photo by Joel Meyerowitz

November Photo Newsletter
Photography After the Sun Goes Down

Dear Photographers,

As the days get shorter, the nights get longer. We invite you to search out all the wonderful visual possibilities held by the dimming light and then the darkness. This month we offer two night field trips as well as a two-part photo workshop to get you started with this rich, though often overlooked, dimension of photography. If you sometimes sigh about the diminishing hours of sunlight, come with us to revel in the mysterious gifts of the night.

P.S. Watch out for something new: a Comments Section in future newsletters where we welcome you to share your thoughts, tips, questions and insights. Just email your input to owenbiddlephotography@gmail.com

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Two-Session Photo Workshop:

Low-Light to No-Light Photography

photo by Owen Biddle

You may not yet be familiar with the ways you camera sees at night, but it is different from the way the human eye sees. This workshop will explore the camera's ability to capture detail and color in the shadows - hidden from our own unaided perception. Learn how to use shutter speed and aperture to reveal these secrets and create really unusual and beautiful pictures. We will cover the golden hour, the blue hour and full night including discussion of the wide range of artificial lights that come on after the sun goes down.

First session:

Tuesday 11/21 7:00 - 8:30

discussion of equipment, technical issues and compositional tips.

Second session:

Tuesday 11/287 7:00 - 8:30

share your work from the intervening week

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Photo Field Trips

Lansdowne at the Blue Hour

This friendly small town just outside of Philadelphia offers a great mix of neon store lights on the downtown strip, warmly lit homes, trails of headlights and taillights and trains pulling into and out of the train station. A perfect place to try out your low light and night photography skills in a relaxed setting.

Friday 11/17, 5:00 - 7:00

photo by Owen Biddle

Swarthmore

at the Golden Hour

A favorite destination at a favorite time of the evening. On the college campus we will discover how our cameras can bring out the rich colors of fall foliage, even as the sunlight fades. And the small downtown strip offers that wonderfully appealing combination of warm interior light and the blues of the outdoors.

Location: Swarthmore, PA

Friday, 11/24 4:30 - 6:30

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Return of the

In-Person Photo Salon

Sunday, 11/19 2:00 - 3:30

These are very friendly, relaxed get-togethers at my apartment in Lansdowne. Photographers of all levels are welcome to share pictures, get photography tips, and discuss camera equipment. You can also get ideas for entering photography contests, submitting to photography magazines and having photo shows. Feedback from the group provides encouragement and inspiration to go out and take more pictures. These informal photography critiques offer an excellent opportunity to start identifying themes in your work and to get ideas for new directions. Group size is limited, so if you can come an RSVP is required by email or call (610) 626-7854. Cost is $10.

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Photo Tips for Night Photography:
The tripod is your friend.

The manual mode will give you more control. Try it!!

The 10 stop neutral density filter blocks light so that people and other moving objects disappear - good for a simplified composition.

ISO should be 100

Your self timer eliminates shaking of the tripod.

F8 and be there!

Look out for unusual sources of lighting (street lights, car headlights, computer and TV screens, refrigerator lights, strong flashlights etc) to have fun with a great range of color termperatures.

October

Owen Biddle Photo Newsletter

Contest Winner ~

Eloise Boccella

Category: Fall Scenes

A meditation on the season - and a stunning composition.

photo by Eloise Boccella

Second Place Photo

photo by Gerry Fisher

This photo captures the glories of fall beauty.

November Photo Contest

Photos After Dusk

Send in your best images from the Blue Hour, the Golden Hour and/or Full Night. Considerations include handling of challenging lighting conditions, composition, originality and overall mood and impact. To enter simply email your photo to : owenbiddlephotography@gmail.com.

The winning photo will be featured in our next Newsletter.

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DSLR and Mirrorless Fundamentals Tutorials

Below are descriptions of the basic units of our curriculum available to students ranging from beginner to advanced. Most units are five lessons and include a set of assignments designed to give practice in targeted skills with opportunities to get feedback from the instructor so that you learn from your experiences.

Just give a call and we can set up individual sessions to keep you moving forward with your photography.

Call (610)-626-7854 for details.

(click on links for more information)

Fundamentals 1: Camera Operations is for students who are just starting out, or want a good review of the basic camera functions.

Fundamentals 2: Applications is for students who have some comfort with the camera and want to start applying their skills to expand their photographic range.

Fundamentals 3: Composition takes photography beyond the subject, and encourages you to see the artistic and compositional opportunities in everyday life. Here is a chance for your right brain to come out and play!

Fundamentals 4: Lighting Across the Genres is for students who are ready for the next critical step: lighting. Explore sophisticated means of controlling both natural and artificial light for portraits, landscape and still life to get just the mood and effects you want.

Advanced Photography - Using self-generated assignments and in-depth critiques we will help you move forward in your work.

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Not a photo but.....

in this painting by Edward Hopper (1882 - 1967) we see how playing warm interior against cool exterior can evoke a mixture of feelings - a sense of longing, the chilly alienation outdoors and hoped for comfort within.

POM

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Photographer of the Month

Joel Meyerowitz

1938 -

Here is what Joel Meyerowitz has to say: "I want to enjoy the languor of just living, recognizing, acknowledging, taking it in, sort of amplifying it in some way. [Photography] is a great medium for that. It happens in an instant, but it gives you hours or days of time to reflect on things. It’s a beautiful system, this game of photography, to see in an instant and go back and think about later on. It’s pure philosophy. And poetry."

We have kind of mixed reactions to this selection of images. Joel is a master of street photography, still life and landscape, and he embraces the idea that our subject matter does not fade away when the sun goes down. His deft integration of natural and artificial illumination (neon store lights, street lights etc) make nighttime images that pulse with light and color. However, some might find his decidedly unromantic choice of subject matter a bit cold and impersonal. What do you think? We'd love to hear your opinions of this controversial photographer. Email us your thoughts and we may include them in a new Comments Section in our next newsletter.

Click on thumbnails to see full images.