Sailing to Arran

These three shots were taken on the ferry to the Isle of Arran in Scotland.

The late afternoon light was fabulous and the scenery stunning but taking photos from the back of a boat presents its own set of problems.

The most infuriating one is that the boat keeps moving no matter what and you can only do much about the angle you can shot from. I was quite high up on the observation deck an the view was passing by me at quite a speed.

With this shot I would have loved to be able to move around a bit an get the composition just right but I only had seconds to snap it as we left the harbour and once it's gone it's gone!

There is always an element of luck with photography as even the best can't control everything. The trick is trying to anticipate things and be ready when that lucky moment comes along.

The Devil is in the Details

I was playing around today with some studio flash units and some wireless triggers.

I took photos of a number of things that were lying around: fruit, spices, bottles, a glass of fizzy water and some coloured chalks.

I didn't have a lot of room to work with an had a pretty basic white backdrop created using a large piece of paper.

When there a so many variable involved it is easy to lose site of the important aspects of photography. I was so busy trying to get the flash settings right (there's no TTL on these triggers) that I didn't spend nearly enough time thinking about the composition or every placing the glass carefully.

As a result you can sea that the glass is twisted in a not so pleasing way, there are specs on the paper background from a previous shot of glitter and I'm not happy with the angle of the shot.

The same can be said for this shot. While I'm happier with the composition (I might try an top down shot next time) it is the state of the chalks and the paper that bother me here. While I was setting up the chalks rolled around and coated the paper and each other with flecks of colour. You can see brown flecks clearly on the yellow chalk.

This was just a trial run but it really does show that you have keep these little details in mind if you want to get the perfect shot. Next time around I will be doing things quite differently.

The Tree on the Hill - Black and Whte

This is yet another shot that made me wish I had my DSLR with me. The smartphone hasn't done a bad job but it is easy to see the limitations of the lens and sensor straight away.

Fortunately I shall be back that way in the next couple of months and I won''t have any luggage problems that will prevent me from taking a full bag of camera kit with me.

As I've said before, I treat these smartphone shots like planning shots. It is easier to run around and get lots of shots with a basic camera or a smartphone and the lack of options forces you to think about the composition more. Then you can go back later and spend some time on the shots you liked most and get a good capture.

Ploughed Field with Old Colour Treatment

I took this picture of a field that had been half ploughed just the other day. However I wanted to try a treatment that made it look a little older.

There of lots of aged looks you can go for from monochrome and sepia toned images replete with blurring and vignetting etc. through to 70s and 80s style treatments that have recently become popular on Instagram.

The rural nature of the shot put me in mind of the USA in the first half of the 20th century. I was thinking of some of the recoloured black and white shots from the Depression and early colour shots of farmers and their tractors.

This photo is a mixture of ideas so it doesn't replicate just one style but I like to think that the modern photo with old colouring gives a sense of the continuity of the earth and nature.

Photo slideshow video

I've made a slideshow video of the photos that I like most out of the ones I've produced so far.

Not the Midnight Garden

During the day the road between the camera and the tree is very busy, noisy and clouded in exhaust smoke. It's certainly not somewhere I'd expect to find an interesting shot.

However, the quiet of nighttime along with the orange glow of the street lamps brings this mysterious quality to the whole place. I like this composition, I was drawn to it at the time. There is something intriguing about the steps, the sign and the tree.

Also there is the strong contrast between the natural textures of the ivy and the leaves with the harsh industrial feel of the road and pavement. It seemed like an odd little nocturnal oasis that might disappear when morning came.

Smartphone photos in Black and White

Carrying a smartphone with a reasonable camera has meant that I can take shots when I'm out and about. The quality is nowhere near as good as an SLR and the number of options available to me are very limited but it does provide a great way record photo ideas for later.

Then, if I like the results, I can come back with proper kit and a plan and take a better quality shot.

The original photo in colour was nothing to write home about but there was something about these lobster pots that caught my eye. The whole scene was shouting old timey black and white photo to me.

Unfortunately as soon as you start processing these smartphone photos you start losing detail. It's most obvious in the sky. Also, not having a variable aperture lens I've had to crudely blue the background in an image editor.

However, as a process it has given me lots of ideas for how to take and process a higher quality version with an SLR camera. I think of this as being a quick and easy trial run. 

Whitby Harbour with Split Tone Effect

This started off as a decidedly average colour photo of the harbour walls in Whitby, North Yorkshire.

Astute readers of this blog may have noticed that often the image editing techniques I use are intended to rescue a poor or uninspiring photo.

I converted this to black and white and then used a split tone effect to add the colours. It uses a yellow to blue gradient which resulted in the sunset like sky.

The processing took away some of the detail as you can see on the edges of the lighthouse but it works well enough for a postcard sized print.

The Many Colours of The Sun

A low evening sun filtered through clouds produced this fabulous light. The photo doesn't quite do it justice. In person it was both eerie and wonderful. The field was shrouded in a deep golden glow along with these long shadows that added texture to the grass.

This is why I now carry a Smartphone with a high megapixel camera. The idea of not having been able to capture this in some way is too much for me to think about!

The changing of the seasons

I previously published this bleak photo of a hedgerow in winter.

I passed by the spot today and took a quick snap with my Smartphone and you can clearly see the difference the seasons make.

Summer is coming to an end but you still get a feeling of life, vitality and the beauty of nature. Even with out the Black and White treatment the first picture was the very image of bleak and lonely mid-winter.

A handful of postcards

Just for fun I decided to use a few of my photos to create some postcards over at Zazzle.co.uk. So far I've made a staggering $0.79!

Grassmere

Sheep in the mist

Curly Branch

Groin

Sad Dog

Ferry

Trees in the mist

Even bad photos have some use!

Not every photo comes out as you planned it but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth having a play around with it. This is a little exercise that I think helps make us better photographers.

There are plenty of photos that cannot be saved by any amount of Photoshop work but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. Although, to be a really good photo you would need to retake and get it right ‘in camera’ it is worth trying to save the picture in photoshop for what it will teach you.

It is all in the approach

First you have to really look at a photo to decide what you can do to improve. This process alone will have you seeing the faults in the image which will give you pointers on how not to take it next time.

The more you work with the image the more you will say to yourself: I wish I had framed it differently/shot from a different angle/used a different aperture setting etc. While this is annoying it is teaching you something about how you take photographs and gives you a chance to contemplate a different approach next time you go out armed with a camera.

Original Photo

After some 'fixing'

The more the merrier

The more of these images you work on the more you will see the same mistakes coming up time and again. This gives you a clear insight into your main faults when taking photos. Make a note of them.

In the cold and dark of this time of year we’re less likely to be out taking photos so why not spend some time going over old bad photos so that when the weather improves you can be out taking great ones!