f-stops and arthritis - the photo motivate archive

I Pointed and Shot It

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Palmer) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 11:16:00 +0000

Photomotivate is now officially dead. I will leave it here until the end of the year but this will be the final post.

My new blog is I Pointed & Shot It, a photography based blog which, in part, serve as an online course as I will be logging my progress as I relearn photography but will also include a lot of personal stuff (I hope to make it a little more general than my previous blogs).

The web address is http://ipasi.blogspot.com/

See you there

Window Abstract

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Palmer) — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 17:30:00 +0000

Tap

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Palmer) — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 19:04:00 +0000

Burner Detail

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Palmer) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:55:00 +0000

Spiky Ball Close-Up

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Palmer) — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:58:00 +0000

Yay Jedward... oh wait!

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Palmer) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:31:00 +0000

Garden Flower Revisited

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Palmer) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:58:00 +0000

Yes, I have posted these flowers before. In fact they were last posted on the 1st August so I thought that I would end the month the same way. And as these are new shots and so fulfil the photo-a-day brief.
They also mark a slight change in how this blog will work from tomorrow...

... which will basically be a way to stop continual repetition of subjects while better photos go unused on my hard drive because I have already posted.
I will announce more details tomorrow.

Bathroom Abstract

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Palmer) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:24:00 +0000

Anuddha Buddha

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Palmer) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Invade the Arcade - Invade Cannock Park

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Palmer) — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 17:58:00 +0000

Invade the Arcade played in Cannock Park today. From left to right; Ali Gleeson on Bass, Dan Leadbeater on Guitar, Martin Allen on Vocals, Andy Downer on Drums and Jonny Terry on Guitar.
Despite a poorly performing lens (back-focusing problems) and rain kicking in after the first song I managed to get a few shots.

You can follow Invade the Arcade on: Facebook - HERE, Twitter - HERE and Myspace - HERE.

Light-Pull Abstract

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Palmer) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:50:00 +0000

This is a shot of the end of the perspex light-pull in our bathroom. The small squares are multiple reflections of the other end.

Braeburn Close-Up

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Palmer) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:01:00 +0000

Want Colour?

Self Portrait - August 25th 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Palmer) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:33:00 +0000

Another black and white self portrait, this time with a subtle toning.

Peace Lily Leaf

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Palmer) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:45:00 +0000

Monkey Head

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Palmer) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:01:00 +0000

Dan's been to Top Man

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Palmer) — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 17:54:00 +0000

Cat Close-up

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Palmer) — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 15:23:00 +0000

Still playing around with a long lens, this time with a shallow depth of field.
150mm lens f4.5 and hand held if your interested. (i.e. 300mm equivalent in 35mm terms, wide open)

Rooftop

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Palmer) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:57:00 +0000

Just playing with an old lens and a new adapter.

Distinction, Distinction, Distinction

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Palmer) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:50:00 +0000

Well done Dan on passing your BTEC in Music Technology with a triple distinction.

Yep, it's another filler photo

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Palmer) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:15:00 +0000

Apologies for todays lame shot, unfortunately I'm not feeling too good today so it's a case of snapping the first thing that I come across. Hopefully tomorrows shot will be better.

Cardamon Close-Up

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Palmer) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 11:50:00 +0000

Getting Closer

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Palmer) — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:14:00 +0000

One of the biggest problems with using digital cameras for black and white photography is trying to obtain that certain silvery texture that can be found in the old film shots. Of course, the biggest problem is actually printing out a digital file in black and white (if you don't believe me, try it) but we'll leave that subject well alone for now.
The texture that I'm talking about can be seen in the work of Karl Blossfeldt, Horst P Horst, Ansel Adams and the like, most of which was achieved in the darkroom with dodging and burning and the right choice of chemicals.
Today we have to try to replicate such processes with software like Lightroom, Aperture and, of course, Photoshop all of which have there own version of dodge and burn tools but they don't work quite the same.
Also, searching the net for tutorials doesn't help. The handful of people who have managed to get really good tone are very reluctant to share there secrets. Gits.
But, I think I am getting closer to finding a solution, as shown in the above photo. So will I share my technique? No, not yet anyway, but I will post my own tutorial when I can get consistent results. All I will say for now is it's mostly in the curves.
See you later.
Al

Minimalist Composition Study

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Palmer) — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:27:00 +0000

This photograph was taken when I spotted a single point of light falling across a radiator in our hallway this afternoon. It's one of the handful of photographs that I accurately pre-visualised before I even picked up my camera. I knew that the angle of the light would emphasise the texture in the wall, it's brightness would push most of the exposure into black and a square crop would remove all other distractions.
I'm quite pleased with this shot, (and it's not as freaky as yesterdays).
Another photo in the same mould but featuring yours truly, can be found on my blog.

My Little Eye

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Palmer) — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 15:23:00 +0000

Fireplace, Fireplace, Suit of Armour, Fireplace

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Palmer) — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 12:54:00 +0000