Freeman Michael - Michael Freemans Photo School: Mastering the Craft of Black-and-White Photography with a Unique Approach

MICHAEL FREEMANS
PHOTO SCHOOL

BLACK & WHITE

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF MICHAEL FREEMAN

WITH STEVE LUCK

I L E X

First published in the UK in 2012 by

I L E X

210 High Street

Lewes

East Sussex BN7 2NS

www.ilex-press.com

Copyright 2012 The Ilex Press Ltd

Publisher: Alastair Campbell

Associate Publisher: Adam Juniper

Creative Director: James Hollywell

Managing Editor: Natalia Price-Cabrera

Specialist Editor: Frank Gallaugher

Editor: Tara Gallagher

Senior Designer: Ginny Zeal

Designer: Lisa McCormick

Colour Origination: Ivy Press Reprographics

Any copy of this book issued by the publisher is sold subject to the condition that it shall not by way of trade or otherwise be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publishers prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including these words being imposed on a subsequent purchaser.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-78157-072-2

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form, or by any means graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or information storage-and-retrieval systems without the prior permission of the publisher.

Photo on (see ) Photocreo

Photo on (see ) Steve Luck

All other photography Michael Freeman
unless otherwise indicated.

FOREWORD

Photography is what I do and have done for most of my life, and like any professional, I work at it, trying to improve my skills and my ideas. I actually enjoy sharing all of this, because I love photography and want as many people as possible to do itbut do it well. This includes learning why good photographs work and where they fit in the history of the craft.

This series of books is inspired by the structure of a college course, and of the benefits of a collective learning environment. Here, we're setting out to teach the fundamentals of photography in a foundational course, before moving on to teach specialist areasmuch as a student would study a set first-year course before moving on to studying elective subjects of their own choosing.

The goal of these books is not only to instruct and educate, but also to motivate and inspire. Toward that end, many of the topics will be punctuated by a challenge to get out and shoot under a specific scenario, demonstrating and practicing the skills that were covered in the preceding sections. Further, we feature the work of several real-life photography students as they respond to these challenges themselves. As they discuss and I review their work, we hope to make the material all the more approachable and achievable.

For you, the reader, this series provides, I hope, a thorough education in photography, not just allowing you to shoot better pictures, but also to gain the same in-depth knowledge that degree students and professionals do, and all achieved through exercises that are at the same time fun and educational. That is why we've also built a website for this series, to which I encourage you to post your responses to the shooting challenges for feedback from your peers. You'll find the website at www.mfphotoschool.com

Josh received his first camera at age fivea little Fischer-Price childrens camera. While his gear didnt improve for the next 13 years, he has always been in love with photography, and with the permanence of the photographic medium. Since buying a Nikon D5100 in 2011, hes been making up for lost time. His camera goes everywhere with him. Although he dabbles in portraiture and other intentional photography, he primarily take pictures of things he sees and places he goes. He is motivated to preserve memories in a permanent way that others can enjoy. More than that, photography allows him to interact with the world in a deeper way; instead of being merely an observer, he becomes a narrator, providing a permanent interpretation of the world.

So far, the internet has been his only photography teacher. He voraciously reads photography blogs and forums, looking for new techniques and ideas to can incorporate into his own work. The internet also taught him Photoshop and Lightroom, and how post-processing ought to look. Hardly a day goes by when he doesn't turn to the internet for photography help.

Currently Josh is an undergraduate at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, USA. He doesn't have plans to pursue photography professionallyits just a fun hobby. Other hobbies include reading, filmmaking, audio engineering, and playing sports.

More of Joshs work is available at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jryken

What started as a casual hobby of documenting events has become a creative passion and a driving force in Benots life. For some time he worked in an office, but it didn't take long for him to realize hes much more cut out for roaming city streets and capturing decisive moments as they reveal themselves. So he left the office job, got a Nikon D300s, and has been working toward being a Paris-based professional photojournalist ever since.

Benot is an autodidact, having taught himself by rigorous experimentation and exhaustive studies of great photographers. He is strongly influenced by William Klein, Robert Frank, Diane Arbus, JH Lartigue, andof courseHCB (Henri Cartier-Bresson).

He has lived in Paris since age 18, and this magnificent city never ceases to amaze and inspire him. He chooses to photograph mostly in black and white because that is how he remembers his surroundingsthe sky is gray, the walls and buildings are gray, the people don't wear bright colors, even the river Seine is more gray than blue. It also doesn't hurt that in his latest work, he photographs mostly at night, as this is when some of the most important action happens. Daylight, he feels, often reveals too much and can make it difficult to isolate the smaller, more significant dramas; whereas the night and low-light atmospheres help cut straight to what is most essential.

To explore more of Benots work, visit: http://cargocollective.com/olybrius and http://www.facebook.com/olybrius.fr

Dan Goetsch was born and raised in Fort Collins, Colorado. He eventually ended up hitting the ground running in the IT world just after college and life has been an adventure ever since. Through his work, Dan has had the opportunity to do a good amount of travel, which led him to relocate to the west coast. He found his new home in Portland, Oregon where he spent 5 years, and picked up his first digital SLR camera along with a passion for photography. He is a self-taught photographer who has gone from Auto mode to Manual and enjoyed every minute of the journey as he continues to learn and explore the craft. His superhero mantra would be IT nerd by day, photographer by nights and weekends.