Ric’s journey without direction

Getting back on track now with…..

picnic in the city.

this one took ages to decide on. Mono was good but something about the colour grabbed me. Maybe I’ll post my mono at some point as well but after 5 versions, this softened one appealed to me. I’m yet to get a good shoot with my iPhone 11, the XR really did work for me, very strange. One of my fav street shots to date I think.

lightroom and snapseed.

C8EEF1C2-B58D-4AEC-B925-3E8BA2691DCB.jpeg
 
sinnerjohn said:
Of course their is the whole debate about whether to always shoot with the native camera and then edit after, or shoot with an app that may already have a tone or texture embedded like Hipstamatic for instance.

I quite often shoot with a black and white app, to which there is no coming back, you can't just add the colours can you. It's good practice for b/w as it trains you what might look good in b/w.

I know there are apps that will save the original and the toned/textured image but for me life is too short for that. I only ever do quick edits, the use 10 apps and spend an hour pondering isn't my thing.
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I agree with the minimalist approach to editing John, try to get it right “in camera” , ie focus exposure and white balance. Composition trumps all of course
 
A other one, not good enough for a challenge but after looking at ICM techniques, an important lesson came up again…Stop trying to emulate other peoples work until your finally happy with your own direction!!
so, I added my blur, but more to create soft look and then, using affinity ( damn that frustrating app), then went on to creating something I felt comfortable with. Composition sucks, colour, well there is none, sharpness, well there is none. Been brave though, this time I didn’t go deep dark, just faded dark lol.

The mothercare bouncer!
( just in case anyone doesn’t know, mothercare was a baby and tiny tot store and I just found humour that this lady would have been a cracking door bouncer for one of their shops, god my humour sucks at times)

BB6CD338-59D1-4CEF-9728-7B3FAEDF8431.jpeg

affinity photo.
 
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ric alexander said:
A other one, not good enough for a challenge but after looking at ICM techniques, an important lesson came up again…Stop trying to emulate other peoples work until your finally happy with your own direction!!
so, I added my blur, but more to create soft look and then, using affinity ( damn that frustrating app), then went on to creating something I felt comfortable with. Composition sucks, colour, well there is none, sharpness, well there is none. Been brave though, this time I didn’t go deep dark, just faded dark lol.

The mothercare bouncer!
( just in case anyone doesn’t know, mothercare was a baby and tiny tot store and I just found humour that this lady would have been a cracking door bouncer for one of their shops, god my humour sucks at times)

View attachment 181858
affinity photo.
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IOTM June.
 
Had a bit of an eye opener today. Took a stroll around the local city centre and just could not get inspired. London has made me lazy with it oozing photo opportunities.
As I run lower with my London images and try to get into the zone with photographing things I’ve taken for granted for so long, even ignoring them as I dont even have to look directly at something to know that it’s there, a feeling of horror and fear of loss of motivation is knocking at the door.
anyway, I did my blur etc editing on a photo I took while out with my boy Reu, of a small harbour with a little lighthouse on the opposite side of the estuary from the gower penninsula, near me.

Burry port.

9439F5A6-45D1-4271-92F6-5711739564E8.jpeg
 
ric alexander said:
Had a bit of an eye opener today. Took a stroll around the local city centre and just could not get inspired. London has made me lazy with it oozing photo opportunities.
As I run lower with my London images and try to get into the zone with photographing things I’ve taken for granted for so long, even ignoring them as I dont even have to look directly at something to know that it’s there, a feeling of horror and fear of loss of motivation is knocking at the door.
anyway, I did my blur etc editing on a photo I took while out with my boy Reu, of a small harbour with a little lighthouse on the opposite side of the estuary from the gower penninsula, near me.

Burry port.

View attachment 182006
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I like it Ric. When I first did a 365 (and did it properly imho taking a new photo each day) it opened up my eyes that there are countless photo opportunities all around us. Coming from someone living in the Midlands I'd say you have a head start purely on location. Summer crowds, street photography, I'd say you'd be in your element with not too far a drive.
 
sinnerjohn said:
I like it Ric. When I first did a 365 (and did it properly imho taking a new photo each day) it opened up my eyes that there are countless photo opportunities all around us. Coming from someone living in the Midlands I'd say you have a head start purely on location. Summer crowds, street photography, I'd say you'd be in your element with not too far a drive.
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I will try a 365 but I’m aiming to start it on New Year’s Day. Don’t talk about summer crowds, we get topless people in noisy cars jamming our village up. Parking near beaches is impossible etc etc. I’m just in a grinch mood after disappointment today. Reckon it’s a case of pull the trousers up, get back out there and do what people in Mobiography magazine seem to advise. get a coffee, find your spot, and wait.

As for the 18 beaches nearby, winter or out of season is best. Reu loves walks on the beaches and your more likely to find solitary people/figures.
 
ric alexander said:
I will try a 365 but I’m aiming to start it on New Year’s Day. Don’t talk about summer crowds, we get topless people in noisy cars jamming our village up. Parking near beaches is impossible etc etc. I’m just in a grinch mood after disappointment today. Reckon it’s a case of pull the trousers up, get back out there and do what people in Mobiography magazine seem to advise. get a coffee, find your spot, and wait.

As for the 18 beaches nearby, winter or out of season is best. Reu loves walks on the beaches and your more likely to find solitary people/figures.
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There ya go, all set for award winning images :)
But seriously think hard about a 365, it does tend to consume A LOT of your photographic time, only do it if you are ready. I tried a second time and found it way too stressful.
 
sinnerjohn said:
There ya go, all set for award winning images :)
But seriously think hard about a 365, it does tend to consume A LOT of your photographic time, only do it if you are ready. I tried a second time and found it way too stressful.
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Deffo go for a 365. I'm coming to the end of mine in August, I think and 95% of the stuff I post is rubbish. But its not about the photographs, I found its about the process. Its about the rigour and the mindset, of being ready and constantly open to chance and opportunity. Also for me, I am completely reactive, I never plan anything further than an hour into the future, so forcing myself to do one thing every day, really helps focus the mind. It doesn't matter if the shots you get are not award winning every time, its a photographic sketchbook to look back at a year later. if nothing else, it shows progression and which apps youve used over the year. Also, I live in a little backwater village in Lancashire, finding anything worth shooting there is almost impossible. If I went to London i'd be overwhelmed too!
 
WOTANICUS said:
Deffo go for a 365. I'm coming to the end of mine in August, I think and 95% of the stuff I post is rubbish. But its not about the photographs, I found its about the process. Its about the rigour and the mindset, of being ready and constantly open to chance and opportunity. Also for me, I am completely reactive, I never plan anything further than an hour into the future, so forcing myself to do one thing every day, really helps focus the mind. It doesn't matter if the shots you get are not award winning every time, its a photographic sketchbook to look back at a year later. if nothing else, it shows progression and which apps youve used over the year. Also, I live in a little backwater village in Lancashire, finding anything worth shooting there is almost impossible. If I went to London i'd be overwhelmed too!
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I couldn’t have said it better myself. My thoughts exactly! :thumbs:
 
WOTANICUS said:
Deffo go for a 365. I'm coming to the end of mine in August, I think and 95% of the stuff I post is rubbish. But its not about the photographs, I found its about the process. Its about the rigour and the mindset, of being ready and constantly open to chance and opportunity. Also for me, I am completely reactive, I never plan anything further than an hour into the future, so forcing myself to do one thing every day, really helps focus the mind. It doesn't matter if the shots you get are not award winning every time, its a photographic sketchbook to look back at a year later. if nothing else, it shows progression and which apps youve used over the year. Also, I live in a little backwater village in Lancashire, finding anything worth shooting there is almost impossible. If I went to London i'd be overwhelmed too!
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Its a good idea in that respect yes. Oh i must be in the minority of wishing i could live near london, or at least have an easy journey to get there. Just love the way no one even battwrs an eyelid at you. Of course being invisible can have its downsides too especially if you were on your own.
There is a dastardly plan brewing though, i have Cardiff city just one hour away so a few visits there will see me right.
Lancashire? Are you anywhere near the black country living museum ?
 
Well here goes. I was talking to a photographer and was discussing my love for dark mono images. Now, I may have gone too far, after all I’ve destroyed the logical light completely and virtually painted light back into any areas I thought interesting. My first go but I’m trying not to copy what he said, rather create my own take on a technique he suggested.
I’ve probably brought too much light in and should have gone even more dark to keep a more painterly look but it’s a start, I think
CA664366-CE10-484D-97FC-2F28DCE726A2.jpeg


infinity photo used due to editing technique needed.
 
terse said:
Stop worrying about that! :lmao: You will undoubtedly go too far at times, probably many times. That's how you learn where the edges are. And sometimes you can't tell until you post it. That's all part of the process.
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Already done that and deleted the images lol. This other photographer uses photoshop on iPad and he does seem to be able to pull effects easily from it in conjunction with Lightroom compared to this affinity photo Which is the annoying part.
 
ric alexander said:
Already done that and deleted the images lol. This other photographer uses photoshop on iPad and he does seem to be able to pull effects easily from it in conjunction with Lightroom compared to this affinity photo Which is the annoying part.
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I've read that Photoshop iPad still doesn't have all the features of Photoshop desktop, but does it have the ones you need/want? If so, maybe you should consider it again.
 
terse said:
I've read that Photoshop iPad still doesn't have all the features of Photoshop desktop, but does it have the ones you need/want? If so, maybe you should consider it again.
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It’s very restricted. It’s a Totally different animal. I think adobe have settled on people using both Lightroom and photoshop together. Only Gaussian blur, curves but no levels, but selections/ masking is super easy. Have to play more before deciding. Meanwhile I’m gonna try my second image in the mono comp.
 
ric alexander said:
Its a good idea in that respect yes. Oh i must be in the minority of wishing i could live near london, or at least have an easy journey to get there. Just love the way no one even battwrs an eyelid at you. Of course being invisible can have its downsides too especially if you were on your own.
There is a dastardly plan brewing though, i have Cardiff city just one hour away so a few visits there will see me right.
Lancashire? Are you anywhere near the black country living museum ?
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Nope Black Country is in the Midlands, im further north, way past Liverpool
 
ric alexander said:
Well here goes. I was talking to a photographer and was discussing my love for dark mono images. Now, I may have gone too far, after all I’ve destroyed the logical light completely and virtually painted light back into any areas I thought interesting. My first go but I’m trying not to copy what he said, rather create my own take on a technique he suggested.
I’ve probably brought too much light in and should have gone even more dark to keep a more painterly look but it’s a start, I think
View attachment 182103

infinity photo used due to editing technique needed.
Click to expand...

terse said:
Stop worrying about that! :lmao: You will undoubtedly go too far at times, probably many times. That's how you learn where the edges are. And sometimes you can't tell until you post it. That's all part of the process.
Click to expand...
Besides, that’s what we’re here for. We’ll tell you when you go far.
 
ric alexander said:
Well here goes. I was talking to a photographer and was discussing my love for dark mono images. Now, I may have gone too far, after all I’ve destroyed the logical light completely and virtually painted light back into any areas I thought interesting. My first go but I’m trying not to copy what he said, rather create my own take on a technique he suggested.
I’ve probably brought too much light in and should have gone even more dark to keep a more painterly look but it’s a start, I think
View attachment 182103

infinity photo used due to editing technique needed.
Click to expand...
I love this, really sinister and magisterial
 
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