Well, is it better and brighter?

More space (for free accounts)

Flickr now gives all users a free terabyte of space, so that you can upload more pictures, or higher resolution ones, or use Flickr as a kind of online backup system (1 terabyte can hold a lot of high res images). Not bad. But what about the “Pro” users who have paid for their monthly/annual subscription? Will they get more space on the Flickr drive?

Woo hoo! High res uploads!

The beauty of more storage is that you can now upload high resolution images to Flickr and have them displayed in all their glory. But if you do – a word of caution: please make sure you make use of Flickr’s built-in image security such as the prevention of your images from being downloaded by anybody and everybody. Go on any photographic social networking site and you’ll find a discussion about how rife image theft is these days. If you’re uploading high res images to Flickr, make sure you clamp down on download access to this image or you might suddenly find your images used here and there without your permission.

The eye-popping new design

I must admit that the initial layout did grab my attention. But then it quickly became a bit of a visual overload as my eyes started wandering haphazardly over images on screen. The classic Flickr, while bland as natural yoghurt, at least allowed you to visually process each image one at a time thanks to its classic (and predictably boring) grid layout structure. The new Flickr makes each image on screen vie for your attention. And after a couple of minutes, it all begins to feel a bit like 500px and Pinterest. I love eye candy, but there’s the boring part of me that yearns for the old, vanilla layout.

A neater, cleaner Slideshow

The updated Flickr full-screen slideshow is one of the better things to have come out of the upgrade. The interface/design has been tweaked for a cleaner viewing experience.

The verdict

It’s interesting that the new look Flickr comes at a time when vast tracts of its share of the online portfolio / photo sharing market has been lost to the likes of 500px, Red Bubble and Behance. In its hey day, Flickr was an excellent (and perhaps the best) photo sharing system available to photographers of all ilk. There was a real sense of an international community and a lot of interaction, engagement and dialogue there. Even today, Flickr groups are a great repository of information about equipment, photography, post-production and so on. But even that aspect of Flickr has since been replaced by the likes of Google+ Communities and Facebook groups.

Is this an attempt by Flickr to retain, to entice new ones and to make it exciting and relevant to photographers once more? And will this bigger and brighter Flickr work?

Well, if you’re a Flickr user or new to Flickr, why not give it a go? Use it and, love it or hate it, your decision and that of thousands of other photographers will determine its future.

Will you be entering the Fremantle Portrait Prize this year?

While slow sync flash has been coupled with light painting to produce very creative images, their combination this time has created mind-blowing visuals. Check out the movie below (and make sure you view full screen to get the full impact).

Have a look and, more importantly, listen close. I guarantee you’ll be inspired to grab your camera, head out and shoot!

What Inspires Me from Eli Sinkus on Vimeo.

Vasilikos’s work resonate with narrative (story telling) and emotion. His street photographs are more than mere incidental snaps of quirky aspects of life unraveling in the streets. They’re condensed dioramas that make you swear that each incident that he has photographed has to be staged. But they’re not. And therein lies his mastery.

Have a read of Vasilikos’s approach to street photography in his interview on Kim’s blog. Most telling is this bit of advice:

1. First, I find a background and wait for something to happen, something that is surreal or strange.
2. Then I wait for the right elements, people, things, animals, whatever, to walk into my frame.

If you enjoyed Kim’s interview with Vasilikos, then make sure you also check out Lukas’s body of work on Flickr.

Do you shoot street photography? What do you think of the advice from Vasilikos?

When I was in Siena in Tuscany a few years ago, grabbing a series of frames of the Duomo (cathedral) from the balcony of a nearby albergo (old school pensione style hotel), I noticed a young American couple panning their point and shoot camera across the scene to capture it as a panorama. I had my DSLR on a tripod, photographing parts of the scene in portrait orientation and overlaying each new frame with 50% of the scene in the previous frame for panoramic stitching. It took me a handful of minutes to complete the capture. It took them three seconds. And would you believe it, their point and shoot did a great job stitching the scene together!

I still came home with a decent panorama – stitched using Hugin, but there was always this nagging feeling that one day, DSLRs would have this function built into them – the “Turn and Shoot” auto panorama. Well, it appears that the day has come. Check out this video by Swiss street photographer, Thomas Leuthard, who caught this tourist using a Sony DSLR to photograph a panorama (keep your ear out for the sound of the shutter working on continuous shooting).

Oh, and by the way, this was the panorama I took from the balcony in Siena:

Beginners who have attended the Getting Started in DSLR Photography workshop we run will be familiar with this relationship and what it means to both depth of field and exposure control. For photographers working hard to teach themselves, the notion that the aperture value (f-number), the wider (or larger) the aperture can often be confusing – because it appears counter-intuitive!

Well, scratch your head no more — this video, presented by Mark Wallace, explains why this is so in normal, everyday language. Sure, there is a bit of maths involved but nothing too brain draining. If you’re still wondering what the “f” stands for and why the number to aperture size thing seems topsy turvy, do yourself a favour and watch it.

Nikon D7100 Launch

Chief of this is the launch of the Nikon D7100, a new 1.3x crop 24MP DSLR. I’ve been keeping an eye out on the D7100 as a possible replacement for my second body, the D7000 which has held its end of the market for quite a while. Its specs seem to indicate good news for photographers and its price puts it easily into the serious enthusiast’s budget.

So, how does it stack up? Have a read of this detailed review of the Nikon D7100 courtesy of SLRLounge.

… As a general all-around camera for the advanced amateur photographer, the D7100 is stellar. Its price is amazing considering its semi-flagship feature set, and I am hard-pressed to think of a type of photographer from beginner to pro who wouldn’t feel good about having a D7100 as either their main camera, or at least as a backup.

The review also addresses initial criticisms of the D7100s picture buffer, which ranges from 6-11 frames depending on image quality and crop mode selected:

If you shoot 14-bit lossless compressed RAW, the bufffer is a measly 6 images large. At the camera’s native frame rate, that’s just 1 second of shooting before the buffer slows.
However, turn the D7100?s RAW quality down to 12-bit and true (lossy) compressed, you get a good 9 frames in before the camera slows down. Then, jump to 1.3x (total 2x) crop mode, and you get a good solid 10-11 frames (at 7 FPS!) before the buffer fills.
For most photographers, this is going to be absolutely more than enough. Only the most serious sports shooters are going to miss the larger buffers offered in the flagship sports cameras.

And don’t forget to check improvement to long shutter exposures built into the D7100 – with its click on/click off Bulb mode feature!

Will I upgrade to the D7100? It’s very tempting but like all serious photographers, I have a try before I buy attitude, so I can’t wait to get my hands on a demo D7100 and to give it a whirl!

Cheaper NIK Software courtesy of Google

I posted this on Facebook yesterday and have since purchased my copy of the complete NIK Collection by Google. For $149, you get all six NIK plugins from Silver Efex Pro to Viveza 2. And if you have purchased a plugin, then the others are available to you for FREE. How awesome is that? If this tickles your fancy, head on to The NIK Collection by Google and have your credit card handy.

The Touch App

There’s been a rapid move away from using a mouse in image editing – and the latest addition to the market is the Touch App from Arctic Whiteness. It presents a more intuitive and precise touch interface for your Macbook Trackpad, Magic Trackpad or iPad. Have a look at this video:

The Parkinson’s Centre Photographic Competition

This is a photography competition and fund-raising event to benefit the Parkinson’s Centre, which is dedicated to research into Parkinson’s, health and ageing. Organised by Craig Tonkin of CT Photography Perth, the Parkinson’s Centre Photographic Competition offers a prize pool of $3,000 across two competition categories: Open and Landscape.

We’re sponsoring this competition with a prize of a gift voucher to one of our 1-day workshops, so if you’re keen to win one or would like to enter this competition, head on down to the competition page and download the entry form.

It’s all well and good when you’re shooting where there is enough ambient light to make an exposure, and you’re doubly lucky if the light comes from the right direction. But this isn’t often the case — wedding photographers know that they could be asked to shoot the bride’s preparation in a room with terrible downlights (panda eyes anyone?), or if you’ve been asked to shoot a table setting at a cafe or reception dinner and there is hardly any light available save fairy lights strung across the ceiling and flickering candles in lotus-shaped, stained glass holders (illuminated place settings and decor, while beautiful, do not provide enough ambient light).

Before you throw your arms up in despair and decide to move full time into studio-based photography, have a look at the Westcott Icelight.

This is a portable hand-held continuous light source that looks like the love child of a lightsaber and the common household fluorescent tube! It measures about 20 inches (52cms) long and has a diameter of about 1.75″ (4.5cm). While it won’t hold a candle against Mace Windu’s lightsaber (for one thing, it’s not purple), it’s still a pretty impressive bit of tech that will have people wondering what it is that you’re wielding (kids may even come up and embark on a mock lightsaber battle with you).

Here are the techy bits about the Icelight (you know you’re just dying to find out):

• Fully dimmable 1160 lumens LED, rated to 50,000 hours before you need to get a replacement.
• Frosted diffusion front with a 72^o beam angle.
• Light is daylight balanced (5200K – 5400K)
• Equivalent to 150 watts (compared with a quartz halogen).
• 60 minutes battery life on full power.
• Flicker free.
• Internal battery, chargeable – 2.5 hours recharge.
• Has dual accessory attachments at both ends: you can attach gels to it!
• Can be mounted on a stand.

I took the Icelight out for a couple of test drive sessions (thanks to a loan from Team Digital). In the first instance, I had Bunbury photographer extraordinaire, Graeme Marsh, front up to the camera (don’t worry, there’s a more attractive model in the second test drive session. Just put up with Graeme’s rugged “good looks” for now). We shot at Fremantle Harbour late in the night and used to Icelight to create some dramatic lighting.

These were taken at around ISO1600, f3.2, 1/80, with the Icelight held about 2-3 metres to the right of camera axis. No stands or additional rigging was used – just another mate holding the Icelight to my right and slightly above Graeme’s noggin. These shots were taken quickly and easily and demonstrates the way the portability of the Icelight (it even fit in my camera bag).

The second test session allowed me to test the Icelight in more variable lighting. With a mate acting as a voice-activated Icelight holder and his daughter as model in tow, we shot inside Whaler’s Tunnel at the Round House in Fremantle, then down at South Mole and then back again to the Harbour.

Lighting in the tunnel was awful. I locked exposure for the tunnel interior and allowed for some of the backlight from the end of the tunnel. This still meant that Caitlyn, our fair model, would be pretty awfully lit by the yellow bulbs set in the tunnel. Bring in the Icelight and suddenly we have directional lighting! Even better still, the 72⁰ coverage afforded by the Icelight meant that we could feather the light, ensuring that we had Caitlyn mostly covered by the light. The shot below was taken at ISO320, f4.5, 1/30.

We arrived at the next location, South Mole, while there was still light in the sky and, having only shot with the Icelight in fairly dark locations, I wanted to see how it would perform at the golden hour and into sunset. Would it be able to light Caitlyn up while I was still able to retain some ambient background exposure?

I set Caitlyn in the shade on the steps of the lighthouse and set exposure for the backlight. Then, with the Icelight positioned high and to the side, I grabbed a couple of frames. The verdict: even at full power, the Icelight isn’t strong enough to provide key lighting with backlight. If you’re looking at doing something like this, use an off-camera flash with a diffuser (umbrella or softbox).

However, as the light in the sky dropped, the Icelight came to the fore. The difference between the above frame and the one below is about 20 minutes. Note the ambient light still visible on the building in the background (right of frame).

After sunset, we headed to Fremantle Harbour and shot with the Icelight in its element – as key light balanced against artificial ambient light. Because the Icelight acts like strip lighting, it can be used to create feathered lighting for very creative lighting effects. Have a look at the range of lighting we achieved at the harbour – from traditional portrait lighting to more dramatic Rembrandt and then rim lighting.

And, finally, we couldn’t wrap up the shoot without taking a shot of Caitlyn lighting herself with the Icelight!

THE VERDICT

Since testing the Icelight, I’ve chatted with a number of local photographers and while a number are enthusiastic about the opportunities and scope that the Icelight offers, I’ve also noted a level of cynicism directed at the Icelight — notably in relation to the price ($585) for what is essentially a set of LED lights. Sure, if you have the know how and the gear, you could create your own battery-operated portable lighting kit with LEDs. But what the Icelight offers is very portable portable lighting. Remember: this is a LED light in the shape of a tube that could essentially fit into your knapsack. It’s very light, can be operated with one hand (or attached to a stand) and packs quite a bit of power (I’d recommend having the light around 2-4 metres from the subject, depending on power and exposure settings).

As for the price: it’s essentially what one would pay for a professional level speedlight (eg. Nikon SB910 or Canon 600EX), and we don’t often think twice about investing in a speedlight when we require one. Certainly, the Icelight has a more limited range of use than the speedlight, but where it comes to the fore is in difficult lighting situations where a speedlight would be too powerful or result in too much light spill.

The Icelight would be useful if you’re a wedding photographer or work a great deal on location and have very little control over onsite ambient light. Having something like the Icelight can lead to less stressful and more creative shooting in challenging lighting. It offers an alternative to the use of video light (and similar) as constant light in a package that is, well, really cool, but also eminently portable.

At the end, there was a shortlist of images that stood out: because of the way the photographers had used light, or composed the frame, or had picked an eye-catching subject. There could, however, only be a winner and this was awarded to the image that was all three of the above: clever use of light, a strong composition and an eye-catching subject!

Before announcing the winner, I’d like to showcase the images which are to be highly commended for their visual strength and appeal. My comments follow each image.

Photographer: Belinda Poole

Belinda writes: “I used my iPhone 4 to capture a photo of the underwater mural painted on the side of the building across from the Bunbury Library. The mural drew me in with its vibrant colours standing tall against the gorgeous blue sky. I wanted to capture a different perspective of the wall to everyone else passing by it going about their everyday business. I thought the photo would fit the category Urban Art.”

My comments: “This is a visually strong image that makes great use of colour and contrast. It goes to show that all it takes is a sharp eye and attention detail to create something eye-catching. The low angle of view and the combination of blues in the wall and in the sky work a treat!”

Photographer: Gabrielle Byrt-Barber

Gabrielle writes: “A delicious chocolate brownie drew me to the creation of this uncommon, individual image (at Bianco)! My mum and I stopped for some food and when I was snaffling some mints I saw a very unusual postcard, so I picked it up and took it with me. When Andrea (one of the photographers) asked me if she could take photos of me, I saw a big, red, loud stop sign. After Andrea finished, I went over and tried lots of different things with the sign, but nothing grabbed me. I then had a sudden inspiration; THE WEIRD POSTCARD!!! When I showed Christian (my dad) he said it was very creative. Here is the result of the picture.”

My comments: “My first impression of this image was… WOW. What an eye-catching image but also one full of meaning! Gabrielle has put a lot of thought into this image, bringing together diverse elements into the one picture to create an image that is creative, original and full of impact!”

Photographer: Jude Eggleston

Jude writes: “I just loved the natural, peaceful look of this lovely young lady, which is reflected in this photo. I like the simplicity of Black and White as there isn’t anything to distract from her face. Nikon Coolpix P510 1/800, f4.8-ISO 280, Auto setting ”

My comments: “And here’s another example that nothing can beat a good eye when framing and composing a photograph. Jude has made great use of reflections here to create a portrait that makes great use of symmetry to create balance and interest. The B&W works very well too. Well done, Jude!”

Photographer: Andrea Healy

Andrea writes: “I noticed the shadow reflecting from the railing onto the stairway – I had the setting on A and zoomed in too get the effect I was looking for.”

My comments: “What drew me to this image was the curious nature of the straight bars creating zig zag shadows. I just had to have another look – and a photograph that gets the viewer to take a second look is always a great photograph! The stark lines and bold shadows give it visual strength.”

And, now, for the winner of the Bunbury Photo Walk Photography Competition. What caught my eye about this image was the very strong, localised light that it has captured. Coupled with the very simple yet bold composition, it presents a very effective, visually strong image to the viewer. More than just a quick snap, there is evidence of thought put into this in regards to light and composition. The result: a very striking rendition of an urban abstract.

So, without much ado, BIG CONGRATULATIONS to competition winner, Whitney O’Callaghan!!

Photographer: Whitney O’Callaghan

Whitney writes: “When we first got to the Bunbury Tower/’milk carton’, I took a liking to the corners of the building. I managed to get some awesome shots of perfectly contrasting blue and white arrows up the walls, getting smaller towards the top of the photo. At Graeme’s suggestion, I decided to take some of the building with the sun’s reflection creeping in. I love the lines in this picture, from the building alternating with the reflection up the building and the railing along the top, and the intensely dark left border. Usually I turn up the contrast in my photos quite a bit in editing – this one came with its own, which is why, although it’s not up there in my favourite photos of all time, this one was my favourite from the walk. It’s just a shame the windows were so dirty ”

My comments: “Apart from what I’ve said above, I love the fact that the windows are dirty – it adds texture to the image that you could never get in post-production. Well done, Whitney!”

Whitney wins a voucher to our Getting Started in DSLR Photography workshop on Saturday 16 February in Bunbury. Get in contact with us, Whitney, to confirm your registration for this workshop, and we look forward to seeing you there!

My big thanks to the Boyz from Bunno, Graeme Marsh and Christian Byrt, who had organised this amazing event for the photographers and snappers of Bunbury! We’re really pleased to be able to support the photo walk with this competition and prize.

Thanks to everyone for entering and congrats to the highly commended photographers and to Whitney!