Last updated: 2011-11-07.

 

Simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication.

Leonardo da Vinci

 

Welcome to my gallery at Flickr!

 

I am professor of Chemical Engineering (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro) and Photography (Ateliê da Imagem) at Rio de Janeiro. I'm addicted to landscape photography! Please check below some links which have been very useful for me! Thanks for visiting my gallery and profile at Flickr.

 

In case you want to purchase fine art prints of selected photos of my portfolio, please visit my website:

 

www.priamomelo.com.br.

 

A FEW WORDS FROM THE MASTERS

 

On Gear

 

The kind of equipment used is not what matters. The important thing is that you stay with whatever equipment you chose until it becomes an automatic extension of your own vision, a third eye.

--Edward Weston

 

Cameras and lenses are simply tools to place our unique vision on film. Concentrate on equipment and you'll take technically good photographs. Concentrate on seeing the light's magic colors and your images will stir the soul

--Jack Dykinga

 

It matters little how much equipment we use; it matters much that we be masters of all we do use.

--Sam Abell

 

On Technique

 

A photographer perfects its techniques for the same reason a pianist practices - that through complete mastery of this chosen tool he may better express what he has to say."

--Edward Weston

 

Art is an end in itself, technique a means to that end; one can be taught, the other cannot.

--Edward Weston

 

Of course, there will always be those who look only at technique, who ask "how", while others of a more curious nature will ask "why". Personally, I have always preferred inspiration to information.

--Man Ray

 

My work is never intellectual. I never make a negative unless emotionally moved by my subject. And certainly I have no interest in technique for its own sake. Technique is only the means to an end. If my technique is adequate for my seeing, that is enough.

--Edward Weston

 

On Composition, its "Rules" and Visualization

 

Composition is the strongest way of seeing.

--Edward Weston

 

The term visualization refers to the entire emotional-mental process of creating a photograph, and as such, it is one of the most important concepts in photography. It includes the ability to anticipate a finished image before making the exposure, so that the procedures employed will contribute to achieving the desired result.

--Ansel Adams

 

Pictures came first. Rules followed. No one ever became an artist by learning rules or keeping them.

--Edward Weston

 

The art of photography is knowing how much to exclude. You can't photograph the whole world.

--Eliot Porter

 

Photography is an act of reduction. The more you eliminate, the better the photograph will be. The fewer the elements, the stronger their impact. Less is more.

--Michael Frye

 

To consult the rules of composition before making a picture it is a little like consulting the law of gravitation before going for a walk.

--Edward Weston

 

From Other Fields

 

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.

--Albert Einstein

 

A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.

--Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

 

EQUIPMENT

 

Nikon D40 and D300 bodies;

Panasonic Lumix FZ18;

Canon G11 & S95;

Nikkor 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6;

Nikkor 70-300mm VR F/4.5-5.6G;

Nikkor 105mm VR Micro F/2.8G;

Nikkor 16-85mm VR F/3.5-5.6G;

Sigma 10-20mm HSM F/3.5-5.6;

Nikkor 10-24mm F/3.5-5.6;

Assorted UV, polarizing, Lee ND and ND grad filters;

Manfrotto 055XPROB and 055MF4 tripods;

Wimberley plamp for macro work;

Lowepro and Alhva bags;

Macbook Pro;

Maxtor/Seagate/WD external hard disks.

 

I am a user of the Lee filter system, as it can provide much more freedom for landscape photography composition:

 

 

THE SOURCES

 

Almost everything I know about photography comes from books, magazines and websites. Here's a list of my favorite technical and artistic photography literature:

 

Books

 

1. Creative Nature and Outdoor Photography (Brenda Tharp);

2. The Digital Photography Book Vol 1 (Scott Kelby);

3. The Digital Photography Book Vol 2 (Scott Kelby);

4. Nature Photography Field Guide (John Shaw);

5. National Geographic Photography Field Guide (Peter Burian and Robert Caputo);

6. Examples: The Making of 40 Photographs (Ansel Adams);

7. Understanding Exposure (Bryan Peterson);

8. Learning to see creatively (Bryan Peterson);

9. Waiting for the Light (David Noton).

10. Working the Light - A Landscape Photography Masterclass (Joe Cornish, Charlie Waite, David Ward & Eddie Ephraums);

10. The Ansel Adams Guide (Book 1) - Basic Thechniques of Photography (John P. Schaefer).

11. Equipamento Fotográfico - Teoria e Prática (Thales Trigo).

12. Mastering Photographic Composition, Creativity, and Personal Style (Alain Briot)

13. Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Great Masters (Michael Frye)

14. Digital Exposure Handbook (Ross Hoddinott)

15. Landscape Beyond (David Ward)

16. Landscape Within (David Ward)

 

Current reading:

 

17. On Photography (Susan Sontag)

18. Beauty in Photography (Robert Adams)

 

If I were requested to indicate one, and only one "technical" book to you, my pick would be Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure". For me, understanding exposure theory is the first big step an amateur can take towards serious film as well as digital photography. Most of my books were purchased from Amazon.com.

 

Magazines

 

I read mostly Brazilian magazines:

 

1. Photo Magazine;

2. Fotografe Melhor;

3. Digital Photographer Brasil

 

But, in the beginning, the reading was British:

 

4. Practical Photography;

5. Digital Photographer.

 

On the American side, I like Outdoor Photographer.

 

Websites

 

There are so many nice ones out there, but these are the ones I frequently visit:

 

1. DPreview - In-depth camera and lenses reviews;

2. Ken Rockwell - Tutorials, camera and lenses reviews and an inspiring gallery;

3. Photoanswers.com - Video tutorials, user galleries and forums;

4. David Noton - Trully inspiring gallery;

5. www.bhphotovideo.com - Photography gear priced, reviews by costumers;

6. www.cambridgeincolour.com/ - One of the best photography tutorials website out there.

7. Luciano Candisani - Fotógrafo da National Geographic, um excelente instrutor e uma grande pessoa.

8. Guy Edwardes - Another British photographer with a stunning, just stunning nature and landscape gallery.

 

MISCELLANEA

 

Cool stuff from B&H newsletter

 

Angles-of-View

Pro-Level DSLRs

Eye of the Camera

No Tripod, No Flash, No Problem

 

FAQ about HDR

 

FAQ on HDR

 

Educative white-paper on RAW

 

RAW

 

The one behind the camera:

 

 

 

The one after the great views: