Inspired by a number of amazing and cool photography blogs, I’ve decided to move up to the next level of blogging. This involved moving my blog to the same server as my website, uploading and configuring wordpress, choosing a theme, exporting all my blog posts and then tweaking everything until I was happy with what I had. I’m rather proud of the result, and you can check it out here:

Magical Places Fine Art Online Photography Magazine

This blog (Beautiful Argentina) will stay online for a few more weeks, and then I’ll take it down. Thanks to everybody who’s read a post, left a comment or sent me an email. I think you’ll like the new blog a lot better. I know I do.

 

I came across Adam Blenford’s blog StampCollector and I was immediately intrigued by his posts about Argentina, especially this one and this one. They’re interesting, well researched and intelligently written. It’s no surprise then that he turns out to be a journalist on a six month trip around South America. I was curious to learn about how a journalist with a camera approaches photography. I asked, and here’s the interview:

Why did you choose South America for your trip? What are you hoping to achieve while you’re there?

Coming here has been an ambition of mine for several years now, ever since I first realised that because I studied Spanish at school I would be able to get by and hopefully communicate with people in their language. My passion for photography has grown since I first thought of coming here, so it’s a perfect opportunity to travel with my girlfriend for six months, improve my Spanish and improve my photography.

Photographically the aim of the trip is to come back with a bunch of sellable images.

What’s your most memorable photographic experience so far in South America?

There have been lots, not all of them memorable because they were great. Overall, the sheer difficulty of dealing with changing or unfavourable weather conditions has been a real education for me. I’ll never forget trying to fix filters to the front of the camera in gale-force Patagonian winds, or lugging my tripod up to the summit of the Torres del Paine before sunrise, only to be forced down again by a vicious hailstorm at 5.45am.

As a one-off event, though, running through the Good Friday parade in Quito, Ecuador, snapping the thousands of marchers wearing purple hoods ranked pretty highly for me.

How would you describe your photographic vision? What kind of look/atmosphere/feel do you try and create in your photos?

I blanch a bit a questions like that - I’m still happy if the shot is well-exposed and in focus, but of course I know what you mean. I shoot a lot of different type of subjects, so the specific aim changes, but in general I take a photojournalistic approach to the world, even if the subject isn’t journalism. I want to portray the world as it really is, not staged, not artificial, not Photoshopped.

When did you start taking photos and why? What attracted you to photography?

I’ve always travelled with a camera, ever since I was a teenager, but I didn’t start getting serious about my pictures until I tried a stint as a freelance reporter in the Middle East in 2003 and it seemed sensible to be able to provide images as well. Since then I’ve steadily taught myself the basics and gradually worked my way up through different types of consumer digital cameras to the Nikon DSLR and the bag of lenses I’m currently heaving around South America. It’s addictive, and because I still love to travel there is always more motivation to take better pictures.

How does your journalism experience affect your photography? I see a definite story-telling approach on your blog.

To me it’s almost impossible to separate the two. Although I began life as a words man, I now see exactly how easy - or important - it is to tell a story through the right pictures. And while some of my pictures are “just” landscape images, which should stand or fall on their own, to me each day out taking pictures or each town you visit has it’s own story. I still love to use words so if I’m competent with both it’s a great combination for storytelling.

Tell us a little about your lomo photos? What attracted you to this style of photography?

This one I can’t claim to be my own fetish. Several of my close friends have shot Lomo for years now, and I saw enough very cool pictures to put one of their cameras in my bag for this trip. There’s a lot good about Lomo pictures - using film, for one, gives a totally different feel, and the fact it is so small makes it easy to take candid street shots. Plus it’s the colours and the whole look and feel of the images - everything looks different when you use a Lomo, and it almost feels more honest than the digital image.

What’s your favourite place for photography that you’ve been to so far in South America?

I went crazy just the other day when we found a square in the centre of Guayaquil, Ecuador, which is overrun with free-roaming iguanas. It was like being in the Galapagos Islands (something we passed on) in the middle of a city. They were crazy, ugly, ancient looking things, and they had no problem with a zoom lens shoved right at them!

How do you approach people to ask to take their photos? It’s my experience that local people can be hostile or suspicious to westerners with cameras. How do you overcome this?

It’s tough, and it varies from country to country. In India, for example, people rarely refuse a photo, and a little smile usually wins them over. Here, though, people can be touchy, especially indigenous or native people. I’m not keen on offering money, but I’m prepared to do it if I think the picture will be outstanding. Otherwise I like to ask, in Spanish, try and build up a little rapport with them or their friends, and get their permission. I don’t take pictures of people who say no, although I do occasionally use the long lens or shoot from the hip if I don’t think they know I’m looking. Trying to catch people acting natural is one of the hardest skills. I probably don’t have as many good portrait or people shots as I want, to be honest.

What advice would you give anyone planning a six month trip in terms of planning and photographic equipment? How does one make the best of the opportunities?

Don’t neglect all the “other bits” - I have a computer to process and store the images, a backup hard disk, an iPod as extra backup, sensor cleaning equipment, rocket blower, tripod, filters, the whole lot. And that’s before you count the camera, the lenses, and the bag. Work out what you want out of the trip, look at what you can afford - one all-purpose lens, or several specialised lenses? - and do your research properly.

It can get tiring on the road constantly seeing new photo opportunities, but I’ve got used to not carrying my DSLR all the time. Sometimes it’s just not photo time, although that’s when the Lomo comes in useful…

Who are your three favourite photographers and why?

I love Robert Frank’s black and white street photography and I admire the photography of people like AP’s Vietnam veteran Horst Fass, who I interviewed last year for the BBC. Of course there are others, but I’ll skimp on choosing one and say the online community at Flickr, many of whom are supremely talented and inventive and who either work simply for fun or for very little reward. Just having access to that body of work for free online makes us all better photographers.

How has your trip so far changed you? What have you learnt and how do you see the world differently after your experiences so far?

I’ve learned a lot about my photography, especially that things aren’t always going badly when I think they are, and I’ve improved my technique and honed my eye a bit, I hope. I don’t know about seeing the world differently but I’m not too keen to live out of a backpack for six months for a while!

And finally…your dream journalistic/photographic assignment. What would it be?

I’m on it at the moment - I’m editor, journalist and photographer all rolled into one!

 

 Adam’s blog:  StampCollector

 

Sunset at Punta Sal, Peru - one of my latest pictures

Good Friday parade in Quito, Ecuador

Colombian soldier in Popayan - I had previously taken his portrait with permission and then took this shot as well.

Macro shot from the forest near Banos, Ecuador

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Lomo shot taken while at lunch on a dive trip in Colombia - cross-processed film

 

All photos Copyright © Adam Blenford. Please contact the photographer for permission to use in any way.

I noticed something interesting while browsing Los Angeles advertising photographer Ryan Schude’s website. Take a look at these photos:

The basic composition is the same in each image. An attractive girl standing stiffly in front of a colourful background, holding something in her hands.

The interesting thing is that  the girl is positioned  in the centre of each photo, completely ignoring the rule of thirds. It’s a stylistic device that links the photos with a weighty, central composition.

I also like the subtle use of colour.  In the first image the girl is holding a cake with a red topping in front of a red background (and the yellow dress resonates beautifully), in the second the girl holds a pumpkin in front of an orange background, and in the third the girl holds bananas in front of a yellow house.

What do you think of these photos? Great composition or should the photographer really have moved the model over to the side a bit? Send me your comments below.

Please remember the photos on this post are protected by copyright and that you should contact the photographer for permission to use in any way.

A quick guide to creating diptyches and triptyches in Photoshop CS 3 and a nifty tip for visually tying the images together.

Browsing on Flickr a few weeks ago I came across a beautiful set of diptyches. Why do I like them so much? I think it’s because there’s a visual resonance between two wonderful photos that share a mood. Together, they become an object of beauty, a work of art that is greater than it’s parts.

Or perhaps it’s just because I’m not used to seeing photos juxtaposed in this way. Take a look at one of my favourites and see what you think.

These photos inspired me to try my hand at making some diptyches (and triptyches) of my own. The first thing was to choose images that not only go went together but enhanced each other. This is a very personal decision, and I looked for photos whose colours and tones complemented each other well.

This is what I came up with:

 

I took these photos in Colonia del Sacramento, a beautiful colonial town in the south of Uruguay.  I wanted to convey something of the dreamlike, mysterious atmosphere I found there.

These photos were taken in Chascomus, a small colonial town in the country some 120km from Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. I took a lot of close-ups of flowers and architectural details.

Make Your Own Diptych or Triptych

Combining photos to make your own diptych or triptych is pretty easy with photoshop:

• Make all the photos exactly the same height.
• Choose one of the photos.
• Set the background colour to white.
• Image -> Canvas Size
• Set the width to the combined width of both (or all three) photos. Click the middle arrow on the left hand side of the anchor and press OK.
• Copy one of the other photos and paste it on top of the first photo.
• Do the same with the third photo if you’re making a triptych.
• Line the photos up with the move tool until no white spaces are showing, then flatten the image to save space and save the photo under a new name.

 

I found it took some juggling of different combinations before I found the arrangements I liked best.

Now, one last tip to draw the photos together:

• Draw an oval with the elliptical marquee tool (see the diagram below).  
• Select -> Refine Edge
• Set feather to 250 pixels and adjust the contract/expand slider until you have a selection that looks something like the red area in the diagram below. Press OK.
• Layer -> New Adjustment Layer -> Levels
• Move the middle slider to the right to gently darken the edges of the triptych (or diptych). This technique is based on the darkroom technique of darkening the edges of a print to draw the eye towards the centre.
• When you’re happy, flatten the image and save.

What do you think of this technique? Send me the links to your diptyches and triptyches and I’ll post them here. Share your comments below.

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All photos Copyright © Andrew Gibson. All the photos are availabe for use under Rights Managed Licenses.. Please contact me to ask for permission to use in any way.

A short guide to quickly and easily embedding photos in your website or blog.

I quickly realised when designing & coding my website that it’s not easy to create a gallery for my photos. Coding by hand is very time consuming. Even using a flash application like Simpleviewer it still takes time to resize photos and prepare multiple galleries. Leaving photos out of my website is not an option - it’s a photography website.

Then I saw SlideFlickr in use here and decided to try it. As the name suggests you do need to have a Flickr account to use it. If you haven’t tried Flickr yet then it’s definitely worth a go, even if it’s just to make a slideshow with SlideFlickr. Flickr is both free and extremely versatile.

 

How to use SlideFlickr:

1. Create a flickr account and upload photos. SlideFlickr will run quicker if you make the photos small for the web. I typically size mine at 800 pixels wide and use the ‘Save for web and devices…’ option on PhotoShop CS3 to make a file sized at 150kb or less.
2. If you don’t want to display all the photos in your account create a set for the slideshow.
3. Go to SlideFlickr and follow the 3 step instructions:
4. Insert your Flickr username or url. For example, mine is http://www.flickr.com/photos/magicalplaces/
5. Customise your slideshow. Here you can choose the size, the background colour, the name, the speed, add your own logo, add music or assign a creative commons license. You can also choose which photos in your flickr account to display: all of them, or a specific set, tags or your favourites.
6. Hit the preview button!
7. If you like what you see, copy the html code that appears below the word Embed.
8. You can then place the html code in your webpage or (almost any) blog.

See an example that I posted on my website. The slideshow displays my favourite photos from other Flickr users.  (I wanted to post it on this blog but unfortunately wordpress doesn’t allow me to embed flash files.) Whenever I add new photos to my favourites, they will be automatically displayed in the widget.

Verdict: This is an excellent, easy to use, free widget. All you need is a flickr account and the ability to follow simple instructions. No knowlegde of html or coding required. As a way of quickly adding photos to a website or blog, I’ve yet to find anything easier or faster.

The only disadvantage is that it can’t be used on a WordPress.com blog as wordpress doesn’t allow embedded objects. If you host a wordpress blog on your own server, it will work fine.

What do you think of SlideFlickr? Have you used any other widgets to display photos on a website or blog? Share your comments below.

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A quick guide to adding textures to your photos using the Virtual Photographer plug-in.

Photographer John Short recommended the Virtual Photographer Plug-In on page 41 of the April 2008 issue of Photography Monthly. The use of texture in digital photography is a popular trend so I thought I’d take a closer look at the plug-in.

The first step was to download and install the plug-in from the OptikVerve Labs website. The instructions were simple and easy to follow. At the moment it’s only available for the PC, but a Mac version may follow. According to the website, it can be used with Adobe Photshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Paint Shop Pro, Photo-Paint and other popular imaging software. I tested it with Adobe Photoshop CS3.

Once installed, I accessed the plug-in using the drop-down filter menu. A control panel appeared and I could select the filter effect that I wanted.

Here are the results of my experiment. These are just some of the preset filers available. It’s also possible to adjust the settings yourself, which combined with Photoshop’s layers gives a nearly infinite variety of effects:

Verdict: Virtual Photographer is a wonderful plug-in. I could have hours of fun with this. Recommended.

Need some more inspiration? Check out these three flickr photographers that use textures:

Linda Plaisted

Tiavir

Monika Pachecka

I also found this nifty tutorial on adding textures to photos. And another one here.

Got some cool photos that use Virtual Photographer? Send them in (andrewsgibson [at] gmail [dot] com) and I’ll post them and link back to your website/blog/flickr photos.

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All the photos are Copyright © Andrew Gibson. Please contact me for permission to use in any way. All the photos are available for licensing under Rights Managed licences.

I remember a conversation I had once with a work colleague about the World Cup. Only a few teams have ever won it  - Uruguay is one of them. ‘Who’s heard of Uruguay?’ he laughed. At the time I don’t think I could’ve pointed to it on a map. It’s a small South American country sandwiched between two giants (Brazil and Argentina). Famous for…not much I believe, apart from winning  two world cups in 1930 and 1950. Compared to the scenic riches of Argentina, there doesn’t seem to be many good reasons to visit Uruguay.

Coloñia del Sacramento is one of those reasons. It’s historical quarter is a wonderful maze of cobbled streets, colonial houses, ruins and ancient fortifications. It’s the oldest town in Uruguay, founded by the Portugese in 1680, in an eventually futile attempt to stake a claim on the territory of the River Plate in response to the new Spanish colony of Buenos Aires.

This time last year I was working on a cruise ship that departed from Buenos Aires and went straight to Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, before heading south to Puerto Madryn.  As far as I know no cruise ships go to Coloñia. This is a good thing.  Four thousand people descending from a megaship into this small and charming town would completely spoil this beautiful place.

We caught the ferry from Buenos Aires to Coloñia. They’re separated by the Río de la Plata (River Plate), incidentally the widest river in the world (220km across at it’s widest point ). The trip took three hours (there’s a faster and more expensive hydrofoil that makes the trip in an hour). 

The port is just a few blocks from the Coloñia’s historical quarter, and we soon found a hotel to stay in, the Posada de Armonía.

Coloñia has some very luxurious, beautiful and expensive hotels (which we avoided, for economic reasons). My main priority was air conditioning. Buenos Aires and Coloñia in February are extremely hot and humid, and I didn’t fancy sweating it out in a stuffy hotel room.

I’d visited Coloñia once before, five and a half years ago, in the winter of 2002, just a few months after Argentina’s economic crisis in which the peso crashed and millions of Argentines fell into poverty. I was enchanted by it’s quiet, rain-washed streets, charming restaurants and old cars.

Now, in the middle of a hot summer and the high season, I saw another side to the town. Tourists walking around the historical sites during the searing heat of the day, enormous cameras dangling from their necks.  The restaurants had set up tables outside on the cobbled streets and at night they were full. I heard lots of people speaking English (and French).

Coloñia is a photographer’s dream. Our first evening in the town was amazing. We set out with camera and tripod in the late afternoon. The warm light of the setting sun illuminated the cobbled streets and ancient houses beautifully. Then we headed to the river to take photos of the sun setting over the River Plate. There I had three pieces of luck. A girl was sitting reading a book on a rock in the water, and she made a perfect silhouette against the brilliant blue sky and the setting sun.

Then, as the sun set, a group of boys drinking and fishing by the river again made wonderful silhouettes against the setting sun.

And third, the sunset was wonderful, one of the most beautiful I’ve seen for a long time.

Then, after the sunset, we took  photos of the Calle de Suspiros, one of the town’s oldest and most beautiful cobbled streets, illuminated by the moon and lamplight.

Followed by a delicious meal in one of the restaurants, sitting outside in the warm night air.

Then, the following morning, we got up at 6.30am to take advantage of the early morning light and take more photos.  Luckily for me we made the effort as the weather changed during the day,  from searing sunshine to thick, gray clouds that completely wrecked my hopes of another beautiful sunset. 

The rain came the day afterwards, we stood by the river looking towards Buenos Aires and watching the rain sweep across the river until it engulfed Coloñia in a deluge. We took shelter in a café and ordered coffees (for which we had to wait for an hour!) to pass the time until the rain passed.

Sunset over the Rio de la Plata (River Plate).

Lili admires the sunset.

Local boys by the river.

Calle de Los Suspiros (Street of Sighs) at night, the river can just be seen in the background in the top photo. I’ve heard several stories about the origin of the street’s name. One, that the sighs of slaves could be heard as they were led to the river. Two, that the houses were at one time brothels and it was named after the sounds of the prostitutes and their clientele. Three, that the wind from the river makes a sighing sound in the street.

Another night shot with the Calle de Los Supiros, Calle San Pedro and El Faro (the lighthouse, still in use).

See this photo on Imagekind.

The Portón de Campo, the gate and drawbridge at the entrance to the historical quarter of Coloñia. Taken at dawn, with a full moon in the sky.

An old white ford in a cobbled street. Old cars such as this are still in use in Coloñia and other Uruguayan towns.

All the photos are Copyright © Andrew Gibson. Please contact me for permission to use in any way. All the photos are available for licensing under Rights Managed licences.

Gavin Gough must have the perfect life.  He spent a year travelling around the world and found that he liked taking photos so much he decided to become a professional travel photographer. Read on find out how he did it:

How would you describe your photographic vision? What kind of look/atmosphere/feel do you try and create in your photos?

I’ve never had a very conscious approach to working towards developing a particular style and I’m not sure if many photographers start off with a style in mind. I think like most people, I started by taking pictures of subjects that interested me and the subject matter dictated the feel of the photographs. I do tend to isolate subjects in the frame and I’ve noticed that with some of my images I’ve subconsciously tried to create a sense of balance or symmetry. I guess I’m just trying to tidy up the world through my camera! When shooting travel stock images I’ll usually be trying to show a location at its best, and I enjoy the challenge of depicting places from a positive perspective. I try to leave time at the end of projects for some personal work and that tends towards a more editorial feel. You might argue that these personal projects offer a more honest representation of the world but it’s all interpretive at the end of the day.

When did you start taking photos and why? What made you decide to become a travel photographer?

I guess like a lot of people I first picked up a camera as a child and started snapping family holidays and parties. I was given a small, 126 Instamatic camera which took cube-shaped Magicube flash bulbs and I remember taking photos whilst on holiday in the English Lake District and during Birthdays and at Christmas. I think I mostly just enjoyed firing off those flashbulbs and watching the interior of the little plastic cube fizzle and blacken. Becoming a Travel Photographer was a really straightforward choice for me, it combines my two greatest pleasures and I honestly can’t imagine doing anything else.

When did you decide to work in stock photography? How did you start out?

I took a one-year sabbatical from my previous job in 2003 and travelled around the world. I don’t think there was ever much chance of returning to my previous incarnation as a Systems Analyst and once I’d decided to take the plunge and leave the security of a steady job behind there was no looking back.

What obstacles and difficulties did you face when you started to sell your own travel and stock photos? How did you overcome them? How are you marketing your business and building your reputation? How important is your website to your marketing strategy?

The main obstacle, if I’m honest, was my own naivete about the business. I think I had a good understanding of what would be required in photographic terms but getting to grips with managing my own business in such a competitive market brought me face-to-face with a steep learning curve. Luckily, I’m a keen student and enjoyed the research and learning process. Not that I’m finished learning yet of course! And now that developing and operating a digital workflow has become such an integral part of most photographers’ job it probably helped that I’m a closet geek. Joining organisations like the Stock Artists’ Alliance and the Association of Photographers was invaluable in terms of the help that established photographers were willing to offer and also in the increased exposure they’ve given me. Marketing is a mysterious, black art and I’m still finding out what works best for me but the web site is a very obvious shop window and invariably the first place that people visit when they want to find out more about me and my work.

You sell your photos through stock libraries like Alamy, Getty, Trevillion, Lonely Planet and Jason Friend. What advice would you give any photographer who would like to successfully sell their work on these sites? Is it possible to earn decent income doing this?

That’s a bit like asking a chef for his secret recipe! There’s no question that stock photographers had a much greater earnings potential two or three decades ago but the industry has been turned on its head with the advent of Royalty Free, the arrival of the Internet and, more recently, Microstock web sites. I would guess that a lot of people who sell stock also have a supplementary income - or a wealthy and generous partner. That’s not to say that there aren’t people earning a healthy living from stock photography but I think it’s reasonable to suggest that they are the exception. The only advice I would offer to hopeful stock photographers is that they should study the market very carefully, try to emulate but not to copy and to concentrate very hard on getting the technical quality of their work spot on.

What changes have you seen in the stock photo industry since you have been working as a photographer? Where do you think the industry will be in five or ten years time?

My career selling stock is relatively short but even in the last few years there have been changes and the speed of change is only likely to increase. If I could predict where the industry will be in ten years then I’d be a stock market analyst and not a photographer. The only thing we can be sure of is that it probably won’t be recognisable when compared with the industry today and those photographers who can’t or won’t adapt will have different jobs in ten years time.

What advice would you give someone just starting out in stock or travel photography now?

I think that’s a really difficult question to answer. Everyone, whether they’re interested in photography or not, has to follow their own path and I’m not really in a position to offer advice. The only thing I would say is that if you’re not prepared to live and breathe the job then it’s probably not for you. You have to be dedicated to the point of obsession but that’s probably a pre-requisite for succeeding in any career really.

Name three photographers you like and why.

Don McCullin is my photographic hero and the first photographer whose work I was really moved and inspired by. There’s no way to adequately describe his work, you have to see it, but the one thing that typifies a McCullin photograph for me is the sense of connection that he seems able to make with his subject. Whether he’s bringing us the image of a person, a situation or a landscape, you can sense McCullin’s presence very strongly in every frame. I feel a sense of excitement just writing briefly about his images and bringing some of them to mind as I write. There are dozens of other photographers whose work I greatly admire (Steve McCurry is an obvious choice for a Travel Photographer) but McCullin’s life and work has taught me more about what it is to be a photographer than all the others put together so I’ll leave it with just him as my selection. He’s worth three photographers on his own! I thoroughly recommend his autobiography, “Unreasonable Behaviour”.

Where is your photography and your business going? What future photographic project or projects are you excited about?

I’m starting to run workshops this year and really enjoy the time spent with enthusiastic photographers, no matter what their level of expertise. I’m hoping to run more of these in South East Asia in the future and am excited about this aspect of my work. Otherwise, there’s lots more travelling planned, and that’s always an enticing prospect.

Tell us a little about the photography workshops that you participate in? How did you get started with them?

The workshops are very self-indulgent and I enjoy them enormously. They’re a great way for me to spend time with people who are excited about photography and I enjoy passing on my own knowledge and experience but often end up learning as much from the participants as they do from me. It’s always a pleasure spending a day with like-minded people with similar interests. In April this year I’m running workshops on the Dorset coast in southern England, which is one of my favourite places. The tour will include a lunch stop for a pie and a pint at the Square and Compass, best pub in the world, so it’s going to be doubly enjoyable.

What is your favourite place that you’ve visited as a travel photographer?

I’m asked this question quite often and it’s almost impossible to answer as every place has it’s good points and locations differ enormously. I think I’m quite fortunate because I’m a traveller who’s easily pleased. I am often upbeat about arriving in a new location, just being pleased to be there. That frame of mind tends to make me see the more attractive aspects of a location. Having said that, Samoa in the South Pacific really is a wonderful destination where the idyllic surroundings and friendly, open people make for a great combination. Yes, it’s probably the one place where you’d struggle to think of a single thing that could improve it.

You’ve written some articles for magazines. What advice would you give a photographer that can write and would like to break into this market?

I think photographers that can also write are a rare breed and although I do contribute articles for magazines they’re carried along more by my enthusiasm for the subject than any skill as a writer. I’d say that it’s best to write about things that you’re very familiar with. If you can make an editor’s life a little easier then you’re in with a chance so concentrate on understanding what the editor wants and then make sure you deliver what they’ve asked for.  Packages of words and pictures together can be more attractive than pictures alone but whatever you’re submitting make sure it’s presented professionally and that it’s simple for the editor to understand the concept of your article straight away.

Bonus Question:      Your dream assignment. What is it?

I’m more than happy with any assignment that pays a decent daily rate! Seriously? I think any commissioned work that takes me back to India, Tibet, Bhutan or Nepal is great. Returning to Samoa or the other South Pacific islands would also be a real treat but I think my absolute dream come true would be a commission to compile a book on tea. I’d like to photograph tea plantations around the world and the people who work on them and then follow the process all the way through to the posh cafés and tea houses around the world. I’m a tea fanatic and my personal motto is taken from a Chinese proverb that goes “A man without tea in him is incapable of appreciating truth or beauty.” At which point, I think I’ll put the kettle on. Cheers!

Links & Contact Info:        

Web site: http://www.gavingough.com/

Blog: www.gavingough.com/blog

E-mail: mail [at] gavingough [dot] com

Phone (UK): +44 (0)7900 432525

I’ve included five photographs taken during a recent trip to northern India, which I’ve chosen because they are pictures that tend to prompt questions about the subjects. People who see these images invariably ask me to explain who the subjects are and I like the sense that there’s something unanswered, or at least something that prompts further enquiry, in the photos. Perhaps these shots also appeal to me because I know something more about each of the people than the photographs offer so I’m able to tell a bit of a story about each one.

All photos Copyright © Gavin Gough. Please contact the author for permission to use in any way.

As part of my participation in the Fine Art Photoblog, I’m publishing a series of interviews with the other participants. This is the first, with the creator of the blog Brian Auer.  Not only did he come up with the concept and design of the Fine Art Photoblog, but he also runs his own successful (and very interesting) photography blog. Here’s the interview:

How would you describe your photographic vision? What kind of look/atmosphere/feel do you try and create in your photos?

I’m not sure if I fully understand my own photographic vision yet. I’m relatively new to the photography scene, and my goal has been to explore all that I can and let my style or vision come on its own. In general, I try to produce images that truly capture the scene and enhance the emotions that I felt when I took the photo. I like my color images to be bold and bright, while my black & whites have strong contrasts and a darker mood (but not depressingly dark). One genre I’d like to explore further is street photography – it seems that the more I do, the more I like it.

When did you start taking photos and why?  

I really started taking photos when my first child was born in early 2003. At that point it was 99% family photos, but it didn’t take long for me to catch the bug. Year after year, I’ve outgrown my equipment and my thirst for knowledge has been ever increasing. Prior to 2003 I had no ambitions to become a photographer of any type, but just five years later I’m very much considering it as a possible career path.  

Colour or black & white…which do you prefer and why?

I produce both color and black & white photos. I have a soft spot for black & whites, so more of my work is heading that direction as I hone my processing skills. I’ll do a color image if the color is a main focus of the scene. Otherwise, it’s off to black & white. Lately though, I’ve been experimenting with “cross processing” techniques via Photoshop and I’m really liking the way some images benefit from it.

What is the most memorable experience you’ve had as a photographer?  

My most memorable photographic experience (aside from all those shots of my kids growing up) would have to be my last trip to the Grand Canyon. My Wife and I were moving from New Jersey to California and we decided to drive. One of our planned stops was the Grand Canyon. I had never shot the canyon with a decent camera, so I was excited to be there with my SLR and a nice wide angle lens. Well, as it turned out, we didn’t arrive at the canyon until maybe 15 minutes before sunset. I rushed out to the nearest overlook and started evaluating what I wanted to capture during the sunset. It just so happens that some brilliant storm clouds were still hanging around the scene, and that made for a spectacular show of light and color. I caught it just in time, captured some amazing images, and I was able to share the experience with my wife too!

Name three photographers you like and why.  

Only 3, huh? That’s tough… I suppose my most favorite would have to be Elliot Erwitt. I love street photography, and his work is so amazing and original. The thing that really stands out with Elliot is his sense of humor and how he brings it alive in his photos. Another favorite of mine is Jerry Uelsmann. His ability to create stunning composites (with film no doubt) is beyond my comprehension. Not only are they technically well done, but they show his vision with striking clarity. Pete Turner is my final choice of favorite photographers. His use of bright colors, strong lines, and simple shapes make his photos scream for attention. He is a master of composition, and creates images that are a treat to explore.

Where is your photography going? What future photographic project or projects are you excited about?

 I have no idea where I’m going with photography. It feels like photography is going somewhere with me instead. I just keep shooting and sharing, with no knowledge of what’s around the next bend. As I mentioned before, I’d love to make a living by playing with my camera. Currently, I’m excited to continue my work with the Epic Edits Weblog while starting a new adventure with the Fine Art Photoblog. Since I’m a compulsive project-starter, I’ve limited myself to one major undertaking per year – so I have no plans for future projects at the moment, but you can probably expect something from me in early 2009!

Why did you decide to create a photography blog (Epic Edits)? How has working on the blog helped or influenced the direction of your photography?

My whole reason for starting the Epic Edits Weblog is kind of a funny (but long) story. The short version is that I wanted to start an online service for photo editing (hence the name, Epic Edits). As I began to research the world of marketing, I found that blogs were a great way to generate traffic. So I started a blog under a subdomain. It didn’t take long before I realized that blogging is so much more than a marketing tool. I began to make friends across the world, people actually liked what I was writing, and I found it to be a wonderful creative release. I put the idea of a photo editing service on hold and continued to nurture the blog – and I’m glad I did! Teaching people about photography and collaborating on inspirational and technical issues has taught me more than I would have dreamed. There’s only so much you can learn as the student; there’s a whole wealth of information that’s only available to the teachers (anybody who has taught anything will know what I mean).

Bonus Question: Your dream assignment. What is it?

My dream assignment… hmm… not sure. I’d like to travel and explore all the places I haven’t been to yet. Not sure if that counts as an assignment, but I sure wouldn’t mind taking about a year off work and visiting every place I’ve ever wanted to see. But hey, what photographer doesn’t have that same dream?

Links:

Imagekind Gallery

Epic Edits Photography Blog

Fine Art Photoblog 

Flickr Account 

 

Under the Weather

Ship in Upper New York Bay on a rainy and foggy morning with Manhattan buildings in the background.

 

Mexican Bus Stop

Man reading the paper while he waits at the bus stop in Monterrey, Mexico.

Blown

Overexposed photo of a crow in the Painted Desert, Arizona.

Zig Zag

Steps and wall paneling processed for contrast between subjects.

Down Here at the Boardwalk

Some of the rides at the Seaside Heights boardwalk on the Jersey shore.

All photos copyright © Brian Auer. Please contact the photographer for permission to use in any way.

It seemed simple enough to get to San Antonio de Areco from La Plata, a relatively easy journey of 150 kilometres or so by bus in 2-3 hours from La Plata. In a country with so many cities a 20-40 hour bus trip from the capital, this is short.  What we didn’t realise, until it was too late, is that our bus wasn’t going directly but instead made lots of stops not only between La Plata and Buenos Aires but in the south and west of the capital, in dead end places that I’d never heard of and that no-one in their right mind would go to. It was like a never ending excursion through the drabbest and dreariest that Buenos Aires has to offer.

But when, nearly five and a half hours later, we arrived in San Antonio de Areco, the destination was worth it.  After suffering through a mini heatwave in La Plata, it was wonderful to feel the fresher air of the country (the arrival of a cold front had helped too).  I don’t like towns and cities much (the only city I’ve visited that I think I could live in for any length of time is New York City), I like open spaces, trees, mountains, nature and fresh air. I like the slower pace of life, and to slip into the rhythm of the days from morning until evening. I like the smell of rain in the summer. I like to hear the birds singing, to walk in streets without traffic, and to eat my breakfast outside where I can smell the grass and trees.

We walked from the bus terminal to the centre of the town and soon found a hotel to stay in. San Antonio de Areco is known for it’s colonial buildings, and has a large central plaza lined with trees. A pretty little church faces one side of the plaza and there is an inviting bar on the corner with tables and chairs outside in the shade of the trees.

I think the plazas that nearly every Argentinian town, city and village seems to have are an excellent idea. During the day they are peaceful and shady, and in the evening they become a focal point where people can walk, relax and socialise.

San Antonio de Areco is also known for it’s pulperías and boliches, picturesque bars maintained in a colonial style by the owners. The pulperías and boliches in the town are genuinely old, not modern creations nostalgicly imitating times past. There’s a subtle difference between the two. Pulperías are where people go to have a drink, are found only in the country and attract an older clientele. In boliches it’s also possible to eat and to dance and they attract younger people.

The town is also famous for it’s gauchos – the Argentinian cowboys famed for their horsemanship, hard work and love of the countryside. It’s a powerful, romantic image, attractive I think because of their strong sense of identity and purpose in a celebrity obsessed and possession orientated culture.

Every Friday afternoon, a group of gauchos attend a fogón by the river that runs through the north end of the town.  A fogón is a meeting, a time and a place where the gauchos can relax and chat with each other, have lunch and a drink and play taba (a traditional game). San Antonio de Areco is a popular tourist destination in Argentina, and this particular fogón is organised for the benefit of the tourists that come here. A local restaurant supplies the meat for the asado (Argentinian barbecue), and the gauchos are happy to chat with and be photographed by anyone that comes along. They were a very friendly bunch of people and most of them belonged to the same family.

In the evenings we wandered around the town, ate in colonial style restaurants, and I enjoyed myself taking photos of the old buildings illuminated by artificial light as night fell. In the mornings we woke late and ate breakfast outside, in the fresh air, near the river where we could smell the grass and the trees, just how I like it.

A gaucho in traditional dress, eating at the fogón.

 

A gaucho stirs the fire for the asado (barbecue) while his companions play taba in the background.

 

Close up of a gaucho, showing elements of his traditional dress including leather boots, the riestra  (a belt covered with coins) and bombachas (loose fitting trousers). 

 

A stirrup on one of the horses.

 

Another portrait of a gaucho showing the traditional dress. This photo is available to purchase as a Fine Art Print (or greetings cards) exclusively through Imagekind.

 

Los Principios - an almacen (grocery store) and bar. One of the oldest in San Antonio de Areco, it has been in this building since 1920.

 

 Los Principios Almacen and Bar - this time showing the bar area.

 

The Boliche de Bessonart at night. I mounted the camera on a tripod and used a slow shutter speed to create this photo. The lights of passing cars are recorded as red trails in the photo.

 

The photos are copyright © Andrew Gibson. Please contact me for permission to use in any way. The photos are available for licensing under a Rights Managed license.