Here are some examples from my first test of the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 prime lens. I am using it on an EOS 550D digital SLR and so is equivalent to an 80mm lens on a full-frame 35mm equivalent sensor. It’s known to perform well beyond its price range.
If you click on the close-ups, you will see the 1:1 version at actual size. You can clearly see me and the geese reflected in the turkey’s eye. Below is the full captured frame.
All these images are post-processed with Adobe Photoshop, using the Topaz Adjust plug-in to enhance the perception of detail, and also sharpened a little. However, software cannot add detail although it can increase your perception of it. all the detail is in the original shot and there is no substitute for good lenses.
Larry the Llama
These shots were taken at the rare breeds farm at Graves Park, Sheffield, UK. I think the turkey is the best of the shots and the goose the least good, but all very successful for a grey day and a bit of random shooting with a new lens.
I have been experimenting with high dynamic range (HDR) photography since 2008. I first became interested when I was researching for an application for artist-in-residence at The Lowry Theatre, Salford, Manchester, UK. I was searching for reference images on Flickr.com and came across HDR photos and was struck by the increased perception of detail and colour depth.
At first, it was a very frustrating technique to use and it took me a while to get any results that I was in the least satisfied with. Just to make things even harder for myself, here are a few recent examples of my experiments shooting directly into the sun.
I use Photomatix Pro for post-processing 3 exposure bracketed images with +/- 2EV. I mostly shoot hand-held and find that the combination of Canon image-stabilised (IS) lenses and the software correction of Photomatix Pro (usually) compensates for my WobblyCam shooting.
Here are two edits of a documentary video I have just completed for Edinburgh-based artist Frances Priest. She has just completed a residency at Yorkshire Artspace’s Manor Oaks Studios and the video was commissioned to document her work and cover an event at Sheffield Manor Lodge, UK.
The Turret House at Sheffield Manor Lodge
We originally agreed to make a subtle documentary edit with primarily timelapse video and sound design. However, the event was such a success, and the live video so good, I decided to make more of a promo edit that attempts to represent the event and all the organisations involved.
However, we agreed that an alternative edit, closer to the original brief, would be more in keeping with Frances’ existing online presence. “More cake and less movement” was my direction.
New Manor Ware is an artwork by Frances Priest, commissioned by Yorkshire Artspace, UK. The designs are based on elements from the ceiling in the banqueting room of The Turret House (1574) at Sheffield Manor Lodge.
The time-lapse was captured using the Canon Hack Development Kit (CHDK) using Canon PowerShot A560 compact cameras. The still photography was shot on a Canon EOS SLR and post-processed with Photomatix Pro from 3 exposures.
I am both a commercial media producer and a fine artist. As an artist, my ambition is to make beautiful, meaningful and lasting work for a general audience. I make my work for the world-at-large and I see no conflict of interests in being a commercial artist and also a fine artist. In fact, this is a very traditional approach, and I see myself as a traditionalist, although I use very modern technology and techniques.
This week has seen success for me in both worlds with my work being acknowledged as a commercial success and also being selected for an international film festival.
Still from The Quadrant video promo
Recently, I completed a job for The Quadrant, a managed workspace in Sheffield, UK, and this is a good example of how the two worlds of art and commerce can benefit from each other. I was commissioned to make a commercial promotional video and was given 24-hour access to their building. I saw an opportunity to make something of my own at the same time. Not instead of, but as well as.
I have been experimenting with techniques to capture high dynamic range (HDR) time-lapse video since 2008 and I saw an opportunity to test my workflow. I shot a number of views of the building as the sun moved during the day, and used the open-source Canon Hack Development Kit (CHDK) to enable Canon PowerShot compact cameras to shoot multiple-exposure time-lapse. For the promo I mixed these shots with other timelapse shots of activity within the building. The Quadrant are very happy with the promo I made for them, particularly as it is markedly different from the usual commercial promo, and this is what an artist can bring to a project, a high degree of innovation and a different way of looking at the world. Here is the finished video, music by Laurence Alexander:
I used the clips of HDR time-lapse to make a completely separate piece of work that is an artwork rather than a promo. This is part of an ongoing body of work called “The Secret Life of Buildings” and is a collection of video works that attempt to capture the essence of the building, rather than to simply document it.
Still from The Secret Life of Buildings #6
This work has been selected to be shown at the Chronos 2011 Film Festival of time-lapse, slow-motion and stop-motion in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and here is The Secret Life of Buildings #6 with music by Erik Satie, played by BL Underwood:
Electric Works is an office space in Sheffield, UK, catering for creative, digital and media businesses. Here is a link to some high dynamic range (HDR) shots I took on the unseasonably warm and sunny first day of October 2011. Post-processed with Photomatix Pro. electric-works.net
Flying Monkey TV is a collaborative art / documentary video project. We have been commissioned to provide a custom TV channel for Sheffield City Council’s event By Any Means. This will be happening in Tudor Square, Sheffield, UK on 23rd July 2011 and is part of the 2012 London Olympics Open Weekend to mark a year before the games begin. Our coverage will include time-lapse and live video of the Open Weekend in Sheffield – the city, the people and the event.
In July and August I will be Artist In Residence at Bank Street Arts, 32-40 Bank Street, Sheffield S1 2DS.
I will be shooting timelapse video with a view to creating a new piece of work as part of my project “The Secret Life of Buildings”. This is a body of video work that is intended to present a portrait of a building that is not necessarily a literal document of it.
The first in this series is “The Eye and The Sky” (2008), which was shot in The HUBS (Sheffield Hallam University’s Students’ Union building).
I will be documenting my progress on a new blog, and will be writing a text about the process. We also hope to have a screening at Bank Street Arts after the residency. I will not be present every day but will be shooting on and off throughout July and August.
I worked on Sheffield Doc/Fest 2011 for CVC Event Services, one of the external AV companies.
Also, I was commissioned by the Doc/Fest to shoot some time-lapse video of their MeetMarket venue (more about this later).
What I didn’t know beforehand is that artist Jean Marc Calvet was going to create a painting in the Showroom Cinema’s café/bar during the festival.
Director / Producer Dominic Allan has made a documentary film about Calvet’s remarkable life and this was one of the big hitters at this year’s festival. calvetmovie.com jmcalvet.com sheffdocfest.com showroomworkstation.org.uk Thanks go to Pixelwitch Pictures (aka Jacqui Bellamy) for spotting the opportunity and for Doc/Fest, Dominic and Jean Marc for allowing us to shoot the process.
Below is a short time-lapse video of Calvet at work. Music by Laurence Alexander. richardbolam.net flickr.com/photos/pixelwitchpictures laurencealexander.wordpress.com
A different take on the commercial promo. This is another interpretation of high dynamic range (HDR) time-lapse video that I shot for a promotional video for The Quadrant. The music is “Gnossienne No. 1” by Erik Satie, performed by B. L. Underwood. http://blunderwood.com http://quadrantsheffield.com
These are some fragments from a HDR timelapse shoot at The Quadrant, a serviced office space in Sheffield, UK. Below are some short examples of HDR timelapse video created with Canon PowerShot cameras “hacked” with the Canon Hack Development Kit (CHDK), an open-source software program. The HDR is achieved by shooting 3 exposures for each shot, one normal exposure, one +2 EV and one -2 EV. The results are post-processed with Photomatix into tone-compressed jpegs, the result of which is to produce an image with a much greater colour depth. These are then compiled into movies using QuickTime Pro. The result is a moving image that can accommodate a very high dynamic range without losing either the highlights or the shadows. It’s very processing-intensive but the results are impressive and produced with domestic-scale equipment (and a lot of patience).
Watch them in 720p HD on Vimeo or YouTube and stay tuned for a proper edit. Music by Sieben aka Matt Howden.
Richard Bolam Digital Media 