How long?...

Yesterday's "crocus shoot" was something of a failure. I am not a macro photographer (or more accurately, a photomacrographer), but  I am able to produce the occasional close-up image when required. The main problem is getting fully prepared to shoot in the field, with the right aids to make a potentially difficult scenario run much smoother. Wind and subject movement is the main bugbear when photographing small flowers at higher magnifications outside, and it was this that plagued many of the shots I took. I got one or two sharp shots, but the composition let it all down. Not to worry. It is still early in the season, and therefore I get second chance (at least).

So, for the time being it is back to patrolling the seafront. The pier project that I started working on last year still hasn't got off the ground - more likely an ongoing thing that a cut and dried exercise - so I concentrate on the light itself. It is a very flat day all round: Quite mild for the time of year; no wind and very little colour. In fact, because of the nature of the light I decide in advance that all images will be converted to monochrome when I get back in front of a computer. A no brainer, really.

Post processing in Photoshop, and the removal of the colour information in the file makes surprisingly little difference to the finished article. I do, however, decide to artificially tone the photographs for a warmer effect. In this case the simulation of a platinotype print (platinum print), with delicate but full range of tones. Real platinum prints have a life expectancy of several thousand years, assuming they are stored correctly and safely. I wonder how long this image will remain on internet servers?



24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S Nikkor. 1/1000 second at f/8.  - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 200


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