July 16, 2013

Client Slideshow from Cambodia workshop - Jag

July 16, 2013/ Gary Tyson

I have known Jag for a few years now, we started off with Jag doing a one day outdoor lighting workshop a few years back which he then took what he learned and practiced when time allowed. Late last year Jag contacted me to help produce a video for ABN AMRO for some charity work his team was conducting in the Southern Philippines, the results of that starring Jag can be seen here for the teaser trailer and here for the main video. Next up was this workshop, Jag contacted me and discussed how he wanted to train more with the off camera lighting outdoors, but in a visually stronger location than Hong Kong for this style of photography.

Below you can see the results that Jag attained after just 5 days coaching and discussion in Cambodia, as well as some behind the scenes shots shown on this blog post below the video.

I can honestly say that Jag's photography has gone from strength to strength, he achieved outstanding results and was very happy with the workshop. Great stuff Jag, well done.

F8 Photography workshop client slideshow - Jag Hirani - Kampot, Cambodia from F8 Photography Ltd on Vimeo.

(Jag posing whilst we were balancing the light with the ambient in Kampot).(The 3 musketeers, Gary, Jag and Sammy)(Jag strikes another pose on his chicken chaser moped)(Jag checks out the light and landscape before our epic storm approached a few minutes later to give us some 'god' light)

Thanks for taking the time to visit our blog, if you like our blog and website, please ‘like’ us on our public Facebook page or on the ‘LIKE’ box to the right side of this blog. You can share this story with your friends with the Facebook and twitter links below or on the left side of this blog. You can also subscribe to our blog via the RSS link below or on the right of this post OR by clicking this link.

F8 Photography provides commercial photography and photography and video training workshops, more details can be found via the ‘courses and workshops’ link and upcoming events via the front page of our website.

June 06, 2013

South Cambodia photography workshop client slideshow

June 06, 2013/ Gary Tyson

The aim of our photography workshops in Cambodia is to take beginner or intermediate photographers to another level with an immersive course that exposes them to nothing but photography for several days….It’s intense, it’s hard work, it’s loooong days, the learning curve is steep, but the two key things we wish for all our clients to leave with are the feeling that they improved dramatically in the way they see what they photograph and to have had great fun with a bunch of like minded photographers. Below you will see a slideshow of their final images. They shot in the south of Cambodia (Sihanoukville, Kampot, Kep) for less than 5 days, some of them arrived with their first camera and little knowledge, but after some careful direction and coaching they have produced nothing short of an outstanding set of images, each and every one of them.

Please enjoy the slideshow and we look forward to seeing some of you on a future workshop here in Cambodia, back in Hong Kong or somewhere else in the region. You can find more details about our workshops at our homepage under ‘workshops‘ or drop us an email via our contact form.

vimeosouthslides from F8 Photography Ltd on Vimeo.

If you wish to see other images and blog posts from this trip and other Cambodia trips you can see a selection by clicking here.

Thanks for taking the time to visit our blog, if you like our blog and website, please ‘like’ us on our public Facebook page and share this story with your friends with the Facebook and twitter links below. You can also subscribe to our blog here.

May 29, 2013

F8 Photography Phnom Penh - Clients final slideshows

May 29, 2013/ Gary Tyson

The aim of our photography workshops in Cambodia is to take beginner or intermediate photographers to another level with an immersive course that exposes them to nothing but photography for several days....It's intense, it's hard work, it's loooong days, the learning curve is steep, but the two key things we wish for all our clients to leave with are the feeling that they improved dramatically in the way they see what they photograph and to have had great fun with a bunch of like minded photographers. Below you will see a slideshow of their final images. They shot in and around Phnom Penh for less than 3 days, some of them arrived with their first camera and little knowledge, but after some careful direction and coaching they have produced nothing short of an outstanding set of images, each and every one of them.

Please enjoy the slideshow and we look forward to seeing some of you on a future workshop here in Cambodia, back in Hong Kong or somewhere else in the region. You can find more details about our workshops at our homepage under 'workshops' or drop us an email via our contact form.

Phnom Penh Photography workshop - Clients Images slideshow from F8 Photography Ltd on Vimeo.

If you wish to see other images and blog posts from this trip and other Cambodia trips you can see a selection by clicking here.

November 01, 2012

Southern Cambodia photography workshop - Feb 2013

November 01, 2012/ Gary Tyson

Our next Cambodia workshop will be concentrated in the southern part of the country for 5 days around Sihanoukville, Kep and the surrounding islands. This promises to be another successful experience for a small group of photographers (maximum 6) to fully immerse themselves in a photo rich environment with 2 instructors for personalised hands on training. For more information on the workshop and to register your interest, please follow the link below or click on any of the images:

http://www.f8photography.com.hk/event/southcambodiafeb2013/

Here are a few images of this wonderful part of the world from one of our previous trips there that we will enjoying exploring with you again soon.

October 08, 2012

GUEST POST: Terese - Cambodia Workshop

October 08, 2012/ Gary Tyson

Note: This post is written and all photos by Terese Chan (less portraits of Terese) who travelled to Cambodia with us. Terese shot with the Fuji XPro1 throughout the workshop. These are her thoughts.

(the author - Terese, posing for a lighting demo during the workshop in Phnom Penh)

I've been on and off looking for photography courses in Hong Kong for over a year, most of them I found were formal classroom teaching or commercial wedding shooting… Honestly, as a design-trained person I perceived they are boring, stiff and too commercial…and then I found F8 Photograpy (www.f8photography.com.hk). I was stunned by Gary's works, especially the street photos and immediately joined his workshop without hesitation even though I had never met him in Hong Kong.

(A girl playing hide and seek, Fuji X-pro1 35mm ISO 200 F1.8 1/550s)

We met in Cambodia on the first day, all of us got our gear to click on and go! It seems that we had bad luck with heavy showers on the first day but we were lucky though as Gary took us to a good location and we ran into so many lovely warm faces. I had a tough time to avoid getting my camera wet, and yet I didn't want to miss any captures….it was challenging and great fun!

(Terese (left) and Susan still smiling despite the torrential rain...)

(A praying sweet heart, Fuji X-pro1 35mm ISO 1000 F1.4 1/150s)

(Lady under the shelter, Fuji X-pro1 35mm ISO 3200 F2.2 1/110s)

(A girl, Fuji X-pro1 60mm ISO 200 F4 1/45s)

(A boy, Fuji X-pro1 35mm ISO 1000 F2.4 1/52s)

I really enjoyed the total immersion in the environment, it was effective to learn in such a good and relaxing atmosphere with great people. The learning schedule might be intense, but for me the process was fun with all the happy and kind participants, they really made my trip! All the laughter and sharing made the course fruitful and complete! :)

Note from Gary from F8 Photography: Terese classed herself as a 'newbie' photographer when she arrived on the workshop. Having heard that I expected to see 'beginner' images at the end of day 1, but this was not the case, Terese absorbed all the information we gave her about using different lenses and viewpoints to improve her composition techniques, she embraced her camera (Fuji XPro1) which can be slow with autfocus at times, and she got on with all the training, always smiling. My view on her work that she produced was that it was outstanding, like the other clients we took on the workshop, they all worked together and pushed each others standards higher throughout, which benefited everyone immensely and raised the self-pressure level. I think working in that style is a good thing, and I know Terese will agree that the images she produced on this workshop were some of, if not her best photographs she has taken to date. I am aware that Terese is very busy working for Cathay Pacific and it is not easy for her to get time off work, so we want to say thanks for making the time to join us, we hope you reaped the benefits of the workshop, your images certainly tell that story. Well done Terese, great work, and look forward to taking you the next travel photography expedition :-)

Here are more of Terese's images from the workshop:

(Terese seemed to be REALLY enjoying the workshop!)

(Gary from F8 helping Terese set up the Fuji XPro1 after installing the new autofocus firmware)

(Sisters, Fuji X-pro1 35mm ISO 200 F1.4 1/680s)

(A boy who peeps, Fuji X-pro1 35mm ISO 200 F2.5 1/220s)

(The boys in a temple, Fuji X-pro1 35mm ISO 1000 F2 1/2900s)

(A smiley face, Fuji X-pro1 35mm ISO 200 F2 1/180s)

We have other posts from the workshop attendees as well as behind the scenes shots and video coming soon. Please stay tuned for that, you can now ‘search’ the blog on the left side of this post to find subject posts easily, try typing ‘cambodia’ to find all our posts from there if you wish to read more.

October 05, 2012

Manila Photography Workshop Recce

October 05, 2012/ Gary Tyson

Details of our November 2012 workshop in Manila can be seen here: http://www.f8photography.com.hk/event/manila-photography-workshop/

I have been to Manila 3 times in the last 2 months and am starting to get familiar with a few of the locales for shooting street life and have hung out with Kurt Kamka a few times, hes an American photographer based in Manila, so its great to have good communication with someone who already has 'boots on the street' (ironically the name of his blog also, which can be seen here).

All images below are shot on the Olympus OMD with 12mm, 25mm, 45mm lenses and processed in Adobe Lightroom 4 with VSCO film presets or Niksoft Silver Efex 2 for black and white images.

(Welcome to Guadalupe, OMD, 25mm)

This last trip we explored the Guadalupe area of Makati which yet again proved to be a fruitful location full of life and great friendly people. Every single person we met was more than happy to be photographed - if anything the only problem was that once you stopped to talk to people and take an image or two, a crowd sometimes gathered which made it more difficult to get good compositions due to the scene becoming far too 'busy' with willing subjects.

(Kurt shows the kids their portraits, you can't help but smile when you see their reactions)

Kurt was shooting with his Leica S2 camera, a beast of a machine capable of producing some amazing image quality, its a bit out of my price range unfortunately and since I am recently divorced from Leica, luckily I am avoiding their gear, although I do agree with him that the quality is second to none. I was using my trusty OMD for this trip again, as it constantly delivers the goods for me, is lighting fast and the lenses are unsurpassed for these 4/3 sensors.

(My tribute image to James Nachtwey style composition, OMD, 12mm)

(Mini-gangsta, OMD, 12mm)

We met all sorts along the way, small kids, elderly people, mini-gangstas...all totally friendly. It's easy to see how some people get worried walking around Manila, as of course there are some dangerous areas, much like any other city, however, just knowing which areas to avoid is all that is needed to ensure a pleasureable experience shooting in the streets, I found the place each trip to be more enchanting and you can't help but appreciate the people.

(Friendly lady, OMD, 25mm)

(Need a shave?, OMD, 25mm)

When you look at these images, bear in mind that all of them were taken in the space of 2 hours, that should give an idea of the versatility and range of interesting people that we found in just a short walk down a few streets. Its not easy in some countries to find so much diversity of characters, especially ones so willing to be photographed. I think Kurt is a lucky man to live in such a cool city.

(View across to Makati, OMD, 25mm - HDR effect - combined 3 images in Photomatix Pro)

When looking over at Makati from a bridge the mix of poverty with the new world is evident, with slum housing blending into skyscraper towers only a few metres apart, there is a lot of contrast in Manila, I noticed that, with high end shopping malls and designer brands all around certain areas, but I am not shocked or surprised by this anymore as Hong Kong is exactly the same in my view with these kind of contrasts.

(Manila in colour, OMD, 25mm)

(More colour in Guadalupe, OMD, 12mm)

(Every little shop window greets you with a big friendly smile, OMD, 25mm)

If I could describe Manila in colour tones I would say its 'Kodachrome'....the pastel colours that I see everywhere remind me of this, and it really is a place that lends itself to colour photography....the last few trips as its still monsoon season, there have been lots of muted grey skies which helps give the colours a nice soft look, perfect for photography...as long as you take your umbrella in case of a downpour.

(Jeepneys in monsoon season, OMD, 25mm)

(Big Mommas house - OMD, 12mm)

(Street scene, OMD, 25mm)

(Need a room? OMD, 25mm)

(The daily news, OMD, 25mm)

(More street scenes, OMD, 25mm)

Just shooting street scenes on every corner interest me in Manila, the characters all seem to be just 'hanging out' in interesting poses or compositions, it makes photography easier in this sense, and of course I still love black and white photography in these streets even though I just said earlier that it lends itself very well to colour imagery.

On the way back at the end of the shoot we were strolling along the Pasig River banks and came across a bunch of crazy kids jumping off a road bridge into the river, which looks pretty polluted and has a very very strong current.....these kids must have amazing immune systems, and can swim like olympic athletes to resist that current....not to mention the dangers of jumping off a 50ft high road bridge....one kid had climbed right to the top of the girders as can be seen in the image below...i didn't see him jump from there, maybe he has second thoughts once up there, but Im quite sure some of them have done that before...have to admire their fearless attitude and passion for having fun, no matter the risks.

(The jumpers, Pasig River, OMD, 75mm)

(Underpass, OMD, 25mm)

We will be returning to Manila to run a workshop with Kurt Kamka in November, its really a great place to shoot, its perfectly safe, my only advice there is don't go street shooting at night, keep to areas that are safe and be wary of taxi drivers, almost every taxi driver I met always trys to tell me 'the meter doesnt work' or the fee is an extra few hundred pesos....its just one of those things...confirm the price before you set off with a cab or ensure they use the meter, then you'll be fine and still have a few hundred pesos left over to buy the kids a coke for being so friendly in their village :-)

Details of our November 2012 workshop in Manila can be seen here:

http://www.f8photography.com.hk/event/manila-photography-workshop/

Links to Kurt's work can be again seen here at the links below:

http://www.kurtkamka.com/

http://bootsonthestreet.tumblr.com/

If you want to see other posts we have written about Manila, please click this link below which will search out all the Manila posts for you on our blog for your convenience:

http://www.f8photography.com.hk/tag/manila/

October 02, 2012

Workshop review - Cambodia September 2012

October 02, 2012/ Gary Tyson

BEHIND THE SCENES - Shooting in Cambodia

Our small group workshop was a resounding success, some of the images produced were simply outstanding, for some photographers who attended, having either never shot 'people photography' before, or having little experience in engaging their subjects, I was honestly amazed at the work they were able to produce over the course of 3 days.

(The Motley Crew - Andrew, Ian, Susan, Terese, Steve & Gary)

The training each day was long, sometimes 12-14 hours of constant photography, editing and review sessions, but being away from their home countries allowed the participants to focus on the tasks without any distractions and this I believe is a key element to fast track learning. That coupled with a photographically rich environment allows for some great work to be produced.

We concentrated on exposing the group to a variety of different locations and subjects, encouraging them to shoot 'people' and use their different lenses, all the while being there to assist with any technical or composition questions and guide where necessary. We spent a small amount of time each day focussing on developing/editing using Adobe Lightroom 4 back at the hotel and then a good hour and a half session every night reviewing/critiquing eachothers best images of the day as a group. This was a really useful part of the training for everyone and we all learnt a lot during these feedback sessions. The group also learnt other features in Lightroom 4 including how to correcty export images for various formats (email/web/print) and to utilise the slideshow feature in Lightroom to produce a finished portfolio of images set to music at the end of the workshop.

Here are a few images from 'behind the scenes' at the workshop, showing the photographers going about their daily shooting rituals in a variety of locations in and around Phnom Penh.

(Rain or shine, we were up and out, smiling, with cameras in hand, shooting all day long)

(1-1 therapy from Gary....(we thought he was the one who needs therapy?!)

(The locals love the OMD as much as us....and Sam (right) setting up to take the group shot on the Contax G2)

(Just interacting with the locals was half the fun of the workshop)

(Showing Terese some XPro1 tips (left) and Susan (right) gets me to pose with her new found friend - a newborn kitten!)

(During some downtime, Ian buys some Cambodia scarfs, as modelled by Gary (right), an essential purchase in Cambodia)

(The girls pose, closely followed by Andrew and Gary striking a pose in the Tuk Tuk)

(Learning to use a diffuser and reflectors is essential for portraits in the harsh light)

(Sam (Tuk Tuk Driver) and Terese (right). Thats what we like to see, smiley happy people)

(We await our transport across the Mekong river whilst Andrew cleverly waits in the shade, it was a long day that one...)

Some of the participants from the workshop have kindly found time to produce some guest blog posts on our site, they can be seen by clicking below, well worth a look, some outstanding imagery they produced over the 3 days:

STEVE (ASSISTANT INSTRUCTOR) BLOG POST

ANDREWS GUEST BLOG POST

SUSANS GUEST BLOG POST

As I spent much of the time in country either teaching, watching or assisting our clients with their shooting, I didn't get much time to shoot myself during the workshop. Here are a few of the images that I managed to capture in between events whilst we were out and about.

All the below images shot with Olympus OMD, processed using VSCO film presets in Adobe Lightroom 4.

September 30, 2012

GUEST POST: Steve - Cambodia Workshop (Asst Instructor)

September 30, 2012/ Gary Tyson

Note: This post is written and all photos by Steve Porte (less portraits of Steve) who travelled to Cambodia with us as assistant instructor. Steve shot with a combination of Canon 1D Mk IV and 5D Mk III throughout. These are his thoughts on the workshop:

(Steve is always having a laugh and a joke, enjoying life - here we were setting up a lesson in 'off camera lighting')

Last week, I traveled to Phnom Penh, Cambodia with F8 Photography owner Gary Tyson and four other photographers. Unlike our casual visit in July (described in a previous post that can be seen here) this trip was to host a formal photography workshop in and around Phnom Penh. The group consisted of four participants, Gary and myself. Here are my thoughts on that trip...

(The motley crew - Andrew, Ian, Susan, Terese, Steve & Gary)

On our last visit, we had great weather and beautiful light. This time, there were daily rain showers - but the rain had little effect on our daily routine. Both during and after the rains, we were bathed in the same soft light we have come to expect in Cambodia, and the rain actually became an interesting element in several of our images. Just like our last visit, the combination of colourful infrastructure, verdant landscape, warm and friendly people, and the soft light, made for a wonderful photographic experience.

(5D3, 85mm, f/1.2, ISO 200)

(1D4, 27mm, f/3.5, ISO 200)

(1D4, 16mm, f/6.3, ISO 200)

(1D4, 34mm, f/3.2, ISO 200)

The biggest surprise for me this trip was the quality of work produced by the workshop participants. The four arrived ranging in experience from first-day-with-a-new-point & shoot, to an experienced nature photographer. Although this was billed as a basic-skills workshop, each participant produced some very good images on day one. After four very long days of shooting, group and individual tutoring, and nightly post processing lessons, each participant was putting up some very strong images, with a much-improved keeper rate. Very impressive.

(Steve (top right) tutoring Ian (left) whilst Terese (front) studies her images captured so far)

As always, the real treat shooting in Cambodia was interacting with the local people. We met some well to do folks, and some less fortunate - but regardless of their situation, all were warm, genuine, and displayed the winning Cambodian smile. The warm welcome we received from everyone made the trip wonderful, even without raising a camera.

(Steve engaging some subjects with his infectious smile)

(5D3, 85mm, f/2.2, ISO 200)

(5D3, 85mm, f/1.4, ISO 200)

(5D3, 85mm, f/1.2, ISO 200)

(1D4, 35mm, f/6.3, ISO 200)

This trip, as usual, we delivered portraits taken on the previous trip (and some shot early this visit). Every person to whom we delivered prints beamed at seeing their own images. I’m not sure who was happier - the subjects at receiving the prints, or us at seeing their reaction. A true win-win situation.

(1D4, 22mm, f/5.6, ISO 200)

(1D4, 35mm, f/2.8, ISO 200)

In my last F8 guest post, I mentioned that Cambodia is a wonderful place to visit, to shoot, and to use as an effective teaching venue. The atmosphere is relaxed, there is abundant local and international food cuisine, the light is beautiful, and the people are wonderful. I’m happy to report that nothing has changed. For me, it doesn’t get any better than this - even in the rain....

(5D3, 85mm, f/1.4, ISO 400)

Note from Gary from F8 Photography: Just want to say a special thank you to Steve for joining the workshop in this capacity. His assistance, experience, humour and character were a great addition to the workshop, helping everything along smoothly and all the participants have expressed their thanks already. The workshop was a much more fruitful experience for all with his participation. Cheers Steve.

More of Steve's photography can be seen via this weblink.

(Steve quietly ponders which flavour milkshake to try next at the Riverside bar and grill, Sisowath Quay, Phnom Penh :-))

September 30, 2012

GUEST POST: Susan - Cambodia Photography Workshop

September 30, 2012/ Gary Tyson

Note: This post is written and all photos by Susan Lim (less portraits of Susan) who travelled to Cambodia with us. Susan shot with the Olympus OMD throughout the workshop. This is her story. (Susan became 'at one' with her OMD shooting sometimes 12 hours a day, practice, practice, practice)

(Susan loved interacting with the kids and shooting in the rain with her new shooting buddy, Terese (far left)

When I first registered for the Cambodia workshop I told Gary that I wanted to explore this part of Cambodia, learn their cultures and practice my basic photography skills using my recently acquired Olympus OMD.

I was given a lot of opportunities to take photos in different locations such as Wat Phnom (Buddhist temple area in the city), the silk weaving villages on Mekong Island, rice fields outside the city, street photography and environmental portraiture inside Pagodas and around other parts of Phnom Penh and the last day we visited an old temple complex about an hour away from Phnom Penh with some old ruins, great for landscape images and portraiture of the elderly temple minders.

(Inside a Pagoda, Olympus OMD, 20mm)

(Little girl on Mekong Island, Olympus OMD, 20mm)

(Monks at the Pagoda, Olympus OMD, 20mm)

(Intense portrait, Olympus 20mm)

In each location, people are willing to have their photographs taken and they were all full of smiles. I did notice a lot of poverty in Cambodia, which sometimes upset me as I am not used to seeing these things having travelled from Hong Kong. The results of my photographs are highly impacted by my emotions.

My thoughts on the the workshop training:

The workshop was very well organised, Gary from F8 Photography is a brilliant photographer. He is knowledgable and well experienced. Without his guidance, I would never have learnt so much about how to see and take images in a way I had never done before.

I also benefited a lot from the other participants who are all highly motivated and engaging, Steve, Andrew, Ian and Terese. Each of our session ended with critiques of photos which includes great suggestions for improving our photographs. I also learned to see results of different camera brands and the photography style of each participants. I would highly recommend F8’s Cambodia workshop to anyone.

Note from Gary from F8 Photography: Susan had a great workshop with outstanding results. She had recently purchased the Olympus OMD and wanted to immerse herself somewhere away from the distractions of Hong Kong life to fast track her learning experience. I think she did this without question, and anyone viewing her images here will agree I am quite sure. For someone who has only been shooting a few months, her results were excellent, I was in fact quite envious of some the shots she 'saw' that I didn't see myself :-). On this type of workshop the instructor always learns just as much from the clients I think, I love to see how others interpret a scene, I can always learn from that. Susan was affected by some of the poverty she saw during the workshop, this is not a bad thing, this is a reality, we all react differently to what we see, and it is reflected in some images in her portfolio. This reminded me of my early visits to Cambodia, it is easy to get overwhelmed by some of the sights, but I also think this makes us stronger photographers as being emotional about our work is a good thing, it means we care about what we are trying to say. Good work Susan, well done.

(Rainy day, first shots...this was one of Gary's favourites that Susan produced on Day 1, Olympus OMD, 20mm)

(Cheeky children, Olympus OMD, 45mm)

September 28, 2012

GUEST POST: Andrew - Cambodia Photography Workshop

September 28, 2012/ Gary Tyson

Note: This post is written and all photos by Andrew Hardacre (less portraits of Andrew) who travelled to Cambodia with us. Andrew shot with a combination of Leica M9 and Fuji X100 for this trip. This is his story.

Photography biorhythms was a new concept to me. Rise at 5.30am, bed at midnight. Flat out. All day, every day.

Gary warned us that we would burn out if we tried to do this. I didn't listen.

The evidence however is in the catalogue. A few gems taken in a burst, followed by long interludes of the mundane. Devoid of inspiration, no spark. Fortunately I did listen to everything else he taught us. I can't promise I can put everything into practice at once. I do however have a much better understanding of the importance of colour, how to engage a subject and the value of a tight frame.

I was already a black and white junky but although I still think B&W first, I can now see why in the past my colour images often failed. I need to go and seek out colours that work and be more selective in what I shoot.

And the really big lesson is then selecting what to keep and what to trash. Forced ranking the day's files down to 20, then 15, then 10....... that was interesting.

(Andrew scouting for new subjects from the Tuk Tuk)

On day 1 and 2 the challenge was to decide which 20 to put up for critique. By the end of day 4 the problem was the other way round. Can I find 10 worth showing out of the hundreds I have taken.

I compared this in my blog to doing a language immersion course and I guess that is pretty close - this is an immersion course in the language of light. Me definitely Leica :-)

Note from Gary from F8 Photography: Andrew produced an excellent body of work during the 3 day workshop. Andrew was one of the most self critical members of the workshop - this is something I consider to be a great asset as a photographer, you MUST be able to criticise your own work and be open to constructive criticism in order to grow. Another point from me was that Andrew explained to me before the workshop that he had spent little time photographing 'people' as he is a big fan of nature and landscape photography, and he wanted to expand his portfolio with 'people'.

(Andrew and Gary chilling out whilst waiting for the boat to ferry them across the River Mekong)

I think it is very evident in this short showcase that Andrew easily achieved his goals and produced some fantastic environmental portraits and close up character studies. It was a real pleasure having Andrew with us on the workshop and we very much look forward to spending time shooting with him again in the future. In the meantime, here are a few more images of Andrews from the workshop and some links below to his blog:

Andrew has his own blog that showcases more of his images from Cambodia and his other photography interests also, please take time to go have a look, heres the link below:

ANDREWS PERSONAL BLOG

We will have other posts from the workshop attendees as well as behind the scenes shots and video coming soon. Please stay tuned for that, you can now 'search' the blog on the left side of this post to find subject posts easily, try typing 'cambodia' to find all our posts from there if you wish to read more.

Thanks for taking the time to visit our blog, if you like our blog and website, please ‘like’ us on our public Facebook page or on the 'LIKE' box to the right side of this blog. You can share this story with your friends with the Facebook and twitter links below or on the left side of this blog. You can also subscribe to our blog via the RSS link below or on the right of this post.

September 25, 2012

Smile! you're on camera in Cambodia!

September 25, 2012/ Gary Tyson

Now our Phnom Penh photography workshop is complete and we have returned to Hong Kong I will start to prepare some blog posts from each of the clients so we can share their point of view on the workshop and on Cambodia. Whilst I am doing that I would just like to share a few 'behind the scenes' headshots of our participants and some of our subjects and the underlying memory I have of Phnom Penh which is….happiness….even though the country may be poor, there are few other places I have visited that I have seen so many genuine smiles.

I walk around Hong Kong and the general vibe is very very different to Cambodia, of course these two places cannot be compared, but the reality for me is that whenever I am in countries that have more money and affluent lifestyle…..there always seems to be a lot less smiling going on…..

I hope by viewing a few of these images it can make you smile and give you a very small insight into the vibrant and colourful faces of Cambodia.

We will have lots of blog posts from the clients and behind the scenes footage coming shortly, stay tuned...and keep smiling :-)

August 10, 2012

OMD goes to Manila

August 10, 2012/ Gary Tyson

(street scene in Manila) NOTE ABOUT PROCESSING: All images here are shot on the Olympus OMD with various prime lenses. They were then all processed in Lightroom 4 with 1 click presets from 'VSCO film 02' using only their Fuji Superia 800 for colour or Fuji Neopan 1600 settings for black and white. These are my favourite film simulators and make any digital camera RAW files sing instantly with 1 click. More information can be found here at the VSCO website on these presets.

So, after a successful trip to Cambodia using the Olympus OMD the previous week, I decided another trip was in order, this time the other direction from Hong Kong, heading South East to test the EM-5 on the streets of Manila in the Phillipines.

Now some things must be mentioned about Manila for any budding photographers wishing to travel there.....BE CAREFUL. As much as I liked the city, for sure there is a lot of things that could easily go wrong here....some of the poorer parts of the city are for sure totally unsafe for westerners to venture into alone, and carrying expensive camera gear around is only going to attract unwanted attention. Like many other places I have visited you must stay streetwise, don't flash expensive gear, leave your nice watch at home and most of all use common sense. Walking around at 2am in a poor neighbourhood in Manila is going to end in tears for sure....

(Traffic wardens in Manila....ummm whats the point...)

The first thing I noticed when walking around various parts of Manila was the traffic.....it seemed there was complete chaos on the roads, not dissimilar to Hong Kong at rush hour, only here it seemed to be the same all day long....so i chose the best options of transport, my own two feet :-)

When I did travel between districts I used the famous 'Jeepney' buses that can be found everywhere, they are great fun to drive around in, extremely cheap and provide good photo opportunities from the back door, open windows and even of the people inside.

The first day I was in Manila I was lucky with the weather, the light was great, it was hot, just a nice afternoon for strolling around exploring the city. Lunchtime is clearly siesta time in Manila with people strewn all over the place getting an afternoon nap, kind of reminded me of my parents place in Spain where the same thing happens every day.

(siesta time in Manila, its sleep, read or relax...)

The few people that weren't asleep were having an easy time playing board games in the street. This kind of place was helping me relax a lot even after a few hours, as I always compare with Hong Kong, which seems to be really non-stop (part of the reason I love to escape as often as I can), you really don't see this kind of lifestyle in Hong Kong, despite the heat, people are running around at full pace 24/7, at least in the inner city where I work and live, so its really nice to see people taking time out and 'smiling'!!!

(A lovely lady who was more than happy to pose for photographs in the street)

Like most asian cities, the streets were full of children playing and kids always make great subjects for me, they are innocent yet their faces tell a thousand stories, something i noticed recently when shooting a scene in Hong Kong was that everyone in the scene was just going about their business apart from 3 kids in the scence, all of them were looking directly at me....maybe kids would make the best street photographers...as they are very very aware of their surroundings and dont miss a trick :-)

(happy kids (and dogs) playing in the street in Manila)

Of course some people view photographers a little more suspiciously, but despite that, a big smile and a handshake go a long way, and as usual, everyone I met and befriended were absolutely fine being photographed. Even the gangster looking dudes who try to look 'tough' guy tend to break a big smile when I show them their photo and tell them they look like 'James Bond'....flattery gets you everwhere...

(locals in Binondo district, Manila)

The variety of people and colour around the city really attracted me, it really is a bustling metropolis and a great photography location. As I mentioned earlier discretion is the better method with camera gear (as is pretty much anywhere in my experience), so using the little Olympus OMD was actually perfect (yet again), as it allowed me to shoot discreetly from the hip using the touchscreen with its super fast autofocus. This is the 2nd time I have used it travelling in a month, and it didn't skip a beat at all, ultra reliable....I thought I would miss my Leica M9...but if I'm honest, this thing is far more functional, never ever stutters like the Leicas do (thats a simple fact that sometimes the M9 just won't react when you press the button...) and the image quality is amazing, of course not superior to a full frame camera...but most of our work is going on the internet or medium sized prints, I am quite positive to 99% of people, there is no visible difference in image quality, and those that think they can tell a difference on a processed image (especially at web size images)....well their name is Pinnochio I'm afraid....

(diverse characters around town, security, driver, and the oldest paperboy!)

A quick note again on the presets that I have used to process these images, they are from VSCO, and are the simplest and most powerful presets you can get in my opinion for Lightroom, ACR or Aperture. They really do emulate the film looks well....how do i know this....because I shoot a fair bit of these exact films on my Mamiya 7ii and my Contax G2 and scanned files have very similar tones and characteristics to these digital files once processed.....so if you are looking for a filmic simulator that takes seconds to process your RAW files, these are worth a look for sure.

(Processed with VSCO Fuji Neopan 1600 or Fuji Superior 800 settings)

Whilst I was in Manila, I did some shooting in a very poor area called Ulingan in Tondo, probably the roughest and most dangerous area of Manila, the reason being I want to work with a charity there called Project Pearls, and I will be heading back to Manila now that they have made contact in a few weeks to do some video work with them. You can see the blog post and video of the images shot there last time at this link, its really quite amazing to see the resilience of these people who live and work there.

For other posts I have written recently with images of the OMD please see the links below:

LINK TO BLOG POST: OMD shooting in Ulingan, Tondo, Manila

LINK TO BLOG POST: OMD goes to Cosplay event in Hong Kong

LINK TO BLOG POST: OMD goes to Cambodia

F8 Photography provides commercial photography and training across Asia, with workshops on Street Photography and other photography and video training courses, more details can be found via the ‘courses and workshops’ link and upcoming events via the front page of our website.

July 23, 2012

Guest post: Down under in Phnom Penh (Dave)

July 23, 2012/ Gary Tyson

Note: This post is written and all photos by Dave Grady who came from Australia for one of our Hong Kong workshops then travelled to Cambodia with us. Dave shoots with a combination of Leica M9P, Sony NEX 7, Nikon V1 and Canon 5D Mk III rigs. This is his story.

(Boat boy crossing the Mekong)

In July 2012 I was fortunate enough to attend F8 Photography's documentary photography workshop in Hong Kong. Just prior to attending the workshop I was also invited to go along with Gary, Giles & Steve to Cambodia directly after the workshop to practice some new found skills, an offer I couldn't refuse.

After attending the documentary workshop which broadened my mind and the way one can approach photography (picking a theme and shooting a series of shots rather than just looking for one shot), and then spending my last day in Hong Kong with Gary while he shot editorial work on a 1 million dollar yacht, I barely had time to pack and we made our way to Phnom Penh on the early morning flight direct from Hong Kong equipped with an Leica M9, Sony Nex 7 and Nikon V1.

Having just been to remote areas of mainland China, some of the scenes I'm seeing are familiar but in general it's very different to what I'm used to seeing in Sydney. The traffic is chaotic yet flowing at the same time, People walking all over the place carrying who knows what, families cramping up on one scooter (up to 6 people on 1 small scooter) and the little shops on the side of the road and the mobile street vendors all made for a very interesting drive to our hotel. It was evident very early in Phnom Penh that Cambodia is not a wealthy country but was amazed at how friendly and happy people were.

We arrived at our hotel that Gary had organised for us which was really nice, we dropped off our gear and jumped on a tuk tuk (my first tuk tuk experience) and made our way to the riverside bistro which became our regular watering hole for the rest of the trip, after a brief nap and swim at the hotel pool (which was great for mid/late afternoons after shooting all day) we made our way out for a walk along the riverside were we came across what i'm guessing is a daily ritual where people go to a small temple to pray with people around selling flowers, candles and birds which I believe are offerings to the Gods. This event made for good photography with lots of people around to shoot and lot's of stuff happening everywhere. This was my first real chance to shoot in Cambodia and was really surprised and taken back by peoples willingness to have there photo's taken especially with kids which is a big no no in many western countries.

(Nikon V1, 10mm)

The next morning we met up with Gary's translator and our tour guide/tuk tuk driver Sammy (Samedy) and off we went to Mekong Island, after a short ferry ride across the Mekong river we arrived and stopped at a small shop to get supplies for the day and pick up a few Krama's (traditional Cambodian scarves).

(Dave modelling his new Camodian scarf on route to Mekong Island)

Mekong Island is a small remote area across the river from Phnom Penh, it's not an area tourists would normally visit and the same goes for Phnom Penh locals many hadn't even heard of the place let alone been there. What I saw of Mekong Island consisted of 1 small dirt road with houses on 1 side and the Mekong river on the other, It was however full of photo opportunities.

(Leica M9P)

We met lot's of nice people alongside the road who were more than willing to have there picture taken, A little girl who waved at us even motioned for us to go into her families yard where we spoke to her mother and took photo's of them both. The one person who will stay with me for a long time was a blind man in a small shack who allowed us to take pictures of him, after which Steve got out a $20 note (usually we would give a $1 or $2) and gave it to him, after finding out the value through Sammy who translated for us just seeing his reaction was truly priceless he was so gracious and had many nice things to say.

(Blind villager)

(At the female monastery)

(Dave (right) and others from the team offering rice to the Nuns on our arrival)

Moving on we then arrived at a Women's monastery which was in the middle of nowhere and you would never know it was there unless you were with someone who knew about it. This place was very peaceful and had some amazing statues all throughout the monastery. We spent around an hour just wondering around just taking everything in and taking photos of the many statues and Monks who were more than happy to have there photo's taken. After we had all finished walking around it was mid afternoon and we were all hot and hungry so back we went to the hotel for a swim and lunch.

The next day we had a few different options but we decided on going to a temple complex about 45 minutes from Phnom Penh, It was quite a long ride on the tuk tuk and when we finally arrived. As we walked around and looked at the temple you could easily be mistaken and think you were in Angkor Wat.

(Temple complex outside Phnom Penh)

This place made for some great landscape, texture and portrait shots, 1 old lady we found between the 4 of us we must have shot 3-4 rolls of film and a couple hundred digital shots, she just had this amazing face to shoot close up portraits, it had so much detail from all the wrinkles & damage from the sun over many years.

(102 year old Temple Minder)

This place was also very peaceful and was very nice just walking around taking a photo here and there. While it was a long way out and back it was well worth it, everybody who I mentioned that I'm going to Cambodia all asked if I was going to Angkor Wat and everyone was shocked when I replied 'no', but at Angkor we would have been competing with thousands of other tourists to walk around and take photos whereas here it was just us and a few locals. It may not have been as grand as the temples at Angkor but it gave us a taste of what they are like and we were able to get shots we'd never get at Angkor.

On our final day we decided to visit a slum on the railway a place Gary has been before and suggested as a place to check out to get a real view of some of the poverty that exists here. When laying eyes on this place it hits you pretty quick how poor this place is, It's an old abandoned train yard with many old carriages just sitting there rotting and being used to dump trash and all sorts in. Making matters worse this huge state of the art Cambodian government building can be seen right behind within 1km from this train yard. I was a little worried how people will react to us showing up there and taking photos, but everyone seemed really nice and friendly and it turned out to be a very interesting and humbling experience.

(The entrance to the railroad slum)

(The modern government buildings just a few hundred meters behind the slum...)

(Railroad families)

Hearing stories from the locals like the lady who was sewing making shirts and how she gets 2 cents for every shirt she makes and seeing the conditions that they lived in were really eye opening especially for myself who hasn't seen this sort of thing before, yet they all seemed happy and the kids were over the moon when Steve bought them all Ice blocks.

(Our team at Mekong Island (L to R: Steve, Gary (F8), Giles and myself)

In conclusion I had an amazing time and it was a great experience. I was able to get some great photos which I'm very happy with. Phnom Penh was very much a culture shock for me, a lot of it I have touched on but the things that will really stick with me is how chaotic yet organised it is, I was blown away by how friendly everyone is and there willingness to have there photo taken especially kids. Also just seeing people living in dire conditions yet seemed to be happy and got on with life. This especially hit me hard and really made me think about the way I live and work on certain ways to improve certain aspects of it.

(Me relaxing at our watering hole on the riverside)

Lastly I'd like to thank Gary for organising the trip he got us a great hotel and took us to some great places, Steve & Giles it was a pleasure hanging out and shooting with you guys & Sammy and Kanja for taking us around and translating for us.

Final note from F8:

Gary, the Director of F8 has also written a blog post about his experience, that can be seen by clicking here.

Guest blog posts written by Steve who also came along can be seen here:

July 23, 2012

Guest Post: Shooting in Cambodia with F8 (Steve)

July 23, 2012/ Gary Tyson

Note: This post is written and all photos by Steve Porte who recenly travelled to Cambodia with F8. Steve shoots with a combination of Mamiya 7ii film camera and Canon DSLR rigs, this trip he used the Canon rigs, this is his story. - Gary Tyson, Director F8 Photography.

(Steve with the friendly locals which make Cambodia such a great place to be)

Several weeks ago, I traveled to Cambodia with F8 Photograhy owner Gary Tyson and two other photographers. The aim of our trip was to spend 4 days shooting in and around Phnom Penh. Here are my thoughts on that trip...

Cambodia is a wonderful place to visit. There are good connections from most regional cities. The Cambodian e-Visa is a user-friendy, online system, that really makes the immigration process simple and inexpensive. Accomodations, ground transportation, and food are very reasonably priced, but there are plenty of up-market offerings for those so inclined. But what makes Cambodia really special is the people.

(Kids were fascinated by the digital cameras)

Everyone we met - from service staff, to shop owners, to people on the street - was warm, friendly, and kind. There is an inner tranquility about the people that translates into a vibrant but peaceful atmoshphere. It only took us about three hours in country to unwind from the hectic pace of Hong Kong.

(Typical greeting, 5D Mk III, 100mm)

(Dignified villager, 5D Mk III, 100mm)

For photographers, it gets even better. Everyone has their own particular criteria, of course, but most would agree that the two basic requirements for producing good images are good light and interesting subjects. Cambodia has both in abundance. The air is clean, and the light is soft and beautiful. Even at mid day, we found the light to be less harsh than in other locations. The quality of light is hard to describe, but easy to see when you're there.

(Steve shooting with his trusty Canon rig)

(Quality of light at 11:30 am, 5D Mk III, 100mm)

(Quality of light at 1:10 pm, 5D Mk III, 100mm)

There is also an endless variety of subjects to shoot - pastoral countryside, vibrant city life, quiet villages, interesting infrastructure, and, of course, the people. What I enjoy most is documenting daily life and local culture. For me, Cambodia is as good as it gets. The developing infrastructure offers a wide variety of interesting subjects, and glimpses of a life quickly disappearing in many regions.

(Traditional fishing, 5D Mk III, 100mm)

(Ferry traffic jam, 1D Mk IV, 25mm)

The local people were the highlight of the trip. They were warm, good natured, camera-friendly, and, to me, beautiful. Their warm and dignified character shone through - from the youngest child to the oldest villager. Virtually everyone we met was happy to be photographed and met us with direct eye contact; usually happy, sometimes somber, but always engaged.

(Village girl, 1D Mk IV, 35mm)

(Temple minder, 5D Mk III, 100mm)

Cambodia is relaxed, and rich with photo opportunities. The F8 crew travels well, and has a good working knowledge of local venues. Gary is a highy skilled and experienced field photographer. He has a knack both for capturing high quality images, and for helping others to develop their own photographic skills. Cambodia would make a great classroom, but, workshop or not, I'll be returning soon....

Final note from F8:

Gary, the Director of F8 has also written a blog post about his experience, that can be seen by clicking here.

Guest blog posts written by Dave who also came along can be seen here:

July 23, 2012

Olympus OMD goes to Cambodia

July 23, 2012/ Gary Tyson

(Gary in the railroad village with the locals outside Phnom Penh with OMD and Mamiya 7ii)

So here we are again, back to the glorious backdrop of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, this time bringing a different camera system - The Olympus OMD for a 4 day field test.

This blog post is not an all out review of the camera system, I'm not a techno-phobe, this is a real world usage review and highlights of my thoughts on the camera system in a fast changing environment and for close up street and travel photography...you won't find any MTF charts or detailed lens analysis....just images that I shot and my thoughts on them :-)

The last time I visited Cambodia I shot only the Leica M9, as I had shot here several times with full Canon DSLR systems and wanted a smaller rig to shoot travel photography with, and the Leica was a perfect fit...albeit the seriously expensive option.

The Leica system is hard to beat (some say impossible), so the bar was set very high, I have achieved some fantastic results with my Leica M9, therefore I already had an unfair comparison level in my mind...but I thought if a camera is going to succeed in 2012 and beyond, it needs to raise the bar and match some of the already outstanding options available to us.

With this in mind, I wanted to test some other rigs out to replace my Leica rigs for street photography and lightweight travel photography. I had tried the Fuji XPro-1 a few months ago, and have written some positive thoughts on that camera system, but after extended use I must admit I found the autofocus to be a little slow and inaccurate at times for my liking, even though the image quality was great. Therefore that camera was moved on and I was back to using Leica again.

Anyway, the only remaining system that attracted me was the new Olympus OMD, with a selection of the already proven prime lenses available from Olympus and Panasonic. So the day before we flew to Cambodia I picked up a kit, camera, grip, 12mm f2, 20mm 1.7 and 45mm 1.8. I figured this should cover most of what I need, and I tend to shoot a lot very close up, so I assumed the 12mm lens (24mm equivalent) would be spending most of its time on the camera.

One of the features that I was initially unsure of with the Olympus OMD was the touchscreen for shooting....At first I thought this was a bit of a gimmick, as I'm a traditional style photographer who likes to look through a viewfinder (I don't care much for EVF either....), so I didn't think I would like the touchscreen feature, especially for shooting.

However, I am a changed man, the touchscreen shooting feature - the ability to compose, focus and shoot almost instantly using only the screen has completely revolutionised the way i shoot with this type of camera.

(using the touchscreen to shoot...image shot below)

I learned the cameras menu systems, and setup it all up how I wanted on the 2 hour flight from Hong Kong to Phnom Penh, without the manual (I never read manuals), so that was easy to do, this helped me warm to the camera once I had it all set up how I wanted, disabling a few features, and programming others to the function buttons to suit my needs.

(First image I took on the OMD, 12mm)

This first shot above was the first time I had tested the touchscreen, which allows you to literally just press wherever in your composition you wish the camera to focus and then shoots....this happens almost instantly, so its a great way to capture a scene or a portrait without having to raise the camera to your eye...its kind of like shooting using zone focussing from the hip...except you take away all the problems that method has (misfocus, composition issues, etc), so in reality this could be the perfect street camera for me.

Because there are very few cameras with this technology currently, I believe that nobody at any stage during my trip there actually had any idea what I was doing when I was shooting in this way....even if I approached them and requested to take a picture, once I was done they would still stand there waiting for me to start....I like that, as then I can capture a more natural image with no barriers.

(local villagers on Silk Island, 45mm) (elderly lady on Silk Island, 45mm)

Using the longer lens (45mm - equivalent to 90mm) was also great fun, as I had the same control as with the wide lenses to capture tight portraits without having to raise the camera. Another thing that has amazed me, having only used this system for 2 weeks now is how sharp the lenses are. I am used to Canon gear for work, which is great...and Leica gear for travel/street which can be phenomenal if you get the right lenses....however...in all honesty for the price of these lenses (some as low as only a few hundred US dollars) their performance is amazing...I couldn't ask for sharper images, and that coupled with super fast and super accurate autofocus...i just love this camera more every time I pick it up.

(school kid hiding under a desk, 45mm)

(local school in Phnom Penh, with super friendly staff and kids, 45mm)

However, as mentioned earlier, I am happiest shooting close up with a wide lens (normally a 24 or 25mm lens, so the Olympus 12mm (equivalent to 24mm) was always going to my new best friend on this camera, and to be honest, this lens was the reason I bought the system in the first place...).

Below are a further selection of images I shot there over a 4 day period with the various lenses. I think as this was the first week I had used the camera, I was more than happy with how it performed and the quality it produced. The main thing is that I haven't missed using the Leica, despite it being my workhorse camera for the last several months....this tells me something....I'm not saying one is better than the other, as I still think the Leica M can produce amazing photographs, however if you want a system that can give you a lot of the portability and loads more technical gucci features than any Leica....and you don't want to remortgage your house to afford the system....then maybe the OMD is worth a very serious look.

(using touchscreen again and getting nice and close with the 12mm lens)

(on boat roof on way across the Mekong River, 12mm)

(children on Sisowath Quay, Phnom Penh, 12mm ISO 6400) (sleeping child, railroad slum, 12mm)

(railroad slum, Phnom Penh, 12mm)

(monks at the riverside, 12mm)

(Pagoda Boy, 12mm)

(Rush hour, early morning, 45mm)

(villagers on Silk Island, 20mm)

(102 year old female temple minder, 20mm)

(railroad slum kids, 20mm)

(railroad slum kids, 12mm)

(Our little gang of photographers, L to R: Giles, Steve, myself and Dave, 12mm)

Guest blog posts on this trip from Steve who accompanied us can be read here:

Guest blog posts written by Dave who also came along can be seen here:

March 19, 2012

Street Photography with Fuji XPro1

March 19, 2012/ Gary Tyson

NOTE: All images shot on Fuji XPro1 and Fujinon 35mm 1.4 lens with autofocus only.

We've had our hands on the Fuji XPro1 for about a week now, and starting to get used to it and its nuances. Yesterday myself and a few friends met up in Soho and headed over to Temple Street in Kowloon which is a great little area for street photography with vibrant buzzing markets and even more vibrant characters around the place.

After a short trip on the ferry across the harbour, we walked up Canton Road, which has a lot of the big brand shops and is always full of characters, a great area to warm up before hitting the markets further into Kowloon. You can always be sure to see hundreds of mainland tourists spending their fortunes around here on designer brands.

This was the first full day of shooting the XPro1 in this environement for me, and using only the 35mm 1.4 Fujinon lens in full autofocus mode (I believe the manual focus with the fuji lenses is totally useless as its fly by wire only), which means there is no tactile connection between you and camera/lens...its way too slow. If using manual focus with other lenses such as the Leica lenses, its brilliant, I don't know why they insists on developing a fly by wire manual focus system, it really is completely unusable in my opinion unless you use it exclusively for 'zone focussing'.

So, I decided to shoot everything with autofocus. There has been much debate about the AF capabilities of this camera in light of the X100 problems. I can say this....yes, its not perfect, however, it is pretty fast (if the camera is kept awake) and it nailed 95 percent of my shots without a problem.

I shoot very fast when in the streets, so normally i use zone focussing, so using AF was almost a step back for me, however, I think this environment was the perfect test for this camera, as I believe many people are looking at the Fuji as a viable street photography/travel photography replacement for their DSLR or even as an alternative to the Leica M system such as M8/M9.

I shot everything in RAW, converted via the Fuji software supplied with the camera, then edited in Lightroom 4 using VSCO film presets set to Kodak Portra 400 for all images other than the black and white conversion using Niksoft Silver Efex Pro 2.

A quick note on the VSCO film presets - If you are looking for a good film emulation preset for lightroom, then look no further, these really are good, I have hundreds of presets and I keep going back to these ones, I believe they are the most realistc set available, and I am eagerly awaiting a specialist set from the for Leica and who knows maybe a Fuji specific set also, as they tweak camera calibration settings in RAW also, not just basic adjustments, they have camera specific versions for Canon and Nikon already, as well as a generic set for other cameras for now, and they have promised to release Leica specific profiles, which I hope to get my hands on as soon as possible.

The markets around Temple street - as you can see from these pictures have a diverse mix of characters. Although its probably classed as a 'tourist friendly' area, there are still a lot of things going on behind the scenes here, with triad activity and in particular prostitution clearly visible on the streets even in the middle of the day. Any photographer visiting this area should be aware that most of these girls will react quite adversely if photographed....some are friendly of course and don't seem to mind....however, if unsure, then my advice would be just stay well away from shooting anyone you think may react negatively.

I noticed many muslim girls around the markets when we were shooting, so approached them to ask permission to take their picture as they were wearing some great colours. All of them were more than happy to be photographed.

The Autofocus on the Fuji had no problem at any stage with shooting a diverse mix of subjects, and as the image below shows, shooting into the sun, (sometimes difficult for autofocus), there was again no problems with the performance.

Two of the young ladies accompanying us on this 'photo walk' were Becky and Cheryl, both previous attendees of the street photography workshop, Becky was keen on shooting her 5DII using zone focussing to get her shots, whilst Cheryl preferred to use her new Canon S100 (I think that's what it was), for speedy and discreet street shooting.

This gentleman below was a great subject I thought, he was just squatted on the road, laughing continuously, and was more than happy to be photographed. I noticed on closer look that he had a cigarrete in one hand and 3 spares in the other!!! Thats what I call chain smoking!.

The only lens that I used during this trip was the Fujinon 35mm 1.4, which so far I must say is a great lens (as long as not using manual focus - way too slow), normally I shoot much wider for street photography and closer to my subjects, but this seemed to work well on this day for me. I keep emphasising about the autofocus - and again you can see from the image above, quicky focussing on the cigarretes on the bottom left corner of the frame, it had no problem locking on and giving me the desired focus point.

The total time we were in the markets was only about 2 hours, and I found the camera consistently delivered the results I needed. I have tried this camera with a Leica M mount adaptor and the 35mm F2 ASPH lens also, and the results were quite spectacular, very clean and sharp images, very easy to focus using the EVF its really great with an M mount lens for this, my wish would be that it had 'focus peaking' similar to the NEX-7, then there would be no need for me to zoom in to fine tune focus using the rear dial, especially with wide lenses as its a bit harder to fine tune the focus than with a longer focal length lens.

This fantastic gentleman was more than happy to let me take his portrait and yet again the fast performance of the Fuji XPro1 had no issues nailing the shot for me. Something else I have noticed is that the metering system of the camera seems to overexpose about half a stop most of the time...I consistently left the camera set to -1 or -2/3 to get more accurate exposures, but this is not a problem for me, I just think it takes a little bit of practice, figure out where all the buttons are (there are a lot on this camera that are easy to press by accident...) then it will be fine. It's just like any other camera tool, we need a bit of time learning our way round it, and then there won't be any issues.

Overall I am very pleased with this camera when using it for street photography. Being a similar size to my Leica M9, the feel was quite similar and I believe its a perfect size for this style of photography. People aren't really intimidated by a camera this size compared to a DSLR with a big zoom lens, its ultra light (maybe feels even a little too light for me - again i'm comparing the the tank like construction of the Leica which many won't like).

So my final thoughts are as follows:

Recommended for street photography - A BIG YES.

Recommended to switch if you already have a Leica M9 - personally NO, but I think many will....

Recommended for manual focus with Fuji lenses - NO WAY!

Recommended for manual focus with M lenses - YES, REALLY WORKS GREAT.

Recommended for anyone wishing to switch from DSLR or looking for travel photography camera - YES YES YES.

So, I won't be swapping it for my Leica just yet....but I can still highly recommend the camera, its ergonomically great, looks the part, and I personally haven't had any serious issues with autofocus.

I have another blog post using this camera at night with a 50mm 0.85 lens from SLR Magic, if interested to see the image from that, please click here.

March 15, 2012

Eric Kim Street Photographer - Hong Kong (VIDEO)

March 15, 2012/ Gary Tyson

Eric Kim was recently in Hong Kong running a street photography workshop in partnership with F8 Photography. After the workshop we had a few days to go around town shooting and on the last night we decided to catch Eric's thoughts in a short interview to get his opinion on how the workshop went and also ask a few other questions about his views on street photography in general. There is footage of the workshop and shooting in Hong Kong mixed in with the interview.

F8 Photography continues to run photography workshops and training in Hong Kong and Cambodia and lots of student reviews and workshop information is available on the website and our blog which can all be seen via this link.

Special thanks again to Will Gell for supplying the background music, and to Nate Roberts for asking the questions and Trevor Smith as 'soundman'.

Here is the video: (can watch in HD on Vimeo).

http://vimeo.com/38560897

March 14, 2012

Guest post: Shooting film in Cambodia (Rocco)

March 14, 2012/ Gary Tyson

Note: This post is written and all photos by Rocco Paduano who attended both our Street Photography and Cambodia workshop over a period of two weekends. Rocco is partial to film cameras as well as his digital M9, this trip he took both, this is his story. - Gary Tyson, Director F8 Photography.

(Playful children jump onto our Tuk Tuk, Leica M9, 35mm)

It was with great anticipation that I awaited being able to spend five full days in Phnom Penh along with Gary Tyson from F8 Photography, Ranjit, and Trevor Smith on a travel photography workshop in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

(The author, Rocco Paduano in Phnom Penh)

As a veteran of the Hong Kong Street Photography workshop, which Gary organised with Eric Kim, I could not wait to put some of the knowledge gained to test in and around Phnom Penh. However, I did not want to just document random images of life in such a colorful city. I wanted to be able to tell a ‘story’, and somehow begin to build some consistency in the types of pictures I was producing therefore I am hopeful that I am moving in the right direction.

(Taking a break from reading lessons at a local Wat for a photo, Leica M9, 35mm)(Giving back pictures was priceless, Leica M9, 35mm)

Cambodia is a daunting place to say the least. As one of the poorest South East Asian nations, ravaged for the better part of the 20^th century by different conflicts, it was witness to one of the single most brutal acts of genocide humans ever inflicted on each other. One reads about the rule of the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1978, and one can only imagine what the Cambodian people had to endure in the name of totalitarian ideologies.

(Pictures of genocide victims at Tuol Sleng S-21, Leica M9, 35mm)(Interrogation room at Tuol Sleng S-21, Leica M9, 35mm)(Confinement cells at Tuol Sleng S-21, Leica M9, 35mm)

However, today the country is young (approximately 50% of the population is below 22 years of age), full of hope, and full of smiles. As photographers seeking to hone our skills and to explore a life beyond our own, we were always welcomed with a smile and a “hello”, mostly by people living on the fringes of society.

(Young child from a poor neighborhood near Phnom Penh train station, Leica M9, 35mm)

I originally envisioned doing most of my shots in black and white, in good old ‘street photography’ style. However, I soon realized that ‘street photography’ takes on a whole new meaning in Phnom Penh. People pose for you. They want their picture taken, thus making the whole notion of ‘street photography’ much harder to define in the usual context. We migrated towards a photographic style that was more ‘documentation’ (or as Gary would call it, ‘environmental portraiture’), than candid ‘street photography’.

(Street fruit vendor, Leica M9, 35mm)

Amazingly, while shooting in poor neighborhoods, we all realized that we were inundated with color. From the shadows cast in tight alleyways, to the color of the unpaved roads, and that of the clothing worn by the people, it did not seem as if we would be doing any justice by capturing these images in black and white. I shot digital with an M9, and film with an FM3a. Although I took many shots with the M9, I found that the pictures that talked to me the most came from the FM3a. Color slide and black and white films have characters of their own and add a unique personality to the image (assuming the exposure is correct).

(Making sarongs the old fashioned way, Nikon FM3a, 50mm, Kodak BW400CN)

(Old villlage woman, Nikon FM3a, 50mm, Kodak BW400CN)(Ferry boat hand, Nikon FM3a, 50mm, Kodak BW400CN)

Our trip started out just right, as we congregated at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club along the Mekong River; a place that has hosted numerous war photographers as they documented Cambodia’s turbulent history. There was no shortage of inspiration as the walls of the FCC are covered with past and present images of Cambodia and its people, through war and peace.

(The author Rocco (right) with RJ in the Tuk Tuk out looking for photo opportunities)

(Gary and Ranjit taking a break with the Captain whilst crossing the Mekong, Nikon FM3a, 50mm, Fuji Velvia 50)

With that, we embarked over the next five days into outings that would surround us with a reality somewhat foreign to us. Between poor city neighborhoods, Wats and Buddhist monks, villagers and farmers on the outskirts of the capital, there was no shortage of smiles, new friendships, and plenty of experiences. There was, however, a shortage of photo paper and photo ink, which was rectified by a quick visit to the local Canon supplier. Being able to give an instant print of the pictures we were taking allowed us to give something back to the very same people that gave us so much visual inspiration. It brought them closer to us, and allowed us to establish a connection with them even through our language barriers.

(Young monk, Nikon FM3a, 50mm, Kodak Elite Chrome 200)(Young village siblings, Nikon FM3a, 50mm, Kodak Elite Chrome 200)(Saffron tunics, Nikon FM3a, 50mm, Fuji Velvia 100F)

Shooting in Phnom Penh was a totally new experience as to what I have been used to lately. In Hong Kong people are less likely to pose for you, or even take the time to pay any attention. Thus, ‘street photography’ takes on a different style; furtive and stealthy, candid and more likely to be black and white. There are a lot less smiles in Hong Kong, and a lot more chances of a ‘confrontation’ with someone that does not want their picture taken. It is a stark contrast to what we were faced with in Phnom Penh, where people with relatively little smiled and were happy to share a sliver of their lives with us.

(Old village man, Nikon FM3a, 50mm, Fuji Velvia 100F)(Proud father, Nikon FM3a, 50mm, Fuji Velvia 50) (A great way to end the day! Nikon FM3a, 50mm, Fuji Velvia 50)

As we returned to Hong Kong, I am sure all of us contemplated the past five days. Phnom Penh and its people certainly left a mark, and gave us a different perspective even on our own reality.

Final note from F8:

Gary, the Director of F8 has also written a blog post about his experience, that can be seen by clicking here.

Another of the workshop attendees, Trevor, has also written a blog post about his experience, you can read that here.

Also, Gary's assistant RJ wrote a blog post about the same trip, that can be found here.

March 14, 2012

Guest Post: My Cambodia experience (Trevor)

March 14, 2012/ Gary Tyson

Note: This post is written and all photos by Trevor Smith who attended both our Street Photography and Cambodia workshop over a period of two weekends. Trevor works in Saudi Arabia so had a long journey to be with us, this is his story. - Gary Tyson, Director F8 Photography. (The eyes are the window to the soul...)

After a weekend with Gary Tyson of F8 Photography and rising street photographer Eric Kim on their street photography workshop in Hong Kong, I was brimming with confidence and keen to test myself armed with new skills as well as explore a different country which is recovering from an extremely brutal past.

Flights all booked and kit checked we were all set, but sitting in Gary’s office waiting to go to the airport....the flight time was approaching fast and Gary, the consummate professional had to tie up any lose ends before the trip, which almost made us miss the flight, so a mad dash to the airport started off the adventure to Cambodia.

The plane doors opened on the airstrip in Phnom Penh onto a sweltering heat that smacks you in the face. Eventually through Immigration, customs and red tape we fall out into the night heat and manic road system towards our hotel.

(Weather and light was harsh for many landscapes but I tried where I could)

An early rise the next day for a full days shoot, bright eyed, bushy tailed and excited. After a typical English breakfast (you can take the boy out of England but not the …. Well you know).

Gary recalled what was to be our trusty and faithful Tuk Tuk (Motorbike/Mopeds with carriage) driver (Gary has used him many times on his previous exploits), his orders were find us a typical riverside shanty village along the Mekong.

From his vast experience as a Photographer and many visits to Cambodia, Gary briefed us as to the type of photos and the kind of reception we could expect along with all the technical jargon my tiny brain could handle. Sam (our Tuk Tuk driver acted as translator, explained our presence and intention and always asked people if they minded us photographing them, normally with a promise of a print for them to keep).

(A motley crew...Rocco, RJ, myself and Gary from F8)

It was hugely daunting for me (as well as I suspect for the village dwellers), we were swamped by laughing, excited kids and curious, smiling, coy adults wanting their photos taken by these funny looking people, most are happy to see their face on the LCD screen as this is the closest they will be to being on “TV”, so they were astonished when we gave them a printed photograph.

(kids and villagers around Phnom Penh and Mekong Island)

Two hours whizzed by as did a whole pack of photographic paper used on the portable printer Gary brought along. Photos were dished out to old and young alike and each one was received with pure delight and excitement (what a great idea and a great piece of kit the Canon Selphy 800 printer is).

(Every travel photographer should have one of these printers at all times!)

Back at the hotel we swapped stories and compared images, had lessons on Lightroom and Silver Efex Pro 2), post processing (editing if you prefer), in essence this told Gary what he needed to know about our individual strengths and weaker areas which he could mentor us on, one to one throughout the next few days shooting.

(local villagers greeted us with friendly curiosity)

The next few days were photos, photos and more photos with visits to different villages, markets and pagodas. We also took some time to visit the infamous and very solemn S21 prison and killing fields which I’m not going to dwell on as this was a very sombre experience that contrasts with the vibrance of life now prevalent in Cambodia.

(the infamous S21 prison camp)

One of the days we took a trip to a Buddhist commune, which had lots of homeless people given shelter and food by the monks, this included children that were being schooled when we arrived. They took (I’m guessing) a welcome break to afford us some photo opportunities.

(children living with the monks at the Pagoda)

Every Buddhist male is expected to become a monk for a period of his life, optimally between the time he leaves school and starts a career or marries. Men or boys under the age of 20 may enter the Sangha as novices nowadays they may spend as little as 1 week or 15 days to accrue merit as monks. These communes/monasteries are the heart and soul of such communities.

(a very proud child monk)

That particular Monastery was deemed quite “Rich” in comparison to many. Sam our tuk tuk driver suggested we take a trip onto 'Mekong Island' which was a completely different way of life for both residents and Monks alike much more rural but none the less spectacular and humbling. The moment we arrived (and pushed the Tuk Tuk up the dirt tracked hill) we were greeted by mopeds full (3, 4 and sometimes 5 passengers) of happy, smiling faces that followed us up the track waving all the way and of course riding ahead to tell everyone else. Young and old alike were out waving.

(shooting the kids on the island)

(villagers greet us with Gary from F8 in the background shooting us working)

After several interesting photo opportunities along the way we arrived at the “poor monastery” which looked deserted less a strong looking old man sweeping the courtyard. Sam did his thing and the old gent said it was okay to take photos as long as we asked before snapping someone. After 10 minutes of snapping the old man we heard youthful giggling coming from just around the corner. Gary led the way and asked the monks (aged around 17 - 20) if we could photograph them upstairs in their accommodation from where they gazed down at us, which was a simple would structure without decoration or paint etc.

At one of the poorer Pagodas on Mekong Island)

Unfortunately the batteries ran out on the printer so we vowed to return the next day with photos (which we took down the local print shop and printed in large format as they were particularly patient with us, taking so much of their time). We returned with the photos and an offering of a 50kg bag of rice (which we know helps feed the monks and the people living around the monastery). We received a blessing from the main monk (excuse terminology). Further up the track there were female Monks and some field workers which again provided some great photo opportunities.

(I can't beleive he chose the same colour as me...:-))

Before heading back to Hong Kong I thought I better get a traditional shave and haircut!

(street barbers give you the best shave and haircut for 2 US dollars!)

Then it was time to fly back to smoggy Hong Kong came far too quick and although I cant put my finger on the reason why, I was very sad to leave Cambodia.

I was completely blown away to see such poverty and yet the amazing people therein, always had a smile and warm greeting as long as you were willing to spend the time of day with them. A note here is DON’T JUST ARRIVE, SNAP AWAY AND DRIVE OFF AGAIN, its not polite and they are humans with their own pride and feelings regardless of their situation. Great people that have suffered much and continue to do so, but they are amongst the friendliest I have ever come across.

I left Gary in Hong Kong to fly back to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia via Singapore which gave me much time to reflect on the previous weeks, Hong Kong and street photography, Phnom Penh and environmental photography along with the people (both photographers and the photographed).

I have to say I have been lucky enough to travel extensively, been on many courses/workshops and had many memorable travel experiences but this was by far the best experience. So a big thanks to all but a massive thanks and huge thumbs up to Gary Tyson and F8 Photography.

Roll on the next trip……..Vietnam?? Hmmmm :-)

Final note from F8:

Gary, the Director of F8 has also written a blog post about his experience, that can be seen by clicking here.

Another of the workshop attendees, Rocco, has also written a blog post about his experience, you can read that here.

Also, Gary's assistant RJ wrote a blog post about the same trip, that can be found here.

March 09, 2012

Guest Post: RJ's Cambodia (F8 Assistant)

March 09, 2012/ Gary Tyson

Note: This post is written and all photos by RJ Gurung, assistant photographer/trainee with F8. He has been training with F8 Photography for approximately 6 months, with little previous knowledge in photography before he started in September 2011. His enthusiasm and passion for photography drives him and has helped him develop a unique and interesting style. I felt a trip to Cambodia would help him explore his creativity and push his skills further. - Gary Tyson, Director F8 Photography. (The author and photographer - RJ)(RJ with the street kids)

On the 2nd of March 2012, a small group of us took a direct flight to Cambodia from Hong Kong. Upon arrival in Phnom Penh in the early evening, the light was already gone, therefore we took the time to sample some Khmer food and crashed at our hotel.

Pumped up with the excitement to capture some great shots, the next morning we headed over to the poor areas of the city. Our Tuk Tuk driver advised us to visit these areas as we had told him the type of images we wanted to get, and we felt it portrayed the unfortunate living conditions of many Cambodian people.

(street kids in the railway yard)

Poverty is a big issue in Cambodia, another issue was the traffic which was very chaotic on our travels around the city. On the roads we could see motorbikes everywhere, even young children that looked as young as 7 or 8 years old were riding them on busy streets, so I decided to practice some techniques and capture panning shots of the motos and I was happy with the results!

(panning shotwhilst travelling by Tuk Tuk)

Whilst we were visiting the poor areas of town, we witnessed a lot of interesting characters. There were kids playing around, old folks gathered together for their everyday chats and a humble group of people living their life in a very different way that I am familiar with in Hong Kong. We went further inside the slums and started to take pictures when the kids came over and greeted us with smiles on their faces. I must say I had an incredible time taking pictures of the kids at the same time being mesmerized by their innocence and reminiscing my own childhood.

(the eyes are the window to the soul)

One of the shots of this small kid came out to be pretty strong. I feel like the innocence and shyness of this kid twinkles in his big eyes contrasting with his dirty face reflecting his playfulness. The experience in the slums was very inspiring and it didn't seem right to just walk away from there after taking the picture so I printed out some of their pictures and gave them a couple of dollars as a sign of respect. Overall, it was a remarkable experience for me to see how humble and lively the people in the slums were despite struggling and living their life in poverty.

(giving a print made a big difference)(RJ likes to shoot wide and close with the street kids)

The next day we went to explore Mekong Island, a short boat trip across the Mekong river. The island has many old pagodas where the monks live, hence being calm and peaceful in contrast to the city.

(RJ shooting on Mekong Island)

In Cambodia, Buddhism is the main religion, so it was no surprise to see many young monks in the pagodas. We took their pictures and gave quite a lot of prints to them. Unfortunately, our printer ran out of batteries at the end of the day so we decided to go back the next day to give them the remaining prints and they seemed really happy to see us again.

(Young monks on Mekong Island)

We also managed to get the blessings from the monks who prayed for us. As a token of appreciation, we gave them a 50 KG bag of rice.

(Offering rice for the monks at the Pagoda)

The island offered some breathtaking scenery. Myself and Gary climbed onto the roof of the boat when we were travelling to the island so we could soak up more scenery and sun!

(Gary and myself crossing the river on the roof of the boat)

On the return journey back to the city we were lucky enough to see a stunning sunset which gave me a really good feeling and was the perfect end to the day and the trip before we headed back to Hong Kong the following day.

(Gary & I on the boat during sunset)(Sunset over Phnom Penh)