Focus On Photography

Spring has sprung

admin — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 19:52:23 +0000

OK all you focused photographers - time to grab your camera and start shooting. I did this past weekend, and it felt really good. Now all I need is time to see what I was able to capture.

I presently belong to several photographic meetup groups, and I highly recommend that you consider joining at least one in your area. Even if you’re like me and like to shoot on your own, the meetup group can inspire you to go to a specific place to shoot, and you have the opportunity to make new friends (doesn’t get better than that).

Of course, if you’re coming to New York City (or are in NYC) you can contact me to join my Foto Safari and sspend the day seeing neat places as you master new photographic techniques. Just go to http://www.mostcool.net to find out more.

The Other 1/2 Of Photography

admin — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:27:57 +0000

Taking photographs is only half of the creative process - developing those images is the other half. Whether you’re developing your images with chemicals in a traditional darkroom, or processing your images digitally, the computer is todays ‘darkroom’. With film, you can develop and then print your images, but I suggest you have even more creative control by scanning your negatives of slides into a computer, and then working on them.

With small formats, (35 mm - 2 1/4) it’s very difficult to capture the perfect shot simply because we have a very small canvas to work on. The view camera offers a much larger canvas that we can view and adjust accordingly. So using a software program like Photoshop or Lightroom is the next best thing.

I always shoot in RAW so I have total control of how the image will be processed. And, if I change my mind and decide to go for a different look, I can easily do so without destroying my original image - how cool is that?

Of course, not everyone is comfortable with the Photoshop or Lightroom. There are a number of other software programs on the market that are less expensive and easier to get up and running with. In fact, I believe there may even be some free software available, so ‘google’ it and see what you can find. The bottom line here is you should do something with those images after the shutter has clicked, and that something should be done in you computer. This will enhance your photographic experience, and, hopefully, create even more joy!
Have fun with it!

What’s Black and White and Red All Over?

admin — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:18:23 +0000

The answer - infrared images. What you see when you first open a infrared image is a kind of red cast over the image. No problem - using either Lightroom (which I love), or Photoshop (or whatever else you use to edit), simple covert it to black and white. I normally go from Lightroom to Photoshop to use the black and white layer adjustment to fine tune my image. However, I’ve just ordered Nik Silver Efex Pro which I saw demonstrated at B&H. It is ‘most cool’. So will probably use it from now on. Anyway, that’s it. To see some examples of IR photography just visit my site, mostcool.net. This link takes you directly to my IR images. Let me know what you think.

If you want to add color, I suggest making a duplicate layer first, then converting one layer to color and the other to black and white. Use a mask on one of these layers and adjust to your hearts content.

There are a lot of interesting articles on infrared photography out there - just seek and you shall find. Most importantly - have fun!

Looking beyond our nose

admin — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 16:41:40 +0000

One of the wonderful things that has happened in the 21st Century is the ability to expand our horizons and connect with others who share our passion. One such person is Philip Clark who embraces the arts - all of it - including photography. And so I’m going to add a link to his blog, ‘The Artpoint’ which I hope you will find as interesting as I have.

What is Photography

admin — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 23:22:31 +0000

This NYC Foto Safari blog will help us share our passion for photography with each other. To me, photography is about the vision – not the equipment. A great photograph conveys a feeling; a mood; a story; a perspective. The equipment we use are the tools that will capture what we want to convey. Yes, it’s wonderful to have a Leica with a 50 mm sumacron lens, but the camera isn’t taking the photography – you are. And it’s what you see in your head that counts. My dad was a wonderful photographer – John H. Popper. And he taught me that the camera should be an extension of my hands. I shouldn’t have to think about where the controls are, I should know. I remember he would sit up at night practicing with his cameras with his eyes closed, so he would automatically know where everything was. If you want to read a little about him you can go to mostcool.net.

Photography is all about sharing

admin — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:41:07 +0000

One of the things I love about photography, is its unique ability to share. You can share smiles, tears, love and laugher, just with a click of the shutter. Memories are sometimes fleeting as we mature (not that anyone who knows me would use the word ‘mature’ as a description ), but looking at a photography of so and so, once upon a time, brings those precious memories crashing back into our conscious - and then you smile. How cool is that?

What brought me to this subject today was an experience I had yesterday. I joined a group of photographers from around the world through an organization called Help-Portrait. We all came together and took portraits of families in need, and then give them their portraits absolutely free of charge. There was no official affiliation, just an opportunity for photographers to use their skills, time and equipment to go out and help people in need. None of us will use these photographs to enhance our own businesses - it’s all about the people we wanted to give something to. And you should have seen the bright eyes and broad smiles on the faces of these wonderful people who came to our facility in Queens to be photographed. Just as wonderful was the bright eyes and broad smiles on us, as we reached out to let them know that they were special, beautiful, and cared about. Isn’t photography wonderful?

Do you see the light?

admin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:21:07 +0000

Photography is all capturing about light. It’s up to you as to how you will capture this light and what you will do with it , once captured.

I love to capture infrared light. This is light the naked eye doesn’t see, but. trust me, it’s there. You need a special film that is sensitive to infrared, or a digital camera designed (or modified) to capture infrared photography. And you should be able to see the image in your head, because you can’t see how the media you’re using is capturing this light. Here is an example of this. I took this photograph at a fair on Long Island, New York where they had hot air balloon demostrations going on.