360 Photo Windmills in my Mind

29th January 2014

The Windmill at Brill Oxfordshire

I assume this is the most photographed windmill in Oxfordshire, I doubt if there are many! This was taken at night in the wind and rain with a 30 second exposure. The lights in the distance I believe are Oxford.

The photo was taken in raw with an idea of using photoshop to improve. I did sharpen and desaturate of colour and that was about it. The light gray on the horizon and surrounding the windmill 'arms' was too difficult to darken so I left it as it is.

I really need some photoshop tuition as I struggle using Youtube tutorials.

I have found the adobe instructions online so hopefully this will assist.

http://download.photoshopelementsuser.com/subscriber/foundationvideos/03_Editor_Layers_Part1.mov

Photo 365 You learn a lot from badly taken pictures

28 January 2014

I had hoped going for a walk in the winter afternoon I would produce a good landscape picture featuring a bleak foreground and dramatic sky. Unfortunately I made assumptions that shooting in raw I could capture anything and make it look good on the computer.

This was not the case. The below photo of a tree and a field and a sky was taken underexposed. I played with various levels and produced a picture that I was disappointed with. It does not look good, it looks artificial and the tree which was very underexposed remains in the shadows.

The tree was meant to balance the rest of the picture and again I do not think it works

If I used layers properly then perhaps I would have done better. Learning layers in elements is a goal and if anyone knows of a website that can assist then please let me know.

I must try harder

360 Photo - Birthday Cards

27 January 2014

We have a large family with numerous nephews and nieces. The challenge for me this year is to produce a birthday card for each of them. And todays offering is three cards I quickly edited in elements so they could be printed and sent.

I had planned to take a photo of a large numbers of fallen apples. Similar to the linked image. However I took the camera minus a memory card, so today no photo.

http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-images-fallen-apples-image6519604

Disappointed I returned home to practice my editing skills using Photoshop Elements 10. Over the year this will be something I want to progress in. Editing does not come naturally to me so I need the practice. The yellow candle, taken at a birthday party yesterday, was sharpened with elements and the below cow was lightened to remove the shadows on the face. I am pleased with the results and look forward to having them printed

Any recommendations on  good programmes on youtube that help with editing with elements will be gratefully received.

Unfortunately the kayak card is grammatically incorrect so I will have to send the card to someone I do not like; that will be my brother.

365 Photo The Eyes Have It

26 January 2014

I took the camera, my Nikon 600 and realised how much I have to learn about this camera. Over the next few weeks I will commit myself to really getting to know the camera and its flash so I can feel comfortable and confident with it. Even today as I used flash and aperture priority it took several attempts to get an interesting photograph. 

I like the picture as in black and white I am drawn to the eyes and as we all knows the eyes are the window to the soul. And this poor soul is obviously concerned about the football score update she is receiving on her mobile.

Tomorrow is a day off so hopefully I will be able to spend some more time composing and editing. 

And if you want more photos of eyes to look at use the following link

http://www.photographyserved.com/Gallery/Your-beautiful-eyes/428809

365 Photos Huntington Disease

24 th January 2014

Today I went to visit my friend Mick who is in Hospital suffering with the awful genetic condition Huntington Disease. I have seen the gradual deterioration of him over the years and it is so difficult for him and his family.

I am running the Silverstone Half Marathon to raise funds for the Huntingdon Disease Association, so if you want to know more then check out their website

http://hda.org.uk/

It was difficult taking the picture - there was little light and I had to use the camera flash - hence the shadow.

I am determined to get to know my camera and be very comfortable with it. Time was short and I did use the preset portrait mode. All I did was to remove one blemish and lose the colour. Perhaps it would be improved with cropping. Any feedback would be appreciated.

365 Photos Laced Up and no where to go.

23 January 2014

Laced Up

A quick photo inspired by Practical Photography. It is very difficult to train laces, and I will try and do better next time. Because of coming home late there was no time to edit or amend the photo. I considered it a priority to have the photo published on the blog. 

I do need to practice with the lighting. I used a lamp and a flash from the camera. There is a lot to learn to get a good photo. 

365 Photos Continue 22 January 2014. Pegged Out to Dry

Wednesday 22 January 2013

It has been a busy day and rushing back to eat and watch some tele has left little time for practising the photography. So I did some still life in the kitchen again using the camera to try and obtain pin sharp still life images. The pegs were lying around and so I used them with a pea taken from the freezer to add some character to the picture. (What ever that means) 

I do need to improve my photo editing as I do not really know what I am doing. All I do is the contrast and light choices. A vine

I prefer the lower image as the underexposure adds a threatening atmosphere. The middle green peg looks intimidating. Not a peg you would want a fight with. I may try and do another still life image with other kitchen utensils tomorrow and see what I can produce.

365 Photos Continue

Tuesday 21January 2014

It has been a hard day. For those wanting to know how the running is going I am glad to say that I ran 7.45 miles on a hilly route and ran 9.14 mins per mile. I was very pleased and hopefully if the weather is kind I will break the 2 hour mark for the half marathon.

The response from my father, who I met after the run, was "I could walk faster than that." Oh well!

I have recently purchased skipping ropes and really enjoy the exercise. I am learning techniques from youtube and there are some very impressive routines which I aspire to complete.

I must be careful with my knee and rest the old body. 

The weather was frosty this morning and there was little wind so I went into the garden to take pics of a spider's cob web. Now spiders are not know for being that intelligent. (Do they have a brain?) You would not want one as a team member in a pub quiz but I am impressed how they build their webs. Praise God for Evolution. 

I used the live screen on my camera to try and focus on the droplets hanging on the gossamer thread but it was so difficult. A breeze not noticeable to the human skin still moved the web about so I could not get the pin sharp focus I desired.

I will have to practice to see what I can do. I used a tripod together with the camera timer to reduce camera shake but the pics are not as good as I wanted. 

For those who want to skip, or for our american friends, jump rope - check the following youtube clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyEXnFeiJAI

365 - A photo a day

20 January

A portrait of a son of a friend. It was very sunny so I used the reflector to prevent shadows on the face. It is a shame because if I had ensured all the sun was blocked and turned the toy so its face was showing then a reasonable photo would have been good.

No editing apart from a crop to remove the overexposed area, and some removal of spots and crumbs

I did try it in black and white but the face became washed out and boring. A great toddler - friendly and content which I think is captured.

I am starting to try and use photo editing including layers to see how I can improve my knowledge and the final result.



19 January 2014

After a few months I thought it was time to get back on, not in, the water. The sun was setting, the sky was clear there was a good opportunity for a good silhouette of a kayaker on the river. Unfortunately by the time we got on the water the sun was set

I used the waterproof camera on programme setting and I could not change the setting wearing my anglers gloves.

So below is the shot taken with little control. The only editing was to reduce the shadows. The colours were not enhanced.

The image was cropped using the rule of thirds.

Other pics were taken but the light was not good and so they were very grainy.


A good time paddling, one day I would like to get a waterproof box for the SLR and see what I can do.













18 January 2014

The last few days have been tiring with working nights and not sleeping. So to celebrate the end of something, not too sure what, we had cheese and biscuits.

I have never really had port before and I am now a fan. It is very rich and comforting. The camera was on a small depth of field and focused on the label to make it more interesting and that is it.

The object in front of the Port is a block of stilton cheese. Possibly the best cheese in the world.

http://www.stiltoncheese.co.uk/

Some have described the relationship of me and wifey as that as stilton and port. Like eggs and bacon we naturally compliment one another. It is a shame that wifey sees herself as the Port.

Please visit the Stilton website - some interesting photographs that I may use as inspiration in photographing food.

I will try and do something more interesting tomorrow.




17 January 2014

16 January 2014 

Is it possible to publish on this blog a photo a day, to record the year - from 16 January 2014 to 15 January 2015?

It will be a challenge and at the end of the year I will be able to do a photo book which will surely be a delight to many. Ideally I will use my Nikon cameras but if I struggle then my smart phone will have to assist. I was tempted to use some old photos and pretend they were done today but being a man of integrity I know that would be wrong and wanting a good night, or days, sleep I will seek to publish on this blog a photo taken on the day listed.

This morning I walked to Tesco's to get a skipping rope as somehow over christmas I lost mine. Hard to believe but its true. I have been skipping to warm up before kettle bell exercises but after seeing some videos on youtube I have been inspired to become an excellent skipper.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlbM7Mew0Ys

Unfortunately Tesco did not have a rope, however I did end up spending £10 on stuff I had no intention to buy. I decided to walk to Tesco's rather than run and I took the camera and tried to take some good pictures of people, dogs and vegetation in the woods as I walked to the store. All have been deleted and resting in the trash waiting for the click that sends them into oblivion. The below pic is the only one remaining. It was taken at speed. I saw the bike approaching. I knew the camera was on shutter priority and with a panning motion took the picture. 

In photoshop elements I sharpened cropped and removed the colour. I still have to learn how to use layers in the photo editing. I do keep practising and watching youtube clips but I am a very slow learner.

I will be taking the Nikon V 1 on my run tomorrow so there will still be photos taken on my regular runs.