Pure Mono

Well I finally managed to get out and get some shots today, Sue picked us up at 9 this morning and we drove to Catterick for the market, while they were looking at the stalls and spending money I was scoping the market for some shots, I didn’t get many as it was very busy and very rough so I kept my camera very tight in my hand and had the strap round my neck, at one point I took a shot of a butcher and he freaked out as he thought I was working for the DHSS, he wasn’t to know but if I was working for the DHSS he would not have even knew I was there ha ha. I decided to do some “in your face” street photography and get in as close as I could to the subjects, most shots were taken at between 50-70mm never once over 70mm so the farthest away I ever was from one of the subjects was about 2-3  feet away.  More photographs to come when I get them processed.

George

Originally uploaded by HotshotsSR1

This is George, when he was a child he was thrown off the top of a slide and landed on his head, the worst happened and he is now brain damaged. He lives just down the road from me but he now has to move back into sheltered housing as he has been getting bullied of a young couple down the road and their friends, tossers!
I’ve just found out that the last straw was when I was in hospital they let him in their flat and they were having a drink together, one of the young lads for no reason at all smashed a plate over George’s head. All forms of bullying are bad enough but for to bully someone who is not even capable of giving back is disgusting, George only has the mental age of a 10 year old so I guess it is at the same level as child abuse, I have moved now and so has George, hopefully George is happy where he is now and in safe hands! I just hope that the people responsible get what they deserve sooner rather than later as behavior like this has no place in a civilised society.

Branch IR

Originally uploaded by HotshotsSR1

I must admit that I have never used IR film before as I don’t have the time for it, maybe I should say I don’t have the patience but the fact of the matter is I’m not one for standing around taking lots of shots waiting for over 30 seconds for it close the shutter. I wish I did have the patience as IR shots can be the most stunning black and white photographs there are, the blackened sky and the white grass can make cracking high contrast scenes. For this shot I used the black and white command in CS3, on a screen there is not much difference and some people can find it hard to see if it was a real IR shot or not, but once it is in print there are a few signs to say which is rel and which is not, the most obvious is the white halo effect you can get on things. You can now convert digital cameras to IR to take real IR images, it is a case of taking your camera to bits and replacing the filters on the sensor, this enables you use the camera as normal by this I mean not standing around for over 30 seconds to take a shot but to use the camera as you would in everyday use, maybe when the D700 gets replaced with a newer model I will get the D200 converted to IR as there will be no point in me having three digital SLR cameras, although I’m sure my wife will argue the case that she should inherit the older models ha ha.

Neptunes armchair

Originally uploaded by HotshotsSR1

You can add a lot of things to a photograph digitally which can enhance the mood of a shot, in this one I used an ethereal glow which softens the light yet retains the sharpness. I called this one Neptune’s Armchair, it was taken at South Shields beach whilst driving past at about 40mph, luckily for me the sun was above it so it gave the edge of the stone work a rim light which in turn lifts it from the dark background. Although the ethereal glow in this one was added in CS2 it can also be done in other software.

20 degs

Originally uploaded by HotshotsSR1

The beauty of Ilford HP5+ is not only the fact that is a fast film that is suitable for most occasions but the fact that it can also be pushed to it’s extreme, all film can be pushed or pulled to some extent but this film has an amazing latitude, in this photograph I pushed it to ISO 3200, I used ID-11 for the development as I didn’t have any Microphen which is a special compensating developer used especially for pushing films, it took 27 minutes in a stock strength solution to develop, yes this is a long time but I feel it was worth it looking at the results, the grain is evident but it is only very slight, the slight toning is caused by scanning the negative in as a colour negative. This cat is my mothers cat and he is a natural poser for photographs, every time I am down my mothers house with a camera in my hand he comes over lets me know he is there and then jumps up onto a chair to pose for me, this has to be a first as every other animal I take shots of seems to run away from the camera lol.

Originally uploaded by HotshotsSR1

Well I’m sick now as I was going to be going down Bolton to watch Trevor’s first pro fight but Sunderland Hospital has decided to put my mothers hip operation forward by a week so I need to be here in Sunderland as she will be getting out on the day of the fight, I was really looking forward to it but my mother has to come first and I have to be there to help her home after the operation as she may not be able to walk properly and my dad won’t be able to manage her up the stairs on his own as he is 78 this year and doesn’t have enough strength to hold her if anything goes wrong. I feel like I have let Trevor down in a big way as it is his pro fight and I feel the more support he has the better, you should be there to support your friends at such an event as it is a big milestone in his boxing career but on this occasion I have to be there for my mother as after all she is my mother and she will need me more than Trevor will need my support. I was really hoping to catch the punch that knocks out his opponent in a photograph as it would not only be fantastic photograph but it would have been great for Trevor to keep as a record of the day, so now today I feel rotten but it is totally out of my hands.