"Keith Carter"-look/technique

Hi,

 

For a little project I want to do, I would like to achieve a similar look (and

feel) like the photo's of Keith Carter (www.keithcarterphotographs.com).

 

Does anyone has tried something like this ?

Can anyone help me out on this one ?

 

Of course, I can experiment with the different blur possiblities ... but I

wonder if anyone has more detailed help for me ...

 

I would appriciate any help ...

 

Greetz, Marc.

If I remember correctly, he uses a holga camera for a great deal of his work.

I took a weekend workshop from Keith a few years ago. He may use a Holga but that was not his prime camera at the time. He used a Hassy with a lens capable of tilts and swings attached. In a nutshell he uses large format camera movements the "wrong way" to achieve the look. For example he would use lens tilt to decrease apparent dof not increase it.

 

If you happen to shoot Canon dSLR getting one of the T/S lenses would make it very easy to mimic his style.

thanks for the update peter.

That's a new photographer for me... beautiful work..

I've known Carter since the early 1980's and have admired his work. I'm about 60 miles from

Beaumont, Tx, where Keith lives and works but lived in Beaumont for years. He is an

unassuming man of great talent and insight, always willing to share that talent, insight and

skill with others. He primarily, as has been noted, has used large format and Hassy's for his

work.

look like a holga or and a tilt and shift lens?

 

I have a set of action ai post last week that could put you on track.

 

do a quick search is PN for them.

You may want to start with something cheap & simple, maybe experiment with a lenbaby and an assortment of blur, mist and CC filters (old school as they say). Paul

Use a large format with tilt and swing front and back to alter the plane of focus. I guess you could do the same thing with the tilt/swing lenses from Canon (and I think Nikon finally brought one out a few years ago, decades after Canon)but I've never tried it with those lenses, I've used the technique often with large format cameras.

I should have added that while the technique presumably can be used with a tilt/swing lens on a DSLR or 35mm camera, I think it's probably easier with a large format camera - 4.5 or 8x10 - because the large ground glass compared to a small viewfinder should make it easier to see the effect of the tilts and swings as you're making the photograph.

I have one tili and shift lense with my 5D, believe me you see rigth away when the focus is not good : ) You get pretty good result, even if this is not why this lens was made. A lensbaby could be a nice option also.

Getting a camera like Keith uses does not make it "very easy to mimic his style" any more than getting a bat like Ken Griffey's lets you hit 50 homers a year... t<div></div>

If you're really curious about Carter (and have a lot of money to waste) you could take one of his many overpriced seminars - http://www.juliadean.com/2007summer/keithcarter.html

 

I'm always suspicious of people who put on these seminars for the idle and photographically challenged rich. I think they should just call it "We wise up chumps for a price."

And what do you do for a living?... t

Well, my opinions have little connection to what I do for a living. That said, let me clarify my opinions. I think Carter is a decent photographer who has earned his position in the old world of gallery presented "fine-art." It's also ok to admire and be inspired by his work. But I think it is misguided to spend a lot of money for a seminar with him in the hope of learning some of his "magic." You'd be far better off using the money to buy a better lens or other equipment you need to realize your vision. Los Angeles is full of hucksters like Julia Dean who steal peoples' dreams and sell them back to them. It is people like her I despise.

What you might be able to learn from a seminar with Keith is how to see and value the world around you, no matter where you live, and to look for a compelling and original way to reflect that world in your photographs. I seriously doubt he would advise anyone to buy a camera like his, use the same film he does, to tone your prints like he does, or to move into his house and pet his dog. <p>Hopefully, your dream (anyone's) is not available only through an arc body, in East Texas, on Tri-X, and split toned in gold and selenium. If it is, you may already be Keith Carter... t

Thanks for the answers.

I realize I'm coming a few months late to this discussion, but . . . .

 

I went to a lecture by Keith last year in Seattle where he mainly talked about what inspires him, not about his

technique. He did, however, mention the Lens Baby, and said something like "it will rock your world" and I

noticed a few die-hard film buffs grimace.

 

That said, I've tried a tilt-shift lens on my digital SLR, but found it to have very limited movement, compared

to view camera. Right now I work with a Lens Baby (which has it s own look and feel, not to be confused or

exactly compared to view camera movements), and also with a 50mm f1.4 canon prime lens for getting very limited

depth of field. I'm also experimenting with taking a few shots of the same subject with different points being in

focus and combining them in photoshop--we'll see what happens with this approach.

 

Regarding R. Resnick's comment about attending a workshop with Keith: most of the "self-taught" photographers I

know have taken many workshops, either to learn technique or gain inspiration or both. I hope to take a workshop

with Keith next year (and I'm not rich by any means), not with the idea that I would learn to photograph like

him, but to gain inspiration, maybe some critique of my work, or ideas for new directions I might take my art. I

see nothing wrong with this.

 

Regards, David

David - If you feel you need this, then go. I get all the "inspiration" I need from

the world around me and from visiting art museums and galleries as often as possible. This year I spent what it

would typically cost to take a photography seminar and flew to the Netherlands (where I had never been before)

and in one weeks time, visited nearly every major art museum in the country. I have always loved Dutch painting

from the classic period of the

17th century, but seeing them up on the wall, up close and personal, was nearly overwhelming. It was an

experience and enough inspiration to last the rest of my life. I am not rich either (and used an unexpected bonus

from work to pay for the trip) but this was far more helpful to me then any seminar. I maintain you can learn all

the technique you need by trial & error, dedication, and by immersing yourself in all the great artwork that has

come before. It's your eyes and the way you see that you need to train, not anything about the camera. Good luck

and don't listen to me or anyone else! Art is all about YOU.....

RR, yes I think we're more in agreement than not.

 

At one point in my photo-life, I was taking many workshops each year, trying to soak it all up. I finally burned out on this and found what was offered--including workhops that were to take me to "the next level" or offer a zen "vision" or re-inspiration--uninspiring. Now, I'm down to only one or two classes a year, and this includes printmaking workshop, as I'm learning photo-etching. A workshop with Keith is still on my list however, but it would be combined with a trip to Santa Fe, NM, visiting galleries, museums, the mountains, ruins, eating great New Mexician cooking, etc. which I agree are all equally inspiring, perhaps more so. I'd also offer that sometimes a workshop allows me to get away from the daily grind and focus just on my art for a short period.

 

Regards, David.

<p>I realize this thread is a year old. But to give some insight, I've created a similar effect that I like to call tilt shift effect. You can always adjust your blur to whatever amout you'd like. Carter just uses different color treatments. <br>

Check mine out here</p>

<p><a title="Peter Moon by Gabriel Gurrola Photography, on Flickr" href=" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3537/3659395174_1aba7e3573_b.jpg" alt="Peter Moon" width="683" height="1024" /></a></p>