On Saturday, 13th July 2024, I attended a Wildlife Photographer Workshop at St John’s Waterloo Church. The workshop was hosted by British fine art photographer Racheal Wegh, known for her photos and films that focus on subjects often unseen and marginalized, portraying them as both vulnerable and resilient. I arrived at the church via bus and entered the garden, the primary location for our photography session. Inside the church, I met two fellow participants: a tall, lanky man with dark brown hair and a petite woman with dark red hair. After briefly introducing myself, I waited for the rest of the attendees. The turnout was modest, with only six participants, which was expected given that the event was free. Once everyone arrived, we introduced ourselves and received a brief overview of the day's activities. We were to explore the garden and take photographs. I was particularly excited to talk to Racheal Wegh, as it was my first time meeting a professional photographer in person. I asked her whether one should study photography at university or learn from online resources and opportunities like free workshops. She suggested doing both to maximize one’s potential as a photographer. We then went outside as a group and began by standing still, closing our eyes, and taking in our surroundings for three minutes. This exercise brought a wave of calm over me, making me feel relaxed and attuned to the environment. We then explored the garden, observing the various elements before returning to our meeting point. To me, the garden was an adventure. I noticed the sculptures contrasted beautifully with the foliage, and a particularly vibrant dark magenta flower stood out among the plants. I was also drawn to an entranceway leading out of the garden, where the light directed my eyes to a gate with the Shard visible in the background. The best photo opportunity I found was of bottles hanging from a tree, which inspired me to create a depth of field effect by focusing on the closest bottles and blurring the rest. After thoroughly exploring the garden, we reconvened to further the workshop. Racheal assigned us themes for our photographs: Beauty, Juxtaposition, Abundance, Three of a Kind, and Standout. For Beauty, I photographed a stunning purple flower and another shot of a bee collecting pollen. For Standout, I captured the hanging bottles by the tree. For Three of a Kind, I used the entranceway scene, including the bin, bench, and gate. Juxtaposition was illustrated by a sculpture intertwined with plant leaves, and Abundance was depicted by a cluster of similar plants. After completing our tasks, we gathered indoors for tea, coffee, and biscuits while discussing and showcasing our photographs. I proudly displayed my photo of the hanging bottles, taken in manual mode, which was a significant achievement for me.
The workshop concluded with a visit to an exhibition downstairs in the church, featuring works by various photographers and artists, including Racheal Wegh. The black-and-white photography was captivating, with my favourite piece being a digitally collaged image of a dolphin balloon. Overall, the workshop was an enriching experience, allowing me to learn from a professional, practice my photography skills, and connect with fellow enthusiasts. It reinforced the importance of both formal education and hands-on experience in pursuing a career in photography.
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Creating Fantastical Worlds: My Journey Through Digital Collage in Photoshop with Nick Pedersen8/8/2024 Had a great time doing the online course Digital Collage in Photoshop: Composition and Visual Effects by the amazing photographer and digital artist Nick Pedersen. Nick Pedersen is a photo and illustrator digital artist who work focuses on nature and the environment issues in the world, I personally find his work very mesmerising the level of creativity I see in his digital collages are insane it borders on the level of fantasy even though the purpose is to raise awareness about the environmental issues happening in the world. The course had 4 units: 1. Introduction 2. Pre - planning 3. Compositing 4.Retouching Introduction: Creating a digital collage in Photoshop is a fascinating journey that blends creativity with technical skill. Recently, I took the Domestika course Digital Collage in Photoshop: Composition and Visual Effects by Nick Pedersen, which inspired me to craft an intricate scene featuring a lone knight encountering a menacing creature amidst ancient ruins. This course significantly enhanced my Photoshop skills and provided me with new ways to express my creativity through digital art. In this blog, I’ll walk you through the planning and execution of my digital collage. Starting with sketches and concept development, I envisioned a dramatic encounter in an overgrown, abandoned church. I faced challenges in sourcing the right photographs, especially finding a menacing snake, which eventually became a ghoulish monster. Utilizing adjustment layers, layer masks, and various Photoshop tools, I added depth and realism to the scene. Join me as I delve into the techniques and creative decisions that shaped this project. Whether you're a novice or an experienced artist, I hope my experience provides inspiration and practical tips for your own digital art endeavours. Pre - planning: During the planning stage I was tasked with making some sketches for how I wanted to compose my digital collage here I wanted to create a giant snake coming out of the window of an old abandon wooden church engrossed with bushes and have a lone knight walking down the ancient ruins of the church and encountering the giant snake, which would cause him to pull out his sword and defend himself from the monster. In background there would be a mountain or broken down ruins in the background to show how far the solider has travelled. Then add some statues and other items such as skulls and relics from a forgotten past. The trick part of doing this was honestly finding the photographs for this I did originally use a photo I took of St Dunstan church in London, as the historic ruins, I looked on various websites such as Unsplashed, pixabay and Adobe Stock Photos but I couldn't find a photo of a snake that really looked menacing. I did find statues and animals to add more life to the scene I was eventually going to composite. Once I got all the photographs I wanted I did created a mood board with all the photographs I created but I didn't like what I had when I put them all together in Photoshop so I decided to replace the snake with a ghoulish monster and searched up ruins on the internet until I got what I wanted. Compositing: I began by photographing the elements for the foreground and midground, including the ancient ruins, the knight, and the statue, as these were PNGs without backgrounds. Next, I moved on to the monster, hawk, and another ancient ruin in the background. For these, I needed to use a layer mask to separate them from their backgrounds without leaving sharp edges. To achieve this, I used the magnetic lasso tool and the magic wand tool to select the subjects. Once the selection was made, I applied a layer mask. In the layer mask menu, I adjusted the transparency to control how much of the image outside the selection was removed and used the feather option to soften the selection. This ensured that when the background was removed, the subject's edges remained smooth and free of jagged parts. After refining the selection to my satisfaction, I confirmed the changes and proceeded to enhance the images by adding lights and shadows to create depth and realism. Retouching: Retouching is my favourite part of the process. In this phase, I used adjustment layers to add light and shadows to different parts of the images, giving them depth. For instance, on the knight, I applied curve adjustments: one to darken the entire figure and another to lighten it. Then, using layer masks and the paintbrush tool, I selectively brushed out the areas of the knight's body where I didn't want the adjustments to apply, using the background light source as a guide to determine where the light and shadows should be strongest. When working with layer masks in Photoshop, I followed the principle "white reveals and black conceals." This knowledge was crucial when masking specific areas on the knight. Additionally, I used a gradient map on the mask to create a striking effect on the statue in the foreground. To finalize the collage, I used a colour balance adjustment to ensure all the colours matched harmoniously. Then, I added a fog effect to introduce an element of mystery. Using a fog brush, I covered the entire image and applied a Gaussian blur to soften and enhance the realism of the fog. Once satisfied, I used an eraser with a reduced density to gently remove fog from specific areas, such as the ruins in the background, parts of the monster, the knight, and the statue. Conclusion:
Participating in the Domestika, course, Digital Collage in Photoshop: Composition and Visual Effects by Nick Pedersen, has been an incredibly enjoyable and enriching experience. This course significantly enhanced my Photoshop skills, providing me with innovative techniques to elevate my photography and digital artwork. I highly recommend this course to anyone eager to delve into Photoshop or digital collage-making; it is well worth your time and effort. In addition, Nick Pedersen offers a more advanced course, Advanced Photomontage in Photoshop: Create Imaginary Worlds, which I have already purchased and look forward to exploring in my spare time. Discovering the Art of Storytelling: My Journey into Documentary Photography with Alexis Andreou8/8/2024 Introduction: Last month, I had the privilege of participating in a workshop led by Alexis Andreou, a distinguished London-based documentary photographer. Known for his compelling storytelling through the fusion of text and photographs, Andreou masterfully captures historical events and evokes powerful connections with his viewers. The workshop aimed to delve into the realm of documentary photography and the art of constructing narratives, especially within the format of a photo book. Through this enriching experience, I discovered various techniques for creating narrative sequences using elements such as scale, colour, action, and the integration of text with images. This newfound knowledge guided me in crafting my own photo book, employing innovative methods like collages to weave my story. My Photobook: The narrative of my photo book revolves around a local man who finds himself increasingly alienated from his own community. Once familiar with every corner, he now perceives drastic changes that render his surroundings unrecognizable, leaving him disoriented and speechless about the transformation. To convey this narrative, I dedicated two pages of my photo book to a mix of text and photographs, enhanced by a few cut-outs meticulously added with scissors and glue. Reflecting on the finished product, I realized that I could have utilized more of the available space, as confining the story to just two pages made it appear too contained and restricted the flow throughout the book. Conclusion:
The workshop was a profound learning experience. I gained a deep understanding of the fundamentals and techniques involved in designing a photo book, particularly the strategic placement of text and images to create a dynamic and engaging narrative. More importantly, I was introduced to the field of documentary photography, an area I had not previously explored due to my focus on architecture, street, event, and product photography. The skills and insights I acquired, especially the powerful combination of text and imagery to tell a story, are invaluable. This experience has expanded my visual repertoire and inspired me to experiment with more creative forms of presenting my work, ultimately enhancing my photographic practice. |
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