Strobist Experiments

Inspired by a rainy day and an excess of garlic, I thought I would experiment with off camera flash.

I used two strobes, one fired into a white umbrella to the right on 1/4 power, another bounced on the ceiling above set to 1/2 power. I tried to balance the flash with the natural light coming in from the window to the left.

I then did a spot of dodge/burn in photoshop. Here are the results - which look much better in a larger size - click on the image for a larger version.

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The Legend of the Cheesewring, Bodmin Moor

I went back to Minions a few days ago, to show some friends how beautiful the landscape is around Bodmin Moor.

I climbed up to the Cheesewring and tried to make the most of the dramatic lighting conditions... because the light was bright with a lot of cloud the light was very patchy - and didn't always light up the bits I wanted it to!

View larger versions on flickr

The Cheesewring is a granite tor in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated on the eastern flank of Bodmin Moor.

The Cheeswring is a natural geological formation, a rock outcrop of granite slabs formed by weathering. It gets its name because the piled slabs look like a "cheesewring", a press-like device that was used to make cheese.

A local legend about this rock formation is the result of a contest between a man and a giant. When Christianity had just been introduced to the British Islands, the giants who lived at the top of the mountains were not happy about it. The Saints had invaded their land and were declaring their wells as sacred.

One of the larger giants, Uther, was given the task of ridding their land of the Saints. He confronted the frail St Tue, who proposed a rock throwing contest. If Uther won, the Saints would leave Cornwall. If St. Tue won, then the giants would convert to Christianity.

Uther took his turn first and easily threw a small rock to the top of nearby Stowe's Hill. St Tue prayed for assistance, and picking up a huge slab found it was very light. One after the other, they threw their rocks, stacking them up in perfect piles. When the score was 12 stones each, Uther threw a thirteenth stone, but it rolled down the hill. St Tue picked up this fallen stone, and as he lifted it, an angel appeared to carry it to the top of the pile of rocks. Seeing this, Uther conceded and most of the giants decided to follow Christianity after that.

Thanks Wikipedia

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Monochrome

I have been playing around with monochrome images lately and thought it was about time I posted some of them here.

Click on image for a larger version

To Touch the Clouds

Taken at Hells Mouth, Cornwall, a notorious suicide spot.

Just Like Old Times...

Seine Net Fishing at Hemmick Beach, Cornwall

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The Pirates of St Piran - Photo Shoot

I was asked to take some publicity shots for The Pirates of St Piran, an 18th Century Cornish pirate re-enactment group that do lots of fantastic charity work in and around Cornwall.

The shots were taken on the deck of the Kaskelot, a square rigger that lives in Charlestown harbour and has been used in films such as Return to Treasure Island and the Three Musketeers.

The rain was lashing down, sadly, so the decks were covered and conditions very dark, so I tried to overcome this by bouncing my flash off the canvas roof.

Click on the photographs for larger versions

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More Steam Trains...

I'm accidentally becoming a bit of a spotter. I haven't invested in an anorak yet, but have been weighing up the benefits of a pac-a-mac.

There is something a little bit special about a steam train though, if they were pulling into your local station I'm sure you'd think about popping down for a look.

I jostled for position with the old men on the bridge to catch the King Edward I pulling into Par Station :

(click photographs for larger versions)

Then walked down the platform to the business end of the train. I bet this fella loves his job:

Check out the little Cornish Piskie hitching a ride :)

Finally the train headed off to St Blazey, where a couple of men operating the turntable by winding it round - looked like hard work!

Train Spotters Info:

GWR 6000 Class 6024 King Edward I, once driven by Prince Charles.
King Edward I is a GWR 6000 Class steam locomotive built in June 1930, originally housed at Plymouth Laira dept, before being transferred to Old Oak Common, London, in March 1959 and finally to Cardiff Canton depot in 1962.

Thanks Wikipedia

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Textures & Despondency

I have been feeling a little despondent about my photography lately.

I feel like I am getting my head around the camera finally but I have been focusing so much effort into this (spot the unintentional pun) that I have lost sight of what I want to do creatively.

I think part of this is down to suddenly being part of a photographic community with so many conflicting views on what is good and what isn't I can't hear the sound of my own photographic voice.

It will come I suppose. More research required. I've always been impatient.

Still, my latest experiments with textures seemed to go down well on flickr, so in the absence of trusting my own judgement, I'll be happy with theirs for now.

Click for larger size.

Little Red Boat

Sea Grass

The Cornish Fishermen Project

Well, I have been looking for something to get my teeth into.

I was feeling quite uninspired by the camera clubs competition 'People at Work'... I had thought for weeks about what I might do, but by the day the entries were due in, I still had nothing.

I didn't really want to walk into a shop and shove a camera in someones face and I wasn't even sure that would make a good shot in any case.

Then I heard that the Three Jays, a local fishing boat, was being launched (by hand, not wheels) down at Gorran Haven, a local Cornish fishing village. I didn't take much time to weigh up the options, as well, there were no options, so instead I grabbed my camera and headed off.

It was late morning, and the light was quite harsh, so I decided to use Photomatix to try and pull some detail out of the shadows and calm down the highlights. I was fairly pleased with the results over all.

There are more to come, but here is a taster:

Here is the one I entered for the competition - it came 2nd :)

(It's pretty much impossible to see them properly at this size - so for better, larger versions, click on the photograph and it will magically grow)

More to follow - watch this space :)

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