Superman

Twenty Five

This is one of my entries for a school photo competition run at my school. Can’t decide whether to enter it in the portrait section or enhanced as it is a bit of both.

Another photo using the Nikon D610. I also used a few videos on YouTube to work out how to do some of the effects. For example, the head was made a bit bigger than normal. I also added the old fashioned wallpaper. I really like the way it has come out. It took a long time to put together but worth it. And finally, the model. Well superman is my super dad!

Broadway Polo

Eighteen

Hats for the last post. This time it’s polo shirts. This time my mum was on a shopping spree. This was during one of our night time trips into Broadway. I also have a photo of the actual racks head on so it looks more like my hats shot. However, I liked this shot as it was full of people. In fact, the shop was very busy even though it was about 10 pm.

This photo, like my last Broadway shot, was taken with my dad’s Olympus camera with the fish eye. Great for tight spots like this shop. Thinking about posting at least one more proper Broadway shot. I’m quite busy at the moment as exams are coming up. So at least it easier not having to take photos at the moment and having so many holiday photos.

The End

Project 52: Week 48

I was surprised to learn that this week’s photo blog would be the last in the Project 52 competition run by Photography Monthly. It’s a shame because I had a few photos planned which I hoped would show some new techniques that I have been trying to learn. However, it also means that I no longer have to think of photos to take within the week’s deadlines. This has sometimes been very hard and I haven’t always been happy with the photo that I have posted. On the other hand, sometimes I have taken a few shots that I was very happy with. But the strict rules of the blog competition stopped me posting these. Bah!

The style of photo which I have taken today is one of those which when you first do it you think WOW! I have done it a few times but probably nearly two years ago when I used to go to my old school’s photography club. I always find it easier to show than to explain how to do things with computers. Basically, you take two photos of yourself. In each nothing changes except where you are in the photo. I put the camera on a 10 second timer so that I had time to sit down before the shutter clicked. We have Photoshop Elements 9 at home which I use to edit photos. When editing open one photo with the second on top. I then simply rub out part of the top layer using the eraser tool to reveal the hidden figure in the layer below.

The theme of the photo is obvious. It’s the end of this particular project. But not of my photos nor the blog. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, it’s a shame that Project 52 didn’t go on to the end of April as we are going to New York for Easter. There will be some great opportunities for photography there.

As I have said above this project has been a challenge. But it has also challenged me to try and be better and to try new techniques that I probably would not have done. I have picked the brains of both the internet and my dad who has always encouraged me and helped me sometimes to work out how to achieve a technique. Looking at my blog I can see that I have certainly developed at a photographer. Thanks to Photography Monthly for running this competition and special thanks to Jade from PM for her encouragement. And it’s been great having some of my photos feature in the magazine.

I will certainly keep up the blog but I might not post a photo every week. Although there might be quite a few New York shots towards the end of April!

Not a Snowman…

Project 52: Week 46

Since it is coming to the end of the Project 52 competition I decided to try something new. I had previously seen photos where a face has been transformed by making it look as if it was made of plants and other stuff like this. So I searched for YouTube videos to find out how to create this effect. This is the video that I used: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT_lTKxP9ck&feature=youtu.be

I watched the video on the iPad while working on the computer editing my photo. The instructions weren’t too difficult to follow but I did have to experiment a bit to make the effect work for my photo. You can look at the video yourself to find out what to do. I will say that I needed a portrait and another photo which would replace the texture of the face. For this second bit I photographed a wall and some ivy growing on our wall at the bottom of the garden as I wasn’t sure what would work the best. In the end I didn’t even use the ivy. I liked the effect with the bricks plus it took so long I had no more energy to try the ivy.

At first I thought that I would use a self-portrait but that was difficult to do. So I asked my dad [again] if he would agree. He did. Plus he had more skin area on his head… to make the effect stand out more.

I had no ideas for a title so I decided to call it “Not a Snowman”. I suppose I could have called it Brickman. Anyway, I think it’s quite a fun title so I chose it.

This week’s photo(s) was taken using a Nikon D200.

Don’t Lose Your Head

Project 52: Week 23

I can’t believe that six months have passed since I started this blog. Congratulations to Rowan for winning the sixth month prize. And I was delighted to get a runners up mention at this stage.

Well, I didn’t want to allow having my photos published in Photography Monthly result in my losing my head so I arranged for my next portrait subject to lose theirs!

I wanted to try a technique that I have used previously (week 13) but in a different way. I think the result is pretty cool.

Camera used: Nikon D200.

Notting Hill Carnival

Project 52: Week 22

On Bank Holiday Monday I went to the Notting Hill Carnival. I managed to take quite a few photos but chose to post this one because it was the most vibrant. It stood out because each of the three people in the picture are wearing different colours.

This is the first time that I visited the Notting Hill Carnival. I thought that it was great. The costumes were very creative and extremely colourful. The streets were very crowded with everyone trying to get a good view of the carnival processions.

I didn’t need to edit to photo except to sharpen it a bit. I didn’t even need to crop it as I thought that it filled the frame well with action and colour.

Portrait

Project 52: Week 21

This week’s photo was inspired by the blog from thetinygalaxy (AKA Celia) – http://thetinygalaxy.wordpress.com/2013/08/24/frida-week-twenty-one/ . She in turn was inspired by the photos of Lee Jeffries. The funny thing is that I showed the photo to my dad and he said Lee Jeffries was one of his contacts on Flickr. We both had a look at his photos and I remembered having looked at them a while ago. They are excellent black and white photographs. They have a very dark and gritty feel to them which I like.

Anyway, I thought I would have a go at this style of photo. I asked my dad if I could photo him. The main reason is that he hasn’t shaved for a while and the stubble gives his face some character.

To give the portrait that gritty look I made it black and white and played with some textures. To get the background dark, I took the photo close to a window with the curtains mostly closed. This let the light fall on my dad’s face but kept the rest of the room quite dark. The dark textures also helped to make the background darker. Working with the textures took a while before I liked the final effect. This is the second time in my Project 52 blog where I have experimented with textures (see week 2). It can be a bit hit and miss and does not always work. But when it does it can give a great effect.

This Week’s photo was taken with a Fujifilm x10 again.

First Day

Project 52: Week 18

This was taken on the last day of week 18 and the first day of my holiday.

I had struggled to find something to photography during the week in the UK so decided that I would try a get an interesting shot when I got to Valencia. The only problem might be that there might not be enough time.

We got into the city around midday, and after a rest, unpacking and some food we caught the metro into the old city for a late afternoon walk and to get a idea of what was in the city centre.

The narrow, old side streets were particularly interesting. Many had some great graffiti. As it turned out, I haven’t posted one of the graffiti shots I took but this one of the man turning the corner on his bike. Why? Well, I wanted this weeks photo to be different. I was in a different country, with different weather, different language, different architecture …. different styles even.

This guy looked different. He stood out with his great hairstyle (like the characters in the Hair Bear Bunch my mum said -apparently some cartoon she watched when she was young). He was also cycling handsfree (at least before getting to this bend). The buildings are also clearly different to the ones we usually see in the UK.

So there you are. Something a bit different.

Taken with a Fujifilm x10.

Anti-Gravity

Project 52: Week 13

Caught a bit of Attack of the Clones on Sunday TV with Yoda floating around so my dad said, “Why don’t you do a levitation photo?”

Neither he nor I had done this before but about a year ago he showed me how to clone the same person in a picture a number of times. He said the method was similar. So we went outside and he showed me how to do this. It was a rush job but it worked. I don’t want to give away too much about how it is done but it involved my keyboard stool and the eraser tool in Photoshop Elements.

Anyway, after homework tonight I took the lead and we went into the garden for my attempt. I set up the camera low (it was too high on Sunday) which made the levitation more obvious. Then I took a few shots of my dad in different poses and one with just the empty garden. The next bit involved choosing my favourite pose, the empty garden scene, plus a computer and a steady hand.

I hope you like the photo effect.

I would like to say thanks to my dad for taking the time to show me new techniques. And for being a willing model! While I have taken photos for a long time now, this project is really pushing me to learn new stuff.

Camera used – Nikon D200.

Happy Father’s Day

Project 52: Week 12

I am so late with this week’s post which is not like me.

Anyway, dragged my dad into this week’s post. For father’s day I got him a bike t-shirt. He is keen on mountain biking and has a couple of mountain bikes. He also has a racer (I have been told that it is a single speed) which he always uses to get into town. So I thought I would put the two together in a photo. To add that mystery like the last time I photo’d him, I got him to wear a mask my mum and dad bought on holiday in Florence before I was born.

I would have liked to take this outside with a pleasant backdrop. But…yep, the rain, has done it again. So into porch we went.

Taken with a Nikon D3100 and a wide angle lens to get a dad and bike into the photo.

I hope you enjoy this week’s post.

Oh yeah – check out the purple crocs!