In the news…

Here’s a little write-up in the Gloucester Gazette about my talk at Tyndale Photography Club last week.

CCTalk-Web

So, you wanna be a photographer – Part 2

The pro vs. amateur issue has been covered many times, but recently Fotoseeds came up with an excellent graphic which does a great job of illustrating many of the assumptions and mistakes that aspiring photographers can make in their desire to become a professional.

 

Image © www.fotoseeds.com – Check out the site, it’s excellent!

 

 

So, you wanna be a photographer? – Part 1

These days it seems that just about anyone can go and buy an entry-level SLR and suddenly they think they’re a professional photographer.  I’ve met loads, and seen many more posting their ‘work’ on Facebook etc, usually emblazoned with an ugly inch-high logo filling ⅓ of the photo with their made-up company name.

Well, there’s actually a bit more to it than simply sticking the camera on auto and adding the watermark later, yet sadly these faux-tographers are doing a lot of harm to the industry by lowering the value that clients put on a photographers work by undercharging for their poor quality photographs.

 

Alternative Bollywood…

Another little sneaky peak..

This morning I took a trip down to Cardiff to meet the lovely Simmie V.  She’d wanted to shoot an ‘alternative Bollywood’ style.

I’ve not edited the set properly yet, but this was just a first teaser that I’ve uploaded to whet the appetite..

Alternative Bollywood - Simmie V

Alternative Bollywood – Simmie V

Keeping it in the family

Julia and Kate

Had a cracking day out yesterday with a couple of lovely ladies, mum and daughter, Julia and Kate.

They’d both been given SLRs as presents from their respective hubbies, and thought it was about time they learned how to use them.

Whilst early on in the day we were a little restricted by the foggy weather we managed to cover a lot and by the end of the day both girls were taking some super shots.

Here’s a little quote from a mail I received from Julia earlier..

Just a quick thank-you for a brilliant day yesterday.

Kate and I thoroughly enjoyed the training day, in spite of the cold weather. We both learnt an incredible amount, you are a very good and patient teacher. We both felt much more confident to use our cameras, and to see what you can achieve with a relatively short amount of time and a bit of editing, we were amazed!

Thanks Julia!

 

Shooting in a winter wonderland

snow-9643

Winter can provide some excellent new photo opportunities with the arrival of frosty mornings, snow and ice.  A once-familiar landscape can take on an entirely different look overnight.

If you’re like me, you’re probably planning to venture out and shoot some photos but before you do, here are a few quick tips to help you make the most of the conditions.

Equipment:

In the UK we don’t generally get it so cold that a camera won’t function, but there are a couple of important considerations:

Firstly, when you head out into the cold you should allow your camera a few minutes to adjust to the colder temperature. If it’s been stored in a typical centrally heated house it’s likely to mist up and that’s not going to lead to nice shots!

You should also be aware that batteries won’t perform as well in the cold either, and it’s likely you’ll find them running out much quicker.  What I usually do is to keep a spare in an inside pocket where it will stay warm. If you do find yourself caught out with a flat battery, it’s worth putting it in your pocket for a while as you’ll often find if it’s warmed up a bit you may get a few more shots out of it.  Please don’t try and warm it up on a heater or anything though as that could well end up damaging the battery!

Exposure compensation:

When most of the scene is snow you’ll need to adjust your exposure by about 1-2 stops to ensure the snow appears pure white.  

The main problem with snow is that its pure white and highly reflective which confuses the camera’s metering system.  Modern cameras have highly sophisticated electronic metering systems that deliver excellent results for a scene with a normal range of contrast. They do this by averaging the range of tones in the image and adjusting until the brightness is mid-grey. This works well when the subject has a wide tonal range with everything from black to white being present, but when it is very bright such as snow the camera underexposes so that the white becomes grey.

This is the classic example where you need to override the camera’s metering and adjust the exposure using the exposure compensation control, or by manually adjusting your shutter speed or aperture in manual.  You’ll usually find an adjustment of about 1.5 stops will be about right, but if in doubt try a couple of bracketed shots at 0, +1 and +2 stops and check them against your histogram display to get a feel for how your particular camera performs.

Project 52: 51/52 – Music

WholeLottaLed-2645

Project 52 – Week 51 – Music
A shot of my friend Nick Ferris performing with the amazing  Whole Lotta Led at Gloucester Guildhall.
Friday 14th Devember 2012

 

Project52 – Week 50 – Winter

Frosty Morning

Project 52 – Week 50 – Winter