Musings In Monochrome

Mobile Phone Photography

2012-04-27T18:58:00.000+01:00

Guest editorial, brought to you by 02...

Are you a mobile phone photog?

For quite a long time now, people have been able to take photos far more easily, thanks to advances in technology, and mobile devices with photography capabilities. Everybody wants to be able to take good pictures, but few will make the effort to carry cameras around. Now, however, thanks to mobile phone photos and social media networks where people can upload photos, it seems like everybody's a photographer. Of course, this sort of mass capturing of images is generally not considered to be of the highest quality by those who actually study and practice legitimate photography – however, some of the newer mobile phones offered by companies like O2 are actually extremely capable when it comes to taking artistic photographs.

The short road to success via technology

Earlier mobile phones were considered somewhat advanced if they could merely snap photographs, even if the picture quality was not very high and the photos were difficult to upload or print out. Now that mobile devices have come so far in the last few years, however, many phones now actually include high quality picture taking capability. For example, consider the Samsung Galaxy S II or the HTC One X, both of which are equipped with 8 Megapixel cameras. While this of course still doesn’t approach the quality or capability of an advanced camera, it does enable these devices to take very respectable photographs – and, thanks to the high level of connectivity that now exists between our mobile devices and the Internet, it is now easier than ever to upload such photos.

The App-ian way

Taking mobile phone photography ability a step further, there are now even Apps designed to help amateurs to take more artistic photographs with just a few clicks of a button. Consider Instagram, for example, a program whose popularity is rapidly increasing due to the ease with which it allows you to take photos and add effects to them. You can snap a regular picture with your mobile phone and quickly turn it into black and white, monochrome, etc. just by selecting and applying a particular feature.

...and all roads lead to Rome

Again, when you are considering truly artistic photography, there is no substitute for someone with a medium quality or better camera who truly knows what s/he is doing. And surely it's difficult to call yourself a photographer when receiving so much aid from programs like Instagram. However, the increased capabilities of mobile devices relative to photography have made it very possible for the average person to capture and play with images in a way that creates surprisingly appealing visuals.

People can now be creative with their photography in very simple ways.

comments / feedback / Tweets / Likes / +1s always welcome :)

Another Magazine Cover shot from Highton Ridley

2012-03-09T12:19:00.002Z

Ongoing progress...

Plymouth Hoe by Night

I got another photo used as a cover-shot, same magazine as the last two... The Plymouth Magazine, March 2012 issue - great credit given on p3. It's another one of my cityscapes and is part of my growing Urban Pretty photo essay, a response to my previous one entitled Urban Ugly. (this link will take you to a YouTube video, set to music by my good friend, Gordon Charlton, Beat Frequency)

Plymouth Hoe at night looking west
[click the image for a postcard or see various other products]

Owning a print

If you live in or near Plymouth, all are available from Kaya Gallery on the Barbican as signed fine art prints. Norman will be delighted to see you - especially if you mention my blog :)

comments / feedback / Tweets / Likes / +1s always welcome :)

Google Friend Connect - My final goodbyes...

2012-02-26T00:25:00.001Z

So that's the last of my websites updated to remove all references to Google Friend Connect...

RIP Google Friend Connect

I don't believe how much time it's taken to remove GFC from the websites I maintain! My html skills were less than mediocre when I added all the GFC stuff and untangling it all has been a pain.

Not that my html skills are much better than mediocre now!

Still, I've managed to get it all done in time for the deadline of the end of this month (Feb). What a shame that all the wonderful interaction from my friendly and loyal followers over the last 3 or four years has all gone :(

I just wish that Google had provided a way to transition to another system like Disqus or similar. But they didn't and I feel rather let down in that respect. So for the record, these are the websites that used it:

So if you were one of the ones who interacted with the commenting and rating system on any of the above, I guess I should apologise on behalf of Google.

So long GFC, it was nice knowing you...

(Of course, it'll still work on blogger blogs such as this one, just not on sites that aren't blogger blogs)

Post by: +Mark Highton Ridley
comments / feedback / tweets / Likes / +1s always welcome :)

The last of Google Friend Connect

2012-02-20T23:45:00.000Z

Ugh! Another day on website maintenance

Zazzle Promo Pages and Zazzlit Gadget Tutorial

After removing Google Friend Connect from all my photography pages yesterday, today I did all my:

Zazzle Promo

Zazzlit Tutorial pages

Phew!

Btw - even if you're not an artist / designer, you can still earn 15% referral commission by bringing folks to Zazzle - and my Zazzlit gadget makes it even easier.

How? Just sign up for a Zazzle account and use your associate id (also known as the referrer id) in my (free) Zazzlit gadget when you place it on your blog or website. See how to use it in the tutorial linked above.

Post by: +Mark Highton Ridley
comments / feedback / tweets / Likes / +1s always welcome :)

Goodbye Google Friend Connect

2012-02-20T00:42:00.000Z

A long day maintaining my web site

Goodbye Google Friend Connect (GFC)

..on my main web site.

Google announced a while back that they were removing support for GFC on non-blogger websites at the end of this month. What a pain - I used it for comments, ratings and reviews of my photos and other bits and pieces.

So I spent today removing it all from my www.highton-ridley.co.uk website :(

At the same time, I took the opportunity to update my galleries with my most recent work as well, so I did do something positive to counterbalance it a little :)

I haven't quite finished, I still have to remove it from my Zazzlit tutorial and Zazzle promo pages. Tomorrow, though, as I am totally discombobulated right now...

Post by: +Mark Highton Ridley

comments / feedback / tweets / Likes / +1s are always welcome :)

Got the Jan 2012 covershot for The Plymouth Magazine

2012-01-30T23:04:00.001Z

Ongoing progress...

Roland Levinski building

I got another photo used as a cover-shot, same mag as the last one... The Plymouth Magazine, Jan 2012 issue - great credit given on p3.

Plymouth University, Roland Levinsky building
[click the image for a postcard or see various other products]

They want to use another one of mine for the March issue - negotiations ongoing, so watch this space.

Post by: +Mark Highton Ridley
comments / feedback / tweets / Likes / +1s always welcome :)

Quietly Flows The River

2012-01-25T17:42:00.003Z

To make up for sneaking one past you, this one is sill wet from the digital darkroom

The Jewel Called Spitchwick

I do like visiting Spitchwick, which is on the margins of Dartmoor National Park. On this occasion it was back in September on a photoshoot with a friend. It's not a widely known spot but it is typical of those undeveloped, natural beauty spots that are hidden from the hoi polloi that you find all over the UK.

Quietly Flows The River

You'll find cows wandering around from time to time and there's also the occasional family group of Dartmoor Ponies that comes visiting. This really is the River Dart in one of its most beautiful aspects and I hope you thouroughly enjoy my portrayal.

In a little while I'll be using it for a postcard and a wide range of greetings cards for my English Scenes series in my Zazzle store. Of course, the cards will be in addition to my gallery-style poster prints and stretch-frame canvases.

Do you know of any little-known spots like this?

Post by: +Mark Highton Ridley
comments / feedback / tweets / Likes / +1s always welcome :)

Sneaked this out without showing you

2012-01-24T16:49:00.000Z

Here's one I processed a few weeks ago...

Naughty, naughty

I know, I should have posted about it here - I'm admitting nothing about any more such oversights -- yet!

Beyond the Pale

I loved the fences that are used to separate and encourage areas of wild grass growth on the sand dunes, I've used them in a number of shots and this is one of my favourites.

I'm very happy with the way the title turned out. It can take me a few hours to settle on a title but this one sought me out. I won't spoil it by explaining, but feel free to say what you think in the comments, if you like :)

(More confessions to come!)

Post by: +Mark Highton Ridley
comments / feedback / tweets / Likes / +1s always welcome :)

2012-01-23T01:07:00.000Z

Life has been getting in the way of photography... but the worst of the redecorating that needed to be done is over. Hooray! A few touch-up jobs remain and that's it for downstairs.

Another from Lyme Regis

I still managed to squeeze in some time for the digital darkroom and this is one of the results. I noticed this family scene and it struck me as so typical of a British day out at the seaside.

It's just one of those little vignettes that plays itself out - has done for centuries, will do until we poison it all.

Typical British Family Day Out at the Seaside, April 24th 2011

Hmm... I didn't quite mean to sound so depressing in that last sentence but I'm sure you know what I mean :)

PS My dear readers, wouldn't it be just great if the family bumped into this and got in touch so I could send them a signed print? Well, I think so :) If you do, please share!

Post by: +Mark Highton Ridley
comments / feedback / tweets / Likes / +1s always welcome :)

I've been fulfilling a Gallery order

2011-12-22T21:24:00.002Z

And it came out of the blue...

Colour from Black and White

I got a call from Norman, owner of Kaya Gallery on Plymouth's Barbican. He'd had a customer call in asking after a print of my Barbican Steps shot, actually one of Norman's favourites from my b&w collection.

I called in to talk about it face to face and to catch up with any news. While I was there, I took the opportunity to show Norman some of my recent colour work and he chose four there and then! He was really, really taken by the shot used for the cover of Plymouth Magazine (see previous post) and returned to it a few times to look again.

Barbican By Night

Norman was also really taken with this one of the surfers and was another he kept returning to:

Last Surf of the Day

While looking through some others, at one point he peered at Burgh Island, which was in the background to the main subject, and said something about the hotel. I didn't say anything at the time but I knew I had a photo of it waiting in the digital darkroom. So I resolved to process it as soon as I could, and then show him when I delivered the others - to try for another sale, of course ;)

Before I left, I gave Norman one of my 2012 calendars as a portfolio of some of my work. Even though it's for the American market (i.e. with major American holidays and events marked on it) he was really pleased with it.

I went home and ordered the mounts etc and got on with the printing. I'm really, really impressed with the quality of the Epson Stylus Pro 3800 - every time I fire it up after a not having used it for a while, I bless the time spent on profiling etc. The prints are true to what I see on screen and it really does my photos justice.

Anyway, once that lot was done, I got on with the one of Burgh Island Hotel. I was pleased with what I thought would be its appeal to Norman and his customers, so duly printed it as well.
:
:
Time passed and some more redecorating took place (I'm working on bits of the kitchen and front room right now) and then....

..the mounts arrived.

I got to work right away, getting them signed, mounted and bagged. A quick call to Norman to confirm he was at the gallery and, 20mins later, I handed them over.

I waited until after he'd had a good look, going back and forward mostly between the surfers and the view of the Barbican, drinking them in. He mentioned a couple of times that he'd get the surfers one framed to show it off to its very best. So I guessed he was pleased :) so it was then that I whipped out my Burgh Island Hotel...

Burgh Island Hotel

He took a while to acclimatize to it, looking at the others and then coming back to it. It only took a couple of minutes to make up his mind and then he said he'd take that one as well. Mission accomplished!

..From 1 b&w came 5 colour sales so, all in all, I'm a very happy bunny - 6 prints in total and a nice little Christmas present :)

Thank you, Norman!

Post by: +Mark Highton Ridley
comments / feedback / tweets / likes / +1s always welcome :)

Got the front cover on a print mag!

2011-12-15T14:56:00.000Z

I mentioned a while ago that one of my images was being used by a local publication...

Front Cover!

I was a bit hesitant at first as no fee was involved, but the fact it was a print magazine and the extra local exposure I'd gain, made it worth some consideration. The space given to the cover credit I was promised on the inside tipped the balance, so I went ahead with it.

So here's the magazine - and there's a link to my website from this electronic version in the credit (page 3, bottom left):

Read The Plymouth Magazine issue 89
Online Publishing from YUDU

The original image is a landscape orientation and they chose a great crop for the mag. Here's the original:

Barbican At Night

Click the image to see a gallery-style poster print in my Zazzle store - and from there you can see lots more gifts, posters and greetings cards of my Plymouth Series.

I know some of my fellow photographer-blogger friends also occasionally let their local publications use their work. Its got me wondering just how prevalent this is.

If you're a bit of a photog and have been approached for use of your work without a fee, share your experience with us in the comments. Who knows, we might learn something interesting!

Post by: +Mark Highton Ridley
comments / feedback / tweets / likes / +1s always welcome :)

Newsy update - photos and Zazzle

2011-12-05T13:58:00.001Z

Been hard at work on designing products for my store over at Zazzle, now reporting back!

Huge changes in time for the Christmas rush

Zazzle made a whole bunch of changes to improve the shopping experience with easier navigation, a cleaner look and enhanced searching. This meant all us storekeepers having to make lots of edits / changes to the way existing products are tagged and categorised to fall in line.

Big job!

As frequently happens, many little glitches and gremlins crept in that made making the changes more than a little tiresome at times, sometimes not "sticking" and needing to be redone.

But, good on Zazzle, the shoppers never saw any of this behind-the-scenes activity - a bit like the graceful swan, not much to see on the surface but mad paddling going on under water!

Many massive coupon savings

Zazzle have really been pushing on their promotion activity (as I have!) having had amazing offers for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and some for specific seasonal items. They keep announcing them on the header on each page - so keep your eye out for them!

Back to new designs

Now that I've caught up with all the changes on existing gear, I've been able to finish off the greetings card ranges I was working on when it all happened. Have a look at my Congratulatons cards as an example. Now that they're all done, I'm back once more to creating new designs. In the last week I've been working on expanding my already successful Desiderata range, making sure that there is plenty of variety to suit most tastes.

I find it really pleasing to combine the coming-of-age guidance of Desiderata with some of my fine art photography. I've selected each pairing based on some aspect of my image and the core messages of Desiderata. For example:

Strength, Courage and Determination

Florets spiralling in to pollinated, then
to set seeds in the centre, representing growth
to adulthood, ready for the next of life's phases

Purity and Valour represented by
St George and the Dragon

Tough journeys always have places of Peace
and Serenity to strive for

..and, because it's the season for it...

This one is intended to complement
the idea of Silence and Peace

The good thing about giving these as gifts is, that as well as being positive, encouraging and supportive, they will endure long after other gifts have gone to upgrade heaven. Who in your circle of friends and family would love to receive one?

Post by: +Mark Highton Ridley
comments / feedback / tweets / Likes / +1s always welcome :)

Zazzle recommendation and $10 sweetener

2011-11-28T13:39:00.001Z

Why would I recommend Zazzle?

The creators and designers on Zazzle - mostly folk like you and me - each have their own store(s) and provide fantastic designs on apparel, gifts and cards, covering every occasion and topic you can think of, and many more besides.

Here's the main reasons why I'd recommend them, and Zazzle:

the vast majority of the items are designed to be personalized, for example where you supply a name or upload a loved one's photo.
the quality of the printing is exceptional, reproducing the rich, vibrant colours you see on screen
a fantastic returns policy and customer service experience - second to none in my experience
And another thing... you're supporting some of the 99% - individual creative artists and designers

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. If I'm recommending Zazzle, do I follow my own recommendation? A resounding "yes" - I buy all my greetings cards there and any other gifts where personalisation and / or a specific design is important.

Of course, you're going to find my work on standard media such as stretch-frame canvas and poster prints. My recently added ranges of gallery-style prints and fine art greetings cards are proving popular, so there's something to suit all pockets...

Post by: +Mark Highton Ridley
comments / feedback / tweets / Likes / +1s always welcome :)

2011-11-27T01:39:00.001Z

A bit of housekeeping...

Consolidation is the name of the game

My new photos have made it into my gallery at last! Many have appeared in recent weeks on Panoramio, Flickr and Google+ so it was more catch-up than presenting entirely new work for the first time.

Still they're all in one place now. Check 'em out with this link: My new creative photography

I've been experimenting a little with an impressionist style - which should be easy to spot amongst the piccies you'll see at that link. As usual, I'd be delighted to hear if you connect with any of them.

If you do, each has a feedback / ratings box or you can drop off a general comment here. Whichever way, I'm sure other visitors (as well as me!) would love you to share your thoughts.

In the run up to Christmas, you might be interested in gifts featuring my work. Gallery Prints are an inexpensive way of owning and enjoying my work. Although they can be framed, they looks great as they are and just stuck on a wall with pins, sticky stuff etc.

Or how about choosing from amongst my really gorgeous jotter / notepads for somewhere to hold your important thoughts and creative ideas. If you know someone who will be lucky enough to get a new phone, iPad or iPod this Christmas, you can also get my work on skins for all the popular models.

You can find many other products like mugs, tear-off message pads, birthday and various other greetings cards (luck, congrats, sympathy and so on). Pretty much everything apart from the posters are personalizable with your text or chosen name.

Support the 99% by buying from artists, artisans and crafters!

Post by: +Mark Highton Ridley

Entering the Black and White Spider Awards again

2011-11-21T12:29:00.001Z

Having had some previous successes with the Black and White Spider Awards, I've entered some more photos this year.

The Impotence of a Broken Groyne

The groynes along the Jurassic coast around Lyme Regis are being left to fall into disrepair and decay, allowing the debris from cliff collapses to be washed away and so leading to further cliff erosion. This is a good thing for fossil hunters!

The Impotence of a Broken Groyne

I was drawn to the lovely textures in the wood, enhanced by years of scouring and burning by the salty sea. And what's more, the grain formed lovely wave-like undulations in the wood, echoing and mirroring the sculpted sandy mud and the sea itself.

Oh, and I hope you groaned at the pun in its title!

Last Surf of The Day

This is the original black and white version of my better-known colour one. It was taken at the close of day on a photowalk with a good friend at Bantham Beach in Devon.

Last Surf of the Day

Wouldn't it be great if the guys in the photo got in touch?! Taken 24th April 2011 in case you think it might be you.

Tousled Mane of a Dartmoor Pony

This is one of my personal favourites. These enduring, graceful ponies have been on Dartmoor maybe since the last ice age, perhaps longer. The way they move, their look and their stoic attitude to the visitors to Dartmoor makes them feel both close and distant at the same time; wild but approachable, common but regal.

Here it is on a stretch-frame canvas, available at my Zazzle store. Click to see and buy. Also available on a range of other products.

Tousled Mane of a Dartmoor Pony
stretch-frame canvas

Leave your Good Luck wishes and feedback in the comments please (pretty please, hehe!)

Post by: +Mark Highton Ridley

Bronze Merit Award - International Loupe Awards 2011

2011-11-14T16:45:00.001Z

What great news I got today!

International Loupe Awards 2011

I entered one image into this year's International Loupe Awards, "The Room In My Mind Where My Memories Are Stored" and was delighted to hear today that I received a Bronze Merit Award!

It's the image for July on this 2012 Calendar, which features a selection of my very best work

Highton Ridley Fine Art Selection Calendar 2012
create a calendar with Zazzle

Share my joy, \o/ - yaay!

Post by: +Mark Highton Ridley
comments / critique / feedback / tweets / +1s always welcome :)

I'm a Featured Artist!

2011-11-12T01:55:00.001Z

So what have I been up to, what's my news?

Cutand-dry feature

I'm so flattered by this wonderful blog post that my good friend, Betty, wrote about my art work. I was fascinated to see which images she chose for her post. I wonder if you would have chosen the same?

Betty's got a great writing style and a huge following - I'm sure that many of you could end up following her blog, too! Have a look, it'd already had 28 comments when I visited a while ago...

Highton Ridley Emporium...
I've been beavering away putting my new colour work onto canvas and gallery-stye poster prints as well as on various gifts and household gear - things like mobile phone skins, coasters, spiral-bound notebooks, trivets, treasure/trinket boxes, picnic/display plates, mugs and more besides.

You have to have such gear around - why not have beauty too?

If you end up stuck for a gift for someone over Christmas - maybe even for yourself - I've got a great 2012 calender featuring some of my very, very best colour work. Follow the link and see the images I've chosen.

If you've got an unruly teenager at home - or one just preparing to leave for the first time, seriously consider giving them the timeless coming-of-age (and beyond!) Desiderata poem.

I've got those brilliant words on a range of posters with complementary artwork from my portfolio - there's bound to be something they'd be drawn to. It can be a great maturing influence - have a read and see what I mean - Desiderata on...

Gallery News
I've had a bit of swap-round at Duchy Square Gallery in Princetown, in preparation for the run up to Christmas. They've taken three of my impressionist / colourist - style pieces and I've taken away a couple of black-and-whites.

Have a great weekend, folks!

Post by: +Mark Highton Ridley
comments / critique / feedback / tweets / +1s always welcome :)

Preparing new artwork gifts for Christmas

2011-10-24T12:44:00.001+01:00

I've been continuing my colour journey, three steps forward, two back but progress is being made!

The journey

...goes on and on, down from the door where it began

Bantham Beach Exit

So what have I been up to? I've been going back over my unprocessed RAW images in the digital darkroom and choosing some to work on in colour.

All this old work was taken with black and white in mind and that's meant that I've paid particular attention to the composition and tonal relationships. Of course, this in turn means that I've had a great success rate when taking them down the colour route.

Having worked on a couple of dozen, I've now created a whole bunch of new products, mostly Gallery Prints and Stretch-frame wrapped canvases in my Zazzle store, in time for the Christmas season.

Last Surf of the Day

If you know anyone who loves windsurfing, then this image as a Gallery Print or Wrapped Canvas would make a great gift for them. Which would you choose?

The gallery prints look so good that I've created many using that as a style of presentation for my very best black and white work. Here's an example Gallery Print of a Cosmos flower and bud, side-lit by the setting sun:

Lighting The Cosmos gallery-style poster print

Do you know folks that would enjoy receiving one of these as a gift? Would you be delighted if you got one as a gift?

I love reading such feedback - and it helps to keep me producing work that my public enjoys, so if you've got a few moments to spare, you know what to do!

Thanks,
~~Highton Ridley :>)

Post by: +Mark Highton Ridley
comments / critique / feedback / tweets / +1s always welcome :)

Continuing a little sidetrack down the colour route...

2011-09-13T01:33:00.003+01:00

Continuing a little sidetrack down the colour route...

Now, where's that rabbit hole?

I was with a friend (and my camera), visiting Sptichwick, a delightful little valley of the River Dart on the edge of Dartmoor National Park. I spotted this fabulous mushroom growing a little way from the river bank and, under the dappled sunlight, it looked like something out of Alice in Wonderland.

Woodland Mushroom Under Dappled Sunlight

Someone on Google+ suggested that there might be a dazed-looking caterpillar nearby, maybe hallucinating after having chomped away at the mushroom's foot! hehe!

I'd be delighted to hear what you think of this shot, so don't delay, comment away!

Post by: +Mark Highton Ridley
comments / critique / feedback / tweets / +1s always welcome :)

Slowly, Sowly, Colour HDR

2011-08-25T17:25:00.001+01:00

Formally revealing my interest in colour HDR and tone-mapping techniques...

Would you like to see more?

I've been experimenting for a while with HDR. Regular followers will know that I started out a couple or so years ago on my b&w work, where it suited the image.

Recently I moved onto using it in the digital darkroom with colour shots, but haven't published much until now, preferring first to play around until I'd mostly mastered it. Well, I don't claim to be there yet, but I feel comfortable enough with the technique to start to publish.

Plymouth Barbican by Night, August 2011

I'm very pleased with the way this one turned out. Would you be able to tell that I used HDR and tone-mapping techniques? If not, then I've succeeded with that aspect, hehe!

On a different note, I believe that I've bumped into a compositional issue with this shot, one where composition and the desire for "pretty colours" are in conflict. I won't say what it is because I don't want to influence you but if you do spot it, I'd love to know (after all, I may just be being paranoid, hehe!).

I'll leave it a few days, and if anyone has commented about it, I'll say what I mean in reply.

Post by: +Mark Highton Ridley
comments / critique / feedback/ likes / tweets / +1s ..are always welcome :)

Initial reviews of HDR software

2011-08-14T15:04:00.005+01:00

I've been looking at upgrading my HDR software...

My current HDR software

I currently use Mediachance's Dynamic Photo HDR and it has worked really well as part of my black and white workflow, when I felt it would help with developing my artistic intent for the image. Dynamic Photo HDR is available as a free trial, which doesn't expire -- but it does watermark images.

As a reference for testing the other HDR software, I took a colour image that I'd already processed with Dynamic Photo HDR (and with further treatment in Photoshop). It's the one from my last post here.

The reviews - initial reactions

I checked out:

Nik Software's HDR Efex Pro - 15 day free trial
HDR Soft's Photomatix (version 4.1.1) - Free trial doesn't expire, it watermarks some of the images it produces though

I used a few different RAW images that I already had taken, from which I produced the different exposures for the software to work on.

The photos weren't taken with HDR in mind, so I was initially seeing how it could be used to produce realistic-looking images -- we've all seen the super-real HDR treatments of cityscapes at night but I'm not initially checking it out for those sorts of image.

HDR Efex

Good points:

Many presets to apply, giving you a starting point from which you can endlessly tweak
Can add individual control points which apply all the global controls locally, while confining them to a soft-edged radius of influence
Integrates well with Photoshop
Cityscapes, as per their video demo, seem ideal for it

Bad points:

Skies can be very noisy
On my system everything slows down horribly
(dual core, Windows XP, 2GB Ram, loadsa free, defragged hard disk space)

Conclusion: watch this one, once it matures some more, it stands a great chance of setting new standards by which HDR software will be judged.

Photomatix

Good points:

Industry leader
A good handful of presets to apply, giving you a starting point -- keep tweaking to get closer and closer to the results you're after
Noise reduction option for underexposed images can really help noisy skies

Bad points:

Can produce that instantly recognisable "Photomatix" look, if not used with care
Suffering from complacency due to being market leader - user interface is more clutzy than it needs to be
Can be a bit of a struggle to get used to, hindered by the user interface

Conclusion: If you need to get to HDR right away, Photomatix comes out on top when compared to HDR Efex. But if you're reading this a few months after I post it, do check where HDR Efex has got to...

Overall conclusions for initial reactions

I was able to use both HDR applications to get close to the reference image. Although I said that Photomatix came out on top when compared to HDR Efex Pro, when compared to Dynamic Photo HDR, I'm not so sure.

So what will I do? I've uninstalled HDR Efex Pro, I'm keeping Photomatix and will keep comparing Photomatix with my current "champion", Dynamic Photo HDR.

I'll take a few shots with HDR in mind and see where it takes me.

Post by: +Mark Highton Ridley
comments / critique / feedback / tweets / buzzes always welcome :)

HDR - the colour gambit

2011-08-08T20:37:00.001+01:00

For quite a while I've been using HDR on and off as part of my mono workflow...

What next?

..and I'm thinking of exploring the technique on some colour work.

Here's the first with that in mind. It was taken a couple of weeks ago, heading home westbound on the M3/A303 route after visiting a client site in Staines, near Heathrow.

Chicklade Bottom Farm

The road was quite stressful, so when the lighting was good, I turned off onto a side road when I got the chance.

What a treat to bump into this scene - quite idyllic and representative of the English countryside. The folk who live here must be delighted with their home.

Really, I'm just exploring for now, so I hope you like how it turned out.

comments / critique / feedback / tweets / buzzes always welcome :)

A retrospective of a shot of mine from 2007...

2011-07-24T18:30:00.001+01:00

A retrospective of a shot of mine from 2007
A study of texture, pattern and geometry, implemented in the architecture of an office block in Arundel Street, close to Temple tube station, London.
Arundel Street, London

With a nod in the direction of +Alfie Goodrich for making me think of doing this, thanks :>)

So to exercise my photo-discussion vocabulary, I thought I'd take apart this image. It'll help me think about it and share what was in my "vision" at the time. By "vision" I mean the conscious and the many layers of semi-consciousness at play when I took at and as both "developed" in the digital darkroom.

The setting was a visit with a government department in the Strand, and on the way from the tube station I spotted a building with interesting, geometric architecture and even more interesting possibilities for my ongoing theme of abstract architecture. I hurried on to my meeting, putting it out of my mind in the meantime, with an intention to do something about it afterwards.

On the way back from my meeting, I took out my camera (that I'd taken with me on the off-chance, like ya do - you do, don't you?). The skies had cleared and the sunlight was bright and direct, angling in at near 45 degrees - as the shadows show,

I loved what the light was doing with the concrete pyramid-like structures under the window and their interaction with the rectangular, textured tiles at their side.

Having the whole area on the right hand side taken up by the rectangular tiles was too much though and I started hunting around for a viewpoint that would solve it.

I tried from across the road, up and down the road a bit and, finally, hugging the wall of next building, a few paces south. I was delighted with what was evolving and , having the main elements as I wanted them, it was a case of fine-tuning.

By staying close to the wall, and crouching down a little, I got my framing about right, paying close attention to squaring off the windows in the top left corner. I then moved around a little more to make the intersection of the wall and the bottom edge of the windows. I zoomed out slightly to make sure I could be pedantic about the cropping in the digital darkroom (easier to crop than to add what isn't there!).

I was conscious the whole time about the balance between the negative space on the rhs and the rest of the image. The hint of reflected light on that wall, brought out by a little dodging, helped to reduce its visual "weight".

Compositionally, there are three areas, each occupying roughly the same space and each sharing similar characteristics - texture, angle, pattern.

For those paying really close attention, there's a single strip-light visible in two of the windows - I could have cloned these out but I like how they balance the two slightly lighter strips in the rhs wall. Ok, that was serendipity - but note that I still made a conscious choice.

As an aside, a good friend of mine, +Gordon Charlton once said that a photo is like a sentence. Every word in the sentence is there because you want it there. It belongs because somehow or other it describes or enhances what you want the sentence to say. You don't put in random words that having nothing mousetrap to contribute, do you?

So I try to do the same in the "visual" sentence my images are speaking.

Anyway, on with the retrospective...

By choosing a very small aperture and a telephoto lens I've been able to flatten the image, removing one of those visual clues that helps the seeing part of the brain to recognise things for what they really are. In other words it helps enforce its abstract nature.

I've given it a contrasty treatment over the whole tonal range to boost slightly what the bright, direct sunlight had already given me. This emphasised the geometric patterning and texture as well as the difference between each of three areas.

What is my intention with this type of shot? I've always been a bit observant and I've discovered that so many folks just don't see the interesting and beautiful stuff around them that I notice as I go about my daily life. So I like to share it :>)

Ok, retrospective over. Will you try out +Alfie Goodrich's vocabulary on your own work? If so, make sure you share.

Make sure you share this with photogs you know who are trying to improve.
Weekend almost over, oh no, still loads to do!
I hope you've had a good one :>)
~~Highton Ridley

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Ships may come and go

2011-07-24T18:08:00.000+01:00

Ships may come and go

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Down At The Beach - a bit of a playful, exploratory...

2011-07-23T14:05:00.004+01:00

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Down At The Beach - a bit of a playful, exploratory shot that I was really pleased with.

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A retrospective of a shot of mine from 2007...

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Down At The Beach - a bit of a playful, exploratory...

Tousled Mane of a Dartmoor Pony
stretch-frame canvas