The Photo Canvas Blog

Renowned pro shooter and author John Batdorff has once again teamed up with Peachpit Press to bring photographers a thorough reference guide for bringing their work to the next level — this time with a focus on achieving the perfectly balanced black and white photograph. In Batdorff’s new guide, Black and White — From Snapshots to Great Shots, you’ll get tips on everything from setting up your camera kit to DSLR shooting techniques to post processing in Adobe Lightroom and achieving the perfect print.

Check out Chapter 6 for information on printing, posting, and sharing your work. John is no stranger to Artistic Photo Canvas when it comes to displaying his award winning photography on our gallery wraps. In fact, he has a huge 40″ x 60″ gallery wrapped canvas print from APC featuring his new book’s cover photograph hanging at home.

Those mastering their black and white photography skills with John’s help can share their photos with the book’s Flickr group!

Here’s a description of the book from the publisher:

Now that you’ve bought that amazing new DSLR, you need a book that goes beyond the camera manual to capture stunning images. For digital photographers interested in black and white, this guide will help beginning- and intermediate-level shooters conquer the fundamentals and take amazing shots.

Pro photographer John Batdorff starts with the basics, including composition, light, contrast, exposure, and when to choose black and white. He covers all the key camera features (regardless of what type of DSLR you have) that affect your image, including the shutter speed’s ability to freeze and convey motion, and the aperture’s direct correlation with depth of field.

Once you’ve captured those great shots, John takes you step by step through the color conversion process to black and white in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom using simple presets. He also covers the enhancements and features that can be added using Nik Silver Efex Pro software–from presets to control points using U-Point Technology.

Follow along with your friendly and knowledgeable guide and you will:

• Learn to see in black and white by understanding contrast, texture, and lighting
• Understand all the best tricks and techniques for getting great black and white action shots, landscapes, and portraits
• Create your own digital workflow by understanding the basics of post processing in Lightroom, then go beyond the basics with Nik Silver Efex Pro
• Share your images and learn tips on printing and presenting your work online

And once you’ve got the shot, show it off! Join the book’s Flickr group, share your photos, and discuss how you use your camera to get great black and white shots.

By Lew Bedell

In 2005, the founders of Artistic Photo Canvas and its freshly assembled team of imaging experts didn’t jump on the eco-friendly bandwagon… In reality – when it comes to the canvas printing industry – it’s much more fair to say we drove it.

From the beginning – and in stark contrast to other canvas labs even to this day – we made choices that would be right for your images and right for the planet. So, on the occasion of Earth Day, we wanted to share some of the milestones on our journey of environmental stewardship with you. We hope you’ll agree that on Earth Day – and every day – it matters.

To reduce APC’s impact on the environment, we committed ourselves from the very outset to using a superior set of materials to create each and every canvas print we sell. For example, unlike 99% of inkjet canvas buyers, we pay a little more to procure canvas that is produced without optical brightener additives, fluorescent whitening agents and other harmful chemical agents. Ironically, the higher quality canvas we print on is a significantly brighter white to begin with in spite of the disuse of these chemical agents. And because there are no OBAs to break down, our prints do not fade or yellow with the passage of time.

In addition – and also unlike the majority of our competitors – the protective coatings we apply to each canvas are water-based instead of solvent-based. Solvent-based coatings not only create toxic fumes that are dangerous to those who apply them, they require the production and use of chemical agents that are known to seep into groundwater. When we made the choice to forego solvents, we were determined not to sacrifice the archival and UV-inhibiting properties of a great top coat. It turns out, our unique combination of canvas, inks and coatings has been rewarded with a rating that means our canvases will withstand deterioration for in excess of 150 years, this according to Wilhelm Imaging Research, the leading worldwide authority on print longevity.

Some of our competitors started using cheap plastic stretcher frames, but we found them to be both aesthetically and environmentally wrong. Instead, we chose to use solid-wood stretcher bars made from wood harvested in managed forests – and mill them in-house so we could recycle all waste. But we recognized we should do more to help reverse the ravages of deforestation. So, APC committed to supporting the efforts of Global ReLeaf, a program of American Forests that has already resulted in the planting and care of more than 25 million trees through 500 projects worldwide.

APC’s commitment to sustainability has even extended to the way we pack and ship the canvases we create. Our slim, heavyweight shipping cartons were custom designed to avoid excess volume and are made with roughly 30% post-consumer recycled content. All scrap cardboard created during our custom manufacturing process is baled and sent for recycling. And – unlike competitors that fill their cartons with foam peanuts, plastic air bags, bubble wrap, kraft paper and other wasteful cushioning materials – APC’s shipping cartons have been specifically engineered to effectively utilize minimal packing materials and instead leverage air space to protect our canvases in transit.

Perhaps just as important, we’ve worked to keep our canvas print prices remarkably low – competitive even with the inferior and environmentally unfriendly canvas prints sold by “traditional” labs – so you don’t have to sacrifice savings to do good for the planet.

Prize Alert! …Read on to see how you could win one of five signed copies of Doug Sahlin’s latest book, Digital SLR Settings & Shortcuts for Dummies.

By Doug Sahlin

The goal of every serious photographer is to create the most compelling image possible; an image that viewers give more than just a casual glance. Here are 10.5 ways to achieve this goal:

1. Pick the low hanging fruit first: When you see a scene or object worth photographing, take the first picture that comes to your mind. Then slow down and analyze what you’ve got. Move around until you see the composition that best captures your vision and take another picture. Repeat as needed.

2. Simplify: Some photographers try to include too much information in a photograph. When you compose a photograph, see what’s in the viewfinder. If what you see is confusing, zoom in to remove some of the elements. Cut to the chase and simplify the image. Less is more.

3. Wait for the light: Sometimes you’re in the right place at the wrong time. If the light is harsh (also known as “Sucky Light”), wait a few minutes for clouds to diffuse the sunlight, or come back when the light is better.

4. Do something different: Einstein’s definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. When you see an object or scene that you want to photograph, don’t photograph it in the same way you usually do. If you normally use a wide-angle lens, switch to a telephoto lens or switch to a different vantage point. Break out of your rut and stretch the envelope.

5. Photograph a shape: Many photographers photograph objects like trees, buildings or cars. Instead of photographing a tree, look for an interesting shape that just happens to be a tree. You don’t have to photograph the entire object. Sometimes you find an interesting shape within an object. You can find interesting shapes everywhere.

6. Look for patterns: Instead of photographing a forest or a group of flowers, look for an interesting pattern, or look for a break in a pattern. Continue reading…

Reprinted with permission from JFLPhotography.com

By Jacob Lucas

TO BID ON THIS ONE-OF-A-KIND PIECE OF ART, HEAD OVER TO OUR EBAY PAGE.

At 2:46PM on Friday March 11th 2011, an absolutely massive earthquake struck in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Japan. At a 9.0 magnitude, it’s the earth’s 4th largest earthquake and the largest earthquake to have ever hit Japan in recorded history. Shortly thereafter, giant tsunami waves breached the coast of Japan leaving behind them a wake of sheer devastation. Over ten thousand people were killed, and tens of thousands more are still today injured or missing. The nation is still managing the further devastation caused to the country’s transit and power industries, with a very real threat of a nuclear fallout in the greater area around Sendai and Fukushima.

Growing up, Australia was a very popular tourist destination for Japan, and directly influenced my country’s now multi-cultural society. In high school and at university, I invested a lot of my time studying not only the Japanese language but also their culture and way of life. I’ve spent three months in Ibaraki prefecture, about three hours north of Tokyo, as an exchange student living with a family and experiencing the country and the way of life first-hand. At heart, they are truly a peaceful and honourable people who definitely do not deserve to suffer the effects of this terrible tragedy.

I instantly knew I wanted to help and worked to find a way. I’m pleased to be able to provide a print of this image entitled “Cherry Sunrise”, of cherry blossom trees native to Japan and in full bloom at this time of year, for auction. All proceeds of the auction will go directly towards the relief efforts orchestrated by the American Red Cross.

Now YOU can help too.

I’m thrilled to say that the crew at Artistic Photo Canvas have graciously offered to provide the printing services. This image will be printed on a HUGE 24¨x36¨ gallery wrapped canvas. If you’ve never seen the fabulous work that APC provide in their canvas printing, these canvases really do make photographs come to life in a beautiful way and their staff are truly wonderful people. The canvas will come shipped to you, ready to hang on your wall.

TO BID ON THIS ONE-OF-A-KIND PIECE OF ART, HEAD OVER TO OUR EBAY PAGE.

I encourage everyone to really dig deep and bid to help the people of Japan overcome the devastation caused by this tragedy. Bidding will start at just US$49. It’s never too late to help.

More information:

ARTISTIC PHOTO CANVAS
AMERICAN RED CROSS

Jacob Lucas is a Seattle based photographer, originally from Hobart, Australia.