Photo Technique

variations on the photographic arts
A. D. Coleman
Kenneth Josephsons
Legendary Camera Work
Bettina & Uwe Steinmueller
Texture Masking
David Vestal
Dovers History
Part IV
Fast Track Photos of
Race Car Photographer
Jesse Alexander
CHRISTY LEE ROGERS
Underwater Magic
ARAS KARIMI
Light in the Abstract
JAMEY STILLINGS
The Bridge at Hoover Dam
Creating a Photo Essay
Master of
Romanticism
Kevin Then
Uli Staiger
Extreme Fantasy
Collage
www.phototechmag.com
May/June 2011
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The Japanese Red Cross has a highly organized effort in place. The international community can also offer assistance through a
number of relief organizations that include:
Volunteer
Center for International Disaster Information
www.cidi.org/individuals/6-volunteering-after-a-disaster
Make a Donation
The American Red Cross
1-800-RED-CROSS
American Red Cross
PO Box 4002018
Des Moines, IA, 50340-2018
United States
www.redcross.org
To find a list of many other relief efforts for the Japan Tsunami, visit InterActions website at www.interaction.org/crisis-list
Due to the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami that struck on
March 11 and the subsequent nuclear disaster, northern Japan is facing
a crisis of huge proportions on every level imaginable. The devastation has
taken the lives of more than 10,000 people and continues to affect millions more.
These include our many friends and colleagues involved in every aspect of
the photographic industry whose offices and equipment manufacturing plants
were located in the devastated area. Let our hearts and hands reach out to offer
assistance by supporting any one of a number of relief efforts for Japan.
Previous Page | Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out | Front Cover | Search Issue | Next Page
Portfolios
Jesse Alexander: Iconic Images
of Motor Racings Heyday from
a Master Photographer
Getting up to speed with a legendary
racecar photographer
Chuck Graham
Christy Lee Rogers:
Speed of Light
Rogers images of underwater
figures in a neo-baroque fantasy
Duncan Beebee
Journey to the Bridge: the Story
of The Bridge at Hoover Dam
Photo Essay
Taking a major photographic project
from concept through execution
Jamey Stillings
Light in Air
Images by an Emerging
Photographer
Aras Karimi
Commentary
Photographic Seeing: the Camera
Work of Kenneth Josephson
Photographs that define visual thought
A. D. Coleman
Perspectives
Dovers History Trip Part IV
The final installment of a series in
which David Vestal gives insight into
historic photographs selected from
Great Photographs from Daguerre to
the Great Depression
David Vestal
4
8
Feature
An Interview with Kevin Then:
Redefining High-End
Wedding Photography
A Hasselblad Master shares images and
techniques of his romantic style
Paul Schranz
28
pg. 40
16
23
40
45
Intellect, Imagination, Passion and
Solving Problems
Photography has never been a game of f-stops and shutter speeds any more
than the colors in a digital photograph are numbers of red, green and blue. All
of these are merely numbers, and like any mathematician can testify, numbers
are a way to solve problemsa way to see a pattern of action. I remember
many years ago Ansel Adams had a book out on photographing Yosemite with
dates of the year, times of day and filters to be used carefully noted. And yet,
armed with this information, no one has ever photographed The Great Earth
Gesture of the High Sierras the way that Adams dideven with knowing all
the numbers.
That is because numbers become useless in trying to make a photograph look
like someone elses. Not that that pursuit is a very high one. We need a greater
aspiration to use our tools, our chemistry, our physics to realize our passion and
our vision. These are tools of the intellect.
In this issue, we unconsciously put together photographers who find their
vision in a wide array of environments. Kevin Then doesnt just photograph
weddings, he creates true romantic narratives. Christy Rodgers works in an
underwater studio for her vision, while Aras Karimi works in the air, photo-
graphing the light itself. Jamey Stillings shows the jewel-like delicacy of
industrial design and Uli Staiger creates believable architectural fantasy
collages from concepts in his mind. Bettina and Uwe Steinmueller add new
depth to imagery through creative textures from unexpected sources.
There is passion, but there is also expanded intellect in nding unique vision.
photo technique attempts to show a new and wider vision of what photography
can do. It reaches around the globe to nd photographers in pursuit of passion
and vision using any and all means possible and solving their own unique set of
challenges and problems in achieving their imagery.
But this spark of passion and vision is not new. Our history is rich in it, which
leads us to also offer historical remembrance that higher vision has always
been this mediums goal, as shown in the photography of racecar photo-
grapher Jesse Alexander, in A. D. Colemans piece on the legendary Kenneth
Josephson, and in the nal installment of David Vestals thoughtful look into
photographic history.
We also want to draw attention to our Innovationsan array of products
that have a vision of their own, drawing us into the future of the photo-
graphic medium and the industry that supports its journey toward new ideas
and directions.
Paul Schranz, Editor
photo technique magazine
EDITORS NOTE:
May/June 2011 Vol. 32 No. 3
Publisher S. Tinsley Preston III
Editor Paul R. Schranz
Creative Director Lisa Cordova
Copy Editor Bonnie Schranz
Production Roberta Knight
Marketing Manager Janice Gordon
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______________
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pg. 38
Tech
Phantastomaniac: Building a
Complex Photo Collage
Steps to building a fantastic assemblage
with Photoshop and Cinema 4D
Uli Staiger
The Art of Texture Blending:
Photography Beyond Realism
Textures transform images from dull
to dynamic
News
Whats Important and Exciting
in the Field of Photography:
Books
Memorials
Workshop
Wendy Erickson
21
Innovations
Promote Control
A full featured time machine
I.P.S Inflatable Photo Studio
Portable controlled lighting
The Digital Silver Darkroom
The new-fashioned route to real
black and white prints
PocketWizard: AC9 Strobe
Adapter & AC3 ZoneController
PocketWizard expands control of
portable flashes and studio strobes
38
39
12
34
pg. 12
___________________
A bare suspended lightbulb illuminates four black & white Polaroid prints of images
of (presumably) that same lightbulb, taped to a wall.
The reection of a French mountain range in the roof of a car appears to sprout an
actual rock formation.
Another car, in Stockholm, leaves a perfect silhouette of its prole in a dusting of
snow on the pavement.
A crouching woman, mostly obscured by a little girl, makes a close-up portrait of the
girls face with an amateur camera. Attached to a black & white print of that image
with family album-style photo corners is a second print, presumably of the image
made by the woman at that moment, showing the child apparently reaching for the
womans camera.
A. D. Coleman
Photographic Seeing:
The Camera Work of Kenneth Josephson
Polapan
4 photo technique M/J 2011
COMMENTARY:
A black & white Polaroid photograph of a naked womans
pelvic area lies atop the dark dress of (presumably) that
same woman, positioned in her pelvic area.
A hand holds a postcard image of the summer palace
in Drottningholm, Sweden, taken in the warm weather,
while the owner of hand and postcard confront the same
vista in the winter.
Kenneth Josephsons photographic works do not
reduce well (or at all) to words. In that way, among
others, they distinguish themselves from most con-
ceptual photography and photo-based art, which
often starts from an articulated or written premise
and can equally often find satisfactory summation
in words to which the images, uninteresting in
and of themselves, serve as mere illustration or
demonstration. Concept dictates percept.
Josephsons work functions otherwise. His images
fall somewhere between the visual puns of Ren
Magritte and the elliptical, labyrinthine conun-
drums of Jorge Luis Borges. He shares with both
a spare, stripped-down aesthetic, a fascination
with layers and an inclination toward the recursive
and self-reflexive. His pictures begin as optical
experience, to which he then applies analytical
consciousness. What his photography exemplifies
one might define as visual thought, in which per-
cept embodies concept.
The quarter-century between the end of World
War II in 1945 and 1970 remains a particularly
fertile period in the history of photography, and
surely the least closely studied and most mis-
understood. Kenneth Josephsons oeuvre exemp-
lifies the fecundity and complexity of the mediums
field of ideas during that era; his elaboration
of them down to the present day demonstrates
the durability and substance of the questions he
and others began askingand answering, at least
provisionallyas they explored the medium. That
Josephson has only recently begun to become
securely positioned in the histories of photography,
conceptual art, and photo-based art speaks to his
decision to inhabit a largely unmapped territory in
the decades between then and now.
The several generations of photographers who
came of age and entered the field committedly in
the United States during those 25 years constituted
the first cohort to engage with their medium in the
Stockholm
phototechmag.com 5
THE CAMERA WORK OF KENNETH JOSEPHSON A. D. COLEMAN
college, university and art-institute context. More
than a few of them learned their craft much as
photographers had done for the previous century:
autodidactically, from a hobbyist relative, by ap-
prenticeship in various applied modes, in vocational
courses in the military, via the avuncular amateurs
who populated the still-thriving camera-club net-
work. But the combination of the G.I. Bill and the
postwar economic boom in the U.S., which poured
funding into the higher-education system, created
an unprecedented opportunityseized by many
through which one could opt for formal study of
photography in either the polymedia environment
of the art school or the interdisciplinary milieu of
the liberal-arts college.
Whichever alternative one chose, at that juncture
in this country the curriculum most likely derived
from the model devised by Lszl Moholy-Nagy
in pre-Nazi Germany and transplanted by him
in 1937 from the Weimar Bauhaus to Chicagos
Institute of Design as Europe lurched toward cat-
astrophe. Moholy-Nagy believed in laying out the
entire toolkit of the medium for students, requiring
them to experiment with and master numerous ap-
proaches thereto and consider it infrastructurally.
He also emphasized photography as an ideational
process, and taught that the raw material with
which the photographer worked was not the phys-
ical stuff of the real world but light itself.
Moholy-Nagys pedagogy became the foundation
on which post-secondary photography education
in North America got built. Not coincidentally,
Josephson studied photography at the Rochester
Institute of Technology in a program headed by
Minor White, whose ideas (evolved from Edward
Weston and others) augmented those of Moholy-
Nagy, and whose teaching method proved no less
committed to a questioning of the medium, though
from a very different standpoint. He went on to
do graduate work at the Institute of Design itself,
under Harry Callahan and Aaron Siskind. One
can see clearly the imprint of all three of these
mentors on Josephson; some of his early pictures
resonate as homages to them even as they extend
his precursors lines of inquiry. Yet by the end
of the 1960s Josephson had come fully into his
own, generating images that looked nothing at all
like theirs.
The term photographic seeing had considerable
currency in the discourse around photography
during that phase. As a catchphrase, photographic
seeing sought to pinpoint two significant distinc-
tionsthe first between the habits of everyday
looking and the active observational process of
seeing, the second between seeing as one does
with ones own alert eyes and mind and seeing
with the concomitant awareness of how camera,
lens, film and then photographic processing and
printing could translate that reflected light into
marks embedded in (most commonly, in those
days) particles of tarnished silver on emulsion-
coated sheets of paper.
Which is to say that these photographersthose
who studied it, those who taught it and those who
then (like Josephson) went on to practice and/or
teach it in turndid not have a nave, uncritical,
theory-less relationship to their medium. Nor did
they do their work in ignorance of what other
image-makers past and present pursued in other
media, or oblivious to the artistic and cultural
ferment that characterized their own time. To the
contrary: they engaged fully and deliberately with
photography on both a perceptual and interpretive
basis, aware of its history and field of ideas but not
constrained thereby, devoting themselves to the
evolution of a relationship to the medium that took
for granted its necessary existence within what one
of their number, Carl Chiarenza, proposed as an
integrated history of picture-making.
No photographic body of work created in the
second half of the 20th century better demonstrates
Anissa, Chicago
COMMENTARY:
A. D. Coleman has published eight books and more than 2,000
essays on photography and related subjects. His work has been
translated into 21 languages and published in 31 countries.
Coleman's widely read blog Photocritic International appears at
photocritic.com. Since 2005, exhibitions that he has curated have
opened at museums and galleries in Canada, China, Finland, Italy,
Romania, Slovakia and the U.S. In 2010 he received the J Dudley
Johnston Award from the Royal Photographic Society (U.K.) for
sustained excellence in writing about photography.
To ask a question or comment on this article, visit our online
Forum: www.phototechforum.com
these concerns than that of Kenneth Josephson
although none, of course, can represent by itself
the breadth and complexity of the mediums field
of ideas in that era. Like that of his close friend,
the late Robert Heinecken, Josephson's project
with its implicit challenges and provocations has
reverberated in the awareness of photographers
and others since it commenced its public life.
These images of Josephsons, individually and
cumulatively, do not ignore or deny the existence
of the real world; instead, they insistently address
the act of photographic picture-making as a
means of knowing that world, requiring of maker
and viewer alike an attention to the implications
of that act, to the technological process that en-
ables it and to the light that makes it possible in the
first place.
Photography as a creative medium and a respect-
able tool for picture-makers of all kinds can be
said to have entered the marketplace for art
and the field of ideas of art-making activity circa
1970. At that juncture, hardly any critics of art
knew anything at all about the history (including
the intellectual history) of photography or the
activities of this mediums practitioners and few
have taken the trouble since then to inform
themselves on that score. Photography commands
center stage in the global art environment as we
move into the 21st Century, but the integrated
history of picture-making remains unwritten. Un-
questionably, however, within that hypothetical
account still to come, Kenneth Josephsons name
and accomplishment have already been inscribed
and extensively annotated.
Copyright 2011 by A. D. Coleman. All rights reserved.
By permission of the author and Image/World Syndication
Services, imageworld@nearbycafe.com.
Ken Josephsons images are presented with the permission of the
Stephen Daiter Gallery, Chicago, IL. stephendaitergallery.com
Drottningholm, Sweden
phototechmag.com 7
THE CAMERA WORK OF KENNETH JOSEPHSON A. D. COLEMAN
______________
___________________
This is the nal installment of a series in which David
Vestal gives insight into historic photographs selected
from Great Photographs from Daguerre to the
Great Depression, published by the Dover Press and
used with their permission.
117. Wright Brothers Postcard, by Unknown Photo-
grapher, 1915. This is a booster postcard promoting
the wonders of Springeld, Minnesota. It is a good
cut-and-paste job, a bucolic equivalent to the
montages of avant-garde art photography. Its well
calculated to get our attention, but would not have
fooled Sherlock Holmes.
David Vestal
Dovers History Trip - Part IV
Observe, Watson, the direction of the sun, as
shown by light and shadows on Main Street. The
sun is directly to the left, is it not? Look now at
the lower wing of the airplane. The shadow of the
upper wing that is seen through the lower wings
translucent tip shows that for Wrights Flyer, the
sun was above and behind. We do not have two
suns that shine simultaneously from different pos-
itions in the sky. Ergo, the airplane was cut from
another photograph and pasted onto the picture of
the street. And what, pray, is an airplane, vintage
circa 1909, doing just above the main drag of an
alert community that boasts, Wide awake and up
117. Wright Brothers Postcard, 1915, by Unknown Photographer (cut-and-paste collage, airplane added to Main Street photo)
PERSPECTI VES:
phototechmag.com 9
to date/No better town in any state in the year
1915? We miss, do we not, the large, dramatic
shadow of the airplane that would fall, were this
scene wholly natural, upon the street and buildings
at the right of the picture.
Once again, Holmes, you astound me.
Elementary, my dear Watson. Nice postcard,
though.
118. Bucks County Barn, by Charles Sheeler, 1916.
When this photo was taken in rural Pennsylvania,
Sheeler had lived for some time in an old stone
house and had photographed and painted the
whitewashed rooms and stairway of that house.
He was well acquainted with old farm buildings in
Bucks County. I dont know of any painting by him
based on this photograph, but would be surprised to
118. Bucks County Barn, 1916, by Charles Sheeler
nd that he made none. Some of his best drawings
and paintings are almost exact copies of his own
photographs, cleaned up and, in some areas, made
more visible by changing the tones. Except for a
large and lucrative job photographing Fords River
Rouge factory in the late 1920s, he made his living
mostly from the sale of his paintings. He was a
two-medium man. He would have liked to exhibit
his photos together with his paintings, but his
otherwise excellent art dealer talked him out of it.
She wished he would quit photographing and stick
to the painting that she understood. This photo
certainly stands on its merit and makes me wonder
about any paintings that he might, correction, may
have made from it, cleaning it up, making things
more visible, eliminating clutter.
In many cases, though not all, I prefer his photos
to his paintings and drawings based on them.
DOVER'S HISTORY TRIP PART IV DAVID VESTAL
121. Armco Steel, Ohio, 1922, by Edward Weston 125. Prostitute, 1920s, by Eugne Atget
Photography records the small accidental things
that go a little wrong and lend conviction to a pic-
ture. Judging from his other work, the matching
paintings, if he made any, would be more impres-
sive, while the photograph is more true.
121. Armco Steel, Ohio, by Edward Weston, 1922.
At the beginning of his photographing, Edward
Weston was a kidnapper, as old-time photographers
called those who went from door to door begging
to photograph babies and small children. It was
a selling job as much as a photographic one. But
soon he graduated to the kind of artistic photo-
graphy practiced by camera club kings. He did
extremely well at that and won all kinds of medals
and ribbons.
In an old photo annual I saw a photograph,
copyright 1914 by Edward Henry Weston, that I
could not forget. Titled Toxophilus, it is in part a
beautiful soft-focus photograph of a eucalyptus
tree in a mist; but at its foot is an unintentionally
comical young man with a bow and arrow. Its a
very funny photo. Weston then met wise women
who had a real grasp of art, and he learned and
learned. By 1922 he was making good unsenti-
mental photographs like this one.
When he went to New York in the 1920s he
showed some Armco Steel pictures, among others,
to Alfred Stieglitz, who was encouraging. Weston
was not impressed by the interview. He said that
Stieglitz had given the most praise to pictures that
he, Weston, had outgrownthe ones that were
striving for effect. He liked words like strive;
still, that was a good self-critical observation. And
this photo, which has no need to strive, is excellent.
125. Prostitute, by Eugne Atget, 1920s. Probably
dry plate and gold-toned printing-out paper: Atget
PERSPECTI VES:
phototechmag.com 11
131. Allie Mae Burroughs, wife of Floyd Burroughs, 1936, by Walker Evans
was old-fashioned. Title by Dover, fairly likely
true. Berenice Abbott captioned this picture rue
Mouffetard, but according to later scholarship, that
was the wrong street. To me this is a marvelous
picture, though I cant tell why, so Id better leave
it at that. Imagine putting those boots on; and
the almost vertical pavement at the left is amaz-
ing: good thing its fenced off. The place has an
air of very rich decay. The woman seems at home
and content.
131. Allie Mae Burroughs, wife of Floyd Burroughs, by
Walker Evans, 1936. I dont know what Fortune, a
magazine of and for big business, was thinking
of when they sent Walker Evans and James Agee
to Alabama in 1936 to photograph and write
about sharecroppers, but unless I am dreaming, it
happened that way.
Evans took leave from the Farm Security Admin-
istration (FSA) to go on that trip with Agee. Fortune,
of course, did not print their story, and Evans and
Agee later combined their work in a book, Let Us
Now Praise Famous Men, that was published with
just 31 uncaptioned photos and a long, meandering
text, to very few sales, in 1941. The Alabama
photographs, of which this is one, are in the FSA
files in Washington, D.C., and like all FSA photos,
theyre in the public domain. Anyone can publish
them, no permission needed.
The book worked out pretty well, though not at
rst. Later it was reprinted with more photos and
sold better. I suppose the first edition must go for
real money at auction, now that its authors are
dead. Your price goes up when you die.
I cant imagine what Allie Mae was feeling when
Walker Evans took this picture. Im sure she wasnt
comfortable. She has a tense look and faces the
camera with anxiety and determination. Maybe
the tight line of her mouth was meant to be a smile.
At her age she should have been a pretty woman,
but her life was too hard for that, or so it seems.
She is both strong and fragile, and the picture is
like that, too.
Printing it in inkjet was elusive rather than difficult.
The least bit too light or dark, and the least bit too
soft or contrasty, and its just wrong. I had to make
quite a few changes, going back to the beginning
and starting over, learning the picture, but not
with any certainty, until it became acceptable. I
wont call this print good, but yes, when the light
on it is right, its acceptable.
Great Photographs from Daguerre to the Great Depression
presents 139 Royalty-Free Designs in jpeg format in a
CD-ROM & Book as part of its large series, Dover
Electronic Clip Art for Macintosh
and Windows
.
System requirements: Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000,
XP, Vista or Macintosh, all versions; CD-ROM drive.
The price of the book and CD-ROM is $16.95. To use
more than ten of these photos in one project requires
special permission from Dover.
DOVER'S HISTORY TRIP PART IV DAVID VESTAL
David Vestal is a photographer, and teacher whose publications
include The Art of Black & White Enlarging (1984) and the Craft of
Photography. His photographs are exhibited internationally and
are found in numerous private and public collections. A selection
of his early New York photographs was exhibited at the Robert
Mann Gallery, NYC in 2010.
Phantastomaniac:
Building the Complex Photo Collage
Uli Staiger
Reichstag
Phantastomaniac is a term that for me is the most
powerful expression of digital retouching: the am-
bitious post production and digital composing.
In order to make images look realistic, I follow the
law of logic wherever possible. Its also very impor-
tant for the artist to have a sense of an image, so
that it is possible for the viewer to nd a meaning-
ful interpretation of the content. To achieve both
sometimes isnt easy, because my images often
consist of several hundred layers that have to follow
a master plan so that they appear as a completely
new scene.
My inspiration comes out of my own fantasy. Ive
always been fascinated by technical things and fan-
tastic scenes and images from the worlds of science
fiction. So it was a logical step to bring together
photography and fantasy with Adobe Photoshop to
create my own zoo of unlimited possibilities.
Believe it or not, the main trick, when it comes to
planning a composition, is to divide the process of
image creating into three parts. That also means
that I have to create images not only once, but three
times. Before I grab the camera or switch on the
computer, I develop the image mentally. The only
borders that limit this process are the borders of my
very own fantasy and apprehension. Both phantasy
and apprehension are very important tools when
planning a composed image.
TECH:
phototechmag.com 13
PHANTASTOMANIAC: BUILDING THE COMPLEX PHOTO COLLAGE ULI STAIGER
When the creative brainstorming is done and the
image is ready to leave my mind, the second step
follows: the visualization of the idea with paper and
pencil. At this point of the process, its important to
rst create a simple sketch. I never use any digital
equipment for these drawings, but just concentrate
on the idea without being bothered by any technical
issues. Of course, this usually does not lead to a
masterpiece, but a sketch that shows all of the objects
the image consists of in the right places in proper
perspective is good enough!
The third step, the work with camera and computer,
follows the sketch. The most important factor while
taking pictures is the lighting. Not only the intensity
of the sun, but its color is relevant. Is it neutral like
between 10 am and 3 pm, or rather orange like just
before sunset? Summer warm, or bluish and cold like
on a mid-January day? I plan all the shots necessary
for the image related to the position of the sun and
try to take all image components in the same light-
ing situation.
Besides the light, perspective is another issue I think
about before starting to shoot, because a change of
perspective is almost impossible when working in
Photoshop. That is the reason I photograph all image
components with the same lens. Themes all appear
in a very dynamic way because I mainly work with
lenses from 20 to 28mm. These short focal lengths
emphasize the foreground and make the background
look smaller than it is. This makes the image look
wide and gives room for the main subject, giving the
images a look that is both dynamic and full of energy.
In addition to photographic image files, I also use
computer generated imaging for some of the most
ambitious compositions. When it comes to fantastic
flying objects or imaginary vehicles, I use the 3D
software Cinema4D. This program is very com-
patible with Photoshop. For example, it is possible to
change the render settings so that light and material
attributes like shadows, transparency and reflection
get their own layers once the image is opened in
Photoshop. But even this advanced technology re-
quires more than a computer. The background and
the surrounding environment of the 3D model are
both based on photographybecause nothing is
more real than reality, even if it is just photographed.
Youd be surprised to see my image archive because
it is relatively small. Images that I use frequently
in different sizes and perspectives can be found
in many categories, including skies, waves, water
surfaces, plants and all kinds of technical structures.
This means I always carry a camera with me; good
motifs are hard to anticipate. The key characters,
which often are planes, space ships or other fantastic
vehicles, are created or photographed specially for
each composition, because I need the object I want in
well-balanced light with a certain focal length
from a clearly determined perspectivetoo many
attributes for reasonable archival storage.
When all parts of the image are photographed or
rendered, I begin to combine the individual parts
and forge a new image that looks like all of one
piece. Even the smallest things are important, be-
cause nobody would ever think that it is necessary
to draw a shadow for a detail only three pixels in
size. But if this isnt done, it would look fake!
There is still one of the most difficult things to
handle during the process of creation: determining
when to stop. There is always something to im-
prove or to change, but looking at the entirety of
the image, it is necessary to say No in order not
to lose control.
Making of Reichstag
Like in most of my work, the topic for Reichstag
was something I was thinking about for a long
time. How can I visualize the conflicts of politics?
On one hand, politicians have to act overtly as
representatives of the will of the people, while
on the other hand politics could never exist with-
out behind the scenes diplomatic digressions.
So I decided to take an architectural shot of the
Reichstag, the building of the German parliament
in Berlin. After having shot the building on a nice
evening in August, I photographed the studio
scene. The cloth is thin cotton tissue without
any design, which will work as the background
material for the mapping later. I masked the studio
scene and combined it with the architectural
photograph and started to cover the real faade
with parts of an old concrete wall. The concrete
pieces were transformed and darkened by a levels
adjustment layer where necessary.
In the next step, I photographed the white hang-
ing cotton cloth. After masking it, the image was
saved as a matrix. Then I used the displace filter,
which requires the matrix in order to know how
far the pixels of the facade should be displaced.
The darker the pixel, the further the displacement
of the pixel. I used a different closeup shot from
the faade and applied the same filter used for the
cloths in the foreground.
Making of Sky Train
The making of the Sky Train required Photoshops
capability to handle 3D les. The background
consists of two images that I took some time ago
while visiting New York City. The lighting was
quite diffused on that day, so I masked the backs
of the buildings and darkened them using a dark
grey layer and the blend method linear light.
The train itself I built in Cinema4D, which can be
combined easily with Photoshop. Positioning and
lighting of the train both are accomplished with
Photoshop. Photoshop versions since CS4 handle
TECH:
PHANTASTOMANIAC: BUILDING THE COMPLEX PHOTO COLLAGE ULI STAIGER
3D files pretty well, as it is able to add textures to the
train. Along with the color, there are transparent,
distorted surfaces (bumpmap surfaces) and reflections
that can be allocated to the meshes of the train. Using
Photoshop CS5, the render option looks quite realistic,
because the renderer uses ray tracing in order to imitate
real lighting.
The finishing of the image was also done in Photoshop.
The lightning is drawn, and a copy of its layer is
blurred with the Gaussian Blur to make it look even
brighter. The smoke is necessary for the atmospheric
impression. You can use just a simple brush tip, hard-
ness 0%, opacity 5%, or you load a cool brush set from
the Net. In this case, I used the xplosion brush set from
QBrushes.net.
To ask a question or comment on this article, visit our online Forum:
www.phototechforum.com
Product Resources
Cameras: Canon EOS 5D Mark II; Lenses: Canon EF 20mm
1:2 8L, Canon EF 24-70mm 1:2 8L USM, Canon EF 70-200mm
1:2 8L IS USM; Studio Flash: Broncolor; Mobile Flash: Metz 45
CL2; Computer: Mac Pro 4x2, Macbook Pro; Software: Adobe
Photoshop CS4 & CS5, Maxon Cinema4D R12, Filter Forge 2.0,
QBrushes.
Uli Staiger was born 1966 in Tailfingen, Germany. After completing
a photographic apprenticeship, he worked in New York and New
Jersey as a freelancer. Back in Germany, he attended art school and
in 1998 founded his own studio, "die licht gestalten," in Berlin. Staiger
specializes in creating hyper-realistic scenes, using both photography
and computer generated imaging.
Sky Train
Jesse Alexander:
Iconic Images of
Motor Racings Heyday
from a Master Photographer
Chuck Graham
Strolling through photographer Jesse Alexanders Carpinteria,
CA studio of black and white motor racing images is like
taking a step back in time to the sports infancy. Mostly self-
taught, Alexander has been a photographer since high school,
evolving into a photojournalist and fine art photographer. His
primary focus on motorsports began in the early 1950s, with
the birth of the sports car movement in the United States.
The walls of his studio are adorned with portraits of legendary
motor racing personalities and dramatic action imagery
throughout Western Europe and America. Racecar drivers
such as Phil Hill, Alfa Romeo, Johnny Neumann, Karl Kling,
Juan Fangio and Hans Herrmann were always favorite
subjects.
However, motion is prevalent in Alexanders work, certainly
in a sport that thrives on speed and precision. Some of
Alexanders most compelling imagery is captured on rain-
soaked racetracks like Le Mans, France and Monte Carlo and
through the course of his career, a throng of Grand Prix races.
Whether freezing the action of a race car at 150 mph, or easing
the action down with a slower shutter speed, the droplets of
water spinning off saturated tires captures the feeling of speed
as well as the risky nature involved in a dangerous sport.

Action is captivating, he says, but portraits capture the
ambiance.
Alexanders work has been featured numerous times in Car
& Driver, Road & Track and Automobile. In 1967 his images
appeared in Sports Illustrated in a feature on motorcycle
racing. During the 1996 Summer Olympics, Alexanders work
was part of an exhibit of sports photography. Scores of other
images that arent visible in Alexanders studio have been
available in his books: Porsche Moments, Driven, Forty Years
of Motorsport Photography and Ferrari Grand Prix Moments.
From his neatly organized and elaborate archive that not
only fills his studio but also three storage rooms, Alexander
completed the painstaking task of selecting imagery that
appears in a new book. Inside the Archives was recently
published by David Bull Publishing. Many of the images have
never been seen before.
Now at the age of 81, Alexander shows no signs of slowing
down. The passion is still there, evident in his eyes even after
60 years behind the lens. When I asked him if he ever thought
of retiring, he scoffed at that notion, as well he should. No,
are you kidding? Im still very active.
PORTFOLIO:
Giacomo Agostini, champion motorcycle rider, is posing on his bike at a slow speed, shot from the back of a convertible FLAT, a perfect solution for capturing
the action and facial expression. The camera was a Leica and the shutter speed was probably 1/60th.
phototechmag.com 17
INTERVIEW WITH JESSE ALEXANDER CHUCK GRAHAM
His iconic images are currently appearing in galleries in-
cluding the Patty Look Lewis Gallery in Santa Barbara,
CA the Peter Fetterman Gallery in Santa Monica, CA and
the Staley+Wise Gallery in New York.
I feel very fortunate, said Alexander as we discussed
his lifes work over lunch at Slys Restaurant in downtown
Carpinteria, where more of his work is prominently dis-
played. Ive had a great life, and Im still going strong.
Here are some highlights of our conversation:
Chuck Graham: What attracted you first, motorsports
or photography?
Jesse Alexander: Ive always been attracted to
automobiles. My dad had an old Packard. They were
awesome.
CG: What was the draw to photographing motorsports?
JA: I was photographing an activity which I really en-
joyed. It was exciting. I didnt really have any sense of a
career, or any ambition of making a career out of photo-
graphy. It was fun just hanging out next to the cars.
CG: When did it become a career?
JA: When I went to Europe in 1954. I needed to earn
some money. I had a friend who had a car magazine, so
he wanted me to send him photographs from Europe. It
began to steamroll from there.
CG: You photographed at Le Mans in 1965 for News-
week. What was the biggest challenge for you shooting
that race?
JA: Its a 24-hour race, shooting at night. Its a photo-
graphers delight because it usually rains, so you get
wonderful wet imagery and good action. There was a
huge crowd there like a county fair.
CG: How did you go about choosing which races you
wanted to photograph?
JA: Back then I didnt have to choose. I always had an
assignment. My favorite tracks are Spa in Belgium and
Nrburgring in Germany. Access was never a problem.
I worked for magazines who gave me a letter from the
editor. Once one establishes a reputation, access is
PORTFOLIO:
The Ferrari mechanic is holding the signboard to tell the driver his race position, and I hold the camera on him as I push the
button when the car passes. This is an example of a lucky shot when the image works. Shot with a 35mm Leica and a 50mm.
Shutter speed is probably 1/125th- perhaps slower, as the car is quite blurred.
INTERVIEW WITH JESSE ALEXANDER CHUCK GRAHAM
never a problem. However, this is not true today, as the
freelance photographer is up against stiff competition
from the numerous agencies. Its a different world today.
CG: What kind of camera gear were you working with
back then?
JA: Beginning in the 1950s, a Leica Rangefinder, and an
old Rolleiflex Twin Lens medium format camera, which
took beautiful negatives. Later on it was Canon SLR
cameras. Film, I was using Super Double X, Kodaks Tri-
X Film and Ektachrome. My last film camera was a Canon
EOS 1N. I went to digital five years ago. Now Im using a
Canon 5D Mark II. Ive used Canon equipment since they
began. The lenses are great.
CG: What types of techniques did you use to photo-
graph races?
JA: Often times I did not want to freeze the action
shutter speeds are a creative tool. Speeds as low as a
60th or a 30th of a second were perfect. Today the pros
use much slower shutter speeds. It all comes down to
the creative skills of the guy behind the camera and his
or her enthusiasm. Pictures taken from the grandstand
can often be as exciting as those taken from the pits.
One thing that's important is that I welcomed rain. The
combination of a slower shutter speed with water coming
off the tires was a natural. I used the Leica F Series
and Kodak Super XX at 400 ISO max. Kodachrome was
wonderful, and you really had to pay attention to
metering. After all these years, those slides still look
great today.
CG: You used to process your own film when you were
working with black and white negatives?
JA: In the early days I did have my own darkroom. Id
airmail images to New York where the magazines were.
The result was archives of images. Its very hard to throw
away stuff.
CG: You are mainly a self-taught photographer, but who
were some of your early influences in the field?
JA: Edward Steichens photojournalism of World War II
battlefields was great, as was Robert Franks post World
phototechmag.com 19
The portrait of Sir Stirling Moss was taken in practice for the 1958 Italian
Grand Prix at Monza. The camera was a Rollieflex, and the shutter speed
was 1/125th. The Rollie was a great portrait tool beautiful negatives and
even more beautiful black and white prints.
The drivers are running to their race cars in a Le
Mans type start at the 1959 1000 Kilometers of the
Nrburging. There was time for just one frame and
then wait until the cars begin to roll to click another
shot to make a sequence.
Product Resources
Cameras: Leica Rangender, Rolleiex, Canon EOS 1N,
Canon 5D Mark II; Film: Super Double X, Kodak Tri-X,
Super XX, Kodachrome, Ektachrome.
Chuck Graham is a freelance writer and photographer living in
Carpinteria, CA. His work has appeared in Outdoor Photographer,
Shutterbug, Nature Photographer, Men's Journal, Backpacker,
Canoe & Kayak and The Surfer's Journal. To view more of Jesse
Alexander's images, visit www.jessealexander.com.
War II imagery of America. I also enjoyed Eugene Smith
for his vivid World War II photos.
CG: Do you have a favorite car that youve photo-
graphed?
JA: That would be a 1955 Mercedes sports racing car,
a very famous car. They only made a few of them. I like
old cars, Porsches, Ferraris.
CG: In stark contrast to your motorsports imagery, a
small section of your website is devoted to bird
photography, particularly birds in flight. Theres a lot of
motion in your photography though, so in that sense
the two subjects go hand in hand.
JA: My wife and I bought a home on Sand Point Road
in Carpinteria in the early 1970s. We lived there until
2009. Thats where I discovered shorebirds. I love
watching birds. A lot of my best bird pictures were
taken there. Some of my favorite birds are the black-
crowned night herons, brown pelicans and elegant
terns. What can be more wonderful than capturing an
image of a beautiful bird?
PORTFOLIO:
Sir Stirling Moss is practicing for the Belgian Grand Prix in the rain at Spain 1955. I am panning my Leica with a 50 mm lens.
_________________________________
________________________________________
NEWS: Wendy Erickson
phototechmag.com 21
Books
In After Photography, a Fascinating Look at the Perils and Possibilities of Photography in a Digital Age (W.W. Norton and
Company, 2010) author Fred Richin takes the reader on a journey observing ways digital imaging has affected and altered the way
people receive visual information. I originally took this book out of the library to read, but after a brief look, I realized I must buy this
book. It is best taken in small carefully read doses. Written in essay format, the book raises many questions about digital photography,
questions that require thought before answering. Fred Richin is former picture editor of the New York Times, professor of photography
and imaging at NYU, and the director of PixelPress. www.pixelpress.org
Studying Photography, A Survival Guide by Douglas Holleley (Clarellen, 2010) is just that. I wish I had had this 121 page paperback
when I was a young undergraduate photo student. The book is a manual for the student of photography, from navigating the ways of
academia right up to good practices, copyright and the law. Its written with humor and experience and illustrated the same way. What
type of student are you? A Feedback Junkie or maybe The Eternally Disappointed one? Go to www.clarellen.com and order a copy
for your favorite photography student.
Publish Your Photography Book by Darius D. Himes and Mary Virginia Swanson (Princeton Architectural Press, 2010) takes readers
on a journey to understand the process of producing and publishing a photography book. Covering the history of photo books through
marketing avenues and more, it offers a wealth of information and resources for photographers contemplating making their own photo
book. www.papress.com
Centerfold Team Brings
Workshops to Vegas
Shoot The Centerfold, the unique photographic enter-
prise formed by current and former Playboy photo-
graphers Arny Freytag, Jarmo Pohjaniemi and David
Mecey, will present a two-day seminar and workshops
at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas on June 4th and
5th. The event will feature Playboy centerfolds Ashley
Hobbs, Kassie Lyn Logsdon and Shanna Marie
McLaughlin, whom participants will photograph with
hands-on assistance from Arny, Jarmo and David.
The seminars will include presentations from each
photographer, explaining the techniques that have
made their work world-famous. Studio time will also
feature photo shoots by the three photographers,
discussing their sets, lighting and posing techniques
while answering students questions.
The price of the event is $995. Make reservations at
www.shootthecenterfold.com.
____________
Milton Rogovin
NEWS:
Hans Kuhlmann, 1939-2011
The former President of Consumer Imaging at Agfa
Corp died January 31, 2011. Kuhlmann was with the
Agfa-Geveart Group for 40 years. Other positions at
Agfa were National Director of Sales and Vice Presi-
dent of Sales. Born in Recklinghausen Germany, he
rst came to the US as an exchange student in 1961
where he attended DePauw University in Indiana. He
later graduated Columbia University with a Masters
in Business Science. Kuhlmann was instrumental in
expanding Agfas US manufacturing.
He received many industry awards in his lifetime,
including Man of the Year from the Photo Marketing
Association, Lifetime Achievement award from PMDA
and Outstanding Leadership and Dedication award
from the United Nations International Photographic
Counsel. He was also awarded the top award from IS&T,
the Lifetime Achievement Award. Well liked by everyone
in the photo industry, he enjoyed photographyhis
cheerful motto was keep smiling.
Camera Obscura Gallery
Closing
Sad news in the recent PFA newsletter announced the
Camera Obscura Gallery in Denver, CO closed at the
end of April. Hal Gould had been director of the gallery
for the past 30 years and has been a cornerstone of the
photographic arts in Colorado for half a century. He will
retire to work on his memoires, return to the darkroom
and organize his personal archive. Associate Director
Loretta Young-Gautier will return to her personal work
full time.
Those who have been familiar with the Camera Obscura
Gallery will miss visiting the home of some of the nest
photography on the planet and will recognize an end to
an important era in photographic history.
In Memoriam
Milton Rogovin, 1909-2011
After once being blacklisted as Buffalos Top Red by the Buffalo Evening News,
activist Milton Rogovin turned to making photographs as a way he could continue
to do political work. He was 48 years old when he began his serious career in
photography. When he started, he knew his local subjects who he dubbed The
Forgotten Ones.
Classied as a Social Documentary Photographer by the Library of Congress,
Rogovin used his camera to capture social issues, culminating in 13 different
portfolios made from 1953 to 2002. His photographs of poor and working people
included those entitled Native Americans, Yemeni,
Family of Miners and Appalachiahis photographs
truthfully narrate the lives of the people he met through-
out his lifetime.
Rogovins children Mark, Ellen and Paula, are collab-
orating on ways to get their fathers photographs into
classrooms around the world. Mark Rogovin recently
said, My father was a social documentary photographer
and he made these photographs because this was
essential materialbecause these were images of
people who had beauty, did the tough work in society,
and that these images could be useful, and now 50
years later Im starting to understand what he meant.
Visit the Milton Rogovin website to view the portfolios
and learn more about his life in photography. Teachers
take special note: There are educational materials in-
cluding comprehensive guides in English and Spanish
with class projects and methods for teaching with
photographs.
Click on the Education tab to locate them. http://www.
miltonrogovin.com/
Duncan Beebe
Christy Lee Rogers:
Speed of Light
Knowing that light travels slower in water than air is the first step toward
understanding the magic behind the luminous photography of Christy Lee Rogers.
Rogers is a photographer and filmmaker from the island of Oahu, Hawaii. In her
hands the play of light, water, color, movement and optics combine in elegant
underwater photographs. Her new series, Odyssey, explores the quiet battle between
spirit and flesh, depicting inner adventures and couplings of mythological figures
drenched in color and frozen in time. Rogers methods have long been as mysterious
as her photography, but for the first time she is willing to share them here.
phototechmag.com 23
Rogers has been experimenting and pursuing this
process for over seven years. All of her images are
created in camera and not by the use of post-production
manipulation. Instead she relies on the elegant physics
of water and light to aid in the creation of her other-
worldly images, employing the light deviation be-
tween a body of water and the air above it. With
refraction as the foundation for her work, Rogers has
succeeded in crafting unique and mysterious images.
This mechanism, which she has explored tirelessly, is
deceptively simple: light moves more quickly through
air than water.
Light bends when it passes from a substance of one
density into a substance of a different densitythis is
called refraction. Rainbows are caused by refraction
and reection of the suns rays in drops of rain. Have
you ever tried swimming down to the bottom of a
pool to retrieve something and realized that it was
not where it appeared to be from above? What youre
experiencing is refraction.
Rogers utilizes this phenomenon of light as it passes
from the air, which has a lower optical density, into the
water, with a higher optical density. In air light travels at
about 186,000 miles per second, but in water light travels
only about 140,000 miles per second. She then causes
subtle motions in the layers of the water or with her
subject to create her effect. There is a fine line between
disaster and perfection. If used correctly these effects
can produce fantastic optical illusions: intensification
of colors, blurring, blending and a painting-like final
image. I feel like a magician, except Im not trying
to trick or fool people but to open their minds to
something thats not always visible to the eye. The
combination of body and wind movement increases
the volatility of an already fragile environment. Rogers
accounts for this chaos and captures it in these moving,
striking images.
As light changes medium, its angle changes and its
velocity decreases or increases with fascinating con-
sequences. Rogers mastery of this phenomenon allows
her to create sun-dappled figures afloat in dim waters,
and figures whose clothes take on a Baroque complexity
and vibrancy. Through this very sensitive process,
she has found a myriad of ways to create images,
manipulating only water depth, light and movement.
Despite the highly technical source of the effect, Rogers
is only interested in the science insofar as it allows her
to express herself through her art. Its a means to an
end. Im interested in whatever allows me to produce
my vision, and I had to search for and perfect a method
that would allow me to deliver the images I had already
conceived. But it had to be a way that wouldnt dilute
them or concede to the limitations of reality.
With two major bodies of work completed, Rogers
describes her initial intentions for the work: the ideas
which set her on this path. She wanted to express a
sense of wonder and tranquility, to provide some solace
for people from their occasionally hectic and relentless
lives. These motifs appear throughout her oeuvre. Her
latest series has yet to be shown in its entirety. Its quite
possible that Odyssey is it, the body of work that will
complete her own personal Odyssey.
In an art world seemingly saturated with post-modern,
self-aware, or process-based work, it is refreshing to
meet an artist who believes in arts power to penetrate
reality and inspire us, a Classical idea, which is at the
core of the work. Rogers firmly and wonderfully be-
lieves that beauty can change man.
In order to achieve a sort of photographic mise-en-
scne, she had to find a new way to create her images.
They couldnt be fictitious, as that would undermine
her intent to demonstrate that there are still mysterious,
impossibly beautiful things on Earthnot solely in our
imaginations. The work of a true artist lies in manifesting
their inner world externally. To accomplish this she
turned to water. It became an obsession of mine to
communicate through my art that there was more to
man than a body controlled by the peculiar nature of
the physical universe; that he or she was more capable
than ever imagined. I dedicated most of my time to
conceptualizing and planning how to communicate
that message.
To accurately execute her latest body of work Odyssey,
Rogers started by keeping notes of her ideas and in-
spirations in notebooks that travelled with her wher-
ever she went. During this period she scoured the
streets, beaches, forests and thrift shops for props that
would help animate her vision. She also began to search
for subjects. She met with many artists, musicians,
dancers and selected a group for their authenticity,
their willingness to improvise and experiment and for
the way they inspired her to do the same.
Months of planning and sketching would pass before
she felt prepared for her first Odyssey experiment. For
this series Rogers used a Canon EOS 5D Mark II and
a Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, depending on the shoot.
Working alone, she employed halogen spotlights and
any available light sources from the pool and above.
Star Crossed
PORTFOLIO:
I need to work alone with my subject, in peace and
quiet with no restraints or distractions. The water is
distracting enough and the process requires total
focus. Rogers typically spends three to five hours
with her subjects, starting by preparing them for
the technical difficulties of performing underwater,
lightly discussing her process beforehand since
there is very little time for her subjects to talk once
the shoot has begun, and most importantly, ensur-
ing that her subjects are relaxed and ready to open
up. I dont give too much instruction because
I dont want to overwhelm them. I want them to
experience the beautiful weightlessness of the water
and to react naturally.
Each novel moment that her subject encounters
during their exploration of the new environment is
an opportunity for Rogers to capture the portrait
that shes been seeking. With a carload of props and
fabrics, Rogers experiments with every possible
object she can find, including tree branches, vines,
costumes, masks, flags, knives, body paints, ropes,
yarn, Christmas tinsel, hula hoops and even toy
sharks. Each color and prop, as simple as it may
be, is an integral part of my characters story.
Only a visionary such as Rogers could take refrac-
tion as a point of departure and from it create such
evocative work. The unique environment, trusting
models and ancient mythology coalesce into these
tremendously powerful photographs. Her endless
ingenuity has produced images which are distinctly
her own and a style which accentuates the potency
of her work.
Upon the Cheek of Night
Break the Wall Dividing Us
PORTFOLIO:
Product Resources
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon EOS-1Ds Mark
III; Computer: Apple MacBook Pro; Software: Adobe
Photoshop CS3, Canon Digital Photo Professional
Software.
Duncan Beebe is a writer and gallerist in Santa Monica, CA. He has
written for such publications as Eyemazing, ArtLA and Fingernails.
He is currently writing his forthcoming novel, With Abandon, a work
concerned with family, identity and loss.
Christy Lee Rogers grew up in a family of musicians in the small
beach town of Kailua, Hawaii on Oahus windward coast. She is a
self-taught visual artist, indie-filmmaker, poet and musical lyricist.
Her work is currently represented by and on exhibit at Barclays
Club in Monaco, outside of France; James Gray Gallery, Bergamot
Station in Santa Monica, CA; Laura Rathe Fine Art in Houston, TX;
Graphite Galleries in New Orleans, LA and Cedar Street Galleries
and Fine Art Associates in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Visit www.christyrogers.com
Redefining High-End
Wedding Photography
An Interview with Kevin Then:
Many wedding photographers work with an established scenario carried out in a predictable way.
Kevin Then, however, is a photographer whose work redefines the genre of high-end wedding
photography. Named Hasselblad Master under the Wedding Social category in 2008, Then has
continued to demonstrate aesthetic brilliance and command of the latest photographic technological
developments in fashion and design. The result is an international client base and invitations to
speak about what he does to raise the bar for excellence in wedding photography.
Some photographers, especially those whose work is recognized internationally, may find that a
particular style is associated with their name. Then has picked up the title, at least in a number of
online blogs, as the Master of Romanticism. Its title he can live with, he said in a recent interview
with photo technique. What follows is what Then explained about creating the amazing images
that have built his international reputation.
The Inner Side
phototechmag.com 29
PT: What is the inspiration for your romantic style of photography?
KT: I think that the term romanticism does describe the intense
feelings I have always had while shooting. It later became my style.
Working to achieve an image that is both dramatic and majestic
turned out to be considered romantic.
PT: Is most of your work involved in shooting actual wedding parties,
or do you also do work in advertising?
KT: My work involves both wedding and fashion photography. My
clients include actual brides and grooms, but I also create images
for designers of wedding dresses and shots for magazine layouts
where I use professional models. My published work is found in
a wide variety of media sources, including newspapers and mag-
azines, on the Internet and my social network has helped to market
my products worldwide.
PT: You are also known for using Hasselblad equipment. Do you
have a formal relationship with Hasselblad?
KT: Im involved in their promotion for the launch of one of their
newest models, the Hasselblad H4D-40. Im proud to say that I am
one of three photographers chosen worldwide for this promotion
and the only Asian.
PT: As a Malaysian photographer, do you find that your work reflects
the culture of your country?
KT: I think I portray the culture of Malaysia through the models
customs, actions, traditions and most importantly, the ambience
that can be felt through the settings of my photographs.
PT: You work in both a studio and on location. Which of these do
you prefer?
KT: I mostly prefer working on location even though I also do enjoy
shooting in the studio. I like working on location where I can exert
my creativity by wholly shooting outdoors. Furthermore, it is much
more challenging to be shooting outdoors.
Often, there are some undesired circumstances and situations oc-
curring, such as controlling the different brightness from the light
rays, and I do need to adjust the lens in order to capture the image
brilliantly and majestically. The advantage of shooting in the studio
is that I am able to control and adjust the lighting the way I want
it to be.
PT: When you create an image, is the concept decided before the
shoot, or does it develop during the shoot, or both?
KT: Well, I would say both. In handling each individual task involved
in the shoot, I always take the time to review the location beforehand.
This might be my principle responsibility for success in my job. While
I am at the location, there are some aspects that I have to attend to,
such as the lighting source, the view and surrounding environment
to produce the most brilliant and desired photograph.
PT: Who selects the locationsyou or your clients?
KT: Mostly, I am the one selecting the location. Even though a site
may be suggested by my clients, I always look at the bigger picture
to see how it might work for them. In this situation, I do give my
opinion to them, in a way to let them have another option to consider,
Fantasy
FEATURE:
phototechmag.com 31
Camera: Hasselblad H4D 40; Lenses: 150mm, 28mm, 80mm;
Lighting: Bowen Travel Kit GM 500 with reector.
Kevin Then, born into a family of artists, received a degree in
Hotel Management from Stamford College, Singapore. He began
photographing with his brother-in-law and was amazed and inspired
to make a career change. With professional partner Kenneth Lau,
Then has operated a wedding studio for almost a decade. Visit www.
sgbridalhouse.com and www.hasselblad.com.
Product Resources
given my professional experience in photography. My
highest priority in taking the photograph is to make my
clients look their best in a manner that most suits them.
PT: Please describe the way you work with lighting on
location.

KT: For example, in the image of the model in the forest
Fantasy, my concept in setting up the lighting is using a
main light source at a 45 degree angle in front and an
additional backlight directly behind the subject. For The
Inner Side, there are equal amounts of lighting set both
behind and in front of the subject to create the desired
image. I also use available light as a light source. In fact,
thats one of my favorite sources of light. I always attempt
to make use of every source of light and element available
for the image during a location shoot.

PT: Do you work with a staff to help with the shoots?

KT: To me, a perfect well-captured shoot can only be
done with the help and effort of everyone on my team.
In the same breath, it is just like a family working hand in
hand to produce a majestic image that every one of our
team has imagined.
PT: Do you do post-production work yourself?
KT: Yes, for some certain projects, I do handle it myself.
However I also do have my own art design team.
PT: What inspired you to become a photographer?
KT: My interest in photography and the enthusiasm and
satisfaction I get from my passion for photography has
motivated me to keep on improving myself, especially in
my photographic skills.
The Royals Romance
(Right) Blessing
FEATURE:
___
__________
phototechmag.com 33
Adding textures to paintings and photographs is
as old as these art forms. This article focuses on
artistic aspects of Texture Blending, starting with a
brief overview.
Texture Blending Overview
With lm, photographers created texture blended
images by exposing multiple times with different
textures and the main images. It could also be
done by creating sandwiches of different negatives
or blending in camera. Today the process is much
easier to control by using Photoshop.
The idea is to blend a picture with one or more
textures and let the result become more than the
sum of the photos used. For us, Texture Blending
is always an exploration process. This is done pri-
marily by utilizing Photoshops Blending Modes to
blend the images. Texture Blending in not a me-
The Art of Texture Blending:
Photography Beyond Realism
chanical process. Experimentation is key, and we
always try to get surprised. You will learn that
good textures are as important as your so-called
main images. We create new textures all the time
by photographing, collecting from the web (always
respecting copyrights) and Texture Blending of
textures. It is not easy to get textures of a good
resolution. Sometimes texture resolution does not
matter, but then in other cases it does. Making
textures smaller is easy, but you cannot create
artificial resolution.
Photos and Paintings
Do we want to create images that look like paintings?
We dont really think that way. But in some ways,
our images have a certain painterly look. When
we work on our images, we think about enhancing
their visual impact and not what painters would
do. We always think about the mood of the photos.
Oak Tree
TECH:
Dreamy
Now the photo looks more like how we felt while capturing the scene. The posture is the key element, the boring background gone
and the shoes well-hidden.
These wildowers shot at Big Sur using a long focal length
were not intentionally photographed to be a texture.
When we captured this girl at the beach, we liked the
posture and the hippie-like skirt. But we were not too keen
about the shoes and the boring ocean surf.
In most cases, the base image is a very realistic
image. It then gets enhanced using abstract patterns
(sometime we use simple collages). In the end we
may use techniques like painters, but we dont think
in terms of painting.
Some Photography Myths
Photographers are often fixated on sharpness and
resolution. Texture Blending will actually often re-
duce the sharpness and detail. It is all about the
mood we want to create. We also do not care much
about correct colors. First of all, we would need
to define what this is (except in the world of pure
product photography). Again, the color is a major
element to create the mood we like. Dark colors
play an important role for us.
We often shoot in light many photographers would
avoid and not much at the so-called golden light of
the morning or evening. We love early morning
light and also some soft overcast. In the end, we
create some of the light with our Texture Blending.
The Art Of Texture Blending
All these images were created using our own Tex-
ture Blending technique and they demonstrate a
variety of reasons to apply Texture Blending.
THE ART OF TEXTURE BLENDING BETTINA & UWE STEINMUELLER
phototechmag.com 35
Surreal
We also like to create some more surreal looking images, like this one
based on a realistic photograph of the Contemporary Jewish Museum
in San Francisco. Again the boring sky and the too clean look made the
photo uninteresting, though we liked the framing. The texture this time
is a blurred version of a different beach photo.
We like the image because it is quite abstract. What we see is actually compressed cardboard at a local recycling yard. In this case, the B&W
conversion was created using our special B&W texture with frame. Both the main image and the texture image were taken with an iPhone.
Abstraction
These are the handrails of some stairs in Monterey, CA. We found
the original photo too clean. In contrast, the blended photo
invokes a more interesting mood. We used a photo of a dirty
wall for the texture.
Too Clean
TECH:
phototechmag.com 37
Skies Can Be So Boring
On one hand, you have to photograph these trees against the sky to show their beautiful shape
and on the other hand, it is hard even to imagine the ideal sky.
When the image is blended, the trees can
show why they are special.
Near our home we have beautiful oak trees.
It is hard to do them justice because the skies
are most of the time just plain boring.
Painterly Look (Etching)
This photo looks like an old etching. We had no intention of simulating an etching look, but
this was the result of our exploration process. The original photo was a digital infrared photo
taken with an IR modied camera. The texture used is a photograph of the metal sh container
surface in Monterey.
To ask a question or comment on this article, visit our online Forum: www.phototechforum.com
German photographer Uwe Steinmueller and his wife and partner Bettina came to live and work in the
United States over a decade ago. They concentrate on taking photos for fine art prints, mainly nature and
urban landscapes. Owner and editor of Digital Outback Photo (www.outbackphoto.com), Steinmueller has
authored numerous books and articles about digital workflow.
References
Digital Outback Photo
www.outbackphoto.com
THE ART OF TEXTURE BLENDING BETTINA & UWE STEINMUELLER
__________________
INNOVATIONS:
I.P.S. Inflatable Photo Studio
Own a Portable Studio for a Few
Months Rent
Need a studio for a controlled shoot on location, or
even better, multiple locations? The innovative Inatable
Photo Studio could just be the answer. The inatable
Studio comes in sizes from 20' x 15' x 13' to 30' x
20' x 15'. Each unit is made of 5-7ml thick UV coated
polyethylene and has a black interior and your choice
of white or black exterior. There is also an option for
a diffused white translucent ceiling. Units wrap up to
an easily transportable roll that weighs less than 100
pounds not counting the drum fans.
Simply unroll the studio, stake or tie down the bottom
and turn on the fan (two for the larger studios), and the
studio inates in about three minutes. The fan is then
set at a lower speed that keeps the studio inated
while letting air out the door slit to keep the oor from
overinating and bowing.
The 30' x 20' x 15' Libertine model with two 24-inch
drum fans costs only $2,299.95. The smaller 20' x 15' x
13' Hooligan model is $1,879.95.
For more information, contact www.ips-studio.com
Promote Control
A Full Featured Time Machine
If you are a photographer who takes time-lapse photography or HDR sequences, this
is a camera timing device that fits your needs. This is far more than an electronic cable
releasethis is a time manager. The Promote Control comes in a sturdy hard case with
two cables. There is an optional camera specic cable that really needs to be purchased
in order to fully use the capabilities of the control options.
The Promote Control offers time management in several ways:
First, you can focus the camera from the device, providing you use both cables. One
Shot Mode is pretty much what other cable release systems have. However, it is in the
other modes the Promote Control excels.
In Time Lapse mode, you can set exposure, the interval between images, the number of
frames and even set a delayed starting time.
After determining your mid-exposure through test shots, change the Promote Control
to HDR Mode. Set up the EV difference from 0.3 EV to 2 EV. Then set the number of
exposures. You can also set a Time Lapse repeat of the sequence. You have the option
of starting the sequence from the midtone, the lowest shadow or the brightest highlight.
Hit Start and Promote Control runs the entire sequence. For exposures over 30 seconds,
you need the camera-specic cable, as well (another reason its purchase isnt really an
option). Promote Control will handle exposures up to 1/4000th of a second.
Promote Control also has a Hyperfocal Distance calculator. Set the desired hyperfocal
distance, select the focal length, choose a crop factor and Promote Control gives you
the correct f-stop. It will also reverse calculate by choosing the f-stop and then give you
the hyperfocal distance.
You can even do Time Lapse HDR creating a combination of HDR sequence exposures
and different HDR series at time intervals.
The unit runs on two AA batteries and costs $329.00. The needed camera specic cable
is an additional $18.95. For more information, contact www.promotesystems.com.
phototechmag.com 39
INNOVATIONS:
PocketWizard Expands
Control of Portable Flashes
and Studio Strobes
PocketWizard has added two new accessories to their radio
control Mini TT1 and Flex TT5 remote flash controls.
The AC3 ZoneController allows you to set up to three flashes
in separate zones and control both the lighting ratio and
the power of the flash itself from simple dials on top of the
camera. The three separate dials work using an Auto setting
that controls E-TTL output for each of the three flashes.
Each ash can be changed from +3 to -3 power in 1/3 EV
increments. Even more impressive is the fact that more than
one ash can be assigned to a zone. The ZoneController fits
on top of a Mini TT1 transmitter and each flash unit needs a
Flex TT5 receiver attached to each flash. In manual mode,
the AC3 ZoneController can control actual flash power from
1/64th to full. This unit works with both Nikon and Canon
cameras.
But there is more. PocketWizard has also introduced the
AC9 studio strobe adapter that works with Alien Bees, White
Lightning, and Elinchrom RX studio strobes. The unit sits on
top of a Flex TT5 and attaches to the studio strobes via an
Ethernet cable. A plug is used to disable the optical slave unit.
Using this system with the AC3 ZoneController allows you to
control studio lights in up to three zones independently from
the top of your camera. The AC3 ZoneController costs $79
and the AC9 Strobe Adapter costs $62. The camera requires
a Mini TT1 or Flex TT5, and each individual flash requires its
own Flex TT5 receiver.
For more information, go to www.pocketwizard.com.
The Digital Silver Darkroom
The new-fashioned route to real black
and white prints
If you dont have access to a darkroom or the skill and experience,
it doesnt mean you cant make a traditional black and white
printhigh quality silver-gelatin black and white prints are only a
few clicks away, and you will never have to work under safelight
conditions or stand in front of an enlarger to achieve them. Using
your images, computer and Internet access, you already have the
tools available to make black and white photographic prints on
traditional silver halide paper. All prints referred to in this article
are real black and white silver-halide photographic (not inkjet)
prints. With only a handful of labs in North America making digital
black and white prints on real photographic paper, one lab with a
real passion for black and white is Digital Silver Imaging (DSI) in
Belmont, MA. Owner Eric Luden shared information about how
his lab is able to make these professional quality prints.
How it works
A photographer uploads a digital file to the lab. The file is exposed
onto photographic paper at the lab using laser exposure in a
digital enlarger. After exposure, the paper is machine processed
in print processing chemicals, and the result is a digitally exposed
black and white silver-halide print. Although they look and feel
exactly like traditional photographic prints, the real difference lies
in the emulsion technology. These emulsions are panchromatic,
and optimized for digital laser exposure. Ludens lab uses Ilford
Ilfospeed RC Digital and Galerie FB Digital papers and exposes
them with a Durst Theta 51 digital enlarger. This sophisticated
digital lab system uses a modied laser designed for true black
and white printing from digital les. Imaging is at 400 pixels per
inch, and prints may be made up to 20" wide and 15 feet long. The
paper is machine processed in standard darkroom chemicals,
then washed to produce archival silver images. Fiber base prints
get an additional wash to ensure the permanence of the prints.
DSI offers sepia and selenium toning and protective wax coatings
as additional services.
When the lab does the conversions, a digital proof is sent back to
the photographer for approval before printing. Files are RGB (not
grayscale) at their native resolution. Uncompressed JPG, TIF, or
RAW formats are accepted. Ludens team extensively uses NIK
Silver Efex Pro 2 for color to black and white conversions. Well
known for innovative digital workow solutions, NIK incorporated
special algorithms in the software that translate into user-friendly
darkroom-inspired tools.
When asked about comparing prints made in a regular dark-
room vs. using the digital enlarger, Luden said, Even with the
best of master printers in the traditional darkroom, there is no
way to reproduce a silver print exactly from print to print, and
there is the beauty of that uniqueness to a handmade print.
With digital printing, however, there are ways you can open up
shadows and control highlights in the file itself, so once you
have that, using digital workow, you can get repeatability from
print to print. Were able to provide something that isnt available
to photographers and thats the traditional darkroom printwere
helping people learn to see in black and white again.
Resources:
Digital Silver Imaging, www.digitalsilverimaging.com; Durst,
www.durstus.com; Harman Technology Ltd., www.ilfordphoto.
com; NIK Software, www.niksoftware.com
___
JOURNEY TO THE BRIDGE JAMEY STILLINGS
Jamey Stillings
Journey to the Bridge:
The Story of The Bridge at Hoover Dam Photo Essay
It is at the intersections of nature and the hand of man that
the greatest visual, philosophical, environmental and political
energy exists. At these intersections, we discover something
important about ourselves and our relationship to the world.
Early in the first quarter of 2009, the studio phone went
silent; no portfolio requests, estimates, or assignments.
Nothing. I have been through a few recessions and each
has presented a new and unique set of challenges. The
Great Recession of 2009 would be no different.
I decided immediately to capitalize on the slow period,
turn it to my advantage creatively, if not financially. Lets
go on a photo road trip! I said to photographer Mike
Sakas, my good friend and first assistant. Anything we
found interesting was fair game. Thus it was one evening
in March 2009 that we drove over Hoover Dam and
encountered the bridge under construction starting its
aerial journey across the Black Canyon of the Colorado
River. I had not previously known about the bridge and
the Hoover Dam Bypass. Our immediate decision to
spend another day and evening photographing at the
dam and bridge has resulted in one of the fullest and
richest creative experiences of my career.
The evolving bridge sparked my imagination. Watching
the bridges construction, especially at night, was both
inspiring and captivating. I needed to find a way to re-
turn to photograph the bridge. But how could I gain
access? Headed by the Federal Highway Administration,
Bridge at Nevada Hairpin, July 28, 2010. The old hairpin turn on the Nevada side, the bridge structurally complete and the illuminated sky of the
Las Vegas metro area.
Arizona Arch Segment, April 28, 2009. Pre-visualized in March 2009.
phototechmag.com 41
(FHWA) responsible parties for the Hoover Dam Bypass
Project included several federal agencies, the Arizona and
Nevada departments of transportation and several private
contractors. Construction had been ongoing for years. No
doubt, all their systems were firmly in place, including
policies and procedures for photography.
I concluded my best bet was to secure an editorial assign-
ment and felt intuitively The New York Times Magazine
would be an excellent fit. They might appreciate the photo-
graphic aesthetic emerging in the first few images and
grant me the freedom to pursue this vision. With the help
of Sharpe+Associates, my reps, we approached the mag-
azine. As luck would have it, the pending architectural
issue would be on national infrastructure. With a small
guarantee for first editorial rights and a letter of assign-
ment, I made my plans.
I learned the policies, procedures and limitations of
photographing the bridge. Most of my ground-based ac-
cess came through proper permitting with the Bureau of
Reclamation (BOR) at Hoover Dam. More limited entry
within the construction alignment came by carefully follow-
ing established procedures and protocol with the Federal
Highway Administration. Six days of photography in two
trips culminated with a dawn helicopter f light over and
around the bridge.
The New York Times Magazine was very thin in June 2009.
Advertising pages were down with a corresponding de-
crease in editorial content. However, the newly redesigned
magazine included one full-page aerial image of the bridge
as Endpaper: Bridge to Somewhere, along with nine
photos in their online edition. The coverage was well re-
ceived. Initial relationships and procedures were estab-
lished. In mid-June, I made the decision to pursue the
bridge as a long-term personal project, eschewing the
editorial support of other publications in exchange for
complete creative freedom.
I wanted to create three separate bodies of work: a doc-
umentary essay in the midst of construction, a studio on
location portrait series, and the continued observation
of the bridge within the landscape of Hoover Dam
and Black Canyon. I was not granted access for a doc-
umentary essay on the bridges construction. Citing safety
and proprietary concerns, this option was taken off the
table. For over a year, I actively pursued permission to
create the portrait series, even driving to Denver in a
January snowstorm to present a formal proposal to the
Federal Highway Administration. But the complexity and
politics of successfully completing a federal/state/private
infrastructure project ultimately prevented my access to
make these portraits. In order to maintain the limited
access I did have to the construction alignment, I needed
to follow policies, procedures and protocol meticulously.
The ultimate benefit of being road-blocked on two of
three creative directions was that I became free to pursue
the landscape body of work with even more dedication
and passion.
The bridge, Black Canyon and Hoover Dam became a
three-dimensional chessboard of sorts. We poured over
satellite photos to better understand the terrains com-
plexities. With the cooperation of the BOR, Mike Sakas
and I scrambled up and down ridges and cliffs to scout
prospective viewpoints in the summers 122 heat. We
charted the suns path, thought strategically about im-
portant stages of construction and the best points of
view. From this research a matrix evolved throughout the
project to develop the photo essay by continually adding
interest, variety and insight.
A construction site active 24/7 and lit at night had a sur-
real quality. The key was to photograph the bridge in a
visually evocative and compelling way while respecting
personal aesthetic sensibilities. Constant technical care
and attention to detail was necessary for success. Anything
could prevent a photograph from reaching its potential.
Step one was to eliminate potential vibration during ex-
posures. I needed to worry about wind, movement on
scaffolding and the special requirements of long telephoto
lenses. I obtained Gitzos most robust carbon fiber tripod
and ball head.
Second, I needed to ensure accurate focus in low light
scenarios. I switched to manual focusing using Canons
Live View mode at maximum magnification.
Third, I tracked my optimal primary exposure both
aesthetically and using the cameras histogram. Then I
bracketed exposures to allow for greater dynamic range
during imaging work on the computer. In an ideal world
for nighttime photography, I would have utilized a four
or five exposure bracket, but because the camera would
only allow for three exposures automatically, I chose the
expeditious route. My exposure bracketing varied from
+/- 2 to +/- 1 stop(s) from my primary exposure.
Fourth, I butted up against the optical limitations of
some lenses. Lenses that are fine for everyday assign-
PORTFOLIO:
JOURNEY TO THE BRIDGE JAMEY STILLINGS
Aerial View, June 30, 2009. Morning clouds on the eastern horizon.
phototechmag.com 43
Jamey Stillings work as a photographer spans fine art, documentary and
advertising. A passionate interest in people, world cultures, social and
environmental issues are the guiding forces in his photography and life.
Recent clients include The New York Times Magazine, Toyota, GE Global,
and First Republic Bank. He was awarded the Directors Choice Award, First
Place, 2010, by CENTER for, The Bridge at Hoover Dam. See
www.jameystillings.com and www.bridgeathooverdam.com
To ask a question or comment on this article, visit our online Forum:
www.phototechforum.com
Camera: Canon 5D Mark II; Canon Lenses: 17-40mm f/4L
USM, 24-70mm f/2.8L USM, 24mm f/1.4L USM, 35mm f/1.4L
USM, 50mm f/1.2L USM, 70-200mm f/2.8L USM, 85mm f/1.2L
USM, 300mm f/4L IS USM, 400mm f/4L IS USM; Zeiss Lenses:
Distagon T 18mm f/3.5, Makro-Planar 50mm f/2, Makro-Planar
100mm f/2; Tripod: Gitzo GT5561, GT3541 XLS Head; Computer:
Apple MacBook Pro, Apple Mac Pro 2; Software: Adobe
Photoshop CS5, Adobe Lightroom 3; Other: Kenyon KS-6 Gyro
Stabilizer Kit, Tamrac Big Wheels Rolling Backpack-LP8, Tamrac
Aero Speed Pack 75.
Product Resources
ment work, especially where corner sharpness is not
an issue, suddenly met their match when used for the
task of documenting the bridge. I started testing lenses
more critically and found myself moving back to
prime fixed focal length lenses. During this time, Zeiss
began to issue its DSLR manual focus lenses for the Canon
mount. I tested several. Ultimately, a group of Canon and
Zeiss lenses became my prime allies during the project.
Finally came the challenges of quality aerial photography.
It is easy to photograph in the daytime with high shut-
ter speeds and lenses stopped down, quite another task
to shoot at dawn and dusk. I used a single Kenyon gyro
for all aerial work, but even this sometimes met its match
when shooting f2, 1/125 second, ISO 3200 out the open
door of the helicopter. Many lenses that are amazing for
portraits are not spectacular when focused at infinity.
Many lenses that shine when stopped down 2-3 stops
are less than stellar when shot wide open. Finding the
very best optics for aerial photography is still a work
in progress. One definite change is that I will integrate a
double gyro system for future aerial work.
Between June 2009 and January 2011, I made more than
a dozen trips to the bridge, racking up almost 40 days
and nights of photography in the process. The photo
essay that developed from my initial encounter allowed
me to meld photographic and aesthetic sensibilities with
a reawakened sense of childhood curiosity and awe. The
bridge as subject has been creatively and technically
challenging, dynamic and transitory. Over the two years
of the project, as the bridge evolved, each visit required
fresh perspectives and visual inquiry. The opportunity to
spend extended time with a single subject brought a depth
of visual understanding both to the approach and the
resulting body of work. It has been and continues to be a
great experience.
The Bridge at Hoover Dam is now an exhibition, which I
intend to travel nationally and internationally for several
years. To date, the work has been exhibited at the Las
Vegas Springs Preserve, Etherton Gallery in Tucson,
Arizona and photo-eye Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The Phoenix Art Museum has scheduled the first museum
exhibition for August through November 2011. I have
been honored to see the work published in numerous ed-
itorial publications. And I am actively working to create
the best book publishing opportunity. Stay tuned.
How a structure and its creation are documented greatly
impacts how it is remembered in history. Construction of
the bridge downstream from Hoover Dam was unique
both for its historical importance, by its proximity to
the dam, and for its technical achievement, bridging the
Black Canyon over the Colorado River with the longest
concrete arch span in the western hemisphere.
The bridge challenges us to examine the juncture of
nature and technology on a scale that is both grand and
human. The overarching goals of The Bridge at Hoover Dam
are to acknowledge the collective talents and labors of
those who built the bridge and to place the bridge within
the historical and aesthetic context of Hoover Dam and
the American West. Without the hard work and talents of
hundreds who built the bridge, these photographs would
not exist.
Colorado River Bridge, September.
PORTFOLIO:
THE SILENT & THE PLAYFUL: LIGHT ARIS KARIMI
My fascination with light started early in my life. When
I was about ve years old, I was sitting in a room by a
window with shuttered heavy curtains, leaving only a
small distance in between them, where a miracle was
happening: I could see the movement of dust in the
air. I was mesmerized, not just by seeing the dust, but
feeling something powerful and beautiful for the rst
time: light.
I left the room, not knowing that for years to come light
would keep stealing my attention. And from the light
circles on the bazaars oor, reection of colored
windows in daytime and the last moments of a fiery
sunset in a Persian Gulf port where I used to live,
I could see light declaring its inimitable splendor
over and over.
That childhood fascination has paved its way to
be the central theme of my work as an abstract
photographer. But unlike the usual process in
photography where light is the modest messenger
of a story, in my work light itself becomes the
Aras Karimi
The Silent &
the Playful: Light
phototechmag.com 45
storyteller and objects become the messengers let-
ting light expand its playful presence on them. Light
is truly the subject of my works. It comes from my
urge to share the way I see and experience the
world around me, a world full of light moving, turn-
ing, twisting and dancing on different surfaces and
spaces with everything else in view as a background.
The process I use in taking photographs wasnt
developed overnight. My earlier efforts to capture
light through photography were total failures.
Although I was trying to record light, the results were
pictures of still objects such as chair, table or curtain;
I needed the objects to capture the reflections,
to use them as the medium. But somehow those
preset subjects could easily become the center of
attention of my pictures, and light would become
merely a tool to depict them.
The cause of my dilemma is simple: light does
not create a distinct mental portrait. Potentially
and historically, light has always been the modest
medium for portraits of other people or things. And
those portraits and their stories effortlessly become
the dominant subjects of the photographs. None of
the viewers of my earlier photos had an image
of light as my actual subject in their mind or any-
thing of that nature to compare my work to, or
to feel the importance of light, regardless of the
object in the picture. No matter how I would play
with the contrast, color, brightness or sharpness
during photography, the results failed to com-
municate the essence of what I wanted to reveal.
Therefore, my effort of giving subjectivity to light
seemed impossible.
This struggle went on until little by little I discovered
that if I take pictures with longer shutter speeds
and move the camera, shapes of objects start to
break and the border between them fades. They
are still there, letting the light reect on them and
announce its playful existence, but the deformed
objects cannot dominate the attention of the photo
anymore. I constantly try to dominish the objects
in my photos, abating their structural presence to
magnify the qualities of light that is shaded on them.
This opens the opportunity to see new things, feel
new things, an abstract ethereal world free from
PORTFOLIO:
THE SILENT & THE PLAYFUL: LIGHT ARIS KARIMI
Born in 1983 in Iran, Aras Karimi began photographing at the age
of 16. He is an emerging artist based in Los Angeles with several
awards on his resume, including 10 honorable mentions in the
International Photography Awards in the past three years. He
studies fine art at Santa Monica College, CA. His work will be
presented by the New Art Center, New York City Nov 8 -29, 2011.
His website is www.ArasKarimi.com.
Camera: Canon EOS 10D; Lens: Canon 16-35mm
f2.8 II; Software: Photoshop and Lightroom 3; Paper:
Hahnemuhle Fine Art Pearl.
Product Resources
structure, arrangement and definitions, filled with
brightening pleasure and liberating movements.
Recording light is like a chase for the untouchable;
patience and persistence become inevitable. I take
scores of shots to choose one that satisfies me with
its revelation of light, the unearthly mood, and the
aesthetic composition I want to create. And after
years of doing photography I can now imagine the
results better; I can better predict how the photos
will turn out with different camera movements in
my hand. My process has grown from absolute
experiments to a now more controlled technique.
I work only in digital format. I started working
with lm, but I switched to digital photography
about seven years ago. Its more convenient and
cost-effective. I can see the results faster. I move
the camera while taking the picture, and with a
digital camera that has preview, it is easier for me to
capture better composition.
This collection is dedicated to the reection of
natural light on different surfaces such as glass and
plastic. None of the pictures is taken from dust,
smoke, or moving objects. The feeling of move-
ment in the photos comes from two sources: the
movement of light itself, and the turn and swing of
the camera in my hand with a long shutter speed.
Natural light always offers surprising twists and
turns, as well as the gradual matchless changes due
to the change of sunlight. I dont use filters. Colors
result from the natural light reflection on objects,
or light decomposition when passed through glass.
In post-production, I use only two Photoshop tools:
burn and crop. I use burning for higher contrast
and to darken some elements in my photos to give
attention to other elements. Once in a while I use
the cropping tool to change the composition.
Like my other collections on light, the photographs
of this collection are purposefully untitled. I like
to give viewers a chance to experience their
own emotions while they are interacting with an
expression of mine. And it seems unnatural to me
to apply a rational meaning to something that is the
opposite of a product of intellect. Ideally I would
like my audience to see the photographs in large
print format. I produce 20" x 30" inkjet prints on
Hahnemuhle Fine Art Pearl Paper (285 msg).
All of my works are reflections of my vision and
emotion at the moment the shot is taken. They are
an invitation to re-experience light, an invitation
to a world where one can touch the mercurial
presence of light, far larger than what we tend to
see in daily life.
phototechmag.com 47
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See some amazing work
by emerging photographers
or submit your own portfolio.
To Advertise Contact:
Roberta Knight
rknight@prestonpub.com
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variations on the photographic arts

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