FullFrame Photography Magazine Issue 13 by FullFrame Photography Magazine

Volume 2 | Issue 13 | January-February 2014 | Middle East

Portrait Photography Issue

Portraiture: A Genre of Facial Distinction The Rare Look to Film Photography Anjum Vahanvati

A Picture That Defines A Life

Painting Colors Through A Camera Eros Goze

Shirley Lawson

Preserving Moments in Life

Cover: Photography at Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Purist Form

Joseph Alexander

Chris Calumberan

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SONY A7R

Compact SLR with Fullframe Sensor

MeFOTO

Backpacker Tripod Review

Transform any occasion into a priceless moment. Through our creative edge and imaginative approach to photography, we bring each picture to life. Express yourself at Image Arts.

Photography Magazine

Issue 1 | November 2011 | Middle East

Photography Magazine

Issue 2 | December 2011 | Middle East

Volume 1 | Issue 3 | Middle East

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Volume 1 | Issue 4 | Middle East

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Cover Story

Meiji Sangalang

Why Men Are Into Fashion Photography?!

Behind the Lens

PJ Tiongson

A Desert Surprise

Osama Al Zubaidi

Jay Calaguian / Noel Garcia

Toy Photography

Behind The Lens

Discover Obscura

The Challenge Engr. Milo Torres

15 Quick Tips To Better Photos After Dark

Work Flow Exposed

The Challenge

Find out how

Off Camera Lighting

Depth Of Focus

Jophel Botero Ybiosa

Beyond Passion Chris Calumberan

What’s Inside

Post Processing Tutorials

Gadget Review

Do It Yourself

Workshop Schedules

Group Profile

Issue 1 “Pilot”

Mike Malate

9 Ways To Beat The High Cost Of Photography

Depth Of Focus

A Manny Librodo Exclusive

Edwin Loyola

Small Things Big Result What’s Inside

Camera Guide

Extreme Post Processing Tutorials

Issue 2 “Point & Shoot”

Photography Magazine

What’s Inside

Get the Most Out of your Point and Shoot Camera

Tips & Tricks

Richard Schneider

Edwin Allan Riguer

Eugene Santos / Michael Cruz

Man with Simple Dreams

Jay Morales

Donnell Gumiran

Portrait Photography Tips And Methods

Yuri Arcurs

of Photography in UAE

Do’s & Don’ts

Jhoel Valenzo

World’s Top Selling Stock Photographer

Gadgets Review

Basic Tutorials

Photo Gallery

Workshops

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Group Profile 1/23/12 6:04 PM

“Role Reversal” Rocky Gathercole

Questions From The Readers

Depth of Focus

Jay Alonzo What’s Inside

Camera Review

Basic Tutorials

Photo Gallery

Workshops

Issue 4 “Fashion”

Photography Magazine

Volume 1 | Issue 7 | Middle East

Volume 1 | Issue 5 | Middle East

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Group Profile

Volume 1 | Issue 6 | Middle East

Volume 1 | Issue 8 | Middle East

NEW LOO

NEW LOOK! more

! more articKles, more tips, more inspirations

articles, more tips, more inspirations

Depth Of Focus

Celia Peterson

Guidelines for Travel Photography

Black and White Photography; The World Without Color

10 Travel Photography Tips

Camera Review

Photo Gallery

Workshops

Group Profile

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5/22/12 12:19 AM

Issue 5 “Travel”

What’s Inside

Camera Review

Tips Tutorials

Photo Gallery

Workshops

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Group Profile 9/3/12 11:42 AM

Issue 6 “Black & White”

Volume 1 | Issue 9 | Middle East

Jay Alonzo

Capturing Emotions as a Way of Life

Paul Aiken

Alex Jeffries

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Feature, Performance & User Experience

NIKON D600 Exclusive launch event held at The Armani Hotel

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Fujifilm X-F1 Fujifilm has launched the latest addition to its highly acclaimed X series.

GODOX QT 600 A View from a Professional Photographer

11/25/12 12:54 PM

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Issue 7 “Wedding”

Volume 1 | Issue 10 | Middle East

SPO RTS ISSU E

Lifestyle Photography: The Story of Existence

Post Production Essential Skills

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Progressive Tips on Black & White Imagery

FULLFRAME MAGAZINE

Tutorials

Jay Alonzo

Ethics of a Photographer

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Mosh Lafuente What’s Inside

Mario Cardenas

Emirates Photography

Why Do You Need to Convert Your photo from RGB to CMYK?

fullframe

Depth of Focus

o Fo F

Focal Points

Sean Armenta

Seeing Culture through Today’s Lifestyle

The Changing Picture of Photography

The Art of Black and White Photography

photography magazine

Tips on How to Shoot on Low Light

Standing Witness to the Frame of Time

Gear Up

Janine Khouri Elias

2/12/13 12:35 PM

Issue 8 “Lifestyle”

Volume 1 | Issue 11 | September-October 2013 | Middle East

Volume 1 | Issue 12 | November-December 2013 | Middle East

Architectural Landscape Photography Issue

Digital Art Photograp hy Issue

Culture and Travel Issue

A Thousand Words of an Image Barry Morgan

A Testament for the Passion

Thamer Al-Hassan

David Thiesset

Depth Of Focus

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Issue 9 “Sports”

Richard Schoettger

Shooting at an Unfamiliar Territory Paul John Tavera

Painting Light in the Wind

Depth Of Focus

Karim Jabbari

Adrian Sommeling

An Emirati Fine Art Landscape and Nature Photographer

Depth Of Focus

Mohamed Aljaberi

Omar Alzaabi

FujiFilm X-Series Workshop EGPC sweeps ASCA

Defining Digital Art Photography Alexia Sinclair

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Nikon D7100 Setting New Standards for Digital Photography

CANON EF 400mm Big Things Matter in Sports Photography

4/16/13 6:25 PM

Jake Radaza

Jacob Maentz

Depth Of Focus FREE COPY

PocketWizard Perfect Combination for Lighting Needs

Balancing Photography and Digital Artistry

Dedicating Life on Preserving Culture

Charles Verghese

Jorge Ferrari

FullFrame Ramadan Photography Competition and Exhibition

The Resolve of an Artist

A Scribe in Time

Pointers on How to Shoot Creative Architectural Photography

“From Dusk Till Dawn, Celebrating Ramadan”

Life in the UAE

Fujifilm Photo Challenge 2013

Raul Gabat

Underwater Photography: Prints of a World Unknown

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Carl Zeiss Touit Lenses Fujifilm X-Mount Cameras

Fujifilm X 100s Finding the Soul Mate within a Classic

Issue 10 “Culture and Travel”

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6/16/13 11:10 AM

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Fujifilm X-E1 (firmware 2.00) + Fujinon 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8 OIS

Sigma 35mm 1.4 Hands On review for Canon & Nikon Mount

8/20/13 1:19 PM

Issue 11 “Digital Art Photography”

Fujifilm X-M1 The New Addition to the X-Series

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11/9/13 2:09 AM

Issue 12 “Architectural & Landscape”

FullFrame is a Photography magazine not just for photo enthusiasts but for those who have taste for art, beauty and creativity. It is designed to take a deeper look into photography’s history, influence and modern agenda. With undying passion, the team behind this publication is taking photography in a different ground and hoping one day to rest the art and craft into its rightful place among the pedestal. Indeed, an impact is what we seek that would also encourage society to look unto the glamorous and not so superficial side of photography – an irony that lures the curious mind. This editorial is intended to demystify the use of modern equipment in photography by emphasizing practical use of the camera in the field, highlighting both the method rather than the technical. It has been conceptualized to stimulate the photo enthusiasts to enhance their recreational enjoyment through photography and to satisfy their needs as amateur and professional photographers. Grab your free copies at: LightHouse Studio | Advanced Media | Grandstores Showrooms | Image Arts | Al Awazi Studio | EPC (National Theater) Abu Dhabi | Alton Trading

Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014 | Portraiture

EDITORS COLUMN Editor-In-Chief Paz Calaguian

Volume 2 | Issue 13 | January-February 2014 | Middle East

paz@fullframemag.com

Portrait Photography Issue

Creative Director

Chris “Bogart” Lleses chris@fullframemag.com

Head Content Writer Renato Domingo

renato@fullframemag.com

Portraiture: A Genre of Facial Distinction The Rare Look to Film Photography Anjum Vahanvati

A Picture That Defines A Life

Painting Colors Through A Camera

PR & Events

Eros Goze

Deo Macaraig

Shirley Lawson

Preserving Moments in Life

deo@fullframemag.com

Cover: Photography at It’s Purist Form

Joseph Alexander

Web Developer

Chris Calumberan

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Vishow Khanal

vishow@fullframemag.com SONY A7R

Project Consultant

Compact SLR with Fullframe Sensor

MeFOTO

Backpacker Tripod Review

Ashley Adriatico

ashley@fullframemag.com

Writer Contributors:

Michael R. Cruz | Laya Gerlock | Jake Radaza | Subodh Shetty

Anjum Vahanvati | Sam Coran | Jeffrey Itum

Photographer Contributors:

Special Thanks to:

Once again, Be inspired! Keep your eyes wide open!

For Advertising:

info@fullframemag.com website: www.fullframeme.com Mob: +971 56 690. 0466

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1/16/14 12:05 PM

Two years have swiftly passed by. We have met a lot of people and most of them have contributed in our growth in one way or another. We couldn’t count the numbers of photographers and artists that we have worked with in this magazine, and countless of fun and memories have been shared through our journey. And for the past 12 issues that we have built with hard work and dedication, we hope that we have inspired our viewers to keep on shooting and learn from the knowledge we have shared. Now for our 13th issue, the first of the second volume of our editorial, we bring back one of the most practiced genre of photography – Portraiture. Our aim is to make our magazine better and stronger, so we carefully selected the photographers and artists included in this issue. From the cover story that truly tested our limit to the tutorials and tips we collected intently, we hope that once again we can inculcate learning to everyone. Our cover shoot was cautiously arranged by our very own Creative Director, Chris “Bogart” Lleses, and was brought together by the very best artists in their respective fields. And as before, we have selected few of the most outstanding photographers, who passionately practice Portrait Photography, to guide us and teach us their techniques about the genre. Hopefully, from our collection of photographers such as Eros Goze, Alex Calueng, Shirley Lawson and many more, our readers can learn something from them in their shooting. We couldn’t ask anything more to start our new chapter in our journey. Lastly, we would like to make use of this space as well to thank all of the readers of FullFrame Magazine and all of our collogues for their undying support to us. Without you, we couldn’t reach the 13th issue. Once again be inspired and keep your eyes wide open.

Paz Calaguian Editor-in-Chief

Depth of Focus

A Picture that Defines A Life

Content

Volume 2 | Issue 13 | January - February 2014

10 Cover Story 16 Highlights Portraiture: A Genre of Facial Distinction Focus 18 On Joseph Alexander, Zainab Malubhai & Steps 22 Tips By: Laya Gerlock The Frame 26 On Painting Colors Through A Camera Point 30 Vantage Sony A7R by: Sam Coran

32 The Rare Look to Film Photography Highlights

Grand Photowalk Challenge

The Lens 36 Behind Facing the Future in Full Steam and Courage

40 A Picture that Defines A Life Depth Of Focus

46 Shutters Wednesday Group 48 Tutorials By: Jeffrey Itum Point 53 Vantage Backpacker Tripod Review

On Focus

Buy 54 Best By: Advanced Media

Random Click

The Rare Look to Film Photography

Vantage Point

Workshops

Tutorials

Photowalk

Events

Random Clicks

Best Buy

Fujifilm XE-2 By: Michael R. Cruz

Fujifilm X-Series (Abu Dhabi)

By: Jake Radaza

Grand Photowalk Challenge

55 32

50mm Photowalk

Fujifilm XE-2

By: Alton Trading

Tutorials By: Jeffrey Itum

Portraiture: A Genre of Facial Distinction

Wednesday Group

COVER STORY

Chris Calumberan

wo years ago, a group of passionate individuals had sat together and started conceptualizing a project that everyone could use as an outlet of their creativity. Coming from different walks of life and different working background, the group is not entirely sure how things would work out. But if there is a common ground that had bound everyone together, photography, by far most is the thing that matters to them. The group moves on and FullFrame Photography Magazine was born. As time pass by, more and more individuals have been inspired by the ideology of FullFrame Magazine. Every now and then a new soul emerges and contributes to the group. That is how enticing photography is, it never gets old and it never stops on pulling likeminded people together. And now in our first issue for the second volume of the editorial, FullFrame had once again brought together a pool of talented artists to bring one of the most intriguing concepts that hopefully would inspire photographers to keep pushing for their limit. We go back from the time that everything is more about production, lighting and concepts and technological enhancements has never play an important role in the output. Photography in its purist form, this is what our group aims for, and we know that to pull this out, we need the best among the best to work with us. The concept was formed long time ago. In fact ever since the magazine had its first release two years ago, our Creative Director, Chris “Bogart” Lleses, had this thing in his mind already. Probably the reason why it didn’t come out earlier before was just all about the timing and relevance to the season. And now that it could safely say that most of the new generation of photographers has somehow losing the grip on the pure shooting and less manipulation, we hope that in this concept we could inspire them to dwell shooting the way the early photographers did, the day of films and photo enhancers are not yet available. Choosing the team to develop the whole project has never been a challenge for Bogart and Ms. Maria Paz. Without doubt, Chris Calumberan being one of the best Fashion Editorial Photographers in the region would be the perfect choice to capture the image. Chris has always displayed pure lighting in the most natural condition on all of his works and for us he is the only one that could pull it off and bring justice to what we envisioned it to be. Next we hoped to get one of the best Make Up Artists that could bring life to our project. Easy breezy, Ivy Kep Peralta has always been with us and we couldn’t be more thankful for that. Ivy with her magical touch is one of the pillars of the MUA industry in UAE and there is no challenge that this lad could never pass with flying colors. Next thing is to look for an artist that will help us set up the production and costume. That brings us to this highly creative person who have been doing wonders in this foreign land, Darwin “Japat” Guevarra, strongly making a name for himself here in UAE as an artist who present things differently. We are fortunate to have him aboard and now everything is almost at place. Second week of November 2013, the group had its first meeting. Bogart had presented his idea for this shoot and everyone seems to grasp what is being mold in this concept. The movie Mad Max had played an important role in developing the idea, and the group decided to bring out a futuristic and rebellious theme together for the portrait shoot. Now that everything is settled with the group, the only thing that they have to look for is a model that will be ready to face the challenge ahead. Chris, fortunately has the answer, and the name Laura Quirke has been added to the team. Laura is an Australian actress and has worked in London, L.A., and Dubai. Her passion to art made her easy to convince and she always had been up for challenges. By the time the concept was presented to her, without any hesitation, she hopped on it and eagerly participated in the venture. December 2, 2013, the most awaited day for the shoot had come. The team had gathered and went straight to Japat’s Crib. The costume early on fabricated is ready and the set was all at place. Lighting has been arranged and make up is on, the group heads toward to photo shoot proper at ease. After few hours of laughter and snaps, finally images are ready for this issue’s cover. It was exactly how Bogart had dream about; an image straight out of the camera and ready for the world to see.

Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014 | Portraiture

Photography at its

Purist Form

Portraiture | Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014

COVER STORY

Chris Calumberan

Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014 | Portraiture

Portraiture | Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014

COVER STORY

Chris Calumberan

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The most challenging part of the shot was being plastered and wired up. Though it is complicated than an average shoot, all hardships are worth it for showing art in the purist form.â&#x20AC;?

-Laura Quike-

HIGHLIGHTS

FullFrame

Portraiture: A Genre of Facial Distinction P

ortrait Photography or commonly known as Portraiture is a genre of photography which commonly aims to capture the subject’s facial features or make it the most vital element in the frame. It is one of the most common and widely practiced arts in photography due to its simplistic goal and yet very flexible and extensive approaches. Portraiture in the simplest explanation would be taking pictures focusing on the face. Photographers aim to give emphasis on the facial characteristic of the subject and facial expressions of the person and entirely show arts revolving around this central element. Though this is the main characteristic of portraiture, it doesn’t necessarily means that the other body parts of the subject should be avoided; however having the face as the most dominant feature in the photo is the basic requirement in the shoot. One of the most common misconceptions about portrait photography also is that portraiture deals with single subject only. Truth is a group of person, shoot in a frame and having their faces as the most dominant feature can be considered as portraiture as well. Take in consideration family portraits, group portraits etc… Portraiture doesn’t limit itself as well to backgrounds and foregrounds. In fact, portraiture can be done on outdoors and location shoots showing details about the environment to further explain the subject’s story. A portrait of a chef can be easily be explained if his shoot is taken inside a kitchen and a portrait of CEO can be easily be distinguished if taken inside in his office. But again, the most important thing is the focus or the emphasis should be on the person’s face,

Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014 | Portraiture

facial expression and even distinct facial features. Portraiture could be one of the oldest forms of photography as well. Relatively present already from the time cameras has been invented; portraiture became a popular replacement to having your image painted in canvass. The reduced sitting time for the subject while taking his image captured through a camera, led to a general rise in the popularity of portrait photography over painted portraiture. And with advancement of photographic equipment and new approaches in the craft, portraiture had kept its thought and still relevant in today’s era. When it comes to boundaries or rules to portrait photography, there are not much of restrictions towards the practice. Aside from the general rule that the face of the person should be the most governing element in the frame, there is no much do’s and don’ts in it. That’s what makes portrait photography easy and accessible even to amateur photographers. With a point and shoot camera only at hand they can pretty much practice on this craft. Lighting has not been an issue as well since ambient lighting can do the trick as well. However with the demand of a more professional and better output, people can always refer to professional photographers who knows exactly how can make their portrait better than the usual. Portrait Photography or Portraiture offers a lot of excitement to photographers as well. The genre has been very flexible and offers a lot of space to experiments and formulating of other techniques and approach. And with it’s relevant to any given era and industry, Portraiture sees good future ahead.

Photo by: Ashley Adriatico

Four Basic Approaches to Portraiture: The Constructionist

The Environmental

The Candid

The Creative

The constructionist is a kind of approach in where the photographer tries to create a certain “ambience” for the total look of the portrait. For example, the photographer could guide his subject to portray a happy newlywed couple by asking them to smile and strike a more romantic pose. This approach is commonly used in studios and used extensively in advertising and marketing when an idea has to be put across.

The candid approach is a kind of portrait photographic technique in which he takes pictures of his subjects without their knowledge. One could probably say that this is the “informal” type of portrait photography since the subject does not look at the camera directly. However, this approach can be really be useful especially when taking pictures of subjects that you are not directly affiliated with, (like the people on street) and can give you chances of shooting real emotions rather than a staged one.

The environmental is a kind of approach in which the location plays an important role in the message of the portrait. Most often this kind of approach is done on a specific area that means something to the subject. For example would be a teacher having his portrait in a classroom or a businessman in his workplace. The background of the subject helps to narrate the story you want to depict on the picture.

The creative approach is where digital manipulation is included in the process. Normally taken inside the studio for more controlled lighting, this approach allows digital enhancement like changing backgrounds and adding of elements in the picture. Normally, the end result gives viewers a magical, very attractive and visually appealing portrait.

Portraiture | Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014

ON FOCUS

Joseph Alexander

oseph Alexander firmly believes that photography has the power to preserve moments and memories and has the proactive ability to capture a fleeting moment at an instant which others may never notice. As a creative artist we do not make photographs but instead we create memories. Coming from a humble beginning, Joseph was born on 12th of December 1979, in Sharjah, UAE. Life for him was typical who had ups and downs but survive and enjoyed every single day of it. Now at 34, Joseph is happily married and reside with his wife and 2 kids Daniel age 3 and Nevaeh age 7. By Profession he is an oil and gas specialist, dealing with logistics for the past 15 years. But added up to his daily routine, he is a passionate photographer who always had an eye to see things differently and more artistically.

Joseph Alexander

Preserving Moments in Life 18

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Joseph has always been curious with the creative aspects of expressing what he sees through his eyes into photography. At first he was content using basic film and point & shoot cameras until the day his wife, looking at his passion gave him an entry level DSLR (Canon 450d with 1 Kit lens), which was more than sufficient to start up with. Honestly speaking, Joseph had no idea on how this hobby grew into a passionate obsession. He just found himself falling in love with the craft deeper and deeper every time. As he recalls his earliest tries on taking images, he remembered an instance where he had captured a moment of his daughter running around in the house. The picture was badly composed, out of focus, blurry, wrong white

balance, and it may very well have been his worst memory recorded. All of these mistakes led him to learn a lot on how to record a better picture. For him, if you are passionate about something – any and every opportunity you get to learn, you grab it. During the days he couldn’t afford to join a class, he would ask people whom he felt were better than him for lessons. He also volunteered as an assistant for free just to learn. And today when he can afford to educate himself, he invest money, time and effort and go for courses, seminars, exhibitions to study, learn and observe how he can perfect his craft. Now, with confidence, Joseph could say that he got the basics down and could tell better stories through his images. Joseph could say that he had reached far already from the moment he was taking blurry pictures. He had the chance to be invited by the company managing sports legend – Sachin Tendulkar and photographed him privately. Aside from this, he also gets invites from other VIP private events. He believes one of his most treasured achievements is getting clients even without doing much advertising and had come from merely by words of mouth. Perhaps, it is his skill to be able to capture and freeze a pivotal moment others didn’t think existed, though they were right there with their eyes wide open, as one of the main aspects that is why he has been considered most of the time. People just started calling him frequently for their marriage functions, special events and corporate events and now he had just noticed that every week he became busier as times goes by. He is very much thankful for this matter and hopes that he continues to be better to meet the demands of his clients.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Always be alert for that pivotal moment. They are just right there and you just need to keep your eyes wide open.â&#x20AC;?

Portraiture | Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014

ON FOCUS

Zainab Malubhai

Writing Stories Her Own Way Z

ainab has always been interested in images in general. Her dad owned a Nikon RD film camera almost 22 years ago and she was just fascinated with it. Her dad used to lend it to her on special occasions, espacially after she pleaded to him. Zainab recalls that her dad used to tell him that photography was a very expensive hobby to have, thus making it hard for Zainab to consider it up until she makes a money of her own. Times passed by and she found herself making a good living. By the time she left her job in events, she had enough money in her pocket and more time and energy to focus on this passion she had always been longing for. Though she didn’t had a formal education in photography, Zainab was dedicated to learn the craft. She had read a lot of books, watched a lot of videos and tried to apply them to her work. She had attended workshops with David Tejada & Zack Arias, and find it as a blessing to learn from the experts themselves. For her, photography is what she is good at. She loves books and stories, but can’t write neither can she paint. She really just liked looking at photos and figuring out the stories or what’s happening in it. When she was young, that’s all she knew, but when she started understanding photography little bit, Zainab realized that with a camera you can just make these stories really happen. You could look at an image and make your beginning and an end. She could finally “write” a story in her own way. That’s all that she had always wanted to do actually. After few years of learning and practicing, her dedication to the craft finally paid off. Four years ago she got an email from a friend who is also an ex-colleague, asking her to photograph their engagement. All that her friend had seen of her works were a few random images of people and landscapes she had taken. It was such a big decision for her friend to ask Zainab to do the shoot for a very special occasion, and her friend told her

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that she was sure that Zainab would be able to capture the true spirit of the engagement and the real moments that occur. Zainab was a nervous wreck, but once she started photographing she had bulid a confidence on herself. She gave it her best and managed to create some beautiful memories. Her friend and her family loved the images and that made Zainab realized that maybe she could really do this! The smiles, the hugs, the tears, the whispered conversations and stolen looks that she was able to capture gave her a sudden high, and she wanted to continue to keep feeling like that. From then on, Zainab had certainly made something for herself in photograpy. Though she knows that she still had a very long way to go and didn’t really think that she had achieved anything so far, she feels satisfied in what she does. But if she is going to choose from all of her shoots what she is really proud of, two things would come into her mind; First is an image she shot for Bridgestone Tyres that made it to the cover of their in-house magazine and second, would be her very first canvas that she had sold at an exhibition and the client could not believe that it was a photograph and not a painting. Zainab couldn’t be happier in what she does and while photographing it’s always been about what she is seeing at that moment. Every single person sees things differently, and she guess that fact alone makes anyone’s work unlike the others. This 2014, Zainab hopes she can shoot an entire wedding from beginning to end with her Fuji X100s. She is hoping also to reach the big 50 on shooting birthdays. So far Zainab had 41 birthdays till date and she just nine away from the target. For her it would be very satisfying to reach that number in the coming year. Zainab also hopes that she could continue shooting with all of her heart and when the time comes that she had to rest those cameras (if it ever does) she will be remembered as someone who can bring out your true self in a photograph. “I want my images to reflect genuine emotions.”

â&#x20AC;&#x153;With a camera, you can just make stories really happen.â&#x20AC;?

Portraiture | Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014

TIPS

Laya Gerlock

TIPS & steps TIP #1

There are so many things you can do with just one mainlight in your studio, just by moving your mainlight you can get a different effect on your subject. Here are different lighting techniques just by using one light. -45 degrees from the subject and 45 degrees Up, added a silver reflector in the opposite side for the fill light.

SHOT at 70mm (bigger background)

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-45 degrees from the subject and close to the background â&#x20AC;&#x201C; I use the shadow of the subject and shadow of my softbox for the effect in the white seamless paper.

Portraiture | Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014

TIP #2

I normally place my subject 6-8 feet away from the background so I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get the shadow of the subject in my background.

-45 degrees directly above the subject with a reflector below

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TIP #3

The technical rule(Guideline) when shooting portraits is to shoot from 80-135mm. This also helps in maximizing or making your background bigger. See the difference when I shoot in 24mm and close to the subject vs I shoot at 70mm and move away from the subject. (using a Nikon 24-70 2.8)

SHOT at 70mm (bigger background)

SHOT at 24mm

TIP #4

Clean on white Portrait. Normally for Full body on white portraits, I use 3-4 lights, 2 lights will be on the background to get it white, and 1-2lights depending on how my softbox is for my mainlight if the subject.

ON THE FRAME

Eros Goze

Painting Colors through a Camera Eros Goze

ros could say the way he photograph things is his art. He shoots things the way he feels it, the way he sees it and he deals everything as a constant experimentation in presenting his images. He believes that the way to interpret things is infinite and the way you shoot the drama depends on how you visualize a drama. It was during his early high school years when Eros Goze started photography. His father gave him a Pentax camera that had started his interest and curiosity on the craft. Having absolute zero knowledge about cameras, he decided to attend a basic photography workshop in University of the Philippines Baguio, and learn a thing or two from the craft that he started to be in love with. Like any self taught photographer nowadays, Eros learning curve is composed of exploring, experimenting and learning from the people around him. It didn’t took him long until he had that right feeling that he is nearing on achieving something within the craft he adore, thus fueled his passion to be better each day. From then on Eros sees photography as a never ending journey. Aside from the workshops he attended in the University of the Philippines, Eros further honed his skills by joining clubs around him. Louisian Photography Club (LPC) in Baguio had a great role in developing his techniques in photography. Most of the times he find himself learning on his own by reading books and articles regarding the craft. He had followed iconic photographers such as Wig Tysmans and Jun De Leon, and get a lot of inspiration from Vogue magazines or any fashion magazine. Eros recalls back in college, he had an advertising subject that assigned them to take picture of a product to be used in a campaign. He remembers shooting it and coming out with an image that really stands out among the class. He garnered a lot of praises from his collegues that humble him most and as expected he passed with flying colors. This experience further pushed him to stick to photography and sees it as an opportunity to reflect his creative ideas.

Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014 | Portraiture

His passion to fashion is another stimulant for him to continue mastering photography as he knows how important this art would be to his other line of interest. As an amateur fashion designer, Eros knows he has to advertise himself and photography is his perfect medium to bring out his artistic side. Eros had simultaneously entered the fashion and photography industry and started shooting campaigns for his friends in the fashion business. Sooner than later he started to received a lot of inquiries for more shoots and his recommendation just became wider and wider as time flies by. From then on, Eros could say that he had seen great progress from his works from the time he started learning the craft. He could say that he had improved a lot from the old way of developing photos to the new way of digital darkroom. He had done fashion editorials for international magazines, made his slot as an online photographer for Vogue Italia, and made some local campaigns such as the Queen B Perfumes, an international cigarette campaign in Pakistan. To cap it all, Eros was awarded as Photographer of the Year 2012 by PAMAS as well. When it comes to his style on photography, Eros could say that most of his friends see it as dramatic, whimsical and ethereal. He would like to keep it simple as much as he can, even on post processing the images. In taking portraits, Eros believes the hardest challenge is encountering different personalities. People come in different shapes and sizes, and even beauty and it’s just a matter of being ready to bring out the best angle and beauty in them with the correct lighting and correct encouragement that will ensure you that you would not go wrong. Eros would like to be remembered as a photographer that inspired others because on what he had shown and what he had shared. He hopes that he had touched people’s life by exposing a part of him which is his art. And through his visions and images Eros hopes to leave a message; don’t stop, keep on shooting and share your art to the world.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;To interpret things is infinite and the way you shoot the drama depends on how you visualize a drama.â&#x20AC;?

VANTAGE POINT

Sam Coran

A7R

by: Sam Coran

This post will be a summary of how this camera works as i brought it to test in the Studio and on location. I will also answer the question most of us are asking, “Will it be a replacement for professional DSLRs?”

EVF This by far is what’s really interesting

about the camera. Electronic viewfinder. It works perfectly in any natural light situation. WYSIWYG - What you see is what you get. We can preview the final exposure by pressing the shutter button halfway down. One of the greatest thing about the EVF is it’s ability to give you focus peaking and live magnification of images. To make it clear, with focus peaking you are able to see white stripes/ yellow and it signifies that those areas in the image are in focus. Manual focusing has never been this easy. This is the perfect combination for those manual lenses that grandfather gave you. Yep you can mount different lenses by purchasing third party adapters and others are AF capable too. The live magnification gives you 100 % focusing accuracy with Manual lenses. Pixel peepers will love this feature. EVF does not work well in a studio setting. EVF can only read what you set your camera to. Most of the settings in the studio is at F11/16/18 at 125th, ISO 100. What do you think the image will be in an indoor location with this setting? DARK. Totally dark. That is what you’ll see with the EVF. The AF illuminator will assist you in focusing but it won’t stay on for more than 2 seconds. It is advisable to turn on your modeling lights if you want to use this camera in a studio setting. I just wish that there’s an option to toggle between EVF or OVF in this kind of situation.

DIALS Aperture is in the front and can be control by your point finger. Shutter speed is accessible using your thumb. ISO is at the wheel dial just like where aperture is with the Canon 5Dm3. Exposure EV sits on the top right side of the camera and can sometimes be confused with the shutter speed dial. BUTTONS. There are far too many. I only need ISO, APERTURE, SHUTTER SPEED and AF. That’s all you need to take a photo. But it’s nice to know that some can be customised. The shutter release button is too backwards from the body. IF you have long fingers this is not a problem. ERGONOMICS In buying a camera, we

always make sure that when we hold it - It fits like a glove. Thing about the Sony A7r is that it’s size and touch are things worth noting. It’s really small compared to a traditional SLR camera that has a fullframe sensor. The weight, size and being discrete when in a crowd are on top of my list. I’ve attached my rapid strap on the A7r and carried it the whole saturday and never strained my shoulders. Say goodbye to DSLR backpacks and your regular visit to massage treatments after photo sessions. Seriously, the weight of the camera is like 50 times less than your regular DSLR body.

HOTSHOE Finally, Sony decided to join

the crowd by creating the FLASH hotshoe in accordance to all cameras in the market. I remember bringing an A77 to a photo shoot and realize it doesn’t have the same mount as my Canon therefore my radio triggers weren’t compatibility. Ended up shooting natural light because of it.

BATTERY Due to EVF and high resolution screen, it drains quickly. On the first day of getting the camera, I drained a fully charged battery by just fiddling with the camera menus. I also noted draining a fully charged camera after 3 -4 hours of photo walk. An extra battery is a must. The battery can be charged with a micro USB cable straight to your computer. It means you can charge it with your laptop or in my case a power bank to charge my iPhone and it works well with the A7r. I charged the camera while having lunch in a restaurant. PANORAMA It was always a challenge

to shoot Burj Khalifa with a lens at 50mm focal length. It gave me a winning smile when i got it all in the frame with this feature.

SHUTTER Whenever you take a photo, people

from about 10 meters away can hear you yes it’s that loud. If you want to scream attention this is a good thing. But i prefer something more silent as I don’t want to disrupt people specially if I’m taking a candid shot.

IMAGE QUALITY

ALL PRAISE when it comes to this. I have never seen something much better than images from this camera at the 35mm level. Something this small can give you amazing image quality.

FOCUS

A7R has contrast-detection AF with 25 points. I find the AF inaccurate at times. It will focus on the brightest part of the image. In this case, if your background is brighter than the your subject on the foreground, it will focus on the background. In continuous shooting, AF will lock on the first image captured, leaving the rest of the images shot blurred/ out of focus.

PROS:

IMAGE QUALITY, SIZE, EVF, FOCUS PEAKING, FOCUS MAGNIFICATION, Compatibility of various lenses using adapters

CONS:

EVF, AF, BATTERY LIFE, LOUD SHUTTER, LIMITED NUMBER OF DEDICATED LENS I’m excited to where this will take us in the future. I’ll definitely have this in my bag. It will be my constant companion for trips where a DSLR is just too much hassle to bring.

Sample Photos

PROFILE Name: Sam Coran Bio:

Studio Manager of the E-commerce division for Boutique 1 LLC. Boutique 1 carries brand names like Elie Saab, Azzadine Alaia, Oscar De la Renta, Isabel Marant and many more luxurious brands. Sam is in charge of Photography and the postproduction departments to ensure the best quality of images. He is also one of the international Phottix Professional team. He’s been a professional photographer for 6 years and has published works in the Philippines, Singapore, China and the Middle East.

Web:

www.boutique1.com www.samcoran.com Portraiture | Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014

HIGHLIGHTS

Anjum Vahanvati

The Rare Look to Film

Photography W

Anjum Vahanvati 32

Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014 | Portraiture

ith the abundance of digital cameras in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s market, one would question himself; does film photography still have a space in this craft? In fact, we could probably easily jump into a conclusion that analog cameras and film might have been phase out already long ago ever since the digital medium had engulfed the photography world already. No one can be blamed into concluding into this kind of hypothesis, especially that digital photography is rampantly showcased into a lot of forms and range. Most of the mobile phones today, if not everything, have a digital camera attached to it and point and shoot cameras are owned in every household. Professionals, even those who are long enough to experience and practice photography back in the glory days of analog cameras, have shifted to digital ultimately because of the quality and easiness the medium can offer. Finding one who still practices film photography could be very rare as looking for a needle in a hay stock. So, the day we have met Anjun Vahanvati, never pass us by and we know that we found a diamond in the rough.

Anjun, like everyone else today, started his photography journey with a digital camera already. He grew up around SLR’s cameras since his dad is a hobbyist photographer. However, the strange thing was, he never had a chance to shoot with them when he was a kid, as he was so afraid to ruin that roll of film. Anjun only started going deeper into photography once he got his first camera in 2008 and had just been reintroduced to film photography a couple of years back. Probably, remembering how his dad used to shoot with films could be his biggest inspiration on trying to shoot with film cameras and the eagerness and curiosity he had as a kid of looking at the photographs shot on film, the waiting period of how the photos will look is what fueled his interest the most. Ever since Anjun had the chance to meet love on film photography the second time around, he never goes back. He still shoots with his digital camera but shoot films more often because he likes the ecstasy the medium has offered. The learning curve with film is very rewarding for him and when that old mechanical shutter snaps, it feels like nothing less than heaven for him. Anjun states the fact that shooting film is rare and unique these days where prices of DSLR’s have dropped a lot. Every other person you know owns some DSLR but you will find few who own a film camera and even fewer who still shoot with film cameras, and he takes great pride of it as one of the only few who practice it. For him, as far as his experience will serve him right, everyone just loves the look and feel of film rather having their images on a digital screen. Though shooting with film cameras has been pleasant for Anjun, he still acknowledges that doing so is not as easy as it sounds like. For one’s, even though film cameras are relatively much cheaper than a digital camera, shooting each frames can cost serious money. Shooting digital is faster, more flexible and easy compared to film and memory cards will save more images than having a roll of film. Anjun also knows that on film photography you are developing your own film and you are working with hazardous chemicals that might cause unpleasant reactions to your body while on digital photography all you need is your computer and printer to have an output. Not having your own darkroom or developing tools can be a nuisance as well as you will be dependent on the lab for the output which sometimes might not be what you expected. And if experience on shooting will be brought out as the topic, he couldn’t sugar coat the fact that Digital is easier to use than film cameras. Digital cameras can allow you to have more chances of nailing the shot with burst mode compared to the lame manual everything of an old film camera and in one hour walk with digital you might come back with 500 images compared

with even half a day shooting with film that might exhaust those 36 frames. Even though, after all of these hardships on film photography, Anjun can still point out some stuff that shooting with film can offer that digital cameras cannot give him. First, the excitement of waiting to develop your pictures with film is unexplainable. Over-exposed images, out-of-focus images, unintended multiple-exposures, the element of surprise with film give him the chill and great feeling. Besides, for him, your film camera won’t be outdated in the next 10 years because there will be no further improvement to that system while your D800 / 5D III will be obsolete in that time, as digital age upgrades itself very fast. A D4 in your showcase will look like unattractive even today while FM will be ‘Ooh la la’ forever. Today, film photography became his rehabilitation when he is suffering from digital overdose and treats the two medium as separate worlds and enjoys both equally. His purpose, process, equipment can be anything but in the end it’s about having fun and getting a level of creative accomplishment through it. He will continue shooting film because it reminds him of his imperfection as a photographer and would like to try to get more experimental with shooting and developing film in future. Anjun foresees great journey ahead of him and film photography and looks out for more exciting experiences with it in the near future. Personally, maybe a Leica M6 as his next birthday gift will be something to look forward to. In UAE it’s a little bit tough to get all the materials you need for the complete film process, but the basic stuff is not so hard to find. There are some stores in Dubai and Sharjah that sell & repair used film cameras or you can go online to find some good deals on great equipment. Best place to look online would be www.keh.com. Salam stores in Wafi Mall has enough stock of ILFORD b&w films, ILFORD developing chemicals and ILFORD papers. GPP stocks up on Lomography cameras and films. Getting your films developed in a lab, Kodak Photo Fast near Crowne Plaza Hotel on Sheikh Zayed Rd will do it all from 35mm to 120/220 films/slides developing, printing & scanning. If you fancy do-it-yourself developing, getting some stuff locally would be hard like the developing tank and changing bag, so online shopping seems to be the best bet. Amazon, Adorama, B&H, Keh, eBay - the options are many. Now here are the steps in shooting with film and developing it:

Trivia If you love coffee or you are experimental with your developing, do look at caffenol. org for some unique recipes for developing film with coffee and other household stuff.

Portraiture | Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014

HIGHLIGHTS

Anjum Vahanvati

Steps in with Film

Developing

01 02

Load film in the camera, walk around and enjoy capturing those 36+ frames. Prepare the materials you needed for developing in the darkroom.

Materials for Developing

•Film cap remover and film retriever •Light proof changing bag •Chemicals (Developer, Stop bath, Fixer) •Chemical Measuring cup •Chemical Storage cans •Developing tank with required reels (35mm or 120-220 film) •Thermometer •Timer (your mobile phone can also help) •Clips to hang the film for drying •Squeegee (to wipe of excess water during drying)

When inside the darkroom already turn off the light and bring out the film out of the camera. Remember, films are sensitive to light so always remember to keep it in complete darkness in the darkroom.

Start the process of developing using the developer chemical to makes the image appear. Developing at darkroom does not take long than 15-20 minutes. You can vary the time to push or pull (under or over expose) during development. You need to be very precise with your dilution of chemicals, developing times and maintaining the temperature.

05 06 07

Wash the film using the stop bath. This ends the developer chemical’s process of bringing the image of the film. Put the film in the fixer. The fixer chemical will make the image permanent on the film.

Hang the photos to dry. Once dry you can turn on the light to see your result.

Tips & Tricks

If darkroom is not available you can also try developing using a light proof changing bag.

Portraiture | Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014

BEHIND THE LENS

Alex Callueng

Facing

the Future in Full Steam and

Courage Alex Callueng

lex just wanted to have a picture of his son as soon as he comes out this world. He doesn’t have any intention to be a professional photographer or to be a hobbyist of the craft. But soon as he took that snap of his baby crying, Alex fell in love with the moment and the camera which helped him freeze that time. Alex Callueng, like most of the photographers didn’t had a formal education with photography. In fact he couldn’t say that it was his goal to be good at it but just took the camera at hand and the passion grew naturally. Like the way he thinks in life – no one knows what tomorrow will bring – he approached photography normally and just do it. Probably the only reason that pushes him to keeps him in track of photography is that he grew tired of not being creative. Maybe this is the only thing that can be considered as a moment or perhaps a definition of his hunger to be more creative or even dare himself to change

careers. Alex didn’t look back any go forth with photography, and soon he found his works published in different publications. Alex workflow is such an easy flow as he could say. He makes it as natural as possible by using natural lighting and reflector if needed. Keeping it real is how he wants it to be and his inspiration is his hunger to achieve and learn more about the craft that he found connected with him. Alex drew inspirations from photographers whom are known like Helmut Newton, Mario Sorrenti, Paolo Roversi, Steven Klein, Avedon and the photographers now with the likes of Erik Almas and Melissa Rodwell. However, it doesn’t mean that because he appreciates their works that he tries to copy them. For him, all of us are unique and different in our own way. We just need to keep on shooting and always challenge ourselves to be better and create our own vision. Now with a Canon 5d II at hand, Alex could say as well that he embodied his visions in most

of his shots. He had been in constant practice of different photographic genre and portrait photography is one of it. Portrait shot for him is more than just taking photos. Portraiture is about being there for your subject, interacting, mingling, getting to know them and bringing out their best expression. You are there to photograph someone whom we should assume is vulnerable and that’s the hardest part, so to let your subject be at ease at the sitting that is the most challenging part of the craft. Alex added that while taking someone’s portrait, it is his job to bring out that person’s beauty, personality, and essence. And hopefully every photographer must learn that. Alex doesn’t want to be remembered as a photographer but more importantly he wants to be thought as a person whose vision is concise about life. For his future, he doesn’t dream of something too fancy and all he ever wanted is just to be better than yesterday.

BEHIND THE LENS

Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014 | Portraiture

Alex Callueng

“While taking someone’s portrait, it is the photographer’s job to bring out that person’s beauty, personality, and essence. It is our job to bring out the best of them.”

DEPTH OF FOCUS

Shirley Lawson

eing a model for 20 years, Shirley has been engulfed in the photography world for long time already. At 19 she was striking poses already in front of lenses and even back then she was fascinated already by what was going on behind the camera. As a model, her life was attached subsequently to the art of photography already and had her life revolved around cameras and lights as well. This Perhaps, made her absorbed everything that was going on around her daily as she worked as a fashion model and subconsciously led it to trigger her interest in the profession. So from being in the world of photography to actually being a photographer herself, it was more of a natural progression even if it took her to have a long journey and the learning experience spanned almost two decades. Shirley Lawson started out in life early. After leaving school, as a nurse, she had a career break that turned her journey twist to another direction. She was 19 when she got discovered for modeling. A photographer took her picture during a nursing demonstration in which she was being confronted by the then prime minister of the UK Margaret Thatcher, in which landed on front page of several national newspapers in UK. The said picture won as the Kodak News Picture of The Year for the photographer Ken Ferguson and even before she could notice it, a lot of modeling agencies started to approach her. This started her 2 decades of modeling career and her intimate passion with photography. But before photography, Shirley had shown interest on arts already. In fact she used to paint acrylics on canvas and sketch in pencil and charcoals. She remembers creating things in her whole life, and had a craft box at home full of props that any artist would be proud of. There has always been art and creativity in her life. Photography held a continuous fascination for and just lingers around. She thought for a long time that the art was beyond her capabilities and it was too technical for her techno phobic brain. She had her camera on auto mode for far too long, but later on decided to learn more. Shirley started to buy monthly magazine for years and studied and critiqued all the head shots, portraits and fashion shots in it. She desperately wished that she had been the photographer on the shoots and how she would have done things differently. Her passion with the art continuous to grow and she never stopped. Working with photographers had given her the benefit of being of friends with them. They became her personal teachers in the craft and learned a lot from them. She remembers before that she often took the camera from photographers and take pictures of them in return. They loved it as these are the only few chances that they got photographed themselves. Like most of the others, she

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learned through trial and error and glad that she had friends that are always just a phone call away. Her learning was much more of experimental as she rarely relies on online and books and when she does, she just see through it if she is doing it right. Shirley doesn’t believe that you can be taught photography per se. You can learn the mechanics of the elusive little black machine, but the art of creating an image is not learned instead it is something you feel and something naturally in you. Photographing people and photographing buildings, landscapes or product are entirely different crafts of course and the latter genres need to be experienced to be learned. Shirley recalls the first time she heard about the rule of thirds, and immediately went into her computer and pulled out older images she had taken and was so pleased with herself that she had been doing it all along without even knowing about it. For her, photography probably is more of how you tend to see things by yourself more than knowing the technical aspects of a camera. Now that she has been 3 years in the profession, she considers making a living on what she loves to do as her biggest achievement. When people write to tell her that they are so delighted to have their photographs on their wall and love her images, it makes everything so worthwhile. For Shirley, working very hard in long hours and then hearing these things makes her so happy. She has a high sense of pride which inevitably penetrates into her photography and admits that she is an OCD perfectionist and spend hours in post processing making sure everything is perfect and worthy of calling art. For her, probably the main difference between her and other photographers is her interest to connect with her subjects that can be seen in an image she had captured of them. Catching the inside, isn’t that difficult but takes patience and intuition and for her photographing people isn’t about settings and gear, it’s about finding out who that person is and getting them to show you their feelings without them even realizing they are. Shirley couldn’t see herself doing anything else but photography. Making the craft her way of expressing herself and have other people appreciate it so much that they pay her to do it and recommend her to others is a huge compliment that she never take for granted. Looking back from where she started from and how she became a photographer, Shirley could say that it was fate that had brought her here. 30 years after that famous picture and after countless of times being featured in magazines over the years and it amazes her that it’s still found interesting after so long. For Shirley, she will always be that 19 year old girl, and always will be - the nurse shouting for a salary increase and fair rights. That defined her whole life and made her who she is today. She is where she was always meant to be, and it has been an incredible journey.

Trivia Shirleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s photography branding is a butterfly, patterned on her belief to see people and make them evolve into something even more beautiful with no fancy expensive gear, no sweating over manuals and in classrooms.

A Picture that Defines a Life

Shirley Lawson

Portraiture | Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014

DEPTH OF FOCUS

Shirley Lawson

You can learn the mechanics of the elusive little black machine, but the art of creating an image is not learned instead it is something you feel and something naturally in you.

Portraiture | Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014

DEPTH OF FOCUS

Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014 | Portraiture

Shirley Lawson

Portraiture | Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014

SHUTTERS

Wednesday Group

“United We Stride” Wednesday Group

hotography and pictures have its own way to bring people together. It has proven itself to be a universal language where everybody could understand each other and it has its own unique way to provide a common ground where different people can meet up harmoniously. This is how the Wednesday Group Photographers International, basically had all started about. In Early 2009, Mr. Saeed Nassouri, an Emarati, and two British nationals Miss Maloney Jones and the late Mr. Derek English have met up with one common thing in their life. The three have passionately been practicing photography for a brief period of time already and they all want to do something that will encourage more people to indulge in the craft. From these, the three decided to seek a way where they can expand and share their passion towards photography have established a group that could share experiences and do photography activities jointly. With their devotion, each had committed efforts in starting up the group. Officially, October of that same year, Wednesday Group Photographers International was set up. Started with 10 members only, the group aimed to provide an opportunity to share photography with likeminded friends. They are very much based on sharing their skills and learning from each other whether it is at the meetings or on one of their shootouts. The group had lived with only two rules to follow- one is to enjoy themselves and secondly is to contribute and join in. They immediately opened their membership to all photographers at any level, as their foundation was based on learning from each other and the club philosophy is based on sharing and learning together.

Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014 | Portraiture

Now on its 4th year, Wednesday Group Photographers International had grown over 25 active members and near 58 members worldwide. The group has regularly meet bi- weekly and have structured program of presentations as well as critic sessions where the work of each member can be presented for feedback and learning. They have workshops indoors and outdoors and arrange event trips creating opportunity for photographers to explore the places otherwise would have been missed individually. They actively encourage the team also to participate in national and international competitions and help them on this journey to achieve credits. Wednesday Group Photographers International provides forum as well for all UAE and expat community to jointly contribute by sharing their expertise with the others and propagate the art of Photography through this process. Their members join the group for a variety of reasons - some wish to learn, some want to share their work, others want company when they go out shooting. Their meetings are generally based on someone presenting a topic to the rest of the group so they can all learn something new and there is usually an opportunity to show pictures for critique. The group’s shootouts tend to be based on either activities based in Abu Dhabi or other locations within the geographical regain, specific topics but what is important is that they share results and learn from them. The group is comprised of mix number of nationalities with different types of photography interests of all ages, and this has enabled the group to be exposed to a wider spectrum of views, perception and interpretation of the

Zainab M

Malubhai

photography as art. The fact remains that in their group all members are encouraged to present, share and critic work of others and this has created a working group that is enticing the photographers to be more active towards achieving their aspirations. Mr. Saeed Nassouri, the representative of the group and Mrs. Natalie Tonkin, the Administrator of the Club as proud as well of their accomplishments as a group. A number of their members have been actively participating in international competitions and have won few national and international competitions. Most members are FIAP credited photographers as well and has been recognized in the society as well. For the near future the group is preparing for an exhibition of the works in a local Art Gallery during February 2014, and work is under way for participating in many upcoming completions worldwide.

TUTORIALS

Jeffrey Itum

BEFORE

1. Removing Unwanted Subjects > Add new layer > press J for (healing brush tool) > select All Layers

2. Cloning > select Lasso Tool > copy and paste the selected area

3. Warp > Select Layer 2 > ctrl T then right click and select Warp

4. Saturation > adjustment layer --> hue/saturation

Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014 | Portraiture

AFTER

5. Erase/Saturation > press E (erase) > erase the part of the hair to reveal the original color > (make sure the foreground color is White)

6. Darkening Background > add new layer, blending mode is Multiply > select Brush (opacity 20%) > brush the corners

7. Levels > adjustment layer (levels) > inputs 10,1.06,228

8. Hair > invert the Levels 1 layer (ctrl i) > Select Brush (foreground White, Opacity and Flow 100%) > brush the selected area > merge all layers

TUTORIALS

Jeffrey Itum

9. Sharpening > Filter --> Sharpen --> Unsharp Mask (40, 2.0,0) > Repeat

10. Fake Light > add new layer (blending mode is Screen) > select Brush (foreground color #ffe1ae)

11. Adding Texture > blending mode (Lighten)

12. Eyes > select Backgroun layer > press O (dodge & burn)

ITUMO’S PROFILE

or Itumo, photography and him was just more of an accident rather than a planned circumstance. He did not intend to get into it, nor does he intend to be passionate with it. What he really like to do is just plainly find an art that will fit him or a sport that he can spend some time off. He needed something to express himself and how he sees things. Back when he was in a band, almost all of his life was dedicated to it. He is the one who would write the lyrics of their songs and that is where he gets to express himself. But when their band disbanded, Itumo got bored with doing nothing and made realized that there is a need in himself to do something creative to keep his life in balance. This perhaps started his journey that led him to photography.

Jeffrey Itum 50

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Itumo remembers his first glimpse to photography began from a friend he communicates with often in yahoo messenger. Every time when he goes online he sees his friend’s posts in social sites. Eventually he gets so curious with the craft and made him question himself “why can’t he use photography as a method to express himself again?” Without hesitation he did what he had to do and started learning it. Like most of the photographers, he was a self taught artist and depended much on friends and other materials available to learn. Probably because of his passion to the craft that made him to focus much on it and dedicate time to master the craft. He studied both the technical aspect of a camera and different styles of shooting and sooner than later he grows confidence on the new art that he is doing.

With photography, Itumo learned to know himself more. Photography allowed him to manifest well on what his eyes wanted to express, what his mind portraits, and what he is feeling deep inside. Photography made him learned how to vividly show himself and who really he is. For him photography allows us to see differently and make us focus on details surrounding us. For example, if we take a snap shot of a beggar by the street, often the reaction of the viewers would be pity, but in reality they see beggar everyday and would just ignore them as if they don’t see them. Photography has an impact on people that they can’t express it via their raw eyes. That’s how huge is the impact of photography and that is why he got into it, for in his opinion it’s the way how you would change a certain system in everyday’s life even in yourself by the way you express it. Since then on, Itumo’s works have been published on different magazines and have been used on TV spots. His works has been deeply appreciated by most and had been noticed for the artistry of how the message was been delivered. Itumo loves the fact that his crafts are connected to who he really is. Itumo as a photographer believes all of us have our own ways; he is what he is and i am who I am. For him, we do not need to pattern our way of shooting from one person or another cause we all have diffrent characteristics and principles in life. So for him he is better to be remembered as Jeffrey Itum – Itumo... and these are his works.

Jeffrey Itumo

TUTORIALS

I am Who I am, and This is My Photography

“Photography allows us to manifest well on what our eyes wanted to express, what our mind portraits, and what we are feeling deep inside.”

Portraiture | Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014

VANTAGE POINT

Michael R. Cruz

MeFOTO Backpacker Tripod Review by: Michael R. Cruz

here was a time that I was obsessed with tripods and after a lot of research which ends up in plenty of buying and selling, I finally settled with one tripod; the Manfroto 055cxpro4 with 468MGRC2 head. It is a very sturdy tripod, and since it is carbon fiber it is lightweight, well, somewhat… Actually it is still heavy to carry around and that is my current dilemma since I am using more of my mirrorless camera setup more than my DSLR. It makes more sense to get a proper small and lightweight tripod but not compromising the job of the tripod which is to hold your camera securely and effectively. After a long a grueling search on Google, Facebook and Youtube; I think I finally found the ultimate travel tripod. The MeFOTO BackPacker Tripod. I was a bit hesitant at first since they look too colorful and to be honest, I am not a fan of those, at least prior to buying this tripod. I actually like the colors and they come with plenty of choices too. There’s only 2 colors available in the store, I have a choice of either blue or red (which actually look more orange) and I picked the red one, since I like the red/black combo.

Build Quality and Performance

The MeFOTO BackPacker comes with a nice carry case with linings that matches the color of my tripod. It also comes with a nice ballhead with a leveling bubble. They have other models as well, there’s a one model smaller than the BackPacker and there are several bigger ones for bigger cameras. The build quality of this tripod is really superb, It actually feels like an Apple product for some reason. It is machined to perfection and it feels expensive although this is the cheapest tripod I have purchased (Approx 139.00 USD). The ball head is so smooth and it even gives you a 360 degree graduated panning scale for creating panoramas. The legs can be angled in 2 positions which can be independently locked which gives you versatility in most situations. There is also a recessed center-column hook which is also spring loaded which allows you to add more weight for increased stability. The BackPacker is designed for traveling and for smaller cameras like the micro 4/3 and other mirrorless cameras like the Fuji X-Series which is the one I personally use for this tripod. It is only 12.6 inches when folded but 51.2” when fully extended and weighs around 1.1 Kg. This is the perfect dimensions and weight of a travel tripod, but can be your main tripod if you mainly shoot with smaller cameras. Although later on, I found out that it still quite stable carrying a 5D Mark III camera with a Canon 24-70mm f2.8 lens. I have nothing but high praises for this tripod. It is all you would want in a travel tripod, it is small, lightweight, sturdy and versatile; and it looks freakishly cool with color options, never thought I would say that for a tripod. If you are looking for a small tripod for your mirrorless cameras (or small DSLRs) or for travelling I think this is the best tripod you can get. I really can’t say anything wrong about this tripod, it is one of those exception on the saying you get what you paid for. A proof that sometimes, awesome things can be cheap too.

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Michael R. Cruz

X-E2 by: Michael R. Cruz

Like a kid getting a new toy, first things first… Fiddling time. Being a gadget geek, I checked all the hardware changes side by side with the X-E1. Overall, there are no major changes in terms of the size, structure and weight of the X-E2, so don’t expect anything new in this regard. However there are a few new button changes that I noticed right away.

Hardware Changes

can see that the Q button has been moved and the X-E2 supports a slightly bigger LCD, which is now 3” compared to 2.8”. That might be too small to notice but the improvement is not in the size, it is actually on the LCD resolution, which is now 1.04M dot LCD compared to a measly 420K dot screen from the X-E1. Looking at it side-by-side, there is a big noticeable difference, especially when you are looking at high-detailed shots – a very a welcomed change. Another hardware change is the new 180x option on the shutter speed dial, not really something big for me, but it’s good to have it there - especially if you are working with strobes or flash. At first, I didn’t notice any changes on the EVF, mainly because they have the same resolution; but once you start panning it around, there’s almost no lag! Another hardware change I noticed right away is the added +/-3 stops on the exposure compensation dial. This might not be useful to some, but for a bracketing junkie like me, that works to my advantage. Since Fuji doesn’t support more than 1 EV on AE bracketing, I have to use some other technique to get two or three stops bracketing. I will be discussing on that AE bracketing solution some other time. But having a +/-3 in that dial is a convenient thing to have.

Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014 | Portraiture

WiFi has been added too. Well, I know some people who were thinking of this as being not essential, including myself. I take it back, the WiFi function is not a gimmick and it is quite handy to have. In the age of smartphones and tablets, it provides an easy way to transfer your images from the cameras to your handheld devices. Having the images on your mobile phones and tablets means you can post them online quicker; I can already hear people who want to post a lot of food, cat photos and ‘selfies’ on social media shouting for joy… o yeah, anyway, I guess some other people will find more interesting use for it.

The Sensor and Lens Modulation Optimizer (LMO)

The X-E2 is now equipped with X-Trans CMOS II with EXR Processor II; this enables the X-E2 to have a faster start-up time of 0.5 seconds and a quicker shutter lag of 0.05 seconds; the continuous shooting speed has been improved to 7 frames per seconds (JPEG mode). If you are new to Fuji’s X-Series Cameras, it is no secret that they have superb image quality. They can even match a full-frame DSLR. I know those are big claims but using the X-Series cameras with my full-frame DSLR (Canon 5D Mark III), the quality of the images is on par with each other, but don’t take my word for it, go to a camera store and try it out. You can bring your own SD card so you can inspect the images in your computer.

Fuji’s secret sauce: X-Trans Sensor. Unlike traditional camera sensors based on Bayer design, the X-Trans sensor uses a random arrangement of color filters within each block of 36 photoreceptors. Although that may sound too geeky and technical, all it means is that Fuji’s X-Trans sensors have the ability to resolve more details and are less prone to moire patterns. That is why there is no need to add an auto-aliasing filter, which is deployed to most of the Bayer based sensors out there. The X-E2 is the 2nd generation of X-Series interchangeable lens camera and it also carries a 2nd generation X-Trans CMOS sensor. Another improvement by the X-E2 is the Lens Modulation Optimizer (LMO) technology which overcomes the typical “diffraction phenomenon”, a characteristic of any optical lenses when you use a very high aperture. You often hear photographers saying: “avoid the use of maximum aperture (i.e. f22 or higher) because you will have diffraction on your image”. What they mean is, you will get a blurry image. What the Lens Modulation Optimizer does, it corrects this diffraction blur by compensating for the optical characteristic of the specific lens being used. The LMO detects the lens and the aperture being used and it automatically corrects the diffraction blur so you can get sharper images all the time, yeah, it’s like magic! The X100s, X20 and the XQ1 use the same technology.

Performance and Handling

The focusing has been improved and you feel it is noticeably faster. I know the focusing issue has been haunting the X-Series but to be honest this is not an issue anymore, it hasn’t been since Fuji started rolling out those

firmware upgrades. Unless you are still living in a cave, the AF performance is not an issue anymore, and the latest incarnation of the X-Series, the X-E2 is probably the quickest in Fuji’s lineup. The X-E2 with its new sensor inherits both the phase detection and contrast detection autofocus system, which is being used automatically by the camera depending upon the situation. It is also equipped with a Face detection feature, which has been missing with the older generation X-Series cameras. As you can see, Fuji’s engineers have been pouring hours to improve the AF system of the camera. I really respect how Fuji is treating their customers and you can feel that they genuinely want their customers to be happy with their product. I hope more manufactures can adhere to the same work ethics. So far, I have no complaints with the performance. The writing speed (on the SD card) is also much quicker compared to the X-Pro1. Performance-wise, this is a better camera than the X-Pro1. Don’t get me wrong, the X-Pro1 is still a great camera but it is already showing its age, especially with the arrival of this new camera. I can see the X-E2 being a main camera for a lot of people. It is quicker in all aspects and suits you better, if you are a street photographer. I also think, it makes a perfect travel camera. It is small, lightweight, has excellent looks and a world-class sensor; it is currently the best X-Series camera.

PROFILE Name: Michael R. Cruz Bio:

Is a Photographer / Photo-Enthusiast / Digital Artist / Gadget Geek based in Dubai, UAE. His photographs have been published in newspapers, magazines including Conde Nast Traveler London and other architectural and travel books. Michael also conducts workshops that teach photography and post-processing.

Web: www.michaelrcruz.com photo stream in: www.cruzm.com

EVENTS

Fujifilm X- Series Workshop

ABU DHABI Chris Calumberan | Donell Gumiran | Michael Cruz | Mosh Lafuente

ith the success of Fujifilm X-Series Workshop held last September 2013 in Dubai, FullFrame Magazine in cooperation with Fujifilm Middle East FZE brought back together the four talented photographers to host another series of workshops. This time the four is set to invade Abu Dhabi and their goal is to share their expertise in their given fields. December 2013, National Theatre Abu Dhabi was packed with photographers from the area. Emirates Photography Competition headed by Mr. Bader Al Nomani hosted the event with the help of his colleague Ms. Beatrice Lauchame. Shootercada led by Ms. Adele Lumalang and Pong San Ramon assisted the group as well by providing all the models and talents needed for the workshops. The National Theatre once again became the hotspot for the artists, and the group to lead the workshop couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t asked for a more better location than this. Representing Fujifilm Middle East is Mr. Mohamad Al Moumani, Technical Manager for the Imaging Division & Ms. Jidal Mouna, Marketing Supervisor who cordially attended the entire workshop and supported the events. Unlike the first set of workshops in Dubai, which used Fujifilm X-M1 only for the whole event, the

participants in Abu Dhabi had the chance to use all the different X-Series cameras Fujifilm had developed. This made the workshop more interesting and definitely something to remember. First to do his teaching was Chris Calumberan. December 6, 2013, he taught his participants Fashion Editorial and left a mark to his audience about proper lighting conditions while shooting for the specific genre. Day after, Donnel Gumiran brought his expert knowledge about Portrait Photography and shared few of his tricks on doing so. December 13, Michael Cruz hosted one of the most unique genres in photography and taught his attendees the dos and donts of Car Photography. Last but not the least, Mosh Lafuente capped everything off with his teachings about Product Photography. Overall, the four-day workshop had definitely left great knowledge to the photographers of Abu Dhabi. Everyone that attended the workshops is pretty much satisfied and thankful for the teachings our awesome four had shared to them. Using Fujifilm X-Series cameras was definitely one of the highlights for them and it is enticing for them to continue shooting especially with the new gears that they have tested and new techniques that they couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wait to apply in their practice.

Special Acknowledgement: Emirates Photography Competition: Mr. Bader Alnomani, Madame Beatrice Lachaume and staffs Shootercada special mention to: Adelle Lumalang, Pong San Ramon, Tracy De Mesa

Chris Calumberan

EVENTS

Chris Calumberan Fashion Editorial

Special Thanks to:

Models:

Krishel Talavera Gul Flower Georgia Leila

Make-Up Artist: Laila Iglesias Aldwin JLo Ornopia Mel Maria

Designer:

Abet De Guzman Basmayor

EVENTS

Chris Calumberan

Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014 | Portraiture

Donell Gumiran

EVENTS

Donell Gumiran Portrait

Special Thanks to Child model: Alrica Angelique Avila Male model: Marco Torrechilla

EVENTS

Donell Gumiran

Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014 | Portraiture

Michael Cruz

EVENTS

Special Thanks to: Models: Gul Flower Krishel Talavera Car Owners: Gul Flower (BMW) Dawood Salman (Camaro)

michael R. Cruz Car Phototgraphy

EVENTS

Michael Cruz

Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014 | Portraiture

Mosh Lafuente

EVENTS

mosh lafuente

Product Photography

Portraiture | Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014

EVENTS

Mosh Lafuente

Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014 | Portraiture

Portraiture | Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014

TUTORIALS

Jake Radaza

APPLYING TEXTURES INTO PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY Sometimes when you take a portrait photo and you find that it lacks drama and that ump factor that you want to convey, you tend to add some certain Photoshop filters or other elements just to make your photos more dramatic and more appealing to the eyes. One of these elements that we are going to discuss is applying textures to your photo. A texture adds a little character to the background and makes it more part of the overall composition than what it originally is. Textures are significantly good for, but not limited to, the negative space or empty spaces (e.g. blank background) on your photographs but not generally good for your subject.

by: Jake Radaza

AFTER

BEFORE

Select a texture that you would think would best fit or describe your image. A texture that would give an effect that you would like to convey. There are lots of textures available for download online. For this photo, I would like it to look more like an old worn out dirty photo. Here is the photo and texture that we are going to use

Step 1 Open your photo in Photoshop and then open your texture file by dragging and dropping it on your photo.

Step 2 Experiment with the blend modes. Blend modes I use are usually multiply, softlight & overlay. With this picture I decided to use multiply to make it more dark and dramatic.

Step 3 BETTER WAY

a. The best thing to do is rasterize your texture first. Select your texture layer then right click on the layer to find the rasterize command.

Portraiture | Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014

Step 4

Make sure to adjust the size of your texture similar to that of your photo. (Ctrl + T)

Step 5 Remove the texture from your subject... But do not use masking as this will change the tone of your subject from the rest of the image.

DONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T DO THIS!

As you notice, when you apply masking, the tone of your subject turns out different from that of the background.

Step 6 b. Select your image layer then click the quick selection tool to select your subject.

Step 7 c. Select your texture layer then click (filter, blur, average). Averaging will simply take a selected area of pixels, and average all the colors in that area. Doing so will make the image retain its tone, but lose the texture in averaged areas.

Step 8 If you uncheck the eye on the left side of your background layer this is what you will see…

Step 9

After merging the layer (Ctrl + E) I decided to desaturate the image a little to get that vintage look (Ctrl + U, saturation -30).

Step 10

I brightened the picture using curves to get back some of the highlights which were lost during editing process. Click adjustment layer icon, select curves, then push the middle part of the line a little bit upward to brighten. (see photo below)

Step 11 Add vignette to highlight the subject and to darken the edges. It gives the picture a more dramatic feel. Duplicate the layer, then apply vignette (filter, lens correction, adjust vignette slider, -85 / +20). If the subject’s face was affected by the vignette, apply a mask then brush the subject’s face with a black brush to bring back the brightness.

Portraiture | Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014

n December 27, 2013 FullFrame team and Fujifilm Middle East FZE holds together one of the biggest Photowalk ever in UAE. A total of 21 participants attended the Exclusive Fujfilm Photowalk that started early morning and lasted till late afternoon. Three venues were arranged by the organizers to be the venue of the shoot and only Fujifilm X-Series cameras was used during the Photowalk. Representing Fujifilm was Mr. Moumani together with the participants, the group headed to their first destination, the Dubai Marina Yacht Club. After few hours of shoot the group went back to the shuttle bus arranged by FullFrame as well to bring the participants to the other venues. Souk Madinat Jumeirah was the second location of the group and lastly the participants get the chance to shoot at the Heritage Village in Shindagha.

With the Support of:

AL AWAZI STUDIO

Each participant was encouraged to submit 3 of their best photos during the Photowalk, straight from the Fujifilm cameras, as their entries for the challenge as well. Last December 30, deliberation for the entries was held in FullFrame headquarters to distinguish the best entry for the Photowalk Challenge. The panel of judges includes Ms. Ashley Adriatico, Mr. Chris Calumberan, Mr. Donell Gumiran, Mr. Michael Cruz, Mr. Mosh Lafuente, Mr. Mohamad Al Moumani and Managing Director of Imaging Division of Fujifilm Mr. Keitaro So. Judging the photos was not easy and it took a long and careful consideration in choosing the winning photos. Finally, we are glad to announce the following Winners to Fujifilm Middle East â&#x20AC;&#x153;Grand Photowalk Challenge 2013â&#x20AC;?. Our Winners are:

Grand Prize

Gilbert Basa

Second Prize

Roger Alfonso

Third Prize

Suboud Shetty

Peoples Choice

Anthony Fernandez

PHOTOWALK

Fujifilm

DUBAI MARINA YACHT CLUB

AL SATWA

DUBAI HERITAGE VILLAGE

Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014 | Portraiture

SOUK MADINAT JUMEIRAH

Portraiture | Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014

EVENTS

Photowalk Dubai

mm Photowalk by: Photowalk Dubai

Event Date : December 13th - Friday.

t has been one great year since Photowalk Dubai was formed. The event had just grown from strength to strength since the day of the group’s inception. It has been whole heartedly accepted by the members as the best photo walk group they have ever been involved with - ‘MORE WALKS LESS TALKS’ has been the motto of the group. At Photowalk Dubai, it is believed that the only way to get better as a photographer is by spending quality time shooting on field than be bored to death at some theoretical workshops. For them the best workshop is a good long photo walk across the street plus the fact that its healthy for the body too, says Subodh Shetty , founder of Photowalk Dubai. This love and appreciation from the members puts the founders of the group Subodh Shetty and Anjum Vahanvati on an urge to do something BETTER every next walk and this makes them think outside the box. After a successful RETRO WALK in October, where only good old FILM cameras were used, this time around Photowalk Dubai hosted an ‘Exclusive 50mm’ walk – where each of the attendees were asked to shoot exclusively with a 50mm lens only. “50mm is without a doubt one of the best lenses ever made, one of the reason why it has stood the test of time and still is quite popular among many photographers. Being a prime, the details and the sharpness achieved with this lens is by far one of the sweetest of all. Bokehs are always delicious and no other lens cooks it better than a nifty-fifty. Whether it’s the cheaper 50mm 1.8 or more expensive 50mm f1.4 ( forget the 1.2s - “Drooling” ), all these different species of 50mm have one thing in common - Awesomeness. Best part - Whether Nikon / Canon / Sigma or whatever other brand it may be - 50mm are bloody brilliant from the word GO.” Says Subodh Shetty , founder of Photowalk Dubai. Co-founder of the group, Anjum Vahanvati had this to say about the walk - “PhotoWalk Dubai like to call out events that are unique and will provide a great learning experience. We love primes and

Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014 | Portraiture

the idea to have a 50mm walk was a no brainer. It’s one of the best lenses to have as a beginner, an amateur or a professional. The base 50 18 fits perfectly in anybody’s budget and the image quality far surpasses from what you get from the ordinary 18-55 kits and even the pro 2.8 zooms. It is also one of the most common lens that is a must in anybody’s gear bag. The other options were 35 and 85mm but nothing comes near the accessibility of a 50mm with the masses. While some consider it a disadvantage as it is a fixed focal length lens, the advantages are way more than that. The size is very small & the weight is minimal so we do not toil carrying our gear like a laborer. Your mind gets free from the distraction you get with a zoom lens. It is just a pure shooting experience.” “Shooting on 50mm makes the photographer work really harder than usual. Lack of zoom makes the photographer move himself and adjusts to the scene - Twist - BendSqueeze himself till he gets the composition right. May be that is one of the secrets why 50mm is supposed to be the best teacher in photography - It really makes one see and observe and compose rather than just zoom at your comfort and click.” adds Subodh Shetty. THE WALK : The 50mm Photowalk was held at a rather challenging venue - Sharjah scrap yard. About 70 photographers decided to spend their Friday evening in this NOT-SO-POPULAR-NOT-SO-GLAMOROUS place doing what they love to do the most Shooting. About 2 hours of walk across the dusty lanes of the scrap yard, from a labor camp the first minute to a wood factory the next, it was quite an experience for the first timers, who had never experienced this unseen side of Sharjah. The place provided great opportunities to shoot Portraits, Still Life, Streets and more. “

blessing, while I was thinking that job of his is definitely not that easy but he seemed to enjoy it.” Photowalk Dubai Appreciation Awards : ( Runners Up ) 2nd Place for the best photograph of the walk was won by Deepak Ayekpam who was awarded an appreciation certificate from Photowalk Dubai. Deepak Ayekpam’s quotes on his experience of the walk and the winning image:

Best Image Award Walaa Alshaer

“First of all I would like to thank Photowalk Dubai and all the members for the consideration. I am more into landscape photography but Photowalk Dubai 50mm event gave me an opportunity to try something which I have never done before .It was a very challenging task for me to capture with 50mm and moreover it was of people photography. I have realized that apart from composition and camera settings, one need to know how to approach people and it is a completely different skill from photography. When I took this shot it reminded me of a famous quote by Pablo Picasa - “Who sees the human face correctly: the photographer, the mirror, or the painter?” Last but not the least, it’s been a pleasure to be a part of Photowalk Dubai “ 3rd Place for the best photograph of the walk was won by Vikram Hingmire who was awarded an appreciation certificate from Photowalk Dubai. Vikram Hingmire’s on his experience of the walk and the winning image:

2nd Place

Deepak Ayekpam

About 300+ photographs were shared on the event album on Facebook within the next 3 days of the shoot of which Photowalk Dubai had to choose top 3 to award them with well deserved recognitions. The best image from the event was won by Walaa Alshaer She would have a chance to use Nikon D600 for one whole month, Courtesy - Nikon Middle East & Africa, the sponsors of Photowalk Dubai. She also was awarded with an inspirational ‘Photobook’ - Portraits from Steve McCurry and an appreciation certificate from Photowalk Dubai.

3rd Place

Vikram Hingmere

Walaa Alshaer’s quotes on overall photowalk experience and the winning image: “First time we go to a place which reminded me of some areas in my hometown , it’s a place where people are living simply, they work and sleep in the same place and they don’t care what they are missing out there. It was amazing to me that it was Friday which is a weekend and some were working still , they did not complain or reject at all to being shot by 50 photographers they were actually so welcoming .That man in the photo was the most popular labor to be shot, he did not look at anyone of us he just kept working and cutting those wood bars while the light was embracing him to me it was like the rays from the sun giving him its

“Going with photo walk friends is like rediscovering myself ,keeps me on ground ,tests my skills ,gives me opportunity to learn ,provides firsthand experience with photographers good in their own skills like teambuilding effort, professional guidance to instrument handling. Riding with these likeminded people makes these moments much pleasurable, as for me Photowalk Dubai members gave new definition to “teaching, friendship and help”. During this photograph, light was good, helping sweat on his forehead to give enough clue of this hard work. Saw dust was everywhere so I was waiting for him to start new work as I wanted first cloud of dust covering door in background. I have set shutter speed a bit slow to show motion in dust particles “felt like he was shaping somebody’s dream across that door sacrificing his own as dust “

Portraiture | Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014

RANDOM CLICK

Photographers Gallery

Photo by: Dennis Punzalan

Photo by: Dan Reyes

Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014 | Portraiture

Photo by: Gian Mark Quidasol

Photo by: Joseph Antony

Photo by: Vince Garcia

Photo by: Oscar Rialubin

Photo by: Liz JVR

Portraiture | Vol 02 | Iss 13 | 2014

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