Nikon D3s still on top of Low Light All Stars

Adorama just posted their test results on the low light capabilities of the available cameras on today's market.  No surprise the D3s was on there along with Canon's G12 for compacts.  I use available light whenever possible so I love to follow the advances in ISO and lower noise.  See the attached link for those who are also interested.

http://www.adorama.com/alc/article/15-Low-Light-High-ISO-All-Stars

Update on Best Compact Cameras

Adorama just released their buyers guide for their best compact digital cameras.  I agree with the first two for sure.  The Canon G series is awesome, most all Canon compacts I have used have been solid, great cameras and I agree the G12 fits fine on top of this list.  I own a G11, G10, & G9.  Number two on their list is the Fuji X100 which I also own.  This camera makes amazing images and basically shoots like my Leica rangefinder.  There have been problems with this camera, most specifically lag time in capturing the image after pressing the exposure button.  I just updated my firmware for the camera and it seems to have improved the situation but I do know if you want to take photographs quickly, like in Street situations, leave the camera on and avoid having it go to sleep because you will get a lag.  With that said the Fuji rep I have been talking to about this is the most responsive camera rep I have ever met and the company is committed to improving their product.  I have not seen their X10 which recently came out, assume that it also has impressive image quality along with the adjustable focal length lens.  Fuji is committed to these lines and I expect incredible X Series cameras in the coming years.  One more consideration is the new Nikon V1 which is supposed to be amazing although I have yet to see image examples.

http://www.adorama.com/alc/article/Buying-Guide-The-best-system-compact-digital-cameras-right-now

Remember that even though weather and natural disasters have pushed numerous release dates back this year, new technology is always on the horizon.  Follow some of these sites before making any major purchase decisions:

http://www.canonrumors.com/

http://www.nikonrumors.net/

Digital Black & White Photography

I was raised on Black and White imagery. As a kid we didn’t have a color TV in the house until I was almost 13; my dad bought a used one to watch all the Bicentennial festivities in 1976. I watched lots of old movies as a kid and I am sure that influenced how I see images today. I specifically remember the lighting in Humphrey Bogart movies being used to help create drama and Director John Ford’s use of Red filters to make the sky over Monument Valley more impressive for his westerns.

 When I started photographing, I predominantly used Black and White film; mostly Kodak’s PlusX in the beginning until 1987 when T-Max came out. My best guess is that I have made well over 75,000 Black and White film exposures and processed them all by hand. In the past 25 years I have seen numerous prints by the masters and I have also maintained a darkroom, doing all my own Black and White printing.


In 2003 I began using a digital camera and over the last few years I have come to photograph almost exclusively in digital. The quality of the sensors and the cameras are amazing, they allow you to capture things you could have only dreamed of before.


Now to the point of this posting, the vast majority of the digital Black and White images I see seem poorly crafted. With the advances of technology more and more people who really are not trained in the medium are able to make increasingly better images. Almost every camera or photo program now has a way to simply convert an image to black and white. Great on one hand, but then problematic on the other.

Most Black & White digital images I see are “flat”. Usually muddied grays with no highlights and no pure blacks. I know of one very good pro photographer who has been promoting Nikon's P7000 point and shoot camera which has a Black and White mode. Every example image from that camera I have seen is flat and dark. There are no highlights and absolutely no shadow details. Yes the images may at first appear dramatic because the blacks are so rich but compared to prints by master photographers they really leave a lot to be desired.  I assume this is an issue with the settings on the camera.

Here then are a few of my recommendations regarding digital Black and White photography.

 1. Shoot all your images in RAW then convert images to Black & White later. The more digital information to work with the better. A nice feature in the Fuji X100 is you can open up a RAW file, convert it to Black & White (with 5 options of different monochromatic looks) and then save the Black & White copy on to the memory card. You still have the original RAW file with the new additional Black and White file.

2. Have a reason why you want the image to be Black and White. Understand why the image works better in Black and White than Color. An example in my own work is the Santa Anita horse racing series. I found that images worked better in Black and White because too often your eyes would be drawn to the colors at the track. I wanted the focus to be on the subject, for my viewers to see the muscles of the horse or the textures of the turf instead of having their eyes drawn to the bright pink of a jockeys silks.

3. People seem to forget now that composition is still important. Many folks don’t worry about it because they figure everything can be cleaned up in Photoshop later. You can crop, clone, erase elements and alter the image however you want now. Get back to the basics, craft your image in the viewfinder then make refinements later.


4. Don’t just rely on the “Monochrome” or “Color Desaturation” buttons within your photo program. Make fine adjustments within the program or use a specific Black and White conversion plug in or program. I suggest using Silver Effects Pro 2 to convert your color digital images to Black & White. It provides a number of great presets that mirror actual film images and it is simple to use. Even with the presets I still go back in to the image and make adjustments until I get the image the way I exactly want it.


5. Film grain in digital printing is something that’s missing because the digital images are so clean now. If you are looking at your digital Black & White image and wondering why it doesn’t look the same as a Silver Halide Black & White print one factor may be you are used to see some film grain. You can replicate this by adding noise to your image or by using the preset film types within a program like Silver Effects Pro 2 to create the film grain look for you.


6. Understand what makes a great Black & White print. You need bright whites and dark rich black and a complete tonal range of grays in between. You also need to have detail in you highlights and your shadows. Your highlights should not be washed out and your shadows should not be completely opaque.  I would suggest you read Ansel Adams book The Print, the concepts are still relevant.


7. Understand the tools used in tradition Black & White photography and incorporate their style in to your images. Know what different color filters do for film, gain an understanding of burning and dodging during traditional printing, and improve your knowledge of what you are trying to replicate in the digital format.


8. Go to museums and look at Silver Gelatin Black & White prints from the masters. Obviously Ansel Adams set the bar with Black & White printing. He was a master printer who studied and honed his craft. I would definitely try and see some of his original prints as well as prints by other photographers. In California there are numerous museums and galleries you can visit. In San Francisco I like Fraenkel Gallery, there is the Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego’s Balboa Park, and in Los Angeles you have the Getty Museum and other venues to choose from. 


9. Get an understanding of the history of the medium, especially related to Fine Art Photography. Look at lots of images from a broad spectrum of photographers


10. Remember just because something is monochromatic doesn’t mean it is a work of art,

Tamarra Kaida

Arizona State University - 1986

 

Cedric Lowmack, Tamarra Kaida, Bill Valentine, Phil Konomos, & Mark

Tamarra participating in our series "Photo Terrorism"

I was recently called out by someone 8,600 miles away and I am glad she did.



The Fine Art Photography faculty at Arizona State University during my time there was arguably one of the best groups of educators ever assembled in the field. Not to take away from Beaumont Newhall at the University of New Mexico (whom two of ASU’s professors had studied under) or the George Eastman House (where another two or three ASU professors had studied). The faculty at ASU had diverse backgrounds, varied opinions, some excelled making images, others excelled understanding and explaining the medium, some were great at both, and as a whole they provided the most incredible learning environment you could imagine.

In the past I have mentioned Bill Jay’s impact on me related to the history and understanding of the medium. I think I also noted how William Jenkins gave me some fantastic advice early on with my work, by suggesting I put a wide angle lens on my camera to make me get closer to my subject matter (to date probably the single most important piece of photo advice I ever received). But everyone there contributed to my development as a photographer. Eric Kronengold became my advisor when I got to ASU and really helped to guide me through the schedule. He also helped hone my darkroom skills (Something that Walt Girdner had started when I took his photography course at Pasadena City College). Jack Stuler showed me photography didn’t have to have any boundaries or limitations and although I don’t recall ever taking one of Jim Hajicek’s classes I have remained in contact with him over the years and consider him a friend and another valuable resource for my growth as a photographer. Luckily he and Eric continue to teach at ASU. The faculty at ASU was so connected that they brought in the most impressive list of lecturers you could imagine. A.D. Coleman, Mary Ellen Mark, Helmut Gernsheim, Chris Killip, and Van Deren Coke were just a few of the people I got to meet. One of my college/photography highlights was spending 20 minutes with Van Deren Coke in the Northlight gallery while he critiqued an exhibition of my prints and compared my work to that of Larry Clark.

With all these other people mentioned I now need to talk about Tamarra Kaida. I studied under Tamarra more than anyone else. It was in her class I began and continued my Pasadena Police Department series. Tamarra has since retired from teaching and moved to paradise (Bali) which happens to be 8,600 miles away from Southern California.

Tamarra continues to photograph and explore life which she did throughout her time in Arizona. I reconnected with her recently after a European gallery contacted me trying to track her down. We caught up on each others lives and work and in the process she read my blog and saw my post documenting some of my photographic education mileposts and noticed I hadn’t mentioned her contribution. She casually called me on it in an e-mail, I thought about it, and was glad she brought it up because she should be recognized for her contributions. This post will highlight her impact on me not only as a photographer but as a person.

I think because I studied with Tamarra so much that her impact was more like a parent’s impact on a child. Think about it, most of us probably don’t have many definitive moments with our parents where they impart a unique singular point of wisdom. Or if there was one we may not remember it.  Our parents shape us over time. The good parents help guide their children to develop in a direction the child ultimately chooses and facilitates their children in finding their own paths in life. Tamarra did this for me both as a person and as a photographer. In retrospect I think she got me to ask myself the right questions to help me figure out where I was going. She encouraged me to think on my own and express myself in the ways which were best for me. She didn’t try to mold me in to the type of photographer she was or get me to adopt all her views on life. She just wanted me to grow in to the best photographer and person I could be and she helped me figure out how to chose which roads to go down.

Tamarra would not hesitate to be completely open and honest with critique of my work and that helped teach me to be able to do the same thing. I think it is fair to say she helped me learn how to step outside of myself when considering my own work which is one of the hardest things for a photographer to do.  She, Bill Jay, and Bill Jenkins probably taught me the most about how to look at photographs.

Again I am thankful Tamarra mentioned that ever so subtly because it allowed me the opportunity to take stock of my past and start to envision the future some more. The teacher continues to help educate the student. Tamarra Kaida had as much influence on my development as a Photographer as anyone else. She is a dear friend who I tried to catch up with on every visit back to Arizona before she moved to paradise. We had so many talks about life as well as photography and thinking about this now has reminded me what a great influence she has been.

I would encourage you to visit her site and experience her images. Tamarra has produced a number of books recently including Signs of Faith which I find very interesting because I am intrigued with roadside memorials and monuments myself.  I would encourage you to follow the link and view it as well as the rest of the books she has out now on Blurb. 

Thanks again Tamarra for your impact on my career and life and for continuing to help me learn.  This post was a good exercise for me, by revisiting the past it has helped me refocus on the future.

Fujifilm's X100

I was finally able to purchase Fujifilm's Finepix X100! After initial tests and reading half the manual so far I can definitely say this camera is amazing. The image quality and the camera's capabilities are stunning. The camera menu is a little complex and takes a few days to get used to but once you do it is easy. This is definitely a range finder and you need to be comfortable with that way of photographing. For years I have looked for a digital answer to replacing my Leica M4 P when it comes to my street photography and this is it. Handles very similar, has the same equivalent focal length lens I love, 35mm, and the lens is razor sharp. My Nikon D3 and D7000 bodies are still great, better suited for a lot of tasks, but the X100 will replace them for most of my street work for sure.


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The Ten Golden Rules

Lomography.com is a web site dedicated to the use of inexpensive film cameras which produce inconsistant and sometimes unexpected results. The site has identified and documented their ten golden rules for Lomography (the act of photographing with these cameras) and it just happend to be something I have also followed for a number of years (obviously there are other people out there as smart and me, and a lot who are smarter). Here is Lomography's list which I couldn't agree more with.

The Ten Golden Rules:

#1. Take your camera everywhere you go. (I hate going out without atleast a G11 in the car)

#2. Use it anytime Day and Night. (Especially in the digital age when there is no film cost)

#3. Lomography is not an interference with your life but part of it. (Photographers photograph its what we do. The act of photographing is just as important as the final print. You go through life looking for what you can see.)

#4. Try the shot from the hip. (doing this more and more, maybe it will change when I get a Fujifilm X100 then I can go back to rangfinder photography, but right now I like what I am seeing shooting from the hip)

#5. Approach the objects of your lomographic desire as close as possible. (Bill Jenkings - of New Topographics fame - was one of my teachers at ASU, the best advice he ever gave me with my images was to suggest I put on a 35mm lens and get closer to my subjects. Easier said than done sometimes, especially early on)

#6. Don't Think. (I remember a certain graduate student at ASU who made this wonderful image of a dead wild pig by a construction site. He was so proud of that image, and it was a great image, that he wouldn't take any photos unless he knew they were equally as good as his best image. He would go out to photograph and never make an exposure because he was over thinking the process. Sometimes the best approach is to just go out and photograph anything and everything then see what you come up with).

#7. Be Fast. (If you hesitate you miss the "Decisive Moment")

#8. You don't have to know beforehand what you captured on film. (More about not overthinking things)

#9. Afterwords Either (always good to get surprises on proof sheets or downloads)

#10. Don't worry about any rules (Just let your vision guide you and go Photograph)

More on Modern Technology

In my attempt to stay current with modern technology I recently got the iPad2 for Fathers Day. I have taken my time researching and downloading apps, during which time I came across this Blog Application which I am testing here with this post.




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Location:Newport Beach, California