Hipster Macro Phototography

I never really understood why I do nature photography. I'm not particularly an outdoorsy kind of person nor am I into horticulture. Nonetheless, enjoy some of my recent stuff!
PS All of this was done at Menlo. It'd be interesting if people could figure out where these were taken. :3

Example: Rephotography

An interesting idea Mr. Z posted a few weeks ago was that of rephotography, or photography through photography- how meta! (cue accusing cries of "Fithy hipster!")

I particularly enjoy the idea, because it gives a sense of a middleman, reminding us that photographs are not simply the image presented to us but that they are first captured and processed by cameras to provide us with a preservable image. It brings us closer to photography and almost seems to demystify the entire process by injecting science and engineering into it.

Here are a few examples of rephotography I shot with our darling view cameras as subjects.

Examples: Zoom Photography

Here are a few of my results from playing with zoom photography.

I found that the best results were gained by holding the camera very still (or using a tripod) because any camera shake shows up as uneven zoom lines in the photo. As well, the zooming motion has to be an even speed, or the zoom effect will look choppy.

Zoom photos are sometimes very visually disorienting, because the brain thinks that it is seeing actual motion from a still image.

Playing with Liquid Light

Last rotation, I spent a few weeks experimenting with getting some actual results with Liquid Light liquid photographic emulsion. It took me a few failed attempts involving major over or underexposure of the photo, as well as trouble with getting the Liquid Light to stick to certain materials (mainly metals) and an incident with fixer reacting with a metal sheet to produce sulfur somethingorother.

However, I finally stumbled upon the winning combination of using unreactive materials (such as paper and aluminum) that had rough or roughened surfaces and produced some successful results. The trick was that some materials such as metal, which have smooth surfaces, had to first be roughened either by sanding or primer in order to make the Liquid Light emulsion stick throughout the development process.

A few tips:
1. Liquid Light is sensitive to yellow and amber safety lights over short periods of time, but if you work in a very dark room, such as one used for loading film, you can crack the door open slightly to get a tiny, tiny bit of ambient light to work with. It won't expose the Liquid Light, and it's much easier to coat your objects with light than in the dark.

2. Let the Liquid Light dry before exposing it. If you try and expose a wet Liquid Light photograph, then it will more often than not be massively overexposed.

3. When developing the exposed Liquid Light object, don't agitate the object too much in the developing chemicals, because the emulsion has a tendency to become wet again if it's on nonporous objects (like metal) and it may fall off the surface if it hasn't been properly prepared.


Below are some examples:

The metal sheet to the right is the one that reacted with the fixer to produce sulfur. I believe it was made of galvanized tin or steel.

I had great success with using recycled mat card pieces, as shown on the left side.

Unreactive metal such as stainless steel and aluminum also works.

The dish in the center is aluminum with a white primer coating on it.

Concert Photography

I've always liked concert photography and have tried it myself a few times but unless you have special permission and a place to stand, it can be difficult to get good shots. Also, venues generally don't let it any cameras with lenses which makes it a lot harder take good shots... and because DSLRs are bulky they are difficult to sneak in.

I posted here some of my shots (none with a DSLR) and then some much better professional shots that I found in the LIFE archives.

Max Bemis of Say Anything.

Tim McIlrath of Rise Against.

Tim McIlrath of Rise Against. It was dark and the stage had almost no lighting but I kind of like the blur because it conveys all the movement in the photo.

A much higher quality shot of Tim.

Davey Havok of AFI crowd-walking.

Conor Oberst.

Event Photography

A few weeks ago, my mom was honored with a "Red Dress" award from Woman's Day for her work with women in heart disease. My sister and I went to watch her receive her award at Jazz at Lincoln Center, and I photographed the opening cocktail hour.

I edited some of these photos in Photoshop at school, and I will post the edited versions next week.

I took this photo as he was being interviewed on the "red carpet."

The decor was mostly warm colors, and this was a table of mirrors.

This photo is also of the "red carpet" while she is being interviewed.

I didn't know there were so many pieces...

Photographer Todd McLellan did something super spiffy, where he took apart mundane objects and turned them into something magically abstract. I was surprised at how many small pieces there were. His work boarders on OCD, but amazing nonetheless. I suggest looking at the larger image, it makes a bit more sense that way.

Example: Infrared Photography

I decided to go exploring on Flickr for some infrared photography examples, since I recall hearing someone mention it in passing during a photo class a few days ago.

The premise of infrared photography is that the sensor in a digital camera is sensitive to and records light in part of the spectrum that we can't see- the infrared spectrum, which is located at a slightly lower frequency than the visible light we are used to dealing with.

Infrared frequencies often include the frequency of thermal radiation given off by objects around room temperature, thus showing differences in infrared appearance based on temperature differences.

Below are some examples:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dexxus/2679867638/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dexxus/2633073227/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dexxus/3671705004/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamir/4154279801/

Grant Gunderson

These were some cool skiing photos I found by a photographer named Grant Gunderson. he is very good at using high contrast photos with bright colors, and sharp resolution. I think in some of his pictures he photoshops two different photos together for a contrasting idea. His snapshots of airborne skiers are awesome. Enjoy.

READING: A Photographic Passion for Ants

You never know when you might fall in love with someone or something... Here's an interesting story about Mark Moffet, a nature photographer who loves to shoot ants. It is a short entertaining read and is a good example of following your passion.