Team Camera Crowd No. 4

About three months ago we said goodbye to our 3rd batch of photographers and began accepting applications for the new group. It took us awhile to unveil the new group because we were swamped with personal things and the fact that we extended the submission date. I know some of you guys haven't applied due to the traffic in our photoblog. Let's face it, we get more traffic for the music blog rather than the photoblog. But we're a small blog run by two people who don't want to spend the whole day infront of the computer, it's just tough. We're working our way to expanding the photography aspect of this site so that the traffic between the music blog and the photoblog will be balanced.

So without further ado, Anne and I want to introduce to you guys our new batch of photographers who's talented and emotive work will grace our photoblog for the next 3 months. For our last batch, we had two talented ladies and a guy. It's the opposite this time around, we have two talented guys gracing from Eastern U.S and one bright gal from Singapore. Congrats to them and please visit the photoblog every now and then let them know what you think of their work.

Take out the Party Punch from Oh No! Oh My! and let's go go go!


Alexander Bowman, from Greensboro, North Carolina



"I feel like my sense of design and knack for composition , gained from doing other artwork sets me apart from alot of other people. I feel like I can capture colors and moods fairly well, and I still have alot of room to improve."







Christopher Moore, from Westminster, Maryland


"The world is beautiful. People are beautiful. Even if things are not outwardly beautiful…decaying things, destroyed things, things of strife and sorrow…. We can take them in our minds and twirl and twist them with our cameras and our tools and we can take into account the aesthetic and the story and everything that makes this object more than just that and we make it a picture. It is because of this that I think art is the most powerful force of humanity. We change the world around us in six hundredths of a second."





Nurul, from Singapore

"I realize that I’ve begun to shoot with more seriousness. I look out for the messages inscribed in certain compositions I want to frame and emote. Plus, it’s nice to capture these little pockets of reality that is constantly fleeting. Photos help freeze them in thought and memory"









-Charlie and Anne

How do you view the world?

Once again, the three guest spots for Camera Crowd's photoblog has opened up and those spots are waiting to be filled by another set of three lovely talented photographers. For people who are unfamiliar with this blog, we hold a contest every three months for photographers, published/unpublished, it really doesn't matter to us, you just have to knock our lens off (ha - ha!). The three photographers who win will be our guest photobloggers posting, sharing their work with our readers for three whole months. It's a wonderful way to give our readers something other than a bunch of paragraphs droning on silly things such as music and at the same time our guest photographers get exposure and feedback on their work.

Charlie and I, me being Anne, started this blog to not only to share our love of music, but also of photography and that's when we thought of giving others the opportunity via a photoblog. It's important to us that the photographers who win this contest will post regularly. If you don't take photos at the very least once every two weeks, we strongly reccommend you to not apply. We're also looking for a new, fresh approach to photography, so if your portfolio is dusty chock full of backyard flowers, kids, pets and oh who knows the occasional snapshot of graffiti, we suggest you go out and shoot "outside the box".

To apply there are a few things you'll need to have and do before sitting in suspense for our reply.

How to apply:

1. You have to create your own flickr account, if you don't have one already, don't worry flickr is free and easy, just sign up for the basic account.

2. After that upload all the photos onto flickr to show us. Remember this is your portfolio, only include the photos that you want us to see.

3. Then there is a Q&A to fill out, we'll provide a download link below and then email that word document to us with the subject line as, "Camera Crowd application".

Links:

» Camera Crowd's Photoblog
» Create a Flickr
» Download the Q&A
» Email your application to us!

Also here are a few songs for you to listen to while you're out shooting to spruce up that portfolio. Think outside the box!

Download + Purchase:

Everything I Cannot See | Charlotte Gainsbourg

Your Picture | Camera Obscura

Deadline: Sept. 15th*
( *Saturday, 11:59PM, EST)

Love, Team Camera Crowd
(Anne & Charlie)

Team Camera Crowd No. 3

Well, another three months has passed and we're now welcoming our third group of guest photographers onto Camera Crowd's photoblog. Hence the name of our blog, we are both a music & photography blog and with the endless possibilities that the Internet offers we somehow had this idea of building a tight-knit photography community online with this photoblog and getting people to participate posting. In turn giving well-deserved exposure to young talented photographers around the world and it's also a nice way to let music lovers to rest their ears for a moment and open their eyes to the possibility that there is something outside of a computer screen. We're just teasing, we love/hate our laptops as much as you do.

Charlie & I are still learning how to find our way around this tricky blogosphere, so thank you for reading and growing up with us. To everyone who's reading and/or went through the application process, you have no idea how much your participation means to us. Thank you.

Alright, so go ahead and get acquainted with the three photographers who will be showing their work from now till the end of August. Click on their names below to check out some of their photography on their Flickrs now and in the future, thumbnails of the two latest photos on the photoblog will be shown on the top right sidebar of this blog.

Congratulations to Marina, Birdie and Ian! David Bowie knows how to party it up, so let's dance!

Marina Chu from San Francisco, California

"You never really know what's going to happen in the city. Something exciting is always happening and you have to capture that moment or else it'll pass by in no time."

Birdie Michaels from San Marcos, Texas

"What’s more exciting than making a piece of art in a matter of seconds? The world, along with the human body is remarkably unique and beautiful. Technology has enabled us to not only to embrace these things, but also look back on the way they were, share it with others, and start to see them in a more artistic way."

Ian Witlen from Fort Lauderdale, Florida

"Photography is my life, plain and simple. Both of my parents are artists, so needless to say I grew up with strong background in art. Though I always thought I would end up a scientist, I wasn’t happy in the field of science and realized my true love has always been photography. If I’m not taking photos for myself, I am assisting commercial and fashion photographers."

~ anne and charlie

How do you view the world?

It's getting close to almost a year since Anne and I started this music and photography blog. Our intent was to fuse the music we love along with another shared interest, photography. Along with our music posts, Camera Crowd also has its own photoblog. For over the past eight months or so, we were lucky enough to see amazing photos from photographers all over the world including Paris, New South Wales and more!

We invite three photographers every three months to be guest photobloggers on Team Camera Crowd, and it's now the time to thank and wish our Camera Crowd's second group of guest photographers good luck in their future endeavors. We loved the beautiful works you've showcased, thank you Jane from New York, New York, Glen from Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Veronique from New South Wales, Australia.

So here we go, there are no qualifications or long-term photography experience needed, we're looking for unique photographers who share our love for photography and can show how they view the world.


How to apply:

1. You have to create your own flickr account, if you don't have one already, don't worry flickr is free and it's easy to create one.

2. After that upload all the photos onto flickr as your portfolio to show us.

3. Lastly, there is a Q&A to fill out and email that word document to us with the subject line as, "Camera crowd application".

Links:

>>> Camera Crowd's Photoblog
<<< Create a Flickr
>>> Download the Q&A
<<< Email your application to us!

Deadline: May 19th

While you're creating a flickr and filling out the Q&A go ahead and listen to this mini mix:

I Love L.A. (Live) | Rilo Kiley

You Remind of Home (Live) | Ben Gibbard

Alone in Kyoto | Air



Love, Team Camera Crowd
(Anne & Charlie)

SXSW 2007 through the lens

Shooting Southby was no easy task and lugging around a big bag full of camera equipment was not my kind of fun, but now looking back at these photos I'd say it was worth the work and effort. The group of photos below are just some from the pool of SXSW photos I selected, you can view all 17 photographs in a slideshow. I also have some advice below on how to shoot live music if you're interested. Hope you enjoy these!

View the selected SXSW photos as a slidehow here.
Veiw all the SXSW photographs here.

A few tips on shooting live music...

When shooting shows try not to use flash, I know it'll be harder for people who have the smaller digital cameras, unless you brought along your external flash. Try shooting on the manual mode and adjust the shutter speed accordingly. Another neat effect is using someone else's flash, this is easy since most people out there will use flash no matter what and the different angle of light and distance will make your photo less washed out and more interesting.

If you're at a venue who just loves dim lighting, try putting your flash on rear curtain sync. This means you'll freeze your subject, but also have a neat motion blur too. Remember to hold the button focusing and pan your camera when you're using this so you'll get those cool extra trail of lights.

Wait for the right moment. There is no need to take 20 photos of your subject in the same strumming guitar pose, knowing their songs is a plus and if you've seen them live before use it to your advantage. You know when the climatic moments are and you'll know when to shoot the photo. Remember to put your camera on continuous mode, where you can just focus then hold the button down to take multiple photos per second. This increases your chances of getting a photo where your subject's in focus and not blurry.

Also when shooting live music don't forget that there are people who are trying to watch a show around you, there is no need to elbow people out of the way to get that perfect shot. If you're going to go in front of someone shorter than you, tell them first that you just want to take photos for a few minutes, then kneel on the ground to get that shot without ruining someone else's experience, don't forget your "please, thank you and excuse me"s. Try and be subtle in your movements and don't get too consumed by your camera, you shouldn't forget to enjoy the music too!!!

~anne

Introducing new members of team camera crowd

Every three months we welcome new photographers onto our photoblog. This is part of our efforts to build a tight-knit photography community online and also let music lovers rest their ears and open their eyes to photography from around the world. Since camera crowd is only six months old, this is our second group of photographers. We'd like to say thank you to everyone who submitted applications and wish the first three camera crowd photographers good luck. We're still learning how to crawl our way around this tricky blogosphere, so thank you for reading and growing up with us.

Go ahead and get acquainted with the three photographers who will post on the camera crowd photoblog from now till March. Click on their names to check out some of their work on their flickrs and don't forget to check the two latest thumbnails on the right of the page for new photographs.


Jane Camille Berger from New York, New York

"I take pictures of everything, but I love portraits more than anything. I love the idea of capturing the essence of a person---their vulnerability and complexities."

Glen Hentz from Chattanooga, Tennessee

"I'd like to give others a glimpse of the world they might have missed in the everyday hustle and bustle that is life."

Veronique Moseley-Labordus from New South Wales (NSW), Australia

"Hopefully others will take something from that image...be it inspiration, an emotion, a memory re-surfacing, a conversation starter, a desire to understand or explore that which the image portrays. No matter what the response from others, ultimately, I capture the moment as an image for myself. Nothing beats the feeling of taking an image which feels "just right". Bliss..."

~Love, team camera crowd
(Anne and Charlie)