Business as Usual: A tribute to an old friend

This morning I learnt that an old friend, Harry Gilroy, had passed away. I'd already known he'd been given a limited time left to live, but preparing myself for this news still didn't make hearing it any easier. Harry used to coach me in athletics, but he is also the person who got me first interested in photography, so as a way of dealing with the news I thought I'd reflect on the lessons he taught me in that regards.

If you're passionate about something, then it deserves your time and effort

Harry had two main passions above all others; athletics and photography. Coaching the younger members of the club gave him the opportunity to mix the two on a regular basis. For both, he was largely self taught, but that never held him back. Harry had a strong work ethic, which he tried to instill in those he coached. If he didn't know how to do something, he'd find a book and teach himself what he needed to know. This was 
with a film SLR as well, so without the instant feedback that I've grown to rely on from my DSLR. 

With both, Harry never let bad weather or his limited mobility get in the way of them. Even if it meant he had to stay in his car at a race, he'd still take the time to talk to the team, give advice and coach us. If the photos he'd wanted to take couldn't be because of other conditions, he'd adapt accordingly and try something else.

It's something I could certainly improve upon the next time I decide it's a bit too chilly to go out with the camera or sulk because a shot I've taken didn't quite worked out. I've started reading up more on photography and I certainly want to put more effort into not only taking photos but learning how to improve.

Don't limit your knowledge to yourself, learn about others as well

One of the things that made Harry great was his knowledge of each team member's abilities, strengths and weaknesses. He may set an overall training session for everyone on a given night, but he'd then adapt it to each kid, depending on what would get the most benefit out of them. For each kid, he had a plan and knew what sort of times they were capable of (even if they weren't capable of them yet). Hearing him rhyme off the various PBs of everybody and how much they could improve them by in a year was fascinating stuff.

When it came to photography, Harry applied the knowledge had of his team to get the best photographs. He'd position himself in ideal places (rather than just where he decided to stop), taking into account if somebody would be struggling or striving at that point.

Thinking about others when photographing and using that knowledge is something I'm trying to do, because the few times I've pulled it off (such as getting a kid's favourite toy or their team in) it has added so much to the photos. Photography is still a very personal thing, both to the photographer and the subject. I just need to make sure I consider the subject as well

Seeing how appreciated a photo is can be payment in itself

One of the highlights of training with Harry wasn't just the knowledge he passed on, but the photos he took. My family and friends only had automatic cameras, so I was used to generic shot that roughly captured moments. In races, photos had amounted to me being 'somewhere' in the shot, blurry at best. Harry, on the other hand, had an SLR with zoom lenses, meaning he could fill the frame. He'd also pan as well, so that whilst I was sharp, the background was in motion, adding dynamism I wasn't used to seeing in a photo of me. He'd also attempt to time the shot for maximum effect (one of my favourite was of me and a friend side by side trying to outrace each other).

The first training session after a race usually would mean crowding around Harry as he dished out the photos from the weekend. Like coaching, he was never paid for this, not that he'd have accepted money had it been offered. Helping people achieve their full potential was payment in itself for coaching, watching as he'd help shape kids into better people. With photography, just seeing someone light up at the photo he'd taken was all he asked for,  knowing that is efforts were appreciated.

These days, everybody (myself included) wants to try and make some money from photography, to the point we can get overly precious about our work. At times I've been frustrated when I've put so much effort into photographing an event I'm at, only for people to not fully appreciate the time I've invested. In reality, looking back, they massively appreciated the photos I've taken, as evidenced by the number of photos that subsequently became facebook profile pics. 

Maybe one day I will reach a stage where people are willing to pay for my photos, but in the meantime I'm going to try and treat it the same way Harry would; the appreciation of the photo is payment in itself.

Business as usual

As I mentioned before, Harry had a strong work ethic, something he instilled heavily on those that he trained. After every training session or race, he would say to me "business as usual?" which I'd return back. This was a reference to the second World War, where people would put signs up declaring 'business as usual' despite being bombed. It was Harry's way of instilling the idea that we wouldn't let minor problems get in the way of training, that even when I got injured or wasn't performing as well as I'd like, we'd still work together to get over that problem. Even when I no longer trained and my meetings with Harry were reduced to quick catchups or letters, we'd still sign off with "business as usual" (one of the things that makes me smile now is knowing the last words were shared with each other were those).

How does this relate to photography? Quite simply the fact that sometimes things don't work out. Sometimes the weather is against you, or your battery dies, or your cards all fill up. Sometimes the shots you wanted to get don't work out for whatever reason; maybe you set things up wrong, mistimed it or just don't know why. But this is when it is just as important to say 'business as usual', and work to resolve that for next time. The more hours you put in to your photography, the better you'll get.

I definitely plan to keep on investing the time in my photos, so that one day I can produce results as great as Harry did.

Make a difference

“When I was young, my ambition was to be one of the people who made a difference in this world. My hope is to leave the world a little better for having been there. ”  - Jim Henson

The quote above is one of my favourites, and it immediately sprang to mind this morning when I heard the news about Harry. When it came to athletics, both Harry and I knew I'd never be running for team GB or competing on a major stage. That didn't detract from the time and effort he put in to helping me achieve as much as I could, and looking back on my athletics achievements (including representing my county and winning a county team champions medal), I know I owe that to him. When it comes to photography, he is the person who first got me interested, and I'm grateful that I can now honour his memory by continuing that hobby. As a quote, it perfectly encapsulates my view on him; he made a massive difference in my life and my world at least was better for him having been there.

Farewell, Harry, until we meet again it will be business as usual.

500px 'gaming': Is it really a problem?

Where to share

As part of my drive this year to up exposure of my photos, I looked into the different sharing options for photos. There are now a huge variety of sites that let you share photos, with a lot of it coming down to the sort of sharing you want to do. From what I found, I'd roughly categorise the three main types as follows:

• 'Share everything' - These are your standard social network routes. Whilst Flickr was the undisputed king for years, the likes of Facebook and Google+ have chipped away at that. From a photographers perspective, Flick would still be king because of the ability to submit to groups, join communities and even submit photos to Getty for stock image selling. However, the sheer volume uploaded to it often means good photos are buried under lots of average ones
• 'Selective sharing' - These encourage more selective posting of photos, the aim being you build up a small but high quality portfolio. The main one at present is 500px, but Redbubble also offers a similar service. The benefit of these sites is the smaller amount of photos usually means a higher overall quality.
• 'Curated' - This is the extreme, elite step, whereby images are curated before uploading. 1x.com is a great example of this; 1 in 20 photos gets through the vetting process, which results in an extremely high standard of photos. 1x.com also offers a critique service, where people can upload images to get advice and constructive feedback.

Whilst there are cost considerations for all the options, the main reason for my my choice was the level of feedback and visibility I was looking for. For me, Flickr is too saturated and too nice, whereas 1x.com is too extreme (I like my photos, but I don't think I'm thick skinned enough just yet to have someone tear them apart!). That leaves me with 500px, a site I've used for a couple years now and not had any regrets!

500px in a nutshell

500px logo

500px is intended to be a bit more selective than Flickr. It gives people the chance to share their best photos and create an online portfolio. This reduction in uploads helps the good photos stand out; there's certainly some amazing photos on Flickr, but they can get lost in the swarm of other photos.

When a photo gets uploaded, people can view them, and if they like them they can:

• Vote to indicate they like it
• Favourite to indicate they love it
• Add comments about it (originally supposed to allow constructive criticism, but is more of a love fest these days)
• Share on other social media

Getting noticed through friendliness

So, having signed up, I started uploading photos. I carefully selected my choices, I tagged them accordingly, uploaded them and waited for the views to roll in. 

Cyclist by MJM Images
And... not a lot happened. I got a couple of likes, a few people started following me, but nothing major. This pattern continued for the past year or so; I'd upload a photo, I'd get a handful of views and that was it.

At the tail end of last year, I decided to try and get more active on 500px, and started making an effort to comment on other photos. All of a sudden, I noticed my likes shooting up.


Ingham Church by MJM Images
The above photo was the first where I started getting involved in the 500px community. It's certainly better than my earlier efforts, but I wouldn't say it was hugely so. However, it became clear that the more I put in to the community, the more I got out. Soon, I had my first 'upcoming' photos and then my first 'popular' one (upcoming and popular are categories within 500px as a way of showcasing photos).

So, as part of my daily efforts to spread my photos, I visit 500px, find photos I like and let the person know (as well as sharing at least one a day on twitter and pinterest).

Friendliness = Gaming, apparently

Turns out, however, that some quarters of the internet view this approach of being nice to each other as a problem. See, when 500px first started, it was much more about constructive feedback and the best of the best photos only. However, 1.5 million users later, it's a little harder to get noticed. The best way to manage that is by getting a photo listed as popular, and the best way to do that is to get as many votes as possible. It's this vote hunting which has irked a lot of people, whereby people go liking everything they see in the hope that people will subsequently return the favour.

But is it really such a problem?

In the purist minds, yes. Photos should stand up to scrutiny, and the best photos shouldn't need the photographer blindly promoting to the point of spam. However, when you have over a million people potentially uploading at any time, getting noticed amongst all that becomes tricky or even impossible. Good photos that were uploaded at just the wrong time to get noticed suddenly find themselves further down the pecking order, compared to somebody who managed to get followers behind them.

The fact is, you need a base of followers to begin with before your work truly takes off, and part of the way to get that is through participating in photo voting. Yes, the top photographers don't do this, the same way top celebrities don't need to visit everybody else's page and convince them to visit theirs. The top photographers already have that level of exposure and following, the other 99% aren't that fortunate.

A happy medium

For me, I'm happy to participate within reason. I regularly go online and look through the photos, to find ones I like. I could probably leave more constructive feedback, but I don't feel that I'm experienced enough to do so. Plus, part of the enjoyment for me is when people do appreciate my photos. My livelihood isn't based on this so I don't need them to be supreme, but like anybody I do enjoy people telling me they liked what I've taken! Besides, it's lead me to some excellent people to follow (both on 500px and twitter), making it a pleasant experience when I visit the site.

I think it's just a case of finding a compromise between liking photos just to get popularity, and liking photos because you, well, like the photos. Do I sometimes go overboard in the hope it will draw people to my site? A little, but if it ever got to the point that it was a chore to do so I'd just stop. 

In the meantime, feel free to visit my 500px page and like my photos ;-)

My 500px site

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Snow Photos

Finally we have snow in the south!

After the rest of the country was covered in the white stuff, it was finally the turn of Hampshire. You know it is cold when we get snow! I had originally planned to take photos during the day, but that got taking up with sledging with my son instead, so I waited until the evening.

Snowy Evening

Snowy Evening by MJM Images
It didn't take long to find somewhere picturesque for a photo. This is actually a walkway between a train station and an industrial estate, not usually the most photogenic sounding location! However, I loved the framing of the trees, as well as the footprints. Converting to black and white helps add focus to the photo I reckon as well, rather than just being done for the sake of it

Empty park

Park in the snow by MJM Images
I got this idea from Tom Ang's excellent book Digital Photography Month by Month, which gives suggestions as to different photos to try throughout the year. The original suggestion related to foggy days, but I think it translated well into snow also. I'm always amazed at the amount of light my DSLR can capture; this was only lit by a single lamppost and certainly didn't seem that bright at the time.

More snow today means more snowy photos

I was pleased with last night's results, I certainly intend to get out again today, though it will most likely have to fit around sledging again!

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Bournemouth Beach and Oceanarium

One way to spend a birthday

One of the downsides of a January birthday is the limited options of places to go. Had it snowed as predicted, then you can at least go to the park and have a snowball fight. However, the weather was just cold, which left us trying to find something to do that was indoors (or at least not too cold). What better way to spend the day than in Bournemouth Oceanarium?

Lizard in the Oceanarium

Lizard waiting by MJM Images
(Check out FAA for more lizard photos)

I underestimated just how difficult it would be photographing marine life through glass as this was the first time I'd attempted it with a DSLR. Despite there being lots of amazing creatures to photograph, the combination of thick (and scratched) glass and low light meant that the shots I took weren't really doing justice.I could have maybe tried a flash but I didn't want to damage their eyes.

The little guy above, however, was in a tank where you could look down and into it. The darkness was accidental; it was in fact quite light in his tank. However, when I saw the effect, I preferred the results as it helps the little guy stand out more

Dog on the beach

Happy Dog by MJM Images
Even though it was near zero, we still decided to brave the beach as our toddler son had never properly played on sand before (we took him when he was tiny but he stayed on his blanket). Needless to say, he loved it despite being wrapped in lots of clothing, so I think future trips to the beach will be in order!

One thing I always love about beaches are dogs playing, even though I'm not a dog person. Dogs seem to be at their most photogenic on the beach, since they can run around freely as well as get wet if they choose to. This was my favourite shot of the day, though I may need to up the shutter speed even more next time (it was certainly light enough).

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Check out FAA for more bournemouth photos

Lensbaby - first impressions

Lensbaby Spark

For my birthday this year, I was lucky enough to get a Lensbaby Spark, which I immediately took out for a play. The Lensbaby range is a series of lenses which primarily enable selective focus (more expensive models allow for swapping of optics and apertures, but the Lensbaby Spark doesn't have this functionality).

Usage

Image from Lensbaby site

The Spark differs from standard lenses in that the lens is essentially a rubber bellows. To focus, you squeeze the front inward to the camera, which will shift the 'sweet spot' of focus. This is the first important point about the Spark; you intentionally have a limited depth of field and focus will be limited to this single region. This sweet spot can then be pointed at different regions by pulling on different edges of the Spark. The selective focus effect is unlike anything you'd get from a standard lens, and has especially found popularity online for the ability to make things appear like a toy town (whereby real cities seem like models).

First trials in Bournemouth

Despite the near freezing temperatures, we decided to brave Bournemouth beach, which seemed a great opportunity to try out the Spark. Initial playing with the Spark quickly revealed how tricky it can be to find the focal point; the constant squeezing and tweaking needed meant I felt like I was chasing the spot around the viewfinder. Coming from an auto focus background, this was quite an adjustment to make!

I quickly found that stationary objects where best suited for the lens, since you had time to compose the shot and think about where the focal point should be. Portraits worked to some extent, but trying to photography my toddler son was nigh on impossible given his inability to stay still for more than a few seconds.

Toy town

Not everything was suited to the Toy Town effect; the shot above was probably my most successful. However, I've also never managed to take a photo of the beach huts that I've been happy with until now, so this is certainly an improvement on that front!

Summary

The Lensbaby Spark is a fun lens that offers a genuine alternative to normal sharp lenses. It can be fiddly to use and the results mixed, but it does make you think about what you're trying to achieve more, which as a photographer is a good step to include (and one that is overlooked a lot in the digital realm where thousands of photos can be taken and tweaked).

The effect it produces is different, though it can be created within Photoshop. However, I preferred the challenge of creating it in-camera, rather than simply deciding afterwards "that would look good with a lensbaby effect". For the price of the lens, I'd certainly recommend picking one up. Am I going to use it all the time? Nope, but I will aim to use it at least once per session or when I'm having no luck with other lenses, even if just to provide a different focus for my efforts (no pun intended!).

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Photo Resolutions for the Year

2013 Challenges

Instead of having resolutions to lose weight or stop drinking, I decided to base mine around my photography. Whether I'll find the time to do all these is another matter.

1. Photograph a gig

Before I moved south, I lived with a mate who was in a band. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera back then to photograph any of his gigs, but this year I plan to rectify that.

Challenge aspects: Photographing in low light and tight space, as well as capturing the atmosphere of the gig.
Link to my mate's band: Screamin' Sisters

2. Photograph a fight/sparring

Again, before I moved south, I used to train regularly with Leeds Freestyle Kickboxing. Whilst my sparring days are long behind me, I'm still interested in MMA in general and would love to get some action photos.

Challenge aspects: Photographing fast moving action, capturing the moment of impact

3. Photograph a zoo

For Christmas, I received a photography day course at Whipsnade Zoo. As a family, we regularly visit Marwell Zoo and I've been happy with my efforts there. My aim for the day (aside from learning from a professional photographer) is to get a photo(s) of animals good enough to frame

Challenge aspects: Photographing animals good enough to frame on wall

4. Photograph with a mate

My mate, Stem Images, is also into photography, though I've some way to go before I'm at the same level as him! Hopefully, we can meet up at some point and see who gets the best photos of the day

Challenge aspects: Outdoing my friend!

5. Get a photograph popular on 500px

Lastly, I'm aiming to get a photo popular enough on 500px that is listed under either 'upcoming' or 'popular'. This will have to be a combination of better photos and extending my network, but it's a good challenge to round off the year

Challenge aspects: Take a photo that stands out and have enough followers to get it voted

And off I go

Now it's time to get planning for these, and hopefully in 2014 I can write about a success in all categories!

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Book Review: The New Complete Guide to Night and Low-Light Photography (Lee Frost)

Book Review: The New Complete Guide to Night and Low-Light Photography (Lee Frost)

Book Introduction

I was fortunate enough to receive several photography books for Christmas, one of which being 

'The Complete Guide to Night and Low-Light Photography' by Lee Frost. A link to the book on Amazon is here.

I was already familiar with Lee Frost through Digital SLR Photography Magazine (an excellent read that I subscribe to), where he is a regular contributor. This book covers a wide range of low-light/night related topics, such as shooting at sunrise versus sunset, landscape photography, low light portraits, even capturing star trails. It also contains the obligatory chapters on recommended kit and the use of computers to enhance the final shot.

The Good

Having been a photographer for decades, Frost really knows his stuff. The photos within the book are all of an extremely high standard and range from old film photos through to DSLR efforts (and even a few compact and mobile phone efforts). I particularly liked the descriptions for each photo also, which detail the conditions under which it was taken and a little of Frost's thought process.

The range of topics is also excellent, covering pretty much any type of photo you could imagine taking under low-light. I had initially expected the book to focus on landscapes, which meant the chapter on portraits was a pleasant surprise. Frost gives one of the best explanations I've seen with regards to metering, which has proven very useful with my own recent efforts at night photography.

The Bad

I did have a few minor gripes with the book. First, Frost goes to great lengths initially when discussing suitable cameras to make it clear that you don't need to have a high end model, and that you are better off spending money on better lenses. He then proceeds to use a Canon 1D Mark III for the majority of his photos, hardly a budget model! Given that there are plenty of instances where the ISO needs to be high, it was slightly jarring at times as the low-light performance of the 1D would be expected to be higher than cheaper models (though newer DSLRs are likely to have caught up).

I would also have liked a little more explanation sometimes on how to achieve certain shots. It was nice to see the end result and a some of the thought behind it, but maybe a few setup shots or walkthroughs would have helped. In particular, due to the depth of subjects offered, sometimes some aspects simply got a paragraph or two that amounted to "put lens on F8, stick on tripod, use auto white balance".

Finally, there were quite frequent typos, and in one case a missing few lines to a paragraph. A minor point I know, but this isn't the first edition of this book!

Overall

This is definitely worth a read if you are interested in low-light photography. It certainly inspired me to get outside and start snapping, with the results achieved noticeably better than earlier efforts. Although there are explanatory chapters at the start around kit and settings, I'd suggest that this is aimed a little above the beginner and more at people who are confident with their DSLR. As mentioned above, the book won't hold your hand through taking a photo, but instead discusses the sort of things you need to consider.

On the whole though, any gripes were just minor, and I'd certainly recommend having a read!

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