Post 13- Only eye-catching subjects.

Since listening to Paul Sanders at Patchings I have concentrated on choosing subjects that catch my eye, passing by the many possible ones that I see. First and foremost I am trying to take pictures for my own pleasure and try to be less concerned about what others will think of them. My long term aim is still to produce arresting images and I think I can only do this if I choose subject matter that grabs my attention as I walk along or visit a location. If a subject does not catch my eye it is very unlikely to be of interest to my viewers.
I have been trying this approach for a couple of weeks now and have found it very enjoyable. I have taken shots of things that I would not normally have included like wild flowers and even a horse.

Why did I take the horse? Because I liked the way the sun reflected off its coat. The colour reminded me of chestnuts.
Unfortunately I still cannot stop looking for the number of "likes" my images get when I post them on Facebook. I still have some way to go in this respect.

Post 12-Paul Sanders-What an inspiration!

Moy and I attended the Connected Exhibition at Patchings Arts Centre yesterday and listened to an inspirational talk by photographer Paul Sanders.

Paul started as an 18 year old taking Glamour shots, then moved into local newspapers and, eventually became Picture Editor of the Sunday Times. He found this job very stressful and resigned his post with the intention of imitating Joe Cornish and becoming a Landscape Photographer. He developed anxiety and depression and both his business and his marriage failed. He went to Beachy Head with the intention of committing suicide. Here he was befriended by one of the pastoral team who talked to him about his feelings and convinced him to change his mind. The pastors save the lives of 17 men each week and suggested he stop taking photographs to please other people and start taking photographs to please himself. After a long period of therapy he is much happier.
He went on to  suggest that we all consider fundamentally changing our approach to photography,  using it as a way of expressing ourselves and our feelings about the subjects we choose. We should take more time to immerse ourselves in the atmosphere of a place and avoid an obsession with good light or bad light and the technical aspects of image making. He suggests we should only make images of subjects that catch our eye and make us happy. If we feel nothing when we make the image the viewer is likely to feel nothing. We should not be concerned with the number of "Likes" our images get but see positive comments as a bonus.
During his talk Paul showed us a large number of his photographs, most of which were in Black and White but, most unusually for a photographic presentation, almost never talked about his choice of camera or settings.

Paul's approach is very different to my own and I am struggling to decide how many of his suggestions to take on board. I have already embraced the idea of creating images that please me and not worry about other people's views. Despite this I am still keen to post them on social media to see if others like them as well. I will try to focus less on the techniques and camera settings and more on trying to recreate the atmosphere of the subject that caught my eye. I anticipate that I will find this very difficult but hope it will lead me to take images that I find more satisfying.

Following the presentation we walked around the grounds and tried to capture the atmosphere of an area inspired by Monet's garden. Here are two images I took that please me.

Post 11- Which is best? In Camera or Post Processed.

There are at least two ways to merge images together to get interesting effects. Two images can be merged together in Photoshop or Lightroom and adjustments can be used to give a wide range of end results. It is not possible to predict how the merged images will look when they are taken. Alternatively it is possible to take two images and merge them together in the camera and view the merged version on the small screen on the back of the camera.
Which one is best????
I have a natural tendency towards the more technological approach so am comfortable with blending in Photoshop. Others prefer to achieve there end product "in camera". I will pursue both approaches to start with and see which method delivers the best results.
I have been reading the blog of Charlotte Bellamy who is a Master Craftsman in the Guild of Photographers and specialises in ICM and Merged images. She often uses images taken on her mobile phone and uses Photoshop to blend them together. Her images are very inspiring and her blog includes many tips about her techniques.
I have done a number of experiments blending woodland scenes together in Photoshop and have produced some very weird effects. I am pleased with these but am not sure how they will be received by others. (Perhaps that does not matter!!!)
I have attached a few here.

I have also continued to do conventional ICM work and am pleased with images produced by rotating the camera whilst keeping it pointed at the subject. This works well with trees.