Hunting Your Snark (Why Wordsworth Would make a lousy photographer) I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud BY WILLIAM WORDSWORTH I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. The waves beside them danced; but... Continue reading

Blind Photographer, Ian Murray, describes how he creates portraits. Continue reading

location, Location, Location... Creating outdoor portraits in the middle of a City on a hot sunny day, packed with tourists can be a challenge. As soon as you find a space and start shooting you invariably attract an audience, all of whom appear to have cameras and are finding it hard to resist using them to grab a surreptitious or shot or two, or three or more. Its best if you can work fast, get the shots and get out of there as soon as possible, but when you stop to consider all the variables and decisions that you need... Continue reading

The muse kicks in to head the photographer off in a completely new direction. Continue reading

I am primarily a portrait and studio photographer who loves to teach lighting but I often get very puzzled looks when I stress the importance of taking care of the light on the background before doing anything else. What do I mean by this? Well, as a good example, let's take a look at a common situation that beginners face: There you are, all set to go. You have your ice-white seamless paper backdrop in place and your subject is standing well in front of it, with a great lighting set up over which you have sweat blood. The "key... Continue reading

The classic Hollywood Noir Portrait is contrasty with rich blacks and glowing whites. It also helps if you have a sultry looking female to pose for you, Producing such an image is not only fun, it is fairly straightforward if you follow some simple steps. Step 1. Keep it dark! A black background is a great option. I tend to use seamless paper rolls but a dark cloth backdrop works just fine too!. Step 2. Keep the light simple! Start simple with just one key light coming from above the model and slightly to one side of the camera, In... Continue reading

Simple steps to a gritty portrait using 2 Profoto D1 Air Strobes. Before you accuse me – I am not that narcissistic it’ s just that I regularly test the set- up in my studio by photographing myself as part of the process. Today I had a client who wanted a gritty portrait of himself so how better to get prepared than by practicing on myself? Fortunately he was late in arriving so I had more time to play and perfect the lighting setup. Here’s how it went…. I began with a single key light – a Profoto D1 Air... Continue reading

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Welcome to the PhotoWorks Blog ,a blog for anyone interested and active in Photography. While the blog is set up to serve the Massachusetts Photography Community, you will find many hints, tips and useful ideas posted here on a regular basis. Notice the Calendar Below - here you will find... Continue reading

I learned today of a new development in camera technology and thanks to the wonderful folks at Nicanon I got to try out these features on their soon to be released models for a full week. For several years we have seen great leaps in the automation of camera functions. We have become used to automatic focusing, automatic white balance, automatic selection of aperture and/or shutter speed. We even rely on auto-exposure metering to set the camera for us. Now however, the major manufacturers are set to offer us a huge leap in technology in two areas: 1. Composition 2.... Continue reading

Abbey Road ( A sugar Coated Production) by Babes in Boinkland , Produced and Directed by Sugar Dish (Vanessa White) played at the Oberon, Arrow Street Cambridge July 31 and Aug 4 2010. Take the last album recorded by Beatles, add a mature audience, a troop of very talented dancers, spice it up with a heavy dose of eroticism and you have a recipe for a very interesting night out. Just transport yourself to a darkened night club with pulsing lights, a stage, a large dance-floor, and scantily clad performers. Brace yourself as the first throbbing notes of "Come Together"... Continue reading

It was an all too brief seven days, but boy did we pack in a lot of photography! Often leaving before dawn in our open Panga boat, we set off into the Marine Park in search of whales, and we were never disappointed. Speeding our way twenty miles south or inching our way north alongside the stunning rock formations of Coronado Island we were always surprised by Michael Fishbach's ability to find the whales. Under his expert guidance we had close encounters with blue whales, humpback whales, a brutus whale, a finback whale and to crown it all we came... Continue reading

If you are considering comiong to the Baja for this once in a lifetime adventure, you need to move fast, there are only limited places left. Contact Ian Murray at 781-340-0564 to book. Continue reading

There are some CDs, which over time have become as close to my heart as a good friend. I have several gems which I would hate to be without and I suspect you too can name a few of your own. You know the ones; ones you play when you are in need of comfort food for your ears and soul. Most of mine come from way back in the sixties and seventies, a time when my musical tastes were growing and new discoveries were a frequent pleasure. These days, although I profess to have a very eclectic taste in... Continue reading

The tip of Cape Cod can be a beautiful yet desolate place in the depths of winter and a welcome yet crowded conclusion to a long, slow crawl of traffic in the height of summer. With a small resident population, of just a few thousand which like a desert after a rain-storm bursts to life with several hundred thousand visitors a week in the height of summer, this place is a fascinating land of contradictions and enigmas; a land of sun-seekers and recluses; of crowded beaches and quiet dunes which draws people in and keeps them coming back. A substantial... Continue reading