp backlit screen and built-in speakers get it off to a good start.
The frame comes standard with ports for many compact media formats, including Memory Stick Pro/Duo, Compact Flash/Micro Drive, SD/MMC/xD, and a mini-USB port for connecting to a computer for transferring from any other format you might have. However, a computer is not required for operating the frame or importing images. You can transfer them from the memory cards onto the 450MB of internal memory in the frame, or leave the card in the frame and display images directly from there. It also has a tilt sensor inside it to know whether it's oriented horizontally or vertically, and will display pictures accordingly, as well as stretch them to fit or display original size, depending on how you set it up.
Unfortunately, there are a number of drawbacks once you actually start using the frame and managing the content you want to display. Navigating the software within the frame can be confusing, especially for people not comfortable with technology. If you pre-load it for the grandparents and set it so all they have to do is plug it in and turn it on, they should be fine. However, if they hit any buttons on the frame, you might soon be getting a phone call asking how to "make it work again."
Book Review: Photojournalism: The Professionals’ Approach – Sixth Edition by Kenneth Kobré
Posted on December 7, 2008 - Filed Under Culture, Photo | Leave a Comment
Photojournalism: The Professional's Approach is a large book in more ways than one. Sure, it's a hefty book at 512 pages, but it also has another kind of weight: the weight of responsibility. Photojournalism as a practice has an accountability that goes beyond judgment and values; the photojournalist becomes our eyes to the world, and must try and capture only the truth and not impose his or her own judgment on an event.
Photojournalism, now in its sixth edition, features interviews with leading professionals along with many examples of fine photojournalism. This latest edition has been revised to include international pictures and stories as well. This book contains everything from hard news to sports to features in its eighteen chapters.
Chapter 1, "Assignment," examines where most dramatic news stories come from. No, it's not from the city desk of some newspaper, but rather from the vigilant photographers who monitor the emergency scanners waiting for the next breaking situation. These photographers may just sit in their cars near a crossroads monitoring multiple scanners, hoping to be leaving the scene already by the time everyone else is just arriving. Also discussed in this chapter are other resources that can be used to track down news stories, including PR departments, websites, TV, and a good contact list.
Chapter 5, "Portraits," concerns the journalistic portrait. These are photographic essays that tell the story of a person. In this chapter, you see what it takes to put a person at ease so that his or her real personalities can emerge in front of the camera. Some of the tips offered include knowing when to talk and knowing when to listen, and even knowing when to bore the subject so that he or she stops posing and starts relaxing.
Chapter 7, "Photo Editing," takes the stance that when someone examines multiple images, he or she spends less than three-quarters of a second looking at an individual photo. The challenge becomes finding the right image out of hundreds – possibly thousands – of images that will communicate a story in a meaningful way. In this chapter you learn about theories of picture selection, research on reader preference, how to work with images, effects of cropping, working with space in an image, the size of image, and how to work with captions.
Chapter 11, "Photo Story," is about telling a story using pictures. This is the ultimate professional experience for many photojournalists. Some stories can take minutes to develop and others can take years. Here you learn how to communicate a story with pictures and words, including the different formats of photo stories, and the equipment that you will need to do things right. Also included in this chapter are a number of professional photo stories as examples.
Software Review: Adobe Premiere Elements 7.0
Posted on November 14, 2008 - Filed Under Culture, Photo | Leave a Comment
Adobe Premiere Elements 7.0 is the latest release of the consumer-based video editing program from Adobe. It is a scaled down version of their professional level package Premiere Pro and can be purchased as a bundle with Adobe Photoshop Elements. If you were wondering what happened with versions five and six (the last version being four) Adobe decided to bump it up to match with Photoshop Elements 7.
What do you need to run Adobe Premiere Elements 7.0? Currently it is only available on Windows, where you need 1.8 GHz (3 GHz for HDV or Blu-Ray, Dual-Core processor required for AVCHD) or better machine with 1 GB of RAM, a Mouse, a 16-bit color display with 1024×768 resolution at 96DPI or less, a DirectX 9.0 compatible display adapter/driver, QuickTime 7 software, a DVD-ROM drive (compatible burner required to burn DVD) or Blu-Ray, and around 4.5 GB hard disk space available.
So what is new with this version of Adobe Premiere Elements?
• InstantMovie – will let you create movies with little or no effort. Using creative techniques from Hollywood directors, you just choose a theme and InstantMovie edits your clips together with coordinated music, titles, effects, and transitions. You can then customize the final result if you want.
• Videomerge – will let you put your subject into a new setting. By filming your subject on a solid color background, the Videomerge technology will extract your moving subject from the background and drop it into a new setting.
• SmartSound – will let you energize your movie with a variety of soundtracks that automatically adjust to match the length of your movie. Adobe Premiere Elements will detect the tempo of the music and synchs the beginning and end of each scene with the beats.
• InstantMovie & Slideshow Themes – includes fairy tale, secret agent, music video, and extreme sports.
• Edit in AVCHD – lets you import and edit video from the latest AVCHD camcorders. You can edit and view your movie with drag-and-drop ease in the large monitor window where you can trim and split clips, drop filters and effects right on a frame. You can even restore shaky footage with the Image Stabilizer filter.
• Analyze Footage – automatically for quality and interest as well as apply Smart Tags. This will let you quickly find your most interesting, highest quality clips.
Book Review – Photo Workshop: Exposure by Jeff Wignall
Posted on November 7, 2008 - Filed Under Culture, Photo | Leave a Comment
Jeff Wignall compares extracting good exposures in your photography to befriending a wild-born kitten. While the kitten (and image) may be beautiful to look at, you just aren’t sure how best to catch it. You certainly won't get as many scratches on your arms from trying to capture a photo, but it can be equally as frustrating when thing don't turn out as you would like
The goal of Photo Workshop: Exposure is to show you how to approach capturing the shot you want; that singular vision of the world that you have, and share that vision with others. It comprises 299 pages divided into 11 chapters.
Chapter 1, "The Art of Exposure," explains how the results from a great exposure are far greater than the sum of its steps. A good capture results from the most basic of tools and techniques, and is the product of routine technical choices. Here you will see exactly what exposure is, and what you need to do to take charge of your exposures. Chapter 2, "Exposure Controls: A Primer," looks at what it takes to get a great exposure using any kind of camera. In this chapter you will look at the relationship between ISO, Aperture, and shutter speed, and how they affect exposure
Chapter 3, "Measure the Light," explains that irrespective of any equipment that you are using, the most important item in getting a great shot is knowing precisely how much light is in the scene. This chapter shows you how to measure the light. Here you see how light meters work, how spot metering works, how to work with handheld meters, and what situations can fool meters. You will also learn about the Zone System. Chapter 4, "Lens Apertures and Depth of Field," examines how the change in aperture also results in the change in the depth of field, and it also looks at the creative power of depth of field.
Chapter 5, "Shutter Speed and Subject Motion," describes that like the use of aperture to control the amount of light entering into the camera, you can also use the speed of the shutter to control the amount of light. Where the aperture controls the depth of field, you will learn how shutter speed controls the interpretation of motion. Chapter 6, "Training Wheels Off: Going Beyond Green Mode," takes you away from the automatic exposure modes, and looks at speciality modes like aperture-priority, shutter-priority, and full manual modes.
Book Review: Food Styling For Photographers by Linda Bellingham And Jean Ann Bybee
Posted on October 28, 2008 - Filed Under Culture, Photo | Leave a Comment
It is said that you eat with your eyes first. That can be derived by the fact that so many menus and restaurant advertisements have professional food stylists setting up photographic shoots to wow you with their images. But while these images really want to make you desire that dish, you would probably get ill if you tried to eat it as it was shot. In fact at the start of Food Styling For Photographers, there is a disclaimer that these methods of food preparation are not meant for human consumption.
In Food Styling For Photographers you will learn the tricks of what it takes to create that look that will have people wanting to taste the delectables. The premise of this book is that not all shoots can afford to hire a professional food stylist, or there is not the time to find one to make a deadline. As a professional photographer, there may be times in which you have to take the bull by the horns and do it yourself. Food Styling For Photographers is 272 pages and is divided into 12 chapters.
Chapter 1, "Introduction to Food Styling," begins by giving an overview of what food styling is, and to set up some rules and guidelines for the styling of food. You will see how to shop like a stylist, as well as assembling your own food styling kit. Chapter 2, "Sets and Setting," now gets in to the basics of what to consider when planning food photography; "What is the point of the shot?" In this chapter you will learn about how to properly set up the shot so as to make it pop in the image.
Chapter 3, "Chilling Facts About Cold Beverages," explains that you really have only a short window of opportunity to get the right shot when dealing with cold beverages, but with the right techniques, you can fake the effects which will let you better control the appearance and give you more latitude with that time window. Chapter 4, "Making a Salad for the Camera," begins by showing you the proper selection of ingredients so that you can build a feast for the eyes. Here you will see how to put together the proper ingredients to create a salad that has the all of the colors and textures to temp the viewer.
Chapter 5, "Pasta and Sauces," to a stylist is like a blank canvas to artist. There are a wide variety of colors and textures that can be added to the various shapes of pasta to make the viewer's mouth water. Chapter 6, "Burgers, Sandwiches and Beyond," explains that even though it may appear simple, working with burgers and hot dogs is extremely difficult to do correctly. In this chapter you will see how to locate the perfect bun, prep the patties and prepare everything just right.
Book Review: Real Moments – Bob Dylan by Barry Feinstein
Posted on October 23, 2008 - Filed Under Culture, Photo | Leave a Comment
Photographer Barry Feinstein has had a successful career as a photographer. His website lists his work as having appeared in Life, Look, Time, Esquire, Newsweek and many others. He has also shot the album covers for Janis Joplin’s Pearl, George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass, Barbra Streisand’s Stoney End, and of particular significance, Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A Changin’.
Dylan and Feinstein were friends, which led to Feinstein being hired on as the exclusive photographer during Dylan’s tour of Europe in 1966, his first since going electric, and he was backed by The Band minus Levon Helm. The vast majority of the book’s photos are from this time.
The hardcover book is 12.8” x 10.1”, allowing the photos to be a nice size on the pages. They are all in black and white and being in Europe bring to mind D.A. Pennebaker’s documentary of the 1965 European tour, Don't Look Back. With his style of dress, shaggy hair, and dark sunglasses Dylan stands out as a unique figure wherever he goes, whether working as a musician or just passing time. Most of the shots are taken of Dylan offstage because, as Feinstein explains, “I didn’t really enjoy taking performance pictures… If you want to see a performance, but a ticket.”
While Feinstein gets many good, interesting shots, the images aren’t so compelling that they will transcend and be of any interest to anyone outside of Dylan fans. Outside the album cover, the most familiar shot is likely to be Dylan in Bristol at the Aught Ferry terminal, which was used in 2005 as the cover for both the CD and DVD of Martin Scorsese’s No Direction Home.
A few print sheets grace the book, revealing Feinstein in action and his creative process. He provides brief commentary for each shot to give some insight behind it. Elsewhere, he reveals his thoughts about these tours in the documentary Bob Dylan World Tours 1966-1974: Through the Camera of Barry Feinstein.
The last 20 of the 157 pages are of the 1974 American tour with The Band, 40 shows over six weeks. The music was documented on After The Flood. Dylan looks more like the common man in these photos. His clothes aren’t so unique, he has a small beard, and his eyes aren’t hidden behind sunglasses as often. One photo is of Dylan meeting Jimmy Carter. It states it is in Washington, but Feinstein’s notes mention the meeting took place at the governor’s mansion, which should have been Georgia unless Carter had another mansion.
It was the last tour Feinstein ever went on because he believed “it would never be as great as this.” Hard to imagine that if you could get paid to do be a tour photographer, you wouldn’t jump at the chance. If any of Mr. Dylan’s representatives are reading this and have an opening, please drop me a line.
Images from the book can be found at Feinstein’s website.
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