New toys, and a long awaited shot....

In these times of careful spending where the cash is reserved for needs rather than wants new toys are few and far between, but maybe that makes us appreciate them even more ?. However have recently had 2 that have made a bit of an impact.

First was a long awaited upgrade to Lightroom 3, have been running v1 since it was released (before that the Beta). Did try v2 as a trial and Gill runs it but it didn't really give me anything that I needed but v3 has a few features that are both for me really help me improve my final images, and save me some time so will boost productivity. Main improvements for me are the image processing features including 'post crop vignette' so I can make final post edit previews for web without using Photoshop, no plans to replace CS for finishing and prints but its great to be able to prep images for either print preview or client proofs and sample prints. One reason for taing so long to upgrade was thta I needed to upgrade MacOS and again, have the policy of only fixing things that are broken, but had a few apps that would not work below 10.5 so time was to move up :-(

Second toy was a compact camera as an xmas pressie from Gill, have been looking for something to keep with me at all times but struggled with accepting something that would not stand up to my Digi SLR - always feared that I would grab that winning image with an inferior camera and be frustrated that it will not print up, but then thats better than no camera at all, that's been the dilemma !

So, looking around there were a few that might fit the bill, one being the Panasonic Lumix 5 as I always wanted the Lumix 3 with its f2 lens, the Lumix G2 (but thats a 4/3rd camera so bulky and needs lenses), Maybe the Samsung EX1 which is well rated ...or the Nikon P7000 as I am something of a Nikon guy. No, it had to be the one that many Pro's keep in their bag and has a pedigree as a quality workhorse, the Canon G12.

Why ?, well it scores very high in all reviews, has a real 'Rangefinder' viewfinder backed up with a flip out screen, real big dials for the main controls on the top, and takes great pics ... oh, and it looks like a real camera !

But, will it do the job ? (don't worry. this will not turn into a full review). In the short time that I have had it found the low light capture more than acceptable so lots of spontaneous arty portraits, quality is as expected ... and it's easy to take full control - really hate fiddly bits of technology where design overtakes functionality !

Final test was to grab some images for possible big print - scary. Was out a few days ago and the light and mist was just incredible, and what was in the car, yup, my new friend.

I have been trying to get this shot for ages, a favorite location, an old castle ruin near Killin but never seen it in the mist and with good light. So, a few tests in Av and manual modes, sooo impressed how well the shots were captured, sharp (enough) and well exposed - phew !!
Then it was down to the end of Loch Tay where the mist was lying on the water, and the edge still icy.
last was a grab shot up the estuary of the River Dochart, even shooting into the light failed to upset the G12, these web copies do not do the shots justice as this shot is crammed full of subtle detail.
Back home RAW images taken into Lightroom for some simple processing and hey presto !! - got some very impressive results without an SLR or Photoshop layer in sight.

Oh, and no way, will not be putting my D3 or CS onto ebay as they will always be my toys of choice but for when time is not on your side at least I can produce more than acceptable shots.

Also I now have a quality camera that can use to grab some decent candid portraits, nothing kills the moment like dragging a big pro camera out the bag - street photography here I come.

Thanks Gill :-) - yes you can borrow it .. if I am not using it...

Perthshire Open Studios at Wester Lix Arts

Taking lots and lots of pics for personal use is great, but I always maintain that the real purpose of all this photographing and photo-shopping is to share my wor, and what better way than to print, frame and exhibit to the general public ... and hopefully form them to put their hands into their pockets and give you their hard earned cash to take it home. Complimenting others work is easy, appreciated yes, but the ultimate appreciation is when someone wants to take it home to hang on their wall or gift it to a friend.

So, this is now year 3 of Perthshire Open Studios, a 9 day event throughout Perthshire where photographers, painters, potters and all other breed of makers invite the public into their studios, homes and even garden sheds to share their work. Some are established professional artists, some are full time galleries, but many are those that do not have means of regular display, those with a day job possibly selling through local shops and cafe's, and amongst them are some undiscovered gems !

This year Gill and I have gone our separate ways for our exhibits, rather than sharing a single space I have our Studio and she has setup in a downstairs room of the house with access straight from the garden, and its working really well. We are both able to really show our very individual work at its best, in hindsight sharing a space rather confuses the public as our work is just so different. We also have a large amount of work so we are able to spread out - a little !!

Gill is exhibiting her latest marco plant work and I have a mix of black and white landscape, a large display of the Dancers in the Dark series, and my latest work which is a study of the passage of time, so new its not even on my website yet, but it will be there very soon.

Wildgrass Studio with my own work .....

The End Room with Gills Work ...And a short stroll away our neighbors Heather and Bernie's studio with thier paintings, Drawings, pottery, and installations. Their work offers a great compliment to our own so Wester Lix Arts has something for every varied taste.

Lochan Studio with Heather Walker and Bernard Mallet-Griffiths.....

... and finally ...

We are really excited about having a guess artist's work, an outdoor sculpture by Rob Mullholland who has been commissioned for various public art sculptures.

These are 2mtr high figures finished in polished stainless steel and the effect is amazing, at certain angles they blend into the background with an almost holographic effect. These have to be seen to be fully appreciated ....

For more details of Robs amazing work check his site at www.robmulholland.co.uk

We are venue 88 on the red route of Perthshire Open Studios found at Wester Lix Arts nr Killin, and it runs until the 19th Sept, however we will be keeping our own exhibition open until the 25th, just because we can ! After the 25th we fall back to being open by arrangement so if you miss this event give us a call to come and see us.

Details of the venue ... www.perthshireopenstudios.com/2010/artist88.html

Fine Art Portraits with Raphaella - and a bit of Fashion !

I have worked once with young Raphaella for my Dancers in the Dark series last September and was real keen to work with her again, as always at the end of the shoot we grabbed a few portraits, always a good way to end a session as all the todo lists and rule books get packed away before picking up he camera.

Although we arranged to work in Glasgow on the Tues morning it was Tim Time again, the guy from England on his holiday with very understanding better half.... did I say holiday ? more like a mission !. So Monday eve, a couple of hours at a nearby castle, then a reservoir dam, then back to Wester Lix to use the Farmhouse for some indoor work. The castle is just a great location for scenic and arty portrait and figure work, have lived in the area 11 years and only bothered to check it out last year, better late than never, feel its been waiting for me all this time.
Anyway, this is supposed to be all about young Raphaella, a rather good looking and extremely versatile fine art model, and also such fun to work with, more energy than us old geezers, and the expression 'don't think I can do that' is not something she understands.
This was really Tim's shoot but he did let me take a few shots for myself so most were either portfolio portraits plus a few wide angles in my style of figures in remote places.
Up at the Dam Tim had already planned his main image, a long shot along the length of the top pathway with Raphaella as a nude in a square arch midway, it promises to be a winner !. Lucky for me we were constantly interrupted with sightseers so I could grab some shots pretending to be a pro on a fashion shoot, this is a great trick for making sure folk just keep walking by and not stopping to chat. Shame really as most folk you meet around Scotland are so interesting and appreciative of the scenery, with or without the artistic decoration of a stunning lass.
Now we are back at the Farmhouse and much more in my comfort zone, the building has small windows and is beautifully decorated by our artist neighbors, a combination that creates such a romantic setting for portraits.

Most of the session was done in he main bedroom window, plus a daring shot in the porch. Not sure if our rental guests were around but his is tasteful art anyway.Day 2 (feels like another Tim extravaganza !!!), we head off to Glasgow and good old Contrast Studio, but I had mentioned an idea for an image the night before and Raph in true form would not entertain the idea of not giving this a go ! You see, I had this idea of creating an image of a Mermaid on a Scottish Loch, had planned this with Holly back in april but the day we came to do it was a wash out. I am never one for getting damp and know models like Holly will suffer for my art but this would have been silly.

The only spot we found was near a car park with camper vans but everything else was ideal so 10 mins later the shot was done and we left a few guys with very fond memories of their breakfast views. Still need to photoshop the Mermaid images but really pleased with seeing the raw files.
We eventually made it to Contrast and had just about the best dancer session I could have hoped for, Raphaella has just so much energy I was knackered just shooting her !. Finally the cool down, she had this amazing bone necklass and so glad she did, with a very simple lighting setup, may fave just one large light, we did a series of 1/2 and 1/3rd portrait shots just for fun, which is what photography should be all about, and with lasses like this its easy !Thanks Raph, and to Con.

Photographic Exhibition

Yesterday we hung our joint exhibition (joint being me and Gill) at Scion House in Stirling. Its an interesting venue, basically the reception area of a business enterprise park within the grounds of the University, a 2 story building where the whole reception area is glass fronted so plenty of natural light, and the artworks can be seen as you approach the building. They have exhibitions all year round and there is often a fair waiting list for exhibitors as it is always popular due to the high volume of folk passing through the building.

So, whats on show ?. We split the space vertically, on both levels to the left is Gills work on macro grasses and both levels to the right 15 small and 2 full size images from my Dancers in the Dark project, plus a small selection of monochrome prints, a few landscapes and figure works. This is the first public showing of so many of the dancer images, until now only a couple have been shown, 1 at Delta Studio and a couple in our own wee gallery. Its great to finally see the work out on public display.



I also had a 1mtr wide landscape image of driftwood in the sand taken at Tentsmuir Forest beach for display but the glass broke in transit so its back here feeling rather sorry for itself, was thinking of taking back to Scion house once repaired but the display is all hung now so guess its going back into our rental cottage lounge.

The exhibition runs until Sept 5th and is open from 9am-5pm so if you are nearby please call in and have a nosey.
Scion House, Enterprise Park, Stirling Universary, FK9 4NF

Oh, and thanks to Ann and Malcolm Shaw for coming along yesterday to help with the hanging, much appreciated.

RPS International Exhibition.

I recently heard that I have a print selected into the 153rd International Exhibition for the Royal Photographic Society and the exhibition starts on July 14th as the start of its uk and overseas tour. From several thousand entries only 125 are selected so I am rather chuffed to be presented.

Selected print is 'Holly' taken last year in my own studio during one of many sessions with professional model Ivory Flame, or Holly to her friends.

For more info on the exhibition ..RPS International

Forth Valley Open Studios

So, its the very first ever Forth Valley Open studios kicking off this weekend, running through till the 20th June. The format has followed that of the Perthshire Open Studios event and with over 100 artists joining in it looks set to be a great success.
There was the opening of the taster exhibition on Friday eve at Delta Studios in Larbet who have been strong supporters of the event.


The launch event was a great success and the exhibition that runs until June 20th features work by most of the artists taking part and I was fortunate to have the first of my Dancers in the Dark framed prints on display, this is a 90cm x 90cm Giclee print offered in an edition of 3.


For kore info on the event visit www.forthvalleyopenstudios.com, we are venue 2 on the Trossachs Route.

Got a new lens..baby.....baby!!

After months of being fascinated by many images on my favorite arty type website ArtLimited , I finally succumbed to buying a new toy, and unlike most things on the top of photographers want list this one did not cost the earth. There are clearly a few fans of the Lensbaby on the ArtLimited site and it will not appeal to all especially the more purist photographer, but I just love the effects that can be produced, and the way it works makes it almost impossible to get the same shot twice (unless you fork out for the posh version .. boring !) so you get that random element in every shot, and therefor a few suprises.

So what is the Lensbaby ?. Well, its a rather odd looking lens, (approx 50mm & f2-f8 for the boffins) that focuses in one point of the frame only. The front glass is held in place with a bellow that you squeeze to focus, and this means you can move the focal point, or the 'sweet spot' as its called, around the image. To change the size and gravity of the sweet spot you can change the aperture (basic depth of field stuff), and you do this by ... wait for it ... dropping a wee aperture ring into the lens - Fiddly .... very, crude ... maybe, simple and effective .... definitely.

Have not really played much with it yet but have a had a few sessions. First time out around the garden just to get the feel of it - oooh so wierd.Then a few shots of the poor unsuspecting hound, well, our nutty neighbour was round and the wine was flowing... took some of each other but these are far too embarassing, lucky for us Sassy cannot use blogger very well !!!
Then one eve just hanging out the decking doors, our wee studio in the snow and then one taken by 'er indoors of the xmas tree that is currently a feature on the decking. For those that know her work no surprises that its of a closeup of a wet plant - nice thou, really do love her work.. This lens is great for floral work and hear you can get a macro attachment so think I will loose it into her camera bag if I am not carefull.Am very keen to use it for portraits and had a very quick play whilst doing a shoot for a young couple staying at our cottage, more of this on my other blog.

So, its tricky to use, fiddly to change aperture, almost impossible to focus, and zoom is done by legwork, so why bother ??
Well in this modern word of repeatable perfection where so many images have become sterile by losing the spirit created by the early photography equipment isn't it a refreshing change to create images that are more organic, more emotive without being abstract, and just a little different without resorting to Photoshop. Sure, all these effects could be produced on a pc but then that can become too clinical and styled. The next time someone tells me that they have just got a plugin to do some effect I will tell them which hole it should go in...

I just love this new toy as it takes you into a world of uncertainty and surprises, think I will go out to the studio and make a pinhole camera later, something that's been on my wish list for more years than I can remember.
Would I recommend that you buy one, well definitely not, cos if everyone did then it would no longer be individual, but I suspect the purist brigade will pass it by so its fairly safe !

Winter wonderland .. and a broken New Yrs resolution

This winter has been the best for as long as I can remember, we normally get at least one big dump of snow every year in the Scottish Highlands but I cannot remember the last time it has stayed around for so long without turning to slush - its been awsome..
In fact compared to many ather areas of the country we have not had that much snow, but after 2 weeks it's as white and fluffy now as it was the day it started, and with it stunning blue skies and clear stary nights. it even got above freezing the other day !!!
And something else has happened, I have broken a new years resolution, not this years (yet) but one I made about 3 years ago, and that was never to make any more resolutions !!
Since turning professional as a photographer at the end of 2006 my photography has slowly changed, rather than just for fun its become more about 'is it what the client wants', 'will it sell', or 'does it promote my work' - yawn..... At the time I made a vow that if ever my photography became just a job then I would find another way of earning a crust, and so this years resolution is to remember why I became a photographer in the first place, because I enjoy taking photographs and to do stuff for me as much as possible.
So, these are just for me, some are fuzzy, poorly exposed, some with a dirty lens, some even taken with a lens not suited to my camera hence the severe vignetting but I like them, and thats what matters.
Maybe getting my recent Associateships has allowed me to stop trying to prove myself, whilst it has been very worthwhile achievement by making me take a hard look at my work, there is a danger that it could all become far too serious.
Link to a slideshow of the series of stuff taken over the past 2 weeks - www.davehunt.eu/stuff