1x Magazine - No. 1

#1 November 2014

FEATUREDINTERVIEW

ANDRE DU PLESSIS

PORTFOLIO

BROOKE SHADEN PETER KEMP YAN ZHANG

1x In pursuit of the sublime

MONO Yearbook 2014 Our new yearbook Mono is completely black and white to celebrate this original form of art. In black and white photography, the meaning and story are emphasized, because there are less distractions from the superficial. Mono is printed in a very small exclusive limited edition of only 999 copies, all numbered and signed. It represents 244 of the most accomplished photographers of 1x and has an entire 20 pages more than last year. Mono is crafted with top quality paper and printing and every spread is made with minute precision. The book is a piece of art in itself and a collector's item.

Copies available at 1x shop: View | Order

PASSION Yearbook 2013

BOOKS MONO

PASSION

NO WORDS

BEYOND

IN PURSUIT OF THE SUBLIME 210 PHOTOGRAPHERS

THE BEGINNING

PHOTOGRAPHIC VISIONS

PHOTO INSPIRATIONS

PUBLISHER 1x Innovations AB FOUNDER / DIRECTOR Ralf Stelander | Sweden GRAPHIC DESIGN / DTP Lara Kantardjian | London HEAD EDITORIAL TEAM / INTERVIEWS Yvette Depaepe | Belgium EDITORIAL TEAM Proofreader / Editing GR Hodges | USA Interviews / Articles Christian Argueta | USA Ian Munro (aka Deviant Mind) | United Kingdom Marc van Kempen | Netherlands Interviews / Articles / Proofreading Peter Nigos | Canada Interviews French photographers Christian Roustan (alias Kikroune) | France Photo Reviews / Discussions Susanne Stoop | Netherlands Analogue Photography / Reviews Raul Pires Coelho | Portugal Articles / Reviews Robert Coppa | Australia Travel Photography / Workshops Yan Zhang | Australia Jeff Sink | USA

CONTACT e-magazine enquiries | support@1x.com ADDRESS 1x Innovations AB Salagatan 18A S-753 23 Uppsala Sweden COVER PHOTO Animus II by Andre Du Plessis

1x.com | Facebook | Book Publications

All images and text published in this edition by 1x are copyright protected under international copyright laws and the sole property and ownership of the photographers and editors. No part of this publication may be copied, edited, printed, manipulated, distributed or used in any form without prior written permission from the publisher and copyright owners. All rights reserved.

1x assumes no liability for the work of its contributors.

About 1x Founded in 2007 by Jacob Jovelou and Ralf Stelander in Uppsala, Sweden. 1x is a vibrant and exclusive photo community. All photos in the gallery are curated, selected by a team of 11 professional curators. 1x is probably the most elegant and clutter-free website for viewing photos in HD-quality on the internet, like a real photo gallery experience.

In our groups and forums you can discuss photography with members from more than 160 different countries and inspire each other.

With our unique partnership with Eurographics, the biggest prints provider in Europe, with hundreds of stores in more than 60 countries, art directors, advertising agencies, book editors, magazines and big software companies contact us everyday with requests to buy images. Many of our photographers are now represented in art galleries, having been discovered on 1x.

1x Crew Members

Introduction The 1X founders and crew are proud to present to you the 1st issue of the bimonthly 1X emagazine.

For the regular columns, we have chosen to focus a specific theme in each issue. The first edition is dedicated to “Documentary & Street Photography”.

FEATURE An extensive interview with a talented 1X photographer.

In this issue Andre du Plessis shares a glimpse into his life and work.

PLATFORM EMERGING TALENT A selection of outstanding images from excellent 1X photographers THE MAKING OF Inspiring tutorials PHOTO REVIEW An analysis of several excellent images Furthermore, we have varied, interesting and wonderful columns not theme related PORTFOLIO & INTERVIEWS with famous photographers from all over the world.

Discover BROOKE SHADEN and her amazing creative work.

Enjoy the live interview with PETER KEMP PHOTOSTORIES “Travelers' and Photographers” Wonderland : Li RIVER FILM Article “Analogue versus Digital Photography” 1X MEMBER AWARDS Winners of the weekly theme contest Winners and honorable mentions PX3 1X RECOMMENDS Books inspiration Equipment lens/camera As we grow up, our thoughts and views on photography change and will no doubt continue to change. Our first camera was a tool to record what we love with little thought to composition, lighting or creativity - just press the shutter and go. While these snapshots stir memories of events and places, it's difficult to categorize them as photography. Looking back, they are really more records of that time.

For many of us, photography became a passion firmly based around trying to craft images.

If you photograph for yourself, it gives you freedom to capture what you want regardless of how many times it has been photographed before. The challenge is to place your own interpretation upon it.

Making the transition from simply recording images to crafting a vision is both difficult and stimulating. Being able to 'see' an image not for what it appears in reality but as a series of lines, shapes, color, form and texture is the most fundamental characteristic of our photographic development.

Besides technical skills, our goal in photography always should be to capture the things that make life beautiful or sweet, the things that are here today, gone tomorrow. Photography is a lifelong learning process.

Keep in mind this wonderful quote from Ansel Adams: “The negative is comparable to the composer's score and the print to its performance. Each performance differs in subtle ways.”

We hope our e-magazine will Take your photography to the next level...

And more from Ansel Adams: “No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit”.

We wish you all to Find your inner photographer…

Enjoy, get inspired and don't miss our upcoming issues Yvette Depaepe Head Editorial Team

Previous Winners Gallery

NOVEMBER 2014No.1

ANDRE DU PLESSIS | FEATURED INTERVIEW

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PLATFORM 20 | EMERGING TALENT

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INTRODUCTION | THE MAKING OF

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JAN MOLLER HENSEN | THE MAKING OF NEWS

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CHRIS DIXON | THE MAKING OF CAUGHT IN THE ACT

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BROOKE SHADEN | PORTFOLIO

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RAUL PIRES COELHO | ANALOGUE

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YAN ZHANG | LI RIVER

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7 SHOTS | PHOTO REVIEW

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PETER KEMP | PORTFOLIO

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1X MEMBER AWARDS | PX3 WINNERS

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PETER NIGOS | ON STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

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1X MEMBERS | WEEKLY THEME WINNERS

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BOOKS | 1X RECOMMENDS

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EQUIPMENT | 1X RECOMMENDS

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INTERVIEW PORTFOLIO P HOTO STOR Y E M E R G I N G TA L E N T THE MAKING OF P HOTO REVI EW ARTICLE 1 X M EM B ER AWAR DS 1X RECOMMENDS

ANDRE DU PLESSIS

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FEATURED INTERVIEW _______________________________________ ANDRE DU PLESSIS

by Yvette Depaepe

Andre du Plessis is a person with an incredible aura reflected in all his photographs.

His work makes us wonder about the man behind the images.

Let us get to listen more from Andre about his life, his work, his thoughts …

You were born, raised and educated in South Africa. Tell us about your childhood, youth and your early experience with photography.

When I was very young I found a diagram of a pinhole camera in a book and it intrigued me. As soon as I was old enough I built my own using a cardboard box, masking tape and aluminum foil. The first picture I took with it (an upside-down image, of course) was of our house. I was probably around nine years old. My mother taught at a local girls’ school and my father was a veterinary surgeon, and although he wasn’t a photographer, he encouraged me to pursue my passion. In those days you took your film into the local chemist, who would often develop the pictures in his own darkroom. He could see how interested I was in the process and subsequently taught me how to develop and print.

We are the descendants of Jean Prieur du Plessis, a French Huguenot surgeon, who arrived from France in 1688 to start a new life in South Africa. After I qualified in Medicine, I decided to travel. I have lived and worked in many different parts of the world including Canada, Greece and the UK. I have ended up specializing in Advanced Conscious Sedation, and I am now a partner in a practice in London. This discipline could be summed up as an alternative to general anaesthetic. I mention this because what I do — which is to suspend a patient in prolonged, non-anxious, twilight sleep — requires patience and the ability to establish trust; the same skills that are invaluable in taking the sort of portraits that most interest me.

For many years my photography was analogue and primarily B&W. At an early stage I grew to understand and appreciate the

FEATURED INTERVIEW | ANDR E DU PLESSIS

Anastasia

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latitude and creative qualities that shades of grey can offer to a composition. The standard film I used was uprated Tri-X and printed on a hard grade paper. I liked the enhanced contrast that this delivered when combined with Rodinol, or even some dilutions of D-76. I found the dynamic range of the African sunlight very challenging and over time, working in the shade or lower available light became my preferred choice.

While I have worked with color and appreciate that medium, my subject matter calls out for monochrome. However, I create my images in color and then convert to black and white. Essentially, when I am composing, I still see everything in shades of gray.

I took a long break from photography after film ceased to be the medium of choice and before digital became as advanced as it now is. On reflection I think that this break may have been a good decision, as it allowed me to start again in a different, open-minded way.

You traveled extensively, working as a doctor in Greece, Canada and the UK. Did you pursue your passion for photography during that period?

Yes, I most certainly did, and I carried all my gear in a reinforced Pelican case (without wheels). That’s probably why my right arm is two inches longer than my left. During the years that I was working as a ship’s surgeon for a Greek passenger line, the bulk of my images consisted of travel photos with the occasional portfolio image. However, that all changed when I went to Canada, for the natural beauty of that land caused me to embrace Kodachrome, and I found myself photographing mountains and flowers. Not that I was any good at it, but it felt good while it lasted. My first years in the UK coincided with the time that I broke from photography, and it was only in 2007 that I started up again, this time with a digital camera.

Presently you are working in private practice in London. What about your roots? Do you miss South Africa? Do you

go back on a regular basis?

Why do I like South Africa so much? Well, I was born there, as were 26 generations of my branch of du Plessis's before me. My immediate family is there, and they don’t entertain the thought of moving elsewhere, and most certainly not to the Northern Hemisphere.

The well-known attractions of South Africa are the landscape, which is so diverse in appearance and topography, the wildlife and game parks, and the beaches. However, I think that the fabric of our society remains the hidden jewel: no one expects it at first, but it’s one of the many reasons for the visitor to return here. One cannot help but experience it — it’s in your face the moment you step onto the tarmac. We have been calling our nation the Rainbow Nation since the mid-‘90s, and to some extent I think that it is a fitting title.

So apart from the wildlife, the landscape and the beaches, I feel that the real interest lies in experiencing the people: black, coloured and white. The animals and the landscape are the postcards you can pick up anywhere.

But the society — its complexities, the way it has instilled humour to not only bridge the void that was left after apartheid, but also to help manage the consequences of what that system left us, combined with the general naivety and openness that still prevails — infuses and enriches your soul.

Apart from seeing my family, my visits there furnish me with the images that have become the mainstay of my work, so I try to travel there twice, and when work allows, three times per year.

Who are the photographers/artists that inspire you most, and how has your appreciation of their work affected your approach to your own photography?

I developed an awareness of the great classical photographers through my own research and interest rather than through formal study. I have always been a frequent

FEATURED INTERVIEW | ANDR E DU PLESSIS

visitor of bookshops and libraries where I have come to admire the work of many artists. Generally, they are obscure workers with limited exposure.

One photographer who has undoubtedly influenced my thinking and possibly my approach is Roger Ballen. Although it was many years ago, I can still remember paging through a book of his entitled “Dorps.” The impact of his studies on people living in small-town South Africa and the way in which he presented them left an indelible impression on me. So, I believe I can safely say that my biggest influence was Roger Ballen — American born, but for many years now a fellow South African. Lately his work has become more sophisticated and convoluted, and it lost the stark innocence that his creations in the ‘80s had, which I still treasure.

In “Dorps” he portrayed these individuals in a way that at first seemed a bit harsh and detached to me; it was more along the lines of Diane Arbus. Yet, what he showed to me in this book was that when you go into the home of a stranger, you have the opportunity to use their environment in a way that tells a great deal about their life. Although I read this book many years ago, I did not act out on this idea; it was only after my hiatus from photography from 1995 to 2005 that I ventured into this genre of people photography.

What gear do you use?

Although I keep a 70–200mm f/2.8 lens handy, I seem to be using this lens less frequently, and lately it has stayed at home.

My essentials remain the full-frame Nikon D3, 17–35mm f/2.8 lens and a Manfrotto tripod with a pistol grip and ball head. Given the unpredictable dimensions inside the houses where I take my photographs, the wide-angle zoom has become my workhorse lens. I take my portraits in landscape format, and the wider angle allows me to include some of the surroundings.

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Your profession seems to be related intensely to your photographic work. Not only the “body,” but also essentially the “soul” is examined in your work. Has medicine influenced you to prefer people photography?

Perhaps medicine has assisted me to migrate towards people photography; however, the seeds of enjoying and discovering people may have been planted long ago.I have been curious about all peoples ever since I can remember. As a child I used to cycle to the townships on weekends (when “going to the townships” was a no-no years ago) to join in the soccer games on the communal playing fields.

It is difficult for me to come up with a clear explanation as to why I remain partial to photographing the people from the townships. We have an older political history down there that in many ways is unique in its wrongness, and we have a recent political history down there that is a celebration of its rightness. This might play a part in this preference of mine, but there are also some tangible reasons why I prefer these locations and the people that these locations offer me.

The sparseness of the homes, the raw textures of the walls, the rudimentary furnishings and the limited light all work together to provide me with blank canvases that I find irresistible. The individuals who inhabit these dwellings share those same raw qualities in personality, expression and appearance. In person and in habit they possess a naked truthfulness that is so rewarding to share in and a privilege to capture and preserve.

Given the behavioural management that my particular field in medicine requires, I do feel that my profession may have assisted me in being better and more confident in this type of photography; however, the wish to explore has been present since childhood. So medicine might have just polished my skills to some extent.

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The Individualist

FEAUTURED INTERVIEW | ANDRE DU PLESSIS

FEAUTURED INTERVIEW | ANDRE DU PLESSIS

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The story behind your images seems to be essential for you, although I’m sure you’re looking for the right circumstances. You seem to have an incredible connection with the people in your photographs, resulting in a strong interaction with the viewer. Tell us how you go about approaching and photographing your subjects.

For the last few years I have mostly been photographing randomly chosen strangers in small, isolated, rural communities throughout South Africa. Although I generally photograph in my subjects’ homes, the setting is secondary. I am a portrait photographer, and what drives me is the desire to capture some aspect of my subject’s true personality. The intimate nature of my work is a direct result of the collaboration between each subject and myself. I engage them in the process, and I believe that they find this empowering.

I mainly take my portraits indoors, and I prefer to have the sun at an angle. This is partly because I detest photographing in bright sunlight and partly because it means there is a good chance that an interior wall will be bathed in the soft, indirect light that I love. I frequently drive for miles along deserted, dirt roads looking for situations that I want to photograph. When I find a small community that seems interesting, I stop and pick a house at random. When I knock on the door, I never have a camera in my hand, just a folder with some of my images.

Only when someone agrees to be photographed do I collect my camera and tripod from my truck.

Once I am indoors there are always challenges.

Maybe the house has no windows facing the sun or the inhabitants turn out to be rather un-photogenic or the interior itself is uninspiring. I never allow myself to be defeated.

These people have trusted me and allowed me into their home. I must make the most of the situation to create a portrait that will please them, even if it doesn’t please me.

It is a very levelling experience, taking photo-

graphs of strangers. I have interrupted their lives, and by doing so I seem to create a special space that has, somehow, nothing to do with their surroundings or day-to-day existence. I will often ask them to suggest positions and poses, so we are working together to create the final image. Many of my subjects may never have been photographed before. It is both a serious business and a light-hearted one. They are participants. It is an exciting process, and we all cease to be shy strangers as we discuss how to improve what we are doing. We form a close bond, the sitter and the portraitist. There is a sense of kinship, too, in this shared experience. I often find it very humbling that I am being trusted in this way.

Most of my subjects are not wealthy. I resist ever showing their poverty. Yes, I may hint at it through my choice of background, but this is only to put my subject into context, to show them in a place where they feel comfortable and secure, i.e., their homes.

In terms of composition, I always prefer direct eye contact unless I do a double portrait, and in that case I often try to construct a triangle of energy. In the bulk of my people photographs, I prefer that the eyes look directly into the middle spot of my lens. I don’t stage anything, but I am obviously asking my subjects to pose. They have to stay still, anyway, because I am usually shooting in very dark places with low levels of light and slow shutter speeds.

In less than an hour I usually photograph about three family members and record about two or three different scenes. On average each scene consists of six images, so I leave with about 30 files. By this time the neighbours have been alerted of my presence, and if they are willing, I go to their house and repeat the procedure. I may move on to a third family, but as exhilarating as I find all of this, it is very exhausting to keep up a dialogue, constantly reassure, select areas in the house that might work, try to be fair and not only photograph the person I feel is the most intriguing, keep the neighbour's kids out of the frame and try to find the middle ground between what they

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prefer I photograph and what I wish to portray.

The majority of people I have photographed have never experienced dedicated photo sessions — at most they have had snapshots taken for their ID book at the local chemist. So delivering on the promise that I will bring prints back to them holds substantial importance for both parties.

You seem to have a preference for producing images that are captured in low and available light. Tell us a bit more about how you go about this and what considerations you would like to share with others who have an interest in this type of photography.

Once I obtain consent to proceed, I usually have a walk around inside the house to see which areas are suitable for pictures. I look for a place that has indirect, filtered light.

When faced with low light, my worst enemy is a bar of strong, unfiltered light appearing somewhere in my frame. It plays havoc with not only my meter readings and subsequent exposure, but also adds sweat to the editing.

That does not mean that only flat, uniform light will do. On the contrary, in low light situations I try to get “directional” low light.

As I am already photographing in a dimly lit room, it is imperative that I position my subject where the low light still suggests a direction. This is possible in most instances — I simply have search for it. This may require me to open a window in an adjoining room or use a mirror on a cupboard to reflect window light onto an opposite wall to lend an imbalance in light; anything is possible, but it’s important to experiment. In some cases these houses are so dark that I move my subjects closer to an open door in order to achieve this effect.

In these low light situations I am often surprised how a subtle change in position or light can have such a powerful effect on the actual depth of the photograph. Dim lighting creates a very slight differential between

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the quality of light on one side of the face compared to the other side, and it can be advantageously augmented in the postprocessing stage.

I use aperture priority. In analogue, one compensates for the shadows, but in digital photography it is advised to “shoot to the right” of the histogram, meaning overexposing a little. I find this unnecessary as long as I prevent harsh highlights from entering into frame.

In spite of using a full-frame sensor camera and tripod, I usually have to increase the ISO settings to 1000 and higher. Occasionally I adjust up to 2500, as I prefer a depth of field that is not too tight. I instruct my subjects to remain stationary, and if I enjoy a particular frame, I will take a few more frames to guard against motion artifacts. I find it impossible to work without a tripod.

Aperture is my prime consideration. I like to include an object or feature that complements the person in terms of context, and often the simple texture of a wall will do.

This frequently requires a larger depth of field and therefore a slow shutter speed.

For this reason, the need for my subjects to keep still and hold at half-breath is crucial.

There is a distinct feel and look to the B&W photographs that you have shown us. Please tell us a bit about your editing workflow and how you achieve this.

The capturing of the image is usually a hurried experience, wild and opportunistic. The finishing of the image, on the other hand, is generally slow, relaxed and meditative. As I work I find that the value of what I have and my emotional connection to it starts to grow. I am not really concerned with the technical postprocessing tricks of the trade, but the relaxed, extended, second stage of my journey is something that I treasure.

In my editing I use only a few tools, but I use them over and over. (I am not interested in taking shortcuts, and I don’t believe in trying

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to salvage an image through the use of technology.) When I work on an image, I am always thinking of how I used to work in the wet darkroom. The type of film, the ASA rating, the choice of developer, the temperature and the development time (not to mention frequency and manner of agitation) were all considerations in order to produce an acceptable image. In the darkroom I could correct perspectives by angling the print beneath the enlarger. I also constructed weird-looking devices from wire and cardboard to dodge and burn, and depending on the grade of paper used, I could manipulate the contrast of an image. It was a long and sometimes arduous journey, but by the time it was over, I had established a relationship with the final photograph.

In my mind I am using very similar (and no less romantic) techniques when I employ modern tools to finish my images.

The RAW files that emerge from those dark houses can often be convincingly bright and airy, as the sensors in our cameras have the capability of turning a dark, moody scene into what often resembles a picture taken in adequate, unchallenging light. In Camera Raw I might brighten some areas and darken other areas, in an attempt to obtain a reasonably flat colour image that is lacking in contrast. This is the starting point that I desire before I commence any further editing and B&W conversion.

My next step is to transfer the image into Photoshop and then to straighten out things using the Transform tool (perspective, warp, distort). Since I prefer using a wide-angle lens in landscape format in what is usually a limited, indoor space, distortion of lines can sometimes be a nuisance. After all, doors and closets do not fan upwards in reality, and those distortions can be distracting. Once this step is completed, I save this colour image as the master PSD file, duplicate this, and then continue my editing with the copy file, which I convert to monochrome by applying the B&W adjustment layer in Photoshop.

The Curves tool remains my workhorse, and it probably accounts for 90% of the time I spend in editing. I find it much more forgiving than Levels, which is harsher and too rapid and offers less control. I apply separate Curves adjustments to many small selections, often under high magnification, and gradually rebuild the image, now consisting of mainly middle greys, in terms of tone and mood. This slow and relaxed phase during the editing process is the part that I like most, and I think of this as painting the image back, similar to the way an image appeared in the developer tray in the red hue of the darkroom safelight. I believe that the indoor work that I do relies heavily on sensitive and adequate post-processing; otherwise, the beauty and reward of the light cannot always be appreciated, and I could forfeit a characteristic that would elevate the image to another level of appreciation.

When the results start to please, I might attempt a mild Levels adjustment at this stage to gain insight into how my final image might turn out. I always finish my editing by increasing the global contrast of the whole image, usually by making a single tweak in Levels or Curves. This produces that slight punch in contrast, which I like. If, however, I didn’t protect the image from possible clipping earlier in the workflow, this last tonal adjustment, or “test layer,� can sometimes unearth poorly prepared areas. So I inspect this test layer for areas that harbor abrasive and hazardous tonal differentiations, and then I dodge and burn any areas that might cause trouble later on. I may even add a small, faint, selective fill layer if dodging and burning has proven ineffective. I then delete or shade this test layer before toning and adding a vignette to some images, after which the file is sharpened using the High Pass filter.

No doubt there are many shortcuts and more timesaving adjustments that would allow me to achieve the same results in a fraction of the time. However, I am accustomed to this method, and I enjoy every minute of editing. Because I am usually far

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away from the location where I took the picture, this time that I spend painting back the image allows me to revisit the scene, to remember the circumstances, the voices and the place. Editing is my emotional bonding time with an image.

Please tell us about one of your photographs that have special meaning to you.

Almost every image in my South African series was made in collaboration with the people that I photographed, so they all have special meaning to me. However, I shall tell you more about Lorraine, who I met by chance when returning from a fishing trip. I noticed a particular collection of what can only be described as shacks, but because they were so far away from the track I was driving on, I had never explored the area.

On this occasion I made the effort, which involved scaling a barbed wire fence and almost being half-eaten by a most vicious dog of suspect breed. However, the payoff was worth the effort.

Inside Lorraine’s shack there was very little choice of setting — what you see here is just about the whole dwelling. There was only a door immediately behind me, and since the light coming from the doorway was far too strong, I asked some kids who were watching to collect any white material they could find from the house next door.

They reappeared with a tablecloth that they subsequently held across the doorway to shield the light.

I prefer darker tones, based on an artistic standpoint and also on the mood I want to convey — they usually are interdependent.

The addition of the dog here came as a surprise; she jumped onto her lap after the previous capture, “Feelings,” and so this unplanned double portrait emerged. The poster of the man makes me think that, as in all of us, dreams are universal, and given the meagre furnishings here, this single element says so much for me.

Lorraine was not very happy at this time in her life; she had financial insecurities and

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her relationship was on rocky ground. She was drinking too much, lost her job and was desperately looking for alternatives. In this very isolated community where I discovered her, she was regarded as an “inkomer,” meaning she moved to this community from elsewhere, so she was therefore regarded as and treated like a stranger, which fuelled her feelings of despair.

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When I returned with her prints a few months later, I was told that she relocated, and it was only after I used the “bush telegraph� to get word out that I managed to meet up with her again. Great was her pleasure to see me, and she took pains to reassure me that her life had made a turnaround. She told me about her new job, how she had stopped drinking and that she had a new, good man in her life. She was close to tears when she saw the prints. I have not seen Lorraine since, but the feelgood experience is there whenever I see this picture. Maybe I will look her up and take another set of images. I am sure that the energy and dynamics will be different next time, or so I trust.

Consolation

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What advice you can give to a beginner in environmental portrait photography?

Anyone who wishes to photograph individuals in a manner that gives the viewer a glimpse into their subjects’ immediate environment has already completed the first step of the journey. That desire suggests an inherent passion and interest in people, and this will pave the way for the personal development and confidence that is a prerequisite for being effective in this particular genre of people photography. The next step in this quest is to consider the technical options, and in due course your decisions will hopefully end in what can be called a personal style and expression.

With regard to my own style, the term environmental portraiture does not rest easily with me. I feel that this indicates that the photographer records the subject within surroundings that assists the viewer to appreciate the more functional, explanatory considerations, putting too little emphasis on the more impassioned and emotive elements.

I can only offer advice on my type of work, in which I choose to include varying amounts of background detail, but these are merely to place the subject in context.

This means that the point of interest and fascination in your work should be the personality and aura of the subject. The inclusions in the frame can be limited and need not reflect or provide true environmental or cultural interest, or be of factual documentary value. However, they nevertheless should be of such a nature that their presence assists the viewer to appreciate the subject on a more personal level and engage with the subject with empathy.

I like to think of the way that I portray my subjects as contextual portraiture, which in contrast to environmental portraiture, is less of a recording and more emotional in its delivery. It is also less indicting and more forgiving than what can be termed as social portraiture, which often reflects a predetermined personal statement.

If your preferred medium is B&W, you should try to visualise the scene in shades of grey. With practice you will begin to understand and discern beforehand whether the contrast differentials between the more important areas of a composition will work. On many occasions a simple shift in vantage point is all that is required.

As to environmental considerations, relying on what is available is my modus operandi.

I shoot in low light, without reflectors, often using a high ISO and always using a tripod.

Whenever possible I try to include a few personal belongings — parts of the room or even the outside of the structure they live in — in an attempt to show the viewer something that is owned or valued by the subject in the frame.

My preferred focal length lies between a true 20 mm and 30 mm, so I try to not include objects in the frame between my subjects and my lens: this can distract and will often draw undue attention due to distortion. This applies to all body parts in particular for the same reasons. The environmental features that I try to include or that determine my setting are preferably in the same focal plane as the subject or behind them.

As far as “the moment” is concerned, I feel that even a portrait that is taken in low light with a long shutter speed can have that moment. It is my habit to take two or three images when I have something promising in front of me; when reviewing those near identical portraits, there will always be that one that is just a little different — the one that I connect with more than the others.

I find it very useful to communicate my purpose to the people I photograph, and as I have addressed before, to obtain their cooperation and enthuse them about this joint exercise. You should never underestimate the willingness of others to assist and should be open to discuss and accept their suggestions. The

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desired result is often a compromise between what they wish for and what you intend to capture. The motive should be to work as a team, and this can be achieved in a matter of minutes. Even though you will inevitably need to dig quite deep into your own resources, it still can be achieved. We all find our own ways of doing this, and like most things in life, the more you try, the sooner you will develop a method that works for you.

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Broken

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Carlos the Zebra and Joseph

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Lindiwie: Miss. Sunshine

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Providence

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Sonja and Nellie

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The Big Trick

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William and Nellie III

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(Following page) Sisters

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Snack Time (Interrupted)

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His Soul Lives On In My Smoke

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Nwabisa and the Crooked House

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Togetherness

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Lena

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Unyielding Love Abiding Sorrow

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My Warrior

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PLATFORM 20 Rafael Kos Jan Gravekamp BJ Yang Ricky Siegers Tatsuo Suzuki Norbert Becke Remus Tiplea Antonio Grambone Ezra Landau Lara Kantardjian Adrian Donoghue Michael Ken Laura Mexia Lorenzo Grifantini Yvette Depaepe Jan Moller Hansen Piet Flour Eliza Deacon Robert Susanne Stoop

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EMERGING TALENT | STREET AND DOCUMENTARY

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PLATFORM _______________________________________ EMERGING TALENT Street and Documentary

Photography can furnish evidence of the world around us, and reaches its zenith in the photographs used as news items in the press, television or social media. These images may be crude and technically poor, but they may also have considerable artistic value.

Street photography features the human condition within public places, and extends the documentary function to provide images which cause us to pause and reflect.

Perhaps its origin was in the mean streets of Paris in the 1920’s when Atget used his photographic record of architecture to include denizens of the city.

Another French photographer, Cartier-Bresson, sought the decisive moment and established street photography as an art form.

Enjoy this compilation of documentary/ street photography from several talented 1x contributors.

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PLATFORM | STREET AND DOCUMENTARY

EMERGING TALENT | RAFAEL KOS

I’m Watching You

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EMERGING TALENT | JAN GRAVEKAMP

People, just passing by

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EMERGING TALENT | BJ YANG

Around the corner

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EMERGING TALENT | RICKY SIEGERS

Old comrade

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EMERGING TALENT | TATSUO SUZUKI

Mirror

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EMERGING TALENT | NOBERT BECKE

Maramaka Woman

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EMERGING TALENT | REMUS TIPLEA

Toton

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EMERGING TALENT | ANTONIO GR AMBONE

Contrasts Urban

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EMERGING TALENT | EZRA LANDAU

By Foot

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EMERGING TALENT | LARA KANTARDJIAN

Bruges in a certain light #2

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EMERGING TALENT | ADRIAN DONOGHUE

Convent

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EMERGING TALENT | MICHAEL KEN

Bathing Time, My Toy

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EMERGING TALENT | LAUR A MEXIA

I’m Near Light

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EMERGING TALENT | LORENZO GRIFANTINI

Christmas shopping rush

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EMERGING TALENT | YVETTE DEPAEPE

Children of Nepal

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EMERGING TALENT | JAN MOLLER HANSEN

Rohingya Refugees in Kathmandy Nepal

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EMERGING TALENT | PIET FLOUR

Grandmother

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EMERGING TALENT | ELIZA DEACON

Birth South Sudan

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102 Years Old

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Getting Parade Ready

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THE MAKING OF _____________________________________ Introduction by Yvette Depaepe

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY Candid photography of people in public places was only possible with the development of portable camera, and immediately aspired to an art form.

If you want to get a deeper insight into street photography, it is very important to study the work of street photographers who came before us and paved the way for the rest of us.

Street photographers constantly try to chase “the decisive moment”. It is part instinct, intuition, preparation, luck and skill.

“There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative. Oops ? The moment ! Once you miss it, it is gone forever” ~Henri Cartier-Bresson~ Here are some excellent and inspirational tutorials from highly rated 1X street photographers. A great way to train your mind …

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‘NEWS’ - JAN MOLLER HENSEN

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THE MAKING OF | NEWS - JAN MOLLER HENSEN

THE MAKING OF NEWS BY JAN MOLLER HENSEN

To me, uncertainty and surprise are important aspects of photography — you never know what will happen, who you will meet or what you will see. This is what drives my desire for photography.

I decided to make a series about sadhus — the holy men and women who live around the Hindu temples in Nepal. It will take me some years to complete, so I had to get started. One morning, I went to visit the most important Hindu temple in Kathmandu, Pashupatinath, to do some shooting. When I go for a photographic walkabout, I have to some extent already decided what I am looking for. However, from experience I also know that there is a limit to how much I can plan beforehand.

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I usually do my photography work in the early morning or late afternoon to avoid strong daylight and high contrasts. This morning, I woke up at 4 a.m. and went to the temple.

Sometimes I have to check out the area and surroundings before the right light appears. After walking around the temple for a little more than an hour, taking an odd shot here and there, I ran into this guy who I met on a previous visit six months earlier. I knew where he lived, and now saw him sitting at the temple with his radio. I speak Nepali, so we were able to have a nice chat. He told me that many years ago he came to Nepal from India, and that the temple is now his home. I asked him if I could come back and photograph him and his sadhu friends. He was very pleased, and I took a few shots of him before I left. He said he was looking forward to seeing me again. Next time I will bring a few small things for him, and just hang out shooting him and the other sadhus.

I do not plan much in advance because I want to see the subjects and connect with people first.

It is all about timing and social connection.

I often work with people that I do not know, and more often than not, they live and work on the street under difficult conditions. I do not plan much in advance because I want to see the subjects and connect with people first. It is all about timing and social connection. I always work alone. When I am with other photographers, it is harder for me to find the right moments and subjects. Still, it is instructive to work with other photographers since I am always very interested to see what others are doing.

I call this photo “News" because the man was listening to the radio. Nepal is a country with many complex political challenges, and I think that he wanted to know what is going on in the country. There is a great distance between him and the people who run the country.

POST-PROCESSING This image is processed in Capture One Pro 7, which is my preferred editing tool. It has been adjusted a bit in terms of contrast, the shadows in the High Dynamic Range, the RGB Curves and Clarity.

HINTS 1) I prefer to work in monochrome. I feel that the image and its message often become stronger in black and white, but of course it depends on the subject.

2) I am not really a technical freak, but I do not like to compromise too much when it comes to equipment and processing. This image was shot at ISO 5000 because the subject was sitting under a roof and was rather dark. My camera is exceptionally good at reducing noise levels at a high ISO setting. I very rarely use flash and still have to get used to a tripod, which is not very practical for the type of work that I am doing. If I spend a lot of time setting up my equipment, the moment I want to capture might be gone.

3) During recent years, I have become aware of the importance of framing and composing the photo correctly in the camera. I want to avoid cropping the photo afterwards, thus losing some of the detail.

BIOGRAPHY I am a passionate photographer and work mainly with social documentary and street photography. My interest is to explore our fascinating world through people and their environment. My images often have a strong social perspective. Some of my work, especially from Bangladesh, has been published in various European photo magazines. At the moment, I live and work in Kathmandu as the Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Denmark in Nepal.

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‘CAUGHT IN THE ACT ‘ - CHRIS DIXON

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THE MAKING OF CAUGHT IN THE ACT BY CHRIS DIXON

Given my position I decided, subconsciously rather than consciously, to go for a shot that included some of the background to the scene. As luck would have it one of our other team members, Mal Smart, ended up in the shot. With an image of a photographer included in the scene, I knew I had my shot. But given the number of already published images on 1x, I decided to wait before I submitted mine.

Having spent a bit of time in Covent Garden — one of our favorite haunts — we were walking toward Trafalgar Square when we spotted this scene unfolding before our eyes. Quickly we sprang into action.

In October 2010 I arranged what has become known as a "London Calling" event where a few of the members of 1x meet in London for what is generally a social gathering, interspersed with a bit of street photography. On this particular occasion about 10 of us rendezvoused, and after the required number of beers and conversation we went off in search of some photographic opportunities.

I was a little bit behind the curve. Gerry was running around all over the place like a true

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professional, and he ended up with two published images on 1x. I did not have time to change my lens to a longer zoom, so I was forced to make the best of the 24–70mm zoom that was on my camera.

Like a good wine, I find that images mature with time! Given its two years of maturing, I think that I ended up with an image that captured a fleeting, lucky moment of street photography — one that was obviously not planned, but one where the old adage "being in the right place at the right time" is applicable.

POST-PROCESSING Post-processing began in Lightroom, and then the image was exported to Photoshop CS5 for futher adjustments. I also used Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 plugin for the black and white conversion.

1) Processing was actually very straight forward. My first step was to straighten the image in Lightroom. As you can imagine, the shot was taken fairly quickly and not perfectly square.

2) Then, again in Lightroom, I made a fairly severe crop of the original image. I think this shot is about a third of my original.

3) I then exported the straightened and cropped image to Photoshop CS5. Here I used Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 plugin to convert it to black and white. Given the nature of the image, I selected the High Structure (Harsh) preset to make the image a bit more menacing and left all other options at their default settings.

4) I saved the image and returned to Lightroom to make some final adjustments. The first, using the Adjustment Brush, was to reduce the exposure of the passersby above and to the left and right of the main scene – in my original they were a little too bright and drew the attention away from the main action.

5) Then I applied a little more sharpening to the overall image to give it a bit more crispness, but this was too much on the Policeman's face. So again using the Adjustment Brush, I reduced the clarity on his face. That was it. Picture done and I was really happy with the result, albeit two years after the event!

HINTS 1) When going out to capture street photography, always have you camera ready. You never know what will turn up.

2) Give an image time to mature. I don't think I would have ended up with the same image if I had tried to process it straight away. Time allowed me to think a little more about how I wanted the final image to look and, thus, how to process it.

3) Apart from situations like this one, always ask to take the picture. Engage your subject in conversation and make them feel part of the process — and not as if you are stealing a picture of them.

BIOGRAPHY I live in Hambledon on the edge of the South Downs, UK. I am retired and am using photography as a means to get out of the house to see different places with my wife. I played with cameras in the past, the usual family and holiday snaps, but nothing more. And then I discovered 1x. Inspired, I have now turned photography into a self-funding hobby: any new equipment I want has to be paid for by selling pictures. So far I have broken even.

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BROOKE SHADEN

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Battle at Cliffside hill

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PORTFOLIO _______________________________________ BROOKE SHADEN Interview by Christian Argueta

When I first decided I was going to take photography a bit more seriously than just taking casual family pictures, I decided to scour the internet for information. As you can imagine, there are countless articles, videos, tutorials, tips and tricks on the subject, so it was very easy to get overwhelmed. But somewhere along the line, I came across some information on a young photographer named Brooke Shaden. Brooke's images are very inventive. They're a window into a dark world full of mystery and melancholy. They are, seemingly, personifications of dark feelings such as loneliness, longing, despair and isolation. But they're not meant to make you feel that which they convey, instead, I believe they're created to simply make you aware that they are there.

Brooke has been a fine art photographer for many years now. Her career has taken her from small gallery showings to now, a world wide audience through online and live workshops, lectures and solo exhibits. She's the recipient of many photography awards and recognitions and has published two books, so far, on photography. She was gracious enough to take time off of her busy schedule to answer a few questions for this issue of 1X magazine.

To start, could you tell us where you’re from, what your upbringing was like, and at what point you became interested in photography?

I grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and because of that, have always been inspired by nature, rural life, and all of the beauty that can be found in a place like that. I had a beautiful upbringing - never with a lot of money but with good family in a 100 year old farmhouse that I adore. I was always interested in storytelling and loved writing

and filmmaking, so photography seemed the next step, which I began just after graduat– ing from college.

Was there something/someone that inspired you to pursue photography?

First one of my best friends called and said she wanted to start photography, so we would take self-portraits (from different states) and send them to each other. I realized very quickly that photography could be more than a hobby because I loved the

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process more than writing or filmmaking, and so I picked it up as my passion.

What were some of the challenges you encountered when your first began photog- raphing?

To be honest, they are the same as today!

Trying to find new techniques to achieve what my imagination looks like, looking for inspirat- ion everywhere, and always being true to my vision. I think that anyone who is growing will continue to have many challeng- es.

Did you ever feel like giving up? If so, what kept you on the path?

I can't say that I ever truly considered giving up on photography, but I have been brought down a lot by the internet. I had to reconcile how to deal with that, and doing so has lead me to be a much happier and healthier pers- on.

How would you describe your style and what is that drew you to that style?

It is dark and whimsical and mysterious... deathly, but filled with life. Feminine. Soft.

Painter-ly. Always in the square format. I love any kind of image that has an air of mystery to it, and so I was immediately drawn to images with overcast lighting and rich colors.

How do you decide when an idea (for an image) is worth pursuing?

I find that when I have ideas, they come from so deep within that they are always worth pursuing. I don't necessarily define pursuing as creating a finished image, but any thought that sparks our interest should be explored. I always write out my photo idea in story form, and then sketch it. When I finish with that, if it makes sense as an image, I will create it. It doesn't always work out. I publish about 50% of what I create.

But it is always worth exploring.

Capturing inspiration

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Dream catcher

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Finding rescue

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Flight of the trapped

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Floating on clouds

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Invading homes

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How do you decide when you’re done?

When the image matches what my imagination conjured up, I usually know I am nearing the end. It doesn't always work out so neatly, but often I can get to the point where visually it comes together in a way that is close to what I had hoped for.

I know from your blog, videos and workshops that you like working in natural settings/environments. Is this by design, necessity or because it’s easily available?

Nature is extremely important to me, and in the simplest way I can describe, it provides a natural and timeless back-drop to my images. I am personally not drawn to modern signifiers that let the viewer know what time the image is being created in. Instead, I prefer the anonymity of nature to let the viewer imagine whatever time they would like.

Also, from your blog, videos and workshops, it seems like you do a lot of work by yourself. Is this also by design or necessity?

A bit of both! I've had a business for 4 years now and have run it on my own, with the exception of someone assisting at worlkshops I lead. It has been overw-helming in mostly good ways. I have learned an increible amount of busine-ss sense from it and have much satisfac- tion as well. However, there are things I am simply not good at organization being one - and help would be greatly appreciated in that area. I found that I just couldn't give the things I love the attention I want without sacrificing something, so in April I hired my first employee and it has been a huge lifesaver. I now have the free time to focus on the projects that are very important to me.

Can you tell us about your toolbox?

(Cameras, lenses, software)

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Sure! I have a Canon 5dmkii and a Sigma 35mm lens and a 50mm lens. I use a 3 Legged Thing tripod, a Panasonic Lumix underwater camera and sometimes a DiCaPac bag for underwater work or an Ikelite housing. I use an Opteka RC-4 remote for self-portraits (when I'm not losing it). I use Photoshop - any version I can get my hands on, but right now, CS6, to edit.

What is “Promoting Passion” and how did that come about?

Over the last year or two I've been working a lot on myself - eliminating negativity from my life and experiencing all the good the world has to offer. A huge part of that is embracing what I am passionate about, and I found that the more I did that, the more I wanted to encourage others to do the same.

Promoting Passion is about promoting passion in my own life and in the lives of others. I decided to create a blog with that name to spread the love and cultivate a safe place where people could embrace who they want to be and truly follow what they are most passionate about. That has turned into blogging a few times weekly as well as a weekly Monday video series all about pursuing your passion.

I know you’re a very outwardly positive person. You’re very generous in every sense of the word. Especially when it comes to encouraging people to pursue their dreams. Is this a trait or something you decided to practice at some point? Were you influenced by someone or something at some point? And does your personality influence your photography, or vice versa?

Awww thank you!!! That is super kind of you - day brightened!

Growing up and well into my adulthood I would be told very frequently that I am .

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The almost circus and invisible audience

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The falling of autumn darkness

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The patch under the sky

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too judgmental of a person. I recognized it as a negative trait that I possessed, and for a long time was simply angry about it because I thought that was who I was. But then, very suddenly, I realized that I could be whoever I wanted to be. I could do away with judgment and choose to see the best in people. I could stop judging myself so harshly and simply become the person I wanted to be. And once I felt I had a handle on that concept, I wanted to spread the word so that others may experience the same love and passion that I was feeling.

As far as influencing my art, I would say that we are very much different. My art is dark and brooding and I am very light, happy, positive...or at least I try to be as often as possible. What is interesting is that there are two distinct parts of who I am there is the darkness, that I can look at objectively and channel into my art, and there is my personality which I want to be as open and loving as possible.

When you’re not out photographing, what other things do you do that nurture your creative self?

I write a lot! I am working on a fantasy novel that is my baby at the moment. I love writing so much. I love to go hiking and on roadtrips, though admittedly that often turns into a photo session!

What does Fine Art Photography mean to you?

To me, it simply means personal work. It isn't something that needs a degree to practice or a certain education to understand. It is the art of creating for oneself first and foremost.

What other artists, be them photographers or not, inspire you and why?

I love the writings of Frank Herbert who wrote Dune, a prolific science fiction series.

I love Bouguereau the painter and the way he paints skin and light. I love the photo

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work of Gregory Crewdson. I love so many people and things!

Do you have any general advice for folks who might be thinking about getting into photography, or are beginners, and are looking for advice?

I think that some of the best advice is to not take too much advice from other people.

Figure out who you are and WHY you are those things, and then create from that inspiration. Find what makes you unique and run with it. Care not if people love what you do or hate it, but create for yourself and hope others follow.

Finally, could you give us a funny or interesting anecdote or story from one of the times you’ve been out trying to capture an image?

Great timing! This just happened yesterday.

I was out spelunking...cause I'm strange ...and after I finished exploring a cave my husband noticed an elk spine on the ground in the forest. I am a strict vegan so I won't use animals unless they are found as they are, and so we put it in the car to take home and clean. The next day we went to the car and found maggots ALL OVER the car... something we had clearly not thought through, and had to spend the next hour cleaning our car out. The spine is still sitting in a bush in front of our house.

Thank you Brooke. You truly are the definition of a "do-er." You didn't wait for opportunity to come knocking at your door, instead, you took your own inspiration, drive and creativity and created your own opportunities. You don't let praise or criticism influence your passion and the results are their own reward.

Can't wait to see what you'll come up with next.

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The protector of magic

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The sinking shiip

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The storm above the clouds

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To bloom in silence

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We are infinite

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Brooke is a regular on CreativeLive.com where you can watch live workshops, for free, as they take place. You can find more info on Brooke, her workshops, and gallery showings at http://www.BrookeShaden.com, be inspired on her blog at http://www.promotingpassion.com/, and learn even more on her old blog, http://shadenproductions.com/blog/.

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ANALOGUE PHOTOGRAPHY

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ANALOGUE PHOTOGR APHY | RAUL PIRES COELHO

FILM _______________________________________ ANALOGUE VERSUS DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

by Raul Pires Coelho

As an architect and visual arts teacher first, only in the end a photographer, I am constantly struggling to choose the right tools and materials to achieve my goals. There are photographs and photography and here I want to talk about it from the technical point of view, that is, the tools available to realize our ideas point of view, that is, the tools available to realize our ideas.

There are many kinds of photography many individual photographers, all working in the world of hard and soft skills. They all have to use a language that others can decode and understand. In writing we have letters and words to make sentences that everyone can read. To write we need a pen or pencil, or a keyboard, perhaps. Does it matter which pen or pencil we use? You have an idea to materialize. Maybe your skills in using those tools are more important. It's the driver that does the driving. You can be a good driver no matter what car you have. But if you use the wrong tool for the task, your fantastic idea will not be properly presented. Can you drive offroad in the wild with a city car?

camera. Some will say it's the eye, where the brain is the negative, or sensor, if you prefer.

You have a project, some ideas, or you just go out in the street capturing street life, an assignment, whatever. If you have only one camera and one lens, that is what you have to use. Some things you can do, others you can't. It may suit your street but perhaps not the great outdoor landscapes. The camera is the tool and you have to master it to write your photographic language. Color or not, in focus or not, more or less depth of field, more or less subjects in the frame, the framing itself, composition within - in two words: syntax and style. The work can start.

A canvas is ready for you to register the theme in front of your eyes.

So the photographer's main tool is his or her

Here are a couple of questions for you: How

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important is the medium where the image will end up? Does the final result in your portfolio have anything to do with the surface you have used to engrave your image? My point is that it does! Not necessarily for the viewer, only to you as the sculptor of images.

Consider this Walker Evans story: Having been invited to a fancy dinner at some acquaintance’s house, he was told upon arriving by his hostess, “You make beautiful photographs, what a great machine you must have.” Pissed off, Evans, at the end of the meal said to the lady, “Your food was fantastic, you must have a great oven!”

You can photograph with any camera you like. The best camera will always be the one you have at hand.

You can print an image on a piece of wood or stone (ask me if puzzled on how to do it), or on any kind of paper. Your final work will reflect the tools and medium used, with more or less skill. I will leave out lenses here because they are just a tunnel for the light to go through, although they play a strong role in image language.

Rendition, sharpness, focal distance and the like are only important for the syntax, like words in a sentence.

You may disagree, but to me photography is to be seen on paper. To get it there, either you have a film negative made in an analogue camera, that you can print the conventional way, with an enlarger along with some other alternative processes, or you have a raw file from a digital camera that, after some computer treatment, can be printed on a computer printer. The negative can also be scanned and from there on be treated digitally. The other way around, a raw image file can be converted into a negative and from there on a traditional workflow can proceed.

This is a parallel process based on your idea and needs, where the right tool is pic-

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ked if available. The photographer as an artist must consider his or her options all the time. And there are many, many more than you can imagine if you only know digital.

For me, all digital sensors are the same.

Again, disagree if you will. They vary in size only, with more or less resolution. Some may even be very expensive, but if you can afford them and they suit your work, go ahead. The raw image file is what you need.

Then an electronic screen to see it is necessary - small, on a portable device, or very big on your desktop computer. Here a problem arises: what you have on your screen may not be what another person sees on his screen. It may be on another color temperature setting, more or less bright, more or less sharp, and so on. But you want control of your work. You want your public to see what you want them to see, your exact vision, and that can only be achieved if you show the same photograph on paper to all your public, like on a wall at an exhibition, for example. Or, have all your fans pass by your computer screen, or show a projection, perhaps.

At this point, imagine for a moment another way to express yourself. The sensor's price is irrelevant now: you will be working with film cameras using a negative as recording medium. You can have a 'sensor' the size of an A4 sheet, if you fancy it, and all the sizes up and down from there if you can imagine it. All options considered, you decide to use film cameras for your idea or sudden vision.

A brave new world is unfolding before you.

Film cameras are cheap, some more than others, of course. Film is still available in all formats. Each one has its own characteristics in terms of results. Your options have widened immensely. And it's fascinating.

Let's go back to that A4 sensor. We will have a true digital sensor that size, for sure. Not this year, but it will come someday in the future. Now, at the moment we can have a

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negative that large, even larger, if you want, to be exposed on a 8x10 view camera, that you can contact print with supreme results, or scan to get a file with many gigs of information. Or you can enlarge it to a wallsize print with full resolution and quality.

And maybe even process it by alternative methods for unique and special projects.

From here on options pile up, especially on the black and white side, as I show in the flowchart below. There are film emulsions of all kinds, delivering unique results: fine grain, coarse grain, conventional emulsion, T emulsion, infrared, ortho, pan, and all.

The type of negative developer can be varied. We can even mix and build our own formulas using specific chemicals. Warm, neutral, cold developer, single bath, double bath, more or less development time. This leads to the Zone System, a subtle way to deal with exposure, controlling developiment of film to achieve precise results very close to what was visualized (I will talk about this more in the future). Still on the negative side of the process, is it even possible to tone it.

Once everything has dried, it's time to make prints. The traditional way is on an enlarger on silver paper. More fascinating options: fiber paper, RC paper, gloss, matte, warm feeling, cold feeling, more or less textured.

Again, you can spread photo emulsion on any surface you like and print on it.

Alternative processes come into play here to expand the creative path. With the paper exposed, then comes the development, which can be of all types - warm, cold, neutral. You can tone your print using all sorts of formulas and compounds to achieve that special, unique look. All this can be done at home by yourself and it's lots of fun. A new way opens up from very ancient methods.

To finish this workflow you may scan your finished print to build an online portfolio.

Read the flow chart below and absorb it.

Sometimes I need a digital output from start to end. Other times only analogue is

enough. Maybe a mixed process is what suits you best.

A good quality, well crafted photograph in your hands entirely from the analogue method is something to remember. It's physical, your senses can experience it deeply.

At the beginning of the digital era, when some sort of virtual darkroom was necessary to emulate the traditional laboratory to process image files, they invented this software and called it Photoshop. It should have been called Photolab. Some of those tools in there replicate the ones in traditional labs. I will write some other time about the roots of those tools.

So from now on, if you as a photographer, have an idea to go out and make photographs and consider all the possibilities simply explained here, I will consider myself very happy!

There are many kinds of photography many individual photographers, all working in the world of hard and soft skills. They all have to use a language that others can decode and understand. In writing we have letters and words to make sentences that everyone can read. To write we need a pen or pencil, or a keyboard, perhaps. Does it matter which pen or pencil we use? You have an idea to materialize. Maybe your skills in using those tools are more important. It's the driver that does the driving. You can be a good driver no matter what car you have. But if you use the wrong tool for the task, your fantastic idea will not be properly presented. Can you drive offroad in the wild with a city car?

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So the photographer's main tool is his or her camera. Some will say it's the eye, where the brain is the negative, or sensor, if you prefer. You have a project, some ideas, or you just go out in the street capturing street life, an assignment, whatever. If you have only one camera and one lens, that is what you have to use. Some things you can do, others you can't. It may suit your street but perhaps not the great outdoor landscapes. The camera is the tool and you have to master it to write your photographic language.

Color or not, in focus or not, more or less

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depth of field, more or less subjects in the frame, the framing itself, composition within - in two words: syntax and style. The work can start. A canvas is ready for you to register the theme in front of your eyes.

Here are a couple of questions for you: How important is the medium where the image will end up? Does the final result in your portfolio have anything to do with the surface you have used to engrave your image? My point is that it does! Not necessarily for the viewer, only to you as the sculptor of images.

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Li River Map

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LI RIVER _______________________________________ Travelers’ and Photographers’ Wonderland

by Yan Zhang For many years, Li River has been viewed as an iconic symbol of oriental beauty. It is one of those few places in China that attracts thousands of tourists every year but still retains its natural purity. When I first visited Li River in 2006, I was convinced that it was a place I would have to come back to again and again. Since then, I have traveled to the Li River region many times, for both leisure and photography.

This article tells the story about Li River from both a traveler and photographer’s viewpoint: Li River’s geographic and cultural features, main tourist attractions along the river, traveling tips, and more specifically, essential ideas of how to make great landscape photographs of Li River.

1. The river, mountains and people Li River is a river in Guangxi province of Southern China. It runs 437 kilometers, originating from Mt Mao’er Mountains in Xing’an County, and flows through Guilin, Yangshuo and Pingle. While in Pingle, it merges with two other rivers known as Lipu River and Gongcheng and forms Gui River, which continues to the south and finally joins Xi Jiang river.

Nowadays, when people talk about Li River, they usually refer to its 83 kilometer fragm-

ent. The river fragment starts from Guilin City, and flows down towards the south, passing Daxu country, Caoping country, Yangdi country, Xingpin town, and finally reaching Yangshou County. Along this fragment, Li River offers its most beautiful landscape scenery. Here, as we sail along Li River, we see greenish-grey karst mountains loom high and mighty, while lonesome fishermen float past us on bamboo rafts.

Li River has been a rich source of inspiration for Chinese artists since ancient times. Famous Chinese poets Han Yu and Zhou Hao

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TRAVELERS’ PARADISE in Tang (A.D. 618 – 907) and Song (A.D. 960 – 1279) Dynasties, wrote graceful poems about Li River, while many influential Chinese artists, such as Shi Tao (in 1600s), Qi Baishi (1864 – 1957) and Li Keran (1907 – 1989), created very famous paintings to express the unique landscapes and the lives of local people living around Li River.

After Mao’s Culture Revolution (1980 – present), with China’s rapid economic development, Li River has become a hot tourist attraction – especially the fragment from Guilin to Yangshou. Such tourist business has gradually changed the local people’s lifestyle in certain ways. Today, by closely observing local people, we can see that most of them are doing two types of things for their living: traditional agricultural and fishery activities, and tourist guiding along Li River.

The cruise ends in Yangshuo, and people normally choose to stay several days there, so that they have an opportunity to experience some relaxing activities in the local environment, such as cycling, hiking, and bamboo rafting.

West Street, also called Xi Jie in Chinese, is a main tourism street in Yangshuo. I think it is the best place to stay when people visit Yangshuo. In the last two decades, West Street itself has become a tourist attraction in Li River region. Moreover, here, many people from elsewhere China and a few from western countries have relocated to West Street to set up their business. Accommodations and foods here are quite cheap.

For instance, one can easily find decent accommodation for about 100 RMB/night (USD$17).

2. Travelers’ paradise From a traveler’s perspective, there are so many places to visit along Li River. Firstly, Guilin – one of the two major cities in Guangxi province, is the first destination for most people coming from either overseas or Mainland China. It has an international airport that connects Guilin to the rest of the world. Taking the train is also a good option to get to Guilin.

Guilin is a modern and beautiful city, with a population of 4.7 million people. The city itself offers some interesting scenic locations, such as the famous Elephant-Trunk Hill and Reed Flute Cave, which tourists may like to visit first before they visit other places along Li River.

While people can see its strong tourism atmosphere all the time, I should mention that West Street becomes truly vivid when darkness falls. The whole street is restless, crowded yet energetic. Whilst strolling through West Street at night, people can experience the strong mix of eastern and western cultures, as well as traditional and modern influences.

For most tourists, a popular way to enjoy the magnificent scenery of Li River is to take a four-hour cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo County, where one can see the most stunning scenes along the two sides of the river.

West Street: photo by James S (https://www.flickr.com/photos/locomocophotos/)

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Chinese painting: Along Li River (Artist Li Keran)

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Chinese Painting: Li River Fishermen (Artist: Zheng Song)

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Reed Flute Cave: photo by James S (https://www.flickr.com/photos/locomocophotos/)

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Li: photo by Jay Daley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/jaydaley/)

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MAKING LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHS OF LI RIVER .

3. Making landscape phographs of Li River Photography locations – getting there Yangshou is not only an interesting place for tourism, but also provides some good opportunities for photography. For example, the spot where photographer Jay Daley made the following image is not far from West Street.

Nevertheless, in certain circumstances, it is quite challenging to capture good landscape photography in Yangshuo due to its increasingly intensified tourism and business features.

From my years of Li River explorations, I believe that the best place to make Li River photographs is actually a small town called Xingping, where a photographer’s journey really starts.

Xingping is about 25 km away from Yangshuo towards Guilin. By river cruise, starting from Guilin, people will pass by Xingping before reaching Yangshuo. Traveling by road, on the other hand, there are two ways to get to Xingping from Guilin: by bus or by taxi. If one goes to Xingping for photography purpose, I would not recommend taking the bus because it is usually crowded and takes a longer time. Moreover, one would have difficulty carrying all his/her luggage and camera gear on the bus. So I usually take private taxi to go to Xingping. It costs Chinese Yuan RMB from 300 to 500 (USD$50 – $90) depending on how good one is at bargaining with the taxi driver.

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SHOOTING ALONG THE RIVER

Shooting along the river Upon arriving at Xingping, one will be amazed by the feeling of being able to touch the beauty of Li River. From Xingping you can easily gain access to many excellent locations for photography along Li River.

Li River: photo by Lev Tsimring (http://1x.com/member/levtsimring)

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Below, I list three well-known photography locations near Xingping. One must be aware that getting a creative idea is key to making unique images in these places (and of course, in all other situations), otherwise one may just end up producing typical pictures similar to others. On the other hand, one should not be limited by the locations I list below, either. By exploring the Xingping area thoroughly, one will be able to discover many new photography opportunities along the river.

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Firstly, Yuanbao Hill represents one of the most classic Li River scenes because its picture has been printed on the 20 Yuan RMB Note of Chinese currency. A place to take Yuanbai Hill photographs is easily accessed from Xinping Wharf. Usually, this spot is ideal for sunset shooting, but as long as one chooses to include some interesting elements into the frame, the scene will be just beautiful, like the following image made by photographer Jay Daley with Yuanbao Hill as background.

Him and His Bird: photo by Jay Daley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/jaydaley/)

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Huangbu is another beautiful location on Li River. To get there, it takes about 40 – 50 minutes by boat from Xingping Wharf. Typically, it is a location for morning shooting, especially on a calm day, as the reflection of the nearby mountain peaks will be perfectly illuminated in a good morning light. However, exceptions always exist. I took the following Huangbu Reflection image on a rainy evening.

Huangbu Reflection: photo by Yan Zhang (http://yanzhangphotography.com)

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Finally, Xialong is an excellent location along Li River, and it takes 60 minutes by boat to get there. Most people take sunrise shots at this spot, but I have also found it to be an interesting place to take late afternoon or evening shots. The following image was taken in this location (early morning).

Dawn of Li River: photo by Yan Zhang (http://yanzhangphotography.com)

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One thing that photographers should remember is that, in general, Li River is a busy river channel for local people, for their tourism business and daily activities. The scenes only become attractive when the river is in a calm and peaceful mood. So for taking photos there, one should get to the location either pretty early in the morning, or in the late afternoon or evening.

Li River Sunrise (Xiaolong): photo by Yan Zhang (http://yanzhangphotography.com)

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SHOOTING FROM TOP OF THE HILLS

Shooting from the top of hills While taking pictures along Li River is quite convenient (and thus popular for most photographers), taking Li River images from the top of the surrounding mountains is much more challenging, but can be very rewarding. As far as I know, the majority of local photographers prefer to take Li River photos from the top of the mountains, as that will present one with a wide and high perspective of the whole Li River and surrounding scenery.

There are three main mountains around the Xinping area: Laozhai Hill, Xianggong Hill and Goupo Hill. Laozhai Hill is located at the back of Xingping Wharf. With a well-defined trail, one can hike to the top of the hill within 45 minutes. The top of the hill is an ideal location to take a panorama image of Li River at sunset, as shown by the following image taken by photographer Jay Daley.

Another mountain is called Xianggong Hill, which probably is the easiest mountain to access because one does not need to hike to the summit. One can directly reach the summit by car or motorbike, and then obtain a bird’s-eye-view picture of Li River and the surrounding mountains.

Laozhai: photo by Jay Daley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/jaydaley/)

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Xianggong Hill: photo by Hua Zhu (http://www.pbase.com/huazhu/)

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However, taking pictures from Goupo is quite different. In fact, climbing Goupo Hill demands some physical fitness for photographers. Basically, there are two ways to access Goupo. For sunrise shooting, one has to get up quite early, take a 50-minute boat ride to get to the mountain base, and then spend another 40 – 50 minutes to climb the mountain in the darkness.

About half-way to the top, there is a small open platform suitable for shooting sunrise images from a high viewpoint above the river.

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Misty Sunrise: photo by Nadav Jonas (http://1x.com/member/nadavj)

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However, taking pictures from Goupo is quite different. In fact, climbing Goupo Hill demands some physical fitness for photographers. Basically, there are two ways to access Goupo. For sunrise shooting, one has to get up quite early, take a 50-minute boat ride to get to the mountain base, and then spend another 40 – 50 minutes to climb the mountain in the darkness.

About half-way to the top, there is a small open platform suitable for shooting sunrise images from a high viewpoint above the river.

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However, locals have told me that in order to get the best view of Li River, one should climb to the top of Goupo Hill, which is considered to be a challenging task for most local people.

I climbed to the top of Goupo Hill three times in the past year. The entire ascent consists of two phases: the first part is relatively easy as there is a small trail to follow, though it is steep. The second phase is rough: no trail to follow, and one may need some rock climbing skills to ascend. Since this location is generally for sunrise shooting, one has to climb in the dark. When it is raining, which happens quite often, extra care must be taken.

It usually takes 4 – 5 hours for a round-trip climb to the top of Goupo to take pictures.

Starting from Xingping town, one needs to take a short ferry to cross the river, ride 40 minutes by motorbike to reach the mountain base, and then start to climb. It took me about 60 – 70 minutes to get to the top.

The following image was taken from the summit of Goupo Hill.

Good seasons and times for Li River photography There are good seasons and bad seasons for Li River photography. Local people have told me that in general, June and July are preferable for Li River photography, because during these months, the water level in Li River is relative high, and they have less foggy weather. From late July to August, there are usually heavy rainfalls and it may flood around the Li River area. Weather during September and October is usually quite nice from a photography viewpoint, but the water level in Li River during these months is pretty low, which may result in a less impressive effect if you take pictures from the mountains. Then from November to March, foggy weather around Li River limits photography opportunities.

Nevertheless, I should indicate that all such weather and time information is not absolute. In fact, during my several years of Li River photography experience, I have never been able to travel to Li River in June and July, but I was still able to take some nice Li River images.

Having a local guide is essential For most photographers from outside Li River region, having a local guide is important in order to access those photographic spots either along Li River or on the mountains. A good local guide will take you to the right spots at the right time. Based on my personal experience, I suggest not choosing general fishermen as guides because these fishermen are only good at tourism guiding, with little photography knowledge. This may result in missing some important photography opportunities.

One thing is critical: rainfall plays an essential role to generate dramatic weather conditions in Li River region. Generally, if there is a change between rainy and sunny weather, for example, having 2 or 3 days of rain accompanied by sunny days, then a dramatic sunrise or sunset will likely occur on the third or fourth sunny day after the rain.

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4. Final words This article just provides general information for people who are interested in traveling to, and taking photographs of Li River.

There are a lot of official websites and documents available about Li River traveling. People should follow official guidelines to arrange their Li River travel. From a photographer’s perspective, on the other hand, exploring the region and creatively identifying new photographic features should be the most important aspect of the whole

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process. After that, getting good light will be God’s gift.

Li River has inspired me to pursue my goal of exploring the natural beauty of this world.

As a passionate landscape photographer, my journey to Li River will continue.

Li River: A Mountain View – photo by Yan Zhang (http://yanzhangphotography.com)

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7 SHOTS Speedy Ghemati Barbara Read Peter Hrabinsky Jacqueline van Bijnen Art Bog Hans Knikman Bruno Flour

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PHOTO REVIEW _____________________________________

By Susanne Stoop

Photo Review discusses seven photographs in which the street photography theme is further clarified.

INTRODUCTION Street photography has many aspects and some of them will be shown in this review of seven images which were made within public and semi-public places.

Speedy Ghemati shows us his comment on life as it is - and always was - by combining several elements in such a way that he creates new reality.

There is the calm, almost documentary approach of Barbara Read with her street shot of some children enjoying their ice cream cones outside the ice cream shop. Opposite this calm street image is the dynamic picture of Peter Hrabinsky. Lively little guys who almost seem to be dancing before the camera while making their devil's marks. Both photos show a realistic view of two very different worlds and this realism is also characteristic of street photography.

Jacqueline van Bijnen's photo shows us de humoristic side of street photography. Art/bog's photo too made me smile. The humour in his photo of the tired guard and the energetic tourists is subtle, if not touching.

The review concludes with two street photos that show mankind in a contemplative mood.

Bruno Flour snapped his pensive son in a train, while Hans Knikman portrayed a man sitting on a sidewalk behind a crowd, seemingly lost in thought. Completely different photos, which have an introverted mood in common.

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18 Millions - Speedy Ghemati On the internet I read a very nice definition of street photography. It said, amongst other things, that a street photo should constitute a moment of synchrony between unrelated elements. And that's exactly what I'm experiencing in Speedy's photo. The violin player is the main protagonist in this photo. He is playing his tunes, unnoticed by the passing lady, who is deeply emerged in her thoughts. Behind her a mother and her son, also living in a world of their own, staring into a nowhere. To them it is as if the musician is non existent and so it is meaningful that he is pictured while standing in the shadow. Even more meaningful is the advertisement in the corner 18 million Euros to win. The dream of prosperity for a poor man.

The scene is a combination of various - unrelated - elements: the violin player, the advertisement, the three people, which merge together in this photo and thus giving it a meaning that transcends the factuality into a new reality. Speedy reached this result because he comes very close to his subject, concentrating on the essentials of the scene and waiting for the persons being at the right place at the right moment. All persons are well positioned. The slightly unsharp lady - a good choice. Were she in focus, the photo would had lost it meaning - leads the eye towards not only the violin player, but also to the mother and son more in the background.

She connects those two with the musician and the millions, which are as unreachable for them as for the violin player.

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Ice cream social - Barbara Read This is a lovely social happening and a charming photo on which lots of things can be discovered. First of all is there the boy, who doesn't interact with the other children. While the others are busy with each other, the boy in the middle spotted the photographer. Between the two groups of socializing children there are interesting similarities to be seen. The outer children are the interested listeners to what the others have to say. In both groups it is the middle child who does the talking. Pairs form an important part in the photo. Two pairs of three children, three windows and in the windows three pairs of four (small) pictures. They are brought together in a balanced composition, that breathes peace and quiet.

Barbara approached her subject in a documentary way, which suits the photo very well. It tells the story of a moment in the lives of these children. They live in an civilized world of culture and order. What a difference with the children at Peter Habrinsky's photo!

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Jasov - Peter Hrabinsky The children of this quarter of Jasov (Slovakia) live a rough life. For them no ice creams, but a live which is completely different from the children at Barbara's photo. Yet there are similarities.

Look at the boy in the middle who is fascinated by the camera. His eyes are full of curiosity! He is so intrigued that he forgets everything around him. A bit like the boy in Washington, where Barbara took her photo, but with more reserved, more distanced look in his eyes.

I very much like the composition of this image. It shows the boys in their surrounding. Without those desolate apartment buildings and their cluttered environment the photo would have been incomplete. Placing the boys at the foreground is a good choice, It gives the photo is dynamic look.

The contrasts in the photo are big. It is beautiful that the contrast in the background are soft. It creates a distance with the main subject of the photo, being the boys. They are displayed in a strong contrast. I wondered if it isn't a bit too strong. For instance the eyes of some boys are like black spots. At the other hand if more details were to be seen, they would attracted more attention than the boy with the curious eyes, who is after all the main character.

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Disappeared - Jacqueline van Bijnen Spotted at the airport in Dublin Jacqueline van Bijnen spotted this funny scene at the airport of Dublin - a semi public space where lots of things are to be seen.

While the older man is just looking into some void - just like the dark object at the right of the photo - the younger seems to be rather astonished, which is strengthened by his shadow. It is as if he realises that something is missing, but isn't disturb by it. He doesn't tell his companion about it. It is just a fleeting moment, caught at the right time by the photographer.

Like Speedy, Jacqueline combines various elements in her composition, creating a non existent context and so a new reality. She cleverly uses a repetition of forms - two men, two shadows, two pairs of legs wide open, two suitcases, one bag and one iron ball - making this image into an interesting one.

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Good morning Shanghai - Art / bog Art captured this photo while walking along the Bund in Shanghai when he discovered this security guard resting his head on a ledge, while tourist are busy taking pictures of the Shanghai skyline. The scene is one of contradictions; the resting guard and the active tourists, snapping each other, so they can tell those at home, that they were at the Bund in Shanghai. They have no interest for the guard, just as the guard had no interest in them. It made me smile, this fleeting moment, turned into a nice street photo in which also gives us an idea of the location and context where it all happened.

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Lost in thought - Hans Knikman While the people in some public meeting are stretching their necks in order to miss nothing of what is going on in front of them, this man sat down. Tired and seemingly lost in thoughts, or overwhelmed by emotions perhaps. The scene reminded me of Cartier-Bresson who in a report on the coronation of King George VI had more interest in the crowds than in the pomp and circumstance. It is the same here. Hans Knikman is interested in this man with his expressive eyes, at the sidewalk, not in the things that happen in front of the crowd. It is also a portrait of an individual, who created his own space amongst the anonymous mass. It is as if the photographer wants us to show, that the mass consists of individuals like this man on the sidewalk.

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The pensive traveller - Bruno Flour Like Hans Knikman, Bruno Floor shows us the more contemplative side of life. Here we see Bruno's soon lost in thoughts while the train is leaving Antwerp (Belgium). As if to emphasize the mood, the boy is placed in darkness, with just a bit of sun on his face and isolated from the bright city outside. Hans Knikman isolated his pensive man by placing him in the light, Bruno choose the other way round, but both are focusing on the mood of the moment. In both cases, it is the light-dark contrast, which characterizes the photo.

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PORTFOLIO _______________________________________ PETER KEMP Live Interview by Ian Munroe

I have been lucky enough to work alongside Peter during workshops and have become good friends. The Storytelling photographer from Delft, Holland has a unique style and an end product that is not unlike the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer.

I was privileged enough to meet up with Peter to chat about his work and what aspects he finds important to creating images with stories.

Ian : Hi Peter, thanks for taking time to chat to us at 1x.com.

Peter : ... the pleasure is all mine ...

Ian : Tell us a little about yourself and how you became interested in photography.

Peter : I am a freelance photographer coming from Delft in Holland.

In the past I have loved to draw but today the magic of digital photography allows me to incorporate all my ideas running through my head all day.

Ian : The stories in your images are sometimes funny and sometimes sad. You seem to create humour from the most awkward scena-

rios. Who have been the people that have influenced your art of the years and has your own life experiences affected your photography?

Peter : Most of the stories are the things I have seen or read in daily life. My father was a painter and movie maker. In fact he was of great influence and showed me his little funny movies. My interest in drawing and the works of the Dutch master painters are evident in my photography nowadays.

The experiences in my own life do play a part in the mood of my story telling pictures.

Ian : Your images are always a visual feast with unusual props and furniture. How and where do you locate these wonderful pieces to compliment the story?

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Peter: Well I am interested in the times between 1930- 1965. The vintage themes allow me to incorporate both glamour as well as comedy or sad nuances. My neighbour is a collector of old props and furniture and does own an antique shop right next door so it's a dream situation.

Now I have been doing this kind of photography for a couple of years so people around me know what I like. So they are always on hand to help me find new props.

Ian : How do you get the best from the models you work with in terms of poses and expressions? The models you sometimes use are alternative and unlike conventional “catwalk” or “glamour” models. Do you feel they convey the stories better?

Peter : My models are my big stars and they fill a major part into our stories. Without them I feel totally lost!

It is all about communication so we talk a lot about the best expressions and poses for the shoot. Another thing that helps a team is to shoot tethered. My models and the other team members can see directly what we are shooting. It makes a big difference to see the image straight away on a laptop and easier to spot any imperfections.

Sometimes the models look alternative and not conventional but I really like them. My models are used to carry the story as best as possible and that may require glamour, comedy, young or older. In my opinion they are not only good looking people but they are beautiful people on the inside and fantastic to work with.

I love to work with teams trying to include all the creativeness of all these different people (including stylists, make-up artist and other ... ). It is all about teamwork!

Ian : Having worked alongside you Peter, I know that preparation and planning is important to you. Once you have an initial idea what are the next important steps to you in order to get the best from the shoot?

Peter: Yes the preparation is very important. After drawing my stories on paper I know which models and team members I want to

ask for this series. So they are invited and I send them a concept mood board. I then ask them for their ideas and feed back to make the concept and mood board plans definite.

Ian : Once you are ready to shoot the scene, can you tell us a little about the way that you set up the lights? Do you try and keep things simple or is there a specific set up you use?

Peter : I like to keep thing technically simple if possible. The story is more important than the technical perfection. Since I am not a technical photographer I work with artificial light created by soft boxes in a basic set up. I also use darker backgrounds and golden reflection screens to play the natural available light as much as possible.

Ian : I know that you have built some of your sets including windows, walls and flooring. How do you locate these fantastic models and some of the great locations that you work in? Some of the mansions you shoot in are incredible.

Peter : For the bigger projects like my series Meer Verminder, I built the whole set up.

The Vermeer centre is in Delft, so I felt strongly about building and creating the scene. Over the last few years I have been invited to work in wonderful old houses and buildings in Delft and around my region.

This gives me great photo opportunities in places that I would not normally be allowed.

Ian : Once you are happy with the shoot and you get home to your computer how do you tackle the processing? Can you tell us a little about the workflow that gets that painterly look?

Peter: Working with my Hasselblad camera tethered on a shoot we, as a team can correct all little `faults` directly on the set thus minimising processing. However once home and on examination of my work I open the image up in Photoshop CS4. My primary tools for getting a painterly look would have to be the dodge and burn tools, they are very powerful once mastered.

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Ian : What are the most important things to consider when attempting to tell a story using models and do you feel that story is more important than technical perfection?

Peter: To me it is important is to have a clear plan so I can communicate that clearly to my team. Everybody has to know what to do before the camera clicks and that reflects in the mood. A photo shoot has to be relaxed and a great experience TO ALL OF US ...

Ian : What are your favourite images within you’re 1x gallery?

Peter : My favourite images are my Meer Verminder series, I enjoyed working with them. I am also a fan of Bill Gekas who's work is wonderful.

Ian : Lastly, what are the plans for Peter Kemp over the next 12 months? Are there any exciting projects or workshops we can look forward to?

Peter : There are workshops coming up in Holland and in Italy along with Norway.

There will also be a big project that I am excited for but cannot say too much at the moment‌..it's a surprise!

Ian : Thanks for giving all of us at 1x.com some great tips and an insight to Storytelling Images that continue to inspire.

Many Thanks

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PX3 WINNERS

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1x MEMBERS Make Their Mark in PX3 PX3 – Prix de la Photographie de Paris – 2014 is the most prestigious European Fine Art competition with many thousands of submissions from more than 80 countries. Many 1x members entered the competition and we are so pleased to have a number of winners from our 1x family. Congratulations to all who were recognized for their work.

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Julia Anna Gospodarou : 3rd year in-a-row as a winner Category Architecture Gold, Silver, Bronze & 2 Honorable Mentions for her series “Fluid time – An (en)Visionographic Chicago Story” and “Exuberance of Strings” John Kosmopoulos Category Architecture - Gold for his photo “Ideality” Category Architecture - Silver for his photo “Future History” Category Architecture - Silver for his photo “Fountain” Dennis Ramos Category architecture – Bronze for his photo “Skyway II” Sebastien del Grosso Category architecture – Gold for his photo “Skyward” Category Fine Art Collage – Gold for his photo “Illusion d'un printemps” Vassilis Tangoulis Category Fine Art Nature – Silver for his photo “Savannah” Martin Rak Category Fine Art Nature – Silver for his photo “Waiting for Winter” Category Fine Art Nature – Bronze for his photo “Baltic Dreaming” Michael de Guzman Category Fine Art Nature – Bronze for his photo “The Lotus Peak” Julie de Waroquier Category Fine Art Collage – Silver for her photo “Solipsism” Mikko Lagerstedt Category Fine Art Collage – Silver for his photo “ Night Animals” Tatsuo Suzuki Category People/Personality – Gold for his series “Tokyo Street Portraits” Patricia Sweeney Category Portraits – Silver for her photo “City Kids” Mahesh Balasubramanian Category Portraits – Gold for his photo “Divine Makeover” Category Portraits – Silver for his photo “Boy on the street” Congratulations also to many other 1x Members who received Honorable Mentions.

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STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

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STREET PHOTOGR APHY - ART FORM OR INVASION OF PRIVACY? | PETER NIGOS

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STREET PHOTOGRAPHY _______________________________________ ART FORM OR INVASION OF PRIVACY?

by Peter Nigos What should the enthusiastic street photographer remember as he or she heads out for a photo session in the big city ?

The answer is pretty simple - you can get by with common sense as long as you keep a reasonable expectation of the rights of other people to some degree of privacy.

Through no fault of yours, the world has become a nervous, restless place. Individual photographers, clearly not taking selfies of themselves and their friends, may arouse suspicion in train stations, airports, government buildings, and even open gathering places. If faced by someone in authority, a reasonable approach dictates that you explain yourself briefly and back off.

You may feel you have the right to challenge such an individual, but experience will show that it does not help further attempts at street photography in that area.

You must realize that photography in a private place may be prohibited. There should be a prominent notice in museums or galleries, and sometimes in other areas such as street markets and even individual shop

ping areas. As part of your common sense approach, withdraw if you have missed the instructions.

Similarly, if someone waves you away and shakes his head when you lift up your camera, be sensible and desist. Don’t start by arguing that “this is a public place and I am entitled to take your photo.” If the photograph you plan is indispensable to your career, you might try to strike up conversation, show him some images on your LCD, and maybe even offer some cash. It is rarely worth all the effort after the spontaneous moment has passed.

Others will object if you try to include their family and especially their children in your snapshot. Again common sense dictates a

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rapid retreat. You may not be in legal difficulty, but you risk having your equipment torn from your grasp.

Now you get home with 200 images on a memory card, and luckily have not been involved in any altercation.

You can do whatever you like with images which contain no recognizable person.

If however you have an image where an individual can be recognized by him or herself, or by others, you have several choices.

One is to keep the image in your hard drive and let it be admired by you and your friends. This will not cause you any problems at all (and is likely the current fate of most street photographs).

The second choice is to display your image in a public place as an example of your artistic aspirations. This might be by submission to 1x for consideration by curators, sharing the image on Flickr, entry into a competition of a local camera club, submission as a print for a photo exhibition, or publication in a trade journal to promote your photography business. This is likely still not going to be a problem - unless the subject of your photograph finds your image, and has some objection to it. If you are notified of such an objection, most jurisdictions will react less harshly if the offending image is immediately dleted or removed.

You only start to get into real difficulty if the image is of such quality that you can sell or use it for an indisputable commercial purpose. Conceivably this could also include major international photo competitions, where the winning images are promoted world-wide. All companies selling stock photos demand full written consent for release of any images containing recognizable individuals. Very few street photographers appear to attempt to get written consent from their subjects as a routine.

This is best understood by reference to a recent legal case in Canada. Gilbert Duclos

took a snapshot of a 17 yr old woman sitting outside a bank in downtown Montreal. The image was subsequently used on the front page of a small literary magazine, where the subject recognized herself, and objected to the way she was depicted. After some ten years of litigation, in 2008 she was eventually awarded $2000 (and costs). The Supreme Court of Canada wrote “The right to one’s image is an element of the right to privacy …. If the purpose of the right to privacy is to protect a sphere of individual autonomy, it must include the ability to control the use made of one’s image.

There is an infringement of a person’s right to his or her image and, therefore, fault as soon as the image is published without consent and enables the person to be identified.”

Case law means that this example can be quoted by others to justify lawsuits against photographers who do not have written consent to use their image for commercial purposes. I have no evidence to suggest that posting images on the internet would enable such lawsuits, but a slight risk is still present. The millions of still images which now exist on the web makes it extremely unlikely that a non-photographer would a) identify himself in your image and b) think it worthwhile to sue you for damages. Note that this argument ignores the presence or absence of specific legislation about photography in public places: I think the major problem is what you do with your images.

It is true that the judiciary in some countries have expressed more sympathy for street photography, most notably in the United States. In a well known case in New York (2007), a lawsuit against an admittedly commercial photographer was dismissed on the grounds of “artistic expression,” but also because the action was filed too late. The advantage provided to street photographers by this case may not apply in other parts of the world. I would guess that this particular photographer now considers getting a model release signed for his street activities.

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The thinking photographer tends to avoid pictures of other people’s children. We con sider it cute to show little girls in the third world, or small children playing on the beach or in the street, but our current technology stores such images in a form accessible to authorities, who may or may not accept the argument that you made these photographs for artistic reasons. We have all seen laptop contents being reviewed at airport checkpoints.

As in many other discussions of street photography, the last word belongs to the late Henri Cartier-Bresson, who was as responsible as anyone for establishing this technique as an artistic enterprise. In his old age, he went out of his way to deny the right of others to take his photograph.

Given an honorary degree by Oxford University in England, he hid his face with a paper when the flashguns went off.

[The above opinions are entirely those of the author, and do not represent the views of 1x. Mr Nigos is not a lawyer, but was once arrested in Baghdad for attempting street photography. For those interested in this topic, start with “Photography and the law” in Wikipedia]

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THEME WINNERS

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1X MEMBERS | WEEKLY THEME WINNERS

1x MEMBERS WEEKLY THEME WINNERS WEEKLY THEME CONTEST ON 1X The weekly theme is a successful part of 1x.

Every week a new theme is posted.

Anyone can join.

The members can vote and the photo with the highest score wins.

This is a wonderful way for the participants to see their work displayed.

It brings out the best in our members.

Week-after-week, the entries continually show originality, creativity and talent.

We are proud to announce the winners from the last two months.

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Our Childhood - Julien Oncete DAILY LIFE A touching daily life story which shows the setting these children live in and the circumstances in which they have to grow up.

This image from winner JULIEN ONCETE leaves no room for indifference. How can we ever forget these “old” eyes in “young” faces?

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The strongest ant contest - Wilianto STABLE An incredible example of stability and equilibrium in the microscopic world of nature.

The winner WILIANTO spoils us with this incredible macro.

1X MEMBER WEEKLY THEME WINNERS | WILANTO

Follow me - Wilianto PLASTIC Some say that plastic is a dull and lifeless material.

The winner WILIANTO proves how wrong they are.

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1X MEMBER WEEKLY THEME WINNERS | JEANETTE R OSENQUIST

White in with (H) - Jeanette Rosenquist HIGH KEY A wonderful ode to brightness.

The winner JEANETTE ROSENQUIST embraced this style with great success.

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........... - Rasmus Tiplea PINK One could think that a contest with a color theme would be mundane, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

The winner RASMUS TIPLEA found an interesting way to incorporate the theme in his contribution.

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1X MEMBER WEEKLY THEME WINNERS | JACOB TUINENGA

After counting the sheep - Jacob Tuinenga VANISHING This weekly theme gave inspiration to a myriad of interpretations. Fog, distant paths or distant horizons were used by many.

The winner JACOB TUINENGA spoiled us with a wonderful “pastoral” vanishing in the early morning mist.

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Famous Jazz guitarist Jimmy Moliere - Piet Flour FAMOUS One would think that presenting a photo based on a theme called famous, could be quite a challenge. Not so for the 1x photographers. The entries have been even more diverse than usual and have involved everything from famous personalities to classic landmarks.

The winner, soon to be famous, is Piet Flour with the musical portrait of the famous Jazz guitarist, Jimmy Moliere.

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1X MEMBER WEEKLY THEME WINNERS | WIETEKE DE KOGEL

Want you... - Wieteke de Kogel FOOD If it's true that you eat with your eyes, there is no better restaurant than 1x.

The winner WIETEKE DE KOGEL was our top chef of the week.

1X MEMBER WEEKLY THEME WINNERS | LUIS BONITO

If you drink, don't drive! - Luis Bonito CAR The car theme inspired photos of all kinds of cars in all kind of conditions. But the contestant who won this “rally” was Luis Bonito with a funny image and great advice.

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BOOKS INSPIRATION

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BOOKS BE INSPIRED FACES OF NEPAL by Yvette Depaepe A tribute to the beautiful children and the strong women of Nepal View | Order

INSPIRATION IN PHOTOGRAPHY by Brooke Shaden As a photographer it’s possible to train your mind to see inspiration in any situation, and this book will show you how. By introducing you into her creative process, Brooke Shaden—one of the most recognized names in modern art photography—reveals techniques and exercises that you can undertake in order to be inspired by your environment, everyday, everywhere.

View | Order

VISIONS OF WORLDS by Brooke Shaden Brooke Shaden takes us through a maze of enchanting photographic stories while sharing how she created her images as well as her inspiration behind them.

View | Order

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PEOPLE AND PLACES by Adrian Donoghue A journey through the urban environment. Mostly a photographic journey study of people in their urban environment.

View | Order

MELBOURNE AND ME by Adrian Donoghue A work in progress. A photographic journey through Adrian's home town.

View | Order

PORTFOLIO PETER KEMP by Peter Kemp Amazing story telling work in a vintage atmosphere. Peter always tries to create some mystery in his enscenerings and focus on detail. But a deep and longer look might open the door to another ‌ View | Order

THE FERRARA STREETBOOK by Susanne Stoop The stories and novels of the Italian author Giorgio Bassani (1916-2000) are all set in Ferrara.

He describes a closed city.

Closed by its city wall, its long blind walls in town, its closed doors and shutters, its inhabitants, outcasting its Jewish citizens in the late thirties and forties of the 20th century.

Walking the streets of Ferrara in Bassani's footsteps, Susanne Stoop has translated the melancholic atmosphere of his stories, that feeling of no escape from loneliness, solitude, exclusion and discriminiation into the photographs.

View | Order

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EQUIPMENT LENS/CAMERA

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XUME ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

There is nothing like the XUME lens adapters Review by Yvette Depaepe

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Change photo filters instantly without cross-threading or frustration.

XUME Quick Release Adapters free you from the tedium and frustration of changing filters while clients wait or as the perfect light slips away. Never miss a shot or compromise your creativity again. Use the filter you want on the lens you want, when you want. Great for all filters and available in different lens sizes for a small price (between 15 and 20 euro).

If you are a regular user of filters, you will agree with me in saying that they can be a little difficult to work with. For example, when photographing a sunset, you might change filters several times as you try out different combinations to get the look that your going for. Or perhaps you want to focus on a rock in the foreground but you’re using such high neutral density filters that there isn’t enough light coming through the lens for the camera to lock focus on anything. Manual focus doesn’t even work as the light reduction is so much that all you can see looking through the view finder is darkness.

To get past this hurdle you have to remove the filter, lock focus, then replace the filter. These may sound like minor issues but they can be quite frustrating while in the field and you are constantly dealing with them. Xume has come up with a system to get around these issues.

This is one of those things that make you think, “why didn’t I think of that?”. Think of the Xume system as splitting the threads on the end of your lens into two parts that attach to each other magnetically. Obviously you don’t actually split anything on your lens. The Xume system comes with two pieces; one that is threaded onto the end of your lens, the other is screwed onto the filter. I call it “magnetic magic”. Now your filter can be magnetically popped on and off your lens in a second. Have the lens piece on all your lenses and you can pop the filter on and off any lens combo in seconds. No more dealing with unscrewing the filter and then having to rescrew it onto the new lens. http://www.xumeadapters.com/

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SUBMISSIONS e-magazine submissions | support@1x.com

Send us proposals of photo stories, Interviews and projects in writing if you wish to be considered for future publications. If your proposal is accepted, you will be contacted with details of how to submit your ideas thereafter.

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