2012-01-17
time travel in Central Park.
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Jan 172012
Street photographer that I didn't know – tries to take my picture while I'm sitting in a diner. Later I find her name is Susan. I jump up at the same time and take this picture of her through the diner window and we both laugh.
I went out into the rain and we chatted, exchanged cards and such and she asked for a print if it turned out well.
I had been sitting in the diner with my friend +Matt Weber who is a street photographer and I always find it hilarious how we both vie for the best seat (from a shooting point of view) when we have lunch together.
It's like two old gunfighters sitting down – both trying to get the best seat. Well, I'll just mosey along now… today I've got a bunch of printing to get through.
#streetphotography of New York
www.BeckermanPhoto.com
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Jan 172012
Camera: Digital Infrared Modified
Workflow: HDR (photomatix) and then #infrared -painting-dlb
From the www.BeckermanPhoto.com site.
Oh – and you can download the full resolution file of this or most of what I post here at: http://www.beckermanphoto.com/rooftops-chelsea-new-york-color.html
For $25
And either print it yourself or upload it to your printing service.
Backstory: I had a contract to do some shooting for an architectural firm in the Chelsea area. One thing they asked for were b&w shots of the new building they were putting up. Which I did. But I had a chance to roam through the building, and ended up on the roof and though this shot had nothing to do with the contract, I did love the view.
So it was shot with my modified infrared camera, and then bit by bit "colorized." As I've often said to people – please don't expect this to come out of your new digitally modified infrared camera. I just use infrared as a starting point – sort of a draft.
After that – it may go through some HDR process – though that on it's own usually doesn't do it for me. From there it goes through many stages in NIK software.
Sometimes it works. Sometimes not. But I do enjoy the process.
From: http://www.beckermanphoto.com/rooftops-chelsea-new-york-color.html
Chelsea Rooftops / Infrared and a bunch of other things.
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for photographers – read this. Some excellent tips. And a great venture.
I began a small ebook publishing website about five years ago. I was way too early. All my reading is with eBooks and has been since I first got my SONY reader. And my idea was to do reviews and offer free books from the Google library that were all mysteries. I actually had a pretty good reaction to the idea but not enough visitors and it was too outside of what my audience – photographers – were looking for and as I say – it was way too early.
And in those days – the "ink on paper" model was the big thing – and the touch screen hadn't been incorporated yet – and – well the time is right now. That's for sure.
I'm thrilled to see a photographer like +Trey Ratcliff getting into it in a big way.
Reshared post from +Dave Veffer
+Trey Ratcliff with a little guest spot on GigaOm
Embedded Link
Why e-books will be much bigger than you can imagine
After publishing his first print book, photographer Trey Ratcliff started his own e-book publisher, FlatBooks. Why? Because the painful process taught him everything that’s wrong with the old model of…
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Jan 172012
(Crossing Cross Bronx Expressway)
From www.BeckermanPhoto.com
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Jan 172012
Maybe I should just do an entire gallery of people crossing the street. Just kidding – sort of. But the urban collisions seem to happen in the street. This is a typical juxtaposition street photography shot.
The two lives passing each other – both being wheeled around by caretakers. It is a common enough scene and you really don't need to look hard to find it. I probably have twenty or thirty images with the same theme though I like this one because the mom is on the cell phone which gives it a place in time.
But the idea of "caregiving" and going back to the stage of needing so much care in our waning years – this is one of those things that always strikes me as a bad ending.
On the other hand – what do you want at the end? Just go in peace in your sleep while you still have all your faculties?
As someone who has hit the sixty year mark recently – who begins to suffer from the usual aches and pains – I am thankful that photography just takes the simple pressing of a shutter at the right moment. You could, in fact, sit in a wheelchair with a camera and then you'd have an unusual angle, and no one would bother you much, and you'd just need to be able to hold the camera steady and have your wits about you.
Crossing Street II – read post for a nice story about getting old.
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It looks like it's for a perfume ad (to me) but it's a street candid. I actually took it on a tripod by seeing them approaching from my right and pre-focusing so that the light (if I was lucky) would do it's backlighting tricks.
Other than that – they crossed the street – laughing and giggling and were gone, never to be seen again except in this image.
From: www.BeckermanPhoto.com
#streetphotographydlb
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Jan 162012
Infrared Digital Camera
Street Performers near 59th street
Workflow: just clicking shutter at right time. #streetphotographydlb
From: www.BeckermanPhoto.com
For me, whether it's a street shot, or a landscape, most of the shots that I personally like began with an idea. Here is an example of watching the performers doing there thing for a while and then wondering – what if I could catch the guy at this point where it would look like he was hovering.
This was photographed with an infrared digital camera AND a flash that only emits infrared light. It creates the strong light on him and helps to freeze him. Try to imagine how fast he was running before he went into this flip.
So you are pre-focused. You decide on vertical on landscape (how you are going to hold the camera) and that you may only have one take. And when you get it – that for me is the excitement of street shooting. But as I say – without some idea behind the image – it generally doesn't work for me.
True, yes true. Sometimes the ideas come later in post processing. Those are how the color shots mostly came about. I just enjoy painting them.
But you don't need a fancy 20 frame per second camera to do this. You just need to be ready.
Floating. Street Performers near 59th Street. www.BeckermanPhoto.com
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Jan 162012
#infrared-painting-dlb
Camera: modified infrared camera
Workflow: NIK Software, Photoshop, HDR and the kitchen sink
From: www.BeckermanPhoto.com
Where: Top of the Rock, Rockefeller Center
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Photographed with infrared and as usual, #colorpaintingdlb
High Resolution File and Print at:
http://www.beckermanphoto.com/upper-west-side-and-hudson-color-2.html
I've done this one a few different ways, from pure b&w to various colors, to this one which right now I like very much.
I know that I should go through the steps of doing an image like this which has about 30 different layers or steps but the basics are that you essentially begin with a high contrast b&w infrared image and using Viveza you do a paint by numbers painting where there are no numbers (if you know what I mean).
*Upper West Side and Hudson River* with Central Park
From www.BeckermanPhoto.com
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