Warwick in Winter

It's been a while since my last post. I've some NY pics to post from my trip to the USA, but this picture of Warwick Castle has taken preference due to the snowy wintery feel outside.

I took this picture 06-01-2010 with lots of snow on the ground (not much on the castle though). The lighting was great, a clearish sky, no wind to ripple the river that runs past. And very little passing traffic to spoil the light local to the camera lens.

This was shot in raw format (google it if you need too) and the tones were played with before development. There has been a little blurring addedto the edges due to some lense flare occuring with the long exposure (I think I've hidden the most of it). A quick canvas size border was added to frame it. I hope you like. Comments always welcome.

New Car

Working in the automotive industry has tainted my exitement regarding cars. I used to love them, aspire to drive them and really got a thrill from driving them. My new car (The 2010 Model Year Range Rover Sport) Has revitalised my passion for great cars. The old RRS wasn't a bad car, But the new one is just amazing. This is how it should be. Powerful, greater stance, LED lights, fresh interior, no key, cameras for parking, digital radio, Ipod..... The list goes on and on. This IS a great car. One I've looked forward to getting and am loving driving it.

This pic is meant to be an agressive representation of the beast. It was taken with a 12mm lens at a strange angle. Photo shop added some radial blur and using a mask layer I cleared the blur from the front edges. No I didn't get run over in the process!!!

Gone Walkabout

Two hours of walking around Leamington and an hour of playing on the computer. Bish Bash Bosh and here we go!!!

Upper Boddington

The countryside where I live went generally unnoticed until I started cycling. Getting out and about and you see some great places. Makes you wanna move to a village.

Todays image is another adventure with HDR photo processing, Warwickshire countryside and spare time = another digital episode with Nikon, Photoshop and Photomatix.

Warwick Town Centre Cycle Race

This sunday saw the return of the annual cycle race around warwick town centre. The elite's are lapping at around 30mph! With right angle turns and only railings for run off areas. The pace is frantic and I hope I managed to capture some of the atmosphere. I certainly enjoyed the Guinness!!!

Pics have some Photoshop tomfoolery and some slight adjustments, nothing devious just a little boosting and borders for effect!!! Comments welcome.

English Countryside

I've been pondering for a while whether to move to the country or not. The arguments are strong for pro and con. Pro: I love cycling through warwickshire, the vale of Stratford, the cotswolds. Whilst out I constantly see lovely villages miles from urban troubles of lager louts, graffiti, drunken louts and general degenerative behaviour. Con: Miles from population, coffee shops, general population and restaurants / convenient facilities. Todays pics were taken after looking at three country properties and were taken in a village called Farnborough near Banbury. The area is spectacular for scenery and it is so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The question is AM I READY for this? I can't make up my mind. One thing I'm sure of is that I'll never tire of the beauty of the English countryside in the season of summer.

These pics were taken at various exposures and combined to add depth to the composition. Photoshop is great, but taking the pics and taking time out in these beautiful places is even better. Until I post again....

Spikey Posing

Two posts in two days! Photo overload!

The sun came out whilst I was in the back garden and Spikey (the worlds most spoilt cat) was posing as usual. The portraits were taken at 200mm zoom with a moderate aperture and the images are pretty much "As Shot". It's important to capture a clear focus zone in any portrait and as can be seen here it's often wise to make this point the eyes. More obscure or artistic images may choose other depths of focus, but generally to capture a representative portrait i'd advise to lock onto the eyes.

So these pics just needed a quick crop and the work was done.

Cheers,

Sam.