Old dog, new tricks...it dosn't work apparently so as ever I set my jaw square against the twin imposters and threw myself into a dollop of new learning. Problem I have now is that I seem to be replacing my knowledge base with new stuff instead of adding to it.. doh..mind you if you let me loose on Photoshop 4.1 (from the dark ages) I'm sure something would stir and I could muddle through. That said, I quite like finding something new to titivate the visual tastebuds and this week this is what I've been up to. Oh changed from single app Photoshop CC to Pshop CC and LR5 for £8.98 saving 6 quid for more software....hmm.. have a look here So first up the Nik collection of software from Google, it's great, serious addition to LR5 and CC as a programme based filter, I've been delving but mostly I've gone through all the Nik software training and had a play, if you can't/don't like masks or masking then get it...... so new software learnt... and then there's all the analogue, color efx and if you are of that persuasion...Hdr. Click the image below to have a look So if you are that regular reader of this stuff, thankyou btw., you'll have been up to speed with my computer graphics card death and the upgrading of the aforementioned...well I think I've come to a plateau in the upgrade front on this here old Dell and as I am a power crazed despot it's time for an upgrade. So I've gone for a data munching 1Tb 16gb of ram Dual 24" monitors monster..apparently it's called Hal and as I'm called Dave I can see no problems occuring at all.... coming this week...have filled 2 Hds with images from this old girl...who strangely is running like a rocket now all the junk has been deleted or shuffled off to a portable HD.... oh and a new Wacom Intuos Pro...hmmm nice and a couple of samsung 1TB Hds ..well..as I am getting a bit creaky I think this could the last big upgrade before befuddlement overwhelms me. meh... Now have some new filters...shiny new Hoya Infra red R72 and ND110...springtime..I have plans.... watch this space, I think this could look mad... Time spent watching all of Dave Blacks light painting tutorials on Kelbyone....again watch this space or go and see Dave Black's work here I have some ideas..oh yes some mad stuff in my head that will look like nothing else and probably be destined for my 'Marmite' folder. Found out I had this option in my 500px account..so played, actually quite a good way of pre-visaulising what your images look like as framed artworks.. There's other stuff but the sun is out and Daisy one of my Tortoises has emerged, yet again, from her winters slumber so before the Rugby comes on TTFN until the next time lensmiths...
0 Comments
Plans were for some woodland and landscape imagery to take up most of my time this January but as ever serendipity has swooshed into view and the in camera multi exposure stuff has taken over some what, keen eyed viewers will have noticed there is already a 2014 Galleries page up and running which of course will be added to as the year progresses. I'm also up to date with my processing, a first, so what I shoot will now almost...almost immeadiatley appear on here...yeh right.. so here are some wet pavement stalker images. Now you may think I've either been on the giggle juice or had a bout of macular degeneration with the next lot but these are the actual colours. The fountain has a light show built underneath it and if you time things right with the multi exposure shots you'll end up with shots like this Apologies also go out to the Photographer with the tripod who had to put up with me standing in the fountain whilst he went for his killer shot...sorry..you can always 'shop me out. Right lot to do, I'll crack on and I've not even sniffed a coffee yet
There are cameras and phones out there that are sealed up, can be used down to 5m below the surface, heck my brother in law used to drop his olympus into his pint pot as a party trick...but what if you just have ..well..a camera. Now I was out last night in the rain and at some points in time standing in the dancing water plumes of Piccadilly gardens fountain.. So I have 2 ways of not soaking the old D700. i have an small water proof bag from Ikea that can accomodate the camera and lens and more importantly has a big flap on the top..flap open camera out shot camera back in flap flipped.. okay it dosn't stop all the precipitation so on those occasions when tipple becomes torrent I have a large sandwich bag, a selection of elastic bands...go to live view, camera in the bag and where the opening is put one or two lazzy bands around part of the lens barrel that arn't designed to rotate...so total cost about £3.95 excluding of course the meatballs and coffee you have at Ikea when getting the bag...get your Cagoule on and get out there and shoot in the rain, wet streets shiny pavements, motion, movement...it's all there in the wet. Here's one from last night stood in Piccadilly Fountain whilst the water shot up and the rain trickled down
Just been emailed that I'm on redbubble's front page again...Metrolink http://www.redbubble.com/found?utm_campaign=published_to_found&utm_medium=email&utm_source=RB ..always in the back of my mind that maybe, well just possibly the worst could happen and someone could fall trip over someone's gear or just hurt themselves in the process of taking some photographs...but we all survived and I think the vast majority had a good time. We really were all blown away by the scale of the Victoria baths...what a building and if you nip over to the Manchester Photowalk flickr group you'll see all the different intepretations of it...including some of my finest 'marmite' wtf type of image creations.... I actually managed to shoot some this year which will help as I want to enter the 'Leader' competition..how my interpretation of image making goes down..well, we will have to wait and see but I'm braced for a crash and burn. Spookily I bumped into one of my old colleagues from Photographing Rights of Way and Traffic snapping... they all seem to be doing the same but with clip boards stopwatches and sharp pencils... meh I liked that job but it all ended when the apocalyptic 2008 crash turned up...
Good company during the day and some joshing and socialising later meant it was a very good day. How Gary and I ended up in the Car Park of a Vets at the end of our Taxi home I'll never know but seemed to round of things on the right note...... some images then This time next week we will all be joshing and jostling ready for the start of Manchester's take on the Worldwide Photowalk as I type it appears we have an opening of 1 place.... Just finding out if the model is coming along as well and we should be all sorted...I'm running through 'my bit' which will be some live demo's of some techniques some of the photographers may want to use.... You'll start seeing the fruits of everyone's labours soon afterwards....
I'm giving this place a bit of a once over with a big feather duster, some new pages on here now Piers , Salford Quays and Footbridge I'm also putting links on to all the libraries and retail sites you can download and buy from...yes it's all getting a bit joined up. So short one today but full of stuff to have a wander through... I'll leave you with this today I only use primes, well 2 mainly a 20mm f2.8 and the 50mm f1.8 and for the last 9 months or so that's all I've used mainly because that's the way I wanted to see things but things are about to change. First to arrive is a Nikon 105Micro f2.8..I had one last year and I hardly used it but now there's a lot of stuff i want to do in the macro genre...and last night I bought a Nikon 300mm and a TC 200 2x convertor because there are a lot of areas I want to explore at extreme distances that will give frame filling compression so expect my 'slightly different way of looking at things' to start rolling out next week, suppose I need a bigger bag now.
Sold all my old 120 roll film on ebay last night and I think it all went for a very fair price, stick them in the post today to those lucky bidders. Touch wood I seem to have overcome Alamy's aversion to my kind of images and it's algorhytmic QC section...well basically I will be shovelling all the bog standard straight as a die stock images onto there from now on that is of course until the QC chickens have a good pecking at my files and give me the reject slip... they must miss out on tens of thousands of 'creative imagery' files...ah well their business so I'll keep anything overt away from them, How about a Manchester Montage to end today's drivel... Not long to Photowalk time and the last couple of places left, well done everyone especially those coming back for a second helping, you were warned...
Instead of all the mini tutorials I did last year (yes I did half kill myself and took no photos either) we have the Digital projector room so we can do a bit of digital and for this year only analogue manipulation techniques...intrigued, well so am I as I havn't checked if it will all work...meh...it will I promise. let us not forget that this is also a competition and there is a socking great amount of prizes on offer as well as me giving out a Lightroom 5 ebook so a fun day and one to test your competitive streak as you jostle with 50 other togs...So I will be on hand to dish out any advice or do impromptu tutorial stuff during the session. I suggest that we all head off to Oxford road as there are some big old bars ideal for a bit of joshing and socialising Well I'm looking forward to it..should be good. Okay, time for more. experimental photography, or faffing as it is known. This involves taking your lens off of the front of your camera and holding it in a kind of 'Christ...I hope I don't drop it' manner in front of the gaping hole . Early days...early days and as the heavens have opened I wont be toddling into Manchester to do any of this. I'm using an 80mm Nikkor off my Bronica S2a as the lens, if I drop it, well, it will just crack the pavement..I'm sure after a bit of tugging and pulling I'll be getting some waccy results but here are a few from the back garden before 'rain stopped play' So.....it looks like you've had a play in LR/Pshops blur filter thingys but actually it's only a question of holding the lens and moving it about by small degrees to get this, well almost titl shift look to your image files, All have just had an 'Auto' button waft in LR5 and that's it....I think there are some legs in this and , on behalf of all of you,I will faff away with it until the wheels fall off..
So something a bit more in depth on the do's and dont's tomorrow, camera settings and stuff... Well time really does seem to be flying.. I just got an email from Scott Kelby inviting me to run another Worldwide Photowalk.. http://worldwidephotowalk.com/ now then....
It really took a huge amount of effort to just get folks organised last time and there were grumblings that not everyone got on a mini tutorial...and I was completely knackered after the last one...that last mini toot...I was speaking utter garbage by then....sorry..... So I'm not sure..... I'd have to rethink and maybe limit numbers or something...meh...I'll think about it today...... Well looks like I will have to send the Nokia 925 back now...I've had the email asking for it...but it's so nice and a great 'in your pocket' snap camera...I avoided 'pont and shoot' as most camera's we carry around with us actually are that, irrespective of how much dosh you've lavished on one. One last burst of snapping with it today and then get Mr DHL to come and take it away....I'm filling up already....mind you I'm looking forward to that 41 mpix 1020 Nokia dropping through the letter box at some point http://www.nokia.com/gb-en/phones/phone/lumia1020/?cid=ncomprod-fw-src-na-uklfdevicerangelumia1020-na-google-gb-en-1todtmx1cb164 Might have a different slant on the Photowalk already...you'll be the first to know of course. |
What's all this then????An unyeilding torrent of Photo babbel full of unconfirmed facts and manufactured photo drivel.. take from it what you like, it won't change the world but may leave you feeling nauseous... Categories
All
|