Week 21 View 52

Week 21 View 52

As explained in my recent thread this week I will not be able to get time to shoot so I decided to take this image and upload it a day early I hope this is ok.

Right this Lilly was actually the pure white Lilly I shot last week. Yes I know they are still alive these were well worth the £3 I spent lol. As you may notice the white now has pink and red going through it and I must admit this image was created on instructions from my daughter from a book she got from the libary.

So I will explain in simple steps how to do this.

1) Get flower cut stem on angle

2) Fill glass/vase with water

3) Place flowers in water

4) Now add a few drops of food colouring.

And that is all it takes. It does say leave for a 24 hour period but this was created after about 4-5 hours .

Why does this happen? Flowers drink through bunches of thin tubes like straws that carry the water up the roots, stems and into the leaves and flowers hence it turns the flowers to the colour of the dye.

You can also split the stem and use two glasses with different colour dye to see what happens.

This was my daughters idea and I must admit it was great fun watching the change so I am sure I will try this out on some other flowers to see what I can get

Near Miss

Thanks For Reading
James

Week 20 View 52

Week 20 View 52

Time is going by so fast I have really been struggling to keep up with View 52 but I am determined to complete this challenge. So I decided to try for the first time a high key flower shot and I was really pleased with the result so here is my week 20

Here is my near miss

Thanks For Reading

James

Week 19 View 52

Week 19 View 52

After stumbling on my butterfly last week I decided I would try it again and see if it was a fluke. And thankfully it wasn't.

I find myself looking back to when I first started photography and I used to spend a lot of time looking at smoke images thinking that isn't photography that is image manipulation and I am sure most of you may think the same.

But you couldn't be further from the truth. Until you actually sit down and spend as much time as I do photographing smoke you will never understand that there is more to these images than meet the eye its not all about snapping away pulling off as many frames as you can and creating something in PS. A lot of time is spent setting up the lighting, moving the lighting, finding the right position for the josh sticks (believe it or not it can make a difference), but most importantly controlling the smoke because believe it or not that is what matters certain patterns create certain looks/finishes yes there is an element of PS skills involved but it is the smoke patterns you capture within the camera that make the foundation of the final image and that is where the skill to smoke art is based.

I am still in the learning part of smoke myself but slowly I am starting to recognise what patterns to look out for where to sit the smoke within the frame (like normal composition) etc etc

I really hope you enjoy looking at these images as much as I appreciate taking them

Thanks For Reading
James

Week 18 View 52

Week 18 View 52

Last week had proved to be an uplifting week I had a call to start a new job so I decided to celebrate by playing with smoke today.

Thanks For Reading
James

Week 17 View 52

Week 17 View 52

Well this weather has been poor but that has not affected me as it was a great excuse for some still life I decided to shoot some tulips today as I simply didn't have time to set anything up and the tulips were just sat there looking at me, so I thought why not.

It's a simple set up all you need is a black (or whatever colour you desire) and a household desk lamp and hey presto you have a nice clean floral shot

Thanks For Reading
James

Week 16 View 52

Week 16 View 52

As they say stick to what you know. So I decided to cheer my stream up a little to get back to what I enjoy most and that is smoke even though I did play with water I returned back to my smoke as the family had eaten all the strawberry's and I wanted to try a shot like Simon did but had to make do with an apple which I will add underneath as I know some people are not a fan of smoke.


This took some serious playing around with adding different layers and gradients but it was worth it and is the reason I decided this would be No16.

Here is my near miss with an Apple and Water and then a gradient layer added to add a little interest

Thanks For Reading
James

Week 14 View 52

Week 14 View 52

I TOOK THIS IMAGE TO PORTRAY MY ANGER NOT TO OFFEND.

Yesterday I was forced to have the conversation 7 years too early that all parents dread.

The conversation I had to have was about drugs and the harm they can cause you. The reason I was forced to have this conversation was because she went out to play with her friends to our local park and came back. She was talking to her mother when I walked in and I could see the shock on my wife’s face I asked what was wrong and she said look what she has brought back 3 little bags at first it did not register in my mind I said oh then my daughter said look they are pretty bags so I took another look yes they were very pretty bags but too my horror I knew exactly what they were they were little wraps thankfully they were empty but when I say empty there was enough left over to know that in two bags was either Cocaine or Heroin and the other was weed. She found these little bags in our local park.

The next part is for Alan after his recent thread “Do You Shoot, Take, Capture, Produce, Construct A Photograph”

So today I decided that I would “take” a photograph to portray my anger and disgust to these people that “take” drugs and leave there wraps or needles lying around our children’s public parks. We strive to protect our children from “taking” the wrong paths in life but how can we protect when these people are allowed to roam our streets all the crap we see on the news about fuel strikes, pies going up a couple of pence due to vat are they really that important in the grand scheme of things? My answer is “NO” what should be on our news is the government will no longer feed the habits of these users by “taking” the money they get away and refusing to pay for their clinics to get clean.

My Message Is Clear!!!

Do what you like with your life.........But Do Not “Take” The Innocence From Our Children

“Take” your crap home with you; we don’t want it on our streets.

I know the image is probably far from the best but I wasn’t going to spend hours trying to portray this correctly as the message is quite clear. Drugs = A Mess!!!!!!!!

Please note no drugs were used at all. All I had to hand to portray drugs was washing powder hence it looks a little course.

Thanks For Reading

James

Week 13 View 52

Week 13 View 52

Today I decided to return to a set up I have not done for a while and that was Oil and Water shots this time I added a disk to some of the shots to try and isolate one or two of the oil drops so they have the more dominant colour.

Upon uploading to my computer I found this image that was taken today during my session and I simply could not ignore it as the colours were so vibrant and reminded me of an oriental sun that you see in those old karate movies. I have uploaded a few other shots but for some reason this one held my attention a lot longer.

Sunrise

Other shots I took

Thanks for reading

James

My View 52 The Catch up

Please excuse the long pause between week 8 and now but real life has go in the way with holidays and things going on at home that needed sorting out.

Week 9 was a rushed shot before I went away and week 11 was a rushed shot when I got back so I will not upload those as technically they suck lol.

So here is my week 10.

This is an image I selected from my recent Skiing holiday to Bansko in Bulgaria which is at the bottom of Pirin Mountain. It was filled with stunning photographic opportunities some of which I took up but some that got ignored as I was too busy enjoying myself. Here are some panoramic shots I took up the mountains.

And that now brings me up to date to my week 12. After all the rushing and time away I decided to get my mojo working again to return to my smoke shots. But when I started to shoot the smoke I remembered when I did the October challenge last year where I set Ice on Fire (yes real ice made of water on fire). So I decided what a way of showing how hot (some of us) find chilli’s so I decided to spark it up.

My View 52 Week 8

Week 8 View 52

Well bit of a dilemma this week had an idea for a rose shot however a fantastic version from another member had already been uploaded this weekend so decided to shoot it anyhow however during the shoot I had another idea.

My little boy was sat by my side as he always is when I shoot even when I am doing smoke bless him. So I came up with a plan well not so much a plan but an idea so I bent down and picked him up which he wasn’t too impressed with especially as mum tells him off if he jumps on the table. I put him on my kitchen table but he wouldn’t stay there unless he knew the rewards were hanging around. Sadly he was a little camera shy every shot he seemed to move his head to the side keeping one eye on me at all times not the shot I wanted so I kept going and this was the only shot I got him face on. He didn’t seem to like having a doggie portrait but I will try this again they say collies are intelligent well he is a collie cross but he is a disgrace to his race he is a dumb dog you put a light on the wall and he will stare at if for hours if you didn’t turn it off.

I did shoot the rose too which I will attach underneath but this is my shot for this week as it’s a nice fun shot and hopefully I will get to try this out again with a little more eye contact with me and the camera.

And here is the Rose shot from today

Thank You For Reading

James

My View 52 Week 7

Week 7 View 52

Those that know me know that my other guilty pleasure other than smoke is water droplets.

Today I decided to do a water drop shot simply as I have hit a creativity block.

I am after a certain water drop shot at the moment hence the amount of drops in the air. I am trying to create a mid air collision which I am finding difficult as either the drops are too slow or too fast but I will keep at it there must be a way without owning fancy drip kits.

Week 6 View 52

Week 6 View 52

Well I have two days this week for view 52 but decided to do my shot today so I can try other things tomorrow. I think for now you will be pleased to know I have come to an end of my smoke the ideas are still plentiful but my mojo is suffering for it so for now I will give it a rest until later on in the year.

I had a few ideas on the go today simply to try and ignite my mojo but it just wasn’t meant to be life’s stresses have got the better of me and it was hard to focus my attentions on what I was doing but rather on what was going on inside my head.

I took images of two different subjects today a Teapot and a Pomegranate. I decided to go with the Pomegranate (even though I prefer the Teapot) because I felt it held a little more interest. This particular shot of the Pomegranate has been mirrored but this time I only mirrored the smoke as I liked the comp of the Pomegranate (by the way this took some playing around with to get it right).

As usual say what you see ;0) I see a farmer/fisherman.

Interesting fact about the Pomegranate....

 The myth of Persephone, the goddess of the Underworld, also prominently features the pomegranate. In one version of Greek mythology, Persephone was kidnapped by Hades and taken off to live in the underworld as his wife. Her mother, Demeter (goddess of the Harvest), went into mourning for her lost daughter and thus all green things ceased to grow. Zeus, the highest ranking of the Greek gods, could not allow the Earth to die, so he commanded Hades to return Persephone. It was the rule of the Fates that anyone who consumed food or drink in the Underworld was doomed to spend eternity there. Persephone had no food, but Hades tricked her into eating six pomegranate seeds while she was still his prisoner and so, because of this, she was condemned to spend six months in the Underworld every year. During these six months, when Persephone is sitting on the throne of the Underworld next to her husband Hades, her mother Demeter mourns and no longer gives fertility to the earth.

More images from today's set here

Thanks For Reading
James

Week 5 View 52

Week 5 View 52

Ok I am back burns have healed and my pride has been restored from last week’s disasters.

I had an idea of doing a fruit face this week but for some reason the banana would not play ball however now I have the shots I don’t think the banana was needed. This was just a simple fun shot I was not looking for any reason behind it other than the fact I love shooting smoke. But as always I have to look into the photo to try and come up with a name because I love to give the shot a name to help the viewers see what I see and this shot reminded me of the old fairytale story of Snow White. The central part of the smoke reminded me of the mirror from that fairytale and the witches famous saying “Mirror, Mirror On The Wall Who’s The Fairest Of Them All” and as you can see my fruit face is hardly the most attractive, look how big the nostrils appear in the cherry ;0).

As I say this was just for fun this week as I have more pressing issues to focus my attention on as I have my first interview in 16 years tomorrow and have got to look the company history up. I hope you are still as interested in looking at these creations as I am of taking them.

This weeks submission above "Mirror, Mirror On The Wall" 

Thanks For Reading

James

Week 4 View 52

Well what can I say about this no faces, no meaning and no reason. Just an idea I had to try and keep it all about the smoke and what can be done with it.

I knew it was to be a bad day!

I woke up and my first words were not morning dear but shit I forgot to charge my batteries which is never good when married. My wife returned from walking the dog who was due his shower time as he was getting a bit stinky. So decided I would wash him before I set up for the day shooting everything was going fine dog washed time to dry him off and away I go but in the meantime I managed to break the shower which I am going to be in trouble about when the wife comes home as she is lost without a shower where as I am more of a bath kind of guy.

Putting all that aside I set up ready for this shot. On paper this sounds like an easy shot to take but today for some reason it didn’t want to play ball at all. My luck just kept getting worse I have burns all over my hands I set a small area of my backdrop alight and to top it all off I have smashed a total of four wine glasses. I knew the broken glasses would push the missus over the edge so I went out and brought her a new set and as a way of an apology I didn’t replace the glasses with the same glasses I decided to treat her to a nice set mainly to avoid the slap I was about to get lol so this shot cost me a nice bottle of rose (which I never got to taste) and £15 for new glasses plus the electrician I have to get out to repair the shower.

Ok to the paper it’s this easy hang a glass upside down with a wine bottle underneath fire up josh sticks and away you go............. that’s how easy it should of been but common sense was somewhere lost what happens to flame/fire inside a bottle? You got it, it goes out when the oxygen is replaced by carbon dioxide!!! So first attempt failed........... then I blu tacked the josh stick inside the top of the bottle what happens when the hot ash falls off the stick that’s right it drops off right onto my backdrop hence the mini fire (again lost my common sense mental note always put a plate underneath) ok second attempt failed!!!!...... third attempt I forget about the law of gravity what goes up must come down and once I had settled into my third attempt this is when my shoot somehow turned into a Greek wedding (but without the plates) my glasses started flying around the kitchen at this point as the suction cup I was using to suspend the glass lost suction (mental note keep checking the suction on the cup) and eventually I managed to get a hell of a lot of images but only a few came out ok as by this point I was surrounded by glass and very blistery hands so had give up the will to live by this point lol. Even the dog was looking at me with disgrace at this point.

I did have another idea as backup if this didn’t work. But I thought no I will not let the beat me I only want one shot granted it’s not what I had in my head but with the story I thought what the hell its a bit of fun. The image I wanted I think without pro lighting was almost impossible unless I merged two images together but as I don’t have the PS skills for that I will have to return to it again but I will return prepared LMAO.

Now I am off to lick my wounds and heal my pride lol

Pour Me Another this weeks image for View 52

Here is another shot from today Neon Cocktail

Thanks For Reading 

James

A Compelling Story Of A Boy Called Lee

For once this post is not about me or my progress in photography. This is about a very talented photographer Ivor Potter that is currently doing a project called 100 strangers which is basically taking photos of 100 strangers that Ivor knows nothing about and the only time Ivor meets them is when he approaches them in the street. I have not physically met Ivor but we were involved in Practical Photography's Bootcamp together and we virtually met via flickr. Amongst our learning with bootcamp Ivor decided to take up the 100 strangers project, which at the time I was very interested in not from a photography point of view (as I don't have the balls to do it) but more from a how will he get on sort of way. I have seen plenty of candids of unsuspecting people but never of people that actually agree to have there photo taken by a stranger in the street.

I closely watched Ivor's progress (and still do) to see if he actually completes this task (which I know he will) but it was #20 Howay To Hollywood (Jez) when I really stood up and thought wow not just because the picture was taken with time and care but his write up had somehow become more personal, his write ups on his meetings are always good but this one somehow was different simply as he had been waiting a while to get the courage to ask Jez for his photo so you could tell by his write up that he had taken real time getting to know Jez and listen to his life stories. From here Ivor went onto take lots of shots with great stories of students, people with qualifications we all dream to have yet they are on the dole, a bedroom DJ, A guy with an Indian headdress to a guy in a coffin what a mix of people I was thinking.

But today at #62 of his 100 strangers project he really hit me around the chops with his image of Lee a young lad that for one reason or another has found himself on the streets. I will not tell you about Lee as it is Ivor's image and it's Ivor's story to tell so if you would like to read Lee's story click here

The main reason for this post is for people to go and look at Ivor's image read Lee's story and hopefully we all may look at these people on the streets with a different outlook. Yes some are there because of choices they make some are there because they don't want any help and refuse to change. But come on we don't live in the dark ages and we wouldn't treat abandoned animals in this manner. But sometimes it angers me that we can't help our own people in our own country to the point where they get thrown out into the streets yet we can send money all over the world to help others and no this is not a political rant far from it. It's just Lee's image and story hit an emotion not many things hit in me and I thought it would be nice to share Ivor and Lee's meeting.

Ivor I wish you well for your 100 strangers and as I have said before I am sure you will go past 100. The way you take these images is inspirational and the way you get the stories is simply amazing and I am sure I will be following your stranger progress for as long as you are shooting them and I am sure every now and again you will hit me hard with an image that brings an emotion out. Thank you for sharing your 100 strangers with me/us and thank you for your fantastically written stories on there lives I am sure the challenge has changed you I know it has certainly changed me and the way I look at people. If you want to follow Ivor's progress click here

Thanks For Reading
James

Week 3 View 52

Ok here is my submission for week 3 View 52 take one shot per week for a year

I am trying my hardest to keep to one subject for View 52, I know at some stage I will come unstuck and have to change direction. But for me I find I learn more if I keep to a subject. The old saying comes to mind "Jack Of All Trades, But Master Of Nothing" so for this year I have decided maybe not to become a master but more competent with my camera by shooting things I enjoy.

Today I took a series of shots of an apple with smoke but after viewing and viewing all my shots I decided this was the one I was most happy with, and the one I could relate too. After viewing and viewing I found something close to my heart and I am sure other parents will relate. I found that unconditional love we have for our children and if you look at the image you will see the heart (the apple) and if you look up you will see what looks like the back of a child's head emerging from the apple with its arms spread wide looking for the comfort/protection only a parent could offer its a simple reminder how precious life is.

These are a few other image I took of the apple you will find more on my flickr stream

Thanks for viewing

James

Week 2 View 52

Ok here we are on week 2 of My View 52

Of course I had another session with smoke I just keep coming up with new things to try out I just hope I don't burn out too soon (pardon the pun)

The Image above was my main submission for view 52 it is titled Burning Heart and the image below is titled Sweet Heart

Sweet Heart also got voted for picture of the day in the group Creative Tabletop Photography
Burning Heart was on Explore #53 11/01/2011

Thanks For Reading
James

The Start Of View 52 (week 1)

Ok so this is my shot for week 1 of View 52 take one image per week for 52 weeks

Well as most of you know smoke has kind of become my guilty pleasure. But this shot has a far deeper meaning to me in 2011 sadly I watched my whole life turn upside down after losing my business. So basically to me the smoke represents my business going up in smoke and the hand representing clinging onto hope however I vowed to myself for my families sake to turn this bad situation around. So now the image represents the fact I have many opportunities now to start a new life and the smoke represents these opportunities and the hand represents the fact my destiny is now back in my own hands.

So it has kind of a double meaning to me

I don't take many that I have and emotional attachment too I know the hand is not 100% perfect regarding lighting but its an image I will never forget as I have a tie to this one and its meaning.

Thanks For Viewing
James

If you would like to follow View 52 or join in just follow the link

Happy New Year To You All

I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year wherever you are in the world. This year I have decided for me will be one of the most productive years I have had. After losing my business it has given me a great opportunity to restart my life try out new things and look for new jobs I may never have tried if I wasn't given this opportunity. Above all that I would love to improve my photography and to start the year off I have joined a group on flicker called "View 52" which is basically a short version of the 365 project. Basically all you have to do is take one image per week for 52 weeks if anyone would like to join in please feel free to call in at View 52

Thanks Again for Viewing
James