Wednesday, 25 April 2012

“Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could be and asked why not.”


Read on for a chance to be mentioned on my page, with your photos and a link to your page!
A lot of you will have heard of, or even tried light drawings. If you haven’t I’m about to explain what they are, they are well worth a go, really fun and you can get some really interesting and successful images. A light drawing is an image you paint using a torch or another source of light, then you get a glowing line drawing when the image is developed. Now I say developed, but I think the best way personally, is to produce the images digitally. This is for the pure reason that a perfect image sometimes takes a few trial runs, and you don’t want to waste a film, or be disappointed when your film is developed. So like I said, digital is my personal preference for this technique. The great thing about light drawing is that, you can use a really basic camera and still get good effects. All you really need is the ability to change your shutter speed. The reason I said that it can take a couple of times to get right is because you can’t see what you are drawing, so it’s all a guessing game really. So to create a light drawing you will need:
A camera
A dark room
A tripod
A light source such as a torch
When I say dark room I don’t mean it in the photographic sense, I literally mean a room with no light. Attach your camera securely onto your tripod and set the shutter speed from anywhere between about 3-30 seconds. If your light is really bright you’ll want to reduce the time. I like to use quite a dim light and draw for quite a while, so about twenty seconds, but this is something you can experiment with. Now turn off the lights in the room, and make sure the only source of light is coming from your torch. Press the shutter and draw anything you like, just paint the air in front of you. Then check out the results. If your results are too bright you’ve got the shutter speed set too high, or your light is too bright.

Tips- if you move the light very fast, you will create a thin line, move it slowly and the line will be thicker. Switch the light on and off and you will get separate lines.

Glow sticks and coloured lights make really interesting light drawings.

When I started doing light drawings, trying to paint perfect images in the air, I had many failed attempts, but I soon learnt how to make it work.

Tip- Don’t always try and draw a perfect picture, swooping your arm and spinning around in random motions can create better images sometimes.

Now if you are wondering why this blog post is titled with a quote, it’s because Picasso said that, I love that quote I think it’s wonderful, but that’s not the reason I chose it really, in fact Pablo Picasso himself did light drawings.

An Image by Picasso.
As you can see, his light is illuminating him and his background, so I am pre-warning you that your background and yourself may become visible. But sometimes that really works in your favour. Another famous light drawer was a guy named Eric staller who creates some fantastic images with light.

Here are a couple I took. Not great, but really fun to shoot. I took these with my friends and it was a real life, dancing around with torches haha, so if you fancy a laugh....



Bye for now

p.s
I hope you enjoy making light drawings. If you have any light drawing pictures you have taken, email them to me and I will feature them on my blog with a link to your webpage or twitter. More views for you!

Saturday, 21 April 2012

Recommendation

In my last blog post I mentioned tweeting/emailing me your favourite photos or whatever, and I'd mention you on my blog. Well @ggwildlife tweeted me saying he like my choice of photos. Which I really aprreciated. So I thought I'd just do a quick recommendation to his twitter and page. He is an amateur photography, but no way would you guess that from the stunning wildlife photos. Well worth a look at.

Twitter-
@ggwildlife

Page
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ggwildlife/

Very hard to choose but, one of my favourite photos, taken by ggwildlife, is the photo of the red stag, if you go onto the flickr page you will find the one I mean.


Bye for now

Thursday, 19 April 2012

Some of my favourite Photos...

Like I said on twitter, I'm not feeling very well, so I'll keep it simple tonight. I thought I'd just upload a few photos that I love, not taken by me, but by inspirational photographers and artists. Hope you enjoy this blog, I should update a little more interestingly tomorrow.

(1) A bit typical, but I just think this photo is so fun and interesting. Never seen any thing like it since.
Salvador Dali

(2) Simply because Annie Lebovitz made Fairytales into fashion.


These two images were shot for vogue.

(3) Taken by Tyra Banks, for America's next top model.

(4) I just think this is truly beautiful, and has a vintage theme.
Fay Godwin

(5) And it's another typical one...if I said The seven year itch, would that ring a bell?


Hopefully it'll be some of my own photos tomorrow. I'd love to hear what your favourite photos are. Why not send me an email. I'll Post your responses on my blog, with a link to your page.

Bye for now

Monday, 16 April 2012

Vintage Flower composition




Here are two Compositions I did ages ago on some editing software that came with my camera. My Camera software had a panorama effect, (panorama images are  series of photos, most commonly landscape photos, which are taken consecutively and link together to make one image.) which links two or three photos into one seamless image. I tried this panorama effect with three photos which were not intended to be linked. Three seperate flower photographs. And this was the end result. All I did after that, as decrease (top image) and increase (bottom image) the saturation. I think the results look really good, especially the top one because the decrease of colour, makes the image look faded and it has a vintage feel.
An alternative way to recreate this without camera editing software would be on photoshop.

Start by removing the backgrounds of one of your three images, using the selection tools. Combine all three images into one window, but keep the layers seperate, (all you need to do is drag the photos on top of each other, making sure the layer without the background is on the top). Then start removing parts of the subject, as well as the backgrounds on each layer until you can see all of the subjects in one window. Then you just need to adjust the colour (colour variation tool) and add noise if you want a vintage effect.
Now, it is clear that I am not very good at explaining myself, as that probably doesn't make any sense, you can email me if you don't understand becky-iblog-becky@hotmail.co.uk and I will send you a step by step process, with print screens if necessary and hopefully that will make it a lot clearer.

Like I said before, I am happy to explain anything that I can, to you, to do with photoshop. So email me and I will be happy to send you a step by step guide.

Bye for now



All Images In Blog Posts and on Twitter.com belong to © becky-iblog-becky-images

Railway

I really love this photo, just because the track looks so mysterious. I think the light was just perfect, it was just as the sun was setting, and we were taking an evening walk by the river. The train runs just by the edge of the river, and as I was crossing the track, I noticed the perfect light and whipped out my camera. A great example of needing to have your camera with you at all times.



 
All Images In Blog Posts and on Twitter.com belong to © becky-iblog-becky-images

Bye for now

Sunday, 15 April 2012

My Camera History...

I have spent most of my life taking photos, because I love it...
 I got my very first camera in 2006.  It was a little video camera from Aldi (supermarket), the dv5040 traveler. It was pretty good, but you had to have it on a tripod if you wanted  a good still photograph. But for taking videos at the age of 10 it wasn't a bad little camera.

Sorry they are  the only photos I could find on the internet.

In the summer of 2010 , I went to my grandparents and my grandad had just got a new camera, the FZ28 Lumix panasonic. By this point I knew I loved photography, so I spent the whole day out in the garden taking Photos. I got some pretty good shots, and as I was about to start GCSE art (and I would need to take photos) My dad and I thought it would be a good idea, to look at investing in a better camera. I had some savings, so we looked around, then eventually decided on the newer model of My grandad's camera. The FZ38.












This is a great camera, and I took most of my Blog photos on this. It was only when I got to my A-level Photography course, and started thinking about photography as a career that I upgraded for the Last time. To the Nikon D7000.




I'd recommend each of these cameras. If you're an absolute beginner and are just taking little videos for fun, like I was-
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Traveler-DV-5040-Digital-Video-Camera-Camcorder-MP3-Player-/120879162044

If you're a little more serious about photography, but are not looking at it professionally. You Just want to take nice, decent quality photos-
http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?hl=en&sugexp=frgbld&cp=3&gs_id=16&xhr=t&q=fz38&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1311&bih=594&wrapid=tljp1334509224605018&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=6400106408523066091&sa=X&ei=r_6KT4SANoSmhAfzzf26CQ&sqi=2&ved=0CHIQ8wIwAA#

If you're serious about photography and want a camera that does everything-
http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?hl=en&q=nikon+d7000&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1311&bih=594&wrapid=tlif133450936908610&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=2928324143588382353&sa=X&ei=R_-KT9_BGsP48QP93fiKBg&ved=0CHcQ8wIwAA#


This is strictly informational and is not intended to show off anything I have had or have.

None of these photos belong to me, they can all be found on Google Images.

Bye for now



More examples of Close up Photos


Here are a couple more photos exploring macro photography.  All once again taken on my old camera, because I don't have a macro lens on my new camera I can't really get good photos close up, but my old camera is ok for getting quite close.








I love in this photo how you can just see a little green fly on the petal.

All Images In Blog Posts and on Twitter.com belong to © becky-iblog-becky-images

Macro Photography




Everybody knows that nature is beautiful, but I guess only a certain selection of people get to go out every day and experience that beauty close up. Photographers are part of that selection, and until I started taking photos for myself, I never really appreciated it. Yes I'd look at a flower, and think "that's pretty" but, until I got my first camera, I never saw the exquisite detail, close up. I love macro photography, I think out of all it is my favourite, being able to zoom into something the human eye can barely see, and then look it at in all it's perfection, is an amazing thing. It's always been a interest of mine, zooming in and finding interesting sections of an image, getting as close as you like. I dont currently have a Macro lens, because the one I ordered came in the wrong size, so it didn't fit my DSLR, but I have access to good lenses and cameras at school, and my dad has a good one too.

What exactly is Macro Photography?

Taken and Quoted from -  http://www.photography-basics.com/2007/06/what-is-macro-photography/
"Macro photography is a term used for close up photos. It is a term applied to most close up photos but should actually only be applied to photos which have a 1:1 or closer magnification.Macro is a great area of photography as you can take macro shots where ever you are. Find small details of larger objects to create abstract looking images, or maybe you want to take pictures of creepy crawlies like spiders and beetles (my favourite subject) or maybe close ups of flowers."

Check out that website for more information, or just type 'What is Macro Photography?" Into the Google search engine.

 Bye for now


All Images In Blog Posts and on Twitter.com belong to © becky-iblog-becky-images

Saturday, 14 April 2012

Riverside

So I mentioned on my twitter page, that I was going out after work to take some photos. I had to take photos of decay for my exam, so me and my friend went down to the river. There were loads of rusty boats, chains and bits of rope, so it was the perfect place to go. I also took some other photos, because the river is such a beautiful place, especially late afternoon, when the light is changing etc. So it was really lovely. I thought I'd just post a couple of pictures I took this afternoon...




All Images In Blog Posts and on Twitter.com belong to © becky-iblog-becky-images

Wildlife

I've said before, I like a variety of photography so here's a few photos I've taken in the past at a couple of zoos. The birds are London Zoo, the rest were at Colchester zoo. These were taken when I still had my old camera, and I also lost the photos, so they are saved off Facebook. They are not the best quality...but you get the general idea.

Also, as it was a zoo, I didn't get a lot of choice about the backgrounds, so I think there are one or two cages/people backgrounds, sorry.










All Images In Blog Posts and on Twitter.com belong to © becky-iblog-becky-images

Recommendation : KOKET

"Koket is a celebration of artistry, originality, and the any exquisite and fascinating treasures of the world around us."


Wow, I just Checked out the brand, KOKET's website - http://bykoket.com/index.html. And the first thing I thought, was that the website was beautiful, then I looked at the Products. I think I wanted every single thing in the Catalogue. Every Product is stunning, and as well as that, I loved the photography and advertisement shots. I really you recommend you looking at the website, and following @DwithDeMorais  for updates. I'm sure you'll love it as much as me.



Thanks everyone 

Thursday, 12 April 2012

Lake District Once more...



Here's another shot from a waterfall in the lake district. This was the bottom of the waterfall where the water was just hitting the rocks and flowing off down the stream. It was taken with a tripod and a 3 second shutter speed. I love the misty, glassy effect you get with slow shutter speeds and moving water.


All Images In Blog Posts and on Twitter.com belong to © becky-iblog-becky-images

More of my photos

As you can all probably tell, we spend quite a lot of our time in the lake district. My brother is at university up in that area, so when we go to visit him, we spend a bit of time at the lakes. The lake district is such a beautiful place to take photos, and in my opinion it is sometimes where I get my best photos. Here are a few of my Lake District favourites.


Once again, I think these Images will be better quality if you actually click and open them.

All Images In Blog Posts and on Twitter.com belong to © becky-iblog-becky-images

Improved Quality

It may just be my laptop, but when I click on the images in my blog, they reopen, and the quality improves, this may be something you want to try.

At the beach

As Promised I have an update for you from my day at the beach. I think there is something about beach huts, the was they line up, their bright colours, and the way the paint is starting to peel off most of them, they just seem to make great photos subjects.

I've obviously editted this on photoshop. I tried a sort of HDR effect, increased contrast and bright colour. It makes the image look very stylised, which some of you may like some of you may not. But it's good to have a trial, and if an effect doesn't work it doesn't work, if it does, you're in luck.

Let me know what you think of the HDR effect.

P.s. Strangely for this image, the quality seems to improve if you click on the image, and open it to it's full size. Don't know why, but try it if you want to see the image  a little better.

All Images In Blog Posts and on Twitter.com belong to © becky-iblog-becky-images

Wednesday, 11 April 2012

Nikon Test shot



Here's the first ever photo I took on my NIKON D7000. My dog Eddie. Cute?


Bye for now

All Images In Blog Posts and on Twitter.com belong to © becky-iblog-becky-images
 
 

Recommendations

I have a fair amount of blog viewers, and I am more than happy to recommend your blog on my page if you page is similar to mine. e.g to do with photography or fashion. I can also do this on twitter, and will tweet about your blog. Just drop me an email and I will have a quick look at your blog.  In return perhaps you could recommend me on your blog, but that is entirely up to you.  I think this would be a good way for any bloggers to gain viewers, and as it was explained to me "will make us more likely to appear in seach engine results". So after recieving an email about recommendations, I thought I'd suggest this concept as it may interest some of you. If it doesn't work no harm done, if it does Success!

So like I said just drop me an email if you want a mention on my page, twitter or both.


becky-iblog-becky@hotmail.co.uk

Recommended.

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to recommend a blog to you. This person is starting out in the blogging world, just like me, and we have a similar niche. Check out the blog as the photos are good.

Thanks everyone


http://capictured.blogspot.com

Monday, 9 April 2012

“ Nothing happens when you sit at home. I always make it a point to carry a camera with me at all times…I just shoot at what interests me at that moment. – Elliott Erwitt

Everyone that knows me, knows that I put things off. If I need to tidy my room, "I'll do it later" If I need to empty the dishwasher "I'll do it later". So one of the most valuble lessons I have gained since doing photography, is to do it now. Oppurtunities pass, light changes and images change. A photo can look unrecognisably different in the space of about an hour, or even less. So the most important thing to do is to take the photo when you feel it's right, you could miss the shot of  a lifetime. I have missed many a good shot in the past, and hopefully have learnt my lesson by now.

 I was on Holiday at lake windemere, and I thought I was prepared for a day of Photo taking. Well, we got on the boat and within minutes I saw the perfect shot. Looking off the back of the boat, the mountains and the lake looked absolutely stunning, the clouds opened and a single sun beam lit a rainbow over the mountain. No words could do that 'photo' justice, I whipped out my camera and almost cried when it confronted me with "NO MEMORY CARD- 0 AVAILABLE PICTURES". I had been so prepared that I cleared my memory card the night before, for extra space and then left it in my laptop.  I can tell you that has happened more than once as well.

As Elliott Erwitt said " “ Nothing happens when you sit at home. I always make it a point to carry a camera with me at all times…I just shoot at what interests me at that moment."

Nothing happens when you sit at home, putting off taking photos, saying you'll take them later. Carry your camera with you all the time you never know when you'll get that perfect shot, but please remember your memory card! Haha.

The great thing about my new camera the NIKON D7000 is that it has a dual memory card slot, so I now always have a memory card spare in one slot. I am never without one, also having two slots gives me room to overflow onto two cards. You should always try and take a spare card with you, so you never miss that shot like I did


My Dad always tells me to have my camera with me at all times, and he's right. You never know when that shot may appear. If you have your camera you wont miss it.


This photo did not take a lot of skill, it's not a beautiful shot, just a funny shot and a prime example of having your camera at the right time. This picture makes me smile everytime.
All Images In Blog Posts and on Twitter.com belong to © becky-iblog-becky-images

Photography Course- London

The photo I just used for the Airbrushing post was taken on a course in London. I have permission to use these as I took them, and they are my images, but I must state that these were taken at Gap Studios West in London.
http://www.gapstudioswest.co.uk/

Examples of Photos I took at the course-





All Images In Blog Posts and on Twitter.com belong to  © becky-iblog-becky-images