Re: aiki photography, or "yeah, I meant to do that".
The first one is the best, IMHO. A few others may also survive... Bulent - http://www.flickr.com/photos/bc_the_path/ http://photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=2226822 http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/bulentcelasun 2011/6/14 Larry Colen : > Yesterday, a friend of mine tested for second degree black belt in aikido. > As long as I was there, I took photos of the two belt tests. > > It was a very challenging venue to photograph, as sunlight from the two > skylights hit the wall, and some of the mat behind the action. There was one > spot, where I could shoot from the side, and avoid the patches of light, but > then I wasn't sitting with the other students, and I was worried the sensei > wouldn't call on me to participate in my friend's test. As it turns out, the > sensei was so focused on the test, he forgot that I was there and only called > members of the dojo. > > In any event, I did my best to work around shooting into the light, as well > as trying various exposures, whether it was way underexposing on the people > so as to reduce overexposure in the hot spots, or just exposing for the > people, bright background be damned. > > In retrospect, when I processed the photos, I practiced the principles of > aikido and rather than trying to fight the hot spots, I went with them, often > using the dodge tool to white out large expanses of the background to meld > with the blown out sections. In one case I went for extreme contrast, blowing > out everything light, or in the background, and bringing the people full > dark. Just out of a sense of perversity, I did my best to maintain the blue > of the mat, so that the only color in the photo, is something that's almost > irrelevant to the action. > > The result of my thrash to deal with the horrid lighting was the sensei > posting this comment to my facebook post of the link to the pictures: > > "Your work is amazing! I love your photos of the test, including the effects > that emerged when you shot into the sunlight on the wall. These are some of > my favorite aikido photos ever, and I'm really looking forward to posting > some of them on the website." > > So, it's funny how you can make the best of a bad situation, and if you don't > mention that it wasn't what you meant to do all along, rather than being > complimented for making the results not suck too bad, someone can be really > impressed and think that you're a creative genius. > > I wasn't going to post the set, because with all of the technical > difficulties I had, I wasn't really please with any of the shots, but since I > was so amused by Nick's reaction > > http://www.flickriver.com/photos/ellarsee/sets/72157626831857291/ > > -- > Larry Colen l...@red4est.com sent from i4est > > > > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > PDML@pdml.net > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. > -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: aiki photography, or "yeah, I meant to do that".
On 6/14/2011 21:15, Larry Colen wrote: Thank you. I shot a stupid huge number of photos, because you can't really tell a lot of those things when the action is happening, then went through and sorted them down by a factor of 10, then the sensei sorted them down by a factor of 6 after that. So these basically represent a one in 60 keeper ratio. I suspect that I'm not getting better at taking pictures, just at throwing them away. We had this discussion earlier, Larry. I am coming to think that whatever "rocks your boat" is fine. Presently, you have shown that you have mastered your own technique be it aikido or photography... There's definitely as much art in processing the photos as in taking them. I tend not to favor photos that look overprocessed, so there's some trick to doing the processing in a way that doesn't look like any has been done at all. There's probably some correlation between processing a photo and a woman wearing makeup. Some people think that if it's obvious it looks trashy, and other people like that trashy look. I agree with you. Adds yet another reason for me to insist that I am not a professional photog like a number of people around me keep claiming. I don't dwell too much in processing. Yet, like you I don't quite like over-processed photographs, with certain exceptions of course. Boris -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: aiki photography, or "yeah, I meant to do that".
On Wed, Jun 15, 2011 at 12:23 PM, Larry Colen wrote: > > > Very cool, if I ever make it to the Philippines it's nice to know I'd have a > place to train. > > It seems that every dojo uses a different color scheme for belts, so I'm not > sure what rank that translates to. > Great, drop by soon! Yellow comes after white here... -- Bong Manayon http://www.bong.uni.cc -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: aiki photography, or "yeah, I meant to do that".
On Jun 14, 2011, at 3:32 PM, Bong Manayon wrote: > On Wed, Jun 15, 2011 at 2:15 AM, Larry Colen wrote: >> >> >> Also thanks to Paul, Steven, Sam, Charles, Christine and Bong. >> >> Bong, what art does your son study? >> >> This dojo is in a space that is used for several things, aikido, iado, >> aerial gymnastics, and I expect "regular" dance: >> http://studio12flys.org >> > > Aikido. He now has a yellow belt. Very cool, if I ever make it to the Philippines it's nice to know I'd have a place to train. It seems that every dojo uses a different color scheme for belts, so I'm not sure what rank that translates to. > > -- > Bong Manayon > http://www.bong.uni.cc > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > PDML@pdml.net > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. -- Larry Colen l...@red4est.com sent from i4est -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: aiki photography, or "yeah, I meant to do that".
On Jun 14, 2011, at 3:03 PM, Christine Nielsen wrote: > Well done, Larry. I really like the first two, and the silhouetted > shot. The simpler backgrounds really enhance the photos, I think, and > it's hard in those environments to get an uncluttered look. I've > encountered the same issues -- cluttered background, poor light, fast > action -- at my daughter's gymnastics meets this year, and it's tough. > The action is where it is, and often it's hard to move around for a > better vantage point, if there even is one. Nice work. > :) Thank you very much > -c > > > On Tue, Jun 14, 2011 at 4:16 AM, Larry Colen wrote: >> Yesterday, a friend of mine tested for second degree black belt in aikido. >> As long as I was there, I took photos of the two belt tests. >> >> It was a very challenging venue to photograph, as sunlight from the two >> skylights hit the wall, and some of the mat behind the action. There was >> one spot, where I could shoot from the side, and avoid the patches of light, >> but then I wasn't sitting with the other students, and I was worried the >> sensei wouldn't call on me to participate in my friend's test. As it turns >> out, the sensei was so focused on the test, he forgot that I was there and >> only called members of the dojo. >> >> In any event, I did my best to work around shooting into the light, as well >> as trying various exposures, whether it was way underexposing on the people >> so as to reduce overexposure in the hot spots, or just exposing for the >> people, bright background be damned. >> >> In retrospect, when I processed the photos, I practiced the principles of >> aikido and rather than trying to fight the hot spots, I went with them, >> often using the dodge tool to white out large expanses of the background to >> meld with the blown out sections. In one case I went for extreme contrast, >> blowing out everything light, or in the background, and bringing the people >> full dark. Just out of a sense of perversity, I did my best to maintain the >> blue of the mat, so that the only color in the photo, is something that's >> almost irrelevant to the action. >> >> The result of my thrash to deal with the horrid lighting was the sensei >> posting this comment to my facebook post of the link to the pictures: >> >> "Your work is amazing! I love your photos of the test, including the effects >> that emerged when you shot into the sunlight on the wall. These are some of >> my favorite aikido photos ever, and I'm really looking forward to posting >> some of them on the website." >> >> So, it's funny how you can make the best of a bad situation, and if you >> don't mention that it wasn't what you meant to do all along, rather than >> being complimented for making the results not suck too bad, someone can be >> really impressed and think that you're a creative genius. >> >> I wasn't going to post the set, because with all of the technical >> difficulties I had, I wasn't really please with any of the shots, but since >> I was so amused by Nick's reaction >> >> http://www.flickriver.com/photos/ellarsee/sets/72157626831857291/ >> >> -- >> Larry Colen l...@red4est.com sent from i4est >> >> >> >> >> >> -- >> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >> PDML@pdml.net >> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >> follow the directions. >> > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > PDML@pdml.net > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. -- Larry Colen l...@red4est.com sent from i4est -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: aiki photography, or "yeah, I meant to do that".
On Wed, Jun 15, 2011 at 2:15 AM, Larry Colen wrote: > > > Also thanks to Paul, Steven, Sam, Charles, Christine and Bong. > > Bong, what art does your son study? > > This dojo is in a space that is used for several things, aikido, iado, aerial > gymnastics, and I expect "regular" dance: > http://studio12flys.org > Aikido. He now has a yellow belt. -- Bong Manayon http://www.bong.uni.cc -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: aiki photography, or "yeah, I meant to do that".
Well done, Larry. I really like the first two, and the silhouetted shot. The simpler backgrounds really enhance the photos, I think, and it's hard in those environments to get an uncluttered look. I've encountered the same issues -- cluttered background, poor light, fast action -- at my daughter's gymnastics meets this year, and it's tough. The action is where it is, and often it's hard to move around for a better vantage point, if there even is one. Nice work. :) -c On Tue, Jun 14, 2011 at 4:16 AM, Larry Colen wrote: > Yesterday, a friend of mine tested for second degree black belt in aikido. > As long as I was there, I took photos of the two belt tests. > > It was a very challenging venue to photograph, as sunlight from the two > skylights hit the wall, and some of the mat behind the action. There was one > spot, where I could shoot from the side, and avoid the patches of light, but > then I wasn't sitting with the other students, and I was worried the sensei > wouldn't call on me to participate in my friend's test. As it turns out, the > sensei was so focused on the test, he forgot that I was there and only called > members of the dojo. > > In any event, I did my best to work around shooting into the light, as well > as trying various exposures, whether it was way underexposing on the people > so as to reduce overexposure in the hot spots, or just exposing for the > people, bright background be damned. > > In retrospect, when I processed the photos, I practiced the principles of > aikido and rather than trying to fight the hot spots, I went with them, often > using the dodge tool to white out large expanses of the background to meld > with the blown out sections. In one case I went for extreme contrast, blowing > out everything light, or in the background, and bringing the people full > dark. Just out of a sense of perversity, I did my best to maintain the blue > of the mat, so that the only color in the photo, is something that's almost > irrelevant to the action. > > The result of my thrash to deal with the horrid lighting was the sensei > posting this comment to my facebook post of the link to the pictures: > > "Your work is amazing! I love your photos of the test, including the effects > that emerged when you shot into the sunlight on the wall. These are some of > my favorite aikido photos ever, and I'm really looking forward to posting > some of them on the website." > > So, it's funny how you can make the best of a bad situation, and if you don't > mention that it wasn't what you meant to do all along, rather than being > complimented for making the results not suck too bad, someone can be really > impressed and think that you're a creative genius. > > I wasn't going to post the set, because with all of the technical > difficulties I had, I wasn't really please with any of the shots, but since I > was so amused by Nick's reaction > > http://www.flickriver.com/photos/ellarsee/sets/72157626831857291/ > > -- > Larry Colen l...@red4est.com sent from i4est > > > > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > PDML@pdml.net > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. > -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: aiki photography, or "yeah, I meant to do that".
Looks like you made the best of the situation. Kenneth Waller http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/kennethwaller - Original Message - From: "Larry Colen" Subject: aiki photography, or "yeah, I meant to do that". Yesterday, a friend of mine tested for second degree black belt in aikido. As long as I was there, I took photos of the two belt tests. It was a very challenging venue to photograph, as sunlight from the two skylights hit the wall, and some of the mat behind the action. There was one spot, where I could shoot from the side, and avoid the patches of light, but then I wasn't sitting with the other students, and I was worried the sensei wouldn't call on me to participate in my friend's test. As it turns out, the sensei was so focused on the test, he forgot that I was there and only called members of the dojo. In any event, I did my best to work around shooting into the light, as well as trying various exposures, whether it was way underexposing on the people so as to reduce overexposure in the hot spots, or just exposing for the people, bright background be damned. In retrospect, when I processed the photos, I practiced the principles of aikido and rather than trying to fight the hot spots, I went with them, often using the dodge tool to white out large expanses of the background to meld with the blown out sections. In one case I went for extreme contrast, blowing out everything light, or in the background, and bringing the people full dark. Just out of a sense of perversity, I did my best to maintain the blue of the mat, so that the only color in the photo, is something that's almost irrelevant to the action. The result of my thrash to deal with the horrid lighting was the sensei posting this comment to my facebook post of the link to the pictures: "Your work is amazing! I love your photos of the test, including the effects that emerged when you shot into the sunlight on the wall. These are some of my favorite aikido photos ever, and I'm really looking forward to posting some of them on the website." So, it's funny how you can make the best of a bad situation, and if you don't mention that it wasn't what you meant to do all along, rather than being complimented for making the results not suck too bad, someone can be really impressed and think that you're a creative genius. I wasn't going to post the set, because with all of the technical difficulties I had, I wasn't really please with any of the shots, but since I was so amused by Nick's reaction http://www.flickriver.com/photos/ellarsee/sets/72157626831857291/ -- Larry Colen l...@red4est.com sent from i4est -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: aiki photography, or "yeah, I meant to do that".
On Jun 14, 2011, at 12:39 PM, Sam L wrote: > on Tue, Jun 14, 2011 at 2:15 PM, Larry Colen wrote: >> >> In my home dojo, I find that it is often much easier to photograph at night, >> despite there being less light because the pools of light, while they >> sometimes add a nice effect, usually just blow out small sections of the >> photo. I ended up not pulling out my K-x at all, but my feeling is that any >> camera with less dynamic range than the K-5 would not have worked nearly so >> well. I had to significantly boost the shadows to the point of seeing a >> fair amount of noise, even at ISO 250 or lower. I used a fair amount of >> LR3's noise reduction on several of the photos. > > Silly followup question: did you shoot in raw or jpeg? Always raw. I lost some shots from burning man last year because I didn't notice that my camera had come back from repairs set to jpeg. Gr. > > (I expect your answer is raw and I forget if you've already told the > list this detail) > > --- > Sam > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > PDML@pdml.net > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. -- Larry Colen l...@red4est.com sent from i4est -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: aiki photography, or "yeah, I meant to do that".
on Tue, Jun 14, 2011 at 2:15 PM, Larry Colen wrote: > > In my home dojo, I find that it is often much easier to photograph at night, > despite there being less light because the pools of light, while they > sometimes add a nice effect, usually just blow out small sections of the > photo. I ended up not pulling out my K-x at all, but my feeling is that any > camera with less dynamic range than the K-5 would not have worked nearly so > well. I had to significantly boost the shadows to the point of seeing a fair > amount of noise, even at ISO 250 or lower. I used a fair amount of LR3's > noise reduction on several of the photos. Silly followup question: did you shoot in raw or jpeg? (I expect your answer is raw and I forget if you've already told the list this detail) --- Sam -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: aiki photography, or "yeah, I meant to do that".
On Jun 14, 2011, at 3:42 AM, Boris Liberman wrote: > On 6/14/2011 11:16, Larry Colen wrote: >> The result of my thrash to deal with the horrid lighting was the >> sensei posting this comment to my facebook post of the link to the >> pictures: >> >> "Your work is amazing! I love your photos of the test, including the >> effects that emerged when you shot into the sunlight on the wall. >> These are some of my favorite aikido photos ever, and I'm really >> looking forward to posting some of them on the website." >> ... >> http://www.flickriver.com/photos/ellarsee/sets/72157626831857291/ > > Larry, few points: > > * The 20110612-LRC11582.jpg is amazing. Thank you. That's the one that I promoted into my monthly favorites collection. > The 20110612-LRC11847-2.jpg is also quite excellent. The first shot of the > series is also very good. May be even the best of the whole series because of > the glasses of the non-Japanese fellow on the tatami and the fact that the > other guy on the back is reading something... The guy in the back is Nick Walker, the sensei, and he's probably looking at his list of what techniques Alex is to be tested on. > > * I am not practicing martial arts, but your photographs appear to have > excellent timing and they appear very diverse in subject. Different phases of > motions, different aspects of the contest, different facial expressions of > the participants. Thank you. I shot a stupid huge number of photos, because you can't really tell a lot of those things when the action is happening, then went through and sorted them down by a factor of 10, then the sensei sorted them down by a factor of 6 after that. So these basically represent a one in 60 keeper ratio. I suspect that I'm not getting better at taking pictures, just at throwing them away. > > * Someone from the list, whereas presently it seems to me it was Jostein, but > I might be wrong, once told me that the more you work on the picture the more > successful it may become. It seems exactly the case here. There's definitely as much art in processing the photos as in taking them. I tend not to favor photos that look overprocessed, so there's some trick to doing the processing in a way that doesn't look like any has been done at all. There's probably some correlation between processing a photo and a woman wearing makeup. Some people think that if it's obvious it looks trashy, and other people like that trashy look. > > So, very well done, my friend, very well indeed. Thank you very much. Also thanks to Paul, Steven, Sam, Charles, Christine and Bong. Bong, what art does your son study? This dojo is in a space that is used for several things, aikido, iado, aerial gymnastics, and I expect "regular" dance: http://studio12flys.org In my home dojo, I find that it is often much easier to photograph at night, despite there being less light because the pools of light, while they sometimes add a nice effect, usually just blow out small sections of the photo. I ended up not pulling out my K-x at all, but my feeling is that any camera with less dynamic range than the K-5 would not have worked nearly so well. I had to significantly boost the shadows to the point of seeing a fair amount of noise, even at ISO 250 or lower. I used a fair amount of LR3's noise reduction on several of the photos. > > Boris > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > PDML@pdml.net > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. -- Larry Colen l...@red4est.com sent from i4est -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: aiki photography, or "yeah, I meant to do that".
I envy you. My son is in a dojo that is windowless and has lousy lighting. Your photos are great! Bong On Tue, Jun 14, 2011 at 4:16 PM, Larry Colen wrote: > Yesterday, a friend of mine tested for second degree black belt in aikido. > As long as I was there, I took photos of the two belt tests. > > It was a very challenging venue to photograph, as sunlight from the two > skylights hit the wall, and some of the mat behind the action. There was one > spot, where I could shoot from the side, and avoid the patches of light, but > then I wasn't sitting with the other students, and I was worried the sensei > wouldn't call on me to participate in my friend's test. As it turns out, the > sensei was so focused on the test, he forgot that I was there and only called > members of the dojo. > > In any event, I did my best to work around shooting into the light, as well > as trying various exposures, whether it was way underexposing on the people > so as to reduce overexposure in the hot spots, or just exposing for the > people, bright background be damned. > > In retrospect, when I processed the photos, I practiced the principles of > aikido and rather than trying to fight the hot spots, I went with them, often > using the dodge tool to white out large expanses of the background to meld > with the blown out sections. In one case I went for extreme contrast, blowing > out everything light, or in the background, and bringing the people full > dark. Just out of a sense of perversity, I did my best to maintain the blue > of the mat, so that the only color in the photo, is something that's almost > irrelevant to the action. > > The result of my thrash to deal with the horrid lighting was the sensei > posting this comment to my facebook post of the link to the pictures: > > "Your work is amazing! I love your photos of the test, including the effects > that emerged when you shot into the sunlight on the wall. These are some of > my favorite aikido photos ever, and I'm really looking forward to posting > some of them on the website." > > So, it's funny how you can make the best of a bad situation, and if you don't > mention that it wasn't what you meant to do all along, rather than being > complimented for making the results not suck too bad, someone can be really > impressed and think that you're a creative genius. > > I wasn't going to post the set, because with all of the technical > difficulties I had, I wasn't really please with any of the shots, but since I > was so amused by Nick's reaction > > http://www.flickriver.com/photos/ellarsee/sets/72157626831857291/ > > -- > Larry Colen l...@red4est.com sent from i4est > > > > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > PDML@pdml.net > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. > -- Bong Manayon http://www.bong.uni.cc -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: aiki photography, or "yeah, I meant to do that".
On Tue, Jun 14, 2011 at 6:36 AM, Paul Stenquist wrote: > I like them, especially the brightly backlit shots. Well done. > Paul Same here. Good motion/action blur. Dave -- Documenting Life in Rural Ontario. www.caughtinmotion.com http://brooksinthecountry.blogspot.com/ York Region, Ontario, Canada -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: aiki photography, or "yeah, I meant to do that".
Larry--these are great! Nice work! Cheers, Christine - Original Message - From: "Larry Colen" To: "Pentax-Discuss Mail List" Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2011 3:16 AM Subject: aiki photography, or "yeah, I meant to do that". Yesterday, a friend of mine tested for second degree black belt in aikido. As long as I was there, I took photos of the two belt tests. It was a very challenging venue to photograph, as sunlight from the two skylights hit the wall, and some of the mat behind the action. There was one spot, where I could shoot from the side, and avoid the patches of light, but then I wasn't sitting with the other students, and I was worried the sensei wouldn't call on me to participate in my friend's test. As it turns out, the sensei was so focused on the test, he forgot that I was there and only called members of the dojo. In any event, I did my best to work around shooting into the light, as well as trying various exposures, whether it was way underexposing on the people so as to reduce overexposure in the hot spots, or just exposing for the people, bright background be damned. In retrospect, when I processed the photos, I practiced the principles of aikido and rather than trying to fight the hot spots, I went with them, often using the dodge tool to white out large expanses of the background to meld with the blown out sections. In one case I went for extreme contrast, blowing out everything light, or in the background, and bringing the people full dark. Just out of a sense of perversity, I did my best to maintain the blue of the mat, so that the only color in the photo, is something that's almost irrelevant to the action. The result of my thrash to deal with the horrid lighting was the sensei posting this comment to my facebook post of the link to the pictures: "Your work is amazing! I love your photos of the test, including the effects that emerged when you shot into the sunlight on the wall. These are some of my favorite aikido photos ever, and I'm really looking forward to posting some of them on the website." So, it's funny how you can make the best of a bad situation, and if you don't mention that it wasn't what you meant to do all along, rather than being complimented for making the results not suck too bad, someone can be really impressed and think that you're a creative genius. I wasn't going to post the set, because with all of the technical difficulties I had, I wasn't really please with any of the shots, but since I was so amused by Nick's reaction http://www.flickriver.com/photos/ellarsee/sets/72157626831857291/ -- Larry Colen l...@red4est.com sent from i4est -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: aiki photography, or "yeah, I meant to do that".
On Jun 14, 2011, at 3:16, Larry Colen wrote: > > I wasn't going to post the set, because with all of the technical > difficulties I had, I wasn't really please with any of the shots, but since I > was so amused by Nick's reaction > > http://www.flickriver.com/photos/ellarsee/sets/72157626831857291/ > I think you did a great job here. I was expecting far cruddier-looking shots than what you got here. Clean colors, good action... well done! -Charles -- Charles Robinson - charl...@visi.com Minneapolis, MN http://charles.robinsontwins.org http://www.facebook.com/charles.robinson -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: aiki photography, or "yeah, I meant to do that".
On Tue, Jun 14, 2011 at 4:16 AM, Larry Colen wrote: > Yesterday, a friend of mine tested for second degree black belt in aikido. > As long as I was there, I took photos of the two belt tests. > > > http://www.flickriver.com/photos/ellarsee/sets/72157626831857291/ > -- > Larry Colen l...@red4est.com sent from i4est Larry, I think this is one of the best series of photos (dance / martial art) that you've posted here. I enjoyed it a lot. --- Sam -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: aiki photography, or "yeah, I meant to do that".
Good action shots. The silhouette is excellent. On Tue, Jun 14, 2011 at 4:16 AM, Larry Colen wrote: > Yesterday, a friend of mine tested for second degree black belt in aikido. > As long as I was there, I took photos of the two belt tests. > > It was a very challenging venue to photograph, as sunlight from the two > skylights hit the wall, and some of the mat behind the action. There was one > spot, where I could shoot from the side, and avoid the patches of light, but > then I wasn't sitting with the other students, and I was worried the sensei > wouldn't call on me to participate in my friend's test. As it turns out, the > sensei was so focused on the test, he forgot that I was there and only called > members of the dojo. > > In any event, I did my best to work around shooting into the light, as well > as trying various exposures, whether it was way underexposing on the people > so as to reduce overexposure in the hot spots, or just exposing for the > people, bright background be damned. > > In retrospect, when I processed the photos, I practiced the principles of > aikido and rather than trying to fight the hot spots, I went with them, often > using the dodge tool to white out large expanses of the background to meld > with the blown out sections. In one case I went for extreme contrast, blowing > out everything light, or in the background, and bringing the people full > dark. Just out of a sense of perversity, I did my best to maintain the blue > of the mat, so that the only color in the photo, is something that's almost > irrelevant to the action. > > The result of my thrash to deal with the horrid lighting was the sensei > posting this comment to my facebook post of the link to the pictures: > > "Your work is amazing! I love your photos of the test, including the effects > that emerged when you shot into the sunlight on the wall. These are some of > my favorite aikido photos ever, and I'm really looking forward to posting > some of them on the website." > > So, it's funny how you can make the best of a bad situation, and if you don't > mention that it wasn't what you meant to do all along, rather than being > complimented for making the results not suck too bad, someone can be really > impressed and think that you're a creative genius. > > I wasn't going to post the set, because with all of the technical > difficulties I had, I wasn't really please with any of the shots, but since I > was so amused by Nick's reaction > > http://www.flickriver.com/photos/ellarsee/sets/72157626831857291/ > > -- > Larry Colen l...@red4est.com sent from i4est > > > > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > PDML@pdml.net > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. > -- Steve Desjardins -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: aiki photography, or "yeah, I meant to do that".
On 6/14/2011 11:16, Larry Colen wrote: The result of my thrash to deal with the horrid lighting was the sensei posting this comment to my facebook post of the link to the pictures: "Your work is amazing! I love your photos of the test, including the effects that emerged when you shot into the sunlight on the wall. These are some of my favorite aikido photos ever, and I'm really looking forward to posting some of them on the website." ... http://www.flickriver.com/photos/ellarsee/sets/72157626831857291/ Larry, few points: * The 20110612-LRC11582.jpg is amazing. The 20110612-LRC11847-2.jpg is also quite excellent. The first shot of the series is also very good. May be even the best of the whole series because of the glasses of the non-Japanese fellow on the tatami and the fact that the other guy on the back is reading something... * I am not practicing martial arts, but your photographs appear to have excellent timing and they appear very diverse in subject. Different phases of motions, different aspects of the contest, different facial expressions of the participants. * Someone from the list, whereas presently it seems to me it was Jostein, but I might be wrong, once told me that the more you work on the picture the more successful it may become. It seems exactly the case here. So, very well done, my friend, very well indeed. Boris -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: aiki photography, or "yeah, I meant to do that".
I like them, especially the brightly backlit shots. Well done. Paul On Jun 14, 2011, at 4:16 AM, Larry Colen wrote: > Yesterday, a friend of mine tested for second degree black belt in aikido. > As long as I was there, I took photos of the two belt tests. > > It was a very challenging venue to photograph, as sunlight from the two > skylights hit the wall, and some of the mat behind the action. There was one > spot, where I could shoot from the side, and avoid the patches of light, but > then I wasn't sitting with the other students, and I was worried the sensei > wouldn't call on me to participate in my friend's test. As it turns out, the > sensei was so focused on the test, he forgot that I was there and only called > members of the dojo. > > In any event, I did my best to work around shooting into the light, as well > as trying various exposures, whether it was way underexposing on the people > so as to reduce overexposure in the hot spots, or just exposing for the > people, bright background be damned. > > In retrospect, when I processed the photos, I practiced the principles of > aikido and rather than trying to fight the hot spots, I went with them, often > using the dodge tool to white out large expanses of the background to meld > with the blown out sections. In one case I went for extreme contrast, blowing > out everything light, or in the background, and bringing the people full > dark. Just out of a sense of perversity, I did my best to maintain the blue > of the mat, so that the only color in the photo, is something that's almost > irrelevant to the action. > > The result of my thrash to deal with the horrid lighting was the sensei > posting this comment to my facebook post of the link to the pictures: > > "Your work is amazing! I love your photos of the test, including the effects > that emerged when you shot into the sunlight on the wall. These are some of > my favorite aikido photos ever, and I'm really looking forward to posting > some of them on the website." > > So, it's funny how you can make the best of a bad situation, and if you don't > mention that it wasn't what you meant to do all along, rather than being > complimented for making the results not suck too bad, someone can be really > impressed and think that you're a creative genius. > > I wasn't going to post the set, because with all of the technical > difficulties I had, I wasn't really please with any of the shots, but since I > was so amused by Nick's reaction > > http://www.flickriver.com/photos/ellarsee/sets/72157626831857291/ > > -- > Larry Colen l...@red4est.com sent from i4est > > > > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > PDML@pdml.net > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
aiki photography, or "yeah, I meant to do that".
Yesterday, a friend of mine tested for second degree black belt in aikido. As long as I was there, I took photos of the two belt tests. It was a very challenging venue to photograph, as sunlight from the two skylights hit the wall, and some of the mat behind the action. There was one spot, where I could shoot from the side, and avoid the patches of light, but then I wasn't sitting with the other students, and I was worried the sensei wouldn't call on me to participate in my friend's test. As it turns out, the sensei was so focused on the test, he forgot that I was there and only called members of the dojo. In any event, I did my best to work around shooting into the light, as well as trying various exposures, whether it was way underexposing on the people so as to reduce overexposure in the hot spots, or just exposing for the people, bright background be damned. In retrospect, when I processed the photos, I practiced the principles of aikido and rather than trying to fight the hot spots, I went with them, often using the dodge tool to white out large expanses of the background to meld with the blown out sections. In one case I went for extreme contrast, blowing out everything light, or in the background, and bringing the people full dark. Just out of a sense of perversity, I did my best to maintain the blue of the mat, so that the only color in the photo, is something that's almost irrelevant to the action. The result of my thrash to deal with the horrid lighting was the sensei posting this comment to my facebook post of the link to the pictures: "Your work is amazing! I love your photos of the test, including the effects that emerged when you shot into the sunlight on the wall. These are some of my favorite aikido photos ever, and I'm really looking forward to posting some of them on the website." So, it's funny how you can make the best of a bad situation, and if you don't mention that it wasn't what you meant to do all along, rather than being complimented for making the results not suck too bad, someone can be really impressed and think that you're a creative genius. I wasn't going to post the set, because with all of the technical difficulties I had, I wasn't really please with any of the shots, but since I was so amused by Nick's reaction http://www.flickriver.com/photos/ellarsee/sets/72157626831857291/ -- Larry Colen l...@red4est.com sent from i4est -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
