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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

CAROLYN McINTOSH

 

I wanted to take just a moment and thank the many of you who have written to let me know just how much you are enjoying our bi-weekly student spotlight! In fact you have made it known that you like it so much, that I have decided to make every Tuesday, beginning today, a student spotlight!  So, beginning today and four times a month, we will feature the work of a current or former student of BPSOP.


 

Today I am pleased to introduce you to Carolyn McIntosh, who hails from the city of Edmonton, the Capital of the province, Alberta, Canada. The second time I had the pleasure of working with Carolyn was in the summer of 2010 and it was extra memorable for one laugh out loud reason! As one who was coming to Manitoba for the first time and as one who was coming from Chicago, I was not prepared for the very late sunset or for the equally early sunrise. Somehow I never really gave the sunset and sunrise times that much thought until our first evening out shooting. I recall vividly having just wrapped up shooting the 'blue hour' at City Hall in Edmonton and it was then I had actually looked at my watch for the first time that evening.  I was shocked to discover that it was damn near midnight! (I had no idea that I had traveled that far north of Chicago!) I of course also realized that if it was already midnight, than sunrise was not that far away, so I did what any photo instructor would do and that was suggest that we all "go to a bar and drink until 2am, then go to Tim Horton's and sober up with coffee and donuts and head out to shoot the 'blue hour' of sunrise at 3:30am".  Needless to say my offer was met with more groans than applause.


 

In any event, since that memorable workshop Carolyn's photographic talents accelerated! She continues to reach new heights in her always soaring and passionate love of image making! Within minutes of meeting her, you can feel her energy and her boundless enthusiasm and following this weeks tip on the use of a flashlight, will hear, in her own words, just how focused she is!

 

 

 

Consider Using Your Flashlight!

 

If you struggle with the use of electronic flash when shooting exciting portraits, consider this: use an ordinary household flashlight.


 

Assuming the person you want to shoot is able to hold very still, you should have no problem in recording some truly compellingly lit portraits; lit 100% by a flashlight!


 

On this particular evening, I had my 'model' Aya, a 19-year old college student attending Purdue University, lay down on the floor in my studio atop some black fabric and I proceeded to fan our her long black hair across the black fabric. Then with my camera on tripod, I focused on Aya and composed a portrait of hair and face. With my ISO set to 100, my aperture to f/11, my shutter speed set to two seconds and with auto-focus turned OFF, I set my self-timer for a two second delay once I pressed the shutter. All that remained before tripping the shutter was to turn off all of the lights in the room. 


 

With the lights now off, I turned on the flashlight, the front of which was buried in the palm of my hand.  I then pressed the shutter release and during that two second delay, with my palm open and my fingers spread, I pulled the flashlight back a bit and I was quick to see 'dappled' light falling on to Aya's face and for a mere two seconds, this dappled light was able to record the exposure you see here! When you shine the light through the open areas of your fingers, it's as if your hand is acting like a 'gobo'. A gobo is a screen like 'filter' that is often used over studio lights to create a dappled light effect. Depending on the width of the opening between your fingers, (its your choice) will determine the size of the dapples. This use of a flashlight and the gobo effect does take a bit of practice, but when it's all said and done, you will end up with that very dappled light effect that you see here.


 


 

This idea is certainly not limited to portraits. In fact, the only subject that would be limited is a subject(s) that you cannot shoot in a darkened room or outside in the dark of the night.


 

I 'staged' this next composition you see below by asking my 'model' to dirty up his hands with some potting soil and then while he held a cluster of tomatoes I shined my flashlight through my fingers, again creating that dappled light effect and recorded the exposure you see here.


 


 

As far as white balance, that will depend on the kind of bulb your flashlight uses. Some flashlights use a daylight balanced light bulb so if that is the case use a SHADE WB and if your flashlight uses a tungsten bulb, use a SUNNY WB and in both cases, you will get the yellow/orange warm light effect that is seen here on both of these subjects.


 

Image of AYA: Nikon D800E, Nikkor 24mm-120mm at 100mm, f/11@ 2 seconds, 100 ISO

Image of Hands and Tomatoes: Nikon D3S, Nikkor 105mm Macro lens, f/11 @ two seconds, 100 ISO.

 

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INTERVIEW WITH CARLOYN McINTOSH

 


 

1. Where do you live?

I live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and was raised in rural Saskatchewan.


 

2.    How did you get started in photography and what do like most about it?

I purchased my first DSLR camera the spring of 2008...after my first stab at retirement.  Way back in the day . . . 32 years ago . . . I had used a film camera so knew some of the basic principles and they translated through both mediums.  Real life intervened and I put down the film camera for 26 years. However, a huge, big steep learning curve happened in the interim. Everything became digital! There was instant gratification at viewing the display on the back of your camera and you now had creative control with your digital darkroom called Photoshop. Photoshop to me has also proved for me to be an exciting part of the creative process.

 

I love the thrill of being able to capture my visual memories.  It has been so important to me to not just view and admire other people's photos, but to make my own art.  Unfortunately my bucket list just keeps getting longer, so I have decided to extend my expiry date!!! 

 

Art in some form has always been part of my life, but photography has given me the greatest sense of fulfillment. Our children have observed that they have never seen me as content in life, as they do now, watching me going through my work, and witness the passion and fire that is in my soul.  


 


 

3.    Do you have a favorite photo subject?

 

In the summer of 2010 shortly after another Bryan F Peterson Photo Workshop in Edmonton, I knew that the subject I loved the most was architecture. That was followed shortly thereafter being asked by a major building contractor to do some commission work for his company and thus the journey began.  It gives me great pleasure to see my work hanging prominently on very large canvases on boardroom walls.


 


 

4.    Do you have a favorite place to shoot?

 

Wherever I am and anywhere there is beautiful buildings. We have been so fortunate to do a lot of traveling since 2008. I religiously document our experiences creating coffee table books reflecting the journeys.  I am continually aware that the end result will be a book, keeping in mind that the books need to showcase not only the big picture photos but also the detail ones that are necessary and vital to tell the story.  When I grow up I might consider being a photojournalist!!

 

 


 

5.    Do you have favorite photographers your follow or photographers from the past you admire and why?

 

Having not been a student of photography most of my life, I haven't really studied the works of photographers from the past. If I were a portrait photographer, I would do an in depth study of Yousuf Karsh, a fellow Canadian that I have always admired and who manages to capture the total essence of his subjects, like the portrait he made of Winston Churchill and other notable personalities.  As a primarily architectural photographer, I have always been interested to find out who the architect was that had the vision in the first place for the building I am about to photograph.  Unique, edgy lines and curves always manage to capture my attention and get the creative juices flowing.

 

Having been lucky enough to have visited some of the major art galleries of Europe, including the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, galleries in London, England and the Rjiksmuseum in Amsterdam when I was in my 30's, I found that the works I was most drawn to were the early works of John Constable and Rembrandt.  Standing in front of those paintings was truly a visceral experience.

 

The photographer that taught me how to see outside the box, read the light and fueled my passion was Bryan Peterson.  I consider myself incredibly lucky that my first workshop experiences were all with Bryan.  It just doesn't get any better than that. I came away from the first workshop in Oregon so pumped I thought I would explode. I have often reflected how amazing it was that fate placed me in Bryan's path.  Little did I know that my first experiences were to be at the knees of a photographer who is the best of the best.  How often does that happen?

 

I probably sound like an evangelist, but I do recommend Bryan's book, Understanding Exposure to anyone who will listen to me.  In my opinion it is the best book written about understanding the factors needed to create the right photo at that time and place and in that light. It is written in a conversational manner and you can hear Bryan talking as you read.  The concepts explained in that book and from the workshops just keep rolling around in my head: like Blue Sky Brothers, Mr. Green Jeans, and when is the best time to take a vertical photo, "right after the horizontal", etc. Those mantras go with me everywhere and are now part of my DNA.

 

Other photographers that have imparted their knowledge would be Eddy Tapp, Judy Host, Chris Hurtt and Darwin Wiggett.  The photography community is amazing and I have also been privileged enough to spend time with Kathleen Clemons and Donna Eaton. A fellow Canadian, and gifted photographer, Kim Klassen creates the most beautiful still life vignettes.  One online instructor at BPSOP.com that I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting in person is Deborah Sandidge.  What a beautiful soul she is!


 


 

6.    Where do you find inspiration?

 

I am a history buff, so there is the desire to visit the places where history happened, including present day history.  It is really important to me to not just read about it and watch a PBS special.  As good as they are, I need to walk the ground and smell the air and experience the location and then document that experience. One such experience that will remain with me forever was the awe I felt standing at the base of the Jordan Staircase in the Winter Palace.  To know that Catherine the Great and Nicholas and Alexandra walked up and down those very stairs and history was forged in this place was profound. Breathtaking doesn't begin to describe the experience.  I must go back. I need to introduce my camera to the paths of history.

 

Of course online galleries provide enormous stimulation.


 

 

 

7. Where can we see more of your work?

 

My architectural work can be viewed at www.justdotarchitecture.com

 

Another passion I have is food and having written a cookbook 19 years ago, I now wish to republish it with my own photography.  I need to escalate that learning curve. I have a fledgling website on this topic and I am also a really good cook!!!

 

www.justdotfood.com

 

All the lifestyle, travel photography books and musings can be viewed at

 

www.carolynmcintosh.com

 

For me, photography is all consuming and fills me with such joy and a sense of fulfillment that I have never experienced in the creative world before.


 

 

 

"I truly believe in the power of a camera; capturing the memories of today and preserving them for posterity, and every once in awhile the Photography Gods shine down upon you and you are able to capture the Magic of the Moment."

 

Carolyn McIntosh

 

 

You keep shooting!

Bryan F Peterson/Founder BPSOP.com


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