inside this issue: p1 still-life | p4 members’ choice...
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Newsletter, February 2020
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: P1 STILL-LIFE | P4 MEMBERS’ CHOICE | P7 DIARY | P9 WWW | P11 CAMERA OBSCURA
Still-life: an exercise in light, composition and a good subjectThe first of the club’s themeexhibition nights, on April 1, is thebroad-ranging topic of still-lifephotography. This writer claims noexpertise whatsoever in still-lifephotography; the article simply aimsto set out some broad ideas aboutstill-life photography, what it mightteach us about our photographymore generally and to provide lotsof links to websites, social mediaapps, books and articles that you canperuse for tips, examples andfantastic images to fire theimagination.
Still-life photography is an art formas old as the first camera and itsthree basic principles mirror thoseof still-life painting and drawing –
the use of light, a good compositionand an arresting subject or theme,all woven together to produce acaptivating, often incredibly simple,image.
Composition, composition,compositionMany of the Old Masters cut theircompositional teeth painting still-lifes, and the genre is a fantasticway for photographers to acquireconfidence and competence in theircraft.
Composition can follow classicguidelines, such as the rule of thirdsand the golden ratio, but essentiallythe composition is what you see asbest telling the story of your shot.
Robert Diamonte: Pumpkin (robertdiamante.com)
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Looking at others’ shots that youadmire and respond to, thenanalysing how the photographerachieved the result they did, is athorough way to learn techniques.
As one blogger, Danny Eitreim,succinctly puts it: “You’ll get muchbetter at seeing how light andshadow affect a photograph [in still-life] – how form comes into play,composition, harmony, and on andon. Texture, balance, and colourinteractions play big parts, too. Asyou get better and better at shootinggreat still-life subjects, your otherphotography will improve as well.”
His article (click here) pivots onthe dictum that “the whole point ofdoing still life photography [is] tomaster composition”. The expertssay the key to a good still-life shotis keeping the image simple andstrong.
Herein, perhaps, lies a big challengefor us Upper Mountains’photographers: making thetransition in scale from those biglandscapes, even when using a rockor plant or person in the foregroundto anchor the image and providescale and perspective. When we getclose up to a few objects arrangedin a small setting, things can start to
get tricky. Thehours can vanish,while youreposition theobjects endlessly tocapture the perfectlight and shadow,texture, mood, andcolour. This is notnecessarily a badthing: think of thosetoo hot summer andtoo cold winter dayswhen shootingoutside is just toounpleasant.
With still-lifephotography, timeis on your sidebecause the objectis still and you’reusually (but notalways) shootingindoors, eliminating the vagaries ofthe weather: clouds castingunexpected shadows; a suddenbreeze moving your object. Thismeans you can take your time to setup the shot as you see it in yourmind’s eye, and experiment to yourheart’s content. Slow shutter speedsto capture all that gorgeous detail.Heavenly!
Let in the light, or not!There are decisions to be madeabout your light sources. Are yougoing to just use natural light or areyou going to play with artificiallight sources? There are a zilliononline resources on lighting forstill-life; this one here is a goodstart for the basics.
The object in still-lifeThe best advice about what objectto photograph is choose one (orseveral) that speak to you. Classicstill-life shots use flowers, vases,fruits and vegetables and so on, butthere is nothing in this world thatcannot be a fascinating still-lifeobject/subject if composed and lit
Victoria Ivanova: Farewell, dear friend! (500px.com).
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with flair and imagination. Nothing.The object’s pull on the viewer willexert itself if the emotionalengagement with the photographer isin play. Simple. A rusty nail or asprouting potato can be the mostbeautiful and meaningful thingyou’ve shot in years.
Learning from the pastIf you are interested in delving intothe 200-year history of the still-lifephotograph, the National Scienceand Media Museum in Bradford,England has a wealth of informationabout photographic history on itswebsite here, including an excellentessay by art critic Roy Exley titledArt of Arrangement: still life in thestill-life (click here).
Browsing for ideas and greatshotsA library is a good place to startbefore you surf! The BlueMountains City Council librariesdon’t appear to have specific bookson still-life photography but thereare some texts on still life painting.The basic principles are the same –light, composition and subject/theme– so fine art could inspire some ofyour shots. For club members whoare taking photography courses at
TAFE in 2020, there is a variety ofhard copy and online resources inthe TAFE system once you haveenrolled in your course.
On Instagram the hashtag#stilllifephotography takes you to apage with more than one millionposts (see you in the next life!) butfor those of you who love browsingother people’s work for ideas, this isa great resource.
Flickr, the free, online photographysharing platform, is teeming withstill-life shots, and still-life groups.Again, there are millions ofphotographs to browse through.Searching on a still-life tag willnarrow the field but it’s still vast.
F-Stop Magazine’s January/February issue #99 is featuring still-life photography and is expected tobe online by February 1 (click here).
Important dates for the still-lifeexhibition nightWednesday, 19 February: theinformation night talk will be givenby an expert on still-life.
Sunday, 29 March, 8pm: deadlinefor submitting DPIs and digitalcopies of prints for exhibition night.
Liz Morgan
This image is by local photographer Gary P Hayes who was forcedto evacuate when the giant Mt Gosper’s fire came within 2km of his
Mt Victoria home. In response he has composed Tears of Fire,“inspired by a range of emotions around the destruction of naturalhabitat, animals and homes and lives.” Click here to listen and view.
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Members’ choice DPI – “Berry Nice”This bird is a Metallic Starling and they are quite common inFar North Queensland.
I love to photograph these guys because of their manicallyred googly eyes, and they are not hard to photograph becausethey are communal nest builders. On a single tree they willbuild dozens of ball shaped nests to the point where theyweigh down the branches.
We found such a tree beside the main highway intoMossman, and many of the nests were at head height or alittle above. With birds coming and going all the time withnesting material or food for their young, there was plentyof scope for photographs - I must have taken 50 or 60, andwhen you take that many it would be disappointing if youdidn’t get a few good ones.
I took quite a few of birds with these berries in their bills, butthis was the only one where the stalk mark on the fruitroughly corresponded with the pupil in the bird’s eye. Withnature photography there is always that element of luck!
When shooting wildlife I always choose “aperture priority”and then boost the ISO as necessary to get an acceptableshutter speed.
Nikon D500, Nikon 200-500 mm @ 500, f 7.1, ISO 800.
Geoff Atwood
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Members’ choice mono – “The Glass Gramophone”
We were travelling the UK in June 2015 and an Irishfriend said that a visit to the famous “WaterfordCrystal” is a must do. The location suited our itinerary,so off we went. Looking at the website, we thought anhour would suffice.
Four hours later we reluctantly departed. The scale anddiversity of the objects was astounding, from theminiature, to the tallest champagne flute in the worldand a 3m tall long case clock.
We had heard of “cut glass” but to see it done wasamazing. Plain glass is held against a grinding wheel,then cut freehand with no jigs, just a paper outline onthe wall. All this is done within a millimetre or less ofaccuracy.
The factory allowed a close up view of all the stepsinvolved from glass blowing and moulding. If you arein Ireland, then a visit is a must.
Nikon Df, Nikon 24-85mm @ 85mm, f 5.6, 1/125s, ISO640.
David Mansfield
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Members’ choice colour – “The Kimberleys”This photo wastaken near LakeArgyle in theEast Kimberleys inWestern Australia,about 30 km south-east of Kununurra.
It featuresStonewall Creek, atributary of the OrdRiver.
It was one of thoserelativelyuncommonmoments when aremarkablelandscapecoincided with aremarkable sky.
Rob Lipscombe
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Head On Portrait,Landscapeand Student AwardsEntries close Sunday 16 February.Open internationally thiscompetition features $70,000 incash and prizes. The finalists will beexhibited in the Head On PhotoFestival 2020. To enter, click here.
LensCulture PortraitAwards 2020The deadline for submitting entriesisWednesday 19 February. Notethat the time zone isn’t specified soit will probably pay to get yourentries in a day or two earlier.
Awards for single images are: 1stPlace: $3,000, 2nd Place: $1,500,and 3rd Place: $1,000. For a portraitseries (5 images): 1st Place: $5,000,2nd Place: $3,000, and 3rd Place:$1,500.
The awards are open for any style ofportrait photography. For furtherdetails, click here. You can viewthe entries already submitted here.
Hounslow 2020The closing date for entries isSunday, 23 February. The overall
winner receives $1,000, and there isa first prize of $500 in eachcategory. Other prizes may also beawarded. Click here for details.
From the current entries for the LensCulture 2020 Portrait Awards (clockwise from top left): Emily Neville (United States),Lynn Karlin (United States), Simon Blackley (Belgium). You can view all the current entries here.
Diary
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Queenstown full immersion!7-13 November 2020This year Adobe Lightroom rival ON1 Softwareis sponsoring the ON1 Destination Workshop inQueenstown, New Zealand. “This all-inclusive 7-day and 6-night immersion into photography,exploration, and education is an incredibleopportunity that you won’t want to miss!”
The workshop focuses on landscape, portrait andexcursion photography and will be based out ofthe beautiful Kamana Lakehouse, with stunningviews of Lake Wakatipu.
The fee for the workshop is $4,495, and if youstay in the Kamana Lakehouse this rises to$7,450. For further details, click here.
Body en thrall7 February to 24 AprilThis exhibition showcases the work ofCalifornia-born and New York-based MartineGutierrez as a photographer, model, graphicdesigner, music producer and creative director.
The New Yorker’s Andrea K Scott described thisalmost impossible to categorise artist as a “Latinxtransgender phenom.” Vice’sMiss Rosen likensher to Frida Kahlo who once said “I am my ownmuse. I am the subject I know best.” ReadRosen’s interview with Guiterrez here.
At the Australian Centre for Photography,Project Space Gallery,21 Foley Street, corner of Crown Street,Darlinghurst,
NSW 2010.
The TSS Earnslaw on Late Wakatipu at sunset, captured by Australian Flickr member Colin Bates.
Martine Gutierrez: Covertgirl, 2018, digital photo collage
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Agora AwardsMichael Aboya, a 24-year-oldNigerian-born self-taughtphotographer from Ghana, has wonthe first prize of $25,000 in theAgaro Awards 2019 for his imageSong of Freedom (right).
His striking image of boys enjoyingmusic was selected from 50 finalistschosen from the 130,000 entriesreceived from photographers worldwide.
Aboya says “I got my first camerain December 2016 and since thenI’ve been practicing and learning tobecome a better visual storytellerand photographer every day.”
He discovered the Agora app inMay 2018 through Instagram. “Idownloaded it and I was amazed.Within 6 months of being part of thecommunity I won two contests:#Sound2018 and #Eyes2018.
“Joining Agora has helped mebeyond words on this journeybecause it exposed me to amazingphotographs from photographersaround the world. It’s like a photo
paradise where everyone has beengiven a space to display theirimaginations.
“Aside from this, it’s also a space Ilearn from. The contest themes, forexample, inspire me to go out andcreate images, the blogs are where Ilearn from other photographers, andthe photos displayed in the Top 50is another place of huge inspirationto me.”
In ancient Greece the Agora was thechief marketplace of Athens and thecentre of that city’s civic life. It alsoserved as a meeting place forpopular political assemblies.
The Agora app’s business modeldraws on this Greecian concept tooffer something distinct from theoverwhelming amount of unfilteredcontent on typical social media andimage sharing platforms. In someways the Agora app is a kind ofglobal camera club.
To see the other finalists and formore information about Agoraplease click here.
Michael Peck
WWW
Michael Aboya: Song of Freedom
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PhotographycompetitionsPhotocontests2020.com is awebsite that pulls together detailsof, and links to, more than 150photography competitions for thiscalendar year.
Entries to some contests are free;others charge a fee. If this is theyear you decide to spread yourwings, then this is a very good placeto start. Click here, now!
2019 Ocean ArtContest WinnersCould it be time for our Upper BlueMountains photographers to averttheir eyes from waterfalls andwatercourses and dive beneath theirsurface instead?
Underwater Photography Guide’s2019 Ocean Art contest attractedentries from 78 countries andoffered a very generous $85,000 insponsor prizes. All the stunningwinning images can be viewed inlarge size here.
4th place winner Borut Furlan: Anenome City.
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Letting in the lightThis new occaisional sectionfocuses on photographers fromaround the world, amateur andprofessional, whose work has been‘obscured’ for one reason oranother.
Who knows how many outstandingand important collections arewaiting to see the light of day?‘Celebrity’ finds like the New Yorkstreet photographer Vivian Maier,the subject of the hugely successful2013 documentary Finding VivianMaier, pop up quite regularly, as doless-celebrated finds, some of whichhave featured in previousnewsletters.
We hope club members will shareour enthusiasm for unearthing andexploring “obscure camera” users.Your feedback and input is verywelcome.
Send your finds, comments and‘found’ articles to our club newsaddress: [email protected],using Camera Obscura in thesubject field.
A Balkan treasuretroveIn January this year, an incrediblecollection of photographs of ruralMoldova were shown to the publicfor the first time. Some fourthousand photographs taken byamateur photographer ZahariaCușnir in the village of Roșietici,120 kilometers north of theMoldovan capital, found by chance,reveal daily life during Soviet times.
They were unearthed three yearsago by film student Victor Gălușcăfrom the rubble of an empty houseduring his project of filming homesthat had been abandoned because of
mass emigration.
Cușnir’s familywas disinterested inthe collection – hisdaughter called herfather’s work“rubbish”.
Thankfully the 6 x6 cm negatives,taken with a Soviettwin lense reflex
Lubitel-2, were painstakinlyrestored by Gălușcă and his teacherand they are now available forviewing online. Mostly portraits orphotographs of community events,Cușnir’s images offer a rare, andpropaganda-free glimpse ofMoldolvan village life during the
Soviet era. Absolutely captivating.A good selection of images, somewith explanatory captions, is foundhere and the official archive can beviewed here or on Instagram.
Michael Peck & Liz Morgan
Camera Obscura
Page 12ContactsNewsletter: [email protected] submission: [email protected]: Alan Daniel: 0407 761 808
[email protected]: Pauline Pollock: [email protected]: Greg Wood: [email protected]
Submitting imagesWhether submitting a DPI or digital images of your prints
the required format to match the projector is a maxium width of1024 and a maximum height of 768 pixels.For a landscape image, set the longest side to 1024 ensuring
shortest is no more than 768; for portrait, set the longest side to768, and for a square image, all sides are 768.Please name your image file in the following format:[type] title_initials.jpg e.g. [DPI] Womblings_JX.jpg.The three image types are [DPI], [CP] and [MP]. Use anunderscore, not a dash
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