In this last installment of our four part series on Neil Leifer, we will look at Neil’s legacy in his five decades as a sports photographer. Neil does not engage in sports photography anymore these days. He now spends his time directing and producing films. The only photographs that he takes these days are those of his family. But Neil’s place in the history of sports photography is secure. Nothing can detract from his achievements in a field that considers him as one of the best ever.
We consider Neil’s legacy to be the honest inside look that he has given us into the lives of our finest athletes in the past five decades. Our athletes have showcased humanity’s indomitable spirit. Our athletes’ triumphs have been our triumphs. What is it that our athletes are thinking? What are the stirrings inside them? What drives them to push themselves beyond barriers to reach new heights? Neil’s sports photography helps us get some of the answers.
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Tags: athlete, expression, five decades, history of sports, human interest, images, indomitable spirit, installment, intimate moment, legacy, moving picture, neil, Neil Leifer, photograph, photographs, Photography, private moment, sport photography, sports, sports illustrated, sports photographer, sports photography, triumphs
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In this third installment of our four part series on Neil Leifer, we will feature an exhibit at the Annenberg Foundation in Los Angeles, California. Neil shares the limelight with a colleague. The exhibit honours and showcases the achievements of probably the two best sports photographers of all time, Neil Leifer and Walter Iooss, Jr. The name of the exhibit is ‘Sport: Iooss and Leifer.’ It runs from 12 November 2009 to 7 March 2010.
Being honoured is not something new to Neil. Honour comes with being good at what he does and for having done it for so long. It must be wonderful for one to love doing what one is so good at. Such a combination can only lead to greatness. We can only wonder if Neil knew that he was on to something when he started in sports photography as a teenager. Neil must have realized that people were responding positively to his images. But he might not have had any idea yet back then of the heights to which he would soar as a sports photographer. He probably did not seek out greatness. One day greatness just came and found him.
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Tags: annenberg foundation, best sports, classic sports, greatness, honours, lifetimes, Michael Jordan, muhammad ali, Neil Leifer, rare opportunity, rich sense, sports history, sports images, sports photographer, sports photographers, sports photography, star athletes, walter iooss jr
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In this second installment of our four part series on Neil Leifer, we will explore the factors that have contributed to Neil’s success as a photographer. It is hardly ever just one thing. It is almost always a combination of things. The rules are hardly ever hard and fast. We can only try our best to capture as much of the reason for Neil’s success as we can. If we had to sum it all up in two things, it could very well be these two:
1. Being at the right place at the right time.
We know it only too well. Timing is everything for a sports photographer. It is the stuff of which great sports photography is made. Timing is something that Neil had going for him all those decades. Neil had to be at the perfect place to take his photograph. He had to be there at the perfect time. There and then, he had to be ready for the shot. We need only to look at any one of Neil’s classic photographs to appreciate his great sense of timing. Neil had a way of making sure that at the moment when it all mattered everything would just fall into place.
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Tags: bright ideas, classic photographs, classic sports, great sports, heavyweight title fight, houston astrodome, muhammad ali, Neil Leifer, opponent, perfect time, photograph, right place at the right time, rules of the game, showcased, sports photographer, sports photographers, sports photography, testament, willingness
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We have the honour to feature a legendary sports photographer in a four part series on his life and photography. We are talking about no other than Neil Leifer. His photographs have graced the covers of Sports Illustrated magazine, Time magazine, Life magazine and People magazine. He has devoted no less than five decades of his life to his photography that has largely been sports photography. On the list of top sports photographers of all time, Neil figures at nothing less than the apex along with his colleague Walter Iooss, Jr. whom we have covered quite a bit on our blog.
We have charted Neil’s journey as a photographer. Neil started his extraordinarily distinguished career as a professional photographer in his teens during the 1960s. Neil began as a freelancer and eventually became a staff photographer of Sports Illustrated magazine and then Time magazine as well as a contributing photographer of Life magazine. Neil presently holds the record as the photographer whose images have made the cover of the magazines of Time Inc. for the most number of times ever.
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Tags: different parts of the globe, magazine time, muhammad ali, Neil Leifer, parts of the globe, people magazine, photography assignments, photography sessions, professional photographer, soccer cups, sporting images, sports illustrated magazine, sports photographer, sports photographers, sports photography, staff photographer, superbowls, walter iooss jr, world series games
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In this last installment of our four part series on abstract photography, we will examine a technique in abstract photography called ‘delaying recognition.’ To help us understand this technique, we will consider the ideas of Canadian abstract photographer Mark Raymond Mason. Mark likes taking photographs of abstract scenes from nature and out of the way urban areas. Working abstractly instead of linearly, Mark’s goal in his abstract photography is to delay the recognition of his subject. What this means is that Mark gives the viewer time to become acquainted with the subject of the photograph without hurrying the viewer in anyway.
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Tags: Abstract Photography, aspiring photographers, dialogue, free thinking, gratification, imposition, mark raymond, Mark Raymond Mason, photograph, photographer, premise, raymond mason, urban areas, wholeness
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In this third installment of our four part series on abstract photography, we will analyse some more methods that have been used in abstract photography. Cambodia-based Russian photographer Ciro Totku is our featured abstract photographer.
What is amazing about Ciro is his ability to look at something, see it in a totally unique way and present it as he has seen it through his photography. In the process, his photography acquires great power. He has no need for any PhotoShop to produce his abstract photography. By themselves, in their unaltered forms, the objects that he chooses are enough for the story that he wants to tell.
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Tags: abstract photograph, abstract photographs, Abstract Photography, artistic inspiration, blotches, ciro, Ciro Totku, contrasts, fantastic art, fringes, garage door, Part Three, phnom penh, privilege, prostitution, rich sources, russian photographer, slums, tiny dots
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In this second installment of our four part series on abstract photography, we will try to answer the question, ‘Can art happen by accident?’ An abstract photographer with a painter’s instincts, Saul Leiter will help us answer this question. When he started as a photographer in the 1940s, Saul had no formal training in photography. But his genius would be acknowledged soon enough. Saul once confided that he would buy inexpensive color film past its expiration date. It was not because of its low price. Rather, Saul wanted the surprise of the resulting odd shifts in color.
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Tags: 1940s, Abstract Photography, artistic eye, color film, images, old adage, photographer, Saul Leiter
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Today I’m going back to basics. Yes, simple you may say, but it all comes back to getting it right from the start. So many people ask about the camera, but really, we all know its not all about the gear.
Sports moments are destined to last for a long time. Sports photography made it happen. It is the art of capturing sports happenings that is preserved in history. All photos virtually taken during any sport event is considered as sports photography. All can also be called sports photographer as long as one has a camera and the will to take the shot.
Primary factor of a good sports photo is the ability and skills of the photographer to capture picture perfect images. The angle of shots is very critical on the outcome of the image. It is advisable to take different shots for comparison. Moments cannot be rewind, neither can be repeated. It passes by only once. Majority of photographers have a concrete picture of what image they are looking for. From there, focused in achieving their desired shot should be the attitude. Some of the best shots are the ones that immortalize quick actions such as dunks, hard spikes, or well-orchestrated dives. Do not wait for the right moment, visualize it. So that when it comes, you are ready to take the shot.
Choose a good location. There are right angles for every shot. Knowing the right location may give the photographer a better view of his choice shot. It also creates a particular environment that would complement the movement of the action. Critical angular movement is also crucial. Choosing right location is important because some action may appear differently on a different location. Also, the placement of camera is vital. As much as possible, you are at a relative distant from the prospect, not too far and not too close either.
Photography is all about timing, timing in pressing the shutter. Even if everything is perfect, all will be useless if the photographer is a second late in pressing the button of the camera. Though it takes time to perfect, it improves through constant practice. As time goes by, it becomes an impulse and it is innate for the photographer to reflex his fingers downward. Some cameras have auto-timing. This is helpful to those people with shaky hands.
We are now on the digital world. Most of the technologies and equipment available for photographers are digital. The standard equipment nowadays is DSLR or digital single-lens reflex. This type of camera is good for sports photography as it can capture fast transitional actions caused by the constant movement in sports. Lenses are also need to be considered. A focal length of 200mm – 300mm may work, but if higher focal length is available, the better. The speed of the length contributes to the ability of the lens to freeze moments. With the increasing demand for digital outputs, Polaroid and Kodachrome films have been faced out in the market today due to low consumer consumption. Other equipment a photographer needs to have are stable tripod, light stands, and rolling camera case to a name a few.
Sports photography is virtually exciting. The possibilities of shots are as endless as any human imagination. Take the shot and freeze the moment forever.
Tags: attitude, impulse, Photography tips, quick actions, reflex, right angles, right moment, shutter, sport event, sports moments, sports photographer, sports photography, techniques
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We would like to introduce you to a different kind of photography. For the greater majority of us, it is photography quite unlike any that we have seen before. What is it? Is it supposed to mean something? These are questions that we may be tempted to ask when looking at it. But that is the point entirely when it comes to this kind of photography. We need not find meaning in it in relation to what it is intended to represent. Rather, it has meaning unto itself. It just is. It just has meaning. We have heard of abstract paintings and abstract sculptures. Photography does have its counterpart. It is called abstract photography. In this four part series on abstract photography, we would like to share with you a bit of information on this kind of photography that is truly one of a kind. Below is a sample of abstract photography.
From artspan.
We would like to show what abstract photography is through the abstract photographers who have embraced it along with their work. In this first installment of our four part series on abstract photography, we would like to begin by introducing you to Alfred Stieglitz. Alfred was involved in photography from 1883 to 1946. He subscribed to an early form of abstract photography called pictorial photography. The images that he captured were meant to be aesthetically pleasing. The point for taking these images was not to have a record of the subject of the images. Rather the point was to have the image itself. The image was a picture that was appealing to those who looked at it. It was art by itself. It had meaning without any need for a reference to what it represented. The image was the picture that was the art. Below is a sample of Albert’s pictorial photography.
From all-art.
We are accustomed to photography that tells our story and that of the world around us by the record that it keeps of us and our world. Abstract photography tells a different story. It is no less our story. It is just that it gives expression to it through representation of a different kind. It is still us but through the unique symbols that our limitless creativity and imagination are able to conjure up to represent who and what we are.
In the remaining installments of our four part series on abstract photography, we will share with you a few other things about abstract photography through other abstract photographers with more recent work. Through these other photographers and their work, we can get to know even more about this ingenious, sometimes strange, always fascinating form of photography known as abstract photography.
Tags: abstract paintings, Abstract Photography, abstract sculptures, alfred stieglitz, artspan, expression, photographers, pictorial photography, stieglitz alfred
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This last installment of the four part series on Randy Craig takes us to the fairly controversial topic in photography of art nudes. Where do we draw the line between nude images as art and nude images as an unacceptable form of expression? These questions are not easy to answer. Another photographer Bill Henson learned this fact the hard way. We examined Bill Henson’s case in earlier posts on our blog.
We cannot discuss the topic of art nudes properly without contextualizing it in freedom of expression. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights reminds us that freedom of expression is so fundamental that people enjoy it wherever they are and whatever their background or circumstance. The relevant portion of the Covenant states:
Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.
Freedom of expression is a cornerstone of our democratic society. It proceeds on the premise that our being human entails living in this world with others in a continuous state of interaction and communication with them. The guarantee of freedom of expression protects the many ways by which we express ourselves including our various art forms like photography. Art nudes are protected by the guarantee of freedom of expression. However, to a significant extent, competing societal values also figure into the equation. The policy to protect children from abuse and exploitation is an example of a competing societal value. We are constantly weighing these values in our effort to figure out a way to live together as a just and peaceful society.
We appreciate how Randy does not like to complicate matters when it comes to his art nudes. They are just the way by which Randy pays homage to the natural beauty of the human form, one that begins inside then radiates outside to what can be seen and photographed. Randy says quite simply, ‘It seems to me that we sometimes forget that we are part of nature too. My art nudes, aside from illustrating the intrinsic beauty of the human form, attempt to show a human connection with nature in a timeless, innocent, and artistic manner. I must also say that I owe an endless debt of gratitude to the wonderful women who have collaborated with me in the creation of these images. This work, above all other, satisfies my need to be creative.’
From Randy Craig.
Tags: art forms, art nudes, bill henson, continuous state, controversial topic, democratic society, form of art, freedom of expression, frontiers, homage, international covenant on civil and political rights, natural beauty, peaceful society, photography art, Randy Craig, relevant portion, right to freedom of expression, societal value, societal values
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