A Nose For Walton

On a trip to Walton-on-the-Naze to see some seals in the backwaters, I shot some blurry landscapes with the aim of experimenting with blur and impressionistic effects.
The first three are blends of multiple exposures shot with a 300mm lens handheld (so not pin sharp in the first place).
The second three were long-ish exposures from a moving train, the exposure being taken right down in post to increase contrast, saturation and drama.
This is the way I like to see life.

Peruvian Squill

A Peruvian Squill has appeared in our garden this year. No idea how it got there, as it is apparently native of The Algarve. Migratory avians passing above our garden? I hope not, for the bird's sake as the squill grows from a bulb.
To separate the delicate flowering portion of the plant from the busy garden background I shot with a macro lens set to apertures between f8 and f2.8, depending on how much of the plant I wanted to keep in focus.
I resisted the temptation to polarise the shine off the petals as I wanted to highlight the contrast between the light open and darker closed flowers.
A tripod was essential as even the slightest bit of camera shake blurs macro images. I also shot a greycard and balanced in Photoshop, rather than relying on the Nikon's built-in white balance settings, as purples can be awkward to get right.
A small water spritzer added a dewy look to some of the shots.

Sonnet 54

O, how much more doth beauty beauteous seem

By that sweet ornament which truth doth give!

The rose looks fair, but fairer we it deem 

For that sweet odour which doth in it live. 

The canker-blooms have full as deep a dye 

As the perfumed tincture of the roses, 

Hang on such thorns and play as wantonly 

When summer's breath their masked buds discloses: 

But, for their virtue only is their show, 

They live unwoo'd and unrespected fade, 

Die to themselves. Sweet roses do not so; 

Of their sweet deaths are sweetest odours made: 

And so of you, beauteous and lovely youth, 

When that shall fade, my verse distills your truth.

(William Shakespeare) 

Lady Beggars Banquet

Lady Beggars Banquet are a new performance duo that will be hitting London (and the world) very soon. This update features some shots from a TFP shoot I did with LBB a few weeks back. The theme for the main shot was 'after the party', and the girls wanted a cheap, polaroid feel to the images. For the shots with the bear and the clown, we wanted a slightly more sinister feel, so went for desaturated colours and black and white. If the shoot was anything to go by, the girl's live set should be a riot.

The Garden (Part 2)

Images to complement and contrast the previous post; shot at the same time, but edited to create a very different effect.

The Garden (Part 1)

Hungary

This update is unusual - the images were shot whilst on assignment for a client. I don't usually post work from commissions here, but I haven't had much time for updates recently, and wanted to show a few of the visual pleasures that Hungary has to offer. My wife's parents fled Hungary after the failed revolution in 1956, and only returned there a few years ago. It is a place close to my heart, especially right now.

The locations featured are Budapest (including inside Sofitel Hotel, and a shot from the roof), Eger and the Saloc Spa Resort near Eger.