Nature, Wildlife & Landscape Photography – Sri Lanka

Posted on December 28, 2013 by Richard Brochu-Williams

Today I received a very kind and generous offer; to visit Sri Lanka and have the opportunity to photograph the Sri Lankan nature, wildlife and landscape. I enjoy taking pictures of animals but most of the time this is within the setting of a zoo and it would be nice to capture wildlife within it’s own natural habitat. Of course I will have to fit this in around my university studies and commitments but I don’t see this being too much of a problem as an opportunity like this does not come by often and the experience would be invaluable and I’m sure that the university and my tutors would support me.

I have been invited by a long time family friend Don Hapuarachchi (also family) whose nephew Nadika Hapuarachchi is South East Asia’s number one wild life photographer. He published his first book which is sponsored by Sri Lankas leading bank earlier this year at the Lionel Wendt theatre in Colombo where over a thousand dignitaries attended and his work can be seen at www.chaya.lk

Nadika Hapuarachchi & The Prince of Wales

Invite to Sri Lanka

Many Thanks to Don Hapuarachchi 🙂

Chaya Online Image Gallery. 2013. Chaya Online Image Gallery. [online] Available at: http://www.chaya.lk [Accessed: 28 Dec 2013].

Portraiture (Pet)

Posted on December 27, 2013 by Richard Brochu-Williams

Whilst looking at the theme of portraiture I decided to attempt some pet portraiture images. The images have not been taken in a studio setting, as this is something I am not too keen on. I like to capture the subject in its own surroundings where it feels more comfortable and at ease. I did not have a great deal of time taking these pictures as they were taken on Boxing Day and the dogs that I photographed were very excitable and very hard to capture but nevertheless I managed to capture a few images. 🙂

Mia
© Richard Brochu-Williams

Tigger
© Richard Brochu-Williams

Mia
© Richard Brochu-Williams

Tigger “Too Much Mulled Wine!”
© Richard Brochu-Williams

Dexter
© Richard Brochu-Williams

All Images © Richard Brochu-Williams, 2013

Portraiture (Cont…)

Posted on December 24, 2013 by Richard Brochu-Williams

I have always liked to do portraiture photography outside of the studio setting but have often been put off by the thought of having to carry lots of equipment around with me, but then I came across this article about Interfit Strobies. These are great modifiers for your flashgun and do not take up a lot of room, so if you enjoy using your flashgun out on location these could be the ideal solution.

The modifiers include:

Barndoors
Honeycomb
Snoot
Beauty Dish

The price is a reasonable £90 and I think that this is a bit of equipment that I would be interested in acquiring.

Digital Photo Magazine | Issue 141

Interfit Strobies

I found an umbrella for the flashgun also.

Westcott Umbella Kit

Interfit Photographic. 2013. Strobies by Interfit. [online] Available at: http://www.interfitphotographic.com/Strobies/Strobies%20index.html [Accessed: 24 Dec 2013].

Westcott Lighting. 2013. Westcott Lighting – Speedlite ProGrip Umbrella Kit. [online] Available at: http://fjwestcott.com/product/speedlite-progrip-umbrella-kit [Accessed: 24 Dec 2013].

Portrait Accessories. 2011. Digital Photo, Iss. 141 pp. 99-100.

I would like to wish my followers a very Merry Christmas & Best Wishes for the New Year 🙂

Merry Christmas
© Richard Brochu-Williams

Portraiture

Posted on December 23, 2013 by Richard Brochu-Williams

I chose to look at portraiture again today and to see what I could do with an image to make it a little different from a straightforward portraiture picture. I played around with a couple of techniques to see what I could achieve.

My Images

Fréd
© Richard Brochu-Williams

Fréd 2
© Richard Brochu-Williams

Fréd “Pop”
© Richard Brochu-Williams

Fréd “Pop” Collage
© Richard Brochu-Williams

The “Pop” images are of course inspired by Andy Warhol’s work and relate back to my blog about “intertextuality” within art. The link to this can be found below.

https://brochuwilliams.wordpress.com/2013/11/27/intertextuality-2/

I found a guide to achieving the effect in Digital Photo Magazine.

Adams, J. 2011. Creative Portrait Effects. Digital Photo, Iss. 141 pp. 42-47.

Still Life (Patterns & Textures)

Posted on December 22, 2013 by Richard Brochu-Williams

Today I decided to try something a little different and focused in on patterns and textures within my images. I like to find patterns in things, whether they be man made objects or in nature, as I believe that you can create an image of interest. Here are some images that I experimented with:

My Images

Potraiture (Holga Effect)

Posted on December 21, 2013 by Richard Brochu-Williams

Yesterday, whilst on my travels to Lowestoft, Suffolk, I decided that I would look at portraiture photography as I had not done this in a while. I’m not one for creating portraiture images within the confines of a studio space, rather I prefer to capture my subject in natural surroundings where they feel most comfortable. I like portraiture in the style of reportage, as the subjects feel more at ease and therefore creating an image that looks more “real” than forced.

I decided to create the portraiture images with a “Holga” effect. This kind of effect is currently en vogue and is popular alongside with lomography and the effects that you can achieve with Instagram.

Holga

The Holga camera was designed by T. M. Lee in 1981 and it first appeared outside China in 1982 in Hong Kong. The Holga is a medium format 120 film camera, made in Hong Kong, known for its low-fidelity aesthetic.

The Holga’s low-cost construction and simple meniscus lens often yields pictures that display vignetting, blur, light leaks, and other distortions. The camera’s limitations have brought it a cult following among some photographers, and Holga photos have won awards and competitions in art and news photography.

Holga Camera
Image: Mark Wheeler

Wikipedia. 2013. Holga. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holga [Accessed: 21 Dec 2013].

Wheeler, M. 2013. Holga 120. [image online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Holga_120_GCFN.jpg [Accessed: 21 Dec 2013].

Creating My Images

To achieve the Holga effect I used Photoshop CS5 and a plug-in from OnOne called PhotoTools 2.6 that contained the Holga Black & White filter.

Step 1
© Richard Brochu-Williams

Step 2
© Richard Brochu-Williams

Step 3
© Richard Brochu-Williams

As well as applying the filter, I also made adjustments to it, so that the effect would compliment the images. I have noticed that some of my highlights are blown out, this is due to the filter that has been applied and not the images that I captured at the time. I know this, because when I shoot I use the “Highlights” display on my Nikon D90 to make sure that my highlights are not blown out. At this stage I am not too concerned as these images are just in the experimental stage.

Highlights Display Mode – Nikon

Imaging Resource. 2013. Nikon: Playback Mode. [image online] Available at: http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/D300S/D300SA3.HTM [Accessed: 21 Dec 2013].

My Images

Anyone with a keen interest in photography (especially analogue) and the Holga effect can find information on the following link.

Holga Inspire. 2013. HOLGA. [online] Available at: http://holgainspire.com/ [Accessed: 21 Dec 2013].

Oil & Water

Posted on December 19, 2013 by Richard Brochu-Williams

Continuing on the theme of abstract photography, I decided to look through some photography magazines that I subscribe to, to help inspire me to create some new images. I came across an article on photographing oil in water, so I decided to give it a go. I followed the instructions but had to create the colours within Photoshop as I did not have coloured card but I’m relatively happy with the results that I achieved.

Digital Photo Magazine – My Source of Inspiration

Atkins, A. 2013. Camera Academy – Oil & Water. Digital Photo, Iss. 164 pp. 40-41.

Camera Set-Up
© Richard Brochu-Williams

Camera Set-Up
© Richard Brochu-Williams

Oil & Lamp
© Richard Brochu-Williams

Droste…Continued

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Richard Brochu-Williams

I have been inspired by the droste effect and have used an image that is currently on my website which has this effect (in the sense that it is an image within an image within an image and so on) and I have altered it by using a different effect than before.

Brochu-Williams Photography. 2013. Brochu-Williams Photography | Portraiture. [online] Available at: http://www.richardbrochuwilliams.co.uk/Portraiture.html [Accessed: 18 Dec 2013].

Variation on Picture

I couldn’t decide whether or not I preferred the image in colour or black and white, so I decided to add both. I’m really enjoying working with the droste effect and I like the kinds of effects that it can have on an image. It can take quite a bit of time getting the image right, but when it works I think that it is worth the effort.

Abstract (Droste)

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Richard Brochu-Williams

I have decided to keep on the theme of abstract imagery and today I have been looking at “The Droste Effect”

What is The Droste Effect ?

The Droste effect — known as mise en abyme in art — is the effect of a picture appearing within itself, in a place where a similar picture would realistically be expected to appear. The appearance is recursive: the smaller version contains an even smaller version of the picture, and so on. Only in theory could this go on forever; practically, it continues only as long as the resolution of the picture allows, which is relatively short, since each iteration geometrically reduces the picture’s size. It is a visual example of a strange loop, a self-referential system of instancing which is the cornerstone of fractal geometry.

Origin

The effect is named after the image on the tins and boxes of Droste cocoa powder, one of the main Dutch brands, which displayed a nurse carrying a serving tray with a cup of hot chocolate and a box with the same image. This image, introduced in 1904 and maintained for decades with slight variations, became a household notion. Reportedly, poet and columnist Nico Scheepmaker introduced wider usage of the term in the late 1970s.

Droste Nurse Image.
The woman holds an object bearing a smaller image of her holding the same object, which in turn bears a smaller image of her holding the same object, and so on. Image believed to have been created by Jan (Johannes) Musset, being inspired by a pastel known as La Belle Chocolatière (“The Pretty Chocolate Girl”).

The Chocolate Girl (French: La Belle Chocolatière, German: Das Schokoladenmädchen) is one of the most prominent pastels of Swiss artist Jean-Étienne Liotard, showing a chocolate-serving maid. The girl carries a tray with a porcelain chocolate mug and a glass of water. Liotard’s contemporaries classed The Chocolate Girl as his masterpiece.

Wikipedia. 2013. Droste Effect. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Droste_effect [Accessed: 17 Dec 2013].

Wikipedia. 2013. The Chocolate Girl. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chocolate_Girl [Accessed: 17 Dec 2013].