"Common People" Framed Prints by stonemonki | Redbubble

"Common People" Framed Prints by stonemonki | Redbubble:

I’ve wanted to do a shot like this for a long time, I love candid people shots, when this girl ran into the frame, literally! I couldn’t resist capturing the moment!
Those bilious fluffy white clouds, can often mean dramatic skies and for me I had to go with black and white, when shooting am always thinking about the possibilities of converting my shots into monochrome.
I feel they add more drama and concetrate solely on the subjects in the frame, no colour distraction, just art.

So here I find myself walking around a busy historic market town, this shot was taken in Chester within the city walls I might add!

It's called Annabella it's a boutique which specialises in Wedding Outfits & Occasion Specialists, that is not the reason for the photograph though.

When I shot this, the first thing I noticed was the light in the small dimly lit alleyway and being a (light painter) so to speak, I loved how the light fell on the wall to the right, then the name plate, with 'Annabella' in the dark alleyway. The whole scene suggested 'call-girl', of course it isn't but, you get the idea right!

I'm starting to notice a little more in my surroundings paying particular attention, so when I spotted this I took the shot. In photography people like to be taken some where in an image, and this alleyway takes you to Annabella, but if you didn't commit to said doorway, then you could pass on by. Here is the boutique am sure you will find it an exceptional place to visit for your on line shopping!

I've looked at another website most notably Magnum Photos, Martine Franck recently passed away and she was such a great influential photographer of her time. She was an excellent portrait photographer, and she can list Henri Cartier-Bresson, Yves Saint Laurent, the painter Avigdor Arikha many of her photographs are retro black & white images from my childhood years, yes colour photography was available then, but they look so much more appealing in monochrome.

A favourite shot would be the Slide in Newcastle Upon Tyne, it could be anywhere really in Northern England, but that picture takes me back to my first fight! Incredible I still remember how it panned out even today...how odd but at the same time, very nostalgic.  

So it is with regret that you have passed away, but you will live on through your work.

Thanks for being an influence. Requisite in pace Martine Franck.

So I guess am quite taken with shooting in monochrome, my work is improving and yesterday I received my 'bigger' prints, I was amazed how my shots showed such great detail on a larger scale. Even the grain on the film shots, was fairly even.

Here is one example of another monochrome shot, I did this using Infrared technique, on my digital canon. It's a shot of the Waterloo Bridge, in Betwys-Y-Coed, built during which the battle was thought in 1815.

Wow they're is history in engineering, none more so than in Wales, every where has historic engineering, many of them bridges which span the estuaries and rivers of Wales.

So keep your eyes on the page, because you never know what I'll be shooting next, I may try another IR shot again, I do like the conversion in to monochrome. What I like about it is how it brings out other details in the frame, making the image more appealing.

So until my next visit, Au revoir as Martine Franck might say.

Holiday Blur

Holiday Blur, a photo by rothwell172 on Flickr.

I think really they're two or three messages in this shot, when doing processing for the original shot, the artwork showed a very warm beach, but the sky was threatening...a storm perhaps, yes. However I thought I would play around with the colour levels and darken the pink on the matching sun parasol.

It shouted at me "Wear it Pink" that known charity organisation byword for fight breast cancer.

What I wanted to portray was lifes a beach, and a holiday at the same time, even though a happy and often fond memory can become a blur eventually.

Hence the title 'Holiday Blur'.

Sour Girl

Sour Girl, a photo by rothwell172 on Flickr.

Hey all and thanks for reading! The last few days been hectic awaiting news of did I get the job at totalwarrior an event in the Lake District, which unfortunately they wouldn't pay the way!

Aagh some days are better than others, offers will come and go am sure. You may remember me talking about Ted Forbes an inspirational creator, photographer, blogger and all round nice guy!

On his podcasts which I'm always listening/watching when I get the opportunity, one episode he spoke of metaphors in photography, so as you do you google some examples then it becomes clearer.

So I thought I would do a series a shots, that would focus on metaphors and i've found this very inspiring!

This shot is of a piece called 'Speed' sculpted by Edmund C Thompson, thanks goes to my fellow Flickreeno Jon Gibbons for this information.

I thought the piece looked a lot like a pilot with the headgear and goggles, of course it's apposition leans towards it origin.

For myself though at first glance, i thought of that American band Stone Temple Pilots and thought of the equally impressive track 'Sour Girl', a track that was so out of the ordinary.

Although we should stick to the subject, it reminds me of a pilot, A Stone Temple Pilot.

Sunset on Dinas Mot

Sunset on Dinas Mot, a photo by rothwell172 on Flickr.

So here is the next post, with this frame again I used the Cokin filters. The thing with these Cokin filters rather than using the screw-in type, I feel these are more beneficial for myself.

The screw-in type can be fiddly in wind, however they can be great, but a ten stop screw-in filter is hard to focus through, even though you can use IR AF focus on my canon. I feel these Cokin filters are more versatile.

The benefit is they enable you to focus on the subject, then when you are happy you slide the filter down into place then if necessary re focus, if needs be.

I used three filters for this shot:

Cokin ND8 (Graduated Grey) Very dark but not as dark as my class 14 Welding mask glass filter.
Cokin ND4 (Grey0
Cokin Grad Y1 (Yellow)

I shall be using that welding glass filter soon as I can get myself a spare UV filter, what am going to is take a leaf out of someone else's book so to speak. You can use araldite, to secure the filter onto the glass welding mask filter, then use electricians tape to darken out any permeable light.

Once this is done, I shall shoot a series of shots for the white balance test, similar to infrared IR820nm and then see what the results are like prior to processing.

I would like to post a video soon, to show how I have done this too.

So watch this space.

Seaforth Dusk

Seaforth Dusk, a photo by rothwell172 on Flickr.

Seaforth at dusk the light was amazing, it is a great place to shoot looking across the water.

The colours came from the Cokin filters used, very good they are too! The gradual orange works really well and the ND4 has given the sky a magenta view and certainly contrasts against the shore.

Landscape work has been given a boost with these filters, and you will see how much by viewing the next post.

Have applied for the http://www.totalwarrior.co.uk/photos.php to be a photographer for the event, however they would not meet my fuel expenses! Aagh must be a photographers nightmare!