Photo trail fun

Some intriguing links between pictures marked Thursday night's session (Aug 26) with the Light 52 photography group at Solihull Arts Complex.

This was the last session of the current series of workshops, and it featured slide shows of a couple of assignments. One was a Chinese Whispers 'photo trail,' the other an Urban Landscape project.

Some stunning images were created in both cases and there were interesting similarities and differences.

In the Chinese Whispers project, the main group was split into three smaller groups (of around five or six). A 'stimulus' picture was sent to the first person of each group (ie, each received the same image). He or she then took an image based on the one they had received - and sent that on to the next person. That person then took an image and sent that on . . . and so on.

In effect, a picture trail was created with each picture being different, but having a connection with the one before it.

It was fun viewing the sequence of images in the order they were taken - and seeing just how different the interpretations could be!

The Urban Landscape assignment resulted in exciting images of our built environment ranging from back-garden veg plots and rivers flowing under bridges through to city roads and a 'futuristic' shot behind Liverpool cathedral, close to the University. (Shown here. Picture taken by Light 52 photo group member Gil Gillis).

A big thank you to the group for their commitment, enthusiasm - and creative energy!

Looking forward to the next sessions at the end of September!

 

 

Technorati Tags: Trail,Fun,Chinese Whispers,Light 52,Solihull,Arts,Complex,Assignments,Projects,Sequence,Urban,Landscape,Workshops

 

 

 

Filter helps to protect your lens

A query from a reader in a recent photo mag was whether you should keep a Skylight or UV filter over your lens (on a DSLR) for protection. The magazine answered that basically, no, it’s not necessary. Technically, this might be correct: you don’t have to put a filter on. And, when all is said and done, if you drop your camera off a cliff or on to a concrete surface from a great height or into a raging piranha-infested river, no wafer-thin filter is going to save your gear from the greater fate that befalls it.

But fixing a protective filter to my lenses is something I do as a matter of course and I generally suggest others do the same. All the photographers I know also put a filter on their lens. I actually picked up the tip from my tutor many moons ago. So the question is: why? Well, at the very least, the filter offers protection for the front element from any small ‘attacks’ by grit or stones and the like. When out and about in the hurly burly of event or documentary work, for example – or even landscape photography, for that matter - it’s easy for your lens to get knocked. Mine have had a bump or two. Thankfully nothing too serious, but the filters have definitely borne the brunt of the impact.

I was with a group of young photographers recently when an expensive Nikon fell to the floor. There was a horrible crunching sound and it looked as if the lens had shattered beyond repair. That dreaded sickly feeling rapidly turned to sighs of relief, however, when we realised that the splintered glass actually came from the filter. Phew! Everything still worked ok. It meant a few pounds for a replacement accessory, but not a few hundred for a replacement lens. My 17-40mm Canon L lens took a knock the other day, and there’s a chip in the glass – luckily, it’s the glass of the filter, not the lens itself. The picture shows my lens, with a slight dent and chipped glass. I need to get a replacement but, thankfully, I won’t be paying out for a new lens!

So, is it sensible to keep a filter attached to your lens and does it really perform any useful protective function (aside from filtering light, of course)? Perhaps it’s just a myth, and the lens wouldn’t get any more or less damaged if the filter wasn’t there. You have to weigh up the risk and whether it’s worth parting with the extra cash. My own experience, and admittedly anecdotal evidence, however, suggests that it does offer some degree of protection. So, for now, I shall continue to keep a filter attached. It may become the unfortunate victim of an accident, but at least the lens will remain unscathed – and live to take another picture!

 

 

 

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Zen and the art of folding a Hilite

Technorati Tags: Lastolite,Hilite,HiLite,Hi-lite,folding,rods,accessory,white,pop-up,backdrop,background,ties,cords

I’ve mentioned losing the rods for a Lastolite Hilite pop-up background (not an uncommon experience, unless you fasten the rods to the Hilite itself, using the ties provided), but one activity that can cause a headache is folding the Hilite after use. It can be a real wrestling match – and the Hilite wins! It’s a bit like grappling with a fish twice your size that’s just been landed and is flapping around madly. A quick slap of the fin, a vigorous flick of the tail, and it’s out of your hands again. The flexible steel rims inside the Hilite (pictured here before being taken down) can twist over, meaning that a corner won’t lay flat. You need to ease it back into position. But be careful. The beast can awaken and give you a forceful thump! Videos on Youtube show both the difficulties – and the successes – of folding the Hilite. See How not to fold a Lastolite or, for the expert approach, Mark Cleghorn. But wait! Forget the wrestling. Take a few deep breaths, pause for a moment, then ‘go with the flow;’ the pop-up becomes your friend, and gently collapses into a calm circle, ready to be slipped into the bag. A no-fuss way of folding it is to rest a corner of the Hilite against your stomach, then reach down the sides (creating, as Cleghorn describes it, a ‘Pringle shape’) and pull them together in an upwards motion, as if closing a book (rather than folding a fish!). You can still feel the power of the thing, but a smooth and gentle movement results in the Hilite collapsing into itself. The corner furthest away from you eases its way in to form one side of the flattened pop-up. Zen-like calm persuasion succeeds over brute force. The videos illustrate the technique better than words alone can do. Once you’ve got the hang of it, though, it only takes seconds to fold the Hilite. The bonus is you avoid looking like a demented angler trying to grapple with the one that definitely gets away!