The First Reading on Sunday

As much as I enjoy taking candid photographs of people I haven't taken many of late but I really couldn't resist this shot of a vicar reading the Sunday Times prior to breakfast a few weeks ago. I was staying in a very comfortable hotel in Winchester. As I waited in the lounge for the first meal of the day to be served I was joined by a vicar and his wife and they sat down and started to read the newspapers. Not sure why I had taken my camera with me for breakfast but I am glad I did.

First Reading on a Sunday

For most of the summer I have largely concentrated on landscapes. Perhaps in the future I will spend a little more time taking shots like this one.

The Natural History Museum - without any nature!

In my last entry I wrote about the Genesis Exhibition by Sebastiao Salgado at the Natural History Museum in London, which as I have already said, was remarkable and well worth the visit. I have been to this museum on a number of occasions, although not for some years, but I have to say there are only so many times I can be impressed by dinosaur bones and to put it crudely, 'stuffed' animals. I love nature but taxidermy leaves me rather cold. However, apart from the Genesis exhibition, my visit was enhanced by the building itself and in particular, the way the sun light came through the glazed roof panels illuminating the interior architecture and the people as they moved around.

Never one to leave my camera at home I wanted to see if I could capture something of what I saw, as other people enjoyed the reason why most members of the public would come and visit this tourist attraction. So here are the results -

These arches are just above the statue of Darwin. As I stood to compose the shot, there were a large number of people photographing Darwin and I just wonder how long I would have had to wait before someone took a similar picture to the one above. I just love the way the light was falling on to the carved columns of the arches.

The museum was quite crowded so I had to wait a while for the staircase to be clear of visitors. My patience was I think rewarded.

These arches were above the cafe and I was attracted to the shaft of sun light as it lit up the columns from the roof lights above.

........and now for some people shots.

The images below were taken from the gallery above the main foyer. Packed with people it was difficult to isolate one individual. The bright light only lasted a few minutes as it threw shadows on the floor but I am pleased with the two images uncluttered by passers by.

Pointing

Alone

.......and lastly the great man himself.

The statue of Charles Darwin, the author of the 'Origin of Species', 

(taken I hope, from the non tourist angle!)

This is a reminder for me that there is so much to see everywhere I go - not just the obvious, as would have been the case here with the animals and other nature subjects etc, but alternative, even unexpected opportunities to add to my ever growing collection of monochrome photographs.

'Just waiting' in Sherborne Abbey

My last two posts have both been about Sherborne Abbey in Dorset. As we left I noticed an elderly lady sitting in the South Porch. It was late afternoon and the sun was still shining; it had been a very hot day.

'Just Waiting'
An elderly lady in the South Porch of Sherborne Abbey

She looked out through the gated entrance and the title for the image 'Just waiting' came into my mind. Waiting for what I don't know, nor will I ever know. She may not have been waiting at all, just taking the weight off her feet and enjoying some shade before she walked to her next destination. Perhaps she had been shopping and her wicker basket was full of delicious items from the local delicatessen, or her daily pills from the pharmacy. In all likelihood a mixture of the two.

What thoughts come to your mind when looking at this image? That's the great thing about people in photographs. They conjure up a story which will have a different interpretation for all that stop to look, wait and see what thoughts come to mind.

Stop, look, wait and observe....

This entry is all about one image, which I have called 'Walking Stick'.

The photograph was taken in the middle of the day just a few days ago. In December the sun is very low in the sky and the pavements are often wet from an early morning shower, but then never dry out as it's too cold and damp.  In strong sunlight this combination can result in a lot of contrast and reflection. Surrounded by Christmas shoppers I looked around me and saw the different textures in the paving stones and back lit people in silhouette. The shot just needed someone to come into the frame. I took three or four shots by way of an experiment to make sure I had the correct exposure. With such extremes of light and dark, it would be very easy to have blown highlights by over exposing the photograph.

I waited a few minutes when a man with a walking stick came into my field of view. The camera was set to 'single shot' even though the Olympus EM5 can take 9 shots per second. I released the shutter at what I thought would be the best moment and the camera with its really fast autofocus did the rest.

The rather intriguing and perhaps mysterious result is shown below.

I quickly looked at the screen on the back of my camera......reviewed the shot and frankly couldn't wait to get home to download the image and find out whether or not the camera was capable of capturing such a wide dynamic range. I used my usual workflow of Lightroom 4 and then Silver Efex Pro2 for the black and white conversion.

I was delighted with the result and it reminded me of the famous and much repeated saying by Henri Cartier-Bresson - 'the decisive moment'. On this occasion I believe I have captured that moment. A few minutes later the sun went behind a cloud and the lighting effect was lost.

It also embraces a saying which I have adopted for my photography -

"Stop, look, wait and observe....then capture the world in a different light"

Tweet

LRPS - The Final Ten

In the last two or three weeks I have been deliberating which ten images should make up my panel for the LRPS assessement day coming up at the beginning of December. The easiest decision was that they should all be black and white photos; colour was never really on the agenda. The Royal Photographic Society (RPS) do look for variety of shot for the Licentiateship Distinction,  as well as technical competence and the panel itself should be a cohesive unit. The eleventh image as it has been termed. With help from a fellow club member the final ten have now been selected and the layout finalised. It only remains for me to print and mount all of them and I will be set for the big day.

I also attended an RPS Distinction advisory day last weekend when two panel judges offered advice on a good number of 'L' and 'A' panels. Some were clearly of the standard required, whilst others fell short of the mark. It made for a most interesting time but fortunately it didn't change my final selection. I did not have the opportunity to show my own panel for critique, so whether or not it will pass I do not know. I understand there are five judges and a Chairperson on the day itself, so when my turn comes it will be quite nerve wracking.

The panel is made up with a mix of people shots and landscapes, many of which have already appeared in this blog. Number one in the panel will be this shot taken of Stefan Majoram drawing one of the Auto Union Silver Arrows at the Goodwood Revival Meeting back in September. I used the Olympus EM5 and Lumix 20mm prime lens at f2.5.

It's the first time I have printed this image and I am really pleased with how it has turned out. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the judges will share the same opinion.

Tweet

'People and Places' course at West Dean - the last entry

Back in the Summer I attended an excellent photography course at West Dean College in Sussex - People and Places with Jacqui Hurst. It now seems like a long time ago, so I ought to wrap it up with one last and very overdue entry. The two previous posts realting to this course can be found by clicking on these links - Glorious Goodwood and Littlehampton Seafront.

I have mentioned it before but at the beginning of the course all the participants were asked what they wanted to get out of the week. My reply was quite simply to see in 'black and white' and to produce a selection of images all in monochrome. I was certainly true to my word as the images below and on the two previous posts will testify.

Since the course I have almost exclusively shot black and white. My starting point is to shoot in RAW and then convert to Black and White. I did go through a short period when I set the camera to shoot RAW and a B&W jpeg, but this just filled up space on my hard drive. There were more photos to sort and delete, which I am not that good at doing in the first place.

If the shot is poorly composed, not a good subject or the lighting is poor.....I could go on; then whether or not it's in colour or black and white is not going to make that much difference. In my view I should still be htting the delete key and only processing something which is really worth the time and effort of looking at a computer screen.

I did not take my DSLR on the course, so all the photographs were taken using the Olympus OMD EM5 and a variety of prime lenses. Although I had only purchased the camera a week or two before the course, by the end of the week I was reasonably familiar with its functions and menu systems. Some reviews have said the menu system is quite complicated and not that intuitive. I cant agree, with a little time the camera settings can readily be changed to whatever suits your style.

The trombone clown
Olympus OMD EM5 12-50mm @ 26mm f5.2 1/160 ISO 1600

Goodwood Revival Meeting - the last entry

Its a month since I enjoyed a wonderful weekend at the Goodwood Revival Meeting in September. This is the last entry following on from 'The Silver Arrows' and 'The Characters' and is a final selection of images. It features the motor cars themselves, the shops, some more characters and the aircraft which was on dsiplay. Its an eclectic mix, but all in black and white and hopefully they capture something of the atmosphere of the great event which never fails to impress through its marvellous attention to detail. Provisional dates for 2013 have recently been announced - 13th to 15th September. For more information visit the Goodwood website.

With the exception of the first image which was taken with a Nikon D90, all the other photographs were taken using the Olympus OMD  - EM5.

The Race Starts
Nikon D90 - 70-300mm @122mm f8 1/100 ISO800

Gun Wharf Quay and Spinnaker Tower

Last Friday was a significant day for me. Earlier in the year I had agreed with my business partners that as from the 1st October I would reduce the numbers of days I work each week, from five to four days, electing to take Friday as my day off. The 5th October was therefore the first Friday I didn't go into work, which left me free to do something completely different to what I would normally do on that day of the week. I decided to head on down to Portsmouth and Gun Wharf Quay in particular, to take a few shots of Spinnaker Tower and its immediate surroundings. It was good fun, I didn't go inside any of the shops although I was questioned by a security officer who must have assumed I worked for a terrorist organisation! I can't blame him for questioning me, he was only doing his job. In fact once we got talking he was quite interested and liked some of the shots I had taken.

Here are selection of the images, all taken with the Olympus EM5 and as is usually the case with my workflow, imported into Lightroom and converted into Black and White with Silver Efex Pro2.

Spinnaker Tower - an unusual but symmetrical approach to this very tall structure
12mm f10 1/500 ISO200

The Characters of the Goodwood Revival Meeting

There are two major elements to the Goodwood Revival Meeting. Firstly the wonderful machinery (the cars, the aircraft and the motor bikes) and secondly the people who attend and frankly make this event what it is today. In the past I have concentrated on the former but this year I decided that I would work harder to capture images of the characters, their outfits and through them the spirit of the event itself.

In an earlier blog entry I made it clear that all my images this year would be in 'black and white' and through this medium I think the mood of the event is further enhanced.

With one exception all the photographs have been taken using the Olympus EM5, imported into Lightroom and converted into black and white using Silver Efex Pro.

The Rocker
Olympus EM5 45mm f2 1/1250 ISO 200

'People and Places' - Littlehampton Seafront

This is the second post which relates to Jacqui Hurst's 'People and Places' course I attended at West Dean College earlier this summer. In complete contrast to our visit to Glorious Goodwood we spent a day at Littlehampton; a typical and relatively small seaside resort on the south coast.

Whilst a colourful location I stuck to the brief I had imposed on myself at the begining of the course, i.e. choosing monochrome for all of my images. I tried to concentrate on textures, tones and good composition whilst trying to capture the 'feeling and atmosphere' of the seafront. Fortunately the weather was dry and bright so there were a fair number of people around. At times though it was overcast, but this helped from a photographic point of view as I did not have extremes of contrast to worry about.

Some of the group felt uncomfortable photographing people. I very enjoyed the experience and the Olympus EM5 certainly allowed me to be a little more discreet. Had I been using a substantial DSLR with a large zoom lens and I am sure I would have felt very different as I went looking for suitable subjects.

Once again the kit lens stayed in the bag and I switched between three primes lenses. 12mm, 20mm and 45mm which equate to 24mm, 40mm and 90mm if using a full frame 35mm sensor.

All the photographs were taken in RAW with an Olympus OMD EM5, imported into Lightroom and converted into black and white using Silver Efex Pro2. I have to say that Silver Efex Pro is a joy to use when converting images to monchrome. The contrast and structure adjustments can really bring the image to life, increasing tonal range and texture. I am still very much learning about black and white but for me there is a certain something about the results which pleases me.

Unusual bench seating along the promenade
Olympus EM5 12mm 1/160 f11 ISO 200

'People and Places' at Glorious Goodwood

The end of July/beginning of August is traditionally the time for one of the most famous race meetings in the country - Glorious Goodwood. Situated on The South Downs the race course enjoys wonderful views of the countryside to the north and to the south, distant views of the sea and even the Isle of Wight on a clear day. I am not a seasoned race goer and definitely not a gambler buts its hard to resist the allure of Glorious Goodwood which attracts the famous, the not so famous and those that are simply there to win some money or have a good day out.

My reason for going this year was as part of a 'People and Places' photography course I was attending at West Dean College which is just down the road from Goodwood. I would thoroughly recommend West Dean College to anyone interested in an arts or crafts course held in a beautiful house set in quite superb grounds. The course was being run by Jacqui Hurst and in addition to myself there were five other participants. I will say more about Jacqui and the course in a forthcoming post.

At the outset of the week I set myself the objective of 'seeing' in black and white. We had to produce a portfolio of work by the end of the course, so however good some of the images might appear in colour the final selection would all have to be in monochrome. At Glorious Goodwood I wanted to capture the atmosphere of the place and its people, and whilst we were not in the 'posh' Richmond or Gordon Enclosures, the Lennox Enclosure would provide just as many photo opportunities.

I should just mention that a couple of weeks before attending the course I made the decision to buy the Olympus OMD EM5 with the 12mm to 50mm kit lens. The body and lens are weather sealed and having enjoyed the E-PL3 so much together with the three prime lens (12mm, 20mm and 45mm) I couldn't wait to see how this new camera performed. Being on a photography course for a week was the ideal opportunity to find out. I can tell you now, I was not disappointed, to the contrary the results are quite fantastic and I am now wondering when the Nikon D90 DSLR will get its next airing?

Here are a selection of the images taken at Goodwood. They were all taken with the OMD and one of the prime lenses. Shot in RAW, imported into Lightroom with minor adjustments before converting to black and white in Silver Efex Pro2; a dedicated B&W plugin by Nik Software. 

Racing to the line
Olympus OMD 20mm f8 1/500 ISO 200

Festival of Speed - The People

This is the second post relating to the Goodwood Festival of Speed. It's been a busy summer so it has taken me a while to complete this entry and there may still be one more to come!

This event is wonderful for its cars but also for the people who drive them or indeed simply spectate. Hopefully these images give a flavour of 'the people' at Goodwood.

Its twenty years since the Festival of Speed came to Goodwood, courtesy of the Earl of March. It's grown and grown, year on year, but one person who has regularly been invited but never come, made his debut appearance on this occasion - Alain Prost or 'The 'Professor', the great Formula One champion of days gone by.

Alain Prost and the Earl of March
Olympus E PL3 45mm f2.5 1/400 ISO 200

Local fete

The local school and church fete always provides a good photo opportunity and this year was no exception. Fortunately the weather stayed fair. I decided to use my Olympus E PL3 which I only acquired a few weeks ago, together with three prime lenses - the Panasonic 20mm and the Olympus 12mm and 45mm. I am really enjoying this new kit; its so portable and discreet when you are trying to take one or two candid images. 'Zooming' with your feet as opposed to twisting a barrel on a lens makes you think about your own position and compostition well before the shot is taken. More practice is required but the early results are pleasing and I love the sharpness of these excellent lenses.

Here are a small selection of the images taken, all shot in RAW and converted in Lightroom with minimal manipulation which included some sharpening.

Lift me up, I can't see

20mm f7.1 1/320 ISO 200