The Phoblographer

The Phoblographer is essentially a Facebook based ‘blog’ all about photography, which seems reaonable given the name…

In between articles about the latest ‘must have’ camera strap or bag, there are sometimes some interesting articles – a recent one regarding the UNSPLASH photo hosting site was actually very good – but then 90% of it was a video made by a working photographer…

Another recent article, entitled « Set it and forget it » is about using the Program exposure mode on your camera. Again, the major part of the article was given over to a video by Eric Kim (apparently a ‘respected’ street photographer – a Google search shows he’s everywhere – virtually, that is) and I have to say his explications, well, they’re completely wrong.

The basic premiss here is that all ‘real’ photographers use manual mode, and that this is not necessarily adapted to all shooting situations. WRONG – manual mode is adapted to ALL shooting situations – it just means it takes experience to set the camera correctly for each shot. To make things easier for the photographer, the manufacturers invented Program mode which lets the photographer change a few settings (White balance (what?), ISO, exposure compensation) while controlling the aperture and shutter speed. Kim explains that he is often going in and out of  dark and/or light situations, and in manual mode it’s a pain to be constantly changing settings, and missing shots. I agree with him.

The idea that Program mode is the way to go is just nonsense – I use aperture priority pretty much all the time – I can choose the depth-of-field I want, and then I let the camera do the rest – I never miss a shot due to camera settings. I shoot RAW so white balance is something to do in post processing, and I can’t remember the last time I changed the ISO value. I do, however, change the exposure correction when the lighting is simply too confusing for the camera and needs a little help (sunrises, sunsets etc.).  That’s why it’s there…

I have never used Program mode – I have total control once I have chosen the aperture value I think is needed for the scene, as the camera will set the shutter speed and I know I can hand hold very slow settings (or use a tripod) and Program mode would take away all the flexibility I’m used to.

Kim is a ‘street’ photographer, and frankly I would have thought he’d know better…

No more Nymphs?

It just keeps getting better and better – the ripple effect of the Weinstein affair is touching more and more cultural events.

This pre-Raphaelite painting Hylas And The Nymphs was painted by John William Waterhouse in 1896. Until a few days ago it was on show at the Manchester Art Gallery. Now all that remains in it’s place is a small card apologising for it’s absence and « it’s hoped the absence will “prompt conversations” instead.

Why? Well following on from the  rape allegations surrounding pretty much every able-bodied male in America, groups are popping-up everywhere with improbable hashtags like #metoo (#balancetonporc in France) etc.  and criticising anything and everything with the slightest gender signification.

The painting above has been slammed (by certain minority groups) as being fundamentally pedophile. Where do these idiots get this rubbish?  Courbets 1866 masterpiece « Les Origines du Monde » has also been attacked – even to the point of being censored on Facebook.

The situation is extremely worrying – people are not allowed to judge for themselves anymore – someone somewhere has to make up everybody’s minds for them. I can fully understand violent or degrading images should be treated carefully, but in more and more cases, these images are left available « the public has a right to know » while true works of art are damned by ignorant sycophants who are just searching for another (lost) cause to latch on to and criticise.

It makes me cross because this is fast becoming the norm, and for a visual artist such as myself, this is really the thin end of the wedge. It has to stop, but even more sadly, to criticise the critics only leaves one wide open to censorship or worse…I fear this is not over by a long shot.

 

Free Photos?

Had an interesting mail yesterday, from a chap who wanted to use one of my circus images for the cover of his new book.

Judging by the content/title of the book, this is niche publishing in all it’s glory, with a professional audience of about 5 people. He didn’t divulge what the print run was expected to be, but stressed the fact that it would not be main stream!

I suppose I should have been weary when he wrote « I notice on your site, that the images are not free of rights » (Meaning yes, you have to pay to use them) but I looked up the appropriate listing and regardless of the print run, most ‘realistic’ working photographers charge between 300€ and 500€ for a paperback.

I replied to his mail proposing 250€, to which I quickly received an almost curt reply « I’ll be very clear about this, but I shall not be using your photograph »

Er…ok – this means that he obviously expected to be able use the image free of charge, or at least, for very little. Sadly, this can’t happen – it ‘dilutes’ the impact and directly harms the working professional – if everyone were to do this, the pros would never get paid at all. I ‘worked’ to produce the image, so I don’t think it’s unreasonable to think that you will have to pay to use it.

Showing me your pissed doesn’t affect me at all – but rather hi-lights the continuing « It’s on Internet, so it must be free » attitude prevalent at the moment. I wonder if he would consider giving away his book? I mean, after all, if everything is supposed to be free….

 

Four Hundred and counting…

In fact there are now more than 400 individual albums on my site, 415 to be exact. This is remarkable as I’ve never really counted the contents before, but the system of databases etc. that I have built to ‘control’ the site keeps coming back with ever larger numbers. (For example, there are 4734 images in 181 albums just for the Circus Arts part…for a site-wide total of more than 10900 images!)

I noticed that the albums concerning the CiRCa Festival were not appearing in the general ‘Circus Arts’ part of the site – this was an error, which I have now corrected, and not unreasonably this has increased the total somewhat!

There are only ever a maximum of four albums for the Welcome in Tziganie festival as I keep everything on a daily basis – I don’t break it down into groups or artists. This and a ‘Selection’ album is sufficient.

The circus arts and concert albums are obviously different as these generally have enough content for an album per artist.

Sadly due to lighting problems (or rather, the fact that the level of lighting is getting steadily worse and worse at the Cri’Art, and the people responsible don’t seem to care…)  I am no longer shooting the artists/concerts there. Seemingly the current ‘trend’ is to light the scene from behind, and then to flash the lights on and off all the time, presumably to mesmorise the paying public – sadly this isn’t ideal for taking photographs, so I’ve stopped until they come to their senses.

In any case, I seem to have enough to occupy myself with the companies in residence at CiRCa, and two dedicated shootings later on this year. I’m also hoping to be able to get back into the caserne and continue my ‘Imaginary Dancer’ project this year. Looking forward to that.

The More the Merrier…

The Internet buzz of the moment is a monster Photoshop fail, which will surely lose someone his/her job. The error wasn’t spotted (or the editor didn’t care) with the result that the image made the front cover.

If you look closely you can see the actress Reese Witherspoon has what appears to be three legs…

Strangely, this wasn’t the only error – in another image in the lead article, Oprah Winfrey gains an extra hand…

Possibly the most amazing element is the fact that the images are by Annie Leibowitz – I can imagine red hot telephone lines in New York at the moment!!

New Camera Anybody?

This is the latest Hasselblad which will be available in March this year.

It’s the H6D-400c MS – the ‘400’ stands for 400 Megapixels, which is pretty terrifying! The sensor is actually ‘only’ 100mp in the classic 53 x40mm format, but the innovation in this model is what Hasselblad call ‘Multi shot’ – the sensor electronics ‘move’ the sensor by one pixel horizontally and vertically, and the Phocus image treatment software merges the resulting files into one huge 578 mb TIFF file 11600 x 8700 pixels!

The images are quite simply amazing in detail – Hasselblad state « Multi-Shot capture does require tethering to a host computer, static subject, and controlled studio environment.  » This is not something you’ll be using for sports photography, or landscapes in driving wind or rain…

Oh, one last thing – the price: $47,500 –  it’s unnecessary to add, but this is the price for just the body/back… lenses are another thing entirely

Stick a ‘pro’ on it…

It always makes me smile when I see manufacturers add ‘pro’ to the name of their products. The only reason they do it is because there are still gullible people out there who actually believe this makes a difference.

I was reminded of this recently when ‘he who shall remain nameless’ from Facebook announced that someone had lent him a new lens, and that he felt he was now in a position to handle all sorts of different projects as a ‘photographer’

I asked him which lens and he replied « a professional telephoto » rather than giving me information on the focal length, or zoom range, which I was actually hoping for.

I have to say I’ve never actually seen a lens with ‘professional’ engraved on the barrel – unlike certain camera bodies which are ‘considered’ professional due to their features etc. lenses seem to be neutral – they just exist, some better than others, but all depending on the usage. I can only imagine that to him this means that he’ll be able to take ‘professional’ photos now (something sadly lacking from his repertoire…) I wish him luck.

In the unlikely event that this person ever reads my ramblings, please don’t take this as a criticism – just try to stop believing all the hype and get out there and practice your art.

Practice makes perfect, as they say.

arnò

The most recent edition of Square Magazine has just arrived in my (PDF) mail box. I’m in two minds about the author/owner Christophe DILLINGER (which, of course, has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that he ‘forgot’ my submission last year…)

Fortunately this edition, 804, is a real pearl – and it’s enabled me to discover the work of arnò.

Black & White, high contrast – everything I love but can’t ever seem to manage myself. The square format gives his work a dynamic that I really envy. The format creates a perfect frame for these powerful images.  There is something very special (in my mind) with the square format – it gives importance, a feeling of immediacy that is often lacking in other formats. These images are MADE for this, and the exquisite composition makes me think of Koudelka.

I can’t show everything here, but this is a glimpse of his work, and I strongly suggest visiting his site for more.

Extracts from « La solitude des champs de béton »

Used with permission © arnò.