You Are Not A Photographer

No, not YOU. You clearly are....that's why you came on the course, right?

However, I came across a site recently that I am sure you'll all enjoy. Then, I want you all to promise that you will never, EVER, produce work that will earn you a place on this, er, prestigious website.

http://youarenotaphotographer.com/

I know I've talked about experimenting (see below) but this stuff is not what I was talking about. Take a look and give yourselves a good laugh.

The Joy Of Six, or Maybe Seven

As I told you all during the course, it’s always worth experimenting. If you get an idea worth pursuing, it’s fun banging off a few extra frames with some kind of wacky exposure or something.

To that end, I think it would be good for you to experiment with panoramas. You might be surprised at the results.

The way to do these, in my opinion (and please let me know if you disagree), is to shoot a series of vertical shots, rather than horizontal ones.

One of the brilliant things about panoramas is the file sizes you end up with; massive files with fabulous quality and fine detail.

After I have processed my RAWs into JPGs or TIFFs, I use the Photoshop command “Photomerge” in its automatic function. I then correct any problems with the horizon and play around with the sky until I’m happy.

That is obviously a condensed version of what I actually do. I can run a class if you like!

Normally I use a wide-angle for these shots, ending up with a sort-of-but-not-quite-fish-eye effect, like this.

I was recently in the Pacific Northwest region of the US, staying with family, watching ships glide gracefully past me on the Columbia River when I thought I’d have a go with a long lens instead.

I used a 70-200mm and shot seven vertical frames. I didn’t have a tripod with me, so I just shot and hoped for the best. I am pretty happy with the result.

Go on, give it a go yourselves. It's fun and, as with all these kind of things, you will always learn something, even if it's not what you were expecting, or even wanting, to learn.

Would you like a Flake with that?

Alumni from the first course are now trying to outdo each other with front covers, I am delighted to announce. More power to their sharp elbows, I say! Following on from Nigel's "Horse and Hound" triumph, here's Patrick's response....

Here's a front cover of this month's Kemp Town Rag (not as prestigious as Horse and Hound though!). A client has opened a Gelateria in Kemp Town. As per usual there was NO brief until I got there! He wanted some shots of the shop and something to go on the front cover as he had just opened and also wanted an article in the magazine. Had to work fast as the shop was open and there were customers coming in and out all the time....nothing like winging it!

 

Exactly. Winging it can be exhilarating, especially when you manage to pull it off so stylishly. It's exciting, not daunting. No brief? No problem. Make sure you cover all bases, which you clearly have, and everyone ends up happy. Well done Patrick.

Up front with Nigel Goddard

I had a nice little email this week from Nigel Goddard, who was on our first course....

"When I left your course, I said that it was an objective to get a cover with Horse and Hound magazine.


Last week I went to Luhmuhlen in Germany for the European Eventing Championships and as an accredited photographer I used the press facilities fully for the first time. I sent several photos during the event to Horse and Hound on-spec and when I arrived back in the UK last Monday I received an email from the Picture Editor who said "Really excellent shots you sent us, nicely captioned and I'm really pleased you got the cover."


All credit to your course and how to take shots and present photos to editors. I am now looking for more Horse and Hound covers!


Nigel"


Andrew writes.....Well done Nigel, I feel myself bursting with pride here. That is really something brilliant and I am delighted for you. Did I say well done? Let's have a look at Nigel's front cover shall we? Fantastic.