Leeds | McFade News and Blog

Long exposure of Leeds cityscape at night, featuring light trails under a brick bridge.

How to Photograph Cityscape at Night: Long Exposure Tips for Stunning Urban Shot

Blog, Composition, Leeds, Musings, Photography, Training / Adrian Wilson

Setting the Scene: Urban Night Photography in Yorkshire As the sun dips below the horizon and the streets of Yorkshire’s bustling cities come alive with twinkling lights, a whole new world of photographic opportunities opens up. Urban night photography in Yorkshire offers a unique chance to capture the essence of our vibrant northern cities in […]

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Street photography of a person with a bike on a rainy day, taken with an 85mm lens, capturing urban life and wet pavement reflections.

Unlocking the Magic of the 85mm Prime Lens in Street Photography

Composition Techniques, Equipment and Kit, Leeds, Tips, Training / McFade

Mastering Street Photography with the 85mm Prime Lens: A Guide to Using the 85mm Lens for Stunning Shots Street photography is an exciting way to spend an afternoon with your camera, learning new skills and capturing the world around you. In this guide, we’ll look at how the Canon 85mm f/1.8 lens and the Canon

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Photographing Leeds : A Summer Walkaround With Canon R5

Architecture, Blog, Discussion, Leeds, Photography, Travel, Yorkshire / McFade

Introduction Leeds, with its intricate tapestry of history, modernity, and raw urban life, beckoned to be captured through a distinctive vision. Equipped with my Canon R5 and the new Canon 16-35mm F4L IS lens, I ventured into the heart of Leeds, eager to blend the city’s vibrant stories with vintage aesthetics. The Photography Technique Delving

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The Surreal World of Ultra Long Exposures

Architecture, Blog, Composition, Leeds, Tips / McFade

Tilt Shift and 15 Stops… I always thought 10 stops was more than enough to create surreal exposures, but discovered the Nisi 15 stop filter (which multiplies your exposure time by 32000) and found a whole new world of experimentation. To test the filter on front of the 24mm tilt Shift lens and went for

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Drone Virtual Tours…

Blog, Business, Commercial, DRONE, Leeds / McFade

An Accidental Find So I was looking for a way to host and view 360-degree photos taken with my DJI mini 2 drone found this virtual tours software which allows you to upload many 360-degree photographs and then navigate around from photo to photo. How it’s done The way I created this was to let

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Leeds Pubs in Lockdown

Leeds, Musings, Photography, Travel, Yorkshire / McFade

Leeds always had a thriving hospitality sector packed with innovative bars, traditional boozers and amazing restaurants. I’ve been part of the scene by probably drinking a little bit too much in many of these places, and also photographing quite a lot of food and drinks for bars, restaurants and hotels over the years. I even

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Temple – Leeds – The New Holbeck!

Architecture, Industrial, Leeds / McFade

A new name for Holbeck Here is a video version, with the words spoken… or carry on to see the photos and read it for yourself. The area south of Leeds station has been rebranded “Temple Leeds”, probably because of “Temple works”, an iconic Mill building in the style of an Egyptian temple. Previously this

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Storm Brewing in Leeds

Architecture, Blog, Leeds, Photography, Yorkshire / McFade

Having I watched the most amazing spring from my garden during lockdown it seems a little bit unfair that the weather in June is dreadful for photography…. But one day last week the sky look like it was about to erupt at any second so I took the gamble of going into Leeds to see

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10 “Must SEE Leeds Photo” Areas for Photographers

Architecture, Blog, Leeds, Tips, Yorkshire / McFade

If you’re planning a trip to photograph Leeds, you might be wondering which locations offer the best photography opportunities. With a city as vibrant and historic as Leeds, there’s no shortage of captivating spots. The city offers a mixture of modern architecture and heritage sites, providing a wealth of visual diversity for any photographer. While

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Locked Down Leeds

Blog, Discussion, Leeds, Musings, Photography / McFade

9 weeks into lockdown and I finally decided to take my daily allocated exercise by walking around the city centre of Leeds. I had been putting it off because I didn’t really want to upset and overstretched police force or get a fine! I expected in the early lock-down weeks, it’d be desolate, 9 weeks

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Leeds 2019

Architecture, Leeds, Lightroom / McFade

Leeds Architecture in 2019 Winter’s a great time for Leeds architecture photography. The sun is low in the sky and sets around 5PM, so you’re not out waiting for ages in the evening. We’ve done this before of course, here are some shots from 2014 and some from the shopping areas in 2014. On the

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Exploring Granary Wharf Leeds: Architectural Wonders Captured with Tilt Shift Lenses

Blog, Leeds, Photography / McFade

Granary Wharf Leeds and Wellington Street: A Tilt Shift Lens Adventure Just a quick post with some shots from the train station and canal area of Leeds. These were taken during the early days of testing the Tilt Shift lens we invested in for the architecture photography business. Tilt shift lenses are a game changer

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Tilt Shift Lens in Hunslet, South leeds

Architecture, Blog, Composition, Industrial, Leeds, Photography, Yorkshire / McFade

What is Tilt Shift? If you don’t know what a Tilt Shift lens is, this chap explains it well. So take a look at this first if you’re interested. South Leeds Architecture There are some interesting new buildings in the south of Leeds these days – this first one is the Leeds College of buildings, created

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Super-Fast Spot Colouring in LIGHTROOM

Blog, Leeds, Lightroom, Tips, Training, Video Tutorials, Yorkshire / McFade

Learn Spot Colour in Seconds The Magic of Spot Colouring in Adobe Lightroom Welcome to the fascinating world of spot colouring, a technique that can transform your photographs from ordinary to extraordinary. With Adobe Lightroom, you can achieve this stunning effect in mere minutes, no faffing about! The Art of Black and White Photography with

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Summer Nights Workshop – 2016 Review

Automobiles, Blog, Business, Fun, Landscapes, Leeds, Lightroom, Manchester, People, Photography, Workshop, Yorkshire, Yorkshire Dales / McFade

McFade Summer Nights Workshops 2016 A look back over 12 fantastic evenings – but first some background Where did the idea of Summer Nights Workshops come from? Ever since I took Photography seriously I’ve regularly gone out for smaller outings – usually with 1 or 2 friends. We’d find places to go, new things to try

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Fake Blurry Skies… in 2 minutes

Architecture, Discussion, Leeds, Photography, Video Tutorials, Yorkshire / McFade

10 Stop Filters – All the Rage! I’ve got one, have you? Well no landscape or architecture photographer worth their salt goes out without one these days do they ? 😉 It is the current fad – that surreal sky, those misty sea shores… you simply have to use them… They are genuinely interesting to

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Leeds is RUBBISH For Photography!

Architecture, Discussion, Leeds, Photography, Training / McFade

Who’d Want to do Photography in Leeds ? I’ve heard this said many times – along with classics such as… you’ve not got many great buildings, you’ve not got any sky scrapers costs a fortune to park and they charge you at night its really rough and you’ll get mugged. Ok… Parking is Terrible… Well

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13 Photos of New (Clarence) Dock – Leeds

Architecture, Blog, Leeds, Photography, Yorkshire / McFade

Clarence Dock or New Dock Leeds? I’ve always referred to it as Clarence Dock, but the area was rebranded “New Dock Leeds” in 2012 according to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_Dock_(Leeds)). Either way, the blend of architecture and water makes for a great place to photograph – even on dull days, dusk photos look great once the lights

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Leeds Shopping – 9 Photos from Briggate and Beyond

Architecture, HDR, Leeds, Lightroom, Tips, Yorkshire / McFade

Leeds Shopping – Knightsbridge of the North? Leeds does seem to have its fair share of shops. Posh shops. Harvey Nichols. Designer stuff. I like the shop in the Victoria Quarter with Panerai watches best – often found lusting after the PAM 372, a huge watch which looks just about perfect on my wrist… shame

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7 HDR Photos of Leeds

Leeds / McFade

7 HDR Photos of Leeds – Swinegate & Calls In Leeds, where the canal and Aire merge, there’s The Calls and Swinegate. Streets on the inner ring road with some fantastic brick buildings to photograph, especially great for HDR photos of Leeds, as you can pull lots of detail out of those walls. Maybe not

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Fireworks Photography Tips

Blog, Leeds, Photography, Tips, Training, Workshop / McFade

Here’s a selection of photos from Leeds’ Roundhay Park firework display on 5th December 2013, and a few tips on how we did them. Get a good place to watch them A good clear view is best, you get to watch the entire journey of all the fireworks. Too close and you may end up

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Happy Customer… huge Leeds print

Leeds, Photography / McFade

One of my Leeds prints has found its way on to a client’s mantelpiece – Laura’s just sent over this shot. Love seeing them in place – you send them off not knowing where they’ll end up, so it’s a real buzz seeing them in place like this. I think this one was about 45

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30 Surreal Seconds in Leeds….

Architecture, Blog, Leeds, Photography, Tips / McFade

Surreal Leeds! You’d not normally bother with the camera on a day like this was, but here’s what I tried, making a surreal Leeds…. It’s mid-afternoon… The sun is bright There is a slight wind blowing the clouds There are people and cars around I’ve just left a meeting in Leeds… So do I

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Sunny Holbeck

Architecture, Industrial, Leeds, Photography / McFade

I’d just put an exhibition in the Midnight Bell pub and had the camera with me… so decided to get all nostalgic for 15 minutes and capture the end of town I worked in for 2 years – Holbeck. It’s had one hell of a face lift since 2000, now housing lots of businesses, 2

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How I did This…. 5 Photoshop Steps

Architecture, Discussion, Leeds, Musings, Tips, Training / McFade

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

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Trinity Leeds – The New Shopping Centre Goes LIVE!

Architecture, Blog, Leeds, Photography / McFade

March 2013 – TRINITY LEEDS goes live in the heart of Leeds! Overview of Trinity Leeds Grand Opening Date Opened: March 2013 Event: Grand Opening of Highlight: Collection of Artworks and Impressive Glass Roof The centre made a significant impact with its collection of public artworks and an iconic glass roof that quickly became a symbol of

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5 Tips on “Daytime City” Long Exposures Using a 10 Stop Filter

Architecture, Blog, Leeds, Photography, Slider, Tips / McFade

Get Surreal with a 10 STOP ND Filter! Can you use a 10 stop filter do to long exposures in cities? They are commonplace in landscape photography, where the shots are usually taken in low light at sunrise or sunset. You normally get shots with lots of colours, milky water and foam-like seascapes. So I

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Muay Thai Boxing Champion

Leeds, People, Photography, Strobist, Tips / McFade

Brad Stanton…. At just 19, Brad has conquered the UK and Commonwealth – just turned 20, he’s now headlining stadiums with his amazing Thai Boxing skills. He’s based at Leeds premier gym, Edge (www.edgegyms.co.uk), and needed some great shots to help lift his profile – so we did a shoot in the actual gym. To

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HDR Photography in Leeds… Armley

Blog, Discussion, Industrial, Landscapes, Leeds, Photography, Tips / McFade

Famous for it’s monumental prison and a gyratory, Armley isn’t the first Leeds suburb you’d go shooting alone in – let alone on an incredibly dull February day. I took to the canal first first, to see how the graffiti artists are doing – these walls change regularly. Then down to the river Aire and over the

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Radio Aire DJ Shoot

Leeds, People, Photography, Strobist / McFade

Michael Blades broadcasts live from Leeds every Saturday and Sunday night, jetting over to Rock FM in Preston for saturday afternoon… Having found McFade Urban Shoots on Google, he’d spotted the style of images he was after – so we met outside Leeds Town Hall and had a great couple of hours shooting and chatting

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5 Light Painting Shots

Architecture, Leeds, Photography, Training / McFade

Since I wrote an 8-page article for Digital SLR User magazine in 2008, I’ve loved shooting at night. Once the unreliable ambient light has gone, you are in control. Photographers are control freaks…. Also since then, LED torches have massively improved, to the point where for as little as £50 you can buy a Cree

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Wintery Leeds

Architecture, Leeds, Photography / McFade

Facebook was awash with “god it’s cold” comments yesterday – so a great day for some blue wintery sky shots. Parking around Granary Wharf, taking a walk up through town, down past the market and back along the canal, these images were created. Was indeed nice light. They are all HDR – that’s what I

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Sports Photography at Leeds Varsity

Blog, Business, Leeds, People, Photography / McFade

The biggest Varsity showdown after Oxbridge is held annually in Leeds. I was commissioned by Leeds University to capture 10 hours of action at many different venue throughout the Uni and Met campuses. The breif was to capture as many events as possible – so took the huge list of sports, planned the day and set off

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Night Photography Programme Starts

Blog, Landscapes, Leeds, Musings, Training / McFade

[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

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Photographer Meets Celebrity Look Alikes in Leeds

Blog, Leeds, Networking, People, Photography, Slider, Strobist / McFade

Celebrity Look Alikes in Leeds [singlepic id=661 float=] 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

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Light Trail Photography

Automobiles, Blog, Leeds, Photography / McFade

Light Trails [singlepic id=640 float=] 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. [nggallery

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Twisted Theatre Photography in Leeds…

Blog, Commercial, Leeds, People, Photography, Strobist / McFade

Theatre Rehearsal Photography in Leeds…. [singlepic id=608 ] 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

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Leeds Business – McFade Promo Videos

Architecture, Business, Commercial, Leeds, Manchester, People, Photography / McFade

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]

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Discovering Morley

Architecture, Blog, Composition, Leeds, Musings, Photography, Tips / McFade

[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

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Tetley Brewery – The End of an Era

Blog, Industrial, Leeds, Musings / McFade

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

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LEEDS PHOTOS – Jan 2012

Architecture, Business, Industrial, Leeds, Photography / McFade

New Leeds Photos for 2012 We’ve taken advantage of the amazing sunny January days by getting a new set of images of Leeds for you to enjoy. Here’s a pretty extensive selection from the new set – there will be more to come! Buy a copy for your home! They will all available for purchase

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Free “Street Photography” Action

Blog, Fun, Leeds, Musings, People, Photography, Training / McFade

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

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CASE STUDY – Carlton Tower

Architecture, Business, Commercial, Leeds / McFade

Case study of the refurb of Carlton Tower, Leeds. Click on the image to see larger

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CASE STUDY – Wira House Large Prints

Business, Commercial, Leeds / McFade

Case Study of Select Pix’s largest job to date at WIRA House, click to view larger

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Night Photography in the City

Architecture, Blog, Composition, Leeds, Tips, Training / McFade

Don’t put your camera away in the dark! Too many people put their cameras away for the winter – night photography is one of the most creative forms there is. Amaze your friends with long exposures, light trails, wierd shapes etc. Here are 5 Photography ideas to do at night which would be impossible during

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Top Tips – Sunny Day Cities

Architecture, Blog, Composition, Leeds, Musings, Photography, Tips / McFade

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

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Leeds Band Photography on the Bridge

Blog, Business, Commercial, Fun, Leeds, People, Strobist / McFade

Leeds Band Photography by McFade Photography! As well as photographing everything and anything, I also play piano and keyboards in 2 bands – one being the Blues Brother’s tribute band “Sweet Home Chicago”. The Band got a fantastic brass section comprising of Greg, Sam and Chris, and they seem to be in about 1000 bands between

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Sari Shoot at Kirkstall

Blog, Business, Commercial, Leeds, People, Photography, Strobist / McFade

My friend Hash Parmar recently started up a beauty treatments business in Leeds. We did a few shots of Kat, who’d had a Hash make over, down by the Aire at Kirkstall Abbey. A lovely location, leafy and green, with the added bonus of a 12th century abbey in the background. The shots here are

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Leeds street photography

Architecture, Blog, Leeds, Musings, People / McFade

Capturing City Life Amid Rising Parking Prices It’s no secret that parking prices in Leeds and Manchester are climbing, compelling us to extract every ounce of value from our daytime excursions into these vibrant city centres. One of my favourite ways to do this is by capturing fleeting moments on film, preserving today’s everyday scenes

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