Words to Lyrics Ben Ho's observations from the cloud

6 April 2010

Photography Roadmap 2010: Part 2

Filed under: Forward Thinking — Tags: , , — Ben @ 10:38 pm

After writing out my Roadmap last week, I thought I’d explain further my wish to do more sports photography.

Sports photography isn’t something that I have a great amount of interest in, but I think it can teach amateur photographers like me a thing or two about shooting in ‘tight conditions’. As I said before, the recent Winter Olympics sparked my interest in this. Which just happens to go well with my wish to do some ski photography this year.

I’ve done very little sports photography before (exactly: 2 sessions in Europe and touch footy last year) with a mixed bag of results. Some shots were good, others not so.

Good Bad
Good Bad

Shooting a sports event requires a lot of precision and accuracy. The main challenges to overcome are fast moving subjects and the fact that you are usually far away from them (on the sideline). These challenges are partially solved with some good equipment (specifically long-range, fast lenses e.g. 200mm f/2.8)

Being quick and accurate leads to the styles of photography I’d like to specialise in, namely, live events and music.

Now, to the Winter Olympics influence. As I discovered in Europe, shooting in the snow produces a sharp subject almost every time, because cameras can not find a focus on white backgrounds. (Un)fortunately this is a little cheat one can use to create the illusion of stunning photographs. This in turn leads to a morale boost! It also has led to a desire to shoot in the snow more.

There’s probably a million other insignificant reasons why I’d want to do photography in the snow, but I’ll spare those for the time around the warm fire in the lodge.

So this is why I want to head down to the slopes this winter. To sum up, it is part of the learning experience in becoming a great photographer.

28 March 2010

Photography Roadmap 2010

Filed under: Forward Thinking — Tags: , — Ben @ 10:54 pm

I wrote about my technology roadmap earlier on, and now I’d like to share with you my ambitions for my photography this year. It’s better to write it down, than to reproduce it in verbal form when someone asks.

With the workload from university steadily increasing, less time is being spent on getting out there and shooting things. The upcoming mid-semester break invites more chances to shoot stuff, but sadly, it will still be filled with work.

The first step for the next three weeks or so, is to start again, and find things to shoot.

I’m also finding interesting places for photo shoots, because I really want to focus on portrait photography this year. Other genres that deserve my attention this year include music photography and to a smaller extent, sports photography.

For music, it is simply going to people’s gigs and shooting it. Very simple. If you have seen my work from ‘Coffee House’ in years past, you will understand what I mean.

While sports isn’t something I want to specialise in, the Winter Olympics has reminded me of the occasional sports shoots that I have done. And do you get that feeling where you want to occasionally revisit something that you like but don’t normally do/have? Well that’s how I feel about sports photography.

But let me tell you what I want to achieve with portraits. What motivates me is the thousands of ugly, disproportioned, and terrible photos on Facebook. (I might have written this before…) I want to give people nice photos of themselves, for free.

The most difficult part is to start, and that is what I must overcome soon. Because a lazy attitude won’t get me anywhere, but leave one in the pits of misery.

In the meantime, you can browse photos that I shot in the past from the links of my main website.

29 June 2009

How can they survive?

Filed under: Rant — Tags: , — Ben @ 10:23 pm

This is another photography related rant. (Sorry Mark)

Whilst looking around Facebook yesterday, I saw some photos of a particular formal had turned up. Obviously they had a good time. But what I noticed (and this is not new) is that people nick the photos from the photography company’s website, watermarks and all. I think this speaks volumes about me next point.

These photography companies are contracted by organisers of the formal to take photographs and document. This is in the hope that cash-strapped people buy their photos for ‘keepsakes’. It is like as if they expect you to look back in a few year’s time and say, “Look at me, this was at my formal back in year 11! Wow!” But they clearly don’t seem to notice that people are “stealing” their photos and recognising the hard work of others.

Mind you, I don’t have a problem with this happening. I think it is stupid how photography companies and afford the time and resources to shoot an event where they don’t expect their clients to buy their work. I mean, who spends the few dollars getting a low res file without a watermark? Wouldn’t it just be better to just offer the product pro bono?

This is the principle that I follow with my recent photography work. I don’t feel I have the authority nor the capacity to charge people for photos of themselves. I believe that I have done a good job offering my best service for the greater good of the people. All I ask in return is some recognition of the hard work that has gone into making a good product. Why should people have to pay for something that they may not look at in a few years? Granted, it just keeps the moment lasting for longer.

28 June 2009

Photographer’s Respect

Filed under: Rant — Tags: , , — Ben @ 6:27 pm

When I shoot any event, whether it be a concert, official school event, or a music tour, there are those who are always bugging you for new photos. Having done my fair share of events, I have to say that it sometimes gets annoying, but the satisfaction that you see on your “client” is well worth it. This got me to think, does this happen between photographers on a smaller scale?

I think that everyone would love to live in a perfect world. But this isn’t one. It’s filled with anger, harassment and negative criticism. Nevertheless, there are those that seek to shine a light in the dark holes of the world. I want it to be the same with photography and photographers. Luckily, we are nearly half-way there, with social networks that encourage good photography mixed with the vivacity of life. However, not everyone is willing to share their work with others. Many stay cooped up on Facebook and share only with friends. (Don’t get me started on the Facebook photo argument!)

What I want to see more of is some personal recognition, face-to-face. I think it would be great, if someone you knew came up to you and said, “Hey! I just saw your photos of the art stuff in Sydney last week. It’s sooo good!” I want to see photographers respecting other photographers.

I guess the reason why I am writing this is that I suspect some people out there really like my stuff, and respect me for it. But something is stopping them from saying it. I’m not trying to show off here, I’m just noting an observation.

So can I challenge you to respect a photographer if you really like their work. I’m sure that they’ll thank you for it.

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