November 8, 2008 • 6:21 pm
AP Diploma Wildlife Module is near completion
An update regarding the Amateur Diploma Module: After much deliberationa nd work the module is near it’s final stages and ready for submission within the next few days. Once the articles is done, I will post a watered down version of it on the blog so other students can see the type of work I have submitted.
I am also messing about with some new styles of designs for a few portrait shots I have taken recently, using half tones in an attempt to reflect a bit of art work.
Wacom Tablet
I have spent some time this week looking into the possibility of introducing a Wacom Tablet to my workflow to help in the digital darkroom process. I saw the tablet being used on a Layers TV Episode, hosted by Corey Baker from Kelby Media Group. After an excellent review of the items available in todays market, I have narrowed it down to one of two. A little bit more research and a final decision will be made. I will post my result here and add it to the equipment list that I am currently working on.
Equipment List
This is near completion although just requires a little tweeking here and there. I didn’t want to produce a list of just text, rather a more visual look of the type of equipment I am currently using. As soon as the item is completed I will publish it for viewers to use as reference to links placed in my blog.
Filed under: Editor
October 5, 2008 • 4:41 pm
To finish this extra weekend off, a final message needs to go to our wonderful daughter Amy. Happy Birthday darling as you reach the grand age of 20. This seemed the most appropriate image to post seeing your celebrating it a Uni with all your fellow students. From all of us at home, thank you for your commitment so far, the wonderful delight you have brought on all of us and the determination and integrity you have to continue to achieve the results you do, well done. We all miss you, but look forward in watching you achieve what you want – with a little help from Auntie Em of course! Keep up the excellent start that you have begun since you left the safe haven called home. Happy Birthday darling!
Filed under: Editor
September 22, 2008 • 10:39 am
Ok, so the image has been completed and I am pleased with the result, composition and lighting. I wanted an image that was hard in the lighting, emphasis placed on the top and then as the eye worked downwards, the opacity of the lighting faded away. Using the three SB 800’s helped achieve this for me.
The set consisted of a 6′ x 6′ black velvet Lastolite background that folds away into a relatively small bag. When it opens up, it takes it’s natural shape, a large square. I raised this off the floor slightly to allow for the height and positioned a chair in front of it, so I could work out the posture I wanted.
I placed the D3 about ten feet away from the chair, using a tripod and a Nikon 70mm – 200 f2.8 VR lens. The camera settings were Manual Mode f5.6 at 1/60 sec. ISO 200 and Auto WB. The focal length was 74mm.
The secret to gettig the image I wanted was down to the lighting and the position of the SB800’s. The main / key light was placed camera left high up, looking down towards me with a 110 inch transulent umbrella to help soften the light, all placed about five feet away from the subject. The second light was a fill light placed on a floor stand, also camera left and just below the Key Light. The third light was used to seperate the background and the subject, to try and give it a bit more depth.
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Filed under: Author, Editor
September 21, 2008 • 10:26 pm
A late post for a Sunday night, but I have just finished the image that I wanted to take for the main home page for the portfolio site. I shot the image using a Nikon D3 and a Nikon 70mm – 200mm f2.8 lens. The lighting was done with three Nikon SB-800’s, on two lastolite light stands. A large 110 inch translucent umbrella was attached the the main light. The kick light and floor light had diffusers placed over the main flash. I shot it in manual mode at f5.6, shutter speed 1/60 sec.
More details of how I did the shoot, the workflow that I did in the digital darkroom and the equipment I used will be posted at the start of the week. For now though, here’s the completed image above, set on the main background for the home page.
Filed under: Author, Editor
September 19, 2008 • 3:27 pm
Today, Friday, I am just putting together the style I want for the front part of my portfolio. A self portrait, harder than I first thought but hopefully I can achieve the effect I am after. It needs to be crisp and clean without fuss or distractions. I have the basic idea, it’s now time to put it into practice and see what I can achieve form it. Once complete I hope it will take it’s place on the main portfolio site. As part of the learning process I will give details, along with the final image, of how I achieved it and the set up I used, both in capture and post processing. So the next entry should be the final version, where I hope some feedback will be received as to it’s rating.
Filed under: Editor, Updates
September 18, 2008 • 7:19 pm
So the first post of the blog is published and here it is. A difficult one to start with, trying to explain the type of images I am currently taking, trying to explain what work flow I use and why it’s best for me, not to mention the literature that is available to read, not only about the capturing process but the also the digital dark room process that seems as important as the original raw file.
The blog has been designed around the principles of so many others; it’s a radio for speaking my thoughts and ideas, it’s a record of where I am at at the moment in the vast world of amateur photography. As it all develops and the content is published I hope that readers not only find articles of interest, but may pick up some ideas, may use references from within to guide them in their determination to produce the image that hits the money.
My interest in photography has developed over the years, however I began to take the matter seriously about two years ago and after reading so many interesting articles and being inspired by so many different photographers and developers, the magnetism of the whole subject drew me in. Creativity is something I am developing, a tool that I cannot just pick up and use when it suits me; rather use it and learn from the many mistakes that I have made along the way. Making mistakes not only seems part of the learning process but inevitable in all the different subjects I look into. However, by making the mistakes and learning from them seems to be the best tool I have at the moment. As all of this has developed and I try to take not only my experiences further, but my qualifications also; the equipment to do the job right has also grown. This, I will be able to explain in detail as the site develops.
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Filed under: Collections, Editor, Landscape
