Welcome to our monthly news page packed with all the weird and wonderful things happening in the world of photography. Helping you stay on the photographic pulse!
It's also a great opportunity for you to get involved and make you opinion count. Email us with your ideas, views, photography tips etc.
As an award-winning writer and journalist, Helena Smith has always had an interest in photography and found an increasing desire to make it her career. To achieve her goal she took a Postgraduate Certificate in photography at Central Saint Martins College. Graduating just last year, Helena now works as a successful freelance portrait and travel photographer.
"I discovered the magic of studio lighting and portraiture"
She even has own solo exhibition currently showing at the Curzon Soho cinema. Helena says "Leaving my desk job at Rough Guides was a big leap for me, but I stayed in touch with the company and relaunched myself as a travel photographer.
Image by Helena Smith
At college I discovered the magic of studio lighting and portraiture and began my cinema stills project. I always hoped to show the images in a cinema, and now the Curzon Soho has provided me with my ideal venue."
Helena’s exhibition of cinema style stills, entitled Mirage Pictures, is part of the Curzon Soho cinema’s Art in the Bar programme and can be seen until 13th October 2007.
Events and exhibitions you won't want to miss
Image by Lewis Carroll
Don’t be late for a very important date, at Dimbola Lodge on the Isle of Wight. The Photography of Lewis Carroll is on show from 14th September – 4th November. Carroll might be best known for his poetry and of course Alice in Wonderland, but he’s is also considered one of the best amateur photographers of his time. Covering a wide range of subjects, taken between 1856 and 1880, the highlights are arguably his wonderfully atmospheric portraits of children. Inspiration for Alice I’m sure! Admission £4.
Lomography
The Lomography World Congress 2007 is coming to London, 17th-23rd September. During this time Trafalgar Square will be transformed by the imposing presence of the LomoWorldWall, a massive display of some 100,000 lomo photos. The Lomography team are also putting on plenty of other interesting activities. If you've never heard of Lomography then sneak a peek at their website, it will open up a whole new world of photographic possibilities.
Round House Camden
Hufton Crowe
London is full of architectural gems. Over the weekend of the 15th and 16th September though, many of these gems not normally accessible to the public are throwing open their doors for the annual Open House London event. The buildings, both old and new offer loads of great photo opportunities and vantage points across the capital. Entrance is free, see www.openhouse.org.uk for details.
The Caravan Gallery
Some galleries have a rather pretentious reputation but not this one – it’s a gallery in a caravan! Brainchild of artists Jan Williams and Chris Teasdale, The Caravan Gallery’s mission is to record ordinary and extraordinary details of 21st century Britain through drawings and photos. The caravan’s distinctive mustard colouring makes it easy to spot in a crowd, but you’ll have to be quick as this little baby has a busy schedule. See website for tour dates - it’s well worth a view.
Image by Curtis Moffat
Fire Masks
©Lee Miller Archives
The V&A is always a great place to visit but it’s surpassed itself with two outstanding new photography exhibitions. Go back in time with Curtis Moffat’s Experimental Photography and Design from the 1920s and 30s, including dynamic abstracts and glamorous society portraits. Admission is free and runs until 13th January 2008.
From 15th September the V&A will also be showing The Art of Lee Miller, an exhibition celebrating the centenary of the birth of prolific model turned war, fashion and society photographer. Admission £6, on until 6th January 2008.
Here are a few of our favourite things!
How’s this for a bit of fun? A smart black book on the outside, open it up and discover a pop-up album, just like the books you had as a child. Simple but effective – brilliant! Available online from Umbra the photopop album is priced at £41.50.
Nikon D3
The battle for supremacy between photographic heavyweights Canon and Nikon just gets more and more interesting. Both have two exciting new launches to shout about. For the advanced amateur Canon has the new EOS 40D, which is a snip at around £900 (body only), well compared to its latest pro model, the EOS-1Ds Mark III at a whopping £6000!!! Nikon hits back with the new D300, around £1,300, and the full-frame D3, around £3,400. All pretty impressive stuff with state-of-the-art features, as would expect at these prices. For details and advance orders go to www.calumetphoto.co.uk.
Owners of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom will be delighted to learn that you can now get a free upgrade to the latest version, Adobe Lightroom 1.1. The new release enables smoother workflow and image editing for an even greater number of the latest RAW format cameras. For details see Adobe’s website.
Anyone who’s attended one of Damien Lovegrove’s courses will know what a talented wedding and portrait photographer he is. Now we can all pick up his top tips for weddings as he’s just launched his first book, The Complete Guide to Professional Wedding Photography. Usually priced at £19.99, PhotoBox members can receive a special 15% discount, plus free P&P (UK only). Just order the book online at Focal Press using the offer code ARS3, discount valid until 31st November 2007.
Still life photography is a great starting point for beginners. It’s so much easier get to grips with your camera without the pressure of impatient models waiting for you to, ‘Just take the picture!’ There’s no need for a studio and everything is usually pretty portable. Use this to your advantage and see your photography skills come on in leaps and bounds.
Submit your favourite still life snaps for a place in our Editor's gallery
I think PhotoBox is the best thing that has ever happened to me. You offer such cheap prices and the delivery time is second to none - immense!! Thanks for a great service.
Steven Legge
PC Pro’s online photo printing article says, 'PhotoBox remains our top choice for the enthusiast.'
PhotoShop Creative says, 'PhotoBox is forever inventing new gift ideas enabling you to show off your images. The latest addition is a range of notebooks which you can adorn with your own images of whatever you wish. Perfect for scribbling down design ideas, using as a sketchbook or even writing the shopping list, this is a great personalised product to give as a gift or to use yourself.'
T3 enthuses, 'Liberating your photos from the cruel confines of your digital camera and camera phone has suddenly become very easy, thanks to PhotoBox.'
1. Celebrity stance
A trick favoured by celebrities is angling one shoulder slightly towards the camera, this gives an instantly more elegant and slender look.
2. Low light
When photographing in low light, if you don’t want to use flash, try bumping up your ISO setting to 800 or 1600.
3. Group shots
For large group shots it’s worth getting sizeable enlargements printed up so you can be sure of seeing everyone clearly.