Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Bokeh- The Beauty of Blur


When you hear Photographers talking about Bokeh one could be mistaken to think that they are refering to some quality of a wine. The term bokeh comes from the Japanese word Boke which means haze or blur. This word is usually used to describe the aesthic qualities of the out of focus areas of photos. There is also passing reference made in the quality of a lens when tested. In most cases bokeh occurs when using a shallow depth of field with a lens that has an aperture opening of say f1.8 or if you are lucky and own a lens of f1.2 which has a wider aperture again.

My thanks to a Magazine ct Digital Photography which has a very good article on Bokeh and some of the material especially the illustrations are drawn from this magazine. I suggest if you want to learn more you read this magazine as it has the most comprehenshive coverage I have ever read.

Basically Bokeh is produced by the circles of confussion - confussed? well perhaps this graphic will help

From c't Digitial Photography 2 2011 page18

So the circles of confussion are basically the shape you see in bokeh from the aperture blades and some manufacturers of lenses  will delibrately round the blades to get a  more pleasing effect.

from c't Digitial Photpgraphy 2 2011 page 18
Now as those of you who read my post regularly know I have won a Bokeh Masters kit which basically is a set of discs with various shapes cut in them that can influence the shape of the Bokeh patterns in your image.


From c't Digitial Photography 2 2011 page 19



When you read this full article in the magazine you will find that people buy certain lenses for the Bokeh. In fact I was unaware there was so much to it. I can't wait to experiment with my Bokeh Masters Kit when it arrives.

Monday, February 7, 2011

What's Film Noir?


Film noir literally means "black film" in French and features themes which are more negative than positive, with an overall dark and shadowy outlook--being filmed in black and white. This film genre takes in detective and crime noir as well as many gangster films of the 1930's.

So it was back in November that I took part in a Film Noir Workshop with Creative Photo Workshops. My images from this workshop have received a great deal of comment from my friends and family. Generally they like the images and it was based on this popularity that I decided to load a few images to the website Strobox.com. Loading photos to this site is about sharing info so it is important to show a diagram of the lighting setup so others can see how you did  a particular image. Some of my images have got praise some have been roundly criticised but in all they are trying to give you pointers to improve.
So it was with some surprise I received an email from the moderators of strobox to say you did not win but we are giving you a prize anyway. That is a Bokeh Masters Kit. A what you say? Well that will be the subject of a further post. Meantime I decide to do some reasearch on Film Noir and with the help of Goggle and Wikipedia here is a bit of a summary.

Film Noir- Many of the genre's hallmarks: a cynical private detective as the protagonist, a femme fatale, multiple flashbacks with voiceover narration, dramatically shadowed photography, and a fatalistic mood leavened with provocative banter.

The low-key lighting schemes of many classic film noirs are associated with stark light/dark contrasts and dramatic shadow patterning—a style known as chiaroscuro (a term adopted from Renaissance painting).The shadows of Venetian blinds or banister rods, cast upon an actor, a wall, or an entire set, are an iconic visual in noir and had already become a cliché well before the neo-noir era. Characters' faces may be partially or wholly obscured by darkness—a relative rarity in conventional Hollywood moviemaking. While black-and-white cinematography is considered by many to be one of the essential attributes of classic noir, the color films Leave Her to Heaven (1945) and Niagara (1953) are routinely included in noir filmographies, while Slightly Scarlet (1956), Party Girl (1958), and Vertigo (1958) are classified as noir by varying numbers of critic.

Film noir is also known for its use of low-angle, wide-angle, and skewed, or Dutch angle shots. Other devices of disorientation relatively common in film noir include shots of people reflected in one or more mirrors, shots through curved or frosted glass or other distorting objects (such as during the strangulation scene in Strangers on a Train), and special effects sequences of a sometimes bizarre nature. Night-for-night shooting, as opposed to the Hollywood norm
Noir heroes are flawed humans and always shown to have character imperfections. Many of those heroes are detectives, taking the cases of mysterious women who draw them into a tangled maze of evil by making use of their hypnotic sensuality. Detective noirs are among some of the most popular films of this genre. Films like the Sam Spade mysteries began the whole detective and crime noir sub-genre and cemented actors such as Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in the minds of noir buffs. Here are some 40's and 50's examples of Film Noir.

The Maltese Falcon, Shadow of a Doubt, The Big Sleep ,The Killers
The Asphalt Jungle, Sunset Boulevard,Kiss Me Deadly ,Touch of Evil

Believe it or not this style of film is still being made today and in the 60's the science fiction noir was recognised.
Chinatown,Raging Bull, Blood Simple are more recent examples with Alpaville as the science fiction example. I must say that I am wanting to do more of this style of shooting.
 el

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Boudoir Photography-A Guide to Excellence



I received another Oliver Cameron booklet in the mail the other day. This one covers Boudoir Photography I already own two other books one called a Wedding Photography A Guide to Posing and Wedding Photography a Guide to Photojournalism. I have found these booklets to be a fountain of knowledge.
This new  book is really great beacuse the Author/photographer Tammy Warnock has used plus size  or "fluffy" girls as she calls them. There is just the right amount of words but heaps of photos to give you ideas but more importantly how you can take photos of  the more cuddly women and make her look glamorous. Tammy mainly uses natural light however will use flash and reflectors. Her main lens is a 85mm f1.2 lens but says you could do just as well with a 50mm f1.8 lens. So as they say invest in knowledge get a copy and whilst you are at it buy the other two books. All three books are worth having and best of all they are small enough to pop into your camera bag.

Friday, February 4, 2011

SEKONIC L-308s Flashmate Light Meter


I now a owner of a light meter , I feel like a real photographer now with my Hoodman Loupe and Sekonic Light Meter . Actually I probably feel a bit geeky(you look it too I can hear you say) but since doing the nude studio course in the UK I can see the benefits of using a light meter. It is another Ebay purchase  and cost (can't tell you Su might find out) but I was able to get it well under new price and is in mint condition.

I am now making my way through the  manual and of course I will have to practice using it. Of course with digitial cameras there is a debate as to whether you really need a light meter. The Sekonic L308s is a versatile meter in that it is able to measure the light falling on your subject as well as measuring light from a flash.

In reading up on using a light meter I came across this very useful post, in fact the whole site has some interesting and enlightening articles. I am very happy with my purchase and no matter what side of the debate you are on I know I wont regret getting a light meter!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Another Lens


Okay so I have been stalking Ebay trying to find bargains and I managed to snaffle a lens I have been coverting that my good friend Melanie already has. Yes I finally got a Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di macro lens. I was able to pick one up in very good condition on Ebay for $330. These retail at around $550 so I was quite estactic with my purchase. I had used this lens before when on a Creative Photo Workshop and was most impressed. Not only does it have Macro capability but it is a mighty fine portrait lens as well. I have not really put it through it's paces yet but will ceratinly in the next few weeks. Now I need to rationalise my lenses and sell off those that I won't be using any more.  That should make the camera bag lighter.


Test Photo with New Lens


Wednesday, February 2, 2011

An Octagenarian


So 2011 is a big year in our house. Su's mother Pam turned 80. Her Birthday was on Tuesday however we threw a party on Saturday afternoon down at the local hall with 55 of Pam's and Su's friends. With the current hot and humid weather we were thankful for the hall's Air Conditioning. Now I can remember my grandmother always saying she would be happy to get to 3 score years and 10 which of course was 70. So Pam to get to 80 is a mighty achievement and she now has her sights set on 90 just to get that special badge from Bowls. She has one for 80, a Kookaburra, not sure of the significance but a worthy achievement. In fact since moving to Australia Pam has really improved in health and no doubt helped by the weather and her varied activities. My nephews Ben & Jarred played Cello and Violin to keep the guests entertained. I did minimal cooking we heated party pies, small quiches and spring rolls. I then served a mince Chow Mien in noodle boxes. To finish off we had a selection of cakes from the Cheesecake Shop, then tea and coffee. A good afternoon was had by all and Pam thanked  everyone for coming.
Jared

Ben

Cards & Tributes

The Party room

The Boys Playing

One of the Yummy Cakes
Another One

Pam Making  a speech

Toasting The Queen & Australia

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

More Gadgets-PIXMA MP495


Okay my blog kinda went quiet after returning to Australia. Well I managed to work one and a half days before our office was closed in Brisbane due to extreme flooding. It just didn't seem right blogging under those circumstances. But rest assured I have slowly been gathering gadgets etc and I am wanting to update you on what I have been upto.
Now I used to have a friend when the ashtrays in the car got full he would buy a new car...well I am like that with printers. I needed Ink for my current printer, a black and colour cartridge are a little over $50 so I thought why not buy a new printer? My current one is a HP and must say been quite happy with it but thought hey what the heck lets buy a Canon PIXMA. Now I studied the printers and whilst it is easy to get carried away I am not looking at printing photos out on it as I figure you can do it cheaper in stores or even better send away to a print house. I realised I did not really want duplex but sort of thought it would be cool to go wireless.
So wondering around Big W I saw the Canon Pixma MP495 on special from $98 down to $78. What drew me to it was the fact it could be wireless. So I soon had one under my arm and was heading home(after paying for it of course).
Now out of the box this printer was easy to set up. I was printing wirelessly...woo hoo. Can I say that it prints fabulous photos on A4 photo paper but after 7 images needing to change ink is not exactly economical. Okay I said I wasn't going to print photos but hey I had to try it out. I have now installed the printer on my two laptops and when I want to print no matter where in the house I just press print and hey presto I have printed...provided I have loaded paper into the printer.
So folks need more ink? Buy a new printer!! Works for me.