Black Kath Friday: My Favorite Snaps.

Bands, beer and bad lighting are the perfect recipe to start as a gig photographer. Here are some of my favorite photos from last Friday's gig organized by Black Kath Productions at Headstock Bar in Marikina.

5 Websites where you should upload your photos other than Facebook, Flickr, Your Blog and DeviantArt

There is a huge number of websites where you can showcase your photos and most people who does photography do it in Facebook, Flickr and DeviantArt. Yes, there is no denying that they have a greater and further reach to the audience since they have a huge number users (facebook probably has a billion and counting as we speak) but if you ask me I'd go for a website that looks good and doesn't take away the viewer's attention from my photos (Facebook has spam written all over it and the constant changes makes it all worst), something that has a bigger upload limit than Flickr (200 images only and hides your older photos once you exceed the limit unless you go for a premium account) and simply the number of choices to customize your portfolio since you are somehow selling yourself to the world (daportfolio has so few and DeviantArt is a huge clutter). 


With that said I have listed here a few websites that you should definitely check for your portfolio.


1. 500px - Easily one of the best photography communities out there. I personally have an account here and I dig the straight-forward look of my portfolio. You should definitely check out the Editors' Choice as well as the Upcoming sections for a good dose of inspiration. They also have a rating system that is simple yet a nice touch plus the metadata of the image is also displayed but I highly disregard that since I'm concerned more with the photo.


 I seriously don't find any cons with 500px since as a free user I can upload 20 photos weekly and have a limited number of photos to show in my portfolio, but if you can pay $49.95 a month then you can have unlimited uploads, premium portfolios, personalized domain, tech support and of course Google Analytics. 


http://500px.com/

Dashboard

Portfolio

2. Tumblr - I think almost if not all has an account here. One can design their own page or use a pre-made theme and if you have the cash to burn you can buy those premium themes that looks really awesome. What is also neat in Tumblr is that with just one account you can manage two or more blogs. I like the reblog system, its cool and efficient because not only you can see on how many people reblogs your post but also it can trace back to its original poster (that means you) meaning more exposure.


Tumblr also has this endless scrolling feature where you can just scroll down forever as long as there is content to see. On top of that you don't need to pay for anything for unlimited uploads but if you have the money you can have a personalized domain name which is definitely awesome as well as premium themes as I have said earlier.


http://www.tumblr.com

Dashboard

Actual web page

3. Red Bubble - is one of the biggest art communities online and possibly a better alternative to DeviantArt (if you are tired of all those anime furries and sucky fan-art you see) because it has almost the same system where you can post your work, see how many people likes it and eventually sell it.


Not only that Red Bubble is a great art community (do check their blogs post) where you can share your works as well sell them. You could do collaborative work with other members which is a great way to improve and learn as a budding photographer.


http://www.redbubble.com/

4. Fotolouge - I haven't been using my Fotolouge for quite sometime now since there's 500px and Tumblr and let's not forget that the website is in Japanese and there's no way to translate it unless you understand Nihonggo. What I like about Fotolouge is the look of you portfolio, nothing fancy just your latest works moving from right to left like sushi in a conveyor belt. On top of that there is a 20mb monthly upload limit which is not a big deal if you are uploading 300kb-600kb images in 72dpi. 


Clean and stunning web layout but it doesn't take you away from your photos. It is also a nice website to share your photos since they have a community there and isn't it cooler to see what does the Japanese say about your work.


http://fotologue.jp/

Dashboard

Portfolio

5. Carbonmade - This is where I started (apart from Flickr and DeviantArt) since I don't have a huge number of images to showcase as well as I don't really care about ratings as well as comments. What's nice in Carbonmade is the limit of 35 images which gives you a challenge of displaying only the best of the best from your pool of work but if you can manage to get the premium upgrade (which by the way is $12 a month) then say hello to 500 images.


A good starting point for everyone since you need to train yourself to strain which work is hot and which is not.


http://carbonmade.com/

Dashboard

Portfolio

Photography Inspiration: Steve McCurry

No need to introduce today's photography inspiration since I figured that nearly every photographer knows and has seen his works from the covers and the pages of the National Geographic Magazine. He is no doubt one of the many outstanding photographers around the world that every single photographer should look up to. For today's photography inspiration I bring you Steve McCurry.

One of the most famous images of Steve McCurry- Afghan Girl

Vietnam

Kabul, Afghanistan

Bombay, India

Philippines

Fushini Inari Shrine, Kyoto, Japan

Tokyo, Japan

Kandze, Tibet

Chiang-Mai, Thailand

Srinagar, Kashmir

Weligama, Sri Lanka

You can see more of his works here.

Photography Inspiration: Nobuyoshi Araki

I just recently discovered Nobuyoshi Araki through my bookstore raids for graphic design books. Unfortunately not only did I wasn't able to buy a book, Araki's coffee table book was too damn expensive so I came home empty handed but money still intact. 


I find that Araki's works are visually and aesthetically stimulating, gritty and above all lyrical. His photos are honest but needs to be peeled to see the deeper meanings he wants to convey. A vast amount of Araki's work talks about life, death and sexuality. Apart from his fine art work Araki has his share of commercial work too, in one of his recent works Lady Gaga has commissioned him to have her photos.


Disclaimer: Some photos are NSFW.

Untitled 2007

Bondages 2008

Marvelous Tales of Black Ink 

From the Series I Novel 1969

From the Series Kakyoku 1997

Untitled (Bondage) 2010

Lady Gaga for Vogue

Bjork's Telegram album cover

10 Photography websites that you should definitely take a look at.

The internet holds a vast amount of information (probably more than all the world's money put together) that can be access with just a few clicks. The information is free and available to all and I encourage people to harness this information in improving and learning more about photography.


I have complied 10 of the many photography websites that I frequently visit during my spare time.

1. strobist.blogspot.com - All things lighting, I recommend this to serious photographers who wants to understand and use their flash guns and strobes. 

2. digital-photography-school.com  - Starting photographer? Amateur? or Pro? The Digital Photography School is for everyone who is glued into photography. From basic photography to masterclass articles, this is one of the must bookmarked photography website.

3. madphotoassistant.wordpress.com - Who says that only photographers knows how should you light your set? Post process your image and make your clients happy. Even photographer assistants can be kick-ass too.

4. photographyserved.com - From fine art to fashion this is one hell of a site definitely worth looking at for inspirations.

5. shootshows.com - Are you into shooting live concerts? Then I suggest you check this out.

6.  photodonuts.com - To those who loves gritty and grainy hedonistic portraits I suggest that you should a look at this.

7.  boudist.com - Portrait? Music? Documentary? This guy from the land down under got it all covered.

8.  petapixel.com - The latest and the freshest news in the world of photography.

9. zackarias.com - I bet you didn't see that coming eh? Well Zack Arias' blog posts is a must read.

10. burnmagazine.org - For the aspiring photojournalists this is for you.


So how about you? Which photography website do you go most often to? Hit the comments and share your favorite photography website.

Adobe has announced the new Adobe Photoshop CS6 & You Can Download It For Free.

Yes ladies and gentlemen, you have read it right. Adobe is letting you to try their newest version of Adobe Photoshop. The Adobe CS6 which is currently in its beta mode looks a whole lot better from its predecessors, aside from the new UI the CS6 sports a whole lot of new and improved features as well. Making them faster and efficient. The downside to this is that the CS6 is best used in a 64-bit computer but regardless this is still the beta phase and you can still save up and have a 64-bit system.



In this video Senior Product Manager Bryan O’Neil Hughes discusses one of the many new features in CS6

To know more about the beta version of photoshop just click here or download it here.

Photography Inspiration: Patrick Rochon

Patrick Rochon was first introduced to me by my good friend Gerome back in our college days when we are going nuts about light painting. After going through his website for the first time back then I learned that he shoots using a film camera, his body of work was so astounding that it often leaves me wondering how the hell was he able to shoot that? 


Patrick Rochon started his flair in light painting in 1992, and has been commissioned in different assignments from shooting advertisements for cars to posters of events and even in live events.

See more of his works here