Fear and Photography

I recently watched the movie "Strictly Ballroom", a great quirky Australian movie by Baz Luhmann, on DVD. There is a great line in the movie which is repeated a couple of times that goes " A life lived in fear is a life half lived".

As photographers we sometimes use fear to prevent us from taking photographs. It may be the fear of approaching someone, the fear that the picture won't come out as we envision it or any number of other reasons. The bottom line is that we need to not worry about making the perfect picture every time and we just go out and shoot. The more we shoot the better odds we are going to have of getting the picture(s) we envision.

One of my goals for 2010 is not to let fear interfere with my photography.

Here are some addition quotes concerning fear and failure:
"The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure." - Sven Goran Eriksson
"Fear of failure must never be a reason not to try something." - Frederick Smith
"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." - Franklin Roosevelt

Posted by Al Milligan, Al Milligan Photography

Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® 3 public beta version

Several years ago Adobe released, to rave reviews, Photoshop Lightroom a software program that allows you to quickly import, process, manage your photographs. Adobe Labs has recently made Photoshop Lightroom 3 available as a public beta version.  I downloaded it the other day and just started playing with it. So far it seems like a great alternative to Photoshop especially for everyday normal adjustement's to your photographs.  At first try it seems pretty easy to use. I have never used Lightroom but have always heard great things about it and have considered buying it since it firsts came out.  At a list price of $299 for Lightroom 2, it's also a WHOLE lot cheaper than Photoshop CS4 at $699 for the basic edition and $999 for the extended edition .
The website states that the beta version of Lightroom 3 is scheduled to expire on April 30, 2010. I'm going to guess that the official release of Version 3 will be shortly after that date.Version 2 of Lightroom is still available and can be purchased directly from Adobe (http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshoplightroom/).
If you are intersted in downloading a beta copy of Lightroom 3 here is the link to the website: http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom3/

Information posted by Al Milligan, Al Milligan Photography

VOICE OF THE PHOTOGRAPHER - Greg Gorman

I found this video on Greg Gorman talking about his style on YouTube. It is part of  nine short videos called The Voice of the Photographer, which was created for the Annenberg Space for Photography's inaugural exhibit L8S ANG3LES: Perspectives of Eleven LA Photographers, which was held March 29, 2009 - June 30, 2009.

Here is a link to the Annenberg Space of Photography's website:  http://www.annenbergspaceforphotography.org/

Posted by Al Milligan, Al Milligan Photography

Paella Pan outside Denia, Spain

Between Denia and Javea, Spain, there is a hillside that is covered with wild rosemary and ruins of old windmills. While walking around the area, we came across this house that had a Paella Pan leaning up against the outside wall.

Photograph by Al Milligan
@ Al Milligan 2009 - Al Milligan Photography

California Sunbounce

California Sunbounce  is a manufacturer of outstanding photographic reflectors and other light enhancing products.  They have an amazing website that is jam packed full of videos and other educational resources. The videos feature Greg Gorman, Guido Karp, David Mecey, Rolando Gomez and others using the product. In addition to the videos, you can find a PDF of their product catalog along with full descriptions of all their products. It is probably one of the best photographic equipment websites I have seen. Their products are easy to use and should be part of every photographers lighting kit.

Posted by Al Milligan, Al Milligan Photography

The 2009 Body Form Photo Show - Body Form Studio and Gallery - Boulder, Colorado

Photo by Richard Cummings, www.rickphoto.com

Rick Cummings is having another Body Form Photo Show at his gallery and studio in Boulder, Colorado, starting this weekend, December 4, 2009. Below are the details of the event.

The 2009 Body Form Photo Show

December 4, 5, & 6, 2009

at the Body Form Studio and Gallery

1045 Pearl Street, Boulder

contact Rick Cummings 720.352.4096 rick@rickphoto.com

www.bodyformworkshop.com

The 2009 Body Form show is an exhibition of fine art nudes from local photographers at the Body Form studio and gallery at 1045 Pearl Street in Boulder on December 4,5,6,

The opening is from 6:00 – 10:00 on Friday December 4, with viewing hours from 12:00 – 5:00 on Saturday and Sunday December 6 and 7.

See amazing work from photographers exploring the many different ways of working with the nude; from pure form with unique perspectives to a metaphor of the human experience. All the images in the show were done at the Body Form Photo Workshop, which encourages people to explore their own vision in photography with an emphasis on working with the nude.

Rick Cummings, photographer and director of the Body Form Workshops, says "there seems to be an endless ways to work with the body. I have been photographing nudes since 1988 and I still find new images all the time."

The Body Form Studio / Gallery is conveniently located in downtown Boulder at 1045 Pearl Street. The opening coincides with the first Friday gallery openings on – December 4 with viewing on Saturday and Sunday December 6 and 7 from 12:00 – 5:00.

For more information please contact Rick Cummings 720-352-4096

Charis Wilson - Wife, Model, and Muse of Edward Weston dies at age 95

Photo courtesy of Edward Weston, Edward Weston Archive/Center for Creative Photography“Charis Wilson, 1941” by Edward Weston. Published on the NYTimes.com website.

Charis Wilson, model, muse, and the last wife of Edward Weston, died recently at age 95. Last week, Ovation TV rebroadcast a special on her and Edward Weston called "The Eloquent Nude". It's a great program. Catch it if you can.

On November 25th, Kim Weston posted a very good article about her on his blog which is located at http://kimweston.blogspot.com/.

Here are a couple of links to learn more about Charis Wilson:
- The Museum of Photographic Arts - http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/2aa/2aa373b.htm
- Kim Weston's Blog - http://kimweston.blogspot.com
- Kim Weston's Website - http://www.kimweston.com/guest/guest_6_1.htm
- A Photo Editor - http://www.aphotoeditor.com/2008/05/28/interview-with-edward-westons-wife-and-muse-charis-wilson/

Burgos, Spain - Fiestas - June 2009

Photograph by Al Milligan
@ Al Milligan 2009

Street performers in a parade in Burgos, Spain

Crazy Spainards at the Fiestas in Honour of the Holy Blood - Denia, Spain, July 2009

Photograph by Al Milligan
@ Al Milligan 2009

Spain is known for having a lot of festivals. This was shot during the Fiestas In Honour of the Holy Blood held in Denia, Spain, in early July 2009. On this particular night of the festival, people ran down the main street of Denia with fireworks blazing. The street was filled with wall-to-wall people and the fireworks started at about 12:30 am.

Posted by Al Milligan, Al Milligan Photography

Happy Birthday Rick Cummings

Rick Cummings of The Body Form Workshop and Fashionista Photo in Bouder, Colorado, had a birthday party at his studio last night, November 13th. He had some great new work on display from a couple of new projects he has been working on. If you get a chance, give him a call and see if you can stop by and see it. Better yet attend one of his workshops. A complete schedule for his upcoming workshops is posted on the Body Form Workshop website.

Here are links to Rick's various websites:
Rick Photo - Fine Art / Commercial Photography - www.rickphoto.com
Body Form Photo Workshop - Photography Classes - www.bodyformworkshop.com
Fashionista Photo - Personal Fashion Shoots - www.fashionistaphoto.com

Posted by Al Milligan - Al Milligan Photography