Five Tips to Becoming a Better Photographer - Part Two

Five Tips to Becoming a Better Photographer  -  Part Two

By:  Robert Davila
Professor of Photography

 

Hello again, and Happy Friday!  Today we continue with another tool, which will assist you in becoming the photographer you always wanted to be.

 

Tip Number Two:  There is no secret; it’s in your manual.

 Even though I have years of experience in photography as an instructor and also freelance photographer, I still go over my manual.  Everything you need to know about your camera is going to be found in there.  I can’t tell you how many times I look like a super star because I was able to get something resolve for a student or client, just because I reviewed their manual and found the solution.  If you lose your manual or purchased a used camera without one, go online.  Just about every manufacture has their manuals on line.   There are also other publications that will publish book with more information about certain cameras.  You might want to do a search to see if you can find one of these publications.   These books explain in more detail the setting available to you.  They also may give you suggested setting for particular setting’s. 

Next week, I will discuss Tip Number Three.    Have a great weekend and take some photographs.

To ask questions about your camera or photography, email them to cago.blog@gmail.com. 

Art Prize: Scott Covert

So, a few weeks ago I mentioned a little thing called ArtPrize that occurs in Grand Rapids, Michigan every fall. Well, the art competition is underway and there are so many amazing pieces of contemporary art to see. Unfortunately, I cannot view the art in person and must rely instead on digital images of the pieces that get posted on www.artprize.org . It is quite difficult to pick favorites among such a long and eclectic assortment of entries, but I’m going to showcase a few of them over my next few posts. The first of which is a compilation of grave rubbings by Scott Covert entitled “Compilation CSG No 105”( http://www.artprize.org/scott-covert/2012/compilation-csg-no-105). Done with a rainbow of vibrant oil crayons, Covert has spent the last ten years travelling around Europe and the U.S. to find the perfect headstones to make rubbings of—those of well known names and obscure ones. Covert devoted a decade of his life to making his vision of “Compilation CSG No 105” a reality. Even though many may think grave rubbings to be grotesque or a dark subject matter, I view it as a way of honoring those who have passed away, famous or not, because all life is valuable. And Covert’s color palette doesn’t allow us, as the viewers, to become depressed or creeped out—the bright colors are intoxicating in the best of ways. This piece is beautiful, and I wish I could’ve appreciated it in person. And as a side note, I can’t help but be just a bit envious of Scott Covert and his ten years of globetrotting. To be free to travel would be so lovely J

Article written by:  Alexandra Dailey

Curtis Montgomery

Artpiece: 

“Clifford Mill”

Colored Pencil and Arcylic on Paper

11”  x  14”

 

About the Artist:

Curtis was born in Elora Ontario, Canada about two hours northwest of Toronto Ontario.  He grew up playing sports such as hockey and lacrosse.  However; Curtis made time every day to draw.  Curtis was educated in Toronto and London Ontario for illustration.  He currently lives and works as an artist in Toronto.

Most of Curtis’s works begin as a photograph, which he took.  After he chooses one of his photographs he begins to draw them.  Curtis works mainly with colored pencil and acrylic on paper.

 

To view more of Curtis’s work and the work of all our fine artists, visit us at www.contemporaryartgalleryonline.com.  Also check out our monthly art contests.

 

Art-O-Mat

There was a time when the only things you could buy from a vending machine were cigarettes, candy, and preservative laden space food. North Carolina artist Clark Whittington saw another vending possibility: original works of art. His company Art-O-Mat has taken de-commissioned cigarette vending machines and turned them into mini art galleries where original, signed pieces can be purchased for little more than the price of a candy bar. And if you can’t make it to one of the many machines throughout the United States, Art-O-Mat offers a “carton” online that includes 10 pieces customized to your tastes.

 

Click here for vending machines near you. Visit Johnny Botts’ website for more information on the artist.

Article Submitted by:

-Jayme Catalano
Canary Public Relations
www.canarypublicrelations.com

Alvaro Garcia Ordonez

Artpiece:
“Aqueduct”
Mixed media
50” x 22”

About the Artist:
Alvaro García Ordoñez the son of a carpenter and a teacher was born in the town of La Peña, Cundinamarca province, Colombia. Alvaro studied at the Art School in the National University of Colombia in Bogotá. After graduating he earned a scholarship that took him to Sweden, Germany, Switzerland and France.
Alvaro is a notable Colombian sculptor and painter. Alvaro currently lives in the United States with a residence as Aliens of Extraordinary Ability and where he is making an ample cultural and societal contribution through his art.
To view more Alvaro’s work and the work of all our fine artists, visit us at www.contemporaryartgalleryonline.com. Also check out our monthly art contests.

Vist our gallery and check out Alvaro's work.

Five Tips to Becoming a Better Photographer

By:  Robert Davila

Professor of Photography

 

I think one of the most important tools that any artist could have is their camera.  It is a great way to have references to work from and now with Illustrator CS6 live trace can replicate and image to vector drawing, better than ever before.  Which than can be modified to fit your artistic style.  However not being able to fully understand your camera setting can leave you upset and frustrated to the point that you just don’t use it.  The myth that you need an expensive camera to take good picture is not true.  However having an expensive camera gives you more choices which in hand give you more control.  But the camera does not make the photographer.

I have created five tips that can help you become a better photographer.  Each week for the next five weeks, I will discuss a tip.  It does not really matter if you are using a Digital SLR or just a point in shoot.  As an instructor of photography I found these five tips to be the foundation in which most of my students build and refine their skills. 

 

Tip Number One:  Understanding Exposure

 

I don’t care which camera or model you have, even if you are using your I Phone camera.  All cameras have two settings.  These two setting are the basis for photographing.  Aperture works similar to the pupil in your eyes.  In darker lighting situation it needs to be open more and in lighter situation it needs to be closed down.    This Setting controls not only exposure but depth of field.  How much of the image is going to be in focus.  A limited depth of field (small amount of the image in focus) is created when the aperture is open up (F 2).  An increase depth of field is created when the aperture is closed down (f 22).  The other setting that is important to a camera is the shutter speed.  This is done for the most part in a fraction of a second.  When your camera reads out 500 for a shutter speed it means that that shutter open and closed 500^th of a second.  That is pretty fast.   A Guide line to follow is that if shooting anything less than 1/60, you are going to need a tripod.   The shutter speed is going to control motion in your image.  If you are going to take picture and want the motion to be blurry, you are going to photograph with a slower shutter speed.  Want your moving subject to be sharp, use a faster shutter speed.

Determining your right exposure will be base in how you meter the light.  You must read your manual to understand how to get the “right” exposure.  But keep in mind once you have figure out your correct setting you can adjust them as needed.  For example you might want to us a slower shutter speed than suggested.   By increase the time that light will enter the camera you can use you aperture to cut down the amount of light coming in.  So if you allow more time on one end you close down on the other end.  You will than see your meter reading that is “right “again.   Think of it as a faucet filling a bucket.  If you open the facet all the way you will fill that bucket quicker than if you slow it down.  At the end you could have both buckets filled, just one will take longer.        

Next week, I will discuss Tip Number Two.    Have a great weekend and take some photographs.

Published by Contemporary Art Gallery Online

Today I write about another ArtPrize

Today I write about another ArtPrize piece, one created by Eckhard Kremers. His sculpture is called “Amazone”( http://www.artprize.org/eckhard-kremers/2012/amazone), and I must say that I am completely, artistically, and romanticizingly in love with this piece. Crafted out of paper, wood, leather, tape, and acrylic, all of which are seemingly stiff materials, this work of art has a frozen-in-time cloth appearance. “Amazone” is comprised of a sculpted dress that is held up by one sculpted leg—it is morbid, yet whimsical all at once. A body missing parts and an aged dress may initially seem unattractive, but everything about Kremers’ piece, from its color to shape, is romantic and nostalgic like years gone by. For this piece Kremers was inspired by an exhibit of old German dresses from the 18^th and 19^th centuries and Pop Art. Being a romantic myself this piece speaks to me. It’s as if the dress and leg jumped out of a fairy tale. I find the unsymmetrical hemline and bodice compelling because they are imperfect. Nothing in life or in fairy tales is utterly perfect, something is always awry, and in my mind Eckhard Kremers captures the beauty of the imperfect in his uneven, yet completely balanced piece, “Amazone”.

 

Contributed by Alexandra Dailey

Published by Contemporary Art Gallery Online