Urban Night Shots

Just some shots I took around Bristol Centre and harbour before the festive period.

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Merry Xmas!

It's been a busy time and not much time on the blog, but just to wish you all a Merry Christmas from me, MS-Imaging & Bristol & South West Modelling Photography!

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Strobist B&W Film Shoot

This was an event in November. The weather was about to change for the worst, but the models managed to brave the elements. I shot 2 rolls of film in 2 different cameras (to save time). I did have a 3rd roll of film ready, but everyone had had enough of the cold and I wasn't sure I'd be able to load another roll as I couldn't feel my fingers.

I was keen to combine off-camera flash, modelling photography along with film. I did pack a light meter, but I didn't use it. I simply used the cameras' meters and set them to under expose the scene by 1 stop and then used the auto mode on the flash to give me the correct exposure. I then developed the film in such a way to give a lower contrast to avoid harshness.

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Sometimes it's not the obvious

This was taken at an outdoor shoot recently. I really didn't think of using B&W on such a colourful model, but it seemed to work better than the original which I was not so excited about.

Lighting was 2 flash heads on a Triflash holder with an umbrella as key (camera right) and single bare flash camera left set about 1 stop under for fill.
Model: Melaney `Bubblefaery' Carey.

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60' Style Shoot

These were taken last month at a 60's-style shoot. It's been a bit manic lately so I'm a bit behind. The scooters belonged to the Bristol Scooter club. Rge models were Helen Drew and Cerise Banwell.

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Daylight Fireworks @ Louisiana, Bristol

Once again I had the pleasure of shooting indie band Daylight Fireworks where they headlined at the Louisiana.



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Daylight Fireworks

I had an idea for a location for a band shoot, using the remains of the Aust ferry port, the Severn Crossing and surrounding beach for a band shoot for indie group the Daylight Fireworks. Once again the weather was in my favour, but the lighting was really harsh and challenging for my poor strobes. I was forced to used two bare strobes on a Triflash holder for key. Some later shots had a 2nd flash as fill or back light.

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Amazing Colours

I'm sure that before I took up photography a few years ago, I walked around with my eyes shut.

A Sunday afternoon and a couple of hours around Bristol harbour and I was like a tourist with an itchy shutter finger. Keeping it to one theme here's a few that feature a liberal splash of colour.

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All we are saying, is give PEAS a chance!

I spotted this roadworks sign in South Glos; the locals had used plastic cups to write "peace" onto the barriers in a protest about HGVs using the road.  Some `wag ' had amended their notice. Ironically the HGVs are from a well-known supermarket.

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Classic!

DSC00111, originally uploaded by martinsmith99.

I decided to buy a simple point and shoot with the intention of keeping it with me as much as possible. I'm glad I did when I spotted this bin in Brighton.

Clearly the C was originally a G. Click to read the rest of this post and/or make comments

Gritty Look

This is a technique I use for certain situations. It's mainly done in camera RAW by sliding most of the sliders fully to the right then reducing the saturation.

Start with a slightly cold white balance.
Now set the following sliders
Recovery = 100
Fill Light = 100
Blacks = Drag this slider to the right to taste. Try and get the exposure close
Contrast = 100
Clarity = 100
Vibrance = 100
Saturation = Drag the slider all the way to the left until all the colour is gone, then drag to the right until you get the desired effect (-80 to -85 usually works)
Optional - Add vignette to taste, Open in PS and burn a little

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Bristol Strobists @ Hotwells Urban Fashion Shoot

Again I got lucky with the weather (not that I'm complaining) and another great group shoot despite one of my flash guns dying of old age overuse. All images lit by bare flash (balance with ambient).

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A Throwaway Image?

Castle Park, Bristol, originally uploaded by martinsmith99.

This was taken on my way to a training course on a 99p Olympus AF-1 Twin. I bought it as it was weatherproof and handy to put in my pocket when I don't want to carry a bag full of kit.

At the time of posting it is now my most viewed image on Flickr. I still don't see the attraction, but perhaps someone can enlighten me?

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The Daylight Fireworks @ The Fleece & Firkin

After meeting up with Iain Gorrie the guitarist for Indie rock band, the Daylight Fireworks at Bristol Strobist group shoot, I asked if they needed a photographer for promo or live events. I really do get a buzz from these shoots. He was quite keen on having some photos done at an event at the Fleece & Firkin in Bristol where they were the 2nd band on out of 4.

Looking at the varnished wooden ceiling my plan of bouncing the flash was not going to happen and no off camera flash (for obvious reasons) meant on-camera only.

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Bristol Strobists' Group Shoot 7 Aug at Clevedon Beach

This was another successful Strobist group shoot.  Despite the weather being awful all week and even raining whilst making the 20 minute car journey.  As we arrived at Clevedon, we were greeted by clear blue sky.  I really think I've pushed my luck as far as it will go now.

Anyway, the 1st pic and this was probably the best of mine on the night was of Aimee Tipps.  The sun was setting so I used a Vivitar 285HV with an orange gel for the hairlight (though this photo has been 80% desaturated & sepia filter added) and 2 Nikon SB-28s (on triflash holder) for key.  Though the sunset was good, I kept the shutter speed fairly high as I was using a 135mm Canon prime, rendering it almost black.

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Bristol Stobists Group Shoot @ Mangotsfield Train Station

These are a few shots from our recent goup shoot at Mangotsfield Train Station.  There's not much reamining of the old station except for a couple of walls and a platform.  The windows make great backdrops (especially when lit with coloured gels).

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The Laughing Swan

Laughing Swan, originally uploaded by martinsmith99.

I'm not sure what tickled him but he seemed to be having a good chuckle!

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PANIC! PANIC! PANIC!

Crazy Bird, originally uploaded by martinsmith99.

It wasn't until I open up this photo on the PC that I realised how crazy it looked. Caption anyone?

Enjoy!

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Uncle Buck @ Yate Music Festival

This was an awkward  one to shoot.  The strong afternoon sun was backlighting the stage so the only was was to stay in close in the shade and use flash.  Seeing the strong sunshine I left my fast primes at home: big mistake!

I think this was the same stage (truck) that was used at the last festival.  Unfortunately I could not get an angle behind the band onto the crowd as I did at the last festival.

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Uncle Buck @ Bradley Stoke Festival

This time as only a 3-piece Uncle Buck performed at the Bradley Stoke Festival.

They sounded great and had quite a crowd watching and cheering.

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Le Tiss

Le Tiss, originally uploaded by martinsmith99.

A chance grab shot at a recent event in Bradley Stoke. Le Tiss showed up and was quickly bundled onto the stage to say a few words. He was unprepared.

If he looks nervous it may be because he's standing next to the awesome Uncle Buck guiterist, Tony Wigginton. Click to read the rest of this post and/or make comments

Newport Towers

I had a look around here back in November. Armed that time with only a point & shoot film camera loaded with B&W film, I decided to try and capture it with more quality before it gets bulldozed and turned into yet another housing estate.

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Berkeley Classic Car Show

This car really stood out when I arrived. I'd been shooting with a wide angle earlier, but as the other cars and people started to leave I was able to stand back a bit and compose it differently. I desaturated all colours apart from red and added a little vignette. I'm happy with the way they have turned out which I think adds some drama.

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March Winds and April Flowers, Bring Forth..........

After what seemed to be the longest winter, finally some sunshine & showers flowers!

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Bristol Strobist Shoot - Severn Beach 22 May 2010

This was my 1st go at organising a group shoot.  Despite a model pulling out at the last minute it went quite well (not to self: overbook models).

I used this location as it was one of my favourite places with a decent backdrop and as luck would have it, perfect weather.

Thanks to Models `HannahMarie & LauraRuffel and to Emma Knibbs for make up.


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More from the Ships' Graveyard

These shots were taken before the others, but I didn't get a chance to finish the film until recently.  The Camera was the Canon EF-M loaded with Kodak Tri-X 400iso.  Lenses were mainly the Vivitar Series 1 35-85mm and the Super-Takumar 24mm.  Both were fitted with an orange filter. Film developed in Ilfosol 3 at 1:9 dilution.

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The Ships' Graveyard - Purton

These are what's left of the ships that have been beeched many years ago at Purton along the Severn.  Now in a bad shape and being absorbed into the mud.

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Poodles of Doom

This is a selection of images I shot for The Poodles of Doom in their recent gig at The Oxford in Totterdown, Bristol.

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Uncle Buck - Live

These were taken 7 March 2010 at the Royal Oak in Chipping Sodbury and feature Uncle Buck a rock covers band from the South West UK.  See http://www.unclebuckband.co.uk/ for more about them.

The space was a little cramped so it was mainly on-camera flash, bounced off the not-quite-white ceiling (great for white balance...NOT!).

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Along the Severn

I took these shots recently from under the old Severn bridge.  The old  Aust ferry slipway and buildings are still just about standing.

Taken on a Zenit 12 XP and Fomapan 100iso film. Click images for bigger sizes.

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Street Art at Bristol Docks

Another sunny weekend and just a hint of slightly warmer weather, so I thought a trip to the docks was in order.  I was shooting mainly black & white film, but I did pack the Canon 40D DSLR which enabled me to capture these images which are constantly changing.  Presently they are extremely vibrant.

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A Star-Filled Night Shoot in Bristol

Nope, not that kind of star.  This was an 8-point star filter.

Well, this is one of my toys that I've had for a while and not really tried it out.  I'm not going to pass these of as my better photos as it was merely a test to see how the flilter performed.  You can get these cheaply in smallers sizes, so I bought a 49mm version as this will fit most of my older manual lenses.

Carl Zeiss 135mm

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Urban Candids in Bath

Bath is one of my two favourite cities for street candids.  It has plenty to to offer for photographers and there seem to be as many people with cameras as without, so there's very little attention drawn towards urban shooters. 

This was a test of my new Canon 135mm lens; a focal length I don't really use for candids, preferring a shorter focal length for this kind of work to allow me to get closer to the subject. This lens is great for isolating subjects and getting some portrait shots.  Here are a few samples:

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Uncle Buck

I was invited to take some photos of a local rock covers band at their rehersal.  The studio was cramped (to put it mildly so equipment was very limited.  The walls were purple which would make bounced flash a no-no and there was no room for an umbrella for diffusion.  I used a mixture of flash guns, usually one as a main light and one with a sto-fen diffuser for fill, occasionally a 3rd light to illuminate backgrounds (amps). 

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Some Chairs

I found these chairs on an industrial site.  The colourful sky and the orange containers behind seemed to make a colourful shot.  Foreground lit by a Nikon SB-28 on camera, Camera was a Canon 40D with Sigma 17-70 lens

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Modern Architecture, or Lego?

Working in planning you think I'd be sick of the topic, but any excuse to take some photos is good enough for me.  I was inspired to capture these images after seeing similar in various magazines and thinking maybe I could do as good of a job.

The location was Bristol Harbourside.  I feel really old when I tell people I remember when it was all fields wasteland.  Now the modern buildings (that a colleague of mine has likened to Lego) seem to be popping up all over the old docks.  The lighting was good with plenty of sunshine and fluffy clouds making for some fantastic reflections on the overbearing glass windows.

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More Snow Photographs

I made a visit to one of my favourite locations as I had a feeling that the sunset would again be spectacular.  I wasn't disappointed.  I got to the footpath around 3pm so I had time to get some daylight shots first.

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Snow Pics

As it seems so many people are taking pics of the rare sight of snow, I thought I'd join in.  All pics here taken with a Canon 40D and a Helios 44-2 lens.

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Sights Around Hotwells/Cumberland Basin

These were taken on a crisp sunny Sunday in Early Jan using 2 very different cameras.  A modern digital SLR in the shape of a Canon 40D and an old 1966 Russian rangefinder in the shape of a FED 2.

If I was dishonest I would claim that I was making a comparison between the 2 mediums to show how they recorded this type of photography.  As I'm not dishonest (at least on this occasion) it was purely that I wanted to finish the roll of film in the FED 2 which was its 1st roll to test it, before loading and wasting a 2nd roll.  Also add to the fact that it was just above freezing and I just didn't fancy loading a film camera with numb fingers.

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40D


FED2


FED2

40D


FED2


40D

If anyone knows what TBP is, please let me know.

40D


40D


40D


FED2 (comparison, sorry for the different framing)


40D


Note the fridge below with door intact.  That takes me back to adverts in the 70s warning of these dangers.
40D


The chair shot for Skinnyvoice :)

40D


40D


40D

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