FreePhotoResources - Photography Blog » Barry

An Ant’s View Of Tonight’s Sunset

Barry — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:31:18 +0000

Decisions……

Barry — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 12:57:45 +0000

Great Examples Of Rain Related Photographs

Barry — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 20:16:03 +0000

By ξωαŋ ThΦt

By Alyssa L. Miller

By John-Morgan

By Yves.

By Vermin Inc

By jk+too

By PhillipC

By hippydream

By alexkess

By Bukutgirl

By Jack Brodus

By muha...

By obo-bobolina

By maistora

By doug88888

By onkel_wart

By 64iso

By crowt59

By duane.schoon

By Chaval Brasil

By stiatska

Preview image by obo-bobolina

FPR Interviews Photographer/Colleague and Friend Jean Paul Srivalsan

Barry — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:16:19 +0000

1) Firstly can you please tell me a bit about yourself and how you got started in photography?

Well my interest in photography started when I was a teenager in the‘70s along with my passion for aircraft. If it had wings I had to photograph it and back then it was with a Zenith E and 300mm lens. Somewhere I have photo albums and slides of hundreds of aircraft!!

I progressed from the Zenith to a more sophisticated Pentax and Vivitar Zoom which gave me far more scope and options with my photography although it was always just a hobby for holidays, trips out and concerts and not the real interest it is now.

The initial introduction of digital cameras passed me by until I invested in a Canon 400D, 17-85mm and 70-300mm lenses. The world of photoshop and the ability to edit my photos opened up to me but it’s only recently that I’ve started to take it a little bit more seriously with encouragement from Barry. I’ve started exploring my creative potential with HDR and am impressed with the work that can be found out there by some very talented people.

2) Your photography has a very unique style, was this a natural progression or a conscious decision?

This was a natural progression but recently working with HDR has me looking out for subjects that might work well with the genre.

3) How do you choose the subjects for your photography as it is very varied?

Well my camera is with me almost everytime I go on day trips to specific events or on holiday so the subjects tend to be whatever I come across – a recent visit to Chatsworth House provided a variety of subjects in and around the house and gardens including a bird of prey show.

4) I notice that you have a nice portfolio of HDR photographs, is this something you have a particular interest in and why?

I’ve only recently started exploring HDR and it’s certainly giving me the chance to get creative. It’s given me the opportunity to go through my ‘library’ of images to find photos to process in HDR with some pleasing results.

5) Is there anywhere in the world that you would particularly like to visit to photograph?

I’m planning a trip to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon next year. The possibilities with HDR at night time in Vegas are exciting as are the completely different landscape opportunities at the Canyon. I’d also like to revisit the Canadian Rockies because I completely messed up last time around by not shooting in RAW – my 400D was new and I was still getting to grips with it!!!

6) If you could give 3 pieces of advice to someone starting out in photography or looking for inspiration, what would they be?

Always have your camera to hand- wherever you go
Ask questions and learn from other more experienced photographers by looking at their portfolios on flickr or FPR!
The more effort you put in the more rewarding it will be

7) Is photography your livelihood or do you have a ‘day job’?

I have a day job

8 ) Which photographers inspire you?

To be honest I’m not a great student of photographers but Ansell Adams landscapes are inspirational

9) Whats in your camera bag?

Canon 400D
Canon 17-85
Canon 70-300

10) What’s the most important piece of equipment in your camera bag?

Canon 17-85mm. So versatile and easy to use

11) Do you have a favourite location that keeps you coming back for more photos?

Willen Lake…about 2 miles from home
Stowe Gardens – always seem to find a new angle on subjects I’ve photographed before

12) Can you describe your photography in 3 words?

Inventive
Simple
Pleasing

13) If/when you have inspiration blocks, how do you overcome these?

Look online at what others are doing. Some of the portfolios on flickr give me great ideas.

14) What post processing software do you use, do you have a set process to ‘touch up’ your shots?

Photomatix for HDR and Photoshop elements. No set process as I work on each image individually until I get the result I’m looking for.

15) If you had to pick 3 of your photographs to showcase your work, which would you choose? (if you could please send these to me (watermarked), or links to the image files on your site).

16) How often do you venture out on ‘shoots’, how long will you typically spend on a shoot and how many shots would you expect to get from the session?

Not often enough due to commitments at home but when I do it can be anything from 30 mins to 2-3 hours depending on where I’m going. I usually come back with dozens of shots

17) What is your opinion on HDR photography as this appears to be a ‘hot topic’ for debate in most online forums?

As you’ll have already gathered this is an area that interests me because of the creative potential it provides. I appreciate that it’s not for everyone and the debate will continue to rage on… won’t stop me though J

18) Do you ever try your hand at other genres of photography such as Macro?

I haven’t spent time on a specific genre as I tend to photo whatever is at hand

19) Where would you like to see your photography in 5 years?

I’d like to build an extensive online portfolio covering a variety of genres. No plans for exhibitions at the moment.

You can view JP’s work on Flickr and I am sure his work will feature on FPR again in the future!

Friday 13th Post – Hellfire Caves

Barry — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 13:14:29 +0000

“Supposedly of very ancient origin these unique caves were extended in the 1740’s by the infamous Sir Francis Dashwood, founder of the notorious Hellfire Club. His aim was to provide an extraordinary addition to his landscape gardens, no doubt inspired by his Grand Tours of Europe and the Ottoman Empire. Many of his fellow dilettantes were building great Estates and landscaping gardens and temples above ground but no others dared venture underground in this way. The chalk was used to build the main road from West Wycombe to High Wycombe. This also provided employment to the Villagers of West Wycombe following a succession of harvest failures. The achievement is a true feat of engineering and quite remarkable considering they were all dug by hand. You can still see the individual pick axe marks on the walls.

On his return from his travels Sir Francis established the famous Hell-fire Club which subsequently held chapter meetings in the Caves and whose members included Lord Sandwich, John Wilkes and other senior aristocrats and statesmen. Sir Francis later became Chancellor of the Exchequer. Benjamin Franklin was a close friend and visited West Wycombe often.

On entering the Caves, long winding passages lead deep underground for over half a mile, through the great Banqueting Hall and past various chambers. In these you will find scenes with various members of the Hellfire Club.

The final destination is the Inner Temple which is reached by crossing the River Styx. You are now several hundred feet below the Church on top of the hill.

The splendid flint entrance was designed to look like a Gothic church to be seen from West Wycombe Park which is across the valley. It must have been built after 1752, when the new road from West Wycombe to High Wycombe (the A40) was finished. A stone pedestal, which still stands, was erected at the junction of this road and the Aylesbury road (the A4010) to record the event. The inscription in Latin on one side reads: “erected by Sir Francis Dashwood in 1752” and on the other side: “Oxford 22 miles, Aylesbury 15 miles, City 30 miles”.

At the end of the straight entrance tunnel, the small cave on the right is stacked with tools, similar to those used by the 18th century workers, namely picks with long and short heads, crowbars, hammers, shovels, candles and candle holders.

The picks were for hacking at the chalk, which is hard and tends to come away in flakes.

The long crowbars were hammered into natural cracks and used as levers to loosen and prize out blocks of chalk. Chalk blocks, or “clunch” were used for the foundations of houses in the village and, in this case, of the road.

The chalk was then loaded with shovels or by hand into wheelbarrows, which were then pushed to the entrance and tipped into carts. Some of the loose chippings were used to fill in the area behind the flint entrance façade, which was the site of a much earlier quarry.”

Source for information – http://www.hellfirecaves.co.uk, Wikipedia

And lastly, as it is the school holidays the caves seemed to be populated with werewolves and the walking dead……..

Take A Break

Barry — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 20:32:21 +0000

Marlow Lock & Weir

Barry — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 17:22:30 +0000

All Saints Church, Bisham

Barry — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 13:47:10 +0000

Country Scene

Barry — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 06:00:25 +0000

FPR Interviews Photographer Chris Bradley

Barry — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 07:00:33 +0000

1) Firstly can you please tell me a bit about yourself and how you got started in photography?

By day I’m a Group Creative Director at an advertising agency in San Francisco, California. In past Creative Director jobs in New York and Boston I found myself directing short films for various clients and needing to better communicate my intentions with my Director of Photography. That need gave way to me picking up a Bolex and going through a self-imposed crash course in filmmaking technique. However, motion film is a quite expensive medium to learn given all the trial and error one must struggle through (particularly as a self funded bit of experimentation). After reading tons and discussing my frustration with a bunch of photographer friends; it became apparent that learning to “See Light” was probably better (and less expensively) served one frame at a time rather than 24 per second. So I bought a Leica M6, a 35mm f2.0 lens and spent a year shooting nothing but Tri-X; with that one camera and one lens. It was during that time that fell in love with the journalistic approach to photography: being present, in the moment, aware of the situation and constantly “looking” for the picture and learning to utilize the available light as a part of the story I was trying to tell. That approach has informed the work that I do, the kinds of stories that I seek to tell and aesthetic that I most appreciate.

2) Your photography has a very unique style, was this a natural progression or a concious decision?

Thanks! Its funny, I don’t conciously think of myself as having a particular style – at least that one that I seek to replicate or develop. There are things that I’m drawn to: a particular kind of light, situations where I’m able to shoot with very wide apertures, details or environments that make me “feel” something (longing, melancholy, euphoria…) – all things that I’m visually or emotionally drawn to. Then, for me, its a matter of making sure that I’m open to the moment and allowing myself to wade into it. I guess if I were to try and draw a thread between the images I’m most proud of, there would be a cinematic quality, a sense of a narrative, and the impression that what you’re seeing describes a moment – but maybe not all of what was happening. You as the viewer can then inject your own personal experiences into the images and embue them with additional meaning. Its probably more about my approach than it is a specific aesthetic. Somewhere in there is my “eye” and I guess that lends a certain look to my pictures.

3) How do you choose the subjects for your photography as it is very varied?

I tend to follow a combination of my eye and my heart. At its core, my work is about telling a story – sharing my point of view about a person, situation, environment, etc – one frame at a time. I feel that I’m able to find a picture in just about any situation. Whether or not I’m totally inspired by the situation or subject – or not. I usually can find SOMETHING that makes me pause and if I have a camera with me, I’ll take a picture. Araki talks about how he wants to take a picture of EVERYTHING – literally! I’m less concerned with accumulating images of everything as I am interested in remembering the things that catch my attention and/or imagination. I guess in simplest terms, if it catches my eye or my heart – its worth taking a picture of. The challenge is making sure that your eye, your heart and your trigger finger are connected. Adding to that, the fact that I’ve been quite lucky to have lived in some really amazing places and that my job places me in interesting situations while encouraging my creative impulses all the while. Pictures are ALL AROUND US – we just have to have our antenneas tuned to the right frequency to see them.

4) I love the emotion you have captured in your portrait shots (especially the nunchuk shot!!), what is your thought process for these shots?

For me its less about a thought process than it is about creating a situation where I can be in the moment and open to seeing moments like that happen – finger on the shutter release. That picture in particular was shot during a shoot I was doing for a comedy troupe here in San Francisco. Within minutes of the group arriving at my studio it was clear that they are a fun loving and mischevious group of folks that simply LOVED to play. I changed my lighting set-up from a moody to one to one that was pretty bright and even across the studio and simply gave the actors thought starters and waited for them to do something silly. The theme of the show they were putting on was about spies – so I would ask them to do things like; “…hide behind one another and shoot the bad guy.” After a while they just started doing improvisational things on their own. I just wound them up and watched them go. In many ways, I was more of a journalist than I was a portrait photographer. The other portraits I shoot I try and treat in a more journalistic manner than concepting a specific statement. Lately, I have been experimenting more with trying to replicate (in studio) more theatrical lighting in the hopes of setting a tone or mood where I can essentially “set and forget” the light and just concentrate on being open to the moment.

5) Is there anywhere in the world that you would particularly like to visit to photograph?

I’d LOVE to shoot in Japan! There is such a level of over-stimulation causing widespread feelings of anonymity there that I think are super interesting and potentially quite visually arresting. I love the night, and beyond New York City, I think that Tokyo is another city where I’d find a ton of things to catch my attention. Now, that said, I’d love to travel pretty much anywhere on someone elses’ tab to take pictures. I cant imagine a better way to spend a few weeks!

6) If you could give 3 peices of advice to someone starting out in photography or looking for inspiration, what would they be?

Look. No, REALLY look around. We live in such dynamic times that it doesn’t take very long for the scenery to change and with it, so does the chance for another picture. Look at the light – how it changes and what those changes “say.” Imagine how that change in the light changes the message in the picture and how you would utilize that available light to help you make a picture that is yours and yours alone.
Don’t sweat all the gear. Pick a few pieces of kit (a camera body and a prime lens or two) that you feel comfortable with and learn them as well as you know the inside of your own mouth. Only then, can you really “speak” without tripping over yourself. Spend the cash you save on an intensive week-long photo workshop or fund your own shooting excursion to someplace you’ve never been.
Shoot, shoot, shoot. Digital is essentially free. Spending time shooting, trying things, learning AND failing is so much more beneficial (in my opinion) than worrying about eye-bleedingly sharp focus for instance. Developing the skills to be able to make yourself simultaneously invisible and sociable will go so much farther in the quality of your pictures than just about anything. In the end, nothing beats practice.

7) Is photography your livlihood or do you have a ‘day job’?

I have a day job; and it is what has funded most of my photography habit. I am picking up more and more commissions and hope to some day make photography a bigger part of what “pays the bills” for me. Its a beneficial job in that it keeps me looking at new photographers, it gets me to interesting places and so on. So I feel that Im quite lucky to have a job that so easily dovetails with my photography.

8) Which photographers inspire you?

There are so many. My mentor; Magnum photographer, David Alan Harvey is a constant source of inspiration. As a photographer and as a human being. He’s a rare element; and I hope one day to give to others in the way he’s been so generous with me. Jim Nachtwey is an absolute hero of mine. Daido Moriyama is another photographer that I deeply admire. My copy of Saul Leiter’s “Early Color” is pretty dog-eared and worn from my constant reference. Lately I’ve been super inspired by Glen Luchford and his sense of atmosphere and simply beautiful light. My good friend (and significantly more successful photographer) Chris Buck (www.chrisbuck.com) cracks me up with pretty much every image he takes.

9) Whats in your camera bag?

That completely depends on the day, my mood and what/where I’m shooting. I generally switch between 3 different rigs: Leica M (Film or Full Frame Digital) with a fast 35 or 50mm for strolling around or on quick trips for business and such; Canon (Full Frame digital) with a fast 35, 50, or 100mm for personal projects and studio work; and finally Medium Format film (my current favorite is a Pentax 67 with a 104mm f2.4) for studio work. Beyond that, extra memory cards, batteries, a couple pens, a small Moleskine notebook, iPhone, lens cloth and business cards.

10) What’s the most important piece of equipment in your camera bag?

Extra memory cards (or film), and a few back up batteries.

11) Do you have a favourite location that keeps you coming back for more photos?

New York City. I lived there for 5 years. That place got in my blood. I love the energy, the people, the intensity and the endless supply of stories and moments that swirl around you. You almost can’t walk a block in New York and not be confronted with a picture or two. Plus the creative scene there is so rich that it keeps me inspired 24/7. Music, film, art, performance, you name it and there’s probably something happening RIGHT NOW. Its impossible not to have your creative engine revving non-stop.

12) Can you describe your photography in 3 words?

Cinematic. Sensual. Authentic.

13) If/when you have inspiration blocks, how do you overcome these?

Oh, the dreaded creative blockage. Yeah, it happens. With my “day job” I kinda burn it at both ends on that front so it’s important that I surround myself with people, books, websites, music and films to keep my juices flowing. If none of that works, then its time to go take a walk – stare at something far away, listen to music – REALLY LOUD, and of course a trip down to the local pub never hurts. Liquid inspiration is dispensed there pretty regularly

14) What post processing software do you use, do you have a set process to ‘touch up’ your shots?

I use Adobe Lightroom pretty much exclusively for cataloging and for 95 percent of my color correction. I have a couple other RAW processors that I use infrequently. And of course, I use Photoshop for significant retouching and fine tuning for display online or for creating final Tiff files for clients. My processing routine is really simple. I just don’t do much adjusting after I have one curve adjustment that I usually give a try on most images – just to help contrast and to keep my highlights and shadows from clipping. Then a few small tweaks to color temperature, clarity, vibrance and saturation. Sharpen a bit and I’m done. I’ve got that “recipe” set up to be applied to all images on import. After that I go through and delete the images that I’m not into, missed the focus, etc. and make any special adjustments on an image by image basis.

15) If you had to pick 3 of your photographs to showcase your work, which would you choose?

16) How often do you venture out on ‘shoots’, how long will you typically spend on a shoot and how many shots would you expect to get from the session?

Pretty much every time I walk out my front door, I’ve got a camera with me. I’m looking for pictures all the time. When I’m working on a project I could be shooting for 30 minutes or 6 hours. It totally depends on the situation and what is happening. For my “Catharsis” project I’m working on, I’ll shoot typically for 3-4 hours a night. Not all the time of course, but finger on the trigger for that amount of time. And I’ll usually end up with a couple hundred images to sort though. I try to be concious while shooting, because editing down hundreds and hundreds of images takes forever. If things are happening and I’m lost in the moment (I have the auto review function turned off on my cameras – so I just roll with the scene and don’t stop to look at the screen), I have been known to shoot 500 images in a night. Thats roughly 3 8GB cards shooting RAW with no jpgs.

17) What is your opinion on HDR photography as this appears to be a ‘hot topic’ for debate in most online forums?

I see a lot of people doing it. And I’ve seen some pretty spectacular images made using HDR. But, as my personal taste and aesthetic has more in common with a journalistic approach, HDR isn’t something that I’m compelled to investigate. Maybe I’m just too much of a romantic/purist about capturing available light to fully appreciate HDR’s full potential.

18) Do you ever try your hand at other genres of photography such as Macro?

Yeah, I’ve dabbled with macro – not to successfully. I did a table-top/still life project for a sneaker client a while back where I did a bit of the old “paint with light” technique. And of late, I find myself being super interested in classic portraiture trending toward fashion. I’m enjoying the exploration of hotlights particularly as it lets me set up a scene in studio where the light is consistent and I can focus my attention on capturing those fleeting moments where you see emotion float across someone’s face. having spent so much time out in the world hunting those pictures comes in handy in a studio setting where the difference between good an great pictures are a glance away. If it captures my eye and heart, I’m keen to give it a try.

19) Where would you like to see your photography in 5 years (aspirations, exhibitions etc).

I’m working on a project now called Catharsis. It’s follows two performers in NYC. It’s headed toward being a book. But I’ve still got some work to do on it. But I’d love if it actually did finds its way into print. Beyond that, I’ve got several other ideas for projects that I’d love to have time to pursue. Additionally, I’d love to put together a series of large prints for an exhibition someplace. Secretly, I have a blossoming desire to see my images printed large and hanging in a gallery.

And, if there was a day 5 years from now where I’m able to spend a majority of time shooting that would be pure bliss!

20) Finally, feel free to plug your website and your photography! (I will obviously be plugging it as well within the article!)

Thanks for showcasing my work and giving me the opportunity to share my work with everyone that visits your site. Thinking through these questions has been a great experience and I’m honored that you’re allowing me the stage! Please check out my site at www.chris-bradley.com.

I’d love to mention my etsy page (where I sell prints) that url is: http://www.etsy.com/shop/chrisbradleyphoto

Sign up for email updates there or follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/paralx

Thanks, again!