Make The Most Of YOUR Pictures

Before

After

Hey guys!

This blog post is more of an infomercial than a traditional post. If this were an episode of The Simpsons, it'd be introduced by Troy McClure with a spellbound studio audience applauding obediently every few minutes. 

You see, today I am advertising a new service that I've been thinking about for some time and have already done for a handful of select people these past few weeks - photo retouching.

If you have a photograph that you'd like enhanced in some way, I will happily do that for you. Whether it's a snap from a mobile phone or a RAW file from a DSLR, I will make some adjustments to it and bring out its full potential. 

Or at least, make it look as nice as it can to my eyes. In case you don't agree, I'll send you a proof copy before you part with any money. You're under no obligation to buy it. I'm like some kind of no win, no fee solicitor that you get advertised on daytime TV, alongside adverts for mistreated bear charities and PPI compensation companies. 

As a special introductory offer, I'm only charging £5 per picture - a fraction of the cost that this type of service would usually cost. And to go back to the infomercial rhetoric, "hurry, this price won't be around forever!"

I do all my work by hand - there's no batch processing or presets; I treat each picture individually in order to make it look as nice as possible. 

Whatever your picture - portrait, landscape, street photography etc, I will endeavour to bring the best out of it. Maybe you'd like a good quality black and white conversion. Or a few blemishes removing from a selfie (without the obvious smearing that can easily happen if you rely on filters for this).

Obviously an out of focus snap taken on a 2 megapixel Nokia from 2005 won't be transformed into a poster quality masterpiece - there are always limitations. But I will try and make the best of what's there. 

If you'd like to give this service a go, completely risk free, here's the process:

1) email me the largest, best quality file you have to tkpics@rocketmail.com

2) I'll set to work on it & have it completed usually within 24 hours

3) I'll email you a proof copy of what I've done. 

4) If you don't like the picture - no problem! I can either try a different approach, or we can leave it at that & have a cup of tea instead.

5) Hopefully you'll love the new picture & you'll want the full copy, which I'll send after you've send me a £5 PayPal payment. 

6) You retain full copyright of the image, so it's yours to do whatever you want with after I've processed it. Upload it to an image gallery (such as Picfair.com), get it printed or create an your own online gallery. 

Give it a try now! 

Lesson Is More

Ducks at Sunset by Vittoria Gallagher

Well hello there blog fan! My dear friend Vitt (short for Vittoria - two t's, no c, i.e. not 'Victoria' if you please) said that she missed my blog, so I thought I'd better get my fingers into action and type some nonsense.

Just to warn you: I am suffering from severe man-flu just now, so anything here that is even more obscene or peculiar than normal is purely down to the adverse reaction I'm having by mixing Lemsip with my usual daily cocktail of Class A drugs.

Now, Vitt has recently celebrated her 30th birthday. This means that for four months, like some kind of freakish astronomical alignment of the planets, we are both in our thirties. Therefore I felt the need to get Vitt a very special birthday present to mark this occasion.  Something different from the 'Toby Love Tokens' that I usually give but, for some strange reason, had never been cashed in.

Unfortunately I couldn't find anything decent, so instead offered to share with her my greatest passion in life - photography. Many people ooh and ahh at amazing pictures on the internet, most likely thinking that to produce such works is beyond them. But I have always felt that isn't true at all.

Vitt takes to a bench to get the best shot, like some kind of stunt woman

I am of the belief that if I can do something, ANYONE can do it. With the right conditions, anyone can produce photographs that they are totally satisfied by and completely proud of.

The key is simply to bring those aforementioned conditions together.

Here's what I think you need:

* A half decent camera - it doesn't need to be the very latest or greatest by any means, but a DSLR or mirrorless interchangeable lens camera is preferable as it most likely has:

a) a larger sensor than the one in a compact, bridge or phone camera, which is key in producing nice clean images.

b) a range of lenses that again will most likely produce better results than those in a fixed lens camera 

(although please note that neither of the above is always the case - please see my future post on choosing the right camera for you when I finally haul my arse into gear and write it - but for now, check out something like the Fuji X100S that is a fine example of proving that a) & b) above are not always true)

For Vitt's lesson I gave her use of my 5 year old Nikon D5000 DSLR, together with a 40mm prime lens (which equates to a focal length of around 60mm in old 35mm film camera terms - basically a very short telephoto length, slightly beyond the normal viewing angle of the human eye).

The total cost of this equipment if you bought good second hand versions, I'd estimate at around £300.

* An inspiring location - Anywhere that gets you in a snappy mood (as in the mood to take photos, not as in the mood to bite at people like a crocodile). As you can see from the pictures, we were blessed with a gorgeous sunset in a local park.

* Someone to teach / instruct you - Obviously, given it's a photo lesson. Although there are a million and one resources on the internet for taking good pictures, there's nothing quite like having a real life mentor to show you what button does what on the camera, what the effect of certain settings will be and the best spots to capture a good image.

* Careful post-processing - my philosophy is that when you're taking a photograph (at least one that you want to be a work of art, beyond a casual snap), at the initial image capture stage, you're merely recording as much information as possible. The ingredients for a good picture if you will. I consider it a dreadful waste to let the camera do the cooking for you and decide what bits of information to keep and discard, which is essentially what you're doing if you shoot JPEG instead of RAW.

By shooting RAW files, you have all the information that the camera's sensor saw at the time and can then mould this as you see fit by using software such as Photoshop and Lightroom.

Check out my earlier blog post for a more in-depth view of shooting RAW.

My experience is that even the most half-hearted, lamest shots can be saved and turned into something quite pleasing with careful post-processing. 

Thankfully, Vitt thoroughly enjoyed her lesson and said not only was I the best photographer of all time, I was also far and away the best teacher. Of anything. Ever. And that she thinks I must have a really, really massive...no wait, this is from the dream isn't it? 

Having a good time? Duh, obviously!

Forget all that. But we really did have a lovely evening (helped even more by the second part of my present - a meal with lots of drinks and pudding) and Vitt produced some thoroughly marvellous shots, just like I knew she would!

To conclude, here are a couple of the pictures that Vitt produced from that evening. 

Oh and please feel free to take a minute to follow her on Twitter and check out her hilarious blog about what's going on in the popular culture of our great nation - both very funny (ha-ha, not peculiar) ways to spend your time.

 Sunset Willow

Cathedral Hiding Among The Reeds

If you or someone you know would like a photography lesson, please get in touch :)

Introducing EDP

Inside Salisbury Cathedral - a place that always stirs my emotions

So, I think I'd like to coin a phrase. How does one go about this I wonder? 

In the olden days, I suspect that a man would travel through the streets calling, "Bring out your phrases!". 

Whereas now, I probably have to pop the phrase in a handy prepaid envelope to a company in Dartford who will weigh it and offer me an undervalued rate of return. They will then melt the phrase down and reassemble the words into something more useful.

But anyway...

In today's wonderful world of the internet, there are a billion and one (no wait, I just refreshed my computer and it's a billion and two now) articles giving technical advice on how to take a good photograph.

Of course, having a sound understanding of the basic principles of photography, including exposure, composition and how your camera works, is a vital foundation. As is true for pretty much any endeavour you want to become good at.

But when it comes to actually taking photographs, you kind of need to forget all of that. Not flush it from your mind completely, causing you to become all stupid (where for example, you try to eat your camera) but just pushed to your subconscious so it's not actively at the forefront of your thought process. It needs to become second nature.

When you're actually in the field taking your pictures, analysis can get in the way of your enjoyment and more importantly, great pictures. Magical opportunities can be missed because you're umming and arring about a technical point whilst there's that split second break in the clouds offering the perfect illumination of the landscape.

So, what I've found myself doing when I get the pictures that I'm most satisfied with, is to let my emotions drive my photography. 

And that's my phrase *COINING SOUND* - "Emotion Driven Photography (tm)". Let's be really funky and call it EDP.

When you encounter a scene that really moves you, I guarantee that it will also stir others and make a great picture. Technical competence doesn't equate to technical perfection, so get the shot, however you can. Whilst not encouraging sloppiness, post processing can fix many flaws in your technique if needs be, the key is to capture that emotional trigger.

My experience is that my heart will skip and I may even gasp quietly when I see something that, for want of a phrase that describes the indescribable, touches my soul. A sunrise, amazing architecture, a child jumping in a puddle, newborn fluffy things, an abandoned but characteristic building - all of these and anything else can connect deeply with us.

When you're out taking photographs, try and listen out for this inner feeling. When you notice it start to tingle like Spiderman's Spidey Sense (which turned out just to be a bad case of pins and needles in his case), you know that a good picture is around here somewhere.

The more you get used to paying attention to the dance of your heart, the more finely tuned your senses will become at detecting the potential for beautiful pictures. Sometimes it will scream out at you! But it can also be very subtle. What it always is, is very enjoyable, nourishing something deep within.

Visiting places that resonate with you is always a good idea. I love old churches and cathedrals and living in Salisbury, feel very lucky to have one of the finest examples of gothic architecture on my doorstep (just past the milk bottles and old Betterware catalogue). It really does take my breath away, no matter how many times I visit.

So my tip for today is to let your photography become a more intuitive process, driven by your emotions, rather than instruction manuals.

Sharing and Not Caring

rolling countryside beneath broken clouds

Hello blog fan!

First an apology. I've been like one of those parents who leaves their small children home alone for a fortnight with nothing but cold pizza and a gallon of Sunny Delight for company, whilst they enjoy an all inclusive bargain holiday in the Med.

Yes, I have neglected you dreadfully. Yes, I have been pursuing my own selfish interests. Yes, there are some microwave meals in the fridge and a list of instructions of what to do if Social Services come calling. 

But don't imagine for one minute that I haven't been thinking of you all this time. I promise to try to be a better and more consistent blogger from now on. Let's have a big hug and pretend that none of this ever happened. Then we'll sort out your burns and soiled clothes.

Anyway!

Today's post is about the marvel that is the internet. More specifically, social media and the effects it can have on your photography. 

Now, some of you youngsters who have grown up in the digital age might not have known anything different, but to people of my generation and beyond, being able to share your pictures with other people, most of which you have never & will never meet, is mind blowing.

The opportunity to share pictures and have them critiqued or adored or any other reaction, is something that still amazes my tiny mind. 

I love the idea that I can be out walking, capture a beautiful landscape and in a very short while, that image is also seen by people all over the world. Somebody living in New York City or Tokyo has the opportunity to feel the same surge of happy emotion that I felt when stumbling across the scene originally. Or they may feel revolted and disgusted - but my days of naked selfies are generally behind me now.

Yesterday I shared the image at the top of this post on Twitter and after several retweets, it was favourited by a Canadian pornstar. Now, I can't imagine many connections that her and I may have otherwise had. But I love the idea that although we inhabit very different worlds, she has seen and enjoyed something from mine.

But the real point of this post is to urge you to stay true to your vision and not seek complete validation from the opinions of other people. 

Don't get me wrong - I bloody love getting retweets, likes and favourites for the pictures I post. And sometimes people say some very lovely things which genuinely warm my heart. 

But there are also times when I post pictures that get little or no reaction. Does this make them any less valid? To my mind, of course not! 

I only post pictures that I'm happy with. And that really is the key here - I'm happy with them. If they resonate with other people, great! But if they fall on deaf ears, (or blind eyes, or any other disability of your choice), that's absolutely fine too. I'm still happy with what I've produced. To me, the picture is still an expression of something lovely that I've seen and feel is worth sharing.

So, please don't be disillusioned if you don't get the kind of reception that you'd hoped for. It doesn't make your picture rubbish! 

The downside to this digital age is the overwhelming quantity of information that is being thrown at us all the time. The chances are, sometimes your picture is going to get overlooked because somebody else has just posted an image of a kitten riding a bicycle or something. 

Stand proudly by your work and don't change your mind about it because the world (or your perception of it) appears to think differently about it. 

And of course, this is true for any creative activity you may care to share - poetry, painting, intermittent-and-well-meaning-but-all-too-often-pointless-and-meandering-blog-posts-with-frankly-ridiculous-multiply-hyphenated-words - they all come from the heart in the hope that we might be a little better understood. 

When you're misunderstood, it's a reflection of communication, rather than the quality of your work. The world would be such a boring place if we all spoke the same language.

Please, stay true to your vision and keep taking, sharing and most importantly, enjoying your photography and other creative pursuits!

RAW! What is it good for?

Roar!

I know that life is rarely as simple as black and white. According to the book I found under my mum's bed, there are at least 50 shades of grey. But let's put that to one side for now and for the purpose of this blog post, categorise photographers into two distinct groups: those who are happy just to take pictures really quite casually and accept the results as they come out of the camera, and those who prefer to 'craft' an image by dabbling with the photograph in post production (and that's 'post production' as in editing images in software such as Photoshop, not as in writing lots of letters to be delivered by the postman).

Neither of the above approaches is better than the other - the main thing is that you're happy with the output produced and enjoy the entire process. The problems start to occur when you're shooting the more simplified method, but then get frustrated that any editing you do afterwards just doesn't seem to work out the way you hoped.

One of the main reasons why editing pictures afterwards (or even the images straight out of the camera) sometimes produce less than satisfactory results, is because the image has been captured using JPEG processing, rather than in the file format that is known as RAW.

Imagine for a moment that the digital file produced by your camera is a block of marble and you want to transform that block into a beautiful sculpture. When you shoot JPEG, the processor within your digital camera does most of the sculpting for you. Big chunks of marble have been chiseled away, never to be recovered. 

You may be able to tinker with it a little further by smoothing away some rough edges and even painting it a different colour, but the overall shape has largely been determined by the camera. You have lost a ton of control and marble - that is, the original information that the camera captured of the scene.

That's really bad luck if you were aiming for a well endowed sculpture, but the camera has chopped that delicate area into next week. His todger lies in pieces on the cutting room floor and there ain't nothing you can do about it.

On the other hand, when you elect to record your images as RAW files, what you're left with is essentially that entire block of marble - all of the information that your camera was able to capture at the time it processed the image. This means that with the help of software like Photoshop or Lightroom, you (and not the camera) can chisel away and end up producing an image that much better represents the scene you saw, or your interpretation of it.

Basically your sculpture will now stand there fully intact and turn ladies heads, making them blush.

Of course, shooting RAW does have some disadvantages. The file sizes will be much, much larger than what you would get if you let the camera process and compress the image into a JPEG file. 

You're likely to be looking at RAW file sizes of 25MB to 40MB instead of around 4MB to 7MB for JPEG images. This is because you're recording all the information available, not just those bits that the camera has decided will create the best image. However, once you have produced the image you're happy with, you'll be able to compress it into a much smaller JPEG file that can easily be shared. 

One of the most wonderful things about shooting RAW is, the information that you captured is always available to you. This 'master' file can never be altered (unless you choose to delete it of course). This means you can come back to it at a later date and process it all over again to produce output with an entirely different feel to the previous version. This is especially beneficial if in the meantime you've acquired new software or learned a new processing technique.

Obviously the larger file sizes do have implications for your memory card and computer hard drive. It will also affect how many images your camera can process in a burst - you may find that it has to take a little break to chill out and process what it's just seen, before it decides it is ready to play with you again.

But for me, quality wins over quantity every time. Limitations in photography can actually inspire far more creativity. Being forced to slow down and think about things generally results in better pictures than the scattergun approach of firing off a ton of shots and hoping that there will be some nuggets of gold hidden among the dross.

Another thing to consider is that not all cameras have RAW shooting functionality. But if you're serious about moving beyond snapshots to creating more satisfying images, you most likely already own a camera that can. Pretty much every DSLR or Compact System Camera on the market today will offer RAW support, as will the more sophisticated high end fixed lens compact cameras that many manufacturers are now offering. In fact, there are even some Android based camera phones that are being developed with RAW capture ability.

So if your camera offers the facility and you've not tried it before, give RAW a go today!

You'll have to do some work - in fact the images as they appear out the camera may initially seem disappointing as they won't have received the attention of your camera's JPEG processing engine to give them a gloss and shine. But your ability to, for example, recover details that would have once been lost in blown highlights or dark shadows will potentially astound you.

If you don't have access to Photoshop or Lightroom, you can always download the free GIMP software which offers some decent processing options, especially given its price. Another option is to take advantage of the free trials offered by pretty much all major software companies. Adobe will let you trial the full versions of Photoshop and Lightroom for 30 days entirely free - plenty of time to try RAW processing if you haven't done so before.

A Blog Is Born (or 'blorn' as I like to call it)

a new dawn 

Hello folks!

Welcome to the birth of a brand new blog. Because I was thinking, "you know what? there just aren't enough blogs on the internet". 

You'll have to forgive the blood, mess and pain - births are generally chaotic things. If you're lucky, maybe I'll post a video of me eating the placenta later on! Don't be alarmed if the placenta looks suspiciously like a slice of cake though.

Anyway, this first post is just a quick introduction to what I'm hoping to achieve here. 

There is literally nothing in life that makes me happier than taking photos. When I put the camera around my neck, I'm transported into a very special space - a magical bubble where I look at the world in exciting new ways and discover even familiar scenes afresh. 

When I was out just a few days ago, taking the picture above, at one point I found myself having a peak moment - laughing out loud happily to myself, completely absorbed by the wonder of the beautiful day unfolding before my lens. 

Goodness only knows what anyone who saw me in this uncontrollable blissful state thought. A "slightly 'special' maniac" would probably have been my assessment. Luckily it was early and therefore quiet. The combination of sunshine induced endorphins and doing my favourite activity really did overtake me.

I think that this wonderful, therapeutic hobby that I enjoy so much can also provide happiness and joy to everyone. So what I'm planning to do with this blog is share my experiences, in the hope that they may provide inspiration or encouragement to get out there and have fun with your own camera. Whether you're a seasoned pro or only just beginning, I hope there will be something you can take away from some of what I post here.

My aim is to provide you all of this, without too much in the way of "ponce". As in many creative pursuits, there are some people in the photographic world who really are rather up themselves. Here you will find a straight talking, down to earth approach, based in my real world experiences. If you want arty-farty nonsense, you'd best look elsewhere. Oh wait a second, I may actually be able to help with the farty side of things - that placenta was pretty ripe.

As for the title, "Happy Joy Photo" kind of sums up my attitude to photography in a Japanesey kind of way. It works best if you imagine me saying it in a Japanese accent, whilst dressed as a Japanese schoolgirl who has just come to life from an anime comic. You'll have to forgive the beard which I admit, adds nothing to the effect.

Oh and one more thing; those of you who have known me a while will remember that I have written a couple of blogs in the past, one of which was about photography. Given that it's been around 18 months since I last updated that one though, I thought a fresh start was in order. Plus, the Toby of 2012 was a different person to the shiny new and improved Toby 2014 model! Similar to Trigger's broom in Only Fools And Horses, I've had several new heads and handles since then.

Oh and one one more more thing - I have a ton of ideas of posts to write as photography has been dominating my life these past few months. But if there is anything in particular you'd like to see covered or if you have any questions, feel free to drop me an email with them on.

Thank you lovely people! :-) xx