resistance to persistence

i’ve been checking out a lot of inspring photographers lately since i haven’t had much time to actually do any shooting. jill greenberg (manipulator.com) has a very specific look and i really like it. i’m going to try to shoot some work like this. lighting isn’t cheap, so i might have to be very creative instead. check out some of jill’s great work. you’ve likely seen some of her commercial work already.

jason lee, shot by jill greenberg.

A cool way to view your Flickr photos

I came across an interesting Flickr viewer today. Airtight Interactive has created a Flickr TiltViewer. You can spin the plane of photos around, click an image to zoom and view it, move them around. It’s brings a 3D dimension to a 2D world of photography.

Try it out… view my Flickr portfolio in the Tilt Viewer

Control with the Mouse:
* Click images to zoom-in, click again to zoom-out.
* Click the background to zoom-out.
* Click the ‘reload’ button (below the image grid) to load a new set of images.
* Click the ‘flip’ button (bottom-right of a zoomed-in image) to see image details.

Hack the URL to view your own images if you want to try it out.

I went to Photojunkie’s exhibit opening at Solferino’s this evening. This exhibit is 24 1′x1′ photographs printed on canvas. The canvas creates a very nice painted appearance to some of the photos. All the photos are for sale, so definitely drop in for a look if you want to own a piece of the Photojunkie before he gets even more popular than he already is. The show is on until the end of July.

Additional photos from the opening are here.

Adobe’s Video Workshop

I stumbled upon a priceless tutorial resource last week. Adobe has a video training site for all of their products with flash video tutorials. I watched a couple Photoshop videos and they look very well done. There are tutorials for the Creative Suite of products {Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Flash, etc} .

Also, another spot I’ve watched some great Photoshop tutorials from is Radiant Vista. I’ve learned a great deal from watching tutorials at this site. They also have podcasts and critiques.

I found the Adobe site when I was researching about Lightroom features. I also found Chris Orwig’s Lightroom In Focus site which has a few videos of Lightroom features and shows some great tools for photographe

contact 2007 - toronto subway

My photos made it in as part of the Contact Photography Festival. As part of the Contact Photography Festival, they show the photos from one Toronto photographer each day. The photos were shown on the Toronto subway on Thursday, May 31. I took a ride for one stop on the subway so I could get these photos as proof.

See all the photos here…

eyes open on the train

I’m really excited today. My photos made it in as part of the Contact Photography Festival. ONESTOP Toronto controls the LCD information display screens on the Toronto subway platforms. As part of the Contact Photography Festival, they show the photos from one Toronto photographer each day.

If you’re riding the Toronto subway on Thursday, May 31 look up at the screens on the platform…you might catch my photos. And if you’ve got a camera or a cameraphone, take a photo of them please and send it to me.

Here’s a glimpse at the photos you might see…

infinite balconies

since this image was used on a Torontoist article, it’s gotten very popular again. Lots more views, lots more people adding it to their favorites lists. It’s definitely a favorite of mine. Just goes as a reminder, sometimes the simplest photos can be the best ones. Keep your eyes open for patterns.

It looks so much like a photograph, I can’t believe it’s actually a small model. I would never have the patience to do anything like this. Maybe when I was younger, but my MTV-generation training has bred me for instant gratification. Now, Now, Now.

Dutch artist Edwin Zwakman produces large-scale photographs by painstakingly reconstructing objects and landscapes from memory. The pylon pictured above is 50cm tall, made from approximately 400 pieces of copper soldered together, the cables are made from vinyl and cotton wool is used in background.

what a weekend. friday started out slow. quiet night relaxing at home, watching movies, facebook checking.

saturday, i was up early. j and i went out grocery shopping. by noon, i headed off to my friend magda’s apartment for a photoshoot. i was really looking forward to this one. i’ve been doing a lot of reading and research on lighting setups and wanted to see more of it in action. magda was shooting photos for her clothing line. she has her own clothing line and is a photographer. she does more in a day than I do in a week. her clothing is very impressive - very stylish and very well made. maggy is the model and an imposing one at that. at 5′ 11″ plus some heels, even i felt short next to her. she’s been around the world already. what a great way to live.

multi-purpose magda doing makeup, hair, clothing and photography for the day

maggy gets her hair done by magda

maggy laughing it up between shoots. skirt and top by magda (dizma.com)

i was just taking candid shots of the day, magda was doing the real shooting. i’m looking forward to seeing her finished shots. it was a very fun day, even though i couldn’t stay as long as i liked.

sunday, i spent most of the day at the computer, editing photos. i’ve gotten behind on that work and was playing catchup. the end results will be posted at photos.blainekendall.com

in researching solutions to improving on-camera flash, i’ve read about lots of options. i’m interested in gary fong’s lightsphere. but a cheap alternative comes from the standard use of a bounce card.

a better bounce card.com shows a slightly better bounce card. you can make a simple version with a regular piece of paper and an elastic. if you want to get elaborate, there’s some foam-like paper that is even better and allows for even more adjustment. i purchased the foam paper for less than a dollar at Walmart. i could do with some nicer elastics once i find them. check out a better bounce card.com and learn how to make your own.

a useful, but not fancy solution to bouncing light