We’re happy to introduce GorillaPod Hybrid Red and GorillaPod SLR Zoom Red! To celebrate, we’re having a photo contest! Enter your photo today! Contest ends 1/23/12.
Depression Era Color Photography
Just the other day on my walk home from the office, I was listening to an old episode of This American Life. The theme of the episode was “Who do you think you are” and discussed the ever-present conflict between those who have and those who have not. Act One featured snippets of interviews by the great reporter Studs Terkel, who recorded oral histories of ordinary Americans for the majority of his career in radio. In this particular collection, people reflected on their experiences during the Great Depression. For me, the frankness of these interviews was eye-opening.
Children in the tenement district. Brockton, Massachusetts, December 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
Because of these stories, I’ve had Depression Era America on the brain and decided to poke around the internet for some photographs. During the 30s and 40s, the Farm Security Administration had a team of photographers who documented the lives of ordinary Americans and the effects of the Depression on their lives. Over 175,000 photographs were taken, and while the majority of them are black and white, some were shot on color transparency film. These color photographs were organized into an exhibit in 2006. They are beautiful and capture a side of the Depression that I’ve never seen before.
Chopping cotton on rented land near White Plains. White Plains, Greene County, Georgia, June 1941. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
If you have some time, listen to the piece by Terkel and browse the photographs. All photos are property of the Library of Congress and on their site you can browse the entire FSA collection, the entire color collection or the top 15 requested prints. You can even request prints for yourself! The photos are public domain, after all. Meanwhile, enjoy this incredible collection of photographs.
Backstage at the "girlie" show at the state fair. Rutland, Vermont, September 1941. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
Children asleep on bed during square dance. McIntosh County, Oklahoma, 1939 or 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
The Faro Caudill family eating dinner in their dugout. Pie Town, New Mexico, October 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
Homesteader and his children eating barbeque at the New Mexico Fair. Pie Town, New Mexico, October 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
On main street of Cascade. Cascade, Idaho, July 1941. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
Boy building a model airplane as girl watches. Robstown, Texas, January 1942. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Arthur Rothstein. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
African American's tenant's home beside the Mississippi River levee. Near Lake Providence, Louisiana, June 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
Assembling B-25 bombers at North American Aviation. Kansas City, Kansas, October 1942. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Alfred T. Palmer. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
Woman is working on a "Vengeance" dive bomber Tennessee, February 1943. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Alfred T. Palmer. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
Shepherd with his horse and dog on Gravelly Range Madison County, Montana, August 1942. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
Rural school children. San Augustine County, Texas, April 1943. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by John Vachon. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
Women workers employed as wipers in the roundhouse having lunch in their rest room, Chicago and Northwest Railway Company. Clinton, Iowa, April 1943. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
View in a departure yard at Chicago and Northwestern Railway Company's Proviso yard at twilight. Chicago, Illinois, December 1942. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
Welder making boilers for a ship, Combustion Engineering Company. Chattanooga, Tennessee, June 1942. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Alfred T. Palmer. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
Grand Grocery Company. Lincoln, Nebraska, 1942. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by John Vachon. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
Shulman's market, on N at Union Street S.W. Washington, D.C., between 1941 and 1942. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Louise Rosskam. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
African American migratory workers by a "juke joint". Belle Glade, Florida, February 1941. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
Worker at carbon black plant. Sunray, Texas, 1942. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Worker at carbon black plant John Vachon. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
Just amazing. If you feel so inclined, share the photographs of the Depression that you find most moving in the comments.
December Staff Photo Contest
We’ve got quite the talented team here at JOBY and a few months ago I decided to test their skills with a monthly photography contest. Each month features a new theme, folks submit their best work, then we vote for our favorites. Here’s a peak into the photographic imaginations of the JOBY team with December’s Photo Contest —Dark and Light.
Do you have a photo that perfectly captures the juxtaposition between dark and light? Share on our Facebook Page or on Twitter (@jobyinc)!
Happy Holidays from JOBY!
We hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!
And we’ll be back here next year with plenty of photo fun!
Ps. If you need a break from cookies, candy and holiday cheer, check out our Winter Photo Contest or Rick Sammon’s Portrait Photography Tips.
JOBY Winter Photo Contest 2011
Here are the beautiful photos for our Winter Photo Contest 2011! We had so many great submissions and are so impressed! Thanks to everyone who entered!
And the winners of a JOBY GorillaPod Focus and a Lowepro DLSR Fastpack are …
… Teresa Reid
Teresa Pope Reid
and Craig Holquist of Penn Wood’s Photography
Penn's Woods Photography
And now for the rest of the amazing entries!
Andrius Repsys
Anna Caitlin Lackey
Aurora Lampson
Ben Podolak
Bryan Rau
Diego Luison
Elise Marks
Ernestas Erna
Felix Pks
Fred Benz
Gage Salyards
Gus Jockers
Ivan Handler
Jack Bell
Jeremy Sky Crawford
John Mccoy
Jurgita Maceviciute-Malakauskiene
Martynas Dainius
Mary Ellen Catindig
Matt Baker-White
Mihai Miroiu
Mike Barbee
Olena Taylor
Ramune Ber
Richard Johanns
Ryan Wakat
Sakari Sipila
Silvia Cheung
Simon Gaudet Binet
Travis Fisher
Yashaswi Manjunath N
Aren’t you impressed! We’ll be back with more great photo contests in the new year!
Tips from a Pro: Sports Photography Secrets
Robert Beck is a staff photographer for Sports Illustrated magazine. For over 20 years, he has been behind the lens shooting sporting events all over the world. From golf to baseball, surfing to skiing, Robert captures athletes in action. He shared his secrets to great sports photography with us yesterday in a webinar hosted by our friends at Lowepro.
©Robert Beck http://www.robertbeckphotography.com
Robert’s Gear for Sports Photography
Musts
-DSLR Body – He uses a Nikon D3s
-70 – 200 mm lens with f2.8 aperture
-Lens hood to protect his lens (instead of a filter)
-UDMA CF Cards in the fastest available speed, 4 GB – 8 GB
Nice to have
-200 – 400 mm lens, f4
-24 – 70 mm lens, f2.8
-16 mm fisheye lens
-Flash
©Robert Beck http://www.robertbeckphotography.com
Which Camera Settings to Use
1. JPEG and RAW – Shoot camera RAW to capture the most information and have the most flexibility in post-production
2. Autofocus ON - You can change how fast your camera acquires the autofocus info. Set the speed of autofocus to correspond with the sport your shooting. Primarily uses the center dot as the focus pointHas the back button set up so he can focus first and then shoot a general area without the camera re-focusing
3. Vibration reduction software OFF
4. Auto white balance ON. Auto white balance is pretty good on new DSLRs Outdoors set it to “cloudy” to add warmth. Indoors match the light type. in the arena
5. Exposure mode MANUAL. Robert shoots completely manual to have the most flexibility. Underexposed is better than overexposed
6. ISO as low as possible for the lighting conditions. For example, if it is sunny use 100 ISO, cloudy use 400 ISO. The higher the ISO, the more noise (pixilation) will occur
©Robert Beck http://www.robertbeckphotography.com
What Makes Sports Shots Good?
Every published photo is one out of 100s or 1000s of photos taken. This is where practice comes in. The more you shoot, the higher percentage of the photos you take will be good ones. Bottom line: if you want to become a better photographer – SHOOT! SHOOT! SHOOT!
©Robert Beck http://www.robertbeckphotography.com
Backgrounds are the most important thing to pay attention when you’re shooting sports. Find a background that is the least distracting possible to bring your subject out. You want it to be obvious to the viewer what the subject is.
©Robert Beck http://www.robertbeckphotography.com
Light – pay attention to the lighting conditions and work them to your advantage.
-The golden hour when the sun is low in the sky (early morning or late afternoon) is a great time.
-If you’re shooting in the middle of the day, put your subject against a darker background.
-Keep shooting even if its cloudy, rainy, snowy – let the action speak for itself!
-Play the light – Good front light is also good backlight. Try and get both perspectives.
©Robert Beck http://www.robertbeckphotography.com
Aperture – Set it to F2.8 or F4 for a shallow depth of field. This makes the background drop out dramatically so the viewer focuses on the subject
Composition – shoot a mixture of tight and loose shots. When in doubt, shoot looser. You can always crop-in during post-production.
Shutter speed – 1/1000th of a second is the slowest speed if you’re shooting action sports.
©Robert Beck http://www.robertbeckphotography.com
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If you’re interested in viewing Robert Beck’s work, please visit his website. If you’d like to be in the loop for Lowepro’s next webinar, follow them on Facebook.
Fall Photo Contest 2011!
Here are the beautiful entries to our Fall Photo Contest 2011. We had so many great submissions that we decided to award additional prizes! Congratulations to our Fall Photo Contest winners!
Fan Favorite: Rebeka Drahos! Wins a GorillaPod Focus!
Rebeka Drahos
JOBY Favorite: Kerry Griechen! Wins a GorillaPod Focus!
Kerry Griechen
Voters: Janca Dániel, John McCoy, Ryan Breeden and Meredith Adelaide each win a GorillaPod Original!
And the rest of the amazing entries …
Alex Boone
Cassio Magalhaes
Christian Farkas
Christina Harness
Danielle Dearborn
Janca Daniel
John MccoyMarie Routledge
Meredith Adelaide
Rebecca Starrett
Rick Ohnsman
Ryan Breeden
Semion Bourakevich
Susie Szeto Price
Terry McGraw
Timo Ryttari
Tony Phimister
Travis Fisher
Yashaswi Manjunath N
Stay tuned for future contests and giveaways! I see a Winter Photo Contest on the horizon!
Tips from a Pro: On Location Portraiture
The holidays are nigh and for many of us this means plenty of time spent celebrating with friends and family. For the photography-minded among us, it also means that we’ll want to capture friends and family in the best light so we can cherish our photos long after the holidays have passed. Lucky for us, Lowepro brought on professional photographer Rick Sammon to tell us how to get the best out of our portrait subjects during this holiday season, and far beyond.
Rick Sammon is a world-renowned travel photographer. Rick is the author of 36 books on photography, has several photography apps and leads dozens of photography workshops every year all over the world.
Portraiture Philosophy
The camera looks both ways. Picturing the subject means we are also picturing ourselves. You—your mood, your body language—are reflected in the subject. It is important to be just as aware of yourself as you are of your subject when you are shooting a portrait.
Also, be sure to take photos of the people you love. You won’t ever regret having those images.
How to Get a Great Portrait
- Respect your subject, especially if you’ve just met them.
- Be friendly. Smile big. Share a bit about yourself and get to know them before you get behind the lens, even if it is just for 10 minutes.
- Film the frame. The closer you are to the subject, the more intimate the photo becomes
- Capture the “catch light” in their eyes. A little highlight/sparkle in the eye really brings the subject to life.
- Try an off-center composition
- Shoot both vertical and horizontal
- Shoot Camera RAW to give yourself the most options in post production
- ALWAYS KEEP SHOOTING! You never know what your subject will do next.
Portrait Gear
Favorite Lens: 24 – 105 mm zoom lens
#1 Accessory (after his Lowepro bag, of course): a flash
Lighting Tips for On-Location Portraits
Light illuminates, shadows define. The shadows are the soul of the photo.
- Pay attention to the direction of the light and move your subject to maximize the available light.
- Use a daylight fill flash. Try to balance the flash with ambient light for best results.
- Keep lighting set-ups as simple as possible. If you’re inside, use just one softbox. The larger the light, the softer the light. The closer the light, the softer the light.
- Reflectors are also great. They can bring out true colors and create contrast. Avoid placing the reflector below the subject because that creates a flashlight-below-the-chin effect.
For more lighting tips, check out Rick’s iPhone and iPad App “Rick Sammon’s Light It!”.
A Bit About HDR and Portraiture
HDR (high dynamic range) photography is when the photographer takes a series of images of the same scene to capture the entire range of highlights and shadows. These images are then merged into one final image in post-production. The spectrum of highlights and shadows in HDR goes beyond what a camera can capture or the naked eye can see.
Avoid applying HDR to people because the effect can be rather harsh. Instead, apply the effect around them for better results.
For more HDR tips, check out Rick’s iPhone and iPad App “Rick Sammon’s iHDR”.
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If you’re interested in listening to this webinar or LowePro’s past webinars, visit Ask the Pro.
