OSP 2011

More Urbex from Chernobyl by David McMillan

There is no doubt that the faded, dissembled life of a town returned to nature is attractive. There are so many sites that explore  ‘urbex’ photography and it is no wonder that Pripyat offers such poignancy.

Every student of photography would benefit from understanding the way to introduce atmosphere into their pictures and looking at David’s pictures would be a good place to start

The Guardian…

I have changed the title of this piece from that used in the Guardian because many people see beauty in decay, see the many Urbex projects that revel in decay.

This set of pictures takes the idea of beauty in decay to a whole new level. These images are so impressive not just because of the decay but because of the effort that has been taken to dress each room and produce images of extreme…

You could do this...no really you could, a photography project very close to home

I found this article on the BBC website about Richard Bevan who having moved to small town USA decided to photograph as many of the residents as he could.  As Phil Coomes says in his article

“Photographers love to travel but sometimes it pays to look at what is close at hand and document the community you live in. Richard Beaven has done just that, turning his lens on the residents of Ghent,…

There is a retrospective of Don McCullin’s work at the Tate starting tomorrow. It will be one of the great exhibitions this year and I would recommend you find the time to go. It will be tough, his war photography is uncompromising but he is a man of genuine compassion. As he said in a recent Guardian article while in conversation with Giles Duley…DMcC It’s about the emotional – we’re not just…

The extraordinary story behind the iconic image of Che Guevara and the photographer who took it

I have recently returned from Cuba where on every street, or hat, t-shirt, flag or poster there was one image. That image was of Che, taken by Alberto Korda a Cuban photographer. This image is perhaps the most reproduced photographic image in the world, I can’t think of another that is so ubiquitous.

The story of this image, when and why it was taken and it’s passage to iconic status is…

from this year’s award and they are worth 5 minutes of your time

How to choose a camera

I was sent this rather excellent article by Jen Reviews about the different types of cameras and how to understand why they are different.

How to Choose a Camera – A Comprehensive Guide

I have published similar articles in the past but this one is really comprehensive and his you are thinking about buying a camera this will help you choose the type. We then have on this blog posts about the best…

New Course Dates for the autumn

Catching up on a good book, Dorchester Cathedral

I know, we are still in the heat of summer, so thinking of autumn and grey short days is not something we want to countenance, but it is coming and so is our new schedule of courses. If you haven’t yet, you should make sure you have signed up on our GDPR compliant mailing list:

If you sign up here you will receive the new dates when they are…

EMPTY DAYS PADDY SUMMERFIELD

Paddy was the first person to walk through the doors of the original Photographers Workshop in June 1982. He has been my friend and teacher ever since. I learned from Paddy that a photograph doesn’t have to be about a thing, it can be just about a feeling.

His latest book ‘Empty Days’ is a testament to the idea that art is about feeling and not necessarily decorative. Like Nan Golding or Richard…

Clever, witty well seen street images

Petapixel is a site worth following, there are often interesting articles and great finds, like this photographer Pau Buscató

My last post was by another photographer who had the ability to see those things others miss and this post has more images that are clever and witty.

Pau Buscató is a street photographer who has a knack for capturing playful moments in which subjects and scenes come…

Fantastic images Yoriyas Yassine Alaoui Ismaili’s photographs of Casablanca, visit herehttps://www.yoriyas.com/

I saw this in the Guardian and had to share it with you. A few weeks ago I was taken to see Casablanca, the movie, by some friends. I am not sure I had ever seen it in it’s entirety before but it was enjoyable in a noirish sort of way. These pictures have nothing in common with the movie and all the better for it

There’s no sign of Humphrey Bogart or the stereotyped images found in travel guides…

Lewis Hine, photographer who changed lives

Twenty-four photographs from the Lewis Hine archive have been auctioned in New York. The rare prints were from the collection of the late New York photographer Isador Sy Seidman.

American sociologist Hine was one of the most important documentary photographers of the 20th Century. Because the notion of photojournalism and documentary did not exist at the time, Hine called his projects “photo…

Garden Photographer of The Year

When I am teaching I always recommend those students who are interested in garden and plant photography to check out this site. It has such a wide array of different photographic subjects and styles and is really inspiring. The 2018 prize has been awarded so you can go and visit the site here

Gardens and landscape scenes from all around the world have also been commended in the competition,…

This might be a bit of shameless self promotion but I do believe we offer the very best courses in photography in the Oxford area. We go from the basics of understanding your camera, DSLR or compact/bridge camera for beginners through the vital areas of composition, Photoshop, Lightroom and more subject-based courses such as portrait and travel photography  If you are interested in photography…

A bridge camera is usually shaped a bit like a DSLR, so bigger than a compact but has a fixed lens. These are often super zooms, so from wide angle to extreme telephoto, and this is their appeal. The often suffer from the compromise of having smaller sensors to allow for the extended zoom.

Tech Radar has a review of the best bridge cameras from 2017 here

Canon PowerShot SX60 HS

Bridge cameras are…

So travel photography has a number of challenges and the first is the size of your gear. I tried to compromise and use smaller compact style cameras but never felt I could get the same as using my DSLR kit. So my compromise is to carry weighty cameras and lenses however not everybody is that stupid.

There are a range of compact cameras aimed at the travel market, for me Lumix and the TZ range has…

A compact camera is by definition small, and by design has the lens built into the body. There are a number of different types of compact cameras some specialised to specific photographic tasks such as travel compact cameras. Most compact cameras offer good quality and the better ones a wide range of functions that would seem to be similar to those on DSLR or CSC type cameras but in their first…