Making Of: A World Of It's Own

Producing this image was quite interesting for me as I have never done anything like this before.

The images that were taken on the shoot to make the final image, although not all of these were used as you can tell from the colours of the sky can be seen on my Flickr page. (For some odd reason, Blogger won't let me embed the file). I have included the photographs from whole shoot to demonstrate how quickly the sky changes, emphasising how important your timing will be if you are producing a low light version as I did. I set my camera up in the centre of the bridge and rotated the camera slightly for each shot.
Unfortunately I didn't have a panoramic head for my tripod so I used a ball head which is why the shots move up and down a little.

The final selected shots were then merged together using a stitching program. There was about 30 images used in this process as I found that using fewer meant that the angles changed too much and they wouldn't align and stitch properly.

The end result was a panorama shot (below) which I then cropped down slightly. Due to the height/angle of the images the sky and ground didn't merge all of the way round. This was also caused by the distortion of the lens that I was using.

The final stage was to warp the image into a planet shape. To do this, I used photoshop and it was the easiest part of the process! Firstly, the image needed to be re-sized (not cropped) into a square and then flipped by 180 degrees. I then simply applied the 'Polar Co-ordinates' filter and ended up with the final shot as a planet.

Cross-Processing in Photoshop & New Watermark

Something else that I have been meaning to experiment with but just haven't had much time to - Cross-Processing.

Traditionally, Cross-Processing is the development of colour negative film or slides in the wrong chemical,such as negative film developed in slide chemicals and vice versa. This effect creates a shift in contrast and tones but can easily be reproduced in Photoshop for digital images.

Using the 'Curves' as an adjustment layer, each colour channel is altered individually in a specific way to give this effect. I will write and post a tutorial at some point...when I have some time!

To make the images look older, I have added a bit of 'noise' in replace of grain and a slight 'fibre' texture which I think adds to the effect.

As you may have also noticed, I have also created a new watermark. I felt that the old one was too intrusive (although it did its job) but it was very bland and felt a little unfriendly and corporate.

I feel that the new one is more personal, which is generally how I work with my clients so I felt that it was far better suited as it reflects the way that I work. It also sits better with my freelance logo...I just need to remember to use it and not the old one!

HDR

HDR (High Dynamic Range) imaging is a technique that allows a greater dynamic range of luminancies between the shadows and highlights of a digital image. This creates a more accurate representation of the colours and light produced from direct sunlight to shadowed areas.

The technique uses a minimum of 3 images taken with a different exposure values. The example below of 5 different exposures ranging from -2 ev to +2 ev.

When used with Tone Mapping and bracketed images, the effect is often exaggerated and looks very unnatural.

I am more interested in the natural & subtle result from HDR as I often find that they can look quite garish which isn't quite to my taste and would be less useful in the photographic work that I do.

Using a dedicated HDR program, I produced the image shown below on the right from the images and ev range shown to the left.

Skyline & City Scapes

Well, I had arranged to visit Bridgewater Tower last night to take some photographs of the views over Leeds from the hallways on the upper floors. However, when I arrived, they decided to change their minds and wouldn't let me! I was so frustrated...grrrrrr!

Anyway, rather than waste the trip, I thought I would go and ask the Hilton if they would allow me to take some images from the higher floors. They were so helpful and immediately let me up to one of the top rooms on one side of the hotel and a honeymoon suite on the other side of the building!

Taken at F.14, ISO 100, Bulb (13 seconds)

It was a little frustrating as the windows were covered in condensation, limiting the shots but they were so helpful I just didn't care!
The shot above was taken through the small gap in the window as it only opened about 4 inches wide.

Afterwards, I went to one of the multi-story car parks that overlooked the train station for a couple more shots. This was quite awkward as the walls were quite high and I couldn't see through the view finder on my camera so I had to use live view to set the composition and then turn it off to focus correctly. It was a bit of a guessing game but the shots aren't too bad.

Above left: Taken at F.14, ISO 100, Bulb (13 seconds)
Above Right: Taken at F.14, ISO 100, Bulb (13 seconds)

This shoot was quite different from the others as there was so much more street lighting as well as moving objects (hence the car light trails in the images above). Even so, it made a nice change and the exposures didn't need to be as long as those at Clarence Dock.

Competition Entry

So here it is...finally! My entry for the UNITE Leeds Skyshoot competition in association with Harvey Nichols.

The closing date for entries is today which is why I have left it so late to tell anyone what I have done. My entry is truley unique compared to all of the others which can be seen here; UNITE Skyshoot Competition on Flickr.

This is the first photographic competition that I have entered so I'm not getting my hopes up!
I'm also slightly concerned as the image was edited quite heavily but this had to be done in order to get this effect. The brief & T&C's don't mention anything about editing so hopefully it won't go against the image as it is primarily, a photograph.

A World Of It's Own

360 Panoramic View of Clarence Dock, Leeds

I chose this location as it is beautifully lit at night.Clarence Dock is home to one of Leed's most famous attractions, The Royal Armouries. In this view, the Royal Armouries and the architecture of the bridge dominate the image.I merged the panoramic into a planet as I felt that it gives an interesting and different view of Leeds.

The judges are listed on the official website (first link in blog entry) and they have all offered information and advice on what they are looking for;

Ross “This competition will certainly put students' creativity to the test. I’m looking for exciting and moving interpretations of the brief – something that really stands out from the crowd.”

Nathan “I want to see Leeds in a new light – that might be an intriguing close-up shot or a panorama of the city. For me colour and composition are key to a winning this competition.”

Brian “Leeds is a vibrant and captivating city with stunning surroundings so no matter how experienced you are with a camera, there are countless views waiting to be captured - they might even be on your doorstep. Just don’t be afraid to use your imagination.”

Quotes taken from the Skyshoot official website

I really hope my main entry impresses the judges as I believe that it fits the brief well and is very different from any other entry.

I have also entered the shot of 'The Bridge at Clarence Dock' as posted on the 18th February as I really like the colours and perspective that it offers.

Painting with Light: Cindi

Today, I stubled across a photographer on Flickr who does a lot of painting with light.
She is brilliant at it and I haven't seen anyone else this dedicated to it before.

Cindi mainly uses LED light wands and her images look so surreal.
Take a look at her photostream here: Pool-Shooter Cindi on Flickr

Glow Sticks

Taken at F.5.6, ISO 200, Bulb (63 seconds)

While experementing with different types of light, I decided to try glow sticks as I thought they would make a nice change from torches.

I really wasn't sure if these would be bright enough for the camera to pick up so I tried two different sorts.

The image above was taken using 4 very thin glowsticks - the ones that can be made into bracelts etc. Although the camera did pick up the light, they could only be moved very slowly and the exposure had to be quite long. I also had to increase the ISO to pick up the light better.

Above Left Taken at F.5.6, ISO 200, Bulb (47 seconds)
Above Right Taken at F.5.6, ISO 200, Bulb (43 seconds)

For the two images above picturing green light trails, I used a shorter glowstick that was much thicker and brighter than the previous ones.

The camera picked these trails up a lot better than before and the exposure was much shorter. Had I only made one shape rather than numerous circles, the exposure could have been even shorter. These glow sticks were so bright, they lit other objects in the room ( you can see a plant and the door frame in the image on the right) so I am hoping they will be bright enough to use outside with a similar technique that I am hoping to try...

Com Tech: Low Light Tips & Tricks

Ok, so a lot of this may seem like common sense but until you are in the situation, you just don't know what you will need. So here is what I have learn so far, most of which I was counting on having to use but you really need to use all of them to get your shots at their best.

• Firstly, you will NEED a sturdy tripod. During a long exposure the slightest movement can ruin your shot and blur your image and you can't take a log exposure hand-held.
• Make sure you have a stopwatch or timer (I use the one on my phone) for use during the bulb setting so that you can time your exposures correctly.
• Take a torch! Not so much to see where you are going, but to light up your subject enabling you to focus more accurately.
• Use a cable release or set your camera's shutter to timer to reduce camera shake.
• Turn off IS (if you have it). You won't need t while using a tripod ad it will only create more noise in your image.
• Shoot RAW. You will be able to recover hidden details, reduce noise and if needs be, alter your exposure without damaging the image too much.
• Time it right! The best time to shoot is when the light is fading or at sunrise. You will capture more detail in your subjects and the colours will be more natural. When shooting after dark in an urban environment, the sky will start to turn orange because of the light pollution.
• If you're shooting in RAW, your white balance isn't as much of a major issue as it can be adjusted later. However, the 'daylight' WB setting is best as it will bring out the colours in your shot.
• Use the 'Mirror Lock up' function. This again, will reduce the vibrations in the camera giving you a much sharper image.
• Scout your locations. This is often easier during the day, especially if you're in a rather precarious location. Scouting at night will allow you know what to expect with both natural and man-made lighting conditions. You can also pick your spots and work out compositions in advance.
• Do a test shoot. This will allow you again, to get to know the area better as well as work out exactly what time you need to be there and set up. It will also give you a better idea of uncontrollable aspects, such as pedestrians, traffic and anything else that will be out of your control.
• Make sure you know the area, especially if it is urban. I wouldn't advise shooting on your own at night as you are more vulnerable so take someone with you. If your location is a bit 'risky', it would be sensible to take minimal equipment, a personal alarm and go in a group. Basic common sense, but these things do happen.
• If you're shooting from indoors through a window, make sure you can turn the lights off to reduce reflection. If this isn't possible, take a thick blanket with you to cover both yourself and the camera. This again, will keep reflections to a minimum.

I will add more to this list as I think or experience things so please check back occasionally.

Com Tech: Low Light

After the test shoot the other day, I went out again last night to take some more and to attempt to get the shot that I want for a competition entry.

I'm afraid I'm still not going to show you what I'm up to with regards to the competition, but if all goes well, it will be revealed in a couple of days...I hope! Its not quite the easiest thing as I need a certain piece of equipment that I'm having difficulty getting my hands on so at the moment, I trying to find a way to do it without.

I do feel like there is improvement in my Low Light images though and I'm focusing more now on capturing the fading light in the sky rather than the lights on buildings which is a bit trickier as timing is imperative. But I still haven't experimented with all of the techniques that I would like to, I'm experimenting with them one at a time so that I can understand their use and effects better.

Steph has also gone back home this week so I'm trying to hold back a little as she will need to go out when she is back, hence I am sticking to only a couple of locations.
The only other problem with this is that I have managed to get access to Bridgewater Place - one of the tallest buildings in Leeds, but my access is tomorrow night so Steph won't be able to come too.

This will however, present me with a completely different situation and a new set of challenges. I can only get access to the hallways which means that photographs will have to be taken through glass and I doubt that I will be able to turn the lights off to reduce the reflection. The images will also be quite different as they will be more like aerial shots taken at quite a distance and a much sharper angle. I have a few ideas of how to combat the reflections, but I will explain these further after Thursday once I have the results.

This is one of my favourite shots from last night's shoot;

Bridge at Clarence Dock

Taken at F.11, ISO 100, Bulb (47 seconds)

I like this shot at it demonstrates a good use of perspective and shows different architectural styles as a contrast to each other. The bridge seems to take you on a journey to explore what is beyond, while the colour of the sky indicates light pollution suggesting there is lots to see and investigate on the other side of the bridge (the city) creating curiosity for the viewer.

It was quite tricky to get this shot as there were so many people crossing the bridge, but that is one of the bonuses of long exposures - as long as they are moving, the camera doesn't pick them up! Unfortunately, the bridge wobbles and shakes the camera while there is movement on the bridge, so shots aren't as sharp as I would like them to be!

I like this shot because of the colours, it is bright despite it being rather dark when it was taken. I also like the perspective in the shot - the image looks so much deeper than things are actually situated. This was an effect of the lens that I was using (canon EF-S 10-22mm), but I used it for that very reason so I am quite pleased with the results.

Low Light: Traffic Trails

I quite like traffic trail shots, especially ones taken in the middle of nowhere so that you can only just make out the surroundings with a curving trail of light sweeping through.

I'm not really in the right location to take images like that as there is too much light pollution and street lighting in the city and as this project is very experimental, I am trying to make the best use of my time by trying different things rather than traveling to numerous desirable locations.

The long exposures that I have taken capturing light traces are below. Due to the length of the exposure to capture the traces from the cars, the street lighting has become very bright and over whelming which I feel off balances the images.

Both of the above images were taken at F.16, ISO 200, Bulb (15 seconds)

On the way home I thought I would experiment a little more. Josh was driving so I decided to take some long exposures while the car was moving and the result can be seen below.
This shot was quite different because it was the camera that was moving rather than the lights.
I would like to try some more of these with the camera in a fixed and more stable position so that the traces are straight. I think it would look quite good on the motorway capturing the lights from other cars rather than buildings.

Taken at F.8, ISO 200, exp. 2 seconds

Music Promo Shoot: Pifco

This was a shoot that I worked on last year and I had completely forgotten about it (hence why there isn't a previous post)!

It was an interesting experience to say the least. I hadn't done a promo shoot before and it was a favour for the bands manager. She didn't know what she wanted apart from some clear shots of the band as they didn't have any images for their website.

I organised the shoot with the band and arranged the location but left the styling/wardrobe to the band as I didn't really know them, their music or identity.
That was a big mistake. I will never leave styling to someone else again!
My main issue was that the band had no real visual identity, they didn't know what they wanted.
When I met them at the location, they were dressed quite casually but had brought white lab coats (which I was told they often wear when performing so I was expecting this) along with gorilla masks, viking outfits and running gear which just seemed very odd.
This made it very difficult to get productive shots as they had a plethora of styles to play with and no idea what they wanted.

The final shots aren't too bad I guess but I feel that it looks more like a 'couples' shoot as there is no reference to music what so ever.
I edited the images in post to give them a grainy/arty feel that matched their casual clothes and looks. I also altered the colours of the images to make them a bit more grungy to suit the subjects.

I really wasn't happy with the images until I had processed them so I felt a bit better afterwards!
I would like to do more band promo shoots as it was quite fun, but I think a meeting with both the band and their manager is needed (on this occasion, the manager wasn't available), especially in the circumstances that this shoot was taken.

Facebook is EVIL!

For those of you who upload your artwork to Facebook and who haven't read the T&Cs, you may not be aware that you are agreeing to giving Facebook a license to use your images for their own mareting use etc.

As of the 4th February 2009, these terms changed.
If you haven't heard about it, it's because Facebook didn't tell anyone! Sneaky...grrrrrrrr!

The main issues are that you are now agreeing to give them a license to do whatever they want with your work and personal data INCLUDING the right to sublicense (pass on to other companies) for whatever use they see fit.
It also allows them to adapt and make derivitive works of your work - they may as well be demanding your copyright!
The clause that previously existed stating that the licesnse would terminate when you removed your work has also been removed, so the license you now agree to, is perpetual.

This also includes any work you link via RSS or IP feeds from any other site such as your blog or Flickr.

Facebook's main offending paragraph of the Terms of Service read:

You hereby grant Facebook an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to (a) use, copy, publish, stream, store, retain, publicly perform or display, transmit, scan, reformat, modify, edit, frame, translate, excerpt, adapt, create derivative works and distribute (through multiple tiers), any User Content you (i) Post on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof subject only to your privacy settings or (ii) enable a user to Post, including by offering a Share Link on your website and (b) to use your name, likeness and image for any purpose, including commercial or advertising, each of (a) and (b) on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof. You represent and warrant that you have all rights and permissions to grant the foregoing licenses.

This T&C's apply to content that you have removed from the site too as they keep a backup of everything. Visit the Facebook Help pages for details on having backed up information removed.

For more information, please see Marketingvox or the Facebook T&C pages.

EDIT: 19th February 2009

Haha! What a surprise! Facebook have rescinded their new T&C's and have reverted them back to what they originally were (prior to the 4th February 2009) after so many people cancelled their accounts and complained!

The old T&C's for images are still not as good as they could be so make sure you read them before you upload anything!

By Candle Light

I wanted to use a variety of different low light situations for the Comm Tech project and to give more variation from urban shots I thought I would try candle lit portraits.

This was really tricky, not so much working with the lighting of one single candle, but trying to get the subject to keep perfectly still during a shot. The exposures weren't terribly long but to sit completely still like a statue isn't the easiest thing to do. Unfortunately, some of the shots aren't as pin sharp as I would have liked but there wasn't really any other way around this which wouldn't have involved heavy editing in photoshop which was exactly what I didn't want to do as it would have defeated the purpose of trying.
Instead, the only solution was to hold the candle closer to the subjects face.

I would have also liked to have been able to used a smaller aperture for the shot as F2.8 keeps the DoF very small, but without increasing the length of exposure, this simply wasn't possible.

My favourite shot is the first one. I love the tones and shadow detail in the face and skin.
It would have been nice to use a plain candle, but I didn't have one that was burnt far enough through to make the candle glow well enough.

'Alone in the Darkness'

Taken at F2.8, ISO 100, 1/2 second exposure

'Did you hear something...?!'

Taken at F2.8, ISO 100, 1.3 seconds exposure

I am going to do a few more shots like this with the use of a cloak to give a more 'creepy' appearance.

Low Light: Sites of Interest

I have been having a look at some Night & Low Light and Night Photographers and I found some quite interesting & useful sites that may be of interest to others too.

Andy Frazer's Blog
Andy's Blog contains a wealth of night and low light images taken by numerous photographers using different techniques.
Andy's blog contains links to many other night and low light photographers websites, blogs and flickr pages providing a wealth of links, tutorials and useful information.

Charlie Cho

Awesome night photographer & light painter. His work is very inspiring and I would really recommend a look!

Cambridge In Colour
A site full of tutorials, hints, tips and information from camera basics to technical data & editing tutorials.
Well worth a look. The night photography sections are quite interesting although you will need some technical knowledge to understand the section.

For more low light photography work, have a look in some of the group pools on Flickr;
UK Night Photography
Night Images
Light Stream
Long Exposure
Light In Motion
Light Painting
Low Light Photography
HDR at Night

Painting with Light: Silhouettes

I've been looking at other people's photographs of light painting and some of them are amazing!
Take a look at Poole-shooter Cindi's photostream on Flickr.
I just don't understand how they do them. Others are done with a 'light wand'. This is in effect, a strip of metal or wood with LED's attached so that they all move at the same time. I don't have all the bits needed to make one so I made a cheap version...

I have 2 wind-up torches, each with 3 LED bulbs in them. I taped the 2 torches together (side by side so the lights ran in a line) and then took some black electrical tape and covered over the centre bulb on each making the lights more evenly spread and splitting the beams. I have a load of coloured plastic (its a filter sample book) and I cut strips out and taped them over the bulbs that were showing.

Josh stood in the cenre of the room and I set my camera to 'bulb' and used a remote trigger to lock the shutter down. I then moved the torch back and forth behind him to get the effect below...

Lecture: Tom Wood

Please excuse my rant and sarcasm, but today, there was a presentation by Tom Wood at Uni. I was in two minds as to whether I wanted to go or not but decided I would as I thought it could be quite interesting.

The uni timetable described Tom and his lecture as;

"Tom Wood is a major contemporary street photographer who for many years has focused almost exclusively on Liverpool and Merseyside in his work. Born in the rural west of Ireland he moved to Liverpool in 1978 where he produced Looking for Love in 1989 which features the infamous Chelsea Reach Nightclub in New Brighton and All Zones Off Peak which features images taken on Liverpool buses. A retrospective, Photie Man, was published in 2005. His work is in many public collections including MoMA; the V&A Museum and the British Council and he has done commercial photography for the fashion and culture magazine I-D".

Well, I thought, even though I'm not really a fan of this type of work, it would be interesting to see what he had to say...who wouldn't? And the mention of Liverpool just had Chambre Hardman ticking over in my head despite their work being so different!
HOW WRONG I WAS!!!!!!!!!!!
It was supposed to run for an hour....1 hour and 50 minutes later we finally managed to escape.

Tom started off by plugging his books followed 15 minutes later by telling us that he now does landscape photography but showed NONE of this work and from the impression that I very much got, its because he doesn't make a living from it so it is it really that amazing?
He then displayed a slide show of his images from the 70's/80's and droned on the whole time something similar to; 'I took this photos of these too girls and round the corner there was a public toilet and I took another photo there' and 'I always worked in colour as I liked it but I couldn't afford it so I worked in black & white'. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!

He was also extremely rude and I felt very much like he needed to pull his head out of his backside. He kept telling Adrian (a Uni employee) "change the next slide" and "focus the slide Adrian" repeatedly in quite an arrogant manner.

The main thing for me was, after the lecture, I didn't feel like I had learnt anything at all. It was like listening to a great great grandparent with dementia for nearly 2 hours. I didn't feel like he knew anything about photography afterwards and he certainly didn't demonstrate the he did.
I just came away thinking he was one of the few people who was lucky enough to have a camera and access to developing who took random photos while he was out with his mates when most people only took photos of their family and that is why his images are in demand now. Followed by another 15 minute plug for his books...
Tom didn't talk about how he got to where he is today or anything useful to help us further our knowledge or careers at all in my opinion.

Fair enough, he has made his name but come on - can we have a REAL photographer who isn't going to spend 30 minutes plugging his books and droning on about nothing particularly useful???!!!
I know that LCAD is an arts college, but there are other styles of 'art' - after all, it is a matter of taste and I know that most people who attended the lecture were in a similar mind as I was after!

Photographer: Berenice Abbott

One of the most famous night images that I have seen was taken by Berenice Abbott.

Berenice Abbott (1898-1991) was an American photographer, most famous for her photography of New York architecture during the 1930's that dominated her artistc career.

Photograph by Berenice Abbott, Nightview, New York, 1932

Taken in December 1932 from the top of the Empire State building, the view looks North over New York conveying the essence of the vibrant city. In the foreground you can see the now demolished, 6th Avenue El sliced by the street that has become Broadway.

Abbott was not a dedicated night photographer, but it just so happens that one of her most famous images was taken at night.

Low Light Urban Landscapes

Here are a few images from the shoot this evening. I didn't take many shots as it was freezing and long exposures can be very time consuming. We went to Clarence Dock (by The Royal Armouries) as I thought it would be the ideal initial location as there are plenty of buildings that had their lights on, the canal for reflections, shops for different coloured light as well as fairy lights on the trees dotted around the canal side for added interest.

Taken at F.16, ISO 200, Bulb (67 seconds)

Taken at F.16, ISO 200, 20 Seconds

Taken at F.16, ISO 200, Bulb (61 seconds)

Overall, I'm quite pleased with the results as I don't have any experience taking this sort of image but I found it very difficult not to blow out the highlights on the lighting which is really niggling at me. That being said, I have looked at other photographers images and sometimes it really can't be helped without using multiple exposures or HDR so this is something I would like to try for the next shoot.

Com Tech: What I want to achieve from this project...

Tonight is going to be the first outdoor night shoot for this project.
I have spent hours and hours reading up on the technique and technical knowledge required so that I can experiment a little more and I'm actually feeling quite daunted by this shoot now as there is so much that you need to know about this technique! I have also spent a substantial amount of time on Flickr looking at other people's images and the EXIF data (camera settings used) as well as looking at the time and date that they were taken so that I can be set up and be ready to take my shots when the light is right for what I want to achieve.

I also have some ideas for competition entries so I am going to 'test shoot' these tonight but I'm not going to tell you anymore about that as I want the shots as unique as possible. So until I have the final shots that I am happy with and have entered the competitions I'm not letting on anymore to anyone!

There are quite a few things that I want to get out of this project and so far, my list is as follows;

• More photographic experience and control in low light situations
• Increase my technical knowledge and practical experience of functions and settings including 'Mirror lock up' and 'Bulb'.
• Experiment with filters (star refraction, gradients etc)
• Increase and expand my photographic portfolio
• Learn to handle light flares
• Experiment with long exposures
• Learn how to capture star trails and images of the night sky
• Increase my knowledge of Photoshop with image blending and HDR (High Dynamic Range) to name a couple of things
• Oh, and make more use of my tripod!

I'm also hoping that this project will increase my confidence to go out and take photographs in public places and in the city after dark as I am a little uneasy of what situations could occur especially due to the value of the equipment. However, I do have a nice high pitched personal alarm that will be coming with me as normal and Josh will be coming too as well as Steph and Ben, so there should be at least 3 or 4 of us.

I have another motive for this project... I hate living in the city and I find it quite ugly and gloomy so... I am hoping that this will enable me to find a want to make the city and urban landscapes more attractive to both myself and anyone else who isn't an enthusiast of cities.

I would also like to try some Ariel Photography but this really isn't feasible right now, so I would like to be able to take some images of the views from high-rise buildings in the city. I have already contacted a few of the taller buildings for access permissions but this is proving a lot harder than I had thought it would be as most of them have not replied...I think I will have to pop in and speak to someone rather than sending a formal request via email!
I will keep you updated on this idea though as soon as I know more...

Textures

I haven't really played with textures much and its something that I have been meaning to do for a while now.
I only spent about 15-20 minutes on the first one - I think I spent longer picking the image!
I'm quite pleased with it though as it is so different from most of my images and I will post more as I do them. I really like this effect - it still has elements and a feel of romanticism yet it is quite grungy and aged. I think it makes quite a nice combination. I titled it 'Time Waits for No-One...' as the model is fairly young and the room/set seems to be aging beyond her.

'Time Waits for No-One...'

The second of this series.
This one took slightly longer as the lighting was so different and it was quite tricky to get the texture to sit correctly on the image. I edited the light a little so it was coming more from one side as it gave more of an old candle-lit feel and warmed up the image giving it a less 'grungy' feel than the first. It reminds me of an old renaissance painting a little.

'Renaissance'

This is the third image of the manipulated set and probably my least favourite, although I'm not quite sure why. It may be because of the lighting and setting, but it feels less romantic than the others (not that its a bad thing). The image was one that I originally rejected from the shoot so I'm actually quite please with how it has turned out. It was very overcast and dull when this was taken and it wasn't raining properly either, but I think its a lot more atmospheric now which has improved the shot quite dramatically. It has a nice sense of tranquility and contemplation to it which is quite relaxing. It also gives the set more variation.

'Lost in a Moment'

The forth and last image (below) is my second favourite in the set. I tried a few variations - black & white, colour and cyanotype, which all worked really well and in the end, I was quite torn between the colour and b&w versions. I decided that the colour had more emotion to it and wasn't so 'cold', the b&w also didn't sit in the set as well as the colour variation. I really like the way that the texture falls, especially on the painting to the right as it looks old and torn. Again, this image has a similar 'aged' feeling to it as the first, but is brighter with harsher contrast giving it a bit more life. The colours are more vivid, making the light from the window brighter. This give the feeling of hope and that outside is far more appetising and desirable than being inside as the room is quite dark and dingy.

'The Grass is Always Greener...'

More Painting with Light...

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Ok, so I cheated with the top one... It was a combination of shots that were merged together in photoshop but it was all drawn with a torch!

Low Light...

Steph and I were going to have a play with this the other night but got slightly distracted by copious amounts of alcohol and it didn't happen...but I have had a very uneventful day and this seemed like a good excuse to play with my new lens!

This technique uses a long exposure while I basically, wave a torch at the camera. So simple and quite amusing to see what you have actually drawn!
I tried a few things and writing backwards was impossible so I decided just to flip the images.



After writing and trying to draw cartoons (which just weren't happening and I was lacking in patience) I decided to draw round things with the torch.
These are a couple of my favourites but I would like to experiment more with this technique as it's great fun.