Photo Art

Summer boat

2009-09-21T13:51:00.003+01:00

A quick shot of a boat on the south coast of England during a recent sunny spell of weather. Shooting into the sun like this is known as contre-jour, and it can give some quite nice effects as the sunlight reflecting on the waves in this shot. This picture was an opportunistic one, taken very quickly using the automatic light meter settings. If the picture looks too dark, using the adjust setting on the camera, if you have one, and opening up the f/stop by one or two will usually give the right effect. If you are unsure and have the opportunity, take two or three shots at different f settings and select the best one later. It is almost impossible to get the horizon square and level, but of course the sea horizon is ALWAYS level, so once the shot is selected, rotaing the shot in software such as Photoshop is vital. Go to Image/rotateimage/arbitary and enter a number (in this case 2) to rotate the image clockwise or anticlockwise by that number of degrees.

Bored with photography

2009-07-05T14:27:00.001+01:00

Sometimes it gets me that way! I am bored with it all. This year I just cannot summon up any enthusiasm for photography. I have hardly taken my camera out at all, and just not been able to find any inspiration. I have been busy studying and I guess that has taken my interest in part away from my hobby of taking photos. If this malaise affects you sometimes, then don't be disheartened! Eventually I find that I return to my hobby with a fresh creativity and enthusiasm. Still, I will be on holiday soon, so it may be that the new locations will provide me with some inspiration.

Portmerion - The 'Village'

2009-04-23T13:22:00.003+01:00

Who is number 1?

You are number 6!

I am not a number - I am a free man! I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed or debriefed!

What a great series the Prisoner is, with Patrick MacGoohan as Number 6 imprisoned in The Village - a community whose location is unidentifiable.

And what a great place Portmerion is, the location used for the 1960's series, situated just a few miles out of Portmadoc. If the weather is fine and the sky is clear and blue, then one might be in the mediterranean instead of on the North Wales coast. I love this place, with its quirky architecture...there is a photo opportunity around every corner.

And of course there is the Prisoner shop, full of souvenirs and memorabilia from the series. Just watch out for Rover....

Southport pier

2009-03-31T17:30:00.004+01:00

Building on the pier at Southport, Lancashire, England. I was just struck by all the the angular lines of this scene. Even the sun helps to make yet more angular shadow lines. If I was going to do anything to this picture, it would be to increase colour saturation and remove the people at the right of the shot.

Railway Sheds at Bridgnorth, Shropshire

2009-03-30T10:52:00.004+01:00

One of the things I love about digital cameras is that they are much more responsive to low light. On film, I would have had to have used a tripod and very slow shutter speed to get this shot, or else I would have had to have used flash which would have given an artificial effect. I managed to get this picture of a Great Western Tank engine in the workshops at Bridgnorth on the Severn Valley Railway using a hand-held camera.

CONFIDENTIAL

2009-02-09T16:51:00.003Z

CONFIDENTIAL,

Photomontage Spoof 1950's scandal magazine. Winter in England is a time that in the main, my camera is packed away in it's case. Unless we get some snow or bright frosty days, then the landscape to me is dull and unattractive. So between November and March, I tend to spend my hobby time on the computer, and this photomontage is the sort of project I find myself doing. I quite like those scandal mags from the 1950's, so this little spoof has been made up using photoshop. The 'Boy trapped in refrigerator eats own foot' gag is from the movie 'Airplane'.

Lyme Park

2009-01-16T13:35:00.003Z

Lyme Park, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Another stark shot at Lyme Park in Cheshire. The important elements in the composition here are the tree, the tower, the figure and the rock. Positioning the horizon low in the frame gives a feeling of space and expanse. It was important to get the base of the tree standing out against the sky, as opposed to being obscured by the background landscape.

Trees

2009-01-16T13:31:00.006Z

Trees, originally uploaded by foto-art.

A stark black and white shot taken at Lyme Park, in Cheshire, England. For some reason last year I got into black and white photography - something I have not done much of in over forty years of taking pics. I know that colour pics can easily be changed to black and white on photoshop, but sometimes I think that effect is better using the black and white mode on the digital camera. The difference between takling and colour and black and white as far as the photographer is concerned consists of learning to 'see' in black and white - which means picking out shapes and textures rather than areas of hue and colour.

Pyramid fantasy

2009-01-16T13:31:00.004Z

Pyramid fantasy, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Another photomontage. I am always looking for shots like this with unusual or ruined buildings that have open doorways or windows where a montage element can be added. I nearly always favour the rather formal composition by photographing the building head on.

Priestess fantasy

2009-01-16T13:30:00.002Z

Priestess, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Another photomontage fantasy. I quite the fun irreverence of this image.

Posts on frozen lake

2009-01-16T13:28:00.002Z

Posts on frozen lake, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Another fairly minimalist shot taken spontaneously. I would have liked to have taken a lower vantage point but then I could not avoid the houses on the other side of the lake.

Donkeys at the seaside

2009-01-14T20:43:00.002Z

donkeys, originally uploaded by foto-art.

I love the emptiness and slight bleakness of this shot, which sums up the coastal resort of Blackpool in Lancashire on a cold, windy autumn day. This was taken while out for a walk on the beach and little has been done to it afterwards: It was rotated slightly to get the horizon level; It was slightly cropped to remove a group of people in the background on the extreme left; Colour saturation was also increased slightly. Notice again the rule of thirds and the formality of the composition.

Cyclist

2009-01-14T20:41:00.002Z

cyclist, originally uploaded by foto-art.

I find that when I go out with my camera, a certain amount of spontaneity is required. I do not usually go out to take a particular, planned image, but rather to walk with my camera, having a more open, receptive mind than usual; with a sensitivity, openness and awareness to images, shapes and colours around me. This is just such a spontaneous shot, the whole thing taken in less than a second. I walked to the side of this guy, became aware that he would soon be in silhouette, stopped at the right the moment, turned and snapped this contre-jour shot. I seem to be in a black and white phase so the image is black and white and not in colour. In Photoshop, I went on to Images/Adjust/Auto Contrast and this made the image even more dynamic.

Poppies - Photoshop tutorial - Variations

2009-01-14T20:40:00.002Z

poppy, originally uploaded by foto-art.

This photoart image is one of a series of poppy art pictures that I have done. Originally, this was a more formal composition involving a fuller view including the china vase in which the poppies are standing. However, a more minimalist approach seemed more effective and so the image was considerably cropped to produce this simpler, but I think, more effective image. The loss of resolution and definition by such severe cropping does not adversely affect an art effect picture, and indeed may enhance it by increasing the art effect. Warmth is essential to this image and the original weas a little cold in colour, so the whole image was 'warmed up' in photoshop in Images/Adjust/Variations. More yellow and red were added to create the necessary summer warmth.

Statues

2009-01-14T20:39:00.002Z

Statue, originally uploaded by foto-art.

I love these old gravestones in local cemetries; they have a beauty an sometimes an eroticism all of their own. Alas many of them are falling into disrepair or have been vandalised so over the last few years I have taken photos of the more interesting ones, especially with an eye to this kind of montage work. This image is one that I had not planned but arose as I was looking at various images and elements. What I like is the contrast between the shiny sleek figure on the left and the the rougher stone figure on the right, creating a slightly surreal and erotic image. Thus I do not close my mind to creativity after the image is taken, but continue to thing of different ways of cropping or enhancing images on the computer, especially at this time of the year, whicj in England is rather dull, damp and cold, so outdoor photography is minimised and darkroom/computer work emphasised until the better light and weather comes along.

Abbey montage

2009-01-14T13:19:00.006Z

Abbey montage, originally uploaded by foto-art.

This is another of my photomontage projects using Photoshop. This one looked better in black and white. The various elements are built up on layers, and one important factor is the direction of light and shadow. I try to make my photomontages look as though they could be real...they do not necessarily appear as obvious montage work, or I at least try to leave the viewer guessing. Conflicting directions of light and shdow between elements is an obvious give away.

Fantasy castle montage

2009-01-14T13:19:00.004Z

Fantasy castle montage, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Well this is the kind of thing that has tended to make up my projects recently. It is a further development of one of a technique used in one of the first posts on this blog, 'the pleasure of martyrs'. This has been constructed on Photoshop using various elements and layers. I did two versions of this, one in colour and one in black and white, but I thought that the colour one looked better.

Civil war art effect

2009-01-14T13:17:00.002Z

Civil war art effect, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Civil war re-enactment by Sealed Knot Society. The Sealed Knot is a group that stages re-enactments of English Civil War battles, like this one at Nantwich in Cheshire, held every year on a weekend at about mid January. One technique for these kinds of images is getting rid of modern objects in the background such as cars, pylons or modern buildings, so choosing your vantage point and framing is very important. This image was slightly cropped to get rid of a spectator barrier in the foreground. It was then further cropped for artistic balance, to create a sense of momentum and movement again using the rule of thirds. I felt that this image was further enhanced by using the art effects described elsewhere on this blog.

Misty trees

2008-04-06T11:47:00.002+01:00

Misty trees, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Misty winter sunrise near Rode Heath, Cheshire, England.

Winter trees in the snow

2008-04-06T11:46:00.002+01:00

Winter trees in the snow, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Trees in winter snow near Rode Heath, Cheshire, England

Winter snow field and trees

2008-04-06T11:44:00.003+01:00

Winter snow field and trees, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Winter snow on a field and trees near Rode Heath, Cheshire, England. The only fall of snow that we have had this winter! An early morning walk saw a couple of photo opportunities before the sun rose too high and began to melt the snow.

Fence and sand dune at Formby Point

2008-04-06T11:42:00.002+01:00

Fence and sand dune, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Sand dune and fencing at Formby Point, England. Winter storms and high spring tides had taken their toll on the landscape at Formby Point, and the in some places the dunes had been considerably eroded since I was last there only a few months ago. This area is owned by the National Trust and they were working hard at conserving this area of Britain's coast.

Sand dune tree

2008-04-06T11:40:00.002+01:00

Sand dune tree, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Wind swept tree on the beach at Formby Point, England. I love these stark and barren images though I must admit that I am getting ready now to see some leaves on the trees to give a splash of colour and to soften the landscape.

Dune fence and wire

2008-04-06T11:38:00.002+01:00

Dune fence and wire, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Dune fence and wire at Formby Point, England. late March saw another trip to Formby Point near Southport in England. It was an unexpectedly sunny day so I managed to get a few more shots of the sand dunes on the beach here.

Dead leaf

2008-03-25T09:26:00.002Z

Dead leaf, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Dead leaf at St.Paul's church, Burton on Trent, Staffordshire.

I find it interesting that having spent a whole day in Burton on Trent with the aim of taking some photos, the only one I came back with that I liked was this one, which could be anywhere. Actually it ended up being a dull, cold, windy day so some of the shots that I might have taken were just not bright and colourful enough. Burton, like many industrial towns in England is clearly suffering from decline through the loss of industry and manufacturing, though it does remain a large centre for brewing ale. Add to all this the fact that I was coming down with a flu-like virus and well, let's say that what creative leaning I have was somewhat dulled. But I saw this shot immediately, and just got right down on the floor and in quite close. I liked the contrast between the formality and greyness of the architecture on the one hand, the the colour, naturalness and curvature of the leaf on the other. Yet the whole thing retains that element of death and decay that seemed to capture for me both the feel of the weather and the town on that day.