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jurying slides--photag, juror opinions wanted

updated wed 27 sep 00

 

Irene Stephens on mon 25 sep 00


Carolyn, I have used a large piece of heavy white canvas 55" wide by 2yds
and spray painted using black and gray. I graduated the colors starting
with gray on up to black leave a little white at the bottom. Staple cloth
to a wooden dowel and then depending on which color you want to use, just
unroll to the portion you want. I thought my background came out quite good
considering the cost. I guess a purchased background is always best, but
this worked out much better than I expected.----- Original Message -----
From: "Carolyn Nygren Curran"
To:
Sent: Monday, September 25, 2000 1:13 PM
Subject: jurying slides--photag, juror opinions wanted


> Am in midst of sorting slides for jurying. I'm also enjoying new quartz
> lamps with their barn doors, although so far I've closed the barn doors
> after the horse has been photographed! Now that I have good lighting, am
> getting down to finer points of jury slides. Most CM and other pottery
> publication photos have almost no or else subtle shadows, although I've
> seen exceptions. How do jurors feel about shadows if photos otherwise
> good? Are they regarded by jurors as indicative of amateur type
> photography which will count points off the jury score? Also, are there
> any books on art, craft photography which go into lighting of this sort on
> a more advanced level? (Have used Steve Meltzer's excellent book,
> Photographing Your Craftwork, and also Photographing Your Artwork by
> Russell Hart. Am ready for something to add to these texts at this
point.)
>
> Background: So far I've used the white background paper sold by
photo
> shops, but want to experiment with the dark to light paper which gives
> more dramatic effect. Jurors, which is your preference, or do you view
> slides so rapidly that the dark to light background isn't very important?
> Photogs: Have you been able to make your own dark to light background
> paper using air brush or anything else? Late last night I used black
> liquid shoe polish and sponged it on a pc. of cardboard, and another I
> tried for gradual color wash using sponge as a brush, going from side to
> side of cardboard. Results not yet developed. Thanks in advance for
any
> ideas. CNC
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
>

Louis Katz on mon 25 sep 00


Except for dark work I favor Savage Brand studio grey paper. It looks white in the
front under strong light. On dark work it is nice to have slight lighter
backgrounds. I try to acheive this with different lighting but I would be better
off if I used a lighter paper as well.
http://eve2.tamucc.edu/~lkatz/images/newrice/b1.jpeg and the images in
1994 The Rise and Fall of Cast Glaze, January, Ceramics Monthly Magazine are shot
on studio grey paper.
Louis


Carolyn Nygren Curran wrote:

> Am in midst of sorting slides for jurying. I'm also enjoying new quartz
> lamps with their barn doors, although so far I've closed the barn doors
> after the horse has been photographed! Now that I have good lighting, am
> getting down to finer points of jury slides. Most CM and other pottery
> publication photos have almost no or else subtle shadows, although I've
> seen exceptions. How do jurors feel about shadows if photos otherwise
> good? Are they regarded by jurors as indicative of amateur type
> photography which will count points off the jury score? Also, are there
> any books on art, craft photography which go into lighting of this sort on
> a more advanced level? (Have used Steve Meltzer's excellent book,
> Photographing Your Craftwork, and also Photographing Your Artwork by
> Russell Hart. Am ready for something to add to these texts at this point.)
>
> Background: So far I've used the white background paper sold by photo
> shops, but want to experiment with the dark to light paper which gives
> more dramatic effect. Jurors, which is your preference, or do you view
> slides so rapidly that the dark to light background isn't very important?
> Photogs: Have you been able to make your own dark to light background
> paper using air brush or anything else? Late last night I used black
> liquid shoe polish and sponged it on a pc. of cardboard, and another I
> tried for gradual color wash using sponge as a brush, going from side to
> side of cardboard. Results not yet developed. Thanks in advance for any
> ideas. CNC
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.

Carolyn Nygren Curran on mon 25 sep 00


Am in midst of sorting slides for jurying. I'm also enjoying new quartz
lamps with their barn doors, although so far I've closed the barn doors
after the horse has been photographed! Now that I have good lighting, am
getting down to finer points of jury slides. Most CM and other pottery
publication photos have almost no or else subtle shadows, although I've
seen exceptions. How do jurors feel about shadows if photos otherwise
good? Are they regarded by jurors as indicative of amateur type
photography which will count points off the jury score? Also, are there
any books on art, craft photography which go into lighting of this sort on
a more advanced level? (Have used Steve Meltzer's excellent book,
Photographing Your Craftwork, and also Photographing Your Artwork by
Russell Hart. Am ready for something to add to these texts at this point.)

Background: So far I've used the white background paper sold by photo
shops, but want to experiment with the dark to light paper which gives
more dramatic effect. Jurors, which is your preference, or do you view
slides so rapidly that the dark to light background isn't very important?
Photogs: Have you been able to make your own dark to light background
paper using air brush or anything else? Late last night I used black
liquid shoe polish and sponged it on a pc. of cardboard, and another I
tried for gradual color wash using sponge as a brush, going from side to
side of cardboard. Results not yet developed. Thanks in advance for any
ideas. CNC

Dannon Rhudy on tue 26 sep 00


The standard background for slides, magazine or jury, is a graduated
dark to light. Often, plain white is too pale, and does not flatter
the piece. Plain black or plain grey are fairly often used, but perhaps
not quite as effective as the dark to light, in terms of the appearance
of the piece. It is possible to air-brush a background, but
you'll have to decide if it is worth your time, and whether you are
skilled enough to do it without marks & flaws that jump out at the viewer.
One can buy a graduated background for a price ranging perhaps from
$40 to $60 dollars, in either paper (cheaper) or some sythetic hard
surface (more). These last quite a while with care. I think it is
worth it, unless you have the equipment and skill do develop the dark
to light background just using lights.

Sponged backgrounds, fabric backgrounds, etc., look unprofessional to
a startling degree when a juror is looking at hundreds of slides.

regards

Dannon Rhudy

--On Mon, Sep 25, 2000 4:13 PM -0400 Carolyn Nygren Curran
wrote:

> Am in midst of sorting slides for jurying. I'm also enjoying new quartz
> lamps with their barn doors, although so far I've closed the barn doors
> after the horse has been photographed! Now that I have good lighting, am
> getting down to finer points of jury slides. Most CM and other pottery
> publication photos have almost no or else subtle shadows, although I've
> seen exceptions. How do jurors feel about shadows if photos otherwise
> good? Are they regarded by jurors as indicative of amateur type
> photography which will count points off the jury score? Also, are there
> any books on art, craft photography which go into lighting of this sort on
> a more advanced level? (Have used Steve Meltzer's excellent book,
> Photographing Your Craftwork, and also Photographing Your Artwork by
> Russell Hart. Am ready for something to add to these texts at this
> point.)
>
> Background: So far I've used the white background paper sold by
> photo shops, but want to experiment with the dark to light paper
> which gives more dramatic effect. Jurors, which is your preference, or
> do you view slides so rapidly that the dark to light background isn't
> very important? Photogs: Have you been able to make your own dark to
> light background paper using air brush or anything else? Late last night
> I used black liquid shoe polish and sponged it on a pc. of cardboard, and
> another I tried for gradual color wash using sponge as a brush, going
> from side to side of cardboard. Results not yet developed. Thanks in
> advance for any ideas. CNC
>
> _________________________________________________________________________
> _____ Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.

Carolyn Nygren Curran on tue 26 sep 00


Irene---the idea sounds great. I have tried various fabrics but never
thought of the canvas which may not wrinkle as much. And I happen to have
a pal who makes floorclothes professionally, and she's coming to dinner
tonight. I will ask her to bring some scraps over for me to fool with.
Thanks for the idea. CNC