At the beginning of this year, rather than making a bunch of trite, all too common resolutions about exercising more and trying to drink less coffee, I decided that I’d focus on one area specifically: my photography hobby. With this in mind, I came up with a bunch of photo projects to keep me occupied over the course of the year.

Posing for photos is uncomfortable for most people, myself included. As some of my project would require people to pose at various points, I thought it a bit unfair to request this of others without putting myself in the same uncomfortable position. In order to guarantee that I followed through on this point, I required some sort of incentive, some external force I couldn’t say no to. I required obligation.

To achieve this, I vowed that if 52 people (one person a week) donated just $10 each to the RSPCA, I’d nude up for a photo. If I’m going to embarrass the hell out of myself, I should at least ensure it is for a good cause.

I wasn’t really sure how this would go, and after a cracking start, a final generous donation helped reach the total back in April. I’ve been extremely lax on getting around to taking the photo itself, and I apologise for that. It was part work, part procrastination and part cowardess.

Well, all that has now been put aside. With help from my girlfriend, Emily, I finally got around to baring all and making good on my promise.

I’d like to thank everyone who has been supportive. If you all promise not to laugh at me, I promise not to look at any of you differently after getting considerable encouragement to get naked. Let’s just have a brief awkward silence and let that be the end of it, shall we?

*awkward silence*

There we go.

For those brave enough to burn their retina’s… this is what you’re after. You only have yourselves to blame.

It’s trite and old to trot out the “I’m busy at work” line when complaining that you’ve been far too quiet on the blog front. Sadly, this is actually true and although I do intend to get better, I don’t promise that posts here will ever be a regular event again. They’ll come in fits and spurts, but I can’t see there being a consistent flow. I also have a couple of projects I’m working on that I’d like to put out there, it’s just a matter of finishing some things off.

That said, as something approximating sanity slowly starts to peep over the horizon of my work world, I do have a few things I’d like to put out into the world in the near future.

For the time being, photos like this are driving a desire to get back out into the world with the camera again. I won’t rule out another trip away to indulge this, and just looking at the shot below makes me want to book flights. When it comes to mountains, I’m a weak, weak man. Emily wants to drag me off to Bali at some point, so hopefully we can compromise and visit some higher altitude places in between lazing on the beach. That said, I’ve heard rumours from my best mate that a Tekapo/Queenstown return for the AFL Grand Final (it’s becoming tradition for us now) could be on the cards. Too many places to visit, too little money!

Since its release a couple of weeks ago, I’ve spent a bunch of time playing around with Aperture 3. With the exception of one problem, I absolutely love it.

The library import/export/merge functionality is exactly what I need to manage multiple libraries from my desktop and laptop. The selective brushing in and out of any adjustment you can put on an image has allowed me to become a lot more creative with how I edit up my shots. I used to spend about 5 minutes tweaking shots in Aperture 2, playing with colour levels, shadows and highlights, white balance, etc… With the tools Aperture 3 has made available, I now spend considerably longer, not because they’re harder to use, but because it has opened up a whole new level of control for me to exploit

All in all, I am amazed with how good Aperture 3 has been. However, there is one major exception that is just about ruining the experience for me at the moment: the application (or lack there of) of the sharpening adjustment when exporting images.

Selective Sharpening and Aperture 3

I’ve started to make pretty extensive use of the Aperture 3 sharpening adjustment. I like to brush it in over items in an image with a bit of texture or focus. Hair, eyes, that sort of thing. In Aperture 3, the images look fantastic and I’m really happy with them. This happiness quickly disapates when I export the images when preparing to upload them to my Flickr stream.

While all the other adjustments made in AP3 end up reproduced in the exported image, sharpening does not. Let me give you an example.

The follow image is how I see things in Aperture 3. It was obtained by going to full-screen editing mode and then doing a screen capture, thus by-passing any Aperture exporting. (click on images for full size versions to really see the difference)

In this image, I have added some sharpening to parts of the hair, the eyes and hands. All in all I am happy with what I see.

The next image is the result I get from exporting the image using the standard File > Export > Version… method.

Notice how soft it is around the afore mentioned areas where I applied sharpening.

If I go into Aperture and disable the sharpening adjustment, the resulting image is exactly as it appears in the standard exported version. Without knowing anything about the innards of Aperture, it seems as if any sharpening adjustments are not being applied on export.

The same behaviour exists regardless of:

• Image format on export (jpg, tiff, png)
• Image quality level defined in the export presets
• Image resolution (half/full/in-between)

Whenever I export a version, it always comes out WITHOUT sharpening. The only workaround I have at the moment is to go fullscreen and take a screenshot. This gives me something to upload to Flickr, however it does mean I lose all the EXIF data. While OK as a temporary solution for that purpose, I do wish to have some photos printed at some point soon, and in this case, I have no workable solution.

If anyone else using Aperture 3 has seen the same problem, I’d love to hear from them. I’ll be posting a link to this description on the Apple forums, but thus far I have only been able to find one other person describing a similar issue.

I am running Aperture 3.0.1 and OS X 10.6.2 (27″ i7 iMac). The files themselves are Canon CR2 RAW files (from a 5D Mark II) and were imported from the camera through Aperture.

As I first mentioned in my 2010 New Year’s resolutions post, I’ve begun undertaking a number of themed photo projects. One of these has the dual purpose of giving me a little more understanding of the world on the other side of the lens, and in helping me conquer a little personal fear.

I love taking photos, but if there is one thing that I am deathly scared of, it’s getting on the other side of the lens. Although my photo has been taken numerous times, I always resort to pulling some sort of goofy, over-the-top pose in an attempt to deflect the fear of being shot. If I’m just fooling around, it doesn’t matter that I look like a idiot… right? RIGHT!?

*Sigh* This has to stop. I can’t reasonably expect others to feel comfortable posing for me if I don’t at least have some level of appreciation for what they’re going through. All that ends now. It’s my turn to suffer the insecurity and terror of having my photo taken properly.

…

That was a nice little speech and all, but without the proper motivation I know I’ll never do it. So, to ensure that I do actually go through with this particular photo project, I will now make a pact designed to force me into realising this goal through the magical power of peer pressure. Naturally, I need the help of you, my peers, to apply the pressure.

Telling me to “man up” isn’t going to cut it for this task. I need to create some sense of obligation, and when thinking about it, I could only conjure one thought: Money. Convincing people to part with their hard earned cash puts a level of pressure on me that I can’t in good faith refuse. At the same time, when asking people to spend money, I have to make some sort of sacrifice myself. A simple self-portrait doesn’t provide enough amusement to motivate people to spend.

So… here goes nothing…

The Pact

People of the Internet: If there are 52 of you out there who are willing to donate just $10AUD each to the RSPCA, I promise to get in front of the camera for a self portrait… nude.

Yes, you read that correctly. I’ll buff it up for a self-portrait and post the results to my Flickr stream if just 52 of you can pony up a little cash for all the abandoned and abused animals out there. That’s one person a week over the course of the year.

The Conditions

1) When I say nude, I mean “tastefully” nude. No boy-bits, just my pasty, plain self.

2) The financial goal is to raise $520AUD for the RSPCA, so I will accept less than 52 individual donors if the total dollar amount reaches $520.

3) This offer is valid for the entire year. It will only expire at midnight, January 1st 2011 (Perth, Australia, GMT+8).

4) $500+ is a lot of money, so I’ll do my level best to make sure that the goal is reached. Yes, I won’t try and shy away purely because my hairy butt is on the line. I promise to contact various prominent photographers I know of through Twitter and the wider web in an attempt to get them to draw some attention to this act of tomfoolery, thus giving it the best possible chance of succeeding. If you’re going to toss in your money, the least I can do is try to make it worth while.

5) For your donation to be considered valid, some proof must be emailed to me (tpokorny ^^ gmail). Whether this is the tax invoice they send you, or a screenshot of the confirmation page, I just need some sort of proof that you have donated. The subject of all emails should be, or contain the text: “Raunchy for the RSPCA“. Please be sure to scrub any personal information you don’t want me to see. When I receive an email, I’ll just be noting the name and donated amount before immediately deleting it. Naturally, no details at all will be passed to anyone else for any purpose whatsoever.

6) I’ll only be taking the photo AFTER the $520 goal has been reached. Each time I receive confirmation of a donation I will reply via email to the donator, informing them of the current amount raised. Each time the total climbs by another $50, I’ll post a message to my Twitter stream.

If/when the goal has been reached, I’ll post the best shot I can manage to my Flickr account and a notification will be sent via Twitter, as well as an email directly to anyone insane and generous enough to donate.

A Final Word

This is scary as hell, but it will force me to step outside my comfort zone while having the far more important benefit of helping a kind and caring organisation. I’ve set the bar pretty high, so I’m really not sure I’ll get enough people to donate. If nothing else, remember that it’s tax deductible, which is more than I can say for my dignity.

There are many reasons to participate:

• Do it for the animals
• Do it because you want to be blinded by my casper-like levels of whiteness
• Do it because you think I’m all talk and want to see me squirm

Whatever the reason, I both encourage you to participate and urge you to think carefully about the horror you are potentially unleashing upon the world before you do.

Yours Nervously,
Tim.

Update: For anyone outside Australia who wishes to donate, you should also feel free. My personal suggestion is to donate to the Humane Society. The same concept applies. Just donate and then email me some sort of confirmation so I can add you to the tally!

Unlike other years, I’ve given my 2010 resolutions some extra time to marinate before deciding properly on what to include or exclude. Rather than looking for personal shortcomings that require rectification, I’ve tried to look for things that invoke a sense of excitement in me. I figure that I’m far more likely to achieve goals that elicit adventure and accomplishment. With an eye to actually realising resolutions, I’ve decided to limit myself to making just one. Well, this is a half-truth. I will be making one specific resolution, but it has a number of defined parts.

The overall resolution is: Improve my photography.

In an effort to expand my photography experience, my initial thought was to embark on a 365-project for 2010. On further contemplation I realised that this perhaps wasn’t the best course of action for me. Like many people, I am perpetually time poor. I did not want to fall into that trap of taking the same “didn’t have time today, so here is a tired self-portrait” shot over and over. I really want to expand my experience, and forcing myself to pop a photo every day, just for the sake of it, doesn’t feel right to me. I need to get a bit more specific. I need a bit more structure.

With that in mind, I’ve decided to embark on a number of photo-projects throughout the year. Each project will have a central theme, and my primary goal for each is to produce a few shots I am really, unambiguously proud of. For each of the project listed below I’ll develop a small brief to provide some scope. Each of those will be posted here for the information of anyone interested. They don’t have to be completed in the listed order, I’m just aiming to complete them all.

I’ll also be looking for companions. I’ll need people who are willing to subject themselves to posing; companions for any road-trips that might be involved, and most importantly, help, guidance and feedback from other interested photographers. Stay tuned to my Twitter stream if any of these interest you!

Project One: Release the Strobist

Playing with strobes is something I’ve had designs on for quite a while now. I possess a modicum of the necessary equipment and wish to learn more about the process of properly lighting a shot, both from an artistic and “gear” perspective.

Project Two: Street Shooting

After spending some time checking out the work of Clay Enos, I became inspired to get out there and do a bit of street shooting. While the primary motivating style is street portraiture, for this project I consider street photography to be anything taken of the public while pounding the pavement.

Project Three: Monochrome Madness

With digital photography we can easily create Black and White images out of any shot. For me, this freedom to “do it in post” essentially has me ignoring any particular compositional or other elements of a photo that I’d need to consider if I was expressly shooting B&W. The purpose of this project is to tell the camera to only take black and white shots, thus forcing me to deal with the realities of B&W shooting from the start.

Project Four: Pretty Portraits

When I started shooting, my primary interest was landscapes. The more I get into photography, the more I find myself drawn to portraits. I don’t especially like anything too posed, preferring the more relaxed, genuine expressions that come over people when they are not focused on the camera. Either way, my goal here is to produce at least 5 interesting portraits. I’ll absolutely need willing subjects for this one!

Project Five: Luscious Landscapes

I’ve always loved landscapes, but I’ve never been good with moving water (beaches, waterfalls and so on). I’d like to spend a bit of time getting wet and learning the tricks and pitfalls. Beyond this, a road-trip down the coast sounds like fun.

Project Six: Self Styling

I love taking photos, but if there is one thing that I am deathly scared of, it’s getting on the other side of the lens. This has to stop. I’ve crafted a terrifying and horrible plan to address this, and that topic shall be the subject of a follow-up post. Stay tuned.

Project Seven: Printing the Proof

I’ve never printed anything I’ve shot. I know, it’s a crime. Just the thought of coming to terms with all the color management issues just about drives me bonkers, which is a pretty good sign that printing is an area ripe for exploration. By the end of the year I want to have learnt more about color management and the entire preparation and printing process, in addition to getting at least 5 of my best shots framed up and hung on my wall.

Project Eight: Lift and Separate

The final project involves making a change to how I treat the shots I take. I’d like to have some separation and distinction between shots that I take in a serious attempt to produce interesting and compelling photography, and those that I take in a less formal, more laid back light.

There are two parts to this process. The first is to create a separate photo-blog to highlight particular images and discuss how I took them and why. The second step is to change the way I use Flickr. I have created a second account where I will be posting all my non-formal stuff. Most of the photos that exist on my primary account will be removed and reposted over there, leaving only the shots I really like in the original stream. I will be making both of these changes soon, and I shall provide all the appropriate links here when I’m done.

That’s it! One resolution, but with ambitious goals. I find myself excited about each of these projects and eager to dive right in. Hopefully the year will end with me being able to put a solid “SUCCESS” stamp next to each step.