Back to Education

Well for the first time in 24 years I am about to go back into the classroom. I have decided that I need a little bit of help with my photography and photoshop skills so have signed up to do a college course. I start my course tomorrow night and am a little bit nervous and also quite looking forward to it at the same time.
I have been learning about photography and photoshop by reading books,reading a few online forums and tutorials and also a lot of trial and error.I think that without some hands on tutoring I have probably gone as far as I can on my own.I think that I am reasonably competent but don`t really have a benchmark to set myself against so will hopefully find out on this course whether I have learned as much as I think I have.
I have a few things that I feel I need a little bit of help with so hopefully I will be able to find the answers on this course.I intend on keeping this blog a bit more up to date in the future too so I can have a sort of timeline to my studies.

"Proper" Stock Photography !

Well it`s been quite a while since I have even had time to post anything on here never mind take any new photos as I have been rather busy doing other things.Still in the last few days I have managed to make a lightbox and also get out with my camera around town and take a few pics of one thing and another.

So first of all these are just 3 of the lightbox pics I took the other day which have been submitted and accepted onto the various stock sites I subscribe to.I had real trouble with the trumpet as no matter which way I tried to photograph it I ended up with reflections I didn`t want.I have quite a few more that I intend to submiy once I have the time to process them.If I am completely honest though I am not sure whether this is the type of photography I want to spend a lot of time doing as without the correct equipment I find it really difficult to get the white balance etc spot on.Maybe I will invest in some proper studio lights and see how I get on with them.

I also have a selection of pictures that were taken on a nice sunny day around town including a few of the old black and white Tudor buildings which seem to be on every corner.They can wait for my next post though which I hope won`t be too long.

Self Portraits

I have not really had time lately to do much with my photography but seeing as how we have had such appalling weather lately I decided that I would try and get the hang of off camera flash.I knew that my D200 had the commander mode and that I could actually do it but as usual I only read the instruction manual when I cannot work out myself how something works.
Anyway earlier today I was playing around with the flash and the effects that moving it around had on my pictures and came up with this self portrait,which I then played around with in photshop to give me the other versions.
I am by no means a master of photoshop but I can do a few basics and am pleased with the end results.

Flowers in The Rain

As it was raining all day today I couldn`t really go far with my camera because I didn`t want to get it or me soaking wet through,I was out in the garden at my mums when I saw this Dahlia all covered in raindrops and thought it would make a nice picture so got my camera out of the car and took a couple of pictures.I like the way the rain reflects the light but I think the pictures could be a little bit sharper.I do like them though and think that for my first try at this kind of picture they look reasonably good.

The Fast and the Furious.

Today we went for a walk in the countryside of Cheshire with some of the family.Thomas my nephew was more than willing to be a model for these pictures which involved him running and jumping over a big mound so I could take some shots on continuous mode with these results in mind.I am sure he had fun but was very tired by the time we finished.The results were very good and I am really happy with how these pictures have turned out and am sure that at least one of them will end up being hung on a wall by at least one of the family.

Roman Ruins of Chester

I decided the other day to have a walk around Chester and visit all the places I never usually bother to go,I am interested in the history of Chester and there are many really interesting relics from the past that you can find without too much effort.I must admit however that most of the historical sites in Chester tend to pass me by as living here you tend to take it all for granted.So for once I thought I would have a look from a tourist point of view and take a few pictures on the way.These Roman stones can be found in the Roman Garden situated between the Ampitheatre and the City Walls.







These are just a few of the Roman artifacts that can be found all around Chester and I wonder whether anything we make today will still be around in 2000 years,somehow I don`t think so !!

Swans In Love

Whilst out walking along the river today I came across this swan just gracefully floating along with the idea in my mind that swans are beautiful things I decided to take a few pictures.This one turned out particularly well and I decided to have a play around with it in Photoshop.I have seen this particular idea done somewhere before and thought I would give it a go and see how I got on.Whilst my Photoshop skills are somewhat limited I do think the final result is not too bad,I have submitted this picture to the carious stock sites and wait with baited breath to see whether it will be accepted and make any sales.