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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