Lenses and filters- a primer

Kia ora tatou:

So which lenses should I buy?

I get asked this question a lot, so I thought it was time to do a rare/endangered species-gear post.

Let’s begin with lenses. I am not going to tell you which focal lengths you need. I have no idea, and anyway, you will find that the focal lengths you use will change over time, which is good. All focal lengths have their own characteristics and personalities. Like any good relationship, getting to know them takes time, understanding and perseverance.

In this post I am going to talk about quality for your dollar, or more crudely, bang for your buck. And there are a few things to take into consideration: (more…)

Releasing the dryad

A memory is what is left when something happens and does not completely unhappen.

~Edward de Bono

It was one of those perfect English autumnal days which occur more frequently in memory than in life.

~P.D. James

It has been nearly two years, but I am still haunted. The moment has yet to unhappen. May it never do so.

It was one of those late autumnal days, when the elementals were throwing the sky around, when the wind was capricious and well-intentioned, but largely unfocused. It would stop, scowl uncertainly beneath its dark cloudy eyebrows, and ponder mightily. Then its face would brighten, a childlike glee would fill its face, and it would dash around, shaking the trees, giving the waves a clip behind the ear and then rush maniacally over the nearest hill for a moment. But it would come back for more. I love the random unpredictability of days like this. (more…)

Kia ora tatou:
As a number of you have commented, when the posts drop off, it is because I am busy…very busy…
My apologies.
If they seem a little thin, I am working on it…

1. I have just upgraded the essays page to make it a little less visually constipating. There is a new essay from French photographer Robert Demachy, who wrote many essays in the early 20th century. On the Straight Print contains issues still current 100 years later. A bonus is the wonderfully formal prose…
2. From the Department of VERY Big Boys’ Toys….Last week Hasselblad announced their new 50Mp digital back. Not t be outdone, Phase One came straight back with their 60.5 Mp P65+ back. My spies tell me that it was there anyway, and they were just holding off until PhotoKina in September. But Hasselblad flushed them out of the woodwork…go on, Andrew, you know you want need one…or does the iPhone come first???
3. If, like me, you use Firefox in preference to Safari or Internet Explorer, the upgrade to 3.0 is well worth it. Not only is it faster and less resource-hungry, there are cool plugins available for it. My favourites are Foxmarks ( sync bookmarks across computers), All-in-One Sidebar, Pdf Download, and Sxipper ( keep track of your form details and login/passwords..
4. Lastly a tip from the Department of Pocket Protectors. I have been trying to find a way to send and receive email from my laptop while on the move without having to use slow and clunky webmail. Receive is easy enough. Send is something trickier. Well, there is a way, if you have a gmail account. In the account settings, specify your default smtp server as Gmail and it works anywhere. More details here or google : free smtp.
5. Update: Focusing Fallibilities. Those of you interested in focusing and focus issues might want to read Dave Etchell’s article. At first I thought it was a sound argument for avoiding autofocus. Now I realise it is an even sounder argument for avoiding manual focus. Or is it?
   

Ka kite ano

Kia ora tatou:

As a number of you know, Freeman, Sally and I will be teaching next year the visual design workshop  we have done for the last few years in Akaroa, New Zealand at the gorgeous Mt Vernon Lodge. Each year we finish the workshops exhausted and elated. As one recent attendee said: This workshop doesn’t teach visual design; it facilitates Art. And much more than that.

Next year I will be offering a digital Intensive before the main workshops, focusing on PhotoShop and including advanced techniques, along the lines of those in the previous post.

This is to let you all know that bookings opened yesterday.

I have uploaded a copy of the relevant guff for those of you interested. We are already receiving registrations from abroad. You can download information packs here.

information-pack-akaroa2009

registration-form

international-payments

If it continues this way, Sally and I will be the ones with the funny accents….

Ka kite ano

Kia ora tatou:

The following post is the first in a series I will write from time to time, depending on interest and feedback. In  the past I have tended to tallk about the how of photography and the why of photography, but rarely if ever together.

In these posts I want to talk about the journey from pre- to postvisualisation and the steps I have followed in making the image. I intend to offer workshops that explore this in the future and which marry concept and technique. Let me know what you think.

Clouds draw the wind

Brian Turner

You never really finish a piece of work; you abandon it

-Brian Turner

I am in haste. I can feel the land watching me and I am on edge, but I stop for a coffee anyway. (more…)