Archive for Alternative photography styles

How to hand-colour your photos

I recently had a conversation with Bob Keefer - a talented photographer who has decided to hang on to some traditional techniques in a world which is accelerating at full speed toward better, faster, stronger... His party trick is impressive: Take a black-and-white photograph, and colour them. By hand. Creating gorgeous, real-yet-unreal photo-based art which redefines how you'll think about photography and digital retouching? Obviously, I had to catch up with Bob to see what, how - and perhaps, most importantly - why...

Read all of How to hand-colour your photos (12 comments so far)

The quest for perfect droplets

One of the strengths of photography has always been its ability to freeze time. Before the advent of photography, it was impossible to see how a hummingbird moves its wings, how a tennis ball deforms as it is served, or what it looks like when a bullet hits an apple at the speed of sound. In the microcosmos explored by macro photographers, there are hundreds of similar quick-moving phenomena that lay unexplored. I have a fascination with falling water and the way matches flare up as you strike them, so I decided to take a closer look.

Read all of The quest for perfect droplets (10 comments so far)

Capturing Urban Decay

Rarely do cities come more alive then when they are dying - or at least, that's what the rather distinctive Urban Decay sub-genre of urban exploration photography is trying to prove. Graffiti, buildings falling apart, and Mother Nature reclaiming what was once rightfully hers all have a place in my heart - so it was pretty awesome that Roy Barker decided to approach me with an idea for an article on the topic - without further ado, Roy Barker's guide to photographing urban decay...

Read all of Capturing Urban Decay (20 comments so far)

DIY pinhole for dSLR

If you've been around photography for a while, you've probably come across the term 'pinhole'. Basically, it's the simplest form of bending-light-into-the-shape-you-need-it-to-be you can possibly do. A well-built pinhole camera can take gorgeous photos, with incredible depth of field, with a wonderful lo-fi look to them. But what if you can't be bothered getting your hands dirty with sheet film, developing or even having to build your own pinhole camera? If you fancy having a go at pinhole photography while using your trusty digital SLR, then this is everything you need to know to build your first pinhole 'lens'.

Read all of DIY pinhole for dSLR (13 comments so far)

Ambrotype photography

The ambrotype process is a photographic process that creates a positive photographic image on a sheet of glass using the wet plate collodion process. It was invented by Frederick Scott Archer in the early 1850s, then patented in 1854 by James Ambrose Cutting of Boston, in the United States. This time, it's your turn... My good Katie Cooke (who I've featured on Photocritic before, and who might be familiar to you as the author of Slowlight - a fantastic resource on pinhole photography) wrote up a 20-step guide on the mysterious world of ambrotype photography. Arguably, it's not a very useful skill to learn (as opposed to, say, learning black and white, and subsequently colour developing in a darkroom), but we're all photography geeks for a reason, dammit, so let's start the new year by geeking out like it's 1859!

Read all of Ambrotype photography (10 comments so far)

The quiet revolution in photography

Shutter speeds? Yaaawn. ISO speeds? Oh-god-not-again. Megapixels? Oh puh-bloody-lease, that's so 2003. The newest frontier of digital photography is dynamic range - and it's arguably the most exciting (r)evolution that's happened in dSLR-world so far. Interestingly, most manufacturers are continually improving the dynamic range of their cameras, but somehow seem to forget to tell us about it - which means that we're witnessing - or should I say not witnessing - a quiet revolution. It seems as if 'dynamic range' gets forgotten in PR world, where a bigger screen, better battery life or Live View is an easier way of getting regular consumers exited. The real technological leaps have been happening under the bonnet, though, and the result of the ongoing improvements will mean that your next camera will be significantly better than your current one - but you wouldn't be able to tell from just reading its specification sheet. So, why, exactly does this make a difference to us as photographers? All will be revealed...

Read all of The quiet revolution in photography (17 comments so far)

The ultimate guide to HDR photography

Haunting, surreal, and quite possibly the first major way in which digital photography does something which film photography can't emulate - or even come near. HDR - or High Dynamic Range - photography is nothing new, but as new tools and techniques make the artform more available, HDR photography is taking off in a big way. If you've never had a go... and especially if you don't even know what I'm on about - you're in for a real treat...

Read all of The ultimate guide to HDR photography (35 comments so far)

Beyond puppies and rainbows

A few weeks ago, I had an e-mail from a reader, who was eager to show off some of her photographs. I was intrigued by her Flickr nickname, and as it turns out, the lady has some pretty exciting ideas about what a photograph should be. If you're looking for puppies, rainbows and 'moose in sunset' type clichés, you're in the wrong place - but for that very reason, Lisa caught my attention. I asked her if she wouldn't please let me interview her, to find out what you can do as a photographer to break the mould, and develop a unique photography style. Luckily, she was happy to help...

Read all of Beyond puppies and rainbows (3 comments so far)

Pan and scan, baby

If your digital camera has just packed it in, or you just feel like shaking things up a little bit, why not consider alternative photography? After all, using a camera isn't the only way to get stuff into your computer for processing... Instead of scanning your prints, why not skip the camera altogether and scan the objects you're photographing?

Read all of Pan and scan, baby (10 comments so far)

Showing Panoramas on-line

If you're anything like me, you at some point discovered a button alowing you to take panorama pictures. Perhaps you try it once or twice, and then you think 'well, that was fun, now what?' and promptly forget about it. You did, didn't you? I knew it. Finally, there's a solution...

Read all of Showing Panoramas on-line (15 comments so far)