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 if I could get any decent moody sky shots. Luckily for about an hour, the sky did looks like something from a 1950s Dracula movie, with ridges of Darkness and light patches making wonderful textures. …
Tag: leeds
If you are planning a trip to photograph Leeds, where should you go? Like most cities, Leeds Centre and shopping areas are largely bland (with a few exceptions…) and many shopping centres actually ban you from taking photographs inside. If you have a tripod they will definitely ask you to move along. Having photographs Leeds since 2003 here are some of the highlights I would recommend to every photographer visiting. All of these photos are from my own archives built up over fast approaching 20 years! The time of day…
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 in getting back to normal… Far from it There were a few people on the streets, but not many, the crowds of shoppers and workers starting their weekend we’re not there – these photos were…
Night Photography at Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds Ok, we’re really lucky to have a ruined abbey right on the edge of our city – and it’s got lots of free parking! So each year I take a new group of photographers down there to light it up with powerful torches and sparks. Here’s what we got up to this year – this is Feb 2018. The group really enjoyed Light Graffiti – that’s drawing things with torches if you keep moving your body doesn’t appear in the photo, just the trace…
Granary Wharf and Wellington Street in Leeds Just a quick post with some shots from the train station/canal area of Leeds. Again these were all taken in the early days of testing the Tilt Shift lens we invested in for the architecture photography business. There is so much you can do with these lenses, it’s a game changer. The main thing with this set is that it’s the first time we’ve shot these things perfectly vertically. Usually, it can’t be done easily with a normal lens. So there they are….…
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 by Fuse Architects. For this shot I went to the middle of the road island ans use the 17mm tillt shift lens. I took 3 photos – one with the lens shifted up, one in the…
New Season – New Food Photography With summer arriving, the menus at Radisson in Leeds change – so they needed new Food Photography to promote it. I was invited down to work with the new chef and Tom, the mixologist, to create a whole set. The Food The Fire Lake vibe is on the rustic edge, so we use some old wood and an old table for the Food Photography presentation. It gives that darker look too – so the bright, summer colours stand out. The light setup is pretty…
Low Light Photography for Beginners 2015’s summer looks to be ebbing away – certainly in the evenings as it’s dark by 8PM now! So last night we started our summer-winter transition and showed a group how to shoot at night. What we did… Kicking off at Clarence Dock, or New Dock Leeds, as the re-brand calls it, we created:- dusk shots of the old docks. night shots of the docks – 30 second exposures, to smooth the water a bit of light painting at Knightsway bridge car light trails. Here…
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 come on. New Dock Leeds through a Sigma 12-24mm Lens The purpose of this shoot was to try out a Sigma 12-14mm lens – I’ve shot with the Canon 17-40 dozens of times, would the…
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 it’s £6000. 20mm HDR So trialling my trusty new 20mm prime lens, I took the tripod around Briggate and the shopping area – weird light meant HDR, just to eek out a bit more detail…