nz photographer - issue 48

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Issue 48: November 2015

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Welcome to another issue. Spring has well and truly sprung and with it warmer weather and more daylight hours, so if you’ve been hibernating over

the winter months, now is the time to dust off your camera gear and get out there. We’ve got the ‘people’ competition coming up next, and that will be followed by a landscapes competition.

Ansel Adams said: “Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer – and often the supreme disappointment.” This got me wondering about ‘why?’ One reason I think is that too many photographers are still trying to sell a house. Let me explain. Real estate agents have the mantra ‘location, location, location’. But the landscapes mantra is ‘light, light, light’. It’s not where you go that counts but when. I think the other thing that trips people up is that there is a difference between spectacular and photogenic. Landscapes can be both, but not all are. Learning the difference is important.

Allan CoxResident JudgeNZ Photographer

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GET SHOOTING AND WIN!Next month’s competition is ‘People’. Due on 15th of November. The following

month will be ‘Landscape’. Due on 15th of December. After landscapes, people would have to be the most photographed subject. The things that make for a

good ‘people photo’ are: good background (at the very least one that is not distracting), good light, good pose and good expression.

• The winning image on the cover of the next issue

• A high quality print of your image and cover to immortalise your achievement for your grandchildren, courtesy of PCL Imaging

• $50 cash

• And of course, bragging rights and the envy of your fellow NZ Photographer fans!

Check out next month’s theme and enter at www.nzphotographer.co.nz✸WIN!

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Balloons Galore Photo EssayFollowing is a photo essay by Boris Untereiner, photographer of about eight years based in Metz, France. Boris got to photograph the flight of 433 balloons in 2015, which set a new world record. He tells the story in his own words.


On July 26, 2015, on the former military base of Chambley (Lorraine/France), the world record for the number of hot air balloons erected in a

line and taking off en-masse was beaten – 433 to be precise. Six kilometres of balloons placed end to end and then forming a magical cloud of balloons in the sky of Lorraine.

I am very fortunate to have been in a hot air balloon for the record. This series attempts to recreate, in aerial perspective, this exceptional morning at the event of the Mondial Air Balloon 2015.

The event took place between July 24 and August 2. Because of very bad weather, rain and wind, the first flights were all cancelled. Fortunately, on the morning of Sunday, July 26, the day of “The Great Line” – and therefore of the world record attempt of a simultaneous flight of balloons – the weather was mild. In the end, after a counting in a helicopter by a bailiff, the 433 balloons (over three lines forming a total length of 6km), could take off and wonderfully flood the Lorraine sky. By the evening, the weather was unfavourable again. ■


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Editing on a LaptopBy Allan Cox www.nzphotoworkshops.com

As promised, last month I thought I’d say a few words about editing photos on a laptop. I said that I didn’t feel that editing your photos on a laptop was ideal, so I thought I’d start with what I do feel is ideal and work backwards.

I edit my photos on a desktop computer (I won’t go into specifications apart from saying that lots of RAM is good). My screen is an IPS screen, and it is colour calibrated (most manufacturers have some models that are IPS). IPS

stands for ‘In plain switching’, which means nothing to most of us, but what it translates to is a screen that has a very large viewing angle.

Whatever angle I view it from, the brightness of the screen does not change. It’s colour calibrated so that anybody who views my photos on a screen that is also calibrated will see my photos exactly as I see them on my screen. When I take my photo to be printed (provided the printer is set up properly) my printed photos will look the same as when on my screen.

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The two most common devices used to colour calibrate a screen are the Datacolor Spyder and the X-rite i1 display. I have a slight personal preference for the latter.

My computer is set up on a workstation, I stand at my computer to use it. I use to sit but I found I would hunch forward into a bad posture and was forever suffering from a sore back. Since I’ve been working standing up at my computer, my back pain has gone. As a side point — according to an article in the magazine New Scientist —we use three times the energy standing as opposed to sitting. So a workstation will also help in the battle of the bulge.

I edit my photos using a ‘pen and tablet’ as opposed to a mouse. I did use a mouse but would get sore hands and wrists (OUS). I’ve never had a problem since switching to a ‘pen and tablet’. I also find a ‘pen and tablet’ more accurate for fine editing. Some people are into large tablets, but I just use a small Wacom tablet that was about $150.

Ideally the room would have constant light. For example, a

windowless room, but since I’m not into living in a cave, I ignore this one. If you don’t have a desktop computer and don’t want to buy one, you can always plug an external screen into your laptop and get the best of both worlds.

When I’m away from the desktop (travelling) and I only have my laptop, I’ll sometimes do a rough edit on photos, but I’m always mindful that things may change after I transfer a photo from the laptop to the more controlled environment of a properly set up desktop.

My laptop screen has been colour calibrated, but this doesn’t solve the problem of viewing angles affecting brightness and contrast. To help mitigate this problem I try to open my laptop screen to the same angle each time.

Because my screen is slightly reflective, I open it until I can see my eyes in my reflection about two-thirds of the way up the screen. I’ve heard of people attaching a small mirror to the edge of their screen and opening their laptop until they can see their eye in the mirror. ■

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Why We Value ThingsWe can value something for more than one reason, and I think this has importance to photography so I thought I’d look at some of the ways that comes to mind.


The first way that we can place value on something is if it adds something positive to our lives. Blue cod has value because it is yummy. It adds pleasure

to our lives when we eat it. A photo that we like, which gives us pleasure to look at as it hangs there on our wall, adds something to our life and so has value. The value comes from something in the thing itself, so we can say its value is intrinsic.

The second way we sometimes value something is if it is rare. When something is hard to come by we are inclined to add value to it over and above its intrinsic value. The problem with this kind of value is that if it is no longer rare, then the value we added to it disappears. Crayfish is considered more valuable than blue cod, but I would argue that the additional value is based on crayfish being harder to get than blue cod.

There is that classic line in the New Zealand movie Boy where the kids are being served dinner and are moaning: “Not crayfish again!” As a diver, crayfish is not that rare for me. If I’ve taken the boat out and caught a few blue cod and then I do a dive, the crayfish get to stay in the sea. I consider that blue cod has more intrinsic value than crayfish. Crayfish is nice to eat, but blue cod is nicer.

When it comes to photography, some people will try to add value to their photos by making them rare. When I see someone using film instead of digital, I wonder if it is an attempt to add this kind of value. That if their photos had more intrinsic value (i.e. were better) then they wouldn’t feel the need to try to bolster it with the rarity factor. Of course, it might be that I’m just cynical by nature.


The third way that we can value something is sentimentality. This is when we attach value to something because of some personal significance or personal event linked to the thing being valued. The photo of a loved one that we carry in our wallet has value to us, because of whom the photo is of. I would argue that this is a perfectly valid reason to value a photo; however you must always be aware the sentimental value doesn’t transfer to anyone who doesn’t have that personal attachment.

You may value the photo of a loved one, but to a judge of a photo competition who doesn’t know the person, it’s just another photo of a person. If it has any value to the judge, it will be because it has some intrinsic value i.e. the first kind of value. It will have a quality beyond your personal attachment. Good light, a good background, a good pose and a good expression. These are the things that will make a good people photo.

And now for the bit that inspired this whole article: when submitting photos of people to a photo competition, if they are photos of people who are significant in your life, ask yourself ‘does this photo have value beyond sentimental value?’

The last way to attach value to something (and I do believe this has got to be the stupidest reason) is we

can value something because someone has told us it is valuable, as typified in the story of The Emperor’s New Cloak. During the 17th century in Holland, people were paying stupid amounts of money (ten times the annual wage of a skilled craftsman) for tulip bulbs; something that had very little intrinsic value. But hey, everybody’s buying them so they must be valuable.

My personal belief is that a large amount of what is called ‘art’ these days falls into this category. Supposedly Colin McCahon is widely recognised as New Zealand’s foremost painter, but for me the intrinsic value of his paintings doesn’t go much beyond that of their use as a firestarter. Yes, I realise there will be some of you who now think I’m a philistine, but I can’t help but wonder if there are more who will be agreeing.

I guess that’s the beauty of a free society; we all get to have our own beliefs. This last way of valuing something is relevant when we ask the question: “What photos/photographers should I look at?”

Looking at good photos and asking questions like: “What do I like about that photo?” is a good way to improve your photography. However, it is important that you look at photos that you actually like as opposed to photos that you have been told you should like. ■ i

Looking at good photos and asking questions like: “What do I like

about that photo?” is a good way to improve your photography


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From beginners through to professionals, every image you create should go through a post-process of some description.

Our eyes and brain are amazingly skilled at adjusting what we see in order to produce the images that we remember when we look at those same objects. However, cameras are mechanical and mathematical and abide by a logical set of rules in order to transform what we see through the view finder into a file containing millions of bits of information, which is in turn translated by our computer into a file of bytes. So when we view that image on our computer screens straight from our camera it often disappoints us because what we are seeing is the camera’s version and not our brain’s interpretation. So you can look at post-processing as a way to translate your photograph into what you have seen and remembered with your own eyes.

The other reason for post processing is that sometimes when you take an opportunistic photograph you just don’t get the luxury of being able to choose the best exposure or work out the white balance, it’s a matter of take the shot or miss out. This is again where the benefit of doing even a little post processing can be very obvious and make the difference between a good image and a great image.

Post processing can go a long way to make an image better, but it should never replace the goal of getting the original image as correct in-camera, especially when you have the ability to take time to compose and calculate the

best settings for your image. Also post processing should always be a measured approach as too much processing is just as bad as not enough.

The first step is to choose a post-processing programme that you are comfortable with and once you have found one, make the time to learn a few of the basic processing skills as even just a few of them will help you make some very noticeable improvements. There are many programmes available to achieve this including software that come with some cameras, Photoshop Elements, Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop just to name a few.

FOUR SIMPLE ADJUSTMENTS

• Exposure

• White balance

• Horizon

• Contrast-sharpening

These four adjustments are simple and effective and should be a requirement before you release that photograph into cyberspace. These four steps are by no means all that you need to do but there are a good start, and depending on your own level of skill, can be changed around and then built on as part of a good Workflow.

The example image below was an opportunity shot as I was driving through the beautiful McKenzie Country. I didn’t have a lot of time to take the photo so I took a couple of quick shots and leapt back in the car.

Post Processing -Why Everybody Should Do It !Post processing is virtually a must for every digital image produced and the only exception to this rule is the strict guidelines that photojournalists etc must abide by to uphold integrity in their images.


As you can see above neither of these exposures are faithful to what is viewed with our eyes, so into the post-

processing software to adjust the exposure and below is the image with the most appealing exposure.

Just a slight adjustment to get the correction exposure as the base for our further adjustments

EXPOSURE: Is it too light or too dark?

TOO LIGHT TOO DARK


WHITE BALANCE: Do the colours in this photograph look like the colour I am seeing in real life ?

White Balance correction is a must when dealing with images of nature and colour as if the white balance is not right, it can obviously affect the image. Snow is a classic example of ensuring the white balance and

exposure are correct as we have all seen the pictures of snow that have a blue or grey colourings. Autumnal hues are another example of colours that can be affected by White Balance.

As you can see above there is a distinct difference between the autumnal colours between these two images

and a classic example of how the white balance can make an overall improvement to an image instantly.

STRAIGHT HORIZON: Is the horizon of my image straight ?

This adjustment is an absolute must because a crooked horizon to most people can be visually off-putting instantly. A tip to get this right is to ask other people to look at your photograph and most people will instantly tell you if it looks crooked. This adjustment may not be as obvious as the Exposure or White Balance but it is still by

far one of the most important ones to make.

The above images don’t look vastly different but when you see a photograph displayed across the full width of a computer monitor, it will be very obvious if the horizon is not straight. Again, another very quick adjustment that is very valuable in the post-processing of any image.

BEFORE WHITE BALANCE ADJUSTMENT WHITE BALANCE ADJUSTMENT FOR CLOUDY

BEFORE HORIZON CORRECTION AFTER HORIZON CORRECTION


CONTRAST-SHARPENING: Is my image lacking a bit of punch ?

The last adjustment is one that can add that final touch to an image and again one that every image should undergo as a part of post-processing. As you can see above, a little bit of extra contrast and sharpening can put the

final touches on any image. And just follow the process completely through, below is the original straight from the camera and the image I was happy with when I have finished my post-processing.

In conclusion, post-processing is an important part of digital photography, a valuable tool that brings out the best in the image that you have taken and even just a small amount can make a big difference. It is part of the

overall Image Workflow process which is the treatment of your photograph right from the settings in-camera to the end resulting image which is destined for either printing or viewing on a screen. ■

BEFORE CONTRAST AND SHARPENING AFTER CONTRAST AND SHARPENING ADJUSTED

ORIGINAL FROM CAMERA AFTER FOUR SIMPLE ADJUSTMENTS


HEAVENS ABOVE by Ashley Ross I love astrophotography, and couldn’t resist getting a shot of the iconic church in Tekapo.


AUCKLAND CITY by Jana luoThis was taken on Mt Eden, on a very foggy morning. I was the only one there at around 6:40am. I didn’t know Auckland could be that beautiful! Canon EOS 6D EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM 35mm/ƒ/8/15s/ISO 100


MURIWAI BEACH by Jana luo Like the sunset glow over the beach and the sense of peaceful when I saw the couple walking the dog along the coast. Canon EOS 6D Focal Length: 300 mm Shutter Speed: 1/180 sec Aperture: f/4 ISO: 400


COLOURS AND SYMMETRY by Lisa-Marie BallatCanon EOS 700D; 18-135 @ 35mm; 1/80 sec; F4,5: ISO 800


TRAFFIC TRAILS by Ashley Ross Had great fun playing with long exposures, this is a stack of 30 second photos.


TEKAPO SUNRISE by Peter Kurdulija Tekapo, Nikon D7100, Nikkor 18-

200mm, f/4, 1/80 sec, ISO 200


WET STEPS by Peter KurdulijaParis Rain, Canon PowerShot S90, f/2, 1/6 sec, ISO 400


SUNSET REFLECTIONS by Jana luoTried to use ICM to enhance the colour and reflections of the sunset glow over the beach. Canon EOS 5D Mark II Focal Length: 40 mm Shutter Speed: 1.6 sec Aperture: f/4 ISO: 320


ST CLAIR by Ashley RossSt Clair beach in Dunedin is a magical place in the pre-dawn light.


DAWN REFLECTION WAIATARUA RESERVE by Steve HarperDMC-GM5, 1 sec, f5.6, 32mm


MONT ST MICHEL by Graham CorbettI wanted a sharp shot showing a fairy-tale castle floating in a relatively indistinct lake. The lake turned out to be a canal that was quite away further inland from Mont St Michel that I had found when searching for windmills earlier in the day. Shooting from the shore or the causeway to Le Mont just didn’t work because of the huge crowds of people and the sea was too rough to show up in the way I wanted. Shooting from a long way away allowed me to use the calmer water of the canal as my ‘lake’ and the foreshortening power of the long lens put the castle ‘in’ the lake. Fuji XTI XF55-200 @ 200 iso400 4sec f4.8


FESTIVALS OF LIGHTS by Linda Cutche A light displays at the New Plymouth Festival of lights. Nikon D610, F/14, ISO-1000, 20sec


DAYS BAY BOAT SHED by Linda Cutche I wanted to show how at night a building can take on a different persona and with surrounding lights create a certain magic. Nikon D610, F10, ISO-100, 30sec


CHURCH SUNSET by Linda Cutche Ratana Church, Raetihi. I liked how the light from the setting sun shone through the windows as if someone had turned the lights on. Nikon D610, F11, ISO-400,1/80sec


AUSPICIOUS DAWN by Peter KurdulijaMotueka, Nikon D200, Nikkor 18-200mm, f/4.5, 1/80 sec, ISO 100


MOON AND SPOON by Steve Harper Composite of two photos, Nikon D610 and D300


FROZEN LANDSCAPE by Diana Faulkner Dawn at the Maori Lakes near Lake Heron. f/13, 1/2sec, ISO200, 50mm


“Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer - and often the supreme disappointment.”

- Ansel Adams

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