Yuri Arcurs

I thought I’d write a few blog post’s about photographers who have influenced me over the years. Of course it is their great photography which attracted me to them and fortunately they are often willing to share their techniques and ideas. One of these photographers is Yuri Arcurs who is at the top of his game as the number one stock photographer in the world. One thing that has helped Yuri achieve this success is his attention to detail. He studies, analyses and determines the best method to achieve the highest quality images.

For example, Yuri doesn’t mind saying for certain that you cannot take a sharp portrait handheld, you just can’t do it. He goes on to say that if you’re getting sharp images shooting free hand “your lucky” and that you will increase your percentage of sharp images using a monopod. Actually with some of the portrait work I’ve been doing recently, where I need slow shutter speeds to soak up as much ambient light as possible, I needed a tripod.



Another thing Yuri talks about is what might at first seem like a very simple idea, pressing the shutter button. I hadn’t given this much thought in the past but it was easy to see how you could refine this action to minimize camera movement.

The technique is simple; you move only your forefinger. People, me included, tend to squeeze their hand, creating a slight jerking motion. Anybody into target shooting will know what I’m talking about and probably have practiced this technique to reduce rifle movement to improve their marksmanship.

It’s so great to come across someone who talks about these refinements; there are a lot of great photographers out there and there is always something to learn.

Check out Yuri’s website where he shares many of his thoughts on photography.

Thank you for stopping by! :-)

A Mummer Ate My Camera

I went to the St John’s Mummers Parade on Saturday (December 17, 2011) and to no ones surprise it was a colourful and fun time. It’s great to see this tradition alive and well in Newfoundland. We all deserve a break from the hustle and bustle of modern life. Taking some time to have some fun is a great way to relieve stress and spend time with family and friends.

A snap of the Victim taking a few snaps………..

Photo courtesy of Laurie Wallace


A few random pictures from the parade.

A Fire Breathing Horse

The Hobby Horse goes gulp gulp!

Photo courtesy of Laurie Wallace


For more on the tradition of Mummering in Newfoundland please click here to visit the Mummers Festival website.

Light Drag

Light Drag, like Flash Drag (more on that in another post) is about moving the camera during exposure. There are a number of ways you can do this and the effects can be stunning, pretty cool or perhaps just worth the value of learning something new. You never know exactly what you might come up with and for that reason alone it can be a lot of fun.

The significant difference between Light Drag and Flash Drag is that with Light Drag you would be using ambient light, one light source. With Flash Drag you would be using two light sources flash and ambient light for exposure and effect  

Light Drag is the more difficult of the two because camera movement must be segmented into (at least) two distinct steps otherwise all you will get is a streak of light and no defined subject. Light Drag would also be used with longer exposure speeds, for example 1 second or longer.

The Technique:
If you want to focus on a subject matter in your image there will have to be some delay in your exposure movement. So for example during a 4 second exposure you might want to delay your movement a second or two before you move your camera to distinctly capture the subject. This delay could be placed anywhere in the exposure, but I’ve found it would be best placed at the beginning or end.

Also movement can be achieved in a number of ways including horizontal, vertical or diagonal panning or zooming. A tripod is an essential tool for this type of work. Following is one of my zoom shots...........

Zoom at the Rooms



Like I said one fun things about this is that you never know exactly what your going to come up with and with a little practice and a unique location you could create some captivating images.

Please share your experiences, it would be great to learn and hear from you!