John Gough Photography
This is my image of the month for November. Once again it is a Pep Ventosa and figure composite.
I have been musing that this yearning for impressionism is a reaction to COVID and lockdown. We are not living full lives anymore. So many people are desperately lonely. We live our lives in a state of proxy. We want clarity but cannot see through the confusion. We are lost.
One of my big obsessions with photography is to try to photograph how the mind interprets what we see rather than what the camera is pointing at. Misty Autumn photography is about looking at Autumn leaves, trees and landscapes through an ethereal, golden, opaque lens.
I wrote about photographing the Autumn colours before the season began. I was looking forward to the season and trying to get an impression of Autumn perhaps through multiple exposures. Due to the lockdowns, we are having here in the UK, I think we are seeing the seasons so much more vividly. Walking through nature has certainly maintained my sanity during these worrying months.
My mentor through this time has been Glenys Garnett. I recently watched an RPS talk she gave about her photography. She talked about how she will frequently photograph the same patch of woodland behind her house in the pursuit of wonderful dreamy images.
As she says, working in a familiar space will force your creativity. Encouraging you to make images about how you feel, and embracing abstraction. She suggests looking at the muted colours of work by American painter, Andrew Wyeth.
Looking for soft light and a subdued palette has led me to the work of Jo Stephen.
I am drawn to using creative photographic techniques as they enable me to explore my connection to nature in a way that representational photography does not always allow. … Jo Stephen
I agree, that statement sums up so simply my view that seeing is believing but believing is what we see.
These are some of her Autumn images and some of her woodland images.
With thanks to Jo Stephen, this is a simple technique to get that wonderful soft lighting.
This is one I tried earlier………….
This is a beautiful effect which I am also going to experiment using with my Pep Ventosa and multiple exposure images.
This is my October 2020 image of the month. I have been developing my Pep Ventosa style, by adding some static items to the swirl of confusion created by the multiple images.
I am fascinated by the way the technique creates a view closer to how we see. Or at least how I think we see!
I often read posts like this on Facebook where unfortunately someone has dropped a very expensive camera. When they could have saved themselves a lot of anguish by using a camera wrist strap:
A very, very sad day for me 😞 The unthinkable happened and I dropped my 5D Mark Iv today. Now the camera shows Err 20 and the mirror gets stuck when I press the shutter – it gets stuck midway and doesn’t lift all the way up. I bought the camera brand new off of Ebay and according to Canon the serial number indicates this product was not intended for sale in the United States and is ineligible for registration and support in the U.S. Has anyone had experience with an issue like that? I don’t know where to send my camera to be fixed. It’s brand new with less that 700 shutter count. Any advice or reputable repair service referral within the US is greatly appreciated!
We all walk around with several thousand pounds of gear in our hands. I have come close to dropping mine several times.
Long camera straps can be cumbersome, so I opt to always tether my camera to my wrist with a camera wrist strap.
This is what I recommend:
It is paracord that fits quite discretely around the wrist.
If it is too thick to go through the eyelet on your camera then try these connectors.
In these troubling times, stay safe and keep your camera safe.
The Canon EOS R was launched about two years ago (September 2018). I have been using a Canon EOS R now most of that time. I have taken thousands of photographs in all conditions and of all genre: street to portrait, landscape to travel. So, I thought it was about time that I summarised my experience with an EOS R long term review.
I am not going into specs or lab tests, this is just an honest user review, warts and all. Except that there are not many warts. I have concentrated on stills photography, not video. I use my phone for video, and it works just fine. The top line is I have come to love this camera, so much so that when the R5 and R6 came out, I did not even consider changing. Why?
When the camera first came out there was so much negativity around it not having two card slots etc, that it eclipsed just how good a camera this was. Since then long term reviews have been much more positive and balanced.
The Canon EOS R was the first full frame mirrorless camera that Canon produced. There was a lot riding on its success. Canon had invested heavily to move into this growing market. So, nothing was left to chance and in my view, the EOS R was over engineered to ensure its success. This means you get a lot of camera for your money.
The camera has a solid weather sealed magnesium alloy body. The closures are well fitting. The grip is comfortable, and the camera is well balanced. You could walk for hours with this camera in your hand. I have done so.
The EOS R may not have the biggest sensor, best low light performance or dynamic range, but it is just right in all these areas to provide a competent all round capability. After all the EOS R has the same sensor as the Canon EOS 5 MKIV which is so highly regarded, it is placed on a pedestal or at least a very tall tripod. The files are not too big or too small, plus there is the advantage of the vivid Canon colours, regarded as the best in the business.
This was a tricky lighting situation in Venice, but the sensor has the dynamic range to cope.
What is the touch bar all about. I have never got mine to work. I think this is a feature that Canon will soon forget. The buttons on the EOS R are however fully customisable, so there is plenty of real estate to play with.
Some people will want to stick with an optical viewfinder, which is one reason why the Canon EOS 5 MKIV is still popular. I tend to forget that the EVF on the EOS R is an electronic viewfinder.
I love the fully articulating flippy touch screen which is great for street photography.
Older EF lenses can be converted to the R system using the EF-EOS R adapter. In my experience connecting to Canon EF lenses is seamless.
The control ring on all R lenses can be set to change the camera functions. I have mine set to exposure compensation so that through the EVF, I can judge the amount of light to suit the image. This bypasses the technology and returns some manual control and creativity to image making.
Spoiler Alert: We are going to talk about flange distances
The RF mount flange focal distance is just 20mm from the image sensor. This has given Canon lens designers a lot more flexibility.
According to Canon:
The rear element of RF lenses can be larger in diameter, improving image quality at the corners and outer edges of the frame. Larger rear elements mean front elements can be smaller, meaning less strong refracting and bending of light rays within the lens, enhancing optical performance.
We know how good Canon L lenses are, but they are expensive. Consider then the more affordable RF lenses, which because they are freer of the design constraints are excellent.
This is my review of the Canon RF 24-240mm lens and the Canon RF 35mm macro lens.
However, do not take my word for it, look at this review of the Canon RF 85mm f2 Macro (£649) vs RF 1.2 (£2799) vs EF 1.8. The top line is that the cheaper lens beats the other two, and the RF wins over the EF lens hands down.
To sum up the R system give you access to some fantastic quality but affordable lenses.
There is a summary of the specs of each camera here, but I have not seen the need to change to this second generation of the R series.
This is my thinking.
Yes, I would like in body stabilisation (IBIS), it should totally eliminate the need for a tripod. However, my lenses all have stabilisation, and the R is capable of shooting at incredible ISO’s with low noise, so do I really need it now.
The EOS R5 with a 45MP sensor size is too big. I don’t think I need it even though I crop a lot. I worry that the big file sizes could slow my workflow down to a crawl.
The EOS R6 21MP sensor is just a bit light. It works well in the Canon EOS 1DX Mk III, because sports and news photographers prefer smaller file sizes that can be streamed back from remote places on earth quickly.
The EOS R fits that Goldilocks category with a 30.3 CMOS sensor.
I have mentioned that the EOS R IMHO is over engineered for the price. I think Canon produced it as a loss leader to persuade Canon users to switch. As a result, the EOS R5 (£4199) and EOS R6 (£2499) which followed the EOS R are more realistically priced. This makes the EOS R real value for money at £1879.
The Canon EOS R is two years old now, and technology moves on, but it is an extraordinarily robust camera, that can cover most bases well. What matters to me is a camera that feels good, and that you can forget about, because you know it just works.
This is a camera that puts you in charge because you are confident that the images will look good
In 1979, Buggles lamented that Video Killed the Radio Star. Fortunately, this turned out to be premature. Today radio is still very much alive. Looking to the future, however, will we photographers look back and lament that it was software like Luminar AI that killed landscape photography.
Take a look at this short video about Luminar AI.
Just replace the sky, ‘with a more dramatic one’. ‘Add sunrays to make the image more interesting’. ‘A little mist to add atmosphere’. ‘Add lots of contrast’. ‘Automatically change all your images by applying an AI template’.
AI is changing photography.
Are the Luminar AI changes any different from what we do manually in post-processing, or do they represent a threat to the way we do our photography?
The debate around how we process images will I guess will run and run. I have never had any truck with those who insist on capturing the image, ‘in camera’. I love shooting in RAW and using Lightroom and Photoshop, to make images pop. Surely that is just bringing out the best from the image that was there? Better communicating what it was I saw on the day when the photograph was taken.
What I think I object to, is that with one click it is possible to homogenise all landscape photographs to look the same, and that is boring. It destroys authenticity and integrity. How quickly will it take us to get fed up with a sunrise. How do we know it was real? Was it there when the image was taken? Or did the photographer roll out of bed at mid-day?
The result will be a change in the way we look at landscape photography. We will no longer believe the perfect landscape. Take a look on any day at some of the popular landscapes on 500px. I can’t believe it’s not butter. So many landscapes with red skies, mist and reflections. Were they really captured that way? Or is it AI?
Is this the way photography is going? Ten years ago the same debate raged around Photoshop and now most of us photographers just love it. We also accept CGI in movies. So will we learn to live with AI?
I think so.
We are human, we will adapt, and because we are human we will learn to bend and control it. Afterall it will always be the creative input that is most important, and robots cannot replace that just yet!
This is my image of the month for September 2020. A message in a bottle. I am currently experimenting with a bolder oil painting style to try and achieve an image which is an oil and light hybrid.
Rankin has a new show on Sky Arts, which reviews the results of a photography challenge launched in the summer to document life in 2020. In the programme, (Rankin’s 2020) Rankin demonstrates how he would tackle each assignment and with two guests reviews his images and their images.
Sky Arts is now a free-to-air channel on Freeview Channel 11.
There are six parts to the series. Each episode will focus on a different category – family, fun, self, beauty, empathy and nature.
Rankin is a renowned portrait photographer, who has now diversified into fashion, advertising and film. He is best known for working with models Kate Moss and Heidi Klum as well as photographing celebrities like Madonna, David Bowie and the Queen.
Rankin describes this project:
“Photography is my life and passion and I truly believe it has the power to reveal and connect. Now we all have cameras in our pockets, I think it’s time to use them. Rankin’s 2020 is an open call to anybody who thinks they can take a great picture. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve never taken a photograph before or you’re a professional, I want to see your view of our world. Together we can document this crazy year and make something positive out of it.”
There are now two photography based programmes on Sky Arts. I have reviewed Master of Photography, and I have watched the first episode of Rankin’s 2020. I enjoyed Rankin’s interpretation of empathy and seeing how he worked. The images submitted were also refreshing, in that they did not look like traditional photography competition entries. Many had been captured on a smartphone. They were alive, immediate and compelling.
A blatant promotional item, for my own camera club: Bedford Camera Club. Our new season starts on Tuesday, and Vaughan Dean our Club Secretary and now an audacious news presenter has produced a video introducing the club, and the new season.
Fantastic news. Sky Arts, the Sky channel, is now available on Freeview, Channel 11. The channel started broadcasting this week, which means that we can all now get to see one of their most popular programmes: Master of Photography. A photography competition, in which contestants compete with one another to gain the coveted title and 150,000 euros.
I watched the first episode this week, on Friday at 2pm. This was a repeat from the first series broadcast in 2016. I imagine the series is shown across the schedule. However, you will need to trawl through endless repeats of Tales of the Unexpected to find it.
The format is similar to The Apprentice, Masterchef and Bake Off. Twelve contestants battle it out each week, until one is eliminated. The judges are eminent photographers and there is a guest photographer to give advice. The series has been running for four seasons, and hopefully, they will all be repeated for Freeview viewers.
The contestants chosen from the ‘thousands’ that applied. In this episode, spent six hours shooting on the streets of Rome. Not all the candidates were familiar with street photography, so it was fascinating to watch their different styles. No doubt they were good photographers to win through and get a place in the competition, but the judges were ‘underwhelmed’ with the results.
It may have been the difficulty of street photography. Alex Webb the Magnum street and travel photographer was on hand to give advice. Street photography is 99.8% disappointment he said.
The best bit of advice, however, was kept until the end.
Shoot for yourselves, not what you think the judges are looking for.