mjcpk photo blog

Cricket in the Twilight on the Vine, Sevenoaks

2013-09-20T19:55:00.000-07:00

Cricket on the Vine

The Vine Cricket Ground in Sevenoaks, Kent is the second oldest cricket ground in the world and is still in regular use today. It was gifted to 'the people of Sevenoaks' by the local Lord of the Manor on the understanding that it is used for playing cricket.

The difficulty with this shot is the failing light (not that it stopped play!). I wanted to keep that feel of approaching night but without it just looking too dark. The strong low sun from the side was casting nice shadows but has given us a washed out area on the left of the image.

All in all, I'm happy with this photo because it captures the feeling of a traditional English summer's evening that I felt when I was there taking it. However, I'm sure others won't like it because they don't have that memory of actually being there. When working on a photo it is hard to divorce yourself from the reality of the setting and be able to judge the image solely on its own merits.

More Photos of clouds

2013-08-18T18:21:00.000-07:00

One day recently produced a set of clouds that looked totally unreal even when stood looking up at them in the flesh.

The rays of light shining through them looked like something out of a movie or an image that someone had photoshoppped.

I couldn't help standing and staring at them for a few minutes. Usually when you take a photo of things like this the magic of them isn't captured in the image and they're a bit of a disappointment but this time pictures looked like the real thing.

The mysterious moon

2013-07-22T12:18:00.000-07:00

The moon is an awkward thing to photograph. Due to the way our minds work the moon always appears bigger than it really is. So when we try to photograph it the results often disappoint but the moon appears to be tiny in the photo.

Longer lenses and a good tripod can capture some impressive shots of the moon but I actually like an image where the moon isn't the main focus but it appears in the sky as a tiny white orb. In a way it brings some scale to the picture and gives a sense of our play in the universe. It breaks us out of the bounds on the photo's border and reminds us that there is more out there than we are seeing.

This photo of a tree in silhouette could be far out in the country, away from civilization but, in fact, is on a hill overlooking a large town in the South East of the UK. A 30 minute train ride from central London. If were slightly higher and able to look down beyond the hedge we would see the sprawl of houses, shops and industrial building in the valley below.

A continuing obsession with clouds

2013-07-18T12:09:00.002-07:00

Long before I became interested in photography I was obsessed with the patterns and colours of clouds in the sky. Their brief and transitory nature made me yearn to some how capture their beauty before disappeared.

However, I realised that the true beauty is in that passing nature of the clouds. It is a brief moment in time that must be appreciated, there and then, for what it is. No image can ever really do justice to the sky and whenever I have tried to capture it the results have always been disappointing.

That said, I often can't resist snapping certain cloud formations and the interplay of light with the ground that they create. Now I try not to capture the moment as it truly was but to create something new and pleasing in itself. I still try to take a Zen-like approach to the clouds themselves and bask in the moment before they, or I, have to go.

Impressive and easy HDR on a smartphone

2013-01-16T17:38:00.000-08:00

I've previously shown some images that I've taken on my smartphone and they're ok but, in almost all circumstances, I would prefer to use my SLR. The smartphone comes in handy for a quick snap or a test shot but usually I feel I'm missing out on both quality and features.

However, I'm really impressed with the HDR feature on the Galaxy S3. With no more effort than selecting an option it produces a decent HDR image in one hit. To achieve the same results on my SLR I have to mess around with exposure bracketing and complicated editing to achieve the same results.

Here are a couple of quick snaps that are unedited/untreated save for reducing the image size.

First the normal shot:

Then the HDR:

This shows the real use of the HDR function on the smartphone - getting a more acurate image in difficult light conditions. The bottom photo is far closer to how my eyes perceived the scene at the time.

Sailing to Arran

2012-11-22T10:00:00.000-08:00

These three shots were taken on the ferry to the Isle of Arran in Scotland.

The late afternoon light was fabulous and the scenery stunning but taking photos from the back of a boat presents its own set of problems.

The most infuriating one is that the boat keeps moving no matter what and you can only do much about the angle you can shot from. I was quite high up on the observation deck an the view was passing by me at quite a speed.

With this shot I would have loved to be able to move around a bit an get the composition just right but I only had seconds to snap it as we left the harbour and once it's gone it's gone!

There is always an element of luck with photography as even the best can't control everything. The trick is trying to anticipate things and be ready when that lucky moment comes along.

The Devil is in the Details

2012-11-18T17:43:00.003-08:00

I was playing around today with some studio flash units and some wireless triggers.

I took photos of a number of things that were lying around: fruit, spices, bottles, a glass of fizzy water and some coloured chalks.

I didn't have a lot of room to work with an had a pretty basic white backdrop created using a large piece of paper.

When there a so many variable involved it is easy to lose site of the important aspects of photography. I was so busy trying to get the flash settings right (there's no TTL on these triggers) that I didn't spend nearly enough time thinking about the composition or every placing the glass carefully.

As a result you can sea that the glass is twisted in a not so pleasing way, there are specs on the paper background from a previous shot of glitter and I'm not happy with the angle of the shot.

The same can be said for this shot. While I'm happier with the composition (I might try an top down shot next time) it is the state of the chalks and the paper that bother me here. While I was setting up the chalks rolled around and coated the paper and each other with flecks of colour. You can see brown flecks clearly on the yellow chalk.

This was just a trial run but it really does show that you have keep these little details in mind if you want to get the perfect shot. Next time around I will be doing things quite differently.

The Tree on the Hill - Black and Whte

2012-10-28T18:36:00.000-07:00

This is yet another shot that made me wish I had my DSLR with me. The smartphone hasn't done a bad job but it is easy to see the limitations of the lens and sensor straight away.

Fortunately I shall be back that way in the next couple of months and I won''t have any luggage problems that will prevent me from taking a full bag of camera kit with me.

As I've said before, I treat these smartphone shots like planning shots. It is easier to run around and get lots of shots with a basic camera or a smartphone and the lack of options forces you to think about the composition more. Then you can go back later and spend some time on the shots you liked most and get a good capture.

Ploughed Field with Old Colour Treatment

2012-10-16T14:44:00.000-07:00

I took this picture of a field that had been half ploughed just the other day. However I wanted to try a treatment that made it look a little older.

There of lots of aged looks you can go for from monochrome and sepia toned images replete with blurring and vignetting etc. through to 70s and 80s style treatments that have recently become popular on Instagram.

The rural nature of the shot put me in mind of the USA in the first half of the 20th century. I was thinking of some of the recoloured black and white shots from the Depression and early colour shots of farmers and their tractors.

This photo is a mixture of ideas so it doesn't replicate just one style but I like to think that the modern photo with old colouring gives a sense of the continuity of the earth and nature.

Photo slideshow video

2012-10-14T15:57:00.000-07:00

I've made a slideshow video of the photos that I like most out of the ones I've produced so far.

Not the Midnight Garden

2012-10-12T18:35:00.000-07:00

During the day the road between the camera and the tree is very busy, noisy and clouded in exhaust smoke. It's certainly not somewhere I'd expect to find an interesting shot.

However, the quiet of nighttime along with the orange glow of the street lamps brings this mysterious quality to the whole place. I like this composition, I was drawn to it at the time. There is something intriguing about the steps, the sign and the tree.

Also there is the strong contrast between the natural textures of the ivy and the leaves with the harsh industrial feel of the road and pavement. It seemed like an odd little nocturnal oasis that might disappear when morning came.

Smartphone photos in Black and White

2012-10-11T12:30:00.000-07:00

Carrying a smartphone with a reasonable camera has meant that I can take shots when I'm out and about. The quality is nowhere near as good as an SLR and the number of options available to me are very limited but it does provide a great way record photo ideas for later.

Then, if I like the results, I can come back with proper kit and a plan and take a better quality shot.

The original photo in colour was nothing to write home about but there was something about these lobster pots that caught my eye. The whole scene was shouting old timey black and white photo to me.

Unfortunately as soon as you start processing these smartphone photos you start losing detail. It's most obvious in the sky. Also, not having a variable aperture lens I've had to crudely blue the background in an image editor.

However, as a process it has given me lots of ideas for how to take and process a higher quality version with an SLR camera. I think of this as being a quick and easy trial run.

Whitby Harbour with Split Tone Effect

2012-10-09T17:38:00.000-07:00

This started off as a decidedly average colour photo of the harbour walls in Whitby, North Yorkshire.

Astute readers of this blog may have noticed that often the image editing techniques I use are intended to rescue a poor or uninspiring photo.

I converted this to black and white and then used a split tone effect to add the colours. It uses a yellow to blue gradient which resulted in the sunset like sky.

The processing took away some of the detail as you can see on the edges of the lighthouse but it works well enough for a postcard sized print.

The Many Colours of The Sun

2012-10-07T16:00:00.000-07:00

A low evening sun filtered through clouds produced this fabulous light. The photo doesn't quite do it justice. In person it was both eerie and wonderful. The field was shrouded in a deep golden glow along with these long shadows that added texture to the grass.

This is why I now carry a Smartphone with a high megapixel camera. The idea of not having been able to capture this in some way is too much for me to think about!

The changing of the seasons

2012-10-06T17:56:00.002-07:00

I previously published this bleak photo of a hedgerow in winter.

I passed by the spot today and took a quick snap with my Smartphone and you can clearly see the difference the seasons make.

Summer is coming to an end but you still get a feeling of life, vitality and the beauty of nature. Even with out the Black and White treatment the first picture was the very image of bleak and lonely mid-winter.

A handful of postcards

2012-05-03T11:07:00.000-07:00

Just for fun I decided to use a few of my photos to create some postcards over at Zazzle.co.uk. So far I've made a staggering $0.79!

Even bad photos have some use!

2012-01-04T10:22:00.000-08:00

Not every photo comes out as you planned it but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth having a play around with it. This is a little exercise that I think helps make us better photographers.

There are plenty of photos that cannot be saved by any amount of Photoshop work but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. Although, to be a really good photo you would need to retake and get it right ‘in camera’ it is worth trying to save the picture in photoshop for what it will teach you.

It is all in the approach

First you have to really look at a photo to decide what you can do to improve. This process alone will have you seeing the faults in the image which will give you pointers on how not to take it next time.

The more you work with the image the more you will say to yourself: I wish I had framed it differently/shot from a different angle/used a different aperture setting etc. While this is annoying it is teaching you something about how you take photographs and gives you a chance to contemplate a different approach next time you go out armed with a camera.


Original Photo		After some 'fixing'

The more the merrier

The more of these images you work on the more you will see the same mistakes coming up time and again. This gives you a clear insight into your main faults when taking photos. Make a note of them.

In the cold and dark of this time of year we’re less likely to be out taking photos so why not spend some time going over old bad photos so that when the weather improves you can be out taking great ones!

Another stone in the wall

2011-12-22T15:32:00.000-08:00

This is a dry stone wall on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors National Park. I was first attracted to it by the many interesting shapes of rock that went into building quite a uniform structure. However, once I got the image on my computer and I looked at it more closely I became aware of the huge variety of hues and shades that made up what I thought was just a grey stone wall.

I've tweaked the colours slightly to make the contrast more obvious but not by much. I'm not sure what type of stone this is (any help gratefully received) but it is used a lot in the area for functional structures. The houses tend to be made of a much lighter and yellower stone that doesn't appear to be the soft sandstone I've seen in the South.

This image (and a number of others) is available as a set of postcards from Zazzle.

A bleak winter hedgerow

2011-02-27T05:22:00.000-08:00

This hedge caught my eye when I was out walking in on the North Yorkshire Moors.

For me the black and white image really shows the bleakness of some spots on the Moors during winter. There are very few trees and very little greenery to soften the view.

Labradoodle Dog looks a bit glum

2011-02-18T09:58:00.000-08:00

This is a Labradoodle Dog. It's a cross between a Labrador and a Poodle. It is possibly the best natured dog I have ever met but she does have a habit of looking glum now and then.

She has been a bit spoilt and feels she should be out having fun at all times. If you don't make a fuss of her she slumps down somewhere with this expression on her face.

Corn Field in the Evening

2011-02-11T07:13:00.000-08:00

I've taken a number of different shots of this field and it is really interesting to see how it changes with the seasons. This shot is taken from the church yard of St. Peter and St. Paul's Church in Seal Sevenoaks.

You can see the North Downs of Kent in the distance.

Steps up to field on the North Yorkshire Moors

2011-02-03T14:00:00.000-08:00

These steps caught my eye because you don't usually see steps into a field. To me they look like they should go up to a little stone cottage but there is no sign of there ever being a building here.

The clue might be iron fence that was often used to mark the edges of country estates. There are a couple of estates near by that this land might have once belonged to. It is always possible that this gate was for a footpath that crosses the estate.

Roseberry Topping - The inspiration for Captain Cook

2011-01-31T13:46:00.000-08:00

Roseberry Topping is a big rocky lump that rises out of the valley floor and offers a fantastic 360 degree view of the surrounding countryside. Situated at Newton-under-Roseberry, North Yorkshire it is said to be the inspiration for Captain Cook to become an explorer. H eused to climb to the top as a child.

I can certainly see how this would inspire someone to want to travel and see more fantastic sights.

I'm afraid that my image doesn't really do it justice as it only shows the view from one side at the top. The light was going so you can't see how far the patchwork of fields went on for. Also it looks quite still in this picture but at the top the wind whips around you quite fiercely and you have to be careful not to be blow off.

So all I can do is to recommend that if you're ever in the area (only about 10 miles from Middlesborough) take a trip to this fantastic place in an idyllic setting. You won't be disappointed!

Bandstand at the Vine Cricket Ground in Sevenoaks

2011-01-23T16:59:00.000-08:00

The Vine Cricket Ground in Sevenoaks, Kent is the second oldest cricket ground in the world. This is the bandstand on a cold day.

It is still occasionally in use for performances. Usually on sundays. Unfortunately it is actually quite complicated just to put on a simple performance as a license has to be applied for beforehand.

Here's a view of the rest of the Vine Cricket Ground with the symbolic oaks at the far edge and the North Downs in the distance.

Ploughed field in Autumn

2011-01-21T09:50:00.000-08:00

What I liked about this scene was the texture of the ground with the straight lines of the furrows. Also the early evening like from the side was casting long shadows on the ground.

Despite essentially being a man made scene it feels very natural due to the earth colours and the agricultural nature of it.

The hills in the distance are the North Downs in Kent, UK. If you stand on the top of them you can see London on the other side. Canary Wharf is clearly distinguishable.