 |
January 6, 2009 |
  |
Created and Maintained by: The Photoimaging Information Council |
|
|
by Eileen Fritsch |
|
Click here to read Allen's Ten Tips on using Nik software to improve your images...
Learn more, watch videos, and download a fully-functional trial version of Nik Software products by clicking the following links: Nik Dfine 2.0 and Nik Color Efex 3.0 TakeGreatPictures.com (TGP): Did you always know a photography career was something you wanted to pursue? Allen Birnbach (AB): Oh, gosh no! I was one of those students who was good at many things, so it took awhile for me to figure out what I wanted to do. I kicked around in a lot of fields, before getting my degree in political science. I started out in pre-law, moved to pre-med, then studied philosophy for awhile. It wasn’t until my junior year of college that someone handed me a camera, and I said “Aha!”  © Allen Birnbach
TGP: Did you take any art courses? AB: I took some photography courses at Queens College at the City University of New York, which was a magnet for talent in a lot of different areas. When I was there, some very well-known photographers were teaching there. One of them was Neal Slavin, who over the years became known for his group portraits. Neal took me under his wing, and I began assisting him on his commercial assignments. From there, I became studio manager for the amazing still life photographer, John Paul Endress. After that, I freelance assisted until I moved west. TGP: What type of equipment do you use? AB: I use everything. I shoot 35 mm, medium format, and Graflex and Linhof large-format. I shoot whatever feels right for whatever I’m doing. I love the atmospheric quality of film. I’ll shoot landscapes with large-format, partly because of my interest in resolution and partly because of my love affair with large-format cameras. My equipment includes Pentax 645NII medium format cameras, Graflex Speed, Crown, and Superspeed 4x5 cameras, and a Linhof Technikardan 4x5 camera TGP: How long did it take you to acquire the knowledge to use all the equipment? AB: I feel like I’ve never stopped learning. One of the joys of being alive is to keep growing as a human. TGP: Do you shoot digital? AB: I use it quite a bit. I originally started using digital as a way to have more control of my negatives in the darkroom. I was doing some large prints for an exhibition and they involved split toning. You’d spend a couple of hours making a print and then you wouldn’t be happy with the burn or the dodge. It didn’t make sense to me. So I started sending my negatives to a lab in Los Angeles. They would scan it at 8000 ppi, and I would work on the file in Photoshop and send it back to them. They would then output a 4x5 negative that incorporated those adjustments, so in essence I could then make a straight print once I put it back into the enlarger. So it was a hybrid of the wet and digital darkrooms. From the shooting standpoint, I started using digital once I started working with athletes and dancers. My ability to involve them in the process while I was shooting amped up their performances to such a degree that shooting digital is the only way to handle it. I use a Canon 1DsMkII.  © Allen Birnbach
Dancers are amazing, because their bodies are their art forms and they understand every little nuance of where their bodies are in space at all times. So when I started shooting directly into the computer and having them come over and look at the screen, they would immediately say “I could articulate my toes a little more, I could lift my fingers a little bit.” Their involvement really changes the whole level of the work. I see the same thing with athletes, actors, and models. When you’re trying to get emotion from someone, if you shoot a burst and let them look at it, then they can really see what’s going on. TGP: How did you get into shooting athletes? AB: I always felt that my commercial work fed my fine-art work and my fine-art work fed my commercial work. So I started working with dancers on a personal project a number of years ago. When I started showing that work to clients, they’d say, “If you can do that, then you can do this.” I shoot for clients that need that sort of dynamic energy. TGP: Do you make your own prints? AB: Not any more. In our last home, I built a darkroom, the third in my career. But I knew going in that technology was going to eclipse it. Ron Landucci of Infinite Editions does all of my scanning and printing for exhibition work. Ron is an incredibly talented photographer in his own right. He can see small details and nuances that shift the photograph in a way that makes a huge difference in the print. To be honest, there isn’t enough time for me to shoot and become facile enough with that technology. I’m too protective of my time.  © Allen Birnbach
TGP: How has photography as a business been affected by the rise of digital photography? AB: The way the business has changed has been very exciting. Although the technology has changed rapidly and the medium is more accessible than ever before, I’ve never been as fired up about my career as I am right now. Certainly, there is a shift in the sense that a lot of graphic designers and art directors have cameras and it’s a lot easier for them to get good photographs. But when I started as an assistant in the 1970s, the photography business was a very different world. The camera equipment was so expensive and complex, it was like being in a secret club. Yet, I noticed that the people who were at the top of the profession were able to get past the technology and focus on the craft—on the art. Clients didn’t hire one photographer instead of another because they were using a certain camera or were skilled in color. Clients were hiring photographers because you could see the difference in their work. What’s happening now is an evolution of that. The jobs that used to go to technicians (i.e., people who could lay down a phone on a white background and get the shot) have all but disappeared. But the high end jobs are still there. Clients today are looking for photographers who can create. The reality is that my life is back to what it used to be. I’m looking through a camera and someone else is making sure that the f stop is right. That was an assistant’s job with film cameras. It’s the job of a digital tech now. It’s the most exciting and challenging time in my career because I’m continually having to reinvent myself in as many creative ways that I can. Everyone in this business is being forced to try to look at the world in whole new ways.  © Allen Birnbach
TGP: What advice would you give to young people who want to follow a similar path that you did—pursuing commercial jobs to support your fine art work? AB: The best photographers are those who understand the history of the medium. It’s not enough to have confidence and experience in your shooting. You also have to understand how your work fits within the framework of the whole history of photography. So, I would encourage people to take art history classes. Then, if they’re crazy enough, to take art lessons. As photographers, we need to see ourselves in the framework of the art world at large. Digital camera technology, and imaging editing software have certainly made things so much simpler than the days when we had to carry around so many different film stocks and filters because we didn’t know what the conditions would be when we arrived on location. Then, we had to do it all on the fly. Now, I look at tools such as Photoshop and Nik Color Efex Pro software, which gives me a choice of 32 different film types, and I’m impressed. It’s so powerful. But it really helps to first learn the basic techniques and rules of photography as an art form, so you can use image-editing software as a paintbrush instead of as a hammer.  © Allen Birnbach
TGP: Is that the type of advice you’re trying to get across in your blog and in your classes? AB: Yes. My goal is not only to give people the technical knowledge they need to improve their images, but also to understand the framework in which they’re working. I’m still a big believer that you need to get your creative work done in your camera. But it sure is nice know what your possibilities are once you’re done shooting. TGP: Is being an assistant still a good route to becoming a professional photographer? AB: Absolutely. What’s wonderful about assisting is that you have the opportunity to work with photographers at the very top the business. If you’re as fortunate as I was, you get to work with people who have the biggest budgets, the best stylists, and the best makeup artists. You can always water that down when you start your career. But to see a great photographer working at the top of their game is magic. It’s invaluable.”
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
© 2002 - 2009 Take Great Pictures |
|||||||||||||||||||||
