Remnant Tranquillity | Weekly Photo #53

Who else has a favourite, local photo subject that you revisit time after time to capture it in different light and conditions? Well, the West Pier in Brighton on the UK’s south coast is one of mine. I’m a little obsessed with what little remains from this ill-fated Victorian structure. In its heyday, the West Pier would have been a hive of activity, full of locals and day-trippers enjoying a day by the sea, but having suffered fire and storm damage in the past, very little remains, but the structure is still popular to the extent it now takes on a new life as a kind of historic art sculpture, rather than the derelict remains of what was a thriving seaside attraction.

Fujifilm X-T10 | XF10-24mm | 15mm | 30 Seconds | f/16 | ISO200

This is the third image I’ve shared in a series of photos of Brighton’s West Pier. I’ve taken both long and short exposures of the pier, both offering something different that complements the striking shape of the structure.

With the shorter exposure which you can see in this previous post titled "Skeletal Remains” I tried to capture some of the movement and energy in the water, which also provided some foreground interest in the composition. What the long-exposure photo such as this one here or the black and white rendition I shared last year called “The West Pier” brings is the simplicity of the composition and plants the viewer’s focus directly onto the structure without the busy distractions of the ripples in the water and this photo here was my first successful attempt at capturing the West Pier in this style back in April 2017. With the central composition and minimal look created by the long exposure, it takes on an entirely different feeling of calm and tranquillity compared to a photo showing more of the energy and life in the sea.

For me personally, it’s a lesson I try to remember when considering the exposure length when photographing both natural and urban landscapes as what mood I’m trying to portray in the photo can be significantly affected by the exposure time, especially if there is water in the scene. I ask myself the question, am I trying to capture a photo that is calm with a tranquil mood? If so, I might use an exposure of 30 seconds or longer to calm the water and smooth away distractions. Alternatively, I might be trying to capture energy and movement. Then a shorter exposure of under a second might be required. The important thing is that I don’t reach straight for the 10-stop ND filter before I have considered what I’m trying to communicate with the photo.

Until next week.

Trevor

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This post is featured in my Weekly Photo series where I post a new photo every Monday. To have this delivered directly to your inbox, you can subscribe to the mailing list here.

A Brief Moment in Brighton | Weekly Photo #38

Outside of London, Brighton is one of my favourite places to take photos. Not only is it the closest beach to where I live, but as many of you might know by now, I tend to include the “hand of man” in my photos and for a seaside location, Brighton certainly has that in abundance. I typically get drawn to man-made structures such as the West Pier’s skeletal remains as the imposing but frail-looking structure makes for a strong subject to photograph but the photo here is less about the subject or particular focal point but more about capturing the moment, the mood or feeling I experienced during the shoot.

Fujifilm X-T30 | XF35mm F2 | 35mm | 1/1,700 Second | f/2 | ISO160

I have already shared this photo as a part of a collection in a post I wrote titled Mental Health and Why Photography Matters and decided to share it again in my Weekly Photo series as not only is it my favourite of the set but it’s the one that connects with me the most. I can find it difficult at times to portray the feeling or mood I experienced during a particular shoot. It’s something I try to work on but find others accomplish this far easier and better than I do. Or at least that’s the perception I get. So, when I do take a photo that represents the mood accurately in a shot like this photo here, it creates an instant connection with me and rekindles the memories and emotions I felt on that particular morning.

As I walked along the beach with my X-T30 Camera and 35mm F2 prime lens, I spotted someone standing close to the water, seemingly deep in thought and appearing happy just to be out at a time many other people rarely get to experience. This is exactly the kind of feeling I was experiencing and one I wanted to capture. The sun was just starting to rise off to the right and with the clouds just lining the horizon, the light was slightly defused resulting in this beautiful warm glow across the scene. Aware the moment could be over in an instant, being careful to make sure the figure in the distance stood out and was not lost amongst the structure of the pier, I quickly crouched down low to include the pebbles in the foreground and captured the photo.

Technically, the photo itself isn’t amazing. The composition isn’t particularly balanced being heavier on the left-hand side and the person standing on the beach isn’t in the best position compositionally but not all photos have to be prize winners to mean something to you. After all, who do you take photos for? It’s sometimes good to throw the rule book out the window and just enjoy the photo because of the connection you have with it, not because it’s technically and compositionally perfect.

Cheers,
Trevor

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This post is featured in my Weekly Photo series where I post a new photo every Monday. To have this delivered directly to your inbox, you can subscribe to the mailing list here.

Skeletal Remains | Weekly Photo #25

I find the skeletal remains of the West Pier in Brighton fascinating to photograph? I enjoy taking these central, minimalist photos of what’s left of this once grand Victorian structure which played such a significant role in the history of Brighton’s beach-front down in England’s South East. It’s not the most original composition of this structure but there’s a reason why the pier has been photographed a million times from this spot.

Fujifilm XT2 | XF18-55mm | 18mm | 1/5th Second | f/9 | ISO200

In a previous Weekly Photo post, I shared a black and white, long-exposure image of this very pier which you can find here. In the post, I talked about capturing the same composition on a pretty uninspiring cloudy day and using a black and white film simulation to help me visualise the image as I took it.

I took this week’s photo during a warm summer’s evening as my family and I walked down on the beachfront eating fish and chips for dinner. I had the camera with me to capture a few sunset shots of the family. As we walked back to the car I spotted these post-sunset pastel colours that started to appear in the sky I decided to take advantage of the light on offer.

As my family continued towards the car, I stopped and set my tripod up directly in front of the West Pier as close to the water as I could but just far enough away to avoid getting wet feet. I mounted my Fuji XT2 and trust 18-55mm lens on the tripod and went about composing the image being careful to get the structure dead-centre. Without having filters with me, a long exposure image wasn’t an option but with the sea being a little choppy, I was drawn to capturing a some of the movement and energy I could feel as I stood there taking it all in. I kept my aperture at around f/9 which, at ISO200, gave me a 1/5th second exposure resulting in an image with just the right amount of movement and texture in the water whilst retaining those subtle pinks in the sky.

Back in Lightroom, I tried to emphasise the white, frothy water to highlight the movement and add some interest so I subtly brightened the frothy parts of the water using local adjustments. Other than that, I adjusted the HSL sliders to get the tones I wanted and added a bit of contrast to the pier to make the architecture stand out a bit more.

I still have a long exposure photo of the pier in mind which I’ve been trying to get for a while now which requires a low tide and the clouds moving in the right direction. I’m still chasing that one so I’m sure I will be back again soon enough.

Thanks for stopping by.

Trevor

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This post is featured in my Weekly Photo series where I post a new photo every Monday. To have this delivered directly to your inbox, you can subscribe to the mailing list here.

Mental Health and Why Photography Matters

Many articles on this blog are about portraying the creativity, gear and techniques that I use in my own photography journey. I write about the places I go and photos I take, sharing useful information to other members of this close-nit photographic community in an attempt to give something back for all the help I continue to receive but one thing I don’t talk about as much as I really should is the hidden and personal benefits of having some kind of creative outlet that photography or any other artistic endeavour can provide.

Before I start, I want to clarify that I am by no means an expert. I do understand that mental health is not a light switch where everything is either fine or not. There is black and white and every shade of grey in between when it comes to mental health and everyone is different and facing their own unique challenges. I do, however, recognise how important the subject is and in my personal experience, mental health can be an ever-changeable level of wellbeing. There are the good times where I feel positive and ready to tackle what life has to throw at me and then there are the times of prolonged stress and anxiety which I try to recognise and work to keep on top of the best way I can and for me personally, photography plays a huge part in keeping everything under control.

I found a great source of information which helps to describe both good and bad mental health on the mentalhealth.org.uk website here.

Mental Health Awareness Day - October 10th 2019

This year, in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Day, my employer gave the entire workforce the day off to relax, enjoy the day and do something for themselves. This was by no means a small gesture as the workforce is made up of a few thousand staff. If that’s not getting behind this cause, I don’t know what is.

So, with the day to myself, I decided to venture out with my camera to get a bit of me-time, recharge and spend a few hours on my own taking some photos. At this point, I would normally head north into London and go get some cityscape shots but instead, I decided to get out of the Big Smoke and head down to the coast and capture some shots in Brighton.

The main reason I chose Brighton is that if I was going to embrace this opportunity and get some rest and relaxation, what better place to be is on the beachfront, with the waves crashing against the beach at sunrise with nobody else around apart from a few early risers getting their own fix of the peace and quiet on offer. So, I drove down, parked up, put my earphones in and headed out to document the start of a new day.

Why is Photography so Important for Good Mental Wellbeing?

As well as talking about how I spent the morning and showcasing the photos I took, I also wanted to list a few of the benefits that having a creative outlet such as photography provides.

Fujifilm X-T30 | XF35mm F2 | 35mm | 1/1,700 Second | f/2 | ISO160

Fujifilm X-T30 | XF35mm F2 | 35mm | 1/4,400 Second | f/2 | ISO160

Achieving Mindfulness

I believe that achieving mindfulness in pursuit of your creative endeavours can only occur when the act of creation is equal or more important than the product itself.

As a photographer, I am not alone in the photographic community when I say that once you stop worrying about capturing that killer shot each time you venture out with the camera, the pressure really does come off. This leads to less frustration and impatience when out photographing, allowing you to relax and more often than not, create your best work.

Mindfulness is so important in my landscape photography. Taking a breath, being present in the moment and ignoring distractions can help heighten my awareness as a photographer. It also helps me to take some much-needed time out from a hectic work and home life allowing me a bit of time to be alone and process my thoughts. I guess you could say photography is my therapy.

Fujifilm X-T30 | XF35mm F2 | 35mm | 1/1,600 Second | f/2 | ISO160

Fujifilm X-T30 | XF35mm F2 | 35mm | 1/2,000 Second | f/2 | ISO160

Getting Up and Feeling Motivated

I guess this section could also be called “Having a purpose” as that’s essentially the point I want to make. Just the other day, I was talking to my Dad about motivation and drive to get out and he spoke about having to get up super early before a tiring day at work to take his dog for a walk. He said that although it’s a struggle to wake up super early and get out of bed every single day, once he is out with his dog, enjoying the fresh, early morning air he really enjoys that quiet, reflective time. Needing to walk the dog is his purpose and without this, this time he has on his own to relax and process life just wouldn’t exist.

This is also so true for my photography. Having the alarm go off at silly o’clock and getting yourself out can be tough and without that purpose provided by photography, I wouldn't be getting up so early and I would miss out on being out and about at a time of the day that very few people experience.

Physical Fitness

When I head out for a few hours on a photo walk, I usually end up covering quite a distance. and exercise is widely known to be a great way to keep both your body and mind in tip-top condition. Exercise is great at breaking negative cycles such as poor sleep patterns and physical stress on the body causing discomfort and pain which I have first-hand experience with. For some time, I was struggling with tendonitis on my left knee and although seeing a Physio helped, it was never cured. At the beginning of 2019, I decided to up my exercise efforts and focus on my fitness and after only a few weeks the pain in my knee had completely gone. I am now able to walk for hours with my camera without any pain or discomfort whatsoever.

I found a great article on how exercise is so beneficial to your mental wellbeing over at https://www.helpguide.org/. A few of the important benefits the site lists are:

• Reduces anxiety

• Helps with depression

• Helps fight ADHD, PTSD and Trauma

• Helps increase overall energy levels

• Increases confidence and self-esteem

Fujifilm X-T30 | XF35mm F2 | 35mm | 1/1,400 Second | f/2 | ISO160

Fujifilm X-T30 | XF35mm F2 | 35mm | 1/1,600 Second | f/2 | ISO160

The Power of Creativity

Nothing really beats the feeling you get when you have created something you are proud of and photography is no different as the ultimate goal is still to produce a nice photo, be it artistic or documentary. Although I no longer feel the added pressure to capture a banging shot every time I head out, when I do create something portfolio worthy, it provides such a positive feeling and makes all of the early mornings or cold winter evenings standing around trying to keep warm worthwhile. Occasionally capturing a portfolio worthy image gives me the motivation to keep going, continue to develop my craft and chase that next shot.

Fujifilm X-T30 | XF35mm F2 | 35mm | 1/125 Second | f/14 | ISO400

Fujifilm X-T30 | XF35mm F2 | 35mm | 1/950 Second | f/5 | ISO160

Fujifilm X-T30 | XF35mm F2 | 35mm | 1/170 Second | f/11 | ISO160

Fujifilm X-T30 | XF35mm F2 | 35mm | 1/2,000 Second | f/2 | ISO160

Fujifilm X-T30 | XF35mm F2 | 35mm | 1/1,100 Second | f/2 | ISO160

My goal for this post is not to tell you how to feel or make any assumptions. I wrote this post as I recognise how important mental wellbeing is to every single person and I truly believe that by pursuing any kind of creative endeavour really helps the mind take a break from the many distractions of modern life and allow you time to think or reflect and put things back in perspective once again.

Until next time.

Trevor

3 Minutes in Brighton | Weekly Photo #12

This photo encompasses so much about why I take long exposure photos. The calm created by the velvety clouds and sea with the pastel like blend of light as it changes throughout the long exposure and the main subject standing out without distractions competing for attention.

Fujifilm XT2 | XF18-55mm | 28mm | 181 seconds | f/9 | ISO200

In my pursuit to capture more photos down on the south coast, I once again travelled to Brighton on a warm July’s evening to try and capture a few images I had planned. I wrote about it a bit more in my latest “On Location” post titled On Location | Photographing Brighton Beach where it became apparent that the particular style of image was not going to be possible on this trip so after a couple of hours of photographing the seafront, I wandered to this spot by the Palace Pier to relax, capture the scene in front of me and enjoy the sunset.

As the sun was setting, I set my Fuji XT2 camera on the tripod which was only extended quarter height as I was sitting down on the beach, I mounted my Formatt-Hitech 10-stop filter onto the front of the lens and with the cable release in hand I went about capturing the image. (Read more about how I take long exposure photo here).

Sometimes I wonder if the images we take reflect the mood and environment we took them in and judging by the resulting photo, I think there is certainly a lot of truth in that as for the 30 or so minutes I was sitting on the beach, there was a relaxed, peaceful vibe. With the smooth look created by the 3-minute exposure and the pastel colours in the sky, I think this shows through in the image too.

A beautiful end to a beautiful evening.

Until next time.

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This post is featured in my Weekly Photo series where I post a new photo every Monday. To have this delivered directly to your inbox, you can subscribe to the mailing list here.

On Location Photographing Brighton Beach

I have been a frequent visitor to Brighton for years. Although I don’t live too close by, I have lived within an hour’s drive of this “city by the sea” for all of my life. Brighton has a cool, positive vibe to it, especially during the summer months when the city is buzzing with locals and tourists enjoying themselves at the seaside. I have a lot of fond memories of the many times I have visited Brighton. I had my stag do in here, it was the first place I drove too after passing my driving test and I now regularly visit with my family to paddle in the sea and eat fish and chips on the beach creating new memories for us all to look back on.

All that being said, for some reason, I rarely visit with the purpose to just take photos. I suspect, living closer to London, the draw to head north from where I live has always been stronger but this year I am determined to head south more often.

I’ve already visited Brighton half a dozen times this year and two of these were specifically to take photos. The first was an early morning in April. I went with the intention of capturing an epic sunrise shot of the West Pier. A classic subject, which I have my own vision as to how I want to capture which depends a lot on the elements all coming together and on this particular morning, I knew as soon as I arrived that this day was not the day I would get that shot.

So, with the intended image no longer an option, I decided to put the tripod away and just wander along the seafront searching out a few compositions as I went.

Armed with my Fuji XT2, I walked between the two piers, using the warm early morning sunlight to help create different compositions of beachfront. Below are 9 of the photos I took on this particular morning, all with the Fujifilm XT2 and XF18-55mm lens except the close up shot of the West Pier which was taken with the XF55-200mm. Select each photo to see the camera settings I used.

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Fast forward to July and with a few hours to spare, I drove back south to Brighton to grab a few more photos down at the seafront, but this time during the sunset hours.

Ever since it was erected in 2016, I hadn’t yet captured any photos of Brighton’s most recent addition to its coastal skyline, the British Airways I360. It’s a unique structure, contrasting against the traditional, ornate Brighton architecture and I for one, really like it. It looks kind of retro-futuristic and what I mean by that is it looks to me like something people in the 1950s would have predicted we would have built today along with the flying cars and gravity suites that is.

For this outing, I once again had my Fujifilm XT2 with my 18-55mm and 55-200mm lenses. I knew that to capture the I360 the way I wanted I would need the extra reach of the 200mm and helped by the optical image stabilisation, I was able to handhold the first shot below and keep it nice and sharp while zoomed right in.

Fujifilm X-T2 | XF55-200mm | 200mm | 1/1,700th second | f/4.8 | ISO200

I have always admired Brighton’s beachfront bandstand. Originally opened in 1884 and restored to its former glory in 2009, I love the ornate Victorian architecture. I have tried to capture this central composition for some time now but every other time I visited, it was either closed or conditions were not good enough to show it off properly. With the sun low and casting a beautiful warm glow across the structure, I grabbed the wide angle XF10-24mm lens and captured the photo below. What was important here was to ensure I had the camera absolutely central and level to make sure the final shot looked symmetrical.

Fujifilm X-T2 | XF10-24mm | 10mm | 1/110th second | f/11 | ISO200

I used the 55-200mm lens to get up close to the I360 in the photo below as I wanted to capture those fantastic reflections in the underside of the pod.

Fujifilm X-T2 | XF55-200mm | 200mm | 1/340th second | f/6.4 | ISO200

I mentioned earlier in this blog that I have a particular photo I want to capture of Brighton’s West Pier and even before I set out, I knew conditions wouldn’t be right for that particular shot but I had another one in mind to capture a long exposure photo of the Palace Pier as the sun was setting. With so much going on architecturally I knew that by capturing the pier as a long exposure photo, all of the details in the sky and water will be rendered smooth and the entire composition would be simplified and less distracting. I used a 10-stop Formatt-Hitech neutral density filter to capture this 3 minute exposure below and if you want to read more about how I take long exposure photos, take a look at this post: How I Take Long Exposure Pictures.

Fujifilm X-T2 | XF18-55mm | 28mm | 181 seconds | f/9 | ISO200

I finished the evening on the Palace Pier to capture the view down the coast towards the I360. With the last of the sun’s light illuminating these fantastic clouds through a thin gap near the horizon, I wanted to use them as the backdrop to both some closeups and wider landscape shots of the view in front of me. The red glow beneath the I360 pod works fantastically with the magenta glow towards the bottom of the frame.

This was a tricky image to capture while keeping as much noise out of the photo as I could by using a low ISO. I was in an exposed spot on the pier and the wind was strong and by using a longer focal length, this combination was just enough to introduce a bit of camera shake. I opened up the aperture to let a little more light in, reducing the exposure time just enough for me to capture the two closeup compositions below.

Fujifilm X-T2 | XF55-200mm | 141mm | 1/9th second | f/4.4 | ISO200

Fujifilm X-T2 | XF55-200mm | 200mm | 1/2 second | f/8 | ISO200

Fujifilm X-T2 | XF18-55mm | 55mm | 10 seconds | f/10 | ISO200

Printing Your Photos

Both the image above of Brighton’s beach as the light was fading and the long exposure of Palace Pier are probably my favourite images of the evening. When I take images I really like, I like to make a print as it brings the photos to life.

Viewing photos on screen is fine but it doesn’t come close to seeing your work printed.

If you are interested in my printing process, take a look at this post here where I walk through printing an image I took of The Shard, London.

With the city lights shining bright and the vibrant blue tones, I decided to use a metallic gloss paper to print this image and I’m glad I did. It gave the final photo a fresh, vibrant finish which suites the subject incredibly well.

So, when you capture an image you really like, do consider printing the image yourself or via a trusted lab. You will not regret it!

As ever, please leave comments below if you have any thoughts or questions relating to this post.

Until next time.

The West Pier | Weekly Photo #5

I don’t take a lot of black and white photos. If I take a photo and cast the colour away at the editing stage, I feel I’m taking something away from the image I originally took. It makes no sense to me that I would find a composition in colour, feel it worthy enough to hit the shutter, only to remove a major part of the image later on. In my brain at least, it doesn’t make a lot of sense.

That being said, some photos, from the get-go are best taken with a black and white conversion in mind. This is usually when the colours in the image are muted or distracting such as the photo of Brighton’s West Pier below.

This Grade II listed pier, located in Brighton, UK has had a pretty rough time. Closed due to safety concerns, funding secured for restoration only to be destroyed in an arson attack leading to the restoration project being cancelled. It’s a shame that such a significant piece of architecture ended in this way but thankfully, with the ruins now taking on a new life as a kind of urban sculpture, they are now a popular attraction on the South Coast of England being cared for by the West Pier Trust.

Fujifilm XT2 | XF10-24mm | 12mm | 199 seconds | f/7.1 | ISO200

When I rocked up to capture this image a few months ago, I immediately knew it had to be a minimalistic black and white shot. The clouds lacked definition, the water was murky and the pier’s usually red, rusty colour was brown and boring. On this day, a minimal, black and white long exposure image was the best option for me.

On to my Fujifilm XT2 went the wide-angle 10-24mm lens. I positioned the tripod dead centre and mounted my filters. All of this is pretty standard for a long exposure image but one other thing I did was change my settings and enabled the Across black and white film simulation. As I mentioned before, when I see in colour and like the photo, I want to preserve this as much as possible but now, with the film simulation enabled I could literally see what the final image would look like, without any colour, as I took the shot.

Although I love the Fujifilm simulations, the final image above was converted to black and white from the colour RAW file back in Adobe Lightroom as I wanted to tweak the image to my liking. Apart from the conversion to black and white, I darkened the sky and emphasised the pier’s silhouette and reflection in the middle of the frame. Lastly, I added a vignette around the image to draw the viewers eye into the middle of the frame to rest on the pier.

Next time you are out taking photos and feel they might look better as a black and white conversion, try changing the settings while on location to enable a black and white filter so you can see how your final shot will look. This will usually only convert the JPG photos so if you shoot RAW+JPG then you will still have the colour version to decide on the final look later on, if you so choose.

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This post is featured in my Weekly Photo series where I post a new photo every Monday. To have this delivered directly to your inbox, you can subscribe to the mailing list here.