mattbeardsleyblog.com

Archive for the ‘technique’ Category

Printing with Hahnemuhle Daguerre Canvas

In digital art, digital workflow, equipment, technique on December 1, 2010 at 10:34 pm

The Trouble With Canvas

Ink jet canvas?  Yes, it can be a cheesy photo presentation, like something out of a cheap Miami motel.  Also, lesser canvases have given the medium a bad name with poor shadow reproduction and drastic texture that all but obliterates fine detail.  Last year, I ran through a roll of Canon’s Graphic Matte Canvas that I wouldn’t recommend for any conceivable reason to anyone (in fact, it was given to me for free by Canon, which I should have taken as a sign).  I think canvas photo printing, as a general cynical consensus, has the reputation of being a technique to force mediocre photography into something that looks like art.

The appeal of canvas, on the flip side, is a modern floating presentation when it’s nicely gallery wrapped on a good stretcher frame.  Tightly wrapped and well folded at the corners, the finished product is hard to beat for visual impact.  Of course, it also has to be a stunning print, as there is no glass, matting, and framing to amplify the print size or quality.  And, after all, canvas really is the de facto surface for certain more established schools of art and photographers can play with that.

[a review of my new favorite ink jet canvas after the jump..] Read the rest of this entry »

Portrait Shoot with Painter, David Nyquist

In location shooting, photography, technique on November 16, 2010 at 11:44 am

Artist, David Nyquist, Oakland, CA, November 13, 2010

It’s a fun, if intimidating process, to set up a portrait of a fellow artist.  It might be that a corporate executive wouldn’t be interested in the process or subtleties of photography, but a painter is very likely to appreciate the power of light and composition.  I’ve been spending time with Arnold Newman’s portfolio this week and it’s always a source of inspiration.  He’s the Godfather of editorial portraiture and photographed a number of notable artists, including Henri Cartier-Bresson and Ansel Adams (talk about intimidating artists for a photographer to shoot!)

[more, and a "behind the scenes" shot after the jump..] Read the rest of this entry »

Old School In-Camera Sharpening

In photography, technique on July 16, 2010 at 9:49 am

I’ve been on a gear-review kick lately, but wanted to take a break and throw out some thoughts on image sharpness.  It’s what we’re crazy for lately: megapixels, resolving power, autofocus, etc..  What are some easy ways to get the crispiest results?  Here are some of my thoughts:

1: Clean your lenses.  Lens companies these days put a ton of R&D (and marketing) into lens coating: coatings that improve color rendition, coatings that reduce flare, coatings that make for sharper imaging.  If it’s been a while, I often realize I’ve added my own greasy, speckle-y coating.  Clean lenses yield better results (and less time in post!)  I like to keep a baby ear blower from the drug store in my camera bag to puff away dust and fuzz and a nice soft cloth for fingerprints or unwated coatings. Read the rest of this entry »

, ,

8 Cool Filters from NIK Color Effects Pro 3.0

In digital art, digital workflow, photography, technique on April 26, 2010 at 5:09 pm

Adobe Photoshop is not a simple program.  In fact, it’s a shockingly complex program.  I think back to high school and my first encounter with Photoshop and wonder why I ever went into digital photography.  Yet, complexity aside, it’s awesome what can be done to innocent pixels via this unique ark of software.  Why further complicate things with added plug-ins?  NIK Software offers a lot of compelling reasons, many of which can be found in their powerful Photoshop plug-in and monster filter bundle, Color Effects Pro 3.0. Read the rest of this entry »

,

Tethered Shooting Comes to Adobe Lightroom

In digital art, digital workflow, equipment, photography, technique on March 23, 2010 at 3:38 pm

Tethered Shooting Comes to Adobe Lightroom

At last Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Beta 2 is delivering tethered shooting.  Since Lightroom’s introduction, I have never been as pumped about a new feature.  So Long Nikon Camera Control!  So Long Auto-Import and Watched Folders!  Finally, like Phase One’s Capture One, Lightroom is now a full-featured piece of studio software.  In my humble opinion, Lightroom has arrived and is now complete.

Here is a quick step by step description of the new capability as it operates with my Nikon D3.  And, as a spoiler, let me preface this by saying that, after a brief initial test, it appears to work very quickly and flawlessly.  I am very impressed. Read the rest of this entry »

,

Oakland Hip Hop Artist, Paris London

In equipment, photography, technique, the creative process on March 5, 2010 at 4:54 am

Paris London, by Matt Beardsley

I recently had the opportunity to shoot local Hip Hop artist, Paris London, in our Oakland studio.  Paris’s music is a very cool blend of influences.  He’s an Oakland rapper, but uses samples and beats that often draw on other genres, especially, to my ear, jazz.  I thought we’d set up a shot that depicted visually what his music sounds like to me, a blend of smooth hip hop and jazz. Read the rest of this entry »

, ,

The Fireball & The M.I.E. Plan

In digital art, location shooting, photography, technique, the creative process on February 26, 2010 at 5:37 am

Flaming Kelly

I recently had another chance to shoot with Kelly Armstrong, University of Arkansas football player and NFL hopeful.  I’d always wanted to incorporate flames into a portrait and had a blast working on this one.  We set up for the first shoot, without flames, on Alameda’s abandoned military base.  The open space and runway was intended to give the shot the feel of travel or change, which doesn’t really read like I’d like.  None the less, once giant fireballs are on the set, it’s important to pick a relatively remote and non-flammable location. Read the rest of this entry »

180˚ in One Frame

In digital workflow, photography, technique on December 9, 2009 at 9:14 pm

The San Francisco Bay, From Alameda

A 10-shot pano from a recent sunset over the San Francisco Bay (taken from the north tip of Alameda). Read the rest of this entry »

The Gamut Workflow Juggle

In digital art, digital workflow, photography, technique on November 24, 2009 at 9:10 pm
What a difference a profile can make

The effects of profiling

It’s been another mad scientist day in the studio and as a warning, this is a very nerdy entry!  Left with no options, I recently upgraded our computer monitor and have been reworking the calibration of our capture-process-output workflow.  No options were left, because my slightly-past-warrantee Apple Cinema Display died, and projects were already piled high on the virtual desk…

Apple, as a brief aside, was terrible.  No customer support.  The best offer I got from the Mac people was a “flat rate repair” for $499…. yikes.  Is our little computer company outgrowing itself? Read the rest of this entry »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.