Archive for ‘May, 2009‘

This weekend, I joined hundreds of avid photographers at the brand new Vancouver Convention Centre for the Espon Print Academy. The seminar, led by the industry’s finest, covered the latest developments digital darkrooms, lighting techniques, colour management, and exhibition-quality printing. Split between two paths, the Epson Print Academy was tailored to fit the needs of all attending, from the advanced amateurs to seasoned professionals.

Leading Track One was Jack Reznicki, current Chairman of the Board and former President of Professional Photographers of America (PPA). As one of the field’s leading experts, Jack was a real pleasure to watch as he stepped us through his process, from capture through to printing.

While, I can’t spill all the beans, I do want to share some of my favourite bits of wisdom from the seminar:

• “You’re not photographing a subject – you’re photographing the light off a subject.” Six months ago, I started putting heavier emphasis on light, and my photos have seen a drastic improvement in my mood, atmosphere, and even composition since. Light transforms a subject; think of when you hold a flashlight under your chin. No matter how great your subject is, without proper light, your photos can’t meet their full potential.
• “Use your histogram.” Starting off, I used to overexpose everything (not that I knew how to stop it). While a shot may look good on your LCD, you’ve probably come home to photos ruined by big patches of white. When shooting, turn on your histogram, and see if your bars are clustering at the far-right edge. Your goal is to expose as much as you can without hitting that border; as soon as you do, that data is lost forever. Similarly, if you underexpose, any data caught against the far-left wall will be lost forever as black.
• “When working in anything other than RAW, make sure you pay attention to your colour space.” Most of us have seen sRGB in our workflows, but if you’re like me, you probably didn’t know you’re losing colours using it. sRGB is a ‘colour space‘, a palette of colours used to display images. Above it are two larger palettes, Adobe RGB and ProPhoto RGB. For web applications, sRGB does just fine, but when it comes to print, stick to ProPhoto RGB for the truest representations. When it comes to DSLRs, you’ll find that you usually have an option to choose between sRGB and Adobe RGB. However, that doesn’t mean you’re losing colours. So long as you’re shooting in RAW, you’re able to capture the full spectrum of visible light – even colours beyond ProPhoto RGB.

While things ran a bit redundant (we watched the same printing dialogue half a dozen times), I left the seminar with lots of new tricks, new contacts, and best of all – free food. (Chicken sandwich FTW!) For budding photographers looking to brush up their skills and get an introduction to exhibition-quality printing straight out of home, Track One of the Espon Print Academy comes highly recommended. As for the professionals out there, I’ll see you in Track Two next year!

Four hours. Last night, it took me four hours to piece together a show review – and I HATED it. Stuffy and contrived, I wrote without life. To be honest, I’m a little ashamed to have even sent it, but little is perfect and the world doesn’t wait. Still, time’s never an excuse for sucking.

Mid-review, I came here looking for inspiration, but only found the reason for it’s absence: my brain atrophied. Dead. I’ve only written one post this month. That’s shameful for a marketer.

I used to pride myself in my writing; I won’t claim to greatness, but it was a distinctive voice and I won’t let it go. So, here I am, apologizing to you and to myself for being an empty shell. While I’ll never go Twitter Shitter on you, I promise to speak. There is a lot of music, food, and photography to be shared.

Four hours. That’s just embarrassing.

Upcoming Events

This Saturday, May 23rd, I’ll be covering Track One of the Epson Print Academy. If you’re looking to upgrade your photo skills and meet some of the finest in the industry, make sure to register online and come by.

On Saturday, May 30th, I’ll be spinning trance alongside DJ Transitory, Kidd Zenn, TremL, and Waxkilla in Chilliwack for Industry Nightclub’s 3rd Year Anniversary party. I’ll be running around with the camera while I’m not at the decks, so make sure to catch me on the dance floor and say hello! (I’m on from 11PM-12AM.)

Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to introduce you to the blog dedicated to reviewing the best food in Vancouver: Yum! Vancouver.

Conceptualized over a year ago, Yum! Vancouver ran into a number of hiccups on its way to inception, but it’s here, and I’m proud to feature Shota Sushi & Grill in Kerrisdale as our first restaurant. Though a little pricey, Shota definitely lives up to its name as “the best sushi in Kerrisdale”. (Care for the details? Hit the link!)

Much like the food, I’m also looking for some world-class company; if you have discerning tastes, enjoy writing, and don’t mind geeking out about music, photography, and marketing, I’d love to have you along for some grub. Interested? Let me know in the comments!