Project 50 (A journey)

50 pictures, 50 days, 50mm f/1.4 lens.....

That was the target I set myself at the start of the year.  I didn't set any other criteria as I wanted to be able to take pictures of absolutely anything.  The reason for this was because I wanted this Project to help me better understand what it is I like taking pictures of.  I thought that by the end of the Project I would be able to look back on the 50 pictures and see a pattern, trend or genre jump out at me.  Oh, and I also wanted a set of nice pictures too !

The 50th day was Sunday, 19th February and I was kind of sad when I posted the final picture up into my flickr set.  It was the end of a journey in a number of ways, ok it's not a Project 365 or anything but it's still hard work coming up with a decent image each day.  During the project I had fallen behind a few times by either not taking any pictures on a particular day or not liking what I had taken.  This was easily fixed though by taking more pictures next time around.  In fact, I had a set of reserve images just in case I fell short at the end.

So, here I am with 50 pictures hoping they will direct me towards my next project and narrow down the type of photographs I like taking.  This is where it gets confusing so bear with me.  The type of photographs I like taking do not appear anywhere in my 50 pictures.   That's right, looking through the pictures I can clearly see that something is missing.  What I can see though are pictures where I have made use of the flexibility of the 50mm f/1.4 lens.  The majority of images have a very shallow depth of field which is used to highlight a specific subject in the picture.  Additionally, they are all taken in a way which enabled me to produce a square crop image after post processing.  So, the project has confirmed the fact that I love images with a very shallow depth of field.  I also like images where a single subject dominates the shot.  I also started to play with some processing techniques to help me develop a style.  This was really interesting and I have found a couple of areas to work on.  You'll notice a number of pictures have been de-saturated but not too much.

People, where are the people ????
I had to turn this thing on it's head to get some answers.  Obviously, the type of pictures I like are the ones I didn't take any of !  So how does that make sense ?  Simple....."Comfort Zone".  Something I need to get out of if I'm going to take my photography any further.

The Project failed in that sense because I didn't set any specific criteria.  By leaving the subject completely open I gave myself a back door, a way in which I could just take pictures (half decent ones mind) of anything .  So my sub-conscious was at work here making sure that I didn't have to step out of my comfort zone.  In fact, when you look at the pictures you'll notice that the vast majority where taken indoors.  I guess my sub-conscious didn't want me to get any fresh air or exercise either !

Time to put things right
While the Project was running I was flicking through a few photo magazines and books looking for inspiration for the next Project.  It occurred to me that in order to work out my favourite type of photography I had to analyse the type of pictures I like looking at rather than the ones I like taking.  The battle with my sub-conscious had started and I was already plotting the next project before this one had finished.  I would recommend a couple of books by John Berger;  "Ways of seeing" and "About looking".  I must admit it took me a while to get into them but there are pennies dropping everywhere.

This thread is going to go off on a huge tangent but I wanted to include this much in the Project 50 update as it demonstrates the kind of thing you can get out of a photo project.  Look out for my next blog detailing the new project.

So, back to Project 50
If you are looking for inspiration, a small project to get you out with your camera or just looking to improve your skills then I would strongly recommend doing a project 50 (or similar).  The rules are completely up to you so you can get as much or as little out of it.  The huge benefit you get is stretching your creativity.  Having to come up with a new and unique image every day certainly does that.

I hope you like the images and I guess if you got this far you were able to put up with my ramblings too.  I achieved my goals in a round-about sort of way and learnt a lot more about my photography and my comfort zone as well.

Here are a couple of mosaics showing all 50 images.  These were created with "Big Huge Labs" on Flickr.

The full set can be found here

Welshot HDR Workshop - February 2012

On 4th February I went to the Welshot Imaging HDR Workshop in Liverpool.  The workshop was open to members and non-members alike.  As with all Welshot events numbers were restricted to ensure that we got the most out of the day.

The purpose of the workshop was to show delegates how take architecture shots intended for HDR processing.  Obviously there was a session where this was put into practice and the magnificent Liverpool Anglican Cathedral was our location.  This was then followed by tuition covering how to process HDR images and included time saving batch processing techniques.  A slap up buffet lunch was also provided at the Atlantic Tower Hotel which was our base before and after the shoot at the Cathedral.

The limited numbers for this workshop meant that people could get plenty of one-on-one time with the course leaders.  For this particular workshop we had Welshot Pro Eifion Williams and Adrian Wilson of McFade Photography.  In addition we were lucky enough to have John Arnold of Photowalkthrough.com also in attendance.  As with all Welshot events the course leaders and attendees all pitched in and everyone learnt from each other.

Throughout the day we were looked after by Lee Iggulden who made sure we all got the most out of the day.  Lee kept us topped up with tea and coffee as well as arranging transport between the Hotel and Cathedral.  Lee even looked after our gear while we were taking pictures in the Cathedral.  If you ever meet anyone more passionate about photography than Lee, I would be very surprised.

The day had a great flow to it and lead us through the various steps from location spotting, taking the shots, preparing images for processing, the actual HDR process itself and a batch process to save hours and hours of post-processing time.

Adrian (Mcfade Photography) gave a great presentation at the start of the day which included some fantastic images he has taken.  He provided lots of tips covering composition and exposure etc,etc.  When we arrived at the Cathedral we then had further tuition covering how to set up our cameras for HDR shooting.  Adrian, Eifion and John were all on hand to assist us and made sure everyone was ready to go and capture some great images.

Before we all went off to wander around the Cathedral we were given a challenge.  The workbooks provided by Welshot contained some images of the Cathedral taken by Adrian.  Our challenge was to find where they were all taken and capture them ourselves.  As you can imaging some of these images would be fairly easy to find.  The Cathedral is absolutely huge and the vast spaces provide you with an endless supply of ideas.  One or two of the images were taken from places which are usually restricted so one of the benefits of attending these workshops is that you get access to those areas.  This means you can get the shots that no-one else can.

I thoroughly enjoyed the day and learnt a great deal from a great bunch of people.  If you have thought about giving this type of workshop a go but not yet tried then I strongly recommend that you take a look at the Welshot website.  Events are added regularly so keep checking every now and then.

If you have never been to the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral I would certainly recommend it, even if you are not into photography.  I would also suggest that if you do go make sure you check out the Lady Chapel....amazing.


For more of my images from this workshop please click here

Welshot London Weekend - November 2011

I was fortunate enough to attend the recent Welshot Photography weekend held down in London. The event actually started on Friday evening but I got the early morning train to London on Saturday and met the gang in their Hotel at 08:30am.

Once all the introductions were complete we went down to Borough Market (near London Bridge station) where we met the rest of the delegates.

There were five delegates including myself and we were being guided and educated by Eifion Williams of Welshot, John Arnold of Photowalkthrough.com and Will Cheung Editor of Advanced Photographer magazine. We were all being looked after by the amazing Lee Iggulden who made sure we were photographing as much as possible.

We were set a few challenges by the ever creative John Arnold. Challenges for each location, each day and the weekend as a whole were intended to help us focus on specific tasks but we were free to photograph anything we wanted to as well.

Borough Market is a very lively market set indoors & outdoors. It is easy to see why the market is so popular for shoppers and photographers alike. The place offers everything you can think of and we were lucky enough to be there on a particularly busy day. The place is so alive with sights, sounds and smells that you really are spoilt for choice. We had a couple of hours in the market and although I've not seen anyone else’s images I'm sure everyone got some great shots.

The market is great for candid shots of shoppers and traders alike. But with such a wide variety of wares on sale there are plenty of opportunities to get in close and capture the details.

One comment I would make is that the traders work really hard and keep everybody topped up with free samples of food and drink. So, as a courtesy, if you do visit to take pictures please respect them and try not to get in their way. You can always ask if you want a specific shot, the worse they can do is say no.

From Borough market we wandered up to the river and took a breather next to the Golden Hind before jumping on a clipper to take us over to Canary Wharf.

Canary Wharf is a fantastic location for architecture photography but bear in mind that it is private property. We had a couple of hours to go before sunset so armed with a Starbucks for fuel I had a good walk around snapping away before eventually resisting temptation and popping into one of the Pubs for a quick one. We met up again at 4pm for a quick catch up and then set off again to do some more shots in the dark. Now that sun had gone we were able to play with light trails and long exposures etc.

Once we were all exhausted we retired to a local pub for a well earned (and very nice) meal. We also managed a few drinks as well before returning to base for some light drawing. Having found an area dark enough we had a go at making this year’s Welshot Christmas card. John Arnold did a fantastic job with the torch and we soon had all of the wording in the bag. We then retired to the Welshot hotel were John then gave a lesson in merging images in Photoshop. (these guys never stop)

The next morning we all met up at the Welshot Hotel again where we were also met by the lovely Radha Patel (Model) . We then headed off to the famous "Banksy Tunnel". This is actually Leake Street which is located underneath Waterloo Station.

Leake Street is a fantastic location for a model shoot and this is where Welshot had chosen for us to get a lesson in off camera lighting from Will Cheung. As well as the model shoot there was plenty of street art to photograph and even some artists at work.

There was plenty of time for us all to have a couple of goes using the lighting to get photos of Radha as well as getting some shots of the art work and location in general. The Street Artists were a great bunch of guys and didn’t mind us being there at all. They were quite happy for us to watch them and take pictures but I would point out that some don’t want their picture taken. It always helps to have a chat first and get to know people as they were really friendly and allowed us into their space. Had we just started snapping away without any warning then it might have been different.

After several hundred shots the paint fumes were starting to take effect so we waved goodbye to our fantastic Model Radha and then continued with our expedition. The next stop wasn’t that far as the Embankment and London eye were literally across the road. We had a quick 15 minutes at the London eye so we had enough time for a few shots and a refuel.

We then headed along the Embankment which was very busy as there was a huge Christmas Fayre selling all sorts of things, the most popular being mulled wine of course. Our next pit stop was the Skateboard/BMX Park at Southbank. The park was quite busy with skaters, bmx’ers and even a group making a music video. The location provided opportunities for action shots against a backdrop of yet more street art.

From the Skate Park we headed over to Waterloo station and caught the tube up Trafalgar Square. We had around 30-45 minutes here before the light started to fade. It was a great chance for more candid’s as well as architecture shots. Luckily there were no major events being held in the square but there was a smaller demonstration taking place which was another great photo opportunity.

After our fill of shots from Trafalgar Square we then walked across to Covent Garden. This was to be last location for us. Although the light was going fast the place was buzzing and we had time to go and capture shots of the location, shoppers and street entertainers. Eventually I succumbed to temptation and packed the camera away so I could do a bit of shopping. I was then the last one to arrive in the Pub where everyone had met up for a final drink and chat.

Alas, that was the end of the Welshot Weekend in London. I hope that this gives you a good idea of what a Welshot workshop is like. I had a great time meeting new people, learning new things, seeing new places and spending a lot of time talking nothing but photography.

The Welshot gang have helped take a step further on my Photographic journey and the experience has given me a great deal to work on as I try and move my skills forward.

Big thanks to Eifion Williams, John Arnold, Will Cheung, Radha Patel and of course the wonderful Lee Iggulden.

Reference info;

People
http://www.welshotimaging.co.uk/
http://www.photowalkthrough.com/
www.williamcheung.co.uk
www.facebook.com/#!/Radharani.Patel

Locations
www.boroughmarket.org.uk/
www.canarywharf.com/
leakestreet.com/
www.londoneye.com/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Bank
www.london.gov.uk/priorities/art-culture/trafalgar-square
www.coventgardenlondonuk.com/

Welshot Imaging - Promotional Day, Chester UK. 31st July 2011

Love Photography....Join Us

This was the message to the people of Chester on Sunday 31st July 2011.  A group of us descended on the City Centre (taking advantage of Race Day) to promote Welshot Imaging.  Our numbers consisted of Welshot Team Leaders, Welshot Members, Professional Photographers, Models, Make-up artist and Hair stylist.

We took over the "cross" area of the City from 10am until around 2pm generating lots of crowds and interest as we proceeded to take pictures of 5 stunning models.  Several Welshot Members (me included) were given the opportunity to attend the event and as well as take pictures of the models we were being given expert knowledge and guidance from Professional Photographers. 

I was lucky enough to get some one-to-one tuition and guidance from Zoe Richards of Zoe Photography based in Liverpool.  To get an opportunity like this is fantastic and would not be possible without the hard work and professionalism of Welshot.

We also had Eifion WIlliams (Welshot Professional) and Will Cheung FRPS (editor of Advanced Photographer Magazine) on hand to provide their knowledge and expertise.

After entertaining most of the race-goers as they made their way down to the course we packed up and headed for lunch.  Whoever said there is no such thing as a free lunch is a liar.  I got to learn from professionals, take pictures of 5 different models, have lunch and meet a bunch of fantastic people all for free.

We finished off the day with a further shoot in Westminster Park.  This for me was the icing on the cake as everything I had been learning was falling into place and this session is where I took my best pictures.

There was so much to learn other than just taking pictures I didn't want the day to end.  But unfortunately we did have to wrap it up and head home for some post processing.

If you have an interest in Photography then I strongly suggest that you visit the Welshot site to see what they have to offer.  As well as the many benefits of being a member you'll have access to a vast array of knowledge and experience.  You can do it all on-line via the forums or you can attend the evening sessions held once a month at various locations where you can meet the Welshot gang and other members in person.  Then there are the 1-day / 2-day workshops covering specific genres or techniques.

Through the Welshot experience I was able to attend this promotional day for free and I'm sure this will lead to many more opportunities.  So, if you love photography....join us.

1st Model - Sarahann Roberts 
2nd Model - Jennifer Brook 

http://www.welshotimaging.co.uk/
http://www.keithbarlow.co.uk/