East and West

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Red Scabs

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Live life in abstraction. This what I see.

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Etsy (Paint and Print)

DeviantArt

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'Dark Waters Flow' Series

More photography can be found here. 

Live life in abstraction. This what I see.

Our Blog

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Etsy (Paint and Print)

DeviantArt

We hope you enjoy the photo as much as we do.

If you have any questions about this, or any of our other items, please do not hesitate to contact us.



'Fixed Vision' Series

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The Use of Art Filters in Photography

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A Common Debate: 

Is there Creative Integrity in using Art Filters in Photography?

With the success of Instagram and Hipstamatic (to a lesser degree) and the boom of 'phoneography', the use of filters in photography is an intensely debated topic on blogs all over the internet.

However, the debate seems largely redundant, as the new methods of 'instant' photography are only gaining in popularity.

What would have happened had the world debated how the instant gratification of a Polaroid was taking the integrity out of photography?
So, there seems little point in buying into the argument here. Instead, I will explain why the use of filters works well for me. 

Personally, I believe that a filter can’t turn a poorly composed photo into a memorable image.

When engaging in 'phoneography' I dabble in using filters almost all of the time. This is largely due to my wanting to work the image in a manner similar to how I work a painting.When working a painting, I will layer it, and strip it back - ad infinitum. I do so in order to create, manipulate, or enhance the colour or texture of the painting.

And so the same principle applies with my photographs. In my opinion, the only difference is that the paintings are a real life format and the photography digital.

Being an untrained photographer, I am not so concerned about whether a photograph follows the rules. The only rule I truly stick to is making sure that the image composition is correct.

If the image is engaging, regardless of what camera was used to create it, or what filters (if any) were used, then the photographer has been successful in accomplishing their task.
 

Even when I am shooting with my gorgeous Olympus OM-D EM5, I still make good use of the filters. As discussed in an earlier post, the accessibility of quality art filters on your camera is invaluable. I often commence a shoot with the use of filters in the back of my mind when planning the shots.

So, in my humble opinion, the use of art filters in photography does have creative integrity. And for more than one reason. Even more so for me, as filters are a necessity in achieving the creative results I desire.

OMG It's An Olympus OM-D

The Olympus OM-D EM5
One impressive camera indeed.

When I first saw the Olympus OM-D camera, it was love at first sight. Really. Seriously.
  
I first came across the camera when Felicity and I went and explored the various exhibitions at the The Digital Show in Melbourne earlier this year.

I found it difficult to leave the exhibit, even though it was close to closing time, as Olympus had several OM-D cameras on display for everyone to play with. And did I want to play.

I was immediately taken by the following impressions:

* The ease of use

* The comfortable manner of which the camera sits in your hand

* The clarity of the shots and the realistic colour representation

* The speed of the auto focus and the shutter speed.

So, I went away with the booklet and day dreamed all the way home. I knew without doubt that the OM-D was going to be my next camera.

That said, as always, I never purchase anything, particularly something as important to me as a camera without doing some detailed research first.

So I started wading through the massive sea of reviews online and it became difficult to locate one that held the delicate balance between a strong technical investigation of the camera and a genuine opinion based on personal experience with the camera. 

Then I found a detailed review by Tech Radar and it made all the difference.

With impressive specifications, it looked to be the perfect camera for a street photographer.

So after successfully convincing Felicity that we just had to have a new camera, I went and purchased one.

And it did not take long to find so many things to absolutely love about it:

* It is weatherproof – whilst it is not waterproof it is splash / dust proof

* The sharpness - the photos taken are sharp and vivid

* Famous Olympus colours – the colours are vivid, true to life and just beautiful to look at

* Exceptional art filters – it is extremely convenient to have quality art filters that are easy to access and look stunning. When shooting in raw mode, you can try various filters on the one image. Love it.

* The wonderful tilting OLED touchscreen monitor (which is great for taking photos at different angles – particularly good for shooting from the hip as I am quite tall)



Tilting Touchscreen Monitor



* Fastest autofocus in its class at the time of its release.

* The world's first image stabilisation system that uses a 5 axis system intended to combat body shake for vertical, horizontal, pitch, rolling and yaw.




5 axis system

 This is by no means an exhaustive list of the excellent functionality that this camera provides. The more that I use it, the more impressed I am.

More than anything, I suppose, I love that it takes the right shot, first time round. I find that I don't have to keep re-taking the shot to ensure I got it right. It saves me a lot of time.

There is one downside to the camera, in that it sucks up the battery very quickly. I expect that it may have a lot to do with the 5 axis system. So I recommend that if you are looking at purchasing this camera, that you pick up a spare battery also.