Saturday, March 28, 2009

Saul Leiter

This photograph was made by Saul Leiter Before tonight I did not know who he was. As I am assuming some of you might not have known either. Saul Leiter began his career as a photographer in the 40's. Never having been formally trained as a photographer, he quickly worked his way into a career by producing some amazing photographs. His photographs made such an impact, they got the attention of Edward Steichen. If you know the history of photography, you know that Steichen is/was an important figure in photography medium.

I love this photograph for a number of reasons. The use of a bright and vivid yellow in the background really brings the foreground into a much more dynamic perspective. The way the figure transfroms from a person into what appears to be a painting is just magnificant. This photograph has a lot of painterly qualitys that I find visually appealing. His entire is rather spectacular. Take a minute to view his work. You might need more than a minute if you keep going back to look at the ones you like the most, like I am doing.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Denis Darzacq

One of the most exciting things about writing a photo blog or an article for my blog, is making a discovery that you know will be a great addition to your pages and enlighten your readers. I love finding photographers that are doing something so conceptual that they seem to be thinking so far outside of the box that they have forgotten what the box looks like. I follow a site called Lensculture Lensculture is a great site that has an impressively large list of contemporary photographers. I suggest taking a few minutes to look through it.

It was through Lensculture and a friend of mine, who happens to be an extremely talented illustrator, I came across the photographer Denis Darzacq Darzacq has some intense portraits. He photographs dancers in the most unique of ways as they are perfoming for him. The video below shows how he makes his photographs as the people are in motion. His work is very surreal and gives the apperance that the dancers are not even dancing, but existing in a supernatural way with in the space they are being photographed. Take a moment to watch.


Thursday, March 26, 2009

Shutter Count: Do you know how many miles your camera as on it?

I was totally unaware that there is a software that can tell you how many photographs you have made. The shutter count is the amount of images or how many times your shutter has been fired. But, there is a software that will tell you the number of photos shot on your camera by opening the last image uploaded. All you have to do is down load the software, open the last image, and it does the rest for you. Here is the link to the program:

Download Preview Extractor V1.6

This is a great tool to use if you are thinking about selling your D-SLR. I did some research and found a few people that are very serious about buying a used camera and ask, What is the shutter count? And request to know before making the purchase.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Holyoke: Some news and photographs.

Back in January I posted this photograph. It took only a few hours before it was recognized as a semi-iconic image that shows a part of Holyoke’s history. Today I delivered this photograph matted and framed to a friend of mine who will be submitting it for a silent auction at the 50th Anniversary of Wistariahurst.

Old Bridge

 

I made these two photographs on my way through Holyoke this evening. I was on my way to drop off the print for the auction and saw the shadows playing against the wall. It is minimalistic in most aspects.

  Holyoke Shadow editHolyoke Shadow edit 2

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Holyoke’s Parade: One Photo and a story to tell.

I have a profound respect for the photographers that came before me. The older generation has a lot to teach us. I do not know who this photographer is, but I saw him at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Holyoke this past Sunday. He was walking down High St making photographs of the parade and some of the people that were overly eager to interact with the parade and the photographers shooting the parade.

Man with camera at the parade

I spent some time with my friend Peter from Rambling  Van Dog who was very eager to photograph the parade and some of the people that were out to enjoy the parade. Peter even managed to grab a few photographs of the Holyoke Police Department responding to a person in the crowd that had a firearms in his possession. I spotted the police responding and was unable to make a good photograph from the position I was standing in. But I was very pleased to see Peter’s shot, which displayed the moment as it unfolded. For me the parade was a day to enjoy and relax, and not really focus to much on what was happening, in a photographers perspective. I had to leave a little early to go see a family member. That was cut short which gave me a chance to go back to the parade and see it from a different perspective.

A thanks goes out to Peter and Brendan Ciecko.

A creative break

Yesterday me and my business partner took a few hours out of our day to make a few purchase at a local camera store, grab some lunch, and then took a walk through some farm land we had yet to explore. We found an abundant amount of abandoned couches, television sets, and Christmas trees. We explored the area and realized the area had some potential. It was cold, the landscape looked seemingly familiar, (even though it was our first time here, it reminded me of so many other pieces of farm land) I still saw some interesting photographs in the land. Here is what I was able to produce.

Tv s in the field

tree

tree 2

Tree branch

Couch

Friday, March 20, 2009

Update: A new beginning.

Rob Caswell is the new owner of Evolv Fine Art Printing Rob has recently taken over the former Sky Lake Studios in East Hampton, MA. Rob has been printing my fine art photographs for nearly two years now. I am proud you endorse his work and promote him here on Lenshare. He is a great person to work with. He has a fast turn around and the prices are well worth the effort he puts into your work. Don't take my word for it. Stop in and see for yourself.

Evolv Fine Art Printing
Rob Caswell
116 Pleasant St, Suite 118
Easthampton, MA

PDN and Getty Images: Annie Leibovitz makes more news.

Annie Leibovitz has made some serious news these past few months. A little while back I made a post about how she had hit some financial hardships. Here is one of the many articles that talks about her choice to "pawn" off the past and future rights of her work.

Thursday March 19th Getty Images announces that Leibovitz has signed on to their list of photographers. This must seem like good news for Leibovitz. Hopefully this will help her straighten out the financial issues.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Not my typical subject matter.

I do not usually shoot architecture unless I am asked to. Or if a client needs their buildings photographed. But a project a few months ago led to me creating these. 

Buildings in Boston

These photographs are a combination of multiple bracketed shots. They were constructed with the principals of HDR (High Dynamic Range) in mind.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

No Cable Release? No Problem: Quick Tip

Here is a quick little tip/idea. Say you forget your cable release or you do not have one. Or you ran out in such a hurry you forgot your wireless remote. Don't sweat it! Here is a quick little idea to get around it. The only issue is if you need to set the camera to bulb mode, you wont be able to perform this function. But if you are using any other shutter speed before bulb mode you will be all set. So here goes. Say you found a nice landscape shot or need to make a longer exposure, but you do not have a cable release. What do you do to eliminate and reduce the camera shake? First, make sure you have a good sturdy tripod. Then you simply set your camera to the self timer mode. Once you have determined the correct settings, locked in the focus, set your camera’s self timer. Press the shutter and make the exposure. Thus eliminating any form of shake while your camera is set on the tripod. And reducing the need to worry about your cable release. I hope this idea was something useful to you. Some times when you forget your camera accessories you need to do a little improvising.

Holyoke Has Beauty: Landscape Photographs

For two years now I have returned to this spot to make photographs. Last year I was a bit early. There was still a great deal of snow and ice. But this year I made it at the right time. The water was flowing fast and hard as it runs off  of Mt. Tom. There is still some snow and ice melting creating water run offs all over the Mountain. Here are a few photographs from a nice little, hidden place I found.

Holyoke Landscape 4 Holyoke Landscape Holyoke landscape 2 Holyoke Landscape 3

Summer 2008

The summer of 2008 I spent working at a Portrait studio. I did not shoot for this studio. Instead I spent my time working in the Finishing Department. Working in the finishing department gave me a chance to use my photoshop skills daily. It also gave me the chance to learn a few new things. Which is always good. It wasn't until today that I realized just how much of a contribution I made while working there. I was approached by the new Finishing Department Supervisor when he took over for the supervisor that was let go. He asked me what I thought about what we had done this past season and what I though could use improvement. I gave him my honest opinions and told him what I thought could be improved. Today while we were talking, he informed me of the changes that are going to be implemented for this coming summer. He said it was a majority of what I said during our conversation that has led to these changes. I was left nearly speechless when I recieved the compliment. I was left with a feeling of accomplishment and that the work I did made a difference. This comes at a time where the decisions I have made over the past few months have had a substantially negative impact on some aspects of my life. With the negative, some times there is some positive.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Over the Charles

I made this photograph a few weeks back. I really enjoyed shooting and working on a few projects in Cambridge and Boston.

Bridge of the Charles

Monday, March 16, 2009

Dying practices: Photograms an almost non existant process.

Do you know what a photogram is? Have you stepped into a darkroom and made one? If you have not, and do not know what a photogram is than it is time to learn. Photograms are essentially a piece of photographic paper (Black and white light sensitve paper) with objects placed on the paper and then exposed to light. The objects block the light, (some times light passes through them slighlty creating an interesting look) and the remaining parts of the paper are exposed and create a piece of art. You can take these ideas steps further by using toners or other principlas to create an oustanding piece of art. One of the most creative photogram processes that I had seen being done, was when a pervious photography professor used flowers to make photograms and then applied color toners and some other toning processes to create a dynamic photogram.

Photograms are a dying process. As the photography medium progresses forward with technology and the ever expanding digital era, traditional photograms are almost non existant. One process I have seen that is replacing photograms in the analog darkroom, is using a flat bed scanner and creating a digital photogram. Even this is still a process some people do not think of, know of, or care to produce. Thus leaving some people left to dominate the process. As basic as the ideas are, you can still produce some amazing pieces.

Give it a try! You wont be disappointed.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Landscape Photographs: Holyoke’s Hidden Secrets.

When I am not photographing people, I can be found photographing places that have meaning to me. As I was explaining to my friend, as we were walking through the snowy, mud covered trails of Mt. Tom, it is days like this that I almost prefer to shoot in, instead of sunny days. Shooting landscapes for me is a break and a relief from the work I can be found doing on a day to day basis. It is not every day that I have the ability to get out and make a photograph of a foggy tree, or a partially frozen over lake. Taking a break to make a photograph like the ones here, is a visually poetic break from the stress of every day life.

Mt tom resivor 13 Mt tom resivor Mt tom resivor 3 Mt tom resivor 4 Mt tom resivor 5 Mt tom resivor 6 Mt tom resivor 7 Mt tom resivor 8 Mt tom resivor 9 Mt tom resivor 10 Mt tom resivor 11 Mt tom resivor 12

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Holyoke: A day in the fog.

Today was a some what rainy day. I took a little walk, with one of my photographer friends, around one of the lakes at Mt Tom. The fog was thick in some parts and created a wonderful mood. Here is just one of the many I have from today. More to come later.

Mt tom merged




Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Brought to my attention...

It was brought to my attention today that the lenshare advertising page (see link on the right hand side of the site) had the wrong email address on the page. Now, I had not set up this page. I had asked someone to set it up for me during a very busy time for me. And I want to make an apology to who may have visited the advertising page. The wrong email has now been corrected. I am very sorry for the wrong information.

Regards,
Jeffrey Byrnes

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Two Years: How much change have you seen?

Have you ever asked yourself, “What has happened in the past year, or two years?” If you can not think of to many major changes or have seen to many major changes that should indicate your life is just steadily going about. Not that that is a bad thing, but some times changes can be seen in small ways. For example, the last two years for me, have changed drastically.

Here is a visual example: Two years ago I made this black and white photograph. Yesterday I made the color photograph. The black and white one was shot using Tri X 400 speed black and white film. The color photograph was made using my D-SLR. In the past two years this old u boat has been moved, tipped over, and repositioned. And since having made this photograph, I have gone from one SLR, to a collection of cameras ranging from my Holgas, to 35mm film SLR’s to my D-SLR equipped with a few lenses and an SB600. For me the last two years have changed quite a lot. Some good changes, some not so good changes. After look at Lenshare for another example. Lenshare fits into the two year change. A very positive change, I might add.

facemate part2 Face mate

This next photograph also represents a change. It was almost exactly two years ago that I stepped into this section of Open Square in Holyoke.

Open square 

There was an exhibit up by a few students from Holyoke Community College. They had been give use of the space in conjunction with some arrangements the school had with Open Square. Since then, the students no longer have a working space in this building. But, the space still exists as literally, just space. It is a good location and the space has unlimited potential to a creative individual. Since that time I had been in the space, I have since gone on to finish school with a degree in Photography. It was also this same building, another with that I had gone on to meet an Editor who gave me my first chance to be published as a photographer. So, the past two years have brought for a number of very impacting changes, like I said above, some good, some not so good. But then there are the few changes that were great.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

So you want to buy a Holga: Where to start.

In recent months I have come across more and more people that want to purchase and shoot with a Holga. For the aesthetic purposes/looks and creativity that you can be obtained with these cameras, people are still demanding them. Now, some people are making the mistake of purchasing them from the wrong sources. Retailers such as Urban Outfitters are selling these cameras for a price gouging effect. Now, dont get me wrong, Urban Outfitters is a great store, but come on now, everything photography they sell is grossly over priced. Consumers are unaware of this outrageous pricing due to lack of knowledge on where they can purchase Holga cameras. Currently, not to many stores in the U.S carry them in stock. A few of the Nations photography retailers such as Hunts Photo do carry them though. If you are a local Western Masser though, you can head over to Iris Photo in Noho (Northampton, MA) and pick one up there. They also have a wide variety of Holga accessories to match up to your sweet and sexy new meduim format camera. Iris will also process your color 120 or black and white 120 film. Yes that is right, Holga is a medium format camera. Holgas use 120 film as their primary source of film. However, there is a 35mm adapter for them. Or you could outright purcahse the 35mm Holga.

If you are serious about purcahsing the Holga, there are a few things you will need to know. The Holga is a sensitve piece of equipment. It is not just a camera you drop your film into and your on your way to making outstanding photographs. No, not even close. The Holga takes some work, dedication, passion, and the love you would have for a woman. Well, maybe not that much attention. But there are a few things you need to do prior to shooting with your Holga. Here is a great site that shows you everything you need to know on how to Modify your Holga. In addition to that site there is also this site. Holga Mods site 2

Holga cameras are classifyed and typically labeled under Lomography. For me I take using a Holga very seriously. If I was to be shooting with a Mamiya or Hasselblad, my Holga sits in the same class as these cameras. But, though my opinion is my opinion, not always shared by the vast majority of people who shoot with Holgas, none the less, you can find them being sold through here, Lomographic Society International Dont be scared that this site is infact internatnional. You can make a purchase and it will ship from within the U.S. I have confirmed this with Lomo Society International.

Make friends with the Holga. Be its friend. Be its lover, and it will love you back.

Here are just a few of the many Holgas that exsist.

Holga Pinhole-PinHolga
Holga with a Polaroid back
Holga 120 s
Holga 120 n
Holga 35mm
Holga 35mm PinHole

How to load film into your Holga.



How to remove film from your Holga



New Addition to Lenshare

I have created a new section for lenshare. This section is a collection of all the most basic and relevant terms that you should or must know if you are serious about photography. These basic terms and definitions give you a more clear understanding of some confusing terms used in photography. To the right you will find the logo/link titled Defining Photography

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Lap top case: A tool to have for the traveling pro.

If you are like me and need to travel with more than just your camera, say for instance your lap top too. Then this is a great product that would serve multiple purposes. The Seaport i-Visor laptop case has quite a few benefits. The top two reasons, are the fact that it is a case and that it has the ability to provide you with a visor. Now, if you just picked up one of the newer models of the Mac Books or the Mac Book pros then you know that the new glass monitors give out some extreme bad glares. Having this case with the visor would eliminate the glare. For a slightly more than moderate price of $150.00 you are buying a dual functioning case.



You can find the Seaport i-Visor laptop case and more at Calumet.com

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Holyoke: Through the lens of a Holga.

I shot these back in the fall months of 2008. I forget what made me go out and shoot these. But at the time I had a reason. These photographs are part of a larger collective body of work. 

Holyoke-quatdtryptyc

  Holyoke-canal

Newbury St: A photographic approach.

8 1 2 3  5  647

Monday, March 2, 2009

HDR: A video how to

I came across an HDR how to video that discusses the basics for beginners. Take a moment to watch and you will learn some new techniques.

Eugene Richards

Every now and then I stumble upon a photographer who's body of work just shakes things up and makes me stop, look, and think. The photographs of Eugene Richards give me an overwhelming sense of life and death; and the pain that can come into our lives. It is worth the look at his website. You will see the amazing work of an American Documentary Photographer. Richards is also a part of Magnum. If you are unfamiliar with what Magum is, then take a moment to read "what Magnum is." It was founded by Henri Carte-Bresson.