This year I did something I’ve never done and never even considered doing before.. I entered my photos into a competition, a real, proper judged competition. The panel of judges included some photographers who I highly respect, so it was a great honour to get the scores back to find out that I had received a bronze award for each image that I entered! I wasn’t expecting anything at all, let alone all 4 entries getting awards!

Here are the images I entered:

I’ll have links to them in the gallery in the next two days.

Regards

Paul Pichugin

So this afternoon there were some pretty awesome clouds around, I decided I’d head out down to a local favourite beach of mine, Bennion Beach.. it sits between Trigg Beach and Mettam’s Pool.. both great spots for taking photos as well. Well the band of clouds threatened to close in the sunset and hide all the beautiful colour that can happen at sunset.. sure enough the sunset with out all that much fuss.. I waited awhile longer and was rewarded for my patience, all of a sudden a window of colour opened up for a few minutes, which saw me get to work quick smart!

I’m pretty happy with the results, definitely two of my stronger images of recent times. One of them got over 200 +1s on Google+ and was shared and reshared like crazy.. always nice to get a little bit of attention on your artwork!

Available as a print here

Available as a print here

Would love to hear your thoughts on the two images.. or what it is you do to help get yourself out of a creative slump!

Regards

Paul Pichugin

I’ve been pretty busy working on some more interactive images.. they are 360 panoramic images, you can explore them with your mouse or if you have an iPad, just move it around! Click on the photos and a new window will popup with the interactive image in it.

here are a few for you to look at:

The Bell Tower:

East Perth:

Subiaco:

University of Western Australia:

I’m now offering these commercially so if you would like some done for your business, please get in contact with me!

Regards

Paul Pichugin

I’ve been flat out the last couple of weeks developing my new product, interactive images.

Interactive images are a 360° panoramic image that you can drag your mouse around and explore an environment or do a virtual tour. I use custom technology to create my high quality images that display well on any device you are using! They look great on a computer, tablet or phone.

They get really interactive once you look at them on an iPad2+ or iPhone 4+ as they have built in gyroscopes that measure the devices movement. My panoramic images detect the gyroscope movement and use the sensor to rotate the image based completely on your movement! It’s simple, easy and very intuitive! To top it all off, it really makes you feel like you are there.

I’m now offering them commercially, so be sure to get in contact if you are interested in meeting up for a chat about the possibilities!

To check out some examples, head on over to the Interactive Images page!

Regards

Paul Pichugin

There is a blog post of mine doing the rounds at the moment expressing my frustration with a few things that get said and some advice to new photographers. In the blog post I mentioned that I would be posting a list of resources.. well this is that post!

Courses:

Every photographer needs to check out CreativeLIVE, it’s an initiative by Chase Jarvis (one of my inspirations) that provides free (yes FREE), photography workshops. They are to participate in live over the internet and then you can buy the downloads to watch back at your own pace. I’ve participated in and/or purchased the following courses:

• Zack Arias: Studio Lighting - you’ll learn more about photography from this one course than anything else I swear!
• Zack Arias: Foundations of a working photographer - both business advice and a huge amount of photography information
• Sue Bryce: Glamour Photography - Amazing course on posing and using light.. Sue won Australian Portrait Photographer of the Year 2012
• Doug Landreth: Beyond Photography – You’ll learn something about photoshop *every* time you watch these videos.. my brain still hurts!
• David duChemin: Vision-Driven Photography – learn how to find and express your vision as a photographer

That’s enough from CreativeLIVE to get you started.. and probably addicted!

Also check out Chase Jarvis’ blog, he does LIVE segments every now and then.. they are really worth watching if you intend to become a photographer professionally and want to learn more about the business side of things.

I highly recommend this tutorial video by Zack Schnepf, he runs through tonality control and exposure blending in photoshop.. I’m not a fan of HDR for many reasons.. but I do use exposure blending fairly frequently, you get a high dynamic range, with out all the rubbish that HDR looks like.

• Zack Schnepf: Photoshop Tonality Control

Websites:

Read these websites / blogs, subscribe to them or use google reader to drag them into your RSS feeds:

• *cough* http://paulpichugin.com – haha.. seriously though, I’ll be posting more tutorials and photography education posts in the future
• Light Stalking – brilliant resource of both tutorials and inspiration
• ICE Society – a tutorial and learning community by wedding photographer Jerry Ghionis.. a master of light and posing
• Zack Arias blog - yeah I know.. I’m a bit of a fan of his, he keeps it real and doesn’t gloss over the realities of running your own photography business
• Digital Photography School – produced by ProBlogger – Darren Rowse – great resource for anything photography related!
• Picture Correct – a great resource of tutorials from many different photographers
• Strobist – This blog is an invaluable resource for off camera flash techniques
• PhotoBlazr – More tutorials and resources

Books / eBooks:

I read.. I read a whole heap! I have a kindle and an iPad full of books along with many book shelves also filled with books, here are a couple I recommend you read:

• Learn landscape photography from the old masters of painting! - a very interesting concept.. I’ve always had an interest in art, particularly the Dutch masters’ work, I love their landscapes and their use of light in their portraits.. this book helps you discover some lessons from their work.
• David duChemin – Visionmongers: Making a Life and Living in Photography – an incredible book that will help you develop your craft and vision and some direction for making the transition into the world of vocational photography
• Marcus Bell - Master’s Guide to Wedding Photography: Capturing Unforgettable Moments and Lasting Impressions
• David duChemin – Within The Frame – define your vision and capture it
• Steve Simon - The Passionate Photographer: Ten Steps Toward Becoming Great (Voices That Matter)
• Scott Kelby – Light it, Shoot it, Retouch it
• Scott Kelby – Digital Photography (3 volume box set)

Well that should keep you busy for at least a day or two.. I’ll be posting more links and reviews of what I’m reading and using from now on. Also going to be doing some gear review of the gear I’m using & tutorials on some of the techniques I use as well.

Feel free to pass this around to your photographer friends!

Would love to hear your favourite sites / blogs / resources.. maybe I’ll discover something new too! Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog on the right hand side there so that you don’t miss my blog posts!

Regards

Paul

- “You must have an awesome camera”.. don’t fall into the trap of thinking new camera gear will make you a better photographer.. it won’t, it will just help you take better resolution, possibly clearer versions of the same photos you are taking now. Learn the gear you have and push it to its limits before upgrading. Some of my favourite shots were taken on a FujiFilm “point & shoot”.. and some of my best selling shots were taken on a 6 mega pixel Canon 300D with a kit lens.. it’s not the gear that makes the photo, it’s the photographer, their vision and their skill.

- “You are really talented”.. don’t expect “success” over night.. whatever your goal is or your definition of success.. in photography, as in the rest of life, it’s a lot of trial and error, reading, studying, working hard and growing. I got asked how I took a certain photo.. by working at it for the last 15(ish) years and learning how to take it. I’m not saying you can’t learn from other people.. I know I’ve learned from so many people it’s not funny.. my inspirations are guys like Peter Lik, Nick Rains, Chase Jarvis, Zack Arias,Christian Fletcher, Ben Clark, Ian Wilkinson, Peter Eastway, Yervant Zanazanian and Marcus Bell.. amongst others. There are so many resources for people to go out and learn from it’s not funny! You do need to find your own path and find what works for you. Personally.. I haven’t found the success I’m looking for either, I still get frustrated on a daily basis and I am always looking for ways to improve. I’ve got so far to go and so much to learn in my photography!

- talent isn’t worth anything.. if you aren’t prepared to put in the hard yards and develop it. Yes there is some element of talent or natural “gifting” or inclination.. but unless you are prepared to work at it, it will go nowhere. I look back at my first photos (some can be seen online here: (http://pmp.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=264) and wonder if I ever had any talent at all. The difference between yourself and another photographer is rarely talent.. it’s mostly work and experience :)

- “OMG YOU PHOTOSHOPPED IT” – all photos require processing.. more so if you are using RAW to photograph them, as they will need processing from a digital negative to something ready for print or web. There is no magic button in photoshop to make your photos look awesome.. I wish there was, it would be a whole heap easier! haha :) Learn photoshop, but don’t rely on it to “save” your photos.. photoshop is for polishing and finishing.. it shouldn’t be for rescuing (although that’s fine sometimes too). If you are starting out.. get something like Lightroom or Aperture (Mac), they are far easier to use and very effective for simple processing of photos. Photoshop is the digital darkroom.

- Don’t ask for another photographers settings just to try and copy their image or their light.. do ask for the settings *and* why they chose them or what their thinking was behind it. You are better off learning the thought processes and decision making process behind choosing a setting than you are knowing the exact settings.. the chances of you being in exactly the same light and circumstances are pretty minimal.. I’m always happy to share my settings and make sure that I leave them in the meta data in my images so you can always find them out (except on my multiple image stitches). I’m also more than happy to explain why I chose them.

- make mistakes.. lots of them. I have over 350,000 of them in my archives.. I’m not advocating a “spray & pray” mentality.. take photos with a purpose and vision in mind.. but don’t be afraid to wear that shutter out! To quote Zack Arias (another inspiration) “we all sucked as photographers at some point”.

I am passionate about what I do, I love photography and creating images that reflect the vision I have. I love being able to share and express my view as an artist. There is no easy route.. and I’m not even quarter of the way there yet, but I’m more than willing to help others out and point them in the right direction to get more help!

I’ll be putting a post up on my blog with resources for the photographer who is just starting out, it will mostly be links to courses, tutorials and books that have helped me.

Again, I hope this comes out the right way.. I am much better at expressing myself with a camera than I am with the written word.. probably why I’m a photographer and not a novelist :)

- paul

The light this morning was perfect, couldn’t have asked for better weather and clouds, I managed to capture some pretty decent images from the morning and then worked on creating a more lasting experience for them to explore any time they want.

For the past few weeks I’ve been working on a personal project, I call them interactive images, they are 360×180 degree panoramic images. On a computer you can drag your mouse around and experience an area, it is a semi-immersive  environment.. on an iPad or iPhone it is even better.. the images you see on the iPad move as you move the iPad, giving you an even better experience.

Here is a preview of the one at Fremantle, click the link underneath it to experience it!

Fremantle Interactive Image

Fremantle Interactive Image 2

Would love to hear people’s thoughts on the interactive image.. I’ll have some more samples up over the next few days!

Regards

Paul Pichugin

I’m available for commercial and industrial photography assignments!

Regards

Paul Pichugin

Just today Google have announced their new Google Glass project with a YouTube video.. it looks pretty promising! I like the ability to take photos of what you are seeing, it will also be very cool for our Virtual PhotoWalks for the Disabled project.. you’d be able to share your exact view with them in a hangout.

I’m looking forward to seeing what can be done with this sort of technology!

Regards

Paul Pichugin

 http://paulpichugin.com/gallery/aus/jindalee-sunset/

I have some more images that I’m going through from the last few days, I’ll be posting them slowly as I get to them :)

Regards

Paul Pichugin