Fantasy Glade

I took this photo on a recent trip to a local arboretum with Mat. He set up a base in one location, as he wanted to try experimenting with lights. While he did this, I chose to walk ahead. There was a small alcove that the path didn’t lead to, which seemed untouched, like not many others had found their way here, making it the perfect place to set up a shot for a “fantasy” theme. What I mean by this is deviating from what we would normally upload; editing to change the overall image, rather than enhancing what’s already visible.

I used an aperture of F16 to capture all detail, as I wanted the entire depth of the scene to be visible. This meant I had to use an ISO of 800, but the extra noise added texture to the image. Although it looks like I did a lot of editing, in reality I didn’t. I sharpened the image, and increased contrast as I would normally. I then increased the hue dramatically to produce the blue-green tones. The foreground was originally a very blue-green, so this turned purple, while the middle changed from red to green. I increased the saturation to make this effect more prominent.

I’m pleased with the result of this. Sometimes, it’s hard to know when an image is suited to dramatic editing, but I think this photo lends itself well. The blog is 1 year old tomorrow! Looking back, it has been a very busy year for us and has gone incredibly quickly. Hopefully, year 2 will bring just as much excitement!! Thankyou to those who have supported us this past year, we couldn’t have done it without you!

Bex

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Vase Of Flowers

I took this photo in my last photo shoot. I was trying out different lighting techniques; one of these techniques was to have the flash gun set up behind the vase and have the light shining through the glass. It was quite difficult to find the right power settings as the flash being so close kept blowing out the highlights.

As I previously said I had the flash gun set up behind the vase, to attain the best effect I started with a relatively high power: 1/8^th of the total power. I then worked my way down to 1/64^th of the total power. I found this to be the best compromise between the highlights and the rest of the exposure. I was trying to have the background dark with the vase looking like it was lit up from the inside, I think by having the flash gun set at 1/64^th created this effect the best.

To edit the photo I changed the light levels to darken the background and to tone down the highlights. I also changed the white balance to remove a colour cast. I was happy with the rest of the photo so I didn’t change any of the other settings.

I like the effect of this photo; I managed to create the effect of the vase being lit from the inside. The next time I do a still life photo shoot similar to this I will experiment with the flash gun power settings and the distance to the subject to try to improve the effect further.

Mat

Keeping Time

I was looking through the photos on one of my trips to a preserved railway and this one ‘jumped’ out at me. I liked the composition I had created with the tracks leading off under the bridge and into the distance. I also like how the steam engine (A BR standard 9F) is waiting at the platform ready and waiting for the day ahead.

I had the camera in auto mode so the camera selected the aperture and shutter speed. In this case it chose an aperture of F11 and a shutter speed of 1/160^th. I composed the photo so the engine number was in the left side of the frame with the tracks leading under the bridge to the right side of the frame.

I didn’t edit the photo as I was happy with how the photo had come out. I really like the composition and the camera had exposed the photo perfectly. Also the colours had been replicated perfectly, so I didn’t need to change the colour saturation or temperature.

I enjoy railway photography and I would really like to go back to a railway for some photography very soon. There are so many possibilities with railway photography and I have quite a few ideas that I would like to try out the next time I’m at a preserved railway.

Mat 

Lit Up

I took this photo during yesterdays still life photo shoot. This is my favourite photo of the day; I was experimenting with some flash gun techniques that I had thought of in previous still life photo shoots. I tried different flash gun powers from various angles until I created the effect that I wanted.

For this photo I still had the camera on the tripod but I had the camera set up behind and underneath the flowers; so the light would spread around on the underside of the flowers. I had the camera in manual mode so that none of the settings would change as I was taking the photos. For this one I had an aperture of F16 and a shutter speed of 30 seconds at an ISO 100. I tried many flash powers and I found that a power of 1/64 - 2/3 of the maximum power gave the best exposure. With any more power, the flowers start to white out, and with any lower power then the effect didn’t look as good. I had the lens set at a focal length of 55mm to get the right field of view.

To edit the photo I cropped the photo slightly to remove some distractions on the right hand side of the frame. I also increased the contrast to make the photo look more dynamic. I didn’t need to sharpen the photo because it was taken on ISO 100 so therefore the quality was already as high as it could be.

I’m very pleased with how this photo came out; it’s one of my favourite photos that I have taken. I’ve still got a few more photos that I can upload, which I’m sure I will over the next few days.

Mat

Pink Roses

I had some spare time today so I thought I should get my camera out for some photography. The weather wasn’t too pleasant outside so I thought I could do some still life photos inside. I haven’t done much still life recently and I had some ideas I wanted to try.

For this still life shoot I was using a vase with various flowers in, I thought the brightness and variety of the colours made an interesting composition. To make the most of the light pink roses I positioned the vase close to a window with the curtains drawn apart from a small slit left to let light into the room and onto the flowers. I positioned the camera onto a tripod and selected aperture priority and programmed an aperture of F7.1. I also pre-selected the ISO sensitivity, I chose to use ISO 100 to ensure the quality remained as high as possible. The camera selected a shutter speed of 2.5 seconds.

To edit the photo I increased the contrast and lowered the shadows to make the contrast look more dynamic. I also cropped the photo to remove an unwanted shadow from the bottom left corner. I didn’t change anything else as I was happy with the effect that I had created.

I enjoyed todays still life photo shoot, I haven’t done one in a while and it was good to try out the ideas that I’ve been thinking about. I will be uploading the photos I took over the next few days, I hope you enjoy them.

Mat

Standing Tall

Mat and I went for a walk through a small town on the outskirts of the city yesterday. He didn’t take his camera as just wanted to go for a walk, but I couldn’t be parted as ever!!

During one part of the walk, Mat sat down on a bench with a coffee (in –5 degrees!), while I chose to continue walking. I found a small clearing, just off the path, so decided to see what was there. I walked into the clearing to find a small shaded area, surrounded by trees- almost impossible to find if you weren’t looking. Small patches of light broke through the cover of the branches, providing thin beams that shone pointed to the centre. I tried to focus on one burst of light, taking the photo up the trunk of the tree to give an idea of scale. I used an aperture of F8, as I wanted the tree to be in focus, while making the background slightly blurred.

I increased the contrast in Photoshop, while slightly decreasing the brightness to make the image appear more dramatic. I decreased the saturation slightly, as I had changed the hue to make the green tones more prominent, and didn’t want this to be obvious when looking at the image. I’m pleased with this image, but regret not using low-key mode, as it could’ve made the image seem more dramatic without having to sacrifice details, as with post-processing.

Bex

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Bright Horizons

Mat and I went for a walk today. Having had other things to do in the morning, we didn’t leave until late afternoon so didn’t make our way back until the sun started to set.

There is a field, near to where Mat and I live. In this field, a pond has been built, with a small fence to keep dogs from destroying the habitat, and seating inside the fenced area. On the way back, we decided to stop for a rest so sat down next to pond. I looked behind, and could see the sun setting behind the trees. I loved the pattern of the pink clouds in the sky, and the bright stripes of colour. I decided to include a tree in the foreground, as I thought the image would look uninteresting, as there would be no foreground without this. However, I decided to keep it to one side, as I wanted the focus to stay primarily on the background.

I increased the contrast and decreased the brightness in Photoshop, to make sure that all of the foreground detail was lost. I also decreased the hue and increased saturation to make the pink tones appear more prominent. I also sharpened the image slightly, to emphasise the individual branches of each tree and to pick out the individual clouds.

Bex

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Flowing

I managed to get down to the duckpond yesterday so I took a few photos while I was there. During the time I was there, a few swans were paddling around the duck pond. One of them made its way towards me so I took a few photos as it passed me.

I was using the camera in shutter priority and I selected a shutter speed of 1/400^th of a second. I underexposed by 2/3rds of a stop, this meant the camera chose an aperture of F8 and an ISO of 100. I composed the photo so that the swan was in the top right corner of the frame looking down to the bottom left corner. I like this composition because it looks balanced, with the swan moving from corner to corner.

To edit the photo I cropped the photo slightly, just to remove some other birds I had caught in corner of the frame. I didn’t change anything else as I didn’t want to spoil the effect I had created. The photo didn’t need sharpening because it was taken on ISO 100, the colours had been replicated perfectly and the exposure was spot on.

I’m glad I managed to get out yesterday because I was starting to get low on photos to upload. I hope we get another chance for a wander, as there are still a few ideas that I want to try out in the nature reserve.

Mat

Through The Trees

I managed to go out for a photography wander today, so I went for a short walk around the nature reserve. I didn’t have very long so I didn’t take many photos, this is one of my favourites. I was out during the evening and the sun was starting to set, so I tried to capture the sunlight as it passed through the tree.

I used an aperture of F8 to ensure the depth of field was big enough but also ensuring the light didn’t diffuse around the aperture blades. I left the camera to select the shutter speed and ISO. I boosted the colour saturation and colour tone in camera.

When editing the photo, I cropped out the bottom of the frame as there was a lot of dead space which detracted from the overall effect I was aiming for. I also boosted the colour saturation and colour tone further to make the colours really stand out. I didn’t change anything else as i was happy with the effect I had created.

As I didn’t take that many photos today, I hope to get another chance very soon to capture some more images. I have a few ideas of what I want to photograph so the next time I’m out I shall experiment with these ideas and show you the results.

Mat

Top Field

I was once again looking through some photos that I had taken a while ago on a photography wander. I saw this one and thought it had some good potential so I had a look at it to see what I could do with it.

When taking the photo I had the camera in aperture priority with an aperture of F11 selected. The camera matched this with a shutter speed of 1/160^th of a second with ISO 100. I boosted the colour saturation and the contrast in camera to give the photo more punch.

This photo needed quite a lot of editing; the first thing I did was to crop the photo down so that the attention is focussed onto the correct area. I then increased the contrast and the colour saturation further to make the photo look really dynamic!

I like how this photo has come out and I think the editing has made the photo look much better than before. Hopefully Bex and I will get a chance to go for a photo graphy wander at some point during the Easter holiday.

Mat

Glowing

Eventually, there will come a point when you get fed up of seeing concert photos- but hopefully, not yet. Any fans of The Script will realise that the blog title refers to a song by The Script; for other readers, feel free to either listen to the song in question, or disregard the previous statement and assume that I’m referring to the lighting.

This photo was taken during one of the last songs of the concert (excluding the encore), which was started slow, explaining the smoky atmosphere. The singer was walking round the stage, but at this point wasn’t singing. Being a compact, I couldn’t change many settings, but did have control over the white balance. I selected flash, as I didn’t want to lose the bright blue. I did use flash in this photo, as I wanted to deliberately under expose; the only way to do this was to trick the camera. This didn’t affect the image, as what I wanted to focus on wasn’t in range of flash.

I have edited this photo in Photoshop. I increased the contrast and decreased the brightness to make sure that all of the people in this shot were completely silhouetted against the blue lights. I also sharpened the image to make the edges of the starburst more prominent.

The starburst wasn’t intentional, but appeared in one of my other photos so I tried to achieve the same effect when taking this image. I’m really pleased with this photo; it’s probably one of my favourite shots of the evening.

Bex

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The Man Who Can't Be Moved

As mentioned yesterday, last night Mat and I went to a concert. If you’re a fan you’ve probably read the title, and by now realised who we saw; but, for the benefit of non-fans, we went to see The Script!! They are definitely one of my favourite bands, whereas Mat was there a little more as company (even if he did admit he enjoyed it!).

D-SLRs aren’t allowed into the concert venue as they are deemed to be professional, so I took my compact with me. I had to use digital zoom to take this photo, so I shall apologise for the image quality now. It came across that the band were enjoying themselves just as much as the crowd, which made for some amazing photos!!! Around half way through the evening, they duetted with the audience on one of their most well known songs; the lead singer pointed to the audience when he wanted them to sing. I managed to capture this just as the video wall lined up with the singer.

Due the lacking quality, I edited the image in Photoshop. I sharpened it and increased the contrast, followed by decreasing the brightness and hue. Finally, I increased the saturation and removed the noise. I’m really pleased with this photo; as it was standing only and incredibly dark, it was almost impossible to get any sharp photos- let alone while trying to use maximum zoom.

One small pearl of wisdom I should pass on is learnt through experience; COLDS AND CONCERTS DO NOT MIX- EVER. My friends seem happy at the moment; it may have something to do with the involuntary ban on anything vocal… oops!

Bex

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Experiments

First of all, I shall lay to rest your shock of being able to read a new blog post while still in daylight! (If you’re British, that is). This evening, Mat and I are going to a concert!! We didn’t want to have a night off from Daily Wanders, so decided to prepare a post before leaving.

This is a photo from a recent walk through my local area. Mat was experimenting with flashguns again so I decided to abandon him, although I didn’t completely abandon the concept of experimenting with light. I tried to take a photo of a curled up leaf, but decided it looked dull and was lost in the background. I used flash in conjunction with point metering, in order to lose some of the background. I ended up taking around 10 photos in order to get the desired effect; each one varying in flash intensity, and the amount I over/under exposed the image. This is taken at F5.6 at a shutter speed of 1/160 at ISO 100.

Some of the photo seemed a little over exposed where it caught more of the flash. In order to correct this, I darkened the shadows in Photoshop. I sharpened the image to pick up final details of the leaf. Another twig stemmed from the branch, which I tried to remove by using flash. However, this left a large black space at the bottom of the photo. I cropped it to make it seem more symmetrical. I love experimenting with photos in this way; it’s part of the fun and makes the end result much more satisfying.

Bex

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Testing

I was looking back through the photos I took at the Focus On Imaging event that both Bex and I went to earlier this month. This photo was taken while I was at the Sigma sales stand; they had a very large selection of lenses that you could try out if you asked. While I was there I tried out some lenses, when the person showed me there brand new 35mm F1.4 lens. I tried it on my camera to see what it could do.

I selected the maximum aperture of F1.4 to see how small the depth of field was. I found it was tiny; looking back at the image I took the depth of field was about 1cm! The lens gives an equivalent focal length of 56mm.

When I looked back at the photos I took while testing the lens this one looked a little arty with the shallow depth of field separating my kit lens from the surroundings. I had the camera in aperture priority and left the camera to choose the shutter speed and the ISO sensitivity. I didn’t use the flash as I didn’t want to irritate the other people around me.

I didn’t edit the photo for two reasons. The first is that I am happy with the effect of the photo, the camera calculated the exposure perfectly and didn’t require changing. The second is to show how small the depth of field really is and how good the quality of the lens is.

Looking through the photos I took at the Focus On Imaging event brought back the great memories we made. We both had a fantastic time at the event and gathered a lot of useful information.

Mat

Experimental

It feels like an age has passed since I last wrote a post; so much so that it almost feels unnatural writing one this evening. I must apologise on behalf of my ludicrously unreliable laptop, and blame it for my absence. In the mean time, I have found myself busy with other pursuits. This afternoon, I was invited for a meal at a family member’s house. It was their birthday, so I took a camera with me. In the evening, once presents had been opened and cake eaten, I noticed that the sunset was stunning and decided to try to capture it. I wasn’t content with the “conventional” photo so set about making it more original.

My relative lives in a rural area of the town, which is why the sunset could be seen so vividly; however, there is a small road running along the bottom of her garden (behind the trees). I used a shutter speed of two seconds, briefly pausing on the tree on the left, before moving to focus on the right. While focusing on the left, a car drove through the photo; I tried to track the headlights.

I have increased the contrast, while decreasing the brightness in Photoshop. I have also sharpened the image and created a slight vignette around the edges. I love how the image turned out; this is the first time that I have experimented with a double exposure-style image, and I think it worked well. I am also very pleased that I managed to capture light trails from the headlights of the car so well. Normally, I find that employing more than one technique makes the composure seem a little sloppy, but there are some exceptions and I think this is exactly that.

Bex
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Viewpoint

Both Bex and I have been incredibly busy today so we didn’t get a chance to go out for a photography wander. Her laptop is still broken so I looked through my computer for some inspiration. Once again I looked through some of my holiday photo folders, when I stumbled across this photo; it was taken on a disused railway line on the side of a mountain looking in towards a valley.

I used the camera in aperture priority to make the most of the composition, I chose an aperture of F16 to give a large depth of field, and to keep everything looking sharp. I also preselected an ISO of 100, to give the most detail possible; there was plenty of natural light so I didn’t worry about the shutter speed being too low.

I didn’t edit the photo as I was very happy with the result I had made at the time. The colours had been replicated accurately so didn’t require altering; and the exposure was perfect.

Bex has told me that she is really missing the blog, and that as soon as her laptop is working again she will be blogging as usual. She tells me that she has a lot of photos in mind that she wants to upload.

Mat

Hillside

Haven’t had a chance to go out for a recently, and a lot of my photos from my duckpond trip are very similar. I thought I’d look for something a bit different, so I had a look through my computers memory for some inspiration. I was looking through some of my holiday folders, when I found this photo.

I like how the composition is split up into three distinct depths: the hedge and field in the foreground, the row of trees in the middle and the mountains far off in the distance. To make the most of this composition I used the minimum aperture of F22, as this gives the deepest depth of field. I then manually focused about ¾ of the way through the frame, to ensure that everything was in pin sharp detail. I left the camera to select the shutter speed and the ISO.

I didn’t edit the photo because I was very happy with result I had created in camera. The camera had calculated the exposure perfectly and had reproduced the colours accurately, so I decided not to change either.

Unfortunately Bex is having some computer problem. The problem will be fixed very quickly though; and she will be back up and blogging very soon.

Mat

Congregation

I managed to get out for a wander today so I once again went down to the local duck pond. There wasn’t much around while I down there so I didn’t spend very long at the duckpond. While I was there, a group of birds had congregated on a short bit of fence next to the pond.

To make the most of this composition I used an aperture of F8 to give a deep enough depth of field. I was using the camera in manual mode, so I also programmed a shutter speed of 1/500^th of a second to remove any form of movement.

To edit the photo I increased the contrast and lowered both the highlights and the shadows. I also changed the white balance and decreased the saturation; I did this to ensure the whites were pure. I didn’t change anything else as I am very happy with the effect that I had created.

I’m very pleased with how this photo has come out, wildlife and bird photography is defiantly my favourite form of photography. I will certainly be doing more of this in the future; hopefully improving my skills as I go.

Mat

Shining Through

I know I’ve uploaded some very similar photos recently; but I really liked a lot of the photos and couldn’t decide which to upload so I decided to upload all of them! This photo was taken on the return journey; we had paused for a short break to just watch the world go by. We were just leaving when I saw how the light was catching the leaves on the side of the hedge. I really liked how the bramble branch has been picked out by the light, and how the light shines through the leaves.

To make the most of this composition I used a medium aperture of F8, this gives a large enough depth of field without showing too much of the background. I preselected an ISO of 400 to enable the use of a fast enough shutter speed. I didn’t use the flash on this photo as it would have over powered the natural light and destroyed the effect I was aiming to capture.

I didn’t change anything during the editing stage as I was happy with how I had captured the image. The camera had calculated the exposure perfectly so I didn’t change any of the light levels. Also the colours had been replicated perfectly so I left them as they were.

Hopefully I’ll get a chance to go out for a walk again this weekend, if not then I’m sure I’ll be able to find some photos in my computer’s hard drive. Maybe I’ll look through some of our previous photography wanders.

Mat

Looking Through The Gaps

This photo was taken on my weekend walk. I walked past a small bush, but it had gap in the foliage which I thought could make an interesting composition. To create this composition I took the photo through this gap in the foliage.

I had the camera in aperture priority and I selected an aperture of F5.6, to reduce the depth of field. I also preselected the ISO sensitivity at ISO 400, which meant a fast enough shutter speed is enabled and the quality is also retained. I managed to use a shutter speed of 1/50^th of a second which was fast enough so I could hand hold the camera.

To edit the photo I increased the contrast and lowered the shadows; I did this to make the photo more dynamic as it looked a bit flat before. I didn’t change the colour tone or the saturation as i was happy with how the colours had been replicated.

I’m glad I got a chance to go for a photography wander, I keep trying out different techniques and I think my skills are slowly getting better over time. I’ll keep practicing as I’ve still got a long way to go.

Mat

Burgundy Leaves

I managed to get out for a photography wander this weekend, so once again I brought my trusty flash gun with me. I also took my tripod with me to hold the flashgun so I could use some off camera flash.

I spotted some dead leaves hanging from a tree that amazingly hadn’t fallen off despite all the wind we’ve been having! So I set up the flash gun on the tripod to the right and slightly behind the camera. I set the camera to fire the flash remotely; I took a few test shots and decided that the best effect was created without any flash exposure compensation. I had the camera in aperture priority and I preselected an aperture of F5.6 to ensure the depth field was short but the leaf was still sharp. The camera paired this with a shutter speed of 1/60^th of a second.

Editing the photo I decided to increase the contrast and boost the shadows, I did this to make the photo look more dynamic and to make the photo look less flat. I also reduced the colour tone, by doing this the reds become boosted and enhance the burgundy colours of the dead leaves. I didn’t change the composition else because I was happy with how I had framed the photo.

Overall I’m very happy with this photo, I like how I had framed the image and I really like the effect I had created with the flash gun. Hopefully I will get another chance to go on a photography wander at some point this week.

Mat

Magical

This is another photo from my latest wander with Mat, through the local nature reserve. Mat takes time to set things up carefully, while I tend to have a guess, go for it then review the image on the camera screen and adjust the appropriate settings from there. Due to this, I normally end up leaving him behind.

As I mentioned in Friday’s post, I found a small clearing between two rows of trees; this is where today’s upload is set. While taking other photos, I struggled to see as a single beam of sun cascaded light into the clearing. At first, it proved to be a hindrance, forcing me to use flash, but after a while I decided to try to incorporate it.

I had to take a few shots to get the image right, as I wanted to make the image seem mystical, but didn’t want the shadows or highlights to clip. I used low-key gradation to make the image more dramatic. I used F11 as I wanted the entire photo to be in focus, but needed the extra light so couldn’t use anything smaller. I had to use a shutter speed of 1/50 at ISO 320 to let in enough light. I increased the contrast, hue and saturation in Photoshop. I also decreased the highlights and sharpened the image slightly. I love this photo; I feel it’s like the sequel to “Start Off Small” (2nd April 2012), as it’s a similar style, taken in a similar location. Winter sun is great for shots like this, as it’s always quite low, making it easy to capture something dramatic.

Bex
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Hanging Catkin

Once again I am uploading a photo from my trip out to the nature reserve on Tuesday. This one was taken on the same bush as the one I uploaded yesterday, but from a different angle. I was also aiming for a different effect. I wanted more of the bush to be in the final image.

To get the effect that I wanted I used a short focal length (20mm) so that as much was kept in the frame as possible. I also selected a narrow aperture of F11 to keep as much in focus while allowing the use of a medium shutter speed. I also used the flash to boost the contrast between the background and the subject.

To edit the photo, I boosted the contrast further to enhance the effect I was trying to create and I also lowered the shadows to make the photo more dynamic. I increased the colour tone and the saturation to make the greens more prominent and to give the photo more ‘punch’.

Hopefully Bex and I will have a chance to go out for a wander at some point over this weekend, if the weather is nice enough that is. Otherwise we might do some indoor photography instead.

Mat

Untouched

Mat and I went for a walk this afternoon, as, for the first time in a long while, it was actually sunny! We didn’t have very long so only walked through the local nature reserve. Mat was experimenting with flash, so I abandoned him and set off in seek of my own adventure while he set up his shots. I have missed taking macro photographs, but the bad weather has prevented me from doing so.

I normally end up abandoning the path in favour of fighting my way through trees and bushes to the most untouched areas; for this photo I did just that. I found a small clearing in the trees, which wouldn’t normally be seen unless you were looking for a gap. I stumbled through the gap, into a sort of hollow area between the trees. There were a lot of plants along the ground; this being one of them. I took a few shots at various apertures and decided that this was my favourite, as I liked that the front few leaves, the stem and petals of the flower were all in focus. I used flash in low-key mode, to make the scene look more dramatic.

I sharpened the image in Photoshop, to pick out details in the leaves and the hairs on the plant stem. I increased the contrast, and decreased the brightness, to make the image more dramatic. The increase of contrast made the yellow too bright, so I decreased the saturation. While trying to find the best level for the whole image, I tried under-exposing and really liked the effect.

I’m really pleased with the product of my walk. I usually have on and off days; an “on” day being where I’m pleased with a lot of the photos I’ve taken. Today was definitely a good day!

Bex
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Small Growth

This photo was also taken on our recent wander into the nature reserve. Further along the path was a tree which had some saplings shooting off; on some of them small pieces of green were hanging off. I spotted two of these pieces of green which I thought could make an unusual composition.

I used a wide aperture to shorten the depth of field and I focused on the left piece. I did this to throw the right piece out of focus. I used the flash in this photo so I could create a high contrast between the background and the subjects. I had the camera in manual mode with a shutter speed of 1/50^th of a second and aperture of F5.6. I chose this combination to keep the depth of field very small and to ensure the background was dark in comparison to the subjects.

To edit the photo I boosted the contrast and lowered the shadows. I did this to make the photo look more dynamic with the very high contrast between subject and background. I didn’t change anything else as I was happy with the effects I had created.

Overall I’m very happy with this photo; I captured the effect that I was aiming for. I really like the effects that can be created with flash. I will defiantly be trying more varied effects in the future.

Mat

Brambles

Both Bex and I had some time off yesterday, so we decided to take a short walk around the local nature reserve. We were walking around when I spotted a small bramble bush; I thought that one of the ends sticking out made an interesting composition.

I had my flash gun and tripod with me so I set up the flash gun on the tripod to the right of the bramble bush; so that only the right side of the bush is lit up. I wanted to try this effect out because I have seen it before a few times and wanted to try it out myself. I used the camera in manual mode and selected a shutter speed of 1/40^th and an aperture of F8; I chose this aperture to ensure that only the bramble bush was in focus. I underexposed the flash by one stop to get the effect that I wanted.

To edit the photo I increased the contrast and lowered the highlights to stop them from clipping. I also increased the colour tone to give the green leaves more punch. I also cropped the photo down slightly as there was some dead space to the left of the frame. Finally I converted the photo into JPEG format.

I’m very pleased with how this photo turned out, I like the moody effect the flash gun has made. I shall defiantly be experimenting more with different flash gun setups.

Mat

Standing Tall

Mat and I went to the Focus on Imaging Show on Sunday, and it was AMAZING! It really was photographic heaven, and well worth the two-hour train journey. While at the event, there were a plethora of things to try out, from lenses to lights and soft boxes to cameras.

One of the things I tried were some lights. In order to help attract customers, a mini samba class was run at the stall. Before this started, those with cameras were invited to take photos of the dancer using the lights. I didn’t have a lot of time as there were a few people waiting, but I managed to get this photo, and I absolutely love it!!

As ever, I found that the image from my camera looked a little dull on my computer screen, so increased both the contrast and the saturation to make the image look more vibrant. I also increased sharpness to make the glitter on her eyes and the details of the individual jewels stand out. I absolutely loved visiting Focus, and really wished I could have stayed! Roll on next year!

Bex
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Homeward Bound

The Focus On Imaging event that Bex and I went to yesterday was awesome!!! We both had a fantastic time, and were given a lot of useful information from every stall. Everyone we spoke to was very friendly and willing to help us look for the right equipment. Unfortunately the time came for us to depart and return back home. We both took our cameras with us, but for the first time for a large event we didn’t take that many photos!

I took this one on our way home waiting for the train; before ours arrived, a series of other trains past ours by. As one was pulling away I thought it mad an interesting composition passing the signal at the end of the platform. I used the camera in manual mode so I could select both the shutter speed and the aperture. In this case I chose an aperture of F5.6 and a shutter speed of 1/500^th of a second. The aperture I selected gives a reasonable depth of field which is the effect I wanted to create in the final image. The shutter speed I chose was fast enough for the focal length that I was using.

To edit the photo I boosted the contrast and lowered the highlights to stop them from clipping. I didn’t crop the photo down, because I was happy with how I had framed the photo at the station. I didn’t change the colour tone or the saturation, as I was happy with how the colours had been replicated.

We both had such a good time at Focus On Imaging; we will defiantly be going back again next year. We both recommend it to anyone with even the smallest interest in photography.

Mat

Netted

Bex and I decided to pre-prepare a blog post for today. This photo was taken on yesterdays trip. In the park we had stopped in; there was a small climbing frame made from rope. I thought that if I took the photo at an odd angle then I could create an interesting composition.

For this photo I used my telephoto lens to create a very short depth of field. I pointed the camera up towards the sky to get the composition that I wanted. I used the camera in aperture priority to keep the depth of field to the minimum. As it was sunny day I pre-selected an ISO of 100. The camera matched this with a shutter speed of 1/400^th of a second; this was fast enough to account for the focal length.

To edit the photo I increased the contrast and then I decreased the shadows. I did this to make the photo more dynamic. I didn’t crop the photo, as I was happy with the composition. I like the effect I created after editing the photo.

As this post was created yesterday we will tell you how Focus On Imaging went in tomorrows post. But I’m sure it will be a very enjoyable and informative event.

Mat

Branching Up

Bex and I managed to get out for a walk today; we went slightly out of our town today to a park that we haven’t been to for quite a while. We decided to sit down and watch the world go by for a while, we were about to move on when I noticed three trees standing on their own; which I think made a very interesting composition.

I used the camera in aperture priority and selected an aperture of F11 to ensure the whole scene was sharp front to back. I under exposed by two stops to silhouette the tree and to enhance the blue sky. I composed the photo so that the tree was in the left hand side of the frame.

I didn’t edit the photo, as I was happy with the effect that I had created. The levels were as I wanted them and the composition was spot on what I wanted. I thought I might spoil the effect if I changed the composition or the light levels.

Tomorrow Bex and I are going to the Focus On Imaging Show in the NEC at Birmingham. We’ve been very excited about this trip for a long time! Both of us have planned the day out to the last detail. We will let you know how we get on when we get back.

Mat

Rusted

This is another photo from my trip to the architectural salvage yard a few days ago. As I mentioned previously, a few metres past the entrance, no patch of wall is left uncovered. This photo was taken of another object along the wall.

There is no rhyme to what is placed there; it seems to be anything that the owner likes the look of. On my way out, I stopped to admire everything that lined the wall, and spotted a group of cogs. I decided to focus on one cog as I wanted to capture all of the details that can only be seen close up. I only focused on part of the single cog to add interest to the photo, as it makes it seem a little abstract.

I had to under-expose the photo slightly to get a fast enough shutter speed to keep it sharp; I corrected this in Photoshop. I increased the brightness and contrast to make the image more vibrant. I then decreased the saturation almost completely, as I wanted to push forward the idea of age, while not completely losing the colour of rust. I’m really pleased with this image; it took a little longer to edit than normal as I was being fussy, but it was definitely worth it!

Bex

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