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

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
x

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

x

Returned

Unfortunately Bex and I didn’t get a chance to out for a walk today, so I had another look through my computer. This is another photo from our trip to the local church, I wanted to upload it sooner but I had too many other photos I wanted to upload!

I took this photo from the roof of the tower; this is where I took the majority of my photos. I saw these gaps in the wall and I thought they would make an interesting photo. So I put the camera into aperture priority and used a medium aperture of F10 to ensure that all parts of the wall where in focus. I didn’t use flash because it would have ruined the effect I was aiming for, and it wasn’t needed.

When editing the photo I increased the overall brightness but I also turned down the highlights. This helps create the mood that I was aiming for, and it also makes the detail in the shadows easier to see. I decided against cropping the photo, I tried cropping it in various ways but I didn’t like how they looked so I left it as it was.

Mat

Towering

This is another photograph from mine and Mat’s endeavours to the top of the bell tower. I feel as if I may be over playing the weekend’s excursion slightly, but I took a lot of pictures so I have at least a few that I’m proud of and this is one of them! This is one of the last pictures I took while “up on the roof” (if you excuse the musical reference), but one of my most individual.

It got quite sunny as the evening drew in, meaning a lot of pictures I tried to take ended up as silhouettes. In most cases this only made the picture unusable but this is the exception. I noticed how the smaller spires were lined up perfectly, yet the middle spire was much taller while still in line. I liked the effect this had, so decided to try and capture the lines in a photo. Because of the position on the roof, I had to take it on an angle. I actually think it works better being taken at an angle as it created more interest. I had to take the picture into the sun, which caused the foreground to partially blackout, the entire photo to go black and white plus a little lens flare. I used a fast shutter speed to try and capture the clouds, which in monochrome, gives the picture a moody effect.

I didn’t have to do any editing, as I was already pleased with it. I would call this a “happy accident” as due to the restrictions I faced, I was forced to take it in a different way and it turned out better than I imagined. I think the lens flare works incredibly well, and adds to the over all effect.

Bex

Roof Top

I still haven’t exhausted all the photos that I had taken from the church. Most of the best photos had been taken from the roof, this being one of them. Instead of taking the photo of the surrounding landscape, I decided to take the photo of the roof itself!

The roof was made up of different sections, and at the joins there were these raised sections. They were all symmetrical and I thought they would make an interesting photo. I used an aperture of F22 to make sure the whole scene was in sharp focus. To create an interesting composition I framed the photo so the join ran through the centre of the frame.

I edited the photo to make sure that it was vertical and I also increased the brightness. With this done, the photo looks much better I think. The ridge runs straight through the centre of the frame and is completely symmetrical.

I’m surprised how many of the photos that I took from the church are good enough for the blog. I would like to think my photography skills are slowly getting better with Bex’s help and a lot of practice.

Mat

Aisles

Once a year in my local area, there is an “Open Doors Day”. This is when local places of interest let the public access all areas for a single day. Among other places, Mat and I decided to go to a church on the outskirts of town. It’s well known for the bell tower, which is what was open!

I walked up to the roof of the bell tower with my camera; the views were stunning but looked more like snapshots than photography. When reviewing my photos in the evening, I saw this picture. It was taken just before I went up to the roof. I was waiting for my turn, so decided to go for a wander through the main building. As I got to one end of the church, I turned and saw the archways. I noticed how the pews acted as lead in lines, as well as pillars.

I had to wait for 10 minutes to get a shot without any people at the back of it. I had to use a high ISO in order to avoid using flash. This meant that I needed to edit my picture in the evening. I increased the contrast and saturation to make the picture seem brighter without losing the colour. Afterwards, I used the noise removal tool to make the picture look clearer.

I’m really pleased with it; it was definitely worth the wait! I think it’s one of those pictures that you don’t realise it’s potential until you’ve see it on a larger screen.

Bex
x

Grave Yard

The church that we were visiting also had a small grave yard round the back. While walking through the grave yard, I spotted this row of Grave stones. I like how they lined up and point towards the wall surrounding the church.

I wanted all of the grave stones to be in focus so I used an aperture of around F16, this gave a good depth of field, but also allowing the wall to be put out of focus. I didn’t use the flash because there was plenty of light and it would have spoiled the effect I was aiming for. As I was taking the photo from under a tree, the light had a green tone to it; to combat this I turned down the green to cancel out the extra green.

When editing the photo I decided to turn the green down a bit more, because I wasn’t completely satisfied with the result straight from the camera. This had some side effects, so I decide to sharpen the photo I think the end effect has worked out well. I also cropped out the left side of the photo, because I think it improves the composition of the photo.

We both enjoyed visiting the church, we found it very interesting looking inside and out of the church. We plan on making another visit in the future because we didn’t take all the photos that we could have.

Mat 

A Church With A View

The church we visited yesterday had a tower that was also open to the public. Bex and I thought the rooftop would have some interesting photo opportunities so we climbed the stairs to the top (All 133 of them!). But when we got to the top, it was more than worth it!

In each corner of the tower there was a small spire, I thought if I took a photo peering through the gaps it would make an interesting composition. I used a narrow aperture so that both sides will be in focus. Also I waited for the clouds to move into a more interesting position to improve the composition.

Afterwards I straightened the photo, and increased the colour temperature. I increased the colour temperature to recreate the colours of the sand stone. I needed to straighten the photo, because I hadn’t quite taken the photo completely vertically.

We both took plenty of photos yesterday, so we still have plenty of picture to upload over the coming week.

Mat

The Lone Farrier

This is another photo from my trip to the Earls Barton country fayre. After I had looked round the vintage farm machinery I saw this mobile forge, I thought it would make an interesting candid photo.

I preset the camera; first I calculated the correct exposure using the inbuilt light metre, then I pre-focused the lens so I could take the photo quickly. When the farrier went to work on the horseshoe, he made the composition perfect, so I brought up the camera and took the photo.

As the photo was taken in quite a hurry the exposure I calculated wasn’t spot on, so when I was checking the photo I decreased the brightness, and increased the contrast a bit. This is the main advantage of having my negatives scanned onto a computer; I can edit them and repair any mistakes that I made when taking the photos.

I really enjoy candid photography, and I think I shall do some more when I’m out and about next. I enjoy using film SLRs, I love the grainy effect that the film gives the photos, I think it makes them more interesting. There’s another country fayre that is coming up soon, I’m hoping to give it a visit, if I do I shall be taking my trusty Pentax cameras with me.

Mat

Empty Swings

Here's another photo from our picnic in the park on Sunday. On our way back from the picnic, we passed some swings. They were empty at the time and they looked quite eerie. I thought that this effect would be emphasised by taking the photo in black and white. I increased the contrast to make the swings bolder against the background. I really like how the supports are lined up, and how all the seats are lined up as well. They both create interesting lead in lines which make the swings appear longer and like they stretch into the distance. Using black and white gives the image a dark and mysterious tone, I like this effect and I think that it works very well for this photo.

Bex and I shall try to get out again soon to take more photos. I'm going to Switzerland on Sunday and won't be back until Wednesday, so once again you will be in the capable hands of Bex.

Mat

Oh, what's occuring?!

Today’s title sums up our day incredibly well! Today Bex and I went on the Gavin and Stacey tour in Barry Island! It was such an amazing day and we both had a great time. Now down to the post: to mark this day I thought I should upload a photo from the tour.

This photo features the church from the very last episode of Gavin and Stacey, when Dave and Nessa are about to get married and Smithy runs in at the last moment to stop them before it’s too late!

I really like vintage architecture such as churches; why I thought I should upload this photo (along with the Gavin and Stacey link). The church was beautiful, and the gravestones provide some foreground interest and can act as lead-in lines towards the tower of the church.

The photo was taken in a hurry as the tour-guide was rushing off to the next stop, so it required some editing in Photoshop. As the photo wasn’t fantastic I had to make the best out of a bad situation; but I think it was just about good enough to upload.

We really enjoyed going on the tour today, everyone was friendly and talkative, and the tour-guide was very informative. We would highly recommend the tour to any Gavin and Stacey fans out there.

So, what’s occurring?!

 Mat

Sweet!

For today’s post, I am admitting to the theft of what seems to be Mat’s current catch phrase!

Today was May Day meaning you might have got an extra long weekend. May Day is the time when we like to welcome in the brighter weather, perhaps with music and fairs in your local area. Where I live is no exception, and each year there is a choice of at least 3 events. However, today tradition was thrown out the window; we seemed to be celebrating the rain that has felt somewhat endless over the last 3 weeks.

I have always gone to a local village to celebrate May Day and even though the sun wasn’t shining as it should be, nobody seemed deterred by the need to take shelter in the marquees.

I always find indoor photography more of a challenge, as artificial lighting can sometimes have a different effect to natural light. I took this picture in one of the marquees with a string of lights overhead. I don’t class this picture as a success in the conventional sense- but I like how the colours have become slightly over saturated; I think it gives a more vintage effect.

I love this picture, and I’m pleased that it didn’t need editing and is different to what I might normally post.

I hope you had a lovely extra day off, and have a wonderful May!

Bex

x