The Atlantic Photo blog is a gathering spot for our favourite customers, photographers, gear hounds, and suppliers.
Here's where we'll share enthusiasm, insider tips, and creative inspiration for everyone from the beginner to the seasoned pro - and we hope you'll share the same with us. Enjoy!
Many thanks to Marc MacArthur of Heckbert Studio & Gallery (Charlottetown PEI), Liam Hennessey of Applehead Studio Photography (Halifax NS), and Chris Lovegrove (Northern NB) for our banner images. We've got a diverse professional community in the Maritimes, and we're proud to be a part of it.
Q | "As a wedding photographer, what does creativity mean to you?"
A | "You know that ‘think outside the box’ saying? We like to get outside the box and then run as far away from anyone that seems to be gathered around outside it. We don't do the Public Gardens. Converse chucks are suitable wedding shoes for a bride, groom or photographer. Tattoos are awesome and love does not always need to look at the camera and smile."
From choosing the right equipment to artful composition and making your subject comfortable, this book lays out the essentials of capturing moving and unique portraits.
The Photographer's Guide to Portraits by John Freeman
This inspiring, practical guide explores everything from composition and light to digital tweaks. Learn how to set subjects at ease, and how to photograph with all kinds of light, lenses, and tools.
Mastering Black and White Digital Photography by Michael Freeman
With this essential guide, discover how to create a stunning monotone image, and experiment with colors as gray tones, manipulating tonality for dramatic effect, and high contrast, infrared, and pseudo non-silver looks.
Mastering Digital Flash Photography by Chris George
Learn how to decrease contrast and shadows in outdoor portraits, control the light using bounce techniques, and employ high-speed and rear curtain synchronization to create impressive motion-blur images.
The Digital Photography Book by Scott Kelby
"This book is all about you and I out shooting where I share the secrets I’ve learned, just like I would with a friend—without all the technical explanations and techie photo speak." ~ Scott Kelby
Digital Photography by Steve Luck
Explore the digital explosion, the difference between film and digital, and how to choose a camera wisely. Get a grasp on ISO, megapixels, post-processing, slideshows, printing, and compositional theory.
Black & White Digital Photography by Les Meehan
From basic concepts to advanced techniques, learn how to create great monochrome prints via camera calibration, white balance, and scanning equipment to emulating traditional darkroom techniques.
The winners are listed below. The prints for this event will be ready for pick up on May 9th. We will be posting all the winners images in the next few days on our facebook page. Thank you to all made this event a success. We hope to improve on this next year.
The first mirror-less camera was introduced over 5 years ago, and since taken the camera market by storm. Initially, Canon appeared hesitant to enter this new market, which features small point size cameras, but with DSLR like features. Is it possible Canon entered the mirror-less camera race too late? Can its first mirror-less camera stand up to competitors who have more experience in the market? Or will the already successful cameras by Fuji, Sony, and Olympus overshadow the Canon? To find out, I’ve taken the Canon M along with me to Europe for one month. I recently put the Canon M through its paces during a trip to Madrid, Spain.
The newly introduced Canon M series features an 18 mega-pixel APS-C sensor that allows for above average low light capabilities with a maximum expanded ISO of 25600. The Canon M comes kitted with either the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 or f/2.0 22mm lens and a small external flash. When shooting in burst mode the new 14-bit DIGIC5 processor yields a respectable 4.3 frames per second, with optional subject tracking. If one desires to take video the Canon M will not disappoint, as it's capable of recording full HD 1080p video at 30 frames per second, but of course with a 30-minute clip limit. Videographers or amateur cinematographers will also appreciate the external microphone socket and adjustable sound recording levels. As like many other mirror-less cameras the Canon M comes in a variety of colors ranging from the standard black, red, white, and slate grey. Ergonomically, the first noticeable difference, when the Canon M is being compared to others on the market, is the size of the camera. The camera is very light and compact even when it’s mounted with the larger 18-55mm lens. Since the camera has few buttons because of its' touch screen capabilities, it appears very sleek and visually appealing. Some might argue that the Canon M has as a design that is boring because of its simplicity and lack of buttons, but I personally enjoy the more refined design. The camera is also reasonably solid and comfortable to hold due to its magnesium alloy body. The overall external design is impressive and visually stands out amongst competitors. In fact, the camera more closely resembles one of Canon’s small point and shoot camera’s than a DSLR.
The first thing I noticed was when using the Canon M was its incredibly intuitive interface. Originally, I was skeptical of navigating my way through the options via touchscreen. With other camera companies failing to provide touchscreen interfaces that worked properly, my first thought was that this was Canon's first mistake. However, after only a few minutes I quickly realized the menu system was efficient and designed properly. Changing between aperture, and shutter priority modes was done with ease and manipulating functions like white balance, color balance or other manual functions was also easy. The touch screen auto focus was useful and worked well, although I found it wasn’t accurate when trying to focus on something small from a distance. I did find the autofocus a little slow as well, especially when something was moving across the frame. The other downfall I quickly noticed was the sub-par battery life. It was difficult to get through an entire day on one charge, and if your shooting video be prepared to carry at least one extra battery. After reviewing some of the pictures taken on the first day I was impressed with the overall image quality. The camera handled the nighttime, daytime, and macro shots well with all images looking very sharp. I took a lot of landscape photos in Madrid and most came out crystal clear. The colors looked both vivid and balanced. For the most part they came out as they appeared on the camera screen. However, I did find it difficult at times to correctly gage the exposure on a sunny day without a proper viewfinder. As a result, a few of my images came out under and over exposed. Thankfully, this was nothing that couldn’t be fixed in Photoshop with a few minor adjustments. On my last day in Madrid, I went to botanical garden and then to a popular market where I put the macro settings to the test. Even with shooting just with the standard 18-55mm lens it performed well. I have to admit, after using the camera for 5 days straight it grew on me the more I used it. At first, navigating through all options via touchscreen was tricky, but after two days of use I became very comfortable with the touchscreen interface.
After using the Canon M I felt as though I’ve come away with a new understanding of why mirror-less cameras are such an attractive option for consumers. For me, the quality of the images seemed on par with what I’d expect form a mid-range DSLR. This paired with the convenience of having all this in such a small compact camera, made for an overall positive experience. I don’t believe Canon has appeared in the mirror-less camera market too late. However, I do wish Canon were more innovative with the camera. Other camera companies in this market like Fuji and Sony have used it to showcase new technology and design. Canon has seemed to enter the market with a solid first mirror-less camera, but played it safe. It’s also possible they entered the mirror-less market simply to maintain some form of relevancy before it’s to late. In the future Canon needs to embrace this new market with a different approach. I feel as though they reluctantly entered the market because it could potentially eat away at their entry-level DSLR sales. Canon should know better than anyone that the camera market is changing more rapidly than ever before, and to stay competitive in all areas it sometimes means creating things that hurt other current products sales. Despite these notions, Canon has delivered a good camera with the Canon M series. It’s my hope Canon realizes the mirror-less camera market is here to stay, because with their innovation and technology they could potentially put a serious dent into mirror-less camera market, or even better create something that changes the landscape of the camera industry once again.
Displayed below are few images I’ve taken in Madrid, Spain at various locations throughout the city. Along with these images is a video sample taken of a firework show that represented the start of Carnival.
Don't Miss out on this Deal. Order A Gallery Wrap Canvas and Get it Framed in a Floating Frame at NO EXTRA CHARGE!! It easy, just go to Atlantic Photo Supply , sign up and upload your image. Offer available for 11x14,12x18,16x20,24x36in Black only. Prices start at $89.99 plus Shipping. Atlantic Photo Supply is known for Quality Fine Art printing. Each Canvas created with care. Atlantic Photo Supply has been serving Photographers since 1942.
Atlantic Photo Supply, View Point Gallery, and The APEG Mod Squad are pleased to announce another great Print Show. This year we have decided to divide it into 2 shows. One for amateur/avid enthusiasts, and the other for Professional Photographers.
The show will be on display at ViewPoint Gallery on April 27th and 28th. The winners of the Amateur enthusiasts will be announced April 28. The Professionals will be announced May 3rd at The APEG Mod Squad Seminar.
Here is the outline
All entries are $15.00 each, which includes a mounted metalic print produced by Atlantic Photo Supply. No larger than 25 united inches; 11x14. Maximum of 4 entries per person. Images to be submitted to APS in either SRGB or Adobe 98, 300dpi jpegs.
Zee Rules
Amateur categories are: Family, Nature and Landscape, Pet, Macro, Art,Action Professional Categories are: Wedding, Portrait, Nude and Boudoir, Commercial, Fashion, Landscape, Children/Infant.
*Professional is considered anyone that derives some portion of their income from photography.
If you are not a member, you must sign up. Order your 11x14 prints, proceed to check out, and indicate in the special instructions that they are for the print show. Please indicate the category for each.We will contact you for payment.
Images should be named in the following manner: Catagory_yourname_amateur or pro extension. Example: landscape_allensutherland_amateur.jpeg or landscape_allensutherland_pro.jpeg.
Please note: only 140 entries will be displayed. Everyone gets their prints back after the show. Both Amateur and Professional will have a panel of 3 judges.. Deadline for entries is April 7.
Why?
Because....
it was a great event last year and people asked about having another one. And because it's about education, sharing and showing off the talent we have here in the Maritimes. Last year we had entries from every corner. Overall winner: a student from Holland College. Oh yeah - and winning cool prizes. You can't get this from sitting on your butt watching YouTube and surfing the web.
We have a great venue at ViewPoint Gallery, a cooperative that bring both local and international artists exposure. Then we have Mod Squad seminars and workshops at the Shadow House. Mod Squad was created by The Atlantic Photographic Education Group. A group of like minded photographers, who's soul interest is in the advancement of Photographic Education.
Don't be shy! Start sorting those favourite Pics and submit them for all to see.
After graduating NSCAD U the urge to photograph and create art had almost disappeared, I hardly used my camera, we had become estranged. I thought it was just me who had lost interest in creating art but after talking with friends I realized that almost everyone goes through a burn out period after graduating university. At the time I was working with friends at Atlantic Photo Supply who graduated university at the same time as me. We started talking more about art and sharing our ideas; motivating and inspiring each other. After months and months of talking about photography and looking at work that other artists around us were creating we finally decided to put a plan in motion to create work of our own. Four of us formed a group called The Extra Curricular Art Club with the goals of being a source of guidance, critical thought, and inspiration to each other while allowing us to further explore photography and grow as artists.
Over the course of a year we started meeting every few weeks, applied for a show, and started working on a body of work based on the theme “Family”. We discussed our own family experiences, what family means to each of us and how we wanted to interpret it. We decided to title the exhibit The Ties That Bind.
Growing up I spent a lot of time at my own family homestead and exploring the land that had been a part of our family since the 1860s. I always feel connected to the land and my family when I am there, it is a large part of my life and I feel lucky to be able to sleep under the same roof that my ancestors did years ago. As for family experiences, I did not come from a large family but my parents had at least five siblings each, not a large family but not small. They remain close to their siblings and often spent time together. Growing up I heard lots of family tales, some funny, some sad and most were often told and retold.
I kept going back to these stories and the homestead while working on the project; I knew I did not want to photograph people in my own family or the homestead so I decided to create my own family of characters and stories.
I created six characters, three female, three male. Each character has a different story that is connected to a time period in history. I also placed small objects like letters, photos, or other small items that belong to my family in the photos, they are not a focal point but hold a presence as my own family.
It was not until our photographs were hanging in the gallery that I realized how well we worked together over the past year helping each other to bring our ideas to life. We helped each other work through creative blocks, listening when we became frustrated, and keeping each other motivated and inspired. People have been asking “Will you work together again?” The answer is yes, I look forward for our next photographic adventure together.
The Ties That Bind is on display in The Craig Gallery at Alderney Landing in Dartmouth till Feb 2nd. Be sure to check it out. Make sure you sign the guest book; we would love to hear your comments and feedback. You can also read a review of the show that is published in The Coast.
Monday, April 29, 2013
