Getting more out of dotPhoto

Three Looks at Abstract Photography Tips and Techniques

A few weeks ago we posted a blog entry that traced the roots of photography from the coining of the word through some of the best early techniques for creating photos. You may recall that we displayed Heliography, Daguerreotype and Photogravure before pointing to an article that described other interesting methods.

After we reviewed these early techniques for altering the reality of what photos showed we thought you might find it interesting to see some of the more recent techniques for special effects. What follows are references to three articles we found interesting not only for their techniques but for the photos used to demonstrate these methods.

First we see an example of the methods offered by The School of Digital Photography in this article that might lead you to have a budding interest in abstract photography:
http://www.school-of-digital-photography.com/2013/09/abstract-photography-techniques.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next we take a look at how we can use Nature to create Abstract Photography in this article and example from it:
http://www.craftsy.com/blog/2014/06/abstract-photography-in-nature/

And then we finish up by viewing the works on display here that adapt manmade structures to an abstract format:
http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/abstract-photography-tips-and-techniques/

As you can see, Abstract Photography can use many “real” scenes as subjects while sharing many of the powerful techniques that create these special effects.

Let us know what you think.

Walter Krieg
wkrieg@dotphoto.com
http://www.dotphoto.com

October Photo Walk: Fall Colors

First, let’s talk about the Fall. Many consider it to be the most beautiful time of the year! As our first reference tells us, “Gorgeous colors vibrantly encoring the end of summer as the trees put themselves to bed for the long sleep of winter.”

What happens that makes the leaves turn to such vibrant and beautiful colors? It all starts with photosynthesis. Leaves typically produce their vivid hues of green from spring through summer into early fall through the constant creation of Chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is the key component in a plant’s ability to turn sunlight into glucose (a sugar), which in turn feeds the tree. Many millions of these Chlorophyll cells saturate the leaves, ultimately making them appear green to the eye.

Present in leaves and trees are other colored substances. As the Fall days begin to get shorter and shorter, the production of Chlorophyll slows to a halt. As the Chlorophyll disappears the other colors present in the leaves begin to appear. Actually, without the presence of Chlorophyll in the leaf, the bright golds, reds, yellows, and browns would be the natural colors seen year round. Read more about how it all happens here. You will have to click the address below to reach the page.

https://smokymountains.com/area/ and click on the Fall Foliage Map

And now that we’ve talked about Fall, let’s get back to how it looks. The next few photos come from a 23 photo slide show you can see at the link below. These photos were taken in the Southern USA at the very beginning of the season of change and give a strong hint of what is to come.

http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/life/2016/10/15/october-photo-walk/92117356/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we head a bit further north we see that colors are more present since the sun stopped creating our green color sooner. Here are two photos taken recently in Pennsylvania.

 

 

 

You can see more of this set of photos at:
https://longwoodgardens.org/events-and-performances/events/autumns-colors

And now into New England we see that peak foliage season is already here.

 

 

See more New England photos in the slide show at:
http://www.travelchannel.com/interests/fall/photos/new-england-fall-foliage-photos

Now that we’ve seen the range of colors that appear in the Fall let’s get out this weekend and see how our regions’ colors are developing.

Let us know what you see.

Walter Krieg
wkrieg@dotphoto.com
http://www.dotphoto.com

WHAT OUR AUTHOR LEARNED ABOUT FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY FROM HAVING DINNER WITH NY TIMES FOOD PHOTOGRAPHER ANDREW SCRIVANI

We know that quite a few of our dotPhoto clients and visitors are food and cooking enthusiasts. I must confess that I am one as well having worked in the restaurant industry for a number of years. One of the things that always concerned me was food presentation. I always wanted our dishes to look as well as taste great.

Once I became interested in photos I started to notice that food photos could be quite attractive and even mouth watering. And, you may recall that we published a blog in August that spoke of the literally millions of food photos now residing on the Internet. In that article we featured a California-based food photographer by the name of Lisa Gershman and her West Coast style.

Since then we’ve kept our eyes open for another expert opinion on food photography. We also thought it would be fun to get a point of view from someone here on the East Coast. As luck would have it we came across this article about techniques to be learned in food photography from none other than the food photographer from the New York Times, Andrew Scrivani. Mr. Scrivani is not the author of our featured article but he is the source of the knowledge that our author, Robin De Clerq was able to gather.

Here’s a quote from Robin’s article that lets us in on Mr. Scrivani’s core beliefs as a food photographer. “The more intimate you are with your subject matter, the better your photography is going to be.” And more, “Food photography is three dimensional art. It has a structure, and you have to photograph it that way.” Here’s one of Mr. Scrivani’s photos. More can be seen and learned in the article linked below the photo.

http://resourcemagonline.com/2016/06/what-i-learned-about-food-photography-from-having-dinner-with-ny-times-food-photographer-andrew-scrivani/68112/

Let us know what you think.

Walter Krieg
wkrieg@dotphoto.com
http://www.dotphoto.com

Here are 9 Analog Photography Techniques you’ll want to know

Historically the idea of capturing images and finding a way to keep them has been around for many years. When I came across the analog photography methods we present here I decided to look more closely at the origins to see what brought us here.

I learned from this reference (http://inventors.about.com/od/pstartinventions/a/stilphotography.htm) that the word Photography is derived from the Greek words photos (“light”) and graphein (“to draw”). It was coined by the scientist Sir John F.W. Herschel in 1839 to describe a method of recording images by the action of light on a sensitive material. But the use of cameras dates much further back.

Alhazen (Ibn Al-Haytham), was a great authority on optics who lived around 1000AD and invented the first pinhole camera, also called the Camera Obscura, and was able to explain why the images were upside down. But it wasn’t until 1827 that the first true photographic image was created. Joseph Nicephore Niepce created sun prints as they were called by letting light draw the picture. And we’ve progressed from there.

On our way to current cameras and photographic techniques we passed through an era that saw us create many different and interesting techniques for creating photos. They included the nine methods you can explore in the article we feature here. The methods described and discussed include:

Heliography

 

Daguerreotype

 

And Photogravure among others

 

You can see the styles and efforts and techniques used to create them in this article.
https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-9-analogue-photography-techniques-you-need-to-know

Let us know what you think.

Walter Krieg
wkrieg@dotphoto.com
http://www.dotphoto.com

7 Ways to turn your smartphone camera into a professional camera

With the release this year of many new smart phones including Samsung and Apple models we are seeing the first appearance of truly powerful cameras in these mobile devices. Historically almost all of us have taken our serious photos with, if not a DSLR or SLR, a point-and-click digital camera. Mobile phone cameras usually were taken out when we were just having some fun or caught unprepared for picture taking. Well…not anymore.

Now that we know we can use our mobile phones for serious photo taking we thought we might do well to look at what we might need to equip it with. And, given the relatively small sizes of these devices, we believed there would be a good chance that the accessories we might want to equip ourselves with would be smaller than and easier to transport about than those we’re used to using with our DSLR and related cameras.

We have been keeping our eyes open for recommended accessories and even before the recent release of the iPhone 7 came across this article that directed us to what we think are quality tools. Here are a few photos of the equipment followed by a link to the article they appear in.

Note that we’re not promoting the specific accessories shown here, but you can get an idea of some of the tools available and extend your search from there. Oh, I won’t be investing in the drone.

Here’s a good sized tripod

And an all-in-one lens

You can see the recommended accessories in this article and then look around for yourself. When we come across other models and types we’ll let you know.

http://www.bustle.com/articles/169203-7-ways-to-turn-your-smartphone-camera-into-a-professional-camera

Walter Krieg
wkrieg@dotphoto.com
http://www.dotphoto.com

How taking pictures of what you are doing changes your experience of it

Almost everywhere I go outside of work and no matter what I’m doing I find many folks with cell phones in hand and snapping photos. Simply walking down the street or sitting in a restaurant reveals a significant number of people engrossed in their cell phones and often taking photos with no conversation taking place. I’ve become somewhat judgmental about this because I think it distracts the person and keeps them from participating in whatever their group is up to…unless they’re all snapping away or playing pokemon go. And, for all you parents out there, I’m not even talking about having the phones out while doing homework.

Lately though I’ve begun to question my thinking. Given how many people are into this can it be that it’s always a bad idea to be disengaged, or at least appear that way? Might there be times when snapping away might even add to the experience?

I began to look for what people involved in social research thought about this picture taking and, sure enough it isn’t as clear cut as I thought.

Here’s what a few researchers from well known universities have to say after conducting tests. Kristin Diehl, PhD (University of Southern California), Gal Zauberman, PhD (Yale University), and Alixandra Barasch, PhD (University of Pennsylvania), conducted studies with over 2,000 participants and the results led them to believe that in certain cases taking photographs can enhance the experience.

While this article doesn’t include photos taken in the study you may get an idea of what they sometimes mean from this photo which is included in the article and decide to read more about how taking photos during an activity affects our experience.

The researchers conducted nine different experiments. Read about their work here:
http://www.collective-evolution.com/2016/06/22/how-taking-pictures-of-what-you-are-doing-changes-your-experience-of-it/

and here,

http://neurosciencenews.com/photograph-experience-emotion-4443/

Walter Krieg
wkrieg@dotphoto.com
http://www.dotphoto.com

The most talked about features of the new iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are the brand new camera systems

Here at dotPhoto we focus much of our attention on mobile devices and how our dotPhoto website supports them. As an example you may be aware of our newly released dotPhoto iPhone app which you can learn about here (https://www.dotphoto.com/article/4000086457-how-does-the-dotphoto-iphone-app-work-). So you shouldn’t be surprised that we are closely watching the release of the new iPhone 7s to learn what they can do that we might be excited about.

As it turns out our waiting is not in vain. One of the most talked about new features, if not THE most talked about new features, are the cameras on both the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus.

The Internet has been inundated with articles about the new iPhones. Given the sheer volume we thought we could support our dotPhoto community by finding articles representative of the opinions of the iPhone 7 camera reviewers. Our reading led us to a number of articles that we felt expressed the majority views of the new cameras. These positive articles will help you get a good feel for the new cameras and, hopefully, help you decide if one of these new iPhones is right for you.

First we see what three Pros have to say about the cameras in general followed by an article that gets deeper under the hood to tell us how they are able to perform their new and improved functions. Our third article focuses on one of the most talked about features, the ability of the cameras to perform in low levels of light seen here at the U.S. Open tennis tournament. And our final article is an in-depth overall review from the respected Wired Magazine publication.

Here’s a photo from the low light article that I hope will give you an idea of what our author means. After that find links to the articles.

Article 1: http://time.com/4481849/iphone-7-photography/
Article 2: http://petapixel.com/2016/09/07/iphone-7-7-plus-announced-dual-cameras-zoom-bokeh/
Article 3: http://www.idownloadblog.com/2016/09/12/iphone-7s-much-improved-low-light-photography-comes-into-focus-at-u-s-open/
Article 4: https://www.wired.com/2016/09/review-apple-iphone-7-7-plus/?mbid=nl_91316_p3&CNDID=30574892

Walter Krieg
wkrieg@dotphoto.com
http://www.dotphoto.com

The good, the bad and the ugly of aerial photography

A few years ago my young daughter and I flew out to visit my sister in Colorado. While planning the trip I picked up an inexpensive camera for my daughter so she could take pictures of anything she might want to. She practiced a little at home and got comfortable using the camera. I thought that once we arrived in Colorado she’d get a kick out of photographing our family, as well as the mountains and other landscape that is so much different from the area around our New Jersey home.

When we got to the airport she started to take pictures in the terminal. She said that she liked seeing all the people racing about trying to make their flights. Once we boarded the plane she put the camera down and settled in to her window seat. After we were in the air a while I noticed she had taken out the camera again and was looking out the window. As we got out past the plains and she began to see mountains she began to snap away. We were sitting close to the wing so the photos all had the plane in them but they did get the idea of the height and the breadth of the aerial view across to those who she showed the photos to.

This got me thinking about the potential beauty of aerial photos, something my family and I don’t really get a chance to take. Recently I came across an article about taking aerial photos and I was truly able to see how grand these photos could be.

The photographer is a professional by the name of Erez Marom who, by his own account, became a serious aerial photographer about 3 years ago. Here’s some of what Erez has to say and a few of the photos from the two articles in this series:

“Man has always had the dream of flight – but so has the photographer…My experiences have mostly been amazing but admittedly not always so, and I’ve come to wonder what makes photography flights in different settings so… well, different.”

And

“Aerial photography can be wonderful and exhilarating, but it can also be disappointing if you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.”

Take a look at a photo from each of the two articles and then visit Erez’s articles linked to below.

 
And from the second
 

If you find these photographs interesting and even a bit exhilarating visit Mr. Marom’s posts at the following links:

https://www.dpreview.com/articles/6854455191/aerial-photography-part-1-why-shoot-aerials

https://www.dpreview.com/techniques/4544191304/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-of-aerial-photography-part-2-aircraft

Walter Krieg
wkrieg@dotphoto.com
http://www.dotphoto.com

Music Lovers: See Photos and Music Blend as Celtic Thunder kicks off their US Tour

As photo lovers who also appreciate good music (Glenn sings in a number of a capella groups) we were pleased to see the announcement of the opening of the Irish group Celtic Thunder’s American tour. In addition to their world renowned music their shows are known for the use of dramatic effects of lighting and choreography as well as a stage set designed to remind the audience of Celtic lore. (An ancient stone pathway as the article we reference here describes it). Celtic Thunder presents photographers with a fine opportunity to explore their musical appreciation visually.

Celtic Thunder has been hailed as BILLBOARD’s “Top World Music Artist,” along with “Top World Music Imprint” and “Top World Album” in 2008, 2009 and again in 2011. Their new live show, that celebrates the influence of Irish and Celtic music around the world and the imprint that such music has made, recently kicked off their US Tour at The Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ with a show that is lively, fast paced and upbeat as well as nostalgic and romantic.

Broadwayworld.com was there throughout to completely cover the opening of “Legacy” Celtic Thunder’s exciting new live show and to share the experience photographically.

As reported by Broadwayworld, Legacy offers music lovers a wide variety of solo selections and fan favorites. With access to the performers and the supporting cast the photographers of Broadwayworld.com were able to capture the feelings of the show. Here are a few photos from the event that we hope will tempt you to visit the entire article at the link below.

 
And
 

Needless to say, we were tempted and then impressed by the photos that accompanied this story and think you will appreciate them too. Feel free to let us know what you think. See the story and the entire set of photos here: http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmusic/article/Photo-Coverage-Celtic-Thunder-from-Soundcheck-to-Post-Show-20160820

Walter Krieg
wkrieg@dotphoto.com
http://www.dotphoto.com

 

How to take pictures like photography’s underwater wizards

We spent a day at the New Jersey shore recently and that Atlantic surf was rough. I got tumbled a few times and had to hold onto my bathing trunks. Watching the surf got us thinking and talking about taking photos in the water. What was clear to us was that the water we were swimming in, especially with the churning surf, wasn’t clear. Even if we wanted to use our waterproof mobile phone to take some photos the photos would most likely be poor.

The discussion got us thinking about a marine biology site we’d visited in the Pacific where they were tending dolphins and working to preserve the local reefs. One thing we recalled was how clear the water was and how nice it might have been to see some underwater photos taken in the area. We know nothing about underwater photography but got interested enough to look into what it might involve and what the results were for photographers who did know underwater photography.

Our online research led us to an article that appeared on CNN and features three photographers who are considered experts in the underwater photography world. They are Brian Skerry, Adriana Basques, and David Fleetham.

Here’s a bit of what CNN had to say. “When it comes to underwater photography, though, few people have what it takes… We asked some of the planet’s best underwater shooters for tips on the technique and equipment they use to make superlative marine photography. They shared their secrets and some of their best shots.”

If you enjoy underwater photography take a look at these photos to get started and then follow the link after the photos to see the CNN article and over 20 excellent photos.

 

 

And

 

 

I don’t know what you will think of these photos, but we were impressed. See the entire set of photos along with the advice and observations of these three experts here: http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/25/travel/qa-diving-photographers/

Walter Krieg
wkrieg@dotphoto.com
http://www.dotphoto.com

Do you take photos of Food?

We here at dotPhoto work to keep up with what’s happening in different areas of photography. Recently, we began to hear more and more about folks taking many photos of food and getting them up on the Internet. As we dug deeper we learned that over the past few years there are literally millions of photos of food that have been posted on the web! People have found new ways of sharing a meal, including a huge numbers of photos in chain restaurants. It turns out that many of these photos are considered bland and could, if folks knew a little more about food photography, represent the food a bit better and look more tempting and mouth watering. If you’re like us you’re a bit surprised by these food photo facts and opinions. It appears that we all have lots we can learn about food photography.

Given our need to learn, we thought we’d seek out and then share an expert food photographer’s outlook on what’s happening in the food photography field. You might also be interested to know how she got interested in it, and how she takes her attractive photos. Our photographer is California-based food photographer Liza Gershman.

One of the things Lisa says is, “Culturally, there is a bit of a return to the idea that we are connected to food, that it’s important to know what’s in it and where it’s coming from.” Possibly this is a part of the reason why taking food photos has become popular. Here are a few of Lisa’s photos and you can see more of her photos and what she has to say about food photography by clicking the link at the end of this blog. Let’s get started…

Liza Gershman wants to know if your food photos are bland? If they are she explains how to add some sizzle.

Here’s a clear shot of some “raw materials”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And, if you like chicken, a tempting photo of a ready-to-serve dish

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See more of Lisa’s food photos and her ideas on how we can also take shots that will call us to the table here: https://www.yahoo.com/tech/food-photos-bland-liza-gershman-163927158.html

Walter Krieg
wkrieg@dotphoto.com
http://www.dotphoto.com

Last week we looked at cat rescue and how well taken photos can help to draw animal lovers in and help to motivate them to adopt a cat at a café in either Washington, DC or Los Angeles, CA. After we posted our cat article we received an email telling us about a group whose photographer members do the same to help spread the word about dog rescue organizations. HeARTs Speak’s membership spans 20 countries, including 47 U.S. states, Germany, Italy, Brazil, Singapore, Argentina, Canada, the U.K., Venezuela, Lithuania, and the Netherlands.

HeARTs Speak’s network of artists & advocates provide their services pro-bono to animal welfare organizations in communities. Dogster magazine recently posted an article about their work.

As Dogster says, “not every shelter or rescue has the means to afford professional photography, nor the skills and equipment necessary to take great photos.” You can see the value of good photos here and by looking at their work in the article we link to after the photos. And, if after reading the article you’re interested, you can become a HeARTs Speak member. Here’s Lily

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here’s Mara

 

 

See the fine photos and learn about HeARTs Speak here: http://www.dogster.com/lifestyle/hearts-speak-members-donate-their-talents-to-save-homeless-pets.

Walter Krieg
wkrieg@dotphoto.com
http://www.dotphoto.com

Earlier this year our daughter who is in school in Washington, DC, began working at a new tea and coffee café called Crumbs & Whiskers. She has always loved, owned, and cared for cats at home and thought working at this new café while away at school could help her stay close to her favorite animals. As it turns out, Crumbs & Whiskers is one of the first cat cafes – a coffee shop with rescue cats who are up for adoption.

More specifically, the business is partnered with the local chapter of the Humane Society in order to provide a boarding space for around 15–25 cats at a time. Through the partnership arrangement, the Humane Society provides vaccinated and vetted cats to Crumbs and Whiskers which functions as a foster home for the cats until they are adopted.

The café uses an online reservation system for scheduling visits and allows customers to begin the application process for adopting one of the cats on site. Here are a few photos of cats at the Café. Below you see Baby.

And next is Kiaa.

 

As you can see from the above, pleasing photos make the cats more attractive and help to invite viewers to adopt them.

Recently the owner of the café in DC opened a new café in Los Angeles, and we started looking for rescue missions in L.A. What we found was a rescue mission named Kitten Rescue that enlists a photographer, Casey Christopher, to help them tell the stories of their cats to make them more attractive for adoption.

Here are a few of Casey’s photos and a link to see many more. Enjoy.

And

 

See more at: http://www.catster.com/lifestyle/30-unbearably-cute-cat-pics-from-los-angeles-kitten-rescue

Walter Krieg
wkrieg@dotphoto.com
http://www.dotphoto.com

 

 

From dotPhoto servers to your phone to your TV

Android phones can show dotPhoto.com and dotPhoto slideshows on Miracast-compatible televisions. In our demonstration, we use a 50″ Sharp Aquos TV. To activate Miracast, choose the Input button on the TV’s remote control, and scroll down to Miracast.

On your phone, install the Miracast short cut from Google Play.  When your TV is set to the Miracast input, activate the Miracast short cut on your phone, which broadcasts to your TV.

Compatible Miracast TVs

If your TV is not Miracast-compatible, you can use Miradisplay dongles like this one available from Amazon for about $20:

Dongles plug into an extra video port and often include a USB plug that pulls power to run the dongle.

 

 

 

 

 

iPhones and Apple Devices

OS X and iOS do not support Miracast, opting instead for Apple’s own AirPlay technology for screen mirroring. AirPlay is compatible only with Apple’s second- and third-generation Apple TVs. On a hardware level, the majority of devices produced in the last year support Miracast.

This video describes how to set up AirPlay so that you can screen-mirror with an iPhone.

Glenn
glenn@dotphoto.com

Being an Adventure Photographer

We live in a town and rarely travel to areas that you would associate with the term “adventure”. But a few weeks ago we travelled to the Lake Tahoe area for what we hoped would be an adventure. A huge lake, mountain vistas, National Forests, hiking trails, and nothing but blue skies, we couldn’t ask for more.

Once there we took to the outdoors and got a feel for the true beauty of nature at about 6,000 feet. The lake’s shores were peaceful and calm. We took photos and felt quite relaxed. As we thought about it we decided we were having a wonderful vacation but it was not what we would call an adventure. Here are a few photos from one of our trail hikes.

Here my wife and daughters are setting out ahead of me.

and as we wandered about, here’s a little of what we took in.

and

As I said, very beautiful and quite peaceful.

When we returned to our lodging after this hike we started to ask ourselves what an adventure would look like. And, like most folks in this age of the Internet, we took to the cloud to see what others might offer as an adventure. But who should we ask? As we searched we came to the conclusion that if anyone should know what an adventure is it would be an Adventure Photographer. That’s when we discovered Krystle Wright and thought…

Let’s ask Krystle Wright… an Adventure Photographer

Ms. Wright is an up-and-coming Australian Adventure Photographer with a number of well known clients. She says about one of her adventures, “I broke off a bunch of teeth and swallowed them after a mountain biking accident”. Take a look.

And here you can see the extent of the gear Krystle has gathered so she can be ready for any assignment.

Krystle says of her photography, “I like to put myself in very complicated situations and then simplify them visually.”

Take a look at an interview with Krystle and some of her “simplified” photos. I think you’ll agree with us that Krystle knows adventure and it’s not for a relaxing vacation.

See the interview at https://gearjunkie.com/adventure-sport-photographer-krystle-wright-interview.

Walter
wkrieg@dotphoto.com
http://www.dotphoto.com