Photography and Writing by A. Cemal Ekin
A. Cemal Ekin
The term that symbolizes Henri Cartier-Bresson’s photography is at once elusive, mysterious, alluring, and quite possibly misunderstood; at least I have difficulty understanding it. I have read about his approach to photography, have seen many of his work in books, listened to one of the rare interviews that he granted, and still have been quite …
I admire humorists, good ones that is. Some get belly laughs by picking on some people, they may be fun to watch but not much inspiration for photographers. You may be thinking “what on earth does photography have anything in common with humor.” Let me tell you why I think there is a lot in …
After reading this article, you may want to read a follow-up post I wrote. Photography is a democratic medium, everyone can take photographs. They may not be great photographs but the process of taking pictures has become exceedingly easy. This is both good and bad. It is good because it allows anyone with a creative …
The term workflow has been closely associated with digital photography. I think this is a misnomer. The core idea is, and should be, photographic workflow. Indeed, before the advent of digital photography, photographers talked about this very subject, perhaps not with the same name, but the same concept nevertheless. It was important to know the …
Someone seriously misunderstood this post as “prescription for good photography.” A careful reading will clearly show that the argument here is “not to be bogged down with rules” and try to move beyond. It was a response to rules-driven salon photography. Since I would not presume to exclude anyone from doing what they wish to …
What is polarized light We see and photograph reflections of light from the surfaces surround us. If objects did not reflect light we would not see them. Upon reflection, however, the quality of the light may change with undesirable side effects for photography. Before it reflects from a surface, light waves move in all …
Photoshop has a very large number of tools and many never get any use or attention. I am surprised to hear from my fellow photographers that they do not know or use the blend mode, which offers a very powerful set of tools. Although it appears in different contexts, I would like to offer a …
Digital photography certainly opened new horizons on imaging and gave photographers a very powerful set of tools. We enjoy the quality and spontaneity of digital cameras and the software to handle small or extensive image processing has improved greatly. We can create stitched panoramas for a wide field of view photographs, or use software to …
At a photography Web site that I frequent, I read a series of comments about “manipulated photographs.” One of the comments by a very good photographer said: “Once the shutter is pressed…it is done anything after that is digital art.” Upon some reflection, I would like to share the following for your consideration. Once the …
When it comes to camera gear cleanliness and hygiene, we mostly think about cleaning the lens. That is, of course, important and should be done regularly and with great care. Another item that needs at least occasional cleaning has emerged after the advent of digital SLRs: the sensor. Sensor dust bothers most, if not all …
A tripod is one the important accessories of a photographer. A good tripod is a must for many types of photography. In fact, conditions permitting, any photographic situation will benefit from using a tripod. It will minmize or even eliminate the camera shake, allow for a more deliberate composition, control depth of field better, and …
Seeing is the essence of photography, and I saw some new places and saw again familiar places from a totally new vantage point, aerial perspective. One summer day in 2006, Barry, a friend of mine, an old pilot who got the itch to fly again, invited me to go with him to Martha’s Vineyard on …
Photoshop has an extensible architecture that allows new capabilities to be added. They appear in the form of plug-ins, automation tools, or actions. Producers of such software are shying away from using actions which are visible to the user, no matter how complex. Actually, I used to find them quite educational and studied them to …
So you want to find the center of that image for whatever reason. No need to measure and make calculations. Instead, try this easy way: Select the “Pick tool” (Keyboard shortcut V) Then look at the toolbar (yes, it is there, what, you never looked at it with the pick tool?) Put a check mark …
There are several ways to get a faster response from Photoshop. Add more memory, Photoshop loves more memory Add a second hard disk drive and use it as your scratch disk. Disable the Digimarc “Detect watermark” plugin While Photoshop is closed, find the Digimarc folder under Plug-ins Put a ~ (tilde) before its name Digimarc …
I would like to explore the idea of a critique and how to stimulate reflection and the critical viewing of photographs. The necessary ingredients of a well-stated critique are reflection, critical viewing, knowledge of the matter in hand, and ability to communicate. Would it be proper to say that “opinions are democratic, critiques are elitist.” …
According to the legend, in 1899 the head of the U.S. Patent Office sent his resignation to President McKinley urging the closing of the office because “everything that could be invented has been invented.” Although this may be a misquoted legend, it so well illustrates the lack of foresight it continues to be misquoted, as …
As I tried to adjust a photograph I took last April (2003) from a moving train, I realized that I was not getting the right mood although the colors looked fine. The result was an uninteresting image. When I took the photograph, it was a late afternoon with the golden tones of the sunset echoing …
(Before the advent of high dynamic range (HDR) processing I used to use the following method to extract a greater dynamic range from my images. It is still a perfectly usable solution and probably much more flexible than the HDR processing, not to mention easier. Also, you will not be tempted to create “that HDR …
A polarizing filter is an indispensable tool for most photographers. It helps remove reflections from most nonmetallic surfaces, increases the color saturation of foliage, darkens the blue sky for dramatic effects, and so on. I try to carry one with me anytime I go out to take photographs. The operative word here is “try” since …
