I should have been out in the Ceres area today, but fire and smokey conditions prevented us from going there. So I spend some time with friends in Kommetje in the afternoon. On my way home via the mountain pass, I took this HDR image with my Canon S95. I hope you like it. Wind was blowing and the view was dramatically beautiful.

Are you in the market to buy a new camera for yourself or as a present? There is an overwhelming choice of cameras to choose from: Compact cameras, bridge cameras, micro 4/3, compact mirrorless cameras, DSLRs.

If you are not sure, what all these camera types are or want to better, which camera is the right fit for you, Choose the Right Camera – a guide to empower you, will help you make better decisions.

You will find in this guide:

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Leave a comment, if you have any questions.

I spent some tidying up the content of this site. The portfolio content received updated images from 2011 and most importantly, the portfolio has it’s own home. This allows me faster updates to the portfolio and presentation of the portfolio in an iPhone and iPad friendly environment without flash. 12% of visitors to this site use a mobile device (a overwhelming majority of those using iOS). You reach the portfolio site, simply by selecting Portfolio in the navigation bar or, if you want to share it with friends, simply use www.thepicture.co.za which forwards straight to the portfolio site.

Want to share this site, with friends, but spelling out www.jurgensphotography.com  too complicated, simply tell your friends to use www.jurgen.co.za which directs straight to this site.

Thank you to Danijela to point out to me that my blog posts were missing social sharing tools. This has changed as well and you can happily share easily every blog post.

I hope these changes makes interacting and using my website more user-friendly and more interactive. Remember to sign up to my newsletter on the right.

My wife, Althea shared this talk with me. It is one of those talks that illustrate the power of photography and seeing. Enjoy

I updated my portfolio. Today, I share with you my images of families and children. If you are reading this on your iPhone or iPad, follow this link to view the gallery.

I updated my portfolios. Here is the female portrait selection. You can view the gallery in fullscreen view by clicking the button in the right hand bottom corner of the gallery.

I had an epiphany. Over the last year or so, I hardly printed my images. My clients, especially my corporate clients required mostly digital files and I often delivered digital files only to my private clients. A couple of months back, I started shooting film again. This changed a lot in the way I look at photography.

I learnt photography in the days of film. In my teenage years, I processed my film (Ilford Fp4 and HP5) by hand in our school lab and also created my own prints there. In my first period of professional photographer as freelancer for the local newspaper, I shot mostly Kodak Tmax film. Loved it a lot. Once I had less than an hour between the end of a function and delivering it to the newspaper. It was about the only time I remember to print an image from a still wet negative. Not the best processing, but it made it to the frontage, tiny, but still.

Anyway, as I started shooting more and more film recently, I also started printing more images again. The reason is simple. The photo lab, where I do most of my processing and printing, just doesn’t provide any good first level high res scans. I tried another lab, with good results for the first few films, but inconsistent results after that. Film is just not that popular these days in this town… So I started to get my film images printed to make judgement calls on which images are worth being scanned in high resolution by the specialists at Photohire (with consistent great results and fast turnaround time!). It is a pricy process and I leave it to the images that I find great.

So it happened that I found Artlab to print one of my favorite shots of the recent months. This was exciting. An image shot on a fully mechanical medium format camera and scanned in high resolution by hand on a Hasselblad scanner, finally got printed on 100% cotton rag fine art paper. It was a beautiful experience when I saw the image come out of the printer. The texture of the paper is amazing and the ink has a distinct smell and the material feels like good old Ilfort Baryt paper.

Needless to say that this image is hanging framed now in our lounge.

What does that for my photography business? There will be a new emphasis for the products for my clients on printed images on high quality paper, mounted and framed in museum quality (archival paper, 100 year warranty against fading…). I have to share that experience.

As from today, I start offering portrait sessions with the focus on high quality photography paired with high quality printing and framing. The first service, I start offering are Beauty Portraits. These packages include professional make-up, a bespoke photo shoot in studio or on location, professional editing of the final image(s) and printing on the above mentioned 100% cotton rag fine art paper, framed to the highest standards.

If you know someone, who deserves a beautiful image of herself or just want to give a gift that sets you apart, have a look at the Beauty Portraits. When you follow this link you also will receive a time limited discount on the first photo shoot you book.

At the beginning of the last year century, German photographer August Sander photographed “Menschen des 20. Jahrhunderts” a collection of images of people in the Weimar Republic.

The photography was iconic. People were defined by their profession and by the way the dressed. Their rank in society was made visible. A butcher way of dress code would be totally different to that of an architect.

In 1989, I watched the documentary Notebook on Cities and Clothes by Wim Wenders, where he portrayed fashion designer Yohji Yamamato. Yamamato used Sander’s book as source for inspiration for his work in the quest for the perfect shirt. A fascinating documentary.

On my way to a photoshoot for a client, I was thinking about this.

At the beginning of last century clothing was for the average person not a tool for self expression, but more identification. Class and profession were reflected in the way they dressed.

Life in modern society changed dramatically. Structures, we thought were carved in stone, like the division of the east block and the west fell apart with the breakdown of the Berlin Wall. South Africa overcame the system of Apartheid. Technologically we advanced at a rapid speed. I am writing this on my iPad, which did not exist two years ago. Our cell phones are full blown computers, video cameras, still cameras, GPS navigation systems and we of course we can make phone calls with them.

Many professions these days don’t require a special way of clothing. What is the dress code for today’s professionals? What has changed? How do we determine social status? Is there such a thing?

Priorities shifted or did they?

Is there a specific look for web designers or fashion designers? I am curious.

What is your profession? Do you wear a special uniform identifying your profession or not?

Is there a specific tool you use in your daily work?

I am looking for volunteers to be photographed. You will of course receive a copy of your image and possibly the fame of being part of an exhibition.

Are you interested to be photographed? Contact me here. I look forward to your email.

The UCT Kopano Residence held their formal at the Pepper Club on the Beach in Camps Bay. It’s not the first time that I photographed at this venue. About 200 students filled the venue and started the party. Lots of fun and laughter all around.. Want to hire me for your event or party? Contact me here.

I am excited to announce the 12th of November as date for the next Basic Photography 1 Day Worksbhop.

Have you ever wondered why some people can produce beautiful images even with the most basic cameras? The Basics Workshop will help you to improve your photographic skills without buying a new camera. When you understand the basic concepts of photography, you will become a better photographer.

We cover this and more:

The investment for the one day workshop on the 12th of November is R1500 (including catering).

Register for the workshop here.