The time spent apart seems to have done my cameras and I some good. I spend a lot of my time child-minding my youngest grandsons who provide lots of opportunities if I have the time and inclination to take them. These opportunities have also gone begging in the last four months until this week. I had so much fun on Hackpen Hill that the cameras and speedlight both found a home next to my chair throughout the week. I’ve never taken so many pleasing photos of the boys in a single week before and coupled with a new found interest in processing on the iPad this has meant a continual flow of images for my daughters and wider family to enjoy.
Frustrated with many of the Apps that purport to offer “amazing” and “stunning” black & white conversions but in the final analysis leave a lot to be desired I turned to Lightroom Mobile which is part of my Adobe Creative Cloud package. What a difference! I’m still doing all the basics in Snapseed (it works well, I’ve established a good workflow and unless I want mono it does everything I need) but for the black & white conversions I have been delighted with the Lightroom option. Both the images above were converted with the Creamtone preset as a starting point and its great to have my favourite preset available on the move.
As well as the DSLRs I’ve also rediscovered the simple pleasures of using my mobile phone for photography. I reverted back to an iPhone a month ago and the photographic experience with my new toy is immeasurably superior to the previous two smartphones I’d tried in an attempt to break the Apple-centric hold on my technological life. Used sensibly and applying the same principles as I do with my “proper” photography has yielded some excellent results. And there’s the nub of using a phone as a camera I think; it’s far too easy just to wave it about and press the onscreen button whereas slowing down, holding it steadily and gently tapping the shutter release all combine to improve the quality of the image. Slowing down and considering the scene before whipping the phone out also leads to more pleasing compositions. Most of us wouldn’t use our digital or film cameras in such a way so why do we think it’s OK to do it with a smartphone I wonder?
Why title this piece “Thank Friday”? I’ve no idea but I am thankful I’ve made it to Friday once again so here’s to many more Friday’s.
Dave's Place 