Noel ChenierNoel Chenier

Remembrance Day Photographs

by

I happened to be looking through images relating to Remembrance Day and came across a few images I’d thought I’d share.

The top photograph is of Veteran Art Pottle, who fought with the 1st Special Service Force, AKA The Devil’s Brigade, during WWII in Italy and Southern France. It was taken at the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John in November of 2006 to go along with a story about a war themed exhibit at the museum. The assignment was to get Art with the exhibit, but I thought I’d try to get an interesting portrait as well.

For lighting, I used a Canon 580 flash on slave mode a stand with a snoot to create a spotlight effect. The snoot also prevented light from hitting anything in the background and created the darkness. I placed the flash high and to the left of Art, and tilted it down to create the directional light. I used the on camera flash as a master, set to 1/128th power and bounced off the ceiling so the light would not be exposed by the camera.

I also came across a picture that I took ten years ago at Remembrance Day ceremonies in Fredericton. It is a picture of 2nd Lt John McNair as he looks towards the sky during the moment of silence. When I look at this picture, I really feel that I captured was this day is all about-the lines on the face, the expression of sorrow as he looks towards the heavens, the rain drops on his glasses, to me, that all says Remembrance Day.

(184)

Fun Assignment: SELF PORTRAIT

by

Many photographers say they have difficulty photographing people, but one of your most difficult subjects to capture could be you yourself! We all have a vision of ourselves that we create, but when we are forced to face ourselves, we shy away. But the self portrait can also reveal something about ourselves, or allow us to express ourselves, and have some fun.

Read more

(339)

BUYING A TRIPOD: AN IMPORTANT PURCHASE

by

You’ve just spent hundreds or thousands of dollars on camera equipment, so it’s not a good idea to go cheap with what you’re going to use to support it.I’ve seen more than a few camera that have been destroyed from crappy tripods! The image above is not my camera, one that I found on the net that is a perfect example…
Here is my advice on what to buy.

The brand that I recommend is MANFROTTO. They are well built, sturdy, and easy to use. They are not the cheapest, but are worth the extra money. You will also need to buy a tripod head. These are the models I recommend:

MANFROTTO 055 Series $200-$300
MANFROTTO 190 Series $150-$200

The 055 is sturdier, heavy, and taller than the 190. Both models allow you to remove the middle pole and mount it upside down or horizontally. If money is not a factor, look at the same models made from CARBON(055MF4 or the 190 CF). They are twice as expensive but since they are made from carbon they are lighter weight and just as sturdy.

TRIPOD HEAD
Manfrotto 484RC2 Quick Release Ball Head $80
Manfrotto 484 Ball Head $65
Manfrotto 222 Joystick(with quick release) $140
Manfrotto 322 Grip Action head $189

If you just want a basic head, for the extra $15, buy the 484RC2, which has a plate that stays on your camera and allows you to quickly attach and detach it from the tripod. The joystick is the coolest head available. To move it, you grip the joystick and let it go when it’s positioned where you want. The 322 is similar but is a bit more compact.

OTHER BRANDS
VELBON SHERPA 250 pro $120 (comes with quick release head)

If you decide to go with a cheaper brand, here’s what you should look for:

NO PLASTIC-buy metal or carbon, plastic isn’t heavy enough.
SEPARATE LEGS-if the legs are attached, tripod cannot go very low
PORTABILITY-make sure it’s not too heavy or long to carry easily
HEIGHT-you want it to reach at least eye level without using the middle column
EASE OF USE-it should be easy to set up and adjust
TRIPOD HEAD-don’t get the panning heads, they are made for smooth panning with video cameras and are terrible for photography

(222)

Want to Share Your Love of Photography with Others? Join a Camera Club!

by

If you enjoy sharing your love of photography with others, or just want to get out of the house or away from your spouse and kids for a night, joining a camera club can fulfill that need!

Most camera clubs offer a membership of various skill levels, from total beginner to professionals. No matter what level of skill, you will fit in. Most clubs offer guest speakers, field trips, competitions, and the sharing of information, techniques, and inspirations. Plus you get this all at a very affordable price!
In New Brunswick, there are quite a few camera clubs. Here is a list of the ones that I know about:

Fundy Camera Club(Saint John)
Their meetings are held on the fourth Monday of each month, 6:30 to 9:00PM, from September to June. Contact is Ginny Abbott (club secretary) (506) 696-4337 email: abbran@nb.sympatico.ca
Website: http://www.fundycameraclub.com/

KV Camera Club
For those of you in the valley, this club meets the first and third Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. from September to June.
Couldn’t find an email contact, but you can contact them through the website:
Website: http://www.kvcameraclub.com/

Hampton Camera Club
A recent addition, the contact is club President Gary Rent at 832-5311 or garren50@gmail.com.

Focus Camera Club in Moncton
Website: http://www.focuscameraclub.blogspot.com/
Email: focuscameraclub@gmail.com

Photo Fredericton
Contact is President: Michiko Nishijima phone-367-1189 email: pres08@photofredericton.ca
Website: http://www.photofredericton.ca

Do you know of any other camera clubs? Send me the info and I’ll edit the posting!

(68)

Workflow and Saving Images

by

Lots of people ask me the process I go through when working my images. Here are the steps I follow when I am downloading images(note, this is how I do it, other people may have better ways, but it works for me!):

1) Download the images from the card to my hard drive on my computer to a folder called ORIGINALS.

2) Copy them onto a backup hard drive into an identical ORIGINALS folder.

3) I then make a copy of the originals and put them into a folder called TO CORRECT

4) Make my corrections to the images, then save them in a folder called CORRECTED. Depending on what the client requires, I will save them as TIFF or JPEGS.

5) Copy the corrected images onto the backup hard drive in a folder called CORRECTED.

6) Once i have over 4 gigabytes of images, I will burn them to DVD, making two copies just in case something happens to a DVD.

This way, i’ve got three or four copies of the images in a variety of places so if my computer crashes, I’ve got a copy somewhere else.

(53)

PIXELS TO PRINT: THE ART OF PHOTOJOURNALISM the BOOK!

by

As many of you know, myself and my photo colleagues at the Telegraph Journal recently had an exhibit of our work, Pixels to Print: The Art of Photojournalism in Saint John and Fredericton.
I had created a nice quality catalog book of the images through Lulu.com, an online publisher, for ourselves as a memento, and due to the response by our co workers made copies for them as well.

Due to the response to our show and the fact that others who have seen the book have asked about getting copies, I thought I’d find out how many others would be interested in getting a copy.
The price will be around $25, which will include shipping and taxes.

You can view a preview of the book here:
http://www.lulu.com/browse/preview.php?fCID=2742421

***NOTE-DO NOT CLICK ON ADD CART! If you order through the website, you will have to pay for full shipping and taxes as well!****
My plan is to do one large order, therefore reducing the shipping charges. You will have to pay for the book beforehand, either through Visa or mastercard or coming in to the Telegraph office on Crown Street and paying cash.

The book is 7″ high by 9″ wide, full colour high quality printing, and contains every image in the show.

Exact specs:
9″ x 7″, perfect binding, white interior paper (80# weight), full-color interior ink, white exterior paper (100# weight), full-color exterior ink

If you are interested, please reply to me at nchenier(at)nbnet.nb.ca, and forward this info on to anyone else you think may be interested!

Thanks

Noel

(113)