Good morning sunshine

                                             Welcome to my office               

It's been a while, but now I'm back. A lot has changed in Ramsey. Well the swing bridge is undergoing repair. Trust me, that's exciting news. I still like Jack Daniels. I have a proper grown up regular photography job.   Anyway, short and sweet until I get into my stride, but that's dawn breaking good. The beach to some, my office to me.

All images will be low res

HOW TO CREATE ABSTRACT WAVES

Surreal, naturally

No not the sky. Skywatch is the post below. It's an abstract image of a wave crash created naturally with a camera. We've had glass reflections and crashing waves caught in frozen time moments but now for a visual feast of abstract photography. Don't be scared. Come with me on a mini journey to see how it's done.

Now you can take a photo and just play around with your digital software until you get the desired effect. Now me I'm the world's laziest photographer( you get to be good by nailing a shot first time, by being lazy) and I just want to take the image and go. For the image today I wanted to create an arty image of water. The sea was very obliging and tempestuous. Good start. Next I wanted to capture the fluidity of the water, not freeze it. Think looking at a still image but seeing movement. So it's all about shutter speeds and low light. So not a noon shot. What you want are longer shutter speeds. Think the longer the shutter speed the smoother and more silky the waves swirls will be. I wanted to retain a little choppiness so I didn't use a tripod. To get those mist silken water images a tripod, very long shutter speeds, low light and a remote are paramount. To create a slight fuzziness like artist feathery brushstrokes hand held and longish shutter speed will do just fine. One trick I did use was to photograph the water bouncing off the dark promenade wall( not in the image,but left hand side) to intensify the sea-green we get here. So the result you should get is a still image that feels like it's moving, not frozen. Only alteration to the image re sized for the blog. For examples of other shutter speeds and water images see the red words below.

Fast crashing waves

Frozen crashing waves

Mirror image reflection
Still surreal


Taken the same place as the skywatch image in Ramsey. Fortunately I live on an island so water a plenty for me but I appreciate not everyone has access to the Irish Sea on their doorstep. Try photographing a puddle, and overflow pipe, a stream, a gushing leak if you don't have the sea. Necessity if the mother of invention.

Have fun.

MONOCHROME ODD SHOTS - LOOKING GLASS

Bresson-esque by Babooshka

Reflections of Ramsey 

Last week we had a trip around the two beaches of Ramsey. This week I am purely indulging myself with for me pure photography reflections. As it is Monochrome Odd shots I used this one to start the theme, "Looking Glass." It's Mooragh Lake with the park. I was standing one side taking upside down reflections, a particular speciality when I spied the couple of walkers. I purposely waiting for them to walk into the frame.  I have often tried to convey that photographers are born not made and you either think photography or you don't. I saw in my mind's eye how the image would look and waited for the walkers to arrive into my image naturally. Not serendipity, not stage managed, but a natural image nonetheless. 

(Photography, what is it?)

This week I am going to use one camera, the reasonably priced Nikon D50, wide angled lens on various setting, times, weather conditions. All images will be pure. No cropping, colour balance, contrast, brighten sharpening. The ugly and the beautiful will stay within the image. The common links will be around Ramsey and all reflections of one kind or another. One camera, one lens, one photographer. Ramsey is a very normal looking town as I have shown you. I intend to make it look surreal in a natural way. Twin Peaks, Alice In Wonderland anyone. You may or may not like these images. They may not be easy on the eye, or may be too easy. For me photography is using my eye, my brain, my natural ability. I think when we employ other techniques ie photoshop then it should be classed as photo art,a new genre perhaps. We really do need to make the distinction to safegaurd both photographers and artists. I am a photographer and I take photographs. I am a dying breed, please don't make my partner or I the artist extinct.

Aileni will see to your Monochrome needs

Katney will see to your Odd shots.

To know me as a photographer, go google one word Bresson.