Info

Projects

I have a number of ongoing projects, which may be loosely classified as either macro or landscape.

In the macro camp we have the extensive and long-running “Flowers” series, which again breaks down into colour and mono series. Images for these are captured in our garden and at various NT properties round about, with the odd wildflower thrown in for good measure. The style of these images has varied over the years, from high depth of field portraits against plain backgrounds to more pictorial images with narrow DoF and selective focus.

In 2015, I’ve been shooting handheld, using the rear screen rather than the view finder, to which I was very resistant for a long time. This is all great for speed and spontaneity – enabling the “Mini-beasts” series for example – and has precipitated a return to colour. Mono is essentially a product of my pretentions, which isn’t to say that it hasn’t produced some worthwhile images.

Regarding landscape, there’s a grab bag of images made whilst I’m out and about, but there are certain places that I return to over time – Shapwick Heath, Cheddar Reservoir, Nyland Hill and so on – which provide generic rural landscape scenes. My “Trees” series fits in here as well, but is a little on the sparse side, as few of my images work.

I also have a nocturnal urban landscape series which has been running since the winter of 2014. A significant proportion of this series is comprised of images of the Clifton Suspension Bridge, but I intend to diversify this when the darker nights return.

I also have an ongoing theme – it is a theme, rather than a series – entitled “People”. I’m not sure about the definition of this, apart from the fact that it started with the vague sense that I should include more human beings in my image. I don’t post images of my family – a conscious decision, made due to the internet being what it is – so that leaves members of the public. But I would hate to think that I’m doing reportage or street photography, so whatever it is, it’s not those things.

Capture

I have three Sony camera bodies: an Alpha 100, Alpha 550 and an Alpha 77. The Alpha 100 is effectively retired and the Alpha 550 is on its way out, but still gets employed for some outdoor shoots. The Alpha 77, bought in 2012, is my main camera of choice at the moment.

My most recent acquisition is a Sony Cybershot RX100 MkIII, which has largely replaced my Alpha 550. 

I have three lenses: the kit lens that came with the Alpha 100, a Tamron Di II AF 18-250mm f3.5-6.3 Macro superzoom and a Sigma EX DG 50mm f2.8 Macro. I use the Tamron for landscape and the Sigma for macro and portrait work.

I have Hoya Pro1 Digital MC Protector filters on the Tamron (ø62mm) and Sigma (ø55mm) lenses.

I have a Manfroto 190XB aluminium tripod with a 390RC2 head.

My Alpha 77 gets carried around in a Crumpler Muffin Top, which is a gorgeous shade of red, but otherwise a bit useless – limited space and dubious weather protection. I also have a Lowepro Nova Mini AW, which has lots of room and fantastic protection against water ingress, which I use when I’m out and about for any length of time. And I have a Jessops own brand tripod bag, for good measure.

Other bits and bobs: I have a Sony remote release, which thankfully works with all three bodies, a hotshoe mount spirit level – mostly for the A550, the A77 has an electronic level as a display option.

Processing

Software: I use RawTherapee for RAW conversion, which I use to create TIFFs. I then import these into GIMP. From there I create an edited TIFF and high quality JPEG – usually scaled down to 1000 x 664 px - for publication. If I’ve created any additional layers during processing, which I usually do, I save a GIMP native format (XCF) file.

Workflow: I perform exposure and white balance correction in RawTherapee. Once the image is in GIMP, I correct the levels and remove any blemishes – the A550’s sensor is quite dirty - using the clone tool. I might also apply some corrections using curves. Then, it depends what sort of treatment I’ve decided upon. I might perform a mono conversion using the channel mixer, for example. Whatever, I usually add an overlay layer as the last element – this increases the contrast and saturates colours nicely.