Goodwood Revival - the cars and the people

Jaguar C Type

For many years I have been to the Goodwood Revival - a wonderful annual event, staged over three days in the middle of September. It's pure theatre, from the cars, to the racing and of course the people, the vast majority of which enter into the spirit of the occasion and dress in clothes appropriate for the post war era.

Trying to select what to photograph and what not to, is far from easy, as there is something of interest round every corner or should I say bend.

All the photographs were taken with the Leica M Monochrom and 50mm f1.4, Summilux lens. Restricting myself to one camera and one lens, is not inhibiting. If anything it allows me to concentrate far more on the subject and not be distracted by the question 'which lens shall I use?' In the short time I have been using the Monochrom, I have been forced to slow down, really consider what I am doing and what camera settings are required to give me the 'look' I am wanting. As a consequence I took far fewer photographs than I would have done in the past. The photographic experience is very different to any other camera I have ever used and I think it will be sometime before I feel at ease using a rangefinder.

I so enjoy working on the files from the Monochrom in post processing. The screen on the back of the camera does not do justice to the image, to the contrary it's so poor it's hardly worth looking at. Fine for a quick check for composition and exposure, using either the histogram or highlights and shadows warning, but not much else. Back at home the sheer pleasure of downloading the files in all their glory is well worth waiting for.

Enough about the equipment, here is a selection of photographs from the Goodwood Revival.

Firstly the machines which is what draws the crowds in the first place.

Starting Grid  

In Admiration - of a Blower Bentley

An icon of British Cinema - James Bond's Aston Martin DB5

Jaguar XK 140

Wing mirror

Helmet, gloves and scarf

VIP's Only

  And now for the people.

The Gent

Glam Cab Taxi Girls

Stolen Milk Bottle

1960's Girls

 
It's only two weeks since the Revival and already I am looking forward to next year's event. I hope you can see why.

St Albans Cathedral - a quick visit

Vaulted ceiling of the South Aisle of Nave 

A couple of weeks ago I needed to make a round day trip to Chelmsford in Essex, a journey which is almost impossible to do from my home without joining the M25 at some point or an other. On the way up from the south coast I headed east knowing that I would have to wait in a long queue of traffic to go through the Dartford tunnel. True to form the cars moved at a snails pace, but the queue coming back the other way looked even worse, so my return journey would take me along the northern section round the M25 in a westerly direction and through Hertfordshire. A longer route home but hopefully I would keep moving.

Journey sorted, I took a detour to the rather attractive town of St Albans, specifically to look round the Cathedral and take some photographs. Most cathedrals offer a wealth of photographic opportunities. Architectural features are plentiful and the light can be very special. St Albans is no exception. It has a very long history and is thought to be the oldest site of continuous Christian worship in Britain.  According to the official website the cathedral stands in a place where Alban, the first martyr, was buried after giving his life for his faith over 1700 years ago - more than 200 years before St Augustine arrived in Canterbury.

I have never visited St Albans before, so I was looking forward to visiting another of this country's wonderful Cathedrals. Limited for time before driving home, I was able to take a number of images which I hope show the splendour of this great building.

Lady Chapel

High Altar Screen

Chantry

Presbytery Door

Looking towards The Lady Chapel

One of the three West Doors of St Albans Cathedral

I very much enjoyed my brief visit to St Albans Cathedral. Sadly there wasn't time to explore the town itself but if I find myself in the area again then St Albans will definitely be on the list of places to explore and to photograph of course!

All the photographs in this entry were taken with my recently acquired Leica M Monochrom and 50mm Summilux and 28mm Elmarit lenses.

Quiet as a Mouse - British Flag EP Cover

At the beginning of June I received an email from Alex Moran, a singer and songwriter, on behalf of his emerging Indie Rock Band - Quiet as a Mouse - who are based in Edinburgh, Scotland and were formed in 2012. He was enquiring as to whether or not they could use one of my images for their first EP which was to be released later in the year. It already had the title - British Flag. Needless to say I was very pleased to have been approached.

Click here and go to their website.

Over a period of a few weeks there was an exchange of emails between us and I am delighted they chose one of my images - 'Tree in field of snow' - as the cover for their EP which was released earlier this month on 11th August. It has four tracks and based on some of the reviews they have already received for their earlier work, it looks as though it's going to be a great success and I wish them every luck in the future. Here are just a couple of reviews lifted from their website.

The Sun:

“Quiet as a Mouse are fast becoming one of Scotland’s hottest prospects…’Home Is The Hardest Place To Find’ is a soaring anthem packed full of melody…it reminds me of Snow Patrol’s edgier moments.”

The Daily Record:

“Some bands don’t even achieve such a great track as ‘An Accident Waiting To Happen (Awoo Woo Woo)’ let alone give it away for free. It’s a contender for Scottish single of the year”

“There is enough in Alex Moran’s band’s armoury to sink a battleship…New single Casketcase is a heady mix of Weezer and Nirvana, its Goth for the new millennium…I love this band.”

Click here and listen to British Flag on Soundcloud

Click here to purchase Brirish Flag EP on iTunes.

Leica M Monochrom - first outing in Kingley Vale

Into the woods

Ever since my photographic style turned away from colour and into black and white, I have been curious to know more about a camera which only takes monochrome images - that camera is the Leica M Monochrom and was announced in May 2012. Ever since its release I have read numerous reviews and downloaded some DNG files just to see what all the fuss was about.

As my appreciation for black and white photography has grown, together with my knowledge of this particular art form, my understanding of the Monochrom and what it might offer has also expanded. So earlier this year I went up to the Leica Akademie in Mayfair for a 'test drive' of both the M240 and the M Mononchrom. You can read about my experience and first thoughts here.


After many weeks of agonising; should I or shouldn't I?…..my mind was made up when I came across a second hand Monochrom in virtually mint condition being sold by Red Dot Cameras, a specialist Leica dealer situated in Old Street, London. It only had 1,100 actuations and the saving in cost over a new one was quite considerable. I travelled up to the City and returned later in the day with the camera and two lenses - a Leica 50mm Summilux f1.4 ASPH - M (6 bit) and a 28mm Elmarit F2.8 ASPH (6 bit). I also bought a spare battery and a second hand 'Thumbs Up' grip which already had a lovely patina.

Having read so much about the M Monochrom I am already aware that this rangefinder camera and its manual focus lenses will take time to master, but with patience and much practice, coupled with my desire to improve my photography, the learning experience should prove worthwhile. Only time will tell.

I took a few test shots in and around the house but last weekend I finally had the opportunity to go out with the camera to see how I would get on. The late afternoon light was excellent so I drove to Kingley Vale Nature Reserve which forms part of the South Downs National Park.

I decided to restrict myself to the use of just one lens - the 50mm Summilux. I did though take a 3 stop ND filter, which would allow me to shoot wide open in the bright light. I also set the exposure compensation to -2/3rds, in the hope that this would prevent any blown highlights, particularly given the lighting conditions.

Here are a selection of the images taken that afternoon. They have all been processed in Lightroom 5 and some have been further worked in Silver Efex Pro2. They may not be the best shots I have ever taken but for a first try I am delighted with the results. Already I am convinced my decision to buy the Leica M Monochrom was the right one. I just ask myself why I took so long to make up my mind?

Light on the crop

Fence post

Evening sun

Summer grasses

Trunk and ivy

Woodland path

This is definitely not a review but I will just say that the files it produces are astounding in their detail and tonality. They are very malleable in post processing and  I guess are everything I expected them to be from all the reviews I had read, only more so.

The Leica M Monochrom is a very niche and specialist camera - and my photographic journey in black and white continues!

Rich photo opportunities in London's museums and galleries

Tate Arches - Tate Britain

We are very fortunate in this country that many of the best museums and galleries in London do not charge an entry fee, although they do usually request a donation. Not only do they contain some wonderful exhibits, the buildings themselves offer some great photographic opportunities. In fact I enjoy visiting and exploring these institutions for this very reason. Some time ago I went to the Natural History Museum to see the Genesis Exhibition by Sebastiao Salgado and I wrote about the photos taken here.

More recently I have visited Tate Britain, the British Museum and the Saatchi Gallery to see what material there might be for some photography. Each building is very different, but all three had a number of architectural features which inspired me to take some images.

All of these visitor attractions allow photographs to be taken, although the use of a tripod would I think be prohibited, so all my shots were handheld.

Tate Britain

The Manton Staircase

Light on the Stairs

Spiral staircase

The Corridor

The British Museum

Great Court - a contrast of old and new

Staircase

Leading somewhere?

Ionic column

The Saatchi Gallery

Inside - Outside

Regarding the building itself, I found less to photograph here, but I was able to capture a few interesting people shots.

Just Looking

Art movement

Girl in the gallery

Rich pickings as far as I am concerned and definitely worth a return visit at some point in the future.   It also makes me wonder what opportunities might be in store at many other museums and galleries across the capital city of London.

My first commission - The finished result

This is the last entry describing my first ever photographic commission. It would have been posted much sooner, as I wanted to include some images of the framed photographs in their final resting place i.e. - hanging on the walls in the offices of Vail Williams, but lack of time and other commitments have prevented me from making a trip to North Harbour. Another day perhaps and an excuse for another blog entry. For the time being I have put together this composite of all ten photographs.

The Stern

The last stage in the process of this commission was not without its challenges. As far as I was concerned every one of the A2 size prints had to be printed perfectly. No blemishes, no banding, just perfect results. My Epson 3880 performed extremely well but on a few occasions the print quality was not to my satisfaction and when this happened, in the bin it went, and another one was printed.

Printing the images with an Epson 3880

Mounting each image proved fairly straightforward. I had recently bought a new mount cutter by Longridge which would cope more easily with the size of board and opening I would be cutting. I had already calculated the size of the finished print so that I could cut each mount board identically to fit the black frames which I had purchased beforehand. Using archival 'acid free' tape I made 'T' hinges to fix the print to the mount board. I then used 'acid free' double sided tape to fix backing board to the mount board to keep the print flat and ensure a good fit inside the frame.

The Longridge mount cutter made easy work of this stage in the process

Perhaps the hardest task was placing the mounted photograph inside the frame. This task should be the easiest of all, but there were countless times when dust or some other tiny fragment would get trapped between the clear perspex and the board or the photograph itself. I simply can't ignore it when this happens so I remove the print, clean the perspex and start again. I got there eventually but it can be most frustrating!

Commission completed - The stack of ten A2 photographs

My work finished I invited Ian Froome round to check that he was happy with the results. He was, so out came the bubble wrap and each of the ten framed photographs was packaged and stacked carefully in his car.

Inside Lakeside

A few days later Ian contacted me to let me know that the 'North Harbour handyman' had hung each picture and the commission was well and truly completed. I received payment for my expenses and as agreed at the outset Vail Williams made a generous donation towards The St Peter Project.

Spinnaker Tower

I thoroughly enjoyed my first commission, from agreeing the brief, to taking the images, making up a short list, processing them and finally making them ready for display. It did take a lot of time but I learnt a great deal in the process, and I would happily take on another commission given the opportunity.

The first entry - Agreeing the brief can be found here.

The second entry - Taking the photographs can be found here.

The third entry - Processing and selection can be found here.

My first commission - Processing and selection

This is the third entry in my series charting the progress and experiences of undertaking my first photographic commission.

In the previous entry I wrote about the photo shoot and the locations I visited. Back home, I swiftly downloaded all the shots into Lightroom and backed them up. I wanted to make sure nothing was lost before deleting the files from the SD Cards. In total I had taken 417 exposures and I needed to get this number down to about 30 or so images from which Vail Williams would hopefully choose about 8 for framing and display in their offices at Lakeside.

Old and New Portsmouth

As I had never undertaken a commission before, trying to decide which images to process and then include in the shortlist, was always going to be a problem. It's easy of course to remove those which are technically flawed, of which there were a number, although not that many. This was not so much down to me but the technical functionality of the Olympus EM1.

Lakeside, North Harbour

Other shots simply didn't work whether for compositional reasons, subject matter, wrong angle of view and so on. Others in my view really had merit and were worthy in my opinion of being included in the final selection to put forward. Inevitably I guess I was drawn to images that I liked but which also fulfilled the brief set by the client. However I was very conscious of the fact that for the first time I was creating a set of photographs not for me but for someone else; in fact a group of people who might have very different ideas as to what they would want and actually pay for!

Processing the images 

Over a period of a couple of weeks, I made my selection and processed all the images in a consistent fashion ready to show Ian Froome, who would then share them with other members of his team. I took a lot of care during the processing to make sure there were no blemishes or sensor spots. I wanted to ensure that all the images were print ready. Given that they were going to be printed on A2 paper, any marks or imperfections would be magnified and more likely to be noticed.

Sunsail 4022

For the presentation I decided to prepare them in three different ways. Firstly I produced a MP4 slideshow which is relatively easy to do in Lightroom. I put them in an order which I considered appropriate and transferred the slideshow onto a disk which I could give to Ian. Using small file sizes I also copied the individual images on to the disk as well, so they actually had thumbnails of each one if they needed to easily share these around the office. Lastly I printed a contact sheet onto the photographic paper I would be using for the finished prints, namely Ilford Galerie Gold Mono Silk. This paper in my opinion produces some great black and white results although unfortunately the factory in Switzerland producing the paper, Ilford Imaging, went into liquidation at the end of 2013 so the paper is no longer available. Fortunately I had a good stock of A2 size paper to complete the commission.

Gosport Tower

I invited Ian round to my home to see the images and take away the disk and the contact sheet. He seemed suitably impressed but I would have to wait for his confirmation that he and his team liked the photographs sufficiently to want to hang them in their offices. I took nothing for granted, as I did not want to assume they would want any of the 26 photographs in the selection I had provided.

A week or so later and great news. Ian contacted me and they had chosen not just 8 photographs but 10 images. I was delighted but it soon dawned on me that I now had to print, mount and frame all these photographs. This will be the subject of my next and final entry on this topic.

The first entry in this short series can be found here, and the second entry here.