Photography

Think Tank Retrospective Test Drives Think Tank is offering free 30-day test drives of their Retrospective bags. With the Test Drive, you get to try out a Retrospective bag for 30 days. If you keep the Retrospective, they charge your card — or just return the Retrospective and nothing gets charged. For those who carry a lot Not for me, but Think Tank is also releaing a new version of their largest rolling camera bag, the gigantic Logistics Manager 30.

One of the most desperately poor, war-torn nations on earth, Afghanistan attracts our attention mostly for the wrong reasons. Well over 30 percent of the population lives in absolute poverty, with as many clinging to their places just barely above the poverty line. While Afghanistan is the world's leader in opium exports, domestic consumption afflicts almost a quarter of a million, with an additional 150,000 addicted to heroin, triple the number from 2005. Violence against women and girls continues. But rich cultural traditions abound, and Afghan society is making progress. Gathered here are images of the colorful yet troubled lives of Afghan civilians. -- Lane Turner (29 photos total)A boy tries to catch a falling kite on a hilltop in Kabul on April 28, 2013. (Omar Sobhani/Reuters)

I've used Photoshop for 20 years, more or less. I've upgraded every two or three versions. Each time I do, it's like going into my house after someone sneaked in and rearranged everything, sometimes subtly, sometimes not...taking a few familiar things away and leaving a few new things. It's mostly familiar, it's just that lots of things aren't quite where I left them, and I don't quite know where to go look. It always takes me a while to groove my practices with a new version. Sometimes it's a bit of an adventure. (Not the sort of adventure I enjoy—for the most part, I hate gratuitous change. But that's a rant for another day.) I hesitate to admit this, and I would never do this now that I have a public "presence," but I must shamefacedly admit that I used a pirated copy of Photoshop for a while, too, when I was too poor to pay for it. (Hey, I'm a single parent. My current copy of CS6 was fully paid for, high retail, with cash money.) So I completely understand why Adobe is setting things up so that people will have to pay for the use of its software. It has the right. I'm walking proof of why it might be necessary, and I can't complain. As I understand it—and I really haven't done nearly as much reading about this as I should have (software issues bore me)—Adobe will be making constant, ongoing updates to the CC program, something they're touting as one of the advantages of the new arrangement. (Is that correct?) My issue is not so much that I'd have to pay a monthly fee, but that constant updates would mean I'd never get comfortable. That stranger sneaking into my house and rearranging everything would be doing less of it, but more often. I find it hard enough to do what I want to do in Photoshop, which I have never really come close to mastering. Add in constant, ongoing changes of the sort that have appeared in the past in new versions, and I'd never feel like I'm standing on firm ground. Anyway, I doubt very much I'll be a "subscriber" under the new regime. I'm not a "power user." My Photoshop era may be coming to an end...or will as soon as CS6 gets too long in the tooth to remain fully practical. Several readers have suggested that I do a survey of other software options. That's like asking me to write about higher mathematics. I have strengths and I have weaknesses, but, really, you don't want me writing about software, believe me. I don't learn software easily or well. (It was one of the reasons I got into photography in the first place, and I'm really not kidding—so I wouldn't have to get anywhere near computers! That's the truth. ) I can't write intelligently about the software I use, much less every other option too. However, Dpreview to the rescue—they've just published a list of ten alternatives to Photoshop. Granted, two of the ten have "Photoshop" in the name, and are from Adobe, but aren't Photoshop. Personally, I'm leaning toward DxO. Anyone have any comments about that? And many photographers just use Lightroom now, and that won't change. So to a lot of people, I suppose, this whole Photoshop CC tempest is taking place in someone else's teapot anyway.... Mike Original contents copyright 2013 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. TOP's links! (To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)Featured Comments from: No featured comments yet—please check back soon!

Canadian photojournalist – Ted Grant – is quoted as saying: “When you photograph people in color, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in Black and white, you photograph their souls!” This quote often comes to mind when talking about portraiture and I thought it might make an interesting discussion starter. Do Ted’s words resonate with you? Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips. Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips. DISCUSS: When you Photograph People in Black and White, you Photograph their Souls

A Guest Post by Lynsey Peterson. Nothing freaks me out like props.  Every time I see a picture of flower girls holding an empty frame that is outlining a bride and groom kissing in the distance, I die a little inside.   Whenever I am subjected to a photo that attempts to bring in a letter jacket and a football and a casual I’m-just-hanging-out-here-in-my-letter-jacket-holding-my-football expression, I try to remember that I am terrible at making coffee and therefore cannot give-up photography immediately and go get an application at Starbucks.  We have come to a place where portrait photography trends are natural and candid and while you would think that means we are leaving all props behind to die a formal, posed, and staged death, we just can’t help ourselves from wanting to put a little extra something in there.   Something personal.  Or themed.  Or fun.  As a photographer, the logistics of getting something personal or themed or fun in an image and having it look natural are overwhelmingly complicated.  Often leading to overwhelmingly complicated images.  But if done right, a little extra something adds…….a little extra something.  Photographing people with props comes down to one basic thing: how can you make this interact with that? Make it Natural This shot doesn’t scream A PROP WAS USED HERE, though it was.  This bride did not provide me with a “must have” shot list, which of course makes her my favorite bride ever, but she had one simple request: one picture of her drinking a can of PBR in her wedding gown.   Now admittedly when she told me that, I wanted to pass out from the biggest eye roll that has ever happened because……….how on earth was I going to pull that off?  The goal was a tongue-in-cheek stylish effort that didn’t come across as a classless snapshot.   Had there been any posing or obvious mention of the can, it could have easily gone from sweet and funny to tasteless and tacky.  Instead it’s a near romantic take on a candid moment at a reception.  It’s rare that making a joke out of the prop or drawing obvious attention to it generates a beautiful and interesting portrait.  Since it’s already on the losing side of “one of these things is not like the other”, there is no need to point it out.   Make it Different When it comes to props in portrait photography, chances are good that it’s been done before.  So do it different.  Photography is just storytelling and a prop is just another subject in your cast of characters; how many lines it gets is totally up to you.  High school seniors tend to be the group most interested in including a prop.  Which is often sports equipment and getting creative and unposed with things like sporting equipment is not an easy task.  Step out of the intended purpose and treat it like an object.   A soccer ball doesn’t have to go at the feet, a letter jacket doesn’t have to be worn, a lacrosse stick doesn’t have to……do whatever it is that lacrosse sticks do.  The image is about a person—the viewer knows what the intended purpose is of a practical use prop. Make it Simple Including a prop adds another level for the eye to process, so clean up everything else as much as you can.  A tight frame, a clean background, and minimal distractions are all your friends.  Stick with them and they won’t do you wrong. Make it Meaningful As props go, the easiest of the bunch are the ones people want included because they are highly personal and mean a great deal.  Wedding rings, special stuffed animals, maybe their cat (tip: avoid this one if you can).  The interaction here will be easier, so the key is highlighting the connection between the person and their special prop.   The book in this photo was written by their great-grandmother and has obvious family importance.  Before this shot I took dozens of them just holding the book, wanting badly to document the entire cover.  Finally it dawned on me that

By Bill Cramer, Wonderful Machine I recently was approached by a regional fashion magazine needing some advice on their photographer and photo director contracts. They had encountered some push-back on them and they wanted to know what they could do to make the agreements a little more palatable. The documents have three parts, an Independent Contractor Agreement (which would be for all vendors, like photographers, illustrators, stylists, etc.), Schedule A which spells out details specific to each individual contributor, and a Photography Director section explaining the expectations of that job. Here’s what I had to say: Xxxxxxxx, I hope you had a nice holiday season. I had a chance to sit down with your contributor contract today, and here are my thoughts (in bold). My main recommendation would be for you to license more limited use of the photos. I can understand why you would want to own all of the photographs outright. However, this provision is so far out of the mainstream that you will have trouble finding a decent photographer to agree to it. Or put another way, a more reasonable contract will afford you the opportunity to work with better photographers. I think it would be reasonable to ask for first editorial print use in your main magazine and use in your other publications for a period of three months (which matches up with the compensation terms). New uses after that could be compensated with a renewal of the 2% commission for that new period or with a simple rate structure for the different uses you commonly need and then negotiate for anything unusual that might come up. My other concern is that the language is unnecessarily complex. You’re not really paying photographers enough for them to hire an attorney to review your contract. The stakes are pretty low for you and the photographer/photo director. It would be better to find an attorney who understands the magazine business well enough to simplify the language sufficiently for the average person to understand it while still protecting your interests (and the contractor’s). I hope that’s helpful. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks! Bill INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR AGREEMENT This Agreement is entered into as of the _____ day of __________, ______, between Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx, LLC d.b.a. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx Magazine (“the Company”) and ______________________ (“the Contractor”). WHEREAS, the Company is in need of assistance in the area of __Photography________; and WHEREAS, Consultant has agreed to perform consulting work for the Company in ____Photography_________________ services and other related activities for the Company; NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereby agree as follows: 1. Independent Contractor. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, the Company hereby engages the Contractor as an independent contractor to perform the services set forth herein, and the Contractor hereby accepts such engagement. This paragraph should be combined with paragraph 11 and 24 which cover the same ground. 2. Duties, Term, and Compensation. The Contractor’s duties, term of engagement, compensation and provisions for payment thereof shall be as set forth in the estimate previously provided to the Company by the Contractor and which is attached as Exhibit A, which may be amended in writing from time to time, or supplemented with subsequent estimates for services to be rendered by the Contractor and agreed to by the Company, and which collectively are hereby incorporated by reference. This is vague. Do you mean to say Schedule A (as it’s written below)? It sounds like you’re saying that Exhibit A (Schedule A) constitutes an estimate (it doesn’t appear that way to me.) Do you mean to say that the Contractor is providing the Company with Exhibit A or that the Company is providing it to the Contractor (it is your form)? 3. Expenses. During the term of this Agreement, expenses for the time spent by Contractor in traveling to and from Company assignments shall

they questioned why she did not report her problems sooner. But she knew that if she had reported them, should would lose the job she loved so much. “The military had trained me this way — to suck it up,” she said. “The one thing about PTSD is it’s the war that never ends” she said. “Suicide might seem like a viable option. It’s a permanent solution to a temporary problem.” via lens.blogs.nytimes.com. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Revolutionary New Website Design: HTML5 Fast, Easy to Build, Smart Phone/Pad Friendly, Multimedia Galleries and Retina Ready. Free demo (here).

Monday: 5.20.13 Creative Director: David Curcurito Director of Photography: Michael Norseng Photo Editor: Alison Unterreiner Art Director: Stravinski Pierre Photographer: Miko Lim --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Revolutionary New Website Design: HTML5 Fast, Easy to Build, Smart Phone/Pad Friendly, Multimedia Galleries and Retina Ready. Free demo (here).

Cottonwood, Fallen Monolith, and Cliff – Sunlight reflected from nearby canyon walls illuminates an autumn cottonwood tree in front of a fallen sandstone monolith and vertical cliff face.Cottonwood, Fallen Monolith, and Cliff. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah. October 29, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.Sunlight reflected from nearby canyon walls illuminates an autumn cottonwood tree in front of a fallen sandstone monolith and vertical cliff face.I may be repeating a story I’ve previous told, but here goes. Earlier during my late-October visit to Utah we had wandered into this area, only to be largely stymied by clouds, cold, absurdly strong winds, and even a bit of rain. It was a bit disappointing, in that we had really looked forward to visiting this portion of the Escalante River, and when we started out in the early morning and saw a lot of beautiful fall color we thought we were in for a good day of shooting. Although that day was not a complete loss, it wasn’t what we hoped for – and by the end of the day we were struggling against very strong winds and cold.Fortunately, nearly a week later we found ourselves back in roughly the same area of Utah, and as we considered the next day’s possible shooting locations the idea of giving this spot a second try came up. After considering that alternatives of trying a new location or going back, we decided to go back. It was a good decision! Where the first visit had been cold, cloudy, windy and even a bit damp, the second visit brought warmer conditions, almost completely clear skies… and most important, nearly windless conditions. (At one point we were cautiously admitting to one another that we had made exposures of foliage that lasted as long as a couple of seconds!) Near one large bend in the canyon there was a spectacular abundance of “targets” – brilliant cottonwood and box elder trees, beautiful canyon walls of various colors, fallen leaves, and more. On the previous visit we had all looked at this little scene of a large fallen section of the canyon wall with golden cottonwoods growing all around, and then pretty much continued on since the trees where being whipped around by the wind. But on this second visit the wind was calm, and light was reflected into the scene from sunlit sandstone walls to our right.G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more. Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | EmailText, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell. Photographs, text and other media in this RSS news feed from the G Dan Mitchell Photography blog are © copyright G Dan Mitchell - all rights reserved. This web site news feed is for personal, non-commercial use only.

It’s pretty incredible what you can knock up in a day if you’re suitably caffeinated – or slowly on your way to getting sozzled. In the case of the Triggertrap Company Hackathon, I decided to build a site celebrating one of my favourite hobbies: Timelapse photography. A screen shot of a website? What’s next, an interpretative dance recital of a haiku poem? Actually, come to think of it, that’s not such a bad idea. Primelapse.com is the name, and it is a collection of a load of rather fabulous timelapses from around the world, organised by location, technique, and theme. If HDR photography is your poison, we’ve got you covered. Looking for timelapses from California? Done. How about a load of timelapses taken from space? Yeah, sure, why the hell not. It’s a brand new site, so there’s a load of things I still want to add to the site, but for now, we’ve got the first hundred or so timelapses live on there, so why not pop over and have a look?! This article was originally posted at Brand new site celebrating Timelapse Photography! , on Photocritic. PLEASE NOTE -- The contents of the Photocritic blog is strictly copyrighted, and this feed is for personal, non-commercial use only. The use of this feed on other websites is a copyright infringement, so you should only ever be able to read this text in a feed reader. Digital Fingerprint: d07805f964d211dfdfe227d609f7448f