Posts tagged ‘photography’
Twenty-one
I have been on a pretty lucky streak when it comes to going to sporting events this last month. I have especially been lucky to sit right in the front.
The last two Pistons games I attended have been court side seats, allowing me to get some really great shots of the game. For the historic Red Wings game last night, I managed to spend a good chunk of the game right at the glass, allowing for some close up shots.
This was the Red Wings twenty-first consecutive home win, breaking the NHL record.
No lenses over 80mm were allowed, so I made due with the 50mm and wide. Will edit them today.
Pistons vs. Bucks – 2/3/2012
The boyfriend and I got to attend a Pistons game a couple nights ago and it was pretty damn amazing… probably because we had floor seats. We sat right under one of the baskets. Was pretty exciting being that close to the players and action. We also had the perk of getting free noms inside the nifty little ‘courtside club’. Now if only I can sit that close when the Lakers are playing…
I of course brought my camera with me. This picture is my favorite from the evening.
Check out more photos here.
Video Game Photography… a Different Kind
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
If I were to enter the world created in The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, I could only wish to capture the amazing images Duncan Harris manages to create through beautifully constructed screen shots.
Dead End Thrills is a gallery full of amazingly crafted screen captures from video games. Harris manages to turn the world within the game into beautiful photography-like images that capture the games world through an artistic eye. On Harris’ website, he explains further how he does it:
Applying the principles of real world photography to the virtual worlds of games is just part of the solution. Hacking and tweaking games to remove player model, HUD and restrictions on the camera are others. The toughest, though, is rendering games from throughout the 3D era, from Deus Ex to Crysis 2, at truly uncompromising quality. There is a massive difference between running a game with top-of-the-line antialiasing and quality settings, and running it with those same settings at resolutions far in excess today’s norms, using offline resampling to achieve perfect results. Only recently, and after extensive research, have such methods become possible.
The results are enticing and give a better sense to the scale and effort put into the worlds created in each of the games he “photographs”. To see his work, go to Dead End Thrills. You can also follow Ellis on twitter.
Winter/Nature Photos
With Winter coming to Michigan, I’m excited to start photographing snowy nature stuff. Outside my home, there is a field of this very tall plants that are really beautiful when covered in snow. Unfortunately the snow already kind of melted, so I didn’t capture them covered. It was still very beautiful outside (and pretty damn chilly) and I just snapped some random pics.
Flickr gallery here.
Maksimov Dmitry, You Awoke My Imagination
Maksimov Dmitry is a photographer and illustrator, both taking amazing photographs and creating beautiful and haunting illustrations within them. I have seen his work around Reddit every once and a while, but this particular piece just made me smile for some reason.
You can see more of his work here. He’s like the Banksy of photography.
Photographers Perspective – MLG Providence Timelapse
My friend and MLG Photographer partner Josh Engel, attached a GoPro to his camera while shooting in Providence and made this amazing timelapse video. Sort of sums up what it’s like running around all weekend at MLG.
Shafted.
Last weekend was MLG Providence, the final event within the 2011 season. It went great and I thought I did a pretty good job overall. When I landed back home, I received a text message informing me of a tweet from a staffer about how Zemotion, a photographer, got interviewed by MLG. At first I didn’t care because I knew she owned a team, so I assumed it was simply related to her role as a team owner. Boy, was I way off.
While (ironically) going through my MLG Providence photos, I got a Facebook message from a friend, linking me to this tweet:
I read it, and immediately felt like I got slapped in the face by the very company that has had me as their photographer for the past 13 events. I watched the interview and felt even shittier. The introduction was, “I’m here with Zemotion who’s.. pretty easily the best photographer in eSports… no offence to the other great photographers out there…”
Yeah, the “no offense” really made it all much better.
I was pretty shocked after that and utterly offended. I felt completely unappreciated by MLG, I felt like I was disregarded and my confidence was shot. Those creeping thoughts of harsh self criticism all came flooding back and I started to cry. I was really hurt. I went to the galleries linked in the interview and starting comparing my work. I just didn’t get it. What was I doing wrong? Not that I ever expected or desired such a thing, but why was I never interviewed? I have 13 events worth of story and experience to tell… is my work not good enough? I thought I have taken and shared some amazing photos with the eSports community… am I wrong to think that? I’ve never asked for anything in return, I don’t get paid to work on the photos after the event and post them on my Flickr. I don’t receive any sort of revenue from views on Flickr. All I wanted was for people to get a chance to enjoy the photos that didn’t make the cut for the MLG galleries. I take about 4,000 – 5,000 photos per event, having 25 posted per gallery leaves many behind. I just do it for you guys, so that you can see more and enjoy them. What do I want in return? Just a smile when I see you at the next event. A nod, a hand shake, a ‘hey thanks for that new Facebook profile picture’ or something. I work really hard during MLG weekends, 12+ hour days walking around the venue trying to capture everything and all the important moments on a heavily time sensitive schedule, I do this… and then I get what felt like was getting shit on.
So when I read that title, my heart broke a little. It was carelessly written with zero regard to fellow staff photographers. No respect, consideration, or thought was put in to how that would make Josh and I feel. I just don’t know what to do except sit here and wonder when the fuck will I catch a break.
In regards to Zemotion, I have absolutely nothing against her. I want to be clear that this is absolutely not about her. I have nothing but respect for her and if anything I am a fan of her amazing fashion photography. I’m making a request to please stop tweeting at her in relation to the interview, it’s absolutely not her fault and she deserves zero flack. This is between myself and Josh and MLG.
I would like to see a title change to the article and perhaps someone should link Chobopeon mine and Josh’s Flickr pages.
P.S. – I understand that this is the work of perhaps one or two MLG employees, and not the voice of MLG as a whole.
Photos from MLG Orlando
Finally got around to posting the photos from MLG Orlando. I have been getting a surprising amount of love for these photos on Reddit and from miscellaneous people. It has really boosted my “photography confidence” since I was feeling pretty down about the whole dynamic of being an eSports photographer. It’s getting harder and harder to stand out from the rest of the DSLR equipped individuals that come to events with better lenses than I can afford right now. I do get a little discouraged when I see them, but at the same time I just do my best and I suppose I’m doing something right since I get to still do it and enjoy it.
Here is the MLG Orlando 2011 gallery from Flickr. Hope you enjoy <3
One More Down
Another MLG has flown by. I have a sort of MLG hangover where my body is in terrible pain all over and I can’t seem to stay awake for more than 7 hours. During the MLG weekend, Friday and Saturday night I went to bed at a decent time like a good girl, but Sunday night there was a wonderful open bar madness at the Twitch.tv after party. Was great to just relax and sit with friends and have a drink. I went to bed around 2:00am and woke up at 5:30am for my 8:00am flight. Let’s just say I didn’t feel fantastic. Managed to make it to my gate where I got to talk to LiquidJinro for about an hour. He shared some stories about crazy travel woes and funnies. Eventually I got home and completely passed out.
Started working on some photos last night. I managed to take 5,098 photos over three days, and filter that down to about 240 for Flickr. I will be uploading them soon and post some of my favourites on here :)
MLG Orlando
Next weekend is MLG Orlando. This will be my 12th event and my 3rd time in Orlando. It has felt like a lot of time has gone by since Raleigh but that’s probably because the comparison of a mere two and a half weeks that were between Anaheim and Raleigh. Having this being the 5th event of the season and not the last, has me feeling off beat since I’ve only ever experienced a five event season. Can’t complain, the more events the better. I’m really looking forward to what will be happening between this event and the next.
I have been given the opportunity to create content outside of events (writing articles, creating photo competitions, etc.) which will be amazing. I’d love to have an article up on the site. I’m planning on capturing this event in a different style. Going to try to make a sort of photo essay in the eyes of a staff member. We’ll see how it goes… typically when I have these ideas, they seem to dissipate because of all the craziness during the event.
Either way I’m excited for Orlando. Every event is a time to start fresh and try something different.
National Geography Basic Photography Guide
Here’s a really cool 22-page guide taken from the full 400-page book. It explains the basics of photography, from aperture settings to composition.
National Geographic Field Guide
National Geographic Photography Basics [National Geographic]