Officially Ugly

There is a outdoor art exhibition near Bondi Beach, Sydney every year. I went there 1st time this year on the 2nd weekend. It was as busy as the down town shopping stripe--with many weekend photographers holding super long zoom lenses!


Besides several travelling shots for my visiting friends, I took less than 20 shots with my own interest. One turns out OK with my new found technique.


I tried to Google more info of that particular piece, only saw ugly photos littering in the 'cloud'---even the official one.

Find from the event's official website
Memory by Tomas Misura

Bill Cunningham

He is a fashion photographer---of different kind.
He is a paparazzi---of different kind.
But he definitely is a street photographer.
He is over 80 years old but still rides a Schwinn bicycle on the streets of New York looking for his ‘preys’, just like the last 50 years.
He still uses a Nikon FM(looks like it) without motor, a classic Vivitar 285 flashgun.
He is friend of ‘The Devil wear Prada’ and many other A list designers.
He’s never had a romantic relationship in his life-- 'I don’t have the time.’

A fascinating documentary about a fascinating artist.

A Tale of Two Treatments

This is a very great subject to put into retro look, cause it is an vintage design building on its own. A type of 70’s ‘pretentious’ school of art.

This is a library(?) of Ku-ring-gai Creative High School where is not too far away from I live. With the photos I took, I firstly created the B/W version which is, of course, my auto-mode. It was OK for a while, then I recently developed a way to recreate the 70’s colour scheme on Photoshop.

After a few tests, a photo quickly jumped out from the databank of my brain. So, I came up with the coloured version---also using different approach besides colour.

Sally Mann's latest

One of my favourite photographer, Sally Mann's latest exhibition.


Had a quick look at the website, I think I like her 8X10 older family works than this wet-plate style.


Her 8X10 had very exquisite 'pure' photography feeling, wet-plate in a way if there are too many 'un-even' chemical marks, it feels a bit gimmicky---nonetheless, still very strong subject and composition.


You can't go to the gallery in Atlanta? Seldom has a website of a gallery show off so many of their exhibits. Of course: for a limited time only.


http://www.jacksonfineart.com/artist_exhibit.php?id=58&exhibitid=151

Double Fantasies

Shots by phone-cam

Phone camera apps give people the quick kill, and some cheap thrills for someone that can't work on serious photo-edit software. At the end, they just litter the world with more junk data (dose not mean my works are jewels, just more thoughtful than those littering guys).

Phone-Cam Saved the Day

A Breather

If I was truth to myself, I would not have shot anything with my mobile phone.


I remember the time when I bought a 'better' compact digital camera, I promised myself I would bring it everywhere, not to miss any MOMENT.


Of course I am lazy. Only phone-cam save the day.


This one I took from the street around the corner where I live. So intuitive.

Clown in A Pinhole

Clowns are supposed to be funny, but I remember when my daughter was small, she scared of clowns and even Santa Claus.


Then clowns became killers in horror movies, and bank rubbers in cop shows.


I also never find clown amusing, may be only in cartoon.


This is my first serious go with my self made pinhole 'lens'. Ghostly image quality and this crazy clown came into a perfect match. Long exposure is not good for action picture. This one with ISO800 and half second shot was not too bad.

High Tone Or Low Key?

Good Life

I think personal preference is very hard to change.

I started out with this high-tone original, and thought to myself: finally I need to deal with this high key issue. 

You know what, just playing around in front of my PC unknowingly, from curve to curve, from layer to layer, at the end it is not high tone any more?

The high key original

Post Photoshopism

When I firstly started photography, a friend of mine always liked to talk about Post-Modernism in photography. At that stage I knew almost nothing about art history, so I could not understand him at all. Only answered: huh-hah, huh-hah....

Now I think I am quite good at something calls Post-Photoshop-ism. What!? I wish I could throw him back with my own ‘big word’.

This means when I look at a scene, I can see the final photograph after the Photoshop manipulation. Of course, there still may be some lucky surprises in the process.

That was a scenes I found potential: good clouds on a blue sky, run-down bar with weed around, bar stools etc.

However, in the traditional photo-sense, they do not come together on the ‘print’.

With my Post-Photoshop-ism eyes, I knew I could take away the pipe and road sign which were at the dead centre of the picture. With CS5’s black & white sliders control, I could call out the green and toned down the orange plastic fence. The front ground was too plain, but with multi-layers control, I could age it with blur and marks.

Still, it is not a perfect setting. It’d better in an open field or desert. Hey..not bad at all when you realise the original.

Jungle Next to City

Any Sydneysider reading my stuff?


Ten minutes away from Sydney CBD, I found an area is till like a jungle.


The name actually is Gore Creek Reserve. So, the name describes itself a bit. It is quite a popular bush walking trail for people living around. It takes about an hour, then you can land on the North Shore watching the famous Sydney harbour.


Amazingly, there are very rich tropical plants, tall trees as canopy,  and stones with thick moss. If there are not the occasional candy wraps or plastic water bottles, it can be a film set for Tarzen. 

COMPANION

Companion

Spring is here...sorry, this is Australia.


Good for a walk on a sunny day. But, I guess I'm a sexist, and age...age-ist-- an old man with a dog shouldn't walk in a daisyfield!


So I have to mute the colour down.

Is it an Up-Skirt?

Anyone studied a little bit of photography history had to come across that "black-skirt-lady-with-walking-poodle" B/W old photo. This one giving me that reminder.


All my photo books have been buried in the dead corner in my garage by my wife, so I can't do the cross checking :(


It took me great courage and special skill to get that picture. For just two weeks ago, a court sent a perver in 10 months prison time for his 'hobby' of up-skirt photography.

Way Too Dark?

I created this one trying to get that 70's colouring. I understand that I have some sort of fetish in darker mood, I don't know if this one has gone too far. It did not receive well.

So, I altered it a bit and toned up to the following version. Godfather's cinematographer Gordon Willis wanted to produce a darker mood film, but even he himself later commented on his own final cut: I think some of the scenes have gone too far.

Reportage Panorama

Central station, Sydney

I took these two photos the other day, and wanted to put them on the Panorama group in Flickr. I had a wander there and found almost of all photos there were landscape. My photos are still under scrutiny by its organizer, I am not sure if non-landscape fits into their tastes.

But I really like to do more with my phone-cam on "reportage panorama". It is easy, quick, still fresh form of photography, and most of all, it's non-intrusive: iPhone (once again, mine is not) photography is for dummy only.


Non-intrusive I think is the best weapon in reportage.

To Be Or Not To Be HDR

Whats Ahead

When people think about HDR photography, a crystal clear, full latitude picture may jump into their mind instantly.

When I firstly read about HDR technique, I looked at all those example photos, I did not find any appeal there to me. Definitely, I was amazed by its capability: digital photography finally beat Ansel Adam’s invention into child play. The laborious effort by Kodak, Fuji and Agfa really had gone to hell and forgotten.

Like it or not, I gave it a go and gamed on it. I gradually discovered a way it can fit into my own practice. Such as the above photograph, it dose not look like any other popular HDR, you may even think there was no need/ evident of using HDR.

Actually this shot consists of 7 different exposure individual photos. The advantage I get is I have a ‘typical’ flat lighting original to start with. Like a blank canvas, I can selectively tone, burn & dodge, or apply various filter effect. Then again I add texture and choose layering effects.

Ironically, some details I got from the HDR ‘rescue’, I ‘destroyed’ them later in the process. Overall, I am happy with the result I have here, and they could not be reached without the help of HDR.

Old Glory

Visually, Sydney is a very dreadful place. In terms of history, it is very short and with the convict mentality, there is almost no grand construction(private or public). On the modern side, its economy is one of the smallest cousins in the OECD family. Cityscape is not a easy subject.


There is a Technology park near Redfern. Some of the buildings are modified from the old train maintenance industry. Organizer put out some old train carriages, steel cranes and other machineries as theme decorations. Unfortunately, there are CCTV cameras, colourful advertising flags, modern lamp poles and so many 'eye-sore' around that makes photography a very hard job. 


I went pass there quite several times and thought it would be a good shooting location. Finally I went there purposely last weekend, only got home quite disappointing.

Happy Evening

I don't know when did Hong Kong goldfish hawkers start using this way of selling. Fishes stay in the plastic bags, I guess, for the whole day. If not sold, will they be allowed to go back into the big tanks? It is not too bad if gold fish really has only short term memory, at least they will have happy evening all the time.

Heading Home

Shot from the top of Taipei 101 Building

Cherry Blossom

Cherry blossom in the East represents the coming of Spring. There are countless of art works through out thousands years of history depicting it.

There is one cherry tree in my front yard. Every year I watch it blooms after the coldest months, and see the pedals falling to the dam ground later.

I had never picked up my camera, for I could not find a new angle or technique to handle it. Until this time (Australian is in Spring Northern people), I think I have nailed it.

Tech Bits: Infrared, Texture layers, with CS5.

Seaside Impression

This is a photo that I posted on Flickr and deviantART, and both of them received quite some attentions.
This one is a typical example that I though I screwed up when I firstly saw it in a patch. Later, I gave it a second look--a very long second look then I saw some merits inside.

However it still took me some significant time to iron out the final result. I am particular fond of the distant waves and mist. The shape and colour remind me the signature brush strokes of J. M. W. Turner. Please don't laugh--just a very faint of similarity. 

The original ugly duckling

Forgotten Place III

Forgotten Place II

Another Photo from the trip to the abandon Mental institution.

Forgotten Place

In less than 10k out of Sydney CBD, there is an abandon mental institute, now I think it has turned into some sort of office of medical board. It is a big piece of land especially when we consider the land price here. Most of the constructions are in ruin.

I went there the first time with a bicycle group, just rode a quick around. I hardly found a soul this time on a Saturday. Took some photos. It reminded me some of Diane Arbus's pictures. Not discriminating mental patients, but I can't confront them even hide behind my camera. It takes a dark soul to explore another one.

Smart Phone Camera Trick

I used an iPod before. The only feel good experience was when I sold it, it retained quite good resell value.

Apple products have good quality. I sold many dozens of iPod, iMac and Macbook when I worked in retail. I only hate iTune, which is the most excellent marketing tool for Apple----not a good utility for me.

You buy a microwave, a printer, or a chopping board, once you paid and walked away the manufacturers have already lost your contact. You buy an iPod, everyday you use iTune you are being ‘poisoned’ by Apple un-knowingly. It is just brilliant.The only problem is I hate marketing twist. I am a very old man, I don’t have time to waste on ad/marketing material. That is the reason I don’t watch live commercial TV. You spend 2.5 hours for a 1.5 hour movie. On that ratio, if your life expectancy is 80, you will spend 32 of 53 waking years on watching ads!Back to Apple. Amazingly, there are so many people like to offer free marketing for it. There are always rumours for iPhone4, 5, 6...on newspapers or various websites, Steve Jobs has a little sneeze is big news too.Some time last year, there was a New York Times or some similar big-shot photojournalist using iPhone camera to cover Middle East war! Yeah, I read his feature and a dozen photos on a quite serious photography website (may be Exposure Compensation).Different medium has its own special features, that’s why somebody still insists on shooting film. There are Holga, Lensbaby, 4X5, and Polaroid. Each gives you the unique character that others hard to provide. But iPhone. What the............what!A simple $200 snap shot camera can do more and better job than an iPhone. All those fancy effects you can get them from legally free software download from the net. Obviously that journalist was riding on Apple’s fame to get his fame, or just happy to be another free human billboard.If there is any fun thing for a phone (I am using Google phone), I recently found out it may be the panorama function. It is handy and quick. Of course you can achieve better result with photoshop handling DSLR big RAW files. I tried, it took quite some processing power. And, to be honest, these type of extreme panorama only fun for a limited time. You try a few times, then I am sure the novelty wear out pretty soon, why bother with fast machine and big RAW.