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May 31, 2007

Maine Workshop, day 3

Ok, so we're at day three and still no portfolio review. Their were 12 people in the class and we've been going over about 3 or 4 a day. It seems to be standard operating procedure to only spend 10 minutes on anyone's work that is brought in digitally or from a web site. But if you bring in a printed body of work, then Norm will spend 30 minutes and if you're really good, 45 min to an hour!! Seeing this trend of the pleasure of viewing printed work on a desk or pinned to a board I took it upon myself to print my work from the past two days and pin them to the board for review. At the time I wasn't ready to print my digital portfolio, but I must admit I now see the importance of doing so. Photos really look different and in some cases viewing them digital can be a let down. Yes, computers have brilliant colors and a capacity of viewing them in the millions of colors. But when you print your work something different than what you saw on screen jumps out at you and makes you think more about the work you did to get that image on paper. I've sometimes been blow away from seeing a print on screen then printing to see an better photo than I was expecting.

Rookery building interior designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

Today was planned quite well and after a some constructive criticism form the group and Norm we looked at other work from the class. Everyone seemed positive about my wide angle shots, even Norm. I have always been attracted to the wide angle perspective with film and photos. I did have to compose two shots with my TS-24mm. As well I had to do more than just shift left and right, but because of the large amount of space in the room at the Rookery building (wide shot below) I would have needed to tilt my camera up causing distortion in the perspective of the shot. Instead I shifted and rised to get the coverage I needed, then with out moving the tilt and rise settings on the lens I simply rotated it around to the right side and locked the lens in the same place and took the second shot. If the tilt or rise was even one increment off it would not match up correctly and the distortion would be corrected differently in each photo. This shot was set up on a tripod with the use of a level attached to where the flash would go if I needed it.

Rookery building interior designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Click on the photo to see the full size version.

I made an effort to spend more time with Norm shooting today as time is limited on a one to one basis. When it comes to using the TS-24mm I'm not a pro yet, but Norm is. So I asked many questions and now feel I have a much better understanding of the lens than I did before meeting Norm. For those of you who have one, its not an easy lens to master. Click here to see my notes and review on the TS-24mm.

We also spent some time inside the Harold Washington Library, but full access was not granted and I was only able to get a shot of the hall way, below. On the top floor they have an amazing room that holds banquets and larger meetings. Its an atrium with views of the sky architecture outside. A great shot would be taken in the morning as the afternoon light creates many distracting shadows.

When we left the library I grabbed a quick shot of the federal plaza with the reflection of the Mies Van Der Rowe building and sun on the statue on the plaza. You have to be quick when shooting on any Federal grounds. After 911 they don't take kindly to cameras on Federal property.

I also took Norm to the spot JJ showed me the day before of two of Chicago's oldest buildings contrasted by the El and new architecture. It's right there at the county jail. I also took a shot of Norm waiting for me to finish.

I felt that this composition was better than the shoot from Tuesday.

Norm waiting for me

Posted by Robert R Gigliotti at 04:33 PM | Comments (0)

May 20, 2007

Maine Workshop, day 2

Day two was another day of portfolio review in the morning that dragged on a bit longer than necessary (about 1pm) for a few classmates and not long enough for others. Mine was yet to be reviewed again and would have to wait till tomorrow. We did however spend time reviewing work shot from Monday. We used an over head and I must admit it was difficult at times to compare and contrast to other works with out the ability to look at all photos at once on a table or board.

The old train station on the south side

Old and new architecture

Setting out to shoot for the day, no one really knew what was going on. We all separated and did our own thing. A few of us from Chicago decided to take a particular path avoiding some of the tourist traps that we've been to over and over again recruiting a few of the none locals in the process. We avoided Millineum Park (it’s amazing, but I've shot it many times) and headed out to river walk towards the lake and into Streeter villa. The day was hot and we walked quite a bit. I was frustrated by the lack of organization with the Maine workshop. They had mentioned they would get the group into multiple locations to shoot interiors around the city. This was not to happen today to our dismay. The shots of the day were a bit rushed and by time we go to an area of my interest I was so tired that I didn't spend the time necessary to compose a great shot. As well the weather was not ideal. Mostly overcast and look very white. I decided to do all my shots in black and white and see what turned up. JJ, one of the Chicago Locals shared the art of sneaking into parking garages around the city to get a unique view of the city. As well he was kind enough to give us access to his roof deck on the south side. You can check out some of JJ's work here..

The view from the south side

After returning home for the night I decided to print my work from the past two days to see if I could then get Norman and the class to review my work. I have an Epson 7600 with a Rip, so getting the photos processed was pretty easy. I printed everything at 8x12, the natural aspect ration of the camera, rather than 8x10, loosing 2 inches of the photo. For more information about how much you loose on what prints size, check out my website with a list of common sizes and the loss after cropping.

Repetitive detail

Posted by Robert R Gigliotti at 03:04 PM | Comments (0)

May 15, 2007

Maine Workshop, day 1

In a previous entry I wrote of further education with photography. What I did this year for my further education as a professional photographer was attend the Maine workshop that travels around the country with noted photographers teaching the workshops. In Chicago this year the workshops hosted an architecturural workshop. Its one of their "travel workshops" and was hosted and taught by Norman McGrath, a noted and well accomplished architectural photographer, born in Ireland and has been living and working for years in New York.

Norm in Chicago

In my next five entry's I'll be writing and sharing what we did on a day to day basis (if I can remember it all). I'll only be covering the five days we actually shot and not the opening reception or closing reception (food was pretty good and free!) You'll hear my opinions highs and lows of the six day course with Norman Mcgrath.

The Chicago River looking East.

Ok, first off I'm a member of ASMP (American society of media Photographers) and they send me notifications from time to time of events happening in and around Chicago. This includes deals you can get as a member. A $200 discount was one of the deals and one big reason (other than it was hosted in Chicago) why I chose to attend the workshop.

So, I'm a guy that got a good deal of photography work though an on-line portfolio and using a computer to show work in client meetings. The first thing we did on Monday was look over people's portfolio's, some on-line, others from a usb drive and most were printed images. I can't even tell you the lack of response to anyone that showed digital slides from not only Norman, but the rest of the group (there were 11 of us). Norman would spend 10 minuets or less critiquing peoples work that was on-line and a few of those who brought printed work, up to an hour. It was ridiculous in my mind and it should have been made clear to everyone in the class to bring a printed portfolio if you want Norman to give feedback. Norman went on and on over a few peoples work that it took nearly three days to see everyone's work. We typically viewed portfolios in the morning and looked at what other people shot then by lunch went out to shoot.

So its still Monday and My Landscape portfolio (I was going to use my usb drive) and my architectural portfolio (I was going to use my website) had not been seen. At this point and after all the negative feedback from those who showed work digitally, I was starting to get nervous.

We had a guide that came in from the Archicatural foundation of Chicago to give us a guided tour of the city. I have to admit, I was not excited about this as I've done these tours and I've spent many hours walking around the city taking photos. Besides, who wants to walk around for more than 5 hours with a group of 12? No matter, we pressed on and I made the best of it. Grabbing a conversation about photography here and there with Norman and other classmates on composing a particular shot or some of the challenges of other shots. I took a shot on the river of Norman and another down the river that I quite liked. The shots of the day are above and below.

One of many unique bridge houses over the river

Marina City & reflection from a dry reflection pool.

The Chicago Cultural Center

Posted by Robert R Gigliotti at 03:27 PM | Comments (0)

May 10, 2007

Photography education

There was a time when I thought I should attend a university for my masters in Photography. I did some research for schools here in Chicago that offered masters in Fine Art with a focus in Photography. Two of the schools I visited and poked around at were Columbia and The Art Institute of Chicago. Now, let me preface this with the fact that I'm a self-taught photographer. I didn't think photography sounded like a cool idea and thought "I should go to school for that". I picked up a camera from a sparked interest derived from cinematography. After years of taking photos on my own, making calendars for friends and family and doing a shoot here and there as a favor I took a chance on my creative ability and took the next step. I should mention I spent three years working in Digital Imaging and Traditional film sales in the Drug and connivance mart division of the Chicago Land area for Kodak. As well did about six months working for Ilford as a Regional sales manager for their digital paper and traditional film sales for professional photographers. It took years to walk the walk and talk the talk. I'm still learning new things about photography every day...

Lets get back on track. Getting a masters in Photography didn't seem like a great idea. In fact it’s a joke in my mind. After poking around I found out that the two of the biggest schools in Chicago offer a three-year masters program for about 30k. Now I wouldn't go and get another bachelors because my education at Purdue University has treated me well. I use my Bachelors of Science (technical graphics) degree every day with digital photography. My sales experience as well as working with some of the biggest photographers in the Chicago land area has given me the professional background I don't have to pay 30k for.

You might say..."well I don't have that background and want to be a photographer". Hey, that's fine, but to go out and get a degree in photography then on to get a masters in Photography and end up spending a possible 50k or more on an education that you may or may not succeed in is a risk that one shouldn't take. To be a success in photography or any creative business for that matter takes passion for the craft, drive and a thirst to learn. If you have those things over time you’ll pick up a direction and fine tune your skills. You just have to keep shooting.

Now, I have thought about further education often. After assessing the experience I have and what my future goals as a photographer and business professional the following are an option that seems to make more sense. 1. Would be to get a masters in business. One thing I could use more experience in is running a business. I run Hqprints.net and my photography business on my own. Some refinement and a bit of education would be helpful in my mind. Or I would 2. Get a masters in teaching or education. I also enjoy teaching currently on the high school level and in the past on the college level. But to get anywhere in education you have to have a masters. I do this to offset the long winter and cold season that often slows Landscape and Architecture photography to a stand still. I prefer not to travel in the off-season here in Chicago, leaving my family and the city I love. So teaching at After School Matters is not only a way I can give back to the youth of Chicago’s community, but a way I can earn extra money and still remain in Chicago over the winter.

At this point I don’t have the time or want to invest the money in education. But I will in time. I do however invest about once a year in some sort of photography workshop where I can spend time around other professionals and continue to hear new perspectives on what can be a lonely profession. Another good thing to do is to be apart of a local photography organization. One that I’m a part of is ASMP. ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers) provides a Varity of services for professional photographers. In future posts on Photoblogic I’ll write more on a photography workshop I attended this spring and ASMP.

Posted by Robert R Gigliotti at 10:56 AM | Comments (0)

May 05, 2007

Dust on your sensor

I’m sure we’ve all had this happen…You take a photo, get back to your studio, download the photos to your computer, open them up and see in the sky’s the same black dot that show’s up over and over again. Reluctantly you open the file in Photoshop to rubber stamp out the dust.

To my dismay this happens more often than any of us like to admit. But unless you have kept the lens on the camera from the day you bought it, your going to attract dust to the sensor of your camera.

In the photo below, you can see in the sky specs that are not birds. I took the liberty to use red arrow's to point them out.

I find it impossible to even go out on a shoot and not change lenses at least once or twice. I use a TS-24mm often to shoot architecture and sometimes I don’t need that lens, but need to work with a lens with more flexibility in position where I can’t change my location. So I swap out the TS-24mm for my 24-105mm and get the shot. For a long time when I first bought my Canon 5d I left the 24-105mm on and dust still sneaks in though the lens. When you have lenses that move in and out to adjust for longer focal lengths, “dust happens”.

With camera’s that have larger image sensors (this can typically be tied to larger mega pixels) the ability to produce a magnetic reaction and attraction to dust skyrockets. So you’re frustrated and you pull off the lens and have a look. Below is a list of things you should never do:
1. Never blow (from your mouth) into your camera’s exposed mirror & sensor. Have you ever seen the shots when someone sneezes and a spray of crap comes out? Not much different, even if you blow gently.
2. Never use caned air to blow into your camera’s exposed mirror & sensor
3. Never leave your camera’s mirror and sensor exposed for longer than need be.
4. Never stick your fingers in to touch the mirror or sensor.
5. Never attempt to clean the mirror or sensor yourself by rubbing something on it.

Ok, so there is a list of things you can’t do. What can you do??
1. If you have a air bulb or something that can shoot air into your exposed mirror and sensor via squeezing with your hand is ok.
2. Wet a paper towel, expose the mirror & sensor, place the camera on a hard surface propped up a few inches for 10 minutes or more to allow dust to fall out and stick to the wet paper towel.
3. Try #1 & 2 with the mirror locked up and mirror down. You can find this in your camera’s manual, more than likely under custom functions.
4. Used canned Air on your Lens’s to clean them out. Always hold the caned air on a flat surface and move your lens around it rather than moving and tipping the can causing what looks like moisture to come out. This won’t happen if you keep the can on a flat surface.
5. Buy some E wipe’s (small wipes that attract dust and clean image surfaces) to keep your lens’s clean on the surface. Try to keep the barrels clean when fully extended. These things are dust traps.

What happens when you can’t remove the dust??
A few things can be done. If you live in Chicago you can take your camera to Calumet who in-turn sends the camera off to a guy named Tony Campos of TC Camera Repair. I know Tony from back in my LLFORD days as a sales Rep…so I just send it direct and save a few bucks. You won’t find anyone in Chicago willing to clean your camera or repair your camera that is insured as well as has been doing this type of service for years. Tony had a quick turn around and my only other option would be to send it to Canon. Canon would take weeks if not a month to work on my camera. Any way…options are out there. Don’t do it yourself unless you’re ready to pay close to 1k for any damage you do by sticking something you bought in a store that looks soft and end up scratching your sensor. Let a pro do it and if he makes a mistake…he pays for it…not you.

Posted by Robert R Gigliotti at 05:22 PM | Comments (0)