focus photography group Leeds UK: 2011-09-04

Wednesday, 7 September 2011

New Printer

Just to let you know my new printer arrived today :o)

I got frustrated with the quality of the exposure, colour, paper and crops from sending my photos off to a 'lab' so decided to invest in the new generation photo ink jets which are claiming to be better than lab quality when it comes to prints.

I shopped around and read many reviews and I selected a no frills A3+ Canon printer which is all about the quality and doesn't have any gimmick extras. It also meant the price was superb compared to the specs of a similar competitor which may have a SD card reader or be WiFi as well as printing.

I selected the Canon iX6550

This printer has one of the finest/smallest ink nozzle heads in existence so it is capable of incredibe detail and it has not disappointed.

I spent the day testing the printer and all the different profiles in photoshop until I found one that matched exactly my laptop's screen calibration. This means I can print images exactly how they appear on my laptop and the quality even in A3 is amazing.

I compared it to the prints for the exhibition and I would say it just pips those prints although I have used top grade 280g/m2 paper which does make a difference.

If anyone wants any extra prints for or after the exhibition then please let me know. I can't compete on price compared to the big boys who buy their paper and ink in bulk, but what I can do is provide prints on top quality paper which are formated (or cropped if necessary) correctly and the prints should be pretty close to the quality you see on your screen.

I have got paper to cover the following:

5"x7" - Premium Gloss II 260g/m2
A4 - Ultimate Gloss 280g/m2
A4 - Matte 170g/m2 or 260g/m2
A3 - Matte 260g/m2 - perfect for 30x40(cm) frames if you don't crop a standard 4:3 picture (lots in IKEA)

I should have A3 Gloss, A3+ Canvas, 6x4 Gloss very soon

(Standard copier paper is about 80g/m2)

Anyway I hope this information is useful and if you want to know anything else then you know where to find me.

Oh and if anyone is available to support tomorrow, some of us will be down Kirkstall Road way helping Paul with the mounting for Sunday

Tuesday, 6 September 2011

iPad light painting

I came across this amazing concept using a photographic and animation technique which creates some beautiful results, and quite inspirational so thought I would share: http://vimeo.com/14958082

Exhibition Styles

Had a quick look at some exhibition styles used for photography and thought I would make a quick grid collage to help show what styles are commonly used.

I have selected a range of style including a number we can't use at the MAZZC but thought it interesting to take a look at anyway

Monday, 5 September 2011

Request for support from the science Museum

Hello I thought this might interest a few people as it was to do with judging pictures and also supports my Sister :o)

Hi all,

I am not sure if you have heard me talk about a big competition I have been running at the Science Museum to help raise needed funds all summer. The first part was to encourage children under 15 to draw a picture of themselves with an Alien friend they might meet on holiday, for the chance to see their picture blown up outside the Museum. We have received hundreds of entries.

The next stage is the voting, instead of me choosing my favourite (I do have my favourites, but will let you choose for yourself) we have left it to the public to decide the top 20 by voting for their favourite entries. This is where you come in… To help encourage as many votes as possible. Please could you take a couple of minutes and forward the below email to any friends, family, contacts and colleagues who you think would like to make a small donation to the Museum while helping us to decide who gets in to the top 20 in our Fresh Face competition.

You can also have a vote too ;)

Thanks for your help.

Rach

View email online

Vote for your favourite by texting 'ALIEN[Entry Code]' to 70300

Share this

Good afternoon,
We have now officially closed entries to the Fresh Face competition!

Now we need your help to get as many votes as possible to move a step closer to see one of the entries on the outside of the Museum.

The top 20 entries, as voted for by you, will go to our panel of judges, who will select the final winner.

Simply visit our three Fresh Face photo albums on facebookchoose your favourite picture and the text the Entry Code to70300.

ALBUM1 ALBUM2 ALBUM3
Each vote will donate £3 to the Fresh Face appeal, helping us to clean the front of our building, preventing further deterioration of the facade behind which our world-class collections are housed.*

Please make your donation go further by gift aiding when asked.

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*You will also be charged the cost of a standard network text. You must ask the bill payer's permission before texting in your vote.

© Science Museum 2011
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Exhibition etc

Hi All,

Good to see the blogg seeing some informative and enthusiastic action!

Some lovely shots posted by Darren. Lovely crisp work with a clear eye for composition.

As 'curator' of the exhibition I would like to see rabbi Pink shot up there and see no reason why

you should not include it.

All - Awaiting titles of those shots being shown.

See you all Sunday

David

Lenses for Hire

Hey,

If you ever want to try out a new lens, whether it's a wide angle for landscapes, telephoto for people watching and close-ups from afar, or some nice low f-shot lenses for portraits (such as the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2) but don't want to fork out to buy one, there's a pretty decent website for hiring them out as and when you need. Check it out here - www.lensesforhire.co.uk (http://www.lensesforhire.co.uk).

Hope you find it useful.

Darren

Kodak Gallery

Hi All,

Just a quick FYI

Kodak have offers on prints at the moment. I have had a few of my pictures printed by them and the quality is not very good.

The colours are poor and the contrast and blacks are high. Their process also makes the pictures much darker than the original exposure.

If you do use Kodak then I would make you pictures a little over exposed to compensate for the Kodak process.

If anyone can recommend a printer that would be useful :o)

Just to add...

Found a good review and comparison blog

http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews_online_print_services.php

Israeli selection - Darren

Whilst in Israel, there were a number of protests and demonstrations going on in central Tel Aviv. Activists camped out in the streets; prominent messages had been scattered all around. Here are a just a few shots showing some of what I witnessed (plus a couple of randoms thrown in for good measure) ...

Sunday, 4 September 2011

Leeds at Night Series - Darren

I went out into Leeds City one night last week. All shots were taken sometime after midnight, around The Calls and The Royal Armories on a warm August evening.