NOT MY DSLR

1. NOT MY DSLR Alternative approaches for fun and creativity Andrée Lawrey 11 February 2014

2. But I love my DSLR! • Better image quality • Faster, more responsive • Interchangeable lenses • More megapixels, less noise, better dynamic range, more options, more user control, etc. • Defines the serious photographer • Real photographers use DSLRS – don’t they?

3. Meet David Burnett… • Well-known photojournalist • uses DSLRs plus assorted film cameras, including • Holga plastic camera (medium format film) • Speed Graphic (4x5 film plates) • Rolleiflex, Mamiya • And a tiny Ricoh point and shoot in his pocket • Trying for a different look, a picture with something special about it • Get the reader to stop and look for a moment before flipping the page

4. David Burnett (2) http://roadsandkingdoms.com/2013/the-speed-graphic-returns/ http://www.davidburnett.com/gallery.html?gallery=Holga+Eye&folio=Galleries&vimeoUserID=&vimeoAlbumID=#/3 http://www.davidburnett.com/gallery.html?gallery=Big+Camera&folio=Galleries&vimeoUserID=&vimeoAlbumID=#/1

5. DSLRs for image quality? • Sharper, well exposed photos with good shadow/highlight detail, low noise, creative control (DOF etc) • scope for cropping, post processing, big prints • But that’s not enough for a great image • Other factors matter more, e.g. • choice of subject, composition, lighting, colour/B&W • which camera/lens/film/technique suits the subject/story being told?

6. How much ‘quality’ do we need? • Any camera can do the job if you learn what it can and can’t do • The best camera is the one you have with you (Chase Jarvis) • Kevin Russ travels light and shoots landscape photographs on his iPhone, using mainly one app (VSCOCAM) • Jim Richardson, NG photographer, recently hiked in Scotland with only his iPhone • Took a while to learn what the camera could do and shoot accordingly

7. Take a break (from the DSLR) • Lose the weight • Smaller, lighter, more convenient, more discreet • Keep it simple • Too many options are distraction • How many moments have you missed fussing with lenses or camera settings? • Get a different look • Choice of tools and processes can make a surprising difference

8. Take a break (2) • Become more creative • Explore different tools/techniques • Experiment, overcome technical constraints • Learn to think and see differently • Take a holiday from technical perfection and photographic correctness • Too easy to slide from ‘correct’ to safe, staid, predictable… • Come back refreshed and make stronger images!

9. Consider the possibilities • Pinhole cameras • Lens free photography, as simple as it gets • Plastic cameras (aka toy cameras) • Medium format for the masses, happy accidents • Polaroid/instant film • Yes, it’s still around! • Camera phones • Instant gratification, with or without in-phone post processing • Digital point and shoot

10. Pinhole photography • Camera obscura: a box with a tiny hole to let light reach the film inside • Or several holes to make a pinhole panorama • As simple and basic as it gets: • Where to point the camera? • How long to expose? • Characteristics: infinite depth of field with softness and distortion around the edges

11. Pinhole photography (2) • Cheap and cheerful • Make your own out of cardboard or a biscuit tin • Buy a DIY kit or a plastic pinhole camera • or even a posh one of varnished wood with brass fittings • All you need is patience and a sense of adventure • Long exposures, learning to guesstimate exposure, never quite sure what you have until the film comes back

12. Stephen Best: Karijini • Black and white 6 x 12 pinhole images of Karijini NP in Western Australia • Deliberate choice • Already many “over colourful” images of the park • Simplified approach • concentrate more on the subject and the lighting: “the quintessence of a photogaph”. http://www.photoaccess.org.au/?q=node/438 http://www.stephenbestphotography.com/

13. Steph Tout: The Sum of These Holes • Melbourne artist, exploring perceptions of place with a medium format, 6-pinhole biscuit tin • Opens the holes one by one as she explores a location, pointing the camera at details that attract her attention • The exposures merge to make a single panoramic montage http://stephtout.com.au/Sum-of-these-holes http://stephtout.com.au/

14. Pinhole photography (3) • More inspiration: Doug Spowart and Victoria Cooper • Amazing, creative camera obscura projects, e.g. car camera, room camera • http://www.cooperandspowart.com.au/ • Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day: 27 April • http://www.pinholeday.org/

15. Plastic fantastic • Lomo, Holga, Diana +, Spinner and many more • Each has its own characteristics • www.lomography.com, www.lomography.com.au • Cheap and cheerful, easy introduction to medium format film • 35mm and 110mm models also available • Lo-fi photography • Flare, blur, vignetting, light leaks (gaffer tape is your friend), much scope for happy accidents

16. Plastic fantastic (2) • Can’t get too serious with a “toy” camera • Can take it to the beach, hold it out the window, shoot from the hip, drop it, lend it to your grandchild… • Technical perfection is impossible, so it’s all about creative vision • Plenty of constraints to overcome • No light meter (just sunny, shade, bulb), rough zone focus, no auto anything, lens flaws, small, inaccurate viewfinder

17. Plastic fantastic (3) • Have to experiment, think differently, work with camera’s limitations, e.g. • Sharper centres, soft edges, vignettes • Re-think composition • Rudimentary/no exposure controls • Use negative film for greater exposure latitude • Try the ‘bulb’ setting and play with blur • No auto-winder • Experiment with multiple and overlapping exposures, in-camera panoramas

18. The 10 golden rules of Lomography • Take your camera everywhere you go • Use it any time – day and night • Lomography is not an interference in your life, but part of it • Try the shot from the hip • Approach the objects of your Lomographic desire as close as possible • Don’t think (William Firebrace: “Your brightest and clearest insights are always your first impressions.”) • Be fast • You don’t have to know beforehand what you captured on film • Afterwards either • Don’t worry about any rules

19. Polaroid: instant nostalgia • Instant photo sharing before the digital age • Small, not always sharp, soft colours • Distinctive Polaroid look • Nostalgia, holidays at the beach, old photo albums… • Tactile • Nothing quite beats a Polaroid in the hand • Plastic camera with basic settings • Lighter/normal/darker, fixed focus – experiment a little to learn the best settings/subject distances, then good to go

20. Polaroid (2) • No more Polaroid film • Any stock on eBay is pretty old by now • But The Impossible Project is making new films for old Polaroid cameras • B&W as well as colour • Getting better all the time • Old Polaroid cameras readily available used (eBay) or refurbished (www.the-impossible-project.com) • Fuji is still making instant cameras and film • Different look, but also fun

21. Then there’s the smart phone • Small, light, discreet, versatile, apps for everything • Point and shoot • Serious camera • Retro, plastic camera effects • Shoot and share • ‘in camera’ effects or post processing on the phone • Something for everyone

22. Hipstamatic • iPhone app, mimics retro, plastic camera looks • Many ‘lens’ and ‘film’ combinations • Some over the top or worse, others less extreme • Different combinations suit different subjects • Double exposures also available • Not good for post processing • Best used like a plastic camera • Choose lens & film, experiment, repeat • If it doesn’t work, try again or try something else

23. Kerry Baylor – Instagram • Canberra photographer, works at PhotoAccess, prolific Instagrammer • Works in series, uses tags to structure her collections • #goodmorningwatson, #busstop, #canberraclouds • Chooses filters/effects to suit specific subjects • Pretty colour photos for Good Morning Watson • Soft B&W, photojournalist look for Bus Stop

24. Kerry Baylor – Instagram (2) • Like a digital Polaroid: small, square, to be shared instantly • Don’t need a computer, Photoshop etc. • Quick and easy: review, edit, share, discuss within Instagram app • Uses the native camera for initial capture and saves original in case a filter doesn’t work out • Capturing rectangular photos for cropping to square is just a matter of practice (keep the camera straight, leave room to crop)

25. Kerry Baylor – Instagram (3) • Instant sharing, discussion with like-minded photographers • “like Facebook for photographers” • Visual diary, artist’s workbook, structured with hashtags • Sees pattern emerging, then builds on that to develop series • Keeps 3 or 4 tags going at any one time • Discipline of sticking to subject(s)

26. Kerry Baylor – Instagram (4) • Recommends just a few tags at a time • Keep them as specific as possible – generic tags attract spam • Suggests picking just a few filters to suit the subjects you shoot • Extreme effects get stale very quickly • Kerry currently likes • Willow: soft B&W, rather like a pinhole • Inkwell: like a faded old B&W print • Sutro: like a faded Kodachrome slide, vignette • Lo-Fi: brighter colour, higher contrast

27. Kerry Baylor – Instagram (5) http://kerrymb.tumblr.com/ http://instagram.com/kerrymb

28. Just (point and) shoot! • Pocket camera without the smart phone, smart app baggage • Most of us have one in the house • Light and easy, way to capture photos you wouldn’t get otherwise • Perfect for documentary, visual diary, digital sketchbook • Also good for trying Lomography type approach: shoot form the hip, break the rules, tilt the camera • Play!

29. Give it a go! • Many possibilities: pick one and give it a try • If you use your smart phone as a serious camera, try one of the camera apps • Or borrow a plastic camera or your grandson’s point and shoot • Experiment, play with possibilities, enjoy the journey • Try a project to keep you motivated • Work to a theme: close to home, Holga landscapes, pinhole panoramas, family outings… • Plan the output: exhibition series, portfolio competition, photo book, slideshow