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A Second With...

We're going to use this blog to promote the talented photographers in our community, any stories they have to share, or any exciting photo projects they may be working on...

Carl Spring’s photography career started out by shooting his friends skateboarding. It wasn’t until his musical hero, Graham Coxon, was playing a live gig nearby that he got his first taste of music photography. After that he was hooked and began shooting any live show he could. Now he works as a music photographer alongside his role as an ICT teacher. Here he is to tell us about his photo project “A Second With...”

The Project

I launched the project officially at the start of 2012. I wanted to do something different to my usual New Year’s photo resolutions and the traditional "must lose weight & get fitter." Instead I decided I would finally launch a personal project that I began working on in 2011.

A Second With We are Lounge Lizards by Carl Spring

I had badly injured my back and was on strong painkillers to combat the pain. I was shooting a gig in a dimly lit venue and was unable to get an exposure of the bass player even at ISO 6400. In my painkiller induced haze, I decided to drop the shutter speed to whatever would get a well exposed shot.

The first image had a dream like quality I liked and I experimented more over the rest of the show, dropping the shutter speed to 1 second on more than one occasion. Luckily this was a gig where I was allowed to shoot the whole show, so I had time to experiment and see where this idea could take me. Seeing the images on a large screen when I got home, cemented in my head that I had a personal project in the making. The only problem was how I could fit it in to my usual live music shooting and the 3 song rule.

A Second With Bombay Bicycle Club by Carl Spring

The 3 song rule

Usually, when photographing live music, you only get the first 3 songs to photograph the artist before being escorted out of the photo pit. There are occasions where the amount of time to photograph has been as little as 30 seconds. To try to capture the whole feeling of a live music show in that time is incredibly hard.

With “A Second With...” I have to make sure I have the images for the people I am shooting for before I can think about working on this project. It is always a gamble. I could miss the key photo of the performance by shooting a one second exposure. There have been occasions where this has happened, but that is part of the fun of this project, you never know what you are missing or whether you will end up with a usable image.

A Second With John Agard by Carl Spring

A little luck

The unpredictability is the part of the project that really interests me on an artistic level. The fact that in the digital age you can shoot, review, repeat until you get the image is fantastic, but sometimes I miss the feeling of waiting for film to come back, not completely sure if you have anything worthwhile.

With “A Second With...”, every shot is different, there is no normal, no ability to technically adjust and until the photo is in the computer I am unsure if it is usable. I frame the shot, press the shutter and see what happens. Sometimes you get an amazing image, sometimes you get nothing usable. There are small things I adjust, which I have learnt through trial and error, but there is a healthy dose of luck, which I really don’t think is a bad thing. I like the element of luck that this project brings.

A Second With The Lovely Eggs by Carl Spring

For more of Carl’s work head to his 500px page or his website.

Thanks to Carl for sharing his work and to you for reading. Feel free to leave a comment below, feedback is awesome!

Also, if you have your own photo project you wish to share just send me an email at debbie@500px.com

Want to work at 500px?

If you’re a developer or designer looking to work at one of the best start-ups in Canada, this event is for you!

On Wednesday, May 16th, in association with Extreme Startups, we’re inviting anybody with technical talent to our office.

You’ll be able to learn more about our awesome photographic community, meet members of the team, chat with the founders of 500px and get a behind-the-scenes look at how we run the company.

Starting out as a LiveJournal blog in 2003 and evolving into the site you see today, 500px has become a popular place for aspiring and professional photographers to upload their best work. As we continue to grow we're on the look out for new talent to come and join us. This is the perfect opportunity for recent graduates or even those still in school looking for a summer job.

The event will start at 6.30pm and our office is located at Unit 704, 317 Adelaide St. West. There will be free food and drink too :)

We’re a dedicated team, devoted to showcasing the world’s best photographs, constantly discussing ideas for improvements and having fun whilst doing it. If this sounds like something you want to be a part of then come along and chat to us.

We’re looking forward to meeting you!

A message from our sponsor... by Evgeny Tchebotarev

If you have any questions you can email me at debbie@500px.com

Gallery: Where the Wild Things Are

Every week a theme will be announced and you'll have until Sunday (6pm EST) to submit photos on that theme. You may already have photos that suit, or you could see it as a weekly creative brief. Either way, make sure the photo is uploaded to your 500px Profile and then just email me the link. 12 will make it onto the blog :)

This week's theme was a tribute to children's author Maurice Sendak...

Where the Wild Things Are

Boo the Raccoon by Mark Shannon

DAWN by Ronen Goldman

The great escape by Vincent van Kooten

Mobile Home by Suellen Cook

Happiness by Mark Richardson

Road to Wonderland by Zsolt Marton

band of bro by younes sediki

:-) Head by Gamal Istiyanto

Boo! by Michael Fitzsimmons

Teeth by Bob D.

Racing Big Wheels by Bob Lee

Here Comes The King by Fabien Depasse

Next week's theme: A Room with a View

The theme is completely open to interpretation so get creative, get snapping and send them my way: debbie@500px.com

One day. Millions of perspectives. Add yours.

On May 15th, the creators of A Day are asking that we all pick up our cameras and capture our daily life. Their aim is to inspire perspectives on humankind, today and tomorrow.

This is an event for everybody everywhere, whether you’re a professional photographer or an amateur one, even if you just capture the odd shot with your cellphone. The more people that get involved the more interesting the project becomes.

From May 15th to May 22nd you’ll be able to upload your shots to their website. To make sure they don’t get lost in the database there are three categories to upload to: Home, Work And Connections, with subcategories for each.

Home

You could photograph your house, your newly decorated living room, or what you’re having for dinner.

Coffee and a Cupcake by Alex Barlow

Work

You could photograph your colleagues, the commute to work, or a view of your desk.

My desk by Petoo Zvonar @ ERZVO

Connections

You could photograph your family, your friends or how you spend your spare time.

My Family by david bouchat

Anything that reflects your life on May 15th is perfect for the project.

All the images uploaded will be displayed online for everyone to explore, some will be selected for a book “A Day In the World” and others will be displayed in digital exhibitions. Every single one will be saved for future generations as an insight into what life was like on May 15th 2012.

You can find out everything else you need to know about this awesome worldwide project over on the A Day website :)

Members of the team here at 500px are going to get involved. How about you?

With love to mom

This Sunday, May 13th, is a special date in the calendar. It’s Mother’s Day, a day when we should show our moms just how special they are. And here at 500px we have an amazing feature that can help you do just that.

All you have to do is...

Find a beautiful picture that your mom would like, or one that means something special to the both of you. You can use the search bar to help or have a look at the images below for inspiration.

Click on the little envelope icon underneath the photograph.

Enter your mom’s email address and a lovely message telling her just how amazing she is.

Press send to make your mom smile!

Kiss... by Supakaln Wongcompune

mother and son by Jennifer Blake

A HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY... by Magda

Happy Feet by Mohan Duwal

bokeh in the heart by simona forte

Life on the Plains by Simon Phillpotts

please help me mom..! by firdaus musthafa

Lou & Mom by John Wilhelm

Lullaby by Dariusz Klimczak

Held with Love by Sue Demetriou

mom's love by Edi Wibowo

cupcake by Desirée D.

And for all those living in countries that aren’t celebrating Mother’s Day this Sunday, well, send your mom a photo anyway. It’s never a bad idea to let your mom know you love her :)