Kia ora tatou:

A friend (who shall remain nameless) sent me this email/rant. He has agreed to allow it to be published….

What is it about photography?

In praise of cameras and the Epson 3800

The thing I associate most with photography is terror. Not that I’m in any danger, far from it. It’s just I’m a rotten traveller. The destinations are usually wonderful, but the getting there…..

Yesterday on the way to Motuara Island I found myself in what’s laughingly called a “water taxi”. It is a reinforced steel cage with a boat built around it and it does about 30 knots, which is roughly half the strength of the southerly blowing just out past the Tory Channel.

(more…)

Updated Monday 1450

Kia ora tatou:

My friend and fellow artist, Doc Ross, has this disturbing ability to throw intellectual hand grenades and stir responses. yesterday He sent an email to a small group of us who have a regular e-debate on photography, the Universe and everything. He is usually the instigator, and the results can be hilarious, as each of us comes out of his burrow.Yesterday this appeared in my Inbox. I share it with the rest of you. Feel free to come on board and offer your thoughts.

Here’s a question for you, taking into consideration that it has been noted that the perfect scene as described by people worldwide contains all of the following, a horizon, a lake, mountains, trees, animals, and people.  However if this was taken as to be considered applicable to the perfect picture, then a big Mac and fries would have to be the perfect meal!

So what do you think makes a good landscape ? Is there actually such a thing ? And what can move you in a landscape?

Doc (more…)

The copyright demon: is somebody stealing your work?

Over the last few years, at seminars and workshops, I have been asked the question: what do you do when somebody steals your image? My answer has been somewhat vague, as I haven’t really had any direct experience of it.

Well, now I have. And I know more.

A month or so ago, I was photographing in town and walked past a small gallery in Central Christchurch. There, sitting in the window was an image I had shot for an organisation, printed (badly), enlarged to around 30″ by 40″, in a frame and for sale. It was the first I knew about it. (more…)

Kia ora tatou:

I wonder how many of us read those EULA’s ( End User Licence Agreements) we agree to when we install software or sign up for an online service. I would bet  not many of us.

This came to me today from what I take to be a reputable source.

Hi everyone,

This was mentioned briefly at the XXXX XXXX lecture on Monday, but for
those of you who weren’t there please be aware that when you open a Flickr
account (or use any Yahoo!Xtra service) you are agreeing to the following
Terms of Service: (more…)

The golden rule is that there are no golden rules

-George Bernard Shaw

Rules are made to be broken and are too often for the lazy to hide behind

-Douglas Mac Arthur

I received this email the other day from a member of a local camera club. I am going to call him Frustrated of New Brighton. I would like to think he was a lone voice in the wilderness. I know he is not. I have heard this story any number of times. But first, his comments…

The one thing that irritates me about camera clubs is their strict adherence to so called rules of composition. It is a cardinal sin to crop a limb off someone in a photograph, the rule of thirds etc…….etc……..While I acknowledge that a photographer should have an understanding of  these so called  rules,  it is counterproductive to insist that club members adhere to them religiously. Tony, you will remember the humming bird shot in the club competition that you recently helped judge. Do you remember that the bird was smack bang in the middle of the frame? Does it matter?

I came across a classic timeless image by Henri Cartier-Bresson the other day while browsing online galleries. It’s the one of the boy strutting around a street corner with a bottle of wine tightly tucked in each arm, but it is the expression on his face that says it all. In all the times I have seen that image I never noticed before that the boy’s legs have been cut off in the photograph. Why didn’t I notice that before? Because it isn’t important to the impact of the image, and it isn’t important to the story the photographer was presenting to me. The image below is one I took at a recent Maori Cultural Evening at Willowbank. The club was invited to take photographs for promotional purposes.

I won’t be entering this in any club competitions next year. I know that the judge will throw it out because I have cut the hands off.

DOES IT MATTER?

FoNB, it doesn’t matter, and it does. Let me explain. It may take a little while…. (more…)

Kia ora tatou:

There is an old photographic joke that goes something like this…

Q. What is the difference between a club photographer, a pro and a fine art photographer?

A. Club photographers talk about their gear (photographic!), pros talk about their last sale, and fine art photographers talk about the meaning of life…

Now I am not one to raise a topic which will start a flame war, such as why Canons are better than Nikons or why MacOS is better than Windows or Linux, but I am happy to point you in the direction of somebody else’s war….

Ken Rockwell has written a post on his website giving his opinion on this. He takes the point of view that it is the photographer that matters, not the equipment.

Michael Reichmann, over at Luminous Landscape, has taken the opposing position. He argues that the size/quality of your toys is important…

Have a read and then comment. I challenge you…..

Ah, isn’t hubris a wonderfully predictable thing…..

Ka kite ano

Kia ora tatou:

Canon users may be interested in this little item of news, sent to me by a completely impeachable source in our fair capital.

Rather than clutch it to my chest, I share it freely, dear reader (I always wanted to say that; it is so Dickensian).

There may even be some truth in it…..

Latest rumours about the 5DII suggest that Nikon has put the wind up them. Hopefully they will also respond with accelerated lens design! (more…)

Kia ora tatou:

As I mentioned in a previous post, the battle is on.

Alan Blacklock, a dear friend and the photographer for NIWA , in Wellington, New Zealand, proposed a small competition around the subject of urban landscape. I have no problems with that, although I have to say UL is not a genre I work in very much. I suspect he does. Perhaps that is why he suggested it….

The rules are simple (until he starts winning, at which point I will begin changing them, i.e all future work is to be shot with a Canon 1-series DSLR..).

The first round is entitled:

You show me mine, I’ll show you yours.

You get to nominate the winner. No honours, acceptances or merits . It’s either him or me.

Please post your comments/voting in the comments section over the next 3 weeks. If you feel like having some club judging practice, indulge yourselves!

And without further ado, here they are.

NB, mine is the one with the traffic light…

Kia ora tatou:

It is that time of the year again ( isn’t it always?).With Christmas on us, the insane rush to shut New Zealand for a few days will see people buying as if the shops will be shut forever, and tradesmen working 28-hour days to complete work for clients ( you want it when?).

Things I do badly (the list is extensive) include remembering birthdays and writing Xmas cards. My apologies in advance.

I have however written this small piece, my way of thanking you all for your warmth, friendship and support over the year.

It is deeply appreciated.

May Christmas bring you all joy, peace and tranquillity.

Arohanui e hoa (more…)

Kia ora tatou:

Watching the posts on the Perfectly Clear post I noticed that the debate was veering (yet again) towards the old film vs digital thing. So let me pull the pin on this one! I believe film still has a lot going for it. (more…)