Something Metallic

11/17/09 #5

Gaaaatorade...

Colored Glass 2008

Colored Glass 2008

Colored Glass 2008

I haven't taken any new photos in the last 5 days, but here are a few from last year. I needed to take some photos last minute for a project. I was milling around in my kitchen and saw the all the different colors of Gatorade I bought on sale that week. I rigged a backdrop using the white backside of some gray mat board I had lying around and just went to town using all the different colors of Gatorade with different glassware in our kitchen.

Links:
H2O!
Dale Chihuly

Cameras Gone Wild

One of my biggest pet peeves in photography is the unnecessary use of flash. I use the flash on my camera maybe 10% of the time and really only in snapshot situations. I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies this afternoon, and decided to snap a couple shots as they were cooling on a tea towel. I decided to try out the "flower" setting on my camera, since I wanted a nice close-up. After the first shot, I remembered why I never use the flower setting, I can't disable the flash. I changed the setting back to its usual "no flash" and got the photograph I wanted.

Flash 10/13/09

No Flash 10/13/09

The first photograph is fine, we can tell its a cookie. But then compare it to the second photograph and you can see how the flash from my camera flattened the image and got rid of the detail. The soft, natural light coming through my kitchen windows enhanced the texture of the cookies and the towel.

Photography is, at its core, capturing light. That is why I think lighting is the number one thing that can make or break your photograph. In beginning photography class, we had an assignment called "light." The task was to take common objects and make them aesthetically pleasing through the use of light and that project produced some of the most beautiful photographs of the semester. Do a little experimenting, pretend you're in a museum or at a play and turn that flash off. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Links:
Strobist
Kodak's New Sensor May Eliminate Flash

Breakfast

Sunday Morning 10/11/09

This is a photograph of my breakfast this morning. One of the ideas I had for my thesis involves taking a picture of everything I eat. But that might mean I would have to eat something besides cereal for every meal.

Links:
What Rachel ate today
Lisa Homa, food stylist

Show Me What You're Workin With!

I firmly believe that its the photographer, not the camera, that makes a good photograph. I have seen some truly amazing photographs produced from the jankiest disposable camera. I've also seen some incredibly crappy pictures come out of the nicest most expensive cameras. That being said, I am absolutely not a camera snob. Speaking with other photographers is sometimes torture for me. I don't care that you have a Leica S2 Digital SLR, let me see your photographs. Every camera has its place and it is up to the photographer to decide what camera is necessary to produce the desired image.

10/8/09 Canon w/ lenses

For the purposes of this blog, I will mostly be using my Canon Xsi and one of the two lenses that I own for it. This is my newest camera and I have really enjoyed using it. Its great for my purposes which include taking professional portraits, producing fine art prints and even a little snapshot action.

10/8/09 Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3

Then there's my powerful little point and shoot. I love this camera SO much. #1 thing I love about it: 10x optical zoom. Such a dream and hard to find in a small point and shoot. I also love that I can set it to "no replay" which makes it possible to shoot multiple shots without a delay. This camera is a little chunkier than many that are on the market right now but it is perfect for me to keep in my purse because you never know when the perfect photo-op will come along. My advice for anyone in the market for a point and shoot:

• don't worry about megapixels: anything above 3 will produce lovely 8x10 prints
• digital zoom is a racket: it is basically cropping and enlarging the frame
• optical zoom is the way to go: this is actually using the lenses to zoom in
• know what is most important to you in a digital point and shoot then do your research
  

10/8/09 Spartus Full-Vue

This is currently the only film camera I own. I borrowed my Dad's Canon AE-1, 35mm for my first few photography classes. I took it out to Rhode Island with me, packed it in a box to ship home when I left and I'm still waiting for that box to show up. It really saddens me that we don't have that camera anymore. It wasn't very fancy, and you can find one on eBay for around $20 but it definitely had sentimental value. I found this Spartus Full-Vue on eBay for $5 (with shipping) and it came with another similar camera. A fantastic deal since it produces georgous pictures. It takes 120 and 220 film and generates large 6x6cm square negatives. The view-finder is a trip to use since you have to hold it at waist level and look down into it. I have gotten tons of comments when going out on the street to shoot with this camera. It has two shutter settings: automatic and bulb and it leaks some light so I can't leave film in it for long periods of time. But thats all part of its charm.

10/8/09 MacBook & CS4

Finally, my post-production tools. I have a basic 13-inch MacBook that I upgraded to 4GB of RAM so I can run may programs at once without it stalling or freezing. When I purchased a new computer after the last one got vandalized in the mail (USPS and I have some issues), I decided to get a Mac because they are the professional standard within the art world. The switch from PC to Mac was a bit trying but now I see the beauty and I will recommend a Mac to almost everyone. I do all of my photo editing using CS4 Adobe Bridge and Photoshop. My Design Standard version of CS4 also came with InDesign, Illustrator and Acrobat.


Links:
Polanoid
Stranger Photos Have Happened
B&H Photo