Focus Stacking in Landscape Photos If you like to get everything pin sharp in your landscapes, Focus Stacking is for you. If you shoot low with foregrounds which are very close to the lens, then it can be hard to get the background AND the foreground pin sharp. Focussing 1/3 of the way into a scene […]
See How Easily Focus Stacking You Gives Ultimate Sharpness In Your Landscape Photos Read More »
Grand Finale Car Photography Workshop for 2015 We’ve done 3 great Car Photography workshops this summer, the final one was at Temple Newsham in Leeds – where we have a huge car park full of puddles and a gritty feel. Something to contrast to the other workshops. The cars were TVR T350 TVR Wedge –
Car Photography Workshop – TVR and Porsche Read More »
Capital of Latvia, Riga – The Old Town From the Riga, Latvia WIKIPEDIA entry :- [ct_message type=”info” animation=”slideup”] Riga, Latvia, with 641,007 inhabitants (July 2015), Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states and home to more than one third of Latvia’s population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga, at the mouth of
Riga, Latvia – The Old Town Read More »
Ever travel long distances as a passenger? I do – as a member of a touring band, we sometimes cover hundreds of miles – and a few weeks ago, that involved going from Leeds to Inverness… and back! Naturally I took the camera – for photos of the lovely Scottish city, but also to capture
Travel Photography – Literally! Read More »
Bristol Photos… from day 3 of a Rock N Roll weekend…. This weekend, The Chicago Blues Brothers, for whom I play keyboards, gigged in Crawley, Wimbledon and finally hit the biggest theatre of the weekend in Bristol. The Hippodrome. Blues Brothers Website Review of the show we did We arrived pretty early, got set up and had
Its not often we get time to walk around the towns and cities we visit with the Blues Brothers band, but I got an hour in Inverness this Saturday. It’s a lovely city, large fast flowing river, castle looming over the banks, highland architecture everywhere and a friendly vibe to the whole place. I took
An Hour in Inverness Read More »
[message type=”info”]….this thing isn’t just a “settle for lens” for those who can’t afford the 2.8, but a real contender.[/message] Just invested in the new canon 16-35 F4 – part of the new range of canon F4 L lenses, as opposed to the F2.8 L range, with new generation Image Stabilisation. These are smaller, lighter and cheaper than
Why I Bought the Canon 16-35 F4L Read More »
Is HDR Photography Dead? In many situations, new cameras do indeed render HDR Photography redundant. We use HDR to increase the “dymanic range” of our work – capturing extra detail in the highlights and shadows. Older cameras had a limited range, was was proved by lightening an under exposed shot. The “noise” would be intolerable,
HDR Photography is DEAD! Read More »
How to Create That Vintage Look in LIGHTROOM In this short tutorial video, we look at editing a beach shot at Alnwick, Northumberland. It was a bright day with strong clouds, so lots of mid tones and some crisp shadows to play with. There are many ways to process such a shot, in this session we’ll
Creating Vintage Photos Made Easy in LIGHTROOM Read More »
Photography Kit Which Doesn’t Cost The Earth 1 – Angle Finder – £20 – £200 If you shoot low down, maybe for landscapes or createive atchitecture shots, so see through your camera, you’ll either have to lie fly on the floor or guess your compoisition. This is where your “angle finder” comes into play. It allows
9 Affordable Gadgets To Transform Your Photography Read More »
Snow Photography at Settle and Malham It’s not been the snowiest of winters, but on a trip out with Richard Spurdens, we were treated to some great Snow Photography opportunities. The soft blanket of white offered a serene backdrop that transformed familiar scenes into picturesque landscapes. As we wandered through the rolling hills, I realized
Snow Photography in the Yorkshire Dales Read More »
England’s Biggest Waterfall is High Force – Teesdale! It may only be 70 feet tall, minute compared to the giants in Yosemite or South America, but High Force, high up in Teesdale, is very impressive in flood – as it was on this day! With it being winter, you can see the falls from the
England’s Biggest Waterfall Read More »
So we set off early for a gig at Sunderland Empire – with the intention of enjoying the beach, maybe popping to the Angel of the North or Penshaw Monument. The weather had different ideas – it was grim, cold and grey. So we did a pub lunch instead – then went to Roker Beach
A Souvenir of Sunderland Read More »
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
Fake Blurry Skies… in 2 minutes Read More »
A New Look Pays Off! Having recently opened an events space in Leeds, our client needed some fresh shots to promote it. So we created some of our “special HDR images” of Lambert’s Yard – using a mix of angles and styles to show the features, and sell the place as a modern, warm, fun, city centre venue to hold
Bookings “go though the roof” with McFade Photos Read More »
Shoot to the right… what’s that then? It’s a technique to get better image quality… simple as that really. Why does the “shoot to the right” technique give you better image quality? Well the science is pretty complicated and all to do with how a sensor captures light. Digital cameras sensors are more efficient at capturing the light
Why you should “Shoot to the Right” Read More »
I learned about flash by using statues as models… they’re more patient than real people, don’t get cold and available 24/7! Just spotted this article about it here so thought I’d share Click here to view original web page at www.ephotozine.com Gear Suggestions: Unless you’re a particular fan of the carvings that decorate the tops
Tips On Photographing Statues Read More »
Last Ditch Pitstop! The Dales Experience workshop was somewhat spoiled by ice – the 3 roads to get to our favourite spots were impassible! So rather than panic, we grabbed loads of great shots elsewhere and on the way back to base, I remembered these trees on the side of the road near Airton I
Lightroom Landscape Workflow – 3 Minute Mono! Read More »
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
Leeds is RUBBISH For Photography! Read More »
Landscape Video… If you’re into landscapes, here are some cool tips in a short video – well medium, it’s 8 minutes long. Photographer Antony Spencer teamed up with Phase One last year to share inspirational tips on how to shoot better landscape images. But these aren’t necessarily any ordinary tips that you’ve heard before.
10 Inspiring Tips for Better Landscape Photos Read More »
Europe’s Biggest Waterfall! Europe’s biggest waterfall was the highlight of day 2 of our Austria trip, a trip through the usual “breathtaking” landscape (not hyperbole, it really is!) found us at the foot of this monster 1200 foot tall fall. It’s not all in one giant cascade – but over several smaller cascades, many of
Europe’s Highest Waterfall – Krimmler, Austria Read More »
A Wealthy Town If you’re into classic sports cars and wealthy old german people wandering around streets, this place is for you. Its a playground for the rich, with E-Type Jaguars and classic Porsches along the litterless streets. We did look at property priced and it’s more like Mayfair than Leeds! But as this blog
Kitzbuhel Church, Austria Read More »
Free Lightroom Tips and Photo Critique – Week 11 This weeks Lightroom tips…. This week we have a night photo, castle, lake and canal. Main tips are on composition, cropping and focussing. It’s not easy focussing on dark subjects at night – so there are a few tips on how to do this. Here’s the
Free Lightroom Tips and Photo Critique – Week 11 Read More »
Free Lightroom Tips and Photo Critique – Week 10 This weeks Lightroom tips…. This week we’ve got Lindesfarne, a fountain, some cool shallow depth of field effects with a toy car and much more. If you want to join in – just send me your email address via any means you can, email to [email protected]
Free Lightroom Tips and Photo Critique – Week 10 Read More »
Free Lightroom Tips and Photo Critique – Week 7 This weeks Lightroom tips…. Welcome to the 7th instalment of video critique – this week we have a set of 7, from a TVR to portraits, beach huts to classic architecture. As ever, these are uploaded to DROPBOX anonymously and imported into Lightroom so we can
Free Lightroom Tips and Photo Critique – Week 7 Read More »
Photography in India…. Got a trip to India Planned? Well here are 5 tips for photographing a most wonderful country for photography…. Take as little kit as you can Its the “people” not the “places” which count Don’t bother taking a tripod Don’t go for the obvious shots Be prepared for MAYHEM! Take as little kit
5 Tips on Photography in India Read More »
Free Lightroom Tips and Photo Critique – Week 6 This weeks Lightroom tips…. This week we had 5 photos uploaded, a nice mix of subjects including a lancaster bomber, river and York scene. Main tips are on image editing and losing quality through excessive noise reduction, cropping and vignetting. Free, anonymous Lightroom Tips – Submit now
Free Lightroom Tips and Photo Critique – Week 6 Read More »
“False Praise” on Social Media I joined my first online community in 2004 – it’s called EPhotozine – and since then I’ve learned an incredible amount from the site, lots of useful tips from more advanced photographers guided me away from common mistakes. However, what has been a perpetual gripe on the site, from me
The “X-Factor” Problem Read More »
NIK EFEX VIVEZA – it’s just curves, right? NIK EFEX Viveza is, on the surface, a very simple NIK EFEX plugin, and when compared to Silver EFEX, it looks trivial! But with its 4 sliders and curves control, it is extremely powerful! Add to that the ability to create as many “control points” as you like,
GOOGLE NIK EFEX Guide – 3 Viveza Read More »
NIK EFEX Define – the Best Noise Reduction Software Available? Direct answer: NIK EFEX Define stands out because it gives you more control over what the software treats as noise, rather than just applying a blanket fix. In this workflow, you can sample a noisy area by hand, help the filter learn the difference between
NIK Dfine Explained: Smarter Noise Reduction for Landscape Photos Read More »
Sharpening with GOOGLE NIK EFEX Google Nik has to be one of the best suites of plugins for Lightroom and Photoshop available. Many of our McFade Training customers use it, so in this mini series, we’ll introduce the workflow NIK recommend, showing you how we’d use it on a Landscape photo of the lake district.
GOOGLE NIK EFEX Guide – 1 RAW Pre Sharpen Read More »
What are you Business Photos Telling People ? Business Photos used to be fillers on websites. Pretty pictures would just separate the text and logos, Photos would be bought off Stock Photography websites and have no connection to you Californian models with perfect smiles or sunset shots of the New York skyline would be used to sell
5 Photo Tips For Every Business Read More »
Do NOT Try This at Home! I’ve got huge dust problems with my 5D2, so was excited to find a Youtube clip which shows you how to get rid properly… I really don’t think this is the right way… see what you think! I actually use a little device called an Arctic Butterfly, which uses
How (not) To Clean Your Camera Sensor…? Read More »
The Perennial HDR Photography Debate: Is HDR Bad? As someone who’s used HDR Photography to make a living and has been a fan since 2006, I often get involved in HDR debates. Sigh… The usual comments would be around I don’t like HDR, it looks a bit weird or maybe I like HDR Photos when
HDR Photography isn’t Bad – People Are! Read More »
Classic Vintage Model Photography Laura’s got that vintage look – her Monroe-esque hair leaves no doubt! She’s even considering working as a Marilyn Monroe lookalike. For this portfolio shoot, we headed to Saltaire. The park provided a wealth of props and backdrops to create a classic feel. I aimed for dramatic lighting to capture that
Laura – Vintage Model Photography Read More »
The Presentation Designer Illiya Vjestica is a great designer – a strong typographic presence, uses powerful images which leave the “message” in no doubt and also happens to be great bloke too. His business takes these skills to the art of “presentation” – he creates slides for people to transform how they present in pitches, talks and seminars.
Business Profile Shoot – Illiya the Presentation Designer Read More »
Just having a look for some shots and came upon a sunset at Semerwater – which I photographed in January 2008…. 6.5 years ago. 2008 Workflow Back then my workflow was a little different :- Shoot RAW files Copy files onto hard drive after a shoot Import RAW files into Capture One – Version 3
Does your “editing” change over the years? Read More »
Saddleworth Moor to Scammonden Bridge May seems to be throwing up some amazing sunsets Missing quite a few of them, I decided it was time to hit the road an get a few shots from the moors between Huddersfield and Oldham – loads of variety and drama there. So here are a selection from the
13 Yorkshire Sunset Shots Read More »
End to end screen recording, with strange northern narration, of a dull day photo in Stainforth, North Yorkshire.
LIGHTROOM – Creating a Black and White Landscape Read More »
If TV Did “Popular” Photography In the wake of the deluge of “talent” shows, which has seen “talented” people battle, week in week out, to survive to the next round – including riveting subjects as:- Baking Cakes Cooking Food Modelling Being a Drag Queen Growing Vegetables oh – and singing… Here’s an idea for
“Britain’s got Photographers” – A new TV Format Read More »
If you like Architecture, you will love London’s huge variety of styles, periods and sizes. The City of London’s skyline is rapidly growing taller, from the lone Natwest Tower in the 80’s, then Lloyds and the Gherkin appeared, now we have several new ones of various shapes and sizes. On a recent trip I enjoyed
14 Photos of the City of London Read More »
Coast Trinity Leeds Glamour Magazine and Prom Events Trinity Leeds most recent events, Glamour Magazine and Prom Night, have seen fashion shop Coast bustling with customers, champagne, chocolates and we’ve been down capturing events on camera. Thanks for the invite go to Chloe Chong, in Yellow on this next shot, who remembered us after doing some
Coast – Trinity Leeds Read More »
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
13 Photos of New (Clarence) Dock – Leeds Read More »
Joe Cusimano Founder of the Lovelution Movement, Joe Cusimano met for a shoot in Halifax – sheltering from the rain under a few of its viaducts! What is Lovelution… From his Viva La Lovelution Facebook page, Joe says… Join the Lovelution: Follow your Heart, Shine your Light,Seek the Truth and Reunite! This is YOUR revolution!
Light it at All Costs The Flash Addicts are driven to introduce their own light to everything – whether it needs it or not. Their enjoyment is in adding that rim lighting, colouring backgrounds, and playing with the latest flash modifiers. Stacks of Kit… Armed with “poverty wizard” style radio triggers, light stands and a
5 – Flash Addicts – Strobists… Read More »
Sleep Deprivation Up well before the lark, usually 2 hours before the sun rises, so they can drive an hour and walk 40 minutes to be in “that” position for the sunrise they’ve planned for the last 4 years. They say a prayer before bed – “Please god, let the light be good this year”
4 – Die Hard Landscaper Read More »
Read about our trip east to enjoy The Humber Bridge Bridlington Flamborough North Landing Flamborough Head Lighthouse http://www.mcfade.co.uk/training/flamborough-head-review/ Here are a few of our photos from the day… more if you follow the above link
Flamborough Head Workshop Read More »
Your business is all about you Not in an egotistical way, but any SME business owner knows that they are the “face” of their company. It’s unavoidable really – we create:- the business idea, the hard graft to get it going, the risks you take, the people you meet These things are all down to
It’s All About YOU Read More »
Welcome to Castleford: A Photographic Adventure Exploring the Waterside Castleford, a small town in West Yorkshire, is a treasure trove of photographic opportunities. My adventure began by the River Aire, which was brimming and roaring as it cascaded over the weir. I snapped away with my trusty 70-200mm lens, capturing the scene in all its
Capturing Castleford Photos: A Photographer’s Guide to Hidden Gems Read More »
2013 is no more… I needed some new shots so on Thursday 2nd of Jan, 2014 I hit the road over to Ferrybridge to see if the sun was hitting the steam clouds over the cooling towers. It was to an extent, my usual spot by the canal gave some reasonable long exposure shots
5 Shots of Ferrybridge Read More »
