My last analog wedding films sold

Fuji Reala, Fuji NPH Pro 400, Kodak BW400CN and Kodak Elite Chrome film

This week I've sold my last Fuji Reala and NPH films, and gave the student my last Kodak BW400CN as well. Together with Kodak Elite Chrome film, this typical set of films I used in the analog days of shooting a wedding.

My Last Analog Wedding
I don't even feel sad, though seeing the lot like in the photograph above, it brought back memories! This, or same set with one or two extra Fujicolor Press 800 films and maybe one extra BW400CN film, was my ultimate wedding kit. I've been taking wedding pictures for over 20 years now, and the analog days were the best, considering how clients loved their photos and paid well for a good wedding album, as hardly anyone had the guts to shoot a wedding in those days.

It was hard work! Carrying two cameras, lenses and flashes. Always having extra batteries and enough film with you. I still have my two Nikon F100 bodies, and one of the two SB28 DX flashes still works. My two 24-70 f2.8 Sigma lenses are written off, I can only use these lenses to teach our students where to find aperture on a lens etc. Same for the flash, this flash doesn't go well with the digital camera bodies and can even damage the camera.

Me with two cameras

My last analog wedding was the wedding of Annemiek and Wilfred, in 2007. This is me taking a selfie in the lamp of the wedding car. You couldn't take any decent photos with your phone, so often I used the last frame to take a photo like this, just to finish the roll of film.

Variety of Films
Having two cameras and wanting to shoot in- and outdoors, as well as B&W and crossed E6 film, I was always juggling which film to put in what camera at what time, as 36 exposures sometimes was too much. E.g. after a portrait shoot outdoors, using the Fuji Reala (100 asa) entering the church, you do need 400 asa (Fuji NPH) and sometimes there were quite some exposures left.

But shooting 100 iso film inside a church simply wasn't working, so you did need to change to 400 or sometimes even 800 iso. It was fun too, to try to get the most out of each film. I did like to vary in colour and B&W, so by picking your film wisely you created the best wedding series.

Using Black & White film added variety to an analog wedding serie

The E6 (slide) film was always cross processed so the colors would come out bright with big grain

Using one roll of slide film helped me to get some bright and over the top colours into the series. Fuji film, especially Reala, was the best and most neutral film with awsome skin tone and natural colours, but I always liked to add bright reds and blues to the posing portrait photos. I'll tell you more about how we got those colours without Photoshop in another blog later.

So in general I used 6 to 8 colour films, and 1 slide and 1 or 2 B&W films, meaning 360 exposures max. Clients would get an album with 80-100 printed pictures, and that was it. The book told the story of the day, with a roughly average of about 5-6 hours of photography per wedding shoot. Fuji Reala film is discontinued, as well is Elite Chrome and other Kodak film. It won't take long untill all professional films will be gone, leaving photographers with consumer films only.

Digital Era
Well, in these days clients don't mind I reck. When seeing all the photos of weddings shared on e.g. Facebook and other social media, all comments say "Beautiful photo!" etc. No matter what quality, as long as the bride's dress is visible in the photo people will like the it and say how beautiful the bride looks. Soon after the first digital cameras were good enough to shoot a wedding with, the lomo photography kicked in. That might have been the first sign that we don't care about getting the best quality (in film) anymore.

The poorer the quality, the more a lomo photographer likes it. The student who bought my films though, was really looking for the Reala film, as it's discontinued and she really love the specs of that particular film. The difference between Kodak and Fuji was really about bright colors versus natural colors, as both brands were excellent film producers. A lot of analog film will be gone soon, just being discontinued.

Fortunately we can still have a look at the photos and relive the moment of (one of) the most beautiful days on our life. Thank you Annemiek & Wilfred, the last analog wedding I did was awsome and I'll never forget the fun we all had!

#Eyespiration: How to get blue sky in photos

When you are on holiday you want your photos to show the local beauty of the place you're staying at. But sometimes on a sunny day it seems you can't take a photo of the blue sky, the sky turns out pale, white.

How to take photos with blue sky:

- Position of the sun. The most important advice is to make sure to have the sun behind you when you take a photo. The more you are facing the sun, the paler the sky will be

- Contrast. Put e.g. a white or light colored object like a building in the front of the composition. Your camera will automaticly adjust the sky into a darker blue

- Morning or evening light. All colors are more intense at this time of day

- Polarizing filter. With using a polarization filter on a mirror-less or an dslr camera lens, the blue and other colors deepen

- Instagram. Photo editing apps and other retouching software will make colors come out better

If you turn your camera in the direction of the sun, you'll see a change of the colour of the sky. The more you turn towards the sun, the paler the sky. Buildings turn out sallow and grey. Especially in the middle of the day, when the sun's at her highest point, the light is very bright. Try to take photos early morning or later in the day, when the light is softer.

Blue sky: sun in my back, building in front creating more contrast

Blue sky: turning towards the sun the blue gets paler

Blue Sky: opposite of photo 1, the sky is pale, white and buildings grey and dark

We all want to take photos showing the best of our holiday. What's more beautiful than walking through a town and take photos of little, white houses against a dark blue sky? Blue sky is the ultimate holiday image, like a photo of the sea, feet in the sand or a selfie with a cocktail in our hand.

With your smartphone you can always adjust photos in an easy way. There are a lot of apps and even when posting a photo on Facebook or Twitter you can adjust the photo before posting with just one click. My favorite is Instagram. Ofcourse you can always use professional software afterwards, but wanting to retouch all 500 holiday pics might be a bit much.

Polarizing filter

With using a polarization filter on a mirror-less or an dslr camera lens, the blue and other colors deepen. Disadvantage: when bringing more than one lens, you'll need to buy more filters, as often lenses don't have the same diameter. Advantage: all colors look better, e.g. green is greener and especially a blue sky with white clouds will look dramaticly darker, a special effect coming out great with landscape pictures. Another advantage is the reflection in windows will dissapear when you use it, though I do like using this reflection in my photos. 

Backlight

Though sometimes using the sun in the back can create a beautiful photo. Backlight photos, photos taken towards the sun showing mostly shade of the subject, are fun too!

Clouds will enhance the dramatic appearance of blue sky over a landscape

Published in Dutch on Vakantieboulevard.nl 

#SWFC16 San Francisco Writers Conference 2016 Event Photography

San Francisco Writers Conference 2016

Together with Michel Switzar of DutchLines.nl I attended, photographed and lead the Writers Photo Walk at the SFWC in February 2016. As always the energy is vibrant and the speakers, agents, publishers and writers are fab!

Check out my photo series of Presidentsday weekend:

See, share, like all 300+ photos on Facebook, Flickr and Google+





© Artstudio23.com (ft. DutchLines)

Zakelijke factuur mogelijk: Bali fotoreis

Wil jij ook naar Bali reizen en de factuur kunnen indienen? Vraag mij hoe! Als beeld specialist/inspiratie coach en schrijver kan ik voor jou als individu maar ook als bedrijf een reis samenstellen die je zakelijk kunt inboeken.

Boek een coaching of leertraject bij mij ... in Bali. Fotograferen, schrijven, mediteren, yoga, wat wil JIJ doen? Uiteraard heb je dan ook voldoende vrije tijd, we stellen een programma samen naar jouw persoonlijke wensen. Duiken met de mantra roggen? Uiteraard. Surfen op Lovina Beach? Waarom niet. Alles is mogelijk!

Inspiratie opdoen voor je bedrijf en ondertussen voldoende vrije tijd om deze week/10 dagen als vakantie te ervaren. Hier kun je in alle rust schrijven of leren fotograferen én genieten van de mooie natuur, lieve mensen en het organische, biologische eten.

Natuurlijk kun je ook op elke andere plaats ter wereld een coaching of studie in zelfontwikkeling (project) volgen, vraag vrijblijvend naar de mogelijkheden.

Melanie E. Rijkers, meer dan 20 jaar Beeld Specialist. Bekend van Fotografie = Therapie, PUUR Trotse tienermoeders, Trash The Dress Events en de roodharigendag in Breda. www.Artstudio23.com

Deze reis naar Bali was niet alleen een reis naar een prachtig rustgevende eiland maar ook een reis terug naar mezelf. Het was een echte "eye opener"! Door het op een andere manier leren kijken naar je omgeving via Miksang fotografie van Melanie E. Rijkers en de nieuwe inzichten in mezelf die ik kreeg onder begeleiding van Antonetta Fernandez kwam het Zen gevoel vanzelf!

Ik ga nu met hernieuwde energie, inzicht in mezelf en weer zelfverzekerd alle uitdagingen aan die op mijn pad komen! Ik ben erg blij dat ik deze reis naar het onbekende heb mogen maken en raad het iedereen aan! 

Saskia Switzar

7 Photo tips how to increase website traffic

Add an image to bring your post to life.

LinkedIn is spot on. Using images will really help to create more brand awareness. October 2015 I was asked to be City Facebooker for two weeks for the local page of Dutch tourism board (VVV Breda). Being a photo specialist and a writer I kept posting photos about my walks, bike rides and much more. Showing the things I saw, that caught my eye. I combined cultural moments with 'just' outdoor autumn shots of my beautiful city. 

Choose the right image

By choosing the right image I increased the actions of the 4500 community of the Gek op Breda (Crazy about Breda) page with an average of 85%, with 101% being the highest peak during my two week job. Over 21.000 actions, just by adding epic photos.

A good image is always intriguing, and makes people think, feel

How to get that traffic 

1) Make sure you post a good epic photo! Low quality photos never contribute to your brand's name. Invest in buying the best images available.

2) An epic image will make people think, feel, love or hate it. It will draw attention.


3) Therefor: go easy with stock photos. Think twice before buying a (cheap) stock photo. The average price of a good quality stock photo is € 35,- Please keep in mind that when you hire a professional image maker (not necessarily a photographer, also other people with visionary occupations like graphic designers and journalists might be able to do the job) you often can buy photos for the same price.

4) No overkill. Go easy on photos. Twitter: max. 2, Facebook: max 9 (preferably 2, 3 or 4, depending on landscape, portrait or square size) per post. Less is still more.


5) If you really want to share more images, create an album or share an album link to your website. Make sure the album cover photo is an appealing one. This image will pop up when you share the link.


6) Use b&w (black & white) photos now and then. To stand out of the crowd a monochrome picture can really do the trick. This can also be an old historic photo of your brand or company.


7) Respect copyright. If you do not know if you can use that photo, make sure you find out. Always add the correct credits. When unsure, do not use the image.

Open studio Marianne Naerebout's atelier Breda, the Netherlands

Gek op Breda post causing most actions, these two photos of Speelhuislaan Breda in autumn colours:

If you have an old photo of your company's location, building, or area: do share. 

People just love historic photos!

Artstudio23 - Speelhuislaan 173 Breda, the Netherlands

San Francisco Writers Conference

Sinds enige tijd werk ik samen met Taglibro.nl, een onafhankelijk Nederlands platform waar schrijvers carte blanche krijgen om een persoonlijk verhaal te vertellen. Bedenker en webdesigner Michel Switzar en ik hebben inmiddels grootse plannen.

Als je het niet ziet, kun je het ook niet (op) schrijven

Als gepokt en gemazeld kunstenaar in de autonome fotografie kriebelt de creativiteit na twintig jaar als nooit tevoren. In deze digitale tijden kunnen we allemaal fotograferen, en schrijven. Als zelfstandig ondernemer schreef ik jaren geleden al een blog op mijn website, ver voordat zoiets als social media bestond en we allemaal een Facebook en een Twitter account hadden.

Toch is het schrijven niet zo gemakkelijk als het lijkt. Echter, we kúnnen het allemaal. Net zoals we allemaal kunnen fotograferen. Iedereen met een camera kan een foto maken. De grote uitdaging is om een foto te maken die tijdloos is, een kiekje schieten kunnen we immers allemaal. Dat geldt ook voor je schrijfkunsten.

Ik heb gemerkt dat wanneer je je hoofd zo leeg mogelijk maakt, je de beste verhalen schrijft. Een writer's block is geen gebrek aan inspiratie, maar aan rust in je hoofd. Sommige schrijvers lossen dit op door naar het spreekwoordelijke hutje op de hei te vertrekken, maar wat als je geen middelen hebt om je een paar maanden terug te trekken? Of wat als je nú die wervende tekst voor je website nodig hebt? Waar haal je de inspiratie dan vandaan??

In dit blog zal ik regelmatig gaan schrijven over hoe je geïnspireerd kunt blijven. Zelf ben ik een echte ZIENer. Ik kijk niet, maar ik zie. Mediteren, maar dan met open ogen. Door je brein leeg te maken, is er weer ruimte voor nieuwe verbindingen. Dit leegmaken kan iedereen merkte ik tijdens het geven van onze Zien Fotografie Workshops. Als je anders leert kijken, mooie dingen leert zien waaraan je anders voorbij zou lopen, raak je als vanzelf geïnspireerd.

De workshop kun je ook zonder camera volgen, al is de basis de compositieleer vanuit de fotografie, gecombineerd met de Tibetaanse Miksang techniek: kijken met een puur en zuiver oog, zonder te oordelen. Hiermee voorkom je de valkuil dat je tijdens een wandelingetje alleen maar gaat denken aan wat je nog allemaal moet doen, boodschappen, was vouwen, kinderen uit school halen. Maak jezelf zo 'leeg' mogelijk.

Miksang Contemplatieve Fotografie is de Boeddhistische leer om het fris en puur kijken echt te ervaren voor je gaat oordelen en labelen. Dit moment kun je vastleggen in een foto.

Stel je voor dat je na een wandelingetje van drie kwartier wél je hoofd hebt leeg kunnen maken, mooie dingen hebt kunnen zien... wat dit kan doen voor je schrijfkunst, voor je inspiratie. Ik zie, ik zie, wat jij niet ziet! Ga je mee?


In februari 2016 is Taglibro aanwezig op het San Francisco Writers Conference, waar ik jaren geleden zelf werd geïnspireerd door de zin "If you can't see it, you can't write it". Bovenstaande foto maakte ik tijdens een wandeling in San Francisco en won een Honorable Mention bij de International Color Awards 2015.

How to choose from a 1000 holiday pics

How to choose the perfect photo series from a trip? When you took a 1000 photos or more, how do you choose the right photo story, e.g. to create a photo book?

Being an analog photographer from the 90's, I know how to work without this luxury problem of the digital era. We used film, 36 exp. max and on most occasions, even weddings, we used only 8 to 10 rolls. We just never made it to the 1000.

Now what can you do cut down the number of photos:

1. Try not to shoot that 1000 photos. Really, limit yourself to a certain number of photos per day or occasion, let's say 25 max. This can be done and will make you more aware of which moment you really want to capture.

2. Delete the bad ones immediately.

3. After the holiday or wedding let the photos simmer for a while. When you look at them with a fresh mind a few days later, choosing will be easier and will go much faster.

4. Divide the photos in topics. Start by sorting the best photos of the places you went to, and choose max. 10-20 per topic. Ofcourse this depends on the trip. A beach holiday has less 'places' by number than a six-week jungle trekking.

5. Not more than 80 pages per album. After 25 pages most of your audience will be bored. The best choice is 40 to 60 pages, with 80 to 100 photos in total. If you're really want to challenge less is more, create an album with only 20 pages/40 photos.

6. Or just pick one. Think of the iconic photos you know, often those single photos tell a complete story. Why do you need more pics to tell yours? Your goal: only to take epic photographs.

7. Learn how to tell a story. Invest in a course or workshop to learn about the tips & tricks of picking the right photo.

Don't go for just postcard landscapes, zoom in, take close-ups of details you noticed

When you do take a landschape photo, try to find something different, like these shades of umbrellas without sunbeds

All these pictures were made by our 11 year old son: look fresh, with pure eyes 

Children look at life in a pure way. The greatest gift is to learn how to see fresh.

Invest in storytelling with Artstudio23. If you still cannot choose, we will be more than happy to create your holiday or wedding album for you. With nearly 20 years of experience, Artstudio23 knows which photo works best and which ones to skip. It's all in the eye. Melanie & Hans know how to see life with pure eyes.