Photocritic photography blog

RAW usage up massively, JPEG bites the dust.

Haje Jan Kamps — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:41:59 +0000

There are tons of reasons for using RAW instead of JPG when you’re taking photographs. Your photos will be sharper, you will be able to unlock your camera’s full dynamic range, and you have a better flexibility over things like white balance.

It seems as if people are cottoning on in a big way, too - I ran a poll about 2 years ago about whether people were shooting in JPEG or RAW… And I re-ran the same poll earlier this month.

The changes are staggering… (more…)

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25 cameras with the best dynamic range

Haje Jan Kamps — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 00:18:32 +0000

Following from my post about dynamic range in cameras a few days ago, I did some further research… I give you: The 25 cameras with the best dynamic range!

Interestingly, it seems as if Nikon is generally doing quite a bit better than Canon, and that a camera launched almost 5 years ago is actually one of the ones with the very best dynamic ranges out there - And it’s not the brand you’d think, either!

Oh, and interestingly, there’s been a serious shift in the number of photographers shooting in raw - more about that in the end of this article.
(more…)

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Photography History III - The Digital Era

Haje Jan Kamps — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:20:23 +0000

So far, we’ve covered the pre-film and the film era, so no prizes for guessing what today’s history lesson is going to be about - yup, that’s right, the digital era is upon us, and we’re taking a look at history as it’s happening all around us…

Let’s launch into the third and final installment in our 3-part series: The history of photography: The Era of Digital. (more…)

© Photocritic photography blog, find the original post at Photography History III - The Digital Era. Feel free to reproduce this post on your non-commercial website / blog as long as this footer remains intact.

Photography History II - The Film Era

Haje Jan Kamps — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:19:57 +0000

Right, yesterday’s post was all about how photography came about before film was invented. We had people printing on pewter and inventing the photographic negative, but we all know that the real fun began when we started losing our films down the back of sofas and ruining them when clumsily pressing the wrong button on the camera…

So without further ado, the second installment in our 3-part series: The history of photography: The Era of Film. (more…)

© Photocritic photography blog, find the original post at Photography History II - The Film Era. Feel free to reproduce this post on your non-commercial website / blog as long as this footer remains intact.

Photography History I - Before Film

Haje Jan Kamps — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:18:33 +0000

A few weeks ago, I had a long and interesting discussion about the History of Photography with a friend of mine, and I discovered that while photography is incredibly close to my heart, I didn’t really know all that much about everything that has happened in the past.

Obviously, that had to change - I give you the first in a 3-part series entitled, without a shred of originality, History of Photography. This time around, we’re having a look at what happened before they went ahead and invented film… (more…)

© Photocritic photography blog, find the original post at Photography History I - Before Film. Feel free to reproduce this post on your non-commercial website / blog as long as this footer remains intact.

The quiet revolution in photography

Haje Jan Kamps — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:09:38 +0000

Shutter speeds? Yaaawn. ISO speeds? Oh-god-not-again. Megapixels? Oh puh-bloody-lease, that’s so 2003. The newest frontier of digital photography is dynamic range - and it’s arguably the most exciting (r)evolution that’s happened in dSLR-world so far.

Interestingly, most manufacturers are continually improving the dynamic range of their cameras, but somehow seem to forget to tell us about it - which means that we’re witnessing - or should I say not witnessing - a quiet revolution.

It seems as if ‘dynamic range’ gets forgotten in PR world, where a bigger screen, better battery life or Live View is an easier way of getting regular consumers exited. The real technological leaps have been happening under the bonnet, though, and the result of the ongoing improvements will mean that your next camera will be significantly better than your current one - but you wouldn’t be able to tell from just reading its specification sheet.

So, why, exactly does this make a difference to us as photographers? All will be revealed… (more…)

© Photocritic photography blog, find the original post at The quiet revolution in photography. Feel free to reproduce this post on your non-commercial website / blog as long as this footer remains intact.

What’s your photographic kryptonite?

Haje Jan Kamps — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 01:26:04 +0000

My post about being down and out over dance photography the other day garnered quite a lot of comments and more e-mails that I’ve had over a blog post in quite a while… So now I’m properly curious… (more…)

© Photocritic photography blog, find the original post at What’s your photographic kryptonite?. Feel free to reproduce this post on your non-commercial website / blog as long as this footer remains intact.

It’s Movember!

Haje Jan Kamps — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 02:21:38 +0000

I don’t usually use Photocritic as a soap-box, and I’m not planning to start, but this one is worth it so I’ll keep this super-short…

* Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer. It’s nasty. I wanted to do something to help fight it

* Movember is a fun fund-raiser in the fight against Prostate cancer: Grow a moustache in the month of November.

* I’m participating in Movember this year. For pictures of me looking a rainbow of wrong, check out this page. You can also see how much I’ve raised so far or make a donation yourself

Thanks for your attention!

Photocritic’s 3rd Birthday!

Haje Jan Kamps — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 14:51:47 +0000

In July about 3 years ago, I gave up my freelance photography business, Photocritic Ltd, and suddenly had a spare internet domain. As a promotional exercise for my company, I had written a few article for PhotoCritic, and I decided that perhaps it was worth putting those articles out there… An idea which came to fruition exactly 3 years ago today. So; what better excuse for a retrospective of what’s been going on, and sprouting lots of completely pointless statistics at you? (more…)

From blog to awesome blog

Haje Jan Kamps — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:48:33 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, we did a guide on how to set up your own photo blog (and, of course, how to make Google love your photography site from a few months back). What struck me, however, is that while having a photo blog is a good start - what should you do to take it from a merely funky collection of photos to a fantastic, highly successful blog?

I decided to have a chat to my friend John Cassimatis, who runs a very popular, very successful, and a near-award-winning blog over at johncassimatis.com… (more…)

Beaten by Dance Photography

Haje Jan Kamps — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:54:18 +0000

I’ve got a rather long history of rambling on about all sorts of awesome stuff on this blog - and I’ve prided myself on being able to pull off most types of photography with more or less success. I’ve photographed a fair share of concerts, I’ve got a post lined up about wedding photography (although my post on event photography covers some of it).

Anyway, all of this goes only to illustrate that I am relatively handy with a camera - so when I was talking to my good friend Laurie about him being in a dance competition, I arrogantly proclaimed ‘how difficult can it be?’. Well… As it turns out, it’s pretty damn tricky. (more…)

The ultimate guide to HDR photography

Haje Jan Kamps — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:01:54 +0000

Haunting, surreal, and quite possibly the first major way in which digital photography does something which film photography can’t emulate - or even come near. HDR - or High Dynamic Range - photography is nothing new, but as new tools and techniques make the artform more available, HDR photography is taking off in a big way.

If you’ve never had a go… and especially if you don’t even know what I’m on about - you’re in for a real treat… (more…)

© Photocritic photography blog, find the original post at The ultimate guide to HDR photography. Feel free to reproduce this post on your non-commercial website / blog as long as this footer remains intact.

TinEye.com photo search engine

Haje Jan Kamps — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:14:21 +0000

You know how it goes - you want to find a photo of the Mona Lisa, so you go onto Google Images, you type in Mona Lisa, and you get hundreds of results. But what if you have an image, and you want to find out what it is of? Or what if you want to find out where else on the world wide interwebs this image is used? Cue Idee’s Tineye.com, an image search engine.

We decide to take it for a spin… (more…)

Tomorrow, the Story Breaks

Haje Jan Kamps — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 10:00:27 +0000

Photojournalist James Nachtwey is considered by many to be the greatest war photographer of recent decades. He has covered conflicts and major social issues in more than 30 countries. Last year, he won a $100,000 prize, which he decided to re-invest into a special project… A story he felt needed to be told, which no magazine wanted to support or fund.

On the 3rd of October, the wait is over, and the story Nachtwey had burning inside of him gets released to the world…

Update: The story is here. (more…)

Top 50 photography websites

Haje Jan Kamps — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:50:08 +0000

Of course, Photocritic is your favourite photography resource in the whole wide world, and you’d be mad to think otherwise. Nonetheless, I have to admit that there are some pretty damn amazing websites out there. This is my attempt at collecting some of my favourites - which isn’t easy, considering how many bookmarks I have.

So, I give to you, 50 of my favourite photography websites - these should keep you busy for a while… (more…)

Beyond puppies and rainbows

Haje Jan Kamps — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:18:40 +0000

A few weeks ago, I had an e-mail from a reader, who was eager to show off some of her photographs. I was intrigued by her Flickr nickname, and as it turns out, the lady has some pretty exciting ideas about what a photograph should be. If you’re looking for puppies, rainbows and ‘moose in sunset’ type clichés, you’re in the wrong place - but for that very reason, Lisa caught my attention.

I asked her if she wouldn’t please let me interview her, to find out what you can do as a photographer to break the mould, and develop a unique photography style. Luckily, she was happy to help… (more…)

Taking photos for the future

Haje Jan Kamps — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 00:22:27 +0000

A photo from 100 years ago is quaint, mysterious, and informative - partially because there aren’t that many of them. Today, everyone has a camera, and everyone is taking photos - In the pub a few months ago, I was talking to a historian about photography, and about what photos taken today would mean to historians of the future.

We’ve all got a string of iconic photos in our heads. The ones that capture a particular time, place, or event - for example the VJ Day celebrations in London that marked the end of the Second World War or the fall of the Berlin Wall. But have you ever considered what it is that makes a photograph historically valuable, or what you might need to do to take one of those photos?

Says Daniela: “Haje and I were talking about this a while ago, and seeing as I’m a historian to whom he’s taught an awful lot about photography, he thought I might have something to say about it. Turns out, I do…” (more…)

The death of film photography

Haje Jan Kamps — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:09:35 +0000

“When I was given my first digital camera, I thanked the giver politely and set it on a shelf—where it sat, growing dust, for two years. I simply had no use for it.”, recalls John, a long-time Photocritic reader, who decided to share some of his thoughts about his (at first painful) transition from film to megapixels.

Take it away John…

Now, I have nothing against photography. Photos are great when you’re eager to relive that once-in-a-lifetime trip to Thailand, or when the sight of the neighbour’s bawling infant recalls you to the time your son crawled into your mother-in-law’s lap with his nappy falling off his bum. But film cameras immortalise such special occasions just fine, so why bother with digital? (more…)

Buying a camera abroad

Haje Jan Kamps — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 01:01:56 +0000

There’s lots of reasons for why you might want to buy a camera on foreign shores - perhaps you forgot to bring your own camera (idiot!), there’s something wrong with the camera you brought (it happens), or you’re taking advantage of the fact that you’re paid in British Pounds, the US dollar has tanked massively recently, so you can get the bargain of a lifetime by buying that sparking SLR you’ve had your eye on for a few month across the pond.

In recent years, if you’re looking to buy one of the high-end or mid-range cameras, it has been cheaper for me (living in London) to fly to New York to buy a camera, than to walk down the street to my local Jessops to do the same - so you can either save a bundle by shopping online, or you can get a ‘free’ trip out of it.

Sounds tempting, right? Of course it does - there are a couple of things you should be aware of, though… (more…)

Travel Photography Tips

Haje Jan Kamps — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:00:28 +0000

Whenever I travel, I have a very loose approach to packing my stuff. Mostly, I pack in less than 20 minutes - regardless if I’m going away for a night or three weeks. There are four checks: Passport, tickets, credit card, and camera.

It’s just the way it goes, you can’t get by without either of those items (except perhaps tickets, if you are travelling with an airline who has embraced eTickets). If your journey is especially designed for photography, however, the task may be slightly different. (more…)

A photograph isn’t art… it just is.

Haje Jan Kamps — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 00:16:26 +0000

I good long while ago ago, I posted an article about Roland Barthes’ Camera Lucida. At the time, one of my readers - Wigwam Jones - posted a rather awesome response, and I have been meaning to highlight it at some level - It’s been a long time coming, but here we go - I bring to you, Basically, The lovely Wigwam’s take on photography, Barthes, ad a bit of nihilistic arts theory thrown in for good measure. (more…)

© Photocritic photography blog, find the original post at A photograph isn’t art… it just is.. Feel free to reproduce this post on your non-commercial website / blog as long as this footer remains intact.

Creating your own photography blog

Haje Jan Kamps — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 10:39:24 +0000

This article discusses the what’s, how’s and why’s of running a photography blog.

You’re a photographer, you’ve got a camera - probably one of those flashy SLR jobbies - and you have a harem of groupies who follow you wherever you go, and you make a quarter of a million quid out of a moderately sized photo shoot. Yeah, baby, that’s what it feels like when you’re a shit-hot ‘tog. Or so I’ve been led to believe.

In reality - and especially now that digital SLRs have become relatively affordable - the vast bulk of people reading this blog will be amateur photographers. Really good amateurs - hell, fanatic amateurs, even. (more…)

© Photocritic photography blog, find the original post at Creating your own photography blog. Feel free to reproduce this post on your non-commercial website / blog as long as this footer remains intact.

Picking an SLR camera

Haje Jan Kamps — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 21:10:18 +0000

Back in April, I did a Top 15 entry-level camera round-up, and it’s one of those posts where the comments stayed relatively calm, but I got tonnes of e-mail afterwards, with suggestions, comments etc. I was surprised at the level of passion people had about that one single article, but it got me thinking: I love trying to come up with interesting ways of doing photography, but what if people really want some buying advice? I discovered long ago that this particular blog isn’t really the place, but still… I figured I could do better than a top 15…

So I decided to launch a new website to help you out.
(more…)

Review: Understanding Shutter Speed

Haje Jan Kamps — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 21:07:15 +0000

“Photography has to be enjoyed by looking at pictures”, my arts teacher used to say, back when I still listened to teachers. I agree with the man, but I’m also a geek, and I love understanding things. I’m the kind of guy who enjoys knowing why the engine makes more noise and the car goes faster when I press the fast pedal on a car. I like to understand how a satellite works, and why it can make movies appear on my TV. And I love to understand how a photograph works.

There’s been a lot of books written about photography throughout the years (I had a stab at it myself…), but to be perfectly honest with you, a lot of them are complete and utter rubbish. (more…)

© Photocritic photography blog, find the original post at Review: Understanding Shutter Speed. Feel free to reproduce this post on your non-commercial website / blog as long as this footer remains intact.

Geekery

Haje Jan Kamps — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 21:02:21 +0000

Hey guys,

Sorry about more of the geekery, but basically, I’ve spent the past 48 hours trying to make Photocritic better. Part of that was getting shy of my (ludicrously expensive) colo-server, and getting myself on a virtual server instead. One of the geeks I work with (thanks Stuart!) pointed me at SliceHost, and I’m an absolute convert.

I’ve had a couple of problems with getting Photocritic moved over properly (mostly due to the fact that I’ve never set up Apache myself before, so I’m stretched well beyond my usual geekdom), but I think most things should be working properly now.

If you do stumble across anythign that ain’t working as expected, please post a comment with a desctiption, and I’ll look into it.

Finally, don’t worry, I’m about to launch into a series of wicked articles - they is gunz beez awsum, as te lolcats posse would have said :)

Anyway, Slicehost come with the warmest recommendations, and now I’m going to try and move some of my other sites across. Wish me luck :o

- Haje

iPhone for photographers

Haje Jan Kamps — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:00:01 +0000

Those of you who know me know that I’m never more than a metre away from my iPhone - it has its flaws (as I’ve written about on my personal home page before), but nonetheless, it’s a class piece of kit - and the iPhone 3G is going to make it better still - for photographers, too. (more…)

Quick update

Haje Jan Kamps — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 07:10:27 +0000

Lack of updates

Sorry about the lack of updates recently, I’ve been mad busy with my day-job recently (excitingly, we just launched our version of BBC’s iPlayer, known as Demand Five, yesterday), and I’ve got an exciting extension to Photocritic which is coming up soon, so I’ve mostly been doing behind-the-scenes work.

(more…)

8 steps to sharper photos

Haje Jan Kamps — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 00:00:14 +0000

So you’ve finally graduated from taking photos with a compact, and have your grubby little paws on a fantastic digital single-lens reflex. All good and well, but why don’t your pictures come out as fantastic as some of the ones you see on Flickr? Surely, they’re using the same camera as you - where are you going wrong?

That was essentially what Pieter asked me about this week. So, without further ado, 8 ways to make your photos jump off the screen. (more…)

Stabilising a cheap tripod

Haje Jan Kamps — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:39:21 +0000

Tripods are cheap as chips nowadays, but the cheaper ones have a few flaws. Most importantly, they are too light, and too unstable. So what do you do when you are working on macro stuff, and your tripod won’t stop vibrating, or the high winds are trying to disturb your photographic peace? (more…)

Canvas printing

Haje Jan Kamps — Thu, 29 May 2008 00:00:16 +0000

There’s web galleries, there’s your mum’s photo printer, and then there is this…

One of the most beautiful ways of presenting photographs has to be getting your photos transferred onto canvas. The cool thing is that you can get quite creative what you do on a canvas - just ask Rembrandt & co!

There are a lot of companies out there who are offering the service these days, but I recently stumbled across one that stands out from the crowd with its snazzy Web 2.0 interface and its glorious prints. (more…)