In A Rush

Bex and I didn’t have anything planned during today so we went down to the harbour in our local city. It was quite late by the time we got there. So I thought instead of trying to get a sharp image, I’ll make the most of the conditions and use a slower shutter speed to blur the movement of passing cars.

We were walking alongside a busy road which gave me the idea of blurring the movement of a passing car. So for this photo I slowed the shutter speed of 1/30^th of a second this means that the background will be blurred but the car will still be relatively sharp. As it was dark I used the widest aperture of F4.5 which gave a shallow depth of field.

To edit the photo I increased the contrast and the brightness. I did this because I thought the photo could do with a bit more ‘punch’. I also de-saturated the photo because I thought the photo had a bit of a colour cast to it.

Overall I am impressed with this photo, and I really like how the lights of the car have become refracted through the lens to make the patterns on the image. I’m glad I didn’t change much in the image because I like the overall effect that I created.

Mat

Take a Trip

My laptop broke today, so I'm going to have to take a trip back in photographic time as I'm currently using an older laptop while I wait for the other to be repaired. However, this is the exception; I went on a wander today with my new lens. I tried to focus on wildlife, in order to test the lens at higher focal lengths. I took this at 200mm as the seagull was landing in the water. It’s been incredibly cloudy all day, so I decided to couple the effect of the clouds with the theme of time.

To exaggerate the effect of the sun behind the clouds and take the theme of time into account, I edited the image in Photoshop. By taking the photo into the sun, most of the colour had been lost so I converted it to black and white. I then darkened highlights and increased the contrast. I sharpened the image and removed noise. I then selected everything apart from the bird and increased the contrast further, in order to make the cloud pattern more prominent.

I liked trying to follow a theme for a change, it made me a little more focused and provided a source of inspiration. I did suffer for my hobby today; I had to towel-dry my hair when I got home!!!

Bex

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Industrial

This is one of my favourite photos that I took on my walk around the harbour yesterday. An event was organised to showcase the history of the local area. Train tracks snake around the harbourside, in between the many cranes. In this event train carriages were placed in various locations around the harbour and the cranes and buildings were lit up.

As I walked up the road towards the harbour this view presented itself and I loved it! I used my wide-angle lens to capture it as best I could. I didn’t want to use my tripod, so had to use a wide aperture and the fastest shutter speed possible. On screen, the image didn’t seem to have much detail but I loved the view so tried to recover as much as I could in Photoshop. I don’t often use the shadows and highlights tool, but thought I’d give it a go in the hopes it would help my case; it did!

Apart from lightening shadows, I haven’t edited this photo at all. I love how it’s captured the light shining on the wet pavement and how the wide aperture makes this picture seem endless. I didn’t try to remove any noise, as it is most prominent in the sky but I like the texture that the noise gives it. This is one of my favourite images that I have uploaded, and I’m really pleased with it. I will definitely be using this tool more often!!

Bex

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Watching the World

Perhaps not the world, but certainly a small part of my local area! I took this photo during an early evening walk around the harbour this evening. Although it may feel a little depressing that Christmas Day has passed and the days are incredibly short, I don’t let it get me down!

I went on a trip to my local harbour this afternoon. I took my tripod, my wide-angle lens and my telephoto. I took this particular photo on my wide-angle lens to try to get a larger view of what was across the water. I used a slow shutter speed coupled with a high ISO to enable me to use a narrow aperture (giving me a larger depth of field). I have seen a few photos of busy towns that have tried to convey the passing of time. I took inspiration from these photos and tried to use their results in my image. Each of the shots I saw were dark and focused on lights and signs, so I tried to do this in my photo. To add to the image I incorporated the reflections on the water and used a starburst filter.

To draw more attention to the lights, I edited the image in Photoshop. As a general improvement I sharpened the image and removed noise. I decreased the brightness slightly and increased the contrast by about 50% to lose most of the detail in the shadows.

Overall, I’m pleased with how this image turned out, and I’m pleased how I can see some small features that are similar to my w sources of inspiration, while retaining some originality. If you want to see the kind of images I took my inspiration from, search “night city” on Google.

Bex

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Community Christmas

Among other things, Christmas is a time where a sense of community is most strongly felt in a small town or city. This is normally reinforced by a large variety of events taking place throughout the festive period. I’ve tried to visit quite a few as they always provide great photo opportunities. I took this photo at one of the events I attended.

This particular event attempted to showcase the large diversity of culture that we have in our local area; exhibiting this through traditional cooking on the part of each culture involved. One of the stands that I saw as I walked around was Spanish. I liked how they had a long row of pans at the front, advertising their food. It was intriguing to watch them cooking, as much as it was trying. I decided to try to capture a sense of the rush in my photo. I used an aperture of F11 to encourage a larger depth of field. I had to use a slower shutter speed to accommodate this, so some of the people are blurred through movement, but I think this adds to the effect.

Because light was shining through a coloured gazebo, the photo was hard to edit and a few colours came out looking a little odd. I edited the picture in Photoshop to try to dampen some of the effects. I changed the hue, increased the contrast and sharpened the image to bring up finer details. Considering I was being pushed in a busy crowd and only had one chance to take this picture, I think it turned out well.

Bex

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Merry Christmas!

It’s finally that date- yes, it’s 25th December and if you’re anything like me, you were up at the crack of dawn from all the excitement and anticipation of the day ahead. Christmas is a time for relaxation and being with family. I admit that this relaxed attitude has stretched to my blog post. This picture is more of a snapshot than a picture, but I really wanted a photo of everyone looking at the tree before they moved away. I took this photo at a Christmas lights switch on that BSR were involved in.

At the time I could hardly see the screen or through the viewfinder and the lens was covered in fake snow so I’m incredibly surprised that I managed to get any form of decent picture. This photo took a lot of editing in Photoshop; I used the dodge tool to darken some of the faces that had caught too much of the flash, and burned in some more important details. I also increased the contrast and brightness, removed noise and sharpened the whole image.

I hope whatever you did today, and whatever you plan on doing tomorrow, you have a wonderful time and thoroughly enjoy the festive season. It’s the blog’s first Christmas, and I really can’t wait for the year ahead. All that remains of today is for me to say a very merry Christmas to all of our readers. Pass the chocolate!

(A very festive-feeling) Bex
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Origami Birds

Sorry to bore you with more photos from the harbour light event but I took quite a few photos that I was very pleased with. For one of the displays they had made some large origami birds and attached them to the sides of the harbour cranes. I liked the display and took quite a few photos from various angles, and I think this one came out the best.

To make the most of the composition I used an aperture of F8. Because of this I had to use ISO 1600 to enable the use of a fast enough shutter speed. I tried to frame the photo so that there was roughly an even number of birds spread across the frame. I did this so the photo didn’t appear cluttered. I had boosted the sharpness in camera so I didn’t need to change this in the editing stage.

I didn’t edit this photo because I was very happy with the overall effect that I had captured. As I had increased the sharpness in camera I didn’t change this. Also the camera had exposed the photo perfectly so I didn’t need to change anything.

It’s Christmas! Or at least it is tomorrow. I hope that you all have a very merry Christmas.

Mat

Pavement Under Lamps

This is another one of the photos that I took while at the harbour lights show. While walking around the harbour I found a long stretch along one side. I thought they could make an interesting composition as they were all in one line.

After I had taken the photo I looked at the image on the background and saw that the light had flared up around the lamp. This wasn’t an effect I was trying to capture but it was a very nice mistake! I really like the effect it created because it was very abstract and was on all of the lamps down the row. To create the best effect I used an aperture of F7.1, this gives a large depth of field when I focused onto the nearest lamppost. But by using a smaller aperture I had to use a higher ISO, by doing this it created quite a lot of noise in the photo.

To edit the photo the first thing that I did was to reduce the amount of noise in the photo and to sharpen the photo. After that I straightened it because I had accidently taken the photo on an odd angle. I boosted the contrast and increased the brightness; this makes the photo look more punchy and a lot less flat than before.

Overall I’m impressed with this photo, I would have liked to remove all of the noise but this was not possible so I did the best that my editing software could do. I like the effect I managed to capture in this photo; it shows that photography isn’t just about pure skill, there is a certain amount of luck involved to keep you on your toes!

Mat

With a Twist

I love old books! This may seem rather out of the blue, but it’s not as uncalled for as you may initially think. Mat and I went into town today, and despite the constant lashings of rain, I took my camera. During the late afternoon, I walked towards a local market that runs all year round. It’s here that the book comment begins to make sense.

The market is unlike others, in which the stalls are actually furnished shops the size of a stall- one of these is a bookshop entitled “Beware of the Leopard”. I love it as it’s the type of shop that’s a muddle and prevents you seeing over the top of each isle; it’s completely floor-to-ceiling with different works. I found a small photography book from 1944; I loved it and have spent the entire evening pouring over it until my head was ready to explode with inspiration. On the way back from the market I walked through a courtyard, which led onto a small church. I took this photo in the courtyard during the brief deficiency of rain.

The photo had little colour in, and was rather uninspiring. I’ve always been told that if colour adds nothing to the photo, then it’s absence is probably a good thing- I ignored this. I increased the contrast in Photoshop to lose detail in the skyscraper behind and to increase the prominence of the clouds. I then sharpened the image to make the noise show up more, adding interest to the sky. While debating over the presence of colour, I accidentally over-saturated it. I decided I liked this so experimented further. I increased the hue to give the picture some warmer tones.

I’m really pleased with the effect of this image; ignore anyone who tells you the fore mentioned rule- they’re wrong. Rules- 0; Becky- 1.

Bex

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Stowaway

I took this picture this evening in a mad “must grab a camera” moment. I was sat in my room doing some work, and being my usual easily distracted self, I was looking around my room to kill time. I spotted something rather odd above my bedroom door as I was doing so, and decided to see what it was.

In general, I hate bugs- but I found this interesting in a weird way, as I haven’t actually seen a cricket before. I didn’t want it to jump, and I was not picking it up- but I did want a picture! I didn’t as such compose my photo; I merely pointed it in the general direction and hoped for the best, as my camera doesn’t have live view.

I liked how it was on an angle, but the bottom left of the image was in shadow. I used the dodge tool in Photoshop to make this lighter so it fitted in to the rest of the image. I also increased the saturation to make the bug stand out, and sharpened it to accentuate the patterns on its wings.

I love how this photo turned out, considering it was a snapshot. I’m pleased I managed to blend the shadows in as it creates a textured background instead of knowing for definite what it is. I think taking the photo on an angle makes a huge difference, and makes the photo more original.

Bex

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Fiery Reflections

While at the harbour light show the organisers had set up a number of small fires to keep everyone warm. It had been raining before the event and there still some puddles that had been left behind, all these puddles created some very interesting reflection effects. One of the puddles was right next to one of the fires, and behind the fire was a crane that was illuminated by a green lamp, the reflection created looked very interesting and created a very different composition to normal.

To capture the composition I used the camera in portrait format to capture the whole scene. I focused on the reflections of the fire to ensure it was in focus. I used a small aperture of F8 to ensure that as much of the scene was in focus. As it was late at night there was very little light around so I used the cameras highest ISO of 12800 to enable the use of a faster shutter speed.

To edit the photo the main thing I did was to sharpen the photo. I did this because by using the highest ISO a lot of the sharpness had been lost, after this I reduced the noise because the high ISO had introduced a lot of noise. I boosted the contrast and the brightness a small amount because I thought the photo looked a bit ‘flat’. I didn’t alter the composition because I like how I had captured the photo.

As promised I still have a few more photos that are upload-able. So I will be showing you a few more over the next few days. If the weather holds out Bex and I are planning on going out for a wander. I haven’t used my Pentax for a while so I might use that as I’m getting film withdrawal symptoms!

Mat

Life Line

I went to visit a small light show put on in the harbour in my local town today. I had quite high expectations for the event, and on the whole I was quite pleased. There where various light shows going on around the harbour side, and they all looked very interesting. After I had looked around the event I went for a short walk around the harbour side.

While on my walk I saw a group of small boats and yachts that had been moored up on the side of the harbour. Some of them had Christmas lights on them and they made an interesting composition when I focused the camera onto the life buoy. To make the best composition I used a medium aperture of F5.6 and focused on the life buoy. This puts the lights nicely out of focus and creates a very pleasing composition.

I didn’t edit the photo because I really liked the effect that I had made. The composition was exactly as I wanted it to be and the exposure had been calculated precisely. I didn’t want to change anything else as I thought this might spoil the effect that I had created.

I enjoyed going out to the event because there was a lot of photographic opportunities during the show and around the harbour. I took quite a lot of photos and I plan on uploading a few of them over the next few 

days.

Mat

Autumnal

I went for another walk today, as I had a free afternoon. I walked to a local spot that I visit frequently. In simple terms, it’s a long path which stretches for about a mile, lined with trees in parallel the entire length. It’s one of my favourite places to go. I didn’t actually have a “free” afternoon as such; I was supposed to be Christmas shopping! I managed to get all of my shopping done with some time to spare, so got a bus to the start of the road and walked the entire stretch with my camera.

The only major problem with lining the street with trees is that they aren’t evergreen and present an issue when you decide you wish to sit anywhere! By the time I got to the end of the path I still had a little time to wait, so I went in search of a bench. I found one, but it was covered in leaves.

I decided to try to take a picture of this, using a wide aperture to blur what was behind and underneath the bench and to focus on the front few leaves. I wanted to make the photo more interesting, so I pre-focused the camera before moving it. This had the effect of changing which part of the photo was in focus, drawing you into the picture. Apart from increasing the saturation in Photoshop slightly, I haven’t edited the picture as I wanted to keep the effect of using natural light and I liked the original image.

I never did get chance to sit down; I’m afraid I’m too easily distracted. It was a shame I missed my bus though- I blame the camera…

Bex
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Baking

As promised I tried out my new flash gun and it is fantastic! It really helps to capture photo indoors and can be used to create some interesting light effects. Bex decided to do some Christmas baking at the weekend and I thought as well as helping her it would be a good chance to try out my new flash gun.

So when I wasn’t helping Bex with the baking or sneakily eating the ingredients I did manage to take a few photos. This one I took just after we had taken the first batch of cupcakes out of the oven to cool down. I thought if I could get close to them and use a wide aperture the distortion created could create an interesting effect. Also by using the flash gun to bounce the light of the ceiling I could illuminate all the cupcakes evenly. I used an aperture of F8 to ensure that the central cupcakes were in focus but the others weren’t. The camera coupled this with a shutter speed of 1/10^th of a second; as I was using a lens with image stabilization built in this shutter speed was adequate.

To edit the photo I adjusted the histogram a bit to increase the shadow areas and also to sharpen the photo a small amount. I didn’t change anything else because I like the effect that I had created, also the camera had exposed the photo as I wanted.

The baking went very well, and everything that Bex made tasted amazing! It’s a good thing that she made a lot because I don’t think they won’t last very long.

Mat

Opportunities

Sometimes in photography (although not as often as I’d like), luck plays more of a part than the actual skill of being able to compose a good photograph. One example of these little gems of luck is the weather you get- this is a very good example in my opinion!

I was walking home, and happened to have my camera in my bag. It was around 5pm, and was almost dark as it is in winter. I have to walk along a bridge in order to get home, and as I was walking across the bridge I spotted this beautiful piece of scenery. I grabbed my camera and tried to capture it as best as I could by changing a few settings. The photo still doesn’t do it justice (but it comes pretty close!).

Amazingly, I haven’t edited this picture at all. I wasn’t sure whether or not I should, but after spending time looking at the image, I decided against it, as I liked the minute details that make this image so unique. I love the warm glow behind the trees that loses the detail of them, along with the small accents of cloud mixed into the amazing colours. I’ll admit that I took a detour when I saw this; to the hill in the local nature reserve- the view was stunning! I love sunsets- with or without photography equipment.

Bex

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Reeds Against The Trees

I got a chance to take some photos with my new flash gun today, and they all came out fantastically! Unfortunately I arrived home quite late so I haven’t had a chance to take the photos off the camera yet. So I’m going to use another photo from our recent trip to the duckpond.

I saw this group of weeds standing out on front of the background of trees, I thought that the contrast between the background and the subject made for an interesting composition. To make the most of the composition I use the widest aperture possible, which in this case was F4.5. This aperture gives a small depth of field and makes the subject stand out in front of the background.  I used a tripod for this photo as well as the others to ensure that maximum sharpness was retained.

I didn’t edit the photo because I was very pleased with how the composition had been captured. The exposure had been calculated perfectly so I didn’t need to change any settings. The effect of the photo I find to be very pleasing.

Bex has been suffering from computer problems recently, so I’ve been left in charge of the blog for a short while. She is trying to sort the problems out and will be uploading more of her fantastic photos very soon.

Mat

Frosty Outlook

I took a lot of photos while on our early morning walk. I was very pleased to find that most of the came out looking quite good. This is one of my favourite photos from the trip, I like the effect that I managed to capture.

To capture the effect of the frost I chose to use an aperture of F5.6. This gave a minimal depth of field which nicely blurs the background. I used a tripod to keep the camera steady while the exposure was taken; because of the tripod I could use a lower ISO for greater detail. As I selected ISO 100 the camera coupled the aperture with a shutter speed of one second. I didn’t need to worry about the photo being sharp because by using the tripod I ensured that the photo would be crisp and sharp.

To edit the photo I increased the contrast and adjusted the RGB curves also I decreased the saturation. By increasing the contrast I’ve given the photo a little extra ‘punch’ which makes it look more vibrant. Also by changing the RGB curves and the saturation I made the photo look cooler in temperature and much more wintery. This is the effect that I was aiming for when I took the photo.

I really like this photo and I have a few more photos that I took on the trip that I can upload. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to try out my new flash gun tomorrow, if I do I’ll show you the results.

Mat

Blurry Water

I took a lot of photos on our pre-dawn walk, this one is one of my favourites so I decided to upload it. We were down at the duckpond and the water was flowing at a reasonable rate; I thought that I could make an interesting blurred effect by using a slow shutter speed.

To create the effect I wanted, I put the camera in aperture priority mode, I did this because I also wanted a large depth of field. I selected an aperture of F13, this gives a massive depth of field but also it means the camera has to choose a slow shutter speed. This gives both of the effects that I was aiming for. I used ISO 100 to ensure that the amount of detail was as high as possible. Because of the slow shutter speed I was using I mounted the camera onto my tripod to ensure the photo was as sharp as possible.

To edit the photo I tweaked the RGB curves to give the photo a warmer feel to it, also by increasing the red curve I made the photo look more autumnal. As the exposure time was very long I also sharpened the photo and then reduced the noise that this produced. Also by increasing the brightness the photo now looks a lot more vibrant.

I’m very pleased with how the photo now looks. I’m slowly getting used to my new camera, and I’m very much enjoying the process of learning how the different features work. I’ve now purchased a flash gun to use with my camera, hopefully I will get a chance to test it this weekend; if I do then I will upload a photo of it to show you.

Mat

Frosty Branches

As planned Bex and I got up extra early to go out for a pre-dawn wander. We were hoping to take some photos of the sunrise. Unfortunately the weather was against us and the sky was full of dark clouds, so unfortunately we missed the sunrise. But we did take some other very interesting photos around the duckpond. I found a bush that had lost all of its leaves but was covered in frost; I really like the effect that it made and decided to take a photo.

To make the most interesting composition I used a narrow aperture of F5.6, this limits the depth of field to just the bush that I had focused onto. I was using the camera on my tripod so the shutter speed selected didn’t make a difference on the overall sharpness. Because of this I selected ISO 100 and the camera paired this with a shutter speed of one second. I didn’t use flash because I didn’t want to spoil the effect of the frost on the branches.

To edit the photo I cropped the photo down to a square format. But I kept the bush towards the right hand side of the frame to keep the composition interesting. Also I tweaked the RGB (Red Green Blue) curves because I wasn’t satisfied with how the colours had been replicated. I decreased the amount of blue to make the frost look whiter. I also decreased the red to remove the colour cast created by the gravel path. I didn’t need to sharpen the photo because I had taken the photo on ISO 100 so no noise was created.

The weather this morning was quite disappointing but it didn’t deter us from our photography at all. It just proves that whatever the weather there are great photos to be taken all year round!

Mat

Boating

I took this photo on my walk down the canal; at the mariner was a group of small sailing boats. The boats are owned by the local sea cadet unit and where moored up for storage. They made an interesting composition so I thought I would take a photo of them.

To create the best composition I stayed on the opposite side and used a long telephoto lens to narrow the field of view down. I wanted quite a large depth of field so I used an aperture of F8, this was coupled with a shutter speed of 1/80^th. As I was using a focal length of 88mm the shutter speed was a bit slow but the photo looked sharp when I zoomed in to check the sharpness. I didn’t use flash because I didn’t want the highlights to become blown.

When editing the photo I didn’t change anything because I really liked how the photo had come out. I like the composition that I had created and the exposure had been calculated perfectly by the camera. The photo looked sharp under inspection so I decided not to sharpen it.

Bex and I are planning to get up extra early tomorrow to take some photos in the early morning mist, maybe even catch some of the sunrise! So we should both have some very interesting photos to show you tomorrow.

Mat

Following the Path

This is another picture from my walk that I went on a few days ago. As I mentioned previously, I went for a walk to my local harbour. When I first walked towards the harbour I noticed a rocky outcrop, which happened to look like a winding path. At the top of this path, a man was walking around. He started to walk back towards the path shaped rocks, so I grabbed my camera and tried to set up the shot as best I could before he moved.

The shot was a little under exposed as I had used a really narrow aperture and had forgotten to take off exposure compensation. When reviewing the image, I actually liked that it was under exposed as it accentuated the shadows and made the clouds look moodier. Apart from sharpening the image slightly, I haven’t edited it at all.

I like how the path seems to lead you to the horizon, but the man who seems to be looking for the start of the path, or perhaps following the trail distracts your attention. I like how his motives are mysterious; you have to look at the image closely to make up your own mind. I’m really pleased with my snapshot!

Bex

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Funnels

Earlier today I went for a walk down to the canal, I haven’t been for quite a while so I thought I should go see what the canal looks like in the winter. The weather was more like the summer than a winter wonderland, but I still took some interesting photos.

I walked for much longer than I normally would and I arrived at a small mariner with plenty of moorings for the boats and a few workshops alongside the canal. As there where quite a few boats moored up I thought they would make an interesting composition. I just wanted to focus on the air inlet and the exhaust funnel on one of the canal boats. To do this I used my telephoto zoom lens at around 130mm and with an aperture of F4.5; this ensured that the depth of field was very small. The camera selected a shutter speed of 1/180^th of a second; this is fast enough for the focal length in use and removed the camera shake.

To edit the photo I increased the contrast and lowered the brightness a bit. I did this because the camera had slightly overexposed the photo. I also sharpened the photo because some of the details weren’t as sharp as I would have liked them to be. I didn’t crop the photo because I really like the composition that I had created.

I took quite a few photos at the canal today; this had to be my favourite one. If I find another one that I like then I shall upload it for you; otherwise I shall go out on a wander for some inspiration.

Mat

Mid-winter Wanders

I went for another walk today; this time towards a local harbour. As I was getting ready to go home I decided to try taking a photo that faced up towards the steps, but it was too busy. I tried to adapt my shot a little by purposely getting some people into the frame. I took the photo on an angle to add a little more interest rather than a straight and rather dull shot.

It was quite a bleak afternoon; clouds lined the whole sky so no detail could be seen. I decided to play up to the empty white background by making the rest of the image moodier. I desaturated the image, but not completely; this meant that you could still see a little blue colour in the clothes. I sharpened the image to emphasise all the imperfections of the worn-away staircase. I also increased the contrast to make the image seem more dramatic.

My camera doesn’t have a live view function, so it was a bit of a guess as to the end result. I like how you can’t see much of the people; it gives the image a little mystery. Overall, I’m pleased with my photo. Sometimes, making the best of a bad situation will give you a good end result.

Bex

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Shadows

I finally had chance to go for a walk today, and as usual I took my camera with me! This is probably my favourite image of the day, and perhaps isn’t quite as edited as you might expect at first glance.

Towards the end of my walk around the local nature reserve it was starting to get dark and was beginning to cloud over. I found some strange looking flowers, and decided to take a photo of them up the stem to make them seem bigger in the image. However, the camera metering got a little confused and for some strange reason, it came out black and white!

Although I hadn’t intended to take an image in black and white, I liked it and how it made the clouds look more ominous. To try to make this effect more dramatic, I increased the contrast in Photoshop. I increased it to the point that you couldn’t see the stems of the plants to add mystery. I also decreased the brightness slightly. The combination of this made the clouds look much moodier and added a general sense of ambiguity to the entire image.

I’m really pleased with how this image turned out; it just goes to prove that sometimes the camera knows best; even when it doesn’t have a clue what to do!

Bex

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Reflections

I didn’t get a chance to go out today so I looked through my computer and stumbled across this photo. As soon as I saw it I knew I had to upload it! I had taken it on one of the many wanders that Bex and I have been on.

For this photo I used a tripod as I wanted the image to be as sharp as possible. I filled the frame half with the water from the pond and half with the sky. I did this to create a reflection effect on the water, I have seen many examples of this and I wanted to make my own version of them. I used the camera in aperture priority and used an aperture of F16. This ensured sharpness from the front to the back.

I did minimal editing to the photo I increased the overall brightness and lowered the highlights. I did this to increase the contrast manually. I really like the effect this created because the contrast between the clouds and the sky is much more prominent now, and makes the sky look a lot more violent. I also increased the colour temperature to make the photo look more vivid.

I am really pleased with the effect I had produced with this photo, when the weather is right I would really like to have some more attempts at taking reflection photographs. Otherwise  I shall try some other landscape photos if the weather isn’t good enough.

Mat

Sea View

I was looking through my laptop this morning, trying to gather inspiration for a photography wander in the afternoon. As it happened I never actually got chance for my walk, but during the process of looking for inspiration one image caught my eye particularly- this one!

I took this picture a few months ago, during a recent holiday to the ­seaside. On the evening of the first day, I walked out onto my balcony to take in the scenery. As I looked to my right, I spotted the peach coloured clouds of the sunset and decided to take a photo.

I had to do a little post-processing, but only so much as straightening the image and cropping it slightly; it had all the small and inexcusable errors of a snapshot! I didn’t edit anything past this as I liked the original image, and didn’t want to lose the natural colour.

Admittedly it was more of a snapshot than a photograph, but I absolutely love it! I really like how the stone walls of the other balconies are painted white and pick up the colours of the sunset. I love how the balcony walls act as a frame. I also like how the Perspex at the end adds a final piece of interest to the picture, making the whole sunset image more curious.

Bex

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Watching Me Watching You

This afternoon I had a chance to go out to take some photos so I went down to the duckpond with my camera and the telephoto lens. The sky was slightly cloudy so the lighting was perfect for taking photos of wildlife. The soft light doesn’t create harsh shadows on the wildlife.

As I was using a telephoto lens I was using the camera in shutter priority and I chose a shutter speed of 1/250^th of a second. I was using a focal length of around 150mm so this shutter speed is fast enough to take out any motion blur. To get a small enough depth of field I used an aperture of F5. And because I was using an aperture of F5 and there was a lot of light I was able to use a low ISO of 250, this keeps the noise levels to a minimum.

To edit the photo I cropped the image down and changed the levels. By cropping the image into a square I was able to create a composition where the swan looks towards the duck; and the duck looks off to the left. I adjusted the levels by increasing the contrast and decreasing the brightness. By increasing the contrast the photo looks more ‘punchy’ and the difference between the white and the black on the swan is much more pronounced.

I really enjoyed going to the duckpond again, it was very tranquil and I had the whole place to myself. Also while taking my photos I had a good chance to relax and de-stress. This just proves that photography is more than just a hobby or a profession, it also a very good relaxation technique.

Mat

Moored Up

Again I am uploading a photo from our recent trip to the Gloucester Christmas market. This one was taken just outside of the market in the quay. I thought the two tie down posts made an interesting composition with the rope tied around them.

To capture the photo I had to use a telephoto lens, this also helped to create a short depth of field. I selected ISO 1600 and chose an aperture of F5, by using this aperture the depth of field was small enough to gently blur the background. The camera selected a shutter speed of 1/200^th ; as I was using a focal length of 100mm this was fast enough to freeze any camera shake.

To edit the photo I increased the contrast, and I also lowered the highlights to make the whites look more pure. By increasing the contrast the difference between the white and the black becomes a lot more pronounced. This was the effect that I was trying to create. I didn’t change the saturation or the colour temperature because the colours had been replicated truthfully.

Bex and I have planned to go for a wander this weekend if the weather stays dry. Otherwise we may do some set-up photos indoors; with the benefit of central-heating!

Mat

Orange And A Lack Of Lemons

I took quite a lot of photos at the Christmas market the Bex and I went to, I’ve already uploaded some of the best photos but I really liked this one and I wanted to upload it. We were walking around the stalls and one of them was selling wreaths made from dried fruit.

To capture the vibrant colours of the fruits I decided to increase both the contrast and the saturation in the camera. I was using the camera in aperture priority and I selected an aperture of F4.5 to blur anything distracting in the background; this also makes the fruit more prominent in the frame. I selected ISO 100 to keep the detail high without any noise being created.

I didn’t edit the photo because I really like the composition that I had created. Also the camera had calculated the exposure perfectly so I didn’t need to change anything. I really liked the overall effect that I had created so I didn’t want to change anything.

The Christmas market was great fun to visit, I would really like to visit another one if I get a chance and I know Bex would as well.

Mat

So, Here It Is...

Please excuse the more than subtle reference to a rather well known song in the title, but it’s Christmas!!!!! Well, not yet- but it is December and I am whole-heartedly in the spirit of the season! I thought I should try to upload a picture that’s a little festive as I must admit, I have regressed to the mentality of an infant and want to be the first to inject a little Christmas spirit into the Daily Wanders.

I took this photo at a recent local event. If you are an avid follower of our posts, you may remember an upload from a few weeks ago entitled “Take a Guess”, in which I used a shutter speed of a few seconds to make patterns by moving the camera. I have done a similar thing in this photo, moving the camera in a circular shape. In this picture I used manual focus to put the image out of focus slightly as I wanted a softer effect. I used point metering to make sure that the only focus was on the lights.

In Photoshop I sharpened the image to increase the prominence of the lights. I also increased the contrast and the saturation to make the whole image more vivid. Finally, I added noise, as I liked how it added to the “haziness” of the image and gave the whole image a softer effect.

The Christmas decorations are rising around my town, and I am very much looking forward to the blog’s first Christmas- it’s going to be a very interesting month ahead!

Bex
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Natural Wildlife

This one of the photos that I had taken on my trip to the local duckpond earlier his week. One of the swans came quite close to the side so I thought I could get a close up of just its head. I thought by concentrating on a small area it would an interesting and different composition.

To get narrow field of view I used a focal length of 300mm; the maximum for the lens I was using. I had the camera in shutter priority with a shutter speed of 1/400^th of a second. To capture the correct exposure the camera used an aperture of F7.1; this also ensured that enough of the swan was in focus but with the background out of focus. I had to use an ISO of 1250 to enable the use of the narrower aperture.

To edit the photo I increased the contrast but I also turned down the highlights because the white feathers where starting to white-out. I also decreased the colour temperature to make the whites look purer. I also sharpened the photo a small amount to counter the noise that had been generated.

I really enjoyed taking photos at the duckpond, I really like wildlife photography. You have to be very patient, but it pays off because you get fantastic photos of animals in their natural habitats. The weather looks ideal for wildlife photography this weekend so if I get a chance I will be out again taking photos of whatever wildlife I can find.

Mat

Creations

This is another photo from our recent trip to our local Christmas market. Before I explain anything, I should apologise for any inexcusable errors that I may make, as I broke my glasses!

As I previously mentioned, there were a lot of different stalls there which all sold handmade items. One of the stalls I went to exhibited Christmas wreaths made from twigs and dried citrus fruit such as oranges. It also had handmade gifts, such as animal shaped doorstops; this is one example of them. I love how the subject is immediately obvious, and I’ll admit that my first reaction was “aww”!

It was quite dark as it was getting towards late afternoon, so I had to use a relatively slow shutter speed. I could speed it up slightly because I used an aperture of F4.5, as I wanted a relatively shallow depth of field. I wasn’t sure how shallow the depth of field would be, as it was too dark to be able to tell effectively from the depth of field preview option.

I’m pleased with how the image turned out; I like how the spikes that are furthest away from the camera have been blurred. I also like how you can see the reflections of the lights in the eyes of the hedgehog. I got my advent calendar today (I will never grow up!) so I’m all ready for December- ROLL ON CHRISTMAS!!

Bex
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Boating

This photo was taken on the Christmas market that Bex and I visited last week. The Christmas market was situated just beside small quay where there was some canal boats moored to the side. I liked the composition that they had made.

To take this photo I put the camera into aperture priority and selected an aperture of F16, this ensured that everything from the foreground to the background was in sharp focus. The camera chose a shutter speed of 1/13^th of a second; I was using image stabilisation at the time so I could take the photo hand held. I didn’t use flash because the background was too far away from the camera so the foreground highlights would have overexposed.

To edit the image I increased the sharpness and cropped the photo down to concentrate the focus onto the two canal boats. Also I wanted to crop out some distractions on the right side of the frame. By increasing the sharpness the photo looks more detailed and has become more striking than before. I didn’t change the exposure because I was happy with how the camera had calculated the exposure.

The weather has been very bad recently so our trip out has been postponed until this weekend. Hopefully if the weather does clear we shall get a chance to take some more photos outdoors. If not I shall look through my computer because I have some other photos lined up that I can upload.

Mat

Reflections

This is another photo that I took on my trip to the duck pond. While I was there I saw a group of ducks swimming around on the lake. I thought that if I focused on just one of them it would create an interesting composition.

One of the ducks was moving towards me and was creating a small wave in front, so I zoomed in the lens to 300mm to crop out the rest of the ducks. I had selected an aperture of 1/500^th of a second to freeze the movement, to get the right exposure the camera selected an aperture of F7.1. I framed the photo so that the duck was in the top right, I did this to create the most interesting composition. As the duck was looking slightly to the left side of the frame, I wanted there to be some space for it to ‘look’ into. I managed to capture the reflection of the duck in the water in the bottom of the frame, I’m glad I did this because it makes the photo look a lot more interesting.

To edit the photo I cropped the photo a little tighter to enhance the effect I was trying to make. I also turned down the highlights because some of the reflections in the water had become overexposed. I didn’t change anything else because the colours had been captured accurately and I liked the overall effect of the photo.

I’ve still got a few more photos that I want to upload, but Bex and I have been planning a wander soon. It depends on the weather, so it may not be for a while, but when we do we will upload the photos for you to see.

Mat

Small Wildlife

I had this morning off so as I didn’t have anything to do I decided to go for a walk to the nature reserve to see what wildlife I could find. I’m glad I went because there was a lot of wildlife about; in particular there were a lot of birds around.

I heard this bird calling from one of the trees and I looked around until I found it hiding on a branch in the middle of the tree. I zoomed in to 300mm on my telephoto lens until I got the composition that I wanted. I was using the camera in shutter priority and I had selected a shutter speed of 1/500^th of a second, and I over exposed by one stop. This gave me an aperture of F7.1 which gave me a large enough depth of field for what I wanted. I didn’t use the flash as I didn’t want to scare the bird away and it wouldn’t have been powerfull enough to reach the bird.

When editing the photo I cropped the photo to enhance the composition and I also adjusted the light levels. By cropping the photo I placed the bird into the top right corner, as the bird was looking down and to the left I feel that it creates a more open composition than before. I increased the overall brightness while bring down the highlights to control the sky. This increases the contrast by quite a bit as well which I think makes the photo a lot more vibrant while keeping the colours faithful.

I enjoyed my morning at the duck pond watching the wildlife around me. When I next get a chance I will definitely go down again to capture some more wildlife in its natural habitat.

Mat

Changing Perspectives

I took this picture recently at a local firework display. I rediscovered it this evening as I was looking for something to upload. I loved the colours in it, but most of all I loved the patterns that were created- giving me the idea to try something different.

It seems rather regular that when someone takes a picture of a firework, it’ll be full of colour, a little hazy but taken using a slow shutter speed to capture all the magic of it. The last point may conform, but I wanted my picture to be a little more unique. I took the average firework photo, and de-saturated it to make it look more  abstract. I then increased the contrast to make it stand out more, and over sharpened the image to create more defined lines.

My post may be a little more Photoshop than photo skills this evening, but I like it and it’s a nice refreshing break from normality! Oh, and I think I’ve dragged out the suspense long enough. The photo I uploaded on the 19th of this month was of a rope light at an outside broadcast. I took the photo using a slow shutter speed to allow me time to move the camera to form a pattern, which was repeated exactly by each LED in the series. I think this should be a more prominent point with photographers; how to turn something ordinary into something that will intrigue.

Bex
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Old Timers

This photo was taken at the Christmas fayre that Bex and I went to. As I said we took a lot of very interesting photos. We both had a great time taking photos of the event, it was Victorian themed so all the stall owners where dressed up in Victorian costumes.

There were two men who walked around the market looking a bit mischievous, so as one of them was looking at the time I decided to take a photo. As I was about to take the photo the second one spotted me and pointed me out, this caused the second man to look up at his watch towards me. I managed to take the photo while he was looking up. I really like the effect that this caused because they were acting naturally so the photo doesn’t look set up.

I was using the camera in aperture priority so that I could control the background blur. And for this photo I selected F5, this gave a large enough depth of field but also it blurred the background so that it was less distracting.  The camera matched this with a shutter speed of 1/80^th of a second which was fast enough to freeze the little amount of movement there was. I didn’t used flash as I thought this would spoil the effect I was trying to achieve.

I did very little editing to this photo because I managed to get the exposure correct in the camera. I cropped the photo down a small amount to remove some distracting details in the edges of the frame and also I increased the sharpness of the photo because I felt it could do with a small increase. I’m very impressed with my camera; I haven’t required to make any drastic changes to the exposure of any of the images that I have taken so far.

We both took a lot of interesting photos and I’m sure there will be a few more in the next few days. And maybe if the weather decides to clear up we may get a chance to go out for a short wander; but I can’t see that happening for a while. If the weather doesn’t clear up, we may try some indoor set up shots.

Mat

Crafted

Today Mat and I went to a local Christmas market together - which seemed like a good idea to start with, but got a little annoying after a while (his new camera sounds like it’s on helium!). The word “new” being added by Mat while reading over my shoulder, just to emphasise it a little more!

All joking aside, apart from the incessant camera talk, it was a lovely day full of photographic opportunities. The Christmas market had a Victorian theme, which was great as everyone jumped in whole-heartedly. This meant a lot of fancy dress and led to almost everything being handmade! On one of the stalls, everything had been crafted from wood by the stallholder; this is where I stopped to take this shot!

I used an aperture of F5.6 and a shutter speed of 1/50 so I could get an incredibly shallow depth of field. I used a slow shutter speed as it was starting to get dark but I wanted to avoid using flash.

One effect that I didn’t mean to create was that I focused on the centre object, but this also meant that the far end of the first was in focus. I actually like this effect, even though it was an accident! I really enjoyed myself today; attending this kind of thing is one of my favourite pastimes, as it’s always so varied and you’ll never know what you might find.

Bex
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Path Down A Mountain

I didn’t manage to take any photos on my new camera today, and all the ones I took yesterday where very similar so I was looking through my computer for some inspiration. This photo was taken on one of my holidays to North Wales.

For this photo I put the camera in the landscape mode which boosts the greens and also selects a smaller aperture to enhance the depth of field. Because of the distances involved the specific aperture chosen wouldn’t make much difference, so the camera selected an aperture of F8 coupled with a shutter speed of 1/80^th of a second. This shutter speed meant that I could take the photo without a tripod.

To edit the photo I decided to change the light levels and the contrast. By dropping the highlights, the clouds become much more vibrant and look a lot moodier. Also by increasing the contrast the whole photo looks a lot more vibrant and much moodier.  I was trying to create a moody effect when I took the photo so I’m glad that I can create it now after a bit of editing.

Bex and I are planning to go to a Christmas market tomorrow, hopefully getting in the Christmas spirit! Perhaps we’ll buy some gifts for our families as well. Oh, and taking a lot of photos- of course!

Mat

New Begining

I’ve finally got my own camera! Yesterday I purchased a brand new Canon 600D with an 18-55m lens and a Tamron 70-300mm lens. I’ve taken a lot of photos already; earlier today I took some more set up shots. I set up my new camera on a tripod then put some mugs onto an old wooden table using a black sheet as a backdrop.

I used manual mode so that I could have complete control of the camera. I selected an aperture of F18 to ensure that everything was in sharp focus. As there wasn’t much light I had to use a shutter speed of 15 seconds to get the correct exposure; I also used the built in flash for extra light and to gain a more creative effect. I used ISO 200 to help keep the shutter speed to a reasonable length. Also, I had to use the tungsten white balance to counteract the lighting of the room I was shooting in.

I tried to edit the photo but my Photoshop skills aren’t as good as Bex’s so I asked her to edit it as I wanted it to be perfect (this being the first photo from my camera). She decided to straighten the photo as I had taken it on an angle by accident. She also increased the contrast to make the shadows more prominent and sharpened the photo a small amount.

I’m really enjoying using my new camera; I’ve been trying different functions and effects that I haven’t used before. I will be playing about with it for a long time yet! Hopefully I’ll get a chance to photograph some wildlife soon as this is one of the main reasons for buying a telephoto lens.

Mat

A Trip In The Past

Following on from my previous upload, I’ve managed to get away with uploading another photo from the railway trip. Instead of using one of the photos from the railway itself I thought I would upload something different.

While I was there a classic bus with a private tour turned up, they had all got onto the train by this point so only the bus was left. I thought it looked quite solitary and made an interesting composition. To enhance the composition I used an aperture of F16, this gives the maximum depth of field to ensure sharp focus from the front of the frame to the back. Also to make an interesting composition I used the rule of thirds; by placing the bus in the lower right of the frame it makes the composition much more interesting.

When I uploaded the photo onto my computer I cropped the photo down, I did this because I caught the edge of a zebra crossing in the bottom of the photo, by cropping this out it makes the photo look more authentic. Also I converted the photo into black and white; I did this to make the photo look like it came from the same time period as bus.

I won’t be uploading any more photos from my trip to the railway, these two where definitely my favourites. I’m planning on going out for a wander in the next few days so expect some newer photos to be appearing very soon.

Mat

Take A Guess

I thought I’d do something slightly different for my upload today. One of the first things that I always explain is about the subject and where I took the photo. Today I’m leaving you to guess what it is. I took this photo during a recent outside broadcast with Bradley Stoke Radio. We were offered the chance to switch on the Christmas lights and provide the entertainment – and no, it’s not the Christmas lights!

I’m a little limited to what I can write so as not to give you any clues!!! For this reason, I shall skip straight to post-processing. I had to edit this image rather a lot as the quality wasn’t wonderful and the colours didn’t stand out enough. I increased the saturation and contrast; I changed the hue slightly, removed noise and sharpened the whole image.

I will reveal the answer in a news post in a few days time, so keep an eye out! If you’d like to enter my mini competition, then either comment on this post or send an email to dailywandersblog@gmail.com

Good luck!!

Bex

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NOTE: THE ANSWER CAN NOW BE SEEN ON THE POST FROM 25TH NOVEMBER

Days Gone By

I managed to go out for a trip today so I decided to pay a visit to one of the local preserved railways. I’ve been before plenty of times, but it is very enjoyable and creates a lot of very interesting photo opportunities

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For this photo I wanted to create a different composition by using a different perspective to normal. So instead of taking the photo from the platform I took the photo above the railway on the footbridge. This perspective allows for a lot more to be included in the frame. I focused the camera onto the cab of the engine and by using a narrow aperture of F16 I could have the whole frame in sharp focus. I had to use a higher ISO to normal (ISO 800) to account for the slower shutter speed. This introduced quite a lot of noise into the photo but not a distracting amount.

The only editing that I did to the photo was to increase the saturation; I did this because I felt the camera hadn’t reproduced the colours accurately enough. I didn’t change anything else because the camera had calculated the exposure correctly.

I really enjoyed my day at the railway and I took lots of photos, I’m only going to upload this one as it’s my favourite and the others aren’t up to the same standard. But I’m sure I will be visiting the railway again very soon, and if I do I shall upload some of the photos for you.

Mat

Autumnal Amble

I’m back… sort of. I was feeling a little brighter today so Mat and I went for a walk around the outskirts of town. Towards the beginning of the year, we found this place by accidentally getting on the wrong bus (don’t ask). It may have been cold and late whilst we were anxious to get home, but it was a nice place to wait for the correct bus.

I explained to my family that evening, and they told me how I could get back there. Since then we have visited the same place a few times and different points in the year. It’s amazing how as the year progresses, it changes completely; it seems almost as if you’re visiting somewhere new each time. I think my favourite season of the year to photograph is in autumn; it sounds a little cliché, but the colours of the leaves really do add so much interest!

It’s really odd to see when walking, as one road is completely green then as soon as you turn the corner you are faced with a sea of fire. The vast stretch of pavement is lined by trees each side with benches in between. Around this time of year you completely lose sight of the floor as it gives way to a carpet of colour.

In this photo I used a custom white balance (6000K) to make the colours warmer; I also increased the contrast and sharpness on the camera. I haven’t done any editing after this as I was pleased with the photo and didn’t want to make the colours appear artificial.

This is one of my favourite places to visit, as it doesn’t seem possible that you could ever tire of it. It’s difficult to get to, but really is worth it and I can’t wait until I can go again. There’s also a very nice café near by – coffee please!

Bex

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