Articoli marcati con tag ‘Manfrotto School of Xcellence’

This photograph, taken more than one year ago with an iPhone in a village in Malawi, is among the winners of an International contest: CreativeHive. From 29 November to 3 December it will be exhibited in London, at The Gallery on the Corner, Battersea Park, and auctioned on 2 December to raise money for Kids Company, a humanitarian association dealing with the supply of an educational support to the most helpless children in the city of London.
This recent award and the fact of being a member of Shoot 4 Change, a nonprofit Italian organization made up of photographers, designers and artists socially engaged with photography, offered me the possibility to think about photography and social commitment.
My iPhone follows me everywhere, has allowed me to tell stories during my life in Africa, has granted me to take photographs without being considered a photo-reporter and to communicate with the rest of the world through the social networks.
The impact of these technologies on photography is incredible and recent events in northern Africa have proved that, but there is another very interesting point of view an image could and maybe should aim at: social commitment.
A shot with a Smartphone is possible for everyone, uploading it to one’s contacts on Facebook, Twitter or Google+ is easy as well, however how many of us have ever thought that one of our own photographs can contribute to change things? I think only a few.
The purpose of a photograph can exceed the perfection of an excellent shot to aim  higher and reach some goals.
Over the years I have learned that, most of the time, the stories to tell are right before our eyes, in our everyday-life. It is right when you start looking at this everyday-life with unconcerned and new eyes that you take the shot that tells and makes a difference. You need time to be familiar with the reality around us, together with a bit of distancing effect that makes reality look clearer and sharper. This is what happened to me in Africa with the picture of Annette.

Manfrotto School of Xcellence

It’s been a bit since the first mobile phone allowed everyone to take a picture and since then, as for many things, technology has advanced and the photographic means have reached characteristics unimaginable till a few years ago. The big brands of the photographic sector announced the birth of the smaller “mirrorless” cameras; mobile phone cameras boast more and more megapixel, as well as the possibility to add external lenses…

Manfrotto School of Xcellence

Manfrotto School of Xcellence: Into the black

At the limit of photography

The synch a photographer reaches with light is always a frail love/hate bond. Sometimes you can deceive this relationship to get the shot, but theory is very far from practice. Without light you have no photography and cannot catch the “moment”.
I was in the South Luangwa National Park in Zambia during a night safari. My Canon was stable on my Manfrotto 498RC2 head and assembled on my Manfrotto 055CXPRO3 carbon and magnesium tripod to allow me to have reasonable exposure times in the darkness of the bush.
I needed the highest stability with light conditions “at the limit of photography”. Many years ago the sensitivity of films wouldn’t have allowed that shot, it would have been just a dream. Now, the possibility of increasing Iso and modern technologies of digital reflex cameras have made possible these pictures.
Bumping into a lion in the night is one of the most exciting moments of a safari, but you can certainly not stay with the lights of your 4×4 on for a long time, you have to save the batteries! Complete darkness is not a benefit for a photographer, I needed a little light at the right time.
When the lion started sniffing the air, probably because of the arrival of some hyenas in the area, I turned on the torch for a few seconds, a few moments that allowed me to “write” with light on the sensor and catch this portrait of a lion proud to defend his territory. © Stefano Pesarelli

Manfrotto School of Xcellence

Travel Photography: Africa, travelling with a Leica and an iPad

Travelling in Africa is my life condition. As a photographer, often, in a constant aesthetics search for aesthetics and communication, I have wondered which is the proper instrument for travel photography.
Generating memories, recalling instants to share when back home: this is what, at least partly, travel photography should be.
I am fascinated by the possibilities that photography offers to describe events and rewrite their meaning; light tools and agility while moving should be an integral part of this process.
Being lightweight means that, inevitably, you may move more freely and easily. It seems to me that sometimes people lose the sense of these needs, driven by the constant quest for the highest camera and for best quality… in my opinion the true essence of this visual survey is the account and story-telling melt together in the quality and particularity of light.
Therefore I’ve chosen to take photographs with a small compact Leica because Leica has been the forefather of the concept of handiness, rapidity and reliability; D-LUX 5 is a “true Leica”, as they like to write on the official website. Compact and intuitive to use, I’ve found it the perfect camera for different situations: during night safaris, with the cold light of dawn or under the powerful sunlight of Midday to tell moments and fragments “on the road”, the Vario-Summicron lens copes with the most critical light conditions. RAW files, 10.1 Mpx together with the HD 720p video function make it a surprising instrument that might have been the envy of XX century best photographers who, surely, had at their disposal less advanced tools. Weight: 270 grams.
For the tripod the most interesting solution is MANFROTTO Modosteady 585, because of its lightness and compactness, but also its versatility for photography as well as, in the case, for filming: it can be a donwright steady cam. Manfrotto Modo is indeed a multi-function stabilization system with a concept suitable for different case studies the most demanding travelers can meet with. Weight: 500 grams.
In the end the editing. Nowadays the iPad, with its software that allow to manage RAW files, for its long-lasting battery, the possibility to surf the web and upload photos online live, is a concentrate of technology managed just with one finger, able to make you forget, while travelling, the most powerful computers and renowned color management software. Weight: 613 grams.
With about 1,5 kg, accessories included, you have the possibility to describe your journey while backpacking, in the most remote regions of Africa, without the encumbrance and weight of reflex cameras, lenses and computers.
There’s also an ethical discourse I’d like to suggest: during a travel, showing off expensive cameras and lenses may sometimes lead to withdrawal from people, culture and that heritage of richness that, during a travel, should make a difference.
Enjoy your trip!

Manfrotto School of Xcellence

Stefano Pesarelli è Tutor/Contributor di MANFROTTO School of Xcellence.

http://manfrottoschoolofxcellence.com/tutors-contributors/stefano-pesarelli/ http://manfrottoschoolofxcellence.com/2011/05/03/stefano-pesarelli-hunt/

MANFROTTO School of Xcellence