Photographers capture burn-off haze hanging over Perth city

Perth photographers have captured eerie images of smoke haze from prescribed burns blanketing Perth city and  the metro area.

The Department of Parks and Wildlife issued a smoke alert from Perth to Mandurah at around 5pm on Saturday evening, and warned residents to shut doors, windows and turn off air-conditioners.

6.20am on Sunday morning. Photo: Metragnome Images

It was expected the smoke would lift on Sunday morning, but some locals were quick to snap some spectacular images of the unique conditions.

The smoke was the result of prescribed burns 10 kilometres south-east of Mundaring, and another burn 30 kilometres south-east of Jarrahdale.

Photo gallery

Prescribed burns blanket Perth city

Prescribed burns will continue throughout Sunday.

Emergency WA said burn-offs were currently active in Sawyer Valley, Parkerville, Darlington, Gidgegannup, Herron, Wellington Mill, Mount Helena, Hamilton Hill, Carabooda, North Dandalup, Bailup, Moonyoonooka, Carramar, Dalyellup , Hovea, Eglinton, Wooroloo, Stoneville, Ferguson, Two Rocks, Mariginiup, North Plantations and Banjup.

The alert for the metropolitan region is still active.

If the smoke is particularly thick, it is recommended people shut doors and windows and turn off air-conditioners.

Smoke may reduce visibility on some roads and motorists should take care, turn on headlights and travel at appropriate speeds when travelling in these areas.

People with asthma and pre-existing respiratory or cardiovascular illnesses should follow their pre-prepared treatment plan.

People with conditions exacerbated by smoke should take precautions in line with their medical advice for these circumstances.

Source: Photographers capture burn-off haze hanging over Perth city

Advice to 18 year old photographers

You're about to go to college or get a job. Some advice for you:

Okay first of all, don't get suckered by social media hype.

My regret: wasting too much time building up social media.

Better strategy: build your own website or blog.

For your college present, or 18 year old birthday, ask your parents to buy your own website. Treat it like your playground, or sand castle. Have fun with it. Build shit you're interested in, and upload it to your own blog.

I recommend bluehost.com, and just use WordPress on it. If you don't wanna use money just use WordPress.com.

Don't be like your sucker friends, wasting their time on the Gram and Snapchat. When I was 18, Myspace, Xanga and Live Journal was all the rage. Have you ever heard of it? Of course not. Probably will happen to Instagram and Snapchat.

—

2. Use your smartphone

The future of photography is not buying an expensive DSLR or other camera. Just use your smartphone, iPhone, Android, whatever. Use VSCO to process your photos.

You will have friends who will buy expensive cameras because they have no self confidence. They are trying to compensate for their small (ahem) size by buying a big camera and big lens.

Rather, show off and brag that you can make badass photos just on your smartphone.

Consider, wouldn't it be cooler that people look at your photos and ask you:

Wow your photos are so good! What camera do you shoot with?

And then you say:

My phone.

That's fucking badass.

3. Clean compositions

In your photography to make better photos, focus on getting clean edges and backgrounds in your composition. Don't center in your subject. Get a clean background, and having a good photo is easy.

Conclusion

Just have fun. The point of photography is to document your life, your loved ones, your adventures and shenanigans.

My regret in college is not shooting more of my friends and personal memories.

And I'm sorry to say buddy, but one day you're going to die.

So never stop hustling, and oh yeah… Enjoy the ride.

Be strong,Eric

Source: Advice to 18 year old photographers

Phase One IQ3 100MP Achromatic is a $50k beast for pro photographers

Phase One has launched its new IQ3 100MP Achromatic, a camera with a 101-megapixel sensor and an ISO topping out at 51,200. This model captures black-and-white medium-format photographs including light beyond the visible spectrum. This is due to the sensor's lack of an infrared filter and color filter array, and the end result is, among other things, 'the highest level of details, nuance and luminance,' according to Phase One. Such features don't come cheap, however.

Phase One's new camera is decidedly targeted at professionals, studios, and others in need of high-quality photos. The company positions its new model as something that can be used for capturing fine art images, as well as portraits and more, as well as aiding in industries including science and architecture. The camera certainly isn't targeted at the average consumer due to its massive $49,990 USD price tag.

The IQ3 features a Live View and the resulting images have an 'analog-like smoothness,' according to Phase One. Users can expect photos that look something like the kind captured with a film camera, offering solid whites and pure blacks for the highest-end black-and-white photography. Among other things, the camera has an HDMI output, WiFi, up to an hour-long exposure, and it can be used with other (unspecified) camera bodies.

Talking about the new model, Phase One's VP of Marketing and Product Management Stefan Sandor said: "The IQ3 100MP Achromatic enables photographers to capture a timeless expression. The detail, tonality and image quality must be experience first-hand, as seeing is not only believing, but truly inspirational." Though a limited number of the cameras are available now, shipping won't begin until August.

Source: Phase One IQ3 100MP Achromatic is a $50k beast for pro photographers

From Sally Mann to Carrie Mae Weems, These Photographers Captured What It Means to Be a Mother

Artsy Editorial

By Demie Kim

May 11th, 2017 10:08 pm

Like annual family portraits, photographs depicting motherhood are often staged presentations of love and comfort that gloss over the daily trials experienced by mothers—from the physical demands of pregnancy to the difficulties that arise when raising angsty teenagers. These six photographers have captured what motherhood really looks like through honest portraits that explore the complex roles of mothers. Though each image tells a different story, all emphasize the universal bond between mother and child.

Deana Lawson, Mama Goma, Gemena, DR Congo, 2014

Brooklyn-based artist Lawson is known for her portraits of global black culture, which often draw from art-historical motifs that historically have featured exclusively white characters. Here, she positions her subject as Madonna—unquestionably the most frequently depicted mother in the Western canon. Photographed in Gemena, Congo, and dressed in a blue satin cut-out dress that exposes her pregnant belly, Mama Goa stands upright and lifts her palms in blessing. Returning the gaze of the viewer, she presents a powerful image of motherhood in stark contrast with the conventionally blissful Madonna, who deflects attention from herself.

Tina Barney, Jill and Polly in the Bathroom, 1987

Tina Barney, Jill and Polly in the Bathroom, 1987. © Tina Barney. Image courtesy of the artist and Paul Kasmin Gallery.

Since the mid-1970s, Barney has cast her lens on the upper middle-class lifestyles of her friends and family in New England. This photograph depicts her sister Jill with her daughter, Polly, in a seemingly idyllic setting, donning identical pink robes in a kitschy rose-hued bathroom. However, Jill's worried glance, Polly's awkward stance, and the claustrophobic surroundings—exacerbated by the mirror reflection—all hint at a strained relationship. "When people say that there is a distance, a stiffness in my photographs, that the people look like they do not connect, my answer is, that this is the best we can do," the photographer has said. "This inability to show physical affection is in our heritage."

Justine Kurland, Sea Stack, 2006

Justine Kurland, Sea Stack, 2006. © Justine Kurland. Courtesy of the artist and Mitchell-Innes & Nash, NY.

Kurland's "Of Woman Born" series (2005–06) takes its name from a 1978 text by feminist poet Adrienne Rich, which argues that women should oppose the restrictive maternal roles prescribed by patriarchal society. Influenced by 19th-century Pictorialist and landscape photography, as well as Pre-Raphaelite paintings, the images see communes of nude pregnant women and mothers who are far removed from these restraints, sauntering with their children through ethereal beaches, forests, and meadows. Kurland shot the series while road-tripping across the U.S. with her one-year-old son, Casper. "You want even more with a child because you're responsible for someone," she told the New York Times. "I'm picturing the world I want to be."

Related Article

You Can Be a Mother and Still Be a Successful Artist

Sally Mann, Untitled from the "At Twelve" Series, 1988

In this 1988 photograph by Mann, a lanky adolescent girl embraces her pregnant mother, who is only weeks from giving birth. Reclining against a sink, her undergarments drawn down and her neck arching backwards, the woman appears to savor the momentary consolation provided by her daughter. Mann, best known for black and white photographs of her own children, took this photograph of her friend when she herself was pregnant with her third child. "We shared those universal feelings of ambivalence, despair and determination," she has recounted.

Alec Soth, Mother and Daughter, Davenport, Iowa, 2002

Alec Soth, Mother and Daughter, Davenport, Iowa (2002). Courtesy of Alec Soth / Magnum Photos.

Minneapolis-based Soth photographed this mother and daughter in a brothel in Davenport, Iowa, for his series "Sleeping by the Mississippi," which was published in 2004. The two are pictured while posing on a couch in matching satin kimonos, their legs crossed and stares defiant, and could almost pass for sisters. For this now-acclaimed project, Soth drove from town to town along America's overlooked "third coast" to capture the faces and places of middle America. He also asked his subjects to write down their life dream; in this case, while the mother "said she didn't have dreams any more," the daughter, according to the photographer, aspires to be registered nurse.

Related Article

9 Famous Mothers in Art

Carrie Mae Weems, Untitled (Woman and daughter with makeup) (from Kitchen Table Series), 1990

Weems's iconic "Kitchen Table Series" (1990) narrates a woman's life and, in the artist's words, "the battle around the family...monogamy...and between the sexes." Staged within a sparse, dimly lit interior, the series counters public stereotypes by showing the complex domestic lives of women and black individuals. Here, a young girl and her mother are each preoccupied while applying lipstick—a private ritual that anticipates public exposure. The photograph explores notions of femininity and the daily customs girls may absorb, consciously or not, from their mothers at a young age.

—Demie Kim

Source: From Sally Mann to Carrie Mae Weems, These Photographers Captured What It Means to Be a Mother

Manfrotto launches Manhattan Collection for urban photographers

Manfrotto has launched a new camera bag lineup called the Manhattan Collection. The new bags are designed for urban photographers who, according to Manfrotto, 'commute and need their essentials to be close at hand to survive the everyday urban life'. The collection is currently comprised of three bags: the Manfrotto Manhattan Speedy-10 messenger, Manhattan Changer-20 shoulder bag, and the Manhattan Mover-50 backpack.

The Manhattan Speedy-10 ($99.99 USD) is the least expensive of the trio, offering enough space for an entry-level DSLR with a lens attached and two additional lenses or a compact camera system with an attached zoom lens and two additional lenses. The Speedy-10 can also accommodate an iPad up to the 12.9" iPad Pro or a laptop measuring up to 12-inches, and it also features a stabilization strap, shoulder pad, 'NeverLose' tripod flap, and a coated bottom.

Joining the messenger bag is the Manhattan Changer-20 ($119.99 USD), a shoulder bag that can be carried as a bag, tote, or backpack. This model can accommodate the same camera gear as the Speedy-10, as well as a larger 15" laptop in addition to the smaller 9.7" iPad Pro. The bottom likewise features a coated material, while the interior utilizes interchangeable dividers. This bag has external tripod connections and is sized for use as carry-on luggage for flights.

Finally, the new series includes the Manhattan Mover-50 ($159.99 USD), a larger backpack able to accommodate a DSLR with an attached 70-200/2.8 lens and an extra four lenses. In addition to the DSLR camera and lenses, the backpack also has room for a compact system camera with an attached zoom lens and one extra lens. Mover-50 includes a pair of padded compartments, one for a 9.7" iPad Pro and the other for a laptop measuring up to 15-inches. This model is likewise convertible, offering a removable internal pouch that, when removed from the backpack, enables the bag to function as an 'everyday media bag.'

All three bags are available from Manfrotto now.

Via: Twitter

Source: Manfrotto launches Manhattan Collection for urban photographers

Spend 17 Minutes In 1980s NYC With One Of The Decade's Best Photographers

In the 1980s, photographer Steven Siegel captured the city through its many layers of grit and gloom—from the subways to the burned out buildings to the abandoned waterfronts, the most striking images in his expansive catalogue are best described as post-apocalyptic. And they're even more so when viewed in present day, considering how the city's streetscapes have changed so drastically over the past few decades. But as Siegel reminded us recently: "The fact that so much of the superficial depravity of the city has disappeared does not mean that the human misery has disappeared along with it, it has just become less visible."

You can see some of his images from the 1980s above, but Siegel also delved into film, and captured images on video for years that eventually turned into a 17-minute "city symphony" titled "Dream City" (featuring that dramatic opening shot). Though it features real scenes and sounds from the city, it has a surreal feel to it. Recently we asked him more about this film (which you can watch in full below) and the era in which it was filmed—here's what he had to say.

What was your overall vision/goal with "Dream City"? I made the film in the mid-1980s, which, of course, was a difficult and troubled time for New York. Just a few years previously, the city had barely avoided bankruptcy. In the '80s the city was slowly recovering from its fiscal crisis. It was also a time when the city was suffering from the twin social crises of crack and AIDS—which exacted a terrible toll on some neighborhoods. This is the backdrop of the film.

In "Dream City," I tried to fuse together some elements of experimental film and some elements of the traditional documentary film. The experimental visual elements are something of a 1980s version of a venerable film genre that is sometimes referred to as a "city symphony." That label applies to experimental films dating from the silent era that were devoted to a day in the life of a city. The most famous example of this genre is Dziga Vertov's "Man With a Movie Camera" (1929).

The "city symphonies" of the 1920s were short silent films that were accompanied by music. "Dream City" was somewhat different in that it melded a soundtrack that uses music but also used more traditional documentary elements like voice-over interviews and ambient sound effects. Some of the tension of the film derives from its experimental visuals and more conventional documentary soundtrack. However, the film does not include on-camera interviews of people—that would have broken the seamless visual spell of the city symphony.

What I was going for was a dense soundtrack that complemented the dense imagery... and that "grounded" the imagery to some extent but not entirely. The subjects of the voice-over interviews acted liked narrators... or more specifically as "tour guides" of the city that lead the viewer through neighborhoods from the South Bronx to Times Square... all interconnected by subways. But sometimes the "tour guides" were silent—that is, the "documentary element" disappeared entirely—and the pure visual "city symphony" took over completely.

The choice of the title, "Dream City," was meant to invoke several ideas. It suggested the dreams of the teenagers for a better city. But it also was meant to invoke the form of the film—a quasi-narrative that moved with the interconnected logic of a dream but also employed a dream's occasional visual nonsequituirs and surreal juxtapositions. I was going for a kind of visual story telling that lies somewhere between (on the one hand) a kaleidoscopic hodgepodge of unrelated images that is the hallmark of some experimental films and (on the other hand) a tight narrative structure that is associated with most conventional fiction and documentary films. That middle ground of visual storytelling is a "sweet spot" that is very hard to achieve and sustain.

I also aimed for a "middle ground" in the tone underlying my treatment of the subject. The visuals of the film were dominated by gritty and depressing subject matter. But the voice-over narration of the teenagers was often hopeful and optimistic. My aim was to show the indomitable spirit of New Yorkers in the face of adversity. Then too, this sometimes jarring counterpoint may have furthered the overall dream-like ethos.

Photo by Steven Siegel

How long did it take you to film the footage and put it all together? I made "Dream City" over the course of three or four years. I think the film benefited from its long gestation. In most film productions, there is a rigid tripartite production process: preproduction, production and post-production. In other words, scripting, shooting and editing. In general, the high cost of making a film usually requires that the three parts of the creative process be kept separate. "Dream City"—like many personal low-budget/no budget independent films—was not subject to these requirements imposed by the usual economic realities of filmmaking. I dispensed with the traditional tripartite production process. Instead, scripting, shooting and editing were integrated. One shoots footage and then edits it. In turn, that edited fragment generates a new idea. So one goes out and shoots the new idea, incorporates it into the working cut... and that, in turn, generates another idea... and so on. The creative process become a sort of continuous feedback loop. In the end, one develops a work that probably could not possibly have been scripted in advance in the traditional way.

For this approach to work there must be no impending deadline. The work may benefit greatly if you are able to lay it aside for awhile and come back to it with "fresh eyes." Few can afford to do this in mainstream filmmaking. In some ways, when it comes to the creative process, time is the greatest luxury of all. I didn't have much money... but I did have time.

This organic creative process is particularly helpful when the form of the film itself (as in "Dream City") employs a complex quasi-narrative approach that depends on chance visual associations and dense visual and audio elements. This unusual film form almost requires the "organic" approach to filmmaking.

Photo by Steven Siegel

Any thoughts and reflections about the film thirty years later? So much in the city has changed. Times Square has become a haven for tourists. The burned-out precincts of the South Bronx are gone—replaced by occupied affordable housing and parks. Of course, the fact that so much of the superficial depravity of the city has disappeared does not mean that the human misery has disappeared along with it—it has just become less visible. It exists behind closed doors. And gentrification represents a very different threat to the vitality of the city than the threats of the 1980s. But there is no denying that the city was a vastly different place and contemporary New York is a vastly better place. I would hope that "Dream City" shows that this is so.

As I previously mentioned, the city symphony films that dated from the 1920s took on added interest decades later as the films became historical documents of the cities that were their subjects. In a very real sense, these films are visual "time capsules." "Dream City" is now just such a "time capsule" of New York in the 80s.

I would like to think that this has made the film more valuable not just historically but aesthetically—that is, "Dream City" has become even more literally dream-like with the passage of time.

Photo by Steven Siegel

Source: Spend 17 Minutes In 1980s NYC With One Of The Decade's Best Photographers

Take better vacation pictures: tips from Baltimore Sun photographers

May 8, 2017

Christina Tkacik 0 Comment The Baltimore Sun

18 Photos

Use framing, get up early, try black and white and above all, be ready to be lucky. Baltimore Sun photographers provide tips for taking more interesting photos during your upcoming family vacations, with these past winners of the Reader SunShots competition.

A wide angle lens can add depths to those candid moments, like in this shot by Mary Talalay from 2011. Play with lines – like in this shot by reader Jared Kofsky, taken of Radio City Music Hall. A super fast shutter speed can catch those perfect moments – like a boogey-boarder's face a millisecond before being engulfed in a wave, in this shot by Frank Tewey from 2012. Interesting framing – such as the use of an archway in this shot by Jean Wimmer — can elevate a routine picture by directing the viewer's eye. You can try it with trees. A slow shutter speed can make an image more fluid and active, such as in this photo by John Marks of a bullfighter in Marbella, Spain. (Famous photographer Ernst Haas used a similar technique for a Life magazine photo essay on bullfighting). Pick the right time of day. Early morning can make for some dramatic shots, such as this photo by reader Kevin Moore, taken in Maine. A slow shutter speed makes the water seem even more fluid. Greg Wareheim used a Nikon D3000, a 3.0 neutral density filter and a 94-second exposure to photograph this Vero Beach, Florida pier. The 3.0 density filter darkens the image and allows for a slower shutter speed. Baltimore Sun photographer Algerina Perna comments, "The long exposure mutes the tones of the sand and water to create this captivating and ethereal image. Wareheim took this photograph to another level by not only photographing what was before him, but interpreting it through the exposure and filter, and in the process, created art." Look for odd juxtapositions – like the head and the human in this shot taken by Steve Sattler while on vacation in Italy. (A tighter crop would have made this shot even stronger). Zoltan Levay captured this shot of people waiting for a train at the Paris Metro. Baltimore Sun photographer Algerina Perna says, "The slow shutter speed which captures the motion of the train and people in the foreground gives energy to the photo. The camera angle emphasizes the arched ceiling covering the train on its forward path." Take a familiar image up a notch, like Bob Luerssen did with this photo of the Grand Canyon by using a silhouetted tree to give the picture a point of focus. Great shots don't require a fancy camera; Baltimore Sun reader Randy Holter snapped this frame of Guatemala's Lake Atitlan with his HTC Android phone. Baltimore Sun photo editor Jerry Jackson comments, "This is a beautifully evocative image to commemorate a special family trip. The sharp focus of the worn pier adds a sense of depth against the monochromatic blue of the twin volcanos, lake and sky." Give your shot a central focus, like reader Ethan Haskel did with this shot of sunrise over Death Valley. Get imaginative with your composition. Kevin Moore took this picture of Ocean City at sunrise with a Canon 5D MKIII with a 24mm lens at f-22 and a 5 second exposure. Here is a critique by Baltimore Sun director of photography Robert Hamilton. "You need to be a expert to know this is a gorgeous image. The photographer showed great imagination in the way he composed the image so that the sunrise streamed through the pier creating a picket fence effect with the light." Try out some drama by shooting in black and white. Jean Wimmer took this shot in San Francisco. Here is a critique by Baltimore Sun director of photography Robert Hamilton. "If you've ever been to San Francisco, you're familiar with this scene. However, black and white gives it an etheeial feel and the photographer did a good job with the composition." The early bird catches the good light. "Good light makes for good photographs," as Sun staffer Robert Hamilton put it in his critique of this photo, taken in Ocean City at sunrise by Luanne Rushing. Make a memory. This shot was taken in 1954, by retired National Geographic photographer Tom Nebbia – and submitted by his daughter, Mary Roby, who is the little girl in the photo. "Be ready to be lucky," as The Baltimore Sun's Robert Hamilton advised in this critique of Leslie B. Picker's photo of a grizzly bear in the Yukon. Keep your camera close at hand to capture the unexpected. Keep it simple. The clean composition of this photo by Kelly Sanchez in Turks and Caicos made it a winner. Here is a critique by former Baltimore Sun director of photography Robert K. Hamilton: "I like the clean composition of this photograph. The alignment of the boy, the water and the boats all work in harmony to give the image a sense of peace and relaxation. The photographer did a nice job of combining these elements and making them work together." The Darkroom offers Facebook and WordPress commenting in the hopes of fostering constructive conversation among our users. Please abide by our Terms of Service when commenting on the site.
Source: Take better vacation pictures: tips from Baltimore Sun photographers