The Secrets (sequel to previous blog, The Shot)

Shooting with a camera is like shooting with a gun. If you keep firing your gun, you are bound to eventually hit the bulls' eye. It may take innumerable shots, but you'll eventually get it. The same goes with a camera. Just keep shooting. As you get better with practice, you need less images to get a successful hit. A true expert may need just a few shots to get a great image. At the moment I still need hundreds.

The other secret is with the model. Most people are attracted by the picture because the girl has a beautiful face. Replace that with a less attractive face, using the same pose, you will not visualize it as a cover shot.

Finally, the pose. In my opinion, a truly accomplished portrait photographer is able to pose the model with seemingly little effort. A maestro portrait photographer is a delight to watch. As he speaks to the model, he is actually easing her into projecting her best self, in the best light (pun intended).  "The Shot" was an exceptional piece of work (I'll gladly agree to that); the photographer is, but still work-in-progress!

The Shot

The picture here is one of 309 pictures I shot on our model shoot that day. I managed to have a few good ones and a lot of average ones. The whole shoot took about 3 hours for the five of us. Coming away with a few good shots is all it takes for me to feel satisfied with the day's effort. I think many fellow photographers feel the same way too.
 
In a model shoot with many other photographers around, we often end up duplicating one another's images. It is hard to take full credit unless you posed the model and you set up the lighting. I am particularly pleased with this one because I posed this shot and others saw and took it too. (This image was shot through a circular ring of daylight fluorescent light, about a meter from the face).

Portraiture class in Croydon

These pictures were taken at my portraiture class today. The class lasted one full day. It was tiring, but fun!

The big satisfaction I got out of today was that my 24-70mm lens held up very, very well. It was simply ideal for today's shoot. I was able to get in very close, as well as zoom in from a distance. The focal range was ideal. Also, the constant f2.8 aperture meant that I could dial in at any ISO, as well as having the freedom to use a whole range of shutter speed/aperture settings. All the pictures came out sharp even though the entire shoot was done hand held.

When I was using my kit lens before for a similar shoot, I was having a lot of difficulty because I had to make compromises between ISO and shutter speed, while hamstrung by limited aperture settings.

Charged for shooting

I am not talking about criminals being charged for firearm offenses. I am talking about photographers being made to pay extra for bringing a camera into an area that already charges an admission fee. I think all photographers of the world should unite to openly boycott all such places. After all, almost everyone carries a mobile these days, and almost every mobile phone has a camera. So why should we photographers be penalized for bringing an SLR or a videocam, while 90% of the other visitors get away with it?

One such place is Montsalvat. It charges an entry fee of $14 per adult. On top of that it charges $22 per hour for student and amateur phtographers. See: http://www.montsalvat.com.au/Contact.aspx . I am in the midst of seeking clarification from them and I shall update in this blog later.

If you know of any place that charges a fee for bringing a camera, please alert me and all readers of this blog by listing the place in the comment section below. I shall make this list public to my camera club, and perhaps use the power of the internet to start a "revolution" to get all photographers to boycott these places as a matter of principle.

Digital/technological downsizing

Our life is getting more and more complex, thanks to digital technology. Take a telephone, for example. In the old days, the telephone has just a simple rotary dial. You pick up the receiver and you dial the number you want. Today's telephone comes with an instruction manual that teaches you how to store contact numbers and use all the numerous features like intercom, redial, quick dials, etc. Every gadget you buy invariably comes with a need to get aquainted through serious reading of the operating manual.

We can make a deliberate effort to simplify the day-to-day running of our lives. Instead of a full-featured car with electronic gadgetry, for example, one can opt for a "minimalist" car with no elaborate gadgetry. When the remote control of my car ran out of battery, I gave it up and I just use my ignition key to open or lock the car. It saves me from carrying a remote.

We can opt to carry a simple mobile phone that just makes call and does SMS. This saves us from having to handle 3G or wifi connections. One doesn't really need to access the internet while on the move. One doesn't need to carry a GPS in his mobile; nor does he need to carry his entire family album; nor does he need to be able to watch video. Why can't we do all these in the comfort of home?

When buying home appliances, I always try to look for appliances with simple operations and no fancy features. I do not want something that can be programmed in a  hundred ways. I don't want something that has an LCD screen, I just want simple knobs, switches, and dials. I don't know about you, but I want keep my life simple.

Ken Duncan, Australian landscape photographer

Ken Duncan is a well-known Australian landscape photographer. He also shot for The Passion, the movie directed by Mel Gibson depicting the suffering of Christ. Last weekend he spoke at the Citylife Church. He also showed a lot of his images as he talked about his life experiences. After the service, he autographed books for people. Many queued up to buy his books. They were really selling like hot cakes. My wife bought two as presents for friends. I insisted that she did not buy any for me.

Many people assume that as a photographer I would be the first to buy his book, and that I would be delighted to have a picture taken with him. Actually, neither is true. I thought about it for a while, wondering why is it that non-photographers are flocking to him, while I did not feel any desire to do that. I wonder if other photographers feel the same way I do. I'll have to chat with others at the camera club to see if this is just me, or if this is a common feeling among other photographers too. If you are a photographer, what is your feeling about this?

Photos by a non-photographer

My wife just came back from a trip in Europe. I picked out a few of her pictures which I think are pretty good. Admittedly, the images are low in resolution and high in noise due to camera limitations. The camera she used was a five-year old Canon Ixus 50.

Seeing that straight-from-the-camera shots do not seem to be very popular these days, I did some heavy photoshop work on them to produce exaggerated colour tones.

(For more pictures, please go to http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.230259390331877.65231.100000434531921)