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New portfolio work: Girl Fight

I've been working on a street fighting themed series lately. I find it a really interesting subject to explore from the standpoint of story driven location lighting. You can view my earlier work in the series here and here. The latest iteration of this series focuses on a woman as the central character, reminiscent of the great movie 'Girl Fight'. In the same way that 'Girl Fight' benefited from the casting of Michelle Rodriguez as the main character, I was lucky enough to have a great model who really helped make the shoot such a success (Thanks Maria!).

Through a combination of stark lighting and post-processing techniques we were able to transform a simple suburban garage into a dramatic theater - it constantly amazes me what light can do.

Workplace Hazards!

The Tokay Gecko (Gekko gecko) is one of the most commonly encountered reptiles in Southeast Asia (This one is from Thailand, near the Burmese border). They frequent houses and man-made structures, coming out at night to hunt for insects and smaller geckos. They are quite enormous for a gecko, reaching lengths over a foot long!

Tokays are renowned for their their loud vocalizations. Their mating call, a loud croak, is variously described as sounding like 'tokeh' or 'gekk-gekk', from which both the common and the scientific name are derived.

Now this information is all well and good. What they don't tell you in the text books is that Tokay Geckos have extremely strong jaws (as can be seen from the well developed jaw muscles) and really enjoy to bite anything they perceive as a threat. Fair enough. Not only do they like to bite, what they really enjoy is to bite and then hold on - chewing on their victim the whole time.

I found this out the hard way, after my hand came too close to a Tokay and we both decided to mount a small scientific experiment into bite strength...

More from Khao Sok National Park, Thailand

Unfortunately we were only able to spend a single night in the amazing Khao Sok National Park. This is my friend Tom, just as we arrived at the floating bungalows, setting up his 6x17 panoramic camera, racing against the fading light to capture the magical ambience of the sheltered lagoon.

The following morning, I rose early to photograph the magical early morning light. I was greeted by deep, mournful calls emanating from the dark forest - a family of Gibbons greeting the new day.





You can read more about our adventures as well as view more photos from the trip in an earlier blog posting, here.

Lightroom 2: Graduated Filter Tool - draw the viewer in

One of the great new features in Lightroom 2 is the graduated filter tool. Though simple, It can have a very powerful effect on one's photos, as we'll see. From darkening a washed out sky, to emphasising the billowing clouds of stormy sky, the graduated filter tool in Lightroom 2 is incredibly customizable.

Rather than me tell you about it, I have included an example of the tool in use, and some screenshots of my workflow in Lightroom 2 as I was working on an image of a longtail boat in Thailand. To get a closer look at the screenshots, click on them.



This is the final image. The early mornin stillness of this lake was entrancing. As a fine mist rose from the lake's surface, a Gibbon's mournful cry echoed from the forest. It was an amazing sight to wake up to - and I wanted to do my best to recreate that atmosphere for the viewer. Hopefully, I succeeded.

The tool is exceptionally easy to use, which is its main drawcard. It has been possible for a long time to achieve the same outcome in Adobe Photoshop, however, it was always a relatively convoluted process to do so. Now, Lightroom's powerful new filter allows one to customize colour tint, sharpness, contrast, saturation, and of course brightness/exposure. What's also really amazing is that one can adjust all these features after you've applied the filter!

Without further ado, here are some screenshots which exhibit how I used the feature on a photograph taken in Khao Sok National Park, Thailand.



This is the image after is has been cropped, just before applying the Graduated filter. Note the washed out sky, the image seems very unbalanced and the viewer's eye is immediately drawn to the bright void at the top of the image. What's important in this image is atmosphere and foreground. We want our viewer focusing on those attributes, so something has to be done to that sky.



Ahhhh, much better. Now that we've darkened the sky and increased the contrast to really bring out the definition in those clouds - the image is much more balanced. The viewer's eye is drawn through the image along the curves of the boat towards the horizon.

Unfortunately, in this case, where the horizon is anything but straight and simple, we've inadvertently darkened the trees surrounding the lake. This is unavoidable using this method, so one's best bet would be to use the brush function in Lightroom 2 and selectively brighten the trees which were darkened during the process.

Well there you have it, short and simple. I hope you enjoyed this short tutorial. If there are any questions, please leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer them.

As always, all the best information regarding Lightroom 2's new features can be found at the Lightroom 2 Learning Centre.

On White...

I spent this morning banging out some studio portraits of the full staff of Accountants and Financial Advisers who are based at an Accounting firm in Subiaco. Subi is a great place to work,a local suburb rich in high end professional consulting services and the height of Perth's creative scene.

As the staff are involved in a very precise business, the height of professionalism, we wanted their portraits to reflect this. However, we also wanted each staff member to express their personality, making them appear more approachable - more human.

So, the brief was white, studio white...and lots of it.







Shooting a number of portraits under the same lighting conditions and with the same background can be difficult, as it is easy for all the images to turn out the same, despite differences in your subjects. The best way to avoid this is diversity - diversity in posing. The other key is to coax a real relationship between yourself and your subject. One of the greatest challenges of this type of shooting (fast paced and with a large number of people) is that it can be difficult to coax a display of someone's real personality from them in the short length of time we have to photograph them. This is an important point in regards to this particular shoot, as an important part of the brief was to convey each staff member's personality - no easy task, but I believe we succeeded.

New portfolio work: Street Fighter

I've been playing with the concept of a street fighter themed shoot for a while now. Last week I brought it into fruition with a series of images shot on location deep in the dark underbelly of Perth City...

My new favourite Ad

I find myself watching this ad over and over again.

Check it...

Lightroom 2 released!

I am a disciple of lightroom.

This piece of software makes my life so much easier, speeding up everything from sorting through thousands of images to making adjustments via Adobe's powerful Adobe Camera Raw interface.

Big News, the official full release of Lightroom 2 was released this morning!!!

It is an amazing upgrade from the last iteration, Lightroom 1.4, and promises photographers an even more enhanced workflow experience.

My favourite new features include localised adjustments (awesome when wielding a Wacom Tablet) and support for dual monitors.

According to Adobe, the powers that be have deemed the official top new features list to include:

* Local adjustment brush
* Enhanced organizational tools
* Volume management
* Extensible architecture
* Multiple monitor support
* Flexible print package functionality
* Streamlined Photoshop CS3 integration
* Enhanced output sharpening
* 64-bit support for Windows® and Mac OS


To find out more, check out the awesome Lightroom 2 Learning Centre presented by Scott Kelby and Matt Kloskowski from the NAPP.

Enjoy!

The cloud is falling: The future of professional photography

If you've ever given any thought to becoming a professional photographer, give this article at Sportshooter.com a read. It is a fascinating insight from one of the world's best photographers, Vincent Laforet, into the future of professional photography.

Photographing People: How I do it

Photographing people is one of the most interesting and engaging things you can do in photography - travel photography in particular. Your camera - if you make it - can be your ticket to some of the most amazing and memorable experiences with others you'll ever have. But, getting over that initial approach anxiety and shyness which arises when photographing strangers, especially when traveling, can be tough.

Here's how I do it:
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Asking permission before taking someone's photo is the easiest way to circumvent that discomfort some feel when photographing a stranger without their verbal permission. In my experience, I find that asking permission almost never results in natural-looking pictures - unless of course you wait around until your subject tires of holding that cheesy grin and photograph them as their focus wanders. Asking permission is a great idea for projects or when you will be photographing people for an extended period of time, but most of the time it isn't necessary.

I almost never ask for permission verbally, rather I'll suggest my intentions through gesture. This requires a understanding of non-verbal body language (especially important in foreign cultures!) which I think we all have. For a start, the fact that I'm usually wielding a large digital SLR with battery grip and oftentimes a flash held in my left hand means that people around me know what I'm doing. Even if you were wielding a small Leica Rangefinder or point-and-shoot, people would understand what you're doing, it just might take them longer to notice you. Either way, people know what you are doing when you approach them with a camera. I find that they are more accepting of this in foreign cultures. This is probably for a few reasons, including that they are more accustomed to tourists with cameras and that their culture doesn't share the same unsavoury connotations with candid photography as the western world.

In quieter, more unobtrusive situations, I'll shoot from further back, then ease my way into closer proximity. It's all about letting my intentions be known. It also allows me to gauge the response of the subject to my intentions. In situations where I want subject engagement, I will smile throughout this whole process, and will oftentimes raise my camera slightly in a suggestion of my intentions. If someone doesn't want their photo taken, they will tell you outright or suggest it though non-verbal body-language. This does occur every now and then, but not as often as you would think.

The beauty of this approach is the subject will usually lose interest in what you are doing, so that you can then then capture them candidly. It also means that you can escalate in terms of gear. Approach someone with a 70-200 zoom lens and they'll probably think it's a bazooka and run away screaming (well maybe not that dramatically!), but approach them with a small prime lens and as they lose interest it becomes easier to fit that zoom without their objection.

Well there you have it, my approach to photographing people. At the end of the day, it isn't set in stone and there is no secret formula, it is a skill which you'll develop in your own unique way.

Good Luck!

Photographing People: Just do it!

Photographing People - Strangers - People who aren't models.

This is probably one of the biggest hurdles many photographers find themselves having to face, especially those interested in pursuing travel photography, photojournalism or street photography.

I don't profess to be an expert in the subject, but I am fascinated by the topic and over a series of blog posts, I will endeavor to offer what I have learnt about shooting strangers, particularly in a travel context, after a reasonable amount of time spent photographing people in Africa and Southeast Asia.

My first piece of advice, and probably the most valuable is: "Just do it"

Yes, there are many profound lessons to be learnt from Nike's well known slogan! 

Seriously though, doing rather than thinking about doing is often one of the keys to success, in any field now that I think about it, but also in photographing strangers. Getting outside one's comfort zone is probably the biggest barrier one needs to overcome in photographing people. Don't worry, the more you do it, the easier it will become. 

Keeping track of your images on the web: Tineye

Thankfully, I haven't had any major issues with copyright infringement on the web - yet.

However, it remains a serious issue, especially for users of such Photo sharing sites as Flickr, whose images can be searched for and copied by everyone from highschool bloggers to major corporations. Luckily, in the case of commercial usage, art directors and designers are usually savvy enough to make a formal request from the photographer before publishing an image of theirs without their consent - they've learnt from the lawsuits. 

However, this doesn't stop people from doing all sorts of other things with one's image, despite images being clearly copyrighted, from using photos to enhance homepage decor to uploading to their own website or photo sharing account and asserting your best photos as their own.

Tracking down such offenders has always been very difficult, as it is often only through luck that a photographer might stumble upon his or her image being used. However, this is all about to change.

Enter Tineye, a revolutionary new image search application which no doubt will alleviate much of the worries some have for their image rights being abused across the internet. Rather than try and explain what Tineye does, I'll let their promotional video do it for me.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words - so how many words is a moving picture which speaks worth?

check it!

One does have to apply to use Tineye in its Beta form in order to use the service - Don't fret, applications are generally accepted within a day or so.

Yanchep Adventures: Slideshow

I've been playing with media presentations lately. Here's a little slideshow I concocted showing our adventures at Yanchep. What I love about doing this is that when you deal with your images in this fashion, you find storylines in your work where you thought there were none.

If you think your connection can handle it, try the "full screen" option for the best experience!

Enjoy!

Bodyboarding Photos: Yanchep

Surf photography.

Here in Australia, we're bombarded with it since we're little grommets in high school, images of zinc-covered, blonde-haired men riding waves by standing on pieces of fibreglass or lying on bits of high-tech foam - plaster the magazine racks.

I had always wanted to try my hand at such imagery, and today I got a shot at It. I joined a few young guys, almost past their prime years of 'grommet-hood' (a technical term for young, frequently annoying young surfers). 

We headed out early, really early, considering the temperature in Perth at the moment and the fact that the sun is rising as late as 7am. We arrived in the sleepy town of Yanchep (although I'd probably call Yanchep a suburb at this stage of Perth's incredible urban sprawl!) just before sunrise, in the gloomy hours when flash staves off the blurry images that would result otherwise.

These first few images where shot at about F4, ISO 400, 1/5 second - so you know it was dark!

The main reason i wanted to head out with the boys this morning was to try out my newly purchased EWA-marine underwater housing. I had bought it a few months ago, but had never found a chance to use it. I'll try and write up a more in depth review of it later on - but suffice to say, the thing is cumbersome. Other than that, the thing stood up really really well against the frequent swirling currents i found myself in as i was dumped again - and again. Each time i emerged from the turbulent waves where i was introduced to the sandy bottom, I was stunned to see my camera dry and protected - It's a weird feeling when you're cold, soaking wet and at the mercy of the ocean.

I really have a newfound respect for surf photographers, this stuff is tough - and a workout to boot!

Growing Creatives!

If only it were that easy!

Introducing: CINEMA - Street

I've been working hard lately to diversify my portfolio, producing work inspired by the drama and action of cinema films.

This is the latest series, dubbed for now as "Street".

Run!

I spent two weeks in February galavanting around northern WA. This shot is from Shark Bay.

Ray Hanas - Where service still matters...

One almost forgets the value of service. It's the reason why shopfronts will never disappear in lieu of oftentimes more efficient and less expensive ebay resellers and online stores. It's what drives successful business dealings and ultimately business success.

I was reminded of this when, this afternoon, i wandered into Ray Hanas Martial Arts supply store in Northbridge, simply to buy some hand wraps for an upcoming photography project.

Not only did Sunil, who runs the store, help me find what i was after, he also proceeded to illustrate what other products his store offered which could help me in my eternal search for great props - all with great enthusiasm and genuine interest in how he could help.

So, if you ever need anything related to the martial arts, stop by Ray Hanas and have a chat with Sunil - be reminded what real service is like.

Gruen Transfer - watch it!

If you're into the intricacies and creativity of advertising and find yourself enjoying your favourite ad almost as much as the product it's trying to sell you, then check out ABC's latest foray into the world of niche television with Gruen Transfer - a show all about advertising.



"Gru-what?" was my initial reaction, but with a panel of some of Australia's most eminent figures in the advertising industry and a deconstruction of what makes a good TV commercial, the show is as much entertainment as a delectable glimpse into the wit and psychology of advertising.

Even better, you don't have to wait till its next ABC airing to watch it, you can download the episodes or stream them in the comfort of your very own command station...uhh, i mean desk.

check it!

Khao Sok National Park - Thailand

One of the major features we wanted to explore in Thailand were the abundance of national parks spread across the country. Thailand is well known for its well equipped national parks, many of them complete with luxury bungalows and modern conveniences.

Khao Sok National Park, located in the south of Thailand, was our first foray into real Thai wilderness (Phuket doesn't count!). And what a foray it was. We made the drive into the park after sunset, in pouring rain, driving on a highway surrounded by magnificent limestone spires towering steeply hundreds of meters into the air.

This first image was taken on the morning after that impressive downpour - along a jungle trail. The ground was still spongy with moisture and the leaves slick with humidity. 

Khao Sok National Park is enormous. The whole park covers 645 sq km - the heart of a complex of five contiguous conservation sites that comprise the largest protected forest on the Thai-Malaysian peninsula, covering over 4,000 sq km.

The construction of Ratchaprapha Dam across the Paseang river created the enormous lake depicted here - Chiaw Lan Lake - which occupies some 165 sq km.

A one hour long boat ride from the National park headquarters is one of the most amazing experiences i had in Thailand. We were lucky enough to experience it just before sunset, as the spectacular limestone outcrops which protude from the lake's surface (some as tall as 960m!) were set against a dramatic cloudscape.

We spent the night in a series of floating bunglaows, far, far away from the hum of the city.



An experience not to be missed!

Demystifying Camera Specifications - Canon 50MP sensor

There are reports that Canon is working on producing a 50 megapixel sensor, courtesy of a roughly translated and interpreted Chinese article from the Chinese P&E show.

Presumably such a sensor will find its way into Canon's flagship 1D series at some stage. At the moment Canon lead the way in terms of DSLR megapixel count, while Sony is working on producing its much anticipated A900 which will then hold the crown (with about 24megapixels). Nikon is also believed to have a D3x in the works which will probably also trump Canon's 1D in terms of sheer pixel count by the time it is released.

I'm not even sure L glass could withstand a 50MP sensor. But we may see sooner than we think...

For all the naysayers that immediately pounce on such high megapixel counts being 'too much' resolution. I'd seriously suggest watching (and actually understanding) the  excellent videos at Panavision about MTF and camera specifications. Don't be put off by the fact that much of the dialogue is about video cameras, the same rules still apply to DSLRs.

Now here's hoping to some solid info emerging on the newest iteration of Canon's 5d - the rumors are pointing to an announcement in time for Photokina in September.

Experimental fashion shoot

Spent the latter part of yesterday shooting some experimental work. Ed Swinhoe and I scoped out a new location and at the same time helped out Curtin Uni fashion designer Chris Hancy with some of his most recent fashion deviations.

Chris's work is styled after the anime movie 'Akira', so Ed and I took that into account in location scouting and shooting style. Cheers to our models Tom and Nina for their help with the shoot - In one hundred years we'll all be wearing this, so for the next 99 you're standing at an innovative point in fashion design.

Check it.

The future of video is coming: RED Scarlet

Imagine if a Canon 5d could shoot video - then imagine it shot that video in a RAW format.

Then imagine this figurative camera came in at under US$3000 and could fit in your coat pocket.

You have in your mind, something similar to the eagerly anticipated RED Scarlet HD camera projected for release in early 2009.

This little beast, a derivative of it hefty older brother, the RED One, is going to change the way we think of video.

check it:



Among the juiciest tidbits: Ted likens the battle between "regular" HD camcorders versus 3K and 4k Red cameras to cell phone cameras versus SLRs. Damn!

"I talk very publicly and very bluntly about what our camera is, and it is essentially, a digital still camera that can shoot video," RED's Ted Schilowitz told Maria during an interview at NAB. "It doesn't think like a video camera at all."

In typical RED fashion, the only promises about the final product is that "specifications, delivery dates and design are subject to change... count on it," but this is certainly a good start.

Muay Thai Photos

Recently i spent about 6 weeks in Thailand, of which about 2 weeks were spent documenting the Thai Boxing scene in Thailand's second largest city, Chiang Mai. Located in Thailand's north, relatively close to Burma (Myanmar) and Laos, Chiang Mai is a a cosmopolitan city, rich in culture and a hub of the Thai Boxing scene in Northern Thailand.



The National sport of Thailand, Thai Boxing (Muay Thai) permeates Thai culture in a similar way that Australian Rules Football does here in Australia. There is one major difference however, and that is that like Western boxing, Thai boxing is viewed as a 'poor man's sport', whereby the Thai bourgeois shuns the seemingly violent and archaic brutality of the sport.

Young boxers live and breath Muay Thai, training 6 hours each day, 6 days a week and after seeing the way these guys work, how they push their bodies to the limit, the tuly must be some of the most athletic people on the planet!

How to shoot a DJ

Did a quick and dirty promotional shoot with my friend DJ Andrew Mac last night.

Heres the first of the shots, more to come, as well as an explanation on how they were done...

PMA Australia

PMA Australia is running from the 30th of May until the 1st of June, so you better get your tickets to Brisbane in order.

PMA Australia

Flip-book style shooting - Canon XSi Ad

Check out this awesome video put together for an ad promoting the new Canon XSi/450D running in the US. Apparently 70,000 images were shot, funnily enough all on the 10fps capable Canon 1D MKIII...

Awesome idea, and reminds me of one of the more innovative media presentations i've seen:




Check it!

Pecha Kucha Night - 23rd May - Perth, Western Australia

I'm heading to my first Pecha Kucha night tonight

What the heck is that you ask?

Well, i asked the same profound question when in was initially confronted with the term. After 20 seconds of diligent internet research, i came up with a basic understanding, no doubt about to be expanded at 7pm this evening.

Basically these nights, currently hosted at Ginger's Garage , are open forums where young designers can meet, network and show their work in public.

Each speaker is only allowed to show 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds. If you do the math, that's 6 minutes per talk - perfect for today's youtube corrupted attention spans.

I'm heading there with my friend Ed, uber designer of Dickanded fame.

Should be fun...

Welcome

Have just finished the new and improved www.deanbradshaw.com.au

With it comes a blog, this one, something to consolidate my photographic web wanderings, opinions on obscure photo gear and whatever else i can come up with.

So stay tuned...