Black & White (IR) St Andrews

Edgecliff

Castle

South Castle Street

Castle Sands

Oscar

10-month old Oscar was in his happy place chasing tennis balls on the East Sands.

Letting light in on magic… This looked a bit flat, but then I applied a linear gradient mask to the background and desaturated the distance, very satisfyingly giving it more depth.

St Monans

BMX Abduction

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To be honest, when I look at this… I see this:

Overworked Tit

Overworked in the sense that I took a rough noisy image shot through a window and bounced it through multiple exports and Topaz and Photoshop re-workings before getting this. Your approval of this may vary.

Stotfold Mill

And, less interesting, but still something to bear in mind….

BMX Photoshop Extravaganza

Went to the BMX track. It hammered down with rain. Took one. Came home. Spent more time on Photoshop than at the track creating this monstrosity.

Focus Stacking by Swaying Practice

Could not work out how to set up focus-stacking in-camera in the field (or in my studio, if I’m honest) and then read in Frames the (obvious with hindsight) solution of fixing focus, then taking many fast-shutter shots as you lean in (or out). It seems to work a treat - and is especially easy with good-old back-button focus. Loving that.

THAT Time of Year

Oil and Water Experiment 2

Attempt two. Baby oil rather than olive (not a lot of difference.) Best idea is using an iPad for background rather than lighting objects. Also, more generous depth of field. Then - process the shit out of them. Hmm. Main lesson is there’s FAR less control than I imagined.

Oil and Water Experiment 1

Well THIS is much more complicated than it looks! You CANNOT have any muck in your glass dish. It’s hard to get the camera level with the water. It’s difficult to focus. If it’s on the floor (because a lot of water is heavy) it’s hard on the back. There are significant variables in sort of oil, quantity of oil, use of washing-up liquid. Lighting it is difficult. Wow. Will keep trying. Probably.

Open - PDI - 27-4-2023

A lower-scored competition than last time, I think, making me somewhat prouder of these non-winners than of last time’s wins. Somewhat.

Judge - Nick Bowman

Rubha Hanish | 19/20 | Commended

Piscine II | 19/20 | Commended

I loved your swimming pool photo on Thursday Jim. I'd have had it as my winner. I took the judges point about the swimmer being further to the left but if you had taken it then the yacht wouldn't have been in the other space - so he still wouldn't have been happy.

Best wishes, Peter Baker

Rue Saint Vincent | 18/20

On Piscine II the judge correctly pointed out that having the swimmer in the left-side window would balance better with the boat. He’s right, of course.

Rue Saint Vincent was taken on my phone coming out of a restaurant after a day of lugging around an R5 and three lenses in a backpack…..