Jaspal Jandu Photography

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Incandescent Sun

Quite mesmerising….

 

 

'Anthropocene' Earth Animation

This is the animation done by Globaïa for the short film 'Welcome to the Anthropocene' commissioned for the Planet Under Pressure conference.

 

Seasons Greetings

Merry Christmas to you all in virtual land, here's to a prosperous New Year too...

What A Wonderful World With David Attenborough

A celebration of Natural History on BBC One with David Attenborough.

 

Last Days of the Arctic: Capturing the Faces of the North

Just watched a really well put together documentary on Ragnar Axelsson's quest to capture the vanishing lifestyles of the people of the north.

As the main programme is on the BBC iPlayer, its only available to UK viewers; however, his website and Youtube video are well worth a look around.  

Great stuff, indeed.

Spring is in the (photographic) air....

Spring has sprung and there’s fresh bloom and delicate light everywhere.  This moment doesn’t last long so here are some updates before its time to get out again....

• Have been over to the States twice in the last month.  Each visit always confirms the huge disparity in large format landscape photography as a valid artform.  Let’s just say, we have a long, long way to go in the UK...

• Shooting lots of tall buildings in London has forced me to buy a tilt-shift lens for the Canon. It’s a nice new 24mm thing and has lots of buttons and dials on it, so it must be good.

• The Linhof is seeing lots of action at the moment, partially because its so much more rewarding than anything else.  However, given that we’ll all be moving to digital one day, I’ve been looking/evaluating a few medium format rigs too (the Alpa STC being my current favourite).

• Off to Santorini next week and am looking forward to getting at least one good shot at some point despite it being 26c here in the UK and only 12c in Greece.  

There are realtime pics and posts on the @jjandu twitter page, so log on, sign in and drop out over there if you want the latest word on all things panoramic.

Japan Earthquake

Each day brings fresh imagery of the indescribable events in Japan.  Not much further to add other than my thoughts, prayers and condolences to a country that I hold very dear to my heart.

Some links which maybe useful:

Latest news updates from BBC 
Google info and donation page
Quake survival info
Other Resources

We’ll also be donating a portion of sales from one of our best selling limited edition prints (First Light, Mount Fuji - shown above) to the relief efforts.  

Best wishes
Jaspal 

Water Babies

We’ve taken on a rather large corporate job at the moment and one of the main themes is ‘water’.  As you would imagine, I thought the selection process would be fairly straightforward:  log-on to the image server, search for ‘water’ and off we go.

The problem is, however, that the search result is bringing up so many images that it keeps on crashing my browser.

Intrigued, I went onto some image sharing sites and, low and behold, nine out of the top ten landscape images all contained water.  I then looked through some of my favourite book covers and same again.  The portfolios of most major photographers? Yep, you’ve guessed it...

Given that water makes up roughly two-thirds of both us and the Earth’s surface, it is no surprise to see it feature so highly in our portfolios.

However, there is something deeper and more profound going on.  Water creates and sustains, it provides nourishment and ultimately shapes every part of Earth and humankind.  When photographed right, it can convey anger, tranquility and even creation itself (in fact, it is not uncommon to hear someone say “oh, that river/lake/waterfall really brings that image to life”).

The contrarian in me says I should try to shoot a month’s worth of landscapes without any reference to water.  The realist in me says “no way, José!”.   Either way it will bring a smile to my face knowing that, despite all the bluster and bravado, us (mostly) male photographers are actually just trying to connect with our inner water babies...!

The Joy of Taking

They say that everyone should simultaneously have both a mentor and a protégé - a concept based on the ying and yang of giving and taking.

Going one step further, I would add that the relative balance of give and take should be dynamic over a creative person’s life.  Specifically, I find comfort in the notion of taking inspiration from other artists / nature when younger and ultimately giving back to other artists / nature when older.  

However, what happens when the balance of give and take becomes skewed? What if another person deliberately went out of their way to copy your work? What if he/she copied your website, or asked for advice and then pasted it verbatim into his/her body of work?  Surely, that’s not ‘inspiration’, that’s theft.

Well, all of those said points have occurred recently and although I won’t name names here for various reasons, the majority of transgressions have come from other photographers; particularly those from the ‘light-fingered’ internet generation.

In their defence, and as I have said previously, a creative endeavour cannot commence without inspiration and I also looked to the pantheon of other artists / photographers when I started out.  However, I like to think that I ‘returned the favour’ over time; possibly by name-checking them in my book, writing about them in my blog, buying products from them, forwarding business opportunities directly to them, taking about them at exhibitions etc etc.   Those of you who have met in me in person will know this is abundantly true.

In the increasingly competitive world of landscape photography, I have come to the conclusion that reciprocal manners are not always going to be so forthcoming.  So, in the coming months we’ll be changing the website around slightly to let allow the silent majority of genuine followers / clients access to the best and freshest of material, whilst trying to avert the gaze of the nefarious minority.

In the meantime, and having just come back from a Watercolours exhibition at the Tate Gallery, I myself will continue taking inspiration from others whilst simultaneously offering help to anyone who is kind enough to ask for humble advice.  In the words of Winston Churchill “...we make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

Stay tuned.

2011 Epson International Pano Awards

Its that time of year for the 2011 Epson International Pano Awards, so if you are interested in entering here's the link and the press release.....

2011 Epson International Pano Awards

Press Release

Good luck to all those that enter!

I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas !

A quick note to wish you all a very Merry Christmas today.

For all of those in hot and humid lands, here's a view of what its like over here in the UK.  Brrrrr.......!

A sweeping new panoramic lady in my life...

I have a confession to make.  

A sleek, black lady has entered my life and she is making that Linhof ‘gal so, so jealous. 
 
You see, I’ve picked up a new point-and-shoot camera on my travels around Asia and it has a ‘sweep panorama’ mode that is just a hoot to use.  Harking back to the old rotating camera days, this one scans a strip as it is swept across the field of view - either vertically or horizontally - and then cleverly ‘stitches’ the final composite image in a matter of seconds.

Having manually done this quite a few times, I can tell you that the ability to quickly stitch a scene in real time is just a joy to behold.  Also, because the camera stays with me 24/7, it has liberated me from the tyranny of backpacks, tripods and filters (you’d be amazed at the crazy panoramic images you can get from even airport lounges).
 
I’ve had the web guys put together a slide show above and hopefully you’ll enjoy it.  They were taken handheld with no filters (you’ll notice some classic rotating camera drawback such as depth-of-field and scan line/shearing issues but that is all part of the fun).
 
All I need now is the ability to upload pictures direct from my camera (we’ve attached cameras to phones, why can’t we attach phones to cameras?!) and I will then set a wedding date accordingly.

The love affairs continues....!

Aerial view of Jurassic Park (a.k.a Hawaii)

Finally managed to download and review some Hawaii pictures tonight.  It's always good allowing some time between shooting and editing because you're not so emotionally connected to the images at this stage....

Anyway, here's one from the obscenely rugged Nā Pali Coast on Kauaʻi, Hawaii.  Not sure about you, but I was certainly expecting a few low-flying teradactyl to come swooping past as I was harnessed onto the the side of the helicopter!

Many more from the The Aloha State soon...

The Genius of Eadweard Muybridge

Having read a fair few books on Eadweard Muybridge over the years, I was delighted to see some of his actual works at the Tate Britain yesterday.   

Given the proliferation of Young Turks these days (myself included), it is quite humbling to think that he pioneered things like timeslicing, 3D, panoramics and, of course, locomotion/animation well over 100 years ago.

Not only that, but he also managed to find time to kill his wife’s lover.  The heartless cad!

For those of you fortunate enough to be close to the exhibition, I would definitely recommend a visit.  For all you in virtual-land I would try the following in the first instance : Wikipedia, The Collection, The Guide and Google.   Exhibition details are here...

Jaspal Jandu Photography on Twitter

If websites, blogs and Facebooks aren't enough for you, then you can now join us on Twitter too (there'll be a 'widget' at the top of this blog and also a dedicated stream on Twitter if you want to follow it there).

Staying faithful to the spirit of things, the 'tweets' are not going to be perfectly formed opuses of 140 characters or less but merely a stream of musings from behind a panoramic camera.

We're messing around in Hawaii at the moment so there's no finer way of kicking things off - see you there!

Planning for Aloha...

The arrival of a beautiful baby daughter and the maddening prospect of finding somewhere new to live has occupied a lot of my time recently.

However, that doesn’t imply that it’s been quiet on the photographic front.  I’m off to Hawaii for the first time next week and that means its ‘homework time’.  Typically, for me, this entails:

·        Friends and Family – guide books are good but nothing beats ‘hands-on’ experience/knowledge from a trusted source (thanks, Nigel, for the tips by the way).

·        Books / Maps – a quick trip to somewhere like Stanfords is de rigueur for ascertaining the lay of the land.  Maps help with the topography and books help with other ‘incidentals’ like eating, breathing and sleeping :-)

·        Specialised Content – Specific guides likes Laurent  Martrès’ guides to the Southwest or Robert Hitchman’s guides to America are a good starting point (but the reader should be careful not to copy/replicate the familiar ‘trophy’ shots which are often described within).

·        Internet – Where to start!!??!  Over and above the usual Google/Internet Forums/Image Searches etc., there are tools for tides, sunset/sunrises and GPS locations.  One particularly useful new tool is the ability to remotely sync Google map placemarks to mobile devices (those of you who have struggled with GPS units/software know what I mean)...

To a non-photographer, such planning may seem a bit ‘kill-joy’ in nature, but I would argue that it’s the price to pay if fantastic images are the goal.

However, there are some things one simply cannot plan for, such as the weather, the light and that awkward little cloud which won’t move kindly out of the frame for you.  Some would say that this unpredictability is what makes this game so fun, but I would say it’s what makes this game so frustrating!

More from The Aloha State soon….

Panoramic Tips - Digital Camera Essentials

Quick one to let you know there's a 'Pro Tips' section from me in the new issue of Digital Camera Essentials.  There's also a number of pages devoted to shooting, editing and printing panoramic images, so give it a whirl if you're so inclined...

A message to all photographers; Aussies in particular...

Photographic expression should be a fairly basic right in the free world, so I would urge you all to download/subscribe/take part in events such as this one in Sydney. Here is some linkage to help you out:

      

Arts Freedom Australia – Facebook Page

Landscape photographers, including you, are losing rights

NSW Photo Rights

I’m a Photographer, Not a Terrorist! (UK Site)

To those of you that do attend the meet up, our UK thoughts and spirits are with you!

Winners of The EPSON International Pano Awards

Hello everyone.  I have been finishing the last in a series of commissions recently so little or no time for blogging unfortunately :-(

However, news of some fantastic winning panoramic imagery courtesy of The EPSON International Pano Awards….

 

Congratulations to all those involved and my thoughts on the competition soon….

LondonWide - Open Edition Prints

Samuel Johnson once noted that "When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life" and, in a similar vein, we are very pleased to announce the release of an exciting new series of Open Edition Prints of this great city.
 

Enjoy timeless panoramic views of London from renowned photographer, Jaspal Jandu.  From Tower Bridge to Big Ben, from Canary Wharf to the Royal Parks, Jaspal has bought his unique panoramic eye to this great capital city through the course of the seasons.

The range of open edition prints are presented in discreet acid-free mount board and are ideal for personal, souvenir or gift use.   Further details and pricing can be found in the new Open Edition Gallery.

Kindest regards
Jaspal Jandu Photography

Back on the road again....

Hello everyone.  A busy time in the real world which has left little or no time for this crazy virtual one.

 

Firstly, the Panoramic Visions show closed successfully in early May and there’ll be images and chat from the show soon.

Given the popularity of the smaller, open edition London images, it’s no surprise to see they are now on permanent display/sale at the Kraken Opus gallery for those who are interested.

Lastly, immediately after the show closed I was booked on a commission piece around the UK so I have been busy exactly where a photographer should be - behind a lens rather than a computer.

It was during this shoot that I had time to re-evaluate my camera equipment.  After some thought, I am in the process of trading-in and trading-out of a few pieces (Fixation is always a good place to start such proceedings for those of similar inclination).  I’ll be writing a piece on my current preferred ‘panoramic’ set-up next month.

Am back in the UK now, so more updates soon…

Panoramic Visions - Bank Holiday Weekend

The May Day bank holiday is almost upon us and that means the last long weekend of the current ‘Panoramic Visions’ exhibition.

 

For those of you wanting to see the artworks and also the new range of London images, then the full details are:

Panoramic Visions
15 April to 4 May 2010
 The Opus Gallery, 10-13 King Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 8HN
 Mon-Sat 10am - 6pm • Sun 12 - 5pm, Free Admission

The gallery is open all the way through the long weekend (including Monday) so we’ll see you there!

Natural Wonders of Another Kind

Quick update.  The exhibition is going fantastically well and pictures will follow as soon as we download them from the various memory cards.

 

Also, with all this talk of volcanic ash you would expect there to be a multitude of photographers out there taking pictures of incredible sunsets, but all we’ve had in the UK is bright blue sky and definition-less high cloud...

Still, I suppose it lets us drool over the gob-smacking new images/videos from a) Reuters and b) Nasa’s Solar Dynamics Observatory from the comfort of our monitors!

Jaspal Jandu Photography Website 2.0

Whilst I was shooting the famous karst / limestone scenery of China for Natural Wonders, I heard a great local quote which went along the lines of   "...be not afraid of going slowly; be only afraid of standing still".

 

So, in that vein, we are very pleased to announce a major reboot of the website.

We've manged to tidy up the design and update all the background code for the modern desktop and mobile worlds.  Also, there is a hell of a lot which is yet to be rolled out (such as member's area, hi-def video, new exhibition gallery etc) so stay tuned for that.

As ever, we would welcome your thoughts on the new website so please drop us an email or leave a comment if you can.

Lastly, many thanks to Nick at Coldmountain for the help and also the patience in dealing with the many - often minor - requests!

Enjoy and more to come....

Panoramic Visions - Jaspal Jandu Exhibition 2010

Jaspal Jandu Photography is very proud to announce that the new Panoramic Visions exhibition for 2010 is now open!

 

The show runs from the 15th April to 4th May 2010 at The Opus Gallery, 10-13 King Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 8HN.

Jaspal will be there in person to talk about the new artworks during the VIP opening evening and through Fri-Sun each week.  Also, existing Limited Edition Clients should now be able to view to the new website and gallery and this feature will be rolled out to the general website during the course of the show.

Regular updates and pictures will be posted here and on the Facebook page.

We very much look forward to seeing all of you there !

Jaspal Jandu Photography
[email protected]

Panoramic Visions - Major New Exhibition for 2010

Its Easter weekend and that means the final push for the upcoming exhibition.  We are all getting very excited over here as you can see by invite below….

 

This show is the culmination of many years worth of dramatic landscape photography and it will also showcase new material – particularly that involving London.

For those of you planning to attend, the full details are contained in the invitational:

Panoramic Visions
15 April to 4 May 2010
 The Opus Gallery, 10-13 King Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 8HN
 Mon-Sat 10am - 6pm • Sun 12 - 5pm, Free Admission

Existing Limited Edition Clients should have received their invites for the opening night and there’ll be regular updates from now until the show (both here and on the Facebook page).

So, get the dates in the diary and we look forward to meeting all of you there!

Panoramic Photography Conference Announced

If you’re interested in wide-angle and/or panoramic photography, you could do a lot worse than head over to the new IAPP/IVRPA conference "Tucson 2010".

 

Having just looked through the session line-up, I am convinced that it will be an exciting and invaluable way to catch up on all things panoramic.  Further details can be found on the shiny new website…

A Panoramic Update!

Its been a busy month and on more than one occasion I have wanted to take comfort in the classic Homer Simpson quote  “…if something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing!”



 But, despite his literary wit, we must press on.  So in no particular order, here’s a run down:

• “Panoramic Visions” 2010 Exhibition – The big one.  I cannot emphasize enough how much work goes into a big exhibition nowadays.  Organising prints, hanging displays, guest lists etc etc. is an enormous undertaking and it’s easy to fall off the critical path towards opening night if you are not careful.  There’ll be a separate piece on this soon, so stay tuned for that.
• Open Edition Prints – Having spent over 18 months now shooting various parts of London, I’m getting happy with a new portfolio of images from this incredible city.  The aim is to compile these into smaller open edition prints; the first 20 of which will be available at the 2010 exhibition.
• New Website – There’s also the not-insubstantial issue of a brand new website in the pipeline. Amongst other things it will handle things like merchandise and hi-definition video much better than the current one so I would welcome any thoughts you have on it when it goes live in the next month or so.
• Travel Plans – Lastly, it’s easy to forget that there is a world out there waiting to be explored! To this end, there’s a trip to the volcanoes of Hawaii coming up and then the possibility of storm chasing next year.  Just can’t wait for these two…

So, lots of work to do and hopefully you’ll be seeing the fruits of this labour in person at the exhibition in April….

Jaspal

What is 'panoramic photography'?

Historically, the term ‘panoramic’ was normally reserved for images with aspect ratios in excess of 2:1 (i.e. the long side being twice the length of the short side).  However, the problem with this approach is that it does not take field-of-view truly into account.

Field of view is important because it dictates the amount of ‘sweep’ and ‘swoosh’ you get in a panoramic frame (try cropping a picture taken with a wide-angle lens down to 3:1 and then compare it with exactly the same crop of an image taken with a telephoto lens).

In fact, the reason I love the 90mm lens on the Linhof 617 is precisely because of its unique combination of aspect ratio and field-of-view (both of which, by the way, resemble almost exactly our human stereoscopic vision).

 

You can imagine my head-scratching, therefore, when I was recently sent a link of a ‘panoramic photo’ of Prague.  You see, this one is an incredibly well-executed, completely immersive ‘virtual world’ in which aspect ratios and field-of-views are completely redundant.  Additionally, it’s presented in such hi-definition, that one can literally zoom all the way to the horizon and still make out discernable details such as window frames and people!

Although I am not sure where this leaves the humble ‘panorama’ (and I am not sure how you would sell something like this in a commercial environment), I am certain that such visualizations are going to push panoramic photography to the limit in the coming years...

Sydney Harbour - A Moving Tribute

I was messing around with 'Hannah-cam' the other day (you know, that yet additional camera I managed to buy under the auspices of it being used only for 'drooling baby pictures') and noticed it had the ability to capture hi-definition video.

Admittedly, I have not been bitten by the video bug, so I was naturally eager to find out what all the fuss was about.  Armed with the aforementioned 'Hannah-cam' (a Canon 500D), a large memory card and a sturdy tripod, I went off in the search further enlightenment...

And here are the first results of that exploration - a lovely vista of Sydney Harbour and the iconic Opera House at sunrise.

I think it works aesthetically because of the sunrise itself, the ferries in the foreground and the fantastic sunflare at the very end.  (For those technically minded readers, the video was shot in 1080p mode and then bought into Adobe Premiere for some basic editing before being spat out as a lower resolution file - 720x480 @ 29.97fps - to keep the size down).

I figure this is going to be quite a learning process - much like stills photography, in fact - and am looking forward to the challenge of doing something creative here.  To that end, I have already purchased a few books on the subject and am just negotiating the purchase of a smooth panning head for my tripod - again, under the pretence of shooting new born babies, you understand :-)

A Day in the Life... Sydney Opera House

I’m back in the UK now after a whistle-stop tour of Japan, China, Singapore and Australia.  It seems that technology was conspiring against me on this trip as both my laptop and my phone gave up the chase on multiple occasions (ironically, the only time they were both working was in China).

Still, being back has allowed me to download lots of photos and movies (more of that in another post), so its time to get caring and sharing once more…

Kicking off, is a wonderful – and, as far as I can tell, unique – sequence of images of the iconic Sydney Opera House.  The Australian east coast has been subject to much stormy weather of late and I lucked out on one particular day off with a series of massive squalls and bright blue skies.

As I was reviewing the images, I felt they stood well individually but that they stood even better as sequence.  Viewed as whole, they are a testament to how varied the climate – and, therefore, photographic light – can be during a 24 hour period.

Hope you enjoy the work and there’ll be more from Asia very soon…

JJ

Hidden Photographic Treasures

Apologies for the radio silence but I have been away for a couple of days and have also been sorting out new products for the year and the upcoming exhibition. However, I have had time to write a couple of pieces so I’ll be uploading those in the next week or so…

 

To kick start things, I wanted to share an intriguing link which a friend sent me the other day. It’s called Everytrail and it allows users to upload and share GPS tracks via the internet.

There used to be a time when some photographers would jealously guard locations in the hope that they would remain hidden from the general hoi polloi. In fact, there are at least a couple of apocryphal tales involving photographers deliberating ruining scenes after their personal discovery!

In light of this, it’s quite remarkable to witness the liberating power of the GPS, telephony and the internet combine to reveal photographic locations such as The Wave, for example (I remember having to barter my first-born to find out where the darn thing was). Although I'm not commercially associated with the site myself, I would be interested to hear your views on whether it’s a huge force for good or, paradoxically, whether its just another excuse sit in front of the computer...!

Panorama Interview

What better way to kick off the New Year than with a newly published interview in Panorama – the International Association of Panoramic Photographers’ (IAPP) journal of panoramic imaging.

  
 
The journal itself often contains a fascinatingly eclectic mix of articles (e.g. stitching macro panoramas, astrophotography etc.) and you can read my specific thoughts on the panoramic format in the interview.

If you’re into panoramas and/or wide-field imaging, then have a look through the website and become a member…

The Wisdom of the Photographic Crowd - Part I

Please find below the first instalment of a two-part piece which was inspired after receiving some jaw-dropping photographic books this Xmas….

I am looking through the photographic books which I received over the festive period and am having mixed feelings because whilst they are all undeniably stunning, they may also be heralding the end of the ‘one-author-one-book’ tradition.

You see, the books in question are all ‘compilation works’ (i.e. assembled from pictures submitted by various photographers and/or contest entrants) and the images themselves are stunning. They have truly captured Mother Nature at her finest, in every location, in every season and in every light imaginable.


  
I believe that the cornerstone of this photographic renaissance is the digital camera – a tool which has liberated us from the shackles of the darkroom. (Whilst this may seem a slightly contrarian things for a commercial photographer to say, I love landscapes more than I do photography and the thought that someone is around to record and share Nature’s incredibly fleeting moments more than outweighs the envy of not capturing something myself.)

In many ways, it reminds me of James Surowiecki’s The Wisdom of the Crowds, only in this medium the ‘wisdom’ is not information or knowledge, but the 24/7 omnipresence of the masses. With camera and Flickr in hand, we can all now contribute to the real-time documentary of Nature simultaneously around the world.

However, I am increasingly feeling that the downside of this photographic democratisation is the complete lack of visual narrative.

To demonstrate this point, I just conducted a rather unscientific experiment of my most favoured photographic books in the library. Top of the Pops were works from Joe Cornish, Peter Dombrovskis and Zhang Liping (amongst others). Books from such ‘storytellers’ lead us through a world - be it Scotland, Tasmania or Guilin respectively - with a consistent artistic eye and a clear visual narrative. I particularly enjoy looking out for deft visual touches (for example, charting not only the development of the landscape during the course of a book but also of the photographer) and I don’t feel I receive the same level of enjoyment from compilation works.

What does this mean for us photographers still plodding away by ourselves?? Well, you can read about that and thoughts on my next journey in part two of this article which I shall post shortly after further reflection…

Jaspal Jandu Photography - Seasons Greetings and Year in Review

The festive season is in full swing in Europe, with dollops of snow everywhere.  As you enjoy this time with your loved ones, please spare a thought for all those faithful friends who have to lovingly accompany photographers on random trips to the Italian Alps :-)

 

On a more relevant note, here’s a review of an exciting year and a glimpse at our plans for 2010.  It’s been a fantastic 2009 and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

All the very best
Jaspal

The Epson International Pano Awards

Further to a previous post on the new Epson International Pano Awards, please find below an updated press release and flyer.

EPSON Pano Awards Press Release.pdf

EPSON Pano Awards Flyer.pdf

And a hearty good luck to all those that enter!

Seasonal Newsletter and Slideshow

A quick note to all those hardy mailing list subscribers.  You should have received a seasonal greeting and a yearly round up via the email today, so please get checking those inboxes!!  There’s also a nice panoramic slideshow contained within so please drop us a mail if you’re feeling festive too.  Regular readers to the blog can sign up for future newsletters here…

Size shouldn't matter...

I went to the captivating new Anish Kapoor exhibition at the Royal Academy today.  Like most of the public, I was absorbed by the form, texture, and most importantly, pigment of the works.

 

As I was leaving, a small niggle began to form inside my head; namely, that some of the works derived their impact from primarily their size alone.  For example, there is no doubt that ‘Hive’ – with its rusted steel and inspired vaginal opening – is a captivating piece.  However, as it stands well over 7 meters tall, I couldn’t help but wonder how many people were principally knocked out by its size than anything else.

This led to me to think how much impact a large photographic print delivers from size alone. Surely, a great image is a great image and this is independent of print size, no?

Well, not really.  As large prints begin to fill one’s field of view (particularly panoramics), they require the eye to scan from side-to-side and this creates a sense of immersion even when the subject matter is not that compelling.  In short, if a large, well composed print is at the top of the ‘wow’ scale, and a small, poorly composed print at the bottom, then unfortunately there does exist a ‘mid-sized wow’ for artistically deficient yet large prints.

I can only hope that I’m not guilty of catering to this sin (all of my limited editions are accepted or rejected at a transparency stage, so the maximum size I ever see them is only 17cm across). However, with the advent of ever-larger exhibits and the growing public appetite for larger, better, faster art, we should never forget the basic foundations (i.e. timing, light, composition - TLC) that underpin a great photograph, no matter what the print size…
__

Anyway, the exhibition is great and go along and let me know what you think (click for website, details and video)…

Forbidden Australia

Please make time to read the following article (and the follow up) from friend and fellow landscape photographer Ken Duncan.  His words centre on the increasing restrictions in landscape photography; especially those in Australia.  The concluding thought regarding the impossibility of a young, new photographer emulating his first book ‘The Last Frontier: Australia Wide’ is particularly damning…

International Photographic Pano Awards

 
  
If you are interested in panoramic photography then why not enter the new International Photographic Pano Awards which is open to both professional and amateur photographers?

“The inaugural 2010 International Pano Awards is dedicated to the art of panoramic photography. Advances in digital photography and software such as PTGui and Adobe Photoshop has resulted in an explosion in image stitching, especially in the panoramic format. Panoramic film photography also remains alive and well. The Pano Awards aims to showcase the work of panoramic photographers worldwide and be the largest and most important competition for panoramic photography.”

Unfortunately, I can’t offer you personal advice on your entries because I am one of the judges, but I am sure the US$10,000 in cash and prizes from Lonely Planet, Apollo, Epson, PT Gui, and 360 Precision should soften the blow!

Entries are open now and close 30th April 2010.  What are you waiting for?

Jaspal Jandu Photography on Facebook

Hello to everyone in cyberspace land – this is to inform you that there is a rather nice Jaspal Jandu Photography Facebook Page now up-and-running.

 

The page will be distinct from the blog in that it will have shorter, more real-time updates, behind-the-scenes pictures of life on the road and future event invites / updates

For those of you who like the polished pics and the more considered thoughts of the blog, then don’t fret, because the idea is to have the two ‘streams-of-consciousness’ working nicely in tandem with each other.

Wander on over to Facebook and check it out….

Jaspal Jandu @ Stanfords Book Store, London

Just to let you know that a sparkling new Jaspal Jandu promotion is now taking place at Stanfords’ flagship store in Covent Garden, London. 

 

The renowned travel and maps experts have an inspirational, large print of ‘Zen’ alongside signed copies of Natural Wonders, so if you want to come along and admire the display or pick up some books then you know what to do!

Stay tuned for further updates, pictures and Jaspal’s personal signing times….
 

Natural Wonders Update

A quick update on ‘Natural Wonders: A Panoramic Vision’.  Firstly, if you haven’t purchased a copy for you or a loved one yet, then mosey on over to the micro-site and do so now… :-)

 

Secondly - and with a degree of personal satisfaction - I am pleased to note that signed Special Edition versions are now safely in the hands of luminaries such as Bill Gates and Al Gore (my personal thanks to Alpa and Jenna respectively for making this happen).

Also, there is a new batch of freshly signed copies in the magnificent Kraken Opus store in London’s Covent Garden, so do head over if you would like a copy.  Staying in the area, I will soon be announcing a rather prominent display and in-store signing event so keep tuned to the blog for that.
 
Lastly, there are plans afoot for a brand new exhibition next April (including a sneak peak at the two new projects covering London and America West), so please start planning the trip as it would be great to meet you all in person alongside the new works!

New Artwork Collaboration - Jaspal Jandu Photography and The Kensington Studios

Jaspal Jandu Photography is pleased to announce a collaboration with The Kensington Studios in London, England.

In the first phase of a joint-project, a select number of inspirational artworks from Jaspal Jandu will be on display and available for purchase within the spacious and exclusive personal training studio.
 
Located in the beautiful Stratford Village area of Kensington, the studios offer a tailored range of personal fitness and life-coaching courses for high net worth individuals. Jaspal Jandu’s landscape photography is not only a collection of striking images but also a unique representation of Planet Earth that communicates both its inspirational power and its fragility. As Adam Naylor (Studio Director) notes:
 
“I am a strong believer that a positive attitude combined with a fit and healthy body leads to a more fulfilled life. What better way to find the motivation to succeed than the awe-inspiring images of Jaspal Jandu – they are truly inspirational windows on our fantastic world.”
 
In addition to the Limited Edition Prints , clients will be able to request signed special edition books of Jaspal’s latest volume ‘Natural Wonders: A Panoramic Vision’.  For further information on pricing, availability and personal training, contact Jaspal Jandu Photography or The Kensington Studios directly.
 
Jaspal Jandu Photography
+44 7961 103890
[email protected]

Doric Inspiration

No sooner back from the American West coast than off to Greece and then Washington, DC.

It’s amazing to think of the inextricable Doric link between two of the World’s most sublime structures – the Parthenon in Greece and Lincoln Memorial in America - despite the intervening 2,500 years. 

Without over-labouring the Picasso biography which I am currently reading, he also noted that “good art copies, great art steals” !

America West - Panoramic Black and White

It’s hard to sum up the American west coast without mentioning the climate and geography.  Whether it’s the pounding surf, sublime inter-tidal range or sheer cliffs disappearing into blinding summer fog, the natural beauty of the area is a photographer’s dream.

However, as I was looking forward to capturing this essence with my lens, a quote caught my eye.  According to Pablo Picasso’s biography, the great artist once noted “…Success is dangerous. One begins to copy oneself, and to copy oneself is more dangerous than to copy others. It leads to sterility.”

The line obviously resonated because I couldn’t stop thinking about it during the rest of the flight to San Francisco.  After a hastily arranged shopping trip, I was soon armed with Tmax 100 black-and-white negative film and my beloved Fuji Velvia was relegated to a dark recess of a bag.

On the road, I began concentrating on smaller, more ephemeral details and eschewing things like horizons or recognizable landmarks.  Partially driven by the film choice, I was soon reacquainting myself with the unforgiving compositional demands of black-and-white. As the panoramic frame is best read from left-to-right (in response to the written word in the Western world), I focused on scenes that would compliment this facet.  The only upside was having a tonal range of around eight to ten stops compared with three to four in transparency film.

I hope you enjoy the scenes and I trust that I managed to convey how terrifying and exhilarating it can be to move out of a well-worn comfort zone…

Outside the Zone

A quick post to let you know that although I’m busy with two new projects, I’ve also been experimenting outside my photographic comfort zone.

 

A full explanation and a sneak-peek of the new West Coast pictures soon...

A Few Updates...

Having been personally stopped for taking photos in London many times over, I have lent my support to the British Journal of Photography’s 'Not A Crime' campaign.  The initiative - which launched last month - aims to raise awareness of the increasing restrictions on shooting in public.  Here you can find the source article, official website, flickr group and external article.

 

Also, I’ve just signed a limited number of Natural Wonders books for Stanfords in Covent Garden, London.  The store is one of my favourites in the UK, so if you’re passing by and would like a signed book either for yourself or as a gift, then please speak to one of the ever-helpful members of staff.

Lastly, after a few weeks of catching up with life, I’m off doing what I enjoy most tomorrow.  Starting in San Fran, I’m taking a lazy few weeks up the Californian / Oregonian coastline for the completion of a project on the American West.

Happy travels to you all and watch out for the next update from on the road…!

Jaspal

Just Processed.... Blyde River Canyon, South Africa

 

The Joy of Analogue

Each year before the summer rush, I normally send my camera’s off to be serviced. As I was looking though the last service log (which involved extreme cold weather preparation for Norway), I noticed the results of a shutter test for one of my Linhof lenses.

In this relentlessly digital world, it is just a joy to see some true analogue randomness.  In particular, I will feel humble knowing that every time I need to shoot at 1/500 of a second, I’ll be almost fifty percent out from my original intention!

So much for the photographer being in control of the photograph :-)