Photography podcast blog and forum
A few months back we started an assignment forum on photography.ca and this month the 2 themes are fall and Halloween-horror. Each theme lasts for 2 weeks and the Fall theme is first. I took this shot just yesterday on Mount-Royal in Montreal. I tried to go for something a little different. Did I succeed?
Please feel free to join our forum and submit your own assignments. It’s fun and a great way to get creative.
Oct. 2008 assignment on the Photography.ca forum
Most people use polarizing filters to reduce the brightness of the sky so that it does not get blown out. However another very useful thing that polarizing filters do is that polarizers reduce unwanted reflections.
This shot below by forum member Travis is an AMAZING example of the same shot with and without a polarizing filter. The top image is shot without the polarizer and the bottom image uses the polarizing filter and gets rid of all the reflections. Thanks so much for letting me use these images Travis!
polarizing filters reduce reflections
3 other links on our forum that talk about how to use polarizers
– Travis’s original post
– Neutral gradient filter — also talks about polarizers
– Filters — also talks about polarizing filters and other filters
I’m quite a big fan of abstract photographs. I love the way these photos engage the viewer in a game of “What is this? What is going on here? I’d be curious to know if anyone can figure out what’s going on in this image? and…do you like it?
Can you guess what this a photograph of?
I took this shot of my friend and fellow podcaster/social media expert Julien Smith a few weeks ago in Parc Lafontaine in Montreal. Julien needed some promo shots and so we talked about what he wanted and took a variety of shots in the ‘good light’. As I do with all my shoots, after giving the client what they request, I always try a few shots of what I think ‘works’ for their look and personality even though it might not be their first instinct. Although there were many excellent shots from this shoot, this shot is my fave of the lot. I like this shot because Julien’s pose is very casual and the pose in the setting which I scouted beforehand 
has a teacher/guru like feel, which for me is in keeping with how I see Julien.
Portrait of Julien Smith
On a technical note, Julien has wicked good eyes that reflect a lot of light so my fill flash was set to minus 3 stops lower than the ambient light. The ISO was 400 shot at F2.8 at 1/250.
I shot this just yesterday in Parc Lafontaine in Montreal. It was about 1 hour before sundown and these boys were on a rock feeding, playing with the ducks and just chatting. I LOVE timeless feeling shots and I was captivated by the scene, their pose and the fading light.
Most times these types of silhouette shots are a result of error because the photographer wanted the main subject to be well lit and the result is the underexposure of the main subject due to back lighting. Not here.
For me the whole scene was the main subject and so I deliberately kept my flash off even though it was already mounted to my camera and ready to add as much light as I wanted to the boys. I did add a hint of extra light in the post-processing by dodging the boys’ faces.
Exif data -‚ F4‚ — 1/500‚ — ISO 200 — 50mm focal length
Wow — hard to believe it but we are coming up on episode #50!!!! This makes me so happy and we plan to release our 50th episode on Monday. This episode will be full of photography tips so please stay tuned!!!
I’d like to thank all of the listeners and contributors and interviewees, and the many many people that have sent in thankful, encouraging and constructive comments via the blog — forum and through email. I do this podcast for the love of photography and for the of love of teaching but it really helps when there is a fantastic community behind you! 
I hope to record the next 50 shows with your helpful comments and suggestions.
Many thanks in advance!
Marko
One of the many amazing aspects of Montreal is the regular gathering of different people to enjoy whatever is going on. Sunday in the Park (at Mount Royal) has been a tradition for over 10 years. Hundreds (sometimes thousands) of people get together and play drums, dance, juggle, imbibe, play frisbee etc. The girl in this photograph (I HAVE to start asking names) looked so peaceful practicing her art that I HAD to take this photo — I asked first though.
Exif data — F-4.0 1/250 ISO 100
I recently moved into one of the best parts of Montreal called Plateau Mont –Royal AKA The Plateau or Le Plateau. There are so many interesting people in this bustling and artsy part of town that I think I may start a new series of casual ‘street’ portraits just for fun.
Yesterday as I walked through my new favourite location (Parc Lafontaine), I spotted 2 lovers in a hammock and asked if I could take their portrait. They agreed and I think I captured the feelings they have for one another. This was shot at about 6pm with no flash or reflector, only ambient light.
Below is the original image (with distractions) — added as a result of the comments
The top image tries to follow the ‘rules’ from photo podcast #46 where we talked about distracting elements in photographs. This is a shot of a dog sleeping in a local convenience store. I spent about 15 minutes ‘cleaning up’ this photo. By cleaning up I’m specifically talking about removing distracting elements. In this case the distracting elements were brightness problems. I wanted the focus of the shot to be on the dog’s face and snout so I burned in (darkened) almost everything that was brighter than the face and snout. By doing this I’m actively guiding the viewer’s eye to where I want it to go.
Did I do a good job? Comments? Questions?
A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to meet the Poet/Singer/Songwriter Leonard Cohen in Saguenay Quebec. I have always been an enormous fan and rarely does a week go by when I don’t listen to one of his truly great songs. Although we only spent a few precious minutes with him, he was gracious enough to allow us to take a few shots. This shot was my favourite of the few shots we took.
It was a hot sunny cloudless day and the sun was still fairly high which meant I had to be on the lookout for shadows in the face. I therefore set my flash to minus 2 which would fill in the potential shadows. This shot was originally processed in colour and I really like how it turned out (maybe I’ll post the colour version sometime). However there is something timeless and mysterious about Mr. Cohen’s music and I knew when I took the image that I’d likely process it in black and white. Also, his suit and hat were just screaming to be photographed in black and white.
I’d like to thank Leonard Cohen (and his UNBELIEVABLE ensemble of musicians) for the fantastic concert where he received at least 15 standing ovations, and for allowing me the pleasure to take a few shots. My only regret is that my wife (who is equally an enormous fan) wasn’t there to meet him with me. She was resting at the hotel since she was tired from the 5 hour drive from Montreal.
Photography podcast #45 talks about how to use backlighting outdoors. We talk about taking that classic photo on the beach in front of a sunset and doing it properly. We also describe how to take a nice portrait using backlighting and the whole podcast and is based somewhat on an email from Cindy;
“This summer my family is going to the beach. Of course, I want to take lots of pictures. What is the best time of day? I love sunset pictures, but how do I take pictures of the people with their backs to the ocean (sun in background etc.) and see their faces clearly? ”
The images below (done really quickly with almost no post processing) clearly show the differences you can obtain using backlighting and flash at different settings. Personally I like the Minus 2 shot the best. You best see the differences in flash output by looking at the face.
Photography links mentioned in this podcast:
Accessories that you can use to hold reflectors etc. — photography podcast 35
Photography and the law
Thanks as always to Cindy, Jason and Alex Wilson for recent comments and suggestions. We LOVE comments and suggestions so please send more.
You can download this photography podcast directly by clicking the preceding link or listen to it almost immediately with the embedded player below.
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Robert Capa (1913–1954) was a world renowned photojournalist and many of his iconic images are etched in our minds. The 54th anniversary of his death just happened this week. A well known quote of his that rings true for most photographers was “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enoughâ€
Here is a link to some work along with one of his most famous images:
