2014 A year in pictures

So much for my resolution to become an avid and successful blogger (maybe next year).

2014 has been an adventure and a good part of it has involved me reconnecting with photography. In the process I've learnt some new techniques, discovered more about myself, travelled away from The Island a few times, met some lovely and interesting people, began new projects, gained a little confidence and enjoyed my photography.

The following image is a selection of 52 images picked from the last 12 months (well 14 months really, but there's been a slight decline in output since a house move in Autumn). I wanted to have a picture representing each of the weeks gone by. I don't consider myself a prolific photographer, but I'm happy with that figure and I'm pleased with the results.

My year in pictures, 2014...

The Image Maker. Part Two - Ghostly Apparitions

Please buy a copy of this month's Black and White Photography magazine (issue 155, October) and see my second lesson in basic photo-manipulation.

This month it's all about adding lighter elements to a photograph and I demonstrate how to make ghostly apparitions and genies.

All the components for each photograph were produced with the Leica M Monochrom and I am using Photoshop Elements 11 in order to show that these techniques are achievable on modest budgets.

First steps in writing - The Image Maker

I'm not sure I could have predicted where I would be in five years time, five years ago. After a lovely meeting with the team over at Black and White Photography Magazine I now find myself to be a writer (or trying to be a writer - I'm slowly getting the hang of it).

I have embarked on a ten issue series to help present some very simple, yet effective, photo manipulation and photo creation techniques. These are designed to be an introduction (there are so many ways to do something in Photoshop) and it is my hope that some of the readers may be encouraged to discover more. Many of my own attempts have only come about through trial and error, gradually learning and building a recipe book of what can be done to a photograph once it has been transferred to the computer.

To prove that expensive equipment is not essential all the work has been carried out using Photoshop Elements 11. (The instructions are the same for full versions of Photoshop).

The first issue is out now and demonstrates a method for adding dark subjects to a photograph. The following image of the pirate boat was completed using this technique to add the sky, birds and border.

All the elements, apart from the border, were taken with the Leica M Monochrom.

Leica M Monochrom. Part 4 - Flights of Fancy

I've recently embarked on a writing assignment that will hopefully teach readers a few basic tips and tricks and encourage them to play with their imagery. More news to follow...

I've been looking through various books and online sources to confirm to myself that photo manipulation is not confined to modern photography and the list of practitioners is vast. Its history is as old as photography itself and some of the work is amazing. It is interesting to read the various arguments between the purists (straight photography) and the pictorialists (anything goes photography). This week I discovered William Mortensen by following different threads and I think he's got to be added to my list of inspirational photographers. Apparently Ansel Adams took a definite dislike to his approach and strongly argued against his manipulated, stage and romanticist imagery. Check out Carey Loren's write up at   http://50watts.com/Monsters-and-Madonnas-Looking-at-William-Mortensen )

Other practitioners I've been looking at recently include the following:

Oscar Gustave Rejlander - composite/combination printing
Julia Margaret Cameron - staged photography
Francis James Mortimer - composite/combination printing
Henry Peach Robinson - composite/combination printing
Angus McBean - photo manipulation
Jerry Uelsmann composite/combination printing
Man Ray -experimental techniques


The Leica M Monochrom and me are now taking a slight diversion in approach. I'm still getting to grips with what it can do (I still make mistakes and I wish I could say every picture ever taken was amazing, but I can't), but it's time to take a little holiday in my world.

The Spitfire is 100% Leica M Monochrom. The remainder are appx. 70% Leica 30% Nikon. I've started building folders of Leica resources to incorporate into my imagery, but at the moment I don't have everything I need in those folders.

I'm working on it.

Tim Andrews' Parkinson's Project - Over The Hill

I was contacted some time ago by a chap called Tim Andrews, explaining that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease and was approaching photographers to see if they would like to photograph him for an ongoing project entitled Over The Hill.

After a while we arranged to meet and I invited him down to the Island to spend a day with me. The weather was drab and dreary and, because of this, all my plans kept changing on the journey to meet him at the boat. I tried to find a way to turn the day into something more productive and successful.

When we met we chatted for a while then off we went and I endeavoured to show Tim as much of the Island as was possible, stopping every few miles or so to stretch our legs and take photos. It was very relaxed and informal and we had a brilliant time of it, talking all the time and finding out about each other.

I think I might have said "give me a couple of weeks to get these pictures finished", but sometimes the work takes longer than expected as I try to gather the right elements to complete the piece. The photographs themselves can take a while to tell me the direction they wish to be taken. But we get there in the end.

Tim was a pleasure to be with all day and I hope that our paths may cross again someday.

Please visit Tim's blog for further reading on his Over The Hill project.
http://timandrewsoverthehill.blogspot.co.uk