tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42873740431314845582024-02-06T18:57:52.248-08:00YKP (Young, Keen and Penniless)Thoughts from a Young Photographer...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130130556008433568noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287374043131484558.post-7592493553536175652014-11-14T16:16:00.000-08:002014-11-14T16:16:02.942-08:00Six quick tips for taking better photos in dull weather
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>This time of year can both awesome and awful as far as
landscape photography goes. On one hand you’ve got the amazing autumn colour
that can make the most ordinary scene become something incredible, whilst in
some parts of the world snow is almost a guarantee, bringing it’s own brand of
landscape-transforming properties. Unfortunately, once the leaves have fallen
off the trees and until the first snowflakes make an appearance, the weather
can be uninspiring to say the least – murky, misty, wet fields can make your
images seem pretty manky (hey an alliteration!) <o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>It’s quite easy during November to February to be a tad
depressed as a landscaper, especially if you’re craving dramatic lighting and
assuming you’re not lucky enough to be in the right place when storm clouds
roll in or you just don’t happen to get any notable sunrises/sunsets to speak
of, the temptation might be to stay indoors and go into photo ‘hibernation’
until spring shows up. This is a shame though, since there are definitely photo
opportunities to be had on those murky days if you know what to look for and
how to make the most of the lighting you’re presented with. Some of the tricks
you can employ to get around the uninspiring lighting are pretty obvious when
you think about it (though so often we find we haven’t thought about it, which
is kind of amusing!) Here are some of those simple techniques…<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Cut out the sky:<o:p></o:p></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Probably the most obvious one (I thought this was a good
place to begin) is to consider your framing carefully – which focal length is
the best under your restricting conditions? What crop ratio works best? On
those occasions where you’re shooting in a wide open space and your sky is that
dreary washed-out white that you often find on misty/drizzly days, the last
thing you want to do is include a huge area of it in your photos by using an
ultra-wide lens. In these cases zooming in a bit tighter than you usually might
will cut out all but a sliver of mind-numbing white sky and will help balance
your shot, so there aren’t large expanses of distracting empty space. Try using
a middle range ‘standard’ focal length of between 30mm and 50mm as this will be
inclusive without over doing it as far as empty space goes.</strong> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Secondly, you might try cropping at the post processing
stage, the advantage of this being that you get to choose your composition
whilst looking at a much larger image than the one on the back of your camera,
allowing multiple possibilities from each shot you take. Be mindful of the
extent of your cropping however; remember that cropping means deleting pixels,
so unless you’re working on a raw file in Lightroom etc. where you can revert
to the original image, be sure to watch the resolution of your photo. Try a
long format like 16:9 for starters or even 6x12 or 6x17 if you have pixels to
spare, all of which will limit the amount of visible sky.</strong> </span></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Use a hard grad filter:<o:p></o:p></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>In many cases a soft ND grad filter is enough to hold back
detail in your sky, but on dull days, where contrast is low and lighting flat
(i.e. boring) you want drama. A 3-stop hard grad (aka. ND8/O.9 ND) will darken
an otherwise bright white mess from top to horizon, allowing cloud detail to
show through. As always when using a hard-edged filter, look out for objects
breaking your horizon line as these will be artificially darkened and look
ugly. One thing you might want to consider is applying a grad filter virtually
in Photoshop and using this to add a little colour at the same time. The
problem with simply darkening a dull sky is that it’s still dull,
just…well….darker! Injecting a subtle tint that matches the tone of your scene
(i.e. cool hues if you’re shooting a snowy scene) can bring your shot to life.
Do this using the Graduated Filter in ACR or Lightroom or applying a colour
gradient in mainstream Photoshop.</strong> </span></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Think outside the box:<o:p></o:p></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>The extreme side of ‘enhancing’ the sky might be to replace
it completely using layers in Photoshop, but in doing so you’d have to be
ultra-careful to choose a replacement that fits well with the lighting you have
in the scene. In many cases we’re talking about very flat ambient lighting and
so this severely limits your options for possible skies to swap in. A far
easier option and arguably more “honest” if you’re of the opinion that Photoshopping =
cheating (which I don’t by the way) is to think more creatively about how you
use the conditions at hand. Instead of trying to take in the whole landscape,
pick out the details which you feel best sum up your location and focus in on
those. Dull, overcast lighting might not be great for wide landscapes, but it’s
a dream for enhancing colour saturation and creating soft, subtle shadows. For
the shot you see here I simply chose to use the cloudy sky as a gigantic
softbox and use the diffused light to make an evenly-lit study of this seaweed.
This way I turned the less-than-ideal conditions into an asset and came away with
shots that wouldn’t have been possible under summer lighting.</strong> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>The other option might be to use a bright, featureless sky
as a feature itself. Instead of trying every trick under the (non-existent)
sun, approach things from the opposite direction and think about how you can
use your lighting effectively. Position yourself down close to the ground and
try shooting flowers/plants using the sky as your backdrop. If your subject is
brightly coloured or very dark, the contrast with the white sky will create a
very graphic look and almost appear to have been shot under studio lighting.
Try using positive exposure compensation to ensure the background is totally
blown-out to maximize this high key style.</strong> </span></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Go for the extremes – don’t sit in the middle<o:p></o:p></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>When we’re presented with a scene containing subtle tones,
like a misty landscape, you have to decide if you want to attempt to counteract
conditions by creating a ‘false atmosphere’ i.e. using Photoshop to adjust the
atmosphere to how you’d like it to be, or work to enhance the ambient conditions.
Don’t do both at the same time! Let’s say you’re shooting a woodland scene like
the one shown here. There’s mist in the air and it’s clear this will make a good
subject. The important thing to note is it’s the low key, low contrast lighting
that is the baseline for this whole image, so make sure you don’t obliterate it
by bumping up the contrast or saturation at the editing stage, as it’s so often
tempting to do. Attempt this and you’ve got a slightly misty-looking image, with
colours far more saturated than we’d expect in real life: in essence the worst
of both worlds! Go for one look or the other, don’t combine them. Not here…</strong></span></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Go abstract<o:p></o:p></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Lastly, if you want to spice things up a bit, try using long
exposures to add movement and energy to a lifeless landscape. Winter is
actually the perfect time for long exposure photography as the short days mean
longer periods of low light, whilst dull, overcast days allow you to use extended
shutter speeds in the middle of the day and without seeing bright ‘hotspots’
from dappled sunlight- an exposure nightmare. Even if it’s drizzly, this won’t
show up in a 20 second exposure, whilst 30 seconds or more can hide any slight
camera movement induced by irritating winds (as seen in the shot of Bamburgh
Castle on a wet, stormy morning.)</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>So there you have it folks, 6 quick tips for squeezing images
out of dull, grey wintery days. Just remember the basics: always dress appropriately
for low temperatures, keep an eye on the weather if shooting in remote
highland/exposed locations and if you venture off, let someone know where you
are. Oh and look after your gear too- take a rain sleeve and allow your kit to
come to temperature on your return home, to avoid moisture damaging the electronics
of your cameras and lenses. <o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>If you have any questions feel free to drop me a line on here
or visit my website, twitter or Google+<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Hope you like this and if you did don’t forget to share it!<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
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</strong><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><strong>Happy shooting this winter!</strong> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Peter x</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><strong>Oh and don't forget to check out ShutterLogic Magazine Issue 1. It's full of handy tips on how to think about your photographs and adjust your attitude to make better images. Just hit the button on the top right of this blog, go to <a href="http://www.shutterlogic.webs.com/">www.shutterlogic.webs.com</a> or follow this <a href="https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/28315244/shutterlogic-magazine-issue-01-november-2014" target="_blank">LINK</a></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: red;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://www.fenechimages.com/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">My website</span></strong></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><strong><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/Fenechimages" target="_blank"><strong><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Follow me on Twitter</span></strong></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130130556008433568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287374043131484558.post-52729650382366994072014-11-03T16:07:00.000-08:002014-11-03T16:07:49.699-08:00The compact rules once more...I've lost track of how many times I hear someone mention that It's the photographer, not the camera, that makes the image. I think people have got a little overly used to hearing this too and it's a saying that might be in danger of loosing it's impact. However you'll have to excuse me for preaching this once again!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhceAEh0rAlHNnWWAW8N6QpbVZbZbX6nrtczmP4NMndVnFjtb9FQrhf7IJox0L3RpF6_82a-zcw63gscJLzhNjGJQ78MAnSnQrdmVXyicWWc0P2wlB1KG3LO67duVd2UTMHCZudOpzTnEQ/s1600/IMG_1693.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhceAEh0rAlHNnWWAW8N6QpbVZbZbX6nrtczmP4NMndVnFjtb9FQrhf7IJox0L3RpF6_82a-zcw63gscJLzhNjGJQ78MAnSnQrdmVXyicWWc0P2wlB1KG3LO67duVd2UTMHCZudOpzTnEQ/s1600/IMG_1693.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Without my tiny compact camera I'd have missed more shots as cool as this</td></tr>
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This week my 17-85mm lens packed in: aperture flex ribbon problem - something that EF-S lenses seem to be plagued with. My heart sank as I've got quite a bit of travelling coming up and the 17-85 is on my must-have list for going away. I have since got the lens repaired (for a reasonable fee of £45 from APM Camera repairs in Newcastle) but during the week or so I was without it the North of England was blessed with some pretty awesome sunsets/rises, some of which were more spectacular than I've seen before (typical!) Since the 17-85 is also my go-to lens for shooting autumn woodland scenes I was fairly hacked to put it mildly. My 10-20 is too wide for everyday use and the 70-200 too long (plus about 1.5kg too heavy.) <br />
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As such my G12 was abused considerably. As usual it was a case of me treating the little gem like a measure of last resort, which considering I'm surprised by the quality it can spit out time after time, is unfair...and it put me in my place once again.<br />
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Over the last 10 days, the majority of my shots were made on the G12 and I've been more than happy with it taking over the role of my main workhorse camera. In fact it's not too much to say that I might even have produced some of my favourite images to date! <br />
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I guess the message here is (wait for it...) it's your mind that matters, not the camera you have in your hands. All it takes is a little faith and a willingness to drop your obsession with<em> absolute</em> quality: sure there is a bit more grain than I'm used to with my 7D and the slower burst rate meant I needed to rely on a surface in order to shoot images that overlap for exposure blending, but instead of thinking of your compact or even your smartphone as the "inferior camera you're stuck with" just use it as your camera..! You're a photographer, so go and make pictures using whatever means you can. <br />
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Once again the G12 showed up my "gear freak" tendencies and surpassed my expectations. <br />
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Have a good one folks and hope you're enjoying autumn as much as me! :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130130556008433568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287374043131484558.post-68764637209293981152014-11-01T05:04:00.000-07:002014-11-01T05:04:00.471-07:00ShutterLogic Issue 1 is here!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0aDiDzMvrHbWtWcmVTSintDVAkosAPVJ5VChk1EYx74uZDZ9RBd7dZxX__U1bi5RCJcHL1cgbViv_Q-yglYv8RxKuhgqH3Hwc4Ycwh68VT1APmhnoqDg6cfsPGpOo7AWXlr49YTFItng/s1600/Launch+promo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0aDiDzMvrHbWtWcmVTSintDVAkosAPVJ5VChk1EYx74uZDZ9RBd7dZxX__U1bi5RCJcHL1cgbViv_Q-yglYv8RxKuhgqH3Hwc4Ycwh68VT1APmhnoqDg6cfsPGpOo7AWXlr49YTFItng/s1600/Launch+promo.jpg" height="640" width="451" /></a></div>
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I'm very proud to present the first issue of Shutter\Logic, a brand new free online photography magazine of which I'm now editor!<br />
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Here's how we describe it's philosophy:<br />
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<span class="wz-bold" style="font-size: 36px;">"S</span><span class="wz-bold">o many magazines discuss the ins and outs of HOW photographers made an image. ShutterLogic is all about WHY…</span><br />
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<span style="color: #2a8fbd;"> The magazine explores the mind of photographers to explain the motivation behind the picture. If we can better understand what we were thinking when we made an image, we can better understand why it was a success (and therefore repeat this) or why it didn’t work out so well, so as to try things differently next time… </span><br />
<div style="color: #2a8fbd;">
SL is a brand new, quarterly online publication with a focus on our attitudes towards the world of photography, both positive and negative, and how these influence the photos we take, how we take them and the gear we choose to create them. </div>
<span style="color: #2a8fbd;"> Featuring awesome photography from all the key genres, we hope ShutterLogic will inspire creativity, boost confidence and above all encourage you to reassess the way you think about the art of crafting light… "</span><br />
<span style="color: #2a8fbd;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #2a8fbd;"><span style="color: black;">Read the magazine here: <a href="https://t.co/bIAtrs7gDP">https://t.co/bIAtrs7gDP</a></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #2a8fbd;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #2a8fbd;"><span style="color: black;">and remember to visit our site at: <a href="http://shutterlogic.webs.com/">http://shutterlogic.webs.com/</a></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #2a8fbd;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #2a8fbd;"><span style="color: black;">also follow us on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/ShutterLogicMag">https://twitter.com/ShutterLogicMag</a></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #2a8fbd;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #2a8fbd;"><span style="color: black;">I hope you like what you see. Don't forget to spread the word and help us build a community!</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #2a8fbd;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #2a8fbd;"><span style="color: black;">Many thanks,</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #2a8fbd;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #2a8fbd;"><span style="color: black;">Peter x</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130130556008433568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287374043131484558.post-72266244547523120742014-08-27T04:24:00.001-07:002014-08-27T04:29:54.305-07:00See my images in 2015 Calendars<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHUEyFFok5lpZPUsH-wBjxDf_aZjgg1EV-6O7kFwZ1zMMDLQVqA6AG6MublLPWqCoqmCYe-xorLFp7Zp-nIDRABdxdLm1fgzGwjM9nH51R-iaS3Ulcv_BxUynjfZhy9WbLBp5FpSsD15g/s1600/Marsden+Bay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHUEyFFok5lpZPUsH-wBjxDf_aZjgg1EV-6O7kFwZ1zMMDLQVqA6AG6MublLPWqCoqmCYe-xorLFp7Zp-nIDRABdxdLm1fgzGwjM9nH51R-iaS3Ulcv_BxUynjfZhy9WbLBp5FpSsD15g/s1600/Marsden+Bay.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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If you were hoping that title meant you'll find images of me in print, I'm no pin-up guy, so curb your excitement ;)<br />
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However if you are living in the North East my work is featured in two calendars, both produced by Carousel Calendars for next year. I'm Mr May in both and Mr November in one. I have to say I really rate Carousel for their design and quality; the prints are very well produced and certainly do justice to the effort put in by their photographers. The links are found below...<br />
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<a href="http://www.carouselcalendars.co.uk/product/north-east-a4-calendar" target="_blank">North East A4 calendar</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.carouselcalendars.co.uk/product/tyne-wear-a4-calendar" target="_blank">Tyne and Wear A4 calendar</a><br />
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I finally finished my Biology degree so hopefully I'll have more blogging time available. Sorry again for the huge gaps. I'll make more of an effort!<br />
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That's all she wrote for today.<br />
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Have a good one <br />
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P xAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130130556008433568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287374043131484558.post-87520373055209493312013-08-27T15:47:00.001-07:002013-08-28T01:59:16.660-07:00My top 10 tips for awesome autumn images!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Last year I outlined my favourite techniques for capturing autumnal landscapes. Since that time of year is nearly upon us again I thought I'd pass on a few reminders...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Like most landscape photographers I would imagine, I love being out and about enjoying fantastic autumnal colours and the endless picture opportunities they offer. Last year was a particularly colourful one and I hoping for an equally impressive display of seasonal hues in the next few months.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Whilst I’m no pro I thought it might be quite nice to put together a list of what I think to be the best ways of getting great autumn shots, making sure we get the most out of what nature is offering us. Below are my ‘Top Ten’ techniques for creating images to be proud of- get out and use them before all the leaves are gone and/or keep this page in your favourites until next year! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">10) Try showing movement:</b> I feel a little mean sticking this right down at number 10 as it can really be a great trick for producing abstract images with an extra ‘something’, but it may not be to everyone’s taste so here it is! Try using a slower shutter speed to introduce some movement into your shots. Since you’ll more than likely find yourself shooting trees, using a slower shutter value will show up any movement in the branches caused by wind. An exposure of around 1/30<sup>th</sup> sec will give you a slight blur to the leaves (depending on wind strength) while 1 sec or more and you can get some really abstract streaks of colour. This works if you haven’t got anything interesting in the scene before you to make you’re subject- focus solely on those autumn hues! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMokrR3imMGaauz_zI90J-24XBqy2EOCft7Vyn7hjB5smKwPIFO9fg4FmkEoftVxnp97nBe39g0tbR6hR7EKzAAfVLe_2mw5LryGEiI63fuWj_Hc-W71QD87FR8-YWveFsbVtsp7lmROE/s1600/IMG_4772.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMokrR3imMGaauz_zI90J-24XBqy2EOCft7Vyn7hjB5smKwPIFO9fg4FmkEoftVxnp97nBe39g0tbR6hR7EKzAAfVLe_2mw5LryGEiI63fuWj_Hc-W71QD87FR8-YWveFsbVtsp7lmROE/s640/IMG_4772.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">9)</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Shoot on dull days:</b> A way of making use of whatever light you happen to be faced with. Whilst it’s lovely to have nice beams of strong autumn sunlight streaming into your shot, shooting on an overcast day, with the low contrast, can be a fantastic route to saturated colours. If the sky seems uninspiring, focus on the little details and shoot some leaves in close-up. Try adding a burst of flash to create a little contrast and a bit of sparkle to your subject. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93eheq3fi6Aa9kPNWkPXD6weNkXB_Fw-rsuJlgyvtvSPH18IJJx4e0yCmk1h8N5zJAelPIidhw_mAojVRQs8O_vfCWbLsJ6QJGiqSKwGn0FDPP-To_OEs0shfHaAuQQs1RSJavEt7fpU/s1600/Web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93eheq3fi6Aa9kPNWkPXD6weNkXB_Fw-rsuJlgyvtvSPH18IJJx4e0yCmk1h8N5zJAelPIidhw_mAojVRQs8O_vfCWbLsJ6QJGiqSKwGn0FDPP-To_OEs0shfHaAuQQs1RSJavEt7fpU/s640/Web.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">8) Shoot at dawn or dusk:</b> the key to any great landscape photo, if not a little limiting on the number if images you are able to produce through the season (not everyone has time to do this often). If you have the opportunity, shooting at these times will give you those rich golds, reds and browns along with a dreamy glow, all caused by the directional light of the low sun. I love to photograph back-lit leaves at these times, which will give intense colour and great detail of the leaf structure. If you can make dawn or dusk, try early(ish) morning (on your way to work/school/university etc.) or late afternoon. That’s the brilliant thing about this time of year- the light is good for most of the day, with dawn fairly late and sunset early. Try combining this with no. 7…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">7) Shoot into the light:</b> aiming your camera into the sun gives amazing back and rim-lighting effects and doing this helps you get the most out of the directional light in no. 8 above. Obviously don’t look at the sun in your viewfinder (spare a thought for your eyes) or leave the lens pointing at it for too long (this can burn your shutter.) These sort of go without saying. Oh and watch out for flare- invest in a skylight or UV filter, pronto. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2zFTlkGu5AccYQp1K2U_vP4L6bgCi-HWtOGt8gJaSCkHOfmMVIM_qdlUweMYg-uLALn7KlIxllMRPknGGgnFRV9QPyHAPmZtA9oHkn4gz1MkodyLLU6K94RO72ARM1902qU0m4bz-iJo/s1600/Beamish+Hall+flkr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2zFTlkGu5AccYQp1K2U_vP4L6bgCi-HWtOGt8gJaSCkHOfmMVIM_qdlUweMYg-uLALn7KlIxllMRPknGGgnFRV9QPyHAPmZtA9oHkn4gz1MkodyLLU6K94RO72ARM1902qU0m4bz-iJo/s640/Beamish+Hall+flkr.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">6) Use a warm-up filter:</b> either on your lens or when in the digital dark room. These do what they say on the box- give your image a warmer tone, which works great with the already warm colours of the season. In Photoshop go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Photo Filter and select one of the warming filters. I usually use the 81 <em>or</em> 85 filters. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">5) Even better than that- use your White Balance to get it right in-camera:</b> this is one area where you don’t want to rely on your camera’s auto WB as all those reds and yellows will get it totally confused and you won’t get the look you’re after. Use the ‘Shade’ or ‘Cloudy’ presets depending on how warm you want your image to be. This is works well as it complements the naturally low kelvin values of autumn scenes. If you’re shooting film you’ll have to resort to no. 6. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi75JE2mtlTeXj16MsN81dspYO884XM15eOP9SUSGFlEoNapjqYvNIcVK6R8IgridhRsiukg5AiL8RwuPqio_Lqa96HV9pmHNxhGwAf3F0VIH7nTq3L5kfZQO_N0qYPJFmHPo9eYnHTNxk/s1600/IMG_4779-flkr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi75JE2mtlTeXj16MsN81dspYO884XM15eOP9SUSGFlEoNapjqYvNIcVK6R8IgridhRsiukg5AiL8RwuPqio_Lqa96HV9pmHNxhGwAf3F0VIH7nTq3L5kfZQO_N0qYPJFmHPo9eYnHTNxk/s640/IMG_4779-flkr.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">4) Underexpose: </b>I’m not getting into the on-going debate about whether in digital photography it’s better to under- or overexpose, because in this case it is absolutely a nice idea to under expose slightly, as this will give you nice saturated colours (as well as prevent blown-out highlights.) Don’t go crazy; try starting with -1/3 EV using your exposure compensation control (in P, Av and Tv modes) and working from there. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">3) Without doubt, use a polarizer: </b>Ok so we’re onto the top 3. Firstly you definitely want to be using a circular polarizing filter to reduce glare on leaves and give your precious colours a lift. This filter is a no-brainer for landscape photographers and should be in everyone’s kit bag; this case is no exception. Oh and it will cut the light entering your camera by about 2 stops, allowing you to blur water and branches with longer exposures, which is no bad thing as long as you have a good tripod.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">2) Know your location:</b> in at number 2 we have something I truly believe in- know the good spots from which to shoot. If you have a good idea of what might make some good autumnal photos before the colour shows itself you’re in for a better chance of getting the pics you want. Preparation is everything. Those stunning colours aren’t around for long so plan your images and get them while you can!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy5x_t7yZaYbaUWm6LULNJGIqz9nV6Bc7MbRAqmhey0XEF72X1tT63wTOqAguQorML00jbtLdaRdqxzzEkI6NNAbG3-UxZ1r7xIe9f0tRVC9nTkgbvxC4-zUNicRN6EWm1IyjrUNeAdyo/s1600/IMG_4804+flkr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy5x_t7yZaYbaUWm6LULNJGIqz9nV6Bc7MbRAqmhey0XEF72X1tT63wTOqAguQorML00jbtLdaRdqxzzEkI6NNAbG3-UxZ1r7xIe9f0tRVC9nTkgbvxC4-zUNicRN6EWm1IyjrUNeAdyo/s640/IMG_4804+flkr.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">1) DON’T JUST MAKE THE COLOUR THE SUBJECT! : </b>I think this merits 1<sup>st</sup> place- avoid the shots all the ‘happy snappers’ out there are getting and don’t make the sole focus of your image the autumnal colours themselves. A brightly coloured tree doesn't necessarily make a good photo in its own right. It might of course but there are likely to be other possibilities. Look for something, anything to photograph in the colourful surroundings. Even if it’s a little stream, or a person walking into the shot to show scale, or an animal interacting with the environment. Anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s easy to get carried away with all that colour and start snapping at everything, but get a clear idea of what you want in your mind and I can guarantee you images with impact! [Unless you’re a dog or an octopus or a fungus, in which case you probably won’t be able to hold the camera properly or indeed understand anything I’ve written here. Hey life’s difficult, get over it… : )] </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’d like to hear if you have any comments on the above list: do you agree with my ‘Top Ten’? Contact me by commenting here, or by leaving a message on my website, Flickr page, or 500px site (see right for the links.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Happy shooting this autumn!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Peter<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>x </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130130556008433568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287374043131484558.post-56942750478963501462013-08-25T04:45:00.000-07:002013-08-25T04:45:41.424-07:00Thinking small...<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m just not even going to comment on the inactivity of this blog this time. I’ll just say I’ve been busy and leave it at that! Sorry…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When shooting landscapes it’s very easy to be tempted by the ‘big picture’ and miss the little details. Recently I’ve been making a conscious effort to home in on the smaller elements of the scenes I’m shooting in the hope of creating a more intimate view of my local landscapes. I’ve visited the Mediterranean twice this year, once to Crete and once to Malta (images will show up eventually!) and as beautiful as these places were it made me want to spend more time finding what it is about the places closer to home that I really love. It’s quite amusing really; when you haven’t been abroad for a while and you’ve been flicking through a few travel photography magazines you can find yourself feeling frustrated with the photo opportunities you have available to you at home. Then when you jet off to somewhere exotic you’re still frustrated with landscape back home because you realise how much potential it has, but for some reason you haven’t been able to make the most of it! I really love the British coastline and want to show this in my images. So we’re ‘thinking small’ for two reasons now; 1) we’re forgetting the temptation to travel abroad to find inspiration, concentrating on what we have at home, because we’ve realised how impressive it is and 2) we’re looking closer at the landscape to find what makes it impressive to us, in the hope of portraying an intimate picture to people from other places. Looking for the little details…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Recently I was shooting the coastline at Whitburn, Tyne and Wear. This about 15 or so miles from my home in Chester-le-Street yet to be honest it is a totally foreign landscape; I hadn’t been until about a month ago! It was another of those “how did I miss this?” moments because I was genuinely impressed with the shape of the tide-worn geology. The first visit consisted mostly of ‘sketching’ with my Powershot G12; exploring the possibilities without lugging all of my gear around with me. As luck would have it though the light on this day was far better than the two subsequent visits. When I finally took my ‘proper’ gear with me it was very overcast and the land looked very flat. Rather than being disheartened though I chose to focus closely on the luminescent green seaweed that I’d previously noticed coating the rocks on the shoreline. I love the way the seaweed seems to flow over the rock like the water that sculpted it and left it that way on the previous tide. After a few minutes of wandering I found the line of rocks you see in the images here.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKNUN71S-rl3wB8dUh-KDiX8cFNFrg28x1dQrcjc0fB0Q9T9tafy3OAaiGtXAuXj0SIZtkp4Szsg1nU-vNESEf2FYQkGodeG72ZN8OzL4nDVIcFY_dFjacFtfTpvOIks31xLM2jOCfXWc/s1600/IMG_4871.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKNUN71S-rl3wB8dUh-KDiX8cFNFrg28x1dQrcjc0fB0Q9T9tafy3OAaiGtXAuXj0SIZtkp4Szsg1nU-vNESEf2FYQkGodeG72ZN8OzL4nDVIcFY_dFjacFtfTpvOIks31xLM2jOCfXWc/s640/IMG_4871.jpg" width="480" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I didn’t place them like that; the scene was all arranged by the sea. The placement was perfect and just screamed to be photographed. It took me a while to find a composition I liked but I think I’m happy with the end results. If the sun had been out, managing the exposures would have been far trickier and the light wouldn’t have been as soft and flattering. I think shots like these are quite literally portraits of a landscape and the overcast sky in this case provided our softbox quality light.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhekNCH3U2N8y2Sg2Gns5ld72OJHEKIPn2_2iTyOiT4KmsVIugg62YygZwK8Lm94aPumnAVx3DvxgzG45s958CRYAU5-_WlJiJ-6RlHZlfe-VwalU70nD4ihD-04RJsu-TadcNFvllsI0M/s1600/IMG_4869-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhekNCH3U2N8y2Sg2Gns5ld72OJHEKIPn2_2iTyOiT4KmsVIugg62YygZwK8Lm94aPumnAVx3DvxgzG45s958CRYAU5-_WlJiJ-6RlHZlfe-VwalU70nD4ihD-04RJsu-TadcNFvllsI0M/s640/IMG_4869-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Images such as this are about what you leave out of the frame and for me this set tells a far better story about the location than if I’d taken a series of wider views. You don’t always need dramatic lighting because you don’t always need to create an </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">epic</i><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> picture; delicate and understated are qualities just as admirable; another reason to ‘think small.’ </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Let’s leave it there because I’m starting to get philosophical and when that happens people tend to fall asleep! I like looking for little details (I’ve even created a new gallery on my website under the name.) Travelling abroad is great fun but sometimes it’s nice to think about what makes home, home, what you love about it and to communicate these through images…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Have a good week,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Peter :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130130556008433568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287374043131484558.post-76402536972977026712013-01-26T16:14:00.001-08:002013-01-26T16:14:42.952-08:00Ultimate challenge of the week: survive without a computer!My laptop died this week. HDD problem apparently. Luckily, I'm obsessed with backing things up, as many photographers are, I imagine, so I didn't really lose anything of importance, but the whole thing has got me thinking (which is an irregular occurrence.) Are we all too reliant on technology?<br />
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This isn't a new argument of course but I'm not talking about the threat of having the country's accumulated wealth deleted or the unsettling thought that we're often driven 40 thousand feet into the air by a piece of software. I'm talking about us, people, in our daily lives and how almost everything we do these days revolves around a collection of circuits - and more importantly how we're held ransom when those circuits decide to burn out! <br />
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I can't believe how lost I feel without my laptop. I realised that practically my entire life has come to a stand still for the simple reason that virtually everything I do is…well...virtual! My uni work, my photographic projects and assignments, my music, my connection to friends, all is accessed and controlled my digital companion. <br />
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Now I of all people appreciate the advantages today's technology brings; I can't imagine a world without Photoshop, even though I know photographers coped just fine without it for over a century, but I wonder if life was somehow more simple back then. After all the laws of chemistry don't change - if something didn't go right in the darkroom and an image was ruined there was only a limited set of possible reasons why, one of the major ones being human error. In 2013 however we're working with far more complex equipment and a passing knowledge of how it functions probably won't help you very much; I for one use IT every day but can't say I'm an expert in every aspect of how it works. I suspect most people aren't, which is why we, in this 'Golden Age' of hyper complex systems are unable to carry out even some of the most basic tasks when it all goes !*%$ up! <br />
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Furthermore (I could go on about this all day) stuff these days has remarkably limited longevity with technology becoming obsolete in a matter of months. Actually I think it's rather amusing how we react when faced with older gadgets that at one time we thought were awesome but now realise are nothing better than paper-weights! I'll provide you with a suitably relevant example; I'm writing this on my old laptop from about 6 or 7 years ago. It's not-so-quietly chugging away in the background and seemingly every time I hit a key it emits an alarming whirr. When we bought it for me to do my GCSE work on it was perfectly suitable, but now I've got to tell you it's a heap of junk! Seriously when we went to pick it up at PC World the shop assistant swung the deal by promising us a "free, complimentary sack of coal" whilst the wealthy gentleman beside us, purchasing the latest and up-to-date model had to wait for his 'purple-shirt' to nip out to the warehouse to fetch his bike and dynamo.<br />
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Anyway I think I've made my point so I'll stop there. It's been a knackering day of photography with me shooting quite literally from dawn to dusk. I started out with a couple of hours back up on Waldridge Fell and slowly but surely made my way to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Lumley</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Castle</st1:placetype></st1:place> and the woods behind. I can no longer feel my extremities but I think the images made it worthwhile, although I can't be sure and won't be until next week when I get my laptop back!<br />
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No really I must stop: this old clanger of a machine is running low on solid fuel...and I left the shovel out in the snow!<br />
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See ya :) <br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130130556008433568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287374043131484558.post-32345854519069801762012-12-18T11:23:00.000-08:002012-12-18T11:25:44.120-08:00Photo BTS Tuesday!<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This post is basically my way of escaping revision! I'm sat in my room
(where I've been for what seems like days...without leaving) surrounded by
lecture notes. Luckily for you (depending on how lucky you feel about reading a
random blog post) my general disinterest in aquatic vertebrate respiratory
systems has brought you another Photo BTS.</span> <o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghw53JeRyABMuPRw7jNeq-dhpH_N-XxIm9r-rCejElWNIQQba2t87xxgdk-9Fs1Y-tmXnkdanzN_NxIo2XTjrh6RqxKLi_Q_dc6YVhC-NV-VuVqzaTglSm4klwHUuA0nUBIA1jlGHbz0I/s1600/8259596672_09344c8201_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="513" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghw53JeRyABMuPRw7jNeq-dhpH_N-XxIm9r-rCejElWNIQQba2t87xxgdk-9Fs1Y-tmXnkdanzN_NxIo2XTjrh6RqxKLi_Q_dc6YVhC-NV-VuVqzaTglSm4klwHUuA0nUBIA1jlGHbz0I/s640/8259596672_09344c8201_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I took this image a little while back at Trow Point, South Shields on the
North East Coast. The shot was made a short while after the sun came up, which
gave that lovely soft and wrapping light along with the tell tale vibrant
colours of dawn. I was really attracted to the light on the water this morning,
especially in the shallows right at the water's edge. One thing I love about
this bay is the textured rocks that vary in size and form and look great
through the mistiness of moving waves. <br />
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Framing this image took some thought as I felt placing the horizon directly
on a third lent a slightly unbalanced feeling to the picture; it gave me a
fairly blank and distracting area of blue sky at the very top of the frame and
I lost some foreground interest in the yellow rock. I opted to lower the camera
slightly, putting the horizon a little more towards the centre <br />
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<o:p> </o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">As seems to be the way with my “golden hour” shoots,
something was bound to go wrong. Everything was going swimmingly (not literally
I’m thankful to say) until a random group of school lads turned up out of
nowhere and began hurling rocks at each other on the platform. We’re talking
6am here people, most 14 year olds would I had presumed have still been in bed,
rationing every blissful second of unconsciousness before a day at school (it
was a Monday If I remember) and yet here they were, quite happily dodging
missiles right where I didn’t want them; in the middle of my viewfinder… I
managed to grab a few shots in between feigned screams of pain (hence the image
you see here) and then with as little subtlety as I could possible I moved
forward to the waterline and waited for either a sharp blow to the back of the
head with one of those wonderfully textured rocks or for them to get the
message. Thankfully they got the message!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Post processing</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Very little was done to this image in Photoshop. I manually
merged 2 of the bracketed exposures to increase detail in the highlights and
worked on the foreground almost entirely in Camera Raw. Firstly I used ACR’s
Grad Filter tool to brighten the foreground rocks by around half a stop and
then used the Adjustment Brush to add some localised contrast and clarity. As with
all my images the first step was to add an automatic camera/lens profile within
ACR. This made the raw file look far better in a single click. I also added
some slight sharpening, utilizing a high value on the Masking slider to avoid
bringing out noise in the flat tones such as the surface of the water. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To merge the exposures I simply opened both images in
Photoshop, copying the ‘sky’ file on top of the exposure for the foreground
(Ctrl (Command for Mac) + A and then Ctrl + V) I then used the Quick Selection
Tool to select the sky and headed to the ‘Refine Edge’ control, where I checked
the ‘Smart Radius’ box and moved the slider to around 3 pixels. This gave me a
smoother blend of the two images. Adding a layer mask immediately ‘masked-in’
the foreground image and that was it; I had a merge of the sky exposure and the
brighter file for the ground. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess I could
have tone mapped the files but didn’t feel HDR would give me the look I was
after in this case; I wanted something more subtle.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So there you are – a quick lesson in manual image blending <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">and</b> how to avoid being stoned to death
by feral children at dawn. Afterwards they just sat down and watched the sun
rise, which considering their chavvy nature seemed a little out of character to
me!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Awww….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Check back next time <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">See ya</span> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130130556008433568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287374043131484558.post-16503292330057148902012-10-07T12:20:00.000-07:002012-10-07T12:20:23.002-07:00Photo BTS Sunday!!
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This blog has been criminally neglected of late, for which I
apologise profusely. In an effort to keep things active here I’m going to try a
new approach, in the shape of Photo BTS (behind-the-scenes) post. These will
(hopefully) be posted at least weekly and will just be a quick walk through of
the story behind on of my images; what the conditions were like, what
challenges there were and any silly little anecdotes that seem appropriate at
the time. I’m not saying that’s all I’ll post from now one but it’s something
that should keep the cobwebs at bay </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEAw3k9rYrJBFMkrQPINCMBABsBZILK6a88_Gsds0wdtbWhUQpoEqJvSR2LoM-bcUapCPP-zR1lN8u9mKrHlewJARV1h_MXGDkv8oKiXNhjI_4iIvmi5X5ELX6rK5SwId7UuYOZsmgF9U/s1600/fkr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="467" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEAw3k9rYrJBFMkrQPINCMBABsBZILK6a88_Gsds0wdtbWhUQpoEqJvSR2LoM-bcUapCPP-zR1lN8u9mKrHlewJARV1h_MXGDkv8oKiXNhjI_4iIvmi5X5ELX6rK5SwId7UuYOZsmgF9U/s640/fkr.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So here’s the first of the series. This image was shot only a
couple of weeks ago in the Lake District, near Ullswater. The hill is actually
known as Round How and forms one of the shores of Ullswater itself. I was
standing in a field near the entrance to the path leading to the waterfall Aira
Force, which is the main thing we’d come to see. I took some images in this
direction on the way in but none were exceptionally awe inspiring. After
visiting the waterfall however, when we passed the same spot I noticed that the
light was significantly warmer and that there was a slight mist hanging over
the valley. Since the plan was to head home (we had a long drive ahead!) I didn’t
really have much time to set everything up again and so had to commit to the
cringe-worthy task of resting the camera on a wall, which was far from stable.
I had my tripod with me but it had walked off along with a family member and
was already half way back to the car! I shot a quick series of images, varying
the focal length as I went. I immediately knew that the tree in the foreground
had to be part of the composition and by using the long end of my 17-85mm zoom
(which works out as 136mm in 35mm terms) perspective was compressed slightly
which firmly placed that tree into the scene, providing a sense of depth. The
rain clouds were rolling in which gave that biblical sky and the mist picked up
the colour of the light, bathing the landscape in a golden glow. The painful
thing was I could foresee things getting even more dramatic in the following 30
minutes or so, by which time I knew I’d be back in the car and driving away
from it all! However, after about 10 minutes the light started to fade and that
rain became the dominant feature of the scene, which acted as a strong
motivation to pack up and move on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I had my camera set to Cloudy White Balance but when
reviewing them later the colours didn’t seem as warm as I remembered them so I
increased Colour temperature in Camera Raw and added a little Magenta using the
Tint slider.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This shot was more about luck than careful planning. Where
possible I love to be able to plan everything before a shoot, but I think that’s
more to do with peace of mind; sometimes a scene just presents itself and you
have to work quickly to catch ‘the moment.’ Looking at this picture you’d think
the light was a gift from heaven but it was actually very short-lived and we
barely made it to the car without getting soaked. As always say, the Lakes isn’t
the Lakes for nothing…all that water had to come from somewhere!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Camera</b>: Canon EOS 7D<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Lens</b>: 17-85mm<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Filters</b>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Polarizer, ND Grad<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ok so there you have it, the first Photo BTS (which, I admit, does
sound a little like a fungal infection) and hopefully I’ll keep on track and
rack out a few more over the next little while. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Stay tuned </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130130556008433568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287374043131484558.post-58116655186060847632012-08-28T12:48:00.000-07:002012-08-28T12:58:12.281-07:00My recent publications<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfvzYqZSqG8HTLLCz1lwJShoizAXuYmydxbs2X_V1ehzziIfjpQt-OZP4kP5XLvKLH-XtyCw7Ja_ars6oVmSpDjpjGYvRKBQR4dOG91oeHSKdeRK1jvutpjtHOIgUDzhUQMZu7REoDiOo/s1600/Evening+in+Saddler+Street,+Durham+City.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfvzYqZSqG8HTLLCz1lwJShoizAXuYmydxbs2X_V1ehzziIfjpQt-OZP4kP5XLvKLH-XtyCw7Ja_ars6oVmSpDjpjGYvRKBQR4dOG91oeHSKdeRK1jvutpjtHOIgUDzhUQMZu7REoDiOo/s640/Evening+in+Saddler+Street,+Durham+City.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Sorry for yet another absence but things have been sort of hectic! My aim is to get a few more posts rolled out before I head back to Uni so lets just keep our fingers crossed :) <br />
<br />
If you want to read more about my photography I've been featured in a couple of publications this month. Firstly several of my images have featured in Amateur Photographer Magazine this week (wk beginning 25.08.2012) where I gained the Editor's Choice in the Reader Spotlight pages. This is the third time I've been in the Spotlight so it's nice see my shots there again.<br />
<br />
Also I've written a short landscape photography masterclass for North East Life Magazine (<a href="http://northeast.greatbritishlife.co.uk/">http://northeast.greatbritishlife.co.uk</a>) in their September issue. Here I just cover the basics from composition and lighting to recommended camera settings and selected, freely available software. If you're new to photography and live in or around the NE of England, you might want to pick up a copy. You also get to see a wonderful mug-shot of me looking like death itself on an early morning coastal shoot!<br />
<br />
So yeah, I'll truly make an effort to put some Time aside for the sole purpose of blogging ") <br />
<br />
PeterAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130130556008433568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287374043131484558.post-14657657665851742012-07-02T12:28:00.001-07:002012-07-02T12:28:15.762-07:00Heyy...I'm still alive! (from Scotland)<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ok so first of all I’d like to apologise for my absence of
late; I’ve just been crazy busy with just about everything! I’m pretty sure I
promised a post about my Farne Islands visit about two years ago but I will get
there eventually (even though nobody cares now…including me)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Anyway, I’m away from home at the moment (I’m currently sat
writing this in a small cottage about a stone’s throw from the England/
Scotland Border.) I’m staring out of my bedroom window at a wonderful,
beautiful, wet, stunningly secluded, miserable, relaxing, depressing view of
our private garden and wishing either the weather would improve, or the world
would just go ahead and end as it’s been promising to do for weeks!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m determined not to let the rain and wind (and lighting
and flooding and mudslides!) stop my picture-taking however; I think it’ll be
good practise to shoot in less-than-ideal conditions…damn my optimistic nature </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> I did manage to grab
some nice (warm) shots the other evening when there was a dusk to speak of, so
at least I got them in the bag early on (see below.)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilEmyiVPty9KvXt3EGJN42nHXF2CaseKRQTmW2moyVjpKnseo-33tGMnLNuy4OoMdpmZ-RAV0FhF9EtBbcDvTpuMQkwB5G2S5G6pnJygGHXbrHzhJrAcrksxcVYLTy8g5lzDbMlrFDRL8/s1600/Dusk+road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilEmyiVPty9KvXt3EGJN42nHXF2CaseKRQTmW2moyVjpKnseo-33tGMnLNuy4OoMdpmZ-RAV0FhF9EtBbcDvTpuMQkwB5G2S5G6pnJygGHXbrHzhJrAcrksxcVYLTy8g5lzDbMlrFDRL8/s640/Dusk+road.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdhGcE89_DJ_WmLSykpuQy7w85uSqWOJQIfaAX9pgNw7URqhjDToKjNnW02UyTZ4vTEsMFizHIR8Twd-_QtnjTpY_lPvO7Tsps6aMx5B7kiCVpQHf7ztdbMGedt-tPPVUqpPEX76MTgJ8/s1600/Sheepness.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdhGcE89_DJ_WmLSykpuQy7w85uSqWOJQIfaAX9pgNw7URqhjDToKjNnW02UyTZ4vTEsMFizHIR8Twd-_QtnjTpY_lPvO7Tsps6aMx5B7kiCVpQHf7ztdbMGedt-tPPVUqpPEX76MTgJ8/s640/Sheepness.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m certainly not travelling light though; the relative
closeness to home provided too many gear temptations and I can’t think of
anything I’ve left behind! I’ve got both EOS digital bodies with me (my 450D
and 7D) as well as my 10-20, 17-85, 70-200, 50 and 35-70mm lenses, plus a
flash, radio triggers etc. and I’m hauling it all around in my Lowepro Vertex
200AW. I’m hoping to go back to the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens before we head
home and we’re here ‘till Saturday so hopefully I’ll come back with some
“Keepers.” <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ll keep you all posted when possible…</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Peter xAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130130556008433568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287374043131484558.post-87372773202408362252012-05-06T15:19:00.001-07:002012-05-09T00:50:49.106-07:00Shooting the blossom<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">First of all I’d just like to apologise for my recent
absence, but I have been kinda’ snowed under with work, so…sorry!
Unfortunately, the aforementioned work has also prevented me from getting out
much with my camera, although I made a real effort the other day to make it up
to the University Botanic Gardens, Durham to shoot another seasonal must…the
blossom. I pretty much missed it last year and almost did again; a lot of the
stuff had already fallen, no thanks to the recent spell of rain and wind we’ve
experienced in Britain of late. There was just enough left on the trees to
capture some reasonable, colourful close-ups. There’s a lovely area of these
gardens called the Japanese Friendship Garden that’s surrounded by blossom at
this time of year and while the trees weren’t as full as they might have been a
week or so back, this was the first place I headed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp7SlUyJkN443JiuLFpCl5uALGrafhX9zfeSdP_39yLMtGl71ryaltOw8BBiplAaojHc8Qm6_s3RYedvbu-2zYeebPu7SvJ0yW8Yg8qP52w578DdVHN0jCatf2aMt-huZQh4QvD8NaFuU/s1600/IMG_7511.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp7SlUyJkN443JiuLFpCl5uALGrafhX9zfeSdP_39yLMtGl71ryaltOw8BBiplAaojHc8Qm6_s3RYedvbu-2zYeebPu7SvJ0yW8Yg8qP52w578DdVHN0jCatf2aMt-huZQh4QvD8NaFuU/s640/IMG_7511.jpg" width="425" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I had intended to shoot some wide-angle images, taking in a
broad expanse of the garden, with the vibrant pinks and reds as the focal
point. However, the slightly bare-looking trees didn’t seem to make a wide
focal length appropriate. I therefore shot all afternoon on my 70-200mm optic,
concentrating on isolating individual flowers and branches. Most of these shots
were made racked-out at 200mm and wide-open at f/2.8 to throw the backgrounds
out-of-focus. The large aperture also allowed me to handhold the shots, which
although not ideal, was necessary due to my tripod not extending tall enough to
shoot the hanging branches straight on. I composed these examples so that the
backgrounds consisted of bold colours to compliment and/or contrast with the
blossom. Most of the time I arranged the shots so that other blossom-filled
trees were visible as a blur of complimenting colour. For the final shot here,
I was shooting from a kneeling position, near the ground, with the bright blue
sky behind. Ironically this image was taken in the car park, before driving
away; the others were carefully framed and well thought-through, while this was
basically a snapshot…click and go! It also happens to be one of my favourites
from the shoot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">f there’s one bit of advice I can convey about shooting
boldly-coloured plant life such as blossom, it’s to do so under overcast
lighting; sun spots and dappled light just ruin the atmosphere completely. The
diffused light from the cloudy sky is perfectly soft and ‘wrap-around’, and is
nature’s very own soft-box, studio light. The colours will be far more
saturated than under direct sunlight to, but without looking false; they’ll be
natural! I also like to underexpose slightly in these circumstances, which did
here buy about 1 stop, as this further adds the “punchiness” of the tones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">That’s all folks...! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ll try and post a bit more regularly than once every
decade from now on </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Peter <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>x<o:p></o:p></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130130556008433568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287374043131484558.post-19962743483777324692012-03-23T13:32:00.002-07:002012-03-23T13:37:42.591-07:00Adobe announces Photoshop CS6 Beta!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Big news! Adobe finally launched the beta version of the brand new Photoshop CS6. It was expected to be released this year and it proves not be a disappointment! I guess there’s always going to be a lot of hype when Adobe launch a new product, but Photoshop seems to be the software people like to see new versions of the most- after all it’s<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for designers as much as photographers. After CS5 was released I kinda’ wondered what more Adobe could do with the program, it appeared to have had a complete overhaul from CS4; new lens correction feature, superlative selection tools, crazy awesome Photomerge, brand new built-in HDR tool complete with one of my favourites, HDR toning etc., etc. Well I went ahead and downloaded the beta version of CS6 to see what it has on offer over its predecessor- and knowing Adobe, they’ll completely destroy my doubts about the limited scope for improvements! Let’s take a look…<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Brand-new, totally awesome Camera Raw<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Since I learned how to use it properly I’ve fallen in love with ACR! I never thought it possible, but with version 6 I could virtually edit from start to finish right inside that window without leaving and diving into ‘proper’ Photoshop. The range of sliders and adjustments was really very impressive and now in the new Camera Raw 7 things have gone even further. When you open up an un-edited RAW file (or one that has been edited in version 6 but run through Photoshop’s update algorithm) you’ll see a same-but-different window. Some sliders you’ll recognise, others are totally new. Basically what Adobe has done is take the new Develop module out of Lightroom 4 and placed it here; after all, the Develop window <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i> Camera Raw in all but naming. What they’ve done is slightly rearrange the sliders into a more usable order and add new sliders such as Highlights, Shadows and Whites that control the shadows, highlights and mid-tones independently. Noticeably many of the sliders are now set to the middle by default, so you can dial in a negative number, which wasn’t possible in ACR6. The Clarity, Vibrance and Saturation sliders are all still in the same place but can I just say that the way Clarity now works is great. This is by far my favourite tool in ACR anyway, but the look it gives your photos here is far more natural and much less ‘processed.’ Having given shunting it all the way to 100 a try I’m happy to report that in many cases this will be a more-than- acceptable practise. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit7bHaLJl-8y9rDCToLhWgNqlJBucVtnljbbg6vZvRPtWzOPFJHYRQd3jjzmZwVBl3rWo_6m4KmUM9bdxTdEhpaq5tI3ERtgxXv6_B-SHU37KH7cpuh3px3p6YdBcFe7xR5sUo6UUZFq0/s1600/ACR+7+basic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit7bHaLJl-8y9rDCToLhWgNqlJBucVtnljbbg6vZvRPtWzOPFJHYRQd3jjzmZwVBl3rWo_6m4KmUM9bdxTdEhpaq5tI3ERtgxXv6_B-SHU37KH7cpuh3px3p6YdBcFe7xR5sUo6UUZFq0/s640/ACR+7+basic.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span>Another thing I’m loving (terrible grammar I know!)is the re-designed adjustment brush. Now you can easily make selective applications of Noise Reduction and even White Balance/Tint! This is gonna prove unbelievably useful for so many people is so many situations that I think it will become a favourite amongst photographers who, for example, are dealing with varying lighting conditions out on location. The NR option is huge for me as someone who has been shooting a lot of HDR images of interiors for commercial uses; HDR inevitably produces noise and the ability to apply selective NR to flat areas when editing the original tone-mapped TIFFs, without opening two documents in regular PS is a real time and effort saver. These sliders are also available through the Graduated filter, which means reducing noise in the flat tones of a sky whilst simultaneously darkening it, kills two birds with one stone. All good <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMAeEhbG-j6pBELlOftDfwREBoAFwU6UCN-2fK1OFT_Bp9041tPrVaMlWGrGYk0JbqvO0AMS0IYY22ATNOWAh-O78EEyIRMhtGudWw5k9WM6f8q5RNMaDmKJ6SRqMJsphD7U7qg0Ma-RA/s1600/ACR+7+adjustment+brush.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMAeEhbG-j6pBELlOftDfwREBoAFwU6UCN-2fK1OFT_Bp9041tPrVaMlWGrGYk0JbqvO0AMS0IYY22ATNOWAh-O78EEyIRMhtGudWw5k9WM6f8q5RNMaDmKJ6SRqMJsphD7U7qg0Ma-RA/s640/ACR+7+adjustment+brush.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></span></span></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Content Aware Patch<o:p></o:p></b></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span>It was only a matter of time before they grouped these two tools together. The patch tool works great a lot of the time, but by making it content-aware improves the overall integration of the patched area, making it far less noticeable. Again this will make it easier to patch in tricky areas with complex patterns etc. It works in exactly the same way as the regular patch tool of Photoshops past but is just that bit more reliable; a predictable but useful addition. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6uNND9yXIivmb8OmE3hlaWOEQrjOxQtJJSvkuGtsLqkar0-x6KuNjLOMFe_XEl5Np-smpkZNmqps7pxLlV_1vGlBiYVg2g1WuNaXvip6ftKiRyGGvQvzchEggtxPkdeos0gxRf1R__Hg/s1600/Content+Aware+patch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6uNND9yXIivmb8OmE3hlaWOEQrjOxQtJJSvkuGtsLqkar0-x6KuNjLOMFe_XEl5Np-smpkZNmqps7pxLlV_1vGlBiYVg2g1WuNaXvip6ftKiRyGGvQvzchEggtxPkdeos0gxRf1R__Hg/s640/Content+Aware+patch.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">New 3D- less clunky and equally useless for most folk!<o:p></o:p></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> Ok that’s a bit unfair, but let’s face it- most photographers won’t be using the 3D features in any version of PS. For designers and the like though the new 3D functionality will make your lives less complicated; less complex panels, a new slick look and no more slightly suggestive French words that nobody understands! Corey Barker will know what I mean <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span> There’s also a new dedicated ‘Type’ tab on the main menu that makes accessing the type tools and creating paragraphs etc. quicker. You can extrude a 3D mesh from this menu too.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWpJ0-1Lbi-t8jb3THPk1JJVSoejsGA0mrRqR2v75JlORoTNanvZhxHnV8nnwHCndJ6-B2yl4eUWzXjmY9l18mWrQeIxYYIr7JSUKa2KFjlxeUqMlLOguhXf1jnv2CPhvYw0hekOy_xBU/s1600/3D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWpJ0-1Lbi-t8jb3THPk1JJVSoejsGA0mrRqR2v75JlORoTNanvZhxHnV8nnwHCndJ6-B2yl4eUWzXjmY9l18mWrQeIxYYIr7JSUKa2KFjlxeUqMlLOguhXf1jnv2CPhvYw0hekOy_xBU/s640/3D.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">'Edge Smoothing’ in HDR Pro<o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span>Nothing huge but something I’m quite keen on at first glance- this adds a smoothing effect whilst boosting the detail in the image. This gives a fancy ethereal look that I’m not sure is intentional but can be cool. I need to spend more time with this one…</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Live brush size/hardness preview!<o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I punched the air when I came across this one… you can change the brush settings using Control>click (Command>click for Mac users) and a dialogue stays live for the duration telling you your current settings. It’s not a massive alteration but one that makes the whole shortcut more useful. I always like to know my current brush status, particularly the hardness, as a value and before I had to pop up to the brush panel at the top of the screen, which personally I found a bit maddening. No more! </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAp398A3OuhmlvQdtk7b2iSKegGN0m9CJ5tmAb2TLW_h1ABsty0iIqnBRgsv8HDUj_zyZi0FTQZXNf-YTgVpXNn3j5sEdGLMBqy9w0FKfxjB4GT9rxGVV51dTGoql0LwT7J6eszmh8CNQ/s1600/Brush+size+preview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAp398A3OuhmlvQdtk7b2iSKegGN0m9CJ5tmAb2TLW_h1ABsty0iIqnBRgsv8HDUj_zyZi0FTQZXNf-YTgVpXNn3j5sEdGLMBqy9w0FKfxjB4GT9rxGVV51dTGoql0LwT7J6eszmh8CNQ/s640/Brush+size+preview.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Content Aware move tool<o:p></o:p></b></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Probably won’t be using this in a hurry but someone will. It works using the regular Content Aware function to allow you to move elements of your image whilst filling in the space left behind. I plan to have a play around with it and see what it’s capable of… </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Live crop tool dimensions<o:p></o:p></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span>Handily it is now possible to alter the dimensions that you want to crop your photos to, whilst looking at the changes live; you can choose a set of dimensions from the drop-down as usual and select a new setting at any point, without having to commit to the current settings and undo if you’re unhappy. Also, as a great composition aid you can select an overly showing not just the Rule of Thirds but also the Golden Ratio/Golden Spiral illustration for accurate post-capture framing. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk7Rp6fZat4LAKkIXPVbU00Ts_hYEhONZw41NXb-A2RbC7Jzd870qhEVWflYNhKZBZjN-q47GmTKVQQ1wEryoET_NZuUdjDC88x9KsGTFs-w3aTpgVw3535ednaKDsiuwY_sff65Dzvd4/s1600/Live+crop+tool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk7Rp6fZat4LAKkIXPVbU00Ts_hYEhONZw41NXb-A2RbC7Jzd870qhEVWflYNhKZBZjN-q47GmTKVQQ1wEryoET_NZuUdjDC88x9KsGTFs-w3aTpgVw3535ednaKDsiuwY_sff65Dzvd4/s640/Live+crop+tool.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">…To name but a few! These aren’t necessarily the biggest updates Adobe is touting, but they are the ones that mean the most to me. I’ll be interested to see if anything else is added before the final version of CS6 ships later this year </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Disclaimer: </b>I am aware that this blog is named Young, Keen and Penniless and so many of you may be thinking “How can he afford such an expensive piece of software?” Well the truth is I can’t, but I am a student and so through Student Expressware, bought CS5 Extended for 80% off! I’m therefore able to upgrade to CS6 when it becomes fully available. Thought you ought to know!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></div></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></div></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130130556008433568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287374043131484558.post-3353145366188351662012-03-17T12:56:00.002-07:002012-03-17T13:20:52.180-07:00A chance encounter!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I spent the afternoon back up on Waldridge Fell today (for the record I do visit places other than the Fell!) and was presented with a fairly nice dusk- nothing dramatic but the light was soft. To be honest I just wanted to get out of the house. You see, we’re getting a new roof and so are boxed in by scaffolding, which I can cope with, but the continuous stream of choking dust and plaster floating into my room from the attic is a bit too much - the whole thing is like something out of a 'Carry On' film where I seem to be 'a little plastered..' No?...Oh well, the point is I wanted some fresh air, which I got because the wind was freezing! Naturally I had landscapes in mind because the other great thing about this location is the heavy covering of heather, which provides an interesting foreground all year round, even if it’s bare twigs. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I decided on the 10-20mm lens to make the most of this element, whilst taking in the interesting and very threatening cloud formations in the sky. To avoid ‘losing’ some of the more distant elements in the scenes (which can so often happen when shooting out a wide focal length such as 10mm ) I set up my tripod without extending the legs too far, which gave me a low shooting angle. This allowed me to get up close to the heather and accentuate its size. For some reason I still haven’t found time to buy a 77mm adaptor ring so couldn’t easily use my ND grad - I would have had to hand-hold them in front of the lens which I hate doing, and so I bracketed my exposures for each image with 3 frames per photo at around 2 stops apart. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0eEnKSTVDlbrs-G03nRr6hc5tFDgbL2ozvALD2UC8Z2dn389lRU4OcZLQLbxiAy5K_FUKNtM0hndkU11N_H7QAzpi9tqPkQHbjPnLzlMJIeu0tVVnAgWQmnHKCLbVtGR5IDqH2m0P9Cs/s1600/Windswept+fell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0eEnKSTVDlbrs-G03nRr6hc5tFDgbL2ozvALD2UC8Z2dn389lRU4OcZLQLbxiAy5K_FUKNtM0hndkU11N_H7QAzpi9tqPkQHbjPnLzlMJIeu0tVVnAgWQmnHKCLbVtGR5IDqH2m0P9Cs/s640/Windswept+fell.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">With some seemingly successful ‘scapes’ in the bag I moved on. During the return trip to the car I found something interesting on the path in front of me. At first I thought it might be something unspeakable that a random dog had left behind as a gift, but on closer inspection I could tell it was two toads<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">1</span></sup>. I can’t recall seeing toads this close up in the wild before so quickly switched optics to the 70-200. I'm not entirely sure what the pair were doing but can only assume that they were mating - I’m no amphibian expert but that was the easy conclusion to draw! I didn’t know how timid they’d be and so kept my distance to start with, gradually moving closer firing bursts of images as I went. I suspect they must have been ‘playing dead’ or something similar because they allowed me I closer than I would have expected. Having managed to secure some ‘keepers’, I changed technique and re-fitted the wide-angle with the aim of capturing some environmental portraits. I didn’t want to push my luck by getting too close, as they could’ve easily leapt into the undergrowth by the side of the path and I’d have lost them. Nor did I want to stress them unnecessarily and therefore shot at the longest end of the lens, to fill the frame enough for a successful composition. Honestly, they seemed completely un-fazed by the experience of having a nosy photographer lie on the ground and stick an ultra-wide in their faces </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I spent about 20 minutes with the couple before leaving them to whatever it is they were doing. I was a bit disgruntled by the loud-mouthed guy and the dog with attention deficit syndrome that passed me a while later - since I’d been so careful not to disturb the animals, I had visions of the canine ‘making friends’ with them using his incisors. <o:p></o:p></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwFYKQg249D9n7Tujhg8jTgpn4dJoOoDTJT_Ywnek7xnhyphenhyphenw3yX7AvBKGT3MyxBNctOI8BmNJ4CahmQ7LKn7Be0jJF7hIXJDxs9uYzmB3sIQeZRaXkdxCpW7WEpp7JU9sMd1DdKc00izvg/s1600/IMG_6799.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwFYKQg249D9n7Tujhg8jTgpn4dJoOoDTJT_Ywnek7xnhyphenhyphenw3yX7AvBKGT3MyxBNctOI8BmNJ4CahmQ7LKn7Be0jJF7hIXJDxs9uYzmB3sIQeZRaXkdxCpW7WEpp7JU9sMd1DdKc00izvg/s640/IMG_6799.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I had to shoot all the way up at ISO2000 to keep these hand-held shots blur-free</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm9WfEPzRP1GENkQPf5r9_Lc-3IfPiEaHArdKh_mQyedFX4OP8N_2zRZ8gV_vrHcJJjmEKF7Z0NcKppz4qSropLhGvgW9KGxg2ZEcJJt2D7qF2TACGThQfAfY3tQIcxBHF3Nl2tAEXf7I/s1600/IMG_6809.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm9WfEPzRP1GENkQPf5r9_Lc-3IfPiEaHArdKh_mQyedFX4OP8N_2zRZ8gV_vrHcJJjmEKF7Z0NcKppz4qSropLhGvgW9KGxg2ZEcJJt2D7qF2TACGThQfAfY3tQIcxBHF3Nl2tAEXf7I/s640/IMG_6809.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shooting down low with a wide-angle lens showed the toads in their environment</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Anyway, it was an experience and I’m happy I stumbled across a fascinating event of nature. There’s nothing quite like your first amphibian porn shoot! Ehhemm… <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Camera settings<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></u></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My main priority was ensuring I got some sharp images, free of camera shake and so set my ISO to 800 as a starting point and an aperture of f/4. Once I was confident the toads weren’t going to flee, I began to play with settings as f/4 and at such a close focussing distance just wasn’t gonna cut it depth-of-field-wise. To keep both animals in focus I stopped down the lens in subtle increments all the way to f/11, bumping up the ISO accordingly; I needed an absolute minimum of 1/200sec shutter speed and that wasn’t taking the crop factor of my camera into account. In the end I used a max speed of ISO2000, which gave me a hand-hold-able speed of 1/400sec.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">1 </span></sup>For those who care, the organisms here look to be Common Toads (species <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bufo bufo</i>) As I say, I’m no expert so if you think differently, please fill me in (with the info, not a blunt object…) </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><o:p></o:p></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Look out for some more shots from this trip coming soon on my flickr <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>x<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130130556008433568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287374043131484558.post-67460275976283613312012-03-03T11:35:00.000-08:002012-03-03T11:35:13.249-08:00Canon unveil the EOS 5D Mark 3 !!<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-nWJ-srkmmH_LxcVLd4WUd0rCdDmDGq9WfYLQR-fc66-zh0zH6enS4aIGM9RSAf34a2q71c9Z-r34Cg5JbatYGl5zjqshW-eKqAtz5YzmqnNMos8f6QrXT8Zb_0JOSwOfzphrqTXwMNU/s1600/EOS%25205D%2520mIII%2520FSL%2520w%2520EF%252024-105mm_tcm14-907997%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-nWJ-srkmmH_LxcVLd4WUd0rCdDmDGq9WfYLQR-fc66-zh0zH6enS4aIGM9RSAf34a2q71c9Z-r34Cg5JbatYGl5zjqshW-eKqAtz5YzmqnNMos8f6QrXT8Zb_0JOSwOfzphrqTXwMNU/s320/EOS%25205D%2520mIII%2520FSL%2520w%2520EF%252024-105mm_tcm14-907997%5B1%5D.jpg" uda="true" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">So after much speculation and rumour Canon finally announced the 5D mark III which, I'm particularly enthusiastic to note, looks to be designed as pretty much a full frame 7D. Considering the release of the Nikon D800 and Canon's own 1DX, not to mention that the 5D mark II is nearly 4 years old, it is not surprising to see this newcomer. </div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Some key features include a 22mp full frame sensor, 1.04 million dot 3.2in LCD, improved AF, 100% viewfinder coverage, up to 6fps shooting, 61 point AF system, DIGIC 5+ processor, duel card slots (1x CF, 1x SD) built-in HDR mode, ISO 50-102,400 and of course full HD movies. Also borrowed from the EOS 1DX is a touch-sensitive rear control wheel. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">It seems interesting that Canon has opted for 22MP rather than attempting to compete with the 36.3 MP of the Nikon D800, although when combined with the DIGIC 5+ processor this should make low-light photography one place where this camera will feel at home. Besides, for most people the <span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">5760 x 3840 </span>pixel files<span style="font-family: "Cambria", "serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> will suffice and the value still places the 5D III as Canon’s highest-res model to date. An added advantage is the significantly faster burst rate than the D800 possible making it attractive to a wider range of photographers (I can see it finding a place in the second-body slot of many wildlife/sports shooters- don’t forget the cropping possibilities.) </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria", "serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Whilst the spec may not be what some were expecting it will be interesting to see the reaction of the pro and semi-pro markets. It can probably be guaranteed that the new camera will be just as popular as its predecessor. Here’s an early Canon promo video:-</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/4y1BEVd59tc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130130556008433568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287374043131484558.post-36812677517824185912012-02-22T12:50:00.002-08:002012-02-22T13:01:15.862-08:00A quick HDR tutorial<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzkDboM4FI8xwddudPQNKXwT3bzcrJjhQ4oiY3aFcgluFJWGbcwBp75tiSFJFUB8C1MeKvzuHTWQGEWSZb3EOkF4dMHzGkXOtp1per3AwtDPrhxkcHAXVqHkXdn0cN-ZPkAVcWiFhBmUg/s1600/Preset+selection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Love it or hate it HDR photography has become a highly popular technique and is seen by many as an essential tool for getting the best from certain scenes. For quite a long time I wasn’t too keen on the HDR ‘look’ and often wondered why I would want to ‘ruin’ my images by processing them in that way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve come to realise however, that when the photographer has an in depth knowledge of how to use their software the results can be stunning. The only reason I hadn’t thought this way before was simply because I hadn’t seen any ‘good’ HDR samples. It’s easy to go in all guns blazing and HDR everything you see and while this is a good way to learn (you’ll make all of the mistakes early on!) it’s the reason the technique has got a bit of a bad name. </span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For those who have viewed my Flickr stream you’ll know that recently I’ve been trying my hand at interior, architectural photography and what I’ve become aware of is that if there’s one thing that HDR’s well- it’s low light shots inside a building with character. I’ve been exploring both old and new designs and one place I knew would be screaming for tone mapping is the auditorium of the Gala theatre in Durham City. It’s a modern building with a slightly futuristic plan and the auditorium is great mix of rustic and new. Since gaining permission took a little effort and I didn’t know if I’d be back any time soon I erred on the side of caution and took more images than less for each bracket. I was also on a time limit so made do with 5 exposures (it’s still better than three). </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I merged the shots in Photoshop CS5’s Merge to HDR Pro software which is renowned for delivering nicely natural results; although this time I was looking for a something a bit more artistic. Since a few people have asked me how I process my HDR shots I thought I’d run through my workflow for the Gala auditorium shot from start to finish. So here goes:-</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I started my downloading the bracketed series onto an external hard drive (it’s better to merge from copies rather than originals as always to avoid corrupting your files) and since they were RAW files I accessed them through Adobe Bridge. I selected all five shots and went to Tools>Photoshop>Merge to HDR Pro. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu3xQWdawVpa3HF6EyOafdwy4C6pvL0k8md5s3NpqFfVhH181ZEUYZcGeLW4OcAYdsxPYdoovF6iUAo66depJKBO93Ihe9UFfX-Kk9scegvkrm0EFJRK_wsaNXK1qWt4NbZPgoSpaXQoM/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu3xQWdawVpa3HF6EyOafdwy4C6pvL0k8md5s3NpqFfVhH181ZEUYZcGeLW4OcAYdsxPYdoovF6iUAo66depJKBO93Ihe9UFfX-Kk9scegvkrm0EFJRK_wsaNXK1qWt4NbZPgoSpaXQoM/s640/1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This then gets Photoshop CS5 to merge all of the brackets into one image for tone mapping. After a while (and it can seem an age!) the HDR Pro dialogue pops up. As you can see the initial attempt PS made in its default settings doesn’t look that inspiring, but you’re presented with the series of sliders you can see here and we’re going to play with those in a moment. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7xDlip-tBIVLcH_7WRY_5ZFN1tEFS17LMwEJtadH6CMCG34zM-QysitD3utq4u1I3qsCGpL5un6wiUz_yoARgoXju9tKvnzPptT51pfgnSyU5J8ZBzOtuN1qpt_uY2UbVQKY1xQdFSCA/s1600/Merge+to+HDR+default.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7xDlip-tBIVLcH_7WRY_5ZFN1tEFS17LMwEJtadH6CMCG34zM-QysitD3utq4u1I3qsCGpL5un6wiUz_yoARgoXju9tKvnzPptT51pfgnSyU5J8ZBzOtuN1qpt_uY2UbVQKY1xQdFSCA/s640/Merge+to+HDR+default.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="cssfloat: right; font-family: Calibri; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Since I’ve already done the tone mapping for this image I saved all of the settings I chose as a preset; I called it Gala Auditorium1, so that I could call them all back later (which I guess came in kinda’ handy for this blog post!) Presets are awesome because they save you so much time playing with the sliders, trying to remember what you used before. I’ll often scroll through my list of presets and see how they look on a new image; even if they don’t work out of the box they may still get half of the work done for me. <img border="0" height="640" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzkDboM4FI8xwddudPQNKXwT3bzcrJjhQ4oiY3aFcgluFJWGbcwBp75tiSFJFUB8C1MeKvzuHTWQGEWSZb3EOkF4dMHzGkXOtp1per3AwtDPrhxkcHAXVqHkXdn0cN-ZPkAVcWiFhBmUg/s640/Preset+selection.jpg" width="305" /></span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I really was after bringing out all the little details in the wood panelling and the ceiling so here I’ve pushed the Detail slider all the way to 300% but compensated for the over-the-top look this could have given me by keeping the Radius and Strength sliders over to the left and pushing the Gamma to the right slightly to even out the balance of highlights and shadows. Speaking of these I brought out the shadows by pushing the shadow slider to 100 but also nudged the highlights to the right to keep a bit of overall contrast. I didn’t want to overdo things so kept the Saturation low and used a higher Vibrance amount to pick out the under-represented colours. </span></div></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio33j-N1BKRADib7cAo7DD2x0uTCrSZSovGXXJUdKLkFe4OFHtGxetjwAT6wf9-Qf8z2lH3pXclopWxvw1bKGZuul96U-lSajt1ufYAkZw3N1PyqJQZi3fQOnJbG6iHAT0SfTMTJr1NcM/s1600/Tone+Mapped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio33j-N1BKRADib7cAo7DD2x0uTCrSZSovGXXJUdKLkFe4OFHtGxetjwAT6wf9-Qf8z2lH3pXclopWxvw1bKGZuul96U-lSajt1ufYAkZw3N1PyqJQZi3fQOnJbG6iHAT0SfTMTJr1NcM/s640/Tone+Mapped.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Lastly I did a quick S-Curves adjustment to kick the contrast a little further. That’s it for tone mapping- I hit ok and CS5 merged the shots for me.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW02s5MvC1BsVg-R3WEucfuHdLPM3K-kBT0TkWx5htKDv4V0by5Lxu-hsWH8JHnzeLhCsYu4i_UXklb48Ot5Gh_8_xVIOqxKj1Vqjegsw6CrK5gxQrxOROtDysiwWb_8q4d4-47bws_PY/s1600/Tone+map+curve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW02s5MvC1BsVg-R3WEucfuHdLPM3K-kBT0TkWx5htKDv4V0by5Lxu-hsWH8JHnzeLhCsYu4i_UXklb48Ot5Gh_8_xVIOqxKj1Vqjegsw6CrK5gxQrxOROtDysiwWb_8q4d4-47bws_PY/s640/Tone+map+curve.jpg" width="283" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The shot wasn’t quite there yet though- it was a bit flat and needed some more tweaking. For most of the editing in this case I used Adobe Camera Raw, applying some contrast using the Fill light and Blacks sliders and bringing out some more detail using Clarity and by sharpening. ACR’s adjustment brush came in handy for applying localised adjustments, whilst leaving other parts of the image untouched. I love sharpening here because you can really push things to the extreme without introducing any nasty halos and you can easily mask out any flat tones using the masking slider to avoid accentuating noise. There’s also the Detail slider here which can work wonders for bringing out textures such as in the panelling and the curtains around the stage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglGxD7UOGVvdy5l3FLh0jP62Fq5sMhhp63tBW8CPEl5UBrW6tZhQMr5ZkAH_uBFSXjvLF5FM3wcZEmNaZsaQv2gOXGq_616fIGaBoeN6rU8isKTiAIZyqpk93UAJfcxzhViG_jmCdAkL8/s1600/ACR+default.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="356" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglGxD7UOGVvdy5l3FLh0jP62Fq5sMhhp63tBW8CPEl5UBrW6tZhQMr5ZkAH_uBFSXjvLF5FM3wcZEmNaZsaQv2gOXGq_616fIGaBoeN6rU8isKTiAIZyqpk93UAJfcxzhViG_jmCdAkL8/s640/ACR+default.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>I then opened the image in regular Photoshop for some additional Levels, Curves and Colour Balance tweaks and for cropping. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This time I chose a panoramic crop to emphasize the ‘ultra-wide’ feeling, using a 12in x 6in preset that I made. Since this was a theatre I thought it would be a nice touch to add a border above and below the image, simulating letterbox movie film dimensions (even though 12x6 isn’t officially a standard movie aspect ratio). I did this by expanding the canvas [Image>Canvas Size] and adding 15% to the Height field. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNnHAAALGghFzgB5iUWk0jScP-kGekykNyf8opID0C3_qu3RYtM_2-t1AFpRgO-91xn5vssXH06RWU9iIVJqDZcY-ptD8nL1p7ewbpMNsOilKwL6V9S9Bm397peT34nYHTdSEyEI1cN34/s1600/Open+in+PS+crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNnHAAALGghFzgB5iUWk0jScP-kGekykNyf8opID0C3_qu3RYtM_2-t1AFpRgO-91xn5vssXH06RWU9iIVJqDZcY-ptD8nL1p7ewbpMNsOilKwL6V9S9Bm397peT34nYHTdSEyEI1cN34/s640/Open+in+PS+crop.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">That’s it, done. There are plenty of other examples I could have shown you but this is as good as any! A lot of perfecting your HDR workflow and favourite ‘looks’ is down to experimentation and trial and error. I strongly recommend saving your settings as presets since you can always use these as a starting point for every image you tone map and you won’t have that frustrating experience of struggling to remember what you used before. There are a number of software packages to choose from- I just used Merge to HDR Pro because it comes with Photoshop. Why not try Photomatix or Nik software’s HDR Efex pro and see what you prefer? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOX9_HpiI4HsYft2hMQYjr9EAoiI8VuFfqEqkiD9kevyxI3jkyzNMab9iBBxedeBSXd2X2BW96uN4ehhzuXkiOYV4zQWwALhlO-uAb6iIMa186Pnq_2Y5TceYu1Vbn0iY4tjLyYH9biEs/s1600/Final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="368" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOX9_HpiI4HsYft2hMQYjr9EAoiI8VuFfqEqkiD9kevyxI3jkyzNMab9iBBxedeBSXd2X2BW96uN4ehhzuXkiOYV4zQWwALhlO-uAb6iIMa186Pnq_2Y5TceYu1Vbn0iY4tjLyYH9biEs/s640/Final.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After</td></tr>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130130556008433568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287374043131484558.post-78885907863323774092012-02-07T02:52:00.000-08:002012-02-07T02:52:48.467-08:00Welcome! (and about this blog)Hi there! My name is Peter Fenech, I'm 19 and a passionate photographer. I'm also new to blogging. I don't consider myself a photographic expert, but I certainly know more about imaging than blogging, so bear with me. Seriously, only a short while ago, if somebody told me they had a blog I would have advised them to see a doctor (assuming they had a mysterious wart or something equally hard to eradicate!) I first picked up a camera seriously about four years ago, after I completed a work experience at a professional photographer's (and family friend's) although I have enjoyed taking 'snaps' for as long as I can remember. I'm now on my second DSLR and have built up a system around my main photographic interests; landscapes and macro. For me there's nothing more satisfying than being up and out on location for a dawn landscape shoot, probably because I'm extremely antisocial and tourists are few and far between at 5am!<br />
Anyway, enough about me- what about the blog? Well it's mainly aimed at young people like myself, but is just as relevant for anybody with a shred of financial sense. As much as I love photography I, like many others like me I'd imagine, find my age somewhat limiting; I don't have the privilege of an executive job (or a hefty inheritance) and so financing my hobby can be quite difficult at times- and let's face it, if there's one thing you need as a photographer it's cash. All the same, people have often asked me how I still manage to get certain images without items of photo gear they thought essential and I always come back with the same answer- improvisation. I do think one of my strengths is that I actually enjoy getting creative with the equipment I do have, enabling me to confidently substitute the 'ideal' gear with something from my kit bag. Here I'll give away some of the useful tips and tricks I've either thought of myself or learned from other photographers, to help you get the shots you want, even if you find yourself at a 'equipmental' (if that's a word) disadvantage. Well that and other random stuff...! No matter if you're young, or just plain broke, you CAN keep on shooting. You just have to be keen!<br />
<br />
Welcome to YKP...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBcAWQpeYn6bFglYZqYaH4LaCkmpuMb02MyzTdj3HjG3oVn9MA22tw88kNT0CjknwiIaWZ9GoQkAxSa2K1BuQ6zwSbsOHmYoTeF4KDqTqL-h_EfwPukfG6wpfoB7Ox3i9rdNlcoUyYglY/s1600/Marsden+Rock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBcAWQpeYn6bFglYZqYaH4LaCkmpuMb02MyzTdj3HjG3oVn9MA22tw88kNT0CjknwiIaWZ9GoQkAxSa2K1BuQ6zwSbsOHmYoTeF4KDqTqL-h_EfwPukfG6wpfoB7Ox3i9rdNlcoUyYglY/s320/Marsden+Rock.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some quick examples of what I do</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqX3vOyrZdZvbessAH6PiwwyRX2PV5WJw1CPXc69y5nK-sM4Izh4z847pCafqP9l3W5P-I2XWRh2mpg1bsBi5y3eDajUxbi1Ou9hQ_1aPcGzA7CtJNod-sEEfUAmixxMhF0w6Z9cSKK8/s1600/Dawn+on+Waldridge+Fell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqX3vOyrZdZvbessAH6PiwwyRX2PV5WJw1CPXc69y5nK-sM4Izh4z847pCafqP9l3W5P-I2XWRh2mpg1bsBi5y3eDajUxbi1Ou9hQ_1aPcGzA7CtJNod-sEEfUAmixxMhF0w6Z9cSKK8/s320/Dawn+on+Waldridge+Fell.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favourite time to shoot is dawn</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3zu05_glHqPRYz7R1Nkn42dJIyGrMOgXbAj6dydZSFoyU6gtj_NGlxT21JV645nQ8-DiHgyVnqqfByibUq6679HRQRXgIrYj1hskt5X6wpTJhgixQN07jgPAVWff04yQ46xzX9xK7DFE/s1600/The+Groyne+Lighthouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3zu05_glHqPRYz7R1Nkn42dJIyGrMOgXbAj6dydZSFoyU6gtj_NGlxT21JV645nQ8-DiHgyVnqqfByibUq6679HRQRXgIrYj1hskt5X6wpTJhgixQN07jgPAVWff04yQ46xzX9xK7DFE/s320/The+Groyne+Lighthouse.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As you'll start to suspect I'm particularly fond of seascapes</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZhrC1wnfWVugMGHFH67-YnEfJ7FPavL7sk7zTeY7qAKDTSI8VDkxg1EraAgQDmkkAlrQf9Tgbd_X-bZywfzB98tEthvWMnNzvlCA6t0RR3eUmxtXgaBMSWdy1QoYaw1OCtuMb_Pf2w90/s1600/PFP+logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZhrC1wnfWVugMGHFH67-YnEfJ7FPavL7sk7zTeY7qAKDTSI8VDkxg1EraAgQDmkkAlrQf9Tgbd_X-bZywfzB98tEthvWMnNzvlCA6t0RR3eUmxtXgaBMSWdy1QoYaw1OCtuMb_Pf2w90/s320/PFP+logo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130130556008433568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287374043131484558.post-32993694818847561652012-01-14T12:23:00.000-08:002012-01-14T12:23:53.016-08:00I finally got out of the house (I hate revision!)<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I finally managed to get out and shoot a landscape in decent light the other day, jumping at the opportunity to head up to Waldridge Fell, near Chester-le-Street, County Durham (where I live) at dusk. I really underestimated the Fell at first, thinking that because it was only a few minutes in the car from home (and being open/flat) that there weren’t many in the way of photo opportunities. However, I’ve come to realise that this openness is actually a major strength- you get clear views of the landscape at both dawn and dusk. In particular I’m drawn to a small lake (actually it’s more of an over-sized pond!) that makes a great foreground feature no-matter what time you shoot. There is the added compositional element of a lone tree on one bank that can give your images a wonderfully peaceful, solitary feel, especially in low light. It doesn’t look like much when you first see it but it has provided me with what I believe are many successful landscapes. The low foliage around about 70% of the lake means clear, uncluttered photos and great minimalist reflections when the light is right; and on this occasion I was lucky in that it was close to the perfect sunset.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The sky was very clear which was quite disappointing at first since I obviously wanted to avoid including too much of a boring, blank expanse at the top of my pictures, although before long a few attractive clouds drifted in to hold the colour of the setting sun. I remained mostly and the East bank this time, making the most of the sun-burst, shooting directly into it. I tried several different approaches, shooting wide to get in more of the opposite lake-side and then racking in tight on that lone tree, with the sun behind it. I also made a point of shooting a couple of panos, taking images in landscape followed by portrait orientation to see what would work best-since my current workload meant I didn’t know when I’d be out again, I wanted to covered my bases and make sure I got something usable. A image that turned out nicely is the one below, which is actually a pano of 3 portrait-shot pics, extended using PS CS5. The initial stitch turned out a funny shape, but instead of cropping I used CS5’s Content Aware Fill function to fill in the gaps. It needed some retouching not a lot. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGGl8CEH_UmlyGqSXI3Xz7Ji1_iR6z8FB5Eo9JJlQYOwaSkWsN4DSXV43EKVi4ZJiXBSJTpUZTaADUx-hiqsaOhw8mkX6k5_w9Dp6WIT_txk0ZvXppSA7q8hNvwB41xUwhatHJ8Ws_oMo/s1600/Waldridge+Fell+lake+Dusk+pano.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGGl8CEH_UmlyGqSXI3Xz7Ji1_iR6z8FB5Eo9JJlQYOwaSkWsN4DSXV43EKVi4ZJiXBSJTpUZTaADUx-hiqsaOhw8mkX6k5_w9Dp6WIT_txk0ZvXppSA7q8hNvwB41xUwhatHJ8Ws_oMo/s320/Waldridge+Fell+lake+Dusk+pano.jpg" width="264" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Overall I must have taken a good 150 images- enough to keep me happy for a week or two in Photoshop. I was really impressed by the gradation of colours throughout the evening, from deep reds and oranges to subtle blues and purples. I took far more bracketed sequences than is normal for me as I’m presently having a go at improving my HDR skills, although most of the images here are single frames, balanced through the use my trusty Cokin ND grad filters. As it happens I think I need a new ND8- this (my most used grad) has a few too many scratches which light up like a beacon when photographing into the sun; they were a real pain in the &^%! here and I spent far longer than I wanted with the patch and clone tools! </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWw_N2UbOtw1CFShfoaCEXzFVtU0GfWxhICyTcfEiEQIOVWdfE4O0mTBtUjlKI6DrFDqTIZ_4ElbPhkM7IK2UHmF2tYMQTfsthzgeK_No5SgK7s6n3zTZxhna5o82ekepMYIHZn0JCsLY/s1600/Dusk+%2540+Waldrige+HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWw_N2UbOtw1CFShfoaCEXzFVtU0GfWxhICyTcfEiEQIOVWdfE4O0mTBtUjlKI6DrFDqTIZ_4ElbPhkM7IK2UHmF2tYMQTfsthzgeK_No5SgK7s6n3zTZxhna5o82ekepMYIHZn0JCsLY/s320/Dusk+%2540+Waldrige+HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An HDR shot of 7 merged exposures</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizk6CupBgd4o8YKU-Zv2R8UvJonFNkGzOn_41kxYFWnpYFeP1H8dRA9pQypQMeimdAE7a1NlJYR2JE2cqeCCTy2k4Jo9iTlH37PI9M2EeFWgRmciy9IwVq1Pk_vxMpwPW0M6o10CKDamE/s1600/IMG_5933.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizk6CupBgd4o8YKU-Zv2R8UvJonFNkGzOn_41kxYFWnpYFeP1H8dRA9pQypQMeimdAE7a1NlJYR2JE2cqeCCTy2k4Jo9iTlH37PI9M2EeFWgRmciy9IwVq1Pk_vxMpwPW0M6o10CKDamE/s320/IMG_5933.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Equipment</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Simple list this time; I shot all evening on my Canon EOS 7D and EF-S 17-85mm lens, on a Manfrotto 190XproB + 496RC2 head, complete with cable release. Filter-wise I was quite a bit kore stacked than I usually like to be utilizing a Polarizer, ND4 and ND8 grads (although not for long at the same time) and a full ND8 to reduce the ripples in the water. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Let’s just hope that once my upcoming Uni exams are over I’ll get out and about a little, well actually quite a bit more often </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div><strong>Oh and watch this..!</strong><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I love Photoshop (oh sorry Fotoshop) but you have to admit this is funny :)</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130130556008433568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287374043131484558.post-69615901561502633552012-01-01T04:56:00.000-08:002012-01-01T07:24:24.822-08:00Happy New Year!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijMeuIqjeIMSfqzVd9s0_R8qbXf7Dm37qJo7J6IPYqoMGu-yojY2K1RkSx7gl_AIdnXd78puLXJ6qzo65iULdPERXahIKLgYRKtC7wvUqfCiJlyima8Sh1bNPuFhH5ZmT0SFswc3GiFZs/s1600/images%255B9%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijMeuIqjeIMSfqzVd9s0_R8qbXf7Dm37qJo7J6IPYqoMGu-yojY2K1RkSx7gl_AIdnXd78puLXJ6qzo65iULdPERXahIKLgYRKtC7wvUqfCiJlyima8Sh1bNPuFhH5ZmT0SFswc3GiFZs/s1600/images%255B9%255D.jpg" /></a></div>So 2011 is over! It was quite an exciting time in terms of photography. As well as the many expected technological advancments in the production of dSLRs we also saw the Compact System Camera (CSC) market spring to life, introducing a whole new exciting option for photographers. When these started showing up I have to admit I was a little sceptical- I've got nothing against small cameras but I was kinda concerned that sector wasn't really going anywhere special i.e. it was just another gimicky bandwagon the camera makers were using to stop people getting bored with their line-ups. However with the recent introduction of models like the Samsung NX200 and in particular the incredible Sony NEX 7 I think I'm converted!<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhClibMyVTd_gwpFy6VDEW7MhmOQeTq-GX8tuMJCXirwrBCtR5116Bgx0ixtoXT7d0vZ7MGjS07ezbaNY75dYKx3XZPCerVRBDorGsE753ngADOR1wt3dwpu390LETo2kvl62BYp-il_sU/s1600/images%255B4%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhClibMyVTd_gwpFy6VDEW7MhmOQeTq-GX8tuMJCXirwrBCtR5116Bgx0ixtoXT7d0vZ7MGjS07ezbaNY75dYKx3XZPCerVRBDorGsE753ngADOR1wt3dwpu390LETo2kvl62BYp-il_sU/s1600/images%255B4%255D.jpg" /></a>As a Canon user I guess the biggest news for me was the launch of the much andticipated replacement for the EOS 1DS III, the 1DX. I was suprised (like many I imagine) at the spec of this camera, but pleasently so. The techies at Canon finally decided it was time to respond to Nikon's offering of the D3s and produce a camera that was all about low-light performance and less about pixels. What really made me re-read the press release (in AP magazine) was that fact that this camera not only replaces the 1DS but also steps up to relieve the EOS 1D IV. Interesting. Naturally this is all slightly irrelevant to me as there isn't a chance in hell I'm gonna be able to buy myself a 1DX any time soon but it still gave me a buzz to see which direction my company was heading. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Another proud moment for a "Canonian" was to see the EOS 5D II hailed as the best camera of all time in the Amateur Photographer forums. That wasn't what I was expecting either! I had my money on a Leica rangefinder. Even more important to me was that my beloved 7D came in at No. 6- quite an achievment. Buying my 7D had to be the biggest event of my year- truly not even the mightly 1DX could tempt me away from it :)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So as we look into 2012 it's exciting to contemplate what the world of photography will see next!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">My photo New Year Resolutions:-</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1) Shoot more HDR!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2) Do my best to get more travelling in and find new places to shoot and explore.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3) Shoot more portraits.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4 (and most importantly) Continue to grow and expand as a photogarpher, being clearly focussed on continuing to develop my own style...</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>HAPPY NEW YEAR... :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130130556008433568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287374043131484558.post-30006994663617179082011-12-29T05:48:00.000-08:002011-12-29T05:48:32.455-08:00A late Merry Christmas!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjViR4vF3q4sYPxoEajeYs374bR9sLpzMuIGxHoN1j4XdEpfif2oyh4A1Vo53s-Gp09I3D6aQYLL2AjGFcsGRUE3GK80KoO2xHuTypCm7nXnVn8yPIgl6hlkuGYIVp8H20JpNpo4n5aDwo/s1600/Merry+Christmas+%2528and+a+happy+New+Year%2521%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjViR4vF3q4sYPxoEajeYs374bR9sLpzMuIGxHoN1j4XdEpfif2oyh4A1Vo53s-Gp09I3D6aQYLL2AjGFcsGRUE3GK80KoO2xHuTypCm7nXnVn8yPIgl6hlkuGYIVp8H20JpNpo4n5aDwo/s320/Merry+Christmas+%2528and+a+happy+New+Year%2521%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Sorry :) Better late than never so Merry Christmas! Hope you all had a good one. Happily I've recieved some added motivation photographically from two books I recieved as presents- <em>The Photoshop CS5 Book for Digital Photographers</em> by Scott Kelby and <em>The HDR Book </em>by Rafael Concepcion. Both these guys are incredible photographers and rock as authors of photography books. I know I'm gettin' old 'cos let's face it; when you're a kid books just get you <em>that</em> excited at Christmas. It's all toys and videos (yes I remember VHS!) back then, but I think it might be time to face it- I'm officially boring.<br />
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Anyway, hope Santa brought you what you wanted. I asked for a Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 IS II USM but apparently his insurance wouldn't cover the transport of such an item so... better luck next year, wink wink :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130130556008433568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287374043131484558.post-85507063090117265272011-12-01T13:10:00.000-08:002011-12-30T04:06:05.639-08:00My image 'Layers' in North East Life Magazine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5IkrBiuBXyv-ApPQR0-u_he9PptwEz3HWAJVQpl7EiaVym-xeoDaapp-lzh-oq263WISy0ARzpmWmxYbQEKOrajBJT2nWEmHYO4KDAF3bhfv_tuOvtknd3zKdYHp6Oea-c_C8_34LPOo/s1600/39%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5IkrBiuBXyv-ApPQR0-u_he9PptwEz3HWAJVQpl7EiaVym-xeoDaapp-lzh-oq263WISy0ARzpmWmxYbQEKOrajBJT2nWEmHYO4KDAF3bhfv_tuOvtknd3zKdYHp6Oea-c_C8_34LPOo/s320/39%255B1%255D.jpg" width="228" /></a></div>I was once again pretty psyched to see one of my images published this week, this time in North East Life Magazine (a regional mag produced my Archant Publishing.) I'd almost forgotten that I'd sent them a selection of shots from across the North East as it was about 3 or 4 months back. NEL is always a good read, with articles on events and people from around Tyne and Wear, Durham etc. I was in a garden centre last Sunday and happened to pass a stand stacked with this month's issue. it always features some really great photography (hint, hint!) on a range of subjects, unsuprisingly featuring images of local landmarks and landscapes. Upon flicking through to the reader photos section I remember thinking "Oh ye, I wonder mine will ever get in here" with it taking several moment for me to realise I was staring at my own work! It went via something like "Hey that's quite nice" to "actually that looks a little like my shot" and eventually reaching "Wait a mo, that IS mine!" And sure enough there was a caption with my name and a bit of info I provided about the location and viewpoint etc. They actually got most of those detail wrong as it happens! It wasn't shot at Penshaw as the caption claimed but was in fact made from Grange Villa using a telephoto lens (70-200mm) and I was up taking it at dawn not dusk. You can read about that shoot on this blog (here's the link <a href="http://ykpphotography.blogspot.com/2011/08/tales-of-stressy-landscaper.html">http://ykpphotography.blogspot.com/2011/08/tales-of-stressy-landscaper.html</a>) Still I was obviously thrilled to see my efforts were justified.<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">All I can say is it's a good job I didn't think that image was aweful before realising it was my own! Here it is:- </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiDWtL9hMu8QG_DpQlDQQ76UMbDx0LBw9e3mRiJQei6F2kIJV4locqyhoSa6gkGxxgLGv_ChNWj8fbJMJ1tA3lCvxLLc1IQ9hfly9d3SyLX6rQX7nkeSs4DgAo2MnVsJEGSc_Or759oOM/s1600/IMG_329-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiDWtL9hMu8QG_DpQlDQQ76UMbDx0LBw9e3mRiJQei6F2kIJV4locqyhoSa6gkGxxgLGv_ChNWj8fbJMJ1tA3lCvxLLc1IQ9hfly9d3SyLX6rQX7nkeSs4DgAo2MnVsJEGSc_Or759oOM/s320/IMG_329-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130130556008433568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287374043131484558.post-45855637024622693472011-11-20T08:35:00.000-08:002011-11-20T08:35:33.022-08:00Lumiere 2011 is here!If you don't know what Lumiere is (or don't live near Durham, NE England) then this won't mean much to you, but if you want to learn more head over to my 500px page and my blog there. The point is I'm really looking forward to seeing Durham lit-up again, it would be atmospheric even if I weren't a photographer, but the picture opportunites really make it something special. And Durham really is the ideal location! Check back here in the next few days as I'll post any images I think are worthy :) <br />
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Here is the link to the Lumiere webpage:- <a href="http://www.lumieredurham.co.uk/">http://www.lumieredurham.co.uk/</a><br />
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Apparently it's better than ever this year!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130130556008433568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287374043131484558.post-9335935592556683282011-11-06T02:40:00.000-08:002013-08-27T15:45:17.552-07:00My top 10 tricks for getting awesome autumn shots!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Like most landscape photographers I would imagine, I love being out and about enjoying fantastic autumnal colours and the endless picture opportunities they offer. Last year was a particularly colourful one and I hoping for an equally impressive display of seasonal hues in the next few months.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Whilst I’m no pro I thought it might be quite nice to put together a list of what I think to be the best ways of getting great autumn shots, making sure we get the most out of what nature is offering us. Below are my ‘Top Ten’ techniques for creating images to be proud of- get out and use them before all the leaves are gone and/or keep this page in your favourites until next year! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">10) Try showing movement:</b> I feel a little mean sticking this right down at number 10 as it can really be a great trick for producing abstract images with an extra ‘something’, but it may not be to everyone’s taste so here it is! Try using a slower shutter speed to introduce some movement into your shots. Since you’ll more than likely find yourself shooting trees, using a slower shutter value will show up any movement in the branches caused by wind. An exposure of around 1/30<sup>th</sup> sec will give you a slight blur to the leaves (depending on wind strength) while 1 sec or more and you can get some really abstract streaks of colour. This works if you haven’t got anything interesting in the scene before you to make you’re subject- focus solely on those autumn hues! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">9)</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Shoot on dull days:</b> A way of making use of whatever light you happen to be faced with. Whilst it’s lovely to have nice beams of strong autumn sunlight streaming into your shot, shooting on an overcast day, with the low contrast, can be a fantastic route to saturated colours. If the sky seems uninspiring, focus on the little details and shoot some leaves in close-up. Try adding a burst of flash to create a little contrast and a bit of sparkle to your subject. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">8) Shoot at dawn or dusk:</b> the key to any great landscape photo, if not a little limiting on the number if images you are able to produce through the season (not everyone has time to do this often). If you have the opportunity, shooting at these times will give you those rich golds, reds and browns along with a dreamy glow, all caused by the directional light of the low sun. I love to photograph back-lit leaves at these times, which will give intense colour and great detail of the leaf structure. If you can make dawn or dusk, try early(ish) morning (on your way to work/school/university etc.) or late afternoon. That’s the brilliant thing about this time of year- the light is good for most of the day, with dawn fairly late and sunset early. Try combining this with no. 7…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">7) Shoot into the light:</b> aiming your camera into the sun gives amazing back and rim-lighting effects and doing this helps you get the most out of the directional light in no. 8 above. Obviously don’t look at the sun in your viewfinder (spare a thought for your eyes) or leave the lens pointing at it for too long (this can burn your shutter.) These sort of go without saying. Oh and watch out for flare- invest in a skylight or UV filter, pronto. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">6) Use a warm-up filter:</b> either on your lens or when in the digital dark room. These do what they say on the box- give your image a warmer tone, which works great with the already warm colours of the season. In Photoshop go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Photo Filter and select one of the warming filters. I usually use the 81 <em>or</em> 85 filters. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">5) Even better than that- use your White Balance to get it right in-camera:</b> this is one area where you don’t want to rely on your camera’s auto WB as all those reds and yellows will get it totally confused and you won’t get the look you’re after. Use the ‘Shade’ or ‘Cloudy’ presets depending on how warm you want your image to be. This is works well as it complements the naturally low kelvin values of autumn scenes. If you’re shooting film you’ll have to resort to no. 6. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">4) Underexpose: </b>I’m not getting into the on-going debate about whether in digital photography it’s better to under- or overexpose, because in this case it is absolutely a nice idea to under expose slightly, as this will give you nice saturated colours (as well as prevent blown-out highlights.) Don’t go crazy; try starting with -1/3 EV using your exposure compensation control (in P, Av and Tv modes) and working from there. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">3) Without doubt, use a polarizer: </b>Ok so we’re onto the top 3. Firstly you definitely want to be using a circular polarizing filter to reduce glare on leaves and give your precious colours a lift. This filter is a no-brainer for landscape photographers and should be in everyone’s kit bag; this case is no exception. Oh and it will cut the light entering your camera by about 2 stops, allowing you to blur water and branches with longer exposures, which is no bad thing as long as you have a good tripod.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">2) Know your location:</b> in at number 2 we have something I truly believe in- know the good spots from which to shoot. If you have a good idea of what might make some good autumnal photos before the colour shows itself you’re in for a better chance of getting the pics you want. Preparation is everything. Those stunning colours aren’t around for long so plan your images and get them while you can!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy5x_t7yZaYbaUWm6LULNJGIqz9nV6Bc7MbRAqmhey0XEF72X1tT63wTOqAguQorML00jbtLdaRdqxzzEkI6NNAbG3-UxZ1r7xIe9f0tRVC9nTkgbvxC4-zUNicRN6EWm1IyjrUNeAdyo/s1600/IMG_4804+flkr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy5x_t7yZaYbaUWm6LULNJGIqz9nV6Bc7MbRAqmhey0XEF72X1tT63wTOqAguQorML00jbtLdaRdqxzzEkI6NNAbG3-UxZ1r7xIe9f0tRVC9nTkgbvxC4-zUNicRN6EWm1IyjrUNeAdyo/s320/IMG_4804+flkr.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">1) DON’T JUST MAKE THE COLOUR THE SUBJECT! : </b>I think this merits 1<sup>st</sup> place- avoid the shots all the ‘happy snappers’ out there are getting and don’t make the sole focus of your image the autumnal colours themselves. A brightly coloured tree doesn’t necessarily make a good photo in its own right. Look for something, anything to photograph in the colourful surroundings. Even if it’s a little stream, or a person walking into the shot to show scale, or an animal interacting with the environment. Anything. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s easy to get carried away with all that colour and start snapping at everything, but get a clear idea of what you want in your mind and I can guarantee you images with impact! [Unless you’re a dog or an octopus or a fungus, in which case you probably won’t be able to hold the camera properly or indeed understand anything I’ve written here. Hey life’s difficult, get over it… : )] </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnWJHOmKVXHOMLj-wCGYi1d5K96h79-8wsAPJOsTJZdd_8WuGHzyY1gbxkeQRyKnOAO-xj1yfAPqnf1U-Ya83gDVfVBajgSNKnG09rnx5QFUbGJr8pbhUx78yxncWRYIEBzQPNQZRvZ2s/s1600/IMG_4891-border2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnWJHOmKVXHOMLj-wCGYi1d5K96h79-8wsAPJOsTJZdd_8WuGHzyY1gbxkeQRyKnOAO-xj1yfAPqnf1U-Ya83gDVfVBajgSNKnG09rnx5QFUbGJr8pbhUx78yxncWRYIEBzQPNQZRvZ2s/s320/IMG_4891-border2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’d like to hear if you have any comments on the above list: do you agree with my ‘Top Ten’? Contact me by commenting here, or by leaving a message on my website, Flickr page, or 500px site (see right for the links.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Happy shooting this autumn!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Peter<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>x </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130130556008433568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287374043131484558.post-38634785423509584122011-11-02T11:45:00.000-07:002011-11-02T11:45:13.528-07:00Here's those AP Spotlight photosAs promised, here are those shots that were published in Amateur Photographer magazine a couple of weeks ago (if not slightly late!) It was great to see my work Published, particularly in a prestigious mag like AP. I was a little surprised that 'Evening Light' was chosen: whilst I've always liked it I wasn't sure if it was what the AP team were looking for, but obviously (and happily!) it must have made an impression.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi29vI3lwpsFtzzd8CGWiNIOScaRCrqvQqpIuVTRj7A5ypQkBGTn_FZ4vxgVhca1XZOQSnHm7ClmFy0frQKg7mP79H_8a61LjV_1oojzms7ONPxQ_jdq0NPossPVqATH8iPvCb42GkW-xk/s1600/IMG_3349-Poppies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi29vI3lwpsFtzzd8CGWiNIOScaRCrqvQqpIuVTRj7A5ypQkBGTn_FZ4vxgVhca1XZOQSnHm7ClmFy0frQKg7mP79H_8a61LjV_1oojzms7ONPxQ_jdq0NPossPVqATH8iPvCb42GkW-xk/s400/IMG_3349-Poppies.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Poppies'</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYbtnZ-nZp6acSP2yIbZxVXRLMmvLBrVVF5VO0QABhnYGyMVxbxWJ6XOXcHqAj6nnaaSEY-Ki5GnmdUWDDin4oshFMfoffLC95fG9SeXdj-Fyus3QoWLv5__HIR3w_TfG5UVZo5HPHY1Y/s1600/Evening+Light.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYbtnZ-nZp6acSP2yIbZxVXRLMmvLBrVVF5VO0QABhnYGyMVxbxWJ6XOXcHqAj6nnaaSEY-Ki5GnmdUWDDin4oshFMfoffLC95fG9SeXdj-Fyus3QoWLv5__HIR3w_TfG5UVZo5HPHY1Y/s400/Evening+Light.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Evening Light'</td></tr>
</tbody></table>All I've got to work towards now is the Spotlight Picture of the Week.... : )Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130130556008433568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4287374043131484558.post-56025054488631977772011-10-17T09:50:00.000-07:002011-10-17T09:50:14.397-07:00My Images in Amateur Photographer MagazineI was pleasantly surprised to receive an e-mail this week informing me that some of my images have been used for the 'Reader Spotlight' section in the next issue of AP Magazine. What is meant by 'some' I do not yet know (I won't get this issue until Wednesday) but having tried several times over the last few years to have them publish my shots I feel an element of satisfaction that I've got some through! I've seen my photos in the 'Appraisal' column on a couple of occasions but it's been the Gallery I've wanted to get too. As I've said before I don't think I'm an amazing photographer, but It's nice to get some recognition from the experts. When I know what shots have been used I'll post them here so non-AP readers can take a look (if so inclined!)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02130130556008433568noreply@blogger.com0