Beyond the obvious

Traditional portraiture is about revealing the truth, uncovering something about the person you're photographing. It's all about communicating the character of your subject. However a lot of what we see nowadays is image manipulated portraiture where software plays a great role in producing the look of the end product. The point of departure for these image makers is to use the subject as the start for their own 'artistic' interpretation. The traditional portrait photographer works the other way round. They use their photographic skill to uncover a 'truth' about the subject. To put it another way. The traditional portrait photographer focused on revealing more about the person in the portrait. The digital artist is focused on revealing more about themselves through the way they portray their subject. Both are legitimate approaches, so long as every step has a purpose and contributes to the meaning of the image, ie not just manipulation for it's own sake. The...

Recently took the picture below. I previsualised this image several years before eventually taking it. By the way. If you're interested in all things Nikon you may find this site of interest. Here's a link to the digital section which traces the full development of digital SLRs based on Nikon bodies (so it includes Fuji S pros and Kodak [now discontinued]). Paul Indigo Contemplation.

There's nothing quite like being out on the road photographing and discovering new things. Just heading out I get excited. The world is full of possibilities. Beauty and interest are all around us. And then when you get home, if you shoot digital, seeing what you've captured that day. Waiting for film results back from the lab adds a tremendous feeling of anticipation and excitement. Both film and digital have their own unique appeal. For me though the absolute high point is actually making the image, when you're in that zone, almost zen and you realise as you press the shutter that it's going to be good. For the most part this only happens when I've previsualised an image, although as a photojournalist when you spot something and know it's going to make a fantastic picture you also get a tremendous kick. For my more artistic photography though, I'll often have thought about making a picture for months, sometimes years before all the circumstances are right ...

This is a theme that I've come back to time and again in my life, and I'll probably return to it regularly on this blog as well. What makes a photograph appealing to an audience? It's a huge question. But there's one aspect I'd like to quickly cover here: photographic websites where people post pictures and other enthusiasts and photographers comment on them. I've noticed something. They seem to be in danger of repeating the blinkered view that many amateur camera clubs suffer from. Too many pictures that are just about creating an overwhelming visual impact - highly saturated, oversharpened, simplified compositions, unrealistic colours and images that don't communicate with the soul of the viewer. You open them and go WOW, blink your eyes twice, click onto the next one and forget what you've seen 40 seconds later. I like images that make you think. That raise questions. That go beyond the obvious and the visual cliche or a characture of a landscape, or ...

The problem all digital slr owners face is how to keep that darn dust off your sensor. Unless you have an obsession with using Photoshop's healing brush you'll want to minimise the phenomenon of dust bunnies on your pictures. Here are a few worthwhile websites which provide information on cleaning your camera's sensor. And in the great tradition of covering one's backside, I'll have to add the usual clause: I do not officially endorse any of these methods. The links in this blog are purely for your information. What you do with that information is up to you and I certainly can't take responsibility for your sensor cleaning practises. Backside covered - read on... Rob Galbraith - Sensor Brush CameraHobby.com - Visible Dust's Sensor Brush and Chamber Clean Petteri's Pontification - The Pixel Sweeper Pbase.com - CCD / CMOS Cleaning (Copperhill Method) The Luminous Landscape - Visible Dust Review The Luminous Landscape - Understanding Digital SLR Sensor Clea...

Yes the day finally arrived and it was extremely hectic for me. I had loads to do and was seriously concerned about getting time to come up with a shot. Anyway on a bus through Leeds I spotted this couple. Naturally her hair caught my eye. I explained about World Photo Day and they were more than happy to have their photograph taken. Now I know it's nothing arty or spectacular, just daily life with ordinary people doing their thing. After all, that's what the whole thing was about. Hope you enjoy it and if you want to see all of the pictures from 1 June 2005 from across the whole world click here . Paul Indigo Couple on bus in Leeds this evening.

Camera poised for tomorrow. I'll be out there with my Nikon D70 hunting the shot. Looking forward to this. If you don't know about World Photo Day then scroll down to my previous post. Really busy time at the moment but there is loads of new stuff in the pipeline. I'm writing a piece on bokeh. What is good bokeh? Find out next week. Paul Indigo

I've received quite a few emails about how useful the websites I have mentioned on my blog have been to people. So without repeating the all of the ones already mentioned here's a few more you may like to peruse. If you want to upload and share your pictures try: www.ephotozine.com www.trekearth.com www.treklens.com www.photo.net - this one is a bit hard to navigate but does feature some excellent photography and has loads of useful information There are lots of other sites to share your pictures but these are my favourites. Are you interested in portraiture? Then a visit to the National Portrait Gallery is a must www.npg.org.uk This site contains some interesting intervews with leading portrait photographers and of course you could enter the 2005 Schweppes Photographic Portrait Prize. And if you've got some deep technical questions you could do a lot worse than visiting http://photonotes.org - This outstanding site has tons of well organised information to a...

Drew Rossman the man who put the World Photo Day project together describes it as, "An exploration into the everyday lives of people on a global scale." People from all over the world are invited to send photographs taken 1 June 2005. Any type of camera can be used. But Drew says, "Keep in mind that if you are not using digital, you need to make time for development, scanning, and submitting of images within the 24-hour period allotted after the project's time frame of: June 1, 2005 00:01 - 23:59 GMT." To take part in this wonderful initiative visit www.worldphotoday.com . To my knowledge nothing quite like this has been attempted before. We look forward to seeing life in every corner of the globe. I've already signed up! But you'll need to be quick. Paul Indigo

Well as promised here's another installment about street photography. When you're out wandering the streets with your camera there are basically two ways you can relate to your subjects. Either you try to capture them unaware or you make them aware you want to take a their picture. Both approaches have their own challenges of course. In my previous article I dealt with trying to seize the moment, usually with the subject being unaware of you. Now I'll talk about making the subject aware that you want to take their picture. Working in foreign countries and relating to people when you don't speak their language can be a challenge. On the other hand people will often cut a visitor more slack than they would someone from their own country, so you can 'get away' with more. The key to approaching people is those first few seconds. You have to appear non threatening, friendly, willing to explain why you want to photograph them, have a sense of humour and above all find...

Saltwick Bay on the Yorkshire Coast. An ethereal place at dawn with Black Nab rising from the waves. Location: Saltwick Bay, near Whitby Photographer: Keith Henson (This picture is copyright of Keith Henson. Any form of reproduction is illegal without the prior written permission of the author) Celebrating the beauty of the Northern England landscape I can highly recommend a visit to this brand new website featuring the work of talented photographers Keith Henson and Andy Dippie. Both photographers have produced phenomenal imagery capturing the unique beauty of the landscape of the Northern British Isles. Keith and Andy have their individual styles. As with all great photographers they show us the landscape filtered through their own unique artistic vision. I can highly recommend a visit to their userfriendly web site. You can buy images online at very affordable prices. Now's the time to buy before these guys get too famous and galleries push their prices through the roof...

I think that helping aspiring photographers is important. If you have a picture that you would like a detailed critique on then please email it to me. Depending on the number of requests I get I may not be able to critique everyone' s image in detail but I will certainly reply with at least a paragraph. This offer is open for the next two weeks. After that I'll evaluate it again. Looking forward to hearing from you. I may want to publish some of the critiques and your picture of course but will naturally ask your permission first. Please don't email high res images (500 pixels at 60k is fine) Paul Indigo

Firstly I'd like to welcome visitors from other sites, who may have just discovered my blog. I've been highlighting the joys of street photography and in my previous post you'll find some links to other sites that I've found valuable. Street photography is about being alert to the potential for making an interesting image and then seizing the moment. A fraction of a second hesitation and the composition won't work. I love that challenge and hope that the virtue of timing and anticipation is illustrated below. I saw this scene then waited until the worker was in exactly the right place.

Street photography is one of my favourite forms. I dare say that many of my best images, the most satisfying, were grabbed in a split second while out and about with my camera. If this is a form of photography that interests you, then you should take a look at www.in-public.com . This site also has a host of links to other interesting resources and websites to do with street photography. Check out www.ak47.tv , an online magazine for documentary and art photographers, which has some excellent street stuff. Many of the greatest photographers of our times were street photographers; notably Henri Cartier-Bresson and Brassai. Sometime in the future I'll do a small article with handy hints and tips for getting that special image when you're out there hunting with your camera. As always I'd love to hear your feedback. So please email me. May exhibition On another matter my wife Magda and I have just launched our May exhibition on our website . Please take a look. Magda has an ex...

Beauty is all around.

Been really busy dealing with computer problems, so please excuse the length of time since the last update. Sometimes we seem to have such a long way to travel to reach a solution... Paul Indigo

Just a quick thank you to the people coming to this from ephotozine , where I mentioned my blog. I appreciate your feedback, and boosted by your positive comments, I will continue updating this blog with the nuggets of useful information as I come across them. For those of you interested in learning, Betterphoto.com with Jim Miotke, provides some good articles. The site's got a selection covering the basics as well as more advanced elements. Hope you find it useful. Paul Indigo

My wife Magda in our garden today.

Today was a wonderful spring day full of fresh promise. I spent quite a bit of time in the garden with my lovely wife Magda. Just signed up to post images to my blog and thought this would be an ideal opportunity to give it a go.

Excuse the terrible pun in the title. Seriously though for photographers interested in wildlife Moose Peterson's site has a wealth of information. He loves his Nikon and his site is jam packed with lots of useful stuff about cameras and lenses from the legendary manufacturer. If at this point you're a Canon owner sitting there shaking your head then scroll down to my Sunday, March 20, 2005 entry, where I've listed a site for you. If you've any questions please don't hesitate to click on my name below to send me an email. Paul Indigo