What many new photographers and quite a few not so new photographers probably do not realise, is that in the old days of black and white photography, half the work of the photographer was done in the darkroom, usually by his assistant. I don’t mean just run of the mill processing, but skilful manipulation of […]
16Feb.2014
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Many years ago while looking at the amazing portfolio of a friend who was assistant to Irving Penn for a number of years, I commented, “Amazing lighting quality, how did you get that?” “Daylight”; came the simple reply. When taking portraits or still life, it is all too easy to imagine that the best photographs […]
15Feb.2014
The Usual Suspects
posted by John Hooton / 0 comments
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My thanks go to Carolyn Cowan, daughter of John Cowan for this picture of her father on the left, along with with David Bailey, Len Fulford, Don Silverstein, Brian Duffy, Terry Donovan, Carolyn age 4, and Jacqueline Bisset, Susan Howard, Susan Murray and Pauline Stone. The picture was taken in 1964 by Terence Donovan, who […]
14Feb.2014
BLOW Up
posted by John Hooton / 4 comments
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In 1966, Michelangelo Antonioni was looking for a location to shoot his cult Cannes festival award winning film starring David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave and Sarah Miles, Blow Up, and hey, he chose where I worked as a photographer’s assistant to John Cowan! He was introduced to John Cowan by Terence Donovan at Cowan’s studio. The […]
09Feb.2014
iPhone POWER CAMERA App – PureShot
posted by John Hooton / 0 comments
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I make no apologies for what may seem like an iPhone plug, but the fact is that the only camera many people own is the one included in their mobile phone. Acknowledging that reality, it won’t do any harm to point them towards software and techniques that can improve their experience with these cameras. I […]
LIGHTING the HEAD Shot
posted by John Hooton / 0 comments
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“If God had intended photographers to use more than one light, he would have given us more suns.” Just about every single shot including the food and still life shots in my portfolio was made with one light. One light in the right place. You won’t need any more except possibly to light a background. […]