Welcome to Leeds

Welcome to Leeds! 3 minutes from the central shops in Leeds! I was looking for a'commercial' shot of Leeds - and thought this was quite good - what do you think - A bit different from the 'park' shots and I like the feelings of tranquility so close to the usual hustle and bustle I associate with central Leeds - also liked the softness of the colours - the light was especially nice - and very different from the colourings I got earlier and later.....That is actually Leeds Bridge in the background......

The sky's the limit in Leeds!!! who needs New York!!

I would like some help from you guys and Hannah!

Are the daisies better rectangular or square or not special at all!!! - I am having problems deciding what - if anything is commercial and was thinking IKEA poster type of thing....

Trying desperately to come up with stuff for the exhibition - would prefer feedback from other 'students' rather than just David!

Exhibition 11th September

Hannah - Penhale beach

Taken just for giggles :)

Taken at 1/120, ISO 100 and f11.

Taken at 1/400, ISO 100 and f9.

Taken at 1/320, ISO 100 and f9

Taken at 1/300, ISO 100 and f9.

SIlver Sun Ring Photo

This is a ring I made for some one its got a sun design on it and is engraved on the inside with 'my sunshine'.

I was just wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to improve on the photograph, the main problem i have is the reflections, it was taken outside and you can see the reflection of my garden.

the way I've photographed it to make it look as if it is magically floating is by suspending it using some nylon thread within a foam board frame that i made. I photoshoped the threads out by using the rubber stamp tool.

Snowshill Manor, Cotswolds

This chap caught my imagination on a recent trip to the Cotswolds

f18, 1/100 s, ISO 100

Purchase of the day.

Saw this pair of squeaky pigs made by Sherratt & Simpson at an Antiques and Collectors fair in Pudsey they looked so cute I had to have them, some haggling later and they were mine!

I thought Adam and Hannah would appreciate them so I took a photo of them.

Sneaky Hannahs - Adam

Sneaky Hannahs

10 Minutes in PS and a group portrait with out the expense of lots of models :o)

Leeds in Bloom - Harewood House - Adam

Blooming Canvas

Thought I would try so effects and filters in Photoshop. I wanted to take a bright colourful image and turn it into a canvas painting. Personally I like the effect and enjoy having some of my work printed on canvas. Even though a picture only has 2 dimensions I like the way canvas prints adds an extra dimension to an image be it painted or a printed.

Underwater Portraits

I thought I would publish some examples of underwater portraits I have done. Most underwater photography counts as wildlife or landscape photography but you still get to take interesting portraits shots which require the subject to be relaxed and skilled to take a good portrait.

Light and White balance are extremely important when taking underwater shots. The water needs to be very clear of any particles otherwise the image is grainy and you couldn't use a flash or strobe to add light, and in the case of deep water, colour back into the shot.

Self Portrait

1/320s, f7.4, ISO80, 40mm

When the light is this bright, doing self portraits without a tripod or timer is 'easy' but it helps have a long arm :o) 

A sea of graduands

Poster idea for Focus exhibition

Hi All,

Would be interested to know your thoughts. If anybody feels another image within the lens would be 'better', feel free to let me know.

Thanks

David

Brief 7 - Portraits - Adam

After unfortunately missing last weeks session I hope to see some of the top pictures from Roundhay posted on the Blog soon.

For this weeks Brief I chose a portrait shot I took in Manhattan last weekend.

This Photo is of a street performer next to Battery Park near South Ferry if you are familiar with the NYC Geography.

I spoke to the gentleman and he kindly posed for a number of shots. This one is my favourite shot.

Music Man

1/640s, f7.1, ISO400, 24mm

The photo below is a the same as the one above prior to the crop.

This shot provides more information about the individual as you can see his money case and that he is sitting on the concrete floor playing in the street.

I believe the crop above is a more emotional shot than this one but it depends on the person which they prefer.

As I was in New York I also added a few landscape shots to this week's brief

Soggy Times

1/85s, f2.8, ISO400, 24mm

I very warm and wet evening in Times Square.

I really enjoy looking at this photo over and over. The contrast between the grey wet streets with the colour in the square makes this almost a poster shot. The rushing tourists and locals with their umbrellas up going about their day adds to the energy with no one person's face recognisable to distract from the overall image.

Empire of the Sun

1/550s, f5.0, ISO100, 24mm

A chance happening on the Empire State Building whilst I was lazily wandering down 5th Ave.

This Photo gave me a sense of grandeur of this relatively old and famous sky scraper. Most images are taken with an arial view or from a neighbouring building but this was taken from ground view up! 

Having a wide angle lens is a must in New York City.

 Follow the Yellow Stripped Road

1/320s, f5.6, ISO100, 140mm

View from the top of the Empire States Building, looking down. 

As you can see I zoomed in quite far to add some detail of the street below. I chose this shot because of the long straight lines and the contrasting dark shadows of the buildings each side of this bright yellow avenue. A shot not to everyones tastes but a nice perspective photo.

Liberty at Large

1/320s, f6.4, ISO100, 69mm

A trip to NYC wouldn't be complete without including it's most famous french lady.

I chose this photo out of all the other shots because it gave the statue a sense of grandeur by including a ring of tourist around the base.

I know that when I first saw the Statue of Liberty in person many years ago I was underwhelmed by the size as it always was portrayed as much larger in the media and I know many other people have felt the same. This picture for me gave me back a bit more sense of enormity of the structure. Also using a polarised filter made a very nice Blue Sky backdrop.

magnificent men in flying machines

I applied for tickets but have been unsuccessful - who has some and have we enough or are we changing plans?? Also was this week's portrait supposed to have Jewish content ?? I DID have a lewd offer from 4 teenage boys when I mentioned my task, but declined - and they weren't anticipating wearing kippot!! I should have lined them up anyway but.............

Granny P

Red Bull Flugtag

Hi all,

After today's session I mentioned to both David C and Darren S that I'm planning on going to the Red Bull Flugtag next Sunday (where people fall into the Roundhay Park lake in a crazy contraption in the hopes that it will actually fly) both Darren and David seemed interested in going for both fun and the photographic opportunity it presents so David suggested the possibility (if we can all get hold of tickets) to go as a group and then have our usual meeting later on on the day.

If that's of any interest I have 3 spare tickets at the mo' and am trying to get some more, if we are all interested i urge you to all to apply for tickets asap they are free but there is a ballot to get them so no guarantees you will get any but if we all apply for 4 each im sure we will be able to easily get enough between us for everyone.

Here's the link:

http://www.redbull.co.uk/cs/Satellite/en_UK/Red-Bull-Flugtag-2011/001242980500328?roundhaypark.org.uk

Once on the red bull page there should be a link to the right of the screen which takes you through to ticket master where you need to follow the instructions remembering to apply for 4 tickets though.

Thanks,

Paul.

This is my favourite- f5, 1/60s, ISO 400, with flash

Portraits of my grandson Rafi aged 2 years 6 months

Most of the photos were taken at about 2.00 pm on an overcast day but with the subject facing the incoming light from a large window. Flash was used to supplement the natural light.