I've been loving the work of Albert Dros I came across on Flickr. Amazingly beautiful landscapes. Check them out on his Flickr Photostream.
News
Member Françoise Muller-Robbie made a post to Facebook the other day that had me intrigued and filled me with awe.
Big thanks to Chrisy who shared this piece with us... The video in the article is where it's at... if you thought dodging and burning in photoshop was difficult to master, consider Christopher Burkett's process: it sometimes takes him up to 8 hours to make a print in his non-digital process as he truely paints with light.
The "racing against time" in the headline of the original piece at PetaPixel at first had me thinking the poor guy was ill, thankfully not the case, rather Christopher works in an 8x10 format on Cibachrome paper which is no longer manufactured, but he's bought a 10-year supply. Only trouble is, once exposed and developed the Cibachrome will degrade over time and Christopher needs to make all the prints he wishes to before the original work is not longer viable.
True Puritans, Christopher and his wife travel to locations and look to find interesting scenes to shoot, sometimes that takes an hour, sometimes they stay for a whole week looking for the best shot. I think in the digital age a lot of us have lost the finesse it takes to make a great image. It's perhaps too easy to point and click rather than the effort it takes for folks like Christopher to lug around his huge 8x10 camera, set it up, move the bellows for depth of field and focus and another bellows for the lens hood. He has to be sure he has a shot to make before he goes through all that effort.
Following this process in finding his image, he then exposes it, you'll note his wife standing off the the side, making what I assume to be notes about his exposure settings (another thing we used to do quite often back in the day, before digital and metadata). But the real show of talent comes at around the 5:30 mark when you see how Christopher doges and burns his image during exposure. While you're seeing his process using Cibachrome, the process was much the same when exposing smaller film thought an enlarger onto photo paper.
Anyway, enough of my blathering, check out the video below from PBS News Hour for more, and be amazed at what people are still doing to make a photo.
During the visit to St Arnaud and Donald a trio of our members had quite the chance encounter.
While at a cafe in Tarnagulla on Sunday the members were having a conversation about the town they had stopped in, they were handed a sheet of paper to read by the cafe owner, it was from the man sitting at the table next to them. Overhearing their conversation the man, a local resident and poet Ken Peake, had been inspired to put pen to paper and write his third poem for the day.
A regular at the cafe, Mr Peake visits for coffee and inspiration to write is poems and on this day he had plenty.
So, in the Web Whip this week I included a link to PixelPeeper.io, a website where you can upload a JPG image and, if it hasn't had its metadata stripped, see the Lightroom adjustments that have been made. Well seems the world of photography as a love/hate relationship with the site, that is largely unfounded... because... you've actually always been able to do this in Photoshop!
To confirm that PixelPeeper does what it claims to, I uploaded one of my images to the site to see the results.
It's thistle time. Check out the local empty blocks and paddocks for loads of thistles full of pollen and bees. Kororoit Creek Road has a stack of them near Grieve Parade. Guaranteed bees, bees and more bees. If you're like me and want to pinch a few to take home, use secatuers and some really thick gloves as they have some mean barbs on them.
What about a new start for the new year? Why not a 365 project? A photo a day for the rest of the year.
five-beautiful-365-photo-projects-get-inspired
These long evenings are great for backlit photos.
More new years' good ideas
New-years-resolutions-15-ideas-for-photographers
10-photography-resolutions-new-year
Christmas tree bokeh portraits
How to take bokeh xmas images with 31 stunning example
Shoot thru xmas lights
Forced perspective with bokeh
Xmas light bokeh background
Must get xmas pictures before the tree comes down
Xmas light painting
Abstract images of xmas lights
Given the number of questions we have received about the Paper Bag Challenge for "Balloon" I'm guessing some of you aren't too sure what to do do with the balloon you've been given.
The only rule is it has to be a balloon you can blow up with you mouth. So yes, this rules out hot air balloons.
With only about 3 weeks to go before it's due, it's time to get cracking on taking your shot. Some of the samples below I'd probably consider way over processed, but each to their own. They are presented as inspiration, not direction.
I look forward to seeing what you do with your balloons.
If you're looking to print your photos, I recommend Photo Enlargements. Many of us use this service and their service is great and the delivery is pretty fast. Usually a few working days. Other services can be found on our Links page.
A quick wrap up of some of the things we've found on our travels around the Internet this week. And don't forget we're on Twitter @williamstowncc, we'll often post links and interesting stuff we find to Twitter.
Upcoming
Judging: Judging: Still Life and Open
Join us for the judging of our second competition Still Life and Open in A and B grades
Walker Close Community Centre
23rd April 2024 7:30 pm
Photo Shoot: Spudfest - Trentham
Details to be advised closer to the date. The annual Spudfest in Trentham will offer many photographic opportunities to our members.
Walker Close Community Centre
4th May 2024 10:00 am