Forms of Blogs
At first, weblogs ended up straight text. Now most incorporate text and pictures. Subject distinct blogs contain everything from distraction and politics to heritage and literature. There are actually photoblogs on which people submit pictures of numerous points. You can find photoblog dialogue web sites which can be mostly plain text blogs the place people today discuss their own photoblogs and also the photoblogs of other individuals. There is photoblogging news which again consists of generally plain text and men and women go over distinctive photoblogs that happen to be available and what they have got to offer. Videoblogging is relatively new and is in essence another type of self-_expression. There are actually weblogs about videoblogging on which groups and people today go over issues just like the finest digital video clip format. You will discover MP3 weblogs which might be very popular. These supply musical choices for listening and downloading enjoyment.
Web site Internet hosting Services
MySpace can be a company that enables end users to make use of there weblog (blogging site) application program, either no cost or for any price. MSN contains a equivalent company. Typically basic companies are free of charge and clients fork out more for extra companies. Individual consumers have their very own website or pages consisting of journal weblogs, shots, or movies if sought after in addition to numerous background selections. Determined by a user's understanding of HTML text and graphics, these web sites is usually extremely easy or really intricate, but all are as distinctive as the people today that design and style them. MySpace has gotten some negative press lately simply because web-site customers can browse profiles, as a way to "meet" individuals in authentic existence. This may be how many people pick to utilize the web site, but is not really how or why the website was made to be used.
Why we website
Running a blog of any kind is basically a sort of self-_expression or notion exchange. It can be not a dating service. Men and women use them to help keep in touch with their families and good friends. Let every person understand what is happening within their life. They share pics from across the miles and across the ages. Folks at times connect with folks from other international locations and occasionally reconnect with individuals who moved absent in grade school. Indeed, the web sites have gotten some bad press and parental warnings, but will not every thing new. If memory serves, it was once chat rooms which were packed with perverts expecting the possibility to just take edge of unsuspecting innocents. Now they blame it on the blogs.
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If you’re stuck in a rut and there’s nothing to shoot. If you feel like you’ve been there done that and there’s nothing new under the sun. If your city looks a bit too familiar and the streets are dull. If you already know it’s not about doing it right but doing it your way. If you like trying new ideas and are not afraid of experimenting; you are probably ready to rest your sophisticated digital camera on the shelf and go for something new.
(click on thumbnails for full-size images)
Get yourself a polaroid camera
Polaroid is such a strange entity and probably the
most bizarre choice for street photography. It is bulky, it is loud,
there are instant images to take care of on the move and possibly the
worst thing about applying Polaroid in Street photography is that
everybody out there seems to stop and watch the polaroid-grapher do his
thing.
So why should I use a Polaroid, you might ask? (Good question!)
Well, obviously because a Polaroid is much FUN and a refreshing
change from the conventional, humorless and tired world of photography.
Sometimes I can’t help but thinking some people just forgot how to
have fun with photography.
They are very serious about the camera they must use, and often they are
concerned with different technical issues they've heard so much about.
It varies from the type of film they need, to how much post processing
is acceptable, to basically how photography should be done. Occasionally
it seems to me their aim is to simply make their viewers happy…
So, not that it is wrong to take yourself seriously, just make sure you
don’t forget along the way why you went into photography in the first
place (hint: fun).
By the way, Polaroids are a great material to paint, draw or write on,
use in a collage, liven up your gloomy journal, and pretty much any
other ideas you might come up with.
Get yourself Time-Zero film
…and the sooner the better. Yes, it’s true,
Time-Zero film had been discontinued by Polaroid; however, it is still
possible to find the film in stores and online, so you can to stock up
enough to enjoy it for a while.
Time-zero film works with SX-70 Polaroid cameras, but with some very
simple tweaking can be shot with the common 600 Polaroid which can be 
found
in every drug store. Time-zero is a unique film since the gelatin part
of the film stays soft for several hours and so can be manipulated,
which is done by applying pressure to the emulsion using blunt tools and
basically moving it around. The result of such manipulation often blurs
the difference between a photograph and a painting, and in fact gives
the photograph a painterly look.
You can manipulate these Polaroids "on location" (best if done in a
sunny place) or take them home and place in the freezer until you’re
ready to work on the image. All you need to do then is warm it up with a
hair dryer or a hot plate and voila! The picture is as fresh and toasty
as if you just took it today.
This type of image is great to document the streets and our ordinary
urban life as it transforms every simple scene into a cool one.
Get yourself a Holga
The Holga is IT! For just $16.99 you get yourself a
plastic camera which will truly allow you to finally break free of the
correctness in photography.
This innocent looking toy might actually be the best choice for
street photography: there are no settings to hassle with, no focus or
f-stop, so it’s easier to shoot on the move and keep up with the fast
pace of the streets. And maybe its best trait is that the Holga just
doesn’t look like a real camera, definitely not a serious one, so people
just tend to ignore it and go about their business. (Doesn’t this
camera remind you of these toy cameras which spray water on the
unsuspected victim?)
One of the cool things about the Holga is that you can try all kinds
of weird ‘tricks’ and since there isn’t really a correct way of using a
Holga, anything goes… for example, you can advance 
the
film between exposures only half way to purposely get a two in one
image, or at least claiming you did… And of course the Holga’s most
recognized feature – the double exposure although most double exposures
done with a Holga are accidental;
The Holga does not automatically advance to the next picture and as a
result the double exposure is just bound to happen every so often.
Another fun thing to try with a Holga is making panorama images.
Unlike panoramas taken with other cameras, with a Holga there’s no need
to stitch the images together on the PC, the whole stitching thing is
done directly on the negative. And it’s a Holga! Meaning the panorama
doesn’t have to be perfect, actually probably better that it isn’t :)
And finally one tricky thing about the Holga is shooting at
night. See, since the Holga doesn’t have a light meter or a real shutter
speed and F stop settings you find yourself at the mercy of your film’s
speed. (Which by the way is 120 film) (just another bonus!)
The new Holga has the most advanced feature; the B exposure. Sounds
great, no? However, the way it really works is that you need to press
the shutter release button for as long as you want your exposure to be.
Not to mention the pain and suffering your poor finger must go through,
it is also impossible to hold your breath or keep steady for too long
and even if you rest your camera on something, there will still be that
horrible camera shake (the ugly cousin of the attractive motion blur).
This is where your choice of film can help you. If you don’t mind long
exposures go for the 400ASA film and expose your film in the average lit
area for about 30-40 seconds! 800ASA will allow you to cut down your
exposure time to a good 10-15 seconds. But at last you will see the
light when you use 3200 ASA which tolerates an exposure of somewhere
between 1-3 seconds. Yippee!
Get yourself a Holgaroid
If
you’re a fan of both Holga and a Polaroid you can get yourself a
Polaroid back for your Holga and you’ve got yourself a Holgaroid. Sounds
great, no? Like Homer would have said: “mmmm…. Instant Holga images!”
life doesn’t get any better than that… or does it? The Holgaroid is by
far the most challenging camera I’ve ever seen. To start with, the
Polaroid back covers the view finder so you just have to ‘shoot in the
dark’ like this. Another issue to handle is the fact the Holga is at
it’s best with a 400ASA film, however, the Polaroid film for this
camera, a peel-apart type 80, is either 80 or 100 ASA which are simply
too slow for the Holga or 3000 ASA which is not appropriate for daylight
shooting. And maybe the most annoying part about this camera is the
need to carefully handle a very sensitive film which needs time to
develop without being shaken and then a print which needs enough time to
dry or it might be damaged. This is a great challenge to accomplish
while shooting on the move.
So unlike other cameras that you can happily take along with you, just
like you take your car keys or cellular phone, unlike these wonderful
easy going cameras, the Holga-Polaroid actually takes you along with
her.
This bulky looking camera just demands all your attention and affection
and won’t be completely satisfied until you are on your knees begging
for one good picture.
So why are you even going to bother with this camera? Because of the
end result; because when it works (once in a blue moon) the pictures
are simply artistically unique!
Give cross processing a chance
Cross-processing simply means shooting slide
film but instead of processing it in the standard E6 chemicals it is
processed in the “wrong” chemicals like C41 chemicals which are normally
used for processing negative film (and vice versa). As you can see, it
produces interesting and unexpected colors, higher level of contrast and
lots more grain. Different types of slide film will react differently
when cross-processed so it’s probably a good idea to try a few of them
before settling on your favorite effect.
Assuming that you don’t have a color lab at home, cross processing
will probably take place in your local (professional) lab so all you
really need to do is find colorful, interesting scenes and shoot them,
keeping in mind that even the most ordinary scenes can end up looking
pretty extraordinary.
Give multiple exposures a chance
If your camera has a multiple exposure button here is another thing that can be fun to try on your next street expedition. Take 2, 3 or even 4 images in the same frame and see what you get. Best if you choose simple but colorful subjects. When you graduate from multiple exposure school try combining it with some fine cross processing. It can get pretty wild!
Give extreme scanning a chance
Okay, don’t now go looking up Extreme Scanning in
the dictionary; it’s just a term I came up with to describe a technique I
developed (it actually developed itself) while scanning my negatives.
So
this is how it’s done: You begin with an already scratched up/
neglected negative and skip the cleaning up part (as you can tell it is a
very good method for the lazy among us). You then play with the
scanner’s settings (contrast, color balance etc.) until you like what
you see and then you scan away. Another helpful way of achieving some
interesting results is scanning a color negative with the settings set
to black and white. The result is a nice sepia tone.
Nitsa’s to do list
1) Buy expired film (it’s cheaper!) and keep it on the dashboard
in my car for a couple of weeks before shooting the damaged film and see
what happens.
2) Modify the Holga to shoot 35mm film.
3) Make “street art” (this is what I call my future project of combining real street pictures along with text.)
4) Buy more Time-Zero film.
5) Learn how to do Polaroid image transfer.
6) Modify the Holga to a pinhole camera.
7) Try another toy camera.
8) Try infrared film.
9) Make more panning images.
10) Win the lottery; buy a house with extra space for a darkroom.
Ok, enough!
Now shut down this computer, open your door, get out there and make a few great pictures.
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