by successfulbob | architectural photography, imaging competition, photography competition, photography education
Coming soon!
If you are a PPA member you’ll be able to stream the International Photographic Competition (IPC).
Even if you don’t have images in the competition there’s a wealth of information and ideas that get shared during challenges.
A challenge is put forward whenever one of the jurors doesn’t agree with the result of an image being accepted as a Merit or non Merit. The challenger states his/her reasons. The other jurors respond with their thoughts and the challenger has an opportunity to rebut then the image is scored again. Sometimes it seems as if the judging is moving quickly. But, please remember there are 7 sets of eyes, 6 jurors and the Jury Chair, and any one of those may challenge the result. Sometimes if an image goes by and a juror feels it was missed the image can be called back for further review. We are all charged with doing the absolute best for our makers while still protecting the value of the Merit which is the basis for earning the imaging degrees of Master of Photography and Master Artist.
By the way PPA members are invited and encourages to watch the process live. The event is held just outside Atlanta.
The address for streaming the event is http://stream.theipc.org
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Competition Judging Live Stream
- Monday, Aug. 3, 8: 15am-6pm
- Tuesday, Aug. 4, 12:15-9pm
- Wednesday, Aug. 5, 9:15am-6pm
- Thursday, Aug. 6, 8:15am-6pm
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IPC Live with Booray Perry
- 11am & 2pm
- 2pm & 6pm
- 11am & 2pm
- 11am & 2pm
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Here’s one of my images that was accepted into PPA’s Loan Collection last year. Here’s a link to all eight images that either were awarded a Merit or Loan Collection status.
by successfulbob | architectural photography, commercial photography, Lumix GH4, Lumix Lounge, photography
Had another shoot at the Phoenix Airport Hilton Hotel. This time the lobby, Rimrock Bar and Grill, the executive lounge and a few other images for marketing the property were the targets. They just had an eight million dollar makeover and it really brought the property up to snuff. rooms are updated along with lobby. A very clean look with new colors and an open look.
The lobby has a new wide open look.
Here is the new look of Rimrock Bar and Grill.
The Executive Lounge received a redo as well. Love this table the wood is beautiful!
Having the ability to bracket exposures by up to seven stops with the Lumix GH4 with one setting on the camera makes getting the lighting for the various areas of the rooms to be harmonious as we are usually working with lighting from windows, added lighting from flash and then taking more images to blend together to control reflections on reflective surfaces. One of my favorite lenses for architectural work is the 7-14mm f4 Lumix Vario lens. Wide field of view and no barrel distortion.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – Using links to Amazon through this site help support the education provided. TIA
by successfulbob | architectural photography, black & white, graphic design, Lumix FZ 1000, Lumix Lounge, photography education
Wizard Academy in Austin Texas is a place of creative learning, whimsy and full of visual delight! I was there last week and enjoyed working and learning in this target rich environment!
Detail from a metal sculpture near Engelbrecht House on the Wizard Academy campus.
Spiral staircase from the Library down to the presentation room in the Tower at Wizard Academy
Detail from a Don Quixote carving in the lower art gallery in the Tower.
The Wizard Academy has an extensive collection of art devoted to the Don. Paintings, lithographs, metal and wood sculptures in all shapes sizes and mediums of which you might think. Think adventures, tilting at windmills and all that entails. It is definitely not a place for those who are traditional thinkers! It makes you stretch…
Images captured with the Lumix FZ 1000
by successfulbob | architectural photography, fine art photography, graphic design, Lumix FZ 1000, Lumix Lounge, photography, photography education, photography seminar
Exercise.
Makes you stronger.
Exercise makes you better.
Exercise doesn’t have to physical to be helpful to you.
As part of a workshop I conducted for the Photographic Society in Chattanooga, Tennessee we all went down to the aquarium and waterfront area downtown to begin the day. I shared ideas I have about gathering textures for the ‘Photo-Synthsis’ technique I teach. The exercise was to gather textures and subject matter to work with later in the day. There was one mandatory subject, the Market Street Bridge. After heading to our computers we all were tasked with creating an image of the bridge. It proves once again that you can give multiple photographers the same subject to work with and come out with a variety of finished images. Here’s a few the class shared with me.
This was by Mickey Rountree. If you would like to see more of Mickey’s work which contains, as he says, lots of HDR and pin up art. (I saw some of Mickey’s work and it’s definitely worth a look. Some very stylized interesting techniques) Go here. © 2015 Mickey Rountree
“Bob, I thoroughly enjoyed both days (of instruction) and have enough new ideas that it will take weeks to play around with and learn the techniques well. You are a great teacher; knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and yet easy going and approachable. Hope you enjoyed your time in Chattanooga.” Mickey
This one is by Myra Reneau. © 2015 Myra Reneau
“Thanks Bob for a great workshop both days this weekend. I especially liked today. Thanks for your help in working on my selections (as well as well as everything else). Anyway, safe travels! I am looking forward to learning more. Thanks again,” Myra Reneau
By Rosemary Jardine. In addition to using the textures and techniques we talked about in the class I enjoyed Rosemary’s
composition and framing of the secondary bridge. © 2015 Rosemary Jardine
“Thanks for the compliment using my work on your blog! I shared the link on my facebook page. Here is my finished project from the workshop yesterday. I finished this up with a layer that I painted some highlights on the water canons as well as a warming mask. Thank you once again for coming to our area and sharing your knowledge with us. most of my current skill came from the internet, tutorials and so forth. It was a blessing to have the personal training. You have given me the desire and skills needed to proceed forward with my passion for fine art photography. I can hope to one day produce they quality of work you, yourself are doing. That is if I have enough years left in my life, although I do consider myself a fast learner. I also want to let you know your slide show is perfect, the music suits it so well!” Sincerely, Rosemary Jardine
© 2015 Bob Coates
I used the Lumix FZ 1000 to have a complete zoom range to vary my captures. Able to go wide for scenes and also able to get close-ups of various textures. A handy camera to work with indeed! Here is my Market Street Bridge rendition…
Four photographers. Four images with a totally different feel. Have I told you lately that I love photography!
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | architectural photography, commercial photography, Lumix GH4, Lumix Lounge, photography, photography gear, photography lighting resources
Had a full day shoot for the Phoenix Airport Hilton. They are going through an $8M renovation with a complete redo of all the rooms and an update on all the common areas in the hotel. They have asked me to photograph the changes. This is the second shoot and we are planning another two day shoot once the lobby and and a few other areas of renovation are completed.
Here are a few from the shoot…
Arizona King room photo at Hilton Phoenix Airport Hotel
Double Queen Room
Junior Suite Room
Images were captured with the Lumix GH4 using multiple exposures to capture the full range of tones from the deepest shadows to the view outside the windows. A handy tool is the on-board WIFI which allowed me to control the camera from the Panasonic App. Not touching the camera makes layering the multiple exposures more accurate because even when your camera is locked down on a tripod any touch of the camera can cause the images to not be in perfect registration.
When photographing for Hilton properties they have guidelines that include no curtains being closed in the room photos. I use a variety of techniques adding some light to the original capture and blending the various exposures using masks in Adobe Photoshop. For those who haven’t already made the upgrade to Photoshop CC 2014 here is a link to $9.99 per month Photoshop and Lightroom)
Sometimes you just want to add a little kick off light to a small area to bring out some detail and the small Fiilex P100 LED light comes in handy. It has the ability to adjust color temperature which is important in mixed lighting situations when working in rooms with natural light coming through the windows and the light from the light fixtures. (order fiilex light here)
Here’s a tip to save you some time in post production. Replace lights in lamps and ceiling fixtures with 15 watt bulbs. This will allow the lamps to read as lit but not give you blown out areas in your captures. It makes a huge difference in the amount of time in post.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | architectural photography, black & white, fine art photography, Lumix GX7, photography, photography education
Camera presets.
Never used them with any success before getting into the micro 4/3rds system with Panasonic Lumix cameras. I’m out on holiday in Santa Fe, New Mexico and putting the Lumix GX7 through it’s paces. One of my favorite presets is Illustrative Art. But, with a tweak. Turning it to black and white. It leads to a high contrast image with a bit of a glow on the highest contrast areas. Here take a look at these images…
Copper tanks at the Blue Corn Cafe & Brewery Restaurant in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Copper tank handle detail. Love the shape and form that comes forward using this technique.
Downtown Santa Fe door and wall with wall. Textures galore!
One thing to remember when using in-camera presets is to save images as a jpeg. I usually shoot in RAW plus jpeg so I can have the best of both worlds. If you only save in RAW you will see the processed black and white image on the back of your camera and upon download momentarily on your computer as the viewing jpeg info is stripped away leaving you only the RAW information.
Travel is a great way to get the creative juices flowing… When and where is your next road trip?
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
