Steam: third visit

Our project to compile a series of photos for the local railway museum is now in full steam, if you pardon the pun. On our third visit to the facility I concentrated on taking photos of two subjects in particular - one of which was a display showing a woman working in the smoke box of a locomotive (above).

Anyone who saw my entry for September 28 will have read that the overall aim of the project is to produce images that convey the atmosphere of the museum. It's not an easy task photographically, but I thought that one way of doing this was to use flash to communicate drama.

That September 28 blog entry also included a series of pictures showing promising locations, one of which was the smoke box exhibit. As soon as I saw this engine, I had a picture in mind that made full use of my flashes. I'm glad to say the end result was pretty much what I had imagined.

I positioned one flash inside the smoke box directly behind the mannequin, pointing away from her. I placed a second flash on a light stand high to my right, with the flash pointing across the mannequin's face. Both were triggered using radio-controlled Pocket Wizards.

Inspirational

Storm, Dyrholaey, Iceland, 2012

I have come across another photographer producing fantastic black and white images that just make me want to get out there with my gear. His name is Jonathan Chritchley and he shoots landscapes, frequently featuring water in some way.

There is a beautiful simplicity about his work and Chritchley masters the light so perfectly. If you like the shot above, check out his website for a gallery of gorgeous shots.

I read about him in a feature in the November 2013 issue of the excellent Black and White Photography magazine. The article's author, editor Elizabeth Roberts, reveals that Chritchley is a perfectionist and quotes some advice he gives to up-and-coming photographers: "Stick to what you love, shoot for you, only listen to criticism from those who are better than you, be a perfectionist and never let a photograph get out that you're not 150 per cent happy with".

Plenty of food for thought in those words.

Incidentally, Chritchley will be bringing out his first book, entitled Silver, next month. It will be published by Boom and Vang.

Film tips

I was sent a link to a website this morning that is well worth sharing with anyone exploring film processing for the first time.

It is a step-by-step guide to removing your film from the camera and loading it on a developing reel ready for the development process. We are promised descriptions of the later stages in subsequent posts.

The guide has been produced by photographer Chris Waller, whose excellent Bristol workshops are highly recommended. He holds them at St Paul's Darkrooms, which I understand are among only two or three community darkrooms in the whole country. They are a terrific resource, but need more public support.

You can find out more about the darkrooms by clicking a link on the same page as Chris's guide.

Try this...

The Guardian's Eyewitness series is a series of photos from around the world, each with a brief tip on how to capture the same type of picture. There are some gems in there, including one of a Brazilian family who keep tigers and are pictured with one at the breakfast table, and another of the streets of the Spanish capital Madrid filled with sheep.

Countryfile

I do wonder sometimes about the great British public. Tonight the results of the BBC Countryfile photography competition were announced and the main prizewinner in the public telephone vote was Bill Robinson with this picture, called The Dell:

It's a pretty scene and the curve of the bluebell glade mirrors the curve of the tree branches in a pleasing way. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that Mr Robinson should taste success, having never won a photography prize before. But I couldn't help thinking that the following picture, 'Pier Sunset', was comfortably the strongest of the finalists:

For a start, it's a very unusual take on a sunset scene and has the most striking bands of colour. It also uses the rule of thirds well, with the two people at an intersection of thirds and the sun positioned in a strong area compositionally. When I first saw this shot I immediately said 'wow' out loud. And the judges who narrowed down thousands of entries to a handful of finalists made it their favourite (so photographer Tim Clifton came away with some kind of prize).

Steam Museum - first shots

The operation to take a series of shots for a new book for the local steam railway museum began in earnest yesterday. I concentrated on photographing the entrance to the museum - particularly a couple of scenes I highlighted in an earlier post.

I put my camera on a tripod and used long shutter speeds to capture visitors to the museum walking into the entrance area. I was using a Sigma 10-20mm lens - ultra wide angle - and this allowed me to capture the whole of the scene, including a number of television screens and the main welcome sign.

The slow shutter speed created motion blur as the visitors walked along - an effect I had been looking for mainly because it adds to the atmosphere. I had to experiment a little because if the shutter speed was set too low, the subjects almost disappeared entirely from the scene. The results are shown in the following shot:

However, I might have a further attempt on my next visit - not just because the man pictured is too static, but because I want to get the visitors' shadows on the facing wall.

'Parks'

Spring Hats in Bath (copyright: Norman Parkinson Archive)

I have been enjoying revisiting the work of fashion photographer Norman Parkinson with a view to basing one of my course projects on him.

I felt the picture above was perfect for an analysis of the visual language of a photograph. Parkinson has used a pillar to emphasise the rule of thirds and has positioned model Anne Chambers's face at the golden mean intersection. The road leads the viewer into the photo and the buildings provide leading lines pointing towards the model's face. I also like the way the model is a darker tone from the rest of the image, making her stand out even more.