Vanity publishing

I really like to see my pictures printed, the bigger the better. But are there other ways to display them?

I wanted to look at some of the alternatives. This got me thinking about books. I hoped it would be a good way to bring a selection of my pictures together in one place. I could show them to people just by handing over the book.

There had to be theme, a story. What better than a decade of cycling photography.

Ten years ago I started cycling again after a break that started when I got my first motorbike. No pictures exist from back then. I've made up for it, this time around. 

It took some time to go through them all. Almost every ride results in a picture or two and I cycle most weekends. Then I chose the forty that I liked the most. I decided to make two books. The first one contained some specific journeys. London to Paris, the South Downs Way and trips to Brighton. Mostly bike shots. The second book contained more people. I wanted to show the people who have kept me cycling.

I don't expect to sell any books. It's just for me. An indulgence.

I might produce more books. I have so many pictures that aren't viewed very often, even by me.

To see a preview my books and purchase them. Click here.

I'm thinking Family and Beauty Portraits. Why not add your address to my mailing list. You'll be informed about future posts. Follow me on twitter. 

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Jumping ship

This might be a bit of G.A.S.

I am always reading on forums and blogs about photographers jumping ship to another manufacturer.

I know each one replaces their line-up at a different pace. Bringing improvements and new features before the competition.
But invariably they all catch up.

So what would tempt someone to sell all of their Canon kit for example, to be replaced by Nikon or Sony etc?

Pro quality lenses hold their value well, so selling them wouldn't incur too much of a loss. Camera bodies though don't fare so well. And the manufacturer specific accessories, they may not find a new home. Why not wait until the upgrades or improvements come to your system? That way you will only be looking at a new body.

Pro photographers can do the maths. They write off their equipment over the years. They can calculate how long it would take to recoup the cost of the change by work generated from having the new feature or ability. They use it more heavily, so could look at it as partly replacing old kit.

But what about amateurs? I replaced my camera body for one that had better ISO performance, higher resolution and I must admit to a bit of G.A.S. But I made sure it was going to be compatible with existing lenses and accessories. Otherwise it would have been too expensive. I have also gotten use to the layout and menus. There were some new features, or different ways to set it up. But no big changes.

Had I swapped manufacturers it would have almost been like starting again.

There is an upside to this. There is plenty of used last generation equipment for sale. For when I convince myself I need a newer camera.

Please checkout my website and facebook page. And leave a comment on this post. I would really appreciate your thoughts on this or any blog post. And my website.

For more of my work, go to my Facebook page.

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Critique

A short time ago I had the opportunity to spend some time with an established and successful photographer (Stephen Perry). I wanted to review my photography. To discuss how I had improved over the years. Where I could go in the future.

From my sports photography through the family portraits to the model shoots I have been doing lately.

My family and friends all say they like my pictures, and think they are very good. And I like them too.

But what would an impartial observer say? I don't get the chance to speak to more experienced photographers, so it was good to spend a couple of hours just talking about my work.

We concentrated on the pictures on my website. They are afterall my shop window.

I must admit they were a mixture of mostly older pictures. With a lot of sections. But I liked them and thought they showed what I could do.

At times it was a little difficult to hear. Picking out small imperfections or mistakes I had missed. Or suggesting that they just weren't my best work.

At the end of the review I had a lot to think about.

A change to the website structure was the first action point. I needed to simplify it.

Then I needed to look at the pictures on it, and remove a lot of them. And then pick some new content that would showcase only my best work.

The session gave me a new way to look at my pictures. Not only to be very critical of composition, lighting, posing, but the tools I used.

Could I have used a different lens to achieve a better result or effect?

Was the lighting right for the style, and mood I wanted to achieve?

Could I have changed the pose a little?

Did it flatter the subject, show them in the best possible way?

How could I have produced an image that stood out?

I had to look at each scene. Pull together all the elements and tools. And produce a picture that would draw the viewer in, tell a story or display a product at it's very best.

Overall it was a good and needed experience that I hope will improve my photography.

Please checkout my website and facebook page. And leave a comment on this post. I would really appreciate your thoughts on this or any blog post. And my website.

For more of my work, go to my Facebook page.

and 

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Confused about art

I was talking to my cycling buddy as we took a break from the ride. I had read an interview with some photographers, one of which was Kevin Abosch. He of the expensive potato picture. We wondered how that massive price had come about. What made it worth so much? We talked about art in general. I guess I just don't get it. Art, when it's painted, or sculptured tends to mean a one off. So I can see how the value, especially over time can grow. 

I am at a lose though to see how some modern art is so highly valued. 

Again it is a one off, even if the piece is produced again. It's not going to be exactly the same. But I don't understand what it is most of the time. Or what it's trying to say. 

It appears to me at least part of it's value is who the artist is, not the piece itself. 

Once a group of people collect the artists work, they buy everything. Why? Bragging rights, a show of wealth, or a way of demonstrating they are part of the group who understand in a way others are just not capable of?

Then I come to art photography. Again this is just my opinion. 

When you buy a piece of photographic art. It can easily be reproduced. Just printed again. I'm not saying because it is a photograph, it can't be art and highly prized though. It's just not unique in the same way.

I tend to shoot pictures that are either personal to me or the subject. Or that satisfy a requirement. So not really art in itself. Although I hope some of them would be seen as artistic. 

Maybe I'm just too literal a thinker. It has to be obvious. And that's my failing, not the artist's problem.

Here is the potato in question.

Pic: Kevin Abosch

Quote from Peta Pixel, I think, illustrates why I am confused about art. “Kevin likes potatoes because they, like people are all different yet immediately identifiable as being essentially of the same species,” “He has photographed many potatoes. This one is one of his favorites.”

What do you think? What am I missing?

For more of my work, go to my Facebook page.

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Celebrity portrait photographers

I have long wondered why some big name photographers are so revered.  I'm talking about the ones who have photographed famous people. And have become celebrities themselves. The pictures I have seen, in my opinion, aren't that good. The typical one is square on to the subject. Harsh or at the very least unflattering lighting. And worst of all are the ones in which the subject just looks totally disinterested.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not bitter that they are doing well, and I'm not.

Maybe it's me. I don't get modern art either. For me when the piece has the word installation in the description. Alarm bells start to ring. If I have to read an A4 sized explanation, to understand what it means I'm lost.

I was reading an interview with a famous celebrity photographer. The pictures accompanying the piece were as I expected. A series of passport style pictures. None engaged me or caused me to pause on them. Then I read this answer to a question; "Whether people are comfortably at ease is not something I've ever been interested in." And then it hit me; the reason I hadn't connected with the pictures. The subjects didn't look like they wanted to be there. There was no connection with the photographer, so no connection with me, the viewer. Even worse the eyes were dead. I know the saying the eyes are the windows to the soul. Now I could see what that saying meant.
It doesn't just have to be when the subject is looking at the camera. There were pictures in the article when they were looking away, but they still looked dead. There was no spark.

So why is it that celebrities and the media insist that these photographers are sometimes the only ones they will work with?

I always try to connect with the person I'm photographing. Be as relaxed as possible. Because that is what I want the viewer of my photographs to feel. My most favourite photographs have got this. To me at least.

I watched Sky Arts Master of Photography. Hoping for some insight into professional photography. There was to be a famous photographer each week to mentor and help the contestants. And successful photographers for judges. I was a little disappointed. The contestants seemed to have little idea about what to deliver. And the guest mentors were either ignored or weren't very helpful. The best episode was with Jason Bell. I thought what he said was the most helpful to the contestants, and to me. Looking at his work, he is the one I connect with and understand the most.
Even the judges seemed at times to be at a loss as to what to say to the contestants. Maybe if the judges had produced some work, to show at the end to illustrate what they had expected. It would have been more constructive. I'm not sure I would have done any better, and if they had been professional photographers, on a paid assignment. They might have done a bit more research and given themselves more time to understand the brief.

I have read a few photography books to try to improve my photography. The authors have been successful photographers. But I nearly always finished the books feeling a little flat.

Some just talked about the famous people they had photographed and the great places they had been. The included pictures were in the same vain as I have been talking about. And some were dry technical how-tos.

Because for me it's about a connection to the subject, these books didn't help me much.

Then I read Gregory Heisler's 50 Portraits. In it he talks about why he used a particular camera, lens and lighting. Not in a dry, purely technical way. But why the strengths of his choice fitted the mood or location. He also talked about why he liked the particular picture. I don't think it was meant to be an instructional book. I found this one of the most helpful photography tutorial I have read. It is also something I go back to frequently.

For more of my work, go to my Facebook page.

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G.A.S Gear Acquisition Syndrome

I read a lot from photographers, hobbyists like me mostly, asking about an upgrade of equipment. "What should I get next?", "will this new piece of equipment improve my photography?".

Often the replies given question the need for the upgrade, what about your current equipment is limiting you? What will this new piece of equipment give you that you need?

Generally there is a struggle to answer these questions.

A brief history of my photography might help to illustrate. And to show I'm not immune to G.A.S.

My wife bought me a Kodak point and shoot digital camera. It reawakened my interest in photography. It was great to be able to see the pictures straight away. Print it at home, or print just the pictures I wanted, not the whole roll.

But is was limited and didn't give me the control I wanted, it didn't allow for off camera flash, it was slow, and battery life was appalling.

When I looked for a replacement I knew a DSLR would resolve these issues. An upgrade was a sensible move. But which one? I read lots of reviews. This allowed me to understand and list the features I was most interested in. Searching on ebay I found a Nikon D70. By todays standards some would say a poor camera. But not to me. I bought an inexpensive secondhand telephoto zoom. And did mostly motorsport photography. A friend does track day photography and I helped out on a few occasions. The lens I had wasn't fast enough, and there was a little bit of lens envy. So I bought a more expensive secondhand lens, that when new would have been considered a pro lens.

This combination served me well. I printed 20x30 inch from the 6mp sensor. And rarely wished I had better than the 2.5 fps it was capable of. I did borrow 2DX and thought briefly that this was what I needed. But that feeling past before I bought one.

Then G.A.S struck. I convinced myself that I was being held back by the poor low light performance of the D70. This got me to a D90. In the meantime I had bought lenses that I only used a few times. After, again convincing myself that I needed they could provide, .

Today I flirt with buying a full frame DSLR or even a medium format camera. I can't justify it. But it doesn't stop me adding them to my ebay watch list.

The manufacturers feed this cycle. It seems cameras, lenses etc are being replaced with newer, better versions. Each one suggesting that your present equipment is now not up to the job.

It's not just cameras. How often have you bought a new television lately? In the days of CRT's, once you had a television that was it until it broke. Even then there was a local repair shop.
We were told an HD flat screen was all that we would ever need for unbelievable picture quality. Now we are constantly told that the latest technology, curved, 4k etc is even more unbelievable than before.

How often have you fallen foul of G.A.S with technology?

For more of my work, go to my Facebook page.

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