Modern Models

Here's some real people, modern people that is. Please comment on the dress. How modern is it? The photo was taken at M Modern Gallery in Palm Springs. This was a "blonde" art show, last year's blonde show with Mamie Van Duran was better.

This photograph, taken with a Sony Steady Shot, my first camera with an image stabilizer has a Carl Zeiss lens.

Not great for wide-angle, but for telephoto, can't be beat (36-432mm in 35mm equivalence lens).

I bought this point-and-shoot because it has Aperture and Shutter Speed priority controls.

Meteor City, AZ

A couple of posts ago I wrote about UFOs.

Today, it's Meteor City, a trading post just outside of Winslow AZ.

What do you thing they sell inside? (answer below)

Where in the world...

is this?

Herman Leonard and Beyond

Musician in Orange, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Let's call today Herman Leonard Day. This jazz photography giant photographed the best--from Louie Armstrong to Billie Holiday.

Hundreds of his photographs can be found here.

Tip: If you see someone playing music--a group, or an soloist--get in there up close to catch facial expression details or anything from the musician tuning up to being prepared to wipe the sweat off of his face.

Book Signing Promotion

I was ready, ready at the beginning of the week cause I'd done my book signing homework.

Two weeks prior to signing: I emailed a couple of television stations and newspapers about my signing, a fun email, really...including the humor about how I got started in photography.

One week prior to signing: Received an answer from City Beat and Fox 6, a heads up that they will publicize my book signing.

Two days before signing: Appear on television, goes well...I'm interviewed by an anchor who lets me know that it's her first day on the job.

Day before signing: Prepare what I'm going to bring...my cards, my framed image, my portfolio (12X16 samples of my work in black leather case)

Day of signing: Pick up local paper "San Diego City Beat" and find that my book signing is the "pick of the week." Get to signing and it's a full house (okay, about 20 people show up, filling up all the chairs that Borders has set up for the event. Pass out my strange 60s collage, giving people a little bit of a retro shock. People hang out, talk photography, share their work and listen to my tips.


My Roll-Top Desk

During the signing, I found myself referring to past experiences to form the foundations of ones photography. For me, this brought up my fascination with roll-top desks. I can remember being 11 years old and letting my mom know that I wanted one. Not one time, but so many times that it became a nagging experience for my mother.

She finally broke down and bought me one.

Hence if I see a roll-top desk, it's, without a doubt, gonna be a subject for my photography.

Oh So LA

Caught this at the Grove in LA. A bit of candid photography.

Go Kate Go!

Oscar buzz is over about nominees for Academy Awards. Happened to have snapped a few of Kate earlier this month.

Here's the buzz from some papers that include Kate in their articles about the nominees:

Chicago Sun Times
New York Magazine
San Jose Mercury News
News and Star, UK

Fox in the Morning

Good morning, San Diego! Please catch me on Fox in the Morning for some digital photography chat tomorrow on San Diego's Channel 6 at 7:30 a.m.

See ya then~!

Shooting the Sun

Shooting the sun is a difficult proposition. I've done it a number of times--when it's low in the sky, under mostly cloudy conditions and when there's a halo around it.

During the day of this shoot from a cruise ship on the Pacific Ocean west of Baja California, I watched the sun for a perfect shot. I couldn't look at it too long, but after a while I found those spots in my eyes, an effect that told me to stop. But I didn't.

I just would shoot to the side of it, and keep shooting until it went down.

After playing around with f-stops, exposure compensations and shutter speeds, I came up with these numbers which seemed to give me a good effect (in terms of a clear-cut sun).
ISO 200, 1/1600, f/7.1 and shot at 271 mm with a Tamron 28-300 mm lens.

Arab Signs

Caught these signs in Marrakech. Written Arab language is very artful.

Look for the Light

One of the most interesting things in the Medina of Marrakesh is when you get out of the dark tunnels and into places that are partially covered overhead there are beams of light everywhere.

This is one of those places.

UFO Film Festival

Happened to be in Gallup in Oct. 2005 during their UFO film festival.

Just so happens coming up next month is the UFO conference and film festival in Laughlin, Nevada.

Just in case if you've made a UFO film the entry deadline is Feb. 7. So come on you youtubers, get the celluloid moving.

If you look in the sky hard enough you may find this.

Cruise Health

You may ask why this is on my blog. It's a travel matter, really.

Let me start out by listing the recent articles of people getting sick on cruise ships.

Freedom of the Seas Caribbean Cruise
M.S. Oosterdam Mexican Rivera Cruise
Liberty Trans-Atlantic Cruise
Sea Princess Western European cruise

Kind of makes you want to skip the cruise, but don't the ships are taking action...

The photo above was taken by a crew member of a recent cruise that I took. The hands are mine. I decided I wanted a picture of this sanitation device because I thought it was so clever to have on board. I had asked a crew member nearby to photography me washing my hands. She did a great job framing the image.

These little space-age looking machines were everywhere on the cruise ship--entry ways to public rooms, restaurants and at the beginning of the buffet lines.

Kudos to the Norwegian Star, the ship I traveled on.

Toronto Architecture

Caught this in Toronto a few months ago. Just goes to show you how shadow can turn your photos into art.

The Best Zoo in the World

Where do I think the best zoo in the world to photograph is? Yangon in Myanmar. Sure this country abounds with problems--a torturous government, a limited itinerary for travelers and not so great lodgings (especially in the capital city, Yangon).

But the zoo is wide open and you can get close enough to any animal to pet it (if you dare).
Check out the bottom of these hippos' mouths. My camera's lens practically was inside one of them.

I vote this the best zoo for animal photography.

For a travelogue of my Myanmar trip go here.

Differences Between Photoshop and Elements

Curvy architecture processed for the Web in Photoshop Elements


When I bought my new Mac I got a free CD of Elements 2.0.

I'm finding that using it there are some interesting differences between the basic set-up of Photoshop and that of Photoshop Elements:

Elements vs Photoshop

1. I found it surprising that Elements has features that Photoshop doesn't (because Elements is much less expensive).
2. Photoshop Elements has a very effective Browse option. I like it better than Photoshop because Photoshop CS 2's Bridge program (Photoshop has a separate program packaged in called Bridge) because it's faster. While the images aren't as big in the preview; I find that speed is more important under my work circumstances.
3. Elements has a sidebar window where you can locate your files from a list of file names. It's easily seen, fast and very accessible.

Photoshop vs Elements

1. The drop down menu bars in Photoshop have more options and are easier to navigate to.
2. There are fade options in Photoshop CS 2 where you can lessen a previously made change with a slider.
3. There's a channel mixer in Photoshop which allows for better control of the gray tones when changing a color photograph to black-and-white.

These are some I've found. Please comment if you've found a couple...

DISSENT IS NOT UN AMERICAN

Around the time the Iraq war was initiated by George W. Bush's coalition of the 'willing,' offered those who disagreed with him a place in purgatory.

The photo above was taken in 2003 in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood. City Lights is an alternative bookstore that played with the message of being 'un American.'

Everyone seems to be asking where George W. Bush will stand in history, say when we are in our 70s and 80s.

How do you think you'll feel about George W. Bush thirty years from now? Please comment artfully as this is an artful site. Write a poem if you wish : )

Book of Signs--The Twentieth Century

Yesterday, I wrote about my new book, the Book of Signs--The Twentieth Century.

Here's the cover.

One Day in the Life of a Writer/Photographer

Ever wonder how one works at home all day?

Here's one day of activities from the life (guess it's mine) of a freelance writer/photographer:

After looking at the two (K)Cates and Brad yesterday all day, preparing an article for a local paper, I now am back to my roots--signs, signs and more signs.

Today I find myself revamping my Book of Signs--The Twentieth Century. I've spent years on this book, and am adding my images from North Africa (see below). I'm going to submit this beast to Princeton Architectural Press, and hope for the best.







I also have a book signing on January for my book, Digital Art Photography for Dummies, I'm preparing for and wrote a letter pitching myself to a San Diego television station to round up some people to show up when I sign.

Here's the letter. I never have any expectations for a response, so I don't often get disappointed.

Hi Kelli,

I'm Matt Bamberg author of "Digital Art Photography for Dummies" and want to share digital photography tips with your viewers sometime prior to my Borders book signing at 7 p.m. on Jan. 25 in the Mission Valley Borders.

As an accidental photographer here's a brief skinny as to how I got started. After I stopped teaching school in the Bay Area, six years ago when I moved to Palm Springs, CA, I wanted to be a writer.

I learned that I'd have better luck if I submitted photographs with my writing. At the time I was also working as a buyer for mid-century modern furniture and accessories. Buyers in the rough-and-tumble world of resale are called "pickers."

Hence, my first article was called "Confessions of a Picker." The article made the cover of the Palm Springs weekly, the Desert Post Weekly, a publication that, at the time, was filled with photographs of the strange 50s and 60s items I'd picked up around the country.

Items to buy from the mid-century dried up and I was out of work, so I started photographing mid-century motel signs and selling them. They were a hit, and the rest was history, got a book deal telling my story with all the tech knowledge I taught myself along the way (a MA degree in Creative Arts from SF State helped).

A press release and bio are attached below.

BTW: I had two very successful appearances on two Phoenix TV stations (so much so they asked me back) prior to a book signing late last year.

CREATE GALLERY-QUALITY DIGITAL PHOTOS WITH DIGITAL ART PHOTOGRAPHY FOR DUMMIES“

With digital camera technology improving almost monthly and the price of sophisticated digital SLR cameras dropping, more and more people are turning to digital cameras for their advanced photography needs. In Digital Art Photography For Dummies“ (Wiley; Dec. 2005; $34.99), award-winning journalist and photographer Matthew Bamberg, covers the steps and techniques needed to take and print gallery-quality photos with digital equipment.
This full-color guide uses the fun, friendly For Dummies style to guide readers through
*Selecting and using high-end photo equipment
*Shooting in a variety of artistic styles including landscape and portrait photography
*Working with special effects while shooting
*Mimicking the work of famous artists and photographers
*Using Photoshop“ to enhance photos
*Printing high-quality photos
*Presenting the finished product online or in a gallery

Digital Art Photography For Dummies“ also includes hundreds of example photos to provide guidance and inspiration for would-be artists. For further inspiration, readers can visit Bamberg's photoblog (where he calls himself the "Digital Traveler") at http://digitalartphotographyfordummies.blogspot.com/, where the author takes bloggers on a world journey through spontaneous text and images from world heritage sites and throughout the world's greatest cities.
Digital Art Photography For Dummies“ helps readers channel their inner Ansel Adams and go from hobbyist to photographic artist with ease.

Matthew Bamberg Bio:

Several years ago, Matthew Bamberg began to photograph for the articles he was writing while working for the alternative paper, the Desert Post Weekly. His writing focuses on popular culture: essays about topics from the Santa Cruz, California surf culture to the mid-century modern architecture revival around the world. Curious by light striking his lens (direct and bold or soft and willowy) and the sounds (especially of the shutter opening and closing), he struck a relationship first with film and then, like so many, with the digital camera's sensor.

Aside from writing about f-stops, shutter speeds, and the fabulous job the digital camera manufacturers have done that permit photographers to take almost noiseless pictures in the dark at high ISO speeds, Matt has written content and provided photographs for articles on Homestore.com, America Online, and The Weather Channel. He currently writes entertainment columns for the Press-Enterprise in the Inland Empire and the Bottom Line, Palm Springs and is an online instructor at Betterphoto.com.

Photographing on the Red Carpet Tips

Hey readers of Digital Art Photography for Dummies, check out my pics of Brad, Cate and Kate at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. I'm reporting about it with text, image and message all week long!

Taking pics of these events can be tricky.

If you're ever on the run after some celebrities on the red carpet or anywhere else follow these tips:

1. Set your camera to multiple picture shooting mode (on a Canon it looks like a deck of blank cards on the LCD screen). 2. In low light situations turn your flash on and set your camera to the running man in auto-mode. Best to get an attachable flash unit and aim light above subject downward to avoid getting shadows. 3. In high light situations at night set your camera to a high ISO and turn off your flash. 4. You shouldn't hand-hold at shutter speeds slower than the focal length of the lens. 50mm lens = 1/50th sec etc. 5. You can purchase a monopod so that you can extend your shutter time a bit without blur. Here's an article to show you how to use this beast.

Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and Kate Winslet on the Red Carpet

What, no press pass to photograph Brad Pitt?

There I was among all of the press people waiting for the evening's heartthrob, Brad Pitt.

After showing the letter that I was indeed a member of the press (for a local freebie paper in Southern California), the person in charge of press people didn't let me in.

He had said they'd find out from others who where there and worked for my publication to see if I was legit.

Forlorn a bit, I walked around and photographed the limos, then after about 45 minutes, I went back.

Word got in that I could stand in a tiny space by some other local press people.

Here's the story in only the way the Digital Art Photography for Dummies guy can say (tell it with pictures):

All photos Copyright Matthew Bamberg, 2006
Do not use without written permission from the photographer.


Palm Springs Mayor Ron Oden
and friend.


The latest hot couple working
in Washington DC,
local congresswoman
Mary Bono and congressman
Connie Mack from Florida.


Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi's role in Babel
is a breakthrough for her as she's appeared in
mostly Japanese films.


Here comes Brad Pitt.


Brad Pitt and cast of Babel received
Ensemble Performance Award


Pitt chats with Inside Edition


Kate Winslet received the
Desert Palm Achievement Award.


Cate Blanchett received a
Career Achievement Award.


Mary Hart, who lives
in the desert, attends.

Tv Mode--Let the Light Shine In

Sometimes for the fun of it, I'll turn my digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera to Tv mode (that setting enables me to set a shutter speed while the camera automatically determines how wide the lens will open). Then, I'll turn the knob on top of the camera's body until I get the number 10 (seconds) to show up on the indicators inside the viewfinder.

Next, I'll set the camera on a flat surface aiming at what could be an interesting shot. In the image above it's aiming inside a school window in Siam Reap, Cambodia.

Last, I'll turn on the camera's timer (the clock thing that shows up on the LCD screen when you press the timer button on the body of the camera) and click on the shutter release button half-way down for a focus point and then all the way down to take a picture.

When I set your camera to take a shot for a couple of seconds or more, the result is called a long exposure.

The amount of time I set my shutter speed to stay open depends upon how much light I have around. In this case I judged that I'd need from 5 to 10 seconds to get a good exposure.

Let's review what I've said here:

1. Tv mode lets you set how long you want to keep your shutter open (shutter speed).

2. When you decide the shutter speed in Tv mode, the camera decides how wide it'll open the lens. How wide the lens is open is called the aperture of the lens.

Marrakech Berbers

Muslim Morocco has a bit of a twist with respect to both Islam and nationality, especially in Marrakech.

If you're in a shop and get to talking (or even having tea) with the shop owner you'll find that when the subject of nationality comes up being Arab is not something he may want to associate himself with. Often he'll tell you forthright, front and center, that he is Berber.

Islam was spread by Arabs throughout North Africa around 700. It was the Berbers, the nomads of the desert, that were the first to pick up the new religion.

Today, there's a struggle to maintain the Berber culture, one that, in some quarters, resists "Arabization."

Is Berber Better?

In some regards yes. Under Berber rule women have more rights. The culture also considers itself to be more free, according to one shop owner I met in Marrakech. Indeed, there is symbolism that describes how Berbers live, moving around freely and doing what they want. It's inscribed on many items that you can buy in the markets in the Medina (old town) section of Marrakech. On the downside, Berbers are not looked highly upon in the prevalent Arab society of Morocco. More here.

Photoshop Skewed or Balanced; You Decide

figure a

figure b

figure c

figure d

I'm back to reviewing architecture. This time, I caught a black and white building in Paris that sat on a cul de sac in the outer part of the city.

Happy Modern New Year! Take a look at pictures a, b, c and d. One figure is the original. In two figures I cropped and in one I skewed in Photoshop (Select entire image with rectangular selection tool; then Edit>Transform>Skew, then pull top outside arrows of dashed selection outward to make building sit straight up and down).

Which figure--a, b, c, or d--is the one that is skewed.

For some other really cool mid-century modern architectural marvels go to my section on Provence modern architecture.

Selling Teeth

The flow of capitalistic goods rolling through third world markets is immense. There's stuff everywhere in North Africa from the fabrics and carpets that line the walls of the markets to hookahs (water pipes) towering inside shop windows.

Merrakech's Big Square has got to be the only place where I've seen dentures sold on the street such as the ones I found there in this photo.

Home is the Palm Springs International Film Festival

Home again, I am, this week for the Palm Springs International Film Festival where I'll be reporting around town and posting my local articles about related events.

Today the Press-Enterprise published my article, Capturing Hollywood, offering details of the Blow-Up show, an art event a-la-old-Hollywood associated with the Festival.

French Tanks and Colonial Empires

After finding these old toy tanks in a Paris flea market, it left me wondering just what are some French invasions that have taken place over history. Seems of late that it's the Americans who favor invading foreign lands, but there was a more recent time when the French did. The French ruled all around the world at one time or another, including over here in the United States (okay, you probably already knew that!).

But it's interesting to see where all those French tanks were at one time or another.

There are a couple of typically French things that I've noticed in France's former colonies.

1. They still serve croissants in these areas, piping hot out of the oven and buttery as ever.
2. French colonial architecture can be found in abundant supply.
3. In some areas, French is still spoken. They spoke French in Merrakech, Morocco.