Bluedog Photography

Are you ready to be wedding photographer?

2012-01-23T12:55:00.000-08:00

Warning: a shiny new camera doesnot give you a right to be a professional.

Sound a bit harsh? Well unfortunately,we have heard this story more than once before. You have a new camera whichlooks great, and you've managed to capture a couple of great shots, maybe evendone a workshop here and there, all the time gaining valuable knowledge to yournew found passion and you should be rightly proud.

And then you are asked to do ajob...there are expectations.... it's a one-off like... a wedding!

Shooting a wedding is not as easyas it sounds. It's not just a matter of clicking the shutter button and becauseit's a 'good' camera means you'll get images that meet the expectations: thatis the clients expectations, as that is what it is, a client either paying ornon paying when you say 'I do'. That word expectations holds a lot of power.Let's look at a few pointers for photographers wanting to enter this market andbrides to be looking for a photographer that needs some practice, and everyonedoes.

For Photographers

Know your boundaries, be honest with yourself on what you can and can't do. This is not a day to be learning on the job.
Manage the expectations - what they are seeing in magazines is not necessarily what you can honestly deliver.
Have a shot list with family details checked.
Research your venue: what's the light like, what's in flower, are there rules such as no flash.
Get help! Have back up and its great if you can have a helper to round up the family.
Said yes and now panicking because people are saying you need this and that. Before rushing out and buying consider hiring first.
Always be polite and professional: become a peoples person.
Have a contract even if they are not paying.

For Brides to Be
If youare paying peanuts expect a monkey - sorry but true. And at the same time, justbecause they are charging a lot, does not mean they have the experience and thepeople skills to manage your big day.

Look at their images, speak with others that have had them photograph their wedding and if it is their first wedding, have realistic expectations.
Have a contract.
Make sure you feel comfortable with the photographer and can express easily your likes and dislikes in creating your shot list together - this helps manage those expectations mentioned above.
Make sure you have a truthful mirror. One of our last but hard tips is be careful of your dress. We all want to look slimmer and usually with as few as wrinkles and bags around our eyes as we can. However, it is a fact, many see themselves in a dress either too small or really not suiting their figure: a classic is the strapless wedding dresses as you have to be a neat size 10 to not look fat in these dresses and under that you look bony and undernourished. Sorry, we said this was going to be truthful.
Enjoy the day! When a bride enjoys the day youcan tell. Have fun, as this is such a special day for you!

Image by Mike Geisel at a Bluedog Wedding Photography Workshop

Photographing Fireworks

2011-12-29T15:06:00.000-08:00

By Danielle Lancaster

It's that time of the year again when the champagne corkswill pop, kisses are shared, resolutions are made and the fireworks willexplode!

So you have your camera in hand now how on earth do youphotograph all that colourful light in the sky?

There's no great trick to it and usually no matter what typeof camera you have you can capture something of the light show.

Do I need a tripod?
For the best results yes! The tripod head needs to be able to support yourcamera and the heaviest lens you have in a vertical position. If you forgetyour tripod, relax and try some hand holding abstract images: drawing with thecamera shapes and letters, zooming in and out during an exposure, the options areendless and can create some bizarre one-of-a-kind images.

What lens?

This is a hard one as each lens has negatives and positives. With a wide angleyou can include other points of interest like a landscape or cityscape in yourimage. An object that is recognisable such as a statue or monument can reallylook awesome.

With a zoom you can capture one burst standing solitary inthe sky and eliminate other objects thatcould become distracting like bright lights or even worse the backs of people'sheads.

ISO 160; f3.5; 6 sec; 32mm

Position, position,position
As they say in the property game location is the key, it's the samephotographing fireworks. Areas can get very busy especially at times like NewYear Eve celebrations and it is not un-heard of to hear of photographers'camping' on a site for a day before the event to secure their prime soughtafter position. Up higher is generally better.

Watch the wind.
It is preferable to get up wind as then the smoke will blow away from you.Still night's can be as bad as those when the wind is blowing towards you, asthe smoke lingers longer in the air and is notably worse after multiple bursts.Yes you can edit it afterwards but it can also be a lot of work.

Smoke hanging around can really ruin a good fireworks image.
Manual mode; 28mm; ISO 200; f9; 2.6sec

Before and after of an image where PS has been used to reduce the smoke.

ISO 200; f20; 6.7sec

What colours are best?
Reds and greens photograph brilliantly. Some gold fireworks photograph as whiteso it's a good idea to play with your white balance as well.

Take your UV filter off and switch imagestabilisation/vibration reduction off.

Exposure

Shoot in manual mode and set your camera to Bulb. Choose alow ISO say 100 to 200. Generally we find we are shooting at an aperture ofaround f8 - f16. Use a cable release to control your shutter times.

Most importantly have fun and if you have managed to do allthe above whilst juggling a glass of bubbly in one hand after the midnight show,then please let us know!

Image by Sheryn Ellis
Canon 5D
ISO 200; f13; 4 sec; 25mm

Bluedog Photography shoot for corporate and private clients. They also hold a variety of workshops and courses on Photography.

For more info visit www.blue-dog.com.au

2011-12-10T19:07:00.001-08:00

The day I met a living Legend…..

Guest blog by Anita Bromley
Images by Anita Bromley and Danielle Lancaster

I noticed him immediately, sitting in a vinyl lounge chairon casters, legs covered with a multi coloured crocheted rug, staring up at theflat screen TV. I wondered if he actually knew what was currently showing andif he even was taking in the information or it was simply a way to pass time, adifferent view from his room with pale walls and a few token framed photographsreminding him of times gone past.

Times where he was yes, younger, but back when his dailyview was of wide open spaces in outback Queensland. Views of sunsets you haveonly ever seen in print and wonder to yourself – was that photo enhanced? Couldthere actually be sunsets that stunning in colour? Views of dust storms rollingin over the local Pub, sweeping the red dirt and the many stories each speckholds down the wide streets of a very, very small town. When you have workedall your life on the land being self sufficient and self-funded until the ripeold age of 92. How does that change the workings of your mind when you retireto a small nursing home and your legs just aint what they used to be.

Frank Purser is a character that everyone it seems in thegreater western Qld knows or knows about. Just the day before when I wasspeaking to a group of photography students I came to an image in ourpresentation, one that has become quite iconic to me personally, I heard fromsomeone in the group “That’s Frank!Frank Purcell! He’s just over the road here in the nursing home….”

I can only imagine how shocked I would have looked. I firstsaw this image back in 2009 on my first visit to Bluedog and have since lostcount of the times I have viewed this image of Frank. Frank, standing in frontof the iconic Birdsville Hotel, beer in hand, grin on his weathered face, blackheadphones (his hearing aid) on his head with a large and looming dust stormencroaching over the roof of the Pub. Never did I imagine back then that Iwould actually have the chance to meet him in person.

The image of Frank outside the iconic Birdsville Hotel as a dust storm rolls in
as seen by Anita so many times in the Bluedog Photography Beginner Workshop - composition session. Image by Danielle Lancaster

So how does the mind weather over time when it makes thatbig change from being active along with your body, to still and seemly confinedwhen you compare it to the bulk of your life? Well it seems, for some, forFrank at least the mind stays pretty well sharp. Within minutes of Danielle andI arriving at the Nursing Home, Frank recalled the day Danielle took that imageand the next half hour the two of them relived old times, stories and thepeople they both knew. Maybe an active life in your younger and adult yearskeeps the mind sharp in old age? Maybe that is the secret? Time will only tell.All I can say is that when I shook Franks hand as we left to catch our flightback home my thoughts were already anticipating my next visit to Charlevillewhere I certainly hope Frank is still in residence.

Danielle and Frank catch up.
Images by Anita Bromley

I can only image the prideDanielle must feel to know that the image that has become so iconic to myselfand many others associated with Bluedog, stands framed along with the articlewritten about Frank, pride of place on his mantel in his room.

Note from Danielle:

I won't say I did not have a tear in my eye when I farewelledFrank this day Anita speaks of above recently in Charleville . I remember wellas we were entering the nursing home saying to Anita, 'He'll most probably notremember me." And he did immediately. I felt such a privileged person whenhis face lit up with that smile I had come to know and love so much on myvisits west. To have worked till nearly 93 and now just about to enter hissecond year on the pension is a story that needs to be told.

We did laugh aboutall sorts of things: snakes in swags, the bonus of a nip or rum nightly thathis doctor says won't hurt him a bit, our mates and what's happening inBirdsville, how Don and Cooper are fairing up taking over in Frank's shoeskeeping the beer cold at the Birdsville Hotel and how the old red girl is stillgoing (she was Frank's truck).

Frank was awarded the 'Legend of Birdsville' this year -that's another image taken by me hanging in the framed print given to him for astory I did a few years ago now for 4x4 Australia, RM Williams Publishing and NewsLimited and some others.

Thank you Anita for writing this, it is a blog I will cherish as one of those special ones in my life.

Good on you Frank, you are truly a legend.

You'll find them hanging in galleries, at Outback Spectacular, printed in books and magazines, on pub walls, and there's too many more in her archives to make a list, however Danielle's compassion and dedication to photograph most she meets has produced an amazing collection of portraits of the people of western Queensland at their home, in play and at work.

Image by Anita Bromley