Planet Yawn

Photography books for inspiration, these are not how to technical books but books that can let you think about how to make images. They are how to think photographically with your mind and camera books. The important thing in learning to think photographically is to let go of your preconceived notions and to actively learn to see what is in front of you. This allows you to begin to plan your images and lets you approach the construction of images in a dynamic and considered manner.

The books that I have found to be of particular help in this are below. These books all talk about photography and encourage you in your practice to a higher level of awareness.

Achieving Photographic Style. by Michael Freeman

After Photography. by Fred Ritchin

Camera Lucida. by Roland Bathes

Life of a Photograph. by Sam Abell

On Being a Photographer : a Practical Guide. by David Hurn & Bill Jay

Photography and the Art of Seeing. by Freeman Patterson

Practical Composition in Photography. by Axel Bruck

The Elements of Photography: Understanding and Creating Sophisticated Image. By Angela Faris Belt

The Nature of Photographs: a Primer. by Stephen Shore

The Photographer’s Eye. by John Szarkowski

The Photographer’s Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos. By Michael Freeman

Train Your Gaze: A Practical and Theoretical Introduction to Portrait Photography. by Roswell Angier

Ways of Seeing. by John Berger

I have found different things in each book on this list and they have all added to my abilities as a photographer.

The books above are all with links to Amazon UK, If you buy any of these books from these links, I do not get anything for this so this is not an exercise in trying to get you to buy anything. Some of these books can be found for as little as 1p plus postage some are harder to find and more expensive. I personally own them all and that is the only reason that I recommend them as I have returned repeatedly to these books since I have brought them. Some will be better for you than others and it also depends on your interests in photography as to which, you will get the most out of. The list is in no particular order other than alphabetically, so please don’t read anything into the order of the books.

I’m undecided about buying a new film camera, I currently have quite a collection of Sony lenses and yet some days I find myself looking at Minolta film cameras as I can use these with the Sony lenses. As it will cost me about £300 for one of these cameras, I’m not sure if I could use the money better towards a medium format film camera instead. Something like an a Mamiya 7 or maybe even buy a rangefinder 35 mm like Leica which admittedly would be more. However, both of these cameras the Mamiya or Leica would change the way I create and make photographs which is partly the reason why I would consider either of them. I could use them both for shooting new work that will ultimately end up  being printed in my re-built darkroom. The other option is to go towards a Pentax 67 or maybe even find myself a 5 x 4 camera and be really methodical about the photographs that I create.

I can afford to do this as  the enlarger that I currently have is a Durst laborator 1200 which I got quite cheaply. Originally I owned one of these enlargers in the 1980’s when it cost me approximately 7000 Australian dollars (for a new one).

My personal feeling is if one is going to buy a camera that is out of the ordinary (i.e. film) than one should think hard about how that is going to change your picture making process. Digital can be fun and fast and yet my feeling with film is that it is serious and permanent, in other words once you’ve shot it you can’t change it.

M

As some of you may know I’m still in the process of applying for a PhD. This is proving to be an interesting and challenging process as I’m having to explore and examine  myself. Explore my motivations as a photographer and examine how I’m going to realise these and make these into realities (i.e. photographs). I’ve worked out that I have been on a learning trip for the past 20 years all heading towards this moment, and that is quite some revelation to myself. I now know what it is that I want to photograph and maybe even some way towards how I’m going to photograph my subjects.

I like using the latest technologies and yet I also have been setting up a darkroom for the past year or so, as to the darkroom I now need to to get some curtains so until the door and windows and I think were all good to go now. As for the latest technologies I’m very happy with the camera system that they have and my handle on the technical side of using digital photography. Some of this information has been hard-won through practice and error which I’m the first to admit we don’t always get it right first time.

More later on the results of self examination when I have my application in and accepted.

M

I finally got to play with the new Nex-5 camera last night at the English launch of the camera, in Poland Street, Soho. I have to say that it is extremely desirable as  “little” cameras go. I’m doing my best to get my hands on one so I can have a really good feel of this camera as I think will it will be will a groundbreaking move on Sony’s part. I can’t wait to see what they do next with the system, I have been told little bits about it by Paul Genge at Sony UK, which I will not say at this stage but it promises to be an extremely exciting camera platform for the future.  were

I’m sorry about the break in blogging, I’ve just been really overloaded trying to think my way through an application to begin a Ph.D. in visual sociology. Any feedback or ideas would be greatly appreciated. I’m applying to Goldsmiths College, University of London to do a visual sociology Ph.D. and my area of interest is European identity. However, whenever I think through the idea even more, I come up with even more ideas and less clarity in my thinking.

Currently my research question is “Within the urban environment of Europe, are there ‘European identities’ in evidence and can this be investigated using visual sociological research methods?” the more I think through this question and the ideas that it raises, it leaves me struggling to narrow down the focus of my research.

It is a process that am going through, which I’m finding highly interesting as I’ve found some really extremely interesting books to read about Social Europe, various social models of Europe and construction of identities in general. How much of Europe or European identities are actually national identities? Do we have a common even if incredibly broad and vague European identity? Or is it principally national identities that have sometimes a European flavour or element? Approximately 13% of Europeans identify as being European which considering the size of Europe is quite a few people, however they predominantly come from quite a narrow spectrum of societies across Europe, so this might end up being the target of my research, what makes this 13% of people identified as being European?

These and more, are thoughts and issues that I’m grappling with and why I’ve been struggling to write on the blog lately. I’ve decided that I’m now, going to write about this, as I think it will help me clarify my thoughts and maybe generate some comments from anyone who cares to read my blog. I’m not so sure sometimes if anyone ever does, but then that’s a blogger’s dilemma as to who is one’s audience.

About five months I brought myself a lens, after long hard thinking about the type of photos that I was taking it came to the conclusion that the kind of focal length I wanted was slightly longer than 35 mm lens and yet not quite as long as 50 mm lens. I was looking at the work of Helen Levitt when I realised that she is using something longer than 35mm, that’s when had a brainwave that what I was really after was something in between. With all the teaching that I have done in the last two years, I’ve discovered that I can reasonably accurately predict what focal length a photographer is using to create their images.

So with this realisation I started the search is something that I could put on to the front of my Sony a900 camera and found a website called leitax.com,  when they realised that they could convert Yashica/Contax  lenses to mount on Sony cameras I also realised when I was reading on Cameraquests website that the Voightlander SL series 1 lenses had been made in the Yashica/Contax mounts. So after a rather longish search looking for a 40 mm F2 in a Yashica/Contax mount I found one in Japan which had then sent to me and then onto leitax for a conversion. So after this rather long process to get a lens that is the focal length that I’d thought so hard about it finally ended up with a lens on the front of my camera that  when used stopped down to the aperture that you’re working out can sometimes be a little bit darker than I’m used to as the lens stops down to the working aperture while at the same time you have to set the cameras and electronic aperture control to F2 (which is the lenses widest aperture). Oh and did I mention, that it only works in manual focus, this is not particularly a problem as I’ve taken to now using the lens with the hypothetical scale on the lens, in other words I tend to zone focus or  set to the approximate working distance while I’m out using with the camera.

So what does it look like on the camera.

Voightlander 40 mm F2 lens on Sony a900

So this is my camera how it is set up to use in the street, notice the wrist strap attached to use with the left hand, this means that the camera stays attached to my hand with no camera straps getting in the way and dangling around when I don’t want them to be. I’ve discovered that this is a really easy and effective way to carry my camera as an extension of my hand leaving me if I need to be able to use my right hand (as I am right-handed) to open doors or any other such things that might need while navigating urban spaces.

I also take just about every bright part of the camera so that the camera looks a little more battered and older so that it doesn’t attract quite as much attention, I’m not completely convinced this works as pointing the camera at anyone normally is enough to get you noticed.

So this has become my camera and lens of choice and has become part of the craft of my photography.

Sorry for the lack of posts recently. I have been a little busy fro the past 5 weeks. I am nearly (only about 3 weeks to go) finished a PGCE and it has been taking up my attention. please accept my apologies, regular posting will commence again soon.
Michael

I have just had a nightmare trying to reinstall the blog after I tried to update the wordpress to a newer version and it was not having it then I lost all the data so if the blog is a little out of wack this is why. I need to now check that all is okay and that we can resume regular programing.
I intend to talk about my experiences of Focus on Imaging in the next few days when I have caught up with myself.
Michael

This is the view from the counter, while I was on stage on the Sony Stand, at the Focus On Imaging event, held at the Birmingham NEC March 2010. I am home after four hectic days, talking photography and what it is to be a fashion and beauty photographer to anyone who wanted to listen. It was a highly enjoyable event and I hope I got to inspire everyone who stopped, thanks for the taking the time to listen, I hope that you took something positive away from the presentation.

Michael

Portraits for Social Change

A new project and an exciting idea of how as a photographer to give back to the world something worthwhile.

Brand yourself, before your opposition does it for you!

Photographer Michael Wayne Plant is offering to create portraits of anybody, who is campaigning for positive Social Change. This can be anybody who is actively seeking to highlight and further issues of Social Justice, Environmentalism, etc. To further your aims in a media saturated world high quality images are extremely helpful to enable you to present a positive media image to a wider audience, why not brand yourself before your opposition does it for you!

My reasons for wanting to create these portraits is that I would like to meet and photograph an interesting group of people who without this offer I would be unlikely to be able to meet and I would also like to give something back to others using my skills as a photographer.

More details on the statement page

Please contact me via michael@michaelwayneplant.com if you are intersted in participating in this exciting project.