I have been following Monika's work on Flickr for some time but her latest images are outstanding efforts, showing great composition and a sublime control over tone and depth-of-field.
For more of her work please have a look at her Flickr photostream: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinoska/
No matter where I am I'm always looking for a photo opportunity. Sometimes opportunities come along quickly and all the pieces of the image fall in to place perfectly, no mess, no fuss, just compose and shoot. This was not one of those days!
I was on holiday with my wife in Rapallo in Italy. We took the train along the coast stopping off at stations along the Cinque Terra region. It’s a stunning location with beautiful harbour villages which have houses built down the hillside to the sea.
Whilst waiting for the train to take us to our next destination I saw this great scene. The sun was quite high in the sky and I was shooting contre jour. The light was strong which created silhouettes and a deep contrasty scene. Standing on the 3rd platform I looked across the tracks to the other platforms, I loved the light pouring through the buildings and I especially liked the square which had a view to the sea.
I had a few elements which would go together to make a pleasing image, however I knew that I wanted something else to elevate the scene, a figure in the light square section would be perfect and so I waited. Unfortunately the area was very quiet, nobody was around, i knew that I only had a few minutes of waiting before the train came and we would be off on our way. I stood there eagerly wishing for someone to walk onto the platform.
The announcement came up for our train, I thought at this point I was going to miss the shot, luckily for me a couple of people walked into the scene, at this point I knew what I wanted. I was set up ready to take the photo, I just needed someone to be in the right place.
One of the people drifted off into the shadowed area leaving the woman stood exactly where I wanted, I took the photo. My train pulled in only a minute or two later.
Technical Data:
Camera: Panasonic G1
Lens: 14mm (35mm equivalent 28mm)
Aperture: f8
Shutter Speed: 1/2000th sec
ISO: 160
Sometimes it pays off to view a scene and to wait for things to fall in to place. On this occasion I knew a human element would lift this scene and give it added interest and context, it can be quite difficult sometimes to wait around for a shot and I have missed many opportunities as things haven’t worked out, but when It does work I find it well worth the wait.
First photo-walk of the year and we headed to Portwrinkle Beach to take in the sunset, unfortunately you can’t book the weather so what started as a quite promising evening soon deteriorated but there were still opportunities to be had, including the waves crashing over the harbour wall at high tide!
In the ever ending search for new landscapes to photograph I find myself scouring the coastline for hidden coves and areas which are less trodden. This particular scene was taken at Bude during a low tide. The rocks are to the south of Summerleaze beach close to Compass cove.
When I head out to take photographs for the day I tend to take at least 2 cameras with. Generally it will be my Fuji X-Pro1 with an 18mm lens and a film camera. For the last year or so I have taken my Noon pinhole camera with me.
Using both digital and film formats has allowed me to get two very different interpretations of the same scene, each with their own particular look and feel.
Camera: Fuji X-Pro1
Lens: Fuji 18mm (35mm equivalent 28mm)
Aperture: f11
Shutter Speed: 1\250th sec
ISO: 400
Camera: Noon Pinhole (6x6, 6x9 & 6x12 format)
Lens: None
Aperture: f207
Shutter Speed: 6 sec
Film: Fuji Acros 100 (Medium Format)
When it comes to which photograph I prefer I do tend to lean towards the pinhole photograph, I prefer the slow shutter effect and the ethereal atmosphere created by the softness. I dare say my tastes will change over time and when it does I will always have the digital version to fall back on.
If there was one thing I wish I could have done would be to have used a 10 stop filter for the Fuji’s 18mm lens. This would have given me the slow shutter to smooth out the waves whilst maintaining sharp details of the rocks.
There are many choices for a photographer when it comes to attaining a particular look to a photograph. Many effects can be achieved in post production software, however for me this process starts with the camera I choose.
We often hear people cry out about the amount of editing that gets applied to modern images and how photography is now more about the use of Photoshop that the simple truth that was presented in the days of film.
This article from PetaPixel shows how some classic images were developed in the darkroom and shows how dodging and burning are marked up on the test print and then used to emphasize different aspects of the images to produce the final result, techniques which are still in use today using modern post-processing software.
http://petapixel.com/2013/09/12/marked-photographs-show-iconic-prints-edited-darkroom/
For those of you who may be interested, Lisa Woollett, photographer and author from Looe who visited the club last year will be showing her photographs and presenting her books of photographs at The Liskerrett Centre Sunday 8th May 7 p.m. The event also includes live music by the Book Shop Band.
Details about the event:
http://www.liskerrett.co.uk/events/event/08-May-2016/talk--book-signing-followed-by-live-music
Lisa's work can be found here:
http://www.photographsofthesea.com/
Well, I think everyone is fat-n-full after a lovely end of season meal held at The Cheesewring in Minions with plenty of awards and laughter to see us through the evening!
We would like to say a hearty thank you to our outgoing chairman Brian Price and our longstanding secretary Janet Downes, we know you will both be around next season but your enthusiasm and expertise in running the club will give us all a challenge to fill next year!
We would also like to welcome in our new chairman Richard Squires, an avid and enthusiastic photographer with many years experience, and our new club secretary Tim Gilbert... here's to a great season for 2016!
It was a lovely bright sunny day down at Hannafore near Looe. In the distance clouds starting to appear on the horizon. The sun was quite high in the sky and was producing light which glistened off the water surface. I saw a solitary red sail boat out to sea, I loved the contrast of colours with the light blue sky and sea, almost pastel in nature and the bright red sail. I took a few photographs ensuring the boat was positioned on the lower right hand third, the light clouds gave balance to the top of the frame which helped lift this area with a subtle detail.
Once I got back home I processed all my photographs using Lightroom 5.7. I produced the colour photograph which is pretty much how I envisioned the scene. I wanted a light, almost high key image with soft contrast to emphasize the delicate colour and tones.
I am not a prolific colour photographer and monochrome images are generally more my thing. With this in mind I decided to try a monochrome version. I found that when I lowered the exposure and boosted the shadow and highlights I created a strong contrast in the image which brought out the bright highlights on the water and the white clouds. The shadow adjustment in turn toned down the bank of cloud moving in, which on closer inspection was a veil of rain from a storm cloud. The stronger, darker tones gave the photograph a much more menacing stormy look.
Camera: Olympus OMD EM-10
Lens: Panasonic 45-175mm
Focal Length: 129mm (35mm equiv 258mm)
Aperture: f8
Shutter Speed: 1\500th sec
ISO: 200
By using different post processing techniques to interpret the scene I was able to produce two distinctly different photographs from a single file.
We are planning on organising some photo-walks over the summer period (May through August), once we have some dates we will announce these on the website so make sure you come back and check the events page.
Even if you are not a member, feel free to drop us a line via the contact page as these walks will be free for anyone to join!
Your focal length isn't just for getting closer to subjects, it can completely change the feel of your image and knowing how different focal lengths affect your image can help you to pre-visualiseyour shot even before you've taken it.
This article from Digital Photography School talks about 5 of the classic focal lengths, well worth a read!
http://digital-photography-school.com/5-important-focal-lengths-to-know-and-the-benefits-of-each/
