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Interview - Matt Stuart - Blog | LFI - Leica Fotografie International
A photo safari in London – this is Matt Stuart’s hunting ground. He prowls the streets of the British capital, stalking his prey, searching for the perfect moment. Senses on alert, he waits patiently, then emerges from undercover with his camera poised to shoot. He does not give up till he has bagged his prize – unique images full of colour, humour and the scent of the big city.
Film for the Digital Photographer - Techniques by Dan K - Japan Camera Hunter
In the latest installment of the series, Dan K shares with us some technique tips that will help you find your way around the world of film photography.
Some great tips. This one regarding exposure is something I wasn’t so aware of, and probably explains why some of my recent film-photos not always turned out that great:
In practice, having lots of exposure latitude means you don’t need to be spot on with your exposure. As you over-expose, you will lose highlight detail. Conversely, as you under-expose, you may start to lose shadow detail. It’s best to get it right, but when I am working with high-latitude print film in a meterless camera, I tend to err on the side of over-exposure and give an extra stop of exposure for good measure. This is Old timers would say “Expose for the shadows”.
In fact, you are supposed to be using something called “The Zone System” to balance shadows and highlights. Read up on it if you want to learn more. As a general rule of thumb, if the scene has a high dynamic range and your key subject is not the brightest part of the image, then expose to keep shadow detail. Let the emulsion’s greater over-exposure latitude handle the tricky highlights. This is the opposite of the way you’d do it with a digital camera, where you might try to avoid blowing out the highlights. Try it and once you have the hang of it, it will make a lot of sense.
146/365: Rear window, May.
The 10 Commandments of Good Form Design on the Web – Mono
1. Thou shalt provide clear, always visible labels for each field 2. Thou shalt use a big enough font size 3. Thou shalt provide easily 4. Thou shalt size the input fields according to their expected input 5. Thou shalt not customize checkboxes and radio buttons 6. Thou shalt provide both a general error message and a field specific one 7. Thou shalt make it clear what is optional and what is not 8. Thou shalt hide what is not needed until it is needed 9. Thou shalt minimize user input 10. Thou shalt be clear what type of input is expected
Totally dig this!
The Selfie Stick
Martin Parr on the Selfie Stick.
145/365: From NY straight to a family BBQ.
144/365: Hello, Düsseldorf!
It’s always amazing again how quickly you can be in a completely different part of the world.
The flight was ok. I managed to sleep quite a bit. I’m still pretty tired and I think I’ll take a quick nap… zZzzzzz
143/365: Relaxing at Brooklyn Bridge Park.
It was our last day in New York City. After packing our bags, we went to the Brooklyn Flea in the late morning. We checked out the various really interesting vendors and had a great Indian Dosa(i) for breakfast.
The weather was fantastic and so it was a good choice to visit the Brooklyn Bridge Park. It was absolutely packed with people, but we still very much enjoyed walking along the waterfront, enjoying the view and the sun.
Via ferry, we hopped over to Manhattan for one last time to check out Chinatown again. For a very early dinner we ate at Nyonya: a well-rated Malaysian. And yes, it was fantastic: Roti Canai, Poh Piah, Char kway teow and Beef Rendang. Delicious! We’re full now!
We’re currently picking up our backpacks at the apartment and are now off to JFK. See you in Ddorf!
142/365: The Apollo theater in Harlem.
Lots of walking on this day: through quite a bit of Harlem, through the Central Park again, down 5th Avenue. We went on top of the Metropolitan Museum of Art for very nice views across the park and the surrounding buildings. For the evening, we went over to the hip Williamsburg neighbourhood, ending with a few beers at the metal-pub “Duff’s”.
141/365: The bubble-master of Central Park.
After a stroll through the posh Upper Eastside neighborhood, we’ve finally been to this Central Park everyone is talking about. The weather was ok and we walked through a few parts of this huge park. We’ve also visited a few landmarks around the park, like the Metropolitan and Guggenheim museums and the Mecca for Apple fanboys.
And then it was already quite late and we decided to go for a sundowner at Pod39 – a cozy rooftop bar on the 17th floor with a nice view of the Empire State. Choice!
140/365: The view from the Top of the Rock over Manhattan.
On day 7 in New York, we first went on the Staten Island ferry - the free commuter boat between the southern tip of Manhattan and the island. There were good views of Manhattan and The Statue to be had. We like!
Via subway – as always – we went up to Chelsea. After lunch at the Chelsea Markets, we walked along the High Line, an abandoned elevated train track that’s repurposed as a pedestrian walkway with lots of green. It was a nice stroll with good views of the streets below and the architecture around.
Around sunset, we went up to the Top of the Rock, the observation deck on the GE building of the Rockefeller Center. And what can I say: the views were simply stunning.
For the evening, we went back to Greenwich village where we were entertained by another great ensemble called “The Kennedy Administration”.
139/365: North tower reflecting pool at the WTC memorial.
This day started relatively late with a lunch at the famous Katz’s restaurant. And we sinned badly. Don’t tell anyone! ;-)
Then we went down to Lower Manhattan where we had a beautiful view on the Hudson River, Brooklyn and the Statue of Liberty. And then some less enjoyable things.
We went along Wall Street, which to me by now is just a symbol for capitalism gone mad, injustice and inequality. So, not much time wasted here.
In the late afternoon we visited the 9/11 memorial again and also the Memorial museum where we stayed until they closed at 8pm. And this museum left a bitter taste in our mouths. It’s no question that this was a horrible day especially for those who died or lost someone they knew and/or loved. And it’s good to remember this. But using this once again to justify their wars is just disgusting. There are endless rooms and exhibits on all these individual tragedies. You can’t help but feeling terribly sorry for these people. And after that you’re in a room that’s like: “well, and here are the bad guys and that’s why we needed to start all these wars”. I just have too many mixed feelings about these events and their repercussions and this museum just re-confirmed my contempt of the US government.