Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 7,400 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 6 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

I only spent an hour fiddling with it. I didn’t do any of the tutorials. I have never taken advantage of the OnOne training resources. Here’s my early opinion…

• This is not thoroughly tested software. I behaves like it is still in Beta. It locks up. I know what I am talking about after being a software manager for a number of years. The quality control didn’t come close to what I enjoy in the NIK Software Suite.
• Installation has some hiccups. The end result is not as illustrated in the help file.
• The masking piece, unfortunately, requires acquired skill that I don’t have yet. It is not obvious. I am giving it the benefit of doubt.
• The portrait retouching piece seems like it will be useful once I train myself. It seems a bit too automated, but maybe that can be reconfigured.
• Perfect Resize (Genuine Fractals) has always been an exemplary enlargement tool. I didn’t see any changes.
• The entire suite can be run as a standalone application. I can’t imagine anyone doing that though.
• Perfect Layers seemed to only work with PSD files, not TIFF files. This means you have to create these using export in Lightroom. There is no automatic file generation from the plug-in. I can’t understand this since TIFF files now support layers. Maybe I am missing something.
• Perfect Effects is kinda cool. It obviously competes with NIK Color Effects Pro 4. I am biased towards the NIK software for this.
• Different pieces have inconsistent interfaces. I am use to coherent interfaces as produced by NIK software. Software exploration and experimentation is a total waste of time.
• The current online discounts end on December 10.

So maybe I am being unkind in my premature criticism. I will say this – I do not have the time to fiddle this week to learn how to use this stuff. To be fair, OnOne has hours of online tutorials. I sat through their presentations at WPPI and PMA and the demonstrators used each piece with fluidity. I will go the next step later this month and try my best to get onboard with OnOne stuff, but the upgrade did nothing to give me any immediate warm and fuzzies.

(One should observe all the reference tags to the Mamiya RB67. I have noticed this will increase search engine hits by 500%.)

• Reality is always pinned to a specific point in time, never to be frozen or revisited.
• The mind’s eye works with the brain to render its own interpretation of the present. No two people are the same.
• Because we have two eyeballs, we see in 3D. Photographs (except the inferior 3D simulations of late) are presented in 2D.
• Print makers were either not present at the scene or separated by time and distance. Human memory changes over time.
• Artists will suggest a message or feel to their work. Any photography that takes this route is adding the value intended by the artist.
• Photographic manipulation is a staple that has accompanied the field from day one. It runs the gamut from documentary (little manipulation) to illustrative (major manipulation). From the very onset, a latent image needs to be processed regardless of method.
• In-camera decisions such as aperture, shutter speed, and tonal representation are neither right or wrong. There is no standard – one can never be attained. Eye-mind response to light is dynamic, individual, circumstantial, and unpredictable.

So while I can show you photographs with different levels and approaches to processing, I have no way of showing you the original scene. Further, the very moment I “take the picture”, the scene evolves – I can’t remember the specifics. The best I can do is:

• Recall my original inspiration and intentions.
• After time passes, affirm or alter the path to end product processing.
• Devise derivative/alternative versions.
• Process post-camera (film or digital) according to my final plan.

For me, this process involves what I call artistic liberties. I do not do documentary work. For all the reasons I just covered, I feel it is quite a task to attempt to represent reality for a documentary photograph. I consider those that can do this as falling in the category of producing the “best possible” recollection. That takes a keen mind. They do not have the liberty of making artistic adjustments. Their goal is honesty.

In today’s world, we have remnants of a silly argument about the authenticity of a photograph that has been digitally processed. We even coined the irritating term “Photoshopped” as a derogatory moniker. And yet, we all know that the film heroes that we worship consistently controlled:

• Film emulsion selection (even batch selection)
• Camera factors
• Focal length
• Perspective
• Vantage point
• Aperture
• Shutter speed
• Tonal response recorded
• Film development factors
• Developer choice
• Temperature, time, and agitation
• Print paper selection (even batch selection)
• Enlargement factors
• Light intensity
• Time of exposure
• Contrast adjustment (polycontrast)
• Sharpness adjustment (unsharp mask)
• Burning and dodging
• Blurring
• Print development factors
• Developer choice
• Temperature, time, and agitation
• Toning
• Ferrotyping and drying methods

So you tell me, isn’t this indicating that we photographers have always manipulated images? Isn’t this indicating that we always have excercised human control over our representation of reality, now or 100 years ago?

Until next time, be well,
Bob

As the entries come in, they can be found at my gallery site: http://gallery.bobkulonphoto.com. Look for the gallery (near the top) that says 2011 Student Contest Entries. Feel free to comment, visit often, post a thumbs up, post a link to a social site, whatever. Comments and thumbs up will not affect the judging, so there is no point trying to sway the judges.

All alumni of Bob Kulon’s classes are allowed to enter their best picture for the year. (Email the jpeg file to bkulon@hotmail.com. Do not exceed 3MB in size. Make sure your file is converted to the sRGB color space.) Any type of photography may be entered – this is an open contest; there are no categories. The criteria for judging are:

• Concept – 10 points (Was the photo well seen and was the message original?)
• Execution – 10 points (Was the photography and processing effective?)
• Impact – 10 points (Did the composition and creativity catch the eye?)

The winner will win a 16×20 Float Mounted Metal Print (from Bay Photo Labs) of their winning photograph valued at $165. You may only enter once. The filename must be your name. (For example, bobkulon.jpg) Make the file original sized so if you win the print will look great (or at least 4000 pixels in the long direction). (All files will be shown here and are right-click protected. You retain complete ownership and copyright to your work. No printing is allowed from this gallery.) Please include your mailing address with your entry so that the prize print can be directly shipped to you. Contest closes on 1/7/2012. Judging will be by Bob Kulon and Jack Graham. The winner will be announced on 1/15/2012.

• I have a very close buddy that privately proclaims to me that his church (of one) celebrates the earth’s creation. There are other established photographers I know of that have this same calling. Once these folks step into the field, they allow themselves to be absorbed by the glory of nature. They look at the depictions they create as a tribute to their majesty. Their work and attitude constantly improves as a result of this alignment.
• I find myself going out for one type of photography and wind up finding and shooting something entirely different. For instance, I may go out for Fall colors and wind up shooting abstracts in a junk yard. Not many people allow themselves to divert like that. After all, Autumn colors are a vanishing opportunity.
• I truly admire many of the new avant-garde portrait concepts that break the mold of classic portraiture. Yet, maybe only the first 20 times I saw these practiced were they truly interesting. Now, I see much of this to be trite and mundane. It has been overdone. Once the general public expects it, I start seeking something new for personal expression.
• The same thing goes for HDR and Panorama techniques. Been there, done that. I need to drive on down the road.
• I have been chided for delving into photo illustration (computer generated effects) for many years. I no longer make that my outward style. I want to avoid the criticism since I have a commercial intent. Nevertheless, it is really enjoyable to make an artistic rendering on the computer, even if it never sees the light of day.
• I have gradually moved away from calling my work “landscape”, “scenic”, “nature”, or any confining term. I find interest in the most peculiar places. I recall being the happiest shooting inside a decrepid, abandoned brick mill in the Dom Valley in Toronto. Industrial Ruin! Yes, that is a big turn-on for me. Try to position that in a category!

The point of all of this is that I encourage you to privately see if you have any inner need to explore some new photographic avenues that might take you out of the comfortable categories. If so, you it may bring you some satisfaction. I don’t guarantee revenue, after all, society lives under a set of norms that are very difficult to break. Just understand, part of practicing art is giving yourself freedom to create what moves you. Do you have the guts to try it?

Please visit my new online gallery at http://gallery.bobkulonphoto.com. I currently have a 25% off sale going on through December to kick things off. Many folks have begged me to put my photography back on sale – this is the easiest way for all of us. The variety is amazing, the quality is impeccable, and the service is first-rate. 25% off, no minimum, no limits, all price ranges (and they are reasonable).

Use the Discount Code BobK_Holiday at checkout!

Note: If you need sizes larger than indicated, let me know. I will upload a hi-rez file to support any print product up to 60″. No problem.

How to maximize training transfer for groups.

I think it would be rather arrogant on my part if I portrayed myself as a learned educator. I have no degree in teaching. So, I am at best a para-professional. Nevertheless, there are five things in my life that contribute to my effectiveness as a trainer:

• All through college, as an adult student, I was a very astute observer in the different ways the people gained knowledge. I began to form some opinions.
• In the business world, I spent at least 1/3 of my time training associates in new processes, technology, concepts, and strategies.
• I organize well, plan well, write well, and speak well.
• I only teach what I know.
• These days, in the classroom, I am hyper-sensitized to the ebb and flow of the class progress at every turn. I am able to redirect my training methods ad hoc to deliver clear understandable explanations. I am a musician and know how to jam.

If you are teaching photography or processing in a group context, here is my observation after several years in the field:

• If you don’t know something, say so. Follow up and return to the next class with an answer and explain it. This adds to your credibility.
• You will have students that are very knowledgeable. Some are well-behaved; helpful even. Others registered for no other reason than to strut their stuff and feed their ego. Expect it. No one else in the class will appreciate their behaviour, seek some way of containing the damage.
• You will have some students that are troubled learners. They basically have no confidence. Work with them without singling them out.
• You will have some distractions. It is a shame to think that classroom decorum is an issue during adult education. Make an announcement beforehand that side conversations should be taken into the hallway. If you don’t, the rest of the class (paying customers) will become highly irritated.
• Side discussions often come about for one of two reasons:
• The topic has really become interesting and discussable.
• You may not have explained things adequately.
• Speak clear and loud. Have back-of-the-room people move up front. You are usually using an overhead projector with a lot of distracting fan noise.
• Don’t talk to the Powerpoints. That is so 1980′s. You have real information to convey. Your insight will keep the course alive and fresh.
• Powerpoints: make them simple and terse. Talk, don’t point. Powerpoints are merely anchors.
• Speak clearly, in plain understandable terms.
• Never ridicule or tease any one in the room.
• Nurture a professional, friendly relationship with the staff of the sponsoring educational institution.
• No prejudice, politics, or religion.
• Diagrams: they are they key to adult learning.
• Start on time, latecomers will get the message.
• Students that try to follow along in class with their notebook computers will slow the progress down by at least a factor of two. If that is how you intend to teach, double the course time and charge for it. I prefer to give assignments to allow students to work at home.
• An all-day class is hard on the students. It is even harder on the instructor.
• Charge enough so you don’t have a chip on your shoulder. Be happy.
• Understand, that if you follow these suggestions, you will be working hard. At the conclusion of the class, you will be mentally worn out.
• A measure of your success is how many people come early and stay afterwards.

• My Gallery is nearly empty. I plan to load it up with portfolio-worthy images in the next few weeks.
• I will be adding an Online Store in February when my book is published.

If you see anything that is broke, please let me know. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

How to maximize training transfer for individuals.

Let’s say it is your agreed undertaking to assist someone grow their skills in photography or processing. Common terms for this are “mentoring”, “1-on-1 training”, etc. I submit to you that understanding the following points can make the process more efficient:

• Everyone learns differently. Adults learn by symbolism, metaphor, and drawing relationships to previously learned concepts. Use graphics, draw pictures, and compare the concept being discussed to something that is already familiar to the student.
• People in individual training situations learn faster. They are not hesitant to interact. They are not embarrassed by their lack of understanding. Just make sure you keep them in the mood. Criticism teaches nothing; correction is valuable.
• People tend to come to your care with pre-existing opinions that may or may not be valid. The source of these beliefs is friends, “heroes”, magazines, advertisements, and internet discussions. If you have to dismantle an incorrect belief, find out its source so you know what to expect as the training proceeds.
• Understand what your students wants to achieve. Teaching a generalist on an individual basis is not really efficient. A classroom setting does a better job of surveying a subject since the class discussion tend to illuminate the concepts.
• Find out what your student already knows. Save time and deliver maximum value. There is no point explaining something that is already understood.
• Alternate explanation with teacher demonstration, student execution, and results review. Keep it interesting.
• Don’t expect anyone to retain anything if they don’t build on it or use it in some way. I have found that almost all information is lost after six months of disuse. You should explain this before the engagement as well as during the engagement. You, the teacher, cannot change this reality.
• While the techniques of yesteryear are interesting from a historical perspective – knowledge of one’s legacy – don’t try to make this to focus of your training. There are still college photography programs that even today require students to spend the first two years in the chemical darkroom. At hundreds of dollars per credit hour, that sort of academic arrogance is almost sinful. Get with the times.