Sunday 26 February 2012

Some common things about Reverse macro photography

It's been long time with macro photography . Though i am not good at macro photography but things are clear for me in some cases . At first you really need to know which is Close up photography and which is macro photography .  Firstly "Macro" means enlargement....Commonly magnifying something which is difficult to see in details .
               
The term life-size refers to the size of the subject itself that we are photographing and that must appear exactly the same size in our sensor or film too. It is also referred to 1:1 magnification where the first 1 is the length of the subject and the second 1 is the length of a film or sensor . 




                   In macro photography you don't have think about those typical "Compositions" . It's all about how you can show the detail of a subject and how can you represent it to the viewers . It doesn’t matter how close we get, if our subject appears less than life-size (1:1) in our sensor the resulting image will not be a macro photograph. It can be called a close up photograph. As most of us are practising with reverse macro , so i am sharing my views about it .  So let's see which one is macro and which one is close up photo : 






1.
                                              




2.
                                             








First step : Preparing a revers lens :




                              First you will need a DSLR or any compact camera . It'll be better if you have a dslr . Choose any lens . It may be your kit lens or a prime lens . Prime lens is better for making reverse lens as it bring more light to the subject . You can buy a reverse ring for your lens or can make your own  . Check this article for making a reverse mount yourself : http://diyphotography.net/diy_reverse_macro_ring .


                           
Second step : Using external flash or popup flash :


The most important thing for macro is light . You can use your pop up flash as your light source . Make a diffuser for the flash for a soft accurate light on the subject . 


                           


Or you can use tissue paper for making diffuser . Just wrap up the pop up flash with white tissue paper and change the layer when you need different level of lights .




Important tricks : 


                          Try to capture photos with apperture higher then f/11-13 . It will create a huge impact on your dof . As you have to control the focus manually , You may use your live view for exact focusing . Try to maintain a shutter speed above 1/80 or 1/100 for a sharp image . Try to use short focal length for a huge magnification . 


             When you get more closer to the subject , the dof will gradually decrease . Try to use short focal length for a huge magnification .  But in that case you will loose the dof .



Narrow apperture : 


                               




wide apperture : 

                                  








Some things which you have to keep in mind :


  • Never kill any insect while taking photos .
  • Always keep a box or something like that to collect different type of subject or insects .
  • Always take your gears with yourself for macro .




Watch the video of the best macro photographer of the world "Thomas Shahan " . The most interesting thing is that, he use a reverse 28 mm prime with his pentax dslr . 





Check out some other brilliant macro photographers :


  1. Thomas Shahan .

 2.   Raiyan Ahmed  ( My mentor on macro photography :)   ) 










Monday 13 February 2012

Beyond the limitation

Friday 3 February 2012

Sony World Photography Awards 2012


                                                          
                                                                     


On Thursday 2 February, the World Photography Organisation announced the shortlist for the 2012 Sony World Photography Awards.  Billed as the global photographic event of the year, the Sony World Photography Awards celebrate the very best in photography from around the world, from the next generation of emerging photographers through to the established masters of the art.

The 2012 competition has garnered increased worldwide interest with over 112,000 entries from 171 countries, with the shortlisted images depicting the stories of extraordinary lives from around the world. The Professional competition reflects a turbulent year of global events with the war in Libya; the Greek and European economic crisis; the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan and the fall of Gaddafi, in the Photojournalism & Documentary categories.  The shortlist for the Fine Art and Commercial categories gets to the very heart of daily life -  a small sheep-farming community in Iceland; the rice harvest in South China; a religious pilgrimage in Poland and gold diggers in Chile.

                     This year the honorary jury found the quality of work exceptionally strong across all categories, discovering many photographers new to the Sony World Photography Awards roster.  Manuel Geerinck (Belgium);  Lee Chee Wai (Malaysia); Alejandro Cartagena (Mexico), Irina Werning (Argentina); Gwenn Dubourthoumieu(Republic of the Congo) and Simon Norfolk (UK), are but a few of the new names to place as finalists and shortlisted photographers. 

                        Returning photographers from previous years, include 2010 Professional Landscape winner, Peter Franck(Germany); who this year is a finalist in three categories; 2011 Professional Contemporary Issues and Current Affairs winner, Javier Arcenillas (Spain); and Chan Kwok Hung (Hong Kong) whose stunningly dramatic image ‘Buffalo Race’ won the  Overall Open Competition in 2011.

                     W M Hunt, Chair of the Honorary Judging Committee, commented: ‘As a judge, you bring an open mind and a passion for photography - its presence and its present, its past and its legacy.  You are hopeful and hungry to see great work that is fresh and full, expecting the exceptional.  The rewards are rich and delightful.  It is a pleasure to present this year's selections.

                     Astrid Merget, Creative Director of the World Photography Organisation added: ‘Looking at the vast collection of shortlisted work across the categories, is truly gratifying this year.  Within the Professional awards, the bodies of work are beautifully presented and distinctive, whilst in the Open categories, the single snapshots are diverse and demonstrate excellent skill within the amateur market.  The new Youth competition also delighted us, as we were thrilled to find some exceptional budding talent.’

                      In being shortlisted for the Sony World Photography Awards, photographers can now look forward to the invaluable support of the World Photography Organisation, which includes having their work exhibited at a major exhibition at London’s Somerset House, to coincide with the award ceremony in April 2012. 

                   The shortlist for the Professional Competition was selected by the Honorary Judging committee which was chaired by esteemed photographic consultant W.M. Hunt.  This year the Open entries were judged by a pre-selection committee of inspectors from Shutterstock, WPO and representatives from Sony.  The Youth Competition was judged by a WPO and Sony selection committee.





                                     The annual Sony World Photography Awards ceremony and gala dinner will take place on 26 April at the Hilton Hotel in London’s Park Lane.  The awards celebration will once again take place alongside World Photo, London, a month-long event which brings an eclectic mix of photographic events for all to enjoy.  The opening weekend of World Photo London will be held at Somerset House from 27 - 30 April with selected events including portfolio reviews, workshops, symposiums and the Sony World Photography Awards winners’ exhibitions, which continue through to 20 May 2012.  Honorary Judges for the 2012 Awards and other international industry experts will be leading many of the festival events.



Honorary judging committee :

Presiding Chair: W. M. Hunt (USA) Photographic Consultant.
Chairs: Michael Benson (UK) Director, Prix Pictet; James Reid (UK) Photography Director of Wallpaper*;Claudia Hinterseer (Netherlands) Managing Director and co-owner of NOOR.
Additional Jury: Jodi Bieber (South Africa) Photographer; Jon Jones (UK) Director of Photography Sunday Times Magazine; Rebecca Lewis (US) Vice-President and Senior Agent for Art+Commerce; Prabuddha Dasgupta (India) Photographer; Shizuka Yokomizo (Japan) Photographer.


Youth Professional shortlisted photographers :


Culture

·         Hanne Grannestad, Norway
·         Lam Ka Ho, Hong Kong
·         Sahil Lodha, India
·         Merijn Mulder, Netherlands
·         Carolina Paltrinieri, Italy
·         Adrian Pelegrin  Bonet, Spain
·         Kolyaskin Sergey, Russian Federation
·         Benedek Varga, Hungary 


Environment
·         Alla Aliokhina, Ukraine
·         Kolyaskin Sergey, Russian Federation
·         Thamyres Matarozzi, Brazil
·         Adrian Pelegrin Bonet, Spain
·         Bernard Pieterse, South Africa
·         Imanuel Thallinger, Austria
·         Kazi Sudipto, Bangladesh
·         Kseniya Sovenko, United States

Portraits 
·         Tertious Alio, Russian Federation
·         Hadi Asgari, Iran
·         Lidia K, United Kingdom
·         Darya Kasyanova, Russian Federation
·         Samujjwal Sahu, India
·         Karina Sembe, Ukraine
·         Kolyaskin Sergey, Russian Federation
·         Felicia Simion, Romania
·         Marina Tkhorzhevskaya, Russian Federation
·         Berta Vicente, Spain