Photograph THE MAGAZINE Issue No.10 I July 2017
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JUNE
HELLO
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Hello everyone and have a nice month! How are you? It's been a while since the latest issue but the only thing that matters is that we are back and the 10th issue of Photograph:The Magazine is here. Before saying anything else we have to point out that we reach number 10 of issues and we close 1 year from the 1st year. On this month's issue we have all the other things that we had the times before plus your own comments and quotes that you leave on the ''Chat'' section of the site. Well, we have a lot of things to discover. So, let's turn page and enjoy! Cheers,
John
E D I T O R ' S
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06 Top 10 11 Debate 13 News 18 Tip 20 Travel 27 How-To
PHOTO GRAPH
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29 Editor's picks 31 Review 37 Interview 49 Events 51 The Voice 54 Insta Top 10
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Quote Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever... it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything. - Aaron Siskind suggested by louiskmoore
Top
10
Debate
Should you ask permission before taking someone’s photo?
Yes
No
Taking someone’s photo is a personal experience and if someone doesn’t want to have their photograph taken they should have the option of being able to refuse. By asking permission not only are you showing courtesy and respect, but you are also often able to capture more candid and personal photos. People will be more accommodating, and it will also means that there is less chance of offending the person you are photographing which in turn mean less chance of a confrontation.
By asking permission to take someone’s photo you are missing the opportunity to capture them and the situation in its natural state. When the person you are photographing is aware of the camera it might make them nervous and the photo will feel staged. Asking permission also means you might miss the key moment which makes the photo powerful. The other advantage of not asking permission is you can work quickly and so won’t have to answer questions regarding the purpose of the photo.
NEWS
News Photographers Caught Fighting at UK Polling Station A couple of photojournalists in the UK covering the general election today accidentally made the news when another camera caught them fighting for position.
BBC News cameras caught the photographer and cameraman pushing and shoving each other at a polling station in Cumbria as they waited for Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron to leave the building. “A man just nearly tripped up,” says a woman’s voice in the video. “He’s done it again. What’s going on? They’re having a proper scrap.” It seems the cameraman wasn’t happy with the still photographer standing in his shot, so he decided to take matters into his own hands You can see the video by searching Media scuffle outside polling station - BBC News
This Photographer Shot His Own Wedding Photo in 11 Countries After Malaysian photographer Keow Wee Loong and his fiancée Marta got married recently, they embarked on an epic adventure: Keow decided to shoot his own wedding photo in 11 countries around the world. Countries the couple visited over the 3 month journey include Norway, Indonesia, Japan, Italy, England, Austria, Germany, Poland, Malaysia, Sweden, and Denmark.
The couple says they spent less than $1,100 on the project. “The tricky part is carrying all the heavy gear and wedding dress, and doing your own makeup at the top of a mountain in freezing temperatures,” Keow says. At each location, Keow set up a tripod with his Nikon D800E DSLR, a Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art lens, an ONSMO X1-Pro portable strobe, and a wireless remote. On the top are the “first kiss” wedding photos they shot around the world (they were retouched by Marta, who’s a visual artist) You can find more of Keow’s work on his Facebook page.
Elle Australia’s Latest Fashion Cover Was Shot With an iPhone Fashion magazine Elle Australia has joined the ranks of Billboard and Conde Nast’s Traveller by becoming the first magazine in its genre to shoot a cover using a cell phone camera. Top Aussie fashion photographer Georges Antoni decided to use an iPhone 7 Plus to shoot Margaret Zhang for the cover of the June issue of the monthly magazine. Having photographed Bella Hadid for Harper’s Bazaar and Gemma Ward for Wonderland, Antoni is no stranger to cover shoots. While the iPhone is far from his go-to camera he did find some positives, as he revealed in a press release regarding the campaign. One thing that struck me was how liberating it was to shoot and not worry about lenses, tripods, tethering to the computer, etc. It’s also such an interesting dynamic to see how the public are so conditioned to seeing people shooting on their phones that they don’t really take notice, so the shoot could happen in a much more stealth way. With plenty of natural light available on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, the iPhone in ‘Portrait mode’ did the job for Antoni. Of course, the photographer behind the camera was a vital piece of the cover’s success, as Elle Australia’s editorin-chief Justine Cullen says: As these incredible pocket-cameras now find themselves in the hands of everyone and anyone, it means magazines like ours need photographers with an even more honed eye, more magical storytelling skills and bucketloads more vision to create a story – or cover – worthy of making it onto the printed page, as opposed to the more fleeting existence of, say, that shot of your barista-touched latte you posted on Snapchat. Though obviously no replacement for a professional camera, it speaks to the quality of cell phone cameras these days that a fashion publication would consider using one for their cover shoot, publicity stunt or not.
Mt. St. Helens Eruption Photos Found on Thrift Store Camera Film Portland photographer Kati Dimoff (1st picture) has a habit of hunting for old cameras at thrift stores and checking to see whether they contain undeveloped rolls of film. Earlier this year, a camera she found contained a set of unexpected photos: they show the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. “Every time I’m in southeast Portland, I run into the big Goodwill on Grand Ave and check all their film cameras for exposed but undeveloped rolls of film,” Dimoff tells PetaPixel. If I find one, I buy the camera and take the film to Blue Moon Camera and Machine in the St Johns neighborhood to have it developed.” This photo lab has expertise in developing old, expired, and out-of-production film. Back on May 26th, Dimoff found an Argus C2 camera that contained a damaged roll of Kodachrome slide film.
After having it developed — in black and white because the Kodachrome process has been discontinued — Dimoff received the film back with a note on the package. It read: “is this from the mt st helens eruption?” “Some of the shots showed Mount St. Helens way off in the distance with just the little puffs of ash from the beginning of the eruption, with the longview bridge in view, so it must have been shot from just off Highway 30,” Dimoff says. “Two of the shots showed a larger ash cloud, with John Glumm elementary school in the foreground (in St. Helens, Oregon).” The Oregonian reports that it’s possible these photos show later plumes rising from the volcano on July 22, 1980, after the initial eruption on May 18th, 1980. After Dimoff’s found eruption photos were reported by The Oregonion on Wednesday, this family photo was noticed by a man named Mel Purvis. “I almost fell out of my chair,” Purvis tells The Oregonion. “That’s me.” It turns out the photo shows Purvis standing with his wife, grandmother, and young son in their yard in Eugene, Oregon, 37 years ago. Purvis believes the camera belonged to his grandmother, who passed away in 1981. He says he isn’t sure how her camera, film, and photos ended up at a Goodwill in Portland.
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5 Things to Keep in Mind When Photographing the Ocean Summer is here and everyone as usual take a few days off and travel where the sun and the sea are. So, if you are a photographer you must take a few photos of the ocean, But as beautiful as the ocean can be, it can also be quite difficult to capture it properly. Here are a few tips that will get you started with seascape photography.
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Find an Interesting Foreground First and foremost, the ocean is one thing: very flat. To give a beach and ocean scene more depth, include an interesting foreground. But don’t just plop a random rock in your image. Instead, find patterns, leading lines and lead the viewer through your image. Don’t be afraid to get your feet wet, some of the best compositions can be found in the water. In the end, there really is no limit to the things you can do with your imagination and what nature puts in front of you.
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Bring Your Filters and a Tripod My go-to filters for seascape photography are ND Filters and Graduated ND Filters. I use the Graduated ND Filter for bringing detail and colour back into an overblown sky and I consider it a staple piece of equipment when shooting around sunset and sunrise. To achieve longer exposure times use a regular ND filter. Since you will be working with long shutter speeds, a stable tripod is a must. Make sure to really jam the tripod into the sand After all, you don’t want the inevitable waves to take your camera out.
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Use Wide Angle Lenses You can do some cool stuff with zoom lenses, but when I shoot the ocean, 99% of the time I grab one my wide angle lenses. Wide angles work especially well when capturing the ocean in combination with one of the aforementioned foreground objects. They exaggerate angles and really let you show the grandeur of the coast.
5 Think About Movement Do you prefer realistic photos or do you want to create dreamy images that seem to be out of this world? To freeze waves in mid-roll, a shutter speed of at least 1/50 seconds or higher should do the trick. If you plan to photograph in low light in the golden and blue hours, you’ll have to crank the ISO quite a bit to still freeze the action. This in turn will introduce a lot of noise into your image, so keep that in mind when shooting. As always, take some test shots and adjust from there. ---------->
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Consider the Time of Day If you want to be photographing landscapes, that includes the ocean, do it during the golden and blue hours around sunrise and sunset. The absence of harsh light and shadows, the vibrant colours and the possibility of longer shutter speeds make it the best time for photography. Also, during the day beaches are often crowded, but in the evening, early in the morning or during stormy weather, they are deserted. Light is one thing, but also be aware of the tides and the season. Coastlines can change dramatically throughout the day (and year!) and if you have the chance, make sure to scout your location out properly and find out about low and high tide before heading out to shoot. If you’re like me and prefer some lots of motion blur in the clouds and in the water, your goal is to slow down the shutter speed until you get the desired effect. Keep your ISO at 100, set a higher f-stop to keep everything in focus and slow down the action a bit more You’ll start getting a decent blurred effect around 1 second, but you can also take it to the extreme, put a strong 10-stop filter on and try several minutes.
Travel
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Santorini, Greece
POS TA STA GE MP
JTR Santorini, a volcanic island in the Cyclades that rests in the middle of the Aegean, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Greece-- and for good reason. Travel to Santorini and you will be treated to sweeping, dramatic ocean views, pristine beaches, including the black pebble beach of Kamari, traditional Grecian architecture, fine dining, and numerous, excellent local wineries. The island is a well-known international vacation spot and attracts throngs of tourists during peak season, but its local charm and beauty make Santorini travel an unforgettable experience despite the crowd.
When to go: Peak season on the island begins in early April and ends in late September. While the island is generally far more crowded and expensive during this time period, a visit to Santorini during the island’s off-season is not recommended, as the temperature drops, and the weather turns rainy and windy. In addition, a large percentage of local restaurants and hotels close their doors, making it difficult to fully enjoy the vacation spot.
Getting there: Flying to Santorini is the quickest and easiest way. You can fly to Santorini from Athens or directly from cities in western Europe such as London, Manchester, Paris, and Amsterdam. Also, arriving by ferry in Santorini is a great experience. The cliffs loom over your boat and it’s a really awesome first impression of the island. On the Blue Star ferry you can wander the decks and you’ll have a great view of the volcano and caldera. A good compromise between flying and ferry is to take the ferry to Santorini and then fly back. It does take some planning to find the right tickets but the perfect route is to fly to Athens, ferry to Santorini (perhaps stopping at a few islands along the way), then flying from Santorini back to Athens – or fly directly from Athens to Western Europe as you will have already been to Athens and don’t need to visit again.
Stay: Booking.com – Great site (and the best prices) for booking hotels on Santorini. Use the website specific to your home country for easiest planning. Book hotels early. The best Santorini hotels sellout 6 to 10 months in advance. The best hotels on Santorini are Grace Santorini in Imerovigli and Katikies in Oia. The best new hotel on Santorini is Cavo Tagoo located a 10 minute walk north of Imerovigli. It’s a quiet stunning location – perfect for a honeymoon. Best hotel by town: Best Fira Hotels: Aria Suites • Cosmopolitan Suites Best Oia Hotels: Katikies • Canaves Suites • Perivolas Best Imerovigli Hotels: Grace • Astra Suites • Cavo Tagoo Best Firostefani Hotels: Tsitouras Collection • Homeric Poems • Belvedere Cheap Hotels in Fira: San Giorgio Villas (no view) • Kavalari (caldera view) Cheap Hotels in Oia: Anemomilos (no view) • Strogili (caldera view) Cheap Hotels in Imerovigli: Merovigliosso (no view) • Kasimatis Studios (caldera view) Cheap Hotels in Firostefani: Hotel Sofia (no view) • Agali Houses (caldera view) Santorini Hotels with the best sunset views: Grace and Esperas Traditional Houses.
Do: 1. Go and see Akrotiri of Thera with the most famous ruins in the Cyclades. 2. Visit Atlantis Books the one and only bookstore on the island. 3. Visit Franco's bar. The sophisticated spot with views over the caldera is the perfect counterpart to Fira's more raucous late-night lounges. 4. Visit Hasapiko which is the exception of nightlife with strong cocktails, and people with different "nationalities, sexualities and mentalities". 5. Shop in Kostas Antoniou Jewelry that puts a modern twist on classical Minoan pieces. His shop also stocks vino and offers tastings - but drinking and shopping could be dangerous: Antoniou's gold necklaces don't come cheap. 6. And last but not least visit The Volcan Winery. With all that volcanic rock, not much grows on Santorini - except for grapes. Locally produced dry white and dessert wines are renowned throughout the country. You can get a taste of both and learn about Greece's winemaking history at Volcan, which is run by the fourth generation of the Koutsoynopoulos family. In a natural cave some 20 feet underground, a quirky museum features displays of animatronic donkeys and of farmers stomping grapes.
Where to get the best shots: 1. Blue Hour from the Castle of Oia Every night at sunset crowds form at Oia Castle to watch the sun go down. It's a bit of a zoo and not the romantic experience one would hope for. But if you wait a bit and go to the castle after you've taken your photos at the domes, you can capture this magnificent view of the town of Oia lit up at blue hour showcasing the windmill. Don't look out towards the sun, instead look back at the city. 2. Find the blue domes of Oia It's the iconic postcard shot of the island. As you walk along the main marble streets of Oia back from the castle, look for a ritzy looking jewellery store on the main street. Walk down the alley towards the water and you'll see the domes as you look out over the caldera. There will most likely be crowds there. They start to leave as sunset approaches.
3.The Three Bells of Fira Just up the stairs from Mama Thira's house in the town of Fira, you will find this beautiful blue dome overlooking the Caldera. We searched all over for these three bells and it wasn't until our second last evening on the island that we finally found it. So make your way to Mama Thira and walk up to the top of the cliff. You'll come to a parking lot. Look over and there's the dome. 4. Infinity pools Oia When walking through the streets of Oia, you'll see infinity pools dot the cliffside from luxury suites. It's worth splurging for an evening or two to stay at one of these suites. They are truly a slice of heaven.
5. The Caldera from Imerovigli Between the towns of Oia and Fira is a beautiful town known as Imerovigli. We stayed here for two nights at the Iconic Santorini and it was heaven. Forget sunsets at the castle, Imerovigli is the place to watch the sun go down over the Calderra. It is a half hour walk from Imerovigli to Fira or you can take the coastal walk for three hours to Oia. Or you can drive to either. Parking is cheap and often free. 6. Sunrise in Imerovigli Everyone always talks about the sunsets in Santorini, but the sunrises are pretty special too. The place to capture a sunset is from the town of Imerovigli because as you look back you capture the high sea cliffs as well as the town and neighbouring city Firostefani. But to really take it in make sure to enjoy a Santorini sunset from a Catamaran. 7. The Historic tour boats Each night we would watch historic tour boats that looked like old Junk Boats leave for a sunset cruise. We caught this shot by walking down a hotel's stairs in Oia as they came in from their afternoon tour just before heading out again for sunset. You have to capture a shot of these, they're a staple of the island.This is a popular spot to photograph the caldera and it is along the main path of town.
8. See Santorini from Below If you can, try to go on a sailing trip of your own. It's much more intimate than the large party boats and you have the opportunity to see Santorini from the sea. The cliffs are higher and more dramatic that you realize from below and the white cities can be seen like icing on a layer cake spread out over the high sea cliffs.
9. Black Beach You should definitely spend a day here. The water is warm and secluded, the sand is hot, there are a lot of options for food and drink and a chair rental costs â‚Ź5 a day. Regular busses take tourists from Fira to Black Beach all day long. 10. Red Beach When visiting Santorini, you must make sure you rent a car. They're cheap and it makes life so much easier to get around. We drove all over the place and had the freedom to come and go as we please. When driving along the coast on the west side of the island from Fira, follow the signs to Akrotiri. Take that left turn but drive past Akrotiri. You'll come to a parking lot at a church. From here you walk along a rocky path to the beautiful red beach. It used to be a quiet haven, but now it's quite busy. However, it's worth the stop for a striking photograph.
How-to How to make fake ice cream for a lot of yummy shots!
Using a stand-in for ice cream To overcome the time constraints when shooting ice cream, some photographers use an ice cream substitute made of various concoctions. Some photographers use mixtures that are playdough-based, mashed potato-based, powdered sugar-based, frosting-based, and so on; a lot of different recipes for ice cream substitutes are out there. All the recipes have a similar doughlike texture that mimics ice cream’s appearance but won’t melt under the lights — just check out the ice cream substitute in the following figure. These substitutes give you all the time in the world to get your perfect ice cream shot.
Berry Ice Cream Substitute Recipe Ingredients: 1/3 cup instant mashed potato flakes 1 cup vegetable shortening 4-plus cups powdered sugar 2 tablespoons light corn syrup About 1/4 cup of mashed berries Recipe 1. Using a hand or stand mixer, mix the shortening with the mashed potato flakes. Add in the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. After adding 3 cups, mix in the corn syrup and the berries. 2.Continue adding the powdered sugar until the mixture starts to form a doughy texture. When you can touch the mixture and it isn’t sticky, you know you’ve mixed in enough powdered sugar. If the dough is a little too dry, mix in another tablespoon of mashed berries. 3. Knead the dough for about a minute (right in the bowl is fine). When you have a smooth ball of the dough, you can start scooping away! Tip: The following ice cream substitute recipe (shown in the preceding figure) uses mashed berries to give it a really fresh look:
Editor's picks
Editor's monthly picks
We search and find the most interesting things on internet for you! SAVE 203Booq SP-GRY Slimpack The summer is here and every single persone in this world take some days off to travel around the world and escape from the everyday routine. The only thing that we have to take with us is our photography equipment. So, why trying fit your clothes with all those lenses in a bag and make your life difficult ??? Take this beautiful, small and ergonomic bag for an easier transfer.
Luna And talking about easy transfer here comes Luna, the world’s smallest 360° camera. At just 6cm across, Luna travels well and is easy to place anywhere for the perfect shot. Choose to record in flat, sphere, VR, or planet modes for any situation.
Fujifilm X-A1 And for the end I choose a camera because we need something new for a little experimentation. The Fujifilm X-A1 has a compact and lightweight feel, yet features a high performing APS-C CMOS sensor and EXR Processor II, offering high quality image capture. The 16M large APS-C CMOS sensor captures rich tonal expression, a beautiful “bokeh” depth-of-field effect, increased dynamic range and exceptional low light performance. With a tilt able highdefinition LCD monitor, built-in flash and WiFi link to transfer photos to smartphones, the FUJIFILM X-A1 has all the features consumers will be looking for when venturing into an affordable interchangeable-lens type compact system camera. If you want more info turn page and see the review
Beoncam Removable 360 Wrist Camera Never miss another moment when you wear the Beoncam Removable 360 Wrist Camera. Functioning as a watch and a camera, this device remains on your wrist and always ready to capture the action. Unlike a smartphone or camera, the Beoncam is always just a tap away.
Omni-Wearable Action Cam Sunglasses
Summer is well-known for its sun. So, everyone need a pair of sunglasses to protect their eyes from the sun. But these smart shades do so much more than block the sun. Integrated on the side is a handsfree HD video camera with which you can capture the world as you see it. Also, it's good to know that when not in use, the camera seamlessly tucks away.
Review
FUJIFILM
X-A1
REVIEW
Fujifilm’s X-series of cameras has proved incredibly successful since its launch in 2010. The combination of advanced imaging technology in a distinctive retro body proved a winner, with the series reaching a pinnacle with the rangefinder-inspired X-Pro1. The new X-A1 is more of an entry-level CSC, although it takes many of its design cues from the Fujifilm X-Pro1 in particular. Owing to its entry-level nature it’s much more affordable than the X-Pro1, so does it represent as attractive a proposition? Let’s take a closer look.
Pros:
Cons:
Impressive performance Outstanding detail and ISO performance Brisk overall performance Pricey lens range
Screen only so-so No viewfinder option
Features: The sensor at the core of the X-A1 is similar to many of the other X-series models in that it is an APS-C chip with a 16-megapixel resolution. It does differ in one crucial area, however, as rather than being a Fujifilm X-Trans CMOS sensor, it is instead a conventional Bayer-filter CMOS chip. One feature missing in comparison to several other Fujifilm X-series CSCs is a viewfinder. Although this is by no means uncommon for a CSC around this price point, it is somewhat disappointing that there isn’t even the option to attach an external viewfinder should you so wish. Rather than use a viewfinder, photographers are instead going to have to rely upon the model’s LCD screen. The screen itself measures in at 3-inches and features a resolution of 920k-dots, and thanks to a horizontal hinge mechanism it can be tilted around 180 degrees for overhead and waistlevel shooting.
As is becoming the norm with the latest digital cameras, the Fujifilm X-A1 incorporates Wi-Fi functionality. This functionality is accessed through Fujifilm’s free Android and iOScompatible app, and supports the wireless transfer of images as well as geotagging. Unfortunately the app doesn’t currently allow for wireless operation of the camera, although this might be a feature which is added on future updates. Although the X-A1 supports full HD video capture at 1920 x 1080 and 30fps, the functionality itself isn’t as complete as on some competing CSCs and as a result feels a little undercooked. As you’d expect for a camera in the X-series, the X-A1 supports the full range of manual shooting control in PASM capture modes. Alongside this manual control reside a range of custom modes, allowing for you to store your preferred shooting settings.
Design: On the whole the X-A1 is an attractively designed CSC, with its retro looks certain to impress its intended audience. It’s also a camera that generally handles well, although it’s not without a few handling issues. For example, when shooting in any of the manual modes exposure variables are handled by a pair of dials on the top and rear plates respectively. Although these offer pleasingly prompt access to camera settings, the dial on the top plate has a loose feel and as a result is quite easily knocked during shooting, often without noticing. The result of this is it’s not uncommon to review an under or over-exposed shot before you realise the cause. Other controls feel better thought through, with a customisable ’Fn’ function button found on the front of the camera, accompanied with a “Q” button on the rear that, as you might expect, allows access to a ‘quick’ graphical menu that facilitates adjustment of common shooting settings. The body of the X-A1 is certainly an attractive one from an aesthetic perspective, with its rangefinder looks and chunky buttons forming a solid package. Despite these looks, the camera body itself is plastic and features a grip-patterned vinyl finish in parts. That’s not to say the camera isn’t sturdy, as it certainly feels solid when shooting, while the plastic finish has the benefit of making for a lighter camera body. The presence of a small hand grip and thumb rest on the rear of the camera allow for a solid grip while shooting, while other small touches like the pop-up flash being mounted on a flexible linkage complete an attractive camera.
Performance: The X-A1 is certainly a competent performer, with very few areas of real weakness. One of these areas is the camera’s performance in low-light conditions. When trying to gauge focus in difficult lighting conditions, the Fujifilm X-A1 X-A1 struggles to lock on the desired target. On the plus side, rather than continually hunting around it instead acknowledges that focus won’t be achieved and informs you as such, while the on-board AF lamp does go some way to assisting the situation.
Performance: The rest of the camera’s performance is impressive, with the X-A1’s operational speeds a particular highlight. The camera goes from off to ready to shoot in just over two seconds, while powering down in under that time. The quoted continuous shooting speeds are 3fps and 5.6fps, and these speeds are generally met. When shooting in Raw JPEG mode the X-A1 manages around ten shots before the buffer fills, although if you’re going to be shooting just JPEG then the camera will continue until the card is full. Shot-to-shot speed is also pleasing, and consistent between shooting ‘JPEG’ and ‘Raw JPEG’, at a little over 1.1 seconds between images. This shot-to-shot speed is also solid, in that it will remain at this rate until the card in full. The X-A1’s battery life is another highlight – although Fujifilm quotes 350 shots on a single charge, during the testing period the real figure was nearer 400 including usage of the Wi-Fi feature and several shots with flash. If you were to be conservative with these aspects you should manage even more.
Image Quality: The 16MP sensor isn’t the highest resolution available, and despite the presence of the anti-alias filter in comparison to an X-Trans sensor, the X-A1 delivers impressive detail. Indeed, the sharpness of the Fujifilm lenses and the camera’s impressive image processing combine to deliver a level of detail some way ahead of expectations. The exposure system is also reliable, delivering good results in most conditions and only really presenting issues when the exposure compensation dial is accidentally knocked. There is a slight grievance with the X-A1’s dynamic range, however. When shooting just JPEGs, images can appear slightly murky with restricted detail appearing in the shadows. However, this is an issue that can be circumvented through shooting Raw files, which deliver a good two stops extra with regards to dynamic range. Colour rendition is another pleasing area of the camera’s performance, as the X-A1 delivers a good balance even in more troubling shooting conditions. Better still, the host of Fujifilm simulation modes allow for personal preference should you require a different feel to your images.
Should I buy the Fujifilm X-A1? At around £500 with a kit lens at time of review, the Fujifilm X-A1 is certainly up against some stiff competition with regards to fellow CSCs. It fares well in comparison to these models however, and while it’s not as small as say the Samsung NX2000, or as simple to use as the Olympus E-PL5, there’s no denying that it delivers on image quality ahead of such cameras. One point of note is that the accompanying optics of the X series are more expensive than rival mounts, and as such putting together a system would prove a costly exercise. However, if image quality is your main concern then you should give some serious consideration to X-A1.
Verdict: The Fujifilm X-A1 delivers an excellent standard of image quality, is an attractively designed camera and has a strong level of performance. While the lenses in the X series might not be the cheapest on the market, the X-A1 is well worthy of consideration in the entry-level CSC market.
Score:
4/
5
Interview
An Interview with Photographer Mark Seliger by Ken Weingart
Mark Seliger is one of the best-known editorial portrait photographers in the U.S., and his career spans over twenty years. He succeeded Annie Leibovitz as the designated “chief photographer� for Rolling Stone Magazine and has photographed over 125 Rolling Stone covers. His magazine work in portrait and fashion continues to be extensive and includes: Italian Vogue, Elle, Vanity Fair, GQ, and others. He has won many of the top photo awards worldwide, and continues to create self-realized projects and endeavors. I had the opportunity to talk to Mark about his most recent personal project On Christopher Street: Portraits, which is being exhibited at the Von Lintel Gallery
1. Where did you grow up?
3. How do you like Texas?
Mark Seliger: I was born in Amarillo and raised in Houston, and spent my high school years there. Later, I went to East Texas University and majored in photography and minored in graphic arts. After that I moved to New York to assist and ended up staying here.
Texas is a great place. It has a really interesting balance of poetry and urbanness. Houston is very urban yet it gave me a lot of opportunity to grow up in the suburbs and see art, and experience life outside of Amarillo. I was really lucky that we were able to get out of town and have those experiences. And New York was the flip side of that because it’s a big little town.
2. Your parents are still there? My father passed away. My mom still lives in the same house.
4. What was your exposure to photography before college? In high school, I did a little bit of dark room stuff. I went to HSPVA, which was a magnet school in Houston. It was centered around media, video, television, and photography. The last year was more of a photographer apprenticeship. So I had quite a bit of photography background before college.
5. Who were your early influences? My mentor was a guy named James Blueberry, who was our professor. Wonderful guy. I admired Penn, Avedon, and Arnold Newman was one of my heroes. I loved some of the early Skrebneski pictures and was a fan of Mary Ellen Mark and Diane Arbus.
6. Did you assist?
7. And you landed in New York around 1987?
I assisted two years in Houston and about two and a half years in New York. I worked for John McDaire full-time, and later several other photographers. Eventually I just decided to go out and do it on my own.
9. You have been moving into the fashion world a bit?
8. Your first big break was shooting for Rolling Stone? I started to shoot for a ton of different magazines. I ended up working for Rolling Stone pretty quickly. I was on retainer with them at first, and then eventually I went fulltime from 1992 to 2002, and then full-time with Conde Nast (Vanity Fair and GQ) for ten years.
I actually moved to New York in 1984 and apprenticed until almost 1987. I started to actively shoot towards the end of 1986.
I don’t really consider there’s the one world or the other. As a photographer, your skill set travels everywhere. I mean I’ve done a lot of fashion stories over the years. I work regularly for Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, and Italian Vogue. We do a fair amount of that.
10. And you still do quite a bit with Rolling Stone to this day? Yeah.
11. As for advertising work, do you find you enjoy it as much or less as editorial? I enjoy taking pictures. If I take a job or assignment, I’m totally invested in it and excited whether it’s an advertising job or an editorial job. That’s why people hire me. They hire me to do what I do. That’s kind of the rule… If you’re going to take it, you have to thoroughly invest in it.
12. You are known for music. Has that industry changed a lot since you started shooting, or is there still a lot of work there? The music world for me is very much an editorial experience. I do some record cover work and photographs for music packaging, whether it’s digital packaging, or a printed piece. But certainly we shoot a fair amount of artists for Vanity Fair, GQ, and some of the fashion magazines. So I think it’s very much alive and well. It’s obviously changing drastically with all these music services coming up. I still think there’s a lot of hope for interesting visual needs in terms of music and what is needed from that world.
13.Do you find it can be difficult working with publicists? I typically work one on one with artists. The publicists tend to make the connection between the artist and myself. And then usually we take it from there.
19. A lot of your work is tack sharp. But that wasn’t the point with these? Yes. No, these were on the street. We were moving in a quick pace. Sometimes it would be one roll of film. And sometimes it would be five rolls of film.
14. What is the gear you have used in the past and present? We have a little bit of everything. We use everything from 8×10 large format to all types of digital and medium format. We don’t really use very complicated equipment. We use very simple equipment. That’s the name of the game. We use IQ, Phase One, as well as Nikons. But a fair amount of the fine art work that we do depends on what we’re going with for a particular project. For example, On Christopher Street, I tried a couple of different cameras, and I ended up going back to a Hasselblad and one lens. That’s usually how a project starts — just figuring out what is it going to be. Is it going to be Chinese? Is it going to be Japanese, who knows?
15. On Christopher Street was digital or film? It was film, and everything was printed in silver gelatin process.
16. Do you print it, or do you send it out? I work with a printer. I did not print this body of work, but I make initial tests myself. We worked with John Delaney, a wonderful printer who printed for Avedon at the end of his life.
17. ISO? We used Tri-x, always Tri-x.
18. 400? Yes
20. How did the idea for On Christopher Street come about? How did you find the subjects? The process was really very simple; my neighborhood has been changing drastically and rapidly. Neighborhoods tend to vanish.
22. f you see someone who looks like a man, it’s a woman and vice versa? Correct. It’s the exact opposite of what you imagine on the film.
23. And you also shot in their residences? We only did a couple environmental portraits. That was just to show their lifestyle. For the most part we photographed people on the streets while walking around.
24. Did you cast anyone or just walk up and say hello? The rule is that you have to go out and walk on the street and ask, and after a while, we had a couple of portraits that we could show and explain what we were doing — which was essentially going out and documenting the neighborhood. Eventually a friend of mine (who is very likable and easy- going — Frankie Marks) joined me and helped us find subjects. It was an evolution of how we wanted to work.
25. How important is fine art to your career? Everything that we do is a trusted photograph and becomes part of the archive. There are some commercial jobs obviously that are not going to make it to the bank. That’s why I do so much editorial, because the editorial work is also a documentation of time. And this is somewhat of a responsibility of who I am as a photographer and an artist. I think those are kind of blurry lines....
21. Where is your neighborhood? The West Village. I’m about two blocks from Christopher Street. And it was about going out and photographing people. There wasn’t a specific type of person I was photographing. It was just the theatre of the streets. After about a dozen portraits, we picked up on the fact that for most part, not all, it was mostly transgender. As we moved forward on the project, we used that as a base. Everybody that we would approach was in some form of transition. Some of them were occupationally working girls, and some of them were just people hanging out on the street. Eventually what happened after about the second year is we started to connect with a couple of folks that pointed us in the direction of the Transpanel. And when we went to the Transpanel, we met our guys. And that’s when everything changed. You really couldn’t spot Trans men on the street. ...Obviously we know not everything is going to be considered art, but I’m an applied artist. For the most part, I work on a mission to do photographs. What I do for myself is not very far from what I do normally. I’ve always been one to have a project going at some stage. It’s really about evolving and finding new ways to tell the story.
26. What was the inspiration for you book When They Came to Take my Father – Voice of the Holocaust?
27. When They Came to Take my Father was multi-state or in one area?
The inspiration for that was I grew up in Texas in a fairly modern Jewish home. We were always taught about the Holocaust. It wasn’t until later I met the owners of a bakery called ‘Three Brothers Bakery’, of which all three brothers were survivors. My friend was the son of one of the owners, and he introduced me to his dad. I saw the tattoo on his arm and remembered what an impression that had on me. Once I had the ability to actually generate a project on my own, we found publishers that were interested. I then partnered with writer and researcher Leora Kahn on telling fifty stories. It really became a fairly obsessive project. For a kickoff book project, it was wonderful. And it still has a lot of weight because some of those last stories were maintained and passed on later. A lot of these people have passed away, and they’re going fast. And the ones that I had an opportunity to photograph, for some of them, it was the first time they actually told their story. We were taken aback that they were so open. But it was a really great journey for me to be able to explore documentary the way I was exposed to it in college. It was very humbling to be entrusted by these people with their stories. It was very similar to what we just did with On Christopher Street — which was meeting people for the first time without any real connections — just recognizing that they were in some state of transition on the street and then getting to know them, even if that was just shooting a roll or two of film and then being able to interview them and hear their stories.
New York, Washington, LA, and Texas.
28. You did a book on Cuba. What was the inspiration for that? And how did you like Cuba? Cuba, oh those are my little books. Every couple of years during the holidays, we put together a little sixteen-page book. It’s usually found images in my archive. This particular book was seven days that I went and photographed in Cuba.
29. How was Cuba? It was great. Everywhere you turn you photographed. We went there almost five years ago. It was a time when it was still kind of under lock and key. As you know the last couple years there’s been a lot of development. It’s gotten very touristy. But when we were there, it was a pretty empty lot — basically an open ground for great photography. In fact, we had to get special permission to photograph in some areas.
30. It was harder then than now probably. Yes, much more difficult. But it was wonderful. My friend and his wife lived there part time, and they were super helpful in moving me around and getting me in certain places and photographing certain people that I wouldn’t have been able to photograph or meet. So they were great in terms of making it happen.
31. How did the Lenny Kravitz book come about? Lenny and I have been working together for probably four or five years consistently before the idea of the book. It was really just from having worked with him over the years, and then we looked at the collection of photographs, and pitched it to Arena books. Since then, our friendship continues and Lenny is actually taking pictures himself now.
35. You used to live in LA too? I used to have a little place to hang my hat there, but I no longer do. And I am happy to be just in one place right now.
32. He had Leica exhibition. Yeah.
33. And you play music too. You have a band. I have a little country band, yeah. It keeps me out of trouble
34. Finally, how do you like New York City? You’re still living there? What do you like best or least about New York? I love New York. Being in New York is a great place. Living here is easy in a lot of ways. It’s more accessible than anywhere else I’ve ever been. There are some advantages to obviously being in sunny California. We work there a lot. We have the opportunity to travel back and forth, and enjoy the beautiful weather and the different landscapes. But New York for me is where my studio is and the bulk of editorial is for me. So it makes a lot more sense for me to be here than to be anywhere else.
Events
Wilson, NC
08.04 16.07
WILSON OUTDOOR PHOTO FESTIVAL April 8, 2017 to July 16, 2017 Main Street 1 Downtown Wilson, NC Wilson - NC 0
Eyes on Main Street is a large outdoor and indoor photography festival in Wilson, North Carolina. The current edition runs from April 8 to July 16, 2017, transforming Historic Downtown Wilson into a vibrant gallery of large-scale photographs spanning over six city blocks. The main exhibition features 100 photographs by 100 prominent and emerging photographers from over 30 countries with an equal number of men and women participants. This year’s edition of the Festival includes five additional exhibits (see the events section), making Historic Downtown Wilson a real crossroad for photography. The Eyes on Main Street Kids' Gallery, presented as both indoor and outdoor exhibits, is the outcome of the Kids’ Workshops run by Columbia College Chicago with alumni and local photographers. This program, made possible with the generous support of Canon USA, demonstrates the talents of young participants given a chance to express themselves.
Athens, Greece
14.06 30.07
ATHENS PHOTO FESTIVAL June 14, 2017 to July 30, 2017 Hellenic Centre for Photography Benaki Museum (Pireus ST. ANNEXE) Athens Photo Festival is the leading international festival of photography in Southeastern Europe. Exploring critical issues relevant to our times, our programme works within an international, national and local context, encompassing a variety of exhibitions and activities designed to reflect the diversity of contemporary photography, and to create opportunities for exchange of ideas, artistic expression and international engagement.
Arles, France
03.07 24.09
LES RENCONTRES D'ARLES July 3, 2017 to September 24, 2017 The Rencontres d'Arles is a summer photography festival founded in 1970, which has learned a world-wide reputation as a springboard for photographic and contemporary creative talents. The exhibitions are given on various heritage sites, suitably stage-designed for the purpose.
Events
Arles, France
03 08
FESTIVAL VOIES OFF July 3, 2017 to July 8, 2017 Arles Cour de l'Archeveche Since 1996, right in the midst of the Rencontres d'Arles festival, every first full week in July, Voies Off Festival offers an alternative program (exhibitions, projections, portfolio reviews, professional panel discussions) to a new generation of artists and photographers. Since its inception Voies Off has made a commitment to help young creators. The actions and goals of its program are designed to help and sponsor young fineart photographers, to display and promote their works with the highest quality, and in the best manner possible.
Cortona, Italy
13.07 01.10
CORTONA ON THE MOVE July 13, 2017 to October 1, 2017 Italy Cortona On The Move International Photography Festival is celebrating its first five years of activity. In this short space of time Cortona OTM has rapidly grown to become a significant event in the calendar of professional photographers, journalists, keen amateurs and enthusiasts around the world. This achievement is due to the high quality of research and content that goes into the festival, hand in hand with the architectural beauty and magic of the location where it takes place.
The voice
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lisabking John can you switch that photo profile of yours it's awful. Sorry for not making comments for a while but I didn't have the time and the feeling. Anyway, well I love your magazine and what I love the most is your beautiful galleries and I hope that one of mine will be there!
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Photograph THE MAGAZINE Issue No.10 I July 2017