CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-05-21 23:04:56 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

My ebook Understanding EOS on special at Picture Correct for a few days only....

2013-05-21 09:01:58 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Vision is Better 3 – the latest ebook from Craft & Vision...

2013-05-08 00:38:51 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Have you tried Perfect Effects 4 Free? These are my thoughts on using the software for processing portraits:

2013-05-03 06:43:56 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

Bruce Percy (one of my favourite photographers) is offering his ebook Simplifying Visualisation free on his website until the end of the month. I downloaded it already and I like it a lot. Well worth grabbing a copy:

http://www.brucepercy.co.uk/pages/Misc/store.html

+Bruce Percy 

2013-05-02 11:40:07 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

New Lightroom 4 presets from Craft & Vision. I tried them out on a couple of my images...

2013-04-30 07:25:49 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

A short guide to using presets to process portraits in Lightroom 4. Links to some very cool (and free) Lightroom presets included.

2013-04-23 03:09:48 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

I've joined Pinterest. I'm using it to list all the articles I've written for other websites in one place. Still some to add yet but it's getting there.

2013-04-20 06:49:28 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 4 +1s)

A little bit of light weekend reading...check out my latest article for Picture Correct....

2013-04-19 10:15:31 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

By the way, feel free to post links to the work of photographers that inspire you here. It's kind of nice to discover the work of someone new...I hope to see a few interesting links here.

2013-04-19 10:14:26 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

I hadn't realised that it was so many days since I posted a link! The next photographer in my list is one who may be familiar to many of you – Steve McCurry. He has a deserved reputation as one of the world's preeminent photojournalists and a distinguished career that has included many National Geographic assignments.

One of the reasons I like Steve's photos is because of his eye for colour and composition. I've learnt a lot just from looking at his work. It is helpful that he curates his images and posts them on his blog. The themes are interesting and explore aspects of the human experience that most of us have in common. Even though many of Steve's photos are taken in places most of us think of as exotic, many of them are taken in Western countries. It's though provoking stuff, and well worth a few moments of your time:

http://stevemccurry.com/blog

2013-04-16 05:15:56 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Which is best for processing portraits? Canon's DPP, Photoshop CS, OnOne's Perfect Portraits 2 or Lightroom 4? These are my thoughts, with examples from each:

2013-04-09 07:09:08 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Free ebook from Craft & Vision. Need I say more?

2013-04-08 23:05:05 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

As digital photography gained wider acceptance back in the 90's and photographers became aware of the degree of manipulation made possible by Photoshop, the question arose of the ethics of image manipulation. I think we're all a bit more grown up about it now though it surprises me how many people seem to think that anything more than a subtle retouch in post is wrong. See the controversy about the original winner of the Landscape Photographer of the Year 2012 competition (link below) for evidence of that.

With this in mind I'd like to introduce the work of Peter Scammell. Peter is a landscape photographer from the south of England who works predominantly in black and white. His images are beautiful and I like them a lot.

There are a couple of interesting points to make about his photos. The first is that he uses creative techniques like Intentional Camera Movement to... more »

2013-04-07 10:35:32 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

A few years ago I was working on a cruise ship that sailed from Boston in the United States to Europe via Newfoundland, Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. In Reykjavik I came across an exhibition by an Icelandic photographer whose work was new to me – Ragnar Axelsson. He works in black and white and the majority of his photos seem to be taken in northern latitudes in places like Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Siberia and of course Iceland. I think it's fair to say that most people who don't live in those places have very little idea what life is like there and how the local people live. Ragnar's photos take you into the frozen world of the far north, and gives you glimpses of how the inhabitants life, work and relax.

It makes for a fascinating body of work that you can see on his website:

http://www.rax.is/Sidur/Gallery.htm

2013-04-06 08:56:04 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Many of you already know that I'm a big fan of black and white photography. One of my favourite monochrome photographers is Cole Thompson. He has some beautiful landscapes in his portfolio, although his range extends much further than a single genre.

Cole's blog is well worth reading, there are many good ideas on there about creativity and photography, including one concept I like the sound of very much but have never practised: photographic abstinence.

http://www.photographyblackwhite.com/

Here are some interesting interviews with Cole:

http://nlwirth.com/blog/cole-thompson-interview
http://nd-magazine.com/cole_thompson/
http://www.bwvision.com/2011/cole-thompson-in-the-spotlight/
http://www.andrewsgibson.com/blog/2012/12/long-exposure-photography-interview-31-cole-thompson/

+Cole Thompson 

2013-04-04 22:33:18 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Hmmm, Thursday is my day off and I knew I forgot to do something yesterday. Here is the next link to photographers that I like. Today it's Flemming Jo Bensen, a Danish photographer who leads a somewhat unsettled life style. He has rejected the conventional lifestyle and career path that many people embrace and his work is all the richer for it. His career as a photographer has taken him to many interesting parts of the world, including Asia and the Americas. He has some beautiful work from South America and he's currently in New Mexico. His blog is one of my favourite reads, there is just so much interesting stuff on there:

http://www.flemmingbojensen.com/blog/

+Flemming Bo Jensen 

2013-04-04 22:26:42 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

A brief explanation of Phase detection AF used in EOS cameras:

2013-04-02 22:35:59 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

I've just learnt that EOS magazine has a new blog. Robert managed to get his hands (two fingers anyway) on an EOS 100D. What did he think? You can read it here:

http://eosmagazineblog.blogspot.co.nz/2013/03/small-light-and-i-want-one.html

+Robert Scott

2013-04-02 22:12:32 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Hi everybody, hope you all had a good Easter. This week I thought I'd share with you some links of photographers whose work I really admire. One link a day, to give you time to look through their websites and take in their work properly.

One photographer whose work I really like is Bruce Percy. His website is subtitled 'The Art of Adventure Photography' and that sums up his work perfectly. He's a thoughtful photographer who takes a slow and deliberate approach to composition. He always seems to find the most beautiful light to work in. He travels to some amazing places and has built a successful business around what he does.

Bruce's blog is well worth a read. His posts will get you thinking. There's a lot of good stuff on there about light, composition and creativity. His video podcasts are also something special (look for the link on his blog page). If you want... more »

2013-04-02 02:37:05 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

A quick look at the EOS 1D Mark IV's autofocus system:

2013-03-28 21:58:09 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

A close look at the autofocus of the EOS 5D Mark III and EOS 1D-X cameras. This is Canon's most advanced autofocus yet – what makes it so special?

2013-03-27 05:13:04 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Thanks for joining everybody. Hope you like it here. Thought I'd share with you the link for an online photography magazine that publishes 'best of' photos from Google+ photographers. It's a good way of finding the work of some talented and interesting photographers to follow. The website is called Photo Extract Photography Magazine and you can find it here:

http://www.photoextract.com/

2013-03-25 21:59:53 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

The EOS 7D has the most advanced AF system of any Canon APS-C camera. This article explains what is different (and better) about the 7D's autofocus system.

2013-03-21 23:26:35 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

My thoughts on the two new EOS cameras...

2013-03-19 23:14:01 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

And the second is natural light portraits by Eduardo. Some really beautiful portraits here too:

2013-03-19 23:12:44 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Here a couple more interesting Tumblr pages I discovered yesterday (I don't think either is safe for work). The first one belongs to Hannes Caspar. Lots of beautiful portraits and nudes, lit by natural light:

2013-03-19 23:10:28 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

It's true, great minds think alike. EOS magazine have just created a Google+ community. Fans of the magazine can join by clicking the button below. And if you're not a fan, you can join anyway!

2013-03-19 07:39:17 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Timelapse – the latest C&V ebook...

2013-03-18 09:46:47 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

The second (see below) is the Tumblr of one of my favourite portrait/nude photographers Jan Scholz (aka MicMojo). His portraits and nudes are beautifully composed and exquisitely lit. Best of all, most of them are black and white!

2013-03-18 09:46:06 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

There seem to be a lot of photographers using Tumblr at the moment to get their work in front of an audience. Here are a couple of interesting Tumblr pages to look at. The first is a new one by National Geographic. It's a curated collection of historic images from the National Geographic archives.

2013-03-15 08:51:45 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

Do you know what the difference is between the centre AF point on your EOS camera and the others? This article explains...

2013-03-12 05:29:17 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

I like to take portraits at wide apertures like f1.4 and f1.8. It gives me a beautiful bokeh. But it's also problematic to achieve accurate focus. This article explains why, and offers some suggestions on obtaining accurate focus (with EOS cameras). It's the first in a series about Canon's autofocus system:

2013-03-09 03:44:51 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

I've always stuggled with the idea that every image should tell a story. Sometimes, I just want to take photos of something (or someone) because it is beautiful. I'm not a photojournalist and I don't have much to say – I just want to create beautiful images.

David duChemin has a few thoughts on this topic at this link:

2013-03-07 22:48:02 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Here's an article I just wrote about using natural light for portraits. I've found that there are several types of natural light that are suitable for portraits. Each is different and has its own subtleties. Would be interested to hear your thoughts on this idea. Do you agree?

2013-03-05 23:04:11 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

I recently wrote an article for Picture Correct about using shutter speeds creativly. It provides a good overview of the shutter speed dial and explores some techniques for using shutter speeds creatively. One of my favourites is to use shutter speeds of 30 seconds or longer to take seascapes. It helps that I live a minute's walk from the sea!

2013-03-05 06:02:46 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

I've just created a community for readers of my ebooks and website. It's a place to ask questions, show photos and talk about the stuff covered in my articles and ebooks. It's a public community and everybody is welcome to join. Enjoy!

2013-03-05 05:41:15 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

I've just written an article on my website about some of the ways that photographers use colour to create mood. The article covers the basics, and I'm sure you can think of more ways to use colour evocatively. What are some of your favourite techniques?

2013-03-05 04:09:11 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

A few thoughts on using colour to create mood.

2013-02-28 22:47:58 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

My thoughts on creating moody images...

2013-02-28 09:39:06 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

How to get creative with shutter speeds. An article I wrote for Picture Correct...

2013-02-26 02:08:15 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

A few thoughts about deconstructing photos....

2013-02-22 02:10:28 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

What's your favourite portrait lens? My 85mm f1.8 lens is my favourite for portraits, and I'm starting to appreciate my 50mm prime more.

2013-02-19 23:59:34 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Summer is my favourite time to take portraits. The weather is warm, the evening light is beautiful and everybody is happy. Here's the story behind a portrait I made at the weekend.

2013-02-19 00:17:49 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Something a little different this time – another article I wrote for The Photo Argus.

2013-02-13 04:36:10 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

The growth mindset and photography...what's your mindset?

2013-02-12 09:56:29 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Here's something I wrote for the Photo Argus website....

2013-02-11 21:05:40 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

My newest article for Digital Photography School. Touching on one of the topics I explored in Understanding EOS – finding your way around the Mode Dial:

2013-02-10 23:36:53 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

PHOTOGRAPH issue 2 is out now. Enjoy!

2013-02-09 00:13:36 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

I've just written an article about aperture for Featured Pixels....

2013-02-05 03:17:11 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Which Canon EOS camera should you buy? My latest article may help you decide...