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Blog Archive
by Thomas Russ Arnestad
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Inviting an audience 10/12/2006
A short time ago I found the guts to join a local
photo-club called Kolbotn Fotoklubb. I was browsing their website
www.kolbotn-fk.no
and it seemed to be a place welcoming new members warmly. I went there at one of
their weekly club-nights and was welcomed like one of them.And I guess I am one
of them, at least when it comes down to the love of photography. After a few |
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meetings they started to talk
about their upcoming exhibition at a local gallery. This really caught
my interest. The thought of showing some of my work at a public arena
thrilled me! Straight away I started to plan what photos I would show,
what motives and colours would I choose? It all came down to these three
photos, all with sparkling colours and a peaceful feel over them. At the
photo above, I've just finished hanging them up on the wall and feel
pretty proud and excited about the whole thing.
The exhibition is held at a culture house
in Kolbotn (10 km south of Oslo) called Kolben in the period 09.12.2006
- 04.01.2007.
The opening hours are;
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday: 10 - 19
Wednesday, Friday: 10 - 15
Saturday: 10 - 14
If you care to come along and see our work
I want to wish you a warm welcome! |
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The perfect composition
11/11/2006
This image is
from Riga, the capitol of Latvia. Latvia is
one of the Baltic countries, former Soviet
Union (USSR). I was there on a trip in April
this year and had a blast shooting great
architecture for a few days. However, when I
was uploading a few days of shooting to my
laptop one evening I realized I had been
shooting compressed JPEG's all the time
instead of RAW. I was furious at myself, how
could I not have seen... I had shot almost
700 images already, and to me it was now
considered scrap. Before we went to Riga, I
had a deal with my girlfriend that I was
"allowed" to focus on shooting photos a few
days and the rest of the stay was for
pleasure and being together time. Well, the
shooting days were already gone and what was
I to do? I decided to get up really early
the next morning, and I planned my route
depending on the light for the next morning |
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I got up 5.30
AM as the sun rose and got straight to it. I
got in many good shots and was already
satisfied as I sat down on a bench by the
Daugava River to have a rest. That's when I
saw this railway bridge and the
communication tower in the back. From where
I sat it was in a more diagonal angle, so I
got up and started running towards the
bridge looking at my watch, only 30 minutes
until I had to be back at the hotel. As I
got closer to the middle of a the nearby
bridge I saw the composition falling into
place. When I got the communication tower
just in the middle I was set to go. I had a
few test runs with the difficult lighting as
the sunlight was breaking through the clouds
straight at me. I figured out my best shot
at this was to get a silhouette shot and try
to keep the details in the dramatic clouds.
As everything was coming into place a train
came in from the right and I had a big smile
on my face, perfect! The composition was as
good as it could be for me at that moment. I
snapped several shots as the train moved by
and ran happily all the way back to our
hotel and met my girl for breakfast! The
best shots are the ones you have to fight
for!!
I've flipped the image horizontally
afterwards to get the train moving in from
the left as this seems more right. I've also
de-saturated the image a bit and added a
Sepia filter to it, then saturated it a bit
back and also added more highlights in the
shadows in the clouds to get them more
dramatic. |
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The
ultimate feeling
06/08/2006
Ever had the
feeling of a million dollars when a moment
you've been waiting for finally arrives? I
had it the other day, and I tell you, it's
priceless! I've been saving up for months
for a new camera, browsing websites, reading
reviews, defining the most important
criteria's, and landed a decision. I was
going to buy the Nikon D200 dSLR! I browsed
the different kits on eBay and found the one
just right for me, purchased it instantly
and began my boring waiting time! Twisting
thumbs, looking at my watch, counting the
days....you know what I saying right. Then,
a few days back, a notice from my local post
office told me a package had arrived. I ran
like it was life and death, got the camera
and headed home! I was so glad, so eager and
not to forget, proud! There it was, my new
beauty, stacked full with the latest
technology for me only to enjoy. I've read a
bit in the manuals and shot about a 1000
exposures already, fine-tuning my skills with
it. For the ones out there who haven'e
experienced the same affection of something
you look forward to , I got one thing to
say; GET PASSIONATE! Once you got the
passion for something, you are in for so
much fun. This applies to just about
anything, not just photography. I hope you
all will have the same experience some day!
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New
directions
29/06/2006
A few months
back I realised my dream of hosting my own
photography website as a storefront for
selling my photos. At the same time I
started selling through agencies which
handled all my sales. However, as you've
been told before, "you learn as you go", I
have been both happy and unhappy with some
of the agencies. Many charge way too much
for the limited service they offer, and
expect a whole lot in return, I doesn't add
up. So, I made my move and have now
integrated a shopping cart on my site and
handle most of the sales my self. I see this
as a quality effort to ensure my customers
with the best service. By administrating the
sales myself can offer you a better deal on
quality photos. 
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Cretan memories
01/06/2006
A holiday
always makes for great photos! After a week
spent on the Island of Crete in May I've
been editing and reviewing new photo
material for almost 2 weeks. A lot of the
photos came out really good and some of them
are now available for sale on my
photos page. What you will find
is typical holiday concept photos of people
at beaches and cafés. I have also dug up a
few photos from a trip to to Cook Islands a
few years back which is also available for
sale through my
photos page. If you don't find the type
of photos you were looking for I have a lot
of other material available, so, feel free
to send me a
request and I will upload
matching photos according to your request
and email you the link to the photo.
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Awaiting the island of Crete
02/05/2006
I will soon be
on my way to Greece, more specifically to
the Island of Crete. We have a yearly
tradition of making a trip to Greece in May,
and it's always a source of inspiration for
me, and especially for my photographing.
It's only a few hours away by plane, yet
it's so different from home. The people,
temperaments, mindset, religion, history,
architecture and the surrounding
environment. These are of course the main
reasons making the trip so exciting for me.
Different cultures makes for great
opportunities and great shots. This gives me
the extra inspiration to look even closer
for the tiny details which could make the
difference between a good and a poor photo.
The Island of Crete is the biggest island in
Greece, and has a rich history dating back
to the Minoan settlement. There are ruins
all over the island and I'm looking forward
to get a chance of capturing it all. Some
people even say that the island of Crete is
somehow connected to the myth of Atlantis.
However, there is no hard evidence
supporting this theory. I will exploit every
photographic opportunity on this trip, and
hopefully there will be lots of good shots
for you guys to assess and buy when I get
back. The best
photos
will be
available on my
photos page shortly after my return 20th
May.
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Baltic adventure
11/04/2006
A refreshing
trip to the Baltic country of Latvia was
a delightful escape from the everyday hard
work at the office. I stayed 4 days in Riga,
the capitol of Lithuania. Riga is the
biggest city in the Baltic Sea and reveals a
great architectural history in its Old Town.
Huge churches, narrow streets and alleys,
and brick roads everywhere. It was wonderful,
and like a dream come through for me as an
aspiring photographer. There were shots to
be taken on nearly every corner, and I
captured a lot of great
photos. The trip
made me realize how important new influences
and experiences are to give one inspiration
in my everyday life. On top of that I got to
better my skills on architectural
photography. The best
photos are now
available on my
photos page.
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Realising dreams 04/04/2006
Starting up my own business as a photographer has
always been on of my dreams and goals. It seems that every person has some kind
of dream, but are we striving to fulfil the dreams? I think that many people
put the dreams away simply because they haven't looked into what it takes to
realise the dream. Once you start putting smaller goals down the long road to
your dream isn't that far away anymore. It's all about the research and managing
the small tasks which lead up to realising dreams that before felt unreachable.
This was kind of how I did realise my dream, and a
little help from encouraging photography literature. Bottom line; go out and
realise your dreams before it's too late.
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Agricultural
stock photos
