Apr

Picture Retouching. Digital Chainsaw

Picture Retouching A Digital Chainsaw

How picture retouching enabled an uncluttered view.

I remember first being at this location photographing this tree high above Lyndos town in around 2004 when I was still capturing the world on film.
13 years later I found myself once again in the same spot admiring the same tree and the amazing views that this ancient citadel offered of the stunning coast below.
I couldn’t resist capturing the scene again but I soon remembered as I composed the image through the viewfinder the same problem I had experienced all those years ago it was very cluttered.
To capture the tree and wonderful view meant a messy composition consisting of branches from adjacent trees and there was no other angle or option despite my efforts.
I decided to capture the scene and reconfigure a few elements later in post-production to get the image I had visualised.

The picture retouching work was pretty straight forward consisting mainly of removing the obtrusive branches and replacing the sky which was the only element not from the original scene but captured a mile or so away on another day.

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Original Scene

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Scene Post Some Trimming.

Jul

Location Photography, Exploring Locations, The Fun Of Not Having A Plan

As a location photographer, I love to plan and create images of places especially abroad.
Sometimes the planning is required to create complex composites from multiple images.

Sometimes the planning is simply a location scout, working out the time of day to shoot and checking the weather etc.
The final image can be a single frame like the one below with simple colour grading and tonal adjustments to help create emotion and direct the viewer’s eye through the image.

Sometimes however the best photographic fun is to be had by planning nothing and simply getting to a location and then to follow your nose.

Jun

Lifestyle Portrait Photography, Capturing Mr Butt.

Mr Butt window cleaner Captured in Burnham On Sea Somerset circa 1993.
I can’t remember the exact year I did this lifestyle portrait but I do remember running home in excitement like a big girl to grab a 5×4 camera to do the shot!.
I had wanted to create a lifestyle portrait of this lovely chap for a while and I finally seized the opportunity.
I set up the large format camera hastily (well as hastily as you can with a 5×4) in front of what I felt was a perfect backdrop for colours.

A large-format camera is not something you would use for most of my work as a lifestyle photographer but the quality of tone and detail is simply amazing.

Jun

Somerset Uncovered, Village Cricket.

Another Time-Lapse video from my project Somerset Uncovered.
I had been wanting to test out a new bit of equipment on location to aid my shooting Time-Lapse videos and the perfect opportunity arrived this week.
With a beautiful evening forecast that looked like delivering a stunning sunset this would be perfect test conditions.
My son was playing a Cricket match at the village cricket club which is situated in beautiful surroundings.
I wanted to capture the setting sun and the match within my composition so I arrived and located the perfect spot.
Not really being a follower of Cricket and the rules I asked how long was left and told the home team were now starting to bat so could be a while..perfect !
I had only shot for about 10 minutes when suddenly everyone shook hands and disappeared. Apparently they won the game with just a few runs so nobody else was required to bat so they all buggered off home!.
Not too worry I decided to keep shooting as my hunch at a fantastic sunset still looked promising so I stayed another 50 minutes and was glad I did as the sky was incredible.

[su_vimeo url=”https://vimeo.com/341102387″ width=”1600″ height=”720″]

Feb

Interior Dilemma

In this day and age we are told it’s all about “The Brand” and being known as a specialist in a particular area.
I’m no different my strength and biggest passion are definitely in capturing people on location .
Does this mean I’ve never been able to shoot anything else ? of course not in fact I used to photograph cars for many years. On the back of this I also got involved very early on into HDR
image based lighting for the rendering of Computer Generated Images for the automotive industry.
I’ve also had clients ask me to captured things that I definitely would not consider my strongest areas or ever promote to be a specialist in such as food.
Obviously I always explain this to the client and if they still want me to do the job and I’m happy I can do a good job I’ll do it. I’m only capable of this because I’ve been around a bit and confident in my craft and knowledge of lighting etc.
Interiors are another genre I have done for many years and still do.
I’ve resisted putting this work on my main website until now due to the concern that it might dilute my specialist areas of Travel & Corporate Lifestyle.
However it’s an area I get asked to shoot a lot and enjoy plus it does have some crossover into the Travel market so I’ve added some of this work as a gallery Luxurious Interiors.

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Food-photography-commercial-photographer-somerset

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Kitchen-photographer-glass-and-grey-workspace

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Papilio-champagne-chiller-kitchen-photography

May

Young Fun In The Sun.

A few weeks ago I produced a mature travel lifestyle photoshoot Mature Travel In The Pesky Sun.
Following on from this I decided to capture another travel shoot this time with a younger more upbeat concept.
My models Tristan & Robyn were in their early twenties and quickly built a great rapport. On all the shoots I do my aim is to not only get the brief nailed (and some) while making the production as fun as possible. This was especially true on this shoot, in fact, my pre-shoot chat was simply let’s have fun!
Tristan & Robyn built a great rapport very quickly and my job was made much easier as a result. This really underlines the importance of having the right models that not only look the part but have the right personalities.

Jan

Summer Of 92, Venice Beach

I captured this image way back in the summer of 1992. I was enjoying the last few days of my summer touring the USA and ended it at Venice Beach in California.I spotted this lifeguard called Trec patrolling on his tower on the beach and politely asked if I may take his portrait. During the shoot and the usual exchange of polite conversation Trec with some pride told me he was 36 years old which as you can see from the image was a big surprise.

Jan

A Lifestyle Photographer Surviving In The Bush…

Not sure about you but it scares me slightly to where time seems to go, does it speed up as you enter your thirties? I reckon so.
As I look through the thousands of images I’ve captured over the years many feel like they were completed in the months previous when in fact some were captured well over 25 years ago.
This particular image comes from a lifestyle photography production completed a few years ago. It blends the rustic beauty of Exmoor with two gorgeous female models with the concept being about friendship and survival.
Having spent nearly 3 decades now capturing images, I myself often feel a little like a survivor!… it’s not easy but then the best jobs never are.

Dec

Feeling Festive In Venice.

I captured this image on a very memorable sunny but cold weekend in Venice in 2004. It was a few days before Christmas and the majority of Venice was dressed ready for the festivities with lights & decorations. As dusk approached the whole place transformed into an adults Christmas grotto which was an incredible sight. This was my first time on a trip with my digital camera gear and so I was eager to explore and test its capabilities, especially handheld in very low light. This off the cuff image shows a Gondolier waiting at end of the day on one of the many small rustic bridges that Venice is abundant with. Technically this isn’t perfect, but I do love the ambience that it captures at that magical time of day which is actually neither truely day or night but as I like to call it the edge of darkness.

Nov

Capturing Contre-jour in Sa Coma

I love to travel,explore new places,meet new people and of course capture them. This image came from a recent family break in Majorca Spain a few weeks ago. I’m no stranger to Majorca having visited several times in recent years but like anywhere there is always something new to find and experience if you are prepared to look.

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