iJourneys

John Gough Photography

Multiple Exposure

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Primitive Multiple Exposure / John Gough /Canon 6D

 

A week or so ago I attended a Bailey Chinnery workshop in Hastings. The workshop was run by Valda Bailey and Doug Chinnery. It concentrated more on the creative process of photography rather than technical information, and traditional composition etc.

This paragraph from their website sums up their approach:

So it is our goal that these new Creative Growth workshops will have a more intense focus on artistic development. We want to help you open your mind to think with greater freedom, develop your own style, forge your own path. It is our hope that they will facilitate your progress as an artist and you will come away creatively invigorated and inspired.

The workshop I attended was for one day and concentrated on creating abstract images in camera using multiple exposures, and Intentional Camera Movement (ICM). I was interested in using multiple exposures to create background layers in Photoshop. However, I was quickly impressed with the possibilities of creating multiple exposure images as pictures that stood upon their own.

How It Works

I don’t want to go into the technical bits. However, if like me you did not know if your camera even had multiple exposure functionality. Then follow this video:

Multiple exposure photography lays one image on top of another in camera. The camera software averages out the exposure values so that all layers are visible. It requires considerable skill to turn a set of random shots into a meaningful image.

The Creative Possibilities

There are endless possibilities to create shapes, abstracts and impressionist art, as this work by Valda Bailey illustrates.

There is a wonderful ‘in the moment’ quality about photographing a location in this way. Valda Bailey told us that she will spend at least an hour before she picks up her camera. I can understand why. It requires intense concentration to take several images in a sequence that will work together to form a finished photograph.

I have only been experimenting for a few days as you can see from the example at the top of the page. There is more work to do.

London Nights Exhibition

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I mentioned recently that I had visited the London Nights exhibition at the Museum of London. Some of the images on show are amazing and encourage you to walk around your neighbourhood at night to see just what your camera can see.

This article in the British Journal of Photography showcases the exhibition, and a new FullBleed film produced in association with British Journal of Photography and the Museum of London, which explores the exhibition through the eyes of its curator and a selection of exhibiting photographers.

I, of course, loved the 50’s images with men in gaberdine macks, smoking on street corners under gas lights, but with over two hundred and fifty images from over sixty photographers, there is something for everyone.

Photography in the Peak District

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Curbar Edge / John Gough / Canon 6D

The way to really appreciate Curbar Edge in the Peak District is to get there at dawn, and if you are lucky with the weather, the sun will rise behind you throwing the rocky outcrop into relief creating memorable photographs.

We did just that last week. Thanks to Clive Williams at Bedford Camera Club for organising the event. We set off from home at 4.00am and arrived just as the sun was rising at 6.45.

Curbar Edge

Curbar Edge, in the Peak District, is a high gritstone escarpment offering spectacular views across the idyllic countryside of the White Peak.

If you go there, the National Trust car park can be found at Clodhall Lane, Hope Valley, S32 3YR. Climb the steps at the rear of the car park and follow the path.

Photography

I did not take a long lens, but I wished I had so I could have got a better shot of the villages and stone walled fields further up the valley. If you are lucky then the valley may be clouded over below you, adding to the drama of any photographs.

I used a tripod, and a wide angle lens, with a small aperture around f22 for the shot above. This ensured both the rocks and the valley were in focus.

Just through the morning gloom is Chatsworth House. With a longer lens and mist or snow on the ground, this could be a fabulous shot.

 

 

Where I Buy

I buy my equipment from Wex because of their exceptional customer service. I once returned a camera after 30 days, and the next day they called to return my money to my account. Their prices are always competitive and they offer good prices on the trade in of your used gear

This Image was Taken on a Canon

The Street Photographer Behind the Mirror

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The Mirror / John Gough / Sony a6300

I was taking photographs in the City the other day following a visit to the excellent London Nights exhibition at the Museum of London. Although I am at heart a street photographer, I do think the urban environment offers fantastic opportunities.

It is possible to walk from the Museum of London to Moorgate, and into the Barbican on elevated walkways. If there is good light this raised environment provides creative ways to play with the sunlight, that cuts majestically through the spaces between the buildings. A shard of light, or the interplay of light and dark, with people walking half in and out of shadow, are one of the techniques that urban photographers have played with since Henri Cartier-Bresson in the 1930’s.

Today the swathes of glass offer fantastic reflections. As the picture above illustrates. I had to wait for some time for that shot. Waiting for a figure to occupy that first third of the image.

As I stood pointing my camera at the window, a security guard tapped me on the shoulder and asked me what I was doing. As usual, because this happens to me quite frequently, I have a well rehearsed response. I was polite, I engaged in conversation and offered him my business card. A business card is essential for any street photographer, I have managed to escape without acrimony many times this way.

Later, as I thought about it. I tried to imagine what it must have been like for whoever was on the other side of this mirror faced glass window. Probably it was an important business meeting or business deal which could have reached a dramatic climax. Then looking up the city bankers saw me prone, camera in hand, pointing it forcibly in their direction.

In that situation, I admit I too would have been indignant and summoned security. After all, I know what it feels like, I was behind that mirror once.

Where I Buy

I buy my equipment from Wex because I have genuinely found that they offer great advice and customer service.

 

Rule of Thirds

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Crossed Lines / John Gough / Sony a6300

In photography why bother following the rules to be really creative?  Why not just throw away the rule book and create beautiful images?

However, breaking up is just so hard to do, and the Rule of Thirds is just so useful that you will never want to dispose of it. It is the first composition rule that most photographers learn, and the one they will use forever.

The Rule of Thirds has been used for centuries. By Leonardo da Vinci for example.

Rule of Thirds

Rule of Thirds

Once you aware of the rule you will notice it countless times each day in photography, film and TV. Rarely does the subject of a photograph happily sit slap bang in the centre. Instead, it is usually more pleasing to place it one third in from the left or the right. Similarly with a horizon. In the centre would just split the image in two, a third from the top or bottom makes the image far more interesting.

Why does it work? It just does. The Rule of Thirds is one of the rules of nature.

Rachel across at Photography Talk has created a great guide on how to make it work in your photography. Check it out.

 

Photographing Dorset

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Old Hary Rocks / John Gough / Canon 6D

Yes, you could take the well worn path to Durdle Door and take the photograph that every other landscape photographer has taken. Or you could look for a different location. If you are photographing Dorset, then a similar scene with a different perspective can be found at Old Harry Rocks.

Photographing Dorset – Studland Bay

Head to Studland Bay, a terrific location for photographing Dorset and park at the South Beach car park. The path is signposted to Old Harry Rocks

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There is then a gorgeous walk out to the headland. This has photo opportunities all along the path until you emerge on the coastline. The vista is just magnificent. These pictures were taken in June this year, and I was so lucky with cloud formations which complemented both the sea and the sky.

Paddling in Dorset / John Gough / Canon 6D

 

Photographing Dorset: Reference

I used this book for my jaunt photographing Dorset, it was very useful giving precise details of how to access many locations. If you don’t know the area and have limited time a book like this is essential. I have used similar books for most of my location visits.

 

Where I Buy

I buy my equipment from Wex. I have genuinely found that they offer great advice and customer service.

This Image was Taken on a Canon

Street Photography Standing Still

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End of the Pier Show / John Gough / Sony a6300

Norfolk is a photography location with beautiful beaches, wonderful seascapes, the Norfolk Broads and seaside resorts. However, I headed for Great Yarmouth with street photography in mind.

Street Photography

I went there to add to my Square Nation portfolio. This is street photography in Great Yarmouth with my Sony a6300.

Usually, I stride about a location looking for scenes to photograph. However, I am learning that rather than walking about looking for opportunities, find a location, stop wait and let the opportunities come to you. This is street photography standing still. It is all about some planning in advance and exploring the space around you.  Finding a location where the action is, and having enough confidence to stay put even though you may think it is kicking off somewhere else.

Standing Still

Being stationary does not draw attention like going up to a stranger and poking a camera in their face. The photograph above, I love because it is natural, and up close. I would normally never dare to invade space so intrusively. However, I sat on the pier at Great Yarmouth and tried to blend into the background.  This is ambush photography. I have seen wildlife photographers do the same, but they sit in a hide on the banks of a watering hole in the Serengeti, waiting for a crocodile to lunge forward and grab a wildebeest. Street photography standing still is less dramatic but requires the same stealthy skills.

I was on a workshop with Matt Hart earlier in the summer. Matt was on a frenetic search moving quickly through the streets of London, and this approach worked well, we found some terrific situations. However, I wonder whether Martin Parr’s Last Resort included some street photography standing still because there is in his photography, that sense of our inclusion in the scene.

I am excited and off to try this technique again. Watch this space.

 

Where I Buy

I buy my equipment from Wex because I have genuinely found that they offer great advice and customer service.

This Image was Taken on a Sony

 

 

 

Kathy Brown’s Garden: Photography Location

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Red Flower / John Gough / Canon 6D

Yesterday I attended a flower photography workshop at Kathy Brown’s Garden in north Bedfordshire. The garden is gorgeous especially this time of year, with endless blooms to photograph. We were led by Sue Bishop, author, renowned photographer and founder of Light and Land.

Flower Photography

Sue demonstrated how she would set up a flower shot. What impressed me, was that she usually spent twenty minutes looking for the ideal bloom. She used a 100mm macro lens mounted on a Nikon DSLR on a Gitzo (I think) tripod and triggered the exposure with a remote.

She recommended:

  • Focussing on either the front edge petals or the stamens of the flower.
  • Approaching the flower from the side rather than flat and head on.
  • A big aperture to create a dreamy out of focus background.
  • Watch the background for highlights and colours that would detract from the subject.

It was a windy day and that is my excuse, but thank you to Bruce Deacon for setting up the day.

Where I Buy

I buy my equipment from Wex because I have genuinely found that they offer great advice and customer service.

This Image was Taken on a Canon

Peterborough Cathedral Photographic Location

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Direct Line to God /John Gough / Canon 6D

Thank you to Peterborough Cathedral for allowing a group of us to photograph Peterborough Cathedral.

In the Middle Ages, these magnificent buildings emerged like pyramids, brick by brick out of the pastoral English landscape. We still do not fully understand how they were built.

We were lucky enough to have a full tour of the building, including the triforium and tower. Many thanks to Bruce Deacon and Adrian Stone for setting this up.

It was an awesome experience but on a very hot day. I was pleased to eventually down a pint of Stella. It was an Ice Cold in Alex experience.

Where I Buy

I buy my equipment from Wex because I have genuinely found that they offer great advice and customer service.

This Image was Taken on a Canon