Well she’s finally completed after a while in Photoshop, must admit I really enjoyed doing this, just need a real life woman now……I know they all say that lol
She started out as this.
Adrian
Perhaps one day, you never know especially with the way the world is going….lets hope not
Today’s image is courtesy of being awake with ideas buzzing round my head since 3:20. Since Jo was unavailable and wouldn’t do it for a gold pig anyway I had to dig old Jenna Jameson out of the closet, of course I’m just practising techniques with my Profoto B1’s, beauty dish and coloured grids.
Goes without saying would be much more fun in an industrial scene with a life model…any volunteers?, would also work well in an old cooling tower or tunnel too.
Background is black cloth and coloured by a gel on a B1 at full power while the beauty dish slightly right and above is less than half power, quite effective isn’t it?
OK it may be a little weird but I have a plan which involves a male and female model, the BBC and Musketeers…long story, if it comes off I’ll share.
Adrian
A little I’ll grant but it’s a well used trick in photography using layers and masks and while I had 5 mins to play I thought I’d give the B1 a blast, just one to the right slightly behind the camera on TTL, quite a neat trick really and definitely worth trying with different subjects and locations.
Go on, have a play you know you want to and you get to eat the model…errrrr!
Adrian
Thought we all needed a bit of a summer image to warm us up a little.
The snow is falling outside and has been all night, we have 3-4 inches so far. The fur gang are playing in the garden and absolutely loving it, we’re just waiting for it to get light enough so we can head off out with the camera and get a few winter snaps.
One or two cars have made up up our steep slope of a road so hopefully my prints will arrive today so I can arrange shipping tomorrow.
I have almost finished my work for the Fellowship qualification of the BIPP, its proven to be very time consuming and very expensive, but it has taken me on a wonderful soul searching mission that will hopefully make me a better photographer, big thanks to Russell my mentor who has imparted some very sound advise and critique.
The ‘F’ grade qualification is attainable for distinguished and exceptional ability and creativity and as such is a big leap from my ABIPP which I attained in 2011 and although my work is of the same standard I find it is now geared towards the commercial market.
My working profile is at the book printers in Woking, Surrey, my display prints are kindly being done by Peak Imaging so I should have everything completed and put together by the end of next week ready for the 10th Feb deadline submission, then it’s a nervous 4 week wait until I got to Ayelsbury for my assessment 10th March.
Im not being over confident as I’ve seen and heard people fail even at the LBIPP standard for one reason or another. All I can be confident of is providing my very best work in the most professional manner of presentation and hope for the best.
Ah well looks like daylight is here and the husky gang are ready for the playtime. Pictures to follow
Adrian
Morning all
a few weeks ago I was set a challenge by Moneysupermarket.com to do a comparison shot, my Canon 1DS MKIII V a budget camera bought from Amazon.co.uk, “easy you say”… Not So, I say.
Firstly I had to contend with the myriad of point and shoot cameras available compared to and being realistic Canon or Nikon in the DSLR range. A quick google and you’ll get 50 cameras all around the £50 mark all claiming to do everything Joe Public will need and more, image stabilization, HD video, effects galore etc etc. The only thing in my favour is that I am pretty happy with Canon and have always stuck with them since I turned professional in 2009, I currently have a 5d MKII a 1DS MKIII and my favourite scouting camera a S100 that is always with me no matter where I am, it shoots RAW and has many capabilities that my main DSLR has at a fraction of the size and weight.
Anyway, back to the “Hot Shot Challenge”, after much searching and researching amazon reviews I came across a Canon Ixus 130 in used condition with a sale price of £54,59 yup I couldn’t believe it either especially with a rrp of £239 but many on sale approx £175 on Amazon.co.uk.
The specification:-
Camera Type: Ultra Compact
Megapixels: 14
Zoom: 4x
LCD Screen: 2.7
Memory Cards: SD / SDHC / SDXC
Aspect Ratios: 4:3, 16:9
File Formats: JPEG
Focal Length Equivalent: 28 – 112mm
Shutter Speed: 15 – 1/1500 seconds
Aperture: f/2.8 – f/5.9
Sensitivity: AUTO, ISO 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
White Balance Settings: Auto (including Face Detection WB), Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Custom
Exposure Compensation: -2EV to +2EV (in 1/3EV steps)
Viewfinder: No
Flash Modes: Auto, Manual Flash On / Off, Slow Synchro
Flash Range: 4m
Metering: Multi-pattern, centre weighted, spot
Shooting Modes: Portrait, Night Snapshot, Kids & Pets, Indoor, Smart Shutter(Smile, Wink Self-Timer, FaceSelf-Timer), Low Light(3.5MP), Color Accent, Color Swap, Fish-eye Effect, Miniature Effect, Beach, Underwater, Foliage, Snow, Fireworks, Long Shutter, Stitch Assist
Maximum Movie Resolution: 1280 x 720
Max Movie Frames Per Sec: 30 fps
Maximum Movie Duration: 4GB or 10 minutes
Macro Focus: 3cm
ManualControls None
Image Stabilisation Yes
Lens Converters No
Self Timer 10 seconds or 2 seconds
Video Out (TV Playback) Yes
Computer Connection Yes
Batteries Lithium-ion Rechargeable
Dimensions 92.2 x 56.1 x 17.8mm
Weight 133g
The Images:-
Well lets start with my 1ds MKIII value approx £5k along with tripod £1k and a Singh Ray Reverse Grad filter £200, oh and not forgetting my trusty 16-35 f2.8 L USM lens £1500, camera bag and associated gear brings a rough total to £8-10k (I know my wife doesn’t know either) but it does afford me an income and the passion for what I do cannot be price tagged, unless you’re my long suffering wife then its probably several hundred pairs of shoes and the relaxing beach holiday we forgo every year for me to follow my dreams!.
Location: Anglesey Time: 21:21 Date: 15/7/2013
settings:-
F/11.0, 1/8s, ISO 100, 35mm
Singh Ray Reverse Grad, Lee .9 ND
GITZO GK1581OT Ocean Traveler Tripod
Arctic Muck Boot Wellies, an absolute must, the Irish Sea is freezing even at the height of summer
This is a well balance shot utilising my filters and tripod to hold the position perfectly still. A very small amount of post processing to adjust the light balance and remove dust particles, cropped to suit.
Canon Ixus 130 IS, straight from the camera image
F /2.8, 1/60s, ISO 125, 5mm
Oakley Dispatch Sunglasses
Hand held
I’m a firm believer that composition is king when it comes to photographs, it doesn’t matter if you have a £40k Hassleblad, if it looks wrong it usually is. Composition isn’t something that individuals take easy to being taught, I’m not saying it can’t be learned but you instinctively know when someone has “the eye”, and this is how I became a photographer, people always thrust the camera in my direction and said “let Adrian take it, he always gets it right” well almost I’d say!
I utilised my sunglasses to act as a filter as I used my expensive filter on my 1DS MKIII image, it certainly helps a lot as the sky is so much brighter than the sea and anything I could do to help balance the light is what matters, it’s still slighty “blown out” as we say, (too bright that some detail is lost) and of course when you shoot without an effective balancing act of light in the foreground , middle and background you get silhouettes, shadows and blown out areas.
Saying that I really like the result, the camera has created a pleasurable image and definitely a memory pretty close to how I remember the sky and sea that summer night. It does however lack some of my 1Ds’s qualities and this is where the money maker that is 1ds comes in, the overall quality of the Ixus against my 1ds is far less sharp and noisy (has a grain) and the 14mb shot is no where near the same size pixel wise as my 1ds, being 2935 x 2068 @ 240 pixels/inch V the 1ds’s 5520 x 3680 @ 240 pixels/inch.
In trying to keep this blog as nontechnical as possible it must be said that full frame resolution of the 1ds is far superior to Ixus 130 as well as handling and and overall performance, but this comes at a price and lets face it I don’t carry my 1ds MKIII whilst doing the shopping at Asda but I can say that I do now carry the Ixus 13o everywhere along with my S100 iPhone…..sad you may think but I always remember a saying “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” now this makes perfect sense when applying this to photography but its actually a quote from Wayne Gretsky a Canadian ice hockey player, but you get the idea.
Will I be using this camera to make money shots that I’d sell on my site, probably not as I don’t think it compares highly enough to my 1ds MKIII’s overwhelming quality and scalability that my customers demand but I would certainly use it for web, blog, social media and just having fun which when it comes down to it is what photography is about FUN and recording the moments that make up our lives.
I think the Ixus 130 IS bought at Amazon was and is worth every penny, its small, practical has some great functions and you don’t worry so much about it just being shoved away in your pocket, keep it handy ready for those occasions that count.
I thought about the image and decided to give it the same chances as I did with my 1DS and run it through the processing in Photoshop just to see what can be made with and image, this is the result.
Think you’ll agree it works rather well now doesn’t it?, this took 5 minutes and could easily be recreated using the iPhone Photoshop App PS Express and PS Touch, maybe not a seller but one to be proud of and certainly when printed say A4 looks very presentable.
Hope you enjoyed this blog, loads more @ http://www.adrianashworth.co.uk/my-blog/
I get in some places….yup just sold this print to Tel Aviv of all places, doing my bit for the Peak District.
Big day tomorrow, flypast at Derwent for the 70th anniversary of the Dambusters, very close to my heart for me as dad was in the RAF in the 50’s and he’s always told me of the bravery of the 617 squadron , one of his favourite pieces of history from WWII. I believe there are several of the surviving crew meeting up at the shore side, would be wonderful to shake their hands but I doubt I’d get that close. Still God bless them all.
Lets hope for blue skies and a great flypast for us all
Adrian
Hey it’s Friday, thank goodness!!!!
been such a busy week, non stop running around and getting no where. On the plus side I have had a few nice commissions come in which will add some interest to next weeks diary, I’ll post piccies as and when I do them, one of them is a very pretty gym instructor lady, looking forward to that one lol.
Today’s shot from Glencoe was screaming out orange and well the title just came from there. Just sold a copy straight away thanks Peter in Fife, hope it looks well on your living room wall.
Nice rest and walk day tomorrow with Jo and Stormy then Sunday I have a Mountain Rescue training exercise which looks like it will be a good one, camera at the ready as usual….
Have a great weekend
Adrian
Morning all
Had a wonderful walk with Stormy and my mate Mark yesterday 16km Howden Moor circular, a must for some spectacular views and apart from a steepish descent its a nice steady walk and can be enjoyed by most.
Starting at Fairholmes car park which although is expensive at £4.7 for the day worth it for the facilities, extremely clean and there is a cafe and picnic area. alternative parking on the road leading up to it is available but you have to be early.
Image above is the reflective trees on the reservoir, as you can see it was very calm and such a mild day, I walked most of the way in my T shirt, very spring like.
Shot below is of the dam itself with the overflow shimmering down the old stone. You can’t believe the size of this until you stand at its base, enormous!
Out again tomorrow down to Edale area with Stormy for a shoot, will post more later
have a great week
Adrian
Had a wonderful day at Nefyn yesterday scouting or future shots and on the way back near Aberdesach I looked back and was greeted with this unedited shot. A beautiful cloud formation over Bwlch Mawr and Gyrn Goch I think they’re called, stunning, I rattled off a load of shots so expect quite a few from here when I get hone and start processing. Weekend sunshine here now so it’s feet up and looking forward to my stake tonight
Hi all
Very quick one today as me and Stormy are heading up on the moors for a walk with Bill and his 2 huskies, should be great. Was going to be Bleaklow to practice map skills but teh A57 is still closed due to Tuesday’s snow….booo hooo
Today’s shot a mystical mix of mist/smoke a crystal pyramid and several filters all combined to create this sunset image, hope you like it, I love it!
Getting a few more requests for training workshops now so word must be getting round, hooray!
have a great day the sun is shining
Adrian
So yesterday I did a commercial shoot with Thunder and Claire helped with lighting and directing Thunder, not that he needs much as he's such a diva. The shoot was for Jack Lodge Grooming and will form part of his launch into his own hair products, he's a real nice guy and a top stylist (watch this space) If you know anyone that would benefit form my photography for their business, they could include one of the dogs or not, please forward and share this post to them, I do all commercial architecture, interior and product photography and guarantee I'll blow you away with the finished product. Have a fabulous Monday all
https://www.facebook.com/115173571885909/photos/a.325150750888189/2096509420418971/?type=3
Port Y Post Con Trails Sunset
https://www.facebook.com/115173571885909/photos/a.325150750888189/2092177080852205/?type=3
Porth Y Post Sunset Flare
https://www.facebook.com/115173571885909/photos/a.325150750888189/2090753897661190/?type=3
Ready for another visit to Ireland and the cliffs at Doolin, fabulous place.
https://www.facebook.com/115173571885909/photos/a.325150750888189/2088178791252034/?type=3
Feel Free To Share Been a while since I did a shoot and some landscape processing so I spent sometime yesterday re learning my photoshop skills, hope you like it, Curbar Mist at sunrise For Claire x
https://www.facebook.com/115173571885909/photos/a.325150750888189/1626995074037077/?type=3
Please share with anyone needing the highest quality photography, wedding, web, product, event, aerial, fashion, pet Fellow of the BIPP and PfCO drone pilot
https://www.facebook.com/115173571885909/photos/a.325150750888189/1571776169558968/?type=3
https://www.youtube.com/embed/kgIwGr3d5ms
Had 10 mins spare to look at some more of my Ireland shots from April, can't believe it's that long ago....Picture taken at Doolin with my back towards the Cliffs of Moher, if you haven't been it's worth it just to see the Atlantic in all its glory punishing the shoreline and yes I got soaked but that goes with the job, wouldn't have it any other way
PLEASE SHARE An image from my first shoot at http://www.wwuk.org/, really a fantastic place with fantastic people. really appreciate it if you can find it in your hearts to show these guys some love. Adopting a wolf is so easy and you can't believe the difference you'll make to providing a safe, healthy and happy future for the existing and future wolfs, once a sponsor there are certain times you will be able to visit and see the habitat they are in, set in beautiful countryside they have their own luscious green areas to roam free and be a wolf. Did I mention you could sponsor a wolf at http://www.wwuk.org/ I'll be in your debt. If you would like this image without my watermark or any others I'll be posting, then I ask you make a donation to http://www.wwuk.org/ to help keep up the amazing work they do.
Feel free To Share If You know Anyone With A Young Family Monday I was fortunate enough to spend a fantastic few hours with little princess Amelia Faith and her brilliant mum and dad Natalie Suggitt and Craig Suggitt. Without doubt she is a beautiful baby and was an absolute star. I tend to find that patience is the key with children's photography especially when they are not your own and you need several little tricks to keep them entertained and focussed, I have a lens mate squeaky that helps from time to time. I'll be doing more shoots with Amelia as she grows up into a beautiful young lady. If you know someone with a young family that would like a home shoot with us, PM us, we only use the very best lighting equipment, back drops and props plus we are DBS checked FULLY insured and QUALIFIED. We will travel nationally for our clients and all our work is guaranteed whether it be portrait, wedding, commercial product etc, we are also CAA qualified aerial pilots. PM me with your requirements and we'll respond ASAP Adrian Please not these images are digitally watermarked and traceable so please do not copy or use without permission.
Photos from Adrian Ashworth Photographer FBIPP - PFCO's post
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