I am getting the hang of colour photography now, the inoculations really helped! I was asked by Fat Man if my mono photography has gone? Below is my reply to his question. Mono hasn’t gone its just that I have found ways to explore colour. I’ve had Color Efex Pro for years and never opened it, when I did, I found it worked completely differently to Silver Efex. So I left it. Then I watched a not very good ColorRead more
Posts tagged: #Lensbaby
Wild flower meadow
Finally the idea, timing and equipment came together. I had driven past this wild flower meadow three times thinking there are picture there. Yesterday afternoon I was on my way home from seeing a client with the right equipment, time and desire to stop and take pictures. I took 90 pictures in just ten minutes according to the metadata. The results are not a typical Andy Beel picture but perhaps an antidote to what’s going on around me at theRead more
Rower Bristol Docks
Can you see the film grain? Hold down the control key and scroll your mouse wheel – is the picture getting bigger? Don’t tell anyone – this is a colour picture in a black and white blog! Will I have to start a new blog for colour pictures? (c) Andy Beel FRPS 2014 http://www.andybeelfrps.co.ukRead more
Oh Rose thou art sick
Here is a shot that is completely different in style to the Ballet in the last post. Just a twenty year old dead rose in clear glass bottle, taken with a Lensbaby and an amended colour temperature. With apologies to William Blake I can never remember if “The sick rose” is in songs of innocence or experience. I had a vague feeling I might have used that quote before. I Googled it only to find my own post done inRead more
Usable windows 8 goodnews
For those of you like me who finds the Windows 8 Interface totally baffling and irrelevant, I have good news for you. A soon to be client of mine, John told me about start8 – stardock which is the Windows 7 interface, the one with a Start button applied to Windows 8. See http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/features.asp Apparently this little programme has had over 1 million downloads at $5 a time. I think I am going wrong somewhere! The picture above was takenRead more
Face at the Window
Press F11 to see the picture full size. Sometimes you have a picture that is a stage for the actors to play on, it isn’t complete and satisfying until it has a story to tell. I took this shot in the Winter Gardens in Blackpool unfortunately without the face / poster on the glass backlit screen. I did the Lith conversion that improved it vastly but still it didn’t satisfy. I think this is the only picture I have everRead more
Slush Sold Here
We all have pictures that are in the back of our minds to use at some point in the future, but we don’t quite get round to it. This picture “Slush Sold Here” was taken on a cold wet Monday morning last September on Blackpool South Pier, for me the telling part is the rain screen on the push chair. It’s taken from the inside the Pier Diner looking out. The hot Coffee was very welcome. The astute ones amongstRead more
Grain is groovy
Grain is groovy, I don’t know why it’s so much more soulful than digital noise, but for me it just is. Some of you might recognise the Blackpool Glitter Ball as you walk south along the sea front from the South Pier. I think this has ended up on the blog is because I like the leading lines leading to the ball on both sides of the picture and for a technical reason. The technical reason is that in theRead more
Visual noise and going off the core message
One of the aspects of the digital revolution has been the ability to take lots of pictures unrestricted by the length of a film. This means that frame 37 (possibly the last? on a roll of 36 exposures) takes longer to come up. To follow the analogy through hence to change the film or in our case the card. A downside of the ever-increasing numbers of exposures taken on any one day is the time and effort it takes toRead more
Street Snow Ball Fight – 6th February 2009
One of the wonders of the digital photography revolution – Metadata. Metadata keeps a record of when a picture was taken amongst many other details. With a film negative active recording and archiving are required by the photographer. I have files full of un-dated Black and White Negatives. Possibly one of my first Lensbaby shots. As its christmas I will let you see a colour picture of mine, a very rare specimen. A merry christmas and a prosperous 2012 to allRead more
Stanley in Accrington
Accrington, Lancashire on a wet Tuesday afternoon. Stanley rushes home to get out of the rain. Finish the story yourself. If you like pictures that need the viewer to complete the story I thoroughly recommend the work of Susan Burnstine see http://www.susanburnstine.com She has interestingly used homemade lenses to get a variety of soft focus effects. Why not check out other interesting photographers on my Blogroll at the bottom of the page? Those of you following my blog for a whileRead more
Perfect art deco day
Not much to say about this picture of the art deco de la Warre Pavilion in Bexhill On Sea. The perfect part was getting strong sunlight and a blue sky on the right day at the right time. I wanted the picture to have the warm feel of summer days in the 1930’s when this Pavilion was built. Dull and overcast skies would not have helped. The sky is a major influence in a black and white picture. This picture recommends its selfRead more
Positive steps in to work
Positive steps in to work? What did Richard Avedon say “My camera is always accurate but not truthful.” This guy is sheltering from the rain that does not feature much in this picture as it was taken with a Lensbaby with an IR converted body. If you open the picture his walking frame will be very evident. Processed in Light 3 as a lith Print. I have printed this as a straight and Lith print (see below), I prefer the LithRead more
To Lith or not to Lith, that is the question….
Sorry Will, I always get stuck for titles and headlines. I will forego the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune thankyou very much. I have just spent a happy hour making a blurry picture of Blackpool Tower. This print ticks a lot of boxes for me at least. Just to run through briefly the techniques used. Camera converted to Infrared light capture only. Lens – Lensbaby single plastic lens, no aperture. 100 ISO. Post production in Lightroom 3 Copy the fileRead more
Andy Beel FRPS wins trophy for the second year
Andy Beel FRPS has been announced as the winner of the Frank Thomas Trophy at the Kingswood Photographic Society, for a set of three related prints. This shot of the Pleasure Beach in Blackpool, Lancashire was taken on a rainy afternoon in September 2011 with a Lensbaby Composer and a single glass lens wide open. Lith post production was completed in Lightroom 3 using custom curves. See http://www.kingswoodps.co.uk/news.html for further information. Andy Beel retains the trophy following his win last year with a setRead more
Who will be the 100th Subscriber?
Who will be the 100th Subscriber to my blog? Unfortunately I can’t give a prize or a voucher. I don’t agree that photographing graffiti is my art as its someone elses original work. With this shot called “Women of the east” at least I have given it my own style and presentation. The original was considerably darker than this. I tend to like the ethereal quality the Lith process has given it. What do you think? let me know post a commentRead more
“Let the Purists wail in disgust” – The Heretic
Here is another rant from the Heretic. I call myself a self-styled heretic because I rail against the very reason photography is different from other visual arts, namely its ability to render fine detail accurately. For me the lack of detail allows me to tell a different story to that of a picture with full anatomical detail. Here a large component of the picture is made from digital noise and shadows. Let the purists wail in disgust if they like. DetailRead more
Andy Beel FRPS The “Untitled” Monochrome Talk
I will be giving a brand new Black and White Photography talk called The “Untitled” Monochrome talk at Gloucester Camera Club on Tues Oct 4th 7.30pm. See www.gloucestercameraclub.org.uk for the rest of the exciting programme of Speakers. The “Untitled” Monochrome Talk rounds up pictures from trips from the last three years around Great Britain and across the pond to New Brunswick. The picture above is another of my wet light shots – taken in the rain, hopefully the eye is drawn toRead more
Two Strictly Dancers
Two strictly dancers – I adore the way the split-toning has given the dancing couple a warm ambient outer glow towards each other. Perhaps temporary feelings of joy and company in each others arms as the swirl around the dance floor. The inner world of each dancer lies behind the outer frivolity with the cool blue barrier line. They both know, the other is not their own true love and the search will continue with another. (c) Andy Beel FRPS http://www.andybeelfrps.co.ukRead more
A Double Expresso Please
Ah a caffeine hit, my favourite is a coffee with a whisky chaser on the side, but at 11.00 am its a little early even for me. Lith is becoming a bit of style for me. Other posts I have done a while ago explain the whys and wherefore of the process. The lensbaby composer with a single glass lens wide open really helps with the glow on this print. Unusaly for me I decided to print this picture and thenRead more
Ten Photo truths – The truth revealed
This is my take on the ten truths of photography posted last week. Have a read through and see if you agree with me. 1 More pixels and expensive technology equals the best image This is marketing spin to entice us to give money to equipment manufactures. The latest most expensive equipment won’t help in the hands and mind of someone with no ability to observe, decide what is significant and express that significance in a satisfying visual design. AsRead more
There is no such thing as the wrong light…..
There is no such thing as the wrong light, only the wrong clothing, attitude, subject and timing. Light can be described as bright, soft, overcast, cloudy, sunny, dull, a week at f8 and my favourite – wet. My preference is to take pictures just after the rain has stopped and everything is still wet, not that I mind getting wet. I’m not at all bothered about using the camera in the rain or it getting wet as long as I can keep the lensRead more
Andy Beel FRPS 