Leo’s MEMS Age

Sep 2009,

Another pick from this blog. (see Note [6])

His light configuration.

The light in the corridor is dark, which pops up with the pink clothes and the skin tone of the dancer. The strobe (SB900) highlights the left curve of the dancer and really shows the beauty of her body. There was a lot of water behind the photographer, which works as a huge soft box, reflects the rising sun onto the dancer and works as a front soft light. It was still under exposure, but the detail of the front side the dancer has already made the whole picture appear more interesting. Notice that this kind of light note is used quite often.   

The following content was originally from the blog of a professional photographer, see the link: http://www.hansvandevorst-blog.com/

The other evening shoot was in a nature reserve, called “The Blue Chamber”, which is just around the corner from where I live. The light became better and better and I had two trainers and my client who is the director of the company. I had to shoot her first cause she had to leave early. I was left with Anouk and Nienke one hour before sunset. A lens can become very powerful and intimate when looking through it. It takes you to the inside of a person’s head and soul. I took the portraits of Anouk first and noticed that looking through the lens there is a vibrancy and energy that could be unlocked. She had the same feeling and asked for some music. Luckily iPhones have decent speakers and DANG the body shots were her.

(The dark background seems dramatic, and converges with the dark exposure of the lady very well. Only the face is highlighted which looks energetic. The music works well.)

And there was Nienke. I used her earlier as a second assistant to shoot my client holding a Lastolite panel. It was a bit stressful with difficult light, small bridge, wide angle, back lit, blahdeeblah. But she staid composed and collected. Nienke has a powerful facial expression which gives you a Sea of Tranquility. I admire that very much. It was clear that she needed to be lit in the magical minutes after the sun went down. Her photo was taken with an Ezybox camera right, the SB900 is gelled and used as a fill to balance the dying sunlight. The first round of shots were spot on, DANG, right on the target. I easily consider it one of my best portraits to date. If a photographer can grasp what he perceives as the inner lights of his/her subject, the picture will stand out.

Richard Avedon once said that a portrait is not to be judged. The moment an emotion or fact is transformed into a photograph it is no longer a fact but an opinion. I can’t agree more, but it’s professionally rewarding to get a good opinion and it’s financially rewarding if your clients like your opinion.

Keep following your lights…

(Interestingly, all these 3 pictures seem under exposured other than the faces. It seems calm rather than young. I like the 3^rd one the most. The red knit makes the whole picture so calm and dramatic, and the contract between the face and the red knit pops up the face. This may not work on a young lady or on a lady with white dress. Perceiving the inner lights of the subject.)

Shadow never says a word / Lens never makes a sound /

Wave never shouts to the bank / But do you,

 do you hear the the voice of the sea?

The happyiness / The silence

The believe

Sep 4^th, 2009

The following content was originally from the blog of a professional photographer, see the link: http://www.hansvandevorst-blog.com/

A photographer nowadays has to be so versatile if he/she would like to stand out. The camera has became some sort of super computer with tons of buttons (I’m using the D3 and have studied the inside recently), you have to understand light, Photoshop (which can be a pain in the butt). You have to market yourself (therefore you need to understand the Web) and if you would like to capture people, like I do, you have to make a connection with your subject. I must say I enjoy the latter the most.

Two weeks ago I did a two day shoot for a Training Company, shooting its trainers and clients. I arrived at the set in Amsterdam at 19:30. I haven’t met the models beforehand who would “act” as the clients and there he was: A guy by the name of Hans (what’s in a name ). You can see him below with the glasses (click photo for large).

(The whole picture is kinda dark. The face has the right exposure, all the other parts are under exposure. The good thing about this is that the face really stands out. With a background of several businessmen, the picture serves his purpose well which is to promote a company commercial.)

I immediately sensed a great photo taking opportunity. A dramatic face with an impact. I could relate to him and vice versa, that is the click you need. I had my last beer with him along with my client at 23:55. Why ? I dunno. The click is just there, both make an effort and DANG, good pictures.

烈日下，一缕清泉。无声的凝望。

童真。

懒洋洋的宁静。

校园。

高远。

Sep 3th,

Black and white looks so clean. No distracting color. Pure composition and light. The first one captures a tender moment. A man walks along an empty street with an umbrella. You can see the heavy raining which makes the mood more vivid. In the second one, the subject is the combination of those four cloaks. Strong impression. Actually, the background has more interesting details than the main subject. This combination makes the photo an interesting one.

Try B&W. Focus on the subject. Exposure is critical in black & white. The main subject should have different color tone than the background. (black subject, in lighter background, no over exposure). Question: what colors look black in B&W, and what colors look white? Answer: It’s not like some color is black and other is white. It depends on the light of that color. If more light of red, then in red channel, it looks white. If no red there, then in red channel, it looks black! Try to use the color mixer for making B&W, instead of “desaturate”

Check this link: http://photo.net/equipment/digital/editing/bwconvert/ .

Check out the difference on this one: http://photojojo.com/content/tutorials/black-and-white-digital-conversion/

Sep 1st, continued

http://www.flickr.com/photos/satorarepo/

This guy is amazing. His photos are professional. Art.

There two are really interesting. In the first one, that half umbrella is the focusing point due to its strong red color. The direction of the road and the high light near the end of the road also help focusing attention to the umbrella. It’s some sort of unique way to show only half of the umbrella. It’s that half leave you’re the space for imagination, which fits the mood the photo very well.

The second one is so unique. It uses the perspective of looking upside down. It shoots only the shadow of two ppl talking without showing the person. The lighting highlights the shadow and makes the interesting point more powerful. It’s an interesting way of telling story.

Something we learned is to pay attention to the highlight area inside the frame, and to try to put your focusing point there. Try different perspectives.

These two share the same style which is white out the whole background to highlight only the interesting point. The pure white background leaves lots of space for imagination, especially in the second one. Also notice that, the previous two pictures use black frame to make the space concise, while these two use no frame so as to expand the space. Simple compositions used here, diagonal in the color one and a bottom composition in the second one.

Simple composition and make the imaginary space unlimited. Try to put an interesting spot inside.  

These two look like oil painting. The texture of the second one looks like processed. The first one wins by its mood. Notice the composition. Familiar? Yes, the first one is the same diagonal. The second one looks like bottom composition but the dark boundary make a perfect frame to refrain the space.

Well, this is pure art.

These two looks clear, like sunshine. The second one impress ppl because it looks so clear, the white and blue combination. The distortion of shape makes the color theme less boring and more interesting. The first one? Perfect from every sense.

Unique perspective and a little distortion of space boost the feeling of whole picture.

Sep 1^st, 2009

These are pictures I saw this afternoon. The guy took these photos has a taste of Asian culture, such as simple objects, balance of the features, light color, and most importantly, the interesting composition. That’s the style of this guy, at least for these few photos.

What’s the interesting instinct of these photos? In the first one, it’s the contract

between the white moon and the black grass. In the second one, it’s the interesting positioning and reflection. And the gray frame also helps to tune the mood of the photos. The third one is more ordinary if you pay attention, maybe the lighting of the leaf is interesting. He dose get rid of all unnecessary elements in the photo. For example, the surface of pool in second one is largely simplified by boosting the lighting.

You know Asian culture. That’s a style that you can have a try sometimes.

Key point to take this kind of photos: train your eye to cut the space into pieces and find the good one. Choose an exposure to serve for your subject.

————–*-*—————————————————–

The second guy’s style is helpful when you are just starting to take some portraits and want to be cool. He always uses a simple background and an old bicycle. He uses the texture and the color tune to make the pictures like old ones. And a little bit under exposure. But the interesting point is the dark red dress and the hair style of the girl together in the first one. No more distracting element. The background is actually not so perfect for the mood. But the point is, your eye always notice the interesting things first. The second one is not so distinguishing. However, the point is still clear, no distracting element, a quite balance between the person and the bicycle. The mood is good.

In the old fashion portrait, they only emphasize the face of the person. In these two, the face is still the most distinguished feature as all the other parts of the body are covered by clothes. But they also try to build the mood by a few more elements as mentioned above. I like this style.

Key to take this kind of photos: Find an interesting sub-object, and focus your main subject. Make the composition simpler. 

我可怜的space从国内的访问被pin#bi已近1年。

终于寻了个方法。

以后这就是我的新家！

“To take a photograph is to align the head, the eye and the heart. It’s a way of life.”

Henri Cartier – Bresson

It has been several years since I have had my first camera. It has been quite a thousand pictures that I’ve taken. However, most of them were taken by chance, by instinct rather than by my heart.

I’ve seen thousands of good pictures. I’ve been increasingly confused by the lack of meaning in my own photos. So why not

take a deep look at the pictures you like and think about, why it’s so interesting? Is it because of the different perspective,

the unique composition or the beautiful light?  

From now on, don’t just look at the pictures. Look into them. And think. What style of picture it is? What is the interesting point that attracts your eye at the first moment? Can you take a picture like this and how?

You may not have your own style now, that’s because you never think about your style. Let’s make this note, and see what could happen in one or two years.

Let’s have some fun!

-L

Sep. 2009-9-1