Newborn Photography...

Cute no ?...

How on earth could you get a newborn only a few weeks old to pose like that ?...

Well you have to do no more than take a look at the video below from [FRAMED], which features the work of Laura Farris and Amanda Andrews, for a wonderful insight into the world of Newborn Photography and to get an idea of the huge amount of creativity, attention to detail and patience that's required to get these sort of shots.

A very big thank you to Laura who very kindly granted us use of her fantastic image above.

Simplicity...

Simplicity... its really quite difficult to take a'simple' image isn't it ? Does simple mean a single element, a single colour, a single theme or a combination of the above ?

Looking at the image above it looks like Benja had no problem in facing up to the challenge with his deceptively simple image of tyre tracks in the sand. The club would also like to welcome Richard who presented for the first time.

Have a look at the galleries page and you'll see the varied interpretations, please leave comments and a few 'thumbs up' wouldn't go a miss either.

Next theme is 'Contre-Jour', looks simple right.. lets see how easy it is to come up with something original !

Until next month, thanks for all the images and the attendance to the presentation.

Ryan Muirhead...

I've just discovered a rather nice web page called [FRAMED] who provide a free weekly broadcast hosting different photographic talents who share a piece of their wisdom, work, processes and art.

Whilst looking through the content I came across the video on Ryan Muirhead a young photographer from Utah in the States. As he is a film addict and you all know that I have a bit of a soft spot for that sort of stuff as well, I'd thought you might appreciate the heads up.

You will see that he is a lover of natural light portrait photography and he doesn't tend to venture too far from his home to make his pictures and just to round things off he's also a bit of nutter.

Life in Frame

Enrico Mignotto is an Italian photographer with an interesting project (who doesn't?). He just puts an old frame in the middle of the street in different European cities and takes pictures of what happens around. Simple as it seems the results are extremely interesting (at least for me :) )
You can visit the exhibition in Bologna, but if it falls a little bit too far for you it can still be viewed at his web site Life in Frame. I hope you enjoy.

Seeing with Sound...

| Artists Wanted | In Focus : Pete Eckert from Artists Wanted on Vimeo.

Watch this video, I'm not going to say much here, I think Pete Eckert deserves to tell his story all by himself.

Basic Lighting Setups...

Do you know what Rembrandt, Split, Broad, Butterfly or Loop lighting is ?

Do you know your key from your fill from your rim ?

Well in the video below Jay P Morgan will not only explain what they are, he will show you exactly how to set up your lights as well (what a nice guy he is !).

Zip on over and take a look at his blog and youtube channel as there are many more examples from the simple to the complex... enjoy !!

David Bailey interview in the Telegraph...

David Bailey the only remaining member of the 'Black Trinity' from the 60's (made up of Donovan, Duffy and of course Mr Bailey himself), has recently given an interview with Andrew Graham-Dixon of the Telegraph.

Whether you love him or hate him he is always controversially consistent with his comments and wit, see below for a great example :

AGD: Is there such a thing as a great photograph that’s been touched up? 

DB: I think so. I mean Raphael used Photoshop didn’t he? 

AGD: Did he? 

DB: Of course he did. When Medici said to him: “I fancy that bit of stuff over in Portugal, can you go and take a photo of her?” he didn’t show her dandruff and her scabby skin and her black teeth and the spots, did he? He used Renaissance Photoshop.

'Renaissance Photoshop'... fantastic !, if you want to read the rest of this very entertaining interview you have to do no more than click here.

Whatever you want 2011...

Taken by Michele

As always the club started its thematic presentations with the always very popular 'Whatever you want'.

18 members presented images and we welcome Michele, Viney and Helen who presented their photographs for the first time.

While the actual turnout was still not quite up to standard, we still managed to have a lot of lively discussion and pass on a few tips and tricks between us.

All the images are available in their glory on our gallery pages, so take a look, leave some thumbs up and make some comments as its alway motivating to see that other people have took the time to look and comment on your hard work.

Next theme is 'Simplicity'.. see you all again soon..!

Studio for 70 Euros...

This is not the first time we have featured Bert Stephani on our blog.

This time the photographer from Belguim shows us that with a couple of halogen working lights, shower curtains and old blankets you can produce shots like the one over on the left.

What are the disadvantages, you may ask.... for a start the lights generate a lot of heat, so you have to be a bit careful about placement and in the end the amount of light you have to play with is not that much, so expect to be using a tripod and slow shutter speed.

Well, in the end thats not so bad, the fact that you are forced to use a slow shutter speed along with a wide aperture is something I really like, it just gives a look that is more analogue and it this case fits the moody portrait perfectly.

Anyway, I'll handover to Bert to explain further in his video below and you can always check out his blog which is an absolute goldmine of information (and yes, if you like the idea of using an iPad to see each image instantly after its taken, he has a blog entry for that as well !)

Mickey Smith Surf Photographer...

Mickey Smith is a Cornish surf photographer who now lives in Ireland. The video above gives an insight into the mindset of these photographers have and you also get to see that you need to know what your doing in big waves, and even if surf photography isn't your thing, if you love the ocean, you're going to enjoy the video... a lot.

If you do like what you see above you might also want to check out a short film with Mickey and a few other surfers which is set in Ireland (see here)