Google – Street View

The Google – Street View car has just visited us – just had the time to pick up a digital compact and return the favour before the car turned around. I hope I have posted my image of them quicker than they can post their image of me!

Hungarian editions

My titles Basics Photography: Composition and Basics Photography: Lighting are now available to Hungarian readers in editions from Alexandra Publishing. This publishing house has enjoyed massive recent growth and is based in the city of Pécs soon to be European Capital of Culture (2010). The few details I have are Kompozícío (ISBN 978-963 244 112-2) and Világosítás (ISBN 978-963 244 113-9). The books sell for 5500 Hungarian Forints each but are available online at a discount at 4400Ft at http://www.scolar.hu/

Coming soon…

Also in the final stage of preparation for the presses is my Visual Dictionary of Photography.  This is a comprehensive guide to terms and concepts used throughout photography – it covers ever eras and all types of photography. Details here. Like the other dictionaries in this series it is a beautifully bound pocket book providing and essential reference source for students, enthusiasts, photographers and tutors alike. (ISBN 978 2 940411 04 7)

… also coming

My next book to be publiched is in ava’a Basics Photography series. Exposure – is now in final production and should be available in September 2009.  Basics Photography: Exposure covers the ground from the basics of light, depth of field and aperture. motion, light meters and measurement always emphasising how technique can be used expressively and creatively. It is packed with images, ideas and information. (ISBN 978 2 940411 05 4). Paperback with flaps – 184 pages

Black-and-white in French

My latest book in the Photography FAQs series has now been translated into French and published as Photographique FAQs: Noir et Blanc (ISBN13: 978-2-912679-78-9). Présenté comme une encyclopédie de questions-réponses de 50 thèmes, cet ouvrage couvre tous les aspects de la photo Noir et Blanc, depuis l’essence même d’une véritable image Noir et Blanc jusqu’à l’équipement nécessaire à sa capture. Noir et Blanc aborde tous les aspects de ce genre photographique, comme la saisie de la scène et sa composition, les processus de conversion, les techniques de tirage et la réalisation d’effets spéciaux ; en tant que tel c’est un ouvrage de référence indispensable. Noir et Blanc apporte des réponses détaillées aux questions-clés soulevées par une majorité de photographes aux cours de conférences, dans les magazines spécialisés et sur les forums Internet. L’ouvrage abonde d’illustrations, d’images comparatives complétant le texte, de photographies de qualité qui ne peuvent qu’inspirer le lecteur.

New reviews

New book reviews for my Basics Photography: Composition and Basics Photography: Working in Black-and-white  have been added to the Review pages.

Grainy, grainy, grainy

I was looking for grain but never thought I’d produce grain this big! Film was out dated Kodak TMax 3200 shot during the day. Development was in Agfa Rodinal diluted 1:100 with agitation for the first minute and then stand development for 1 hour with three inversions on the half hour only. Fog levels were very high making these negatives difficult to scan and fairly difficult to print – this could well be the effect of out dated high-speed film rather than just the development alone. Though you can’t see in a web image this size (scanned from a darkroom print on Grade 5 Multigrade paper) the grain looks like its been stencilled on – by the way did I say this was grainy?

Tin-type portrait event

Just to give my friends at Community Darkroom, Rochester, NY a plug – they are running a TinType Portrait Event. Final product is a portrait in the style of a vintage photo. A great gift for yourself or a special someone for only $65. Make an appointment for Saturday, June 13. Call 585 271 5920 – tell them I sent you

Silver gelatin digital prints

It was just a year ago I was writing about the future for digital black-and-white prints being the new printing paper developed by Harman technology (Ilford) for exposure in digital printers like the Lightjet or Durst Lambda, then processed in conventional wet darkroom chemistry. The fututre has got here much faster than I anticipated. Last week Ilford launched its online service to supply conventional darkroom silver gelatin prints from digital black-and-white files (and of course film if you want to order on line, not upload). The samples I took away from Focus on Imaging were clean and crisp, just like quality darkroom prints on RC paper. There is not yet the option for printing to the heavyweight baryta ‘fine print’ papers but I can see that’s going to come. I’m off to upload some images – I’ll let you know how I get on.

Photoshopped

Received a mailing today from PhotoWorkshop.com (no relation) about their photography and Digital Imaging competition – the header image by Wendell Penedo (a former first prize winner in their Photo Illustration category) is a striking surrealist image of raining umbrellas. (I won’t reproduce the image here in respect of copyright.) Well I say umbrellas but it doesn’t take a moment to notice that it is the same cloned and flipped singular umbrella. Very lazy composite imaging as you have shadows and highlights in direct contradiction on the flipped umbrellas – something I would have criticised any undergraduate student of mine for. What I found surprising is that Wendell Pendeo’s other work in his short portfolio is exquisitely put together – so how did this win first prize and go unnoticed by the judges? Perhaps it’s a planet with two suns, perhaps people are forgetting to use a photographer’s eyes when producing photorealistic fantasy imagery.