The art and science of photograph manipulation and retouching has been evolving for years. And by “years,” I mean for around 150 years. Consider the first example from that link above: Abraham Lincoln’s head is the only original part from Lincoln—his body comes from another photograph of John C. Calhoun. Want to talk about tasteless? How about grafting the head of Lincoln, the man integral to the Emancipation Proclamation, onto the body of a guy famous for his pro-slavery opinions?
West Photo - They were a bit snobby to me at West Photo when I visited.
I had just purchased a not-inexpensive camera bag by Lowepro. Nevertheless, as I struggled to mount Canon’s $1,100+ 24-70f/2.8L lens on my 300D, the sales lady commented “haven’t you ever done this before?” Thanks. And no, I haven’t.
Peters Bowers on Flickr - This guy in Toronto, Canada takes unbelievable photographs. He’s got the natural beauty combined with obvious experience with filters, allowing him to produce some stunning images.
Not too long ago, Katy sent me a couple of pictures she had taken, and suggested that I could post them. In an effort to kill two birds with one stone, I realized that I could not only post those pictures, but also roll out a new feature of tumbledry … besides the redesign you see. And yes, I’ll review the new features available to you in the coming days. And Nils will see some of his ideas posted, too. And there will be much rejoicing. And there will probably be some bug fixing.
In the interest of explaining why in the Sam Hill there haven’t been any images for almost two weeks, I’d like to apologize and ask for your patience just a little bit longer. They (the photographs) are on their way - there is simply a bit more to do on ye’ olde version 15.x of tumbledry. I’m digging up time for it in between homeworking sessions, hence the delay. The entire redesign, though, is 90% functional, with only a few key components remaining. I’ll walk you all through the new features when they are released - the most visible changes will be in the community aspect. As tumbledryer’s, you’ll feel more engaged with the site and with one another. Unless you don’t. In that case, I will have failed. But I will have had fun doing it!
Ridiculously talented model/fashion photographer - Most pictures on flickr try to emulate a certain style, and almost always you’ll see parts of them that simply look strange. They are, after all, snapshots. These pictures, though … the lighting is absolute perfection.
The effect is quite impressive. Furthermore, the author provides some great resources, with tools by the names of autopano-sift, hugin, enblend, mathmap, and PTBlender. So, the post processing looks technically demanding, but the final result looks stunningly simplistic.
Unbelivable smoke pictures - I like the idea that he isn’t taking pictures of the smoke, but using smoke to make photographs. I think that’s an important distinction.
Timelapse photography - Using the Canon camera (one model newer than my own), this guy makes some incredible timelapse movies with software set to snap an image over a certain time interval. “Montreal Sunset Shards” is one of my favorites.
And if a day goes by without my doing something related to photography, it’s as though I’ve neglected something essential to my existence, as though I had forgotten to wake up. I know that the accident of my being a photographer has made my life possible.
I’ve worked out of a series of no’s. No to exquisite light, no to apparent compositions, no to the seduction of poses or narrative. And all these no’s force me to the “yes.” I have a white background. I have the person I’m interested in and the thing that happens between us.
Above all, it’s hard learning to live with vivid mental images of scenes I cared for and failed to photograph. It is the edgy existence within me of these unmade images that is the only assurance that the best photographs are yet to be made.
