A Short Pause

I did manage to get out for a short walk today, I didn’t have very long so I just went round my local area. I didn’t see much as I was walking but just as I was about to turn back for home this small bird landed on a tree in front of me, it didn’t stay very long but I managed to capture a few photos of it.

I knew I didn’t have long so I quickly put the camera in shutter priority and selected 1/800^th of a second, this eliminated all forms of camera shake and subject movement. Fortunately the camera was already in continuous drive mode so I took a short series of photos to ensure I caught a photo that I liked.

To edit the photo I decreased the contrast and increased the shadows. I did this because I wasn’t completely happy with how the camera calculated the exposure. I also changed the white balance to make the sky look more blue. I didn’t crop the photo as I was happy with how I had composed the photo.

I’m glad I got a chance for a short walk today, I hope I get a chance to go for a longer one this weekend.

Mat

Resting

I know I’ve done a lot of wildlife posts recently but I couldn’t decide which photos to upload, so I decided to upload all of them. In the centre of the duckpond is a small island; a lot of the birds decide to build their nests on this island. While I was at the duckpond, two of the mallard ducks were resting just outside their nest on the island. I thought that how they were standing made an interesting composition.

To capture this photo I decided to use the camera in aperture priority so I had the choice over the depth of field. I selected an aperture of F8 because it gave me the depth of field that I wanted. To enable the use of a fast enough shutter speed I had to boost the ISO to ISO800. This meant that some loss of image quality would happen; as I was shooting in RAW I could recover this detail in the editing stage. I had the camera in continuous drive mode to capture a series of photos; when looking back I decided this was the best one.

To edit the photo the first thing I did was to reduce the noise and sharpen the image. Then I cropped the photo slightly as I wanted a slightly different composition to how I had taken the photo. I also increased the brightness because I felt the photo was a little bit dull. I didn’t change anything else, as I was happy with the overall effect of the photo.

I think I have about used up all the photos I took at the duckpond, hopefully this weekend Bex and I might get a chance to go out for a photography wander.

Mat

Aged

I planned to take a trip into the town centre today but I’m quite easily distracted, and soon found that I had strayed quite far off the beaten track! I found a small architectural salvage yard just off of the bus route which I had visited only once before, and couldn’t remember where it was. Having spotted it on the off chance, I decided to stop and have a look around.

The owners take in anything they find, which makes it an amazing place to visit, as there’s always something different! Today, I found a Kodak Brownie among other things. There is a passageway to the entrance; at the front of the passage is a metal archway, and after this point, not a square foot of space is left clear on the walls. This candelabra caught my attention as it wasn’t in the best condition but was still bright. I decided to focus on one branch, as the crowded walls either side distracted attention from this. I used an aperture of F8 in order that the branch was in focus and most eye-catching, while still having context by having the ability to see the background.

It was a really cloudy day, so I struggled to get the correct exposure. Due to this, I had to brighten the image in Photoshop, as well as increase contrast. I also increased the saturation, in order to emphasise the striking colour. I love visiting the architectural salvage; it’s interesting because there’s always something that catches your eye!

Bex

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Landing

I managed to go out for a short walk today, so I thought I could go down to the duckpond to take some more photos. As the monopod was such a success I took it with me for this trip as well. I enjoyed taking the photos of the birds flying last time; so I thought I would try this again but with the extra experience from last time.

Fortunately I caught the photo that I was attempting to capture. I used the camera in shutter priority again with a shutter speed of 1/2000^th of a second. The camera selected an aperture of F5.6 and an ISO of 500, I underexposed the cameras metering by 2/3^rd of a stop to compensate for the amount of white in the centre of the frame. I composed the photo so that the landing bird was in the centre of the frame so the main focus is on the bird.

To edit the photo I increased the contrast and lowered the shadows. I did this to create more depth to the photo. I also de-saturated the photo to correct a slight colour cast. I didn’t crop the photo because I was happy with the original composition.

I’m glad I got a chance to go for a walk again today. The monopod is really proving itself very useful. Hopefully Bex and I will get a chance to go for a joint photography wander soon.

Mat

Angry Ducks

Following on from my recent posts I thought I should upload another photo from my walk down to the duckpond. I was watching a small group of ducks, and a few of the male mallards were fighting over the female mallard. I wanted to capture a photo of this but as they moved around I struggled to get a photo quick enough.

To capture the photo I used the camera in shutter priority and chose a shutter speed of 1/1000^th to ensure that all movement was frozen. I left the camera in automatic ISO selection. The camera selected an aperture of F5.6 and ISO 800 to complete the exposure. I framed the photo so there was an even spread across the frame.

To edit the photo I increased the contrast and the shadows. I did this to balance out the exposure. I also used the noise reduction to decrease the amount of noise in the photo. I didn’t change the composition as I was pleased with how balanced the frame appeared. I didn’t change the saturation or colour tone either, because I was happy with how the colours had been represented.

I’m quite pleased with this photo but I think I still need more practice to capture the moment I wanted. Perhaps the next I go down to the ducpond I will get a chance to.

Mat

A Refreshing Drink

There were a lot of swans at the duckpond, when I went for my walk last week. Some of them made some interesting compositions which I decided to photograph. One of my favourites is when the swans lean down to drink the water; I really wanted to catch the water as it dripped off their mouths.

To capture the movement of the water I needed a fast shutter speed, I decided to use 1/400^th of a second as I thought this would be fast enough. I was using my monopod so I didn’t have to worry about camera shake. The camera selected an aperture of F 5.6 and an ISO of 250 to complete the exposure. I didn’t use the flash in case it scared the swans off. I composed the photo so the swan was in the right hand side of the frame.

I didn’t edit the photo as I was pleased with the effect that I had created. I didn’t crop the photo because I like how I had framed it. The exposure was spot on and didn’t require any adjustments either.

Hopefully the weather will cheer up again soon, and if it does I will defiantly be out with my camera once again!

Mat

Tracks of Time

I didn’t have much to do today, so in an effort to fight the boredom I caught a bus and went to the harbour for a walk. On one side of the harbour is a small café and, next to this, a railway. It’s mostly disused now, only serving tourists on a steam train during the summer. There are no barriers along the tracks so, during the winter, children play on the them; it also means I have chance to take photos!

I had taken several photos on the train tracks, and was beginning to think about leaving when I spotted these notches all the way along. I’m not sure what they are, but I thought that it would make a good photo. I originally took it in colour, but apart from a little redness from the rust, most of it was grey. Because of this, increasing saturation didn’t look right, so I tried turning the image black and white; I was really pleased with the photo in black and white as it adds to the idea of the subject having age.

I increased the contrast in Photoshop and sharpened the image, but decided to leave everything else, as I didn’t want to lose any detail. I love going for walks when I don’t have a lot to do; there’s always an excuse to take a camera!

Bex

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Perched

I took this photo on my recent trip to our local duckpond. While looking across the pond I saw a branch sticking out of the water, soon after this a bird flew down and perched itself on the branch. I waited until the bird was looking to the left so the composition looked how I wanted; then I took the photo.

To capture this photo I used the camera in shutter priority and selected a shutter speed of 1/640^th of a second, this was adequate to freeze any movement the bird might make. I underexposed the exposure by two stops to counteract the metering. I framed the photo so the bird was in the right side of the frame looking to the left I also made sure that the reflection of the bird was included in the frame.

I didn’t change anything in the editing stage because I was happy with the effect I had created. I really like how I had composed the photo and the exposure was spot on. I didn’t change the exposure as I didn’t want to spoil the effect I had created.

I’m going away for a few days so it will be down to Bex to run the blog, I hope you all enjoy the photos she uploads. I know she has got some amazing photos that she wants to upload.

Bex

Traveled

Today, some friends and I travelled to Bath to visit the Victoria Art Gallery. I’ve never visited that part of the country before, so navigating the winding streets was our main opposition. Presently, the art gallery is home to a photographic exhibition, presenting the works of Roger Mayne; a medium format and 35mm film photographer. I wasn’t allowed to take my Olympus as it came under the bracket of a “professional camera”, so I borrowed Mat’s compact and set off!

We got to the exhibition around 10am, and being that it was mid-week, mid-morning, it was almost like a private showing. This photo isn’t completely original; I had seen this style of composition used by another photographer and decided that I would like to attempt similar.

I really liked the outcome but wanted to make it my own, so edited it in Photoshop. I introduced a vignette to draw attention towards the centre of the shot. I had accidentally under-exposed so increased the brightness in Photoshop, along with the contrast. This is when I spotted that the reflections had captured the frames on the other wall; not deliberate, but I liked it so decided to incorporate it into the image. I have left the labels because I like to be reminded of the name of each photo; after all, naming it is the best bit!

Bex
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Flying High

I managed to get out for a walk today, so I went down to our local duck pond. I’ve recently purchased a Manfrotto monopod and though this would be the best way to try it out. When I got down to the duckpond I attached it to my camera and took all my photos with it on.

This photo was a bit of a happy accident; I was panning with the camera set in shutter priority and a shutter speed of 1/2000^th of a second programmed. I was following the bird and because of the metering I was using, (centre waited) the exposure was under-exposed. But because of this the bird becomes silhouetted against the cloudy backdrop.

To edit the photo, I boosted the contrast and lowered the highlights. I lowered the highlights so the clouds become more prominent. By increasing the contrast the silhouette effect becomes more dramatic. I didn’t crop the photo as I liked how the bird is surrounded by clouds and sky; I also like how the bird is flying across the frame.

The monopod came in very handy with all the photos, it effectively removed the camera shake from hand holding the camera. This enables the use of slightly slower shutter speed (1-2 stops), which is very helpful when there isn’t much light around. I will definitely be using my new monopod on future photography wanders.

Mat

Choppy

I had a free day today so I took a trip to the local harbour for a walk as, for the first time this year, we’ve had some sunshine!!! I decided to go for a boat ride; unfortunately, the sun disappeared and the waves were a little on the large side to say the least. I took my camera with me as usual, along with both my wide angle, and telephoto lens.

As we were on our way out, I tried to capture the ocean spray, so used a shutter speed of 1/800 with an aperture of F7. I increased the contrast in Photoshop, which made the colours less realistic. I decided to play on this, so increased the hue to get a more purple tint as opposed to the original blue-green tinge. I then increased the sharpness to emphasise the droplets of water.

I’m pleased with how the different tones of colour have resulted in two distinctly separate shades of blue. I tried to make the best out of a situation that wasn’t ideal, and I think it worked quite well – often the way! The idea for this photo comes from the theme of movement, emailed to us by Ken. Thanks Ken; I hope you like it!!

Bex
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Past Holidays

Unfortunately we didn’t get a chance a chance to go out for a walk today so I looked through my computer for an image to upload. I usually find the photos from my holidays in Wales to be good for inspiration. I found this photo which really struck me with the well balanced composition.

I used the camera in the landscape setting and the camera selected an aperture of F8.5 for a deep depth of field and a shutter speed of 1/140^th of a second to complete the exposure. I turned off the flash because it would make no difference to the photo.

To edit the photo I cropped out the bottom as there was nothing of interest. I also increased the contrast to give the photo more ‘punch’ and vibrancy. I didn’t change anything else because I was happy with the effect I had created.

Unfortunately Bex hasn’t been having much luck with her laptop recently; she is hoping to get it fixed very soon. She has told me that she has a lot of photos prepared for you, and that she has missed doing the blog recently. Hopefully we’ll get a chance to go out for a walk later in the week, to capture more photos to upload for you.

Mat

Dull Day

We didn’t get a chance to go out for a walk today, so I looked through my computer again for some inspiration. I found this photo, it was taken on quite a dull day, but it had potential so I decided to use it and edit it to release its potential.

I took this photo in program auto mode, with the camera choosing to use an aperture of F5 and a shutter speed of 1/60^th of a second. I didn’t use the flash as it would not have reached the hedge so would make no effect to the photo.

To edit the photo I de-saturated it to make it black and white. I then adjusted the amount of red in the photo to increase the contrast and to ensure the sky didn’t white out. I didn’t edit anything else because I was happy with how I had taken the photo.

Hopefully Bex and I will be able to go out for a photography wander tomorrow, if the weather is nice we will probably go down to the local duckpond.

Mat

Traveling

I had some spare time to myself today, so I thought I should go out and take some photos. Instead of going to one of my usual photography spots I went somewhere different, I went down to our local railway station. I took a variety of photos, a mixture of different trains and the passengers occupying the station. There was one particular photo that I wanted to get so told myself I wouldn’t leave the station until I had taken that photo.

The photo that I wanted to take was of one of the guards walking down the platform next to the train, but I wanted him to be isolated from the surroundings. To create the effect that I wanted I put the camera in manual mode and selected the widest aperture of F5.6, I then selected a shutter speed of 1/500^th of a second to freeze the action. I used AI Servo focus to track the guard and I left the ISO selection to the camera. As the guard walked nearer to where I wanted; I tracked him with the autofocus until the composition was as I wanted. When I got the right composition I took several photos with the camera in continuous drive mode.

To edit the photo I increased the contrast and lowered the highlights to stop the sky from whitening out. I didn’t crop the photo because I really like how I framed the photo with the other staff members and passengers surrounding the guard. I also like how the photo is framed within the train, platform and the canopy of the station I think this captures the hustle and bustle of modern life.

Hopefully if the weather holds up Bex and I might be able to go out for a photography wander this weekend. It’s been a while and we both have some interesting ideas for our next uploads.

Mat

Not Always

My title is a follow on from yesterday’s title proclaiming that roses are red, in anticipation of today’s events. I hope you had a great day, whatever you chose to do. For me, my Valentine’s Day involved coffee, presents, getting stranded and causing myself unbelievable awkwardness.

Mat and I went into town today, stopping for coffee in our usual place. Today, however, the usually calm tree-lined town was awash with film crews, spectators and an awful lot of road rage! After coffee, we decided to investigate. I couldn’t see much as the sun was in my eyes, but asked the nearest person if they were involved, to which they said yes and told me what was being filmed. A cloud came over, at which point I realised I had been chatting to Gary Lineker for the past 5 minutes without realising! I then proceeded to think aloud saying, “Oh, you’re… you!” – not my finest moment I must admit.

It’s a long-standing tradition that my friends and I give each other gifts on Valentine’s Day and this year was no exception. My mother bought me a bunch of peach roses (my favourite flower), and Mat gave me a fish eye; something I have been eager to obtain for almost a year.

While trying my new lens, I started taking photos of my flowers, but accidentally caught them in the mirror. I decided I liked this so tried to make a point of including it. I have increased the sharpness and the saturation, but haven’t edited apart from this.

Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

Bex
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Roses Are Red

It’s Valentines Day tomorrow! Hopefully you have something nice planned. I love having things marked on the calendar, as it gives me a theme to work towards. On the subject of themes, I would like to run a small competition. If you have something you’d like to see us cover more of, send an email to dailywandersblog@gmail.com with your name, and your idea for a theme. We’ll choose our favourite, then we’ll upload something which we feel suits it. But for today, it’s valentines!

I didn’t have a lot to do today, and the weather was miserable so I spent most of the day messing around with my filters and taking photos around the house. I found a small artificial rose from last year, which was dipped in glitter at the tips. I used macro filters equivalent to +6. I focused on the centre of the flower and used flash, meaning the edges were out of focus but produced spots of reflection where the glitter caught the light.

I have increased the contrast and sharpened the image, but otherwise I have left it alone. I’m pleased with this photo; I feel that working to a theme gives me better results, so I can’t wait for your suggestions!

Bex
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Distant Travels

I was looking through my computer again for some inspiration when I came across this photo which I had taken a while ago on a trip out. I like it because it’s symmetrical and the rails pass under the bridge and off into the distance.

For this photo I used the camera in aperture priority with the aperture set at F4.2; because the large distance between me and the subject meant the aperture chosen makes little difference to the depth of field. The camera coupled this with a shutter speed of 1/480^th of a second.

I liked the effect I had created with this photo so I decided against editing it. The composition was spot on what I wanted, and the exposure had been calculated perfectly. I thought if I tried changing settings I would spoil it, so I decided to leave it.

I’m planning a wander this weekend, maybe down to the duckpond if I get a chance and if the weather is good. Otherwise maybe I should do another indoor photo shoot.

Mat

Memories

I’ve almost run out of photos that I can upload to the blog, so I looked through my computer’s memory for some inspiration. I was looking through one of the albums from a family holiday in North Wales when I stumbled across this photo. This photo brings back good memories from all the holidays that we’ve been on.

This photo was taken before I seriously got into photography and so was taken on a digital compact in auto. I composed the photo so that two trees would create borders along either side of the frame, with the river flowing behind. I also like having the third tree in the centre of the frame because it splits the photo in two.

To edit the photo I increased the contrast, lowered the highlights and decreased the saturation. I increased the contrast because the original photo was looking quite ‘flat’ beforehand but I had to decrease the highlights to ensure they didn’t white-out. I decreased the saturation because I think it creates a more appropriate atmosphere for this particular photo.

I always enjoy holidays in Wales and I very much look forward to my next one, whenever it shall be. Creating special memories with special people.

Mat

Conversion

I was thinking earlier today that I hadn’t done a black and white photo for quite a while, so I decided that the upload I did today would be a black and white photo. I used a photo that I took quite a while ago; I knew it had good potential but I wasn’t sure how I could give the photo more punch.

I chose to convert this photo to black and white because the main interest was in the foreground and by converting to black and white would make it stand out more. Also by converting to black and white I could increase the amount of red which would create a lot more contrast between the clouds and the sky. I really like the effect of converting to black and white because it makes any photo look very different and some details that would normally be missed are made very clear.

To capture the actual exposure I used the camera in aperture priority with an aperture of F7.1 and I focused on the bush in the foreground to make sure that it would in sharp focus. The camera selected a shutter speed of 1/125^th of a second to complete the exposure. I had preselected ISO 100 to ensure the image would have very little noise.

I really think converting this photo to black and white has made a huge improvement. With many photos, but not every, converting them to black and white makes an improvement. So by experimenting with black and white some interesting photos can be made, and details that haven’t been seen will reveal themselves to you.

Mat

Difference

It’s a bit of a treat for me today; my Internet hasn't been working well at home for the last few days, but I was determined to write a post. Presently, I’m sat in a local coffee shop with a large cappuccino, a blueberry muffin and my laptop.

I attended a family friend’s wedding a few days ago. After the service, the bride and groom left to have photos taken, leaving the guests to their own devices. As a creature of habit, I took my camera with me. While we were left to talk to the other guests, I walked around the small country church with my camera, and found a stairwell, approximately two feet wide maximum. As I was looking up, a man walked down the stairs. We started talking; it turns out that it leads to an office!

I tried to hold the camera as close to the central post as possible, to place the most focus on this and to use it as a lead in line. I also tried to include a few steps, the uppermost steps as a background, and the small window; I did this is order to give the photo context so it wasn’t quite as abstract. I increased the contrast of the image and sharpened it, to make it more eye catching. I also desaturated it, but not completely as I liked the slightly “washed out” look. I’m off to a concert tonight, but hopefully I will get chance to go for another wander soon!

Bex

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On-Looking

Following on my recent theme of birds I thought I should upload another photo of one today. I had taken this photo a while ago on one of the many wanders that Bex and I have been on. We had gone for a walk down to our local duckpond.

I was using the camera in shutter priority so I could make sure the photo was sharp and there was no motion blur. As I was using a focal length of 161mm I selected a shutter speed of 1/320^th of a second. As I was taking a photo towards the water I over-exposed the photo by +2/3 of a stop to keep the correct exposure. The camera selected an aperture of F4.5 with an ISO of ISO 250.

To edit the photo I increased the contrast as the photo was looking quite bland. I also cropped the photo down because I accidently managed to catch the head of another duck on the left side of the frame. After this basic editing I was pleased with the effect so I decided to not adjust anything else.

I’ve got plans to go out again over the weekend, weather dependant of course. So hopefully if I get a chance I’ll find something new and interesting to show you.

Mat

Perched

On the way from my early morning walk I spotted a smaller bird flying around; it was flying from tree to tree. It finally perched on one tree long enough for me to take a photo of it. I didn’t have very long to capture the photo before would fly off again.

I already had the telephoto lens attached to my camera so I put the camera into AI servo focus mode and focused and released the focus button then recomposed, so the bird was in the right hand side of the frame looking into the left hand side. I had the camera in shutter priority with a shutter speed of 1/500^th of a second selected, as this would ensure the photo was sharp with no blurring.

I didn’t edit the photo because I was very pleased with the effect that I had created. I didn’t crop the photo because I liked the composition that I had created.

I’m glad I got a chance to photograph a blue tit as it is one of my favourite birds, and very hard to capture a photo of! Hopefully I will get a chance to photograph another one soon.

Mat

Flowering

On the walk I went on yesterday, after attempting to photograph the sunrise I decided to take some photos of the flowers near-by. As the sun was still rising it created a warmer glow on the flowers which created an interesting effect on the orange pattern.

To take full advantage of the warm glow I used a warm white balance, which emphasises the early morning glow of the sun. Instead of using my standard lens I used my telephoto lens as I wanted a very short depth of field. Also I used my flashgun to give the photo some extra punch. I was using manual mode to preselect an aperture of F5.6 and an aperture of 1/300^th of a second. I left the camera to select the ISO automatically.

To edit the photo I increased the contrast and adjusted the white balance to give the photo more vibrancy. I didn’t change anything else because I liked the effect that I had created. I liked the composition that I captured.

Bex and I are planning a photography wander this weekend so we should both have more photos for us to upload throughout the holiday.

Mat

Texture

It’s still winter, and the bleak colourlessness is set continue for a while yet. I have had a busy few days, so haven’t had chance to go for a walk. Whilst looking through my computer for a recent photo to upload, I found an image from an Autumnal trip to the city centre. This photo was taken on the outskirts of town, near to the long stretch of pathway lined with trees that I’ve mentioned on several previous occasions.

I took this photo using an aperture of F5.6 to get a shallow depth of field; I did this to make the amount of texture in the tree appear greater, and to focus on the main branch at the front. I focused on this branch as I liked the shape; it added more interest to the photo. After I took the photo, I edited it. I increased the brightness and contrast to make the image seem more eye catching, and increased the saturation to add vibrancy. I also increased the sharpness, but this was just to pick out finer details in the leaves.

Sometimes I think it’s nice to make an image a little abstract; it makes you think about the photo to a further extent than a hearty “that’s pretty” before moving on. I also think it allows you to focus a little less on small pieces of the composition, making the most of what’s in front of you.

Bex
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Early Waters

Today I decided to get up before dawn to try and capture the sun as it was rising. So I got up and set up my camera equipment about twenty minutes before the sun was due to rise. Unfortunately the sky had mostly clouded over by the time I set up but I decided to carry on anyway.

I put the camera into manual and set the AF into manual mode as well so I could have complete control over every setting. I had set the camera up on my tripod. I set the aperture to F10 to keep the whole scene sharp from front to back. I had preselected the ISO speed to ISO 100 to keep as much detail as possible; I then completed the exposure with a shutter speed of 30 seconds. As I was using a tripod I didn’t need to worry about the long exposure.

To edit the photo, I rotated the rotated the image, and increased the contrast. Before, the image looked a bit flat so by increasing the contrast it makes the photo look punchier. I also increased the saturation to make the sky more orange and to make the photo look more vivid.

I enjoyed my early morning photoshoot, it was a pity that the clouds had set in, but I still enjoyed it. Maybe sometime soon I will go out again to try and capture the sun rising.

Mat

High Flyers

On the walk around our local duckpond, as I previously mentioned there was a lot of birds flying around. As they passed overhead in large groups they made some interesting compositions.

As I had the telephoto lens on this helped to crop into the group of birds. I was using shutter priority with a shutter speed of 1/500^th second; this was fast enough to freeze the birds as they flew past. I didn’t use the built in flash because it wouldn’t have been powerfull enough to reach the birds. The camera selected an aperture of F 5 at ISO 100 to give the correct exposure.

To edit the photo I increased the contrast, lowered the highlight and increased the shadows. I did this to brighten up the undersides of the birds. By increasing the contrast this introduces some extra punch into the photo. I also adjusted the white balance, because this makes the sky look much bluer and makes the photo more dynamic.

I’m very happy with the editing I did to this photo, the photo looks a lot better than when I started. For most of my editing I use the edit software that came with my camera. It works very well and creates very pleasing results.

Mat

Reflecting Twilight

On our walk through town earlier this week we decided to take a walk alongside the harbour. Moored up on one side of the harbour was a boat that had been turned into a restaurant. Opposite the boat was jetty that extended out into the harbour.

To compose the photo I walked along to the end and set my camera up on its tripod. This would ensure that the photo remained sharp across the frame. I then put the camera into aperture priority and selected aperture F18 at ISO100, this gave a shutter speed of 1/30^th of a second. There was a lot of sun around so I decided against using a flash gun as I thought it would spoil the effect of the water.

While editing the photo I thought I would try something different, in the exposure editing section there is an option called: linear. I haven’t found many uses for it so far but I really think it makes the photo look as if was taken during the evening and it creates quite a spooky atmosphere. I didn’t crop the photo because I like how I had framed the photo with the boat and water disappearing off towards the cranes in the right hand corner.

I’m glad I tried experimenting with the editing software or I wouldn’t have created this interesting effect. I’m not sure how useful it will be in the future but I will try out I’m sure.

Mat

Stormy Horizon

I took this photo on Tuesday when I visited town with Mat; after we stopped for coffee, we walked along the harbour side. The British weather isn’t very reliable at the best of times, but it didn’t seem too bad when we got off of the bus; we were sorely mistaken. Whilst walking along the harbour, the sky began to get darker, and streaks of rain became visible. As photogenic as this was; it’s needless to say that we didn’t stay much longer!!!

I tried to under-expose this shot to capture the full presence of the storm, with all the layers within- I think I managed this incredibly well. For some reason, there appear to be vertical lines stretching throughout the image that I couldn’t edit out. Never the less, I liked the image and chose to upload it regardless. I sharpened the picture in Photoshop, to enhance the prominence of the flags and other details of the ship. I also increased contrast in an attempt to make the clouds more dramatic. Apart from this, I have not edited the image, as I didn’t want to make the lines any worse.

I’m really pleased with this image; I think we were very lucky on two accounts. The first being the picturesque scene, the second being that we made it on the bus before the heavens opened!!

Bex
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