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 […]
View from the M62 – Light Trails Read More »
20 minutes before Minuch Airport is this little town – the name evades me sadly. We called in to capture the last shots of our weekend away. It’s got a delightful centre, lovely square, colourful houses and shops, stream and lots of sculptures. Also lots of shops for those last minute gifts… It’s another location to
Austria Workshop 2012 – Bavarian Town Read More »
Homeward Bound – Church, Coffee and Cake Beautiful landscape is one part of out workshops, but we’re partial to a bit of architecture too, and when the weather is lacking, we can always pop into something interesting like this church. It’s on the way to Munich Airport so we pulled off the Autobahn and had
Austria Workshop 2012 – Bavarian Church Read More »
Blackpool – Vegas of the north! Friday night saw me playing with the Blues Brothers band at the Empire in Blackburn, so I stopped in the area for the weekend, calling into Blackpool for a few hours on Saturday afternoon. Interesting light – sunny in one direction, overcast in the other, so decided to get
McFade Photography in Blackpool Read More »
Austrian Landscape Photography Holiday McFade Photography’s “Austrian Photography Holiday & Workshop” took 5 photographers over to the stunning Tirol area of Austria in the middle of October 2012, an area of outstanding mountains, lakes and gorges. A long weekend, from Thursday to Monday, with 3 full photography days in stunning locations, fantastic food and accommodation with Keith and Manu
Austrian Landscape Photography Workshop – Day 1 at The Gorge Read More »
Just a few shots from the first Night Photography session. 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
Night Photography Programme Starts Read More »
Celebrity Look Alikes in Leeds Had the great pleasure of meeting and photographing:- David Beckham Mr T Austin Powers Simon Cowell Britney Spears Will Smith Or at least I thought I did! These were a great bunch of actors who make a career from looking like the actual celebrity – and it is uncanny when
Photographer Meets Celebrity Look Alikes in Leeds Read More »
The most complete night photography workshop series in Leeds today? Does your camera go into hibernation over winter? Join our Night Photography Workshops in Leeds. Embrace the dark to create amazing images! We’ve listened to your feedback from the recent survey. People wanted…. a “collaborative” approach, one where we learn from each other to know more
Night Photography Workshops in Leeds Read More »
Light Trails I was looking for a few example light trail shots to promote the Night Photography Programme’s first session, which was on Tuesday 9th October, back in 2012. I ended up looking in my 2006 folders and got these shots from a bridge over the M621 between Morley and Gildersome. So for the first
Light Trail Photography Read More »
A fine collection of TVRs at the BNG You couldn’t ask for a better day for the BNG, hot and sunny and loads of multi-coloured TVRs. Here’s ALL the shots we got on the day – in a 6 minute video – see if you can spot your car! [tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP2lgugGtl4&feature=share&list=UUNt-MdklYRJZerUfAtuX10A[/tube]
TVR BNG at Sherburn in Elmet Read More »
10 Similarities Between Chefs and Photographers Everyone cooks, and everyone takes photos – so there must be some similarities between Professional Chefs and Professional Photographers… here are a few:- 1 – 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
Chefs and Photographers – 10 Things They All Do Read More »
Large Format Prints Transform Runcorn Office “We’ve got an office in Runcorn for you to shoot… and can you get some shots of the area and create some large format prints to put up in the main entrance area too….” Gauntlet firmly thrown down, over to Runcorn on a (rare) sunny day and nailed the
Gauntlet Challenge…. Make Runcorn Look Great!!!! Read More »
The Kia Sportage Matt Netherwood of Further Reflections did an amazing job of detailing his new Kia Sportage. Here is a selection of shots taken in the Pennines – sunset was a bonus!
Theatre Rehearsal Photography in Leeds…. Destination Holbeck… Driving around Holbeck (Leeds) slowly caused a few long, suspicious looks… parts used to be the red light district and it’s not improved much in the last few years. The road I was after didn’t seem to have a name on it… there were just lock ups and
Twisted Theatre Photography in Leeds… Read More »
Round and Round We Go Have you ever found yourself munching on your favourite steak and chips every night only to realise, somewhat sadly, that it’s lost a bit of its zing? That’s a bit how photography can feel sometimes. Day in, day out, same old stunning vistas, yet the thrill isn’t quite what it
Reframing the Familiar: Mastering the Creative Cycle Read More »
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
Landscape Interview…. Read More »
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
HDR Batch Battle – Photomatix V Oloneo Read More »
A few people mentioned to me that they’d like to know more about “posing” people, and in on of the McFade Training Taster workshops last year, I covered some ideas – maybe ones which surprised people. The “by the book” posing techniques will produce just that – by the book, traditional shots of people. They
5 Tips – To Pose, or not To Pose? Read More »
Leeds Musician Photography 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,
Leeds Musician Photography Shoot Read More »
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
What does McFade do anyway???? Read More »
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
Relax…. and escape faster! Read More »
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.
Castlefield – Manchester Read More »
20 years ago, I was a fresher at UMIST, the highly regarded science and technology uni in Manchester – so when I was invited back by Trish to shoot some photos of the new Student Council, I jumped at the chance. Proper nostalgia – I’d not actually stepped into the Union since 2005 when I
Manchestaaaaaaaaar! Read More »
Off Camera Flash Essentials Off camera flash is a popular technique at the moment, taking speedlite flashes off the camera, onto light stands and using radio transmitters to trigger them. It’s getting easier and cheaper – with budget brands bringing flash to the masses Technically, there and awful lot to understand to get fantastic results
5 ESSENTIALS every photographer MUST know before using Off Camera Flash Read More »
On the way back from my sight test today, I called into a park and grabbed a few floral shots – thought I’d give it a bash, they’re not really my thing to be honest but you never know who may need them…. The park’s usually full of all kinds and colours of flowers, but
Photographing Cars in the Park Prints of some of the cars can be bought here – email [email protected] if yours is missing and you want a print. http://www.photoboxgallery.com/mcfadeAuto/collection?album_id=1270798377 The rain was happily absent at Newby Hall, near Ripon, today, so the Cars In The Park show was a great success. A mix of sports cars
Cars in The Park – Newby Hall May 13th Read More »
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
McFade Edits Phil Gledhill’s “Chris” playing Read More »
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 playing his trombone. The gallery feature isn’t in the right order, but each shot has a number after it;s name “brass-band-119-3” – that number
McFade Edits Phil Gledhill’s “Chris in Window” shot Read More »
Here’s a shot by Dave Goodman, who came on our Brass Workshop in the Lyric. It’s a shot of Chris playing Trombone on the stairs up to the projector room. For me, the main thing here was the shadow and brick textures, so all the emphasis was dragged in that direction, leaving chris himself very
McFade Edit of Dave Goodman’s “Chris” Shot Read More »
Enhancing Workshop Photos with Lightroom: A Step-by-Step Guide As part of our exploration into Lightroom 4, we have taken the opportunity to edit some of the photos from our students’ workshops. In this post, we’ll demonstrate how we transformed an image from a McFade Taster shoot featuring Sam and Chris from the brass section of
McFade Edit of Dave Goodman’s “Sam” shot Read More »
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
Ilkley Moor – Photographed in HDR Read More »
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
Yorkshire Landscape Photographers…. is Gordale Scar Impossible to Capture? Read More »
So many landscapes have these amazing sunsets, nuclear red skies with amazing orange hues…. Do you think they “really” looked like that when the photographer was there? Here’s a demo of how easy they are to fake in Lightroom 4…. Original Look Tone and Saturation changes Tidy up dust and lift the dark areas Lens
Fake that sunset in Lightroom 4 Read More »
“Strobist” shot Rescue This is a shot from a test session – the aim was to try shooting wide open with the 85mm F1.8 to get blurry backgrounds and a sharp subject. Again, it’s not a prize winning photo we’re using, more one which you’d probably not bother with. Let’s see what you can do
Strobist Portrait – LIGHTROOM 4 Edit Read More »
An example of workflow in Lightroom on a coastal shot. 5 shots here Unedited Tone to add contrast, slight rotation, dust removed Clarity added to boost detail/contrast Colour boost – more blues and orange Selective edits with the brush tool and final crop. To view each step, just click on the picture below
5 Steps to better Coastal Shots Read More »
You can’t always win 🙁 Some days were just not made for landscape photography, unfortunately my recent Northumberland trip had 3 consecutive days…. Not one to be defeated, I did clamber onto some rocks and get a few wave shots, but as you can see here there was little help from the ambient light. Also, I’d found
Lightroom 4 to the rescue! Read More »
Sanctuary on a wet day When it rains in Newcastle, it’s time to head inside – and the Sage was perfect. A huge complex of theatres, all under a curvy roof, designed by Norman Foster. They are fine with people taking photos here, which is refreshing as most places in Leeds chase you out the second
McFade Training’s Brass Night at the Lyric April’s taster session saw delegates return to the amazing venue that is the Lyric Cinema. This month we ventured away from the main auditorium into the more abandoned looking areas around the projector rooms – the prefect backdrop. Chris Colbran and Sam Houghton were the subjects this time, both professional musicians working in many bands
Brass Musician – Training Shoot Read More »
Leeds Training at the Lyric! Here’s a few shots from March’s McFade Training evening in the Lyric Theatre in Armley. The subject was “an introduction to Off Camera Flash” and had people using our speedlite system to capture Rocco, Salman and Eleni in the dramatic setting of an old, disused cinema. Have a go…… The
Photography in the Lyric, Leeds Read More »
What’s Most Effective…. So many different websites for photographers these days… There are many varieties :- “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
Where Should Photographers Invest Time Online? Read More »
Promo videos for McFade Photography Just been putting together a few videos for use on the website – fast paced, lots of photos and a few key messages in each one. Here they are for you to have a look at Linked IN Shoots [tube]U_fVMCiJ0qc[/tube] 1-2-1 PR Business Shoots [tube]lk8w_xNHVmA[/tube] Business Property Shoots [tube]M4zyNXegG6g[/tube]
Leeds Business – McFade Promo Videos Read More »
Bradford City Park 12 months ago you’d have seen few people enjoying themselves in Bradford city centre on a summer’s afternoon, but with the new City Park by the Town Hall, it’s all change. One the warmest March day in years, we saw the area full of local mums with kids, office worker and students,
Bradford Photography in the Sun Read More »
Photos from the Midland Hotel, Bradford The Midland Hotel is an architectural gem in Bradford. Had a meeting there today and managed to spend a bit of time capturing a small part of the building – the main hall way near reception. Looking forward to working with the hotel to put Bradford on it’s walls,
Midland Hotel – Bradford Read More »
Wedding Photography at Coniston Hotel A few shots from Sophie and James’ wedding at the lakeside of Coniston Hotel – a perfect location and lovely couple.
Wedding Photography for Sophie and James Read More »
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.
Discovering Morley Read More »
Leeds Model in Leeds Woods We’re always on the look out for new locations for both training and shoots with models, families and business people. So on this rekke shoot Rocco and I took to some woods in Leeds, armed with 2 flashes and a mix of lenses – and got some shots using the
Rocco in the Woods Read More »
Follow this link to see a short Youtube Video of the amazing Valentina Diaz, over in the UK from Bolivia. [tube]R90o-Vd7Ixg[/tube] Valentina Diaz
Valentina DIAZ Video Read More »
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
Leeds Iconic TETLEY BREWERY – Demolished! The Last Orders: A Photographic Farewell to Leeds’ Iconic Tetley Brewery The Tetley Brewery was more than just a building; it was a symbol of Leeds’ industrial heritage and a testament to nearly two centuries of brewing excellence. As the demolition cranes moved in, we took our cameras to
Tetley Brewery – The End of an Era Read More »
