Water wigs - fun with splashing balloons

Tim Tadder is a professional photographer in California who created quite a splash with his wonderful water wig photos – created without image manipulation! The current issue of the German magazine c't Digitale Fotografie has a feature on Tim Tadder who freely explains his approach.

The basics are very simple and well known for high-speed photos: a dark studio, camera shutter open and flashes with short flash duration to freeze the movement, triggered at an opportune moment. The colours come from colour filters in front of the flash lights. The 'wigs' are simply water-filled balloons either dropped on the models heads (sic!) or for the lengthy ones, oblong balloons that can be shaped and then are burst by an assistant with a needle.

Tim points out some important points to remember if you'd like to try this yourself:

• Make sure your equipment is splash-proof and have the model stand in some recipient for the water!
• Make your trials for the set-up with some non-living item, most models get impatient quite quickly with balloons being dropped on their head :-)
• Bald heads work best for this approach.

Tips for Better Portraits...

Pete Hurley, one of the best known (and most successful) headshot photographers shares some nuggets of information that can help you turn your portrait from the mundane to the marvellous in the article below from the The New York Times.

If you liked what you read, you'll probably enjoy the video below and maybe even tempted to cough up for his DVD. Enjoy !



Peter Hurley: The Art Behind The Headshot DVD from FStoppers on Vimeo.

Deep North...

Nikon - Deep North from Corey Rich on Vimeo.

How's you knowledge of mountain ranges in the Arctic Circle ?, want to see the techniques and organisation involved to set up an adventure photographers shoot ?

If your interest is piqued, check out the video above by Corey Rich and most of your questions will most probably be answered.

Invited Speaker - Juan Vaquero (part II)

When you meet Juan, the immediate impression is of a highly motivated, passionate and talented photographer and a highly approachable and instantly likeable character.

These initial impressions were very quickly confirmed as we received a real treat of a presentation where Juan led us through the works of photographers that personally inspire him to his own commercial, exhibition, personal and travel photography (one of my favourites you see here).

If we could of asked for anything more, Juan also graciously answered all the questions we threw at him. Personally I learned a lot and feel that my photographic awareness has been further enhanced even though I only got to spend a short time in his presence.

Juan has very kindly passed on the list of photographers he referenced during the presentation such that we can educate our eyes further:

• Margaret Bourke-White
• Ansel Adams
• David Burdeny
• Nick Brandt
• David LaChapelle
• Mark Seliger
• Jerry Uelsmann
• Oleg Dou
• Henri Cartier-Bresson
• Garry Winogrand
• Ramon Masats

Many thanks once again to Juan and we hope to see you again sometime soon.

Invited Speaker - Juan Vaquero

The club is very pleased, and honoured to announce that Juan Vaquero, will be visiting us on the 22nd March to give us all a talk on his photography and creative vision.

Juan a professional photographer from Madrid has workied with Museo Thyssen, Louis Vuitton, Cmmunidad de Madrid, Vogue Mexico and SEAT just to name a few. Along with participating in exhibitions as far a field as the United States, Malasia and China.

A very big thank you to Miguel for organising everything and I think that this is an amazing opportunity for all of us to experience closer up, the work of a professional photographer.

You can see more of Juan's work on his web site.

Chris Burkard...

Chris Burkard - Photographer from LONELYLEAP on Vimeo.

You probably guessed over the years that I have a bit of a weakness for surf photography... well its damn cold outside and here's something to warm you up a bit (your soul that is).

You may recognise Chris Burkard as the winner of the Red Bull Illume Quest competition in 2010 (check out our blog entry), now 25, Chris started his professional career only 6 years ago, he's a staff photographer for Surfer, and as you've seen above he wins awards, and he also released a book not too long ago as well (The California Book Project), not too shabby eh !

Anyway, there's an interview over on FStoppers that's an interesting read and just spending sometime on his web page and blog will bring back those lost summer memories.

I believe I can fly...

I Believe I can Fly ( flight of the frenchies). Trailer from sebastien montaz-rosset on Vimeo.

The above film is a trailer for a film which should be coming out this year and is being produced by Sebastien Montaz-Rosset, whose both a photographer and film maker.

The trailer is absolutely amazing and anyone who likes adventure sports is really going to appreciate this one.

After you've watched the video, head on over to Fstoppers where you will find some more in which he describes some of the techniques he uses to capture these wonderful images.

Kickstarter...

Kickstarter is the world's largest funding platform for creative projects. Project creators present their idea to the world and potential supporters decide whether or not to pledge money, when, and only when the funding goal is met is the pledged money passed on to the creator to complete his/her project.

As complete ownership and control of the project always remains in the hands of the creators, they normally offer something in return for the support given dependent upon the amount pledged.

There are many categories such as music, film, art, technology, design, food, publishing and of course photography.

Which brings me to the project of Tim Mantoani above, even though he has already surpassed his target, you may want to consider to be part of the group of people that are supporting the production of his book that he will explain to you above.

Personally, I consider the 20x24 Polaroid Camera to be one of the great photographic achievements of the last century and his idea of using it to photograph famous photographers with their favourite photo's really got me interested.

Take a look and see what you think.

Tilt-Shift Lens...

I know that no one in the club has a Phase One medium format camera (yet !), but this highly entertaining video from Adrian Weinbrecht regarding the newly available Schneider-Kreuznach Tilt-Shift lens for this camera system; very nicely explains the use of these sorts of lens and I thought would be of interest to all of us.

Bruce Gilden...

Bruce Gilden from FLY16x9 on Vimeo.

Bruce Gilden is a well known street photographer, famous for his strong character and in your face approach. The video above gives a very good insight into the techniques and thought processes Bruce goes through. There really are some golden nuggets of information in there so its well worth a watch.

Inside Out Project...

JR a parisian street artist who scooped the 2011 TED Prize is known for his constant attempts to challenge and combat social equalities with his use of art.

He basically enters problematic or marginal area's, makes contact with the locals, takes their photographs and comes back with enormous posters and pastes them in the street for all to see... or on trains... or on buses... or on bridges... or on steps... or on roofs... or on security towers...

As you can see above he uses a lot of inginuity with respect to location for his images, and his ability to engage members of the public is quite extraordinary as you will see from watching the very emocional video below which will give you an excellent insight into his projects in various countries across the world.

If you would like to get involved, just go here to find out all the details, and you can see more video's on the Inside Out YouTube channel.

Martin Schoeller and the TIME 100 list...

TIME Magazine recently released their 'TIME 100' list of the most influential people in the world and I quote "They are artists and activists, reformers and researchers, heads of state and captains of industry. Their ideas spark dialogue and dissent and sometimes even revolution"

Martin Schoeller just happened to be one of the photographers who was chosen to photograph these honoured person's.

Martin has a very distinctive style, especially when it comes to lighting and concept which you will see if you track down his work on 'Close Up' and 'Female Bodybuilders'. You will also note that he uses both digital and film to complete his projects.

Anyway back to the Times 100.... Below you will see a 'Behind the Scenes' video of how he went about the task. I love these sorts of videos as it always gives you an insight into how a photographer works and the techniques they apply to produce the work they do.

African Air...

Flying in a motorized paraglider over one of the most diverse continents in the world, George Steinmetz captures in his photographs the stunning beauty, potential and hope of Africa's landscapes and people. See the project at http://mediastorm.com/publication/african-air

It's been a while since we've mentioned MediaStorm and when I saw this video on the aerial photography of George Steinmetz I thought it was time to remind everyone of this great site and concept.

You should also check out George's website as well, as it's really quite spectacular.

Extreme Fish Photography...

Marc Montocchio is a specialist in capturing unique and stunning images of ocean wildlife in their natural habitat. His hands on approach often leads to him getting into all sorts of extreme situations with the sea creatures he is trying to photograph.

Born in Durban, South Africa, Marc now travels the world in search of adventure and images. In the video below you will see a 'behing the scenes' look at his latest project of capturing Blue Marlins being fished in Bermuda, check it out, its well worth a look and you'll see just how dangerous things can get.

(via fstoppers)

Invited Speaker - Carlos Borrego Iglesias (Part II)...

The recent presentation of Carlos Borrego to the club was our first photographer of our 'invited speaker' initiative. The club hopes that this will provide the members with the opportunity to understand and improve their creativity in photography by receiving first hand knowledge from advanced and professional photographers explaining their particular process.

Carlos' presentation was a fantastic mix of presentation of his photographic muse's, the reasoning behind his fascination with abstraction, along with a fun exercise in exhibition preparation and sequencing, topped off with some unusual camera techniques demonstrated with his very own equipment.

I came away from the presentation highly motivated and ever more appreciative of the amount of dedication and passion photographers proportion to their art.

Carlos promised to pass on his list of muse's which you will find below:

• Rania Matar - (A girl and her room)
• Maite Caramés - (Ausencias)
• Israel Ariño - (Estudio sobre el arte de enmascarar) 
• Aline Smithson
• Tanyth Berkeley - (The Special Ones)
• Georges Rousse
• Jose Ramón Bas - (Ícaro)
• Antoine d'Agata
• William Klein - (Life is Good...New York!)
• Juan Manuel Castro Prieto - (Viaje al Sol)
• Masao Yamamoto
• David Nebreda
• Isabel Flores
• Robert ParkeHarrison
• Joan Fontcuberta
• Ansel Adams
• Harry Callahan
• Eugene Smith - (Deleitosa)
• Otto Steinert
• Diane Arbus
• Stanley Kubrick
• Sally Mann
• Isa Marcelli
• Francesca Woodman
• Henri Cartier-Bresson
• Richard Gibson
• Jim Goldberg
• Atelieretaguardia
• Paco Elvira - (Manifestación)
• Albert Gusi

That's a lot of homework to get through !

Thanks Carlos, hope to see you again next year !

Susan Burnstine...

During Carlos' presentation last Friday I was very much reminded of the work of Susan Burnstine, that I have enjoyed ever since I started to investigate the world of plastic camera's a number of years ago.

Susan's superbly ethereal images are produced entirely in-camera, well really, in any one of her 21 home made camera's, she has even gone as far as moulding her own lenses.

She has her own column in the UK magazine Black+White Photography and has exhibited extensively, she will also shortly release her first monograph 'Within Shadows' at the The Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition next month.

In the video below, Susan explains a bit about her technique and why she produces the images she does.

Stephen Dupont...

Stephen Dupont an Australian born Photojournalist and portrait photographer has received many international awards for his amazing work over the years.

Not only is he a great photographer he also produces hand made books of his images and exhibits extensively.

His passion for Afganistan, a country he has visited for over fifteen years almost cost him his life with a suicide bomber attack outside a police station he was visiting at that moment.

He also appears to have an amazing ability to connect with his subjects and project a level of trust and compassion which allows him to get close to people often in the most dangerous and marginalized regions of the world.

In the video below you will see him taking polaroids of people in the middle of Kabul with a Polaroid Land camera, his approach with respect to his book making and some of his portraits of members of the notoriously dangerous and violent 'Red Devils' gang from Papua New Guinea, an image of which you can see above.

Stephen Dupont Profile - ABC Sunday Arts from Stephen Dupont on Vimeo.

Time Lapse Photography...

The Mountain from TSO Photography on Vimeo.

Time Lapse Photography is a cinematography technique which allows the viewer to see time passing at an apparently accelerated rate.

There are many examples out there on the web, but the one above by Terje Sorgjerd has to be the best I've ever seen. You will see that he must also have had his camera mounted to a motion control rig which adds yet another dimension to his video.

Take a look at this wikipedia page just to see what things you have to take into account, now imagine the amount of work Terje had to do, pre-planning each shoot, lugging around all the equipment, setting it up, choosing the composition and just being around in the right place at the right time... really impressive !!

Albert Watson...

Albert Watson is one of the worlds most successful Fashion/Commercial/Art photographers. Born and raised in Scotland, he moved to the United States in the seventies and took up photography as a hobby. His career effectively started after being introduced to a Max Factor art director who eventually bought a couple of shots from him after a test session.

Watson's distintive style caught the eye of many fashion magazines and he began working in both Los Angeles and New York. His first celebrity portrait was of Alfred Hitchcock which is one of his most famous images to which he has added literally hundreds of  well-known iconic photographs of movie stars, rock stars, rappers, supermodels, presidents and royalty. In 1976 he finally settled in New York where he has remained until today. 

Now having reached almost 70 years old he continues working and exhibiting all over the world.

RETV recently interviewed him to discuss his life, career and what he thinks it takes to make it in the photo industry today and the answer is not to be a equipment lover as you will see from the video below.


Fall 2010 Feature: ALBERT WATSON from RETV from Resource Magazine on Vimeo.

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.