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Umberto Stefanelli
Summary:
In this FotoTV interview Fine Art photographer Umberto Stefanelli discusses his career and also shares some techniques from a project of his. an homage of the late Pope John Paul II and youth around the world.
Stefanelli began his career as a photographer in London and New York. In New York he tried doing fashion photography for a while but the market in New York was so tough that he could not sustain himself as an artist so he went looking for a job. The job he ended up finding was at an art gallery as a curator’s assistant. It was at this point in Stefanelli’s life when he realized his passion for fine art photography. At the gallery his first exhibition was a retrospective of some of the great photographers, including Ansel Adams and soon after Stefanelli called himself a fine art photographer.
Stefanelli describes fine art photography as emotions and passion, “either you have it or you don't”. He further says it does not matter what medium the photo was created, film or digital, but the photo has to have a quality of likeability.
Stefanelli goes on to talk about his project, an homage to the late Pope John Paul II, "not to religion" as he points out, but an a homage to the Pope and all the youths that he touched when he traveled around the world. Stefanelli also shares stories about his move to Japan, which was difficult at first.
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Don't Take Pictures - Make Pictures
Summary:
The people photographed by Jørgen Brandt treasure forever the photos he makes of them. How does he manage this? Find out in this insightful FotoTV-video.
Based in Copenhagen, Jørgen Brandt is an acclaimed social photographer, a vice president of the Federation of European Professional Photographers and a Qualified European Photographer with Master status (MQEP).
Social photography means for Brandt working with people of all ages, from newborns to the very old. And the secret of making meaningful images of people is never to use traditional poses. "When people come to my studio," says Brandt, "I try to make them play. It's maybe a silly word to use. We're adults, we don't play. But adults are just children, a little bit older."
"If you think about your kids, or maybe your spouse, the way you think of them is not sitting in a nice chair looking at the camera, perhaps with their head on one side." What is important is a particular look in the eye, perhaps teasing, perhaps loving. The photographer's job is to mediate such situations.
The ultimate aim is to photograph people for what they are, not just for how they look!
It's clear in the interview that photography is for Jørgen a passion and a lifestyle. It's about creativity and imagination. Many of his fine art images are abstract. He likens them to the pictures we saw as children, lying on the grass, looking up at the clouds and seeing elephants and sailing ships and things. In contrast to people photos the important thing here is not "what the subject is, but what else it is." Use your imagination and see things your way.
The video is illustrated with numerous images, both of people and of abstract subjects. Some of them, in particular the beautiful maternity photos, are movingly described.
"It takes devotion to make pictures", says Jørgen. And significantly, the words he most often uses are 'love' and 'fun'.
photokinaTV - High End Photography
Summary:
Mark Dubovoy is a photographer, scientist, and educator. He is known for the super high quality he brings
to his pictures through a disciplined photographic workflow.
What matters to him is the result, and he is preared to make every effort to produce the maximum result
at whatever cost. We'll let his pictures speak for themselves!
You can download a podcast of this photokinaTV show at:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=346566809
The Fine Print
Summary:
Finally, the fine print has been done. It is presented with a white cardboard frame that enhances the beauty of the photography.
Fred Picker comments that the hard part of making photography is not to shoot the camera or to spend many hours in the darkroom; the hard part is to take the correct decisions in order to get the print that the photographer visualized when the photo was taken.
Fred Picker was involved in manufacturing of 4 x 5 and 8 x 10 large format field cameras. He taught a highly successful photography class known as "The Zone VI Workshop," and authored a book by the same name that has become recognized as the golden standard of photographic instruction. His uncanny sense of "photographer's intuition” and his passion for the art was a unique combination. Always opinionated and oft times controversial, his dedication to large format and black and white photography was unsurpassed.
Olivier Rebufa
Summary:
French photographer Olivier Rebufa reflects on his creations of miniature self-portraits, superimposed over scenes occupied by the iconic Barbie and numerous, sometimes unusual props. Many of which were on display at Galerie Baudoin Lebon, in Paris. In addition, Rebufa offers excellent insight to his technique used for creating the images at a time when digital media and software were not nearly as popular as they are today.
Depicting the artist's rendition of a fantasy three-dimensional world, Rebufa photographs in black and white to create an additional familiarity with the self-portrait in a poetic expression about femininity, masculinity and social identity.
Final Adjustments
Summary:
The photography that Fred Picker printed in the previous film in carefully analysed. He is able, once again, to find new possible improvements in some small areas of the photography. He takes notes of this new burning and dodging necessities, and he makes the new print. This one is finally accepted as the one that he visualized when he took the picture.
However, everything is not done yet. He explains the effect of the dray down factor, and how it should be compensated. At the end of the film, Fred Picker mentioned the importance of a good washer process and the convenience of toning the photography.
Fred Picker was involved in manufacturing of 4 x 5 and 8 x 10 large format field cameras.. He taught a highly successful photography class known as "The Zone VI Workshop," and authored a book by the same name that has become recognized as the golden standard of photographic instruction. His uncanny sense of "photographer's intuition” and his passion for the art was a unique combination. Always opinionated and oft times controversial, his dedication to large format and black and white photography was unsurpassed.
Burning & Dodging
Summary:
In the previous film, Fred Picker made new prints of those small areas that he imagined that could be improved by changing the original printer time. He explained the importance of taking precise notes about where more (burning) or less (dodging) exposition should be given in order to produce a much better photography.
Now, he simply follows the recipe and, in a very systematic way, shows us how to print the photography just burning and dodging in those areas that he previously selected.
Picker was involved in manufacturing of 4 x 5 and 8 x 10 large format field cameras.. He taught a highly successful photography class known as "The Zone VI Workshop," and authored a book by the same name that has become recognized as the golden standard of photographic instruction. His uncanny sense of "photographer's intuition” and his passion for the art was a unique combination. Always opinionated and oft times controversial, his dedication to large format and black and white photography was unsurpassed.
Refining the Print
Summary:
So far, Fred Picker has shown us how he gets a correct basic exposure, find the right high value, make pilot prints and then choose the appropriate contrast paper from a negative.
In this film, he carefully examines the pilot print that he had previously chosen and finds ways to improve the photograph. He suggests that the photograph be printed in different tones of Black and White, usually fifteen, from his experience. He derives these different tones by increasing the exposure time from the standard 27 seconds in increments of 3. He chooses the area of the picture he wants to compare and makes prints by increasing the exposure time. He then places the result over the chosen pilot print and does a comparative study on the tones and colours of the result with that of the pilot print. Its interesting to note his comments on the various black, white and grey tones. He repeats this process as much as it is needed. It is also important to observe how he systematically notes down all the variables in the comparative test. This work system allows him to get the best possible result.
Picker was involved in manufacturing of 4 x 5 and 8 x 10 large format field cameras. He taught a highly successful photography class known as "The Zone VI Workshop," and authored a book by the same name that has become recognized as the golden standard of photographic instruction. His uncanny sense of "photographer's intuition” and his passion for the art was a unique combination. Always opinionated and oft times controversial, his dedication to large format and black and white photography was unsurpassed.
Selecting Paper Grade
Summary:
In the previous film, Fred Picker made two pilot prints of the same negative using two different paper grades: the first one with a paper grade No. 2 and the other one with a paper grade No. 3.
In this film, he explains the criterion to select the best pilot print. According to Fred Picker, to make this selection, one needs to go back to the basics and think about what exactly the photographer wished to capture when he clicked that picture. This is the important criterion to discard one of these pilot prints. After stepping back to reflect upon the overall picture, one needs to evaluate it in terms of light, substance and space. The criterion therefore is a mix of luminosity, depth, emotion and the atmosphere that prevailed while taking the picture.
Picker was involved in manufacturing of 4 x 5 and 8 x 10 large format field cameras.. He taught a highly successful photography class known as "The Zone VI Workshop," and authored a book by the same name that has become recognized as the golden standard of photographic instruction. His uncanny sense of "photographer's intuition” and his passion for the art was a unique combination. Always opinionated and oft times controversial, his dedication to large format and black and white photography was unsurpassed.
Making Pilot Prints
Summary:
In the previous film, Fred Picker explored where the high value was correctly exposed in each test strip for both grade 2 and grade 3 papers. In this one, he will simply make Pilot Prints for each paper grade. It means he will make unmanipulated print of the two papers to see which one has the best atmosphere according with what he visualized when he took the photography.
He insists that it is much safer to make pilot prints instead of trusting in his own experience, and he recommends keeping always this system. He puts a special attention to the way he works with the print timer in order to keep the same procedure that he used to evaluate the correct print time when he made the initial test strip.
Picker was involved in manufacturing of 4 x 5 and 8 x 10 large format field cameras.. He taught a highly successful photography class known as "The Zone VI Workshop," and authored a book by the same name that has become recognized as the golden standard of photographic instruction. His uncanny sense of "photographer's intuition” and his passion for the art was a unique combination. Always opinionated and oft times controversial, his dedication to large format and black and white photography was unsurpassed.