Younes Bounhar Photography

In the metro

A quick grab with my iPhone in the  Montreal subway.

Posted on February 25th, 2010 in Images iPhone | 1 Comment »

Satisfaction…

While Mick Jagger clearly has trouble getting any (satisfaction, that is), I have to say, my last few customer service experiences have made a believer! We always hear about the horror stories but very rarely about when things go well, or even better than expected. Here I want to just take a little time to highlight two of the great customer service experiences I have had of late.

Now, I want to put a disclaimer out there before I start. These accounts are unsolicited and only recount my own experience. I am getting no compensation or endorsement from either manufacturer quoted below.

No later than yesterday, I responded to a tweet from @thinkTANKphoto and told them how I absolutely loved their Shape Shifter bag (reviewed here and here, and which you can buy here). Then in a private conversation with them, I mentioned how my hip belt had fallen off some time ago and that I wanted to purchase one. In no time, my query was transferred to a thinkTank Photo product specialist who asked a couple of questions and immediately shipped me a full hip belt replacement free of charge. No questions asked. What more can I ask for? So kudos to Simon and Chris at thinkTank photo!

Now, let’s jump a few weeks back. My fairly new Acratech ballhead clamp seemed to be loosening up from time to time, but I didn’t do much about it. That is until my camera fell off and hit the ground and water! Very unhappy Younes! Now this is a ballhead I only ever heard great things about. It’s beautifully built, extra light, solid as a rock and extremely precise. I mentioned my unfortunate accident to a photographer friend of mine who insisted I contact Acratech as they are also well known for their excellent customer service. So I did. And all I can say is: WOW. I wrote my email on Sunday evening, by Monday I had a response from Acratech. They offered to replace my ballhead immediately, no questions asked. Now, how can I work without a ballhead until my new ballhead arrives, you ask? Well, I asked the same. Don’t you worry I was told. Hold on to your current ballhead. Wait until you receive the new one, then you can send us the old one. Again, no questions asked. Before I knew it, my brand spanking new ballhead was on board, and this time works just like advertised. Absolutely brilliant piece of machinery that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to anyone (more info on Acratech can be found here). Again, a big thank you to the Acratech team for their terrific service.

Anyone out there with similar experiences?

Posted on February 24th, 2010 in Random thoughts | 6 Comments »

I am somewhere else, again

Yet again, I am not here today because I have the honor to guest post on another blog. I am so excited I am having trouble containing myself. I have the immense privilege to post on the blog of an icon of landscape photography: Art Wolfe. You can find my post on “finding your own style” right here: http://blog.artwolfe.com/2010/02/finding-your-style-by-younes-bounhar/.

Posted on February 18th, 2010 in Guest articles | 6 Comments »

Curves, curves and more curves

What else can I say? I am simple man, I like curves (and, no, there are no connotations of any kind tied to this statement, well, OK, may be just a little). Whenever out on a shoot there are several elements you can look for to enhance your compositions. For me, personally, the number one element of design I strive to capture is the curve. It’s beautiful, it’s sensual, it’s soft yet instills energy in your images.

This is a tip that is equally valid when you shoot wide angles as it is when you aim for more intimate compositions.  When I headed out to the Ottawa train station on Sunday, I had a fairly good idea of what the shot I wanted to get: a wide angle composition that nicely captured the structure of the stairs leading to the quay. It was simply a matter of framing the rails in such a way that the spiral leads your eyes down the staircase and into your composition.

Now still keeping with the wide-angle theme, there is nothing that says you have to keep your camera level or straight. There is nothing preventing you from following the natural flow directed by the curves you are shooting. Here, you have to use the distortion of the wide-angle lens to your advantage and accentuate the curve. There is no recipe, I just get there and experiment to my heart’s content. I probably shot close to 80 shots that day only to keep 7-8 at the end (which I would still consider a good day!). Here I would recommend that every now and then you stop, step back and chimp a bit, take a long look at your shots, see what you like, what you like less and see if there is more you would want to work on. It’s a lot easier to take more shots on the spot than have to come back later (specially if you only have one shot at it!).

Now if wide-angle distortion accentuates curves, telephoto compression can allow you to bring together elements in a more 2D composition where curves take on a different look. The photo above and the follow examples show you just that.

Posted on February 15th, 2010 in Images Photography Tips | 9 Comments »

The best camera…

…is the one you have with you.

Needless to say that no matter how great your vision is, not having a camera with you will not help you get any pictures. It is simply a practical reality for me that I can’t have my SLR with me every day when I head to work. For the longest time, I just pestered at the missed opportunities, blamed this and that, and the other for my inability to take pictures. Yet, nothing said that a picture MUST be taken with an SLR. So what was stopping me? OK, you can’t really answer this question (it’s not that you can’t, but I just won’t let you, cuz I know what you will say, especially you Justin, yes I mean you, you know who you are …anyway, I digress).

Enters the iPhone. Other than the fact that it’s just a great piece of technology, the main reason I got my iPhone was specifically to be able to take pictures at will, whenever I feel like it.

The advantages are two-fold: 1) obviously, you have a camera on you at all times, that’s a big plus; 2) contrary to an SLR, you have almost zero control: no lens changes, no aperture or shutter speed setting, zero, nada, zilch. The result is in fact quite counter-intuitive: by restricting your possibilities, you in fact free your mind of its constraints. You have a set of parameters to work with, it’s now up to you to do something with them. From a creative perspective, I must say it is liberating. Instead of going for a different lens to produce the look you always produce, now you have to come up with a different way to view the same subject.

Now each week from now on, I will try (time allowing) to post an image I took with my iPhone.

Posted on February 9th, 2010 in Creativity iPhone | 8 Comments »

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