This is a tricky one! I can’t tell you anything about this photographer, other than their name. I don’t know if they are male or female, what nationality, age – nothing!
What I can tell you is that this photographer has a real talent. The photographs have a deep, rich quality and they are beautifully and thoughtfully composed. Each image is a story which immediately absorbs you.
Stunning. Someone, please tell me more!
Matt Stuart describes himself as a “street photographer”. He has a wonderful talent for spotting and capturing people inadvertently interacting with their surroundings. Some of his images are quite surreal, many are amusing and most are thought-provoking.
I personally like his black & white work the best. I don’t know if he works with film or digital, but his black & white images have that fabulous look of perfectly exposed film, expertly printed onto Ilford paper.
I’m going to have to find out more about this photographer. I thoroughly recommend a visit to Matt’s website, although you will need to have Flash installed first.
I got talking to my mate Jason the other day, about our kids and how they handle a digital camera. We both commented how, in spite of being only five years old, they have both surprised us by taking interesting photos with a simple point-and-shoot camera, seemingly without any real effort.
It occurred to me that it isn’t actually in spite of being only five, but precisely because they are only five that they are doing this. Nobody has taught them how to compose a picture; they simply look at the little screen on the back of the camera and when they like what they see, they fire the shutter. Okay, so I realize the picture above is not about to set the art world on fire. My point is not that our five-year-olds are brilliant photographers, but that they have a brilliant attitude towards photography.
Of course, my son has plenty to learn about the technicalities such as exposure and focus, but he can learn that when he is ready. For the moment at least, he can let the technology take care of all that while he concentrates on looking for things to photograph.
Sometimes I think we tend to over-analyse what we do. Be a kid – if it looks good to you, take a chance and take a shot. Maybe you will capture something better than you were expecting. Maybe you will expand your horizons a little. Who knows?
The EOS Discovery Tour is a series of free seminars for European photographers. At the event youâ??ll get to meet other photographers, get advice from professionals and, best of all, try out Canonâ??s latest EOS kit.
The London event will be hosted by award winning London-based photographer Drew Gardner. Drew has travelled the world photographing fashion, group portraiture, celebrities and beautiful people on location. He teaches at a high profile photographic workshop every summer in Main, USA and has been published and exhibited all over the world.
The seminar is being held at the QEII Conference Centre in London and by all accounts should be a very interesting few hours.
Judging by the success of last yearâ??s seminars if youâ??d like to go youâ??ll need to register for your ticket pretty sharpish.
You can find out more at the EOS Discovery website.
Iâ??ve spent nearly an hour sat here, writing, deleting, writing again in an effort to come up with an interesting introduction to Lara Jade. The harder I try to write something complimentary about her work the harder it seems to get. You see itâ??s not that itâ??s bad, quite the contrary. Itâ??s because her photography is so good that I simply canâ??t find words to do it justice.
As the old saying goes, a picture speaks a thousand words so I think Iâ??ll just shut up and let her pictures do the talking.
Laraâ??s work is a testament to the fact that you donâ??t need top notch kit to create top notch photography. Check out her “About Me” page for details.
UPDATE: You can see more of Lara’s work on flickr
I think that the more you know about how your kit works the better able you are to use it to its full potential. For this very reason I like to really immerse myself in the technology side of my photographic kit. This month Iâ??ve been reading Understanding Digital Cameras by Jon Tarrant.
The book is aimed at all levels of photographer and as such covers everything from basic camera settings right through to an in-depth analysis of analogue technology versus digital. Itâ??s been put together to show you how to get â??the best image from capture to outputâ?ť.
If youâ??re a veteran there are certainly a few chapters youâ??ll be itching to skip, however if youâ??re new to digital photography youâ??ll find that even the really advanced content is written in a clear, straightforward way that makes it very easy to understand. As well as all the technology stuff, the book offers invaluable tips to help you with photographing all the usual subject matters (and a few unusual ones too) and gives you clear tuition in a wide range of photographic techniques.
The bookâ??s content is backed up with clear, easy to understand diagrams and what must be hundreds of photographs. Most usefully the author has included photographs that show what happens when you get things wrong, when you get things right and when you really nail the shot.
The only negative thing I can say about the book is that sometimes it goes into a little too much detail and can feel a bit too much like a text book. That being said, it is generally very well written and the information in the book is worth far more than the ÂŁ18.99 price tag.
If youâ??re a complete beginner you will find this book invaluable. If youâ??re a seasoned professional Iâ??m certain that youâ??ll find the technology side of the book fascinating. Either way, if this is the only photography book on your Christmas list this year, I donâ??t think youâ??ll be disappointed.
For further details, including the book’s contents list and a selection of pages that you can browse online see Understanding Digital Cameras on Amazon.
During a little surfing trip (I mean the Internet – I don’t do sea!) I tripped over this site and found it truly inspirational, so I thought I should share it. I confess I have never heard of Yann Arthus-Bertrand but I really feel I should have.
The shots from the air are stunning and I also love the study of French people. However, I really can’t do the photos justice with words – you need to go take a look. You will need Flash installed to view the site.
Update: Thank’s to Charlie’s comment I went searching and it turns out Yann has a series of books – Earth from Above, The New Earth from Above: 365 Days and Earth from the Air: 365 Days to name just three.
If you’re a regular visitor to The Decisive Moment you may have noticed that a few things around the site have changed today.
We’ve been thinking about how we can improve the site and as a result have made the following changes:
We hope that the changes really have improved the way you interact with the site. These things always involve a bit of trial and error and it’s only by listening to you, our readers, that we can tell if we’re getting things right. If you think we haven’t please let us know. If you think we have, still let us know. We love the praise!
Our aim is to create the best communal website for photographers. This is a continual process and with this in mind we are considering the following ideas for for future updates to the site:
By no means will all of these ideas happen right away. It may be that some of them are awful ideas. We’re just not sure yet. Again let us know what you think either by leaving a comment below or by using our enquiry form.
Right. That’s it for now. Back to writing about photography.
I was doing a bit of browsing – as you do – and came across the oldest example of a permanent photograph. If you click the image above youâ??ll get a large version to look at.
It was produced in 1826 by French inventor Joseph NicĂ©phore NiĂ©pce. The photo is called, “View from the Window at Le Gras” and took eight hours to expose.
It’s remarkable that not even two hundred years have passed and yet technology has advanced so much that we can now not only create images with thousands of times more detail but can go from pressing the shutter release to having a processed and printed image in seconds.
If youâ??d like to know more about the history of photography check out this great entry on Wikipedia.
Now I have to confess, I am one of those people who really meant to do something. Just been waiting for the right opportunity. Like backing up all those valuable and irreplaceable digital photos living on my computer’s hard drive.
Well, not so long ago, my hard drive actually did go bang and (in spite of calling in the help of a buddy who knows far more about the hardware side of PCs than I do) the files were completely lost. Included among those files were almost 4,000 pictures of my kids (4,000 in four years – I know, I know, it’s pathetic!) which, apart from a very small handful, had not been printed.
This is the nightmare all of us digital photographers fear and yet I’m willing to bet the vast majority of us do little about it. I was very lucky. About four months before the exploding hard drive, my wife’s uncle and aunt lost many of their most prized possessions in a house fire. The realization that I could so easily lose all photographic records of my kids since birth hit me like a wet kipper in the face; I rushed straight out and purchased an external USB hard drive, backed up all my photos and took the drive to my office.
Like I said, I was very lucky. Think about how much your photos (not just the digital ones) mean to you and do something about securing them. Backing up photos regularly takes a little thought and planning, but the alternative makes it worth the work.
I’m about to embark on a project to see if we can restore the photos which were damaged but rescued from the fire. I’m hoping I can clean up the older photos, or possibly scan them and digitally restore them. I’ll be writing an article about the experience, but if anyone can offer any advice I would be really grateful.
Black Rapid RS-W1 Women’s Strap 26th July 2010Black Rapid has designed a strap specifically for women, which provides comfort and speed of the R-Strap whilst adding a bit of elegance
BlackRapid FastenR-3 3rd June 2010The enhanced locking ridges on the FastenR-3’s underside ensure that solid connection between your camera and FastenR is strong, secure and confident.
“The Bernadottes in Black and White” at Nationalmuseum, Sweden 13th May 2010As part of Sweden’s Bernadotte Year, Nationalmuseum is presenting an exhibition of black-and-white portraits of the House of Bernadotte, from King Karl XIV Johan to the present royal family
Ricoh Announces Development of Two New Units for GXR Interchangeable Unit Camera System 6th April 2010The GXR is a revolutionary new interchangeable unit camera system in which lenses can be changed by mounting camera units that integrate lens, image sensor, and image processing engine into a single unit.
How to Pick Up Expert Lighting Technique Tutorials Free of Charge (Bowens Press Release) 5th February 2010“Once our customers have bought Bowens equipment they shouldn’t have to pay again to learn how to use it.” – Robert Cook, Bowens marketing director
Billingham Launch New f/stop Bags 3rd February 2010The new f/stop range embodies that unique combination of tradition and innovation – the hallmark of a Billingham camera bag. The latest addition to the range has been designed for those occasions when you want to travel light – but without compromise.
Review: Billingham 550 / 307 / 107 Bags 21st July 2009“I’m telling you, I really AM in love with this bag. It is so beautifully made and everything about it just shouts quality. Actually, that’s wrong, Billingham bags don’t shout; they speak up confidently with a strong and steady voice as befits a lady of breeding and class!”
“10 Ways to Improve Your Boudoir Photography Now” by Edward Verosky 13th May 2010“Boudoir might easily be classified as a subset of glamour photography. Both genres generally feature a female subject with an emphasis on sensual, sexy, and flirtatious looks and poses.”
Ricoh Announces Development of Two New Units for GXR Interchangeable Unit Camera System 6th April 2010The GXR is a revolutionary new interchangeable unit camera system in which lenses can be changed by mounting camera units that integrate lens, image sensor, and image processing engine into a single unit.
Lastolite Reflector Dish For RayD8 c5600 4th February 2010The existing RayD8 c5600 continuous lighting kit now features a new reflector dish assembly. To assist in shipping and storage of the kit a new extension tube allows the use of a more compact reflector.
Lastolite Black and White Ezycare Knitted Curtains 3rd February 2010The black or white curtains are available in two sizes 3m x 3.5m (10’ x 12’) and 3m x 7m (10’ x 24’) featuring a looped hem on the 3m edge to insert a pole for support.
Lastolite Sync Block for Remote Triggers 2nd February 2010Now I have to confess, I am one of those people who really meant to do something. Just been waiting for the right opportunity. Like backing up all those valuable and irreplaceable digital photos living on my computer’s hard drive. Well, not so long ago, my hard drive actually did go bang and (in spite [...]
