While known to many for his elegant fashion photography and celebrity portraits, Richard Avedon is also actually distinguished for one of his biggest projects--a best-selling book and traveling exhibit entitled In the American West. In contrast to the glamorous personalities that usually graced his frames, everyday working class subjects such as miners in their soiled working clothes, housewives, and farmers became the focus of his compelling collection of portraits.
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Silence, an underwater photography series of sensual portraits captured by Marta Bevacqua.The name Marta Bevacqua is not unknown to most of our daily readers. Some time ago we have featured a selection of Marta's images to introduce you to her photographic work. 2017 seems to be a busy year for the Paris based photographer. In recent months, she has published many portraits from a variety of shootings. The images below are part of an underwater photography series, which is simply called Silence.The mood somehow reminds me of the old music video from the 1990s for Nick Cave's and Kylie Minogue's dark ballad Where The Wild Roses Grow. Well there is no murdering here but in my opinion the images masterfully combine these aspects ofdeath and pure, innocent beauty with this unique elegance. Taken completely underwater, the photo series truly conveys senses of silence and finality. Just check out the small selection below. For more, please visit Marta Bevacqua's website or follow her on Instagram. All images by Marta Bevacqua. Do not hesitate to find more photographers in our popular Photography section. The post Silence Sensual Underwater Photography by Marta Bevacqua appeared first on WE AND THE COLOR. Should you upgrade to a Nikon D850?The D850 was just announced, and by all accounts it's shaping up to be a very impressive camera. Depending on what kind of photography you prefer, the D850 might be a useful upgrade to a current Nikon DSLR, and a compelling alternative for someone looking to switch from a rival system. In this article, I'm going to imagine that you're interested in the D850, and considering it to replace or sit alongside your current camera. For the sake of maintaining focus on spec and performance, I'm also going to assume that you're fine spending $3300, plus another $900 or so for the optional grip and a D5 battery + charger, if you want to take the D850 up to 9 fps. Where money is mentioned at all, it's mostly where the D850 costs substantially more than the camera you might be considering upgrading or switching from. Mostly I'll be focusing on how the D850 stacks up against other current and previous-generation Nikon DSLRs, but I've added three slides at the end of this article, giving a basic picture of how it compares against competitive full-frame cameras from Canon, Ricoh and Sony. Should you upgrade from a D810? Maybe.Let's start with perhaps the most obvious question - is the D850 enough of an upgrade to justify replacing its predecessor, the D810 (shown on the left, above)? The answer, predictably, is 'maybe'. On the one hand, while the changes from the D800/e to the D810 were relatively minor, the D850 has been substantially updated across the board. On the other, the D810 is still a great camera, and for some kinds of photography, the D850's extra features might reasonably be considered 'nice to have', but not essential. Even if you mostly shoot static subjects with your D810, the D850 still has a lot to offer Obviously the D850 offers greater resolution and a major speed increase, but more important (we think) is the completely overhauled AF system, which should provide class-leading autofocus on a par with the D5 and D500 - as well as inheriting those cameras' automatic AF fine-tuning feature. AF sensitivity down to -3EV is a major improvement over the D810 which (for reasons we could never really figure out) was pretty unreliable in poor light. And even if you mostly shoot static subjects with your D810, the D850 still has a lot to offer. Ergonomically, the new camera is much improved. A tilting, touch-sensitive rear LCD is really handy for tripod-mounted photography, and illuminated controls are a game-changer for astrophotography and landscape shooting in low light. The D850 is more comfortable to hold, too. Just about the only use-case where the D850 might not represent a useful upgrade to a D810 is for tethered studio shooting, where you don't need things like autofocus or continuous shooting. But even here, the D850's tilting rear screen might end up being very handy. Reasons to upgrade:
Stick with your D810 if:
Should you upgrade from a D800/E? Yes.If you skipped the D810 and still shoot with a D800 or D800E, the choice is easier. There isn't a single use case that I can think of where the D850 won't substantially outperform your camera, or at least make your life easier as a photographer. the 4K-capable D850 is a much more attractive option for occasional video work If you shoot landscapes, you'll get better base ISO dynamic range, less risk of mirror and shutter-induced vibration ruining your shot, and greater resolution. You'll also appreciate the backlit controls and a tilting screen. If you shoot portraits and events, the D850 will probably prove more comfortable to use, as well as offering a much improved AF system with greater coverage and an automatic fine-tuning capability. The 4K-capable D850 is also a much more attractive option for occasional video work, if required. For sports or wildlife photography the D850's wider, better autofocus system should take your photography to another level, and the deeper buffer and maximum continuous shooting rate of up to 9 fps (with optional grip and battery) is a nice upgrade over the five year-old D800/E, too. Reasons to upgrade:
Stick with your D800/E if:
Should you upgrade from a D750? Maybe.The Nikon D750 is a fine camera, and despite its age (knocking on for three years now) it remains the DSLR that we probably recommend most, to anyone looking to upgrade to full-frame. Partly this is because it offers excellent performance and a solid feature set in an impressively small form-factor, but also because over the past couple of years it's price has dropped to a level where it's simply one of the best value DSLRs on the market. The D850 is a lot more camera than the D750, but it also costs a lot more money. If you have the cash though, the D850 is a solid upgrade. One obvious benefit is resolution. Where the D750 features a 24MP sensor, the D850 basically doubles the pixel-count, which should equate to a substantial increase in effective resolution (provided your lenses are up to the challenge). At ISO 64, the D850's Raw dynamic range will probably be considerably better, too, which can be very useful for several different use-cases. Despite its larger file sizes, the D850 is a faster, more powerful camera than the D750 Despite its larger file sizes, the D850 is a faster, more powerful camera than the D750. Its autofocus system should be roughly on a par with the flagship D5 (which really means that it should be better than anything else on the market, when it comes to tracking) and while straight out of the box, the D850's continuous shooting rate of 7 fps is similar to the D750, adding the optional grip and higher-capacity battery takes it up to 9 fps. The D750 (shown above, with and without its own optional grip) maxes out at 6.5fps regardless of configuration. That extra speed doesn't come cheap, though. If you don't have a bunch of cash to throw around, the D750 is likely to remain pretty competitive for a while yet and except for some niche use-cases (like astrophotography) it should serve you well. Reasons to upgrade:
Stick with your D750 if:
Should you upgrade from a D700? Definitely.So you're still rocking a D700? Good for you. There's nothing wrong with that - the D700 was and remains a very capable camera. But after almost ten years, it has been bettered by several subsequent Nikon DSLRs, in several respects. Comparing the D700 to the D850 is like comparing an Apple II to a MacBook Pro. As nostalgic as I am for the older technology, if I had a job to do, I know which tool I'd rather use. Stop reading and order a D850 now So assuming you have the funds, you should stop reading and order a D850 now. Just do it. Why are you still reading? Go! I'd recommend keeping your D700 as a backup, though. And that's not just me being sentimental these days, it might not be worth enough when traded in to make much of a difference to the upgrade cost. Reasons to upgrade:
Stick with your D700 if:
Should you upgrade from a D500? Probably not.If you're currently shooting with a D500, the question of whether you should upgrade to the D850 is a bit more complicated. Because they're such different cameras, on balance I wouldn't recommend replacing a D500 with a D850. But if you have the cash, the D850 would make an excellent companion to a D500, fulfilling a slightly different set of requirements. The 20MP D500 is a high-speed, relatively low-resolution DSLR, with a very wide AF area. This makes it ideal for shooting sports and wildlife, where its 1.5X crop factor can be extremely useful. It's weather-sealed, and offers many of the same ergonomic refinements that make the D850 a more pleasant camera to use than previous-generation D800-series DSLRs. The D850 offers substantially greater resolution, a nice bump in Raw dynamic range, and a feature set better suited to landscape and studio work The D850 on the other hand offers substantially greater resolution, what's likely to be a nice bump in Raw dynamic range at ISO 64, and a feature set better suited to landscape and studio work, as well as portraiture and astrophotography. The D850 can also shoot 4K video without a crop, making it more useful for occasional video work than the D500, too. The only caveat here is that if you've built up a collection of DX format lenses for your D500, you'll need to drop even more cash on some full-frame zooms or primes for the D850. Hopefully though, Nikon's conspicuously-crummy DX-format lens lineup has already prompted you to invest in full-frame glass. Reasons to upgrade:
Stick with your D500 if:
Should you upgrade from a D4/S? Probably.If you're shooting with a D4, or D4S, there are very few reasons why the D850 would do the same, or a better job for you than your existing camera. Arguably, the only significant point in the D4/S's favor at this point is durability. The D800-series are tough, solid cameras but they're not built to withstand the same kind of abuse as Nikon's flagship pro sports models. And... that's about it. The value of the D4/Ss 11 fps continuous shooting is somewhat moot when you consider that the D850 can manage 9 fps with a couple of (admittedly expensive) accessories, and the additional stamina of the D4/S's larger battery is unlikely to prove a to be a deal-breaker for most photographers. The D4/S offers a Gigabit Ethernet port, but outside of shooting in a major sports stadium, that's not a feature that most of us are ever likely to need. At 7-9 fps the D850's huge files will rip through memory cards, so it's not a camera you want to take to the Olympic Games Then there's resolution. The D4/S are built for working photojournalists that need speed, durability and versatility. And part of 'versatility' in this context is a relatively low pixel count of 16MP, which while big enough for print and online media, isn't so big that file sizes become an issue when shooting at high frame rates for extended periods of time, or wiring images back to a picture desk. At 7-9 fps the D850's huge files will rip through memory cards, so it's probably not a camera you want to take to the Olympic Games. But at 45MP, those files are much more versatile for general use. When you consider that the D850 also features a next-generation autofocus system, more versatile rear LCD and 4K video capture, it really does look like a solid upgrade over a D4/S. And of course without the optional grip it's considerably smaller and lighter, too. Reasons to upgrade:
Stick with your D4/S if:
Should you switch systems and buy a D850?I'm not going to attempt to comprehensively answer this question because a) it's unanswerable, and b) I get enough hate-mail already. But whenever one of the major manufacturers brings out a new flagship model, it is reasonable (and if nothing else interesting) to consider how well it stacks up against competitive models. So here goes... Compared to the Sony a7R IICompared to Sony's a7R II, the D850 is likely to be superior as a strictly stills camera. It's tougher, offers vastly better battery life, slightly higher resolution, probably better dynamic range at base ISO, and ergonomically it's more refined. While it lacks in-camera stabilization, features like illuminated controls and touch-sensitivity are the kind of little extras that will, I suspect, end up being hugely appreciated by some photographers. For a stills-oriented user the D850 is probably the smarter option The a7R II is a superior video camera, and as such a better hybrid camera, but for a stills-oriented user the D850 is probably the smarter option. I don't want to get too deep into the thorny question of lenses, but it's also worth considering that while Sony's E-mount is relatively new, the D850 is fully compatible with a huge number of high-quality AF and manual focus lenses, going back decades. The newer Sony a9 is more competitive when it comes to core stills photography performance, but of course at a much lower resolution. Points in the D850's favor:
Points in the a7R II's favor:
Compared to the Canon EOS 5D Mark IVCompared to the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, the D850 is likely to be superior in almost every measurable respect, as both a stills and video capture device. It is faster, offers greater resolution, wider Raw dynamic range, probably better high ISO image quality, a much better autofocus system, more versatile ergonomics, and a more practical 4K video capture option (as well as focus peaking for HD video capture). The EOS 5D IV offers Canon's peerless Dual Pixel autofocus in live view and movie modes, which is a major advantage But I did say almost every respect. Importantly, the EOS 5D IV offers Canon's peerless Dual Pixel autofocus in live view and movie modes, which is a major advantage over the Nikon and makes it a much more usable camera in some situations. The D850's live view AF is clumsy by comparison. I'd also note the fact that Canon is on a roll with its current high-end zoom lenses. Newer L-series zooms, like the EF 11-24mm F4, EF 16-35mm F2.8 III and 24-70mm F2.8 II are truly excellent. Nikon's equivalent wide zoom options aren't quite as good (and in the case of the 14-24mm F2.8 just plain old) by comparison. Less quantifiable but still worth noting is that many photographers simply prefer Canon's control interface. Points in D850's favor:
Points in 5D Mark IV's favor:
Compared to the Ricoh Pentax K-1I said earlier that I didn't want to get any hate-mail, and with that in mind, I would be a fool not to mention the perennial 'don't forget the...' camera of our age: the Ricoh Pentax K-1. In terms of image quality, the K-1's 36MP sensor is basically on a level with the original D800/E, and while perfectly usable for static subjects, when the going gets tough, its autofocus system can't compete with any recent generation of Nikon's wide-area AF arrays in its high-end APS-C or full-frame cameras. Oh, and it can't shoot 4K video either. As such, for most applications it lags behind the D850 as both as a stills and video platform. The K-1's feature set been very nicely tweaked to suit the needs of landscape and outdoor photographers Where the K-1 shines is weather-sealing (always a Pentax strength), built-in image stabilization, and an interface and feature set that have been very nicely tweaked to suit the specific needs of landscape and outdoor photographers. Its multi-angle articulating screen and illuminated controls are really handy, likewise built-in GPS, and various sensor-shifting modes that are available to increase color resolution, simulate the effect of an AA filter, keep your horizons level, and to track stars. Oh, and it's much cheaper, too. Points in D850's favor:
Points in K-1's favor:
When it comes to photographers, there seem to be those that dabble in a bit of everything and there are those that shoot one and only one genre. It's a difference of mindset and of perspective, but is either better than the other or does it boil down to a matter of preference? Is there a clear cut benefit for either stance? I'm a one-track mind type of guy and I'm here to tell you that it doesn't bother me one bit. [ Read More ] Today's Photo Of The Day is The Bluebird by Paul Holdorf. Location: Big Sky, Montana. Mountain Bluebirds are usually fairly shy birds, Holdorf explains. This one, however, was quite cooperative as I slowly approached in my vehicle with the lens resting on the side view mirror. I was in an undeveloped subdivision so traffic was not a concern. Before I realized it, I was 10 feet away and the bird posed nicely for me! See more of Paul Holdorf's photography at www.singingskyphotography.com. Photo of the Day is chosen from various OP galleries, includingAssignments,Galleriesand theOP Contests. Assignments have weekly winners that are featured on the OP website homepage,Facebook,TwitterandInstagram. To get your photos in the running, all you have to do is submit them. The post Photo Of The Day By Paul Holdorf appeared first on Outdoor Photographer. 19Maybe I do not have the lynx eye Cartier-Bresson talked about, I'm more rested, I'm staying with what's there, static. Graciela Iturbide Mexico has a very interesting visual culture, from painting to film and in the midst of it all, of course, fits (and very well) photography. Mexico has something special. In fact, it's the destination I enjoy visiting the most. The mixture of pre-Columbian beliefs, various European influences, and its singular Mexican intellectual roots make this land a visual wonder. Today I want to post an ode to Mexico, in which I will introduce you to five Mexican photographers. Their work speaks splendidly not only of their vision, but of Mexico as such. Nacho Lopez was an important figure in Mexican photojournalism. I discovered his work thanks to a friend who lent me a small book that contained some of the photographer's essays. The most evident feature of his work was his fascination for directing his lens toward the ordinary life of Mexico City. Nacho Lpez is credited as the pioneer of photographic essays (similar to what's attributed to W. Eugene Smith in the United States). These essays were meant for publication in weekly pictorial magazines. Among Lopez's interests included jazz, dance, indigenous cultures, literature and the atomic apocalypse, among other cultural manifestations. He knew how to show, in a very courageous way, aspects of life that were distant from the contemporary elites. He showed images of poverty, marginalization and everything the elite of Mexican society refused to see. He was interested in communicating the condition of the humble as subjects in the world instead of portraying them as objects. Many of his images are impressive. I can't identify any favorites, but I have something great to share. Inside my favorite library, one day I found myself reading a wonderful book well, it was really a magazine, but it had 484 pages about the essay work of Nacho Lpez. Best of all, it's available online. I leave it here for you. Like many great Mexican photographers, Graciela Iturbide had an opportunity to learn much from the wise mind of Manuel lvarez Bravo. She entered film school to become a film director, like most of the students that enrolled in that entity in those days. But then she discovered something that changed her life forever: photography. The images of Graciela have a special aura I cannot explain in words (which is rare for me). I'm sure my words won't do justice to Graciela's vision of photography, and it would be better to hear from her own mouth what photography means to her. You can see more of her work on her personal website here. Although he was born in Spain, Pedro Meyer is considered one of Mexico's most important photographers. He is recognized as a pioneer of the digital revolution in contemporary photography in Mexico, and is also the founder and president of the Mexican Council of Photography. His work goes beyond photography as such. He has dedicated his life to the teaching, editing and curation of photography. He created the ZoneZero website, which includes the work of nearly a thousand photographers from around the world. The honesty of Pedro Meyer's statements is regularly labeled as controversial, even polemical, and in more than one instance has caused a stir. In this video, we can hear a little of this great contributor to photography. His images can be seen here. His photographs are unique. For me, he speaks as a photographer who has a truly deep love for photography. Manuel lvarez Bravo (1902 2002) He is considered to be Mexico's first artistic photographer and is perhaps the most important figure in 20th-century Latin American photography. He taught himself the craft while taking art classes at the Academy of San Carlos. His art was influenced by the Mexican muralism movement and the general cultural and political dynamics of the time. He started photographing abstract paper forms, but became known for capturing the rise of post-revolutionary Mexican culture. He photographed everything, and his career lasted approximately 70 years, from the late 1920s to the '90s. He was known for being extremely warm and committed to photography. His images often had a poetic quality that perfectly reflected his poetic nature. He was known for titling his images, and those titles were obviously influenced by poetry. From surrealism to street photography, from still-lifes to landscapes, he did everything using an extremely careful approach. You can see more of his amazing and consistent vision of the world here. Last but not least, we have Lourdes Grobet, who has a deep passion for the Mexican identity. She has photographed conceptual images, and life related to the theater, but is best known for her unique documentation of the Lucha Libre wrestlers. All her projects have brought her a lot of things, and she loves experimentation, too. She has approached her subjects with slides, infrared, black and white, and other media. Photography, for her, has been always a language she can use to express her ideas and herself. You can see more of her work here, and you can also watch a magnificent interview with the one and only Ted Forbes. All the Mexican photographers featured above are true patriots who have delighted generations of people with their wonderful talent. The post 5 Mexican Photographers You Need To Know appeared first on Light Stalking. Introduction
When people really get into photography and start saving their pennies for new gear, one of the first things they buy tends to be a lens, like a telephoto or a fast prime. However, if you've already got a lens or two and you're thinking you'd want another, let me suggest that you pick up an external flash instead. Why, you ask? What's wrong with natural light? After all, those insert-name-brand-here flashes are just way too expensive. With the abundance of cheap flashes pouring out of China these days, you should be able to get a TTL, or 'through the lens' metering flash for around $50 US. If it's your first flash, a cheapie one will do just fine, and TTL metering will help you get out and get shooting with it in no time.
Even a 'natural light' shooter can benefit immensely from a better understanding of how light works, and what better way to experiment with light than controlling your own? You may even find that, using artificial lights, you can spend less time looking for shade or big bay windows, and sometimes, you can get away with shooting at the 'wrong' time of day. 'Even a 'natural light' shooter can benefit immensely from a better understanding of how light works, and what better way to experiment with light than controlling your own?' Lastly, having a flash simply provides you with another tool with which to create images. It's just another option you didn't have before. It can open up new possibilities, and perhaps lead you in a creative direction you never expected. And as you grow, you may find there are some situations that you'd simply never get away with not using strobes. Getting started using TTLEven if you tend to use your camera in 'Auto' or 'P' modes, you can gain instant benefits from a small, inexpensive flash. As stated earlier, it'll be important to get TTL capability, which is kind of like 'Auto' or 'P' for flash.
So how does TTL work? Before taking the photo, the flash fires a quick burst that reflects off your subject and travels through the lens to the imaging or metering sensor in the camera, which then takes a reading and tells the flash what power it should use. And because this is all happening at the speed of light, there is no perceptible lag in this process. The best part is that if you're finding your flash is looking too bright or too dim, you can dial in exposure compensation on the flash itself, just like you can on your camera. These are two separate exposure compensations; the flash exposure compensation value will only affect the flash output. And TTL isn't just to be pooh-pooh'd as the 'amateur' option either, as it can work incredibly well. Many of Joe McNally's excellent shoots with both speedlights and bigger strobes are controlled using TTL and biasing them up or down with exposure compensation.
One of the best ways to get instantly better pictures as a result of your new flash is to mount it to the top of you camera, point it up at the ceiling, and photograph some friends indoors. Instead of producing portraits with very bright faces and an almost black background, which built-in flashes tend to do, you're bouncing the light off the ceiling, where it cascades down and lights everything a little more softly. It's like the difference between shooting in direct sunlight versus shooting on a cloudy day. In direct sunlight (like with direct flash pointed at your subject), you get pretty harsh shadows and more contrast between those shadows and the highlights. With the flash pointed at the ceiling, it's spread out more, similar to how clouds will diffuse sunlight, and shadows are much softer as a result. A practical case for TTL, or 'How I Shoot Dimly Lit Events'One of my favorite aspects of TTL metering actually involves keeping my camera in full manual, with the flash doing all of the 'automatic' work for me. This is particularly useful at dimly lit events and wedding receptions, where I'm moving around quickly and almost always using bounce flash, as described just above.
This first shot is a good example of an approximate base exposure for the ambient lighting in the room. By that I mean that the ambient lights aren't totally blown out, and the background is a little dark but still provides a bit of context. This is important as I mostly want the flash to bring out my main subject without the entire rest of the frame looking horribly under-or-overexposed. In this particular case, I actually like this dark, moody look for the sax player. But these sorts of ambient, 'moody' shots won't work for everyone all the time. So let's see what difference a flash can make, and how I like to incorporate it in these situations.
This second image has some exposure adjustments to bring up the ambient a little more, but I've added a flash mounted to the top of the camera. It was bounced at the ceiling in TTL mode and the flash exposure compensation was adjusted to underexpose slightly. Of course, these images are extremely different in terms of 'mood,' but I've found that this method of adding 'pops' of bounce flash to subjects at events can allow me to more effectively freeze motion without raising my shutter speed, as well as shoot my lenses a little more stopped down to give me some leeway for focus errors. What about you?
Are you a flash shooter, or a natural light purist? TTL or all manual, all the time? Let us know in the comments if you've got any strobe tips or tricks that have made a difference to the types of photography you enjoy. So I'm going to start this Field Test back to front and for one reason only, the LoupeDeck system blew my socks off and if you're a wedding photographer.. in fact, if you're into any genre of photography, theLoupedeckis a game changer. I used it to edit a full wedding from start to finish, it [] The post Field Test: Loupedeck photo editing console appeared first on DIY Photography. |
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