Bristol Pete; Photo Album.

[Bristol Pete]

I am not going to lie to you and say that I have always been a camera user as that would make me a liar. However, what I will do is tell you how I have come to love using my camera and ultimately taking pictures via the digital domain though I did always have a 35mm film camera which is now in the attic.

Its been well documented on here that I get the occasional spell of depression and I have been in and out of hospital with it, even to the point of overdosing and seeking a way out. However, I keep bouncing back and somewhere along the line I found my camera. Last year I went to Australia for a long break to get better and to chill out. I took my A75 Canon with me, a simple point and shoot machine that became joined to my hip and I shot 5000 pictures. It literally went everywhere with me and I realised that taking pictures however good or indeed bad is fun.

I am far from an expert but I enjoy it a great deal and it has become my prime hobby - instead of sitting in the house doing nothing I choose to pick up my camera and get out there, which in turn is good for my soul.

I have put together some of my favourite recent pictures. The first three are from Australia and are endemic of the pictures I like to take.

I am now starting to realise the merits of taking pictures of people and since upgrading to a DSLR its getting better all the time.

[Bristol Pete]

[bowenjones]

Pete, i've said it before but some of your stuff is really impressive . I can already see the progress you're making in the short time that you've had your 350D and I hope that my learning curve will show the same progression as yours has .
I really like those first three photoshop pics. First thing that came to mind when I opened your thread was WOW

[electrolyte]

Originally Posted by bowenjones

Pete, i've said it before but some of your stuff is really impressive . I can already see the progress you're making in the short time that you've had your 350D and I hope that my learning curve will show the same progression as yours has .
I really like those first three photoshop pics. First thing that came to mind when I opened your thread was WOW

I agree with Bowen - there are lots of crackers in there. I love the colour one of the bloke with a beard (mark?). You have really captured a natural pose and I can tell his character from the shot (or at least I imgaine I can!). Plus the rugby ones are great (especially the close up of the bloke running)

I also love the waterfall pics. Did you use a long exposure on them? If so what settings did you use? I tried to take a waterfall pic this weekend in Kew Gardens with a long exposure and all I got was a white, totally over-exposed mess. I took it at 1sec exposure in the TV mode..

[Bristol Pete]

The water pics were shot at 1/4 sec in shutter mode, hence aperture at F22. On a tripod too!

I realised that the first rugby pics were way over saturated and went back to the drawing board and I am very pleased with the results now. Next project Cricket - but waiting for some decent weather!

Thanks for the kind words guys!

Pete.

[Gordon @ Convergent AV]

Pete; Only two of the pics don't woork for me. The rest I am jealous of.....brilliant. I htink part of doing portfollios like this is realising your good images that you want folk to see and not showing the resst. I think for every ten I take I get one or two like and probably one in twenty I'd be prepered to show in a portfolio. I'm sure that this is the case with most photographers.......keep going. You have an undoubted talent. Practise and education will, I believe, make you great.

Gordon

[Sundip]

Only just found the Album section. Very nice pictures, Pete! I like some of those portraits a lot.

[Bristol Pete]

[stevegreen]

I like the first portrait (of your mom?) but the background is a little off-putting for me Pete, the patio door frames are drawing my eye. Very small point in some excellent shots

[Bristol Pete]

Steve, I am aware of that and its another goor reminder with regards to back drops. I totally agree with you.

Pete.

[Bristol Pete]

Dad. Taken with my new Sunpak flash gun. Taken on the 50mm F3.5, 1/160, ISO 800 as dull day and dark indoors. The 50mm prime is by far and away my favourite lens, simply love it. I really want to start developing portrait/people photography as really starting to enjoy it more and more.

Evidently flash photography is harder than it sounds and I dialled down the flash in the menu as simply too bright.

Oh and dad was indulging in his favourite past time of smoking a ciggy

[sold5]

Good work Pete!

The industrial/ boat pics and the graves are my favourites. For portraits/ action shots I prefer a blurred background to focus the eye on the subject, but I do like the musicians pics. I think black and white worke well for most of your portraits too.



Sold5

[Bristol Pete]

Took the camera, tripod and flash over to my friends house as promised I would take some pictures for them.

Had a play with the 50mm and the kit lens. Tried to light the situation too and took some great pics which I have had a play with and here are some results. Various F stops used for bokeh effect, anywhere between 1.8 and 8 in AV mode so shutter spends based on that. External flash used but finding it a little harsh so a diffuser is required. Based on what a nifty fifty can do, I would love to get my hands on an L lens for this kind of stuff. Wow. Finally, added a soft glow in some pictures to soften them.

Favourite is the one with Rich rubbing his nose as the movement adds something to the picture. Also love the 4th down as captures Bev brilliantly.















Thanks for looking.

Pete.

[Bristol Pete]

[Bristol Pete]

Two pictures, before and after first real attmept at CS2 work.

My god daughter who I am taking some pictures of for my best mate. I do have permission to post these.

Ok, so first pic is vanilla, straight out of camera. Exif is -

47mm, F5.6, 1/60, ISO 400 on Canon 17 -85mm EFS USM IS internal flash

Before



Then opened in CS2. Saturation lowered rather than grey scale, a tip I got from digital photo magazine. Burnt mid tones around the eyes to reveal them, then lasoo tool and feather sharpen around the eyes with unsharp mask 150, 3, 3. Inverse guassion blur around face and slight sharpen on hair falling across forehead. Spot cleaning tool and burn used to tidy up the face and forehead as slight flash hot spot. Dodge tool used to clean up wisps of hair around left side and top of head. Finally tighter crop to remove object in bottom left corner.

After