I love abstract images and photos, particularly those that allow the viewer to see different images and shapes every time they are viewed. For me they also have to contain lots of detail and layers giving an illusion of depth.
One subject that makes great abstract art is ice, especially if there is a dominant color or tone through it. Given the right color and the right light the ice can be made to look metallic or like liquid metal or mercury.
Removing all color and only using black and white also produces excellent images that enhance the liquid metal effect even more. It's also possible to produce images that almost have an 'H.R. Geiger' quality to them.
Ultimately these type of images are best viewed at large sizes so that the detail can really be appreciated. Framing A2 size images and hanging them in a living room or lounge will really add impact to a place and also provides an interesting talking point!
Wednesday, 27 May 2009
Monday, 18 May 2009
Greencastle and Narrow water castle
Northern Ireland like Scotland, has its fair share of castles and ancient monuments, two of which are around an hour's drive from my home and are both around seven miles apart. Like most ancient monuments and castles these are extremely photogenic due to their good condition and outstanding surrounding northern Irish countryside.
About five miles outside of Rostrevor (a place known for its folk music and fiddler's green festival) lies Greencastle royal castle which, I decided to visit first. built in the 13th century the castle is basically large rectangular keep with three vaulted chambers at the ground floor level. Access is free however it is only open two months of the year namely July and August, so if you want to get up close you will need to climb the fence and sneak in like I did!
Did I mention the weather? Saturday was one of those days forecast as 'changeable' which can produce some amazing skies for photography. Wind and torrents rain lashed down all the way there except for the odd two or three minutes of blue sky and amazing cloud formations. I was hoping to catch one of these pauses in the weather when I got to my chosen location. Just as I arrived at Greencastle the rain stopped for about ten minutes giving me just enough time to jump the fence, run up to the castle, fire off a few shots then dash back to the car again! amazing luck! Just as I got back to the car the weather closed in again with a torrential downpour.
About seven miles west of here just outside Warrenpoint, where the Newry river meets Carlingford lough, lies Narrow Water castle keep. This is a tower house building which was built originally by Hugh deLacy, Earl of Ulster in 1568.
The castle is in extremely good condition and is situated in a really beautiful spot, infact this whole area is outstanding with the Mourne mountains only a short distance from here.
Access for photography and general viewing is excellent, given that it is right beside the main A2 road. Access to the inside however is again restricted to July and August.
As before I was amazingly lucky with the weather as it briefly cleared as I got there for around another ten minutes, allowing me to get a few shots in the bag before the rain finally returned!
More images can be viewed in the Kingdom of Mourne and Irish countryside gallery and the Monochrome landscape gallery.
Bye for now.
About five miles outside of Rostrevor (a place known for its folk music and fiddler's green festival) lies Greencastle royal castle which, I decided to visit first. built in the 13th century the castle is basically large rectangular keep with three vaulted chambers at the ground floor level. Access is free however it is only open two months of the year namely July and August, so if you want to get up close you will need to climb the fence and sneak in like I did!
Did I mention the weather? Saturday was one of those days forecast as 'changeable' which can produce some amazing skies for photography. Wind and torrents rain lashed down all the way there except for the odd two or three minutes of blue sky and amazing cloud formations. I was hoping to catch one of these pauses in the weather when I got to my chosen location. Just as I arrived at Greencastle the rain stopped for about ten minutes giving me just enough time to jump the fence, run up to the castle, fire off a few shots then dash back to the car again! amazing luck! Just as I got back to the car the weather closed in again with a torrential downpour.
About seven miles west of here just outside Warrenpoint, where the Newry river meets Carlingford lough, lies Narrow Water castle keep. This is a tower house building which was built originally by Hugh deLacy, Earl of Ulster in 1568.
The castle is in extremely good condition and is situated in a really beautiful spot, infact this whole area is outstanding with the Mourne mountains only a short distance from here.
Access for photography and general viewing is excellent, given that it is right beside the main A2 road. Access to the inside however is again restricted to July and August.
As before I was amazingly lucky with the weather as it briefly cleared as I got there for around another ten minutes, allowing me to get a few shots in the bag before the rain finally returned!
More images can be viewed in the Kingdom of Mourne and Irish countryside gallery and the Monochrome landscape gallery.
Bye for now.
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
Water droplets part II
Last time I talked about shooting natural water droplets on rainy days when the weather is not to your liking for landscape photography, and with this weekend being another wet and windy one I decided to take the topic indoors and do some experimentation with man made ones!
I know some people think this subject is somewhat cliched but I love it! Each image is unique in its own way and there are countless variations that can be tried for some amazing effects.
Rather than go for the usual clear water into a clear pool I wanted to try and get a CG or computer rendered effect with bright bold colors, so for the shoot I used natural blue and red food dye.
Capturing the water droplets is not as hard as you may think. I know that some posts on this say that you need to be prepared to take a couple of hundred shots but I found this not to be the case if you setup carefully. The most important things are using an external flash ( I use the Canon Speedlite 430), preferably off camera to control the direction of light, a reflector of some kind to stop under exposure and a macro or telephoto lens to allow you to fill the frame but stay a safe distance from water splashes.
After some experimentation I found the following setup works very well:
External flash - set this to manual mode and set the output to 1/32 or lower. This doesn't affect the amount of light from the flash but rather the flash duration and allows you to freeze the drops in motion.
Reflector - Use a reflector or white card placed opposite the flash. I found that not doing this resulted in vastly under exposed images.
Camera - set this to manual mode and a shutter speed of 180. this isn't too important as with these kind of shots the flash duration is now your effective shutter speed. For focusing, place a ruler where the drops will fall. Frame and focus on this.
Once everything is setup it is just a matter of releasing water drops and firing off shots at different times, before and after hitting the water.
Once you have your shots why not try black and white conversions like the shot above. More images are available in the Macro images gallery on the website.
If you want to see some really amazing liquid sculptures and get some inspiration check out Martin Waugh's site at http://www.liquidsculpture.com/.
Have fun!
I know some people think this subject is somewhat cliched but I love it! Each image is unique in its own way and there are countless variations that can be tried for some amazing effects.
Rather than go for the usual clear water into a clear pool I wanted to try and get a CG or computer rendered effect with bright bold colors, so for the shoot I used natural blue and red food dye.
Capturing the water droplets is not as hard as you may think. I know that some posts on this say that you need to be prepared to take a couple of hundred shots but I found this not to be the case if you setup carefully. The most important things are using an external flash ( I use the Canon Speedlite 430), preferably off camera to control the direction of light, a reflector of some kind to stop under exposure and a macro or telephoto lens to allow you to fill the frame but stay a safe distance from water splashes.
After some experimentation I found the following setup works very well:
External flash - set this to manual mode and set the output to 1/32 or lower. This doesn't affect the amount of light from the flash but rather the flash duration and allows you to freeze the drops in motion.
Reflector - Use a reflector or white card placed opposite the flash. I found that not doing this resulted in vastly under exposed images.
Camera - set this to manual mode and a shutter speed of 180. this isn't too important as with these kind of shots the flash duration is now your effective shutter speed. For focusing, place a ruler where the drops will fall. Frame and focus on this.
Once everything is setup it is just a matter of releasing water drops and firing off shots at different times, before and after hitting the water.
Once you have your shots why not try black and white conversions like the shot above. More images are available in the Macro images gallery on the website.
If you want to see some really amazing liquid sculptures and get some inspiration check out Martin Waugh's site at http://www.liquidsculpture.com/.
Have fun!
Monday, 27 April 2009
Rainy days and water droplets
I'm not one of these people that only takes photographs on sunny days and never goes out when it's overcast or raining. Every type of weather offers different photographic opportunities and if you don't take them your really missing out!
I was planning to go back up to the Mourne mountains this weekend to an area around the 'Hares gap' that i haven't explored before, but the weather forecast was not good for the type of landscape images I was after (it was pouring with rain) so I decided to use the the rain to my advantage and grab some water droplet shots from my garden.
It's not often the conditions are favorable for these type of shots as often the rain is accompanied by wind, which can make it near impossible to get a macro shot due to your chosen subject swaying about! What you can do however is manually focus and sway 'in time' with the subject and rattle off a few high speed shots. you might get lucky!
The best way though is to shoot between showers and set the camera up on a tripod. Using the tripod will slow you down enough to compose the image properly without rushing it. You can then also use the 'live view' feature (if available) to ensure your focus is spot on.
try and get something of interest in the reflection of the chosen water droplet. It can be anything from another plant or tree to a landscape. Just ensure that whatever is reflected is in sharp focus.
Bye for now.
I was planning to go back up to the Mourne mountains this weekend to an area around the 'Hares gap' that i haven't explored before, but the weather forecast was not good for the type of landscape images I was after (it was pouring with rain) so I decided to use the the rain to my advantage and grab some water droplet shots from my garden.
It's not often the conditions are favorable for these type of shots as often the rain is accompanied by wind, which can make it near impossible to get a macro shot due to your chosen subject swaying about! What you can do however is manually focus and sway 'in time' with the subject and rattle off a few high speed shots. you might get lucky!
The best way though is to shoot between showers and set the camera up on a tripod. Using the tripod will slow you down enough to compose the image properly without rushing it. You can then also use the 'live view' feature (if available) to ensure your focus is spot on.
try and get something of interest in the reflection of the chosen water droplet. It can be anything from another plant or tree to a landscape. Just ensure that whatever is reflected is in sharp focus.
Bye for now.
Tuesday, 14 April 2009
The Mourne mountains revisited
This weekend I took myself off to the Mourne mountains again. It is such a photogenic place and is only around an hour's drive from where I live it's hard to resist, especially when the weather looks so promising.
I truly love this place, it has beauty in a very dramatic and desolate sense. In some parts it almost feels like and looks prehistoric, and it is very easy to forget that civilization surrounds it and is only just around the corner.
The brandy pad is a route I have never taken before. This starts at the foot of Slieve Meelmore and leads up past the hare's gap and up past Slieve Bearnagh. The track was created by smugglers and their heavily laden ponies as they transported illegal goods such as tobacco, spirits and leather inland from the east coast in the 18th and 19 centuries. It was so popular by 1835 that almost half the houses in Hilltown were pubs!
Once at the top of the path you climb over the Mourne wall and are then faced with the most amazing plateau that contains Doan and Slievelamagan. The view the stretches all the way down through and past the silent valley reservior to the sea. This is perfect for panoramic shots.
This area is very popular with hikers and climbers so if you don't want them in your images then you may need to be patient to get a clear uninterrupted view.
I will be returning here again in the near future as I didn't have the time (or the energy!) to explore the hares gap.
All the images are in the Kingdom of Mourne gallery.
Bye for now.
I truly love this place, it has beauty in a very dramatic and desolate sense. In some parts it almost feels like and looks prehistoric, and it is very easy to forget that civilization surrounds it and is only just around the corner.
The brandy pad is a route I have never taken before. This starts at the foot of Slieve Meelmore and leads up past the hare's gap and up past Slieve Bearnagh. The track was created by smugglers and their heavily laden ponies as they transported illegal goods such as tobacco, spirits and leather inland from the east coast in the 18th and 19 centuries. It was so popular by 1835 that almost half the houses in Hilltown were pubs!
Once at the top of the path you climb over the Mourne wall and are then faced with the most amazing plateau that contains Doan and Slievelamagan. The view the stretches all the way down through and past the silent valley reservior to the sea. This is perfect for panoramic shots.
This area is very popular with hikers and climbers so if you don't want them in your images then you may need to be patient to get a clear uninterrupted view.
I will be returning here again in the near future as I didn't have the time (or the energy!) to explore the hares gap.
All the images are in the Kingdom of Mourne gallery.
Bye for now.
Tuesday, 17 March 2009
The Mourne mountains (and B&W conversions)
I went back to one of my favorite photographic haunts this weekend, the Mourne mountain range in Northern Ireland! I have been there many times in the past but it has actually been a year since my last visit. I've had several ideas for pictures in the past but on every visit the weather just hasn't played ball! (does ever in the UK?)
The weather forecast looked like it could be promising with the chance of some of that type of weather that produces excellent conditions for 'god rays'. But unfortunately it wasn't to be. It stayed overcast so I put my B&W head on for the evening!
It's true that most good color pictures make good B&W ones, but overcast conditions make excellent B&W one's and poor color ones!
B&W Conversions
How do you do your B&W conversions? As we all know B&W is all about contrast so after you have added your B&W adjustment layer how do you adjust contrast locally?
There are no right or wrong ways here but some methods are 'cleaner' than others. I used to always have a separate layer for dodge and burn, but I found this time consuming and can sometimes produce a 'patchy' result.
I don't use these tools at all now, not since I realized that these tools are just contrast adjustments in the same way that the curves tool is. Dodging and burning with curves is far easier, quicker and cleaner than the said dedicated tools. The best method I have found is to break your photo into sections such as sky, foreground, background etc, then apply different curves adjustment layers to each. To dodge, simply boost the highlights at the top end of the curve until you get the effect your after, then do the same for the shadows by attenuating the curve at the bottom end.
A variety of black and white / monochrome conversions can be seen in the Mournes in monochrome gallery and the Monochrome landscape and macro gallery.
Bye for now!
The weather forecast looked like it could be promising with the chance of some of that type of weather that produces excellent conditions for 'god rays'. But unfortunately it wasn't to be. It stayed overcast so I put my B&W head on for the evening!
It's true that most good color pictures make good B&W ones, but overcast conditions make excellent B&W one's and poor color ones!
B&W Conversions
How do you do your B&W conversions? As we all know B&W is all about contrast so after you have added your B&W adjustment layer how do you adjust contrast locally?
There are no right or wrong ways here but some methods are 'cleaner' than others. I used to always have a separate layer for dodge and burn, but I found this time consuming and can sometimes produce a 'patchy' result.
I don't use these tools at all now, not since I realized that these tools are just contrast adjustments in the same way that the curves tool is. Dodging and burning with curves is far easier, quicker and cleaner than the said dedicated tools. The best method I have found is to break your photo into sections such as sky, foreground, background etc, then apply different curves adjustment layers to each. To dodge, simply boost the highlights at the top end of the curve until you get the effect your after, then do the same for the shadows by attenuating the curve at the bottom end.
A variety of black and white / monochrome conversions can be seen in the Mournes in monochrome gallery and the Monochrome landscape and macro gallery.
Bye for now!
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Canon EOS 40D and HD video recording
Yes you read the title correctly. Apparently the EOS 40D is capable of HD video recording at 720p and it doesn't even require a hack to the firmware!
To record video you simply connect the camera to a PC via USB, then run a little program that then outputs the current live view image to the folder of your choice as an AVI file in full 720p.
Here's the link to the site:
http://www.canonrumors.com/2009/01/video-with-any-liveview-eos-camera/
I haven't actually tried this for myself so I cannot vouch for the validity of the software or reliability. To me this type of thing is of novelty value only and the ability for a DSLR to shoot video is just not something I am not interested in. In my opinion it is just another sales gimmick or somethinhg to show off. It's not a serious tool for the serious photographer. If you want to shoot video then buy a video camera!
Personally I would much rather the camera manufacturers would spend time improving the photographic features of the cameras instead!
Cheers for now.
To record video you simply connect the camera to a PC via USB, then run a little program that then outputs the current live view image to the folder of your choice as an AVI file in full 720p.
Here's the link to the site:
http://www.canonrumors.com/2009/01/video-with-any-liveview-eos-camera/
I haven't actually tried this for myself so I cannot vouch for the validity of the software or reliability. To me this type of thing is of novelty value only and the ability for a DSLR to shoot video is just not something I am not interested in. In my opinion it is just another sales gimmick or somethinhg to show off. It's not a serious tool for the serious photographer. If you want to shoot video then buy a video camera!
Personally I would much rather the camera manufacturers would spend time improving the photographic features of the cameras instead!
Cheers for now.
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