Overview
It is strange to write a review called “Winter” when 90% of the top images were made in South America where it is their summer. It was however a busy 3 month period with a number of significant activities:
- Continuation of my dynamic abstraction project shooting London in multiple exposures
- Shooting better images of a house we are trying to sell in the south of England
- My role as the sole photographer at the presentation, by Princess Alexandra, of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service to the Stoke Poges, Wexham and Fulmer Horticultural Society
- An intensive two and a half weeks in South America including Buenos Aires, Patagonia (Argentina & Chile), Easter Island and Santiago.
London in Multiple Exposures
perhaps:
“Sir John Betjeman is Late”
December, being full of Christmas decorations, is a tricky month to create images that represent London as seen by business travellers. However, I am quite pleased by the above, whether or not it will make it into any final panel.
Estate Agent Photography
The estate agent’s photos were horrible. So I decided to try myself.
None of these photos number amongst my top images for the season, but all were reasonably well produced, despite having been shot quite quickly. Basics covered: verticals vertical and rooms generally well lit. Now hopefully, the pictures are the best on this particular estate agent’s website and at least unto the level of other sites.
The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service
Another big project during this season, was being asked to be the sole photographer for the visit from HRH Princess Alexandra as she awarded the Stoke Poges, Wexham and Fulmer Horticultural Society the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (equivalent to the MBE for organisations).
Challenges included the princess’s pre-stated refusal to pose for any photos (except the one above), spending most of her time with her back to me and wearing a hat that covered her eyes.
As the sole photographer, I had the freedom to move wherever I liked, whereas the invited guests had specific places to stand.
All indoor images were shot using my new Godox V1(s) flash with a big bounce modifier. This was used on-camera, in TTL mode with +1 compensation. Colour balance was set to shade rather than auto to ensure consistency.
The best piece of advice I received prior to the event was from Yin Wong of the Amersham Photographic Club who suggested I “warm up like an athlete before a race”. This was easy to implement as the great-and-the-good all wanted to be photographed with everybody else. So I was on a roll by the time the Princess arrived.
Buenos Aires
Although we only spent one full day in Buenos Aires, it is a very photogenic city and yielded images I have already used in competition including the following triptych.
I love the above image, although not quite enough to include in my top-10 for the season. Entered into competition at the Amersham Photographic Society on 17th February.
Argentina
The Argentine side of Patagonia, possibly the trekking capital of the world, is also a Landscape Photographer’s dream. The following was shot literally across the road from our hotel:
The above has been generally praised by fellow photographers for the simple harmony of its compositional elements and pleasingly muted colours and tones.
Chilean Landscapes
Torres del Paine National Park is Chile’s main attraction for landscape photographers. Rugged landscape are complemented by unusual cloud formations which produce very interesting light.
Gauchos
Our guide in Chile arranged for us to meet and have a barbecue dinner with a gaucho family he knew. The younger, more photogenic, gaucho also agreed to a photo shoot on the basis that they would be able to use the photos in their own publicity.
We were promised a wonderful sunset, which didn’t materialise. However, I used my Godox V1(s) speedlite off camera to produce what I thought were quite dramatic images, and certainly the gaucho family were impressed.
Easter Island
Easter Island (Rapa Nui) is best known for the hundreds of Moai, which are larger than life stone statues which scatter the island, each weighing tens of tons. Variations on shots like the following are taken by 50 or more people every day.
The challenge was to take an original image.
Our guide said that he had never seen anyone attempt a shot like this before. The other serious photographers had set up tripods mounting expensive looking lenses to take a shot similar to the one at the top of this section.
Similarly in the foundry, the easy shot is of the half-buried heads, the following is more interesting:
The original version of the above was slammed in competition on 17th February at the Amersham Photographic Society. However, I feel that this version with muted colours has some merit.
Santiago
The city centre was still experiencing rioting and the atmosphere was charged. Our guide was a local who we judged sufficiently streetwise to keep us safe despite a number of protestors mistaking me for a press photographer/ journalist and wanting to give their side of the story. (In hindsight, I wish I had taken advantage of this situation).
The following is of a graffiti artist who was repairing his work after it had been tagged the night before.
Won the Stoke Poges Photography Club’s set subject competition on graffiti, Advanced Category, on 4th February.
Notes: