IMAGES COMING IN POOR QUALITY DUE TO WORDPRESS UPLOADING PROBLEM!
With the internet there many diverse uses for images in marketing material. The above banner is being as a graphic for emails. The fish and chips image I supplied as a high res image for use on their brochure, website and as a large graphic to be displayed at the opening of the Brighton and Hove Food Festival.
Scene on River Ganges, Varanasi
Chris Steele Perkins was in the Magnum office some time in the 1980’s when in my enthusiasm I popped in without an appointment to show someone at the agency my work. Out of some 150 transparencies he highlighted this one as a shot he liked!
The transparencies from that period need to be scanned properly for archiving and usage.
The thumbnail below is of an image I took on transparency film about ten years ago for a local publisher called Psychology Press. The shot is of an interview room at Sussex University. It was one in a series of ten images which were published in a psychology book by Michael Eysenck. Psychology Press scanned the transparencies for publishing and returned the originals to me.
Psychology Press was bought by Taylor and Francis. This image has been used several times since its first publication. They have made part works from the original book. Luckily, they contact me each time they want to use the image with details of territories, print run, size of reproduction…
Corporate and Location Photography by Gary Gladstone has a lot of useful tips in it. I like photography books that are biographical and take away some of the mystery behind imagery. Ten years down the line there are a lot of things in the approach to corporate/commercial photography that are still the same. Tips on organising kit, and approaching projects are very useful. Some of the simple approaches to lighting demonstrate the less is more approach.
On the bright side Gary Gladstone was very positive about the portraits on my website:
“I especially like the playful feeling in your portrait work. Good pictures of people are always harder than places.”
The book is still available through Amazon. It is part of the Kodak Pro Workshop Series.
The speed of my broadband feels sluggish, it doesn’t snap onto the screen with ease. So, I emailed Namesco, my ISP provider, and they said:
Slow speeds can be caused by a multitude of factors, including but not limited to:
I guess that provides us with a few things to consider! Funny they don’t suggest any of these things being an issue when they use the phrase UPTO 8Mb..
I just did a test on http://www.speedtest.bbmax.co.uk/ and it came up with a download speed of 4537kbps. This morning it was nearer 6000kbps. I went to Namesco’s recommended broadband speed tester: http://www.speedtester.bt.com/ but couldn’t get onto it!
In order to sort the above list of joy I have to:
Before we can investigate your slow speed issue, you will need to run a full virus and malware scan. Make sure that you download the latest engine and definition updates for your software before you run the scans. Good examples of antivirus and antispyware packages, include Grisoft AVG (http://free.grisoft.com) and Lavasoft AdAware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/).
Then there’s more joy to follow:
Once you have carried out a virus/malware scan, you will need to carry out some speedtests using the official BT Speedtester tool. This tool allows you to measure your speeds and the results are logged against your phone number for analysis by BT and ourselves. In order for us to escalate a fault to BT or investigate further you must perform a number of speedtests. It is recommended by BT that you perform a minimum of three speedtests per day for a period of three days. These tests should be spread throughout the day where possible (for instance, one in the morning, one in the afternoon and one in the evening), to ensure a rapid resolution to your issue.
I guess I haven’t got enough to do as it is!
PLEASE CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE THE QUALITY. A WORDPRESS FAULT IS CAUSING POOR RENDERING OF THE IMAGE.
I spent some time photographing this watch using a single softbox as the light source. I didn’t have much time. I used pieces of white card and some black to change the reflections. I need to get some stands and clamps to hold small reflectors and small mirrors. It’s important to look through the viewfiinder as you compose. When photographing small items little movements change the image.
It requires much more lighting and gizmos to get the best qualities of the watch. (Or perhaps I can find a retoucher to improve on this image!). This is an ideal candidate for several shots using different lighting to capture different elements of the watch and then to composite them in Photoshop.
I asked Paul Hartley how he carved a path to becoming the country’s top watch and jewellery photographer. Here’s what he said:
“I graduated with a BA in Photographic Art from the Polytechnic of Central London in 1976. Then it was one of only two places in the world offering a degree in Photography, the other being Rochester, NY (home of Kodak).
My first job was working as an assistant in the then fledgling AV industry shooting animated stuff for car launches and conferences. Pretty soon I went freelance and capitalised on the niche skills of that sector, but the writing was on the wall with video becoming more affordable and I moved across to general advertising still life. 20 years ago I was shooting cosmetics for Yves St Laurent and ten years ago shooting 3 Ton fork lift trucks for Hyster world advertising. At the same time I started jewellery which has grown and grown till it’s 90% of my business.
The turning point was when I went completely digital in 1999. I’d been learning Photoshop since 1992, but the introduction of the one-shot Philips chips made digital feasible. I guess I was one of the early adopters, suddenly I had the chance to create the whole look and feel of digital jewellery photography from scratch. The thing I realised was that digital is not just a substitute for film, it’s a whole new medium with new rules.
The other thing it did was, as far as I was concerned, blur the boundaries of who did what. There are still guys who hand over the shots and let the client retouch. To me that’s commercial and creative suicide. I only hand over the retouched job and never release the raw files and that’s given me far more control over my business.
Since 1999 it’s been a constant push to do better, buy new technology and make better pictures. I wince when I look at my early digital attempts, but that’s how it should be. It means I’ve got better.
What’s the most expensive thing I’ve shot? Well, I was called in to shoot the Millennium Star diamond and 11 blue diamonds that were displayed in the Dome. Had to go to DeBeers for that of course!”
One of the key points that Paul makes is his reference to digital photography having a different approach to that of film. Amazing to think that photographers are still trying to explain to clients the need for post production. Pauls outstanding images illustrate the power of Photoshop in the hands of a professional retoucher.
The ‘look and feel’ of digital photography is something to ponder on. I recently mentioned photographers using the Aptus digital back refering to the film like quality of their images.
The Jewish Museum in Berlin was designed by Daniel Libeskind and completed in 1999. It is shaped like a bolt of lightening. The main surface is made of zinc plating. The window spaces appear to be random slits and opening in the facade of the building.
It is hard being in a conflict zone. It is hard photographing in a war zone for someone who is not a war photographer (if that term is still used…). This is one of the images I created that was a surprise to me. Sitting in a hot makeshift home in the north of the Strip. I went with Medicines Sans Frontiers to visit a woman who was living in this tent with her daughters so that they could go to school without being bothered by IDF soldiers.
It didn’t work out that way. The soldiers still took pot shots at the children. The tent was on a sandy area. The Israeli tank was perched on a mound nearby. The mother had depression and found herself getting angry with the children.
I saw the phrase ‘concerned photography’ coined in the British Journal of Photography recently. The first time I heard it was when Jon Tarrant, then editor of Professional Photographer magazine used it. I hope it gets mentioned more often.
Digital Camera Previews
