Tuesday 19 November 2013

Creative Stuff

At the Cambridge Camera Club - Aperture Group (a group that meets to discuss photo's and critique distinction panels etc) we have been looking and discussing Photographic Art. This is not 'straight out of the camera photography' and involves manipulating photos in some way. In fact there must be a photograph as a starting point, it cannot be a 'piece of art' created solely  in Photoshop etc. 

We have had some interesting speakers, in particular Dianne Owen FRPS, that have caused quite a bit of discussion. 

At Last Weeks Cambridge Camera Club Digital Techniques Group the evening was devoted to looking at how these Photo Art Images are created. Use of textures, multiple layers with different blending modes, creating your own Photoshop brush etc. The challenge was to go away and have a go and take some Photo Art Images along to the next Aperture meeting this coming Thursday. 

So I had a bash. Its something that has always interested me. Still very early days and none of these images would stand up to close inspection. A lot of care must be taken when cutting out and blending and I am still learning.



This is Welney Wet Land Trust - I warmed the photo up and added the two birds - These birds will star in another composition below.

Converted to monochrome and used a few special effects filters to enhance the contrast and drama

Two Photos from Norwich Cathedral. One a straight photo, the second was from an exposure I made with 'Intentional Camera Movement'. Joining these two photos together and 'warping' a bit I though this was quite surreal. I added my daughter from a photo of about 8 years ago in the bottom left corner and added 'The Two Birds'.
- Make of it what you wish :)

This was from an HDR photo in Margate. I had pushed it beyond normal limits to create a dramatic sky and gritty feel. At the time I did it I thought maybe I should put something in the sky - probably not original. After looking for 'a / some hands' I found this one.

The texture background comes from our greenhouse. I have collected texture photos for many years and not really done anything with them abort from keyword them in Adobe Lightroom asTextures.The foreground is from a tabletop session at the Cambridge Camera Club a few years ago where the items where placed on a light-box..

Glass of wine photo, vintage early 'noughtys' , Back ground layer from a resultant we where out in deliberately blurred in the camera. The wine glass is now sitting on a bit of our kitchen work surface rather than floating in the air. Edges and making sure things have something to sit on are my next techniques to learn.


Two Photos of a 'Beam Tetrode' electronic valve from the early 70's. It went in an accessory (Curie Point Pyrolyser) made by Pye Unicam where I worked at the time. This Valve sat on my Desk for many a year while I was there and when they closed my department down and most stuff went to the skip, this left with me and now sits in my office at home. I took the photo and added the texture background which was a piece of old cloth..

Background is our ruffled bed sheet, the foreground flower again from the tabletop evening at the Cambridge Camera Club. I created a Photoshop Brush of 'My Name' and signed this one. You never know in a hundred years it might be worth something!


These last two photo images have a background created as a Photoshop Brush and applied to the image. The flowers were from a deliberately out of focus shot and the watch was made up from the image itself. 

Good or Bad - I really enjoyed this exercise.

Wednesday 13 November 2013

Norwich Cathedral post #03 - Around the Cloisters

Norwich Cathedral has the second largest cloisters in the UK - after Sailsbury.
(While I was here I thought of Ian Wilson - 1. His cloister photo from the CCC exhibition recently inspired this angled shot and 2. There were a lot of 'Green Men' around)







The Norwich Green Man.........








Tuesday 12 November 2013

Norwich Cathedral post #02 - Stained Glass Windows

I have to admit that the stained glass windows in this Cathedral are stunning. The window as you walk in and arrive at the west end is overwhelming.



The West Window







Monday 11 November 2013

Norwich Cathedral post #01 - General

While Sue was away in Margate I decided to take a train ride to Norwich Cathedral. This is the first of 4 posts on this wonderful cathedral


































Cambridge University Botanic Garden with the Camera Club

Saturday 17th Feb 24 - Sue and I met up with other members of the Cambridge Camera Club at the  Cambridge University Botanic Garden .