Phoblography

The Bang Bang Club

2011-04-26T20:03:00.001+01:00

A remarkable and disturbing film depicting the lives of four young photographers in the final years of apartheid in South Africa. The film tells the true story of the lives of Kevin Carter, Ken Oosterbroek, Greg Marinovich and Joao Silva during the bloody township war in the early '90's risking their lives to capture the violence.

"The Bang Bang Club" film is derived from the book "The Bang-Bang Club: Snapshots from a Hidden War" written by Greg Marinovich and Joao Silva.

2011-03-24T10:55:00.000Z

Some photographs that I left out from the other posts that are worth a look.

During sunset a man ties a falucca sail to the mast

Bedouin children play in the heat of the winter sun

Bedouin men chat while smoking a hookah

A group of Bedouin woman sit in the heat of the sun waiting for tourists wanting a camel ride

A tourist stands on top of a hill while the sun sets over the Red Sea Mountains

A yellow boxfish swims too fast for me preventing me to get the perfect shot

Downtown

2011-02-16T17:47:00.000Z

Downtown, in the shopping parades and along the river Nile provides you with the final post of images from Luxor.

A calesh driver seeks out tourist to ride his carriage


A felluca sails on the river Nile during sunset

A man sells fruit and vegetables at his road side stall

Horse drawn carts are a common occurrence in Luxor

Hundreds of souvenirs of all shapes and sizes are stacked on selves at this shop

West Bank, Luxor

2011-02-14T08:41:00.000Z

Ramesses II built many temples this one, the Ramessuem Temple, was built after his reign as king and took 20 years to complete.


Restoration work being done.


The main hypostle hall

A western view from inside the hypostyle hall

Only one hand, two feet and a head remain from the huge statue resting next to the south tower pylon

Pathway leading to a tomb at the Valley of the Kings

Valley of the Kings

Karnak Temple

2011-02-10T17:38:00.000Z

Karnak being the largest complex of temples in the world is a marvel of sights and one could easily spend hours wondering around. Saying that, I spent a whole day at Karnak testing my photography skills and trying new ones too. First entering the labyrinth armed with a wide angle lens shooting the corridors, chambers and huge pillars then exiting with a zoom to shoot more detailed images.

Here are a few images that I think could win numerous awards( its good to be positive):


Avenue of ram-headed sphinxes

Once joined with the avenue of sphinxes at Luxor Temple the avenue was 2, 700 meters long.

Ram-headed sphinxes inside the festival temple of Amenhotep II


Towering columns inside the Great Hypostyle Hall


Tour guide waiting for baksheesh


One of the many chambers


Statue of Ramsses II


Hieroglyphics and argun palm trees

Luxor Temple

2011-02-08T09:16:00.000Z

Entrance to Luxor Temple

Pillars of the central corridor

Temple guide inside one of Amenhotep III temple chambers

Luxor, Egypt

2011-02-04T16:41:00.000Z

Luxor's temples are mesmerizing and the streets in Luxor are much cleaner than in Cairo. Horse drawn calesh tussle with motor vehicles for a place in the streets. Little plots of land in between old and newly unfinished buildings are used to grow vegetables, larger sugar cane plantations on the outskirts. Downtown, hotels and souvenir shops line the streets and alley ways dedicated to entice tourists for a closer look at the souvenirs and to relax while smoking a shisha at a coffee shop. Uncountable minarets rise up from mosques to pepper the skyline while chants are heard from megaphones. From the east bank to the west bank, Luxor is possibly my favourite city in Egypt.

Avenue of Sphinxes at Luxor Temple towards Karnak

The entrance to Luxor Temple and a defaced Ramesses II statue

One of the many minarets

Another statue of Ramesses II on the left side of the entrance to Luxor temple

Coptic Cairo

2011-02-03T16:07:00.000Z

Tombs in the cemetery at Coptic Cairo

A narrow walkway with an old coptic building on the right.

Being overcast that day in Cairo, I struggled to shoot shots with tone. I converted this image into HDR which brought out the tones nicely.

Saqqara

2011-02-01T19:14:00.001Z

Driving out of Cairo city southwards we leave the smog and dirt behind and after forty minutes we enter Saqqara village, passing by numerous carpet schools where children learn to make reversible carpets.

The car park for Saqqara burial grounds is on higher ground than the village just below. As we exit the taxi we see a girl climbing a palm tree as if she smelt tourist in the air. She notices my camera and starts posing luring me to take photos. After a few shots I give her baksheesh and she immediately disappears back down to the shacks below.

Saqqara is not very well known among tourists and the site is less busy than Giza making it my favourite in Cairo.

Two men wait outside the temple complex to check tickets and offer their services as tour
guides.

The frieze of cobras on top of the wall close to the south tomb of Djoser Temple grounds.

Just like in Giza you can ride a camel for a small fee.

Saving the Step Pyramid

The Step Pyramid of Saqqara dates back to over 5 000 years to the reign of King Djosier.

Being the first pyramid to be build from stone Imhotep, King Djoser's architect, designed it to last for centuries. Being older than the pyramids of Giza time has taken its toll on the Step Pyramid. In 2008 restoration work began to save it for future generations.

This man( I forgot his name) was happy to take photos of me with his "colleagues" and also to pose for me for a small fee(baksheesh).

Giza, Cairo

2011-01-31T14:53:00.000Z

After some advice from my sister I will keep blogging from Phoblgraphy.

Here are some recent images from my recent trip to Egypt.

Pyramid of Khafre

This image was taken from the ruins of the mortuary temple of Menkaure.

Resting camel with Menkaure's pyramid in the background

Menkaure's pyramid and the smaller queen's pyramid towering over tourists riding camels

The sphinx's head

New Digital Painting

2010-12-29T00:39:00.004Z

When its cold outside and numb fingers overrides the urge to venture outdoors to do a bit of photography, I stay indoors and do a bit of digital painting.

Here is my latest painting:

The original done in black and white

and some colour added using a few hue and

saturation adjustment layers.

A massive improvement from my last digital painting of an eye I attempted last year.

Working Progress

2010-12-14T19:32:00.005Z

Improvements have been made to my website.

A new blog page has been added where in future I will be posting photography news and events including new images.

Depending on good traffic and visits to my website from Phoblography, I will eventually phase out Phoblography.

Please leave feedback on my contacts page. Tell me what you think of the improvements and what you would like to see on my website.
Is my website visually pleasing? Is navigation easy? Let me know!

Worth Railway, West Yorkshire

2010-10-27T13:14:00.001+01:00

Bees and Buildings

2010-10-21T03:32:00.001+01:00

New Website

2010-09-30T15:59:00.000+01:00

My new website which contains some of my favourite and best work is now online.

The website includes some of the images shown here on Phoblography.

Over the Weekend

2010-09-15T16:22:00.000+01:00

London Zoo

2010-08-09T13:01:00.001+01:00

Red Titi Monkey

Green Iguana

Giraffe

Three-toed Sloth

This and That

2010-08-03T22:23:00.000+01:00

Nikon F301

2010-06-23T18:05:00.000+01:00

A Touch of Thailand in London

2010-06-07T12:52:00.001+01:00

This years Thailand at Trafalgar Square was a one day festival of everything Thai from delicious food, drink, dancing and muay thai exibitions.

Nikon F301

2010-06-02T14:02:00.001+01:00

As I have always been shooting with a digital SLR, I figured I would carry a 35mm SLR with me taking random shots as I go . The Nikon F301 being a lightweight but a well built camera makes it easy to carry around. Costing only £30 with lens on ebay I'm not too worried about it being stolen or lost. My Hasselblad Xpan is too heavy and not the cheapest 35mm arournd so the F301 is a better choice.

Elephants of the Parade

2010-05-30T21:07:00.003+01:00

The Elephant Parade was started by the Elephant Family a charity based organization which raises awareness, and to save the Asian elephant from possible extintion.

Being London's biggest and most colourful outdoor event I took the chance to take a few snaps for myself.

Elephant Parade 2010

Elephant Family

Weekend Creations

2010-04-25T09:51:00.000+01:00

Lela Turkia

2010-04-20T11:58:00.000+01:00

Weekend Shots

2010-04-19T08:31:00.000+01:00

Dry Stone Walls and the Yorkshire Dales

2010-04-05T22:05:00.002+01:00

City Hall, London

2010-03-20T07:51:00.001Z

Tower Bridge, London

2010-03-13T14:28:00.003Z

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

2010-02-07T02:30:00.005Z

If you're planning a day out in London then may I suggest a visit to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition housed in the Natural History Museum. Alongside the winners, runner's-up and highly commended images is a slide show of previous years images with music and sounds that adds to the emotional effect while viewing the photographs. The tickets are pricey but it makes it all the worthwhile. Getting there early to beat the crowds is a good idea as the viewing area does get cramped and moving around the gallery gets a bit frustrating after a while.

The Ten years and under exhibition is quite impressive especially the other junior presentations. To see that youngsters are able to take photographs of that standard is really remarkable. Choosing my favourite image out of the high calibre was not easy and after some thought I chose the highly commended Lone Lion by Britta Jaschinski. The black and white image is far more 'arty' that the others in the same category giving the impression that the image was painted rather than photographed.

Pretoria Zoological Gardens

2010-01-31T09:08:00.006Z

Greater Flamigos

Greater Flamingos cross-processed

King Vulture

Caracal

Red Panda

Cheetah

Spotted Hyena

View of the Union Buildings from the zoo

Grey Crowned Crane

Red River Hogs

Bengal Tiger

Brown Bear

Takin

Telkom Tower

2010-01-14T22:51:00.009Z

A panorama view of Pretoria from Groenkloof divided by Telkom tower on the right and UNISA (University of South Africa) on the left.

A close -up view of the Telkom tower with Pretoria city centre just behind it.

Telkom being a major sponsor of the 2010 soccer world cup mounted a fibreglass soccer ball on the Telkom towers in Pretoria and Hillbrow. Not only is the 50 ton football recognised as the "largest football sculpture" in the world by Guinness World Records, but its also a reminder to the people of Gauteng and South Africa that the beautiful game is being hosted in the country later this year.

Orb - A Quick Shading Execise

2009-12-14T19:33:00.000Z

Black and White Digital Painting of an Apple

2009-12-12T07:51:00.001Z

Black and White Digital Painting of a Pear

2009-12-09T09:27:00.006Z

Fake Moon

2009-12-05T20:42:00.001Z

Whose Eye?

2009-11-28T07:24:00.002Z

My first digital painting using only free hand and a photo for reference. I'm happy with the five hour process but the shadows need more work and the pupil is over saturated. Next I will try a left eye.

Its Out There

2009-11-19T18:28:00.002Z

Horse Portrait in Watercolour

2009-11-15T02:30:00.003Z

Yesterday I had a shoot booked with a model but the weather was so bad we had to postpone. Stuck indoors I had a chance to catch up on some digital painting techniques.

Here I used a quick and easy method to create a great looking watercolour of a horse.

This process took more time involving many layers and many different brush shapes while using the
art history brush.

Some fantasy added!

A Quick Design

2009-11-05T15:49:00.003Z

Needs editing!

Next effort but not finished. Prefer the previous design - simpler.

Portrait Projects - Bee

2009-11-01T05:50:00.012Z

Portrait Projects - Jo Asker

2009-10-31T01:58:00.004Z

This soft focus digital hand-colouring effect is achieved by using a gaussian blur filter and

a monochrome channel mixer.

Jo called this a punch-in-the-face pose.

Portrait Projects - Ellie Swain

2009-10-16T22:21:00.010+01:00

Another week and another model and this week's location was Brick Lane, London an area full of history and vibe.

A touch of dodge and burn with a black and white gradient map.

I can't decide which of the above two image I like the most. The first image with slight editing or the second with a touch of cross proccessing and desaturation.

Some more dodge and burn, a touch of noise and a selective lighting effect.

Potrait Projects - Catherine Walsh

2009-10-10T04:22:00.008+01:00

Recently I had an urge to venture into different genres of phototography

so I posted an ad on gumtree looking for models to photograph.

During the next few weeks I will be concentrating on portrait photography.

Not sure where the location would be we walked for a while and soon came across a small skate park at South Bank with its walls covered in graffiti.

The colours and shapes grabbed my attention and the lighting was not too bad.

Catherine is a great model and her posing was wonderful.
Thanks to her I didn't have to direct which could of been an awful shoot because of my inexperience.

Here Kitty

2009-10-05T17:01:00.004+01:00

Burning Down.......

2009-10-03T20:41:00.001+01:00

Kilimanjaro Porta-Loo

2009-10-02T13:47:00.002+01:00

The toilets on the way to Kibo Hut - the final stop before the arduous trek

up to Uhuru Peak.

Photography and Design

2009-09-26T20:18:00.001+01:00

2009-09-20T13:47:00.000+01:00

Paint and Can

2009-09-19T02:13:00.005+01:00

Paint cans in full digital watercolour - one of my favorite manipulation techniques.

The same image as above but one can is revealed normally using a mask.

Paint cans all retro with a slight watercolour filter.

And an image I am not entirely happy with. Tried to give it a retro look with a gradient map.

Let me know what you think!

Up Close

2009-09-11T20:46:00.002+01:00

The Locks at Bingley

2009-09-09T16:00:00.004+01:00

It takes about twenty minutes to enter a lock at a differnt level.

To think theres a twelve lock rise in Wigan - around four hours.

Keighley Weekend

2009-09-08T21:11:00.006+01:00

To get that old retro look use curves and the individual red, green and blue channels in PS
to cross process.

To Be Free

2009-08-23T10:00:00.005+01:00

When I was a younger boy I would hold my breath and pretend I was a fish while swimming underwater.

Sometimes I want to do just that.

Disappear into the depths of a less spoilt world.

Forgetting the worlds problems and unnecessary possessions.

This and That Again

2009-08-18T19:58:00.004+01:00

Temple

The English headquarters of the Knights Templar leased inns or hostels to groups of lawyers needing somewhere to practice.

St Brides aka Printer's Church

Virginia Dare, the first english child born in America, whose parents were married here. It is said Virginia and her parents disappeared along with the other members of Raleigh's Lost Colony.

Sir Walter Raleigh was given a ten years to establish a settlement in North America by Queen Elizabeth I.

The Fourth Plinth

2009-08-15T08:49:00.006+01:00

Sculptor Antony Gormley decided it was time to do something different using the empty fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square.

Click here to watch the sculptor tell you more about his idea.

Watch it live here

This and That

2009-08-08T14:21:00.007+01:00

A selection of images from around London.

Monument

The Monument was built as a reminder of The Great Fire of London and is the tallest isolated stone column in the world. Standing at 62m high and 62m away from where the fire stared - at a baker's shop in Pudding Lane, on 2 September 1666. The fire destroyed four-fifths of the city.

St Paul's Cathedral

Performer at Trafalgar Square

Improved Koh Chang Cat Watercolour

2009-07-27T20:11:00.005+01:00

This is an improvement to when I first did the watercolour effect on the same photograph.

Thames Barrier

2009-07-25T08:15:00.008+01:00

The Thames Barrier was built between 1974 and 1982. The barrier's purpose is to prevent London from flooding during a freak high tide moving in from the sea caused by a storm surge.

These photos were taken on the north bank of the river.

The first HDR photo was tone mapped using five different exposures and the others were done using only three. The difference in overall tone and detail is evident.

The last photo had less shadow and highlight smoothing and the colour saturation was reduced.

Self Manipulated Self Portrait

2009-07-18T22:31:00.004+01:00

This time using the art history brush and wet media brushes to paint on a blurred history snapshot, I created this arty self portrait of myself.

More Watercolour

2009-07-14T16:05:00.005+01:00

City Hall in Watercolour

The photoshop watercolour effect is just awesome and I can't get enough of it.

N.B. The enlarged view is not the original file size and will look pixelated.

Kew Duck and Priory Cow in Watercolour

2009-07-11T07:56:00.008+01:00

After my last post I did more research on the watercolour effect in Photoshop. Using brush dynamics and two watercolour brushes while changing the opacity of the brushes when painting on a mask, makes the effect stand out quite nicely.

Koh Chang Cat in Watercolour

2009-07-09T12:34:00.002+01:00

Kili Boys

2009-06-26T05:03:00.003+01:00

Just for Fun

2009-06-19T19:06:00.003+01:00

Hasselblad Xpan Shots

2009-06-05T19:01:00.007+01:00

Just For Fun

2009-06-02T20:00:00.001+01:00

South Bank, London

2009-05-31T06:30:00.003+01:00

Priory and Cow

2009-05-25T02:10:00.001+01:00

Liquid Fire

2009-05-14T20:04:00.002+01:00

Lloyds and Gherkin Revisited

2009-05-09T12:02:00.001+01:00

Bubbles

2009-05-02T13:22:00.003+01:00

Liquid Mix

2009-04-28T15:23:00.003+01:00

The Similans

2009-04-19T13:13:00.005+01:00

Phuket

2009-04-12T16:24:00.009+01:00

Patong - Bangkok-on-sea

Wat Chalong

Khao Sok

2009-04-09T08:18:00.002+01:00

Khao Lak

2009-03-27T07:56:00.008Z

Khao Lak was hit hard by the tsunami in 2004. There are many ruined and abandoned resorts, restuarants and hotels along the seaside. These pictures are from the Bangniang region.

Many of the tiles are missing from the lower levels of the roof. Could that have been the height of the water from the tsunami sweeping the tiles away, or people helping themselves?

A house for sale on the coast of Biangniang. Is it wise to have a front garden full of coconut trees? I think it still makes for great scenery.

This boat, patrol boat 813 (Buretpadungkit), was stationed one nautical mile off the Andaman coast before the tsunami's devastation. The boat was swept two kilometers east inland.

Koh Chang

2009-03-18T18:01:00.007Z

Ko Phangan

2009-03-14T06:42:00.007Z

Our taxi boat from Samui

Mai Pen Rai on Thaan Sadet beach on the east coast.

Mai Pen Rai bungalows range from beach huts to comfy bungalows built on rocks over looking the sea. Electricity is only provided from 11am to 12am which is quit a problem - nobody likes warm beer.

Click here for more info.

This burnt out car sits on the side of the dirt road leading to the south of the island.

While on the island I heard stories of people losing their lives when going back to their bungalows after a night out at the legendary full moon party.

Maybe this detroyed pickup is evidence of this.

Ko Samui

2009-03-07T08:21:00.009Z

The easiest way to get around is on scooter.

They are for rent at between 200 and 300 baht per day.

Thai people call their buffalo "Ai Tui" which means honest royal worker.

Go here to read more about the swamp buffalo in Thailand.

There is not much of a spectacle at Hin Lad waterfall during the dry season.

Thailand 2009

2009-03-05T11:48:00.005Z

Bangkok

Nasa Vegas Hotel

The Nasa Vegas Hotel is just 15 minutes from Suvarnabhumi airport.

Its offers comfortable budget rooms from 690 baht a night.

Click here for more information.

The BTS Sky Train runs throught between the Nasa Vegas complex with a station across the road from the hotel.

The next best thing to the Sky Train is a tuk-tuk.

Click here for more.

War Ideas

2009-01-30T10:33:00.005Z

The idea of starting conflict to solve conflict is absurd.

More Tower Bridge

2009-01-24T12:53:00.001Z

Town Hall

2009-01-18T18:14:00.003Z

The Princess of Wales Conservatory, Kew Gardens

2009-01-03T10:13:00.005Z

Kew Gardens 2009 HDR Style

2009-01-02T11:23:00.002Z

Path to Redemption

2008-12-18T20:17:00.001Z

Zen

2008-12-07T10:07:00.003Z

A nice peaceful change from the hectic array of colour and tones of HDR.

Photomatix: Tower Bridge #2

2008-12-04T13:58:00.005Z

Are the towers really tilting to the sides? Is it the lens at its widest or is it just me?

Photomatix: London Bridge

2008-11-30T07:27:00.005Z

Armed with an ultra-wide angle lens and a little photomatix tone mapping post processing brings two images to life. I don't need to point out which are the before and after images, do I?

Which do you like? Do you prefer the HDR images or the unprocessed images?

Photomatix: Tower Bridge, London

2008-11-22T17:17:00.001Z

Lord Mayor’s Show Fireworks

2008-11-08T21:44:00.008Z

This is my first attempt at photographing fireworks. Had the correct equipment with me this time - tripod and cable-release.

All of the images were shot using a 50mm f/1.4 prime lens.

A strong breeze was blowing from the south giving it a nice sweeping effect.

And I am pleased with the results.

St Paul's Cathedral - A Photomatix Rendition

2008-10-28T15:53:00.004Z

The result is bad due to camera shake and photomatix not processing the images on camera with the correct exposure bracketing. The importance of using a remote shutter release while shooting in low light conditions is greatly recommended.

Along The Thames

2008-10-25T00:08:00.006+01:00

Some photos - too much to capture in only one day

Old Blackfriars Railway Bridge
a.k.a. Ghost Bridge

New Lens

2008-10-19T04:07:00.004+01:00

Yesterday I splashed out on a new lens. A Nikon 50mm f/1.4 to be exact.

Here are a few photos.

Mushrooms and Mud

2008-10-12T02:27:00.005+01:00

What seemed like a good start to a photography trip to Epping Forest ended up to be disappointing and muddy. Well, I guess that happens to the inappropriately dressed.

So its not shallow mud after all.

It was a little embarrassing walking past people who wore gum boots.

Autumn Freeze

2008-10-04T19:10:00.005+01:00

This is simply autumn leaves put into water to freeze for a few hours then photographed in front of a window. In photoshop I adjusted the colour balance, shadows and highlights and saturation.

Smokey

2008-09-26T22:08:00.006+01:00

Its been a while since my previous post. Mainly because I'm a bit tired of shooting landscapes, wildlife and cityscapes. So, today I bought a SB800 speedlight for my Nikon and went staight to work in my makeshift studio.

100 Years

2008-09-17T16:30:00.006+01:00

Today the London Underground sign is one hundred years old.

Its become one of London's most recognizable icons together with the red double decker bus.

Shouting Distance

2008-09-16T20:45:00.004+01:00

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Miscellaneous

2008-09-12T20:01:00.002+01:00