Posts Tagged ‘ photography

Great Photo Resources: History of Photography Podcast

Hey there. Still ramping up content for LIDF and getting some things lined out at X-Equals. Things are moving along once again. Thanks for the patience.

Today I just wanted to share a great photo resource and learning tool. Jeff Curto’s History of Photography podcast is gearing up for the fall semester. This podcast is actually a published recording of his in-classroom lectures, and is a great way to learn about the history of photography.

While very focused on the development of photography over the years, from technique to processes, it is a great way to learn how we have gotten to where we are.

There are snippets to inspire you, and you may just learn a few facts you never knew. The podcasts are enhanced with slides of the images being discussed, and it almost feels like you are in the classroom with him.

I’ll be listening, for like the 3rd time, join me. The first episode just dropped yesterday, so its the right time to jump in.

Later,

Michael

World Photography Day

Today is World Photography Day

172 years ago today, the nation of France gave a gift to the world that just keeps on giving. They gave us the gift of photography by sharing Louis Daguerre’s invention of the daguerreotype process.

This process has been refined by others, William Henry Fox Talbot and George Eastman of note to me. Their contributions, with many others, have brought us to the photographic techniques we know and love today.

These gifts have allowed many artists to find their voice and add beauty (and sometimes ugliness) to our lives. They have also allowed every person the ability to supplement memories with images, giving us touchstones to our past, sometimes giving us glimpses of the future.

I’m looking at a photo of me as a child. I am sitting with my grandfather who has passed from this earth. Simultaneously I am in touch with my past and unknowingly I have been seeing the future with the same image. I look at myself in the image and note how much my son looks like me, and my father for that matter. But you never know it’s the future until the present, but the photo lets me see that fact.

A photograph is not merely a pretty picture. It is truthfully a fossil. Let me explain that analogy.

When we see, at its basest, our eyes are capturing light photons that are bouncing off the subject. These photos travel in a wavelength that denotes colors. Our eyes receive these wavelengths and process that data into images that allow us to interact with the world.

Cameras allow us to focus these wavelengths onto a medium, be it film or a digital sensor. When we take a picture, these photons, which just bounced off the subject, are altering silver halide or altering voltage on a silicon wafer, recoding the image of the subject.

This is creating our “fossil”. The image was created by photons physically changing silver halide molecules or digital sensors.

When we develop the film, or when the camera or we render the sensor data, we render an image with these crystals or data. We are still in a sense touching that very light that bounce off our subject.

When we make a print, that same light is in a sense being transferred to paper. We have captured light, and made it ours. Be it 5 minutes ago or 100 years, we are seeing what was then, we have frozen light, and in turn time. We have made lights ours and in a sense gained immortality.

The print you have on your wall or on your desk, it is a fossil. Much like fossils are the mineralized remains of life past, a photograph is the light of the past rendered in silver, dyes and inks. These silvers, dyes and inks allow modern light to create a time warp, letting us look back into the past.

We are gods who have mastered time. Thanks to France.

Happy World Photography Day!

On the Web: Sites You Must Bookmark

20090621-01886_n_9acxhu9f21053

Howdy, everyone. Today is kind of a last minute post as I have been bogged down with order fulfillment and fighting a touch of illness. I was working on getting my introductory scanning piece ready, focusing on creating a great work flow for scanning film to be utilized in a RAW work flow. Its a big piece, and I was not comfortable releasing it yet.

Instead, I am going to make it an easy day and point you towards some of the photography blogs I frequent. If you are a fan of LifeInDigitalFilm, I am sure that you will find content on these sites that you will absolutely love. Much of my inspiration comes from these talented people and I hope you will find their material as a great resource and a great read. So moving on.

X-Equals

First off, I need to direct you to X-Equals, as always. Brandon Oelling has created a killer resource for any Lightroom user and the quality content grows every week. Alright, I admit I am partial here, as I am a regular contributor to this fine site, allowing me to delve further into post-processing and digital photography than I feel is appropriate here on LIDF. However, me writing for X-Equals aside, I have to admit Brandon is one of the go to guys when it comes to Lightroom. He knows his stuff, and if he doesn’t he will get an answer to any question posed.

X-Equals backlog of content is amazing, especially for any photographer taking steps to becoming pro. I know that even before I started collaborating with Brandon, his blog was a daily resource for me as I started up my small photography business. The style and knowledge presented on the X-Equals blog also inspired a lot of LifeInDigitalFilm’s content and is also a driving factor in the redesign of my blog and future changes coming up. I have culled a lot of useful knowledge regarding photographic work flows from Brandon, and X-Equals helped me design an efficient work flow for my work.

An added resource from X-Equals is the X-Equals+Digest, an bi-monthly newsletter providing exclusive content and presets of my own design. I know I have been pushing this alot, but you really need to sign up for this great resource. If you sign up today, you will even be eligible for a free copy of my Cold Storage Collection Vol 1 presets. We will be giving away 3 copies of my collection to 3, randomly chosen new sign-ups before the October 1st issue drops. Click on the ad for the Digest on the sidebar of my blog to get entered.

 xequals_digest_ad1

http://x-equals.com/blog

Brandon Oelling: @xequals on Twitter

Epic Edits

Alright, so you must like film photography if you are here on LIDF. BE it shooting the film or simulating it, you have the interest. Epic Edits is an awesome resource for any photographers, film or digital, but as you read through this blog, you will find Brian Auer is a true traditional photography devotee. The man shots, develops and prints from film, as less people are doing every day. His experience from shooting old school carries over into each of his posts, regardless of if the content is relevant to film or digital.

A great aspect of Epic Edits is that it is not merely a simple blog, but a growing, active community. Brian presents a variety of activities for the community, from give-aways of his darkroom prints to “Edit my Photo” competitions where he challenges readers to take his RAW file of an image and process it as they see fit. This experiment leads the reader to truly see the wide variations available to photographer to present their image in the way they choose.

Aside from this, Epic Edits is a treasure trove of reviews, tips, tricks and guidance relating to photography. Once you land on Epic Edits, be prepared to devote some time exploring. Any lover of photography will be at home on Epic Edits, and the wide variety of content and the active audience participation in comments will draw you in and keep you coming back for more.

Brian Auer claims to be an enthusiast, however I feel you will find his blog, content and photography to be on a professional level!

http://blog.epicedits.com

Brian Auer: @auer1816 on Twitter

Photofocus

Scott Bourne. Rick Sammon. Two photographer that are well known on the Internet. I first discovered Scott Bourne via This Week in Photography back when he got that project rolling. I admit, Scott can be abrasive to some, especially when discussing copyright, he is extremely passionate about photography. Regardless of what you feel about Scott Bourne, he knows photography and is an invaluable resource for those seeking guidance. Rick Sammon is an accomplished photographer who lends his technical knowledge to this blog as well. Between the two and selected guests, they explore photographic methods and techniques and force you to think beyond your gear and focus on becoming a great photographer.

The blog itself is a great resource, filled with informative posts and excellent video presentations. However the big draw is the Photofocus podcast, which is a listener driven podcast where Scott and Rick answer reader/listener questions. They always get a good answer and if for some reason they don’t they will find an answer. The blog and podcast are a must for beginners and even more advance photographer will often stumble upon techniques and knowledge they were not already aware of.

http://www.photofocus.com

Scott Bourne: @ScottBourne on Twitter

Rick Sammon: @RickSammon on Twitter

Give these three resource a read and see if you are as satisfied with what they present as I am. And stay tuned for more great links in the future, as I have a list of great sites to visit that I am saving up for posts just like today’s. Especially for the days when my original posting plan falls apart, such as today.

Again, another reminder: Sign up for the X-Equals+Digest today for you chance at one of three copies of my Cold Storage Collection presets!

Michael