Serendipity...

I hadn't given much thought about making a blog post, but the photograph - taken yesterday - is the result of some idle experimentation. I had converted what was a pretty run-of-the-mill image to black and white in an effort to give it some impact, but instead of abandoning it* like you do, I made a copy and continued to faff-about with it..

Using the brush tool in Adobe Lightroom, I discovered that I could tint areas of the photograph simply by picking a colour - and its strength - and paint it in. This technique - that of selective colouring - is considered old hat in the photographic fraternity (and let's face it, it is), but the effect I have used is much more subtle than that. The procedure is, of course, known by Lightroom users, but when you discover something by accident; through the will of trial and error, it becomes a legitimate part of your work flow.


*Art is never finished, only abandoned - Leonardo daVinci.



24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S Nikkor. 1/100 second at f/7.1. - 1 stop EV compensation. ISO 400



© 2014    

On the beach...

The fine spring weather has gone - at least for the time being - so I'm glad I made the most of it while it lasted. Getting such warm weather so early in the year is a welcome bonus - especially after all the nonsense we put up with during the winter - but now we are back to seasonal average I am beginning to miss it.

I took the photograph yesterday, on a local beach, but didn't find the time to process it until today. I like the way the stone and sand shapes compliment each other, with elements in one echoing the elements in the other. The pastel hues are created by the oblique, diffused sunlight of late afternoon.



24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S Nikkor. 1/500 second at f/5.6. ISO 200



© 2014

Gaping hole...

For what ever reasons people feel the need to cause damage to their own environment, one thing is for sure, it took some determination to smash through the safety glass and leave a gaping hole in the windbreak on the south western side of the local pier.

Try as I might, I was unable to use the frame created by some mindless idiot for something more interesting, but either the angles were all wrong, or the light that was falling on what I could see wasn't interesting enough. Eventually, I settle for something a bit more mundane and choose to keep the frame within a frame sharp, and let the late afternoon light do the rest.



24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S Nikkor. 1/640 second at f/11.  - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 250



© 2014

Silhouettes on the shade...

I must have been a hundred metres away when I first saw the potential for this shot on a local beach, this afternoon. It had been cloudless all day and the only colour visible, as I walked into the low, late afternoon sun, was created by this translucent windbreak, and the shadows being projected on to it.

Drawing as little attention to myself as I knew how, I approached to within a few feet while the occupants enjoyed the sea air and the warmth of a spring afternoon. I only got off three frames before I was noticed; the people became more self conscious of the camera, and the spontaneity was lost.



50mm f/1.8 AF Nikkor. 1/3200 second at f/8. ISO 200


© 2014

Blue...

It has been some weeks without any appreciable poor weather, and the double-figure temperatures - on the Celsius scale - and warm spring sunshine almost appear to be lulling us into a false sense of security. In fact, the continual storms during the early part of the year disappeared so quickly it is almost like they never happened at all.

There is rain due later this week, but for the time being I'm out and making the most of the light before the sun starts climbing too high into the sky and I am restricted to shooting at either end of the day. I'm also using one of my favourite - and cheapest - lenses: the 50mm f/1.8. I have extolled its virtues elsewhere on this blog, but when I am simply out for a casual stroll and some informal snapping I find it the idea optic, especially when closing-in on and isolating subjects from their surroundings.

50mm f/1.8 AF Nikkor. 1/640 second at f/8. IS) 250

© 2014

Low and tight does the trick...

Having started my quest nearly two weeks ago for a daffodil photograph differing from the norm, I think I have finally achieved what I set out to do. I've gone from super-telephoto to wide angle zooms - and then all points between - without producing satisfying results, so today I throw caution to the wind and tackle the job with the widest optic available to me: a fisheye lens. After all, if everything else I tried didn't produce the goods, what have I got to lose?

The most important piece of equipment I take on the shoot - apart from the camera itself - is a piece of plastic sheeting that I can spread out onto the still damp earth. This enables me to comfortably sprawl full-length on the ground, and to get in low and tight. I hadn't tried this approach with the other sessions, often photographing from bloom height or higher, but no sooner I do this it becomes obvious to me that this is what I've been after all along: dynamics.

The glass on the camera helps, of course, with its 180º angle of view and inherent huge depth of field, but the worms-eye view makes all the difference, and I am finally happy with the images I get. At last I can move on.



10.5mm f/2.8G AF-S Fisheye Nikkor. 1/800 second at f/11. ISO 250



© 2014

Options still remain...

Well, I tried. The idea of focus stacking, or maybe even long exposures, came to mind as I wrote the last blog post, in a bid to create something interesting that even William Wordsworth would have found inspiring. Unfortunately, there was little to no wind during the shoot to sway the blooms gently; recording them as impressionistic blurs with long shutter speeds, and the focus stacking results still didn't appeal to me.

So, for a bit of insurance, I opted to take some straight shots, just in case. I'm still not enthralled with what I came up with, and I still have several options left at my disposal while the spring weather stays as it is, but for now it will have to do.



70-200mm f/2.8D Apo Sigma lens. 1/400 second at f/7.1. ISO 200



© 2014

Colour and form...

Once again I fail miserably at photographing daffodils in a local park, although each time I fail I feel I am coming closer to what I am trying to achieve. Odd, that I am finding it such a challenge to get a successful image of some yellow flowers. Perhaps I am trying too hard.

Undeterred, I move on to the beach to concentrate on colour and form, as with the beach huts on Boscombe seafront (above), and the repeating pattern of a security grille covering the window of a promenade surfing shop (below). At one time standing in an orderly row, the huts have been moved to some extent by the action of stormy seas last month, thus breaking the regular scheme. I underexposed the colour image slightly to increase saturation, and converted the other to black and white, before selenium toning it in Adobe Lightroom.

70-200mm f/2.8D Apo Sigma lens.

Top: 1/200 second at f/11.  - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 400
Below: 1/250 second at f/11.  - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 400



© 2014

Is it art?...

For the past week I have been trying to photograph the emerging season of spring, and in particular the numerous displays of daffodils and crocus. Unfortunately, none of the sessions spent shooting have produced anything to my liking. Last week I worked with a super-telephoto lens; today a standard zoom, but the results simply haven't worked. I do have an idea or two in mind before the displays die-off, so fingers crossed I will get something before that happens.

Looking like something you might find hanging in a modern art gallery (above), today's inspiration comes from nothing more than the worn and damaged sides of an industrial skip*. Initially, I walked straight past it, but as nothing I was photographing today looked like it would make it past the first edit stage on my computer, I decide to return and take a closer look at the colours and textures.

I'm pleased I did.



24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S Nikkor. 1/200 second at f/4. ISO 400

*Addendum: A skip is known as a dumpster in the USA (see comments, below), and this is the one I photographed on the seafront. It is being used to collect and remove the remains of the demolished beach huts, some of which which were damaged beyond economic repair in the recent storms. 

© 2014

Low tide; low sun; magic combination...

Apart from weather forecasts (for what use they are), the one thing I can trust are tide tables; predictions that tell me when high and low tides are expected, and are invaluable for the photographer that shoots anywhere there are tidal differences. I have, for many years, used Easy Tide: the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office's free site for predictions up to seven days in advance, anywhere on the planet.

Armed with this information, plus that of any number of websites available that show sunrise/sunset times and directions, is often all I need to be in the right place at the right time. That, and a bit of luck from Mother Nature (above).



12-24mm f/4G AF-S Nikkor. 1/125 second at f/8. ISO 400



© 2014

Making your own light...

The last day of my stay with Nic (she always makes me feel so welcome), and the weather takes a dip. No rain, or anything like that, but the sky becomes the familiar grey blanket we have seen so much of over the past few months.

Not that is something I worry about when out shooting. The photographer has two options in such situations: don't include the sky; or make your own light, as I did with this picture of the Willesborough Windmill, near Ashford. It is an established darkroom technique to burn-in areas you want darker, or "dodge" selected areas to keep (or make), lighter. Of course, all this is so much easier to achieve digitally, and more so with the flexibility of Lightroom.



12-24mm f/4G AF-S Nikkor. 1/160 second at f/8. ISO 250. Adobe Lightroom conversion.



© 2014

The old lighthouse and nuclear energy...

Day three, and I still have my monochrome head on for a trip to Dungeness; with its light steam railway, lighthouses, and nuclear power station (photo). I like it there as the area is gloriously bleak, with small dwellings dotted here and there on the open land, and fishing boats drawn-up on to the shingle beach. A photographer can easily spend all day there, such is the diversity of subjects for the lens.

Even the weather is kind this visit - it's the first day of spring, after all - and although a cool day the sun shines and there is very little wind.



24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S Nikkor. 1/250 second at f/8. ISO 250. Adobe Lightroom conversion.



© 2014