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Helping you take better photos

How To: SporTS

pHoTograpHy with

Brendan o’Hagan

getting to Know the wedding photographer of 2010: Blair Quax

ipad review: The photographer’s Tool

Urban Competition winner

photoshop Tips

Issue 19 Nov 17th 2010

pLUS:MeTaLLiCa!

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ConTenTS4 reader’sContribution

10 you charge How MUCH?

26

12 getting to know:Blair Quax

22 Sportsphotography

18 pic of the Bunch

34 gear review

28 photoshop Tips

36 Cool Stuff

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Another issue packed with all things

photography! This month we’ve

introduced a reader’s submission page

(thanks for sharing your work, Justin!), and you

will meet Blair Quax, this year’s Wedding

Photographer of the Year.

For something different we’ve gone to a

sports photographer for this month’s How

To (and therefore the next competition) –

Brendon O’Hagan shares his work and his

tips for any budding sports photographers

out there.

We had an amazing time at my "hands.on"

studio open day - thanks to all who came

along and made it fun. We were totally

exhausted afterwards, but we’re keen to do it

again!

We’ve also taken on a couple of

proofreaders here at NZ Photographer after

last month’s… challenges. Thanks to those of

you helping us out there! The whole magazine

will be a better place now that you’re here!

Corrections:A couple of things we’d like to correct from last

month’s issue:

• The first Critique in Issue 18

belonged to Marie Waters, not

Eddie Kyle - apologies to both!

Marie’s camera details were:

1/400 sec, F 5.6, ISO 100,

135mm

• The details for the Food comp and

the Urban comp were confused –

The Food comp is definitely going

ahead - Images are due by 5pm

on Monday the 6th of December,

2010. Winner will be published in

Issue 20, out on Wednesday the

15th of December, 2010

• Somehow we managed to miss

crediting the NZIPP Student

Photographer of the year - Anna

Kernohan

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aBoUT Whether you’re an enthusiastic weekend snapper or a beginner who wants to learn more, NZ Photographer is the fun e-magazine for all Kiwi camera owners – and it’s free!

ediTor Ollie Dale, ANZIPP editor@nzphotographer.co.nzgroUp ediTor Trudi CaffellarT direCTor Jodi OlssonadVerTiSing enQUirieS Phone Alastair on 09 523 4112 or email alastairn@espiremedia.com

addreSS NZ Photographer, C/- Espire Media, PO Box 137162, Parnell, Auckland 1151, NZweBSiTe www.nzphotographer.co.nz

NZ Photographer is an Espire Media publication

Cover Image: Single Image Competition Winner Hillary Lakeman

NZ Photographer

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FEATURE

reader’SConTriBUTionImages by Justin Aitken, Memory Photography

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This month, Justin Aitken shoots the Metallica

concert at Auckland’s Vector Arena.

South African born Justin Aitken is an event

photographer in Auckland. Having done loads

of concerts and stage performances myself, it’s

plain to see he has a talent and isn’t afraid to

work his images to suit his creativity.

Justin’s work has been published in various

magazines and online galleries including Remix,

The Groove Guide, Rip it Up and The Rock.

He has photographed many international acts,

including John Mayer, Michael Franti, Newton

Faulkner, The Cult and Johnny Clegg. His most

recent being Metallica. “There is nothing quite

like the raw energy you get when photographing

a live music concert, especially when they are

such experienced and passionate musicians

like Metallica.” Some of the local acts he has

photographed are Opshop, Nathan King, Anika

Moa, The Feelers, Dave Dobbyn, Midnight Youth

and Fat Freddy’s Drop.

Here’s a nice addition to NZ Photographer, inspired by you, the readers. If you’d like to appear in NZ Photographer send a link to some examples of your work and we’ll help get your work published for the world to see.

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For more of Justin’s work take a look at www.memoryphotography.co.nz

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ExcErpt From a studEnt’s assignmEnt:

The city or town you plan to work in: We

live in Wainuiomata, in the Wellington

region, which is quite handy as it is

a fairly large city and full of potential

clients! However, it is also full of existing

photographers - the Yellow Pages revealed

no less than 64 commercial and 73

wedding/portrait photographers! About

20 of which were in the Hutt area where

I am. That is a LOT of competition for a

region with less than 350,000 inhabitants

(349,000 of whom own their own digital

cameras no doubt!!).

proposEd cliEnt basE:

That’s why, to attract anyone at all, I thought

I should really offer something others do not

- lower prices! Having researched the price

structures of the local pro photographers, I’m

confident I could halve the charges while

still maintaining a (small) profit margin. It

is by no means a way of undermining the

pros - on the contrary, people get what they

pay for! I cannot offer a professional service

due to lack of equipment and lack of skills

and experience, so have no right to charge

the full price! Also, it is hard to ask people

to pay a lot of money when essentially you

are just using them as guinea pigs and

experimenting/learning on them.

my rEply:

Everything in your assignment is superb.

Except the comment “I thought I should really

offer someting others do not - lower prices!”

That saddens me to hear - I know you

go on to explain it, but it’s just plain wrong.

I considered giving you a 1/10 for this

assignment because of it, but then thought

better of it and simply deducted one mark as I

didn’t want you to lose your great average...

If you think your unique selling proposition

is that you’re cheaper than the next

photographer then you’ve just turned my

work into a commodity. Photography then

becomes a product, sold to the lowest

bidder. The photography industry suffers and

the general public becomes less interested in

the plight of the “struggling artists” who used

to be known as professional photographers.

If you charge for your photography you

are a professional. That is the definition

of an eligible member as defined in the

constitution of the New Zealand Institute of

Professional Photography.

You charge for your service, but you

don’t think you’re a professional, and you

“cannot offer a professional service due

to lack of equipment and lack of skills and

experience” - rubbish!

I’ve seen your work, and it’s fabulous. You’re

one of the better students I’ve had here at TPI.

Have you actually figured out how much

you need to charge to break even? Do

you know what all your costs are? How

do you know that the local photographer

whose prices you got as an indication is

charging enough to break even, or even

make a profit? The current median income

for self-employed photographers in New

Zealand is only $27-28k! If you’re basing

your prices off theirs, and undercutting them,

you may be undercutting someone who

doesn’t charge enough to start with and

you’ll both go out of business, not to mention

bring down the name of professional

photographers everywhere in the process.

Have you factored in insurance? If you

aren’t producing professional grade work

you open yourself to the personal liability of

getting a true pro to fix it at your cost.

You also need commercial insurance

for gear, vehicles, public liability etc. Your

FEATURE

One of my students raised an interesting point recently, and they’ve agreed to let me reproduce our

conversation here – I think it’s a vitally important part of the photographic industry and is at the heart

of the future success or failure of photography as a whole in New Zealand.

yoU CHarge

How MUCH?

By Ollie Dale

NZ Photographer

Oct 27

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domestic insurance is null & void the moment

you start accepting money.

And since when did the amount of

equipment you have dictate whether you

can provide a professional service?

You may not think you’re a professional,

but the New Zealand Institute of

Professional Photography does, and it sobs

uncontrollably every time it hears comments

like yours, because it’s precisely that line

of thinking that is killing the photography

industry in New Zealand.

I know you don’t want to give up your

day job and become one of the world’s best

wedding photographers, but Jasmine Star

did (www.jasmine-star.com).

She says on her website “I found

something I couldn’t stop dreaming of until

it became a reality: Photography. I left law

school and started my business in 2006”

She left LAW SCHOOL and started a

photography business the year I got married

- 4 years ago.

She is now one of the world’s best

wedding photographers.

She didn’t say “because I have no

experience I can’t charge a professional’s

rate” - she told brides she wouldn’t rest until

she had captured them looking their best on

their wedding day, and then did that. She

also charged $1500 for her first wedding,

and upped her rate by $500 every third

wedding after that. She now charges

obscene amounts of money per wedding (like

tens of thousands of dollars - 4 years later!).

Yes she started off modestly, but she didn’t

undercut all her opposition by half, and

she DID have a plan in action to bring her

charges up with her experience levels as she

grew in confidence and skill.

I appreciate that you’ve done your

research into other photographers in your

area, but you need to go read “The Goal”

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_

of_Constraints) and understand that if you

differentiate on price (i.e. undercut) you

won’t be helping anyone.

You should also get in touch with your local

regional NZIPP and see when the next “Best

Practice” seminar is - there have been some

touring the country recently about costing and

pricing, and this would be ideal for you (you

don’t have to be a member to attend).

I suggest you look at this Base

Rate Calculator (www.nzipp.org.nz/

NzippWeb/Default.aspx?tabid=153) If

you can genuinely get overhead costs

(before ANY income) below $40k I

suggest you recalculate the figures as I’ve

never seen anyone who can operate for

less than this sort of level.

You’re a great photographer. You have

a great eye. You would far out-shoot any

of the ‘uncles’ who bring their cameras to

weddings. Your portraits will have your flair

and style and creativity injected into them.

Your work will inherently be yours.

So value it, and help the whole industry

out in the process!

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NZ Photographer

Nov 17

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GettinG to know

Richard Brown

By Ollie Dale

geTTing To Know: BLair QUaxNZIPP WeDDINg PhOtOgraPher Of the year 2010

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I met Blair a couple of years ago when I

first joined the NZIPP. He’s a great guy

and has an intriguing sense of humor,

which I totally appreciate.

For the last two years our two families

have shared accommodation for the Iris

Awards and Infocus Conference, and this

year was awesome because it was in

Queenstown. What was also awesome was

to be sitting next to him and his wife Lauretta

at the awards dinner the moment he was

named Wedding Photographer of the Year -

we were all shocked and elated at the same

time, but no one more so than Blair himself.

I caught up with Blair recently to find out

more about this unassuming but extremely

talented photographer.

nZp: so how did you

photography?

bQ: “Lauretta and I always used to laugh at the

stories of how amazing photographers started

their careers at the age of 6 when they sat

on Granddad’s knee and he gave them his

old SLR camera, and from there a superstar

photographer was born - we laughed because

it wasn’t that way for us, we just kinda woke

up one day doing photography.

But then I remembered that I did have a

story - when I was about 6 or 7 I used to save

up my pocket money and go down to the

local dairy in Raglan and buy a disposable

camera. Every couple of months I could

afford to do it again. It never really turned into

anything but I guess it was a start.”

nZp: what madE you buy your First

disposablE camEra at thE agE oF 6?

bQ: “I don’t know - it was probably the most

interesting thing in the Raglan dairy? It was

either that or a few 50c mixes.”

nZp: what was thE nExt mEmory you havE

oF photography?

bQ: “My dad imported a camera when

I was about 14; cameras were really

expensive then, so he imported a Pentax

SLR with a 50mm prime lens. I used it for

my photography in Form 7 (now ear 13,

kids) and then later in my Polytech courses.

At High School I was really into art subjects

- I did them all, and pretty much failed

everything. I got loads of support from my

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teachers about my work but then as soon

as I sent it away for marking it’d come back

as a fail. That was really interesting for me.

I then got into Polytech on the basis of my

painting portfolio, and chose to study a

Bachelor of Media Arts majoring in Painting,

but it was such a broad subject that at one

point I was working with video.

“Once again I couldn’t get into the

photography stream - I kept failing it, so I

went down a fine arts path. I guess the big

thing I learned was about conceptualising

what you do before you do it, and that’s

been really valuable.”

nZp: whErE did you go aFtEr polytEch?

bQ: “Well, try as I might, I couldn’t find any

work as a fine arts painter... so I got other

jobs, I travelled - basically I had a couple of

gap years, and when I came home I moved

back in with my parents in Raglan. Not long

after that I got a job at a camera store in

Hamilton, and that was where I met Lauretta.

“We hooked up and within a year we

had decided to start our own business - it

took us nearly a year to go through various

concepts for the business idea, and finally

we decided to set up a photography studio

that did everything, as you do. We were

completely naïve, but we started and that’s

the main thing.

“We shifted to Whangaparaoa because

it was close to Auckland without being

Auckland, and being a small town boy I

wasn’t keen to shift into the city.”

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nZp: so, you startEd a photography studio

doing EvErything - how did you gEt into

wEddings?

bQ: We thought weddings were easy to market

to and had a place to market - wedding

magazines, shows etc. Weddings for us kinda

took off without us realising. We tried to do other

photography as well, but it took us a couple of

years to realise that if we wanted to look after our

clients properly we had to focus on one area,

and weddings were really popular.

“We started out as Goode Photography and

design, Lauretta’s surname, because Lauretta

already had a few clients and because I thought

it was an interesting pun. Then in 2007 we had

a major year - we got married, bought a house,

and rebranded our studio to Shine Studios.

“We really wanted to set ourselves up for the

future and create an entity we could both be

a part of, and it helped me find my place and

validate my role in the business.”

nZp: so whErE do you gEt your work From?

bQ: “Now we’ve got enough of a history and

enough happy clients that most of our work

comes from referrals - people ring up and

directly ask for either Lauretta or myself to be

their photographer because of a referral from a

friend.”

nZp: and what was it likE bEating two wEll-

known wEdding photography hEavywEights

and winning wEdding photographEr oF thE

yEar?

bQ: “I was quite surprised... I knew the images

I’d entered were the best I’d ever entered - well,

I was confident and happy with my images,

and I was ready to just see what happened.

We went into this year’s Iris Awards solely

focusing on the wedding category, and we had

a good think about what the judges would talk

about. It was a HUGE surprise to win it over

those two guys who have won it so many times!

It’s certainly restored a bit of faith in myself.

“I am really proud of the work, but I was still

totally shocked to win.”

For more info or to contact blair directly go to www.shinestudios.co.nz

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COMPETITION WINNERS

Congratulations this month goes out

to Hillary Lakeman for her urban

image of the recent devastation in

the Canterbury area. The crop we used for the

cover focused on the reflection which worked

for the cover image, but I also like the bigger

picture (pun intended) told by the original.

Hillary wins this issue’s cover and a

$100 voucher from the fabulous people

at Giclée Print. For all YOUR fine art and

canvas printing needs, visit www.gicleeprint.co.nz.

WINNER: Hillary Lakeman - My image

shows the Victoria Street clock, which stopped

at the time of the earthquake, reflected in

the window by Asko’s - my family’s business

was also attached to this building and all the

block has now been demolished and cleared.

(Sony DSC-R1, 1/250th sec. at f/4.5)

Agnes Arnold

David Garratt

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Chris Brickell

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Chris Gin

Blair Walker

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Graham Barr

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HOW TO

By Ollie Dale

SporTS pHoTograpHyPhotograPher: Brendon o’hagan

Sports photography can be

glamourous, and it can be painful.

The sports photographer can share

in the elation of the moment, and they can

share in the taste of defeat. While the team

can have a good day on the field the sports

photographer can just as easily be having

a bad day. I know one photographer who

dropped a memory card full of All Blacks

photos somewhere on the pitch at Eden Park

during the game – sports photography can

be equally as emotional as sport itself.

One of New Zealand’s leading sports

photographers knows this himself; Brendon

O’Hagan has made a name for himself

in the sports photography world, and has

been at most of the major international

sporting events New Zealand has hosted

over the last few years.

“Probably the most memorable moment

recently was when the All Whites qualified

for the World Cup on November 14th,

2009 – that was THE most electrifying

atmosphere I’ve ever experienced at a New

Zealand sporting event.”

Brendon started his photography with a part

time job at the Manawatu Evening Standard,

after first applying to join the Police.

“They (the Police) told me to come back

when I was 20, as I was only 18, so I

looked around and the Evening Standard

job looked cool.”

After learning photography in Manawatu,

Brendon moved to the Wanganui Chronicle,

and then on to the NZ Herald as a staff

photographer, where he was able to be

involved with a lot of major sports.

He was with the Herald for two and a half

years, but was caught up in their restructuring

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ten years ago and left New Zealand on his

O.E. in late 2000.

After a couple of years overseas Brendon

returned as a freelance photographer,

and his love of sport continued to shape

his career. A few years ago he started

working for AFP (Agence France Presse) in

NZ, and now covers “any sport with an

international flavour”.

“I’ve just come back from the rowing;

I do a lot of the All Blacks, Black Caps,

All Whites, sailing regattas, etc. I also do

a considerable amount of underwater

photography.”

But to show you again that photography’s

not cheap (like you need a reminder, right?),

Brendon’s kit bag includes 6 Canon bodies

(1D MKIV, 7D, 5D MKII, 2 5Ds and a 60D)

and at least 14 lenses, including a 300mm

f/2.8 and a 500mm f/4.

“Basically I’ve got everything covered

from 14mm through to 500mm, plus a

couple of 1.4x extenders.”

When it comes to the how-to tips for

sports photography, there’s no one list that

covers everything because every sport is

different, but Brendon’s shared some points

that apply to most situations:

• Firstly, a bigger lens helps! As big as

you can afford!

• Know the sport you’re photographing

– or don’t. Sometimes not knowing

the sport you’re photographing means

you approach it with a fresh view,

but then sometimes knowing the sport

gets you in the right place at the right

time. If you don’t know the sport,

don’t let that hold you back, but be

more aware of what’s going on and

be ready to adapt quickly.

• Try to get clean backgrounds where

possible – this is where the big lenses

work their hardest, because they help

to throw everything else out of focus. A

lot of the stuff I shoot has sponsorship

banners in the background which is a

pain. Pick your spot carefully so you

avoid that security guard in the high-vis

day-glow vest.

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• Take a risk – sometimes a completely

different angle works. Up high is always

a good option for a different look to

your images, if that’s what you want.

• Shoot on the smallest aperture possible,

and this is again where the professional

lenses are better than the consumer models.

• Your shutter speed depends on the

sport you’re photographing and the

look you’re going for, so experiment.

Rugby, cricket, basketball etc. all tend

to demand high shutter speeds to

stop the action. (Editor’s note – when

I used to shoot rugby and basketball

it tended to always be 1/500th of a

second at f/2.8, or faster if you had

enough light)

• I find the 7D is a great camera at an

affordable price – it has a high frame

rate which is good for sport, and it’s

pretty good in low light.

• Finally, sometimes it’s better to pick your

spot and wait for the action to come to

you – it’s worth it because, while you

may not get as much the stuff you do get

is really good.

Brendon is based in Auckland, but regularly

travels the country for his work. “I have a

website (www.brendonohagan.co.nz) and

there is also a blog on there - I rabbit on

about what I have been up to (all with very

bad grammar and crap spelling!)”

12:00 pm - 4:00pm

Studio 3D, 93 The Strand, Parnell

4th Dec 2010

Hi my name is Brian Foose. I am a p r o f e s s i o n a l c o m m e r c i a l a d v e r t i s i n g & f a s h i o n photographer.

On Saturday 4th of December we are hosting a Help-Portrait session in our Auckland studio.

Help-Portrait is a collection of photographers around the world using their time, equipment, and expertise to give back to those who are less fortunate. What does that look like? It looks like photographers taking pictures, and then giving those pictures back to the families.

None of the photographers or volunteers involved are being paid or making money off these photographs. None of the pictures taken will be used on personal websites or portfolios. The goal is simply to find people in need and take their picture in order to give the picture back.

Last year I photographed over 50 people and delivered more then 100 photos for child cancer foundation families. The best part is listening to their stories and knowing you are making a little bit of difference in their life.

This year we have an even bigger team; apart from yours truly we will also be joined by my good friend and one of the best commercial & lifestyle photographers, Ollie Dale, the fabulous professional makeup artist Lucy Medway-Smith and heaps of other good people willing to give back to their community.

So we need your help to spread the word around and to help us find someone in need to have a good cheer up this holiday season.

Who needs pictures? Maybe you know a single mum who never had time for herself. We will give her full makeup and photo shoot to make her feel special.

Pretty much anyone who wouldn’t normally have access to or be able to afford professional photography would be ideal for Help-Portrait. We suggest the following groups of people for starters…Orphans, single mums/dads (and their kids), the elderly, underprivileged families, or even your neighbor?

DATE : 4th Dec 2010 TIME: 12:00pm - 4:00pmVenue: Studio 3D, 93 The Strand, Parnell, Auckland

If you would like to give us a hand (make-up, hair, food and drinks etc.) please contact me directly on brian@brianfoose.com or follow me on twitter @BrianFoose . For more information about Help-Portrait please visit www.help-portrait.com

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TIPS

fOr BegINNerSBy Pete West

I was using the background eraser today

and thought that not many people use

this, so this is the subject for this issue.

There are a number of ways you can

‘clear cut’ an image out of a background.

You can make a mask around it using a

marquee tool or painting it out by using

the ‘edit in quick mask mode’, or you can

use the background eraser tool. As with a

lot of these tools they work better on high

contrast, sharp pictures, but the background

eraser tool does have some flexibility, and

is very useful for cutting around hair or fine

lines, (on sharp pictures).

In fig 1 you can see the 3 options

for the eraser tool. We’re looking at the

middle one, ‘Background eraser tool’.

In fig 2 you can see that the tool gives

you a circle with a cross in the centre.

Hold down the option key to give you

the eyedropper, and then click on the

surface, or colour that you want to

protect. This colour will then appear in

the foreground of the tool palette and will

now be protected.

If you right click with your mouse you can

bring up variations as for a normal brush,

(fig1A). I tend to go for zero spacing and

a soft edge to the brush, but you can try all

these out. You can also reduce or enlarge

the brush by using the left and right bracket

keys on your keyboard.

Firstly, make sure your background has

been turned into a layer by double clicking

on the background in your layers palette.

Now, keeping the cross in the centre of

the brush on the area to be cleared you can

move it around the edge and magically see

the background disappear as the object you

want to keep is left (fig 2).

In fig 3, you can see that the tolerance is

set to 10%, this ensures that the eraser does

not eat away the object I want to keep.

Fig 4 and 5, show you what happens if

your tolerance is set wrongly. Here tolerance

is 100%, and the result (fig4) shows that the

eraser has eaten into the area you want to

keep. In this case reduce the tolerance and

try again. As I said a high contrast sharp

object largely reduces the need to play

around with the tolerance.

11a

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pete west emigrated from the uk in 2002 and taught photoshop at natcol for 3 years. he works freelance producing aircraft

illustrations and photographic articles on airshows for magazines in the uk and brazil. www.flickr.com/photos/oneleggedpom/

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3

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There’s no better way to learn than

by having your work critiqued! In this

section you get to have your work

critiqued by professional photographers

Lisa Crandall and Ollie Dale.

Lisa is a multi-award winning

portrait photographer. In 2008 she

was named ‘People Photographer of

the Year’ at Iris, NZ’s professional

photography awards. Her studio,

ImageMe www.imageme.co.nz is

located in Takapuna in Auckland. She

also runs photography workshops,

and is an Associate of the New

Zealand Institute of Professional

Photography (ANZIPP).

Ollie has been a professional

photographer for seven years, and has

clients such as the NZ Herald, Visa,

Microsoft, Westpac, Unitec and BMW.

He is also a qualified commercial

member and Associate of the New

Zealand Institute of Professional

Photography (ANZIPP).

camEra: Nikon D60

shuttEr: 1/640 sec

apErturE: f/4

iso: 800

author: Eddie Kyle

From thE author: Driving in Central Otago

I saw this scene and it captured me. I

stopped, pulled out my Canon 500D and

diligently assessed the image I wanted to

capture. I considered what I liked about

it – the contrast between rugged granite

face with shadows, the strong blue sky and a

softer mountain in the distance. I ensured a

power pole on the mountain remained out of

shot, thought about rule of thirds and clicked

off several shots, changing the f-stop up and

down in order to get different exposures.

Then I assessed the shots and realised what

was missing which made the shot – the road

leading seemingly into the mountain face.

Having done everything right to this point (?), I

got excited, waited for a break in traffic to run

out into the middle of the road, and took only

one photo. I then threw the EOS into the car

and got on my way. Dismay came later when

I realised that the best shot was over exposed.

CRITIQUE

Sized Up yOUr WOrK CrItIQUeD

Hardly an expert with editing, I’ve tried

correcting with Colour Curves on GIMP

(thanks to a previous NZ Photographer

review) but to a novice this is just

frustrating. How can it be fixed (and

otherwise improved)?

olliEs’s commEnts: I like your description

of what you went through to get your shot,

Eddie. I’m sure lots of other photographers

have had similar experiences.

Firstly, the answer to what you could

have done to ensure against overexposure is

simple – shoot in Camera RAW – you retain

99% of the data that your camera caught

and it’s much easier to recover over- or

under-exposure in post processing.

Going on what you’ve sent in though,

here are a few things you could try:

• First, clone out the white road

posts – they’re incredibly distracting,

and who would know they were

supposed to be there, right? And

crop the image down into a more

panoramic shape as that sky isn’t

really adding anything (OP1)

• Secondly, the image is screaming

out for a black and white treatment –

add some contrast, clarity, dodging

and burning, whatever your tastes

dictate. In option 2 (OP2) I’ve used

the black and white adjustment

layer to manually control the effect.

I also added a touch of exposure to

the very black region on the left –

shooting in camera RAW would have

given more latitude for recovering the

shadow area. I also gave the whole

image a vignette and then removed

some of it on the left and right sides.

You don’t have to go as extreme as this

but you definitely need to pull some more

out of the image. Think of taking the picture

in the camera as the first step on the way to

making your image.

op1

op2

call For EntriEs: Get your images critiqued by professionals – send an image to critique@nzphotographer.co.nz with a brief description

of how and why you took the shot, and we’ll tell you what we think and if it could be improved. The views and opinions expressed in this section

are only two people’s ideas on photographic imagery. You may have different, constructive ideas about how good or not the images are, and what

could be done to them. You’re welcome to send those ideas in to editor@nzphotographer.co.nz. We agree that the opinions contained in this

critique section are by no means the only opinions that could be held about these images.

NZ Photographer

Mar 3

32

COMPETITIONS

SporTSpHoTograpHy(SINgle Image Or SerIeS)

With summer almost upon us

antipodeans, here’s your

chance to try your trigger

finger at some sport. Re-read the article

about sports photography and go out and

find some. Capture a sporting moment in a

single image, OR, if your moment is better

represented as several moments then you

may also enter a series of images. Send

your entry in to us to claim not only the cover

of Issue 21 (February) but also the fabulous

$100 voucher from the awesome people at

Giclée Print!

Thanks again to our sponsors of our

competitions - for all YOUR fine art and

canvas printing needs, visit

www.gicleeprint.co.nz One entry per person, and you must be in

New Zealand or hold a NZ Passport at the

time of entry to qualify to win.

Images must be 100dpi, 1600 pixels

wide, and sent to competitions@nzphotographer.co.nz by 5pm on

Monday the 14th of February, 2011.

(Yes that’s Valentine’s Day 2011)

The Winner will be published in Issue 21,

out on Wednesday the 23rd of February,

2011

NZ Photographer

Oct 27

33

a QUICK remINDer…

Food CoMpeTiTion(SINgle Image)

We want Issue 20 to

look YUM! Here’s your

chance to try out the

tricky world of food photography –

re-read the article about Nick Tresidder’s

food photography from Issue 18 and

cook up a storm. Capture it in a single

photograph and send it in to us to claim

the Cover of Issue 20 (December) and

the $100 voucher from those amazing

people at Giclée Print. For all YOUR

fine art and canvas printing needs, visit

www.gicleeprint.co.nzOne entry per person, and you must be

in New Zealand or hold a NZ Passport at

the time of entry to qualify to win.

Images must be 100dpi, 1600

pixels wide, and sent to competitions@

nzphotographer.co.nz by 5pm on

Monday the 6th of December, 2010.

Winner will be published in Issue

20, out on Wednesday the 15th of

December, 2010.

NZ Photographer

Nov 17

34

GADGETS

Before I got my iPhone I usually met

up with clients in a café or office to

showcase my work on my laptop. I’ve

always found the laptop so inconvenient; it

takes up so much space on the table and the

client is always confused about which key to

press to go to the next image.

Then I got my first iPhone. I imported

my portfolio and client’s images before the

meetings and, as usual, I met with them in a

café, home or office. The clients loved the way

the images were presented on a small enough

device they could hold to view the images.

However, I then had another issue: The screen

was too small, and sometimes when the client

was viewing the images I would get a call

or text message. Totally unprofessional! Since

then I have been thinking: What if there was

a device, similar to my iPhone but a little bit

bigger, even just to show off images to clients?

(And this was way before the original official

iPad announcement!)

Finally, 3 generations of iPhones later,

Apple announced iPad and I was really

excited about it. Now I’ve had my iPad

for over 5 months and I want to share

with you how my iPad works for me as a

professional photographer.

1. Just to clear things up a little bit: Is

it just a big version of iPod touch

or iPhone?

The answer is a big NO, although

they do share the same operating

system and similar functionalities.

But the iPad offers a totally different

experience. From surfing the web,

email, and reading a book, to

signing off model releases. Can the

iPod touch or iPhone not do the same

thing? Yes they certainly can, but the

experience is nowhere near the same

as on the iPad.

2. Show off your images in style.

Like I said, ever since my first iPhone

I’ve imagined a device like this, even

if all it did was show off my work to

clients in a professional and easy to

use manner.

Out of the box you can import all

your photos into the built-in photo

app, to start using it as your portfolio

to show off to your clients. Or if you

like you can download one of the

apps available on the App Store

designed to manage your images

into a more portfolio-like presentation.

gear reViewThe iPad: a PhoTograPher’s ToolBy Brian Foose (“Inspector Gadget”)

NZ Photographer

Nov 17

35

3. Signing model releases on the iPad

is more fun.

Preparing model releases, printing

them out and remembering to get

them signed off by the models used to

be a drag. I think mostly it’s because

I hate dealing with paper. Now there

is an app for that; I just have to create

a model release template in the app.

Once I arrive on the set, I hand the

iPad over to the models to key in all

their details and digitally “sign” it on

the screen (with their finger).

A copy of the release gets emailed

to both the model and myself. Job

done! No paper, no mess, instantly

saved and backed up.

4. Tethered shooting with the iPad.

Apology for the misleading title...

There is currently no way to shoot

tethered to the iPad. However, we do

use the iPad as a portable wireless

monitor when shooting tethered

to the iMac or MacBook. First we

downloaded one of the Wifi capable

VPN remote control apps, linked it

up to our computer via Wifi, and

everything on the monitor is beamed

to our iPad. Then we shoot tethered

to the iMac or MacBook and start

shooting. Instant feedback on the

iPad’s large screen without running

to your computer monitor after every

shot is great! Also you can change

the image treatment on-the-fly on the

iPad, all from where you are shooting

without moving a inch. Brilliant!

5. Import your photos and videos to it.

With an optional USB and SD

card reader attachment you can

download and backup your photos

from a digital camera into the iPad.

The iPad is also capable of reading

and displaying most of the RAW

formats from DSLR cameras. You can

even do some basic editing on the

iPad before emailing or uploading

the images to an online image

sharing site.

6. On location references

Sometimes I want to refer to my tear

sheet or shot-list for shot references,

or even just quickly Google up some

ideas. Now I go straight to my iPad

instead of my laptop. I chose the

iPad with 3G for occasions like this

when I don’t have access to Wifi

internet on location.

Here are just a few ways I use my iPad as

a professional photographer. But, of course,

that’s not all I use my iPad for.

I also really enjoy using my iPad

when I am doing things that require less

computing power. I surf the web and

email on my iPad on the couch more than

I use my laptop. I am writing this review

on iPad right now meaning the on-screen

keyboard is comfortable enough to use

to write an article with. The iPad offers

10 hours of battery life and that’s not an

overstatement. My iPad has lasted me

more than 10 hours and I can confirm

that number is pretty accurate.

The bottom line is, the iPad is not going to

replace your computer. But there is definitely a

place for it in your digital lifestyle. Read a book

or news paper; read an animated book before

bed-time with your kids; use it as a cookbook

in the kitchen; surf the net on the couch instead of

in the corner of your room so you can at least

pretend to be socialising with friends and

family; use it as a picture frame to display all

your favourite photos; Skype on it, etc…

Or, take it to your next client meeting

instead of your laptop. The possibilities

are endless.

brian Foose is the gadget-guru here at nZ photographer and will be reviewing all the cameras, gizmos and accessories that manufacturers and pr companies send us. he’s also a great photographer - check out his website at www.brianfoose.com

NZ Photographer

Nov 17

36

CooL STUFF

GADGETS

canon Eos 5d mark ii timElapsE vidEo

Dustin Farrell has sent us his latest Canon

EOS 5D Mark II timelapse video and

there are some jaw dropping scenes in

this one.

http://vimeo.com/16198274

From Dustin: ”Over a year ago now

I began getting interested in DSLR time

lapse photography. Now a DP with

Crew West Inc. in Phoenix, AZ I began

to miss the opportunities of editing my

own material. I quickly discovered that

shooting time lapse with a DSLR not only

gave me editing material, it gave me 5K

RAW image sequence editing material!

On my home PC I could crank out 4K

video clips with ease.

“My DSLR interests grew when I found

the timescapes.org forums. There I

found a wealth of knowledge, including

information about a camera called the

“Canon EOS 5D Mark II.” It seemed

that every serious time lapse shooter was

using it. So, we bought it along with a

24mm 1.4 mark2.

Since then I have been shooting

incredible time lapses. The low

light image quality of the 5D2 is

amazing. Add the 24mm f1.4 and

the combination is unmatched. 80% of

‘Landscapes: Volume ONE’ was shot

with this combination.”

SOUrCe: Planet5D Blog

canon’s cross mEdia station

Pulling memory cards and downloading

pictures? A pain. Keeping track of a drawer full

of different-sized battery packs for your travel,

studio, and video cameras? A headache. If that’s

you, Canon’s Cross Media Station could be a big

hit of aspirin. Finally shown to the world after being

teased at the Canon Expo last month, the prototype

device looks something like a chubby scanner

from a dark future. However, the top is actually an

inductive charging pad. Set your camera up there

(up to three at once) and a blue light will pop on

to indicate flowing electricity. While the power

heads one direction the data goes whizzing by

in the other, pictures pulled and categorized on

the device based on time, place, and recognized

faces. As you can see in the video (http://www.

youtube.com/watch?v=922zFnVa0IE), photos can

be displayed over HDMI onto your HDTV. We’re

guessing the wireless data spec is TransferJet, as

Canon is a member of that consortium, but when

it comes to the wireless charging we’re somewhat

in the dark. It looks like the models in the video are

using adapters to enable this functionality, but surely

this will be integrated eventually. You know, in the

future, when all the best stuff happens.

SOUrCe: engadget

Seen anything cool lately that’s even remotely

photographically related? Let us know by

email to editor@nzphotographer.co.nz

NZ Photographer

Oct 27

37

in THe nexT iSSUe oF nz pHoTograpHer…

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NEXT ISSUE

Astrophotography (as requested by Jon – anything for you mate!)

Food Competition Winner (Get cookin’ and shootin’, kids!)

Canon S95 Camera review

Plus Much More!

Issue 20, Out Wednesday 15th December 2010