This journal records my apprenticeship of 10,000 hours deliberate practice learning photography.
Hour 4,636 to 4,791
31st January
Hours 4,785 to 4,791
(½h) updating this journal.
(1h) processing images from the 15th Jan that had been missed.
(2h) finishing and publishing the “Managing Social Media” post.
(1½h) YouTube:
- Daniel Wretham: “Houns Tout at Sunrise“
- Nigel Danson: “Composition Critique“
- Perspective: “Salvador Dali: Surrealism’s most Excentric Man“
(2h) entering the French Riedisheim FIAP salon in a combination of print and high resolution PDI.
30th January
Hours 4,781 to 4,784
(1h) working on the “Managing Social Media” post.
(1h) actually updating my Facebook page and adding a post regarding images created for Thames Valley Heartbeat.
(2h) selecting, editing and toning images for a 5 picture mini series of woodland images to form the basis of an ARPS panel as suggested by Yin yesterday.
29th January
Hours 4,776 to 4,780
(2h) discussing RPS Associateship panels with my friend and mentor Yin Wong ARPS. The outcome of this discussion is that I would produce a mini-panel of 5 images for review by Yin, then Vic Attfield prior to presentation at the next PIC meeting perhaps with more images added. An ARPS panel requires 15 images, however it is suggested that these are selected from a pool of 30 worthy candidates. Quite a lot of work to do.
(2h) shooting and them processing the following image for Thames Valley Heartbeat – the eggs give a sense of scale and association with Easter. However, it would have been better had all the eggs been brown.
(½h) working on my draft “Managing Social Media” blog post.
(½h) updating this journal.
28th January
Hours 4,774 to 4,775
(½h) drafting a statement of intent for a potential RPS A panel.
“Stoke Common is an 80 hectare site of special scientific interest in South Buckinghamshire. Recent land management removed the majority of trees from the centre of the site to return the area to a state of natural heathland. The operation left a perimeter of heavy forestation sharply delineated against a cleared area; revealing a forensic slice through the middle of a dense unmanaged woodland.
Trees of Stoke Common
This panel explores the natural beauty that lies at the centre of such woodland and, by exploring the interface with human interaction, hints at the many dangers of deforestation.”
(1h) updating this journal and associated Flickr site, particularly with regard to the images produced for the Thames Valley Heartbeat charity.
(½h) planning tomorrows shoot of the glass wreaths next to something that provides a sense of scale.
27th January
Hours 4,769 to 4,773
(½h) updating this journal.
(½h) from an hour at the Amersham chat group.
(½h) watching YouTube about Jasper Johns.
(2h) Karl Taylor Education live photography workshop – “still life ‘natural decay'”.
- in the style of an old dutch master
- overall pyramidal structure
- elements bottom left pointing into the image
- other elements steer the eye around the picture
- shoot at the sweet spot aperture and focus stack.
(1h) shooting Glass Wreaths for the Thames Valley Heartbeat charity.
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(½h) processing and distributing the above images.
26th January
Hours 4,764 to 4,768
(1½h) Processing the latest version of the Apple Earphone challenge for Karl Taylor Education, shot yesterday.
Analysis of the above image vs spec:
- Reasonably consistent rim lighting
- Background 100% black, as specified
- No grill detail in the speaker part of the right phone
- Both phone have a slightly blotchy texture
- The “R” symbol on the right phone is out of focus
- The colouration on the phones appear different.
Note: needs to be shot from closer so that each phone gets as many pixels, and as brightly as possible.
(1h) YouTube “New Topographics” featuring the key photographers:
American photography movement that shows man’s impact upon the landscape. The tree stump, along with roads, cars, etc. has particular significance.
(½h) shooting some glass Easter Wreaths for Thames Valley Heartbeat charity.
(2h) Stoke Poges Photographic Club – presentation and discussion by Rojer Weightman on “Simplicity in Photography.”
25th January
Hours 4,758 to 4,763
Attempt to shoot at Stoke Park but gate locked and climbing over wasn’t an option as I had dog with me.
(2h) processing images from yesterday.
(1½h) Watching YouTubes:
- Perspective: “Elliott Erwitt, The Eye Who Captured The Cold War“
- Daniel Wretham:
- About Robert Raushenberg:
(½h) Shooting another version of the Apple Earphone challenge for Karl Taylor Education.
(2h) the Amersham Photographic Society – lecture: James Kerwin “Abandoned Architecture”.
24th January
Hours 4,753 to 4,757
(1h) Frosty morning shooting at Stoke Common when it actually started to snow.
(1h) Updating this journal, particularly with regard to notes taken during the RPS “The Art of Seeing” course taken earlier in the week.
(2h) Processing the images from yesterday morning.
(1h) Processing today’s images in capture One Pro.
23rd January
Hours 4,748 to 4,752
(1h) Foggy morning shooting at Stoke Common.
(1h) Two hours processing this morning’s images.
(1h) Preparing images for the forthcoming “Neon Signs” competition at the SPPC.
(1h) YouTube: “Book Launch and Discussion: Cy Twombly, Treatise on the Veil, 1970” key influences include:
- Greek myth Orpheus
- Experimental music “Le voile d’Orphée” by Pierre Henry
- Time.
22nd January
Hours 4,746 to 4,747
(1h) Mary Jocobus discuss her book “Reading Cy Twombly: Poetry in Painting”
(1h) Writing up this journal and researching woodland poetry as an idea for including in my woodland work.
21st January
Hours 4,738 to 4,745
(6h) RPS “The Art of Seeing” course by Benedict Brain.
- Write:
- At least a couple of sentences per image
- What is it? Why did I photography it? Why have I photographed it this way?
- [Perhaps use the Eileen Rafferty analysis, discovered by me on 22nd December 2019 and built into a standard WordPress block for easy reproduction within this journal.]
- Beauty and the Banal:
The art of photography; finding beauty in the banal, is a generalisation of Mellissa Brown’s “In every landscape should reside jewels of abstract art waiting to be discovered”. Street photography is another example of distilling interesting images from the banal chaos of everyday life. - Add Depth:
- Layers of meaning
- Robert Adams describe the need for a landscape image to have all of:
- Geography – what it is – sense of place
- Autobiography – the author’s contribution
- Metaphore – Some deeper meaning.
Just one one the above would lead to a picture that is either boring, self-indulgent or pretentious.
- Experiment and Discover the Joy of Photography
Build a library of techniques. Ted Forbes said in a recent episode of “The Art of Photography” that the difference between an expert photographer and a beginner is that the expert bring the experience that enables them to adapt to the unexpected and capitalise upon opportunities they may be presented with. - Get out of Your Comfort Zone to be Creative
- “If you feel safe in the area you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you feel you’re capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth. And when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting.”
David Bowie
- “If you feel safe in the area you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you feel you’re capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth. And when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting.”
- Learn from the Best
- Study art history
- Know photographers but also painters, sculptors, architects, musicians, etc.
- Keep up to date with the contemporary
- Know Your Tools
- You shouldn’t need to think about how to use your camera or other photographic kit, this should be practiced to the point of being automatic.
- All conscious thought should be focussed on the creative activity at hand.
- Work on Projects Big and Small
- Always have a purpose when you go out shooting. Know:
- What are the images for?
- What defines a good image?
- Measure images shot against the predetermined goal.
- Create a mini-panel from a day’s shoot.
- Always have a purpose when you go out shooting. Know:
(2h) Amersham PIC Group.
“Successful panels are ‘conceived’ as a whole rather than assembled from a group of images in one’s back-catalogue”
Paul Mitchell FRPS
Understand how other people have approached the same topic.
20th January
Hours 4,733 to 4,737
Half an hour updating this journal mainly with regard to yesterday SPPC competition.
An hour reshooting the the Apple Earphone, reverting to the use of the ringflash but this time with a different structure to hold the subject.
Lighting and focus stacking not working properly.
An hour and a half YouTube including:
- Nigel Danson: “Editing Skills to practice during Lockdown” – top tip “L” for “Lights Out” in Lightroom allows you to clearly see an image without any distractions.
- Works of Cy Twombly
- Tom Cheetam : “The Enigmas of Cy Twombly”
- Images don’t reproduce easily – you need to see the original to appreciate them
Two hours at the North West Fed competition in which Amersham were competing.
19th January
Hours 4,728 to 4,732
Half an hour updating this journal, mainly notes relating to yesterday’s lecture on Astro and nighttime landscape photography by Robert Harvey.
Half an hour’s finishing off of the Apple Earphone II image below and adding to this journal.
An hour rewatching how Karl Taylor achieves softer rim lighting on the wine bottle shoot.
An hour shooting a revised version of the Apple Earphone backlit from a small softbox rather than ringflash.
Two hours at the Stoke Poges Photographic Club – Bottles Competition.
| Image | ….. | Comments |
 | “Angular Gin and Cocktail Bottles” Interesting base, background generally good. Too busy with the 3 bottle labels showing; one, or two if the second were behind the first, bottle would have made a simpler image and been better. 16 | |
 | “Wine Bottle” Well lit, well photographed but factual. 16 | |
| “Memories of Christmas Past” Very Creative White lights too tiring 17 | ||
 | “Next in Line” Initially didn’t understand the title. Really enjoying this image. Held back. 20 – top with 2 others. |
18th January
Hours 4,723 to 4,727
Half an hour finishing processing yesterday’s attempt at the KTE Earphone Challenge.
An hour “pixel polishing” the image below – note to self clean it properly at the shooting stage.
Half an hour reshooting to try to get the rim lighting fully on the rim.
An hour processing this image; two attempts with each of the focus stacked variants.
Too much blown highlight especially on left bud + messy due to lots of dust and dirt – wiping with lens cloth made things much worse!
Two hours at the Amersham Photographic Society – Virtual lecture by Robert Harvey ARPS – ‘Stumbling around in the dark’.
His favourite places in Dorset:
- Cranborne Castle
- Kimmeridge Bay
- Knolton Church
Favourite places outside Dorset:
- Southern Hemisphere generally better for the Milkyway
- Best of all is Namibia:
- Very Dark Skys & Good foregrounds
- Giants Playground
- Meizer Falls – Fossil site.
Top tips:
- Shoot night landscapes during a gibbous moon
- Light foreground with a torch
- Reduce noise in a long exposure, e.g., star trails by shooting a series of 30 second exposures and stacking in photoshop.
[My issue is that the Sony A99II takes about 30 second to process a 30 second exposure.]
17th January
Hours 4,717 to 4,722
An hour shooting individual TVH items in the studio, then another hour shooting the fun cast of goodies as below. Remembering to start lighting from the back and move forward – total of 3 speedlites used:
- V1(s) at the wallpaper behind for a gentle background
- TT350(s) with P70 soft defuser as a key, as close as possible to the subject, light slightly off to the left, giving a soft frontal light
- TT685(s) pointing at the ceiling above the set, to provide a soft general top light.
An hour processing the above images.
Two hours shooting and then another hour processing an attempt at the Karl Taylor “Working to a Brief – Challenge 4: Apple Earphones”.
16th January
Hours 4,712 to 4,716
An hour shooting more Studio Stuff for TVH.
Three hours processing the images shot over the last couple of days and circulating for feedback.
Half an hour updating Instagram.
Half an hour shooting and processing the requested amendments to the TVH images produced earlier.
15th January
Hours 4,707 to 4,711
An hour shooting at Burnham Beeches.
Half an hour culling and processing this morning’s images in Capture One Pro.
An hour watching the following YouTubes:
- Thames Heaton: “A step back from Epic” great photos are sometimes shot from the side of the road.
- Capture One “Creative editing with Emily Teague” top tips:
- Put colour adjustments on a separate layer – this enables them to be dialled down if necessary and helps keep everything better organised
- Use extreme values on the Master Colour Balance wheel to find attractive colour modes then dial down the saturation
- Buy the book “If It’s Purple, Someone’s Gonna Die: The Power of Color in Visual Storytelling” by Patti Bellantoni.
Half an hour updating this journal.
Two hours shooting “studio stuff” for the the Thames Valley Heartbeat charity.
14th January
Hours 4,702 to 4,706
Half an hour focus stacking and editing, in Photoshop, the other Earphone shot on the 12. Plenty of issues:
- Clean them first, then blow with dust blower
- Make sure they are the correct way round (this pair aren’t)
- Order of activity:
- Position earphones in the ringflash
- Align camera to use all available pixels, and focus on closest point
- Position the cardboard flash circle to block out the ring flash from the field of view, i.e., to prevent any flare
- Put black paper around the whole arrangement to prevent any reflections or extraneous light seeping in
- 4-5 shot focus stack.
An hour shooting further versions of the Glass Hearts for the Thames Valley Heartbeat charity.
Two hours at the Amersham Mono group where the following of my images were discussed.
13th January
Hours 4,697 to 4,701
An hour stacking and post processing one of the earphones shot yesterday.
Issues:
- Dust
- Reflections
- Small in the frame – not utilising the available pixels
- Colour slightly too cold
An hour processing the Easter images for Thames Valley Heartbeat.
An hour watching the B&H Event Space lecture “The art of Landscape Photography” by Dr Kah-Wai Lin.
- Seeing the Unseen – goal is to make a picture that is interesting because it is more than is usually seen. The human eye is limited by it’s ability to operate at the equivalent of 17-24mm, 1/100-1/200 second shutter speed f/2.1-8.3. Anything outside of this is otherwise Unseen.
- Visual Continuity
How elements relate to each other to maintain the viewer’s interest.
- Definition of a Good Image
An hour creating images for tomorrow’s Amersham Mono Group meeting.
An hour processing, uploading and reviewing Instagram Images.
12th January
Hours 4,691 to 4,696
An hour shooting a new set of images to be focus stacked for the Karl Taylor Earphones challenge.
An hour shooting images for the Thames Valley Heartbeat Easter fundraising.
An hour watching the Masters of Photography Interview with David Yarrow.
Half an hour preparing and submitting images for next week’s “Bottles” competition.
Two hours with the Stoke Poges Photography Club – Rosebowl Rounds 2 – which SPPC are hosting virtually, and I’m coordinating as the External Competitions Secretary.
Half an hour updating this journal.
11th January
Hours 4,684 to 4,690
Half an hour updating this journal, mainly with images from last week and adjusting the associated Flickr site.
Half an hour researching woodland ARPS panels – the standard is very high!
Three hours trying to construct a macro lighting rig for the Karl Taylor Apple Earphone challenge.
Half an hour watching:
- Nigel Danson: “5 Tips for Seascape Photography“:
- Shutter Speed 3 option
- Super fast minimum 1/1000 sec for crashing waves
- 1/4 to 1-2 sec for water flowing over rocks
- Long exposure (whole separate genre).
- Get low to the water to make waves look more dramatic
- Look for details on the shore, see Rachael Talibart
- Patience
- Concentrate on the quality of light, e.g., backlit crashing wave look great
- Shutter Speed 3 option
- Daniel Wretham: “West Bay – Dorset” – shooting the golden cliffs made famous by Broadchurch.
Half an hour researching the excellent work by Rachael Talibart. I have encountered her before, on 10th December 2019, in a YouTube by Sean Tucker “Finding a Direction for your Photography” .
Two hours at the Amersham Photographic Society – PDI competition. My entries below:
| Image | Comments | |
 | 20 Third Place (against some pretty stiff competition!) Good composition. Very 3 dimensional feel to the image. would work well as a print. | |
 | 15 Colours good – composition less so; chilli on the left should maybe have been moved further left. |
10th January
Hours 4,681 to 4,683
An hour finishing the submission to the FIAP “Unlimited” Salon in Montenegro. Which included the “Order and Disorder” image shot yesterday, below.
An hour posting on Instagram, including updating my Photoshop action that prepares the images.
An hour processing potential mono images for review at the Amersham Mono meeting this Thursday.
9th January
Hours 4,675 to 4,680
An hour and a half shooting on a cold misty morning at Stoke Common.
— I was in a lot of pain from hurting my back when putting on my boots at home (inflamed lumbar disc problems). Had to walk around the garden for a quarter of an hour before my back was in a state to get in the car. The conditions really didn’t look that good; flat light and not as much fog as forecast; dog didn’t even need walking; very nearly went back to bed. —
An hour watching YouTube including:
- Ted Forbes: “Inspiration now is more important than ever“
- Thomas Heaton: “Winter Photography“
An hour processing this morning’s images in Capture One, then another half hour in PhotoShop.
An hour watching the Masters of Photography Interview with Ian Gavan http://www.iangavan.com
An hour preparing images for the FIAP “Unlimited” Salon in Montenegro.
8th January
Hours 4,670 to 4,674
An hour, on a misty morning, shooting at Stoke Park Club.
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Half an hour processing those images. Then half an hour updating this journal and associated Flickr site.
An hour updating and preparing images for next Monday’s PDI competition at the Amersham Photographic Society.
Two hours entering the 5th Mahfuz Ullah Memorial Salon, Bangladesh.
7th January
Hours 4,664 to 4,669
An hour first ting in the morning shooting at Stoke Common.
| TT |  |
| Next in Line | Polypore Conks |
An hour finishing processing yesterday’s images and updating this journal.
An hour processing this morning’s small crop of images. Also updating the Capture One Session to “Master Session 2021” and changing the Lightroom auto import to pick up files placed in the Output folder of that session.
An hour watching the Karl Taylor Education brief for “Working to a Brief Challenge #4: Apple Earphones.”
Two hours at the Amersham Beyond group. My contribution and comments below:
| Image | ….. | Comments |
 | Perhaps needs a further element; lemon + background + third element … | |
 | Good that the knife was so clean. Some thought that the face of the half truckle should be in focus. | |
 | Quite interesting but garlic has been done to death. |
Next Challenge: Stamps or more specifically a series thereof.
6th January
Hours 4,661 to 4,663
Half an hour updating this journal, mainly reviewing the notes taken yesterday.
An hour shooting further angular still life images.
An hour and a half processing those still life.
5th January
Hours 4,658 to 4,660
An hour watching the Master’s of Photography “Paul Colley FRPS” was a top RAF pilot before devoting himself full-time to photography. Top tips:
- write a statement of Artistic Intent before a shoot to provide a sense of purpose
- take a break of at least a couple of hours between shooting and reviewing images to:
- ensure that the difficulty of taking a shot doesn’t cloud your judgement about how good it is
- measure each image objectively against the Artistic Intent defined above – hold yourself to a high standard
- Consistently apply a post production workflow to:
- create a distinctive style
- ensure efficiency so that more time is spend behind the lens, where the money is made, and less in front of the computer
- allow for improvement in this workflow.
- Analyse why images don’t work; apply the “Chinese 5 Whys” to get to the core of the problem
- Involve yourself in the scene to fully understand it before trying to shoot it.
Half an hour watching the Capture One “Quick Edit” which demonstrated the use of the new quick way of adjusting brush sizes using:
- opacity (horizontal movement)
- flow (vertical movement)
An hour and a half with the Stoke Poges Photographic Club – presentation by the chairman, Rojer Weightman, on shooting glass: bottles, windowpanes, etc. Interesting final discussion on shooting newly born babies, where accumulated experience included:
- ensure the baby is fed prior to the shoot
- nest time before/ after their sleep, although sleeping babies can also make a good picture
- size comparisons with father’s hands, e.g., baby holding father’s finger or whole on baby in one hand
- use soft lighting.
4th January
Hours 4,654 to 4,657
An hour watching the B&H “Critique of Landscape Photography” by Frans Lanting:
- Uses only the following aspect rations at his studio:
- Square
- 3×2 portrait and landscape
- 6×17 panoramic
- Creates a composition by determining the key elements of an image and arranges them in one of the above formats.
As a result of the above I have resolved to use only the following aspect rations for my work for the foreseeable future (i.e., until I change my mind):
- Square
- 4×5 portrait
- 1×2 landscape (may change to 9×16).
Two hours virtual lecture at the Amersham Photographic Society – The work of Leigh Preston.
- Huge body of work, mainly as a number of series of images
- Often spends two weeks or more in a location
- Pares an image down to the essential elements that tell a story.
Half an hour updating this journal.
Half an hour creating some further Instagram posts.
3rd January
Hours 4,648 to 4,653
An hour shooting some more food close ups for this week’s Amersham Beyond challenge No. 19.
An hour processing the following semi-abstract, focus stacked image paying particular attention to ensuring balanced tonality across the grey at the back and the white band mid-ground. This involved learning how to meter values using the Info panel and the Eyedropper tool.
Another hour processing further images from this morning. In fact I think I like these more.
An hour’s YouTube:
- Waldemar Januszczak: “Giorgione’s Tempest” painted c. 1500 Giorgione was the teacher of Titian both born in or close to Venice in the late 15th Century
- Nigel Danson: “Most important tip for a new location” – essentially keep going back to a small number of spots. If visiting a new part of the world for a week or so, identify about 7 potential locations in advance, with the view of whittling this down to 2-3. Scout locations during the day, then return sunrise and sunset. Go to the best locations more than once.
- Karl Taylor: “The most important rule about composition that nobody ever tells you” – keep the viewer in the picture, steer their eye away from the edges.
- Daniel Wretham: “Winspit in Dorset” – definitely a target location when I can go back.
Half an hour uploading images to my Instagram account. The another half hour preparing images for this week’s Amersham Beyond meeting, where the challenge No. 19 was Food – Close Up.
An hour watching David Marx’s : “How to Photograph Stunning Sunrise and Sunsets“.
2nd January
Hours 4,640 to 4,647
An hour first thing in the morning shooting at Stoke Common; very flat light.
An hour processing this morning’s images. First trying to achieve something interesting my combining an out-of-focus image with a sharp one to get some sort of Orton effect. Not great.
Two hours shooting some more close-up food images, using a big soft box for lighting, a macro lens and focus stacking. Then two further hours processing those images. Particularly happy with the following:
An hour uploading some images to Instagram, for the first time in nearly a year. Needed to do some work on the Photoshop Actions.
An hour watching a lecture by Dr. Jordan Peterson, Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto: “Exploring the Psychology of Creativity“:
- Art is the inverse of science: science helps us to better understand the world; art builds worlds that are easier to understand
- Artists live on the edge of order and chaos, and help transform the latter into the former
- Art is fundamentally not about decoration, it’s about teaching people to see.
1st January
Hours 4,636 to 4,639
An hour updating this journal including all the end of year admin.
An hour finishing processing yesterday’s close-up food image of the cheese board below.
Two hours reshooting some close-up food shots for the Amersham Beyond challenge. Mixed success – needs more work, particularly with regard to lighting.