Thursday, January 28, 2010

What is it about doors and windows?


PMac Imagery flickr-06181, originally uploaded by PMac Imagery.

Really simple and short post today. What is it about doors and windows that fascinates so many of us (well me at least).

For me its a couple of things:

1. Door and windows represent a point of interest in a building, therefore architects always seem to put in a little extra effort.

2. Doors and windows get used, they age and become more and more interesting. Like the one in this posting, they wear, break, get patched, break again, get fixed again. Ultimately doors and windows become like a little potted history of the building.

3. Door and windows are about more than the building, there are a physical manifestation of the building need to cater for people. I cant help but think of the people that went through a door, looked through a window etc when I see one.

Dogs and Cats - an old stand by


PMac Imagery flickr-06450, originally uploaded by PMac Imagery.

Ok, I stand guilty as charged as an animal lover. Animals, especially our pets give us so much pleasure, whether its the look of absolute devotion our dog as we come home or the complete silliness of a new kitten.

But as photographers we should never also forget the wealth of photo ops they give us. Even more than our kids as our pets dont get sulky, hide their faces or run off and hide (ok they sometimes do this).

Anyway, my only advice is we shouldnt be ashamed of our pet photos. Ok, they arent going to change the world but big deal. I'd rather see 1000 photos of pets loved and cherished by their owners than 1 more posed shot of a model that I dont know, dont care about and usually has all the warmth of an antarctic winter.

So anyway - say hello to my newest addition, Othello. Our 13 week old rescue kitten.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Photography books

I love books and I love photography so it stands to reason I'd love photography books - and its true - I do.

So its probably no surprise that I get pretty excited whenever one of my favorite photography websites does one of its regular columns on photography books. I particularly enjoyed his wrap up of 2009 and intend to try and keep an eye out for his recommendations.

However, if I may make my own recommendation its this, never walk past a second hand bookshop without checking out the photography section. Not often, but often enough, you will find a gem thats worth the small effort.

Over this years holidays I found two such books, the first is:

Witness. The worlds greatest news photographers. Ok, its not printed on luscious thick paper and its contains lots of images we've all seen before but as a quick primer on some of the people that created and developed the idea of the news photographer this is a great little book.

The Fincher File. I hadnt heard of Terry Fincher and looking through this book I didnt see many great iconic photos but somehow that makes it an even better read. Yes, I said read. There is certainly more text than images here and its a fascinating history of one man, a photojournalist, and a world undergoing massive changes following WW2. No, this book wont change your life but you can pick it up very cheaply and I think you'll enjoy it if yu find photojournalism your sort of field.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

The frustrations of the Sony DSLR user

Two press releases in a single day sum up all the frustrations of the Sony DSLR user. The first is this:

Sony announces the A450. Now this is a nice little camera, dont get me wrong, but its just another case of the Sony approach to DSLR's. That is strip out features, play it safe, try and stay inside the box.

And then these....

Sony goes nuts with compacts. Look at this range and the ideas. Backlit sensors, GPS, compass, HD video, sweep panoramas. Where is this innovation in the DSLR world? Where is the excitement in the DSLR range?

Sony, stop playing safe!