12th and 3rd Goes to Brooklyn

One of my short films will be showing at the Brooklyn Film and Arts Festival in a program called Observing Brooklyn; Encountering Change. It looks like a good screening:

The "Observing Brooklyn; Encountering Change" documentaries programs series will illuminate a broad range of Brooklyn life including exploring a recently rediscovered century old tunnel beneath Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn stickball players sporting reunion, 1969 family outing in Coney Island, period Brooklyn footage, Brooklyn senior citizens doing some combative reminiscing and several other short Brooklyn films. The screenings will be held at the Brooklyn Historical Society, 128 Pierrepont Street, in Brooklyn Heights.

Okay, Some Idling

Well, there's actually a lot to blog about. I'll see if I can't catch up now that things are almost to a new normal. First, this week sees the return of my class for Continuing Education at Hunter College: Seriously Fun Photography.

Here's the course description:

Seriously Fun Photography

Build on the basics and master the skills and ideas advanced photographers use in a fun, low-pressure class. Open to anyone able to shoot a photo and import it into a computer (and welcoming advanced students as well), in this class we'll use the digital camera as a fast way to learn the essentials of photography. We'll learn-by-doing, exploring professional techniques while creating a portfolio project (on any topic of your choice) to show your advanced skills. If you've always been interested in photography, but have put off becoming great at it, this is your chance.

Instructor: Ted Fisher
THU 6:00:PM - 8:00:PM
Location: 71 E 94th St. CS
10/30 - 12/11 Sessions: 6
Tuition: $250.00

Putting the B in BRB

Sure, I've been away from blogging for a month. But that doesn't mean there isn't a lot going on. I'll try to catch up and explain, but here are a few things worth mentioning right off:

My short film "Notebook on Santas & Elves" screened at Antimatter Film Festival in Victoria, B.C. I did not get to go. Instead, I went to New Orleans. (More on that soon....)

Another short documentary -- "Bend & Bow" -- is going to screen at Detroit Docs International Film Festival next month. I won't get to go to that one, either. Instead, I'll be going to Florida. (More on that too.)

Found out "12th and 3rd in Brooklyn" will also have a screening in a couple of months, but can't give details yet....

I've made the first phase of a necessary schedule change: I no longer work at New York Institute of Photography. (Details to come....) I do still keep busy, though: I'm finishing a term of teaching three online classes, a Thursday-night photography class, plus my Bronx Community College classes in editing and television production. Finished, as well, editing the first episode of a new series on artists. (Details, maybe, soon.) Working on a new Frugal episode. Also, writing a longer documentary piece....

On the photography side, finished a couple of photo assignments (including a little studio lighting work) but have had little time for the New York streets....

Above: went to the photography shows in Chelsea on Friday, then on to an art show in Brooklyn....

Frugal Traveler, Looking Back

Was a little too busy to post the Frugal Traveler: Looking Back episode when it went online. There's a new episode on the way...

Or, Learn To Hurdle

So here's how I read this: first, there was flooding, then the track sank, then they built a fence around it, then they realized they couldn't trim the weeds near the fence with the riding lawnmower.

So the important thing is to draw lane 8 at the track meet, because otherwise it's tough going.

Antimatter 2008

My short film Notebook on Santas & Elves will be screening Tuesday, September 23 at Antimatter Underground Film Festival in a program called "Creative Violation."

I like that title, and I also like the fact that there's a Jem Cohen video in the program. Sounds like a fun night. Wish I could go....

Cut Off

After a lot of slowing down and dropping out, my cable modem bit it last Monday. Right at a time when I had to do online grading, post files for review, write stuff, and communicate on several projects. When classes were starting, also.

The service from my cable company was terrible. It could have been resolved in a day. It took until Sunday at 4 p.m. and would still be going on if I listened to their advice. It cost me money, time, at least one gig, and a weekend that could have been a lot of fun.

I tried Plan B, too -- visit Starbucks and other places with wireless access. It worked, but it was problematic. Starbucks was just like always -- tough to log on, expensive, and it included a screaming child at 10:30 p.m. Guess he'd had a lot of coffee.

I'll also no longer visit the local coffee house that charges extra if you plug in the wall. They have a smug note about not stealing their electricity from them. They can turn off their lights, for all I care -- I won't be back because of that note.

Now I have a new cable modem -- went to Queens to get it -- and things are running. But I'm about a week behind.

Above: we dropped into the Met on Sunday, to celebrate Mrs. New York Portraits passing the Second Exam. This seemed like the most appropriate work to photograph.

And How Was Your Week?

Mine, let's say, was mixed.

On Par: The Annoying Guy Part II

On Par: Child's Play (YouTube Version)

On Par: Shaking at the First Tee

On Par: The Fitting

On Par: The Annoying Guy Part II

The latest episode of "On Par" is The Annoying Guy Part II.

I like the way the series is going. It has a touch of style, I think, and enough substance to make it interesting. As a freelancer, I'm not sure if I'll be cutting these next year or not, but I think it will be interesting to see it develop through another season. The humor, increasingly, comes out of the timing. Something happens, someone reacts, something is revealed. Usually, all in under 2 minutes 30 seconds....

And Then It Was Fall

Hoping to get a day for street photography in the upcoming weeks. The weather has been great, and New York is shifting into fall nicely....

On Par: Slow Play

And Then There's Golf

While I've been posting the Frugal Traveler episodes here, I've been posting the "On Par" series over on my other blog, Actualities. It's a series about golf.

I wouldn't call it documentary in style. On the other hand, I've been learning a lot that applies to documentary production while working on it: it's a two camera shoot in natural light, done fairly quickly (have to get out of the way to the other golfers, after all) and with just a few takes possible. You have to establish a setting, a situation and a problem to solve, solve that (and lead into a lesson) and do it all in (usually) 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

In any case, there are about 16 episodes now (I've been involved in about 3/4 of those, approximately), so check out the playlist. They're made in a fun style, so you might like them even if you aren't a golfer.....

And By Wednesday I Mean Not Wednesday

When I said the Frugal Traveler series was wrapping up on Wednesday, it was because I thought the "looking back" episode was running then. Which is why I was frantically editing it on Tuesday. About 10 p.m. I found out it wasn't running yet.

Which is fine, and sometimes that's how editing goes. There's a very strange relationship between deadlines, non-deadlines, and the decision-making process in any work. It's particularly a keenly felt thing in those pieces with a tight (or nearly-impossible) deadline.

Walter Murch, in talking about the editing process on "Apocalypse Now" calculated that all the work and hand-wringing and thinking resulted in an average of one edit per day. That won't fly in most types of work, and there's a fast collapse of the infinite possibilities that exist at the beginning of the process. Sometimes there's a keen awareness that decisions need to be made, they can't endlessly be reversed, and the piece has to move toward completion somehow.

I once had a professor who had been a classical music composer. He told the story of how he felt every piece he had composed had started as a masterpiece, and with one decision somewhere in the process it had changed and missed that mark. That's probably true.

On Par: Playing Backwards

On Par: Bending the Rules

On Par: Hitting It Fat

Frugal Grand Tour, Episode 13

Wednesday marked the end of this summer's Frugal Traveler series, so I'm posting the series in order.

Frugal Grand Tour, Episode 12

On Par: Meet the Starter

Frugal Grand Tour, Episode 11

Frugal Grand Tour, Episode 10

Today marks the end of this summer's Frugal Traveler series, so I'm posting the series in order.

Frugal Grand Tour, Episode 9

On Par: Coming Up Short

Frugal Grand Tour, Episode 8

This Wednesday will mark the end of this summer's Frugal Traveler series, so I'm posting the series in order.

Two Years

First, happy birthday to Photography. Today marks the 169th anniversary of the announcement of the invention of Photography. (Of course, I prefer to think of the creation of the first photograph in 1826 as the beginning, but the 1839 announcement really marks the date when the world noticed.)

Second, two years ago I started this blog with a post on Beginnings and Endings. I'm now thinking of ways to improve it, ending the old model and moving toward a new one.

Third, I'm increasingly aware that the term "blog" is actually 'blog -- as in short for Web Log -- and has in fact not really matured from that role. Initially the idea was to post a record of your "interesting" journey to Web sites -- what you read and what you thought of it -- and now the unfortunate state is that there's little unique content being posted. It's mostly links to large news sources -- the same ones people call "dinosaurs" in favor of blogs -- and at best a comment. That's kind of pointless. Blournals -- 'bjournals or Web Journals -- are increasingly pointless as well. I follow a few, mostly of authors or photographers I like. 9 out of 10 posts are trivia, so I wait for that 10th and hope the content is worth it.

So what model is worth following? Magazine? Channel? Daily Photo?

Frugal Grand Tour, Episode 7

Frugal Grand Tour, Episode 6

This Wednesday will mark the end of this summer's Frugal Traveler series, so I'm posting the series in order.

On Par: Relief on the Range

Frugal Grand Tour, Episode 5

What's With The YouTube Stuff?

My latest edit -- an episode of the "On Par" series called Child's Play -- is currently on the front page of The New York Times.

You may have noticed I've been posting YouTube versions of some of the edits I've worked on for NYT. (I've been posting Frugal Traveler episodes here, and On Par episodes on my other blog, Actualities.) Well, why is that?

The NYT now has a YouTube Channel. Which I think is great, since there were bootleg versions of the pieces going there previously in any case -- even some recorded off the computer screen. It seems better to have authentic versions, with ways for the folks who watch them to find more.

There's also an article on how other media companies are addressing the YouTube User issue:

Some Media Companies Choose to Profit From Pirated YouTube Clips

"After years of regarding pirated video on YouTube as a threat, some major media companies are having a change of heart, treating it instead as an advertising opportunity.

In the last few months, CBS, Universal Music, Lionsgate, Electronic Arts and other companies have stopped prodding YouTube to remove unauthorized clips of their movies, music videos and other content and started selling advertising against them."

Frugal Grand Tour, Episode 4

Frugal Grand Tour, Episode 3

Frugal Grand Tour, Episode 2

On Par: Child's Play

Here's the newest episode of "On Par By Bill Pennington": Child's Play.

Frugal Grand Tour, Episode 1

This Wednesday will mark the end of this summer's Frugal Traveler series, so I'm posting the series in order.

On Par: Rules That Rule

Other Side of the Camera

I'll never be a television personality, of course, but I did learn one thing in this week's taping: I can hit most of my lines in one take.

Except, of course, my name, which apparently I cannot say correctly.

Photography Photography, More or Less

This week I spent two days helping with a video about photography. I dragged in a set of lenses -- a 20mm f/1.8, 24mm f/1.8, 50mm f/1.4, and a 90mm f/2.8 -- and a couple of camera bodies, a meter, a monopod and a few other accessories. I was ready to talk about Photography, capital P.

Then they put peach-colored makeup on me, heavy like cake icing. Then they put product in my hair, and then decided how many buttons I should have unbuttoned. Then they told me where to sit, how to say my name, and which way I should look.

Because the important thing in video is sincerity.

On Par: The Long and Short of It

Now that the "On Par" series is winding down I'm embedding all of the episodes I've been involved in. Enjoy.

Frugal Edinburgh

I usually give links for each new "Frugal Traveler" episode as they come out. I noticed, however, that the New York Times is posting these on YouTube as well. It turns out you can embed them.

You can see this episode at the usual New York Times site as well, of course.

The Edinburgh episode marks the 13th and final for the summer tour. There is a "reminiscence" episode that will post this upcoming Wednesday, also, looking back on the Grand Tour.

Frugal Traveler: Week 12, Dutch-Belgian Border

I forgot to post last week's episode. Embedded above via YouTube, and at the New York Times as always.

Nature Photography, More or Less

Lone plant on a rooftop, more than 24 stories up. Nature is good at its job.

The Terrible Twos

We're nearing the second anniversary of this blog, so it's time for a redesign, and maybe a bit of rethinking about content. I'm helping with a video about digital photography this week, so I've been thinking a bit about how people use photography, how it fits in, and how it might continue its evolution.

Above: a trapeze shot from Wednesday.

Bend & Bow Screens at Dokufest Today

If you happen to be in Prizren, Kosovo, please attend today's screening of the International Documentary Challenge films at Dokufest International Documentary and Short Film Festival.

Our short film is listed as:

Bend & Bow
Natalia Paruz reveals the moment that changed her life and how she became known as the "Saw Lady" to millions of New York subway riders.

Dokufest Screening

Here's the program that includes our film "Bend & Bow":

International Documentary Challenge.

If you happen to be in Prizren, Kosovo, on Tuesday, please attend.

I Rarely Leave Manhattan

So I'm not Matt's Secret Cameraman.

Don't Even Bring Up the Sound Crew

It's easy to forget that, when creating a video that's seen by a large audience, folks will tend to bring their own, unique perspective to it. They'll interpret it in their own way.

The Frugal Traveler has a great post about a viewer who's just certain that the series is actually shot by Matt’s Secret Cameraman.

Antimatter

On my other blog, I've posted about that upcoming film festival:

Santas To Antimatter

Santas to Antimatter

Back in 2002 my short documentary film "Larry in Relation to the Ground" screened at Antimatter Underground Film Festival. The next year I showed another short there, also. I wasn't able to go, either year, but watching from afar my sense was that this was an excellent festival: a great audience, excellent and edgy programming, and a fantastic location. I even loved the posters they put out for the fest.

So yesterday I was very happy to receive this email:

"We are pleased to inform you that your entry Notebook on Santas & Elves has been selected for screening at the 11th annual Antimatter Underground Film Festival, September 19 to 27, 2008 in Victoria, BC, Canada.

Thank you for your patience. We have viewed a record number of high quality works from around the globe and selected an impressive range of films from our open call to screen at the festival. The ratio of work selected to work submitted was approximately 1 in 8. We'd like to take this time to thank you for your vision and perseverance as makers of this extraordinary medium, and for allowing us the honour to view and screen it."

Since I have to make two other trips this fall, I doubt I'll be able to fly to Victoria. It's an expensive trip from New York. Still....

If only there was some show I could watch about ways to travel without spending too much....

Breaking News

Just found out: my short film "Notebook on Santas and Elves" is going to ... well, I'm not sure I'm allowed to say yet. Will announce the festival and screening dates very soon. Let's just say it's a festival I like very much.

Blind Item

My film "Notebook on Santas and Elves" is going to ... well, I'm not sure I'm allowed to say yet. Will announce the festival and screening dates very soon.

Video Catch-Up

A new "On Par by Bill Pennington" episode about Slow Play.

And also two "Frugal Traveler" episodes:

Week 10: Gdansk, Poland

Week 11: Germany.

Pictures, Or It Didn't Happen

Since my pocket camera went kablooey, I've been at a loss. I carry my DSLR when appropriate, but I miss a lot of the shots that arise in daily life. No camera, poor Internet access, no photos: maybe I should learn to sketch.

ROTF, But Not LMAO

This weekend my Internet access has been on, off, on, and mostly off. So much for good luch.

Oh, Fuch

That can really such.

Videos

Newest:

Frugal Traveler: The Grand Tour, Week 9: Vilnius, Lithuania

On Par by Bill Pennington: Playing Backwards

An Army of Not Me

On Sunday, while I was indefatigably practicing a bit of street shooting, walking from Midtown to the Upper East Side, I couldn't help but notice how overwhelmingly saturated the street is with cameras.

Cell phones, sure: dozens of people locked in a zombielike shuffle, phone jammed against temple, swerving in front of me at intervals. But cameras: everywhere. At the same time, little of it could be called street photography, really. It's just not what people do.

Above: near Bryant Park.

That's Right: Indefatigable

The Frugal Traveler has a great post about what it takes to produce the text and video for the Grand Tour:

What’s Still in Matt’s Duffel Bag?

Eternal Return

Last year I walked past this statue near 59th Street and realized a second too late that the person hailing a cab in front of me was a great echo for the statue's pose. I missed that shot, but now whenever I go by I look for people in some relationship to the statue. Have not caught a cab hailing yet, but I will eventually.

Sunday on the Street

I went to International Center of Photography with students from my Hunter College Continuing Education class, and decided to walk home later up 5th Avenue. I haven't shot on the street in a little while, though, so my timing was a little off the entire way. I'll admit I missed a few good shots.

When in doubt, photograph stationary objects. Or, stationery objects will work too.

Frugal Traveler Europe, Week 9

A new episode, just edited on Tuesday night:

Frugal Traveler Europe, Week 9: Vilnius, Lithuania

Bend & Bow to Kosovo

A while back I made a short film called "Bend & Bow" with the Profluence Productions group. It showed in Toronto at HotDocs, and tonight I received the following email:

Hello Doc Challenge Finalists,

The Doc Challenge Finalists showcase has been accepted into Dokufest in Kosovo! Your film will be screening in Prizren, Kosovo sometime between August 4-10. (The exact time has not yet been confirmed.)

Details soon.

Bend & Bow Going to Dokufest

Just got the following email:

Hello Doc Challenge Finalists,

The Doc Challenge Finalists showcase has been accepted into Dokufest in Kosovo! Your film will be screening in Prizren, Kosovo sometime between August 4-10. (The exact time has not yet been confirmed.)

What I Did On My Summer Vacation, 2008 Edition

Ah, leisurely summertime. Well, not at the moment. I've kept fairly busy.

Usually I discuss video editing work on my other blog, Actualities, but here are links to some of the videos I've edited this season -- so far:

Frugal Traveler: The Grand Tour. Week 1: Dover to Calais
Frugal Traveler: The Grand Tour. Week 2: Paris, France
Frugal Traveler: The Grand Tour. Week 3: Southwestern France
Frugal Traveler: The Grand Tour. Week 4: French Riviera
Frugal Traveler: The Grand Tour. Week 5: Rome
Frugal Traveler: The Grand Tour. Week 6: Malta
Frugal Traveler: The Grand Tour. Week 7: Cyprus
Frugal Traveler: The Grand Tour. Week 8: Bucharest


On Par by Bill Pennington: Rules That Rule
On Par by Bill Pennington: Coming Up Short
On Par by Bill Pennington: Relief on the Range
On Par by Bill Pennington: The Long and Short of It
On Par by Bill Pennington: The Starter
On Par by Bill Pennington: Nothing Fancy
On Par by Bill Pennington: Hitting it Fat

Of course, it's only half way through the season. Maybe Fall will be a peaceful, relaxing time.

Photography in the News, International Edition

As always, there are stories about: "news" organizations using Photoshop to create unflattering images of reporters at other organizations, pop stars being retouched in magazines, and even a followup to the fake-tiger story complete with resignations. Yawn. Are there any stories that have a little more interest, maybe something that reveals how images work in contemporary news? You bet.

In an Iranian Image, a Missile Too Many

As news spread across the world of Iran’s provocative missile tests, so did an image of four missiles heading skyward in unison. Unfortunately, it contained one too many missiles, a fact that had not emerged before the photo appeared on the front pages of The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune and several other newspapers as well as on BBC News, MSNBC, Yahoo! News, NYTimes.com and many other major news Web sites.

Aesthetically, the fake image is better. Except for being a fake, of course.

More Golf

Three more "On Par By Bill Pennington" episodes:

The Starter

Nothing Fancy

Hitting it Fat

Frugal Traveler Europe, Week 7 and Week 8

Here are:

Frugal Traveler Europe, Week 7: Cyprus

and

Frugal Traveler Europe, Week 8: Bucharest.

Animals

I was riding on the 6 train on the way to teach my continuing education class at Hunter. My laptop case was filled by a hard drive, so I was carrying two photography books under my arm: Robert Frank: The Americans and Garry Winogrand: The Animals.

Two women got on the train, standing a few feet away. They were talking, then one looked down at my books and turned her head to see better. She tapped her friend on the arm, and pointed at the book. Her friend looked, smiled, and nodded.

Ah, photography fans, I thought. They know Winogrand, or Frank. I didn't really want to start a conversation, so I just kept looking ahead.

When I got off the train, I looked down at the books and realized that the side of the book they had seen was the back of "The Animals" -- which is a photo of two lions mating.

Bubble Battle Arms Race

I was thinking back to previous Bubble Battles and I realized there has been an escalation and proliferation of bubble technology. Some people had those little pink rings you blow bubbles through, but they were outnumbered by fancier loops, other types of plastic things you dip and swing, bubble pistols of all types and a variety of cannon-like bubble producers.

And of course The Gazooka.

Coney Island Last Saturday

I still haven't sorted my photos from last weekend's shoot. Still, while sampling them I grabbed this one, which intrigues me. I'm not sure why. It could be the arrangement of the receding lines, it could be the color, it could be the hand appearing by chance, also in yellow. Sometimes there are photos that I reconsider over and over -- do I like this one, or not? -- and I suspect this is that type of image.

Frugal Traveler Europe, Week 6

Frugal Malta

Photo Chick: Reflectors and Light Tents

A while back, producing for youtube.com meant it really didn't matter what your original looked like: published it would like kinda crappy. Now they've added that "watch in high quality" link, and suddenly videos can look reasonably good. Not pristine, but not that bad.

Here's a video I helped with. It's part one of three. It includes Shirley, the world's most fantastic mannequin head.

Must Have Dropped It By Accident

The text of that flyer? It says "Want a job in TV and Film Production?"

Next Year, Double That

A while back I watched a documentary which used a lot of 1970s news coverage of a trial. The swarm of photographers -- large, but small compared to popular trials today -- all carried two or three cameras around their necks. Usually this meant one shooting color film, one shooting black and white, and each with a different focal length. Carrying four cameras seemed reasonable.

Today, photographers carry one camera body and stick a superzoom on the front. At least reasonable ones do. I spent Saturday carrying one body, set to color and using a 90mm lens, and another body set to black and white with a 20mm lens.

An Important Distinction

That says hugs, not Huggies.

Just Not After Labor Day

Maybe this guy only dresses like this once a year. But probably not.

I mean, I don't think you can buy just one diaper. I think they come in packs. And once the pack is open, there are more diapers, just sitting there, waiting to be worn. Sooner or later, some event is going to seem diaper-appropriate. "Well," you might think, "at least I'll be cool. It's pretty hot today." Or: "White goes with everything, really."

Only In Threes

The thing I'm always interested in is human nature. When the subject comes up, people often want to talk about the great moral quandaries, or whether humans are innately good or evil. Me, I think that a garden's a garden, and it really depends on how it's tended.

So I end up most interested in the small things, like how people play.

Now Officially Officially Summer

I have been so busy lately that I no longer lose track of months. Now I lose track of entire seasons.

Perhaps You Do Spit in the Wind

Yeah, yeah, speeding bullet. Now get back behind the barrier.

Waiting for the Train with Yellow and Orange Decor

Saturday I went to two events -- details to follow sometime soon -- and most likely shot about 2,000 images. I've been too busy for any sorting yet, but I thought I'd start posting a few that stuck in my mind....

First Day of Summer

This is a rose petal, lit by sunlight streaming down a Manhattan street. People walked past it, over it, and around it, as if it were invisible.

Frugal Traveler Europe, Week 5

Week 5

Britney 1, Paparazzo 0

Are there any stories about inconsequential pop "stars" running over "photographers"? Well, when aren't there?

Britney Spears avoids charges in car accident

Prosecutors said the video, which circulated on the Internet, does not show the photographer's foot being run over. But Shidler added that, "the only way the victim's foot could have been where the video indicates it to be was by the victim placing it in that location."

On Par Episodes

Recently I've been editing some episodes of "On Par by Bill Pennington," a series on golf. It's been a fun experience, with a style quite different from The Frugal Traveler episodes.

Coming Up Short

Relief on the Range

Rules That Rule

The Long and Short of It

Photography in the News

Are there any photo-related stories bouncing around the net about people sneaking into the background of your photos and totally ruining them?

Yes, there's one you might like. It's not NSFW, but I would call a few of the photos slightly suggestive. So if you work at the Vatican, you know what to do.

Photobombers: Ruining Your Pictures, One Click at a Time

"Although often photographed, his kind remains a mystery. Who is this random man? Where did he come from, and what are his motivations? One golden moment of genius and then, in a flash, he's gone. Wonder at his antics in this gallery of great photobomber moments."

Seriously Fun Photography, Week 2

In our second session of Seriously Fun Photography, we reviewed what we learned in Week One by considering how we would shoot in various situations and discussed what aperture, shutter speed, ISO setting and lens focal length might be appropriate in each situation. This type of thinking is good to do before any photo session.

Then we decided to start applying our general knowledge about the relationship between apertures and depth of field. While we start to get the idea when we say "f/2 -- shallow depth of field and f/22 - deep depth of field" actually trying this out in with some real world shots is always a good experiment.

So we set up an experiment that can be repeated at home: set your camera on a table or a tripod, and in front of it arrange people or objects in a receding line. Put the first person or thing just 3 feet away from the lens, and have the furthest be at least 12 feet away. Now set the widest aperture you can -- I used a lens that goes to f/1.4 for this session -- and focus on the closest person or object. You'll probably find that the people / objects behind that are out of focus. Now run through the whole series of aperture settings you have available (you'll probably want to be in "aperture priority mode" so that the camera sets the corresponding shutter speed for an acceptable exposure. Or you can set that yourself). Try this and compare each shot -- more and more will be in focus until you should be able to get everyone in focus.

Now, keep in mind there's one other factor here -- the focal length you shoot with. Usually the effect of getting a main subject in focus and the background out of focus is much easier to achieve if you use a lens of at least 50mm or set as zoom to 50mm focal length or a more telephoto setting.

Many photographers think that "telephoto lenses have shallow depth of field and wide angle lenses have deep depth of field" -- it turns out that isn't exactly true, but for pragmatic purposes it isn't a bad way to think. If the goal is a sharp subject and a blurry background -- grab a 90mm or set your zoom lens about there.

(For a discussion on why the wide focal lens = deep depth of field idea isn't precisely true, read Do wide-angle lenses give you greater depth of field than long lenses?.)

Another thing that comes up at this point: some lenses allow your camera to reach to f/1.4 or f/2 or f/2.8, but many times the "kit lens" zoom that comes with a DSLR or the zoom lens built into a compact camera will not go to that wide-open an aperture. And to further add to the confusion: many common lenses that go from 18mm to 55mm (or 70mm) let you go to f/3.5 when using the widest focal length (18mm) but only to f/5.6 when you are using the long end of the lens (55mm or 70mm). That's just how those lenses are built.

Now, once we know a technique to control depth of field -- go towards f/2 to get a sharp person, blurry background or toward f/22 to get subject and background both focuses -- we want to think about why we would do it. Well, it's that kind of control that lets us emphasize or deemphasize what a viewer sees in a photograph, so we want to master it so we can control our images. Need to photograph a person against a cluttered, distracting background? Use selective focus. Need to show that a person has kids but keep the emphasis on the person? Use selective focus to make the kids visible but de-emphasized.

In this same mode of thinking, we then went on to begin the long and complicated process of thinking about composition. We started with the idea of framing. Putting a subject within another shape is a very usable technique -- and one that is worth studying in Robert Frank: The Americans. So we tried a bit of that, and then began to notice that -- in looking at such a shot -- we need to notice what is happening at the edges of our frame. Are the edges including and excluding what we choose? Can we align the edges of our frame with the lines that invariable exist in rooms and other spaces?

From this we began thinking about compositional strategies. For example, we introduced the "rule of thirds" -- which I have posts on here and here and here.

We also started asking questions like -- how could we arrange two people in the frame?

By the way, it looks like they are offering a second summer session of this course starting July 17th: Seriously Fun Photography. I'm hoping enough people sign up -- Thursday night is turning out to be a good time for the class.

Kablooey

My little Kodak Easyshare V570 worked fine at the Webbys. The next day, however, I saw something was clearly wrong. That's not some interesting experiment in abstraction on the screen. That's just how the screen looks now.

Grand Tour Week 4

This week's edit: the Frugal Traveler goes to the French Riviera.

The Webby Awards

Well, the Webby Awards were fun. No dramatic results, since you know ahead of time who won what. Nonetheless, the reception was good, the event itself was fun, and the 5-word acceptance speech limit keeps the duration reasonable.

The speech for the Frugal Traveler got a mention in: Webby Film And Video Awards: Best (and Worst) Acceptance Speeches.

I have a photo from the elegant afterparty posted on my other blog....

And, in case you were wondering: yes, the Chocolate Rain guy sang the national anthem.

Afterparty

Well, we already knew the Frugal Traveler won a Webby in the "Travel" category for "Online Film & Video."

What we didn't know: that the bar at the afterparty would be quite so lovely.

Palimpsest

The best thing about those people who tear away at ads in the subway is that sometimes they are accidently very good at it.

Seriously, Week 1

This week was the first class of my six-week "Seriously Fun Photography" class. So what did we cover?

We learned that to control exposure, we need to work with three related elements:

Sensitivity:
This is the ISO "speed" of a digital sensor or of film. ISO 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 and 3200 are available on many cameras (but not all), and you should take some test shots with yours to find out if the higher ISO settings are usable or not. Figure out the fastest ISO speed you find produces acceptable shots on your camera -- you'll need to switch to it sooner or later. Notice that each ISO speed is twice as sensitive (or half as sensitive) as the next.

Aperture:
The f/stops to memorize are f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22. If you forget these, make two columns, and at the top of the left one write 1.4 and at the top of the right one write 2.0. Now double each number as you go down the column (rounding off when needed). Changing one stop lets in twice as much light (or half as much, depending on which direction you go. f/2 lets in a lot of light, f/22 lets in very little light. So if you took a picture using f/8 and it seemed a little too dark, you would switch to f/5.6. If you took a picture using f/8 and it seemed a little too bright, you'd switch to f/11.

Shutter Speed:
The common shutter speeds are:
1/1000th of a second
1/500th
1/250th
1/125th
1/60th
1/30th
1/15th
1/8th
1/4th
1/2
1 second.

-- As a rule of thumb, if you are moving and you're subject is moving, you'll want to be shooting at 1/1000th of a second to get a sharp picture.

-- If you are still but the subject is moving along, it would be good to be at 1/250th or faster.

-- If you and the subject are both relatively still, you can probably handhold the camera as slow as 1/60th, but slower than that and you'll get a soft picture because of camera shake caused by pressing the shutter.

-- At speeds that are slower, you'll need a tripod to steady the camera, and probably want to trigger it using the self-timer or a release.

-- Many decent cameras have higher shutter speeds, and these are very useful for action or sports.

Notice that the relationship of these shutter speed settings is also doubling (or halving) the amount of light that hits your sensor.

So, from a technical standpoint, as we approach any photo situation we'll want to decide on an ISO setting, a shutter speed and an aperture. The three are interrelated and all use a doubling / halving system so it is easy to calculate how to change them when needed.

We also started considering focal length: We learned that:

-- on a 35 mm film camera, a 20mm lens is very wide, and that on a digital APS-C sensor it is wide.

-- on a 35mm film camera, a 50mm focal length lens feels like it sees about the same as your eye and is considered "standard." on an APS-C sensor as you have on most DSLR cameras, a 50mm lens is slightly telephoto -- very good for basic portraiture.

-- on a 35mm film camera, a 90mm lens is telephoto and would be very good for portraits. on a DSLR it is even longer and works great for making a flattering portrait.

For sports or similar shooting, we'd want to be able to go to 200mm or 300mm in focal length. For some architectural photography, or in other cases where we need to go really wide, we might need to to get something like a 10-20mm superwide zoom.

We found that shooting with a wide-angle focal length (like the 18mm length common on "kit lenses") most space seemed to "expand" compared to what our eyes see. Switch to a telephoto length made the space seem to "compress."

At the end of the class we tried an experiment where we tried making some portraits using our new knowledge of focal lengths. We shot a photo of a person using a wide focal length, standard focal length and telephoto focal length. Then we repeated that but moved our position so that the framing on the person stayed the same in all three shots.

The Signs Stay On

Another thing that's kept me busy has been editing. The up side? I got to see what the Times Square area looks like at 4 a.m. on a Wednesday, when it isn't full of people.

Tudor City

Those little teensy dots on top of the roof with the Tudor City sign? They're having a photo shoot. I kept seeing a flash but had to grab my pocket camera and zoom in before I could tell what was going on.

Luckily, They Matched The Color Scheme

One of the things that has kept me busy this year, of course, has been teaching editing at Bronx Community College. It's been great, and I'll be there again in the fall.

Above is an image I made while waiting for a train in The Bronx: four pristine crullers, sitting alongside the subway track, arranged like musical notes. I looked around, but there was no sign of the backstory. They were just there.

Years of Therapy Ahead

"Look, if you're going to take him to the park, you're going to have to keep an eye on him."

"Yeah, yeah."

"I mean it. He'll run off. He's done it before."

"Yeah, I got a plan."