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Amaryllis Lillies (a) pushed, pulled, tweaked and generally abused in Photoshop. No harm came to the real flowers which at all times remained more than two metres from the photographer...



Amaryllis Lillies (b)



Amaryllis Lillies (c)



Amaryllis Lillies (d)

Again, I would really appreciate your help in understanding what works best for you! Thank you for your feedback, it really is much appreciated!

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And to continue a theme, here are a couple of shots photographed and tweaked differently...



Again - let me know what you think!

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Here are two takes on a rose that should have been photographed the previous day... But still, faded glory and past its best seems to sum up some of the photographs in this blog.

Take 2:


Which do you prefer? Please do let me know!

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Marlow weir seen from the bridge. The Thames looking like Spring is here!

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So ther is a risk of a false dawn, but just today, it felt as if there was spring in the air and in everyone's step in Marlow High Street! Schools on half term and sun in the sky. Lovely day!

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So where have the hanging baskets gone? The crossbars on the lamps at the end of the bridge now look like they are beyond coping. Here is hoping that later in Spring brings hanging baskets back to Marlow...

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They got therre before me and painted this one black. I was left with no option but to leave the rest of the picture in colour!

This marks 5% of my 1000 photographs. This is 16 days out of 365, or just 4.4% - I am a tad ahead of myself, but not enough to rest on my laurels!

All I need to do now is start getting people to come and look, and hopefully comment on the photographs, to help me develop my styles, understand my strengths and weaknesses and so on. Help please!

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True old technology in the heart of the City of London where there must be the highest proportion of double mobile phone usage in the entirety of the planet, not to mention iPads and everything else. Why do we need these here, except that they give photographers something to do in Photoshop (I'm still only a one trick Pony!)

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So back to the Tardis theme: this one looks like it is next to a Fire Hydrant, Actually that is an intergalactic parking meter. Overstay your time and a Dalek will turn up, photograph the Tardis and tow it away to the knackers yard in the sky...

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Shard A


Shard B


Shard C


Shard D

Four different takes on the same photograph. Three subjected to HDR treatment, and one just processed in Canon's own proprietary software. I would welcome your views as to which is the best, or your favourite... A, B, C or D

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A cacophony of styles, also mixing God and Mammon. Right in the City between London Bridge and Tower Bridge, looking North on East Cheap (I think!)

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"The" Institute (ICAEW) providing a glimmer of colour on a dull, dull day.

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Which way to Diagon Alley (for the Harry Potter fans...) I thought the dark cloud looked like it could be Dementors coming to remove the last vestiges of humanity and fun from the City, hovering over the old NatWest Tower...

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And looking the other way. This comparatively modern building next to the Victorian splendour of the Guildhall.

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Looking across the courtyard in front of the Guildhall. The light was very grey so I have used the HDR approach. I think it looks quite good!

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Guildhall - the centre of the City of London... I used to work in a building right next door.

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The toxic waste in the City is so bad that the pedestrians are forced to detour round the binmen...

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In my view this is probably the least attractive looking pub in the whole of the City, or possibly the whole of London, certainly from the outside. It is a good 30 years since I went inside it. And how can anything that looks like this be taken seriously when it is called "The Plough"???

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This just about typifies London to me. Brand, spanking new building on the right, and older (but not ancient!) on the left.

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Contrasting styles. Looking towards Liverpool Street Station with the bus heading towards Paddington Station. It was a grey, bleak old day. The skyscraper struggling to be seen.

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Just like buses - none for ages and then a queue, except only the first is for hire!

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Looking up from Moorgate with the Bank of England behind you, where London Wall crosses at the traffic lights. The building on the left with the plastic and the crane sticking out of the top is the prospective Moorgate Crossrail station. It is amazing the volume of work that is going into these major new stations. I will have to take the camera to Tottenham Court Road.

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Last thistle for a while. These were taken late at night (or early in the morning before bed) Fearsome leaves!

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Not a 100% sure what this is, but I like the way in which the petals curl.

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OK, so I can get a bit repetitive on some of these things. But this macro photography is fun! Especially with such a tricky subject. The depth of field is difficult here.

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What Eyeore might have described as "hot!" - a thistle. Who says weeds are not wanted...

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Don't worry! This is the last in this series... Just trying my new Photoshop trick again. I will have to find other things I can do in Photoshop, I guess!!!

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And bringing them even closer... The bruising on the skin is so clear. I have to do better with the lighting. Bounced flash, but under indoor lights, late in the evening. It would be nice to reduce the shine on them, I think.

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Same seeds, pushing the contrast. Makes it stark, I think.

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Seedpod up close. I brought these in some time ago, and they have ripened ready to burst. They will have to be planted soon!

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A skinny Tardis in a Black & White world. OK, so this is a bit of a cheat, in that I have gone back to that first day when I was near Aldgate Tube. But I knew I wanted to try and process this in this fashion.

This is my very first attempt in Photoshop CS5. I am pleased with the result...

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Not sure it warrants yet another photograph, so this is the last swan for a little while...

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And then it slid, somewhat inelegantly into the river Thames, and instantly became this elegant, gorgeous swan - as if in full sail!

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So I prefer this one, also on the towpath on the Thames at Marlow. Same swan, better pose!

This was my first process through Lightroom. Got to get to grips with it. This and the next two.

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I was following this swan along the towpath on the Thames in Marlow when it started exploring its underside! Not brilliant, but quite fun!

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This has not quite worked for me. I follow one photographer on Flickr (Kingfisher888) who is an incredible bird photographer. I would love to reach somewhere approaching his standards - and this is a long way from it. But you've got to start somewhere! There are a few more swans to come.

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The last of my poppy seedheads for the time being! But be warned - I am sure I will come back to the poppies once the new lot flower, and again when they go through the cycle towards this point. I am hooked!

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A somewhat drier looking poopy seedhead.

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So you are going to get a few more of these. The sun was great, the poopy seedhead well and truly on the way to the end of its useful life, but still magical when you look at it this close. I guess we are going to have lots of poppies agin this year!

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Macro number 3! This is on the magnolia tree. The hairs on the bud are so crisp. So I like the macro thing!

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This is an over wintering leaf on a Japanese Acer in the back garden. Another one with the Macro lens. I like the shallow depth of field, and the extreme crispness of the focus. There are others of the same tree on my Flickr account - take a look at the Macro set.

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Day 4 and I am back home. This is with a 100mm Macro lens, tweaked in DPP, Canon's proprietary software. It somehow works for me. But you can tell I was processing it the same day as some of my Zurich photographs! Lots of colour distortion. I guess this is why I don't quite get the anti-HDR guys saying that you shouldn't use HDR because it is not realistic enough. You can do all sorts of things with photographs that are not HDR that still render them almost unrecognisable. Its almost like saying that you should only use the photograph exactly as it comes out of the camera - except nobody does...