itspauljennings

[itspauljennings]

Painting With Light Photographer  - Reuben Wu

Reuben Wu is a photographer who lights his incredible landscapes using drones modified to carry LED lighting rigs. 

At first he wanted to better control the lighting in his night landscape photography by lighting hills and rock formations with the lighting drones. He then discovered that he could then use the drones themselves to paint light shapes in the night-scapes. He has refined this technique to create some stunning art pieces which have now gained huge popularity across the world.

Wu spends a lot of time planning his shooting expeditions usually spending the day studying a particular scene then shooting at night. He calls these continuing series of images Aeroglyphs.

In Wu’s own words:

“In my visual work, I am driven not just by the urge to create imagery, but by a desire to explore new places as if they were unknown territory...Photographs, like music, can create an echo of a time and a place.”

[itspauljennings]

Catch Me If You Can

I contacted three sporting events to shoot for this project. An athletics event, a boxing event, and finally Glasgow University Muay Thai. The GU Muay Thai were holding their annual fight night competition at the GU Union on the 14th of February 2020. After confirming I could have access to cover the event, the date was locked in to shoot.

Below is my initial correspondence with Glasgow University Muay Thai. 

Contact Sheets

Final Images

Reflection

The planning of this was fairly straight forward. There were more sporting events happening that I had imagined and most people are more than happy for you to come and shoot their event.

Sports is an area I don’t have too much experience so I wanted to make sure I gave myself the best chance of getting some great results. I shot with my Fujifilm XT3 and used three prime lenses, a 23mm, 50mm, and 90mm. I was using the light provided by the event as using flash was not possible. My shutter speed was between 1/250 and 1/1000. I felt I  could not push it much higher as images were becoming too noisy with increased ISO. Apertures were between f2 and f4. Could not really close it too much more due to the light in the room. 

I was able to move fairly freely around the arena. It looked interesting in there as the ring was set up in an old Glasgow Uni debate room. I could get in close with the wide angle which make for interesting shots and also get up to the stalls and shoot from above. 

Post processing was done in Lightroom Classic. Not too much processing was done. Added contrast, curves,  shadows, pulled highlights, dropped saturation particularly in the blues and a bit in the reds. 

Shooting a sporting event such as a Muay Thai boxing competition can be very exciting. With each second is another possible good photograph and every once in a while is a possible great image. Hopefully I got something people enjoy looking at.  

[itspauljennings]

Artisan Research

We are to make a short film about someone creating. An Artisan! The film is to be at a minimum length of 90 seconds. 

I have typically gone for cinematic style films in the past and I think with the subject of an artisan, it will be suitable to head in that direction. 

This film by Pono Grace is the literally the short film piece that sparked my passion for creating cinematic videos. The story of her illness is illustrated beautifully by his slow shots and dramatic colour grading. 

If you have 9 minutes to spare, watch this! When I first watched it I was blown away by the beautiful way this is shot and how it tells the story wonderfully. Only at the very end do you see that it is in fact an advert. Clever marketing!

These guys have always nailed their ascetic and branding style. To launch their new line of Spectachrome sunglasses, they produced this short film in the style of legendary filmmaker Wes Anderson. Whimsical and clever, the film looks lovely and is incredibly interesting to watch. The viewer is drawn in throughout. 

This is one of mine. I created this video for a Nordic folk band. Over the years I have tried to hone my style and ascetic when it comes to video. I will most likely aim for a similar colour grade and with a good use of slow shots but I am also keen to push myself with new techniques particularly experimenting with in camera transitions.

Here is a lovely and really well done tutorial about creating in camera transitions. This is a technique I have been looking to experiment with for a while and I am going to take this project as an opportunity to do so. 

[itspauljennings]

Recycle Research

The brief is to create a controlled studio still life using an old, used object as the subject. Consideration to finding an interesting subject as well as a creative background or studio set is required. 

Creating an artistic and compelling image with the use of a studio is an exiting challenge. 

Research Images

Stock image: Pixnio

Of course a stock image but never the less my eye was drawn to this one. The colour pallet is nice and shows a good use of depth of field. Looks like some kind of old lamp??

Stock image

I like the creepiness of this one. Not really an interesting background at all but the bear got me thinking I want to create something a bit weird. 

Photo: Martin Widliund

I like the object and heavy use of shadows. I like the strong light in the back but I think its a little too strong in comparison to the telephone. I still like this image and has me thinking about the composition and set I will use. 

Photo by: Tina Rataj-Berard

Now this got me thinking! I love the TV and I’m probably going to look for an old one like this. Love that you can see through it so I might have to knock the screen out. Really like the green with graffiti on the wall. 

Photo: Chris Crawford

This is suitably creepy and features an old TV. Stand almost looks like a zimmer frame and makes you think of abandoned hospital. Love the grittiness. 

Photo: David Willson

The use of light is nice on this one. I like how broken the TV is and how it is laid out. 

Old television is where I think I am going with this. Want to also try and build a creepy looking set that I can make work with the studio size we will  have to work with. Experimentation with lighting could get fun with this project.  

[itspauljennings]

Creative Industries

With the advancement of technology, demand for creative media across many platforms, and a growing list of career opportunities, the creative industries have never been a more popular place to work. 

The industries often work closely with one another such as a free-lance photographer being hired to be the on-set stills photographer on a movie shoot or a graphic designer being hired to design a computer game poster. 

Key Creative Industries Sectors: Television, video games, film, music, fashion, graphic design. 

Jobs in the creative industries are many and the way you can be employed is also varied. You could work as a free-lancer picking up contract work from a range of employers. You could be fully self-employed as a wedding or portrait photographer. You could also be a fully employed creative working as say a  film editor for a motion picture studio.

Key Creative Industries Job Titles: Photographer, art director, video editor, lighting director, animator, sound recordist, Director of Photography, graphic designer, animal handler.

If you are working within the creative industries, you will need skills that are both specific to your job and also general skills that transcend across the industries. 

Key non specific skills: Ability to work with a team, problem solving, ability to think from different angles, initiative, imagination, time keeping and professionalism.

If you were working as a photographer for example, it would be important that you have some key skills also:

Software such as Photoshop, Lightroom, and Capture One.

Understanding different types of light

Realising a creative vision

Knowing how to manually use your camera and lenses.

A photographer would need to stay current on software updates or changing of industry standards. Updating equipment, the changing of popular style and fashion.

Now that the creative industries  are booming it is also that we as creatives stay current on what is changing and developing within the marketplace. Some of these factors could be: Digital photography, Software and computing power, Rise of the internet, Phones and camera/smart phones, Social media’s grip on sociaty.

Personally I have been working in the creative industries for many years already as a musician. I have also worked as a photographer, videographer, and video editor for a range of clients in both the UK and the United States. I fully intend on continuing to advance and grow my skills within the creative industries. 

[itspauljennings]

Illusion Research

We are going to do a project on how to create a composite image called illusion. Upon receiving the news of this rather exciting endeavour, I have taken to the internet to embark on some research so that I might create a most wonderful composite work of my own. 

This is a lovely simple idea executed well. Monochrome tones are nice and blend well. 

I’m quite into the dark and dreamy stuff and I think this image projects that very well. 

This one is pretty wild. I am interested in how they blended the light from the fire on the grass and the smoke with the sky. 

Lovely colours and quite other worldly. I like this one a lot. If I could find a space suit I would do something quite like this I think.

I look forward to this project. Key things to think about are lighting in the background image and subject image. Need to make  them match as much as possible. Also, the perspective of both shots need to be the same. 

My Background Image

This is my background image. My concept is that I will have my model added in to the back ground walking with the cheetah. He will be a friend of the animals. 

Model: Vincent

Clothing: Poncho

Props: Walking staff

Makeup: Dark eyeshadow and perhaps some painted stripes on face.

Lighting

I want to light the model with diffused light as this will match the lighting in the background. There are no heavy shadows as the light is diffused by cloud cover.

Lighting Diagram

[itspauljennings]

Catch Me if You Can Research

The Catch Me if You Can brief is about photographing as sports event. We need to contact and get accreditation for the event or events we are photographing. I have contacted two events: an athletics competition and a boxing tournament. I have been given access to the boxing event but would  still like to try and photograph another event. 

Things to factor when photographic a sports event: 

Getting good access to the athletes while remaining respectful to other media and abiding by the rules and access limitations.

Using faster shutter speeds to avoid motion blur on a subject.

Using a long lens so that I can get close-to-the-action shots.

No flash is to be used as this would distract the athletes.

Photo by James Crombie

Wonderfully captured movement. You can almost feel the impact before he hits the deck yourself. Depth of field is nice and isolates him while still giving the suggestion of where we are.

Photo by Ian Cook

I love how blurred the background is and how the subject also begins to blur. Gives a sense of just how fast the runners are going. Guessing Ian Cook was panning pretty fast?

Photo by Boris Grdanoski

This is some moment. I’m thinking this is a ball punted right at his face? Almost surreal. 

Photo by Alexius van der Westhuizen

Photo by Alexius van der Westhuizen

I love these two boxing shots. Quality of image is strong while capturing powerful moments in the fight. I love the cinematic feel to these images. 

Photo by Paul Jennings (Me)

I took this one myself in Thailand in 2019. It was the first time I had photographed a sporting event. I never had planned to  photograph quite so much that night but was captivated with just how many interesting moments could be captured. 

I have been in touch with a number of events including an athletics event and a boxing  event. Still awaiting conformation. Intend on chasing up this week. 

[itspauljennings]

Soft Proofing with my own image in Lightroom

So, I gave the old “soft proofing” a go in light room which should prove incredibly handy when processing for print. 

The difference between profiles can be quite vast so it is important to make sure you are processing your image for the correct output. 

Below is an image of mine in Lightroom that I edited in AdobeRGB. The next one is using the Loxley Photographic Lustre and Gloss print profile, and the last is using the Loxley Photographic Metallic print profile. As you can see there is quite a difference in colour space. 

[itspauljennings]

Soft Proofing

Soft proofing lets you temporarily simulate how an image will appear on another device, such as a printer, by using only a computer monitor. This can be a helpful tool for making more predictable prints — and is perhaps one of the most useful applications of colour management.

[itspauljennings]

Seeing the Light

Off I went in search of the light and this is what I got. I have predominantly used natural light sources for almost all of my photography up to this point so doing a deep-dive into different types of natural light was very useful and gave a greater in site into what I can do with our old friend Hēlios. 

Window Light with Gold Reflector

This was shot at around 1pm so the sun was high in the sky. You can see there is a shard of light traveling across the table. Used a gold reflector to bounce it back to the center subjects. I like the different effects the light is having on each face. 

Cloudy & Very Diffused

With this shot I experimented with a different camera and lens. Rather than my Fuji XT3, I hit the streets with a Canon 6D with 70-200mm L lens. I found my location and camped out until I found subjects who were willing to have me take their photo. It was a very cloudy but fairly bright day in Glasgow. The light was very diffused. I opened the aperture as wide as possible and put the subject in this lane so that I could keep the attention and focus on her.

Diffused Directional Sun Light

Shards of light peaking through the clouds made for some fast changing lighting conditions. I love this kind of light because you will never get the same shot twice. It can be both exciting and stressful. I love the illuminated hill in the background too. 

Direct Sun Light

This chap is from Nebraska. He is studying Opera at the RCS. We had never met until this moment also. I stood for ages around my direct sunlight spot. I knew I would see the right subject eventually. Then there he was. A giant in a bright yellow jumper. Perfect for the shard of direct sunlight I was about to ask him to stand in. 

I enjoyed this project especially with the opportunity to chat to random strangers. Coming into contact with interesting characters lifts the soul.

[itspauljennings]

Clean White Research

This is new territory once again for me but a brief I am very excited to create. Studio portraits with clean white background. One digital. One film. 

There is only your subject to light and capture so it is all in the lighting and making sure you capture your model just the way you intended. 

Upon researching some legendary portraits and some lesser known works, I immediately became drawn to photographs that have a strong use of shadows to convey the feel of the image. I was also a drawn to try and use a good amount of contrast. 

Richard Avedon

This image of Arnold Schwarzenegger by Richard Avedon is one I love and particularly for the angle from which it was taken. We are looking from below Schwarzenegger’s line of site which gives him a commanding stature within the photograph. I also love the shadows on his face and mean look he is giving. I already am thinking I would like to shoot from a lower angle.

A wonderful portrait by Richard Avedon. 

I am a big fan of portraits of worn faces with detail, clarity, and contrast bringing brought out. This is a good example of that. This man has no doubt had a hard life and Avedon certainly brings that feeling through this portrait. 

David Bailey

Another fantastic use of shadows this time by David Bailey. 

Hard shadows are something I am a big fan of. This portrait of Jack Nicholson shows a nice use of hard shadow particularly on his right side. Nice skin tones. Again captures the character of the subject. 

I like the clarity and skin tones in this one by David Bailey. There is also a nice shadow under her chin. Eyes are bang in focus. A very clean looking portrait, not with white background but this is a striking portrait. 

George Michael here with some nice use of shadows again. There are dark shadows but Bailey has also captured his eyes nicely. They pop out and his expression is not lost in the shadows. I hope to achieve this balance also.

FIRST PRACTICE RUN

I feel the first trial run went remarkably well for having never undertaken such a shoot before. We focused on setting up our studio environment and getting the lighting right before undertaking some practice shots. 

This is how we lit the practice run. 

Two strobes lit the backdrop with black and white panels placed to reflect light from back strobes and absorb extra light from subject. Black surface was facing the back of the subject. 

We tested the back light with a light meter to ensure there was enough power in the lamps to make the backdrop white without blowing the exposure too much. We were shooting at F.8 so went with F.11 from the back lamps.

We then tested the silhouette of the subject so that we could see good definition and separation from the backdrop. We also decided to move the subject further away from the backdrop at this point. This helped avoid light contamination from the back strobes. We checked the histogram to ensure we were getting good exposure. Once happy we did some test shots. 

RESULTS OF PRACTICE RUN

DIGITAL

I’m over all quite happy with the digital result however I think for shooting this I would aim to shoot at a lower angle and also get some better and more interesting shadows in the photograph. 

FILM

It was my first attempt at developing film and printing a photo. I was excited by the process and loved learning how to do it. I am pretty happy with the result however again, would look to achieve more contrast and shoot at a lower angle.

[itspauljennings]

Who am I?

Well, I am still ultimately trying to figure that out but up to this point of my life here are three images that I feel portray who I am. 

SELF

Here I am playing a drum in the wilderness. I have been a drummer for 25 years. Playing the drums and music has defined who I am and how the path has unfolded for me more than anything else up to this point. I could write for for days about what it all means and where it has taken me, but I’ll just say for now that since I picked up the sticks age 13, I have had a hell of a run.

The location of this self-portrait was important to me also. I am a great lover of the outdoors and the wilderness. I wanted to do this with somewhat of an epic backdrop. I am lucky to live in Scotland where incredible scenery is just an hour or two away at all times.

THING(S)

The drums and the lens, my two passions. It kind of speaks for itself but what I have done with my life in two objects would be this. I feel lucky to have found two distinctive artistic vocations that allow me to express myself and make a living. I am equally passionate about photography and music and having both in my life is a nice balance. 

PLACE

I am a nomad. I do not say this lightly. I have been lucky to travel and live in other countries. I spent 9 years of my life living in the United States. I had an SUV that I converted into a compact camper. I roamed the National Parks and wilderness of the Western United States camping out under the stars and among the bears, wolves, and sometimes UFO’s. It gave me some incredible adventures. 

This is a camper van we rented a couple of weeks ago and took around Scotland. If you ask me where I am happiest it is truly out on the road. 

Just for fun - here’s a couple of my old camping rig back in the states:

[itspauljennings]

Seeing the Light Research

How you light an image and what light is available to you as a photographer is the most fundamental consideration to how your photo or photos will turn out. For this project brief we need to produce four portrait images using natural light sources. The goal is to use different qualities of light at various times of the day and also to use light that is defused, reflected, or absorbed. 

I looked at a number of images by different photographers, using different natural light sources and light manipulation techniques to draw inspiration and knowledge to achieve my results. 

This image by Charles Hildreth is a lovely use of window light.

The way a window defuses the light defuses the light in a subtle way looks nice on this model’s face. I also like the harder shadows that are present. 

Using window light is something I have been excited to experiment with on execution of this project. 

Here is an example of very defused daylight. The fog looks like it could be early morning. The subjects appearance works nicely in conjunction with the lighting and mood of the image. 

I am also interested to use the light where the subject is back-lit by the sun where I can experiment with natural lens flares and blown out backgrounds. 

This image is quite an extreme example of how one can use lens flare. 

I like this example of some soft and defused light. 

Window light used in a creative way where the outline of the window panes are also visible as shadows. 

I am excited to get going on this brief as I have mostly worked with natural light as a photographer so experimenting and using new ideas will only stand to expand my understanding of using natural light and how to get the most out of future shoots using natural light sources. I am also excited to start using reflectors outdoors to direct natural light. 

[itspauljennings]

Photoshop Layering Learning

Today we looked at layering and masks on Photoshop. The good thing is if you edit in this way by using layers, everything is adjustable individually while the image itself stays unaffected. 

Remember, remember! Black reveals, white conceals. ;)

We selected the white part of the car’s wheel and separated it into its own layer. Then added a spherical pattern found on Google images. 

I layered two images and added a black and white mask. With the brush tool I made the tree show through from the bottom layer. 

This is not visually inspiring but the experiment was useful. 

[itspauljennings]

SELF PORTRAIT RESEARCH

The first question I need to ask myself on this brief is who am I? What do I want to convey about myself in this project? What I perceive as the good, what I enjoy about life, my passions. Also though I must explore what I perceive as my shortcomings. The areas of my life that perhaps hold me back.

So, what do I want to convey and how do I want to show it?

This is an actual self portrait I took of myself a year and a half ago. I had just become an endorser of Latin Percussion. This is in my life as a drummer. I was living in California and I had to get them a photo with the product. I drove all over the Santa Barbara hills looking for the spot. It was hot and bright. This photo is all wrong and rushed. It is a self portrait that I took but it is not very well thought out or researched. Let’s do better this time.

Who am I?

I am a person who has traveled extensively. I am someone who enjoys new and challenging experiences. I am a musician, a drummer, and that has pretty much defined much of the direction of my life. I am passionate about photography of course and photography that is epic, cinematic, and thought provoking. A huge love of mine is the outdoors and camping. I have camped all over the State and National Parks of the United States, mostly by myself and my old Toyota Highlander SUV. I would like to portray my love for hitting the road and camping out in the wilds.  

What is my vision? 

I want my self portrait to be epic looking. Having elements from my life. Perhaps litteral? I picture a scenic back ground. The Scottish Highlands would be ideal and within reach. 

As I said, I am drawn to epic photography. I want to look at self portraits of course but I am probably taking more influence from photographs that are not self portraits. 

EPIC IMAGERY AND SCENIC BACKDROP

As I said, what I am particularly drawn to at the moment within my photography is a desire to create epic imagery. My first thought is on being given the project brief was that I want to create as epic a self portrait as I can. This style would be in itself a nod to the photography that moves me. What is included in the image would define me and convey who I am.

This photograph by Jimmy Nelson for his “Before They Pass Away” project is not a self-portrait but they it is an image that sparks the word “epic” to me. If I can create a self-portrait that is anywhere close to this epic images, I will be extremely happy. 

I am not going to dress like an African tribal man of course but what I like in this image is the composition, the contrast in colour, the weather and how it appears to spread out from the hills in the background. 

COLOUR PALLET

I think exploring a good use of colour pallet is something I want to do with this project. This self-portrait by Peter Vidani caught my eye. The way he blends with the colour pallet of the image is unique. I like how he has used the water to achieve this on his shirt. I like that there are water specks running up the lighter half of his shirt which creates some conflict in the image. The lighting is also soft and moody. His expression is very serious and still. The image is cold overall but there is some warmth creeping through in the sky.

This photo by Erik Almas also has a nice colour pallet. 

IMAGES OF INSPIRATION 

This photo also by Erik Almas wonderful. There is a human subject, some objects, the background is very scenic and wild. I am a huge fan of images like these. Also, I have just discovered Erik Almas because of this project! :)

Photo by Erik Almas

The composition, lighting, wide depth of field is great in this image. You would guess with some certainty that this man is a rancher and lives around here. 

I want to nod to one of my favourite portrait photographers Lee Jeffries who’s body of work is largely of people living on the streets. The emotion and expression he captures is incredible. This is heightened by his mostly high-contrast monochrome style. 

Photo by Lee Jeffries. 

Again, the expression that has been captured by Jeffries is amazing. Its close. I am not sure how he fades it in this way before the ears?

Photo by Agnieszka Sosnowska

This self-portrait by Agnieszka Sosnowska is quite thought-provoking. It is harsh. Photo has a nice wide depth of field. The setting is quite bleak. It looks like this could be from 100 years ago but the series was actually shot in 2014 in Iceland. The rest of the photo from this series called In My Back Yard are stunning.