Archive for the ‘musings’ Category
Lightroom Rescue in under 10 minutes…
Grim Day... Day 1 of the summer series of workshops and we get a winter night.... in may.... It wasn't raining too much when we got to the reservoir, so I showed a couple of new people how to expose using a meter. Here's the shot I got - 4 seconds, histogram told me that the sky had not burned (I'd metered from the sky, so was expecting that!). It was also to show the effect of a polariser on the water and long exposures on the water surface. So you'd usually just throw these things away and return on a better night... but I ...
Yorkshire Photo Locations – 5 Great Dales
5 Dales - Perfect Yorkshire Photo Locations I'd been in Northumberland for a few days and had nothing major planned for the last day, so journey back to Leeds became a 10 hour epic, taking in 5 great Yorkshire Photo Locations, rather than 2 hours down the A1(M). I'm obsessed with Yorkshire Dales pass roads, the tiny roads which straddle the moors between each of the dales. So when I spotted one linking Teesdale with Arkengarthdale, I struck a path from the A1 at Durham to Barnard Castle in Teesdale. Weardale... kinda Technically I ...
How I did This…. 5 Photoshop Steps
So you can do most things in Lightroom these days. I thought I'd meddle with this shot of the Royal Armouries to show a few things you can't do in Lightroom.... yet! Start point So to get to this point, you could probably have used Lightroom. Its been through these steps... Capture - 1 minute exposure RAW Conversion using ACR in Photoshop Vertical correction using Lens Correction Filter Conversion to black and white using Silver EFEX 2 Selective sharpen - High Pass Filter method, using masks Selective ...
McFade Blog in top 100 Photography Blogs
McFade's Photography Blog has been included in the top 100 photography blogs to read in 2013 Here's the list - fantastic to be recognised amongst such great company! An infographic by the team at
Save Preston Bus Station!
Huge structures do it for me. Visually that is... I first saw Preston's bus station in the 70's, and it was probably the biggest thing I'd seen at that point - Clitheroe doesn't have many huge buildings! Huge! It's the shape and majesty of the thing - the curved edges, the ribbed reinforcement bars, the unchanging pattern along the length of the car park... On seeing the Culture Show's report about proposed the closing and demolition of the building, I decided to pop over and capture some images, just in case I never saw it ...
Band Photography – Chicago Blues Brothers – Dubai
Automated Band Photography? The "ALL NEW" Chicago Blues Brothers came to Dubai and rocked the Manidat Theatre for 3 nights. Flying out on a freezing March Tuesday, we landed at Abu Dhabi in the warm Arabian evening, transferring to Dubai by bus. Here are a set of performance shots taken by Ade on the last gig, saturday night. Ade is there on the right playing keyboards..... doing 2 things at once? How we did it..... Here we have a set of shots taken by Ade... but how do you play keyboards, and get ...
The 2 Poles of Photography
Why McFade Splits Beginners Workshops To total beginners, photography is a new, exciting pastime – but with a learning-curve as steep as Hardknott Pass! Where do you start? You can boil photography down to 2 things:- Finding interesting stuff to photograph Using camera settings to get an interesting shot This is the philosophy behind my Discover Leeds and Take Control workshops. Discover Leeds helps people think about “interesting stuff” Take Control teaches people about camera control To become a competent ...
5 Amazing Lake District Locations
The Lake District is famous for walking and it's stunning views over hill and lakes, perfect for the active person. However, it's possible to get great shots without and enjoy a relaxing, sedate day out - all of these shots were taken within 1/4 mile of the road. 1 - Haweswater The eastern side of the lakes is often over looked, and this reservoir/lake (there is a dam which raised the lake 90 feet) is rarely seen. There's a long road that traverses the full length of the lake, which is, to be fair, uneventful... till ...
5 Tips on Cropping Photos
Cropping a shot is a great exercise - you can find completely new images within an existing frame. Here's a shot with lots going on, probably too much to be an effective shot on its own. We have a few rocks in the foreground and lots of lines and circles from the moving foamy water. It was taken on an overcast day, so no interesting light. Crop 1 - Most of the shot... So to start with, I've gone mono and done a little work bringing out detail in a few areas, the bank at the top being the ...
The Photography “Kit Obsessive”
Photographers fall into many camps, but one that really stands out is the “kit obsessive”. These tend to:- Talk incessantly about kit – above anything else Buy novelty items they rarely use Are never happy with their current kit Motivated by numbers and specifications Can compare and quote reviews of competing kit items More interested in the tools than the photographic results Are first to hear “new kit speculation” blogs and forums Always think "if only I had a...." rather than "what can I do with ...
5D Mark 2 – First impressions
Love the Classic 5D... I’ve been shooting with the classic Canon 5D from 2006 to present, been perfectly happy and only once been short of pixels for a job (it was a colossal print… did a stitch of 9 images in the end). But my main body has now done way over its allotted 150,000 photos and so the time for a new, reliable body came along. I got a canon 5D Mark 2 (note, not 3…. a mark 2) as they are more than fit for my needs, and are more cost effective than the Mark 3. So the first task was to check out the new features – ...
View from the M62 – Light Trails
Night time means long exposures, things moving through your images, high contrast scenes, a new world of creativity with you camera, a change for your imagination to run wild. To most, the M62 is a car park they traverse every morning and evening, a place of wasted time and torture. To a photographer, it's a scene packed with potential - from this vantage point there are around 10 lanes of traffic. Add in the occasional blue light from an emergency vehicle, or the flashing yellow lights of the constructions vehicles on the hard ...
Night Photography Programme Starts
[singlepic id=675 float=] Just a few shots from the first Night Photography session. [nggallery id=32] We used Leeds as a base to learn the theory behind taking long exposures at night - how things like Aperture have more unusual effects than you'd think at night! We'll be meeting to discuss each others images in a fortnight and share ideas on how to process them If you'd like to be a part of the Night Programme, it's running over the whole of winter, 2nd and 4th tuesday nights of each month. Just inbox us at info@mcfade.co.uk ...
The 10 Similarities between Chefs and Photographers
10 Similarities between Chefs and Photographers I'm shooting a restaurant later today and it got me thinking about the similarities between Professional Chefs and Professional Photographers... here's a few Everyone can use the tools I'm not a professional chef, but I can use a hob, oven, knife and many other things you see in a professional kitchen.... I can cook a decent curry most days, lots of different thing with mince beef taste lovely.... Most people will have cooked - just as most people will have taken a photograph with ...
Cyclic Photography
Round and Round Surely even steak gets a bit dull if you have it every day for a year? I certainly found that with Photography, looking back over the last few years you see the gradual transition from a landcape to a people bias. Though on the way, there have been regular patterns which stand out. Locations which demand re-visits. Though each cycle, things have changed. You have changed. Your tools may have changed and certainly the software you use will have changed. Humble Beginnings I found myself touring around Yorkshire with ...
Landscape Interview….
Just been asked to do a piece for Ephotozine, on Landscape Photography. Thought it worth sharing on here with you all. It's just 3 questions, with my ramblings on each. How did you get into landscape photography? I'm from the countryside originally, rural Lancashire by Pendle Hill, so was always at home there. When affordable digital came along around 10 years, and petrol was cheap, I used to spend most weekends in the car pottering around the dales and north York moors, places I'd been through but never really seen. Spending time ...
HDR Batch Battle – Photomatix V Oloneo
What is HDR.... Love it or hate it, or have no idea what it is, HDR is a great solution to difficult exposure conditions, where the bright and dark areas of the shot are so contrasting, your camera just can't capture it all in one shot. So we take a few shots at different exposures (brightness), often 3 shots, then "blend" them using software. Batch? Blending one set by one is time consuming - so many programs have now embraced "batch processing". You tell the program process your "sets" of photos, producing blended photos whilst you have ...
Leeds Musician Photography Shoot
Leeds Musician Photography [nggallery id=25] [singlepic id=579 w=700 h= float=] Wind Farms are popular locations for landscape photographers - the moving turbine blades offer a dynamic feel to the shot, the rigid towers stand out of the ground like huge white trees.... but I've not really seen many musician photography shoots at them. So we went up with Sam, a professional saxophonist, arranger and band leader, to create some new profile shots for him. The sky was initially pretty over cast and grey, which gave us a really moody look ...
What does McFade do anyway????
What this Leeds Photographer does... Medding with smart phones takes you to some strange places.... ON this occasion I found an app which did little "mind map" type diagrams, which I thought would be fun for the website... I was white flag waving after 5 minutes of meddling on a little phone screen, so hit google and found "XMind", a full blown program which does all this kind of thing. It's free - give it a go... and quick to use. So started off by plotting out Mcfade Photography - see what I actually do, as people do ask from time to ...
Relax…. and escape faster!
Thought for the day.... The people who hate their photo being taken invariably have to stand in front of the camera for far longer than others.... (because they're tense, look scared and take ages to get a half decent shot as a result) If you're one of these, just relax, have fun and don't get so hung up about it - THAT's how you get away from
Castlefield – Manchester
[singlepic id=538 w=700 float=center] Castlefield - Central Manchester A more imposing set for a northern city shoot is hard to find. Castlefield has a mix of huge bridges, canals, brick, steel, pagodas, bars, locks, tow paths and bars.... Add to that the imposing Beetham Tower looming over you constantly, you've got an incredible array of backgrounds to play with. [nggallery id=24] This shoot was just for stock, creating some new images to fuel the portfolio, whilst gathering inspiration for future shoots with business folk and ...
5 Thoughts on Off Camera Flash
Off camera flash is a popular portrait technique at the moment, taking speedlite flashes off the camera, onto light stands and using radio transmitters to trigger them. There's quite a lot to take into account and understand to get consistent results - so here are 5 things to think about when setting your lights up... First - understand manual exposure You need to understand how your camera works and "manual exposure". A challenge in itself if you're not used to metering. To control the brightness of the background and the flash-lit ...
McFade Edits Phil Gledhill’s “Chris” playing
As part of the Lightroom 4 exploration, we’ve been editing our student’s shots for fun – using just Lightroom 4, no plugins or photoshop. Here’s one from the Lyric of Chris with his trombone on the stairs. Original Shot This shot seemed to suit mono, so started off with a black and white pre-set - went through a few till I got one which looked nice. Selective brush work to bring out detail and add light to interesting areas of the shot Added vignette to see whether it worked... down to personal taste ...
Ilkley Moor – Photographed in HDR
On Ilkley Moor Bah Tat A bright mid-morning trip up to the Cow and Calf is a lovely way to start a bank holiday Monday. Light breeze, nice patterned clouds and nice shadows were what we were greeted with. The ND Grad Problem Thing is, using ND Grad filters to keep detail in the sky would blacken the top of the rocks. So to get both nice, bright rocks, and the sky, I took 3 shots of each scene (dark, normal and light) and then used Photomatix V 4.2 to blend them together to get the best from all 3 shots. Working smart Using the same ...
Yorkshire Landscape Photographers…. is Gordale Scar Impossible to Capture?
[singlepic id=259 w=700 h=700 float=center] Gordale Scar.... Can you do it justice? Going around "that corner" for the first time and seeing inside Gordale Scar is breathtaking. It's as near as we get to Yosemite Valley in Yorkshire! The pleasant, flat walk along side the burbling stream doesn't really prepare you for cavernous geological marvel that awaits you. It's a huge gouge in the landscape, some think it's a collapsed cave, though that theory has been generally abandoned in favour of the land being carved open ...
Photographers Discussion – Where should you spend your “online” time?
Can't see the wood for the trees? So how many different websites can you put your photos on these days? Don't bother listing them, the answer is "lots", and maybe even "too many" if you're being honest! There are many camps too:- "Fun" social media - casual chat on facebook, twitter, foursquare etc. "Serious" social media - Facebook Business Pages and Linked IN Blogging - share your wisdom Website galleries - show those shots off! Photo community sites - 500px, ephotozine, flickr Youtube and video sites - moving ...
Discovering Morley
[nggallery id=1 template=sample1] Near Leeds Morley is a large town in the shadow of near-by Leeds, yet had it's day as a wealthy wool town in the past. This is illustrated by The Town Hall, it is very impressive, similar to Leeds Town Hall in style; it steals the lime light away from the rest of the centre. In 2012, pound shops, charity shops and empty buildings line the main shopping street, making it a place I rarely frequent. Rediscovery.... However, yesterday was a sunny day, so decided to "Discover" Morley again - taking with ...
Light….
Photography, when roughly translated from the original Greek, means “writing with light”. You may have known that already, but when you think about it, it doesn’t really mention “subject” or “composition”, or anything technical about the camera. It’s just the recording of “light”. One of the points we make on the “Discover” workshops is to look for interesting “light” – on Friday afternoon I was in Headingley, a suburb of Leeds, which isn’t traditionally photogenic. But as the low, winter sun set, the ...
Tetley Brewery – The End of an Era
Leeds Iconic TETLEY BREWERY - Demolished! Tetley was a huge brewery on the edge of the city centre, one of a dying breed of city centre breweries, most of which fall to demolition sooner or later. Wikipedia says... . The original brewery was opened on the current site in 1822. Parts of the original buildings still stand and extensions have been built as late as 2006. The Brewery opened a museum on the 19 March 1994.The attraction proved popular; however, redevelopment of the land surrounding the brewery led to the ...
Free “Street Photography” Action
It's true, here's a FREE Street Photography Action... Here's what it does Transforms a street candid from this... To this with one click... "Street" is photography in one of the purest forms. We capture the environment as-is; people going about their business is the subject, rather than moody hills, the relentless sea, colourful birds or clever lighting and posed models. Candid or Interaction? We can interact with the people or shoot candidly. Candid is more random, and because the people are unaware of ...
What Award Winning Wedding Photographers do?
McFade approach to Wedding Photography The McFade approach to wedding photography in 2011 was to create classic shots with off camera flash adding that extra bit of magic, leaving minimal processing in Photoshop. Actively been trying to avoid things that would look dated - there are enough "filters" out there which are in fashion for a few years, then look as current as a Ford Cortina Mark 2. Wedding Photography Course Just seen some info on a wedding photography course being run by a multi-award winning wedding photographer, so decided to ...
Why should you shoot RAW?
Should I be Shooting RAW? RAW is a Mystery RAW is a mystery to many, resulting in them using JPG when taking photos. There's nothing wrong with JPG, but you are throwing much of the baby out with the bathwater each time you hit the shutter. RAW is your Digital Negative RAW is just the base data that your camera captures - think of it like the exposed film in your camera. Full of information, but no processing or printing done on it. RAW is the key to your Digital Dark Room If you go back to the dark room days, then this is just ...
McFade Returns to Cumbria
I've not done that much "landscape" photography for a few years, concentrating more on developing styles with flash, architecture and cars. However, with it being Autumn, I decided to invest a few days in the wonderful Lake district and recapture my love of the place. It's certainly the highlight of England for my money, a mix of lakes and craggy mountains is hard to beat, even in the Dales. Last time I was in the lakes, I was fixed on a certain style - very wide angled lenses, low angles, dark skies, lots of colour and just about ...
Top Tips – Sunny Day Cities
Photography in bright sun is a bad thing.... right ? Well it can be - it's not ideal for landscapes, can make a wedding dress impossible to shoot without blinding your self and creates really harsh shadows. But like any light, it has its uses - so here are a series of shots from a few weeks back in Leeds. It was the day of the Manchester Riots oddly enough. So first off... look for light and shadow - the top shot here is all about the light bricks and the dark areas under the balconies. It's also about the repeated pattern and ...
Past Power To the People…
I'm not sure where my fascination with cooling towers came from - maybe the few around Padiham when I was a kid caught my eye? They're just so incredibly huge and un-natural looking that I'm quite drawn to them. So when I got to Leeds and started discovering the county of West Yorkshire (andy beyond), I'd end up photographing these things whilst my peers were on the piers at Whitby and Saltburn, or in the dales. Ferrybridge, Eggborough and Drax are the big ones in Yorkshire, and they're surrounded by large fields, so you can get ...
Wow – You must have a great camera!!
There are some quite amusing things that people say to photographers from time to time, often when you show them their image on the back of the camera, or present a few prints or a recent book, or even just see the shots on the web. Things like :- "Wow - that camera's awesome" or "I wish I had a camera like that so I could get great photos too" You just politely smile, or on occasion, give them the camera and say "have a go" (with a cheeky smile). Oddly enough, the shots they take are often not pulitzer prize winners. Its a ...
Perspective on Roads
Perspective and Lines.... I've always liked vanishing points and perspective, not only photography but in art, and just in life when you're wandering around the countryside. You can find them in arable fields, where the farmers leave long rows of potatoes or lines in the wheat. If you have an old Roman road near you, that's probably long and straight too. The above is a road on the moors near Scammonden which is effectively straight for 4 miles, with just a mild undulation here and there. So when you get a half ...
Self Portraits by Vivian Maier
I don't usually just link to other people's site in my blog, but I discovered this lovely set of 40 self portraits taken in the late 50's and 60's - shows a real sense of innovation and lateral thinking on the self-portrait genre. Most to the ones I like are where you see her and the camera reflected in things - this is something we photographers try to avoid like the plague of course. The last thing you want to see is you. Well I may just start looking for self portrait opportunities a bit more often now.... Here they ...
Rule of thirds…
One of the most useful "rules" in photography is the Rule of Thirds The best way to describe it is to imagine a noughts and crosses grid over the scene when you look through the view finder on your camera. Put your subject (or a point of interest) on one of the lines - or better still, where the lines intersect. Its as simple as that really, but is quite a powerful concept when you start to use it. Lets look at a few shots and show you where the rule has been used. This first shot is of Liege train station - the roof is ...
Where to shoot ?
How much difference does "location" make to your images? Obviously landscape and architecture are totally reliant on location, but with subjects such as portraits, products and cars, you can choose to shoot in the studio or choose a location to create something totally different. Getting outside with the camera and lights is definitely a technical challenge, and also a gamble with the weather conditions. But you can usually find something like a bridge to hide under when it's raining, wind can had a dynamic feel to the shots and ideas ...
You’re Hired………
With the dawn of the new "The Apprentice", John Thompson of Metropolis NLP has started up a new BLOG to both learn from and sightly ridicule the new series. http://barraboybusiness.wordpress.com/ I'll be making contributions to this with as the Visual Consultant, looking at how the photography and lighting are used in the series, seeing what effect that has on the teams - whether they use different lighting to influence our views on candidates, that kind of thing. Let the series
5 Tips on improving your portraits
The first time I ever took a portrait it was pretty awful - horrible confession there! Actually, the first time I met a piano, I made a terrible din. I've got better at both I'm glad to say, and it's all about practice. Natural Light Get Rid Of Excuses The first thing to do it get rid of your excuses, you don't "need" expensive lights, a make up artist, costume designer, expensive model and fantastic location to start learning. You just need a camera and a person to shoot. When I was first practising, it would tend to be a fellow ...
What does Your “Profile Photo” Say?
Everyone in business uses social media - we're all on Linked IN, Facebook and Twitter, and they all allow us to upload a profile photograph. In most cases, the first impression people have of you comes from this shot - scary thought! So what impression do people get from "your" profile shot? Recognise Yourself? Egghead - No Picture Of course, one option is to have no profile picture, this leaves the picture holder empty or with a default grey silhouette. What does this say about you? Having no avatar can give messages ...
5 Tips for off camera flash
Flash is often seen as a necessary evil by many photographers, and when the flash is "on camera" (like most are) it can be a bit bland and create "bunny in the headlight" portraits. However, get the flash (speedlite) on a stand and trigger it remotely, you'll see the true creative power of flash. Here are a few starter tips. Take note of your camera's "synch speed" - it's usually around 1/20oth second. If you go faster than this, you'll get dark areas on your photos Learn how to use your speedlite on manual flash power as ...
5 tips for photography on dull days
Photography on Dull Days.... can you do it? Its the weekend, you've been looking forward to getting the camera out for shoot, but its dull as chuff... grey skies, no shadows or interesting light. What do you do - abandon the camera? Ideas for Dull Day Photography Well here's a few ideas Practice flash photography - with a dull background, you can use this to create a moody shot, with the foreground or "model" lit by your flash. Useful when your flash synch speed is only 1/200th etc. Avoid including skies - they're ...
Leeds street photography
I don't know about you, but with the prices of parking in Leeds and Manchester going up and up, I always want to make the most of my daytime trips there. One of my favourite ways is to wander around the centres capturing life as it goes by. Both cities are in a state of flux, so a scene which seems trivial today may have huge significance 20 years hence, so it's a worthwhile documentation exercise as well as an artistic challenge. I'd been doing my bit for charity and the amazing CoHearantVision, centre for the blind and deaf, and had ...
