Photo Art

American Steam Locomotive

2011-11-04T20:31:00.001Z

American steam locomotive captured on a winter's evening on the Churnet Valley Railway.

Tutorial - Exposure compensation - Frigiliana, Costa del Sol, Spain

2011-10-03T13:15:00.001+01:00

I think that these Mediterranean whitewashed villages present great opportunities for photographer. The blue sky compliments the white wall perfectly and the buildings and alleyways form a maze of lines and shapes creating interesting perspectives. I took a couple of pictures from this viewpoint, one of them with exposure compensation where the aperture was opened up by about 1 f stop. This of course is the opposite of what what you might think, but what happens is that the light is so bright that the camera is fooled into making the image a little darker than normal. The same thing happens with bright sunshine on snow or on a white sandy beach. So this can be compensated for by either opening the aperture up by 1 f stop, or by using the exposure compensation control, or by activating the bracketing feature on the camera, which then takes about three images: on standard and one opened up and one closed down by one f stop. Alternatively, a dark photo may be rescued by using Photoshop and going into Image/Auto Contrast or by using Images/Curves.

Mediterranean lamp

2011-10-03T13:01:00.002+01:00

I just love these Mediterranean lamps and so I isolated this one using my zoom lens so that it is picked out against the white walls of the surrounding buildings. A simple composition yet it has a minimalist attractiveness about it.

Coffee time

2011-10-03T12:57:00.002+01:00

Here is another vacation photo just captured on the spur of the moment. Part of the skill of photography is learning to 'see' or frame a group of elements out of a wider panoramic view. I thought that this had all the elements that I wanted: the blue sky, the sea in the background, together with the formality of the white balustrade and table and parasol contrasted with the relaxed couple sitting on the chairs. An evocative image of Mediterranean sun. This photo has been cropped slightly to increase the focus on the subject and I guess if I really wanted to improve this picture, then I would pixel clone the sea over the person watching from the other side of the balustrade at the bottom right of the picture.

Contre Jour - Nerja, Costa del Sol, Spain

2011-10-03T09:30:00.001+01:00

Nerja, Spain

I have always been a fan of Contre-Jour or 'into the light' photography. I love the dynamic and bold shapes that it can create. An early morning walk on this beach in Spain meant that people were just arriving onto the beach after breakfast for an early bit of exercise or a session of yoga. The sun, though warm, was still low in the sky and reflecting wonderfully on the sea. Digital cameras seem to handle this sort of shot so well. I did nothing but point and shoot - all in a matter of seconds, to get this evocative shot. This has had no retouching or cropping at all. This is the great advantage of the compact digital camera - small enough to carry in a pocket or the palm of one's hand - and no messing about with lenses, apertures and shutter speeds, just pot and shoot!

English Civil War

2011-05-02T11:38:00.004+01:00

Some more pictures added today! You can check out all my pictures by going to my Picasa web album!

This lady was pictured as part of the Sealed Knot English Civil War re-enactment of the battle at Nantwich in Cheshire. Every third Saturday in January the members dress up in Civil War costume, with the various companies of soldiers assembling and parading through the town before re-enacting the battle on the local playing fields. If the weather is kind and we have one of the those sharp, sunny, winter days, then the event can be well attended and colourful. There are more pictures in my Picasa Album.

On these occasions I take as many photographs as I can, especially in the re-enactment of the battles. many of them will not turn out that well, but some of them come out very well indeed. There is just too much going on to stand trying to pose shots or even anticipate pictures. Sometimes, I set my camera on to rapid shooting mode, so that I press the shutter and it just takes a photo every half second or so. That is a real bonus of digital photography as those pictures that do not come out can be simply discarded without any cost in terms of processing films and negatives. The other main thing is to try and avoid modern backgrounds...telegraph poles, radio masts or pylons, cars, modern shops, modern signs and the watching crowds with their modern clothes, all have to be avoided if possible. In this photo, in the bottom left, you can just see a child in modern dress about to walk past. Just cropping this photo a little more tightly on Photoshop or similar software will eliminate the problem in this photo.

Photo Album

2011-04-26T16:14:00.000+01:00

It has been soooooo long since I have done any photography....other things have just crowded in! The other day I thought that I have all these pictures just sitting around on discs and storage devices and that perhaps it was time to upload a few to Picasa Albums so that you could take a look at them if you want to. So what I will do is upload them to Picasa as I have the time and you can check them out by clicking HERE! Then, once I have a good selection there, I can put the occasional one on here with a tutorial or other comments as I have the time. I will also upload some of my art-effect pictures on Picasa too! I have not put any captions on them but where possible, I will put the locations on the Google Map so you can see where the pictures were taken. In the meantime, just check out the link above every so often and hopefully more and more pictures will be added there. Not all the pictures on this blog will be there as the early ones were loaded from Flikr.

Tutorial - Photomontage - Elements and layers

2010-05-02T16:03:00.003+01:00

The last few years have been a very arid period for my photography and creativity generally. It just seems to happen sometimes that I do not feel able to get motivated and inspired in my photography. Still, a few ideas have been buzzing around and they have all centred around photomontage work. Here is one example that I have done recently. This image is concerned with spirituality and unity. Androgynous forms have been used in a number of mystical circles to portray unity and the transcendence of gender and differences between existents.

This montage is made up of a number of images garnered from the web which are then placed on top of one another using layers in photoshop. The first layer in the background, with subsequent layers moving to the foreground. The order here is: stars, earth, moon, wings, nude and goats head. To make it easier, the planetary background and the figure were initially created separately. In this case, to create the earth element, the image file of earth was opened. Click on the dotted box in the tools pallette and draw a rectangle around the whole file. Then click on Edit/copy. Then, click on file/new and open a new file making sure that the box next to 'transparent' at the bottom, is checked. A blank file with a checkboard pattern opens to the same size as your earth file. Make this file active by clicking on it and then click on 'Edit/Paste'. Your earth image is pasted into this new file. Using the erase tool in the tool pallette erase everything bit the image of the earth and save as a Photoshop file. Open your starfield file. Click on your earth image file and as before, using the tool indicated in the tool pallette by a dotted rectangle, drag a box around this file. Click Edit/Copy. Make your starfield file active by clicking on it, and then click 'Edit/Paste'. Because the image of the earth is on a transparent base, the earth image now sits on top of your starfield file. You can move this earth image around by using the move tool next to the dotted rectangle on the tool pallette. You can continue to add elements in this way. Always save these files as Photoshop files or you will lose the layers. Only when you are happy with the final image can you save it as a jpeg file. All layers then merge into one single layer and elements can no longer be moved.

Summer boat

2009-09-21T13:51:00.003+01:00

A quick shot of a boat on the south coast of England during a recent sunny spell of weather. Shooting into the sun like this is known as contre-jour, and it can give some quite nice effects as the sunlight reflecting on the waves in this shot. This picture was an opportunistic one, taken very quickly using the automatic light meter settings. If the picture looks too dark, using the adjust setting on the camera, if you have one, and opening up the f/stop by one or two will usually give the right effect. If you are unsure and have the opportunity, take two or three shots at different f settings and select the best one later. It is almost impossible to get the horizon square and level, but of course the sea horizon is ALWAYS level, so once the shot is selected, rotaing the shot in software such as Photoshop is vital. Go to Image/rotateimage/arbitary and enter a number (in this case 2) to rotate the image clockwise or anticlockwise by that number of degrees.

Portmerion - The 'Village'

2009-04-23T13:22:00.003+01:00

Who is number 1?

You are number 6!

I am not a number - I am a free man! I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed or debriefed!

What a great series the Prisoner is, with Patrick MacGoohan as Number 6 imprisoned in The Village - a community whose location is unidentifiable.

And what a great place Portmerion is, the location used for the 1960's series, situated just a few miles out of Portmadoc. If the weather is fine and the sky is clear and blue, then one might be in the mediterranean instead of on the North Wales coast. I love this place, with its quirky architecture...there is a photo opportunity around every corner.

And of course there is the Prisoner shop, full of souvenirs and memorabilia from the series. Just watch out for Rover....

Southport pier

2009-03-31T17:30:00.004+01:00

Building on the pier at Southport, Lancashire, England. I was just struck by all the the angular lines of this scene. Even the sun helps to make yet more angular shadow lines. If I was going to do anything to this picture, it would be to increase colour saturation and remove the people at the right of the shot.

Railway Sheds at Bridgnorth, Shropshire

2009-03-30T10:52:00.004+01:00

One of the things I love about digital cameras is that they are much more responsive to low light. On film, I would have had to have used a tripod and very slow shutter speed to get this shot, or else I would have had to have used flash which would have given an artificial effect. I managed to get this picture of a Great Western Tank engine in the workshops at Bridgnorth on the Severn Valley Railway using a hand-held camera.

CONFIDENTIAL

2009-02-09T16:51:00.003Z

CONFIDENTIAL,

Photomontage Spoof 1950's scandal magazine. Winter in England is a time that in the main, my camera is packed away in it's case. Unless we get some snow or bright frosty days, then the landscape to me is dull and unattractive. So between November and March, I tend to spend my hobby time on the computer, and this photomontage is the sort of project I find myself doing. I quite like those scandal mags from the 1950's, so this little spoof has been made up using photoshop. The 'Boy trapped in refrigerator eats own foot' gag is from the movie 'Airplane'.

Lyme Park

2009-01-16T13:35:00.003Z

Lyme Park, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Another stark shot at Lyme Park in Cheshire. The important elements in the composition here are the tree, the tower, the figure and the rock. Positioning the horizon low in the frame gives a feeling of space and expanse. It was important to get the base of the tree standing out against the sky, as opposed to being obscured by the background landscape.

Trees

2009-01-16T13:31:00.006Z

Trees, originally uploaded by foto-art.

A stark black and white shot taken at Lyme Park, in Cheshire, England. For some reason last year I got into black and white photography - something I have not done much of in over forty years of taking pics. I know that colour pics can easily be changed to black and white on photoshop, but sometimes I think that effect is better using the black and white mode on the digital camera. The difference between takling and colour and black and white as far as the photographer is concerned consists of learning to 'see' in black and white - which means picking out shapes and textures rather than areas of hue and colour.

Pyramid fantasy

2009-01-16T13:31:00.004Z

Pyramid fantasy, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Another photomontage. I am always looking for shots like this with unusual or ruined buildings that have open doorways or windows where a montage element can be added. I nearly always favour the rather formal composition by photographing the building head on.

Priestess fantasy

2009-01-16T13:30:00.002Z

Priestess, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Another photomontage fantasy. I quite the fun irreverence of this image.

Posts on frozen lake

2009-01-16T13:28:00.002Z

Posts on frozen lake, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Another fairly minimalist shot taken spontaneously. I would have liked to have taken a lower vantage point but then I could not avoid the houses on the other side of the lake.

Donkeys at the seaside

2009-01-14T20:43:00.002Z

donkeys, originally uploaded by foto-art.

I love the emptiness and slight bleakness of this shot, which sums up the coastal resort of Blackpool in Lancashire on a cold, windy autumn day. This was taken while out for a walk on the beach and little has been done to it afterwards: It was rotated slightly to get the horizon level; It was slightly cropped to remove a group of people in the background on the extreme left; Colour saturation was also increased slightly. Notice again the rule of thirds and the formality of the composition.

Cyclist

2009-01-14T20:41:00.002Z

cyclist, originally uploaded by foto-art.

I find that when I go out with my camera, a certain amount of spontaneity is required. I do not usually go out to take a particular, planned image, but rather to walk with my camera, having a more open, receptive mind than usual; with a sensitivity, openness and awareness to images, shapes and colours around me. This is just such a spontaneous shot, the whole thing taken in less than a second. I walked to the side of this guy, became aware that he would soon be in silhouette, stopped at the right the moment, turned and snapped this contre-jour shot. I seem to be in a black and white phase so the image is black and white and not in colour. In Photoshop, I went on to Images/Adjust/Auto Contrast and this made the image even more dynamic.

Poppies - Photoshop tutorial - Variations

2009-01-14T20:40:00.002Z

poppy, originally uploaded by foto-art.

This photoart image is one of a series of poppy art pictures that I have done. Originally, this was a more formal composition involving a fuller view including the china vase in which the poppies are standing. However, a more minimalist approach seemed more effective and so the image was considerably cropped to produce this simpler, but I think, more effective image. The loss of resolution and definition by such severe cropping does not adversely affect an art effect picture, and indeed may enhance it by increasing the art effect. Warmth is essential to this image and the original weas a little cold in colour, so the whole image was 'warmed up' in photoshop in Images/Adjust/Variations. More yellow and red were added to create the necessary summer warmth.

Statues

2009-01-14T20:39:00.002Z

Statue, originally uploaded by foto-art.

I love these old gravestones in local cemetries; they have a beauty an sometimes an eroticism all of their own. Alas many of them are falling into disrepair or have been vandalised so over the last few years I have taken photos of the more interesting ones, especially with an eye to this kind of montage work. This image is one that I had not planned but arose as I was looking at various images and elements. What I like is the contrast between the shiny sleek figure on the left and the the rougher stone figure on the right, creating a slightly surreal and erotic image. Thus I do not close my mind to creativity after the image is taken, but continue to thing of different ways of cropping or enhancing images on the computer, especially at this time of the year, whicj in England is rather dull, damp and cold, so outdoor photography is minimised and darkroom/computer work emphasised until the better light and weather comes along.

Abbey montage

2009-01-14T13:19:00.006Z

Abbey montage, originally uploaded by foto-art.

This is another of my photomontage projects using Photoshop. This one looked better in black and white. The various elements are built up on layers, and one important factor is the direction of light and shadow. I try to make my photomontages look as though they could be real...they do not necessarily appear as obvious montage work, or I at least try to leave the viewer guessing. Conflicting directions of light and shdow between elements is an obvious give away.

Fantasy castle montage

2009-01-14T13:19:00.004Z

Fantasy castle montage, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Well this is the kind of thing that has tended to make up my projects recently. It is a further development of one of a technique used in one of the first posts on this blog, 'the pleasure of martyrs'. This has been constructed on Photoshop using various elements and layers. I did two versions of this, one in colour and one in black and white, but I thought that the colour one looked better.

Civil war art effect

2009-01-14T13:17:00.002Z

Civil war art effect, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Civil war re-enactment by Sealed Knot Society. The Sealed Knot is a group that stages re-enactments of English Civil War battles, like this one at Nantwich in Cheshire, held every year on a weekend at about mid January. One technique for these kinds of images is getting rid of modern objects in the background such as cars, pylons or modern buildings, so choosing your vantage point and framing is very important. This image was slightly cropped to get rid of a spectator barrier in the foreground. It was then further cropped for artistic balance, to create a sense of momentum and movement again using the rule of thirds. I felt that this image was further enhanced by using the art effects described elsewhere on this blog.

Misty trees

2008-04-06T11:47:00.002+01:00

Misty trees, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Misty winter sunrise near Rode Heath, Cheshire, England.

Winter trees in the snow

2008-04-06T11:46:00.002+01:00

Winter trees in the snow, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Trees in winter snow near Rode Heath, Cheshire, England

Winter snow field and trees

2008-04-06T11:44:00.003+01:00

Winter snow field and trees, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Winter snow on a field and trees near Rode Heath, Cheshire, England. The only fall of snow that we have had this winter! An early morning walk saw a couple of photo opportunities before the sun rose too high and began to melt the snow.

Fence and sand dune at Formby Point

2008-04-06T11:42:00.002+01:00

Fence and sand dune, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Sand dune and fencing at Formby Point, England. Winter storms and high spring tides had taken their toll on the landscape at Formby Point, and the in some places the dunes had been considerably eroded since I was last there only a few months ago. This area is owned by the National Trust and they were working hard at conserving this area of Britain's coast.

Sand dune tree

2008-04-06T11:40:00.002+01:00

Sand dune tree, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Wind swept tree on the beach at Formby Point, England. I love these stark and barren images though I must admit that I am getting ready now to see some leaves on the trees to give a splash of colour and to soften the landscape.

Dune fence and wire

2008-04-06T11:38:00.002+01:00

Dune fence and wire, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Dune fence and wire at Formby Point, England. late March saw another trip to Formby Point near Southport in England. It was an unexpectedly sunny day so I managed to get a few more shots of the sand dunes on the beach here.

Dead leaf

2008-03-25T09:26:00.002Z

Dead leaf, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Dead leaf at St.Paul's church, Burton on Trent, Staffordshire.

I find it interesting that having spent a whole day in Burton on Trent with the aim of taking some photos, the only one I came back with that I liked was this one, which could be anywhere. Actually it ended up being a dull, cold, windy day so some of the shots that I might have taken were just not bright and colourful enough. Burton, like many industrial towns in England is clearly suffering from decline through the loss of industry and manufacturing, though it does remain a large centre for brewing ale. Add to all this the fact that I was coming down with a flu-like virus and well, let's say that what creative leaning I have was somewhat dulled. But I saw this shot immediately, and just got right down on the floor and in quite close. I liked the contrast between the formality and greyness of the architecture on the one hand, the the colour, naturalness and curvature of the leaf on the other. Yet the whole thing retains that element of death and decay that seemed to capture for me both the feel of the weather and the town on that day.

Portrait of a child drawing

2008-03-10T11:12:00.006Z

Drawing, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Portrait of a child drawing. I have often said on this blog that I do not take portraits and this of course is the exception to the rule. On a recent family get-together, one of our grandchildren became totally absorbed by the drawing and crayoning book that she had been given. The warm afternoon sun streamed through the window and caught her as she crayoned away. On seeing the photographic potential I quietly got my camera and turned the flash setting to 'off'. I did that for two reasons: Firstly, the flash would have immediately distracted her and I would only have had one chance at the shot. Secondly though, part of the attractiveness of this scene was the back lighting of the sun and the flash would have ruined that by losing the shadows, flattening the image and making her face pale. She sat about seven or eight feet from me and I set the lens to a moderate telephoto setting, and without any fuss or drawing attention to myself, I started clicking away. If someone stood in the way, I just kept quiet and hoped for the best. I took about a dozen photos in all, zooming in and out, some landscape and some portrait. This is one of three or four that I was very pleased with.

Valle Crucis Monastery 1

2008-03-10T11:11:00.003Z

Valle Crucis Abbey 1, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Valle Crucis Monastery, near Llangollen in Wales. This is a typical architecture type of shot for me, making use of doorways and windows as elements and shapes composed in the frame. The sun was fairly well to the side on this shot, which helped to enhance the texture of the stonework. If I was going to do any more to this I might square it up a little in Photoshop using Image/Rotate/Arbitrary and perhaps rotate it clockwise one or two degrees. I might also go into Image/Adjust/Variations and make the image a bit warmer by adding red and yellow. This is one of the few shots i took in colour and it was the warmth of the colour of the stone that struck me.

Valle Crucis Monastery 2

2008-03-10T11:10:00.003Z

Valle Crucus Abbey 2, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Valle Crucis Monastery, near Llangollen in North Wales. This is the Latin name for 'Vale of the Cross' and the Monastery, founded in 1200/1201 by Madoc ap Gruffydd for the Cistercian order, is considered to be the best preserved of the North Wales monasteries. It is situated near the base of the Horseshoe Pass. This shot was taken in black and white mode using a combination of red and polarising filters. I liked the way the sunlight caught the building against the dark hills in the background. If I were to do anything more to this shot, it would be to remove the car on the extreme left using pixel cloning.

Valle Crucis Monastery 3 Texture and shape

2008-03-10T11:08:00.002Z

Valle Crucis Abbey 3, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Valle Crucis Abbey, near Llangollen, North Wales. When I arrived here the light was virtually side-on to the Monastery, so I was able to get a shot like this which highlights the texture of the stonework. I liked this complementary relationship between the rough texture and shape of the stonework, the natural shape and texture of the tree, and the smooth texture of the sky. After about half an hour, I left and took a trip up the nearby Horseshoe Pass, and returned to the Monastery about two hours later to take some more shots now that the sun had moved around in the sky to light up the building in a different way, enabling some different compositions.

Valle Crucis Abbey 4 - Light and shade

2008-03-10T11:07:00.002Z

Valle Crucis Abbey 4, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Valle Crucis Monastery. I quite like this composition. The bases of the pillars and the wall on the extreme left, lead the eye to the doorway, and from there, the eye wanders to the windowed wall at the back of the ruin. The wall on the right also leads to this wall at the back of the ruin. I also like the balance of light and shade.

Stile and sky - A look at minimalism

2008-03-03T14:21:00.003Z

Stile and sky, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Stile and sky near near Rode Heath, South Cheshire. Another minimalist shot. This was taken with a red filter to enhance contrast. Many of my photographs are what might be called ‘Minimalist’. This is a term that was coined in the mid 20th century to apply to a movement of abstract artists and sculptures. It is an approach that makes use of uncluttered images and formal composition of elements which may even constitute near geometric shapes in a formal, impersonal arrangement. A person in a minimalist photograph is not portrayed as a personality, but as a formal element that makes up part of the composition. It advocates a severe simplicity of style which is achieved by using a few, very simple elements to maximum effect.

Lone tree - Photoshop auto contrast turorial

2008-03-03T14:19:00.003Z

Lone tree, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Lone tree near Rode Heath, South Cheshire, England. This was taken with a red filter to enhance contrast. Sometimes the images come out a little flat - lacking in contrast. With almost every picture I do I go into Photoshop/Image/Image adjust/AutoContrast. Doing that with this image certainly brought out the vitality and contrast of the tonal range. It does not always make the image look better, but it can soon be undone in Edit/StepBackward.

Dead tree - Landscape as self-portrait of the photographer

2008-03-03T14:15:00.002Z

Dead tree, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Dead tree near Rode Heath, South Cheshire, England. What does that mean? ‘A landscape as a self-portrait of the photographer’. I indicated earlier that you could save yourself hundreds of pounds or dollars by realizing that photography is not about how expensive you camera is, but rather is about a way of seeing the world: it is about perception and perspective. Ultimately, the photographer is selecting a particular aspect of reality, viewing it from a particular vantage point, framing it with the viewfinder at a particular time and in doing so is saying to others ‘Out of lots of shapes, vantage points and colours in reality, this one is worth looking at’. In making that decision to photograph this and not that, the photographer brings their own personality and perspective to the jumble of reality that is out there: they impose on reality their own perspective of it, their own ideals and preferences concerning it: they order it, frame it, look at it and arrange it in a certain way. I have already said elsewhere that I often take on a minimalist approach to my images and this says a lot about me. I hate clutter, busyness and closed in spaces preferring a sense of space, with things clearly defined and seen. I have a dislike for randomness or untidiness, preferring structure and formality: I like things ordered, structured, in harmony and balance. I do not particularly enjoy meeting people: I do not understand them very well, or trust them, so in my images, people are often reduced to impersonal formal elements in a composition. I do not take many portraits. It is in this kind of way that the photograph begins to reveal the character of the person who takes it.

This is why there may be a dilemma for the photographer who wants to earn money from his work. Lucky indeed is the person who can make a living from photographing what they like. Instead, they have to take on commissions, do portraits or weddings or work in photo-journalism or in advertising and design. As soon as I start thinking about making money from my images, I begin to think about what other people would like, what they would buy and so on, or I am doing a job for someone else, doing things they way they want them. I have to compromise my artistic integrity, even who I am, so that I have to see things the way other people want me to see them. For me, my photography is not about that. I want complete creative freedom in what I do, so that I take what I want, when I want, how I want, and if others like it, then that is a bonus. My photography is a totally selfish act; an expression of personal creative integrity, it is not about being told what to do and how to do it, it is not a job or a business, but a creative outlet and an expression of myself.

Old tree

2008-03-03T14:14:00.002Z

Old tree, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Tree and fence near Rode Heath, South Cheshire, England. Once again a red filter was used for this shot.

Reflection

2008-02-29T13:22:00.003Z

Canal barges often provide nice examples of bright colours and reflections. This isn't one of the best examples, as the composition is a little weak, but you get the idea I am sure. If you can find a small marina on the canal, then a group of narrowboats like this can provide some intersting shapes and reflections. But you definitely need a bright sunny day, with the sun behind you or slightly to the side to get maximum colour brilliance. This image was taken in Macclesfield, Cheshire.

The best photographic article you could ever read!

2008-02-27T15:07:00.000Z

This article could save you hundreds of pounds and hours of wasted time! When people admire my images and make complimentary remarks, (not all people do by any means), then the second thing they usually say is something like: ‘You must have an expensive camera’, or they enquire as to what camera I use. These questions and comments referring to the camera that I use show a fundamental misunderstanding about the nature of photography: they assume that to take good photographs, a person has to have an expensive camera. The truth is that I have seen professional photographers take far better pictures on an Instamatic or Polaroid camera than I could ever take using a Nikon or Hasselblad.

Primarily, photography is about perception: it is about a way of seeing the world around you and then using the camera and other tools to capture your perception. The very fact that, out of all the reality which you encounter day by day, you choose to select and frame one particular aspect of it and do so from a particular vantage point at a particular time, means that what you are saying to other people is: ‘This is interesting and worth looking at.’. That is the primary skill of photography. The secondary skill is being able to select and use the right camera and related equipment for the job of recording that perception.

This in turn means that you must have a love of the subject which you are photographing. You will not see any animal pictures on this blog: I am not an animal loving person, I don’t go all gooey and soft when I see a monkey, or a wild bird, or a dog. So I don’t photograph these subjects. You will not see many pictures of people on this blog. I am no good with people: I do not establish a quick rapport with them or enjoy meeting new people. So I do not do wedding photography or portraiture, because the main skills of weddings and portraits involves a love of and rapport and skill with people, an interest in them and who they are, an ability to organize them without giving offence and so on. You can see from my images that I enjoy landscapes and more than that, a particular way of perceiving landscapes, often involving a minimalist approach which sometimes verges on the abstract.

I have recently been to two photographic exhibitions, one a prestigious exhibition at Keele University in Staffordshire, the other, a more local affair in the local town library. What impressed me was the difference between the content of the two and this was revealed not so much in the technical skills but in the way images were perceived. Even in the local exhibition, images were well exposed, sharp and probably taken on a range of equipment not dissimilar to those at Keele. But when it came to how the images were perceived, there was a vast difference.

The perception of an image is translated to the photograph primarily in terms of composition: the vantage point and arrangement of elements in the picture and secondarily by the camera and its related use and equipment. Basically this means that it is no use having a well exposed, sharp picture if the composition is crap! Photography then is about learning to see, about understanding what the elements of a picture are, which element is the most important, how that element can be made to stand out in the picture and how it can be balanced with other elements in the picture, such as for example by using the rule of thirds touched on elsewhere in this blog. So the prime skill of photography is composition. The secondary skill is knowing how to use the camera and its accessories to capture that composition sharply and with the desired exposure.

Only when you know what subjects you are likely to be photographing can you begin to think about what equipment you need. Birds and animals often require a telephoto lens to get in close to the subject. Wedding photographers need reliable equipment that will stand up to a lot of use. They also need backup equipment to deal with any equipment failure and need to know about lighting and flash modes to cope with a wide range of lighting conditions and locations. My kind of photography requires a good wide angle lens. If you are thinking of publishing photographs, recording and documenting images that may require big enlargements, then you need lots of megapixels and a quality camera. If you are just entering local competitions, or doing 7 x 5 inch or 10 x 8 inch prints for albums, with an occasional 10x12 inch print, then 6 megapixels is quite enough.

But what I am trying to say is that it is not primarily the camera that takes a good photograph, it is the photographer and the skill of the photographer in perceiving an image and composing it within the frame. For example, a lot of the images in the local exhibition did not have a clear focal element: there was not an object or area in the picture to which they eye was drawn, or if there was, it was poorly placed within the frame: too low, or too far to one side. Sometimes, there was a conflict of elements: a picture of people playing crown green bowls was taken in such a way as to be neither one thing nor the other. Surrounding the green was a lovely array of flowers in a border display. The photographer clearly wanted to get these in the picture, so the bottom half of the picture consisted of these flowers but cropped at the side and bottom and the middle third consisted of people bowling, partly obscured by these flowers and making up quite a small element of the picture. The top third was of sky and trees. This was neither a picture of the flowers nor the bowlers, but bits of both.

Time and time again, aspiring amateur photographers show me their pictures and one of the biggest problems is poor composition. Years ago, when I was an art student, I used to spend time in the art college library looking at the photographic books, especially the annuals which showed the beat photographs or advertising photography of that year. I spent time deciding which were my favourite images and why. I analysed them as to why I liked them, as to what it was about them that made them appealing to me. I studied their compositions, their arrangement of picture elements, levels of viewpoint, use of shape and colour and so on. I tried to copy their style in my own images and failed dismally, but over time, my own distinctive style emerged. I learned to see in photographic terms and this is what I would encourage any amateur photographer to do: study top class photographs, find what you like and analyse them as to what makes them great pictures. Then try to emulate them and hopefully your own style will emerge. The camera equipment is secondary.

Composition and perception - examples of problems

2008-02-27T15:00:00.004Z

Here are some examples of poor composition or similar problems. 1) This composition is not bad - a little cropping at the bottom would lower the horizon and improve the picture, but there is no main element of interest. 2) The castle is cropped on the right. 3) The people are looking the wrong way, out of the picture to the right. It would be much better if they were looking in the picture to the castle on the left. 4) The light coming through the trees is in the right position, about one third in from the right, but there is no real strong focal point of interest. 5) The people are too far to the left.

Composition and perspective - Examples of problems

2008-02-27T14:50:00.003Z

All these examples show what I mean by poor composition: 1) the black and white photo has the horizon too high and the tops of the trees cropped. 2) The signpost is obscured by an horizon that is too high. 3) There is no real focal point in the backlit tree other than the tree itself which is cropped. 4) The ruined building, which is the focal point of the next picture is obcured by the tree and the sky is too 'busy' with the branches and detracts from the main element of the building. 5) The trunks of the trees are obsured by the background and the branches are cropped at the top and right of the picture.

English Civil War re-enactment at Nantwich. Historical action tutorial

2008-02-26T11:58:00.003Z

English Civil War re-enactment at Nantwich, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Sealed Knot at Nantwich, Cheshire.

This re-enactment of an English Civil War battle takes place every January in Nantwich, Cheshire. members of the sealed Knot and other similar organisations dress up in Roundhead and Royalist clothing and act out the battle that took place in the 1640's. I am usually working on a Saturday, but this year, I happened to have the day off so I went to see what pictures I could get. If you have one of those cameras that takes multiple shots, you know, it automatically takes a few shots per second, then that mode is ideal for this kind of subject, because it is impossible to anticipate facial expressions and precise positions of people. There is a moderately strong element of chance and luck with regard to that, so this kind of shoot needs high volume or quantity, and you expect lots of rejects and failures. The other thing with this kind of historical re-enactment, is that you must really be aware of the background. A lampost, telegraph pole or car in the background tends to ruin the effect, so you have to choose your vantage point well and get in close using a telephoto lens, cropping out as much incongruent background as you can. being january in England, the light was poor, though we were lucky in that it was not raining and overly dull. Lucky also that the sun was not shining, because that would have restricted vantage points from which to take photos in a number of ways. The overcast day meant loss of colour brightness but softer shadows.

English Civil War re-enactment

2008-02-26T11:57:00.002Z

English Civil War re-enactment, originally uploaded by foto-art.

The Sealed Knot at Nantwich, Cheshire.

Another shot of the Sealed Knot in action. This guy was spinning the blue flag around like a cheerleader, and I just kept taking shots hoping that one would come out O.K. I am quite pleased with this and a little modification would improve it a little more. I said in the previous photo that the photographer has to look at the backround as much as anything else. If you look below the blue flag on the right, you can see the yellow arms of a mechanical elevated platform, so to improve this picture, a little bit of pixel cloning using the branches of the trees to eliminate the yellow arms, would help to improve this shot.

Branches

2008-02-26T11:55:00.002Z

Branches, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Tree branches. Another shot using black and white mode and a red filter to enhance contrast.

Sand dune fence

2008-02-26T11:53:00.002Z

Sand dune fence, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Sand dune fence at Formby Point. This is an into the light or contre-jour shot and I do not think that I used any filters for this. This is about strong composition using strong shapes to create the effect. Notice also again the use of the rule of thirds, wuth the horizon about one third up and the main vertical posts being positioned also approximately at one third divisions.

Member of the Sealed Knot

2008-02-26T11:52:00.002Z

Member of the Sealed Knot, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Puritan draws out his cash.

This shot does exactly the opposite of the previous Civil War re-enactment pictures. In the previous cases, I was concerned to remove any incongruent background objects such as pylons, telegraph poles, cars and so on, in order to keep an authentic period feel. Here I am using that very inconguence to create a slightly humourous picture, by putting into sharp juxtaposition the 17th and 21st centuries.

Sand dune grass

2008-02-26T11:49:00.002Z

sand dune grass, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Sand dune grass at Formby Point, England. This shot is about texture as well as shape. Notice that the main tuft of grass is positioned one third in from the right. Its top is one third from the top and the main horizon in one third from the bottom. A red filter was used for this shot with the camera on black and white mode. This helps to give the grass that 'wispy' feel against a darker sky.

Sand dune fencing

2008-02-26T11:48:00.002Z

sand dune fencing, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Sand dune fencing at Formby Point. This is a shot that worked equally well in black and white and colour, and therefore it relies almost entirely on strong composition.

Sand dune posts

2008-02-26T11:47:00.002Z

sand dune posts, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Sand dune posts at Formby Point. This shot was taken in black and white mode using a red filter to increase contrast. Composition-Wise, the line of posts lead the eye in from the right to the larger posts an the area just to the left of them which is the main element of the picture. The grassy hill at the back leads the eye back towards the posts again.

Post 2

2008-02-26T11:44:00.002Z

Post 2, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Fence post in the moorlands. I think that this was taken using a red filter, but I am not sure. The post is positioned one third in from the right and the horizon one third up from the bottom. The key thing here was a low viewpoint. I was either lying on the grass or squatting down and holding the camera low to get this shot. The low viewpoint means that the fence post is not lost against the background of grass, but rather, stands boldly against the sky.

Road signs

2008-02-26T11:43:00.002Z

Road signs, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Road signs in the Peak District moorlands. It was the bold shape and colour of these signs contrasting with their natural surroundings that drew my eye to this picture. the road and the wall help to keep the eye in the picture instead of wandering off to one side or the other.

Hut

2008-02-26T11:42:00.002Z

Hut, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Hut in the grounds of Little Moreton Hall, Cheshire, England. It was the semi abstract quality of these shapes that drew me to this image. A little bit of image rotation was done in photoshop to get the wooden planks square on. The window and the shadows from the cycle posts at the bottom are vital elements in this image and in fact the final print was cropped to avoid the brick wall and path at the bottom of this image.

Little Moreton Hall bw 1 - Polarising Filter tutorial

2008-02-26T11:41:00.002Z

Little Moreton Hall bw 1, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Little Moreton Hall, South Cheshire, England. I took a number of shots of this hall both in colour and black and white. This shot was taken using a combination of red and polarising filters in black and white mode. I liked the way the sun was being reflected in the upper windows. The red filter serves to darken the sky and increase contrast creating a more dramatic effect. The polarising filter also darkens the sky by cutting out light travelling in a certain direction. The filter has to be rotated in front of the camera and at a certain angle, the sky darkens. However, the camera has to be pretty much at right angles to the sun for this to take effect, so the polarising filter is only useful for side lit subjects. however, the polarising filter works for both colour and black and white images. This filter can also be used to reduce the effects of haze.

Little Moreton Hall bw 2

2008-02-26T11:40:00.002Z

Little Moreton Hall bw 2, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Little Moreton Hall, South Cheshire, England. Like its sister shot, this image too was taken in black and white mode using a combination of red and polarising filters to increase contrast and darken the sky.

Shutlingsloe - Print size and megapixel tutorial

2008-02-26T11:37:00.002Z

Shutlingsloe, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Classic Peak District National Park scenery. I don't often do this kind of shot, but the light was just right here. The sun was quite low in the sky and so the texture and curves of the hills are picked out nicely. I increased the colour saturation slightly on Photoshop using the slider in Image/Adjust/HueSaturation menu. This kind of image is of a very conventional composition to me, with the farm and path leading the eye up the hill to the trees and summit. To be seen at its best, this kind of image needs a big enlargement and high quality, so the more megapixels the better. This would need to be a 16X20 inch print at the minimum to bring out the detail and to intimate the size of such a vista. The advantage of the more minimalist shots that are more common on this blog, is that they do not require such enlargements: the shapes and elements are bold and simple.

Fence

2008-02-26T11:35:00.002Z

Fence, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Fence around Mow Cop castle folly. I just loved the strong dominant shape of this fence and the way it leads the eye into the picture. This works even better in high contrast black and white. A low viewpoint was chosen to help eliminate any distracting background, and a wide andle lens used (28mm) to increase the sense of perspective.

Dune tree

2008-02-26T11:33:00.002Z

Dune tree, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Tree in the dunes at Formby Point, England. Definitely a competition entry for me. A combination of red and polaroid filters was used for this shot taken in black and white mode. I love the stong shape and texture of the tree against a minimalist plain background. The bit of tree trunk or stone lying on the ground in the distance on the right acts as a counterpoint to the tree, (and was there, honest, I did not place it there). Even the vapour trail of the plane in the sky adds to the shot.

Dune trees - Rotate image tutorial

2008-02-26T11:32:00.003Z

Dune trees, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Trees near the beach at Formby Point. This little group of trees stood a little in isolation from surrounding trees and they stood out to me. I like the contrast between the softness of the grass and the hardness of the trees, and the complimentary colours of the grass against the sky. if I was going to do anything else to this, I would increase the colour saturation to make that contrast of colour more effective using Photoshop in Image/Adjust/HueSaturation. What is important in this shot is that the trees are vertical. The slope of the grass bank tends to make us compensate when taking a picture like this so that the trees end up at an angle. If this happens, it can be corrected in Photoshop using Image/Adjust/Rotate canvas/Arbitary. A value can be added here of say 2 or 3 degrees and the image can be rotated clockwise or counterclockwise to get the trees vertical. The image then has to cropped using the crop tool to restore a full image without angled backgound tone.

Stonewall 1

2008-02-26T11:30:00.002Z

Stonewall 1, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Stone wall and fence post in the Peak District. A fairly typical black and white texture study. A red filter was used to increase contrast.

Stile

2008-02-26T11:29:00.002Z

Stile, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Stile and fence in the Peak District National Park. Contre-Jour or into-the-light shots like this demand strong elements and good composition. The focal element here is the stile, which I have positioned just in front of the sun to help cut down too much flare and, using the rule of thirds, at about one third into the picture from the left. The remaining fence leads the eye down the picture to the gate, which stops the eye from moving out of the frame. The use of strong elements and composition like this is essential in good photography, whether contre-jour or not. It is where most amateurs fail. It is a good exercise to do some contre-jour work to learn to see such bold elements and learn how to frame them and compose them in the picture, because similar rules apply to othe types of image too.

Stonewall 2

2008-02-26T11:27:00.002Z

Stonewall 2, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Stonewall, barbed wire and litter, Peak District. What struck me here was the contrast between the natural elements of stone and grass, and the polluting elements of wire and plastic.

Windswept tree 2

2008-02-26T11:25:00.003Z

Windswept tree 2, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Windswept tree near Mow Cop, South Cheshire. A contre-Jour or into-the-light shot. Once again use of the rule of thirds is made. If I were to do anything more to this shot it would be to remove the branches on the expreme left of the picture by cropping or pixel cloning. If I chose cropping, I would be careful not to spoil the balance and arrangements of the elements, say by leaving the sun too far to the left. Cropping may demand some removal of the image all around to maintain this balance. The reflection of the sun on the lens at the right of the tree I am not sure about...I might try and remove it by pixel cloning and see if the picture looked better.

Windswept tree

2008-02-26T11:24:00.002Z

Windswept tree, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Windswept tree near Mow Cop, South Cheshire. The tree and the fence post are the two elements in this composition. I moved around the tree to get the right distance between the post and the trunk of the tree and chose a low viewpoint using a wide andgle lens (28mm) to help remove any distracting background beyond the wall.

Signpost

2008-02-26T11:21:00.002Z

Signpost, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Signpost at the Goyt Valley, near Buxton, Derbyshire. This image was taken in black and white mode using a combination of red and polarising filters. A low viewpoint was used to eliminate the distracting background from behind the signpost.

WALKERS

2008-02-25T20:49:00.003Z

WALKERS, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Walkers on moorland near the Cat and Fiddle Inn, near Derbyshire, England. This was a spontaneous shot taking shortly after the picture of the posts a few images below. The moorland here is bleak: there are no trees or bushes, just a path along which these two people happened to be walking. I put the camera virtually on the ground for a very low viewpoint which made the walkers stand out against the horizon. I also used a primary red filter to increase the contrast, giving the shot more drama. In fact there is something slightly menacing about this shot: the people remain anonymous and vague in a very bleak landscape which is made even more bleak by the lack of colour.

STEPS

2008-02-25T20:47:00.002Z

STEPS, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Steps leading to footpath for Three Shire Heads, near Buxton, Derbyshire. What appealed to me about this shot was the almost abstract and symmetrical quality of the steps against the very natural background of the hills in the Peak District National Park.

MOORLAND POSTS Black and white tutorial

2008-02-25T20:44:00.002Z

POSTS, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Posts on Peak District moorland, near the Cat and Fiddle Inn, near Buxton, Derbyshire.

Well we had our first fine weather here in England last week: sharp crisp, frosty days with clear blue skies and bright sunshine, so it was my first real chance to get out this year and do a little photography. My first trip out was to the Peak District National Park near to the spa town of Buxton, walking near the Cat and Fiddle Inn which I understand is the highest pub in England. Of course, at this time of the year, there are no leaves on the trees: it will be a couple of months before spring arrives here, so the landscapes are still a little bare and bleak. last year I took a few sand dune photos and decided that I should really have taken some in black and white. Of course, you can convert colour images into black and white ones on photoshop, and that is explained in another post under the label 'colour to black and white'. However, you don't get quite the same result as taking the image in black and white on your camera. So for this image, I set the camera mode to black and white instead of colour. The advantage of this was that I could use contrast filters to make the image more dramatic. For this image I used a primary red filter (Wratten 25). This tends to darken the sky, making it more dramatic, and creates more contrast in the vegetation leading to a more dramatic picture. My new Ricoh camera has a 28mm equivalent wide angle lens, and this too gives a sense of space and drama, enabling me to get close to the fence posts and a low down vantage point, so that the posts stand out more dramatically against the sky, giving a stronger composition. notice again the rule of thirds, with the posts and horizon situated at approximately one third divisions in the frame.

Sunset trees, near Consall, Staffordshire. Camera choice

2008-01-27T10:53:00.001Z

sunset trees, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Sunset trees taken with my Samsung camera. People sometimes ask me what camera I use. Most of the images on this blog are taken on a digital camera. They were taken on a Samsung Digimax V4. This is a 4 million pixel camera which I bought a few years ago now. What I liked about it was that it had lots of manual override functions, so I could change expose, aperture or shutter speeds if I wished to. It also had a moderate optical zoom. I find digital zoom to be a waste of time. I have just upgraded my camera to a Ricoh Caplio R7. This is a very neat, small compact camera. Again, I liked its range of manual override features. It gives an 8 million pixel image, so this is twice the definition of my old camera. Also, it has a great optical zoom range, an equivalent 28mm-200mm zoom on a 35mm camera. I like the good wide angle since I mainly take landscape shote, but the good zoom range means that I can get up closer when I need to. It uses a lithium-ion battery which lasts quite a while and is neat and compact. My old Samsung used AA batteries but drained them very quickly. My new camera is proving very satisfactory, though I have to be careful on telephoto shots as the focus takes a few moments to adjust.

American Steam Locomotive 5197

2008-01-15T19:56:00.001Z

usa 5197 b, originally uploaded by foto-art.

American Steam Locomotive 5197, photographed on the Churnet Valley Railway. Winter is a great time for this sort of shot, which was taken close to the shortest day of the year. A wet evening in the city also provides a great subject, with the wet streets providing reflections of the street lights. Using a digital camera with night mode and the flash turned off is the best way. But you need a sturdy tripod!

Wedgwood Hall - retouching photoshop tutorial

2007-12-11T14:10:00.001Z

Wedgwood Hall, originally uploaded by foto-art.

The Georgian Hall of the Wedgwood family at Barlaston in Staffordshire is given an art effect trestment using Photoshop filters. The original image had a great big 4x4 car parked in front of the hall which of course completely ruined the shot. Turning ithe image into an art effect print made retouching the image a little easier. Getting in close using Photoshop by zooming in to a detail of the problem area and using the Pixel Cloning/Stamp tool, I was able to pick part of the image to the side of the car and stamp it over the car itself, thus replacing the car gradually, bit by bit, with the path and the wall of the hall. The secret is not to try and do too big an area at once.

Mediterranean village

2007-12-11T14:09:00.001Z

Mediterranean village, originally uploaded by foto-art.

This pretty Spanish village is made even more picturesque by the use of art effect filters in Photoshop. This was a spur of the moment shot. I was on holiday in Spain and visiting this village which was a local tourist spot. Fortunately I had my camera in hand and as I was walking along, I turned to my right and saw this image, which I took within a second. Sometimes, when I am out with a camera, I manage to get into that state of mind that is just receptive to images around me and find myself taking a flurry of shots. It is a nice state of mind to be able to acheive for a photographer.

Little Moreton Hall

2007-12-11T14:08:00.001Z

Little Moreton Hall, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Art effect treatment of the Elizabethan Little Moreton hall, in South Cheshire, England. I like the formal composition of this photograph - looking square on to the building. Notice the rule of thirds with the path and tower/chimney of the building being about one third in from the right. I also like the colour saturation of this image, acheived by taking the photo on a sunny day and making sure that the sun was largely behind me and shining onto the subject.

BELMONT POOL

2007-12-11T14:07:00.001Z

BELMONT POOL, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Art effect treatment of Belmont Pool near Leek, Staffordshire, England. Originally taken on 35mm, this photograph was scanned in to the computer and given an art effect treatment using Photoshop. I have recently had a 30 x 20 inch canvas print made of this, and because it is in effect a downgraded image because of the art effect treatment, it has come out very well despite its origins as a low resolution scan from a 6 x 4 photo.

Astbury church

2007-12-11T14:06:00.001Z

Astbury church, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Art effect treatment using Photoshop of Astbury church near Congleton, Cheshire, England.

MOW COP CASTLE FOLLY

2007-12-11T14:05:00.001Z

MOW COP CASTLE, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Art effect treatment using Photoshop and the pastel filter effect of Mow Cop folly on the Staffordshire/Cheshire border. Originally this was a 35mm photograph, which has been scanned into the computer and given the art effect treatment on Photoshop.

Luggage at Bewdley Station

2007-12-11T14:03:00.001Z

Luggage, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Art effect treatment of luggage on the platform at Bewdley railway station. This nostalgic scene is added to by the art effect treatment that gives it a vague 1930's poster style atmosphere.

Milk churns on Bewdley railway Station

2007-12-11T14:02:00.001Z

Milk churns, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Art effect treament of milk churns on Bewdley railway station in Shropshire on the Severn Valley Railway. The art effect is reminiscent of the nostalgic railway posters of the 1940's and 1950's.

Manor class steam locomotive at night Night shot tutorial

2007-12-11T14:01:00.001Z

night gwr, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Art effect treatment of a GWR Manor Class Steam locomotive in the sidings at Cheddleton on the Churnet valley railway. This photo was taken using a digital camera. The night mode was used and the flash setting turned to off. Flas usually only works to a range of about 15 ft or about 5 metres so for this kind of shot is a waste of time: not only is its range too short to reach the subject, it also may play havoc with the light meter reading and give a poor exposure. In addition, any flash from the camera is coming from a 'false' direction and would light the subject inappropriately. This means that the photographer has to rely on available light and fortunately for this shot, there were a number of floodlights lighting up the scene. A tripod is pretty essential for this kind of shot as the shutter speed is so slow: any movement will blur the image. Failure to have a tripod means having to rely on any handy flat surfaces such as fences, walls, litter bins...anything to rest the camera on. Unfortunately, this severely restricts your ability to choose a good viewpoint. After the shot was taken, it was given an art treatment effect. (See tutorials elsewhere). This kind of subject lends itself very well to the art effect treatment as steam locomotives are quite difficult to paint. This kind of image captures the sheer weight of these locomotives: they are in excess of fifty tons weight!

Poppy

2007-12-11T13:59:00.001Z

Poppy, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Art effect treatment using photoshop filters. The simple, warm background adds to the art effect. What I like about this image is the pianting-like effect that has been obtained, and it's sheer simplicity of shape combined with boldness of colour.

Angelica Eroticum - Colour to black and white

2007-12-05T19:34:00.001Z

angelica eroticum, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Another Photomontage on the angel theme. This one looked better in Black and White I thought, so though originally taken in colour, I went into photoshop and into Image/Mode/and clicked on Greyscale, to remove the colour information.

Winter nights

2007-11-24T16:10:00.000Z

Well, over here in England, the dark nights have arrived and the leaves have virtually fallen off the trees. For me this is a time when my photography goes into low gear. I love those bright days, with plenty of colour, but alas, in Britain, we just do not get that all the year round. Even on clear, bright, sunny days the light intensity is nowhere near as much as similar days in October or March, and pictures reflect that with a cold, bluish cast. Perhaps an orange filter such as an 85B helps to counter this, but still I find the landscape a bit too bleak for me. If we get some snow, that can be quite good, and contre-jour or into-the-light shots of bare trees are also pretty good with the low sun at this time of year. Years ago I used to try a bit of indoor work with portrait photography, but it was never my forte and always a bit hit and miss. To be honest, I am not a 'people person' and do not particularly enjoy first or new encounters with people. It is however a great time for night photography so I am hoping to do some night work shortly...but of course, the hectic lead-up to Christmas tends to make other demands. For me and my photography at this time of the year its definitely 'play with Photoshop and roll on spring'!

New York - Brooklyn Bridge

2007-10-26T16:00:00.003+01:00

new york - brooklyn bridge, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Brooklyn Bridge. Spur-of-the-moment shot on Brooklyn Bridge. I loved the lamp post, so I placed it one third in from the right using the rule of thirds. This enable me to capture the backdrop of the skyscrapers. The white line on the bridge leads our eye into the picture and the pedestrians. It may be that this shot could be improved by turning it into a portrait shot by cropping the image just to the left of the two big skyscrapers in the far background just to the left of the lamp post, and deleting this left half of the picture - this would serve to focus attention on the walkway and pedestrians.

New York - skyline from Brooklyn Bridge

2007-10-26T16:00:00.001+01:00

new york - skyline from brooklyn bridge, originally uploaded by foto-art.

New York Skyline. A spur-of-the-moment iconic shot of new York from the Brooklyn Bridge. Converging verticals were corrected in Photoshop.

New York - Grand Central Station

2007-10-26T15:59:00.001+01:00

new york - grand central station, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Grand Central Station New York. A spur-of-the-moment shot. What struck me here was the contrast between the facade of the station and the modern skyscraper behind it.

New York - Times Square

2007-10-26T15:58:00.001+01:00

new york - times square, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Times Square, New York. A spur-of-the-moment shot whilst on holiday in New York. The camera was set to night mode and it is essential that one uses a tripod or some sort of ad-hoc camera rest for this kind of shot, else it will simply suffer from motion blurring due to camera shake. Such motion blurring can be quite effective....see the image 'Jazz' for example. But here I wanted a sharper image and had no tripod. In this case, any flat surface will do: a bollard, a bit of fencing, a rubbish bin, anything where the camera can be rested flat and still. This of course restricts vantage points and perspectives. Afterwards in Photoshop, converging verticals were corrected. (See tutorial on converging verticals)

Sunset on ship

2007-10-26T15:57:00.003+01:00

sunset on ship, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Evening on the Queen Mary II. A spur-of-the-moment shot capturing something of the romantic relaxation of life on board ship. This contre-jour image has not been modified in any way, and used the meter settings of the camera. Bold shapes are a necessity for such a shot.

New York - Skyline and Brooklyn Bridge

2007-10-26T15:57:00.001+01:00

new york - skyline and brooklyn bridge, originally uploaded by foto-art.

New York Skyline. A classic shot taken from the Queen Mary II as it sets sail. the use of Auto Contrast in Image/Adjust in Photoshop was the only modification to this image. notice again the rule of thirds: the horizon is one third up from the bottom, giving two-thirds sky and a resulting sense of space. The yellow boat is a crucial element, helping to break up the expanse of water, again, about one third in from the left.

Queen Mary 2

2007-10-26T15:56:00.001+01:00

Queen Mary 2, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Pool on Queen Mary II. More my usual sort of style: fairly minimalist with lots of geometric lines creating a slight sense of the abstract. The two pillars with the circle of lights on top is the main element, placed one third from the left with the lights about one third to a quarter down. the solitary anonymous figure between the pillars, and the wet footprints add a sense of mystery. The lines on the deck stops the eye from moving out of the picture, and guides it to the wake of the ship. This shot was not modified in any way.

Jazz....!

2007-10-26T15:55:00.001+01:00

jazz, originally uploaded by foto-art.

A hand-held camera with a slow shutter speed has captured a sense of movement and vibrancy in this shot of a band playing. This shot was taken indoors, using available light with the camera set on night mode.

The Shining Sea

2007-10-26T15:54:00.001+01:00

shining sea, originally uploaded by foto-art.

The Shining sea. A number of people seemed to like this shot, though it is not one of my favourites. Rotated slightly in Photoshop to level the horizon.

New York - Statue of Liberty

2007-10-26T15:53:00.003+01:00

new york - statue of liberty, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Statue of Liberty. A spur-of-the-moment shot taken from the Queen Mary II as we set sail. What pleased me about this shot was the juxtaposition of the two elements: the Statue of Liberty and the boat.

snooze

2007-10-26T15:53:00.001+01:00

snooze, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Siesta in new York....A spur-of-the-moment shot on a hot and busy afternoon in New York. I wish that I had just got the full front wheel of the bike in shot, but it was a very hastily taken snap which i thought had some humour in it..

Queen Mary 2 - Evening at sea

2007-10-14T14:30:00.001+01:00

Queen Mary 2 - Evening at sea, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Early evening on a Trans-Atlantic crossing. This image combines two of my favourite themes...contre-jour or 'into the light' and the use of geometric shapes, in this case the railings and shadows on the deck.

Queen Mary 2 - Deck 7 Bow

2007-10-14T14:29:00.001+01:00

Queen Mary 2 - Deck 7 Bow, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Maritime sculptures. These propeller blades on the bow of one of the decks on the Queen Mary 2 enabled me to take this image which consists of one of mt favourite themes...abstract shapes. The curves of the propeller blades contrast with the straight lines of the railings, which themselves contrast with the diagonal line of the cabin wall on the left. There is also use of colour...the warm orange contrasts with the blue of the sky. One reason that this shot works for me is the brightness and saturation of the colour. This image did not work on a dull, overcast day and I was lucky to get a moment of bright sunshine and abscence of people. This shot would not work if there were passengers milling about on deck.

Astbury Church 1

2007-09-15T16:42:00.001+01:00

Astbury Church 1, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Astbury Church, near Congleton in South Cheshire. A slightly more unusual viewpoint of this church, which is usually photographed in the height of spring when the green in front of the church is bedecked with daffodils. This had to be taken early in the morning to get the sun on this face of the church. It was taken with a 35mm camera using a Sigma 18mm Wide angle lens and the resultant converging verticals were corrected in Photoshop. With 35mm I just take my film into somwhere like Jessop's and get them to process the film and digitise the images and put them onto a cd-rom. I do not scan prints in myself or digitise the negatives...too time consuming and expensive for the amount of 35mm photography that I do. It's just that the ultra-wide 18mm lens is indispensible for this kind of shot, where my digital camera just does not have a wide enough angle of view.

Dove Dale and the river Dove

2007-09-15T16:41:00.003+01:00

Dove Dale, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Dovedale, near Ashbourne in Derbyshire. This area is very popular with walkers though it is quieter during the week when this shot was taken. This is a conventional shot using an 18mm wide angle lens on a 35mm camera. In Photoshop, the image was rotated slightly to level the horizon and water. Here the river Dove leads the eye into the picture from the bottom left hand corner, but as the river turns, it stops the eye from moving out of the picture to the right and leads it back to the main element, the tree, placed about one third in from the left. Although a pleasant enough shot, it is a bit too bland and conventional for me.