How to see more photographs - video

Here is a very short video which I have produced as a bit of an experiment. If there is a positive response to this lively way of getting across information, I will maybe do some more. But we'll see how things go for now.

The idea is to show you what and how I am seeing things from behind the camera and how I think pictures through from the time I spot their potential to the time I press the button. So bear in mind that to do this, the movie camera is on the move and not stationery on a tripod - you are seeing what I am seeing. The aim is to help you see more photographs everywhere.

Of course this could have great potential for the way I post on the blog. Let's see.

Just click the arrow in the middle of the frame below to see this 3 minute clip.

Photography student's success

Photograph by Margaret Laurie

It’s always a huge pleasure for me when I hear that I have been able to inspire someone and set them on the right track.

Margaret came to one of my weekend workshops here in Kirkcudbright in SW Scotland earlier this year. The other day she emailed me hardly able to contain here excitement because one of her photographs had been accepted for publication in the Scotland on Sunday newspaper. This is what Margaret said:

“You helped a lot to inspire me to take more photos, and give me some confidence to send my photos into the paper.

“This photo was taken a couple of Fridays ago at the beginning of May. We live in Ferryhill, Aberdeen and I'd woken early with the sun streaming in through the window, and out of the window saw this fantastic sunrise. I went across the road and that was the view from our street at 5.30am! I took loads of photos while my husband, and daughters were tucked up snugly in bed. The view looks over the rooftops towards the River Dee as it flows under Victoria Road bridge to the harbour then out to sea. The smoke on the right is from an offshore supply vessel. The cranes are all at the docks and the tiny dots are notorious Aberdeen seagulls! I loved the way the cranes and the aerials were leaning towards each other.

“My camera is a Nikon D80, exposure set on manual at 1/1600sec, f7.1, ISO 200, WB set on ‘Cloudy’. The focal length was 112mm.

“The weekend workshop in Kirkcudbright with yourself gave me the oomph to do something with my photos. As you can see I now use my camera in manual, and that's pretty much 99% of the time, and experiment with the white balance, and still take B & W.”

Very well done, Margaret. You have every right to be very proud of yourself. I can still remember the buzz I got from my first publication – and that’s a very long time ago.

Might I have done things differently? Well, perhaps I might have used a slightly different exposure setting, but Margaret has achieved such a beautiful result that any alterations would only amount to fine tweaking.

By using the ‘Cloudy’ White Balance (WB) setting, Margaret has added to the yellow/orange glow from the early morning sun. Great idea. With so much light available, I might have used a ISO 100 for maximum image quality, stopped the aperture down for extra depth of field (this part depends on what Margaret was wanting to capture; maybe she wanted limited depth of field), and used a slower shutter speed. This would have given an exposure of roughly 1/500sec at f11. 1/500sec should be quite fast enough to eliminate camera shake when using a lens with a focal length of 112mm – which on the Nikon D80 is equivalent to about 180mm.

Keep ‘em coming, Margaret. Very well done!

Timing your photographs - 2

Following on from my previous post about the importance of good timing when taking your photographs, here are a couple of pictures that illustrate another aspect of timing.

Good timing is not only vital in order to capture the precise moment the action is most interesting, but it can also have a profound affect on the composition and atmosphere of the picture.

Compare the two photographs taken of racehorses exercising in the Staffordshire countryside very early one winter’s morning. I was delighted to capture the shot of the horses though the trees and against such strong backlighting. The bare trees, the snow on the ground – everything adds to the atmosphere of that winter morning. The horses are walking quite slowly, not galloping, but still the timing is important. In the photograph above, there are more horses than in the shot below, but less is often more in photography, and by waiting until some of the horses had passed out of shot to my left, the composition became cleaner, and because of that the second photograph, below, has more impact.

Also, the silhouettes of the horses to the right of the first picture (above) are not ‘clean’; they are partly obscured by the trees. This has created a degree of confusion and has become distracting. By waiting until fewer horses can be seen more ‘cleanly’ between the trees in the second shot (below), the visual appeal has been heightened rather than reduced.

After taking the first shot, I did not give way to the temptation to follow the horses in the viewfinder in order to make sure I got them all in as they moved to my left, but, as you can see from the foreground, which has hardly changed, I simply waited until some horses moved out of shot and kept the framing almost identical.

Timing your photographs - 1

No matter how interesting your subject might appear, you will not get the most from it unless your timing is just right. Good timing needs lots of practise and is not something that can be mastered overnight. Sure, if you take lots of photographs and set you camera at 5 frames a second or more, you are going to get lucky some of the time. But if you want the satisfaction of capturing exactly the moment that matters, then anticipation is the key.

I think I may have said before that the best sports photographers are those who have a passion for the sport they are photographing, and who know from constant practise and observation what is likely to happen next. They are literally ahead of the game.

Come to think of it, there can be few better ways to hone the ability to time your shots than to spend some time photographing sport. Most local amateur football teams will welcome a photographer who asks to take pictures of their games. This can be a great way to get started. If, though, you are like me and loathe football and everything about it, maybe you should try something else. Even a sport like crown green bowling, which may seem pretty sedentary, needs very precise timing to capture worthwhile pictures.

The photograph above was taken at the Appleby Horse Fair in Cumbria, England, and was one of many pictures I took for a magazine feature. The boy in the cloth cap flicked water onto the horse several times. After he did it the first time I realised that the best shot would be just as the water was in the air and about the hit the horse. A fraction of a second later was too late. I almost always use single shot for this type of picture simply because I prefer the picture to be taken when I press the button and not when the camera wants to take it. You really can miss pictures that happen between those 5 frames a second.

The strong 'toppy' back light has also helped emphasize the splashes of water and enabled a very fast shutter seed to be used to 'freeze' the action. Backlight always lights up water frome behind and makes it shine white.

Front or backlight?

I'm always reminding my students about the different properties of the direction of light and how important it is to understand what's going on. Frontlight (light behind the camera and front-on to the subject), I tell them, takes always the shadows and can make the subject look flat and two-dimensional. However, I am quick to point out, frontlight does have a trick up its sleeve: there may be colour hiding in the shadows, and by removing them by using front light you will of course see more colour. So a colourful subject often looks even more colourful when lit by frontlight.

 

Well, as always, there are exceptions to the rule, and photographing flowers and leaves is one of them. Depending on the thickness and translucence of the flower or leaf the thinner and more translucent the better - you can often increase the intensity of its colour by placing the light behind the subject and letting it shine through the leaf.

 

The photograph above is a good example. This is a very simple picture which relies on its colour for its visual appeal. The sunlight is almost directly behind the leaf and is shining through it; and so illuminating the green like a projector lamp.

 

In this case, the backlight has shown up the veins of inside the leaf and brought more detail and interest. Frontlight would have shown the colour of the surface of the leaf, but none of the depth of colour and shapes inside it.

 

Give this technique a try next time you are photographing flowers. Sometimes you can get the best of both worlds by having the light source behind the subject and using a reflector under or beside the lens to bounce some light back onto the surface of the flower.

Colour and light

This well-hidden corner in the old town of Cuitedella in Menorca must have been photographed countless times by different groups of my students during the photography holidays I run on the island. I just can't see how a photographer could possibly walk past this place without raising a camera. It positively demands your attention because of those wonderful colours.

 

However, it is never easy to photograph. The first problem is lack of space; you just cannot get back far enough. This tiny little square is very small indeed, and even with a wide angle lens equivalent to 24mm, it is difficult to include as much in the composition as you would like. Use a lens any wider and the distortions completely ruin the atmosphere of the scene. The answer to this, of course, is to decide which particular elements of the scene you find most interesting, and concentrate on those. In other words, careful cropping in the viewfinder.

 

Then there is the difficulty of parked motor scooters and bicycles. On occasions these can add to the interest, but this very much depends on the type and visual appeal of the bikes that are parked there some are more interesting to look at than others.

 

The last problem is the light this photograph was taken around midday with the sun very high so that it shines down into the narrow square, which is surrounded by houses in a narrow back street. The downside of this type of light is the strong shadows and high contrast. But it does have the advantage of bringing texture to the wall, and addng shadow patterns across the cobles.

 

I like this subject best of all on a sunny day when the sun does not shine directly down on it in the morning or afternoon. Then it is very bright, but soft, emphasising the reds in the wall, and the green of the leaves and the wooden bench. You need to adjust you White Balance (WB) in these conditions using Cloudy, Shade or Custom settings.

 

Blue, red and green is a powerful colour combination at the best of times, and when those colours are combined with simple outline shapes the tree, archway and the bench. An interesting image should result.

Photography holiday video

Below is a short video I have put together of some of the photographers on my latest photography holiday in Menorca. It includes several of their photographs and also some of mine. La Mola is an extraordinary place. The old fortifications guarding the entrance to Mahon harbour. The whole place is just bursting with photo opportunities.
So enjoy the video and the photographs - The next holiday will be in September and there are still a few places available.

Photographing close-ups

I’ve posted several photographs taken by my group in Menorca over the last week, but most of the pictures have been of people and places. We also spent some time photographing close-ups and details wherever we went on the island, and I wanted to show you these beautiful shots.

Without any question, Rosemary’s amazing abstract image of jelly fish, below, demonstrates that you do not need top-range SLR cameras to produce great pictures. Rosemary was using a Fuji FinePix bridge camera – and an old one at that. This photograph also shows that great pictures are there to be seen in the most unlikely places, and of the most unlikely subjects – if you LOOK. I like to call this ability to see pictures almost everywhere as ‘visual agility’ You can all do it if you try.

Ande’s two close-ups were taken on a Canon 400D. I confess I have looked at that loading mechanism on the big Vickers gun and never actually spotted its visual potential. Ande did – and a great picture is the result.

Okay, his picture of the door latch is a little more obvious and I would like to think that any photographer worth his salt would have spotted it too. But the fact is Ande not only spotted the picture but he made a cracking good job of capturing it in his camera; it i technically perfect and visually appealing.

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Photographs by Rosemary Warnes and Ande Wick

Disgusting photography

I got an email from a reader about the picture of the naked man I posted yesterday. I thought I should share it with you….

Dear Mr. Dunn,
As a long time supporter of Photoactive and its activities, I have to complain most bitterly about the appalling lapse in good taste recently demonstrated in your blog.
A man's bottom indeed!
I am absolutely horrified!
Disgusted of Sevenoaks

Ah well, Disgusted, all I can say is that you would be even more horrified if you knew what an elegant, beautiful and seemingly pure-minded lady took the photograph of the man’s bottom. But my lips are sealed.

To more respectable photographic matters, here are some more people photographs taken by members of my group in Menorca over the last week. The shot of the little boy in the market, and the one of the lady in the apron, were taken by group member Laura during an excursion to the old town of Cuidetella. She was using a Canon 400D with a small telephoto. I love both photographs. The colour combinations and sense of animation in both pictures really brings them to life.

I also like Peter’s picture of the tough guy with the tattoos. Peter is getting so much reward from his photography, and it is a real delight to watch him improving every time we go out to take pictures together. That’s him taking candid shots from the cover of a bench in one of the squares in Mahon, the island’s capital city.

Oh dear, I’ve just realised – it’s another picture of a bloke. I’m going to have disgusted writing to complain again.

A photograph for the ladies

I keep rattling on about how pleasant and relaxed it is to photograph people here in Menorca. In all the years I have been coming here and whenever I bring my groups of photographers for the photography holidays, there has never been a problem.

Maybe the ultimate in the laid-back attitude was demonstrated the other day when we were taking pictures on a beach and one of the ladies in my group - she shall remain nameless here - spotted the gentleman above. The lady in question told me at the start of the holiday that her favourite subject was photographing flowers, but as a people photographer she seems to have hidden talents. I particularly like the way she was completely unphazed by the fact that the young man baring his bottom had spotted her before she took the picture.

I've said it before but I will say it again... when your subject spots you taking a photograph - press the button again. It is often the response of the subject to being photographed that can make a good photograph.

Oh, it's worth mentioning that none of the blokes on the holiday thought it worthwhile pointing their cameras at this particular subject.

Photographing strangers

These photography holidays I run in Menorca are always full of lovely surprises for me. I just never know which photographer in the group is going to amaze me next by producing a truly sparkling image. It’s not always the most experienced photographers who produce the most outstanding pictures from any of the locations we explore together.

We photograph people everywhere we go; in the street, indoors, anywhere. It is one of the great joys and freedoms of working in Menorca where the people are so friendly and welcoming. Unlike Britain, where less intelligent attitudes prevail, this is a place where people are proud to be photographed.

One of the places we sometimes visit is an old shop that sells everything from guns to leather saddles, wicker baskets and wooden mouse traps. It’s a marvellous place to take photographs and we are always made extremely welcome by Lorenzo, the owner, and Paca, his assistant. It's one of those real old-fashioned shops where people come in not just to buy, but also for a chat and a sit down. Lorenzo’s beautiful dog befriends everyone and is always a favourite subject for us. But when the customers sit by the door and talk to the dog – the photographers are in heaven.

When the charming old chap, photographed above, came into the shop, I simply asked him to sit by the door in the soft sidelight and let the photographers get on with it. I believe these situations are for them, not for me, so I always step back and let them move in to get their pictures.

This lovely photograph was done by Laura, who prefers to be called Beannie for some reason. She is very inexperienced behind a camera but possesses the ‘eye’. That is she has a natural flare for a picture. Here is the evidence. I think is absolutely beautiful; full of human tenderness. It has captured a very special moment.

I suggested that everyone set their ISO to at least 400 before they went into the shop – it’s pretty dark in there and it’s impossible to set up tripods. So that extra speed enables faster shutter speeds. Here it has really paid off.

Well done, Beannie. That’s her in the centre of the picture of three of the girls on the holiday. Oh, and below is a shot of Cathy making friends with another dog outside the shop while being photographed by the other Laura on the holiday.

Menorca Photography Holiday

Our photography group has just had a walk to a small fishing village along the coast where they spotted a great photo opportunity when a local artist arrived and set up his easel under the trees at the back of the beach.

My group was on him like a rash.

He was delightfully helpful and welcomed the attention. Quite a surprise for photographers more used to the attitudes that attitudes that prevail in UK at the moment. One thing for sure here in Menorca is that photographers are made welcome by people who are pleased to be photographed.

The biggest problem with this shot was where the artist had positioned himself under the trees in the shade - careful exposure was needed in order not to 'burn-out' the highlight. I always prefer to under expose a little then bring up the shadows in Photoshop's levels and with the 'dodge' tool.

Anyway here's a snap of some of the group - some of whom seem to be more laid-back than others - and a picture of Pedro, the artist himself.

How to add colourful foregrounds

It's tough job, but someone has to do it - I have a group of photographers with me in Menorca at the moment and what a lively bunch they are. All levels of experience, but all dead keen.

Today we’ve been out on the island visiting a farm – not a tourist in sight – before taking a walk around the interesting little town of Mercadel. There’s a white-painted church there and I have often photographed it before. But in front of the church used to be some cactus which could be used as a really dramatic foreground. Someone has ‘improved’ things by cutting down these cactus and replacing them with a hideous concrete path with lights that look like small dustbins. Without a good foreground the church appears very plain and uninteresting from the outside.

Not to be beaten, I simple found a bunch of wild poppies – they are weeds here – cut a few off and held them in front of the camera. The idea being to give great splodges of red colour with the white church in the background. I thought the combination of bright red, white and blue might make a colourful shot. It did, and I was quite pleased with the results.

A travel photographer might not always find a perfect foreground for a photograph of a well-known building or scene - sometime there may be no foreground at all. So this is a really old and well-proven trick to bring vitality to your pictures on these occasions.

My group of snappers saw the results of this simple technique and, of course, they all wanted to try for themselves.

The top picture shows my original photograph. You really don’t need to bother about depth of field with this type of shot. Just splash the colour across your picture in the same way a painter would use a large brush. The flowers do not need to be sharp or in focus.

The centre photograph shows Ande and Cathy helping each other achieve a similar result.

The lower photograph shows Peter going solo with the same technique.

Photographing reflections

I just thought I'd share this simple photograph with you. It was taken a long time ago on the island of Cyprus. I really cannot explain exactly why it's one of my favourites, but it is. Perhaps it's something to do with the perfect symmetry of the priest's pose as he sits outside his room in a monastery. It can't be anything to do with the old boy's jolly conversation - he was a miserable old cove. As soon as he saw me pointing the camera in his direction, he stood up, gestured to me to go away as if he was brushing away a fly, and disappeared indoors.

I was trying to get a slightly better angle to show off the reflections in his dark glasses. I thought the visual contradiction of these reflections and his traditional black dress made an interesting contrast. I suppose these days it might be said he looked a real 'cool dude'. And so he was - very cool.

The reflections in his specs were made by the sun striking the white wall of the building behind me and and bouncing back onto the subject's. This reflected light is, of course, also lighting his features with lovely soft light.

I have done a little work in Photoshop's levels in order to lighten the detail inside the dark room, but nothing else has been changed.