Murphys Law…for photography.

 Here are some versions of Murphy’s laws which often relate to us, photographers. Feel free to add yours in the comment section below.

1. You are not Ansel Adams.

2. Neither are you Herb Ritts.

3. If a photo shoot goes too smoothly, then your computer’s hard drive is likely to crash.

4. Photo assistants are essential, they give photographers someone to yell at.

5. Weather never cooperates.

6. If it works in your home, it will fail on location.

7. The newest and least experienced photographer will usually win the Pulitzer.

8. The nature shots invariably happen on two occasions:

    -when animals are ready

    -when you’re not

9. Flash will fail as soon as you need it.

10. A camera is a magnet for dust, mud and moisture.

11. Photo experience is something you never get until just after you need it.

12. The lens that falls is always the most expensive.

13. When you drop a lens cap, the inside part always lands face down in the mud.

14. Bugs always want to land on the mirror during a lens swap.

15. Your batteries will always go dead or you will need to put in a new film canister at the least opportune moment.

16. Your batteries will always go dead during a long exposure.

17. Cameras are designed with a built-in sensor that senses the anticipation to develop the film. When the level of anticipation is the highest, this sensor causes the back to flip open exposing the film. (Takura Razemba)

18. Lenses are attracted to rocks.

      Corollary:

      The more expensive the lens, the greater the attraction.

19. The greater a photographer’s excitement, the greater the chance of fogging film, scratching prints, and deleting files.

20. The success of an assignment is inversely proportional to the product of its importance and the number of people watching.

21. Strobes only explode when lots of people are watching.

      Corollary:

      Strobes only work when there is nobody else to see. ( by Jason Antman)

22. You never really need a tripod when you’re actually carrying one. (by Marshmallow)

Photography, Surfing and PTSD

Hi Guys,

I had the pleasure of spending the week with Surf Action in beautiful Cornwall.

Surf Action by Glyn Ridgers

Surf Action are an amazing charity that provides support for veterans and their families that are suffering from the devastating effects of an invisible illness called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It is a disorder that can not only effect veterans but also civilians that have gone through a severe trauma and with the help of Surf Action these incredible people are given the support and care they need to find peace of mind and the tools they need to help them and their families.

Whilst I was there the guys took me surfing and of course being a photographer it only seemed natural to capture some of the guys on their boards. Although the swell was not as big as they would have liked they still managed to catch some waves and have copious amounts of fun even though Rich Emerson founder of Surf Action kept hijacking other peoples boards whilst surfing.

Surf Action by Glyn Ridgers

But it never worked out well as you see from the following image ..

Surf Action by Glyn Ridgers

However with the lads enjoying the surf it gave a great opportunity to have a go at surf photography and to find out how my Canon 6D with 70-200mm f/4 lens would perform and am pleased to say they performed admirably as you can see from some of the images below.

Surf Action by Glyn Ridgers

Surf Action by Glyn Ridgers

Surf Action by Glyn Ridgers

Surf Action by Glyn Ridgers

Surf photography is not easy due to the fact the reflective light constantly changes and given that your metering is only good for the first few shots of a burst rate. Also it is better if you have an understanding of surfing and how the breaks work to best position yourself. A bigger lens would be better and it is not unusual to see a 600mm on monopod along the Cornish coast.

If you decide you want to do surf photography I advise you to study the works of other photographers within this field in particular photographers who have been and are a part of the surf scene such as Surf Actions Russ Pierre who has mastered his craft of surf photography by being a seasoned surfer and photographer so check out his stuff here.

I will be posting a more thorough How To on surf photography soon covering all the equipment and a typical set up so stay reading.

On a final note I would just like to say please support this amazing charity as they really do care about giving help to PTSD sufferers and their help is absolutely life changing.

Thanks Guys.

Glyn

Surf Action

 www.surfaction.co.uk

 

 

 

Are you photography Geek?

I was browsing the web and this made me chuckle..it is from the crazy guys at Digital Rev…this lot put a lot of humour into their videos as well as being able to educate us on how to take great pictures and also give unbiased reviews on the latest products.o check them out at www.digitalrev.com.  This clip was was found on http://www.picturecorrect.com which is another great place to visit for all photographers…Enjoy!

The first sign that you may be a photo geek is if you clicked on this link to see if you’re a photo geek. So what’s the difference between being passionate about photography and claiming the title of geek? Well, leave it up to Kai to create a top 10 list of the geekiest photographer traits:

1. Form Follow Function Fashion – Basically, you think a lot about photography and very little about your clothes.
2. Awkward With the Opposite Sex – You’re terrible at social interactions, especially if it’s with someone you’re attracted too.
3. Speaks in Coded Language – Your conversations consist of a lot of talk about f-stops, MTF charts, digital noise, sensor size, etc. Most people won’t know what you’re talking about.
4. Only Talks About Cameras, All the Time – Your love of photography might spread a little too far when the only thing you can talk to your friends about is your newest lens or the amazing photo that you captured the other day.
5. Bring Inappropriate Gear to Occasions – Maybe you don’t need to bring your TLR when riding a rollercoaster.
6. Spend Far Too Long on Online Forums – Whether you’re bragging about your photo or gear, or just talking with other photographers because your friends are tired of listening to you, you may be abusing your photography forum account (in which your username isphotographyloverf/4life)
7. Spend Far Too Long at 2nd Hand Shops – If you feel a spark of excitement every time you see a flea market hoping that you will find an old rangefinder camera, you may be a photo geek.
8. Try to Outdo Everyone by Getting Exclusive Gear – It doesn’t have to be expensive or new or even functional, but it does have to be unique.
9. Treat Your Gear Like Your Baby – This one is iffy. Some photo geeks may treat their photo gear better than their baby.
10. Need to Take Photos Even Stuck at Desk – When you feel like you’re wasting time at your office because you’re not taking photos, this could be a sign.

Thanks to

http://www.picturecorrect.com

Summer holiday fun with my boy…

Breaking the boredom and having fun with my 7 year old son and his star wars figures…think he is a natural.

Star Wars Troopers by Glyn and Son

 

Star Wars Troopers by Glyn and Son

I think its that way…

Star Wars Troopers by Glyn and Son

He had lots of fun producing these and he looks forward to sharing more soon… Have nice hols everyone…

Glyn

 

 

 

 

Loft A Photographics new specialised workshops…

Birra Moretti by Glyn Ridgers

Hi All,

Here are just a couple of examples that we here at Loft A would like share with you…. We are launching a new range of workshops including Creative Still Life, Holiday Photography, Portraiture, Product Photography and Photography for Kids…

We will be starting these specialised workshops in early 2013 and dates will be visible on our website soon with updates constantly on this very blog…

Be great to see you on our fun filled workshops soon

Best wishes

Glyn

Toffee Vodka by Glyn Ridgers

Project Games…..

Project Games is a set of images I am producing to see how creative I can be whilst having fun playing…….HaHa!…Life is fun!……

Hope you like

Glyn

At the poker table…

Chips and Cards

Black Jack

Scrabble for Photogs…

Sinful

Thanks for looking and I hope you like the collection so far

Glyn Ridgers Photography

 

 

 

Blurb… A Fantastic Photo Book Service

www.blurb.co.uk

OK let’s talk about making books out of your wonderful images….There are many on-line print labs that provide this book making service however in my opinion there are few as easy to use that produce outstanding quality books for a realistic price than Blurb.

I had a lot of fun creating my book and with a multitude of layout styles including image only, text and image, image and title, landscape, portrait, double page spreads, montage, multi image and many more styles makes it possible to create photo books to suit all styles of photography.

You can also sell your books on-line by using Blurbs services which is a good opportunity to earn some extra cash from your images rather than them just sitting on your hard drive never to see the light of day..

You have a choice of soft cover, hard cover and dust jackets and image wrap around covers.

Receiving my book through the post within a few days of ordering and how well the book was packaged has bolstered my  confidence in using this service to produce books for my clients knowing that they will be more than pleased with finished results.

These books are a great way of showing off your work to certain clients that require a particular genre of photography, I know you can show images via an iPad or laptop etc but there is something special about printed work that brings life to an image and for the rapid service, quality and excellent price of these books you can’t go wrong.

 

Above all for me was opening the package to reveal my work published in a book that has my name on the cover and knowing the images inside are all of my own work  and this gives me a great buzz as I am certain it will for you.

There are many easy ways of producing your photo book which are listed below:

Lightroom 4

You can create books directly from Lightroom 4, Adobe’s photo workflow and editing tool. The new Book module enables you produce a photo book quickly and easily. And if you create your books via Lightroom you will automatically save 20% on the first Blurb book you make with Lightroom 4

Beautiful design options and seamless editing: Choose from more than 100 layouts, use rich text formatting options, and incorporate caption metadata. Edit photos even after you’ve placed them in layouts.

Custom book finishing options: Select from Blurb’s range of high-quality papers, covers and end sheets and get the estimated book price – all within Lightroom 4.

Blurb e-books for the iPad: Upload your finished book to Blurb and convert it to an e-book for the iPad using Blurb’s online e-book editor.

Sell your book and make a profit: List any print book or e-book for sale in Blurb’s online bookshop and keep up to 100% of the profits.

Adobe InDesign

 

You can also use Adobe’s In Design which with Blurbs new and updated, free plug-in gives you quicker, easier access to blank starter templates for Blurb’s entire book sizes and lets you create fixed-format e-books for the iPad

Automatic template creation: Download the plug-in and simply input book details like book size and page count, and it will generate blank templates with the correct specifications.

Complete creative control: You have full reign over the design and layout of your book’s pages and cover.

Bookstore quality: Blurb books are printed on HP® Indigo presses and include high-end paper options from Mohawk Fine Papers®.

Flexible printing options: Print one or many. Volume discounts start at just seven copies. Books are delivered 7-10 days after order.

The latest plug-in allows you to upload your completed files directly from within InDesign, create e-books for the iPad (available for CS4 and above), and offers two new formats, Brochures and Magazines, in 8.5 x 11 inches (22 x 28cm).

However with the convenience of using Adobe’s outstanding software I chose opt for Blurbs very own Blurb BookSmart, this was a pleasure to use and quite fun as you can preview your book every step of the way and see how the book is coming together, The other great thing is that you have the option to add text either to the top, side or bottom of the image, I used this text to show what camera settings I used for each of the images presented within the book giving further interest to the reader.

 No other consumer book-making software gives you this much freedom to build beautiful custom books.

Make books that feature your own page layouts and designs, from large format coffee table books to paperbacks and more.

Whether your project is large or small, Blurb BookSmart^® gives you:

Full control and customisation – Use our professional page layouts or push your creative edge by designing your own custom layouts.

Powerful book-making software – Download our software and easily tackle book projects, large or small, online or offline.

More than photo books – With BookSmart, you can create photo books, novels, diaries, portfolios, notebooks and more.

Effortless e-books – Turn any book made with BookSmart into a beautiful e-book for your iPad^® and take your book everywhere your iPad goes.

Bookshop-quality print books – Hardcover or softcover, seven different book sizes, and a full range of papers including our Proline range. ­

Here are just a few of BookSmart’s newest features:

Beautiful two-page spread layouts

Diaries and notebook templates

E-book-friendly, fully licensed fonts

So all in all I would give Blurb products and services 5 stars for their ease of use, quality and fast delivery and would find it difficult to find a better alternative.

Check them out at www.blurb.co.uk

Best wishes

Glyn

Book Life Project…

Hi All,  I am starting a new photo series called “Book Life” it is just a personal project to see how creative books can be as a subject for photographic art and artists… maybe this is something you guys would want do also to keep the creative juices flowing…

Here are a couple of images I have created so far…..hope you like.

Old and French…by Glyn Ridgers

Clarity looking through the glass.. by Glyn Ridgers

I hope you like these images and if you would like to know how they are done please feel free contact me at glyn@loftaphotographics.co.uk and I will let you know the camera set up and lighting etc…Remember that this is a fun project to do so be as creative as you can….

Speak soon

Glyn

by Glyn Ridgers

It's amazing what adding textures can do to an image….

Here is an image I took just to demonstrate how by just adding two different textures can transform a dull image to one that would look good in a portfolio…

Before image

French Canvas added as a multiplied layer in CS5

Ginger layer added and multiplied using CS5

Ginger biscuits and tea…

This was a fun project to do and only took around an hour or so but it is a great example on how using photoshop as our digital darkroom can create an interesting image out of what is potentially a poor photograph….

Images by Glyn Ridgers

Strawberry Fun at the Loft A Offices…

Just add fruit!!!

Just something I came up with using a old aquarium and a strawberry from my lunch box…..and of course some added water….

Black card set 20 inches from rear of fish tank as background and a table lamp each side of the fish tank pointing downwards to light top of fruit and a reflector beneath the tank to bounce light upwards to illuminate bottom of fruit..(be careful of water and electricity…obviously)

An easy and fun project to do on a rainy day….

Image by Glyn Ridgers